The Question of Coffee

Maybe free will is a relative concept. At least for me, I know that I make 'choices' in my mind. To have coffee or not to have coffee is a question, and when I get coffee a decision is made, at least based in relation to that question. Now in some larger sense, maybe there was no question of whether or not I would get coffee. First of all, that larger sense needs to have a framework too. Maybe it's "God" that knows whether I would get coffee, or maybe there's some set of equations that determine that. But the fact remains, that at least as far as my awareness goes, whether I get coffee or not was not initially determined.

If I didn't have the ability to question, or wonder about my future options, then I might not have any idea about choice, I would just do or not do whatever I was, or was not, going to do. But I do have that ability to question and since I don't know the future, when I act (or don't act), I am sometimes aware of the possibility that things could have gone a different way. And since I have a notion of identity and willing within this context I attribute those actions within the context of my identity, as they are my actions. 'Willing' in the sense that there seems to be a connection with me and what I do. It is not like my perceptions are the same as those I would be viewing on a very high quality television set. I get tired when I move, and I don't move because I don't want to get more tired, and the like. Hence, I 'choose' to do this or that. That doesn't mean that if the future is in some larger sense determined that my questions and choices don't have relevance from the standpoint of my concept of myself since I am not all knowing, especially as pertains to the future and  limited and uncertain knowledge of things in the past and present, and I have a concept of acting (or not acting) based on this limited knowledge. It doesn't mean that in a higher sense such actions are not determined, only that I don't know about that.

I decided to make coffee this morning, at least in part because I had a coffee machine, coffee, a mug, sugar, half n' half, a spoon, a place to drink it, time to drink it, and Bounty paper towels. The toweling is of the full size sheet kind, so it's not prone to rip apart when I use it as a coffee filter. I also have electricity, and water, and facilities to clean the previously used coffee machine (sink, soap, a brush...). Oh, and I like coffee, especially when I first get up. But it wasn't easy...

A Pleasant Evening Repast

I'd love to go to a train restaurant in a haunted hotel. Not a real haunted hotel, but certainly one with secret passages, some spooky noises and the like. After taking a peaceful afternoon nap, I'd get on the elevator and select the floor for the train station. Having reached that floor, I'd get out, enter the train station, and pick a train to get on. There would be trains heading to all parts of the world, even commuter trains. Then I'd pick a train to somewhere, get on it, head to the dining car, and have a nice meal as I watch the scenery go by. I might be prone to pick a train that takes me through the countryside of Transylvania.  Afterwards, I'd exit the train, go back to the elevator, and maybe head down to the haunted cocktail lounge on the lower level.

The Holiday Convenience Store Occurrence

I'm pretty hungover. I had a 6 pack and half a bottle of red wine. I often get my 6 pack, of magic hats, at the convenience store as I'm walking home in the evening. It costs 11 dolluhs, a pretty good deal around these parts. Wednesday night, when I went there last, as I was about to purchase it, the guy behind the counter, who is Indian, or Bangladeshi, or the like, I think, says that he wants to ask me something. He goes behind the Lotto display and comes back with a wrapped bottle. It was wrapped in silvery foil paper and tied with a bit of ribbon. So, he says to me I don't know what this is, what is it? I'm a bit bewildered, because it's clearly a bottle, but it's wrapped, so how would I know better than he? Nevertheless, I went along and as the bottle was tied around the neck, I moved the wrapping down a bit and could see that it was a bottle of wine. So, I said, proudly, "It's wine." So, then he says the supplier for the magic hats gave it to him, but he doesn't drink. He told her that (I think he said her) he didn't drink, and she said then to give it to a good customer. So, he asked if I would take it. I was rather flabbergasted, but I accepted it. I was also buying a Haagen Daz pop, so my bill was 14 dolluhs. I gave him a 20 and said he could keep the rest. He seemed happy about that.

The wine was Avalon cabernet 2010. It looks like it cost about 12 dolluhs from my web investigation. Just the kind of wine that I like, that is, red. So, that's what I drank last night. It was decent. I was thinking, that in a way I bought wine in a convenience store, which isn't proper round these parts, but I really didn't. He gave me a gift, and I gave him one too.

Where did Genes Come From?

So, I was wondering. Let's assume that evolution is a good theory in that it describes how lifeforms came to be what they are. That theory uses genes to propagate life. But how did the genes initially come to be? They couldn't have evolved in the same way because there were no genes to use to do so. Ok, let's say there were genes for the genes, some kind of meta-gene, but where did they come from? And so on, and so on. So, maybe this isn't a new thought, but it seems to me understanding how different lifeforms come to be requires not only evolution, but also how the underlying mechanism that evolution uses came to be. Therefore, the theory is not complete.

Two Methods for Frying an Egg

There are 2 methods of frying an egg that are worthy of note. The first I learned from Jacques Pepin's TV show. When frying an egg put a little water in the pan and cover it. The steam will cook the film of whites that covers the yolk so there will be no need to flip the egg to make it over easy. The cooking is very uniform and gives a very smooth appearance to the pseudo-over easy fried egg. Given this option, providing one has a cover to the pan, and access to water, I don't see why one would use the over easy approach. Secondly, if one is fortunate enough to have fried some bacon in the pan, then fry the egg in the bacon fat. The key here is to "baste" the egg, particularly the yolk, almost continuously with the bacon fat. I tilt the pan to make the bacon fat pool on one side, then use a spoon to collect it and baste the yolk. This is a very nice option, especially if the pan doesn't have a cover.

