Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 1:30 a.m. in "The City."

We had an interesting day here @ the PE yesterday. Collectively, we learned that the latest attempt to increase the range of our WiFi did not go as planned, so the latest range expander is already on its way back to the big-box on-line e-tailer.

However, in the process, we learned that a hard-wired connection between the existing range extender and Mary's computer boosted the download speed from a little over 20 Mbps to a shade over 50 Mbps. Mary likes to call the Mbps "Mega Bips." Good enough for me.

By comparison, my computer which is hard-wired directly to the WiFi router itself has download speeds of nearly 65 Mbps. Sadly, the internet provider promises speeds of only 60 Mbps or better. Oh well, what can you do except grin and bear it here in the U.S.A with our "exceptional" internet capabilities. In much of Europe and Asia, the speeds are generally faster.

Sports news yesterday was a 50/50 split. The Cubs and starting pitcher  Jon Lester were locked in a pitcher's duel through the first seven innings. Lester was lifted for a pinch hitter and then the relief corps loaded the bases and the winning run was pushed in on a miscue by the combo of 3rd baseman Javier Baez and 2nd baseman Ben Zobrist. Both men took the blame, but the truth is that Zobrist should have been playing closer to second base with the bases loaded. The winning run was scored by an infield single.

The final score was 0 - 1. The Cubs still have a solid, 1st place 14 game lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central with a record of 82 - 47. The Cubs are home tonight @ 8:05 EDT against the 3rd place Pirates.

The Tigers were never in their game against the Angels @ Comerica Park. They fell hard to the Angels of Anaheim by a final score of 0 - 5. That loss still leaves the Tigers in 2nd place in the AL Central, with a record of 69 -61. That other team from Chicago comes to town tonight for an 8:05 EDT game. That other team has an AL Central record of 63 - 66 and like many teams, they will be going home for the post-season.

My beloved Red Sox were looking good until the bottom of the 6th inning with a 4 - 2 lead, when the red-hot Royals scored 8 runs to take a 10 - 4 lead that proved to be the final score in this battle of AL East teams. The bright spot was the 534th home run by David "Big Papi" Ortiz, which tied him with Sox great Jimmie Foxx. Sadly, the Sox are now in 2nd place, 2.0 games behind the division-leading Blue Jays. The Sox welcome the Rays to Fenway tonight  @ 7:05 EDT.

The Caps won yesterday over the Ft. Wayne TinCaps by a final MWL League score of 7 - 3. That win still leaves the Caps in 6th place with a 13 game deficit to the division-leading Bowling Green Hot Rods. The Caps are @ the TinCaps tonight @ 7:05 EDT.

I didn't really get to the things on my to-do list yesterday. We took the morning safari with STWD and to the Baker's Wife for some bread. Then Mary and I attempted that aforementioned improvement in the WiFi speed here at the PE. Once we determined that the latest extender should go back, I went to the man-cave to repackage it for return. That was supposed to be a two-minute activity that somehow morphed into nearly two hours of activity. So I never got to the girls, I never got to the planned reading of my novel and the Grand Haven Tribune, nor the hoped for R & R.

However, I loved my time in the man-cave while Mary made progress on the planning for our upcoming trips to Detroit and the East Coast. She crafted lunch and dinner while I was in my own nether-domain. I returned for lunch and to assist in the final planning, which we'll complete later today.

We did walk downtown to drop off the return and then stopped @ the Post for a few adult beverages.

Also later today, Mary has plans to go the Four Pointes Center for Successful Aging for a class while I go for my haircut and a bike excursion. She also plans to go the grocery store for some needed supplies. I'm hoping to get to those postponed activities after I return.

The current temperature is 65° under fair skies. We have a less than 10% chance of showers for the balance of this week, so I also have to get to the watering too. Today the high temperature is forecast to be 85° under sunny skies. That sun will rise @ 7:06 EDT and set @ 8:23 EDT. Ciao.