dr. b

I was just reading an article on The Athletic re: the universal DH and Jayson Stark presents an interesting idea: That's a really interesting concept that could help to restore the importance of starting pitchers in today's game. It's hard to say though if this rule would have the best interest of starting pitchers in mind. More innings and more pitches can be harmful to a pitcher's arm with the way the game is played these days with 100 mph fastballs and max effort style pitching. The proposed rule obviously incentivizes leaving a starter in as long as possible I kinda like the idea though.

I checked out the first episode of Project Scard last night. I'm not in love with the art style even though in some ways the visuals are nice. The characters seemed very bland though. There are some interesting ideas in this show, but the ways it's all presented came across as rather uninteresting to me. I'll give it another try next week and see what happens.

Stray Dogs Wan! #1 -- 11 minute episodes so I might watch a bit more, but it was not very amusing. I did lol pretty hard re: Dazai's suicide locker though Wonder Egg Priority #1 -- I'm still not entirely sure what the heck I just watched, but I'm intrigued enough to watch a couple more episodes. It's a very pretty looking show. Weird but pretty dark premise

The explanation was just renovations and building improvements. I didn't bother asking for specifics. Rent is quite a bit higher in Canada, at least in Southern Ontario. I can only dream of rent as low as the numbers you and Mera'din mentioned

Yeah the first episode of Kemono Jihen was pretty good. It had an almost cinematic quality to it. I especially liked the feel/atmosphere of the first half of the episode. The second half of the episode got a little darker than I was anticipating. Hopefully the series doesn't get too heavy like that. I'm adding it to my queue and will keep up with it at least a couple more weeks to see how it goes.

Are you streaming on Twitch?

I noticed both of those on Funi last night, might check them out tonight. I'm not sure if I'm up for an isekai this season unless it's really good, but it doesn't hurt to check out one episode. Kemono Jihen might be a winner though

SnK #64 Everything I've read online says the final season will be 16 episodes, but... there's lots left to happen yet. I hope the final episodes don't feel rushed. Or maybe that number 16 is wrong? I dunno.

SK?? #1 -- Kinda ridiculous, seems like it won't be very good. But I'll give it another chance because there was some good music, a bit of decent skateboarding action, and one of the main characters is Canadian

I haven't done this in a while! 1) Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythmic Adventure Pack #1 This was originally a 3DS game (Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jik? Daib?ken). Story Mode was a fun romp through space-time. A simple RPG. You go through different eras, do Taiko battles and catch monsters. The final boss was actually pretty tough. Great fun. I haven't cleared every song in Taiko Mode, but some songs just plain aren't fun to play / listen to. I don't need to 100% it. Soon I will move along to the second Rhythmic Adventure game.

Found out today that my rent is going up by approx. $25 / month on May 1st. Every year like clockwork I get a notice in January that rent will be going up in May. It's never been a major amount, usually an extra $20-30 / month. I thought this year would be an exception because rents are supposed to be frozen in the province of Ontario right now... but there is a loophole that allows landlords to still increase rent to cover costs of building renovations and improvements. $25 / month ain't going to break the bank so there's no sense in arguing it with the management company, but it's kind of a shitty thing to do to people right now.

Here's hoping she doesn't turn into a crocodile or grow a beard Seriously though, that's cool. I don't think I know anybody up here who's had the vaccine. I don't really have any friends or relatives that are at the front of the line for it.

Back Arrow #1 -- Looks like it could be pretty fun. Briheights are nifty. I haven't watched a mecha show in a while so I'll stick with it. Horimiya #1 -- A mixed bag but enough to keep me interested for another week. Hoping for more of the lighthearted / funny / random stuff and less of the somewhat cringe-y teenage romance stuff.

Still a little early to call it yet, but they're looking pretty good right now!

First episodes of SK? and Horimiya are coming up this weekend, I think they'll both be going live on Funi sometime Saturday morning. Gonna check them out after the kids are in bed tomorrow night

I heard on the radio a few days ago that a hospital in London, ON. (about 90 minutes drive west of where I live) is now temporarily storing bodies in a refrigerated truck outside because the morgue is at full capacity. Apparently the capacity is not very high in that morgue, so maybe it sounds a bit more shocking than perhaps it truly is... but still, that ain't something they normally have to do. Quite a few people have died from COVID-19 recently

It certainly is pervasive.

Today: Ontario reports record 4,249 new COVID-19 cases ICU admissions hit new record high Premier Doug Ford is promising further restrictions coming for Ontario, as the province reported a record 4,249 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. "We're in a desperate situation, and when you see the modelling, you'll fall out of your chair," Ford said. "There will be further measures, because this is getting out of control." Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, agreed with that assessment. "I think we do need to consider more serious measures, perhaps similar to what happened in the spring," she said. "Today's numbers, to be frank, are scary." ... I could keep going, but that's enough for now. I'm glad I have booze waiting for me at home tonight

Yeah, I think all the COVID doom and gloom + incessant coverage of goings-on in U S and A [ + my god damn Raptors are killing me with their terrible play ] would drive a lot of people to drink / self-medicate I am not using these things as an excuse though. Please win a game already, Raps

I've been doing pretty OK on that front as well, I think.

Dang. Mets are getting Lindor and Carrasco from Cleveland Your Mets are really having a great time since Cohen bought them, gralic. It's killing me to see the Padres and Mets really going for it like this when I hoped that I would be seeing the Jays making these kinds of moves this winter. Toronto totally has the flexibility to do it, and I think they've been trying - and of course the winter ain't over yet - but so far they haven't added much. I'm 100% on board the Padres bandwagon this year, but I will pull for the Mets too. I want to see more teams trying to win like this and not just dumping salary. Also Cleveland is a damn joke. They're absolutely gutting that team. edit: Also also about the Padres recent acquisitions: Why were there not more teams in on acquiring these guys? It's pretty nuts to me that SD could make these big acquisitions at a relatively low cost to their farm system. Normally the price tag would be higher. Good on them for making the deals and improving the team. I just don't get why more teams are not trying harder to win.

Akudama Drive was an anime original, not inspired by a manga or other source material, so the anime is all you get (unless it was popular enough for the creators to make a spin-off of some sort)

Pretty damn exciting first episode back for Neverland

Forgot to mention: I also really liked Hoodlum and Brawler's part of the story. It was pretty predictable how things were going to go with Hoodlum at the end there, but it was satisfying all the same.

I finished Akudama Drive last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Guess I'll spoiler my thoughts on it just in case: