tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66450942024-03-07T21:49:53.592-05:00Come Play With MeBlog land rules...Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-49417563136205906142012-09-03T19:32:00.001-04:002012-09-03T19:33:26.495-04:00Product: Raspberry LeafYou should support the Female System too!
Ummm... no comment.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-68554851526874213992012-09-01T16:56:00.000-04:002012-09-01T16:58:04.661-04:00Product: Lay's Dill PickleAren't potatoes enough?
Unfortunately they contain absolutely no pickles.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-48635277740232985272012-09-01T16:40:00.000-04:002012-09-01T17:07:03.390-04:00Product: Blue MonsterFound in the Creepy Products department of a big box hardware store.
Like Wet Ones for a home contractor.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-62679456790067305012012-03-14T22:02:00.000-04:002012-03-14T22:02:22.975-04:00Some Notes on Splitting Wood
I've posted notes here before about firewood. Buying, stacking, burning. About wood pellets. Buying, stacking, burning. But I think I haven't given much time to splitting of wood. The old saw about firewood is that it burns twice: once, when you cut, split, and stack it - and again, when you burn it.
Back around Halloween 2011, we received a surprise snow storm. Now we realize that it was to Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-44131807175400402652012-02-02T16:32:00.003-05:002012-02-02T16:32:19.838-05:00Occupy Everything
This morning, I noticed an improved highway billboard on Route 91 South in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was between exits 21 and 20 and visible from North King Street.
It's 4:30pm now and the message is gone. The billboard again reads that the space is available for rent.
Only yesterday an Occupy Wall Street biodiesel bus visited our city.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-50550939346036304042012-01-22T16:54:00.002-05:002012-01-22T16:57:20.920-05:00Dreams For My Daughter - February 28, 2006Back when my daughter was much younger, I'd "give her a dream" to launch her off to sleep.
February 28, 2006
You close your eyes and you are looking for your dream. You walk over a hill. No dream. Through the woods. No dream. Down to the stream. You look in the water for the dream. You follow the stream to a waterfall and look under the waterfall. Still no dream. You follow the stream to a Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-10668088875113164802012-01-16T16:15:00.002-05:002012-01-22T16:57:33.574-05:00Dreams For My Daughter - February 26, 2006When my daughter was young, I would make up stories for her. Later these became what we called "dreams" that I would give her to launch her on her way to sleep. "Give me a dream," she would say. I never did follow up to see if she actually had these dreams, but they made for a good enough end of a day for her. Afterwards I could close her door and tiptoe back upstairs to end my day.
When she wasDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-16888626438725181092011-10-22T14:51:00.000-04:002011-10-22T14:51:52.721-04:00Our New Wood Shelter with Recycled Roof MaterialA plastic tarp and pile of snow on the firewood has lost its charm, so I recently built a shelter for our firewood. It's most free-standing, so it can be removed if we need to.
I didn't want to spend $200+ to buy something nifty like corrugated plastic for the roof, so I used discarded materials from work - plastic coated printed Gatorboard ™.
If it leaks a little, it will be better than a Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-45751713390800546212011-10-15T09:58:00.002-04:002011-10-15T09:58:26.330-04:00Void If DetachedDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-4875955053986173122011-06-13T17:19:00.005-04:002011-06-13T20:30:17.503-04:00Bird VisitsSome recent sightings.
Exhibit A, a pileated woodpecker cleaning one of our tall oaks.
Exibit B, this year we get regular visits from a pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds. They love the sugar water I put out (4 to 1 water/sugar) and visit every 15 minutes during the day. It's right outside our kitchen window. The dude hummingbird has the ruby throat, while the babe hummingbird does not.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-85165819999241928432011-04-30T16:32:00.001-04:002011-04-30T16:35:24.731-04:00Bat HouseToday I put up the Bat House I built last year. It's cedar and has 3 chambers. Multi-chambered houses are like apartment buildings, so there is potential to get more occupants. (They pay their rent in eating mosquitoes and producing guano.) According to various websites, the house should be mounted over 15 feet high on a wall or chimney which gets at least 8 hours of sunlight. Bats definitely Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-2583703695940174132011-01-30T23:00:00.000-05:002011-01-30T23:00:28.190-05:00Louis' LunchSasha and I finally did something in New Haven, Connecticut. We ate at the infamous Louis' Lunch. Louis' (pronounced Louie's) is the arguably the first place on earth to serve hamburgers. We first sat at the space left at counter and later moved to a teeny booth. It took some time to prepare our meal, so we had time to take it all in.
Here is a very authentic video on the Louis' experience.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-7182310635088602282011-01-12T18:21:00.000-05:002011-01-12T18:21:22.167-05:00City School Northampton: Week 9 - Public WorksThis week at City School was in two-parts. We had a tour of the Northampton Water Treatment plant which I have already written about. Then we all sat down and learned some of what the Northampton Department Of Public Works does and how they operate and more than that. That was last Spring.We heard about Sustainability, an overview of the DPW, about Wastewater, Highways, and Solid waste. As usual,Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-84355722763269127922011-01-12T11:23:00.000-05:002011-01-12T11:23:22.069-05:00City School Northampton: Week 10 - NCTVWelcome to another - actually this was last - class in City School. This week we had a tour of NCTV. (Dear Reader, please note that this tour actually took place last Spring, but only now am I documenting it.)
