I look like ass.

Is Outlook supposed to be this slow???

Bwhahaha!

So, rock show tonight!

But as you can see, computers don't always get the right grasp on words - much better suited to mathematics I'd say.

Map of the flooding - I happen to live on a street that is colored in blue.

**
Other news: Dog is at vet hospital undergoing tests to decide fate...

NY Times review - pretty spot on if you ask me.

Afterward hit the Home Depot across the street from the place to purchase a sump pump for the cellar here so if we get flooded we'll be better prepared. I only remember the cellar flooding maybe once or twice in all the years I lived there and thankfully nothing was damaged, kinda good that it's an unfinished basement. A bunch of people had to throw out a lot of stuff. I also finally picked up some newer keytars for my keys because I'm such a rocker and my old ones pretty much have fallen apart by now since last time I bought them.

Late this afternoon I found out my sister's beagle which she's had for over 10 years apparently has taken a turn for the worse and may need to be put down. Funny how things can be fine one week, and the next -- bam. Docs are checking over blood work now but whatever it is it's not a good prognosis and he hasn't been eating for three days. Almost like he's lost the will a bit but appears comfortable. Naturally my sis is pretty distraught over the prospect of what she may have to do in the coming days. I feel sad too. I think I'm going to go for a walk and think on this. I wish I had a better word to describe "think" right now.

Update: Book talk was pretty good - just goes to prove some things aren't all they're cracked up to be. I especially found the interesting part to be when she has a change of heart and goes over it through therapy. I think my S.O. who is a therapist would really find that part thought-invoking. Tomorrow is another talk with a different author dealing with cartography, which is what I do, which I may also take in.

Just need to find some time to mess with it one of these days.

Crazy.

Whattaya know? This logger thing I won actually works - now to figure out what I can best use it for.

**

Just finished doing some maintenance on my big fish tank. For some reason after a few months I notice the lift tubes for the undergrav filter will get caked up with some white substance so I have to disconnect it and scrape it out with a small implement and wash it out. Interestingly, I've never seen any mention of such occurrence in any of the literature that I've read or own.

Gahh!

Was right about here in this picture between the creek and the beach

Then that evening we watched the Hot Dog contest at Coney - LD dvr'd it so we could watch later. Little dissapointed that Chestnut didn't break his record, but a win is a win. Also spent part of the day just reading The Passage down in the basement because it was so hot outside. Must say that book is starting to hook me. What else? Oh yes, did some more birding - besides seeing the Nuthatches I also caught glimpses of red headed finches (mostly male as they are more colorful than the females and are more easily identified to my untrained eye). Interestly, I've learned that the red of a male house finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt. So the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. Also did some little house touchups here and there to help out LD.

That GPS thing I won in a contest arrived on Saturday but I haven't had a chance to mess with it yet - perhaps this week - curious to see how it tracks.

I suppose that's about it for now - I am supposed to be working afterall - I have pics of a bunch of things from the weekend and will attempt to get those up at some point today. Oh yeah, I also bought this rather huge tchotchke of a lighthouse that's solar powered but I liked it because it's a reproduction of the Lighthouse of Cape Hatteras which we visited back in late December. The thing is huge!

Don't gag me, says Nathan's hot dog eating star Takeru Kobayashi - heard he wasn't competing this year but...

Brooklyn playwrights cook up musical paying homage to Coney Island's hot dog eating competition - Need to go see this at some point.

Tilly!!!

Then I saw that they were trying out this PowderHouse as a Camera experiment again so I went ahead and got my pic taken - interested to see how it'll turn out:

It's actually pretty amazing!

Kinda random.

Ouch!

"Man, if a couple of Ray shots fall... If a couple of rebounds bounce to us... If Ron Artest doesn't hit that 3 in the 4th...

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. It was close, but no cigar. Sorry Red, we'll get 'em next time."

Just Not Enough

Celebrating last night's Celtics win. Only need one more win for Banner 18!

Go Celts! And yes, I did wear my lucky big green leprechaun hat the entire night that I got at the game in February!

Picture worth a thousand words, right? From top to bottom, left to right:
Along the Del Water Gap,
Ladydoc rocking her Jovi, Fireworks at the Meadowlands, Left for Dead outside our Hotel window in Times Square,
View from hotel window in NY, Anubis guards the exhibit across the street, getting ,my pharoah on,
Not donuts but Onion rings as big as donuts, NYC buildings, getting to Lady Liberty,
Bicycle traffic lights!?!, Addams family and Bebe Neuwirth perform across from our stay, Shoot the Freak in Coney,
Somewhere in Coney, Bed in the suite, trains crossing the Thames.

Day 1:
Noticed a picture I took and a little writeup I did from a trip last year got published in the latest issue of Weird New Jersey! So if you're into that stuff check out page 82 of issue #34. Very exciting! Also visited LD's folks. Jersey Girls y'know!

Day 2:
Checking out the Bon Jovi concert and the brand new Meadowlands Stadium. Awesome seats - club level - somehow LD got us awesome access. See also got made up in her 80s look which I may choose to share. Also checked out a place called Graystone - a former psychiactric hospital now partly closed - spooky!

Day 3:
Hanging with LD's youngest sister and having dinner with a Melanie and Rich! Jersey Girls again!

Day 4:
Checking out the Del Water Gap, Seeing where Jayne Mansfield was buried (spent most of the day with LD's middle sister's BF who was leading the Memorial Day services in his town - I THOUGHT he was going to dress up as George Washington, but no such luck.) Such a small town - only 9 streets make it up!

Day 5:
NYC! Times Sq. - checking into the Marquee. Sensory Overload!

Day 6:
Hanging in Manhattan - checking out the King Tut exhibit in Times Square (partly the reason for this trip!) It's really good - those really are THE treasures from his tomb. Some folks were upset that his actual mummy isn't there but an exact replica. People? Tut will NEVER leave Egypt - duh! Took a ferry over to the Statue of Liberty, Hung out in Battery Park, drove past Ground Zero, Jersey Boys play on Broadway in the evening. Good seats again - I'm not sharing LD's trick on how to get them - sorry.

Day 7:
LD suggests a Coney Island side trip! I say, Hell yes! Little early for the hot dog championships though. Noticed a strong Russian presence there in storefronts and such - never knew. By late afternoon it's time to relax at a Mohegan Sun Suite. By far the largest hotel room I've ever been in - it's better than some apartments! Swimming in the pool naturally after a frusrtatingly long traffic ride - suggested inviting two asian women who were swimming with us up to our room later but LD was against it. HAH!

Day 8:
Getting a late checkout the enjoy more of the suite and listen to some kicking softrock 80s tunes in the buffet downstairs. Seeing Sex and the City II in the Lux Level at Legacy Place back closer to home since it was part of a deal (saw Kick-Ass, Must see SITC2 - it actually wasn't that bad!)

That's just some of the major stuff, naturally I have pictures and vids of a bunch of stuff but will need some time to go through and select what I want to show.

All in all, not bad for a few days away from Boston. Already thinking about the next excursion! Come back and very pleased that fish are doing good and garden looks awesome!

I kid you not!

Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

I pretty much just live for my weekends these days :)