I had a lovely early evening sitting on my raised deck, watching the pond next to my house, and reading a little. We have two otters in the pond and a big turtle. I saw a heron in the pond a couple of days ago, along with a few swans. I am re-reading one of my favorite books, 'Ball Four' by Jim Bouton. It is the best book about baseball I have ever read. I knew that baseball has changed, but a lot of what made the book so good is still happening today. If you like baseball and have not read it, I highly recommend it. Also 'Moneyball' by Michael Lewis is a great baseball book too. I am reading SS stories too.

There are quite a few new members that have joined and written stories. Am I wrong in thinking we have gotten so many new members in the last three to four months compared to the site's recent history?

Everyone, have a wonderful week.

Sorry for my not being here lately. My brain has been off-line.

It is nice outside today. In the pond next to my house, I saw a heron and an otter today.

The Cubs are still struggling. I overestimated their ability to win by about six games. That would drop them from 1st to 4th place this year. They may have a fire sale to get rid of their high-paid player to get young prospects before the July 31st trade deadline.

Larry, sorry to see the Suns not win the series. They had a great run this year.

Way behind on my reading. I will try to catch up with my reading this weekend.

Best wishes to all!

I watched Richard Branson go into space with five others. I should have chosen billionaire as a career path after high school to make it into space.

Fittest players of any sport? Most physically strenuous sport to play?

Football (not US Stewie head-shaped throw ball) and hockey for the first question. Surprising to some, but not to those of us who played, squash was rated as the most physically taxing sport.

I guess the rough and tumble sport of curling did not make that list, but I still enjoy watching the stone traversing the pebble-strewn lane as the sweeper tries to direct it for the perfect curl with their brush on the hammer to reach the button for a winning end. Curling is the most exciting yet slow-moving game I have ever watched. My favorite sports in order are baseball, curling, hockey, and sumo wrestling.

Cool and overcast with showers again today. Birds are building a nest under the corner of my elevated deck again this year.

I watched 'The Tomorrow War' last night. It may have the most poorly thought-out plot idea I have seen in sci-fi in quite a while. It is not a time travel movie; it is an alternate reality movie. If you watch it, that will become very evident. The makers of the film were lazy. It is apparent in the writing and production values. To prevent spoilers, I will give an example that will not give away the plot. While in a wintery snow-covered location, they did not use special effects to provide fog to the actors' breaths. I would rate it a 5 of 10 myself, despite a decent acting job by Chris Pratt.

The coffee cake looks amazing, and I will have a piece to go with some herbal tea today.

Till later.

I hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start.

I scrapped my idea for the completion. Another story I wrote about a year ago was recommended to me. I decided not to enter it before because the site may not be able to post it. I am trying to fix it so that it will be allowed.

I am putting aside time during the next week to finally catch up with my reading. I am ten stories/poems behind.

I liked the weather here in Illinois today. I sat outside for two hours reading in 22c and cloudy conditions.

Green tea for me today as I talk with Molly. (we have a lot in common)

Later, alligators.
Afterwhile, crocodile.



I hope everyone's week is ending well and that you all have a fun and interesting weekend.

Bill, I am pulling for the Suns to sweep.

Ping, if you want to see giant mosquitoes try the Louisiana bayous. I had two of them land on me; one on an arm and one on a leg. The one on my arm said, 'Make a wish.' Those mosquitoes are regularly the length of your thumb.

Larry, I have not heard the term sun-dodger in a long time. Usually, they are called bubbleheads. My best friend is a bobblehead, I am a skimmer, worked with brown shoes and jarheads, and my father was a flyboy.

Jeff, remember when doubleheaders were scheduled, and you bought one ticket to watch both games?

It is quiet on the home front, and Liz is making significant progress with the new knee. Unfortunately, today will be the last sponge bath I get to give her. She can use the bath/shower from now on. I guess my cheap thrills are over until her next operation.

Green tea for me today.

What would you see if Pinocchio said to you, 'Watch my nose grow.'

Hello everyone.

We had some afternoon showers here today.

The Cubs have lost eleven in a row. Will this nightmare ever end? (*,)
No one can hurt you worse than family.

Liz is now hooked on watching 'Karen' videos.

