papsrus

I think brownies are worse for dogs than pot. Something about the chocolate, yes?

um ... I come in peace. ... I'm truly sorry 'bout the dust-up over puppies and typos and stuff. We're all human (except for the porno bots, which don't seem to frequent these parts too often).

They forgot to mention that the ubiquitous Dickie V is our celebrity cheerleader. ... Maybe that's not a plus? EDIT: BoSox, keep pounding the Yankees! Putting them 10 games out would be nice.

Game 3 didn't feature the kind of pitching I was hoping for. Kaz's pitch count still balloons too quickly. He has to get his slider going or batters are just going to sit on his fastball and keep fouling them off. And I can see how it's easy to get frustrated with Dice K and his constant nibbling around the plate. Although, he did only allow one run. Both pitchers combined for 9 walks over 5 innings (5 for Matsuzaka and 4 for Kazmir). A little high. Although the Rays TV guys pointed out that home plate umpire Gerry Davis is notorious for being a batter's ump (small strike zone). It sure is a sweat sweep though (sorry Dan). Now here's hoping the BoSox take their frustrations out on the Yankees and knock NY further out of the race. A sweep would be a nice remedy, yes? Dustin Pedroia is one hell of a player. He owned Kaz. That guy was carrying the club on his back last night. And I, too, thought it was odd letting Varitek hit in the ninth and then sending Lowell off on a hit and run. That's about as low-percentage as it gets. And ... the Rays' bats are still not quite there. Even though they're winning games, they are almost always out-hit by their opponents. They show pretty good patience at the plate, but if (when?) they start generating hits more consistently, this team could do some serious damage.

I've held off on this one for now. But the few reviews I've read have been quite positive.

It does seem as thought the BoSox fall into a malaise sometimes -- maybe it's the old post-championship thing. But somebody should be throwing a few trash cans around the dressing room. It doesn't help that Ortiz is out and Drew has cooled off. And what a play by Longoria at third last night, diving into foul territory past the bag to snag the ball, then throwing the base runner out from his knees.

Nice game by Garza, and Balfour came through with the save, striking out three in the ninth. Makes me wonder if he'd be better in that role than the always hair-raising Percival. Ellsbury was nice and aggressive. I like his game. The Sox just couldn't generate the clutch hits tonight. Now Dice-K on Wednesday. He tends to issue a good number of walks. With the Rays being so aggressive once on base, this could be real key to how that game unfolds. And if Kaz is locked in, I think the Rays have a real shot at a sweep. ... And the Yankees lose.

I wrote the following headline after the Red Sox swept the Cards in the World Series to break the Curse of the Bambino in 2004: (in very large type) RUTHLESS

Great game pitched by Mr. Smith, the Haren trade has already brought in 3 guys that are contributing. That Gonzalez kid should be special. Make sure to stay up for the game tonight with Harden vs Santana. Should be a good one. Oh yeah, Go Devil Rays!!! if somehow the A's and the Rays can get to the post season and keep the two evil empires (red sox and yankees) out I will be so happy I will buy you a Mosaic Box Set. In their last four games, the Angels have scored exactly 2 runs and have been shut out twice! Talk about a rough patch. Yeah, I'll be tuning in to the A's-Angels again tonight. I like the Brewers-D'Backs game, too. Course, the game of the night will be at the Trop again. Like I said earlier, I expect the Sox to be fired up. I expect the Rays to be fired up. I know I'll be fired up! And I know Dan will be fired up!

Gross mentioned in the post-game interview that he thought Masterson was having trouble with his location all night, so he just waited until he left one over the plate. Nice win, but Percival still needs a three-run cushion. I almost breathed a sigh of relief when he tweaked his hammy and had to be yanked. I look for the Sox to come out full of fire tomorrow. It could be Kaz-Dice K for the rubber match! And ... the Yankees lost! And ... now I'm going to sit back and relax and enjoy an A's-Angels game (that's West Coast baseball)

