Monday, December 31, 2012

Bonne Année



Every year at Christmas, our neighbor a couple houses down the street, puts out their Christmas Pig display. I've been meaning to get a photo for a long time. This year, I finally got around to it. Here, also, is a photo of our Christmas tree this year.

Thursday evening we went to the retirement party of our friend Tanya (that's her in the middle).  She had been with the Library for thirty-five years.  A lot of people didn't realize how accomplished she is and how many things at the library with which she was involved in a major way.  It was a really nice party and we got to see a bunch of people we haven't seen in years. 

We seem to be on a quest to find new restaurants this year. Saturday evening, we went to another new one which was recommended by our neighbor Dave. Dapur bills itself as an Asian Tapas restaurant. We were seated directly in front of the golden Buddha. The food was excellent, especially the dessert, but the noise level not so much. We shared Dapur Duck, Coco Shrimp, Bang Bang Scallops, and Calamari (unfortunately they had two kinds of calamari and we ordered the wrong one). Dessert was called Dark Volcano. It was a rich chocolate soft-centered cake with a small dish of vanilla ice cream, and it was was super delicious! And of course, a bottle of Pinot Grigio.  While eating our dessert, the owner stopped by for a short chat.  We learned that he used to own Galanga, another of our favorite restaurants.






Dumb Law of the Week: In LA, a man may legally beat his wife with a leather strap, as long as it is less than 2 inches wide, or she gives him permission to use a wider strap.

Bonne Année

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Holidays



I assume everyone survived the 21 December debacle. It's creepy and scary how many people actually believed the world was going to end, or some other equally ridiculous scenario. Is it any wonder the nut jobs who come up with strange religions (well, stranger than usual since they're all rather strange) can find so many ignorant people to follow them?

We've had our Fiat 500 for about a year now. Last week, Robb washed it for the very first time. To our great surprise, the paint started peeling from the roof section just above the windshield. Robb called the dealer from whom we bought it and arranged to bring it in to be looked at. The guy (Juan) at the dealer was very nice and took a bunch of pictures to send to Fiat. Then we went back on Tuesday to leave it to be re-painted. They gave us a loaner and we picked up our car on Wednesday. I don't think we'll ever buy another car from this dealer. Not because they're bad, but just because it's so far to drive if anything goes wrong.

Saturday evening, we tried another new (to us) restaurant. J. Marks. The food was great and our waiter, Exorios (yes, that's really his name), was as personable and charming as a person could be. He spent a lot of time at our table chatting, even though he had several other tables to service. Robb and I both had the special, Sea Bass with French Fried Sweet Potatoes. We drank a Pinot Gris recommended by Exorios.

Top Scientific Discoveries of 2012

IBM Predicts: Cognitive Computers That Feel And Smell, Within The Next Five Years

Our Solar System Formed From The Cumulative Ashes Of Countless Stars, Not One Supernova

Alien-Like Skulls Found In Mexico

Simple Test Predicts Longevity

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alabama, It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.

JOYEUX NOËL

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Window Dinner

For a little over a week now, new windows and sliding doors are being installed in each of the apartments in our building (they other two buildings were already done) that hadn't already done so on their own. Those of us who have already replaced our doors and/or windows, will receive compensation in the form of our monthly maintenance bill being paid until the appropriate amount has been reached. That will mean most of us will not make a maintenance payment in the year 2013. During the time they were working in the other two buildings, I never heard a sound. For the past two weeks or so, it has been hell in our apartment because of the noise level. I fear we still have about a week to go. A large part of the problem with the noise is that they start at 08h00 every weekday morning.

Friday night we decided to try a new restaurant. New to us since it has been there longer than we have lived in this apartment. J. Alexander's is a very nice place. It is known for its steaks, and since we rarely ever eat steak, we hadn't tried it. Robb had fish, which he said he didn't like very much. I had what they called "Steak Brazzo"...filet mignon pieces in a fantastic Madeira mushroom sauce. They were served with a mountain of "smashed potatoes". And I do mean a mountain. I loved my dinner. For desert, we shared a large portion of carrot cake. Robb drank Pinot Grigio, I drank Côtes du Rhône.

In breakthrough, patients’ immune systems attack cancer cells

Will you live past 100?

Could Scientists Have Found A Gay Switch?