I have started two stories, one of them for the competition.

I will have a ginger snap and tea, please.

I have started watching the show 'Dead Like Me.' My wife said we watched it when it came out in 2003. It is about a young woman who dies by getting hit by a toilet seat from the Mir space station. When she dies, she becomes a grim reaper and collects souls from people in Seattle, Washington. I have only watched the first two episodes, but I like its weird humor.

Hi everyone.

I would like to thank you for all of your input concerning rating stories on SS. I found it very useful.

Covid -19 deaths in the US are averaging about 220 a day now. Compared to the thousands a day losing their lives only a few months ago shows that, for the most part, the US has turned the corner. The vaccines seem to be doing the job. Covid-19 will probably be with us from now on just as our cases of flu are. Even the daily death totals around the world are continuing to lower, but we have now passed the four million worldwide death total. We have come a long way, but there are still huge areas of the globe that have vaccination rates below 20%. There are many on SS from all over the world. How are things going in your part of the world?

I am looking forward to seeing 'Black Widow' in theaters soon. I believe it is coming out Friday here in Illinois.

The weather is good and my youngest grandson is playing in the large blow-up pool on our back deck. He is such a happy child.

Liz started work today. She will be working from home until she recovers from her next operation in September.

I am going to watch last night's Cubs game at 3 pm. They have lost nine in a row (five by one run) and gone from 1st to 3rd place in the NL Central.

I hope everyone is well and happy. Assuming you want to be happy. I do not want to put undue pressure just in case you feel like having a sad or angry day.

Thank you both, Elizabeth and Trevor, for the good jokes.

I will have some milk and cookies, I hope you do not mind if I dunk. Till later.

On this day in 2014, The Brooklyn Cyclones, attracting a sellout crowd of 8,241 fans at MCU Park in Coney Island, celebrate the 25th anniversary of the debut of Seinfeld, an iconic sitcom about nothing that initially ran for nine seasons on NBC, from 1989 to 1998. The tribute to the iconic television series includes players taking batting practice in puffy pirate shirts, a low-talker announcer, an Elaine Benes dancing contest, a 'Magic Loogie' bobblehead of Keith Hernandez giveaway, and renaming the foul poles the Festivus poles. It was so popular that it is now a yearly event selling out early each year. (not including 2020 because no minor leagues played that year) The Cyclones were a class A (low) minor league team in the New York - Penn League affiliate of the New York Mets.

Buddy, scoring systems have been debated for many years, here and there. It is generally viewed as being flawed and imperfect. It must be noted that there is NO perfect system. There are many reasons as to why, and these can be discussed in more detail if desired. Bottom line: Nothing is gained by scoring anyone’s story or poem less than a fiver. But one risks unnecessarily pissing people off by scoring anything less. It’s just not worth it.

The best way one can show their support is by reading and commenting. Scoring the piece a five is good for optics but really means nothing. Scoring less means something. I strongly urge and advise you not to do the latter.

If you read something and truly feel it’s not five worthy, don’t score. In addition, don’t leave a negative comment. It too does not offer anything of value. If you want to relay your thoughts - negative or constructive - do so in a PM. Most writers, as fickle as most are, prefer that. Egos are a delicate thing. Which brings us back to the scoring. Being a flawed system that is easily manipulated, err on the side of caution. Fives or nothing. There is a valid reason admin here and there do not use scores to determine the success of competition stories. Some people, if you can believe their gall, low score fellow competitors’ stories and even elicit ‘friends’ with their nefarious albeit deluded scheme. It doesn’t work. Admin sees everything and adjusts accordingly.

Let the writers write. Let the readers read. Let the judges judge. Please don’t be that guy who scores stories any other way. Unless you can validate your reasoning with a detailed rubric, providing the author with particular scores on spelling, grammar, sentence structure, plot development, etc., stick to what you can justify - your opinion expressed in words, not numbers. I have several mathematics jokes, but I shall refrain.

I hope that helps.

Thank you, Ping. I have no idea how competition winners/runner-ups are chosen. BTW I enjoy math jokes. Please pass them on.

