Noun
1: All life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
1: All life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
On another blog, I once wrote an article about a local pizzeria that was offering a gluten-free pizza. Ironically, I wrote that post almost exactly two years ago, on February 6th, 2008. For me, the idea of getting a take-out gluten-free pizza was amazing, because I had not been able to do it for five years. Sure, there were a few fine frozen gluten-free pizza offerings, but there's nothing quite like being able to feel normal again, and being able to go to a local pizzeria, and get something to go. Sadly, that pizzeria, the NY Pizza & Deli, had to close for reasons that I won't go into, here, but the good news is that there is another famous local pizzeria offering a gluten-free pie.
O'scugnizzo's Pizzeria was the first pizzeria that ever opened in Utica, in 1943. Why, just the other day I learned that my dad took my mom there for their very first date. Our family always enjoyed their pizza, and it was our pizza of choice for many years. When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, of course, that all changed. But now that O'scugnizzo's is offering a gluten free pie, I am happy to report that they will once again be my pizzeria of choice.
Right now they are only offering a 9-inch personal pie, but I know that their gluten-free crust supplier offers other sizes, so I hope that they expand their menu to include larger pies in the future.
Buon Cibo!
O'scugnizzo's Pizzeria was the first pizzeria that ever opened in Utica, in 1943. Why, just the other day I learned that my dad took my mom there for their very first date. Our family always enjoyed their pizza, and it was our pizza of choice for many years. When I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, of course, that all changed. But now that O'scugnizzo's is offering a gluten free pie, I am happy to report that they will once again be my pizzeria of choice.
Right now they are only offering a 9-inch personal pie, but I know that their gluten-free crust supplier offers other sizes, so I hope that they expand their menu to include larger pies in the future.
Buon Cibo!
Hi folks.
I haven't felt like writing in a while. I am not sure where the Muse went, but I hope it returns, soon. In lieu of a real post, I thought that I would talk a little bit about some recent extracurricular activities that I have engaged in.
I played chess for the first time in many years, earlier in the week. At one time, chess was pretty big in my life. I used to play in tournaments, and I even ran a local chess club with my friend Joe. We formed our club in 1991, and we called it The Robert J. Fischer Memorial Chess Club. The astute among you are probably saying to yourselves, "But Bobby Fischer was alive in 1991!?" That is correct, and that is why our motto was, "Not Dead, But What Has He Done For Us Lately?" Gallows humour to be certain, but if you are familiar with his story, you know that after his 1972 World Championship victory against Boris Spassky, he went into seclusion, only occasionally popping up to denounce those whom he hated. The very ironic thing that happened in 1992, was that Fischer came out of seclusion to play Spassky once again. This was a huge event in chess circles, and Joe and I would often joke about how we were responsible for Fischer's having come out of seclusion, because obviously he had heard about our chess club name!
Bobby Fischer died in 2008, and despite his issues, we at no time meant any disrespect with the club name. It was only our attempt at dark humour. In fact we were an officially recognized club by the United States Chess Federation, while the club was active.
The reason I began to play less and less chess, was because as I played more tournaments, the game began to become stressful for me. Having to play many games in a single day, constantly being watched over by that relentless task-master known as the chess clock, started to no longer be fun. So my goal now is just to play a little chess, and see if I can enjoy it while getting my head wrapped around it again.
My car continues not to start on cold days. I was told that it would be easy to source a new ignition switch, but that does not seem to be the case. I should find a replacement switch just in time for summer.
I discovered an excellent gluten-free alternative to the Cream Of Wheat that I grew up eating on cold winter mornings. The product is called Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, and it's delicious.
Last night I was at a friend's house trying to get his very old scanner, working with his very new computer. The device driver did not seem to be cooperating with his operating system, so I ended up going to my backup plan which was to simply photograph the pieces with my digital camera, on his art table. That ended up working very well, and we were happy with the results.
And no, I still have not seen Avatar.
Be well, and hopefully the Muse will return in some small way, soon.
