The coldest winter I ever spent
Archive for the ‘General’ Category.
I’m thinking of doing Improv classes at BATS Improv Theater :-)
There’s a “Foundation I” class running every Sunday from April 23rd to May 28th.
Last week I caught a “Double Feature” long-form improv show at BATS and quite enjoyed it. I’ve always (I remember wanting to very badly in college) wanted to try improv.
:-)
On Friday I met Andrew Schinasi and his girlfriend at lunch in Boogaloos. He’s a jazz saxophonist from Montreal. It was cool meeting them and talking about a panoply of political subjects. If we could only stay on one subject, we might change the world.
I bought his VERY recently produced (IE, earlier in the day) “Andrew Schinasi Compilation 2001-2006” and I’ve got to say that I’m pretty impressed. I’m usually not much of a jazz fan but it’s really good.
It’s all good, I tell you.
I
saw mention of Rainbow Grocery on Yelp. I thought, “oh that’s nice, another snazzy grocery store.” Boy was I wrong.
Their cheese shop is quite formidable. I think I counted 4 wild-picked mushroom varieties and at least another 5 varieties present! Their spices and bulk food sections are exceptional. It is crunchy-granola heaven. And, they have a huge variety of exciting specialty foods.
But most important of all, they have a tap stuck out of a 55 gallon drum of Vermont Grade B Maple Syrup! And while Charlotte gave me a tremendous gift by finding and bringing Trader Joes Maple Syrup all the way from Boston, this…. THIS is the stuff! I just compared them head to head and all it takes is a glance to tell the difference. The Coomb’s syrup is darker, thicker and has a richer smell. And the taste… now I’ll say that Trader Joe’s makes a fine syrup. It really is. In fact, it’s probably what more people would prefer. But this is maple syrup that tastes like driving past a sugar house in early spring with the billowing steam that you’d say looks dangerous until you roll your window down and then the smell encompasses you like a jet plane diving into a cloudbank. It’s like living in another, infinitely more delicate world for a million years in a second. It brings to mind the colors of the ground during mud season when the melting snow, recently uncovered grass and previously frozen dirt turn into a slippery, boot-sucking menace with deep scars where vehicles foolishly tried to cross from the driveway to the relative safety of black-top.
Good maple syrup makes me so happy. Thank you Charlotte. Thank you Rainbow Grocery. Thank you Coomb’s Family of Brattleboro Vermont!
Those who run from suffering run right into it.
~ a Buddist saying heard on an Audio Dharma talk by Gil Fronsdal
From my Google Answers question:
I have found many resources that tell me how to stop the brakes from squeaking on my car. But I haven’t found any where people say a particular method actually works.I am looking for credible testimonials that say a particular method of stopping brake squeaking actually works (even if only occasionally)Some methods I’ve heard of include: Lubegard Squeak Relief spray, other sprays, pastes and goos on the back of the pads, copper paste on the backside of pads, stepping hard on the brakes several times to remove glazing, shaping the pad with sandpaper..You don’t have to answer this second part specifically but this will give you some context…
I have a 1998 Chrysler Sebring. The brake pads were replaced about 15,000 miles ago. It started squeaking just 3,000 miles after the replacement. They squeak only at low speed, when slowing from 20MPH to 0. If I apply the brakes very hard, they don’t squeak. On occasion, I feel and hear a lower toned rumbling or grinding when I near a stop; I feel this mainly through the brake pedal.
I took it to a Chrysler Dealer who (after $400 of brakes service) said that there is nothing wrong with the brakes. The trouble is, I will be unfortunately forced to shove toothpicks in my ears if this sound keeps up.
Update 4-10-06: I found a solution. I got the brakes very hot by pressing both the brakes and accelerator fairly hard for about 2/10 mile going downhill at 50 MPH. The brakes now only squeak on rare occasion and then only slightly.
Update 3-25-09: I found an even better solution. It’s the back brakes that are always squeaking. So when I pull out in the morning, at the first stop I pull up on my emergency brake. That cleans the crap off the brakes in a few seconds and I’m good to go for a day of driving!
I’ve heard it said that if a modern jet airliner ran out of fuel, it would drop out of the sky like a stone. It’s not true. Check this out:
An Airbus 330-200 (seats 256, 197′ wingspan, 193′ long) ran out of fuel at 39,000 ft (7 miles) over the Atlantic Ocean. They glided 115 miles and landed without any injuries!
24 August 2001; Air Transat A330-200; near the Azores Islands, Portugal: The aircraft was cruising across the Atlantic at 39,000 feet (11,900 meters) on a flight from Toronto to Lisbon when the right engine lost power. The left engine quit about 13 minutes later. Both engines lost power as a result of fuel starvation. There had been a leak in the fuel system near the right engine, and an open crossfeed valve allowed fuel to be lost from both wing tanks. The leak had been noticed by the crew about an hour prior to the engines shutting down, and the aircraft was already diverting toward Lajes military airfield in the Azores. After the last engine lost power, the crew was able to glide for 20 minutes for about 115 miles (185 km) to Lajes airfield and avert a mid-ocean ditching.
It’s rumoured that the flight crew had balls of specially hardened aluminum.
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I found this after wondering if it was true that “your seat cushion may be used as a flotation device”. I always thought it was a dubious claim. Turns out that, on rare occations, seat cushions CAN be used as a flotation device. Still, do they have to tell us EVERY SINGLE TIME we get on a plane? The attendants must want to shove plastic forks through their eyes every time it’s repeated.
I asked Google Answers and was directed to Aviation Safety.net and Air Safe.
I went to “TANGO CEVICHE I” at the Red Poppy Art House this past weekend. What great fun!
There’s going to be a “SUSHI-SOUKOUS: A delicacy of fish, and a dance from the heart of Africa” Saturday, April 15th, 1pm-4pm. You should go with me.
And another Tango Ceviche sometime in May
Here’s the blurb from the Tango Ceviche class:
Continue reading ‘Red Poppy Art House is good, Dance with me’ »
Hail is falling from the sky. Tiny wet hail. It’s just like rain only they bounce better and when you catch them, you get tiny white pebbles in your hand.
Oh wait, it stopped.