We’ve decided that we want to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn by the ballpark, as it would reduce the stress of driving back and forth every game, plus it’s a nice hotel and we like it. We live about an hour away.

But the problem is that if we wait too long to book a room, there might not be anything left. With the playoffs, no doubt there will be more people coming into town for the games, including Trenton Thunder fans who come up here to cheer on the Baby Y*****s, as well as more media people than usual. I know for a fact that most of the fans of out-of-town teams DO stay in this particular hotel; we see them there all the time. But even those who would never come up for a regular series between the ‘Cats and the Thunder, just might for playoffs. And they will choose this hotel for its close proximity and free parking (the Radisson that’s a few blocks away charges for parking in the garage there). Nobody is looking for amenities such as the fanciest bathroom fans or anything – it’s all about location, location, location!

So what I ended up doing was booking a room at the HGI for BOTH possible playoff scenarios. If the Fisher Cats finish in first, the home games would be on Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, and then again on Sunday, September 12 (if necessary) So we would stay at the hotel on Wednesday and Thursday, go home on Friday, and then drive up for the day on Sunday. We’d be in town on Sunday anyway, as the Wild Rover Pub Celtic Festival is that day, and we’re going. Mike will be getting his head shaved for St. Baldrick’s Day, and all donations to the cause are welcome, BTW! Just click on the St. Baldrick’s link to see his official donation page. The game would be in the evening.

Should the ‘Cats finish in second, the home games would be on Friday, September 10 and Saturday, September 11. We’d be staying over on Friday and Saturday nights, then going to the Celtic Fest on Sunday, before heading home.

Once we know which of the scenarios above will take place, there will still be enough time for me to cancel the other reservation and not be charged. And if the Fisher Cats do make it to the finals, we know for sure when the home games will be – Thursday, September 16, Friday, September 17, and Saturday, September 18. Once it gets closer and we see that the Fisher Cats have a chance of making it that far, I can book the room then, and once again, cancel if it falls through.

But let’s hope it doesn’t. GO FISHER CATS!

We have tickets for Sunday.  The game is scheduled for 1:05 PM, but we plan to get there very early, otherwise, we’ll have to park a mile away.  At the last game we went to at McCoy, Josh Beckett was doing a rehab stint.  We got there early, before the ballpark opened at 11:05 AM, but the PawSox parking lot was already full.  However, we were still able to park not too far away on the street, for free.

If you have General Admission tickets (probably all that’s left right now), that’s another reason to arrive early.  GA seats are first-come, first serve, so if you want the best seats, you have to get there early.  Some of the GA seats are obstructed-view, behind the press box, and they suck.

Remember that General Admission seats do NOT include the green and red seats, those are reserved and more expensive.  If you sit there and are not ticketed there, you will be asked to move when the people who ARE ticketed for them arrive.  Then you may be stuck in the sucky obstructed-view seats, because all of the good ones will be taken.  GA seats are the blue seats, the outfield bleachers, and the grassy berm area.

Unless you have been living under a rock, if you live in Massachusetts, you know of the upcoming tax-free holiday weekend.  But you know that the stores will be mobbed, and besides, you know you’d much rather go to the PawSox games to see Pedey, right?  But did you know that the tax-free thing also applies to online shopping?  Any company that does business in Massachusetts at all, even if it’s just a small satellite office or warehouse, must collect sales tax even on online orders that will be shipped to Massachusetts.  Buy.com is one such company; when I order from them, they always collect the 6.25% sales tax.

But they do have the best prices on computers, other electronics, appliances, and much more.  Take a look at this little V-Net netbook – can you believe that it is on sale for under $100?  There is a FREE shipping option, too.  So if you buy it this weekend, you’ll just be charged the going price, no shipping, no sales tax.  Hopefully there will still be some left by tomorrow!

This netbook is not designed to be your primary computer.  It’s designed for “on-the-go”.  It’s WiFi capable, has an MP3 player built in, as well as a PDA, a Game Player, and some business software.  It would be good if your primary goal is to have an inexpensive machine for surfing the ‘net and checking your email while traveling.  For the price, you really can’t go wrong.

