8:18:22 AM EDT
Feeling Loopy
Hearing Jazz on WBGO
Brooklyn Cyclones Game Last Night
Once a season we go to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones, the class A minor league team owned by the Mets. They started playing in 2001 at Keyspan Park which is just off the ocean. Since the Mets played in the aafternoon at Shea, David Wright, Carlos Muniz, and Joe Smith threw out the first balls. The latter played for the Cyclones before eventually being promoted to the Mets. In the game the Cyclones defeated the Vermont Lake Monsters 8 - 1. Cyclones pitcher Brad Holt struck out 14 batters in 6 innings. Maybe he will be promoted to the Mets in a year or two. A team never has enought pitching. A fireworks display followed the game.
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3:34:16 PM EDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing XM Radio Deep Tracks Channel
Look Who's Number One!
The Mets played a 12 noon game today to accommodate day campers. It also attracted regular reader of this journal Alan B. Oliver Perez was brilliant as he struck out 12, but left the game in the 8th inning in a 1-1 tie. In the bottom of the 8th Carlos Delgado drove in two runs with a double as the Mets won 3-1 and moved into first place in the National League East. Box Score
It is much too early to jump for joy since there are about 60 game to go in the regular season. We remember all too well the collapse in September 2007. It is really hard to tell if the change in managers is the reason for the Mets surge to first place.
I hear that WCBS-FM will have a call in contest where the winner gets 2 tickets to Saturday home games in 2009 at Citi Field that begin at 3:55 or 7:00 PM. I know that Alan would not enter that contest but our mutual friend from eastern Queens will :)
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3:18:18 PM EDT
Feeling Giddy
Hearing XM Radio - Deep Tracks
Upgraded my cell phone
After much though during this week away from work I decided to make a small upgrade to my cell phone since I didn't want to incurr unnecessarily big costs each months. I spend enough time online, so I decided not to get a PDA. Karen and I walked over to the AT&T Store in down town Flushing and were able to upgrade to a Nokia 2600 as seen in the photo above. We only had to pay $18 to transfer phones and $30 for a case. We signed up for a two years plan with 450 anytime minutes and 5000 night and weekend minutes. This phone has internet and text messaging capabilities, but it would cost an extra $15/month. Without a QWERTY keyboard, I would be limited to short messages anyway. So when I return to work on Monday, I'll tell Maria the first thing in the morning.
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7:29:56 AM EDT
Feeling Bitchy
Hearing WFUV with Claudia Marshall
Missed a bad train delay yesterday
You never know when a commute will be bad. A train can come to a dead stop, and you don't know if it will sit there for a long period of time. Most of the train delays happen on the way home. Here is a report from the New York Times about a bad train delay on New Jersey Transit yesterday caused by power problems. At least I missed it because I am on vacation.
July 23, 2008, 6:09 pm
Long Delays Expected on New Jersey Commuter Trains
By Patrick McGeehan
New Jersey Transit officials said commuters should expect significant delays on trains along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Those trains were temporarily brought to a halt during much of the Wednesday evening commute because of a problem with the power supply. Service was restored at 5:45 p.m.
NJ Transit, whose trains run along Amtrak’s tracks heading south out of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, pulled many of its trains into the nearest station at about 4:35 p.m. and held them there, said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for the agency. The railroad then directed commuters to switch to buses or PATH trains, which were honoring their train passes, Mr. Stessel said.
The problem, a drop in voltage along the tracks, had affected all trains that run along the Northeast Corridor
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5:26:17 PM EDT
Feeling Bummed
Hearing XM Radio 50s Channel
Just Sitting on a Bench
There is something wrong with this photo. It was taken about two years ago in my co-op on a sunny day. It was rainy this morning, but it stopped later on. After 1 PM, I sat out for a while and read the Bobby Murcer biography. Coincindentally, I was wearing that same t-shirt today plugging Scifinder Scholar. My NJIT colleagues will know what that is. Other readers should click on the link. Why should I wear that t-shirt on my vacation?
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5:40:29 PM EDT
Feeling Inspired
Hearing XM Radio Deep Tracks
I Was There with Todd Haynes on a rainy morning
In November 2007 I saw the Bob Dylan Biopic I'm Not There directed by Todd Haynes. In May 2008 I viewed the DVD version of the film. In the DVD version there was the option to view the film with commentary by Todd Haynes. At 9 AM this morning I was going to go out and sit on a park bench to read, but there was a brief shower. I came back upstairs and put the DVD on and watched listening to the commentary which overrode the dialog. I was able to understand more about the intracacies of the film by hearing his comments. Since Todd was born in 1961, he was a small child during Dylan's prominence in the mid 1960s. He gave credit to his editor Jay Rabinowitz for being the Dylan expert on his staff. My suggestion is that if you buy or rent a movie on DVD, you should view the special features.