I have 2 pans. When I make bacon I use the larger pan as  the bacon strips are too long to fit in the smaller pan. The larger pan doesn't have a cover so I can't use the former method. When I don't make bacon I use the smaller pan and use the former method. Both methods are good, but the resulting egg using the bacon fat method is tastier, of course.

200 Years Isn't Such a Long Time

I'm about 50 years old. So, I have a sense of the duration of 50 years. I can imagine twice that, so I think I have a sense of the duration of 100 years. When I was little, I didn't have a sense of time on this scale because I lacked the experience of it. I used to think that 100 years was an unfathomably long time. Now I don't. I used to think that things were so different 100 years ago because it was a long time ago. Now I realize that it's not because 100 years is a long time, but that the pace of change is fast (and also probably accelerating).

I also think I have a sense of a time span of  200 or 300 hundred years, which takes us back to colonial times. It's only about 5 times my age and I know what 10 years is like compared to 50. Let me tell you young folks, it's not that long ago. I think my maximum grasp of a time interval is about 2000 years, if I really concentrate. Let me tell you, it's not so long ago. Now billions of years, that's a pretty long time, but from my previous reasoning, if I was a 100 million years old, I might not think it's that long a time. If I could just get a grasp of that amount of time it might let me in on what's going on with time itself, which I wouldn't mind at all. Cause it seems to me sometimes that I've given time too much credit.

Technology

What is technology, I wonder? In a way science is the opposite of technology. Science tries to pick apart things, or even use technology to understand them. Technology is a way of putting things together, whether they're understood or not, for some use. I find technology alienating, and science the opposite, so I find using technology in science disturbing.

Nobody really knows how the world works, and nobody really knows how a piece of technology works (ex-computer). A piece of technology is a part of the world, yet fashioned in some way that makes it different from the world. Squirrels have no technology, nor do penguins, and beavers may have a little, but not much. The technology of other animals is hidden in their genetic code. Our technology is hidden in the mall.

And to those who believe nothing can be shown to be true unless it can be established using the scientific method: What is the empirical basis for such a belief?

If There was No Aging

If there was no aging, then how would the evolutionary selection process work? The fitness of an individual would still depend on the same factors, but there would be more non-reproductive age individuals within the population. These non-reproductive age people, would have some selectable advantage if they were older, but perhaps, that advantage would dwindle as their age continued to increase. So, the evolutionary pressure for those people to survive would become less as they past a certain age. Especially with humans, there are means by which important knowledge and skills are transferred from generation to generation through various forms of technology and the like (language, books, apprenticeship). Maybe if there was no technology, people would live longer.

Shackburger

I finally had the shackburger at Shake Shack, a double actually. It was very good. My only complaint, a not insignificant one: No Onion!

Suzannianism

Suzannianism is an ancient Jewish sect which has as one it's core beliefs that there are no inanimate objects, that all things are part of the living, and that all things can be named, as one would name the kind of thing that most people recognize as alive. This can be viewed as an extension of life after death, in the sense that dead things, being inanimate, are also alive. Perhaps the best example of this is the extent that this is done, by members of the sect, in the case of cars. Somewhat apocryphal is the legend that, long before Abraham, his ancestors came to this planet from the planet Suzannia, where such was common practice. One wonders if the planet had many cars, and if there was a time before cars, say in the case where horse driven carriages were used, and if the spirit of the horse came to inhabit the carriage.

Packing Up Leftovers at a Restaurant

Sometimes, when I have chicken wings, the sauce has some kick to it, and sometimes it has less, even though I ask for the same thing at the same place. I don't subscribe to the old adage that more sauce equals hotter. It usually just means more vinegary.

In general, I prefer to pack the leftovers from my meal myself. Because whoever packs them doesn't pack everything. They make some kind of judgement about what I really want and what I don't want. Often leaving extra sauce that might take a few seconds to put in the box. When you want something done right, do it yourself. Who better knows what you want than yourself? Maybe they're afraid that if they give you the box you'll load it with other things, like ketchup, mustard, salt shakers, knives and forks. I suppose some people would do that, and I guess I get it. Don't make it too easy for them.

On the other hand, there's this one bartender that does a great job packing the leftovers. She puts little tops on the plastic cups for the leftover jalapenos, crushed red pepper, and the like, so they don't spill. So, there's an exception to every rule, as she does a better job than I would do.

Jalapenos and All

I buy a lot of jalapenos. Sometimes they're spicy, other times they're not. I store them in a bowl, with my garlic, outside of the refrigerator, on the microwave table. I usually buy about a dozen. They start to turn red after a few days. I've noticed that as they ripen, and start to turn red, that they become spicier. So, even if they aren't spicy to begin with, there is still some hope. I also like the flavor of the red ones. I wonder why they don't sell them when they're red, as they do red bell peppers.

I often saute them, and they lose a lot of their heat when I'm doing so. It is nearly impossible to gauge how much to put in to achieve the desired level of heat. Last night the level was too high and my stomach bothered me a bit this morning. I also find that if I use powdered chiles, or hot sauce, that my stomach bothers me less the next day for the same amount of heat. I believe this is because I don't taste as much of the heat that is actually there when I use fresh jalapenos, as compared to hot sauce, or powdered chiles, but my stomach feels the full brunt of it. So, if I want more heat, but I don't want the after effects I should probably use the latter.