NYC's taxi commission votes 'yes' to one-year trial of cab-hailing apps

Learn English online: How the internet is changing language

Dumb Law of the Week: In Richmond,Virginia, it is illegal to flip a coin in any eating establishment to determine who buys a cup of coffee.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, December 10, 2012

PSA






A little over a month ago, my blood test indicated a heightened PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) count.  The PSA is the test that rates your chance of having prostate cancer.  Apparently, anything over .4 is considered high and usually results in more tests and the likelihood of a biopsy.  My doctor sent me to a Urologist who took another blood sample which resulted in a score above .7.  Biopsy here I come.  I had the biopsy about two weeks ago.  Believe me when I say it is not fun.  Thankfully, my doctor/urologist believes in pain killers and they gave me several shots of novacaine, including one directly into the prostate gland.  They first insert an ultrasound probe that looks very much like a large dildo.  Then after looking around and taking several pictures, they insert the needle to take the samples.  The needle is about two feet long.  It was most uncomfortable, but if it hadn't been for the pain killers, I'm sure it would have been quite painful.  The pre-biopsy info sheet I was given, indicated that there would be "some" pain for an hour or so after the procedure.  They lied.  The pain, slight as it was, lasted for more than twenty-four hours.  The doctor called me around 19h00 to inform me that there was no cancer.


Blowing a Cosmic Bubble

New contender for oldest dinosaur

Does Edible Deodorant Work?

Breakthrough retinal implant fits entirely inside the eye

Hercules A, a galaxy with a massive black hole blasting out matter.

Dumb Law of the Week:  In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Mobile Wine



Our mobile phone service is with ATT. It has the distinction of being the worst. While the people who work for ATT are friendly and helpful, the company nickels and dimes you until you become so frustrated you just want to scream at someone. Our two-year contract will end on 28 December. I was willing to sign for another two years IF I could get the phone I wanted. But they kept changing the phones available from day to day, so I finally just said the hell with it. I ordered another Samsung Infuse (which I really like) for Robb and I will switch our service to either MetroPCS or SIMple. Both offer unlimited talk, text and data for a really inexpensive cost. And both use the facilities of large, good service providers. Something else I noticed is that the App Store no longer carries the memo app that I love. There are literally thousands of memo apps, but not the one that I love. That has me most curious.

On the way back from the ATT Store, we stopped at a Cellar Warehouse just to check on their cava. They had the brand we usually buy and a couple of others. We bought one of the others and a case of our favorite. Then we noticed an Italian wine that was on sale, so we also bought a case of that. When we tried it at dinner, it was terrible. We took the remaining eleven bottles back to the store. The guy who sold it to us (one of the managers) was there. He suggested we had simply gotten a bad bottle. He offered to open one of the other bottles to let us see if that was true. He chose a bottle at random, opened it, and gave us each a glass. He was right. The new bottle was very different from the first we had tried. He replaced the two bottles that had been opened and we brought the case home....again.






Dumb Law of the Week: In Utah, a husband is responsible for every criminal act committed by his wife in his presence.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, November 26, 2012

About The End



So...about December 21, 2012. There is a Huge difference between these two symbols. The Mayan calendar counts time by days from one day, month, year to billion and billions of years. They have well over 20 calendars, including the Long Count Calendar which ends the 13th baktun period that started August 11, 3113 BC on December 21, 2012. Again, the current 13 baktun cycle ends on December 21, 2012. However, the new found 17 baktun cycle extends the Maya time line for an additional 1,124 years to the year 3,136 AD. You should note that the dates on certain monuments extend farther into the future, such as the inscription at the site of Pakal’s tomb at Palenque. Pakal’s tomb is inscribed with his birth date plus 20 baktuns to the date of October 13, 4772 AD, which indicates that the Maya had all intention of extending time far into the future. The Mayans were the most advanced in mathematics and astronomy of all the MesoAmerican cultures. All the other cultures borrowed from them. Aztec stone is not a calendar, it is a symbol describing the periods of the 7 suns. There is no time or date associated with the Aztec stone, it is all symbolic. With the Mayans, however, everything is calculated down to days etc., and theirs is the most complex, intricate, meaningful, accurate, interconnected, cosmic, solar, Venus, astrological, outward looking, prophetic calendar ever designed by man.






