Only Took Me 37 Years

Can't believe I've lived in Westchester NY for this long and never went to the Croton Dam before yesterday.

While no where as impressive as the Kensico Dam in size, the waterfall is amazing to see.

I love nature and how the water has carved a path through the rocks and yet it's diverted by the wall and pipes.

At the top, I got to enjoy a quiet view of the reservoir.

Afterwards I went hiking the Old Croton Trail and wished I brought my mountain bike.

I walked for 2 hours and enjoyed the silence.

What's The Opposite Of A Silver Lining?

I'm glad the property management is getting the roof fixed, but the people they hired are working on a Sunday. I feel bad for them, but it would have been nice to sit in and relax this weekend.

I kept myself busy and out of the apartment yesterday with errands and a quick hike at Cranberry Lake.

After I make quinoa and hummus for this week, I'll take another hike. I haven't been to Croton Dam Park before.

That's Enough For Me

Considering that the characters of The Walking Dead television show have dealt with the Governor of Woodbury, the cannibals of Terminus, and the Wolves; Daryl driving up to the "ambush" set by Negan's men has convinced me to stop watching the show.

Based on the prologue to the next chapter, Daryl had plenty of time to stop away from them, or speed up and crash through them. Instead of Abraham giving advice, he makes a comment.

Granted everyone of the Saviors has a weapon, but if the trio decided to drive through the motorcycles, it would be tough for them to aim and avoid getting hit.

I've had issues with the writers not developing the characters before, but this is the bat that broke Glenn's head.

What I'm Thankful For

That I landed safely at Savannah Airport.

That Fat Patties was open, and everything was delicious.

That the weather was beautiful all week long.

That Publix had good artichokes.

That I got to spend a great week with my parents.

That I landed safely at LaGuardia Airport.

ALERT! NO SPOILERS HERE!

As we get closer to Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, any website with an entertainment section has a spoiler about the movie. Yahoo is the worst when it comes to a spoiler alert, because it tends to reveal it right in the headline.

io9 will warn you, and then you have the option to read it for yourself.

When the poster was revealed, I was disappointed to see John Boyega aka Finn holding a lightsaber until I looked at the one for Star Wars IV and saw Luke doing the same.

Considering that Daisy Ridley looks like Keira Knightley it's caused speculation among the fans, I'm hoping JJ is only doing that as a red herring.

I stopped reading Star Wars 7 rumors because a few of them became true when I read a later spoiler by accident.

It's also a question of avoiding posts from my friends on Facebook.

In The Cucina With Seamas

Nothing like changing an ingredient when making hummus that works out great. Instead of cutting up the lemons and putting them with the other ingredients, I peeled the skin off and put them in the food processor. After a few seconds, it was a lot easier to pick the seeds out with a spoon.

Then I added in the chickpeas, spices, and canola oil for another spin of the blades and got a much creamier mix.

Last night was the Westchester Geeks Halloween Party, I brought the hummus dip and my world famous guacamole (using the new process of the lemon). People liked it so much, it's been demanded at all future WG events.

Six Word Wednesday

The robot smiled, surprising the inventor.

Hey Meetup, Here's A Notification!

At this time I would like to make several suggestions to Meetup that might make it more user friendly.

Please make it a setting that users can change for notices. As an event organizer, when I’m checking the site or mobile app and see several notices that have nothing to do with an event I’m not going to, or haven’t organized is a waste of time.

I think a lot of people are going to agree with this one, ONLY the creator of an event, or the group’s organizer should have the ability to make changes to an event. I have had comments of mine that relay information deleted by other event organizers. Also I have the ability to delete other people's events. If a person had malicious intent they could delete the event of another organizer and there is no way to see who did it.

The organizer for Westchester Geeks hosted a Halloween party last year and set the attendance limit since they were inviting friends outside of the group. A few days before the event, someone went in and changed the limit, this made them mad. They had their suspicions, but no way to confirm it.

Another request is to set the default of which groups displayed on the home page. If I’d like suggestions based on my interest, then I’ll look for meetup groups. Sometimes people like to check only what their current groups are doing.