I haven't felt like writing in a while. I am not sure where the Muse went, but I hope it returns, soon. In lieu of a real post, I thought that I would talk a little bit about some recent extracurricular activities that I have engaged in.
I played chess for the first time in many years, earlier in the week. At one time, chess was pretty big in my life. I used to play in tournaments, and I even ran a local chess club with my friend Joe. We formed our club in 1991, and we called it The Robert J. Fischer Memorial Chess Club. The astute among you are probably saying to yourselves, "But Bobby Fischer was alive in 1991!?" That is correct, and that is why our motto was, "Not Dead, But What Has He Done For Us Lately?" Gallows humour to be certain, but if you are familiar with his story, you know that after his 1972 World Championship victory against Boris Spassky, he went into seclusion, only occasionally popping up to denounce those whom he hated. The very ironic thing that happened in 1992, was that Fischer came out of seclusion to play Spassky once again. This was a huge event in chess circles, and Joe and I would often joke about how we were responsible for Fischer's having come out of seclusion, because obviously he had heard about our chess club name!
Bobby Fischer died in 2008, and despite his issues, we at no time meant any disrespect with the club name. It was only our attempt at dark humour. In fact we were an officially recognized club by the United States Chess Federation, while the club was active.
The reason I began to play less and less chess, was because as I played more tournaments, the game began to become stressful for me. Having to play many games in a single day, constantly being watched over by that relentless task-master known as the chess clock, started to no longer be fun. So my goal now is just to play a little chess, and see if I can enjoy it while getting my head wrapped around it again.
My car continues not to start on cold days. I was told that it would be easy to source a new ignition switch, but that does not seem to be the case. I should find a replacement switch just in time for summer.
I discovered an excellent gluten-free alternative to the Cream Of Wheat that I grew up eating on cold winter mornings. The product is called Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal, and it's delicious.
Last night I was at a friend's house trying to get his very old scanner, working with his very new computer. The device driver did not seem to be cooperating with his operating system, so I ended up going to my backup plan which was to simply photograph the pieces with my digital camera, on his art table. That ended up working very well, and we were happy with the results.
And no, I still have not seen Avatar.
Be well, and hopefully the Muse will return in some small way, soon.
Is it me, or has it become nearly impossible to distinguish a garden-variety Libertarian, from a typical Militia member?:
An Australian friend hipped me to this web site, today, so I thought that I would share it with you. I have seen many logical arguments that argued against the existence of god, but no reasoning so cogent, and air-tight as this. I dare say the reasoning is almost diabolical.
I am not trying to put words into their mouths, but it goes something like this. The given in their proof is that miracles, and answered prayers only seem to happen in places where coincidence and ambiguity also seem to exist. For example, if you have bi-pass surgery to repair your heart, you might pray to god to wake up from the surgery and be well. OK, you wake up, and are well. I would argue that it was the skilled surgeon and medical technology that cured you, and you might argue it was the prayer. This is one of those examples where there is the potential for ambiguity and coincidence.
Now lets take the example of the double amputee who just got back from serving his country in some war. Since medical science is incapable of growing limbs at this time, there is no room for ambiguity here. If you pray to god to restore this soldier's legs, and when they wake up in the morning with real, functioning legs, there would be little option for a person like me to conclude anything other than that a miracle had taken place. Yet we have thousands of these soldiers, and people pray for them every day, and there has never been one recorded example of limbs suddenly appearing.
Since we know that god is all-knowing, perfect, perfectly just, loves everyone perfectly and equally, and we know this because the bible tells us so, then we are only left with one of two conclusions.
Either there is no god, or god hates amputees. But the latter conclusion contradicts everything we've ever been told, so we are only left with the other. There is no god.
Anyway, check out their site. The logic is inescapable, and the site is very entertaining.
Why Won't God Heal Amputees?