Dumb Law of the Week: In Tennessee, it is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

CD Quest



We returned to Candela, again seeking to buy a CD by the guy who performs there. Normally, he is there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. He wasn't there this Saturday. The waiter informed us that he is very well known among the Latin community and frequently has concerts at various places around the county. I still don't know his name. The waiter also told us that he lives very close to the guy and he would make an effort to get us a CD. When, and if, that happens, I will be putting some of his music on here.



   


Dumb Law of the Week: In Rhode Island, it is illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Assassine



The population of the United States is roughly 312 million. Of that number, approximately 200 million are eligible to vote. Barely more than 100 million voted in this election. That means that only about a half of the eligible population voted. Half of them voted for a man who is a chronic liar, who would say or do anything he thought necessary to get a vote, and with absolutely no moral or ethical sensibility whatsoever! That's who they wanted to be President of the United States! And people wonder what's wrong with this country!






Dumb Law of the Week: In Pennsylvania, "Any motorist who sights a team of horses coming toward him must pull well off the road, cover his car with a blanket or canvas that blends with the countryside, and let the horses pass. If the horses appear skittish, the motorist must take his car apart piece by piece, and hide it under the nearest bushes."

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, November 05, 2012

Voting Obama



We voted on Monday (October 29). When we arrived at our polling place (Wilton Manors City Hall) there was quite a line and we almost turned away. But we decided to stick it out, and the line moved more quickly than we had thought it would. We were about half-way there when Dee came over and told us we should have gone to Main (the Main Library) because there were no lines there at all. People evidently thought that because of all the construction, the library was closed. But we stuck it out and finally cast our ballots within an hour of getting into the line. Today I'm seeing online that it's taking up to six hours to vote. Thank you Governor Rick Scott!

I got an invitation in my email for a ticket to see President Barack Obama at the MacArthur High School football stadium on Sunday. It was free to get in but you had to have a ticket. I got one for each of us. Then I decided (wisely as it turns out) that there was no way I could do that. The ticket indicated the event was to take place at 12h30 on Sunday afternoon. Later I saw that it was actually scheduled for 15h40. We lived just a few blocks from there before we moved to our current apartment, so I knew it was a small venue and I wondered why they would choose such a small place for what would be a huge crowd. It was a wise decision on my part to stay away.

Sunday evening we had dinner at Bona Italian Restaurant. We both started with Pasta Fagioli, which ordinarily would have been enough for me, but I followed it with Baked Ziti, while Robb had Eggplant Rollatini. Of course, I could only eat about a third of the ziti and I was surprised that Robb couldn't finish his rollatini, so we both have dinner for another night. That's one of the things I always loved about Bona's, I always get two meals for the price of one!






Dumb Law of the Week: In Hood River, Oregon, it is illegal to juggle without a license.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Persona



PERSONA - Sorry we didn't get to meet, if you were in Miami. Apparently, you don't read the messages on your OD. I tried to get the people at Trump International to help me locate you, but they were less than helpful. You, of course, gave me no information with which to find you other than the name of the hotel. Knowing your name would have been most helpful. Since Thursday was one of the first days of Hurricane Sandy, I'm not sure whether or not you even made it down. Ah well, maybe another time.

Speaking of Hurricane Sandy, our experience was a simple glancing blow...a little wind and a little rain. Nothing remotely like the people up the coast will be getting.

Do any of you get this ANNOYING DAMNED thing from something called ripway?!?!?!?!? Is there a way to get rid of it...permanently?






Dumb Law of the Week: In Columbus, Ohio, it is illegal for stores to sell corn flakes on Sunday.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Candela



Dinner Saturday evening at Candela. We haven't been there in some time, but every time we go, there seem to be more changes. Good changes. When we first started going to Candela, it was one small strip mall shop with about five tables and very little ambience. After a rave review in the Miami Herald, business became so good, Armando (owner and chef) bought out the place next door to accommodate the larger crowds. Then he started decorating and turned it into a nicely atmospheric dining room. Saturday, we discovered he has added live music; a singer who is very good . We tried to buy one of his CDs, but there were none available. We will go back sometime this week for dinner and a CD.  Another change we noted, they now have a wine list.  Previously, you brought your own.  Robb and I both ordered Fish En Croute (fish wrapped in pastry dough and baked).  They only brought one to the table, but it turned out to be so large that if was more than enough for both of us (even though one of the guys at the next table ate one by himself).  Also new to Candela is cava, so of course, we had to have that and it, too was pretty good.  Dessert was a chocolate tarte.

