The Erie Canal

So CL had returned from a walking tour in the North of England and he posted to Facebook that he wanted to walk the Erie Canal, from Albany to Buffalo.

As I had been walking and running a lot more, in preparation for the Everglades Half, this seemed like something that I would be interested in doing.

Now that we are forty miles in, or about 11%, it is time to share.

Bloc Party!

There have been a couple of albums that I have loved as emotional bulwarks. Albums that provide comfort.

Liz Phair's "Exile in Guyville"
The Mountain Goat's "Tallahassee"
Radiohead's "OK Computer"

And...

Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm".

"The Modern Love" has a really special place in my personal soundtrack, and that it has been included in some media that I love is a way that validates the way I view the song.







So, when I heard about a free show in Albany, at Tricentennial Park, as part of the Alive at Five Series, I was really excited.









It was...an amazing afternoon.









I look so very happy, don't I?

Location:Albany, NY

The Troy Pig Out

So, this past Saturday, TEA and I ventured to Downtown Troy for the 9th Annual Pig Out. It was hot, humid, and well attended. The commingled scents of smoke and meat filled the air. It was nice.






OH: (young woman, sundress, maybe 23) You know, I think I like Troy.

















TEA decided on pulled pork from Capital Q. This was a sentimental choice for him as he used to live three blocks away and it was a staple of his diet.








He did make some rookie mistakes though. He choose a large sandwich, he ate the bread, and then he wanted something that was a sliced potato, deep fried, served with nacho cheese and bacon bits.








The nice folks at Foam Brain Games offered a charging station because people were trying to catch the Pokemon, and were encouraged to, as you can see in the video below.

When it came for me to eat, it was too hot, so TEA and I walked through the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, looking and deciding, and getting warmer, so...off to Slidin Dirty...








It was a great day!

Location:Riverfront Park, Troy, NY

Mac & Cheetos: For Science

NB: This is a McDonald's household. In the great Fast Food Wars, we are partisans for the Golden Arches (I'm lovin' it! Also, as a full disclosure thing, I work as a consultant for a number of franchisees in matters related to labor. This does not influence what comes after, but...yeah.).

When Burger King announced that it was making "Mac & Cheetos", someone on a social media site suggested that someone tried them for science. Seeing that I am going to have a great meal for dinner, that I went for a long run this morning, and that I went grocery shopping without the benefit of breakfast, I assumed that today was the day to try them.

You know, for science.




See?

They are "dangerously cheesy"! Yay for brand synergy.





They look less like Cheetos (Which I realize that I should have also purchased for the visual comparison. Food post fail. I have dishonored my family.) and more like generic friend things. Maybe mozzarella sticks from the type of places that considers Shock Top "craft" beer would be the right visual.

They smell not like Cheetos but like fried food. This is not a badness as much as it is an observation. I like fried food. Fried food is great.

At five for $2.49, they are priced similarly to fried foods that you would find at your friendly neighborhood tavern. (Hopefully your friendly neighborhood tavern does not consider Shock Top craft beer. If it does, find a new neighborhood.)

Then I took a bite...





Now, I know that food photography is an art. I know that people spend a lot of time coaxing food, and food like things, to look great on camera for commercials and such, so I was not expecting it to look just like the advertisements. Well, not disappointed, though it does look like there is real pasta in there.

Now Mac and Cheese is something that a lot of people have a lot of opinions on. I mean, I have some strong ones. This is not the Mac and Cheese that I would make or generally enjoy, but I could see it filling some sort of nostalgia for people who venerate Kraft as the height of the Mac and Cheese artform. For me, however, the filling reminded me of the one time I tried canned Mac and Cheese from Cleveland's hero Chef Boyardee. It was not one of my proudest moments.

So, the verdict? Even though I was very very hungry, I only ate three, giving the other two to my brother. My first reaction was that "these are not good" while my brother's was a "these are not bad". I think that is the best way to describe them. Neither good nor bad, just fried Mac and Cheese with a dusting of Cheetos.

Tangled Up In Blue

So...

I was in a bar. Surprised?

Anyway, while I was at this bar, talking with the bartender, the manager of the bar walked out and informed the aforementioned bartender that supplies were in the back room, including WindEx.

I may have made a joke that the bartender should not confuse the WindEx with Blue Curaçao.

The bartender then joked that she only used it, meaning Curaçao, to make blue Shirley Temples for boys.

I looked at her aghast. Her manager looked at her aghast.

She then said that "it is not like there is alcohol in it" as she went looking for the bottle.

After examining the label,she exclaimed, "but I never went to bartending school", prompting her boss to point to me and yell, "neither did he!"

So, those of you who have children. Order blue Shirley Temples.

Do it.

I Like Birds of Prey

There is just something beautiful about them. They are the paradigm of form and function coming together to provide perfection.

Location:North Lake Avenue, Troy, NY

Question for Gardening Friends

What are these?




I thought that they were carrots that seeded themselves from last fall when I cleaned my patch but if they are...


They are really weird carrots.

Any thoughts?

Running the Everglades

On Mother's Day, my father had an incident with a crocodile.  I blame my niece.

Then last Monday, I saw something.

A half marathon in the Everglades?  My chance to avenge my dad, right?

No.  Well, not really.  This is the joke I am going to make but really it is a chance to spend time with my father in Florida around Thanksgiving.  It has been years since I have had a Thanksgiving with my father  and I can look forward to this.

(The course, in Shark Valley.  Out to the observatory and back.)

Now, I have never run a half before, and apart from training for a couple of them, I have never really had the inclination to actually run one.  I am happy with the 5k as a thing. 

(Troy Turkey Trot, 2015.  The Boy looks delighted.)

A 5k is fun. It is a lark, for me at least.

This will take training.  Or more training than I am used to.

I go for a run a couple of times a week.  Some weeks it is two times.  Some weeks it is five.  Some runs are two miles.  Some runs are five.  Occasionally, I will push it to seven.  Now, I have to double it. Well, almost double it.  Through a swamp. 

I went back to Union a couple of weeks ago to get TEA and Union Lacrosse t-shirt and picked up a Union Track and Field tee.  (No one was amused when I asked if they just had a "and field" shirt.)  I was not the best athlete in college, and shot putters are rarely great runners, but I lettered and I am proud of what I did.  That was also twenty years ago, yet I am still built like a shot putter and I am stronger than I was in college.  What I am saying is that I can run as much as I want and I am still going to be a big guy.  Not fat, per se, though I am bigger through the torso than I should be, but stocky.  Keg shaped.  (Some of the younger people reading this, those who still have metabolisms that allow you to live on a diet of pizza, beer, and the fried food group and maintain abs, may not understand that it does not last forever.)

So, I do not look like the guy who can successfully run (and yes, I mean run) 13.1 miles.

But...

I am going to do it.

So...

This is still here. Who knew?