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5:18:46 PM EDT
Feeling Happy
Hearing XM Radio the Loft
Happy Birthday Alex Trebek
Jeopardy host Alex Trebek is 68 years young today. You can see from the Wikipedia entry that Alex had a long history in TV before he first hosted Jeopardy in 1984. Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the current version of Jeopardy. I remember hearing that they compiling a book of interviews asking former Jeopardy contestants how the show changed their lives.
The following peple have had their birthday's mentioned in this journal:
Lee Slutsky
Karen Slutsky
Manfred Mann
Chuck Berry
Ringo Starr
Bob Dylan
Billy Joel
Dave DuBrow
Please be assured there will be a long entry on October 8, 2008 for the birthday of Alan Berman
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8:30:11 AM EDT
Feeling Giddy
Hearing The Breeze with Randy Davis
My history with cell phones
For readers not employed with the NJIT Library the young lady in the photo is Maria Denaro of the circulation staff. Back in the late 90s when cell phones became popular Maria and I were resistant to getting a cell phone. Every day we would make jokes about people who did silly things on the phone like talking in movie theaters and talking about personal issues in public places. I showed her a carton with two guys walking out of a rock conert saying "It was so loud in there, I couldn't use my cell phone." I distinctively heard Maria say "I hate cell phones!" I remember Maria would aggressively confront students who used their phones in the library.
I think it was in 2002 when Maria came in to work with her new cell phone. At that point I just had to buy one. My thought was "If you can't beat them, join them." I bought my Nokia phone and plan from AT&T. It was a local plan with just 150 minutes. The monthly rate was $29.99 plus fees.
In 2005 I upgraded to a different Nokia phone with a national plan with 450 anytime minutes with 5000 night and weekend minutes. With the fees and taxes this costs me about $50/month. We only use a fraction of the allowed minutes.
Over times cell phones have gotten more sophisticated with more features. For months I have contemplated getting an internet capable phone. I have seen phone from Palm, and Blackberry that would be of interest. I really don't need the camera, or music capabilities of an Iphone. I would be interested in surfing the web, sending e-mail, and using the GPS system. I found out that a data plan from AT&T would cost $30/month more. This would really be a luxury that a really don't need. I will stay with my current phone until it dies. However, to this day, whenver I use my cell phone, I think of Maria.
I still see people text messaging in movie theaters when the light from the phone disturbs others. I regularly see Maria sneaking behind the Circulation desk to make and recieve cell phone calls when years ago she yelled at students for doing the same. Technology also creates problems.
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8:22:32 PM EDT
Feeling Giddy
Hearing Breakfast with the Beatles with Dennis Mitchell
Staycation in nearby Bayside Queens
I drove over to nearby Bayside this morning to read the rest of the Sunday New York Times. I'd like to recommend this article in the magazine section to readers of this journal. It was a biography of Times reporter David Carr who recovered from crack addiction to become a success in life. I was sitting on a bench in Crocheron Park across from the tennis courts. An old codger was annoyed because some kids were throwing sticks onto the courts. As he finished his game I overhead his chatting with his friend about the weekend. He said he enjoyed the weekend until he saw the movie Mama Mia which stunk. I'll have to check it out in a few weeks. I decided to leave and go home. I arrived exactly at 12 noon to hear the Beatles on Q-104.3. That station always play the Beatles at noon to continue a tradition begun by NYC radio legend Scott Muni aka The Professor. At 12:30, I watched Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Meredith Viera. Later on Karen, Lee and I went back to Bayside to eat dinner at Ben's Deli. I suggested to the manager that they open a restaurant in Chicago. We walked around the mall and stopped at the FYE music store. Sadly, those stores are becoming dinosaurs. I just wasn't in a buying mood today. When we got home Lee put on a Johnny Cash CD on. I don't remember how he became such a big fan of the Man in Black. When I turned on the TV at 7 PM, I was pleasantly surprised that Jeopardy was not in reruns yet since in past years repeats of tournaments are shown in the 6 weeks before Labor Day.
Staycation continues tomorrow. No buses, no trains, and no requests for temporary IDs.
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8:15:34 PM EDT
Feeling Pensive
Hearing Lost 45s with Barry Scott on WODS Boston
Saw Wall.e at Roy's Suggestion
Roy is New York City's biggest patron of cultural events . Every Sunday at 9 AM I phone him to talk about movies, plays, concerts, etc. I definitely did not want to see the Batman movie its first weekend. I thought about Mama Mia, the movie despite the review saying that the actors and actresses couldn't sing. For the past few weeks Roy has recommended the animated movie Wall.e. Since it was playing at a convenient time, we walked over to the local multiplex to escape the heat and to see the movie. The story was very simplistic since it was rated G, but the special effects and animation were superlative. Pixar produced the Toy Story movies, but since the computer technology has improved over the years, the special effects were excellent.
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