So, avoid the madness that will be at the stores and malls this weekend, and shop, tax-free, in your underwear at Buy.com!

They are selling tickets to all six possible home playoff games now.  For an explanation of how the playoffs will work, go HERE.  Please disregard the dates that are on the tickets if you buy online and print the tickets at home, exact dates will depend on how the Fisher Cats finish the season.  They have a clear explanation on the ticket-buying page, as well, so please read it first.  It makes sense just to go ahead and buy for all six potential games now, as I just did; if any are not played, you can either get a refund or a credit for tickets for the 2011 season.  Since we already ordered season tickets for next year, we’d just have them put the credit toward tickets for the 2011 All-Star Game, and refund any difference.  But we shall see how it goes.

So, as we’re gearing up for playoffs, it’s important to keep all of your mobile electronics properly charged, or else you’ll miss out on taking great pictures at the games and posting them to Facebook and all.  If you have an iPhone, check out this neat little charging dock with a mini-battery pack (pictured above).  This will not only charge your iPhone, but the additional battery pack, as well.  So if your regular battery dies, you can just plug in the mini-battery pack, and you have power again!  This also works for the iPod Touch and pretty much all other iPods.  It’s on sale right now for under $40, but there is a $15 mail-in rebate.  FREE shipping, too.

If you just spent all your money on those playoff tickets and are looking for something that costs less, may I suggest this iPhone Power Station.Backup Battery?  Less than ten bucks, and it will charge up your iPhone or iPod when you are away from a computer or a power outlet.  This one will also work with all iPods, including the Touch and the older versions.  Yes, I’m a dinosaur, I have and still use an iPod Classic, with video.  The video does suck up a lot of juice, so either one of these chargers would be good to have.  On this less expensive one, you need to charge it up by plugging it into your computer with your iPod/iPhone’s USB dock cable.  Once it is all charged up, you are good to go!  This little charger also has a nifty feature that shows you how much juice you have left in your device.

Sometimes I wish I had an iPhone.  But I am very resistant to signing a contract; maybe someday the iPhone will be available on a no-contract plan.  Hey, it could happen; the carrier I’m using, Virgin Mobile, has recently started offering the Crackberry Curve, and other no-contract carriers are starting to offer smartphones, as well.  Right now I’m not even sure I want to stay with Virgin Mobile, not if I keep having problems with the Opera Mini 5 mobile browser, not if I keep having trouble sending and receiving stuff to and from Facebook.  But then again, I’m not locked into a contract, I am always free to go elsewhere if I decide I’m not happy.

But many people DO have iPhones, and since you spent a fortune to get them, at least there is a place where you can find inexpensive accessories for it!

But now I can just go to South Station, catch the bus, and Mike can leave work at the regular time and drive straight to the ballpark, and meet me there.  We’ve been giving this a trial run this season, and since it’s working very well, we are going to go ahead and get the 2011 season tickets as soon as they go on sale.

The Boston Express Bus has some nice features, such as free on-board WiFi, and power outlets at some seats.  These are clearly marked above the seats, and if you get in queue to board the bus early enough, you can get first dibs on one.

I have an Amazon Kindle, and when I rode the bus yesterday, it was nice to be able to plug it in and not worry about running down the battery during the trip (which took longer than expected, due to that pesky pothole on I-93 North in Medford).  Now there is another pesky pothole, in the same area, so I’ll be expecting buses to take detours and be delayed.  Not only do I read books on Kindle, but I also make use of its free 3G wireless feature to check email and Facebook, and check into places on Foursquare.  Using the wireless, however, runs down the battery faster.

I also have an iPod.  Both the Kindle and the iPod/iPhone (also works with the Android phones, or so it says) can be charged using the USB cords or regular AC plugs.  Since there is only one outlet at the bus seat, you used to have to choose which device to charge, if you are using more than one at the same time.  But not if you have this clever 2 USB port travel adapter (pictured above)!  The USB cords are not included, but that doesn’t matter, as iPods and Kindles come with these.  I’m going to be getting one, as it will not only come in useful on the bus, but also anyplace where there are not enough power outlets to charge my vast collection of portable electronics.

You can also get a similar device for use with the power outlet in the car, get one right here.  I’m getting one of those, too.