I am not trying to put words into their mouths, but it goes something like this. The given in their proof is that miracles, and answered prayers only seem to happen in places where coincidence and ambiguity also seem to exist. For example, if you have bi-pass surgery to repair your heart, you might pray to god to wake up from the surgery and be well. OK, you wake up, and are well. I would argue that it was the skilled surgeon and medical technology that cured you, and you might argue it was the prayer. This is one of those examples where there is the potential for ambiguity and coincidence.
Now lets take the example of the double amputee who just got back from serving his country in some war. Since medical science is incapable of growing limbs at this time, there is no room for ambiguity here. If you pray to god to restore this soldier's legs, and when they wake up in the morning with real, functioning legs, there would be little option for a person like me to conclude anything other than that a miracle had taken place. Yet we have thousands of these soldiers, and people pray for them every day, and there has never been one recorded example of limbs suddenly appearing.
Since we know that god is all-knowing, perfect, perfectly just, loves everyone perfectly and equally, and we know this because the bible tells us so, then we are only left with one of two conclusions.
Either there is no god, or god hates amputees. But the latter conclusion contradicts everything we've ever been told, so we are only left with the other. There is no god.
Anyway, check out their site. The logic is inescapable, and the site is very entertaining.
Why Won't God Heal Amputees?
Hollywood, like any other big business culture, is driven entirely by the profit motive. They often make unneeded movie sequels, when they think they will generate income for the studio. Typically these are films that I do not think need to be made. Additionally, they are rarely films that I would choose to see. Exceptions to this include The Godfather II, and Aliens, the sequel to Alien.
That said, however, there are film sequels that I would like to see made, and hopefully some decision-maker in Hollywood will read this, and consider my ideas.
I was a big fan of the film My Cousin Vinny, and think that if made properly, a sequel about Vinny's law career could be very funny.
I would love to see a short film from John Hughes about the conversation that Cameron had with his dad, upon his return home, after the Ferrari was demolished, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Another potentially interesting film would be a film about Rose's mother from Titanic, after not being reunited with her daughter, and having to make her way through life.
So how about it, Hollywood? Let's start thinking a little outside the box, before you decide to green-light Rocky XIII or the next Home Alone sequel.
That said, however, there are film sequels that I would like to see made, and hopefully some decision-maker in Hollywood will read this, and consider my ideas.
I was a big fan of the film My Cousin Vinny, and think that if made properly, a sequel about Vinny's law career could be very funny.
I would love to see a short film from John Hughes about the conversation that Cameron had with his dad, upon his return home, after the Ferrari was demolished, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Another potentially interesting film would be a film about Rose's mother from Titanic, after not being reunited with her daughter, and having to make her way through life.
So how about it, Hollywood? Let's start thinking a little outside the box, before you decide to green-light Rocky XIII or the next Home Alone sequel.
If something doesn't make sense to you, question it.
I think the Murphy Bed needs to make a comeback.
Yesterday, I went to see the annual toy train show at beautiful Union Station, right here in scenic Utica, New York.I actually think that I've been to every one. You are probably wondering how that is that possible, considering that I don't even like trains. Well, it's because my father has been putting on this show, for the Toy Train Collectors Society since day one. My dad has always been a collector of Lionel Electric Trains, and since the mid-1970's, when we discovered that Lionel actually had never gone out of business, my dad has been very active in the train collecting scene. He started collecting again, joined all of the clubs, and became very active with the regional TTCS club, eventually deciding to have a toy train collector's show, right here in Utica.
I may not be much of a fan of toy trains, but I do enjoy taking the train into NY City, whenever I have to go to the city, and I do enjoy visiting Union Station. Completed in 1914, Union Station is one of the classic early Art-Deco railroad stations, filled with scads of beautifully decorated plaster ornamentation, and marble. It still has the long benches that have held many a traveller over the last ninety years, and also still has the old-fashioned Barber Shop, that has been there since the beginning.
The original restaurant is no longer there, but I can assure you that it was very cool. It had a very large ovoid, marble counter, with fixed, oak stools, a brass foot-rail all of the way around the circumference, and served classic diner fare. That space has been remodeled many times over the years, and has been occupied by many restaurants. The current occupant is the host of the Halloween Party that I go to every year.
