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26 September 2009
25 September 2009
Old friends
I took a few days off from work this week to deal with some personal business.
Today, personal business involved driving to Fayetteville to hang out with an old friend who's in town for a couple weeks, and his family. So glad I did.
We had some Guy Time in the morning.
Breakfast, Thai-style, at a restaurant not far from the Yadkin Road gate to Fort Bragg. The congee and broth we ate for breakfast would make a dying man rise from his bed and walk, if he caught a whiff of it on the breeze, and certainly if he tasted it. Some patrons were ordering Thai Breakfast like us and some were ordering American Breakfast (pancakes and eggs) and everyone seemed to be digging the food a lot. (Note - the coffee was okay but only just - food-service grade stuff. The love at this place is in the kitchen, not in the coffeepot.)
The shooting range at Jim’s opens up at 10 AM. We rented a couple of pistols (he picked a Beretta similar to the one he was issued and trained on in the service; I opted for a compact Springfield Armory 9mm that I’ve had my eye on as a possible purchase) and bought 150 rounds of ammunition.
Over the course of the next hour we each made 75 little holes roughly a third of an inch in diameter in silhouette targets at 10 and 25 yards. Considering that I hadn't picked up a handgun and fired it since moving to the People's Republic of Manhattan in 1996, I gave a good accounting of myself, but my buddy is a frighteningly good shot and basically humiliated me completely.
It was a good day.
Today, personal business involved driving to Fayetteville to hang out with an old friend who's in town for a couple weeks, and his family. So glad I did.
We had some Guy Time in the morning.
Breakfast, Thai-style, at a restaurant not far from the Yadkin Road gate to Fort Bragg. The congee and broth we ate for breakfast would make a dying man rise from his bed and walk, if he caught a whiff of it on the breeze, and certainly if he tasted it. Some patrons were ordering Thai Breakfast like us and some were ordering American Breakfast (pancakes and eggs) and everyone seemed to be digging the food a lot. (Note - the coffee was okay but only just - food-service grade stuff. The love at this place is in the kitchen, not in the coffeepot.)
The shooting range at Jim’s opens up at 10 AM. We rented a couple of pistols (he picked a Beretta similar to the one he was issued and trained on in the service; I opted for a compact Springfield Armory 9mm that I’ve had my eye on as a possible purchase) and bought 150 rounds of ammunition.
Over the course of the next hour we each made 75 little holes roughly a third of an inch in diameter in silhouette targets at 10 and 25 yards. Considering that I hadn't picked up a handgun and fired it since moving to the People's Republic of Manhattan in 1996, I gave a good accounting of myself, but my buddy is a frighteningly good shot and basically humiliated me completely.
It was a good day.
22 September 2009
21 September 2009
19 September 2009
17 September 2009
Wonderful dinner at Maria and Michael's tonight
Thanks for letting me borrow the toque, Michael!
Maria did all the cooking... fried mung bean patties and Korean-style beef ribs... And it was beyond wonderful.
14 September 2009
Now, this is shoddy journalism
It has been a long time since college--but even I remember that this is *not* the way to roll a joint.
You can't tell me that no one in the graphic arts department at AM New York knows how, either. I'm not buying it.
There's way too much weed in that rolling paper, and it needs to be crumbled up a lot a more.
AM New York, I expected much better of you.
13 September 2009
I love New York, part XXVII
West 4th and Ave of the Americas, Sunday night.
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The lady in the harbor
So surprised that this iPhone snapshot turned out so well. Lady Liberty, all lit up at night, still puts a big old lump in my throat.
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Parigot (Grand St @ Lafayette) is our new "old standby" bistro in NYC
Carrie and I have been to Parigot several times now and we have never once been disappointed.
Well, one recent disappontment: when we were meeting a childhood friend and her family for a late lunch on Saturday at Parigot, they could not accommodate us, and we wound up going around the corner to a perfectly nice French/African place called L'Orange Bleue...
But we had brunch at Parigot today, and enjoyed it thoroughly, from the monster glass of fresh OJ to the last bit of garnish on the plate. :-). It's just good food cooked with love and skill, in a restaurant without a milligram of pretension.
Well, one recent disappontment: when we were meeting a childhood friend and her family for a late lunch on Saturday at Parigot, they could not accommodate us, and we wound up going around the corner to a perfectly nice French/African place called L'Orange Bleue...
But we had brunch at Parigot today, and enjoyed it thoroughly, from the monster glass of fresh OJ to the last bit of garnish on the plate. :-). It's just good food cooked with love and skill, in a restaurant without a milligram of pretension.