If you do any traveling by car, you are a fool if you do not keep a set of jumper cables in the trunk.  We do, and they’ve saved our asses on more than one occasion.  The jumper cables pictures here are made by Michelin, a trustworthy brand, and are on sale for under $20, with a FREE shipping option available.  It’s a very small price to pay for peace of mind, way cheaper than calling a tow truck.  Unless you are out in the middle of nowhere, you can always find someone to give you a jump so you can be on your way.

In other news, the Fisher Cats have announced that playoff tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, August 10.  There is almost no doubt now that they will indeed be seeing the post-season; we just don’t know yet exactly WHEN the home games will be.  This will depend on whether the Cats finish in first or second, and perhaps on the ending numbers for the teams in the other division.  I plan to snag our seats ASAP, and then plan from there as to when we’ll need to book a room at the Hilton Garden Inn, when we know when the games will be played in Manchester.  NOTHING can keep us away from this!

Just go to the ticket-buying page, select the game you want to go to, and then enter BOGO where it says to enter a special offer code, and hit “SUBMIT”.  Then when you go to check out, you will see that you will be charged for only one free ticket for every two you select.  What a great deal!

Just so you know, the August 4th game is a 12:05 game, and it’s Camp Day.  This means that there will be many, many busloads of kids descending upon the Dot that day.  Afternoon games are nice, and in fact, I went to one last Wednesday, when it was also Camp Day.  You can read all about it HERE.  So I would suggest that if you wish to take advantage of the sale for this game, and are coming with no kids in tow, just buy the cheapest ticket they have ($6).  It doesn’t matter where the seat is, because no matter how much you spend on a ticket on Camp Day, there is no escape from the bratty kids.  The cheap ticket will get you into the ballpark, then you can just go to the Sam Adams Bar & Grill and watch the game from there in relative peace.  Even if you do as I did and buy a more expensive seats, trust me, you’ll end up at the Sam bar sooner than later on Camp Day.

We’re going to the Tuesday night game, which is NOT covered in the sale, so I’ll skip Camp Day this week, thank you very much!

Too bad there’s not enough time now to look at some camera reviews, as it would be nice to have a nice digital camera to take pictures of the stars of the future.  After all, current Sox players such as Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Kevin Youkilis got their starts down on the Cape!

Events like this and the Futures at Fenway game are often the only way that some families can afford to go to Fenway at all.  Video cameras are allowed in the ballpark, so if you go, you’ll want to film the highlights of your visit, to share with family and friends.  After all, how often can you really afford to visit Fenway Park?  Make sure you walk around to Ipswich Street and see the new “Teammates” statue, that features Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio.  Another reason to bring your camera equipment, you’ll want to take pics of it, for sure!

Don’t know if we’re going or not…I’m going to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats game tomorrow.  But that is an afternoon game, so I’ll be back by then.  I’ll have to see if Mike feels like going.

Order your tickets now by going HERE.

So I was just browsing around, looking to see what is on sale at Buy.com this week, if they have anything I can use. Sure enough, they do…this nice little netbook case.  It’s not just for netbooks, it’s the right size for the iPad, as well.  If you’re gonna spend that much money on something, you really need to have some sort of protective case for it.

I don’t have an iPad, but I do have one of these Asus netbooks.  I highly recommend them, I’ve had mine for about a year now, and no problems with it at all.

I often take the Boston Express Bus up to Manchester for Fisher Cats games during the week.  It makes sense, because then Mike can just head straight up there after work, he would not have to backtrack by going home to get me, then turning right around and heading north again.  We live in Malden, he works in Andover.  The bus has free WiFi, so I like to carry the netbook along for something to do.  I was carrying it in my freebie Fisher Cats tote bag, but that’s not really a good idea, as it has no protective padding.  It IS waterproof, though.  This little case would be easier to carry, it slings right over the shoulder, so it’s hand-free; very convenient when using public transit.  There should also be enough room for a mouse, a spare battery, and the power cord, and probably my Kindle in its own case.  Sometimes the free WiFi doesn’t work, so the Kindle is useful, I have tons of stuff to read on that.