The train show has been very successful for three decades, bringing in serious collectors, interested onlookers, and people who just want to relive the good old days, within the confines of an ideal backdrop.
I grew tired of trains in my early teens, but really do enjoy going to the show, taking in the sights and sounds, and people-watching. Two years ago, I even recorded a few segments for my Podcast there, and played them on the program.
If you are local, and haven't been to the show yet, you really should take the time to check it out.
I would rather have the government running the corporations, over the corporations running the government, ten out of ten times.
Remember those days? When everything was good, everyone was happy, and everything worked? Well right now I am longing for them.
I am certain that everyone that you ask about the Good Old Days, will give you a different answer on what exactly they were, but for me, right now, they are about the days when products were not manufactured with built-in obsolescence. Or at the very least, were built with better quality.
Why am I longing for these days-of-yore, you ask? Because my Samsung LCD TV died, today. If I had to guess, I would say that the problem is simply a bad relay, and is probably quite readily fixable for a reasonable amount of money, but that's not the point. I paid top-dollar for a top-shelf TV, and expect top-shelf quality.
In the Good Old Days, my dad built a Heathkit console-style, color TV, and it lasted for thirty years, without so much as a hiccup. Sure, occasionally one of those fire-breathing vacuum-tubes would have to be replaced, but get this, you could test and buy those at any decent drug store, and you could replace them yourself. Now you have to pay $50, minimum, to shake a technician's hand, ultimately to find out that you have to actually pay $200 to replace the main logic-board, because electronic devices today really don't have replaceable parts, like my dad's Heathkit TV did, in the Good Old Days.
My Dad will occasionally spin yarns about The Good Old days, when manufacturers would crimp, and solder connections, making them fairly bullet-proof. Today, you're lucky if you get a second-rate crimp, from a grossly underpaid, ill-treated employee, who could not really care less about whether or not your TV dies one day out of factory warranty.
Sure, I recognize that a 1080p HD TV, is way cooler than my dad's twenty-five-inch, color console TV, but sometimes I am not so certain that these 'advances' are worth it. It will probably be one month before I see my TV again, if they can fix it at all, and it might cost a lot of money. The good news is that I did buy the extended warranty, so hopefully this will all be taken care of at no cost to me.
In any case, this would all be so much easier if I could go down to one of many local shops, buy a vacuum tube, and put it in, myself, but I can't. I'm told that they call this progress.
Ah well. Now where the heck is my record player??
I am certain that everyone that you ask about the Good Old Days, will give you a different answer on what exactly they were, but for me, right now, they are about the days when products were not manufactured with built-in obsolescence. Or at the very least, were built with better quality.
Why am I longing for these days-of-yore, you ask? Because my Samsung LCD TV died, today. If I had to guess, I would say that the problem is simply a bad relay, and is probably quite readily fixable for a reasonable amount of money, but that's not the point. I paid top-dollar for a top-shelf TV, and expect top-shelf quality.
In the Good Old Days, my dad built a Heathkit console-style, color TV, and it lasted for thirty years, without so much as a hiccup. Sure, occasionally one of those fire-breathing vacuum-tubes would have to be replaced, but get this, you could test and buy those at any decent drug store, and you could replace them yourself. Now you have to pay $50, minimum, to shake a technician's hand, ultimately to find out that you have to actually pay $200 to replace the main logic-board, because electronic devices today really don't have replaceable parts, like my dad's Heathkit TV did, in the Good Old Days.
My Dad will occasionally spin yarns about The Good Old days, when manufacturers would crimp, and solder connections, making them fairly bullet-proof. Today, you're lucky if you get a second-rate crimp, from a grossly underpaid, ill-treated employee, who could not really care less about whether or not your TV dies one day out of factory warranty.