It has been reported that the Mr. Coffee company has been sponsoring anti-gay groups. You might want to stop buying their products!






Registering to vote just got easier. With this little widget, you can fill out a registration form, print it off and mail it in ... or, if you're lucky enough to be in a state where you can register online, it will take you directly to your Secretary of State's website. Do it now! And share it with family and friends. Remember, as Rep. John Lewis said, voting is "the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." It would be great if those of you with larger followings would reproduce this on your journals!!  

Dumb Law of the Week: In Columbus, Ohio, it is illegal for stores to sell corn flakes on Sunday.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Diamond Earth



I almost won a trip to Cancun. I got a call in mid-afternoon. The 'automated voice' on the other end of the line informed me that I had a free trip to Cancun which included 7 days at a luxury hotel, all food and all drinks, including soft drinks, wine and liquor. A live operator got on after I punched a couple number buttons. She asked if I was over 18. I replied, "yes"....and the line went dead. C'est la vie!

Dined at Galanga Saturday evening. Clamari, Salad, Sea Bass (me,) Lobster (Robb), Conundrum (a blend of three different white wines), White Russian.





Registering to vote just got easier. With this little widget, you can fill out a registration form, print it off and mail it in ... or, if you're lucky enough to be in a state where you can register online, it will take you directly to your Secretary of State's website. Do it now! And share it with family and friends. Remember, as Rep. John Lewis said, voting is "the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." It would be great if those of you with larger followings would reproduce this on your journals!!

Dumb Law of the Week: In Oklahoma, it is illegal to hunt whales.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, October 08, 2012

Hungarian Tie




More big doins at the condo.  The Board of Directors has decided to use some of the money from the insurance company to replace all the windows and sliding doors.  In the picture, the old windows are the two apartments on the ground and second floor.  You can see the difference easily if you count the number of panes.  Those of us who have already replaced them, will receive a cash amount.  Much less than we paid, but at least it's something.

We keep hearing on the TV news channels that Mitt Romney is not liked, not even by his own party (the Repug-licans), and yet at the same time, they keep insisting he and President Obama are tied in the polls. Will someone explain how that's possible? I find it well beyond belief they could even be close, much less tied. Ah well, only 29 days to go!






Registering to vote just got easier. With this little widget, you can fill out a registration form, print it off and mail it in ... or, if you're lucky enough to be in a state where you can register online, it will take you directly to your Secretary of State's website. Do it now! And share it with family and friends. Remember, as Rep. John Lewis said, voting is "the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." It would be great if those of you with larger followings would reproduce this on your journals!! REGISTER TO VOTE!!!!

Dumb Law of the Week: In North Carolina, it is illegal to make love on the floor of a hotel room between two double beds.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

BOSTON - 2


21 September - We started with another trip to the Prudential Center Mall. We chose a different route which bought us to the entrance of Lord and Taylor, which was actually a separate building. Just before one enters Lord and Taylor, there is a door leading outside and a walkway to other stores. One we want very much to visit, was Shaw's Supermarket. I don't think we've ever gone anywhere that we haven't checked out the local market, and Shaw's was quite large and quite nice.

After our trip to the market, Robb was feeling hungry. I suggested that instead of going some place for lunch, we just go to Starbuck's and get a Snack. So we left the Prudential Center and walked to Starbuck's, which was just across the street. There was not a vacant seat to be found. And everyone was either on their laptop or smartphone. As luck would have it, there is a place called Max Brenner just next door.   We decided to give it a try. The whole theme at Max Brenner is chocolate. I had a White Chocolate Cappucino. Robb had the Melting Chocolate Truffle Heart Cake & Shake. If you go to Boston, you MUST go to Max Brenner! Dinner was at Atlantic Fish Company. We started with Calamari Milano, half fried and half grilled calamari. Our main course was scallops served with grilled sweet potatoes and asparagus. Another excellent meal in Boston where we have come to expect nothing less. At least, in this fantastic area into which we lucked out.

22 September, 2012 - Robb wanted to go to Harvard. But Harvard isn't just one building, it's a conglomeration of many buildings depending on the curriculum in which you're interested. So we decided to go to the bookstore, which as it turned out was in Harvard Square and was not really the school bookstore. Harvard Square is also a large area encompassing several blocks. We wandered around for a while, and then we came upon a street performer just behind this kiosk/newstand. We watched his whole show. He was actually pretty good and got the somewhat large crowd into it. Dinner again at La Voile.