Some people, I've noticed, refer to chiles in general as jalapenos. I don't have a problem with this, in fact, I find it rather endearing, though it can sometimes lead to confusion with the waitstaff at a restaurant, for example.

Finding Extraterrestrial Life

For posterity I would like to note that as science can't truly comment on the existence of life on earth, but only on what is physically observable that we as people correlate with life, which I assure you is not life, I'm pretty sure that scientists will find no life on planets other than Earth. It would definitely be surprising if they did.

I suspect though that they will not use a reasonable definition of life, but a mechanistic one, which most sheepishly accept, and state that they have found life, first the signs of it, and then perhaps life itself, while at the same time implicitly denying it's existence. Such is life...

I had chicken wings last night. Half barbecue and half hot, with the normal fixin's: crushed red pepper, pickled jalapenos, and blue cheese with celery applicators. Also, there were some Fish n' Chips, though they were not proper chips but french fries. I used some malt vinegar on them (and ketchup).

Confusing General Tso's

I had chinese food last night. It was pretty good. The fried pork dumplings were excellent, the hot and sour was better than the last time I went there. The Prawns in spicy garlic sauce were quite good, and I'm pretty particular about my garlic sauce. The General Tso's chicken was pretty good too, but I must admit that I'm a bit confused about it. This is a pretty upscale restaurant, as chinese restaurants go. It's near Rockefeller center, and it's a bit dear. I couldn't help but wonder when I was eating the general tso's about the chicken.

It was all white meat, and the flavor and texture was good, but it almost tasted like it had been cooked previous to being battered and fried. And the pieces were shaped a little like those in sweet and sour chicken which gives one pause. Normally, this suspicion of precooked chicken would not be a good sign. But I'm confused because the flavor was pretty good. It may be that I'm just trying to justify myself because I chose the restaurant. It's a Sichuan style place.

When I asked for extra red dried chiles on the side, they gave us not only the red dried chiles, but also these nice little red pickled chiles, which I had never seen before. He said he wasn't sure which ones I wanted... I said we'd keep them both.

I think it's a pretty good place.

Observations of American Cheese

As if there had not been enough of them, here are some musings on American Cheese:

1) I continue to stand by Land O'Lakes American. Although I've heard that their white is 'cheese' and their yellow is 'cheese food', I can't tell the difference.

2) At the Deli counter the other day I specified a pound of their white, and they gave me white, but 2% fat. I didn't come to terms with it until well after I had brought it home. It was bad.

3) Unlike most people who like American cheese, I'm not going to make apologies for it. I believe a cheese like Land O'Lakes is a high quality product with refined qualities, such as how it melts, and its flavour.

4) I had Kraft Old English slices once, which were really good.

5) I like to eat slices of American cheese before they are put in the refrigerator. After they have been refrigerated they lose something, like ham does. I also like to eat bologna slices before they are put in the fridge, but not much after it has been refrigerated.

6) Generally speaking, what cheese tastes better on a burger?

7) Velveeta is bad, Cheez Whiz is great.

8) Pickles go very well with American cheese. And mustard and pickles go very well on a grilled (or toasted) cheese sandwich. Heat sinks such as tomatoes, when used in such a preparation, can be good, but are a different animal. I'll take bacon.

9) I like swiss on a ham sandwich, unless it is melted, then I prefer American.

10) Generally speaking yellow and white both taste the same. But white reminds me of NJ, especially Atlantic City.

The Microwave Room, Carpeting Memory, and Garlic Skins

I still have some left over french fries from Friday night, I was thinking I could make decent hash browns from them. I'm not a big french fry person. Ketchup is key with hash browns, and my kethcup situation is a little odd.

It looks like I may be heading to San Genaro today, via automobile, perhaps with the dog. But things are still fairly unsettled as the dog is not well, and I won't know til later if she'll be able to make it. I imagine parking won't be too much of a problem as it is Sunday. Hope I'm right. I may take 42nd street across town, as it seems that the lights on 57th are more geared for heading east. Maybe 42nd is the opposite? I try to avoid driving through times square, but maybe it's not so bad.

I wonder if I'm suffering from hypoxia. It would be nice if there were still some oxygen bars around to see how that would make me feel. It seems that that trend has passed, maybe for 10 years now. I never did try one out.

I was noticing yesterday that my carpet shows the history of my paths across it in a rather strong way, even if the sun shining on it isn't strong. The pattern is as I would have expected. The marks from the crutches I had to use a couple years back have disappeared though, so there is some lack of memory in the carpet. Probably has something to do with vacuuming and walking over those marks repeatedly. There are a few too many onion and garlic skins on the floor in the room with the microwave and in the kitchen, which is adjacent. I use a lot of garlic and onion. I let them accumulate as I don't think they're much of a sanitary issue in the scheme of things, and I'm amazingly lazy. I'm also rather fond of paper towelling, and there's typically a collection of partially used towelling scattered around the areas that I frequent. I used to give my grandmother a hard time about her paper towel usage, but now I see the error of my ways. Maybe such a trait is inherited.