Sure, I recognize that a 1080p HD TV, is way cooler than my dad's twenty-five-inch, color console TV, but sometimes I am not so certain that these 'advances' are worth it. It will probably be one month before I see my TV again, if they can fix it at all, and it might cost a lot of money. The good news is that I did buy the extended warranty, so hopefully this will all be taken care of at no cost to me.
In any case, this would all be so much easier if I could go down to one of many local shops, buy a vacuum tube, and put it in, myself, but I can't. I'm told that they call this progress.
Ah well. Now where the heck is my record player??
It seems the subject of steroids in professional baseball has popped up again. This most recent flurry of activity came about when Mark McGwire admitted to having used steroids in his career, after initially implying that he did not use them, in front of Congress, several years ago.
There are so many things so say regarding this topic, that I really don't even know where to begin.
First, I will state my opinion on the matter. I feel that anyone who has admitted to having used steroids, or who can be shown to have used steroids in their careers, should automatically be banned from ever being able to get into the Hall Of Fame, and all of their records of note (Home Runs, RBIs, etc...) should be expunged from the professional record. Yes, that means that Bonds', McGwire's, and Sosa's numbers should be removed from any and every book that also has the name Roger Maris in it. Should their numbers be permanently removed from every record? No. I am not saying that we should delete them from history. Their numbers should be kept as a matter of record, but they should certainly be removed from any "All-Time" lists. In other words, Roger Maris is still the single-season, home-run record holder.
Second, I can not believe how some of the media is covering this. I am a regular watcher of a TV program on SNY called Loud Mouths. Some time ago I remember the hosts talking about steroids in baseball, and they took a phone call from a viewer. The caller cracked a joke about steroid use, and the hosts really yelled at him. They made it clear that this was deadly-serious subject-matter, not to be dealt with, in any way other than seriously.
I remember thinking that I agreed with the hosts' general point, but that they needed to lighten up a little bit. Humour is a good thing.
Fast forward to yesterday, and I am watching Loud Mouths, and steroids is the topic-du-jour, as one would expect. Hosts Adam Schein and Chris Carlin are saying that they think that guys like McGwire and Bonds should get into the Hall Of Fame, despite their steroid abuse.
Huh? What did I just hear??
We should treat the subject of steroid abuse in sports with the kind of deadly seriousness that doesn't include actual consequences for this bad behaviour?
What planet are these guys from? They are quick to assign blame for the steroid-era, and its subsequent cover-up by Commissioner Selig, but apparently want no consequences for the actual offenders.
How exactly will this kind of performance-enhancing drug-abuse stop, if there aren't real consequences?
Baseball did not handle this properly when it all came to light over the last decade or so, but they have the opportunity now, to do so. Let's hope they do.
There are so many things so say regarding this topic, that I really don't even know where to begin.
First, I will state my opinion on the matter. I feel that anyone who has admitted to having used steroids, or who can be shown to have used steroids in their careers, should automatically be banned from ever being able to get into the Hall Of Fame, and all of their records of note (Home Runs, RBIs, etc...) should be expunged from the professional record. Yes, that means that Bonds', McGwire's, and Sosa's numbers should be removed from any and every book that also has the name Roger Maris in it. Should their numbers be permanently removed from every record? No. I am not saying that we should delete them from history. Their numbers should be kept as a matter of record, but they should certainly be removed from any "All-Time" lists. In other words, Roger Maris is still the single-season, home-run record holder.
Second, I can not believe how some of the media is covering this. I am a regular watcher of a TV program on SNY called Loud Mouths. Some time ago I remember the hosts talking about steroids in baseball, and they took a phone call from a viewer. The caller cracked a joke about steroid use, and the hosts really yelled at him. They made it clear that this was deadly-serious subject-matter, not to be dealt with, in any way other than seriously.
I remember thinking that I agreed with the hosts' general point, but that they needed to lighten up a little bit. Humour is a good thing.
Fast forward to yesterday, and I am watching Loud Mouths, and steroids is the topic-du-jour, as one would expect. Hosts Adam Schein and Chris Carlin are saying that they think that guys like McGwire and Bonds should get into the Hall Of Fame, despite their steroid abuse.
