Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Stay In The Park
I don't think they will ever resolve the issue of the carriage
horses in New York City to the satisfaction of all. There was another accident involving a horse and a car. Fortunately, the
horse was ok.
It started the talk again to ban them outright. I believe
they should be limited to the confines of Central park. Allowing them to travel the streets of Manhattan is foolish and dangerous.
I would never take a ride in one.
4:36 pm edt
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Filling Up Fast
Arlington National Cemetery is amazing to see. It contains
the graves of 400,000 veterans. In recent years, the government has been able to expand it to keep up with the daily burials.
Reports indicate that it will totally run out of space by 2025. Additional land is needed in light
of the 7,000 annual burials. A recently added columbarium added another 20,000 spots for cremation urns.
At some point, the cemetery will be completely filled.
3:21 pm edt
Monday, May 29, 2017
No Corn On The Grill
I got a free magazine of interesting
food recipes, including how to grill vegetables on the grill. One thing I will never do is grill corn on the cob.
Buying corn is a crap shoot. Even the butter and sugar corn
often ends up like "cow corn". If it doesn't taste right after the first bite, I toss it out.
I don't think that corn was meant for the grill.
12:26 pm edt
Sunday, May 28, 2017
No Fires Allowed
There was quite a discussion
today on a local Facebook community page about outdoor fire pits. My city's fire department doesn't allow them.
This is one of those issues where everyone is not going
to be happy. People want to enjoy a fire in their yard, but their neighbors don't want the smoke or noise.
I can see both arguments, but I don't feel they have any
place in a congested neighborhood. They are too much of a fire hazard. They are better suited for the outskirts of the
city where people have bigger yards.
11:12 pm edt
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Lack of Basic Facts
I should never watch interviews of the "person on the
street" when it comes to current events and history. The ignorance and stupidity of some people is too much to keep watching.
I saw a reporter asking young people about Memorial Day and various conflicts throughout American
history. Their lack of knowledge of some basic facts was shameful and a reflection on the poor education system in this country.
The next time, I should lower the volume of my television.
8:59 pm edt
Friday, May 26, 2017
Two Boring Stories
There is nothing more boring
than stories about public wedding proposals or prom invitations. The news channels like to run them because they don't want
to deal with real news.
They just showed a story of someone who spray-painted the word "PROM" in white paint on a huge rock
at a park in California. This was so selfish by the individual and should be treated as vandalism.
The media doesn't help by giving these stories legitimacy
and attention.
5:24 pm edt
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Saturated In Taste and Fat
I never eat ice cream. It's not a healthy food. It's loaded
in saturated fat, although it varies with some brands.
While I was shopping today, I looked at some Klondike Bars. I use to buy them years ago. One bar contains
over half of the saturated fat in a daily diet. I had no problem eating two of them.
There are so many unhealthy foods out there. They need to be evaluated individually.
1:31 pm edt
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Hold Of On 2018
The year isn't even half over
yet, but that hasn't stopped charities from sending me a "free" 16 month calendar for 2018. I will receive at least
another dozen over the next few months. They end up with my papers to be recycled.
It's a reminder of the money that charities spend on fund
raising annually. It's good job securing for those involved on the administrative side.
2:02 pm edt
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Changing Ink
I would never get a tattoo. They are so popular, but I think
that some people ruin their bodies with so much art work. What happens when you no longer want it?
Someone on Facebook posed that problem.They were able to resolve it by altering the image.
I don't think it came out that great, but they wanted to
do something with it.
10:54 pm edt
Monday, May 22, 2017
Never On A Monday
Today was not the day to go
shopping for fruit and produce. The store didn't have any blueberries, raspberries or kiwis.
I thought I would settle for blackberries and strawberries,
but some of them had the white fuzz on them.
When I got home, I began to think that I should have mentioned it to the store manager.
This was not the first time for fuzzy fruit.
3:17 pm edt
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Only Fruit Allowed
My consumption of fresh fruit has always been poor. I really
think that I can turn the corner with my smoothies.
A number of people have offered advice for ingredients. I want to keep it simple with only fruit because that
is my goal.
It's all about doing this over a long period of time.