Three men had been friends for most of their lives, from elementary school through college. They had even been working at the same firm since graduation. In their late twenties, they decided to go on vacation together to a remote tropical resort. Their names were Dave, Jimmy, and Roland. On the third morning of their vacation, they decided to go jogging on the beach. As the three friends...

Added 05 Jun 2021 | Category Humor | Votes 19 | Avg Score 5 | Views 214 | 15 Comments

I have seen the enemy My foe, my cause to stop They are evil, no doubt irrational violence unending Their acts are heinous My anger hot as magma desirous of apoplectic revenge blackening my heart I cannot mirror their hatred Condemning my own soul Patience is my providence I will not mirror their evil Moving against my nemesis Determination as my sword The enemy is vanquished My...

Added 13 Apr 2021 | Category Poetry | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 177 | 7 Comments

The full moon was not high enough to illuminate the narrow back street lane of the town of Bliss. The unkempt condition of the boarded sidewalk was an indication of the populace. There are few good reasons for people to tread into rough portions of the town. A door opened, allowing a small slice of dim light to cut through the dark. The light was momentarily blocked by the body of a...

Added 26 Jan 2016 | Category Fantasy | Votes 21 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,376 | 9 Comments

As I sit and ponder my life, there are still times of real clarity. I have lived a lot. Thoughts come to me that I want to put down. Maybe I can look back on them or my family, especially my grandchildren, can read them, so they may have a better idea of who I was before I was sick. I will try to keep it short and try not to be preachy. So here I go. * * * * * * * * When we first...

Added 06 May 2015 | Category Musings | Votes 29 | Avg Score 5 | Views 2,576 | 14 Comments

The small town of Timothy was quite different than Beverly Arceneaux expected. On her way down from Baton Rouge, the Acadian communities were dirty and absent of business or population. In Timothy, by contrast, the main street was active and tidy. The small town hall had a landscaped front lawn and down the road was a nice family park. There was even a new diner that had apparently opened...

Added 05 May 2015 | Category Drama | Votes 23 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,284 | 9 Comments

I learned recently about what may be the earliest emoticon. It was interesting as I researched the information. I learned about history, typography, and how humans have changed their attitudes. It is all about an archaic typographical mark consisting of a colon followed by an en dash or em dash. It appears like this : – or : — and is referred to as ‘dog’s bollocks’ because of its resemblance...

Added 26 Feb 2015 | Category Musings | Votes 27 | Avg Score 5 | Views 3,475 | 11 Comments

Capt. April knew, with this disturbing news, he needed to rethink his original plan. There was no chance of outrunning the enemy and he had to consider them hostile. The consequences of doing otherwise and being caught off-guard could be catastrophic for both the EAS Stalwart and the Alliance. The Captain would do anything necessary to ensure the safety of his crew and ship, but he...

Added 15 Feb 2015 | Category Science Fiction | Votes 19 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,469 | 7 Comments

The snow fell and drifted covering everything Layers of a glistening milky white delight Watching nature's winter wonderland of snow Sitting quietly in awe of its unimaginable beauty With you by my side as we snuggled up tight The beauty outside could not compare with you I held your hand and let the warmth sooth me I ran two fingers across your angelic face The feel of your skin on mine...

Added 02 Feb 2015 | Category Poetry | Votes 24 | Avg Score 5 | Views 1,708 | 12 Comments

I love my wondrous life of joy, bliss and happiness  My many incredible adventures traveling the world  Meeting people of undeniable spirit, strength and charm  Witnessing the awe inspiring beauty of the natural world  I love my life, I can do nothing less I regret my prolonged life of misery and countless sorrows  My missed opportunities because fear and doubt ruled me  Disappointing...

Added 12 Jan 2015 | Category Poetry | Votes 33 | Avg Score 5 | Views 2,196 | 13 Comments

The Christmas present ticked me off! After twenty years of friendship, he knew how I felt about presents and Christmas. The wondrous ideal of love, family and religious worship, that Christmas is, was disappearing; being bastardized by the rapacious celebrations of today’s materialistic society. I abhor that loss of spirituality and introspection. How could he do this? But remembering...

Added 18 Dec 2014 | Category Micro Fiction | Votes 35 | Avg Score 4.24 | Views 1,736 | 13 Comments