My father was a heavy smoker. Then one day at work, a presentation was made of a health program that was being syndicated. The debut episode was being shown to the salesman to get a feeling for whether they felt the show could be sold in syndication. The featured topic was the dangers of smoking. At the end of the screening, my father took his pack of cigarettes and threw them on the table. Everyone laughed, and at the end of the meeting, someone picked up the pack and tried to give it back to him. And he said, "No, I was serious. I'll never smoke again." And he didn't. (He's always been proud of his willpower, it was the same when he stopped drinking) And for those who have been heavy smokers in the past - the damage you've done never really heals itself. 25 years after my father quit smoking, he was hospitalized with pneumonia, and the doctors told him they could tell he had been a heavy smoker. And yet, the pernicious weed still exerts its control - my younger brother is a cancer survivor (lymphoma) who never completely quit smoking and returned to it afterwards, and my sister never quit either. Two doctors who counseled me on this said basically the same things you've said Dan. The damage has been done to my lungs and there is no reversing that. However, like any other muscle in the body, the lungs can be excercized to improve their function. Also, a lot of the crap that's in there now as a result of smoking will clear up, and I will regain some breathing capacity as a result. Right now my lung capacity is 85 percent of what it should be for a person my age, weight, height, etc. That's not too bad, but without quitting, it would continue to deteriorate at an accelerated pace. I would end up with oxygen tubes shoved into my nose. All in all, quitting seems like the easier alternative. During a little sit-down session prior to getting the shot Friday, the doctor explained some things about the program and the medications, and then took a few questions. As he was about to wrap things up and do individual exams, I asked him, "You haven't asked us about our motivations. Why?" His answer was that motivation doesn't really matter. Commitment is what matters. Whatever it takes for that little switch to go off in the back of your head, that's what matters. He said he has seen patients who have had cancer surgically removed from their lungs, yet they still continue to smoke. And cancer patients in treatment who continue to smoke. ... Amazing. Pretty strong motivation, but not much commitment, I guess. The decision for me is pretty plain. Quit or prepare to deal with any number of diseases that will result. Oh, and premature death. That's somewhat likely. ... Quitting seems like the easiest avenue among all these alternatives.

I think it would be hard to argue that the AL East hasn't been consistently the best division in baseball for some time. Right now four of the five teams in the division are over .500, and the Rays have the best record in baseball. The last-place team in the AL East has a record that would put them in second place in the NL West barely two games back. Since realignment in 1994, Arizona, Anaheim and St. Louis are the only teams west of the Mississippi to have won the World Series. The AL has an 8-5 lead over the NL during that period, and 6 of the 8 WS wins for the AL during that period were by teams in the AL East. If you add in that 3 of the 5 NL wins during that period were by teams in the NL East, you have the AL East and NL East producing 9 of the 13 WS champions since realignment. And of those four WS wins outside of the AL and NL East, two were by Midwestern teams (White Sox and Cards), and one by Arizona. That leaves Anaheim. The single team from the West Coast to win a World Series title since realignment. EDIT: Having said all that, I love watching the Angels and A's. And of course when the Dodgers and Giants tangle.

... Who, at this moment, are following the Rays. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Some of what you've said here reinforces for me the notion that smoking is at its core a childish behavior. (apologies to anyone who still smokes). Many smokers start when they are literally children -- 14, 15, 16 years old. As adults, we recognize a lot of the things we did when we were children were stupid and harmful. Smoking is one of those things. We just wanted to be cool and our long-term thinking didn't extend past our next summer vacation anyways. And so part of breaking the behavioral patterns associated with smoking involve confronting this, I think. Smoking is simply not a mature thing to do. Even less so when you can see plain as day what it's doing to your health. I'm only on Day 3, but I do not want to turn into one of the anti-smoking nuts. I understand all too well why perfectly rational and otherwise healthy people chose to do it. But if I don't stop, I'm going to be in trouble sooner rather than later, health-wise.

From what I understand, no matter WHAT quitting regimen is used, a certain percentage eventually go back to smoking. It's a powerful drug, and the addiction is both physical and psychological. It is completely irrational behavior though, isn't it? After the first month (less actually) you've beaten the physical addiction. If your reasons for quitting were strong enough in the first place (avoid serious health problems and extend you life, hopefully) then it makes no sense to ever pick up another cigarette, particularly when you know it is going to lead to a relapse and within days you'll be back to a pack a day. Virtually no ex-smoker ever smokes just one. Just like no alcoholic can have just one drink. The best information they gave me was, when the cravings do come, they'll only last 2-5 minutes, whether you act on them or not. It's a big relief to know that. Still haven't had any though. Son-of-a-Weizen is a rare cat, I think, who can smoke every so often and them put them down for long periods. I don't think that would work for the vast majority of ex-smokers. I'm certainly not going to test the theory.

Did anyone see this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SqJz0NgnnE.

Well, I like to watch the Angels and A's, whenever I can. Not much to watch in the NL West though, is there? The D-Backs started out the season pretty strong, but are 3-7 in their last 10. And while they've dominated the West, they have losing records against the Central and the East. The NL Central is great. Cubs are a blast, and they're heading to St. Louis in early July, so that'll be worth catching. And the old Brew Crew are playing well, too. Even Houston has team that can do some damage (to both the Rays and Sox, and the Rangers, too). So I like that NL Central a lot. The NL East is a mess, with not one team over .500 in the last 10 games. The Phillies are 2-8 over their last 10, and lead the freakin' division. And the Marlins did not look like a cohesive team at all during the Rays series. Going through the motions, it almost seemed like.

