I recently washed one of my jackets to get it ready for autumn. I wore it to the UMass football game yesterday.

After the game, I met with some people who were having a cookout. Their fire was rather smoky. When I got home, my jacket smelled.

It was time to wash it again after wearing it only once. 

Over the last 46 years, I always traveled the same route whenever I went to UMass. My Garmin GPS suggested a different route for the last 15 miles. I never tried it until today. 

The ride was very scenic and extremely hilly. It was like being in the middle of nowhere. It must be very eerie at night.

I'll try it again during daylight hours,but never at night. 

I bought a new battery for my cell phone yesterday. It cost $42 to put one into my three year old Samsung Galaxy S5. 

It's ancient in the world of electronic devices, but does everything I need it to do.  

My phone has no trade-in value with Verizon. I waited too long, but that's no problem.

I'll keep my phone if I ever upgrade to another one.

The Boston television channels do such a lousy job with the evening news. Some of the stories are so lame. They fail to cover a lot of important news.

I wish they would stop interjecting their personal thoughts into their stories.

Tonight it was about the weather. It was a warm and rainy day. The leaves are falling as they always do in autumn. One reporter said how depressing it was to see that.

Someone needs to tell them that it happens every year at this time in New England. Their comments added nothing to the broadcast, but they do it all the time. 

The media always likes to make light of some stories that are serious to others. A recent one mentioned how an urn with someone's ashes showed up at a Salvation Army donation center. 

They were able to provide information about the deceased because his name was on the bottom, as well as dates of birth and death. He was a former veteran who died in 1981.

How could anyone be so callous about the remains of someone? I don't believe in storing cremated remains. They should either be scattered or buried, otherwise you end with a situation like this.

People come up with some strange names for their kids. The popular ones of today are nothing like when I was young.  

Nothing surprises me today, but I heard of a kid whose name was Allegra. It immediately brought to mind the pharmaceutical that I see in ads. Why would anyone give their child a name like that? 

Politicians come up with a lot of bad ideas. It doesn't matter if it's on the local, state or federal level.  

One local guy wants to balance the city budget by allowing people to donate money and name a school classroom after someone. He also wants to include playgrounds and other public areas.

This is such a poor idea on many reasons. He proposed it without any specifics. How much money would one need to donate? How long is the honor good for? How do you screen the people who get honored? Can you name a parking lot after someone? 

We always hear about thinking outside the box, but this is crazy. 

We all have things that we would never do. I will never understand why people pick up stray dogs and bring them home. They later post a picture on Facebook. 

In many cases, their owners are found. They are much braver than me. I would never trust a stray dog, especially in my car. 

I read a great review about a documentary based on the New York Public Library. It's being shown at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where I have a membership.

Unfortunately, it lasts 3:17. That's a long time to sit for a movie. It would be great to watch it on line because I could take breaks and view it at my leisure.