I haven't thrown out any of my beer bottle caps for a good part of a year. I periodically collect them from the coffee table and put them in a plastic bag. The plastic bag is getting some heft. There must be quite a few hundred by now, maybe even appraoching 1000. There are still a few lying around that have somehow found there way to other parts of the apartment. For example, there's one approximately 2 inches from the upper left corner of the keyboard I'm typing on. Whoever keeps track of where these bottle caps should be while I'm not thinking about them does an excellent job because I don't even doubt that there's a good reason for it being there even though I don't recall putting it there. It looks to be from a Magic Hat #9, certainly a type of beer I've drank in the recent past.

I used to call the room I'm in the computer room, but from now on I think I'll call it the microwave room.

Breakfast Topics

I put my 6 bags of gym clothes in the trunk of my car just so that nobody gets any ideas. They were in the back seat, except for one pair which was in the passenger seat. I just heard an interesting story about cats falling on the radio. They do okay falling from, say less than 5 stories, and they do okay say above 9 stories, but they have problems in between. Apparently, they do okay less than 5 stories because they're not moving that fast, and they do okay above 9 stories because they've reached terminal velocity and start to relax since they're not accelerating anymore. They can then orient themselves, and tend to survive the fall. I couldn't help but be reminded of the praying mantis I had on my windshield a couple weeks ago, and how it had problems around 40 mph, but did okay at 60 mph, and less than 30-40 mph. Although in this case the bad region had nothing to do with terminal velocity. There do seem to be some parallels though.

I find it ironic that the analogy used to describe curvature of space time in general relativity, that of a mass lying on a elastic membrane which curves the membrane, relies on gravity to pull the mass downward and thereby distort the membrane.

I just had leftovers from last night for breakfast. 3 chicken wings (2 BBQ and 1 buffalo), a tortilla that once contained the contents of a fish taco, and fixins for said taco (salsa, guacamole, chopped jalapenos, and sour cream). There were also crushed red peppers involved. The best bite was when I opened the remaining part of the tortilla, cut some of the chicken meat off both types of chicken wings and put it on the tortilla, and then also filled it with the fixins. I had heated the tortilla and wings in a pan and then put the pan in the oven with a bit of oil. That bite was pretty delicious. It seemed fairly ridiculous to pack the tortilla, which was not in good shape, in with the rest of it last night, but it really worked out.

I read two headlines on a website, "Tiger that attacked man did nothing wrong" and "How are American muslims reacting to the anti-Islamic film?". They followed each other in a scroll, I first thought it said something like, "Was tiger that attacked man reacting to the anti-Islamic film?".

Vanilla Sky

My home internet continues to sort of work. I watched a good part of a documentary on Absinthe on Hulu last night just before I went to bed. I finished off the Chinese liquor during it. I think I was started to get used to its flavor a bit. At 52% alcohol it was a suitable substitute for Absinthe after finishing a six pack. This time it was Bluepoint Oktoberfest, purchased at the Gulf station on the westbound service road of Sunrise just past the exit for Southern state. Their prices are pretty reasonable. Parking wasn't great last night. I wasted a good 10 minutes.

Starbucks this morning. Today I decided to cross Austin at the light which brings me onto restaurant row. There is a new Yogurt shop Vanilla Sky to be opening where Europan used to be. I'm not too thrilled about that. What they need here is a good pub that serves food late into the night. I'm talking 3 AM on Monday late, not midnight. I enjoyed Vanilla sky (the movie), though its main character was pretty vain. I guess everything is relative.

I was walking along, across the boulevard and all, with a traffic cop not far from me for a decent part of my trek. He had his radio on, and I could hear some of the babble. I heard the word summons at least once. I started to worry that I had parked on the wrong side of the street, even though I was pretty sure that I hadn't. I find that I mix up the Thursday/Friday streets, I've made the mistake a few times. When I got to my car it was fine. It was parked a good 3-4 minutes walk further than usual. No big deal though.

Once I parked in front of a driveway, and didn't get to my car the next day until noon or so. This was probably 6 years ago and it still bothers me. I actually checked when I parked if I was in front of a driveway, and yet still I missed it. When I got there the next day there was no ticket but someone had sprayed paint across the side of it. I felt terrible. The paint came off easily, I don't blame them. I was going to go up to the door and apologize, and maybe give them some money, but I never did.

Quiet Morning on the North Side

The sign is still there. Apparently they have no intention of taking it down. The excavation has been filled, maybe they were digging to put the electrical wiring in. There were some nice low cumulus on the way to work today. There was even a sprinkle or two, but not enough to turn the wipers on, even once. I might have cleaned the windshield once if I didn't have to turn the lights on, and if my wipers were new.

I got the $1.85 coffee at 7-11, which comes out to $2 even with tax. No wax paper buttered rolls. I parked in an area where it's not clear to me whether to go to Starbucks or 7-11. Maybe the roundness of the price was a factor in my decision. No one was in the way of the coffee, the woman that works there was sort of close to where I get the cup reading a paper, she shifted a little to the right when I went for the cup. Worked out pretty well. I only gave 5 series of alternating stirs since I put my sugar in before pouring the coffee. May not even need that many, I do 6 at Starbucks.

The crowd on the boulevard is different than on Austin, where Starbucks lies. Certainly more subdued, but different also, and less medical workers out on their breaks and what not. I got the first crosswalk when the walking man signal was still up, but didn't quite get to the other side before the light became green. No biggie, probably lost about 10 seconds.