Meetup is trying to be like Facebook and they’re forgetting that they’re not.

If you have any suggestions, please post them in the comments, and I’ll send meetup support an email.

Six Word Story

"Will you yield?"

"Never, Dark One!"

Forget The Alamo

I went to see ‘American Ultra’ at the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers last week and while I enjoyed the movie, everything else was a disappointment.

We’ll start with the couple on my left that talked throughout the movie, despite me informing the sole waitress that was taking care of the entire theater.

Because she one woman, in a theater, filled with rude customers, the grilled cheese sammich and fries I ordered was another let down. The first fry I bit into was cold, and the sammich was only a few degrees warmer.

The rest of the audience talked here and there, a man burped loudly twice.

Seems the Alamo has forsaken most of their policies, as people were being seated as the trailers played. I read other recent reviews and it seems that the Yonkers Alamo still has a lot of hits and misses when it comes running this branch of the franchise.

Do I give it another chance or go back to my routine of seeing a movie several weeks after it opened on a Tuesday.

Six Word Story

The Drafthouse let me down again.

I Broke My Bike

More accurately, the axle of the front tire.

Saturday I was going to ride the Old Croton Aqueduct trail, and this time ride the up the hill. When I put my Trek 3500 in my car, I have to take off the front tire for it fit. The first time I did this my brother, Brian, said that when I put the tire back on, it should spin without any noise.

I'm in the parking lot, and each time I put the tire on, it's making a rubbing sound. It became frustrating because I took it off and put it back three times. The last two times, cars were driving by and I had to wait so I could listen.

I decided to put on my shoes, and then make another attempt. I said out loud, "Last time and I'm going riding no matter what." Tightening the bolts, I started to push the locking lever down, and it didn't get far before it resisted. I kept the pressure on and SNAP!

Loudly proclaiming "F*CK!" I picked up one of the broken pieces. There was no way for me to fix it there.

Sitting on the bumper of my car, taking off my shoes, I though I'll take it to Danny's Cycles on Sunday since I'm going food shopping at Trader Joe's.

Today, I brought the tire and the pieces down to Danny's and 10 minutes later, it was fixed. I kicked myself (figuratively) for not doing it on Saturday.

Weird Dream # 637

I was working at MetroPCS, which was in the process of shutting down. There was more people than equipment and furniture which made the office into a first come, first served atmosphere. I had a desk and went to get a drink of water, when I came back someone else was sitting there saying since I didn't sign into the computer it was up for grabs. Finding a new desk, I began working on a spreadsheet.

Fast forward to lunch and I walked out of the office into a mall... which didn't phase my dream self. As I was walking back to the office, I noticed a band playing off to the side of the walkway. It was Stone Temple Pilots, back together!

Each of them didn't look to be happy playing, but they put on a hell of a show. At the end of their show, I was able to shake Scott Weiland's hand.

Then I woke up...

Six Word Story

The writer picked up his pencil.

In The Cucina With Seamas

I love Trader Joe's Tahini Free Hummus Dip, however I was finishing off the container during the week. Luckily the first time this happened I had a can of garbanzo beans in my cupboard. Finding a tahini free recipe and using the ingredients listed, I made my own version of it. Though I put too much garlic in, a tablespoon.I like garlic, but it overpowered my concoction.

On my next shopping run I bought chickpeas to try it again. This time I cut it down to a teaspoon of garlic, but added cumin, and black pepper. It still had a kick to it, but better than the first batch.

Today, I went a teaspoon of each spice, 4 tablespoons of canola oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I went an extra step and peeled the skin off each pea (which took 15 minutes).

This batch was creamier than the previous two, and the spices are subtle.

I bought 2 cans yesterday, because they're cheaper than 1 of the Tahini Free Hummus Dip. Also 1 can is 15 ounces while the pre-made hummus is 16 ounces.

Now it's a question of eating it too much because it's delicious.

Six Word Story

I can't burn at both ends.