23 September, 2012 - Had lunch, again, at Cafeteria. Afterwards, we walked up to Commonwealth Avenue and hung out on a park bench on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, relaxing and people watching. We still had a lot of packing to do because we leave tomorrow and we have to be out of here by 11h00, so after a few hours, we went back to the studio. I wasn't about to leave Boston without one more dinner of New England Clam Chowder at Charley's Saloon. Again I was not disappointed.

We loved Boston and the people we met there, most of whom seemed to be from somewhere else. We heard a lot of Spanish and several other languages also. If it were not for the winters, we could see ourselves living in Boston and enjoying its multitude of cultural events, something we don't have in Fort Lauderdale. I only wish we could have seen and done more.

Registering to vote just got easier. With this little widget, you can fill out a registration form, print it off and mail it in ... or, if you're lucky enough to be in a state where you can register online, it will take you directly to your Secretary of State's website. Do it now! And share it with family and friends. Remember, as Rep. John Lewis said, voting is "the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." It would be great if those of you with larger followings would reproduce this on your journals!!  REGISTER TO VOTE!

Dumb Law of the Week: In New York, on Staten Island, it is illegal for a father to call his son a faggot or queer in an effort to curb girlie behavior.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

BOSTON


17 September, 2012 - Boston is great! It's like going to Europe without leaving the country and the people are really friendly and so nice! And like Paris, it's not very handicapped friendly. True, most of the corners have ramps, but to get to the stores and restaurants, you either have to climb stairs or descend stairs.

We made our plane reservation through a travel agent. We will never do that again. We've used them before and it seems no matter where you're going, they always book you on a flight with at least one stop, even though there are many non-stop flights available. You may recall we had to go to Dallas, Texas in order to get to Paris, France. This time it was Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta, Atlanta to Boston. The airline, AirTran, wasn't bad, but their $20 per bag charge is ridiculous. And they don't tell you about that until you've already made your reservation! That was with one bag each. If we had had two, it would have been $45. Three would have been $90. Four = $200! Now I understand why people board with two or three bags, even though it's supposed to be prohibited. It still bothers me that they think they have the right to take more overhead storage than allotted, but I do understand why they do it.

We arrived in Boston around 17h00 on Monday. Caught a cab to the Commonwealth Court Guest House in the Back Bay area of Boston. The ride took only about fifteen minutes. We knew nothing about the guest house and had kind of taken it as a last resort. As luck would have it, it was a very nice place, though our studio was rather small, in an excellent location. I had Googled it and found on Street View, that only a block away was Newbury Street which was teeming with restaurants. Our first Boston dinner was at Kashmir and it was very good.  The buildings you see in the photo are typical of the Back Bay area.

18 September, 2012 - On Tuesday, we discovered we were only about three blocks from a large shopping mall located in the Prudential Center, so we walked down and had a walk around the place. The stores seemed to be mostly high-end places. We've quickly found out that everything in Boston is a bit more expensive than we're used to in Fort Lauderdale. Robb, as usual, was suffering from hunger pains, so we walked to a restaurant named Cafeteria for lunch. Robb had a chicken club sandwich which was so large that even he couldn't eat the whole thing. I had a "side order" of Parmesan Fries, half of which I brought back to the studio for later consumption (which never did happen). Our second dinner in Boston was at a great French restaurant...La Voile. The chef and most of the staff are French. We both had Le magret (roasted duck breast) and were happy to find that the serving size was considerably less than the American Huge we're used to getting.

19 September, 2012 - Wednesday started with lunch at Charley's Saloon.  The we caught a taxi to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  We were surprised to find how close it was to the guest house.   Five or six years ago, I would have been able to walk to it.  It's a huge, beautiful place, but not the easiest to find your way around.  We did manage to see a lot of it, but we did not see even half of what they had to offer.  When we decided to leave, we simply sat outside and waited for a taxi to show up looking for a fare.  We only waited about five minutes.  Tonight's dinner was at Charley's Saloon, because we had been told they make the best New England Clam Chowder in the world.  It is served in a bread bowl that, in it's self was quite edible.  They were right!  It was easily the best we've ever had.