The car started well, and got on the parkway pretty smoothly. Traffic heading east at the Kew Gardens interchange was moving well, so I didn't bypass it. I still prefer the right lane, with my car shifted right of center to avoid the bumpy stretch that the right tire would fall on. I'm toying with the idea of getting over to the left lane after the low point so I don't encounter the incoming traffic coming from the on ramp that shortly follows. It's also nice to stay in the right lane so that I get some shade in the submerged portion of the parkway. It was cloudy at that time today though, so that really didn't matter this time.

Heat Conduction

Did you know that if you were ejected into interstellar space without a spacesuit you would not explode? Aside from not having any Oxygen your body would radiate about 10,000 calories a day from Blackbody radiation. If you were somehow able to eat, say prime rib, I think this rate of energy loss would be surmountable.

When they say that the temperature on the Moon during the day is 180F and at night is -200F, what exactly do they mean? As there is no air. Do they mean the surface temperature varies by that amount? Well, that's certainly a different matter than the air temperature. If they mean that the 10 molecules in the moon's atmosphere have that temperature, that doesn't matter either. I guess it's just a way to be sensational by appealing to the senses.

Actually Sunday

With the Jewish holidays approaching alternate side of the street parking will be suspended on Monday and Tuesday. This makes the option of using my car today easier, as I hate coming back on a Sunday night and trying to find a place to park.

I guess going to Roxy's is an option. So would supper at my house. I had somewhat stale and then microwaved Doritos with srirach for breakfast around 1400 hrs. I'm still a little hungry. I put half n half in my Chai tea today and I'm running low on sugar. I think I have only one bag of Chai left. After that I may have to resort to herbal teas.

My internet has mysteriously started working, for two days now. Someone must have inadvertantly fixed it.

The weather in Timbuktu is temporarily unavailable.

I may get a piece of toast. Correction, I did get a piece of toast. The A1 bottle full of Ketchup that I received for Christmas isn't the best for pouring, I microwave it for a few seconds as I keep it in the fridge. 

The Wheels are Turning!

Last night I parked on the street where 7-11 is on the corner, so I got my 6-pack of Magic hats there. I also got 2 Japanese noodle soups, and a Haagen Daz dark chocolate chocolate pop. They have good noodle soups there, though there collection was rather sparse by previous standards, there were still some that looked acceptable, though I don't think I've had them. I forget the brand, Sapporo maybe? The pop was the only one remaining, and it was in a box at the bottom of the freezer with some assorted ice cream products. It was a little beat up. It cost 3 dolluhs. I had it last night, it was a little crystallized, but definitely edibible. I thought about the idea of asking for a discount, because the box was all beat up, as I was eating it. It's sometimes a dubious venture buying ice cream during the summer from convenience stores in this neck of the woods, but this 7-11 is pretty good.

Having parked on that street, I knew where I was gonna get my coffee this morning. This time they weren't out of it. I'm often a little annoyed at how people hang out where the coffee is. Don't they know I have to get stirrers, and half n half, and so forth? I typically have no justification for this feeling though, but I can't stop it from happening. I don't think they had any buttered rolls in the wax paper today, though I hardly even looked.

The coolant leak is definitely getting worse. I intend to have them take a look when I get my next oil change in about 3000 mi (~5 weeks). I hope it holds up til then and it isn't anything serious.

As I drove by the sign on the GCP (heading east, the sign is on the west side), I saw a crew that was excavating around it. So, they're taking it out, I wondered? Pretty crazy. Finally some action!

Encounter with a Praying Mantis

I had a prolonged encounter with a Praying Mantis yesterday. In hindsight it reminds me of a conversation I had in the alleyway at work with someone. He told me about how a grasshopper at the beach, in Michigan I think, had once signaled to him to get people off the beach. The grasshopper had selected him because he was the alpha male. He and his friends started leaving the beach at once, and then I think the rest of the people there also left. Soon after there was a tornado, or windstorm, or something. So, the signaling was successful.

Yesterday afternoon, when I drove from the parking lot by the building I work in to the gym (a tenth of a mile or 2) I noticed, when I was half way or so to the gym, that there was a praying mantis in the center of the windshield on the passenger side. He was huge. Throughout the time he was on the windshield I thought he (could be a she, I guess) was a grasshopper. Now I realize he was not a grasshopper. I parked by the gym and was surprised that he wasn't blown off by the wind from the car moving. I was concerned that he had lost his habitat by the other building, but I just left him there anyway. I went to the gym, and when I got back to the car I had forgotten about him and started my trip home.

Around the time I was approaching the exit to the place that I work, about a 3 minute drive, to my astonishment, I noticed that he was still there. I was very surprised that not only didn't he get off the car, but he was able to hold on-at times I must've been going 30 mph or so. At that point I just kept on driving and turned onto the parkway where speeds get up to around 60 mph. I watched him as I accelerated and he oriented himself into the wind. He would sometimes bring his right arm up, but he looked surprisingly stable. I thought that, since I had to get gas, I would go to the closest gas station on the way home and let him off there. First I had to get onto the expressway, and then get off a couple miles later. The gas station was not far from there.

As I exited the parkway to get on the expressway I had to slow down. I noticed, as maybe I had noticed before, that he seemed to be having more trouble as I slowed down. He fidgeted all over the place. I got down to maybe 40 mph, and then got on the expressway and got up to about 55-60 mph. I tried to go slower than usual, and stayed in the right lane. He was still moving his right arm around quite a bit, but, to my surprise, he was doing ok.