Fun Filled Friday, Slacker Saturday

I didn't regret waking up at 5 A.M. this past Friday, it gave me time to do a load of laundry. One of the benefits of my apartment building is 24/7 laundry. While my clothes dried I made a black bean and sundried tomato omelette to give me energy for my hike later.

I guess it gave me more energy than I needed because as I was folding my laundry, I wanted to check the time and temperature. It was an undeniable urge which made me anxious. I told myself to finish this task and then I could check.

Since it was 10 A.M. and 2 hours before my hike, I decided to get my food shopping done. I timed it well and got home at 11:15, put away the groceries, washed dishes, and then made lunch. 11:40, and out the door for a relaxing hike with Westchester Geeks.

Saturday was a change of pace which started with me sleeping till 8 A.M. followed by another omelette (I made 2 cups of black beans earlier in the week and didn't want them going to waste). I relaxed with my coffee while binge-watching 'Chuck' (which made me think of another blog to do).

After lunch, it was time for 'Aliens' one of the great sequels in my opinion. I remember when I saw it at the theater, back in 1986, how people cheered when Ripley came out with the power loader and told the Alien Queen to get away from Newt. My favorite line actually is 'Somebody wake up Hicks'.

All in all a good 3 day weekend.

Hiking In The Rain

Yesterday, me and several Westchester Geeks went for a hike at Westmoreland Sanctuary. Originally, the plan was to hike at Arthur Butler Sanctuary but Sean, the event host, explained that the parking lot was filled with police and fireman.

As I drove up it was drizzling, but with the unreliable weather prediction all week, the event was a go.

It was four of us in total which was nice since we all knew what we were capable of hiking the trails. The tree cover kept us dry from the rain, but the humidity made us sweaty and lunch for the mosquitoes.

The nicest part of the hike was watching the rain fall on the Lost Pond.

In Honor Of Father's Day

Several years ago I was given the advice of "You didn't write it down, it didn't happen" and I've followed it ever since. Before I got my first iPod Touch (thanks Brian) I carried a note pad with me.

I still like writing things down with a piece of paper and a pen from time to time, and it's all thanks to my Dad.

It actually started when I worked for him at his grocery store. As a stock boy, I would have to fill the soda and beer cases several times during the longer shifts. My Dad gave me a piece of folded paper and a pencil for me to write down how many six-packs and two liters I'd need from the downstairs storage room. Believe it was easier to write it down first, and then lug up the hand-truck as little as possible up 2 flights of stairs.

My Dad still carries a piece of paper and pen with him where ever he goes (despite me buying him Field Notes and the Space Pen.

Six Word Story

In lieu of recent events...

"For Sale. Planet Earth. Used Once."

Six Word Story

The broken child looked for others.

Some Weekends Are A Blur

Yesterday I had a errand to run and decided to kill two birds with one stone. After I got my car from it's inspection, I went food shopping.

I dropped off my car Friday night so I spent Saturday morning, changing my bed sheets, rotating the mattress, and giving the Brita a thorough cleaning. All this was done after a hearty breakfast. I rediscovered quinoa and it's many uses in meals.

Since I had to walk an hour for my car, I made an omelette with black beans, sun-dried tomatoes, and red quinoa. This mix of power foods gave me the energy to do all fore mentioned chores in addition to walking.

Six Word Story

The imaginary monsters have become real!

Added Something New To An Old Routine

I went food shopping yesterday instead of the usual Sunday since I wanted to drop off my recyclables at the Pleasantville station. That's not the something new though, I took care of all the food shopping.

While I needed my usual weekly supplies, I was also low on toilet paper and cleaning products. Instead of waiting till I was out of those and going to Stop & Shop during the week, I picked those up before going to Trader Joe's.

I feel that I spend a lot of time and money when it comes to grocery shopping, especially for a single person so I'm hoping this will cut back on both. I'll use my spreadsheet skills and make a tracker.

Six Word Story

"Earth will go on without humans."

In The Cucina With Seamas

Sun dried tomatoes Roasted sunflower seeds Hummus Tortilla Wrap Delicious in it's simplicity.