20 September, 2012 - We started by walking down to the Prudential Center.  Then we made our way down to the Boston Public Library, a huge place.  I waited by the entrance while Robb wandered around having a look at the place.  In the time I was sitting there, people just came coming in and out.  More people entered while I was there then we usually see in a week at the Fort Lauderdale library.  It was simply astonishing.  Afterward, we walked down to have a look at the Copley Subway Station.  We watched as several trains came and left. Each one was standing room only!  Then we made our way over to Trinity Church.  We were a bit put off when they wanted to charge us to go in a have a look around.

Dinner tonight was special, and the real reason we are in Boston!  We got to meet with 'Blocked' and her husband at Kashmir.  They were both really charming people and we're so glad we got to meet them in person.  We had a great meal and a lot of great conversation.  After dinner, we all went back to our tiny room and chatted a little longer.

Registering to vote just got easier. With this little widget, you can fill out a registration form, print it off and mail it in ... or, if you're lucky enough to be in a state where you can register online, it will take you directly to your Secretary of State's website. Do it now! And share it with family and friends. Remember, as Rep. John Lewis said, voting is "the most powerful, nonviolent tool we have to create a more perfect union." It would be great if those of you with larger followings would reproduce this on your journals!!   REGISTER TO VOTE

Dumb Law of the Week: In Omaha, Nebraska, it is illegal for a child to burp during a church service, his or her parents may be arrested.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Obnoxious Rainbow



Keynote

The other day, Robb suddenly exclaimed, "Look at that beautiful rainbow!" I jumped up and looked out the window, but I couldn't see it from the room I was in, so I rushed out onto the balcon. Looking to the right, I could barely make it out. To the left, I couldn't see it at all. I went back inside and into the bedroom. From the window in the bedroom, I got a great view of it. Since I always have my phone with me, I took a couple of pictures through the dirty window. The picture I've included here was the best of the bunch.

We went back to the Rainbow Palace for dinner on Saturday evening. We went specifically for the Crispy Duck Grand Marnier. We were not disappointed. We were, however, disappointed by the group of four drunks (they weren't this quiet before and after the video) who had no idea just how obnoxious they were. They were already drunk when they moved to the dining room, but continued to drink while there.






Dumb Law of the Week: In Minnesota, it is illegal to tease skunks.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Boston Palace



After quite a bit of searching, we think we have a place reserved in Boston. We tried several, only to be told,"it's available" and then, a few minutes later, "it's not available" many times. One guy indicated we had chosen the 'busiest' time of the year because it's back-to-school time. I'm not sure what he meant by that unless he was saying that college students are taking all the available places, which doesn't make whole lot of sense. For what we're paying for a room for ONE WEEK in Boston, we could have rented a one-bedroom apartment for a month in Paris. Whatever, according to Google maps street view. it's a nice area with a lot of restaurants and cafes just around the corner.

Thursday night, we had dinner at the Rainbow Palace, an upscale Chinese restaurant a few blocks from us. It has been there longer than we've been in this apartment, but we have never eaten there until now. It's really nicely appointed and the waiters all wear tuxedos. We started with a very crispy egg roll, then we both had the Snapper Special with lots of vegetables in a delicious Szechuan Sauce. Wine was a nice sauvignon blanc. Parting from our usual routine, we both had dessert. I had a fantastic raspberry crumble, and Robb had a chocolate mousse pie-like thing. They were both good. While we were eating, we overheard one of the waiters mention to another customer, Grand Marnier Duck. Our mouths were watering so we must return to try that.

This has to be the most stupid thing I've seen in many years: FliZ Is Newest and Most Ridiculous Sensation in Bicycling





Dumb Law of the Week: In Massachusetts, it is illegal for mourners at a wake to eat more than three sandwiches.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Stormy Weather



Robb and I are making reservations for a one week trip to Boston where we hope to meet [blocked] and her husband. They live in England and are visiting Boston in September. Making these reservations brings up the fact that it's a hell of a lot less expensive to spend a month in Europe than a week in a US city, even with the money exchange rate what it is now. Robb has never been there and I've only been once. It was a long time ago when I was in the Army. I was stationed at a fort about ten miles from Boston and a few of us went down one night to go to White Castle for burgers. That was my one and only visit.

Monday was a strange day in Florida. We had alternating periods of sunshine, clouds, wind, rain, lightening and thunder throughout the day. Even though Isaac is many miles to the north and west of us, we will most likely be affected by it for several more days.