What is NCTV?
NCTV Studio
NCTV is Nothampton Community Television. Our so-called public-access cable TV service. In fact, it is at times one of the big reasons my family is willing to Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-16520806219427714782011-01-05T20:29:00.000-05:002011-01-12T10:12:11.022-05:00City School Northampton: Week 9 - Water TreatmentI have been really remiss in not updating the last few weeks of City School. [Note, I wrote most of this months ago.] So here goes with a quick dump. Less thorough, but since I'm not paid to do this, you get a less complete product.
Perhaps I'll revisit this entry and edit it when I get a chance.
Last week, we visited Dispatch (also known as 9-1-1) as well as the Fire Department. This week we Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-37994191715559517252011-01-03T22:49:00.000-05:002011-01-03T22:52:10.148-05:00Visiting The BunkerRecently I visited The Bunker.
Built into the side of Bare Mountain in Amherst, Massachusetts before I was born.
It was built for the Cold War, and housed a communications center for Strategic Air Command. Reportedly it had something to do with the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event near and dear to my heart. Really.
And now it is owned by Amherst College. It houses archives and old books from the Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-19925623872120919282010-11-11T18:03:00.000-05:002010-11-11T18:08:03.665-05:00Chance Eats GrassI grew some grass for our cat Chance at work. She's a complete indoor cat, so doesn't see the real stuff too often unless I grow some. She sometimes makes a mess of my houseplants by chewing on them. My co-worker and friend Susan joined in to grow a pot for her cat Bettie. I had some seed packets which were meant for cats, so reading the contents I improvised a seed mix of rye grass (regular lawnDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-194598703110745422010-10-03T20:56:00.000-04:002010-10-03T20:57:52.458-04:00Wildlife
Wildlife in the Adirondacks.
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-22703244261263573522010-05-26T19:44:00.000-04:002010-05-26T19:46:44.708-04:00AT&T Attempts To Digest Soul Of Artists Living and DeadAT&T has been airing commercials during American Idol promoting their wireless coverage.
They feature the world being enveloped in golden cloth, not unlike - OK, exactly like, the works of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. They are famous for environmental installations in huge proportions, where they wrap many things including land and architecture. (Jeane-Claude died last year.) Notably, Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-91625554248019210722010-05-03T17:44:00.000-04:002010-05-03T17:44:25.298-04:00City School Northampton: Week 8 - DispatchWelcome. By this point, you have been following my exploits in City School. Congratulations, you've made it to one of the best classes yet. If you check out last week's class (or any other for that matter) right near the beginning, you will see that I explain what Northampton City School is all about. So let's dig in.
This week's class covers the Northampton Fire Department and Dispatch. I've Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-20498380445462038032010-04-12T19:50:00.000-04:002010-04-12T19:50:11.702-04:00City School Northampton: Week 7 - PoliceWelcome to a new class at Northampton City School. Last week, we learned about Planning and Development. This week in City School we learn about the Northampton Police department.
Hopefully, for your sake, I have learned my lesson and will finally err on the side of brevity. Since Police is a topic many of us think we know about, I may be able to skip some information. You will soon find Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-52724139764342343532010-03-30T18:21:00.000-04:002010-04-01T23:33:17.235-04:00City School Northampton: Week 6 - Planning and DevelopmentYin and yang. Long term, short term. Planning and zoning. Development and preservation. Building and economic development. Keep, take, and give.
This week in City School we hear from the town planner and the head of economic development. This class was our most relaxed one yet, because we only heard from two people and only two departments, and because this class was more like a discussion. WhewDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-16896659391085421242010-03-29T17:45:00.000-04:002010-03-30T17:33:17.439-04:00Five-Spice GunpowderWe recently had some good chicken at a local Chinese restaurant, and I was wondering what was in it. This restaurant is unusual in that it has a separate 'good' menu where you can order their Hong Kong style food.
The chicken tasted like it had Five-Spice Powder in it. I know this because we have some at home. Now what are those 5 spices? When I got home, I went to our spice cabinet, took out Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-62610009342207692942010-03-23T21:44:00.000-04:002010-04-01T23:33:49.610-04:00City School Northampton: Week 5 - FinanceApologies, I'm back from a small hiatus. I did not go anywhere, but I've been remiss in my bloggerly duties regarding City Schools. Northampton City Schools, if you haven't learned by now, is where regular citizens learn about the workings of our small city. Last time we heard about the schools. Previously, we learned about things like the Health Department and many other facets of our city Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645094.post-81380664528152299582010-03-19T18:19:00.000-04:002010-03-21T21:36:23.941-04:00Long Island Movies and DocumentariesIt's my intention to maintain the definitive list of movies that take place, are supposed to take place, or are about Long Island, New York. (That would be the part of Long Island which is not located in New York City.) I'll try to keep this up to date, but please do not hesitate to recommend additions and changes by posting to the comments area.
Films
3 Backyards (Eric Mendelsohn, 2010) [IMDB] Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11522913457942999355noreply@blogger.com5