Avian accomodations
Over in McCarthy Square, someone's been building birdhouses.
Now, there are birdhouses...
...and there are country cottages for birds...
...and there are high-rise apartments for birds.
Turns out the guy hanging out in the park (with a beautiful Siberian Husky named Bismarck) was also the artist/builder! Vincent Mele's business cards describe him "the Village Handyman"... but he's a master cabinet builder with a definite sense of whimsy.
I showed him rough pictures of our log cabin in Chapel Hill - and am sending him high-res images and asking for a price quote. ;-) I'd *like* a little replica of our log cabin, I think...
Now, there are birdhouses...
...and there are country cottages for birds...
...and there are high-rise apartments for birds.
Turns out the guy hanging out in the park (with a beautiful Siberian Husky named Bismarck) was also the artist/builder! Vincent Mele's business cards describe him "the Village Handyman"... but he's a master cabinet builder with a definite sense of whimsy.
I showed him rough pictures of our log cabin in Chapel Hill - and am sending him high-res images and asking for a price quote. ;-) I'd *like* a little replica of our log cabin, I think...
Diversification, Manhattan-style
From the old neighborhood - you may have to click the picture to enlarge it...
In case you still can't make out the sign:
NEW YORK BARBER SHOP
We buy gold and diamonds
In case you still can't make out the sign:
NEW YORK BARBER SHOP
We buy gold and diamonds
12 September 2009
Breakfast in the old nabe: Village Den, NYC
Two eggs soft scrambled, side of homefries, coffee, OJ, rye toast.
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09 September 2009
05 September 2009
They sell it here too!
Chapagetti, I mean. And mango powder. And garam masala. And shrimp paste. And miso. And fancy rices. And on and on.
Eastern Market on Rosemary St on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NC border... rocks.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2305
(919) 968-1703
Get directions
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Eastern Market on Rosemary St on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro NC border... rocks.
Eastern Market Oriental Food
505 W Rosemary StChapel Hill, NC 27516-2305
(919) 968-1703
Get directions
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Lunch
Okra, tomatoes, peppers and onions over brown rice. Bhindi sabji basically but I took Liberties.
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03 September 2009
Contemporary crayon colors
Crayons and big sheets of newsprint are staple items at our house,
useful in all kinds of design and planning situations, as well as ad
hoc art projects.
Some of the familar names from childhood are still going strong.
"Raw Sienna" is a personal fave.
But: "Timber Wolf" for grey? And "Tickle Me Pink" sounds like a shade of makeup.
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useful in all kinds of design and planning situations, as well as ad
hoc art projects.
Some of the familar names from childhood are still going strong.
"Raw Sienna" is a personal fave.
But: "Timber Wolf" for grey? And "Tickle Me Pink" sounds like a shade of makeup.
--
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Thought for the day
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. - H. P. Lovecraft
01 September 2009
Why I no longer use Gmail - and am contemplating disentangling myself from GOOG entirely
As I write this, my personal Gmail account has been down and unavailable for about 36 hours.
There hasn't been a status update from "tech support" (and I use the term very loosely, as I haven't seen anything from Google yet that deserves the name "support") since 3PM Eastern yesterday.
I've relied on a lot of Google-based free services for everyday computing - Google Apps and Google Voice in addition to Gmail, to be sure, but also Blogger (since 2004.)
I'm done with that, I think. Monocultures are dangerous.
As a first step, I have a new personal e-mail address. I'll be sending updates out shortly - for those of you who care, Fastmail is my new provider of choice, for the following reasons:
And in the meantime - well, I guess it's finally time to suck it up and move enrevanche to a new home. Stay tuned.
There hasn't been a status update from "tech support" (and I use the term very loosely, as I haven't seen anything from Google yet that deserves the name "support") since 3PM Eastern yesterday.
I've relied on a lot of Google-based free services for everyday computing - Google Apps and Google Voice in addition to Gmail, to be sure, but also Blogger (since 2004.)
I'm done with that, I think. Monocultures are dangerous.
As a first step, I have a new personal e-mail address. I'll be sending updates out shortly - for those of you who care, Fastmail is my new provider of choice, for the following reasons:
- Good reputation for quality and transparency in the geek community
- Multiple tech support options
- Affordable: USD 35 for one year of "premium" e-mail service (free and lower-cost options are available)
And in the meantime - well, I guess it's finally time to suck it up and move enrevanche to a new home. Stay tuned.
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