Big doins at the condo. We got a new fence around the pool. It's much nicer than the chain-link fence we had before. The only thing is that it is a bit higher than the old fence, which is a problem when you see someone and want to stop and chat by leaning on the fence. With the old fence, you could end up with some nasty gashes on your arms. The new fence is too high to lean on while chatting.







Dumb Law of the Week: In Louisana, it is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Voting Dinner



We totally missed Early Voting (it only lasted a week), but we did vote on the actual Election Day. Although, that's a bit of a misnomer because it wasn't really an election, it was just a primary. I didn't know that when I suggested to Robb that we get over there and cast our ballots. Our voting place is only three blocks from the apartment and in past years, we have walked, but I wasn't up to walking this year, between the heat and my breathing. The only thing they asked to see was our drivers license. I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't had them? Not only was it a primary, but because I'm registered as an Independant, I could only vote in the bi-partisan section. So I only got to vote for various judges and a couple of school board members. Robb got all the good stuff, Wilton Manors mayor, state representatives and senators, local commissioners and such. Hopefully, I'll get my chance in November.

Thursday evening, we had dinner again at Cafe Seville. It was so nice. The restaurant wasn't full but there was a fair crowd and they were nicely quiet. I had the Veal Segovia and Robb had the Lamb Shank with a house salad which was huge. It was interesting that several of the diners spent a lot of time on theirsmartphones or tablets.







Dumb Law of the Week: In Kentucky, by law, anyone who has been drinking is "sober" until he or she "cannot hold onto the ground."

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Internet Olympics



I've been having a lot of bad luck ordering things on the internet lately. I ordered batteries for our parking lot gate remote control. It took forever to get here. I finally bought a tablet because the price was really great. Unfortunately, the tablet (called an iBridge) was not even worth that price. I sent it back. I ordered eight pairs of shorts from JCPenney because they showed them to be nice and slim fitting. They were just more ghetto style shorts. I took them back to the store. I hope this trend is going to come to a screeching halt immediately.

The Olympics are over. For the most part, it was enjoyable, but there were many times when I turned off the TV and occupied myself elsewhere. There were far too many women's events. Sorry ladies, things like ribbon twirling, women boxing, women wrestling and dancing with balls are just not in my interest zone! Watching the Olympic telecasts has reinforced my reason for not watching TV on a regular basis. There are way too many commercials. The commercials are absolutely geared to the lowest possible common denominator. I've never seen so much stupidity. Oddly enough, the internet, which is usually an excellent source of information and videos, was horrendous during the Olympics. There was a lot of information, but very few videos.







Dumb Law of the Week: In Iowa, it is illegal for kisses to last more than five minutes.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Mars Voting



Early Voting began in Florida on Saturday. I was going to wait until Monday to vote, but I somehow never got around to it. Perhaps Robb and I will go on Tuesday.

I stayed up late Sunday night to watch the Mars rover, Curiosity land and send back its first pictues. Well, it wasn't really late for me since I usually don't go to bed before 02h00. The Mars pictures weren't as good as I was hoping for and I was kind of surprised that NASA didn't do better with that.






Dumb Law of the Week: In Indiana, it is illegal to bathe during the winter.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Trip Olympics



It took a couple of weeks for me to face reality and make a very tough decision. Our trip to Europe is not going to happen. I had hoped that by going back on the steroids, I would gain the strength necessary to make the trip without worry about being hospitalized again, but evidently, that's not going to happen. The steroids are not having the efect I was desperately hoping to feel.

Except for the first 75 percent of the opening ceremonies, and all the damned commercials, we have been enjoying the Olympics. I don't understand why some of the "sports" are part of it, but what the hell, they're mostly the ones I don't watch anyway. I really like the rowing and, of course, the gymnastics. I'm glad to see the Americans doing so well, as are the French.








A guy dies and goes to heaven. His tour guide starts to show him around the whole place; the tennis courts, the main lobby , when they come upon a room full of clocks.

Some are going fast, some slow and some normal. 

"What's with all the clocks?" the guy asks his tour guide. 

"Each clock is for each person on earth. Every time they tell a lie, their clock goes faster," he said. 

Well that makes sense the guy thought to himself. 

Just then he noticed a clock on the ceiling going tremendously fast , and much faster than all the others. 

"What's that?" the guy asked, pointing to the ceiling. 

"Oh, that's George W Bush's clock. We use it as a fan."

Dumb Law of the Week: In Illinois, it is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats, and other domesticated animal kept as pets.

À la prochaine, mes amis.