8:34 pm edt
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Just Say No, Pawtucket
I don't support any publicly
funded stadiums or arenas for professional sports teams. Government should never be on the hook for loans or long-term
bonds.
The Pawtucket
Red Sox are doing their best to get the city of Pawtucket and the state of Rhode Island involved in their funding process.
The proposed stadium would cost $72 million. Pawtucket would
contribute $15 million through land donation and infrastructure improvements. The state would guarantee $23 million in bonds,
while the team would chip in $45 million.
I don't have an issue with paying for infrastructure improvements. That happens all the time on major
projects. The team should come up with the rest of the money.
8:47 pm edt
Friday, May 19, 2017
A Smooth Time
I made the first smoothie
of my life today. I never had one before. It was a mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
My food processor did a great job it mixing it up. It turns out I could've used less water. My next
one will have kiwi.
11:12 pm edt
Thursday, May 18, 2017
First Hot Day of 2017
The temperature set a record today at 95. It broke a record
set in 1936. The forecast is for almost 40 degrees colder on Saturday.
The 11pm news had stories of people at the beach and kids having a great time.
As I write this , there have been very loud rumbles of thunder that came and went.
I
wonder if they will be back at some point. It could get real loud or maybe nothing.
11:31 pm edt
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
It's All about Rt 95
It's never a good idea to leave Boston after 3pm on a weekday.
There is so much traffic going up Rt 93 North to the intersection Rt 95.
It was like that 20 years ago before the Big Dig. Nothing ever changed with traffic leaving town
at that hour.
11:34 pm edt
Monday, May 15, 2017
Taken For A Ride
I have never used Lyft or Uber and have no plans in the
future. The same goes for Airbnb. I can't imagine staying in a room in a stranger's place.
A startup in San Francisco has a new concept where car owners lend their ride to strangers for their
use. This seems like an idea that can only go bad.
I would never want to be in a situation where this was my only option for a car or to make a few extra dollars.
7:44 pm edt
Sunday, May 14, 2017
The Flight Is Too Long
I'm not a big fan of flying
and haven't been on a plane since 2000. My first flight came when I was 32. My longest trips have been to California
on seven occasions.
TIME
magazine had a list of the longest nonstop flights. I can't imagine flying from Dallas to Hong Kong, a distance of 8,108
miles, over 17 hours.
The
8,576 miles from Dallas to Sydney, Australia takes less than 17 hours.
Whatever the reason, that is too long to be on a plane. I have never been able to fall asleep when
flying. Crossing all the time zones would only make it worse for me.
1:57 am edt
Saturday, May 13, 2017
No Time To Serve
There is a bill before the Massachusetts legislature to
allow casinos to serve alcohol past the current 2am curfew. They make a good point that they need to be competitive with other
gambling destinations.
I would support this idea if everyone stayed at the
casino and didn't drive home, but we know that won't happen.
It seems to work better in New York City and Las Vegas because of cabs and public transportation.
Boston has always claimed a disadvantage as a tourist spot
because of the early bar closings.
There
is no solution to this problem that would keep everyone happy, but I would vote against a 4am closing time for serving alcohol.
As they say, nothing good happens at that hour.
3:23 pm edt
Friday, May 12, 2017
For The Birds
I'm not sure why someone would
let a pigeon build a nest in their apartment, but it happened in New York City.
When a person came back from being away, they found a pigeon had flown through an open window and
taken up residence in their kitchen. The bird was welcomed by the tenant.
The story appeared in the New York Post and only got bigger once the pigeon laid eggs and
they hatched.
I
can't imagine why this person decided to share her apartment, but this proves that we are all different in so many ways.
3:21 pm edt
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Can Theft
Some people will steal anything
for scrap metal if they can. It doesn't matter if it's a manhole cover, storm grate, fence or memorial. They only
get pennies per pound from scrapyards.
It has been taken to a new level in New York City where metal trash cans are disappearing from the streets
and being sold for scrap.
The
cans weigh 32 pounds and cost $125. The thief ends up with $2 in their pocket. It doesn't make any sense, but the city
lost over 100 last year.
Some might think it's not a big deal from a total of 23,500 barrels around the city. Things like this should not be stolen
under normal circumstances
9:07 pm edt
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Phone It In
According to a recent study, 50.8% of American households
have a mobile phone exclusively. I'm with the 39.4% who have a mobile and land line.
