I got in and got my tickets within about 3 minutes. But I honestly think it was just luck. On the laptop I had a few tabs going, but Firefox kept stalling during pre-game warmups. So I left those few going and went over to Chan's computer (I'm at Chan's house) and started opening a boatload of windows. As I'm doing that, I hear the haunted concerto of Tessies...coming from the laptop! It was like 10:02, 10:03 latest, because I had my confirmation screen at 10:07.

And here's Chan's computer, still with all the little men at the end of the line, in "square one."

And again, all the Tessies played at once. I got through not by window or tab, but by computer (or, my isp address or whatever--by browser most likely, actually). Just lucky.

Hope you had good luck too, and hope you got that Sunday Mariners game, because it seemed QUITE popular! (My next two choices were readily available in the fairly cheapo sections I wanted, though.)

My main advice about the ticket sale: don't forget about the phone option.

As for the other stuff, in the Maypril sale we suddenly were dealing with haunted concertos, and I feel like it's more like Ticketmaster now, where opening multiple windows doesn't do anything for you because it knows you by you're ISP or something. But of course tomorrow will be another chance to research that. The one thing I'll do differently is starting with direct links to games I want, which are easy to figure out now. I didn't have them before the last sale, so all T links went to the calendar page where you'd then have to find your game. Even with the link, though, it still might spit me to that same calendar once I get through. We shall see.... Good luck.

[Update, 5:19 pm: It's already doing just what I thought. They've got the Ts up for the summer games, and they all redirect to the calendar page. However, if you know the direct link to each summer game, those still take you their normal pages. We'll see if this makes a difference tomorrow.

Another new thing is having premium seats for sale right on each game's ticketing page. I noticed some Pavilion Club seats up there for $170--now they've got those, and presumably others if available, for sale below the regular tix. The green box tells you (example).]

The worst instructional video of all time.

Season two of my TV show begins! Feel free to subscribe to my channel, thanks.

7:10 weeknights and non-Fox Saturdays, 1:35 Sundays. I guess some Saturday non-Fox games are 1:10, too. I like. But they did confirm what I was saying earlier about the Cubs series by casually mentioning that all three games of the weekend series will be, terribly, at night.

And the eight weekday afternoon games (which I showed you on December 9th) are confirmed, too.

Joy of Sox asked the question of his readers, so I figured I'd do the same. Tell me in comments how and when you first found out about this blog.

Bonus fun: every person who comments on this post will be entered into a contest. Haven't done one of those in a while! Details to follow. {Update, 2/6: Contest is over, but feel free to still enter your comment.]

(See Joy Boy's reader results here.)

You know what should be illegal? Waiters/waitresses taking orders without writing it down! Who do these people think they are? We're all sooo impressed with your incredible memory...and yes, remembering 90% of ten items is impressive--but this is a job that requires 100% accuracy! Just grab a pen! You're just aching to disappoint everybody! And not only that, when we see no pen and pad, we're less likely to ask for everything we want, since we know you're gonna forget some of it anyway!

Here's a good prank. Next time you get a no-pad waiter, just keep ordering things and don't stop. "I'd like a cheeseburger, well done, with mustard, ketchup on the side, cole slaw on a plate, some clams, a veggie wrap with three mushrooms cut in half and no sour cream, a diet Coke with no ice, a side of fries, and, actually, I'll order my dessert now...." See how long it takes before they go, "you know what..." and then be like, "Yeah, I thought so, I'll be right here when you get back." And then when they come back with a legal size pad and a paint brush, just say, "I'm not hungry anymore. Can I just get some water?"

When dealing with these padless porters, at the end of your meal, remember *most* of the payment process, forgetting only one little thing, the tip.