Then I exited the expressway, and slowed down as I got on the service road and started to prepare to make a right turn. I probably slowed down sooner than I normally would have, out of concern for him. But he really started to struggle, and before I knew it he went flying off. I wasn't happy about that, but there was little I could do about it at that point. At least I had tried, though it seemed that speeds around 40 were more problematic than 60, something I hadn't imagined. I guess that the winds right on the windshield are worse at 40 mph than at 60 mph due to some aerodynamic phenomenon.

I called my mother on the way home, as I usually do, and told her about it, expressing my concern for it. She said, I'm sure it's OK. Well, I'm not.

In the alleyway today I saw a hummingbird, which is very unusual for me, and the crickets are getting louder, as they do this time of year.

Liquor, Gym Clothes, and Parking

I had 6 Bluepoint Toasted Lager bottles at home last night after 1 Pinot Noir at supper. I did not have any of the Chinese liquor, which I received as a gift, and which is in the freezer. I had hoped that the flavor of Chinese liquor would be helped (suppressed) by putting it in the freezer. And though it is no worse, the flavor is not much weaker. I'm told it should be drank warm, which doesn't sound good at all. I don't like warm Sake either. The liquor is pretty strong, 52% alcohol. There is about 1/3 of the bottle left. It is a very peculiar flavor to the western palate, it tastes a little like something rancid, but nothing could live in that. Don't misunderstand me, I'm grateful for it, and I'll drink it. Of course, some western alcohol tastes bad too, but this tastes bad in a different way. I imagine it may be an acquired taste with all that entails. I wonder if it is typical to add to it and make some sort of cocktail. I tend to think not. I don't have much to add to it anyway, but maybe some fruit juice would help. I thought about having some last night after the beer, but I decided not to, and today I'm glad.

The box that the liquor came in is very elaborate. It took me some effort to open it, and I still don't know what the right way to open it would be. The bottle is significantly smaller than the box. I wonder, when I said to the giver, that there was 1/3 left if she thought I had drank more than I actually had. She expressed some disapproval at the small amount remaining.

I brought 3 sets of gym clothes with me today on my back. I normally bring one set at a time, but I decided to fill the annoying sketchers backpack thing with 3 instead of carrying a plastic bag each day. Carrying a bag is a bit tedious when getting coffee, with the stirring and all particularly.

I continue to park regularly on the north side of the boulevard. Tonight, being Tuesday, is a particularly good night for this. I remember when I thought Tuesday was the worst night to park. At that time I parked almost exclusively on the south side. It takes a long time for me to develop a parking strategy, and I also imagine it will change over time, as the factors that determine an optimal parking spot change, and perhaps to a lesser extent, as I learn more. I am subject to alternate side of the street parking and I have been for over 8 years. One thing I've learned is that it's not worth looking around for a good spot too much. A lot of times taking a spot that's further away is quicker in the long run. It's also not worth trying to fit in a tight spot. It can make the adjacent parkees upset, and it takes a toll on the power steering. I like to leave at least a foot on either side. Sometimes I break that last rule though, and sometimes I regret having broken it. The worst part is often worrying about it after I've parked. It's just not worth it for someone with my temperament.

Beer Glasses

I crossed the boulevard a number of times over the weekend, but I'll try not to dwell on that. There is a new bar on 44th st, between 8th and 9th avenues, in the city proper. I don't recall the name. My friend and I went in to check it out Sunday. She had a Guinness and I a Stella. A man there sitting next to us had just taken a transatlantic cruise, and tested me on what they call Stella in England. I said I knew, because I did, they call it wifebeater. He said it was called that because most beers in England are 3% alcohol, and Stella is 5%. So, men there are not used to that level of alcohol, and get more drunk than they expect. I did not know that. I'm not sure if I believe it, but he seemed pretty competent.

The Stella and Guinness were both in the miniature glasses they have now. Especially around New Year's they hiked the average price of a beer around here from $6 to $7, and started serving it in smaller glasses. I'd guess these glasses are about 13 oz. They actually even keep the shape of the glass the same in some cases (e.g.-Guinness) to make it harder to tell. This really makes a person feel like they're being ripped off. If you're gonna increase the price of a beer, than don't shrink the glass too. I actually feel embarrassed when visitors come to New York and are met by this underhanded maneuver. I wouldn't think it would trick anybody, but unfortunately, it must work to some degree or else they wouldn't do it. I have seen some bars revert back to the nominal size, so there must be some repercussions. The guy at the bar maintained that it looked like a proper pint. I can't imagine why, although perhaps it was the disorientation from the cruise. Either way, I remain a bit puzzled.

We were considering some chicken wings. They had 6 chicken wings for $11. Which is also ridiculous. It's hard to imagine how good these chicken wings would have to be to warrant that, but there was no particular reason to think that they would be that good. So, we passed, and went elsewhere. We wound up at one of the few reasonably priced restaurants remaining in the area. It was Indian, we found it up on 53rd, I think. Not bad.

Previous to that I had driven to Westchester with her, her dog and bird. Her dog barked a lot at the bird, who kept on saying "Hi Cutie". Reportedly, the bird kept on saying this because he was stressed out. I don't blame him with the dog and all.

