June 30, 2013

Tomorrow marks the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Three days that changed the course of the war.



I read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara in 1974. A great book. General Buford's role was highlighted but the focus was on Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain.

General John Buford, the Union cavalry commander, seized the high ground. Because of his actions the Union held Seminary Ridge and the hills behind it: Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Culp’s Hill, Little Round Top, and Big Round Top. The Union later yielded Seminary Ridge, but held on to the rest of the hills. Excellent defensive positions, and the Confederates were attacking.

June 29, 2013

Heard this in a friend's office yesterday. This one is a great collection. Includes the only live version and several alternate takes.



I used to see the Con Ed Building from my bedroom window when I was growing up.



This new sculpture, which replaced the silver Andy Warhol, reminds me of the Star Trek Guardian of Forever.



No corn yet, hoping next week. Sunflowers still look good. Picked up some Weakfish Fillets from P.E. and D.D. Seafood.
















From the Barnes and Noble Starbucks Cafe.

June 28, 2013

Hooray ! Finally received my NYS Tax Refund. Delayed because I had to manually submit it, rather than E-Filing.



Windows 8.1 screwed up my wireless Printer settings and kept giving me error messages. “Printer not activated – Error Code 20. ” I downloaded drivers from the HP site but that didn't work. The solution ? Control Panel and add Printer. Took me a while to get there but it works fine now. A good place to start is HP Support.



Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Live on SNL) ft. JAY Z. A great Pop song. Timberlake is good. Only got to appreciate him from SNL.

June 27, 2013

Big Brother 15 started last night. A guilty pleasure of mine. Looks like it will be a good season. I love to watch the betrayals.



Just installed trial version of Windows 8.1. It has the start and shut-down command in the Desktop settings. Yeah ! You have to right-click on the Windows icon at the lower left hand side. Big improvement. The touch features are good, but now I can pick them up on my own slow and steady pace. Having an I-Pad and a Nook are pluses because I am already schooled in using touch commands.

June 23, 2013

Picked up some Mako Shark at the Forest Hills Greenmarket. The Pura Vida Boat out of Hampton Bays, NY,$12.99 a pound. Will make a sort of modified Paella : Margaritaville Shrimp, Shark and Chorizo over Goya Yellow Rice.



“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”
― Alice Walker, The Color Purple

June 22, 2013

Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen was in the library so I picked it up. Seven day limit, I'll finish it today.



My Father's Day gifts included a $25 Barnes and Noble Gift Card. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini was purchased even though it is in the public domain.



Time Gettysburg was picked up for the upcoming 150th Anniversary. Caught a break when they only charged me $9.95.



Bought Four CDs. They were all on sale. Nilsson and Astral Weeks are fantastic.



LIC Flea is a smaller version of Smorgasburg. The food is really good. Got some sandwiches to go from the Butcher Block, excellent stuff.



The moon enters its full phase at 7:32 a.m. ET Sunday, only about a half-hour after it passes the point in its orbit nearest to Earth, which is known as perigee. As a result, this full moon will look about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than it does at the farthest point in its orbit.

June 21, 2013

Restaurant Weeks: July 22 - August 16, $25 Lunch and $38 Three-Course Dinner menus at over 300 of the city's best restaurants. Can't wait, will try a few new places this year. NYCGO will have the participating Restaurants and menus by July 8th.

June 15, 2013

I am going shopping today for some items: Golf Clubs, new desktop computer and some Barnes and Noble stuff. Sort of a Father's day jaunt and some Mad Money coming next week. Also, some real nice discount coupons that expire tomorrow. Funny, you put in "Shopping" in image search and you get almost exclusively Women. I know they like shopping but us men do too. My wife certainly enjoyed it and also loved shopping on-line. They also enjoy the hunt for stuff more than men do, I know what I want before I go, I usually don't make improvised purchases.



Godiva Liqueur Truffles for tomorrow.



Went on a spree. Staples had this Desktop at 50% off. My old desktop is on its last legs.



Barnes and Noble discount coupons. The reviews on this one have not been great. Nevertheless, a continuing interest so I got it.



So far this 50th Anniversary album is pretty good.



Was going to buy a set of Ping clubs. I went to Sports Authority and bought a set of 845 Hybrids by Tommy Armour. The Salesman was a golfer and really helped me in what I bought. Picked up some matching woods and wedges and bought a new pair of Golf shoes. I don't think I will be playing a lot but when I do , I am outfitted. This set was a lot cheaper and still fits my needs. If I start playing a lot, I can always upgrade.



Also bought a new suit. Hickey-Freeman. Wasn't cheap but it was what I was looking for. A tan, cotton, Summer Suit.

June 9, 2013 -Big Apple BBQ

Turned out to be a nice day. The Beer garden had Shiner Bock on tap, the Cue was great and the lines weren't bad. All in all a great day and lots of BBQ in the fridge right now. Had to spend the $100 from the fast pass.



Had five different Ribs, Still like Baker's the best.



The biggest surprise was Brisket from Dinosaur BBQ. It was my personal favorite. The Salt Lick Brisket with Sausage was very good too.



Pimento ready to go into a cheese mix with Saltines and Sausage from Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. My BBQ calendar had a quote from Mike Mills (his 17th Street Bar and Grill Ribs were fabulous) on the use of Saltine Crackers from his book Peace, Love and Barbecue : "[In the early 1900s, cotton pickers in Texas] got their daily food from the meat markets. The meat markets served up the barbecue on sheets of butcher paper , and the workers would buy other items from the store to eat with it: cheese, saltine crackers, white bread, jalapeños and pickles."



Ed Mitchell still has a great sandwich:"Whole Hog Cue." This year the festival has four Whole Hog sellers.



This was the Skylight Inn "Whole Hog" BBQ. Guy was good with the cleavers. Posted a video of him yesterday. Scott's "Whole Hog" was served on white bread with pork rinds sprinkled on top.



By far the biggest line was the Salt Lick booth. I scoped out the regular line and saw that it moved faster than the Fast Pass line. Good stuff , worth the wait and they gave you little pieces of Brisket while you waited.



My Laptop purchase at Best Buy resulted in a $35 coupon. Bought this and two bargain based CDs : KC and the Sunshine Band and The Stevie Ray Vaughan collection from Scorsese's Blues.

June 8, 2013

Wow ! Just found out Marcia Ball is playing at Big Apple BBQ Block Party. She comes on late at 4:30, maybe I'll go back.



Will be getting Ed Mitchell's "Whole Hog" sandwich. Also plan on some Baker's Ribs. I see Shiner Beer is a sponsor, maybe they'll have some on tap. I have $100 to spend from my fast pass. Taking some home.

Skylight Inn "Whole Hog" BBQ.

June 7, 2013

Picked up some Shiner Bock to go with the NBA Finals.



Wow ! What an ending. Tony Parker's shot: he got it off with .1 or less remaining on shot clock.



In Slow-Mo, incredible sequence.

June 6, 2013

D-Day, June 6, 1944.

June 2, 2013

I-Pod in the car was draining too fast. Tekserve on 23rd Street has a great staff and they pointed me in the right direction. I had tried Radio Shack and Best Buy and they just looked at me in a funny way. Griffin PowerJolt Car Charger for $24 does the trick and now I don't have to worry if I take any long trips.



I saw a Metro Card on the ground at the Greenmarket and picked it up. It now costs $1 for each new card so it helps to have some loose extras. Couldn't believe when I checked it that it was loaded with $17.



Onions from Goshen, NY - Black Earth territory.