We now know that Jeter is the most overrated player in baseball, as voted by his peers. But I'm curious about a few other things: Which catcher has the best chatter behind the plate? And what do the first baseman and base runner talk about while they're standing over there at first? Which park has the best food? Which park has the worst bullpen areas (I noticed at Wrigley the other day they were thin little strips. Also heard on a broadcast that the architects forgot about bullpens when designing the park in San Francisco, so they're off to the sides also.) What are those seats atop the Green Monster like for viewing a game? Why are they still using phones that look like they were designed in the 1950s to communicate with the bullpen? I've notice that when pitchers throw to first to hold the runner, the catcher will, just prior to the throw, make a little hop to shift himself over to the first-base side of the plate. It's almost a bang-bang kind of thing. Is this one of the signs to throw to first?

Dice K vs. Kaz. That'll be a treat. I hope the Rays bats are patient. ... And I hope Kaz can keep his pitch count low enough that he'll last more than 5 innings.

Perfectly understandable. One of the mantras at this place I went to is this: There's no shame in falling off the horse. Just have the nuts to get right back up and try again. Also, as I'm sure you know, nicotine is a stimulant. Smoking only seems to calm you down because you're satisfying your dependence on nicotine. But it is a stimulant you're taking. Kind of an odd thing, when you think about it -- taking a stimulant to calm down. Thanks Bev. I began in childhood just like many of these kids you teach. And as I mentioned to Seeline, smoking is in many ways a juvenile behavior. An adult should realize that the product is simply a very harmful addiction (and now a very expensive one too) with no redeeming qualities at all. My understanding is that this combination of drugs is designed to significantly reduce the cravings and calm you down. I will have to be weaned off of the Chantix. I understand this. Someone else asked how often the initial shot is administered. It's just once (unless you relapse, I guess). It's odd, the success rate for this treatment is very high over the first few months, but for some reason a certain percentage of people go back to smoking after 6 months or a year. There is no physical addiction at that point. I think it's that old mental trick you play on yourself where you say, "I can quit anytime, so why not have just a puff or two now." The other mantra this place has is this: You are one puff away from being a pack-a-day smoker again. I can never have another cigarette. Fortunately, that's the way I want it.

Yes, they are powerful drugs. But the program is carefully designed and was recommended to me by my regular doctor (repeatedly).

Man, that's a terrible experience. This doctor I went to is a pulmonologist who has developed an injection that uses two medications: scopolamine, which is used in sea-sickness patches, and Atarax, which is an antihistamine. Together, they work to block the nicotine receptors in the brain. Very powerful injection. You feel drunk afterward. Someone has to drive you home and when you get home, you sleep through to the next day. Then, the day after the shot (today), I put a patch on behind one ear. The patches contain transderm-scop, which when used in conjunction with a medication called Chantix, works to continue to suppress any urges to smoke. Then I got some alprazonlam (generic substitute for xanax) to calm me down if I get edgy. All in all, pretty drugged up. But worth it, because I have had zero urges to smoke going on 30 hours now. They also give behavior modification suggestions to break up the "habit" pattern. Things like, take a shower first thing in the morning before you have a cup of coffee. Take a walk after dinner instead of going outside to light up. That sort of thing.

Happy birthday.

One thing that does work in my favor is that I don't drink (beyond the occasional glass of wine, which I can nurse for hours) and don't do any other drugs. So there won't be that pressure at a pub to sneak off and light up while I'm throwing back a brew. I hope I don't become one of those anti-smoking nuts, but I'm really coming to the belief that these things should not be legal. They are proven to be harmful to your health and they are highly addictive. But I know that's impractical. Super high taxes might do the trick. $10 per pack anyone?

Quitting cold turkey with no drugs takes enormous will, I would think. My motivation is pretty strong, so I'm confident that with the help of the drugs, I'll be over the physical addiction in two or three weeks. Then it's just a matter of never taking a single puff again, like an alcoholic with a drink. That was one of the main points the doctor stressed. He said, "You will never be a casual smoker, like the person who can have one or two on the weekends." I'm an addict, and a single puff will put me right back to a pack a day. The second thing he stressed was this: Cravings will come at some point, but they will only last 2 to 5 minutes, and then they'll disappear, whether you act on them or not. I found that a huge reassurance. Anyways, thanks for the encouragement fellas!