And since it’s hands-free, I can still carry my little Red Sox purse with my wallet, camera, etc.

It’s a great price, and there’s a FREE shipping option, so I think I’ll order it now.  Oh, and, the Fisher Cats rain delay is finally over!

It’s not that nobody is in town.  The Sea Dogs are, and I checked to see what seats are still available.  Pretty much nothing but the dreaded General Admission; I don’t think so.  Not going to drive two hours to sit in those crap seats next to all of the unruly families with bratty kids.  So scrap that.

The Lowell Spinners are also in town.  I checked their site a couple of weeks ago, and they actually did have a few decent seats still available, reserved, on the aisle as we like them.  I actually almost bought them, but thought better of it.  It would probably end as every other Spinners game we’ve ever been to has ended for us – with us leaving in disgust due to kids running around everywhere, climbing on the seats and the railings, kicking us in the head and knocking  over our food and beer.  And no one does a damned thing about it.  I’ll never understand how some people say that LeLacheur Park is a good place to watch a game, because it’s never been that way for us.  Still, I sometimes want to give them yet another chance, but Mike is dead set against it.  I know…there are always kids running around at any ballpark, but for some reason, this place is worse than others.  I think it’s because they market more to young families than they do to people who actually want to watch baseball.

Well, there is the Cape Cod League, but driving all the way to the Cape on a weekend takes forever and is a pain.  Everyone else is out of town.  So no baseball games to go to this weekend, only on TV and radio.  Maybe this would be a good time to catch up on all of those books I’ve been meaning to read.

On Sunday, Mike wants to go up to Kennebunk, to the Seashore Trolley Museum.  This sort of confuses me.  As I said, he’s more adamant than I am about never going to a Spinners game again, but the trolley museum has just as many unruly kids running around as does a typical Spinners game.  I’d actually rather go to the Spinners game, because baseball is far more interesting to me than old trolley cars.  But the only reason I go along with this is because I get to go to Federal Jack’s Brewpub afterward.  And trust me, beer is much needed after a few hours at this museum!  But I can always bring some of those books with me, to read when I get bored.

At least next week will be back to baseball as usual, next weekend’s game will be the Brockton Rox.  And all will be well with the world.

What to do?  Well, there are always spray-on repellents – Deep Woods Off works great, but some people don’t like the way it feels on their skin.  Mike doesn’t like ANY product on his skin at all, I have to force him to use sunscreen.

As for the skeeters, maybe this mosquito shield thingy might be the answer.  It’s not very big, it measures 4 inches wide by eight inches tall…small enough to fit under your seat at the ballpark.  And it runs on batteries so it’s completely portable.

It provides protection from the little buggers for up to 40 hours per cartridge (the machine comes with two), and provides a six-foot circle of protection – so the people sitting near you might appreciate it, too.  It uses 100% citronella, no nasty chemicals, so it is completely safe to use pretty much anywhere.

With the seemingly never-ending heat wave, I sure could use a little clip-on desk fan like this one.  Even with air-conditioning, it is still too hot in here.  This fan is safe to use around kids and pets, because the blades are made of fabric, so even if someone touches them while the fan is operating, little fingers or paws will not get lopped off.

I just wish this came with a battery-operated function.  It would be n ice to take to the ballpark this weekend, when it’s going to be wicked hot.  A couple of years ago, I bought one of those squirt bottles with a battery-operated fan on it, at the ballpark, but it was really flimsy and it broke.  I guess that’s the idea, so that you’ll fork over another ten bucks for another one on the next hot day.

Anyhoo, both of these items are on sale this week at Buy.com, both with a FREE shipping option. Get ‘em while they are still available!

Come on up to MerchantsAuto.com Stadium for the game on Friday, July 16, buy your tickets online, and get $3.00 off any box, field box, or premium box seat.  Just go to this page, enter special offer code TGIF and hit submit.  Then you can choose what seats you’d like, and print your tickets at home so you don’t have to wait in the will call line!  It’s easier than going to the drugstore to fill prescriptions for prenatal vitamins. No muss, no fuss, no long lines!

This special offer is good from right now, until noon on Friday, July 16, so hurry if you’d like to take advantage of it!