Six Word Story

"I'm your boyfriend, not your crutch!"

It's Been A While

Yesterday was the first time in three weeks that I had a Saturday with nothing to do, and I took full advantage of it.

I slept in late (which means 7am for me), made huevos rancheros for breakfast, and a pot of Witches Brew coffee from Mrs. Greens.

Then I watched The Princess Bride yet again.

I contemplated running a few personal errands, but then the whole point of me relaxing would have been for naught. Sometimes it's difficult for me to unwind, but when I do I go full lazy.

In Honor Of Mother's Day

This is becoming my favorite story about my mother;

When Return Of The Jedi was in theaters, Dad planned to take the family. He told us earlier in the week, so I was excited for several days before.

On the night we were going, Mom said "I don't know if we should take the boys to see this, I hear Princess Leia wears a racy outfit." This was the now famous "gold" bikini.

When she said this my heart broke because all I wanted to see was lightsabers, R2D2, the Millennium Falcon. Luckily Dad convinced her and we got to see it.

Though when I saw her Highness, it was a different story.

Puddle Deep Memory

I finally took the time to shred old and outdated bills, notices, letters, etc. When the task was over, I had three Trader Joe’s grocery bags filled with tiny scraps of paper. Looking at them made me think if I owned a house, I’d have a wood burning stove in my living room, and a fire pit in the backyard. This led to the memory of my father and when he would rake the front and back yards, he’d drag a cardboard box with him to throw in small branches. He would use them as kindling for the stove at our house.

Another recollection is the wooden boxes that clementines came in, sitting on the brick platform where the wood burning stove was, filled with old newspapers and twigs. Dad would put the whole box in, light the corners and soon our family room would be eighty degrees in the middle of winter.

Six Word Story

"Dance! Let joy move your feet!"

Today's Puddle Deep Thought Was Postponed

Due to spending the afternoon with my family.

Trying Something Chew

For the past several days, I've been taking my time when eating meals. I'll chew my food thoroughly and pause between bites. I noticed how this approach has been beneficial last night after dinner with my parents. We went to Abatino's and I had eggplant parmigiana, the dinner version which includes a salad.

Because I took my time with the salad, I was half done when they brought out the eggplant parm. It was so hot the sauce was bubbling. When I finished my salad, my main course had cooled enough to not burn the inside of my mouth on the first bite.

Using my fork, I cut small portions and chewed about 20 times before swallowing. This gave me time to talk with my parents and enjoy the meal.

It wasn't till I got home that I realized my stomach didn't feel bloated or hurt as in the past when I would be taking a third bite while chewing the first.

Tonight we got dinner at The Cabin Restaurant where I did the same with my portabella mushroom burger and fries. As I write this, my tummy is full and feeling fine.

Only took me 43 years to try this.

Six Word Story

"Set the time machine to Wednesday."

Six Word Story

He walked, and the problems faded.

Six Word Story

Wave after wave, he fought valiantly.

Let Me Explain. No, There Is tToo Much. Let Me Sum Up

I have a bad habit of explaining myself to myself. Here is an example of this behavior; recently there was an article about homemade candles on lifehacker. I liked it because I have a candle that rarely gets used due to it's design.

The neck gets dirty from soot which diminishes the dune grass scent. I thought about trying to break the jar while submerged in water, but I don't want to risk getting glass in my mixing bowls or damaging the sink in any way.

The article explains how to get the wax out in a safer way which I'm going to do, all I needed was the carton. I had a choice between the milk or orange juice, whichever one I finished first. Last night I finished the milk and put it on the counter next to the sink. As I did this I said out loud,
            "I'll leave the milk out here to remind me to wash it out so I can use it to make the candle. I'll rinse it out after I'm done watching this episode of Breaking Bad."

That's when I caught myself explaining myself to my myself. Sometimes I'll just stop talking or say "There's no need to explain, I know what I'm going to do."

If I'm making a mental list, it doesn't help because I'll forget most of the time. Writing it down on the fridge whiteboard helps me to remember and if I forget, then I'll see it later.

Six Word Story

God said, "Pull my finger."
BANG!