I still use this archaic method of communication because I have a DSL modem.
There is still 6.5% of the population that have a only land line, while 3.2% don't own
any type of phone.
I find it hard to believe that a small segment of people
doesn't have anything. The study was done by the Center For Disease Control which is a reliable source as a rule.
3:13 pm edt
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
A New Shortage
We often don't know where
things come from until there is a shortage that impacts consumers. We are seeing that with vanilla beans.
Who knew that 80% of the world's vanilla comes from the
island of Madagascar, off the coast of East Africa?
A recent cyclone destroyed a large amount of the crop raised on small family-owned farms.
The result has been a huge increase in wholesale prices
and a major interruption of the supply chain.
Something like this can happen at any moment. We just don't know when.
1:47 pm edt
Monday, May 8, 2017
The Cheap Roof
Oculus is a strange name for the train station at Ground
Zero in Manhattan. It cost over $4 billion to construct and was years behind schedule when it finally opened last year.
During a visit to the city last November, I spend time walking through the cavernous structure. I
was really impressed by its architectural detail and beauty.
Apparently, $4 billion didn't prevent the place from being flooded the other day during a heavy rainstorm.
Water leaked from the ceiling like a shower.
Officials are already playing the blame game on why this happened. It probably won't be the last time.
12:19 pm edt
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Geese In The House 2017
It was only a matter of time before I saw a posting on Facebook
about Canadian Geese.
You can certainly make an argument about the mother
and little ones looking very cute.
It's too bad that they grow to adults and take over patches of grass.
They just ruin the place with their droppings. Nobody cleans up after them.
They play a major role on most golf courses with their
presence.
11:13 pm edt
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Time For Foolish Laws
Politicians love to submit bills for proposed laws, especially if they get a lot of attention.
There was a story
in the news about one state legislator who thought it would be a good idea to make a law that would fine voters $10 if they failed to participate in the election.
This was such a ridiculous idea for many reasons. They failed to realize that it
was illegal and unconstitutional to force people to vote and to penalize them for not doing so.
That never stopped them from proposing this foolish law.
12:09 pm edt
Friday, May 5, 2017
Take The Highway
I'm leaving shortly to drive to Newmarket, NH. According
to Mapquest, I should take Rt 495 to 95 to 101. It's all highway except for the last few miles.
When I look at a map, it appears that taking Rt 108 through Exeter is shorter in distance and more
direct.
I plan to take the route suggested by Mapquest. It should
work better, as long as there is no traffic.
4:54 pm edt
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Fight In Flight
I have not flown since May 2000 because of turbulence. It's
not fun when it happens. I'm not willing to put up with it in order to fly and go places.
It's a decision I made. It got validated with the recent stories and videos of crazy behavior on
commercial flights. That stuff is so unacceptable. It's so wrong when passengers fight.
I have no desire to fly anywhere in light of everything.
11:18 pm edt
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
DJ Spinning Awake
Guinness World Records are
filled with amazing accomplishments. Some of them defy logic.
A person in Kentucky just broke the record for being a DJ non-stop. He stayed awake for ten
days while doing his thing. He was allowed to take a five minute break every hour. He broke the previous record
by almost four hours.
How
can anyone stay awake that long without any aids? The Guinness record for staying awake is 11 days and 24 minutes.
I wonder how long that person slept after their ordeal.
It seems like a good way to develop a medical issue. It's an excessive strain on the human body.
5:23 pm edt
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
The Missing List
I made a huge mistake last night while I was updating my website. My list of comedy shows was accidentally deleted. I never discovered
it until it was too late.
The list will be recreated. Hopefully, it won't be a big hassle. The
last time I did this, it took a lot longer than it should.
11:24 pm edt
Monday, May 1, 2017
Turn In Your Books
There are many things wrong with the education system in
America. I can't imagine trying to be a teacher in this age.
Problems seem to be compounded in large urban areas. I constantly read stories about the New York City
public schools.
One principle took it to the extreme when she had teachers
surrender all of their text books. She said they were antiquated and not the way to teach.
I find this to be outrageous. Relying on computers and videos is not the way to convey subject matter.
This story is just too crazy for me.
12:17 pm edt