Brad Ausmus

Brad Ausmus is going to be back with the Houston Astros in 2008. I am not particularly surprised, because the pitchers love to throw to him. I think his grasp of the game and knowledge of the hitters makes their job easier. I think Brad's playing time may be less next year if the young man, J. R. Towles, can live up to expectations offensively.

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Acknowledging Greatness

Acknowledging greatness is sometimes a bitter pill. That is the case for me with the Boston Red Sox of 2007. They completed the sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series last night. There are some who will point to the long delay the Rockies had to endure after having swept the D'backs. But the truth is that the Red Sox were the better team and they took care of business in a professional way in the Series!

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Berlin or Vienna?

I have traveled to Belarus on business several times. Each time I have found my self in hotels in Berlin or hotels in Vienna because the connections to Belarus are not as easy to make as to some other parts of Europe.

Unfortunately I have never had time to really visit the historical sites or take part in any of the cultural events in either Austria or Germany. Maybe one day I will get to go to ski in Austria or participate in OktoberFest in Germany. If I do, I will have to make arrangements in hotels in Berlin or hotels in Vienna well ahead of time because I want to be sure to have accommodations close to the places I visit and those may fill up early!

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Real Estate

I have been thinking a lot about retirement in the past few months, as I approach my 60th birthday. I have never paid serious attention to my investments, mostly letting the guy who manages my mutual fund be my advisor. I saw an advertisement for a real estate development that is being offered very near us. My interest is piqued.

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Grandpa's Cufflinks

When my grandfather died, as the first born grandson I was given his gold cufflinks. They are engraved with his initials, IDG, which are not my initials but I love to wear them. The only shirt I have with french cuffs right now is the one that I wear with my tuxedo, so the cufflinks only get worn to formal occasions. But that is okay, because that keeps them very special!

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Auckland

In my nearly sixty years, I have never been in the southern hemisphere, so I thought I would never have to be concerned with hotels in Auckland or anywhere else in New Zealand.

But now a couple who have been great friends of our family have been assigned by his company to the capital city of New Zealand for the next two years. And we are going to go down and visit them soon. We have been looking at Cheaper Than Hotels' web site to make Auckland Accommodation and compare prices and amenities of Auckland Hotels. We can hardly wait to make the trip.

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Stinkin' Sox

I did my best to pull the Cleveland Indians through against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. But the Stinkin' Red Sox won the last three games to win in the decisive seventh game. They now advance to the World Series against the Rockies!

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Unpleasant Topic

As unpleasant as the topic of a colon cleanse might be, it is one that should be considered by those who want to stay healthy and fit. Clearing the body of harmful toxins and wastes is a wise thing to do. It can help avoid not only constipation and gas problems, but also diverticulitis and even colon cancer. Co-Clean is a supplement that can achieve the goals of cleansing you need.

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Synovate

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it is the stock in trade for Synovte. They are a market research company that labels themselves as the world's most curious people. They strive diligently to find out the things the public likes and why they like it. Synovate then can provide the information to design and development groups and manufacturrers who in turn produce the things people want!

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Student Loans

Ideally one can get a college education in four years, and then spend a couple of years in graduate school getting the degree that will help them to advance his career more quickly. But even at that, with the cost of higher education skyrocketing, most students cannot afford to go to school without some financial aid.

Many take out a student loan for every semester they're in school. So at the end of six years when they finally go into the job market they are strapped on with several long for their education. It is intimidating at best. Most would benefit from student loan consolidation.

Student loan consolidation allows a college graduate to pay off his debt with one payment per month rather than several. Quite often the one payment is less than the total of the multiple payment.

So whether you you have unburdened by private student loans or government-sponsored loans you should check into consolidation.

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Amsterdam

I'm making plans for a mission trip to Minsk, Belarus. I found out one of the cheapest flights I can get will take me through Amsterdam. I will have to overnight there, but that is no problem because I have a friend who now is there. I will arrange to meet him for supper on that night.

My next step in preparation is to find out about hotels in Amsterdam. Fortunately I can go to a hotel club.net and check out their hotel deals for the night I'll be staying.

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Wholesale Clothing

Our congregation likes to participate in assisting those have been through tragedies, like hurricanes or floods or tornadoes. It is not uncommon for us to take up a collection that is substantial. Sometimes we send the money to a congregation in the stricken area to distribute. But we also like to get the most for our dollars, so often we will contact a wholesale clothing distributor, who gives us good prices and delivers the goods quickly to the congregation in need.

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Adelaide, Australia

Have a friend who spent several years as a missionary in Adelaide, Australia. He and his wife and only been married a short while when they left for that mission point. Their first son was born in Adelaide. To this day they still talk fondly of the people and the land, and removing returning to visit.

My friend used to subscribe to a newspaper from Adelaide. But now he just goes online to read all that he can about the area. Sometimes when I walk into his office, he is perusing the Adelaide classifieds. I have seen him scanning the section for jobs in Adelaide.

When I asked him if he is found anything in the section attractive enough to draw him, he says no. But he laughs and says that one his teenage son looks at the section for dating in Adelaide, he always find something attractive enough.

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21 of 22!!!

The Colorado Rockies are playing at an unbelievable level. They have won 21 of their last 22 games and are now one win away from the World Series. Last night, in cold damp weather, they beat the Diamondbacks 4-1, with journeyman Josh Fogg doing the pitching. Can they be stopped?

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Track Or A Football Game?

I took two of my grandsons to watch the football game between crosstown rivals Rice University and the University of Houston, for the coveted Bayou Bucket. After six plays the Houston Cougars were up 14-0. Then they had a couple of misplays and the Owls tied it up. But by the end of the FIRST quarter, the score was 28-14 Coogs.

But the turnover bug bit them and they were trailing 34-26 at the half and went down as much as 41-28 in the third quarter. But the explosiveness of UH was too much for Rice and the final score was 56-48 in favor of the Cougars.

To say the least, a wild game!

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Landscape lighting

My wife put a wrought iron glider in the front yard under a big crepe myrtle bush. There is path from the side walk to the glider. My wife wanted to make sure we could find our way to the glider in the evening so we could sit and swing in the cool darkness. She installed some solar powered landscape lighting to achieve the right effect!

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Taveras Scores!

The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks are in the fifth inning of game two of the NLCS and the Rockies just took the lead with a sacrifice fly from Todd Helton. Willy Taveras had walked, moved to second on a hit and then advanced on a fly ball by Matt Holliday. Go Rockies!

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