Here's the Scoop by Brian Sweeney

Patching things up
Five months from now, I’ll be glad I made this effort. Right now, it’s just a pain in the….neck, arms, back and probably a few additional places. But when Halloween rolls around, I will proudly display the pumpkins I grew. Hopefully.

Necessity is the mother of invention
Those of you who are easily grossed out (I fit that bill) should stop reading here. I learned this week that a Roxbury resident has become a star on the Internet because of a blanket he invented. This isn’t your everyday blanket. And it’s apparently not going to replace the Snuggie (another great concept that I wrote about awhile back) in homes across America.

You don’t say...
When I go online, it’s sometimes interesting to click on the stories that the Home Page folks have deemed important. Just last week, there was a headline that screamed out at me: “The Worst Words to Say at Work.”
I naturally figured that I knew all of these — and a few more.

Hot dog! That’s a great idea
As a general rule, I hate Internet advertising. These ads are a little too “in your face” for me. Plus, there’s the indisputable fact that newspaper ads are the only ones that work.

Blasts from the past
I’m not really a Classic Rock kinda guy. To me, Classic Rock equals Nostalgia which equals Old. I have my knees to give me the age message, I don’t need my ears echoing this reality.
As a result, I have a stereo cabinet filled with discs that I have played countless times, but most of which I no longer load into the disc player.

Seedy neighborhood
On occasion, I have updated fascinated readers with The Bird Situation at our house. Since many of you have written to me seeking the latest news, I felt obligated to include another installment.
I suppose, if I were a cool tech-head, I could merely go on Twitter and “Tweet” about these bird-related events — it seems that would be very appropriate indeed. But I can’t get paid for that type of communication, so the latest news will appear here.

Read the fine print...if you have time

Pick it up
Walking and Stalking Season is now officially open. Before you get the wrong idea, I should clarify, that the “Stalking” I’m referring to is not the fun type that eventually leads to restraining orders and movie-of-the-week subject matter.

Analyze this
When I grow up, I have decided that I want to become an analyst. I’ll admit that I’m entirely sure what an analyst does, but that doesn’t seem to matter very much.

Old-school memories
As I glanced at my incoming e-mail last week, a familiar name flicked past. If the e-mail was from whom I thought it was from, it had been three decades since I’d been in touch with this person (or since he’d heard from me).
Sure enough, “Little Rhodie” was the e-mail author.