Crossing the Boulevard, Part 2

People think plants are green, but plants reflect green light, making them purple, the opposite of green. In the same way, people appear as what they reflect, and so they're appearance is the opposite in a way of what they are. Coming home last night I was crossing the boulevard again, having parked on the north side of it. A woman was well on her way across it, carrying a 12 pack of Corona in one hand and talking on her cell phone with the other. She was carrying the 12-pack in a bag, no doubt from Walgreen's too. She put it down a couple times, mainly because she had to stop at the islands because the traffic was bad. Walgreen's only sells 12 packs. I wonder if that's a good idea for city living. I once carried a 6 pack across the boulevard on crutches in one turn of the lights. It's about 16 lanes.

This morning I crossed the boulevard again, not surprisingly. I got my coffee at 7-11. They didn't have regular coffee. They only had decaf and pumpkin spice. I opted for the pumpkin spice. They had light cream available so I used that instead of half n half. I put too much in. I usually put it in the cup before I put the coffee in, maybe I should put it in afterwards, since it's not hard to mix like sugar and I can better gauge the amount I'm putting in by the cloudiness of the coffee. I wish they had the buttered rolls in wax paper there. They've only had the ones in cellophane lately. Aside from the fact that the ones in wax paper are generally fresher, the ones in cellophane don't keep well. I think the cellophane doesn't breath, and the water vapor inside ruins the roll. Or maybe the rolls they use are softer to begin with, or maybe both, but they're generally not worth getting.

Crossing the Boulevard

I went to Walgreen's yesterday getting back after work. I needed toilet paper and paper towels. I was also out of shaving cream. Lately, I've been using soap, but I received some shaving cream and I was using that most recently. I actually don't remember how I came by the shaving cream, but I had just run out of it and although I think using soap is quite doable I have to admit that shaving cream is easier, and I decided I would get some. I was almost at the counter when I realized I had forgotten to get some. As I was carrying a not small package of TP, 2 rolls of paper towels, a Delish! brand frozen pizza (which didn't fit in the basket), and a 12 pack of becks (bottles) I wasn't happy about going for the shaving cream, but I did. I had regular type shaving cream a la Barbasol or the like, but this time I got Edge with Aloe. I had to walk home from here, about a five minute walk.

They still don't have Excedrin, which I prefer. What is going on with that? I know there was a recall many months ago, but I've yet to see signs of it since then. I got the Walgreen's brand, extra strength, 100 tablets, which I guess is fine. I wonder if the ratio of Aspirin to Acetaminophen is the same as with Excedrin? By itself, Acetaminophen does nothing for my headaches.

The walk across the boulevard is long and I feel a bit foolish carrying the 12 pack, which was not in a bag. I got the Nice! brand TP, which is rather thick and therefore will go relatively fast, but that's OK. I think it was a 6 pack. That was the smallest size they had, of any brand, except for the single rolls. The 12-pack was only $14 plus tax, it was on special. I don't think many people realize, but Duane Reade is owned by Walgreen's.

I brought my umbrella yesterday. I left it in the car. I think I have 2 sets of dirty gym clothes in there too, and a bottle of Apple syrup (which was a gift). I should bring those things in tomorrow, as I'd like to do laundry over the weekend.

I had 7 Beck's last night, but I didn't feel them much. I guess I ate a lot.

The Trip

The trip to Tennessee went without a hitch. The oil level remained constant, and I had no coolant alarms, or issues. I stopped off in western Virginia and had the third pound cheeseburger at Hardee's. It was just fine, but the distinctive charbroiled flavor of my youth is apparently lost to the sands of time. I also wish they just had the regular cheeseburgers they used to have back in the day. Why do they have to get bigger and fancier? You can always eat a lot of the smaller ones if you want more. I had also stopped off at a burger king further up I-81 a few hours earlier. I got 2 double cheeseburgers. They were fresh, and pretty delicious (such was not the case at a Burger King heading back. The double cheeseburger I had then had been sitting around a bit). The patty on top of one of them, the only one I looked at, seemed pretty small, but it was good anyway. Nothing to drink at that location. It was near a carnival.

I didn't make the trip down non-stop. I stopped overnight at an Econo Lodge. It was a little suspect, but turned out just fine. Came out to $62 and change.

Getting back to the Burger King experience I had heading back. It was in Stauton, Virginia. I had taken some coffee there too. I initially got off the highway there to get some coffee at Starbuck's, but I had a bit of trouble finding it and wound up at Burger King (again). Figured I'd get the coffee there, and have a double cheese while I was at it. The cashier said I'd have to wait for the coffee. A couple minutes later he came back with it (a little curious), and also gave me some things of half n' half. I went over to stir my 2 packets of sugar into my medium coffee while the double cheese was being 'prepared'. Initially, I couldn't find the stirrers at the soda bar, so I used a straw. After I started using it I saw a few stirrers in a tray there mixed in with some used sugar packets. I went over to the counter and stirred my coffee as I waited for the double cheese. The cashier asked me if there were many stirrers left, seeing that I was using a straw. I said, that there were, I just didn't see them. Then, I said that they were a little low, but there were some. Later, as I ate my double cheese (to stay), I think he may have gone over to the soda bar to check...