In The Cucina With Seamas

like making my own re-fried beans when I have a craving for nachos. A cup of pinto beans makes enough for several meals, so I’ll make huevos rancheros for breakfast.

As the eggs were cooking, the flour tortilla was in the oven with a Mexican blend of cheese melting. Once the hot ingredients were done I put them on a plate and added my famous guacamole. Topping off the dish is a mixture of red onions with red, yellow, and orange peppers.

In The Cucina With Seamas

I recently went to an Irish Brunch and made Irish Soda Bread to bring. One of my friends doesn’t like raisins, so I made two loaves. To compensate for the lack of raisins in the one loaf, I added cranberries as well for the second loaf.

My friends who attended are excellent cooks themselves, so I limited myself to two slices of my contribution. Sadly I forgot to bring those leftovers home with me, but I did take a blueberry muffin, chocolate muffin, and a ginger cookie.

Now the diet begins.

The Weird, The Good, And The Bad

Vivid dreams are becoming a rarity for me, so when I can remember one I like to share it. The latest started with me working in a small office with the cast of Workaholics and it was my first day on the job. As the trio gave me the tour they were playing pranks on my new coworkers, and harassing the female employees. There weren't any cubicles, but several conference tables for two people to sit at.

As they were showing me my "desk" this loud guy came into the office. He was threatening people, and no one was doing anything about it. I was going to say something, yet I warned not to because this guy was crazy. He walked over to me and asked me a question in snide way, so I replied in the same manner which he didn't like. He threw a punch at me and I avoided it, then punched him back in the face. Right away it turned red, and swelled up. This didn't slow him down and he kept coming at me. That's when I noticed his smart phone in his right hand recording our fight. I struck at him with a flurry of blows which caused him to start crying and run away.

Cut to...

Emma Stone sitting outside, her blonde hair catching my attention. I don't remember much from this part, but I think she paid me twenty dollars for a kiss. It was good till her teeth kept banging into mine.

Fade to...

I'm lying in bed on my stomach, checking my iPod Touch, when I hear someone sneak into my apartment. I slide my hand holding my iPod under my pillow right before this person comes into my bedroom. They start frisking me (checking for valuables?) and I feel them reach under my pillow and take my iPod.

Then I woke up...

In the same exact position I was in my dream! This freaked me out for several seconds until I saw my Apple product on the table next to my bed. Then I remembered the part about Emma and was bummed that it wasn't a great kiss.

Six Word Wednesday

The sun rose, and I smiled.

Last Time... For Now

I should have gone with puddledeepthoughts because that name has been in my thoughts for a long time.

Something New

A new address, and look for my site.

3 Days Later...

I quit smoking 15 years ago. I quit Facebook 3 days ago. The feeling of withdrawal is similar. Is there a patch for this, because it took me 4 tries with smoking.

Six Word Story

"Is the sin worth the sadness?"

Early Spring Cleaning

I've deleted my Facebook account, emails from 2013 and earlier, and removed silly posts from my tumblr.

I don't know what I'm going to do with my Twitter since I have a little over 4,000 posts. I could chip away at it over time.

Why am I doing this? I don't want to use Facebook anymore and to be more responsible with my online persona.

A Silver Lining...

to being unemployed is that New York State offers free classes on Resume Building, Networking, and Stress Management. Each class taught me something new, and using the lessons has made me feel better. During the stress management class, I suggested meetup.com after everyone agreed that they feel isolated due to their situation, present company included.

Another suggestion that the counselor made was one I already read on lifehacker.com, keeping your routine. It's tough to keeping one when I'm unmotivated, but that is a vicious cycle in itself and glad I see when I'm stuck in it.

I can break out of it, by socializing with friends, getting out of the apartment, and treating myself. That doesn't mean I spend a lot of money, an everything bagel with vegetable tofu makes me happy.

Listening to a playlist on iTunes, reading a book of poetry, and of course a walk in the woods are my ways to deal with stress.