Huh? What did I just hear??
We should treat the subject of steroid abuse in sports with the kind of deadly seriousness that doesn't include actual consequences for this bad behaviour?
What planet are these guys from? They are quick to assign blame for the steroid-era, and its subsequent cover-up by Commissioner Selig, but apparently want no consequences for the actual offenders.
How exactly will this kind of performance-enhancing drug-abuse stop, if there aren't real consequences?
Baseball did not handle this properly when it all came to light over the last decade or so, but they have the opportunity now, to do so. Let's hope they do.
Mark said that he wished that he had never played during the steroid era.
So it's the era's fault???
So it's the era's fault???
I have a Palm Pilot. Well, I had a Palm Pilot, but it seems that I have one again.I jumped on the PDA bandwagon right around the time when Palm released their first unit, and I bought one immediately. This would have been circa 1999. I loved the idea of being able to carry around a real computer, in my hand. It kept track of hundreds of contacts, managed my few appointments, and let me write myself notes, to help with my failing memory. The Palm also let you install those third-party applications that one current particular smart phone manufacturer likes to pretend they invented.
In time, I updated to a newer model, and I purchased my third Palm about five years ago, the Zire 31. This was my first color Palm, and I was psyched to get it. It served me faithfully for probably two years, and then one day, it didn't wake up, when I tried to power it on. I assumed the battery somehow went dead, so I plugged it into the charger, and it still wouldn't turn on. Somehow, the unit had managed to brick itself overnight, as it sat in its pouch, in my briefcase.
At this point I wasn't particularly happy. The unit was out of warranty, but it wasn't that old, and I had never abused it. I don't remember if I had contacted Palm, but I don't think that I did. I think I just wrote it off as a loss, and probably used Palm's name in vain many times. The good news was that I had always made regular backups of my data, and had those backups safely stored on one of my USB drives.
I never really ended up doing much with the backups of my data. Occasionally I would simply access them with a text editor to find a needed number, but on the whole, I simply learned to live without my Palm.
Fast forward about two years, to last night. I was chatting online with some musician friends in my favorite IRC channel, and we somehow got talking about Palm Pilots. I mentioned how my Zire 31 inexplicably died, a few years prior, and one of the people from Australia mentioned that her Zire 51 had done the same thing, and that all I needed to do was keep it on the charger for about 12 hours, and it should come back to life.
Well, I did, and it did.
All of my data was gone, but since I had been vigilant about making backups, it took little effort to restore it to its previous state. As of right now, I am only one application away from getting it exactly like it was, before it decided to hibernate. The missing application was an RPN Calculator that I actually purchased. Maybe I can find it online, and they would have records that I had actually paid for it, a few years ago. Since the Palm is basically a dead platform, that doesn't bode well, however.
Now that I have this thing working again, what am I actually going to do with it? Much of the contact info in it needs to be updated, and I am probably going to purchase an Android based Smart-Phone one of these days in the not-too-distant future, rendering the trusty Palm entirely obsolete and redundant.
Also, after having used my Netbook for these last eight months, I now find the Palm screen to be very low-res, and jaggy.
Ah well. Technology marches on, and I guess I will just have to be cool with the fact that the thing never actually died. Maybe I can find a good use for it. We'll have to see.
Feature 1: Mysterious Skin
Feature 2: Twelve and Holding
(Twelve and Holding features actor Jeremy Renner, who has received much critical acclaim for his performance in 2009's film The Hurt Locker)
Feature 2: Twelve and Holding
(Twelve and Holding features actor Jeremy Renner, who has received much critical acclaim for his performance in 2009's film The Hurt Locker)
Hi Folks,
Sorry I haven't been writing much, but I seem to have some sort of bug. It's not too bad, but I haven't felt like writing. Hopefully I'll feel better in a few days.
Sorry I haven't been writing much, but I seem to have some sort of bug. It's not too bad, but I haven't felt like writing. Hopefully I'll feel better in a few days.
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