Coolant Concerns

I'm going to be driving to East Tennessee at the end of the week. Looks like it's about a 13 hour drive. My car is getting pretty old, but running fine, except the blinker doesn't blink at the moment. As, I suppose, with any older car the fluids often need topping off. At the moment I'm having the most concerns with the coolant. About a month ago I had to refill it a bit sooner than I expected. I topped off the power steering, and checked the oil as well. The oil was way high. I had just had it changed a couple weeks before that. I was thinking that it wasn't burning/losing oil. If I had checked it after 5000 mi like I usually do I might have thought it wasn't losing oil, as having checked it last week I can tell that the level is going down. Good thing I checked it after 2000 or so miles. I guess it's OK to overfill it. I wonder if they filled it high intentionally because they know she's got some miles on her. In which case that would be rather considerate.

I remember that when I topped off the coolant I wasn't sure that I had filled it too the max level, but I figured it is good enough for now. I also remember thinking that I might think it had gotten worse if it alarms again earlier than expected, but I brushed it off. Well, sure enough, it alarmed last week just before my long trip. I refilled it, but even given my recalling the earlier circumstances I remained a bit worried. I checked for puddles underneath the car and found a large one on Friday (but it may have been there before I parked there). I checked the level and it was down, but at a time when the engine was cold (I had filled it when it was warm). This morning I checked underneath where it had been parked and didn't see much. It had been raining but it had dried some and I think I could still tell. There might have been a small patch, but nothing for certain. I then checked the level just after I got to work, and it is lower than I had left it but nothing dramatic. So, I guess it hasn't sprung a major leak. I also was concerned that it might be getting into the engine, but the oil looks fine, not sludgy. I don't think it's to the point where I wanna put oatmeal into the coolant system to plug any small leaks, but I've started thinking about it. They must have some coolant additive for this kind of problem. I guess I should buy another bottle of coolant for the trip...

New Sign on the GCP

The sign, located just west of the Queens-Nassau county border on the westbound side of the Grand Central Parkway is wrong. It indicates that the distance from there to the Queens Blvd exit is 4 miles, but it is more like 7 miles. It also indicates that the distance from there to the Laguardia Airport exit is 8 miles, but it is more like 11 miles. This is one of those new signs they are putting up that give readouts of how long it is taking to get to these exits, the readouts are not active last I checked. If they moved the sign 3 miles west it would be correct.

About these new signs. How do they measure this time? Do they use the easy pass transponder to track people? What if someone exits the road and then gets back on it? Is this taken into account?

Wednesday Evening's Fare

I had a tuna salad sandwich last night. The tuna salad was composed of Mayo, chopped onions, a chopped jalapeno that had turned mostly orange, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a good squirt of  of sirrach. I put it on toasted beefsteak soft rye from the refrigerator. As often happens with refrigerated bread, which can reduce the moisture content, the rye toast was borderline burnt. I put some baby arugula on top of the tuna salad. I cut the sandwich in half on a very slight bias with the shorter of the two Cutco knives I have. This was bumble bee chunky white albacore in oil I believe. The tuna salad wasn't bad. The jalapeno had somewhat of a kick to it, it was a little light on mayo, but the flavor of the tuna was good so I'm not sure if that's a bad thing. In hindsight, I should've put a little dijon mustard into the mix, perhaps. The toast was pretty burnt, but not so much as to rip the roof of my mouth up too much, so that's a plus. I do like nice color on my toast, but not so much that it falls to pieces when any sort of pressure is applied.

An hour or two previous to the sandwich I had some salsa made with the larger sized can of Del Monte Tomato sauce. I had the idea to make salsa from this tomato sauce over the weekend. I normally get the smaller can, and eat the contents out of the can with chiles mixed in, but this can is a bit large for that, so I was wondering what I could do with it. The purchase of the larger can was on the spur of the moment, it was a bit of a stretch. I was sitting on the couch when the idea came to me. A smooth salsa can be one of my favorite types, and this sauce is smooth. It's a plain, basic tomato sauce, kind of like thick tomato juice. Has quite a bit of salt. I had some jalapenos, a half of an onion in the fridge, some garlic (from Key Food, i.e. - not the greatest, but recently bought)...and I had some Doritos, which I'm a big fan of with salsa. Anyway, I regretted the lack of cilantro but I made the salsa anyway. I tried it with Doritos, it was ok, but not as good as Tostitos, a bit too thin, and still not very spicy. I figured I'd put it in the fridge for the flavors to meld as I wasn't very hungry. Instead of putting it in a plastic container, like the ones you get for a large hot and sour soup or 2 lbs. of potato salad, I just left it in the dish I made it in and put aluminum foil on it.

Last night, when I went to check it out, I took the foil off and I noticed it was partially frozen, which is fine, I have a microwave. I don't like salsa too cold anyway, so the microwave thing could really work out. So, I put it in the microwave and warmed it up. Funny thing is that after it was warmed up and stirred around it still stayed pretty thick. I also mixed a healthy portion (1/4 tablespoon?) of the African Bird Chile powder that I purchased at the Dual Specialty store a couple months ago into it. I had a good portion of it with Doritos, though there's still some left. It was better than it was over the weekend (last night was Wednesday), still don't understand exactly why it got so much thicker. Do onions and jalapenos have pectin?

My beer of choice last night was Magic Hat #9, the usual.

I had a haagen daz almond crunch coffee ice cream pop between the salsa and the sandwich, but after I had finished the six pack.