Last night, the San Diego Padres clinched another trip to the playoffs. For years, I had waited through the really bad years for them to go to the playoffs. The first time they had done it was in 1984 (I was in the seventh grade) and they weren’t able to make it into the playoffs again until 1996 (where they quickly lost).

The second time in history that the Padres ever went to the World Series was in 1998–as fate would have it that was my first year in England and I sat bleary eyed in the middle of the night watching baseball (then trying to stay awake through the work day at Barclays Capital in London). They lost the series in four straight games.

Tonight will determine whether they’ve won the division or will be the wild card.

Now it’s back to the playoffs. It’s worth the fatigue.

The photo above is from Associated Press. Here’s the story:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20060930-1657-bbn-padres-diamondbacks.html

If you write a blog, I highly recommend the Windows Live Writer. I’ve used RandyRants as a offline blogging software before, but WLW includes so many other nice features. It’s easier to upload images and format things exactly how you want to.

You can also include maps and aerial photos from local.live.com.

Here’s the neighborhood I grew up in in San Diego. Rene Drive (and Rene Court). Two miles to the south is Mexico.

We lived just outside the culdesac, but that is where we played baseball as small children. Here in England, we live on a street where traffic never stops long enough for us to even want to let the kids out.

When I first saw Google Earth, I was amazed how I could see all the places I’ve lived even while sitting in rural Oxfordshire. Every year, the images get better and the maps more accurate. Windows Live maps seem to be even clearer.