Getting back to my Sunday blog too.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

In an effort to keep myself better organized I installed Google Chrome onto my iPod Touch. While I still write down events, to-do's, and other reminders (just like Dad) I don't always carry that piece of paper or the calendar on refrigerator with me.

I don't like that if I delete a folder from my desktop bookmarks on the iPod version, it deletes them from my Mac or Chromebook as well so I'll have to be careful. I should copy certain saved links and put them in my Mobile Bookmark folder and use just those. This way I won't be tempted to check Facebook, Twitter and other distractions. I was signed up for the Bored and Brilliant program, but leaving my Location on was draining the battery.

Honestly, once I had removed my social media apps, I wasn't checking them as much as I was. I just need to exert more self-control and not check my Desktop Bookmarks when I have a wifi signal.

Trimming The Fat

Taking another cue from my brother and friend, I recently deleted the Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter apps from my iPod Touch to avoid being bored and become more brilliant. 

Right away I noticed that the Touch has more battery life since I stopped checking in every thirty minutes. Some of that time was spent using my Chromebook to check in. That could be resolved by putting the laptop into my Bag of Holding.

I hope being able to connect only through wifi won’t be a problem for the bored and brilliant challenges that will start on February 2nd. I'm excited for the project from New Tech City because I see a lot of my friends checking their phones every five minutes, even during conversations. I'm guilty of doing the same.

Writing this took a lot longer since I kept checking all those links.

Weird Dreams Are Made Of These

Today's blog will take a backseat to the weird dreams I had this weekend.

Friday, I spent close to 7 hours of playing Borderlands The Pre-Sequel with my friend Damon, on a 92 inch screen! Along with surround sound speakers, you become immersed in the game.

When he first invited me over to his house, I was impressed with the "TV", which is actually a Panasonic ICD projector. Damon did all the work himself, since he's the owner and president of Premier Audio Video Designs.

I had an opportunity to go to a trade show and see some of the upcoming TVs, projectors, speakers, and other home entertainment equipment. I remember that little box that had the slider for TV and Game on it. Now there are receivers with 10 ports for speakers alone.

Back to the original topic;

I don't remember much about the dream itself except that I had to press A to continue throughout it.

Saturday was weird, even for me. I was wading through the sewers of Valhalla, waist deep even. I'm a germaphobe in real life, but that didn't bother me at all in the dream. I was carrying my small travel suitcase above my head, to keep the clothes and chromebook inside dry.

I saw the ladder to get out, and as I was climbing up, the suitcase fell into the water. I grabbed it by the handle, so only the bottom got wet. Once I was on the street, these two 20 year olds came out after me and told me to hide. We made it to a rooftop, where I got to check my belongings. My clothes were wet, and so was my chromebook. As I lifted it out of the suitcase, water dripped out. I opened it up to see if was still working and to my surprise it was. I had to reboot it through a sequence that involved pressing 3 buttons, then playing a level of Street Fighter. Then I woke up...

Tasty Accident

During visits to my parents, I rarely have to cook, unless it’s breakfast. My parent's have an electric stove which I’m not used to, so I tend to set the top burners higher than I should. This year’s Christmas trip led to a tastier version of the Gordon Ramsey scrambled egg recipe.

While I was throwing out the shells, the eggs had a chance to cook and the whites formed. Luckily, they didn't cook all the way through so I was still able to scramble them. The yolks broke and mixed, so I kept stirring. The outcome was scrambled eggs with bigger bits of white in them. This combination with the butter made for moist, tastier eggs. Add in the guacamole, and it made for a new breakfast meal staple.

If You Didn't Write It Down, It Didn't Happen

The title of this post is one the best pieces of advice I've gotten in my lifetime, and it never held truer till yesterday.

As I was getting ready to run errands, I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Thinking out loud to myself, I had a idea for this Sunday's blog which made me happy. I even said, I should write it down now, then changed my mind to do it afterwards.

I got distracted with other thoughts, and putting my wallet, keys, and phone into pockets. So the idea never physically manifested onto paper or my iPod. One of my thoughts was to enable Siri so I could keep track for the future.

I'm hoping I remember it again.