Two days after I got the Tilt phone, I happened to be typing away on it at the bank when one of the tellers asked me about it. He showed me his iPhone. The next day, I had one too.
Most cellular phone companies will allow you to take a phone back within the first two weeks. I didn't hesitate. I needed to return the Tilt, but unfortunately, the mall kiosk where I got the Tilt doesn't carry iPhones. This meant I had an extra trip ahead of me, and even tho Emmett's half-birthday party was in full swing, I left Shirra with the kids (traipsing thru the snowy woods) and zoomed thruout Poughkeepsie taking care of these errands. I have turned into a laconic driver since moving to New Paltz, but suddenly I reverted to my formerly aggressive habits (the ones that made me the scourge of Israeli taxi drivers back when we rented a car in Tel Aviv for two weeks). As soon as I got home, I connected the phone to my computer, only to discover that our iBook G4 -- a brand new computer when we plunked down nearly $2,000 for it just 4 years ago -- isn't compatible with the even schmancier iPhone.
About 5 years ago, Apple switched from its truly pokey operating system called OS9 to the much more artificial-intelligency OSX. It never occurred to me that our particular brand of OSX would be unable to play with the iPhone -- after all, this computer can still download songs from iTunes and surf the web, so why would compatibility be an issue? And our OSX was the most advanced version of OSX available that could run pretty much any programs made for Apple: OS 10.3.9.
Alas, an iPhone needs to run on OS 10.4.10 or higher. But it turns out that there is a huge gulf between point-3 and point-4. The newer operating systems all have names like Tiger, Panther, and Leopard, but ours is apparently so archaic in comparison that we should be referring to the 10.3s as Mammoth, Mastodon, and Mitt "Bling Bling" Romney.
Happily, there were some temporary solutions. The day after I got the iPhone, I synched it with the computer of one of Shirra's employees. Then two days later, I connected it with my mom's computer. All is well in iPhoneland at last.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
It's AT&T for Me (for Now)
T*Mobile had to go -- the coverage in our house and on the road was terrible, and just as bad was the terrible spam filter: I had to delete over 30 penis and investment messages a day. I was about to get Verizon, which everyone knows has the best reception in the area, but the service is more expensive than AT&T even tho we have Verizon for our home and the store.
Initially I went with the AT&T "Tilt." This phone is similar to my old Sidekick in that it has a small keyboard beneath a screen, but the big difference was that it had a touch screen. This was actually a minus, however, because the screen worrked better with a stylus, but I hated using the stylus. Using fingers was nearly impossible, however, even tho my fingernails are intact, because the screen wasn't sensitive enough. It was like trying to use a push-button phone while wearing gloves. I also had trouble using what should have been the easiest feature: the phone. Without going into boring detail, suffice it to say that there was nothing about the phone that one could call intuitive.
This link has a positive review of the Tilt, but it mentions something that clarifies why that phone didn't work well for me -- it's based on the Windows system, but we're Mac people. Years ago, I used a PDA that could sync with my one and only PC (bought in 1998), but I don't feel like getting another PC just so that I can use my phone effectively.
Initially I went with the AT&T "Tilt." This phone is similar to my old Sidekick in that it has a small keyboard beneath a screen, but the big difference was that it had a touch screen. This was actually a minus, however, because the screen worrked better with a stylus, but I hated using the stylus. Using fingers was nearly impossible, however, even tho my fingernails are intact, because the screen wasn't sensitive enough. It was like trying to use a push-button phone while wearing gloves. I also had trouble using what should have been the easiest feature: the phone. Without going into boring detail, suffice it to say that there was nothing about the phone that one could call intuitive.
This link has a positive review of the Tilt, but it mentions something that clarifies why that phone didn't work well for me -- it's based on the Windows system, but we're Mac people. Years ago, I used a PDA that could sync with my one and only PC (bought in 1998), but I don't feel like getting another PC just so that I can use my phone effectively.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Yes, It Floods Here Too
The weather has been odd here lately. We've had fog, rain, hail, and snow. The temperature has fluctuated between 15 and 50, causing massive flooding, freezing, and then a potent combination of the two. School was canceled for two-and-a-half days last week on account of the weather.
The worst of all the conditions lately has undoubtedly been the flooding. While we don't experience this problem where we live, the other side of the Wallkill Bridge was so bad that some people were trapped in their homes. One of Fiona's friends was stuck indoors for two days, and a friend of Shirra's reported that the family had barely been able to get outside for a week! This woman's husband apparently had to hike out the back door and thru their woods to a road nearby in order to get to work.
I've heard rumors that the Village is thinking about raising Springtown Road a few feet higher in order to combat the annual floodwaters. I'm not sure how feasible that plan is -- and how soon they're planning to do this -- but I remember feeling a great sense of relief when the floods came last spring and we WEREN'T affected. We'd almost bought a house there, but luckily we'd decided on a different house. I'm not sure how conscious we were about the flooding, but I do recall that the real estate agents had mentioned that a certain road did flood badly from time to time, and later we realized that they were talking about Springtown Road. Woe unto anyone who buys a house along that swampland. Shirra reports that when she drove Fiona back from riding yesterday, the road was finally open but there were lakes on either side of it, rippling in the wind.
The worst of all the conditions lately has undoubtedly been the flooding. While we don't experience this problem where we live, the other side of the Wallkill Bridge was so bad that some people were trapped in their homes. One of Fiona's friends was stuck indoors for two days, and a friend of Shirra's reported that the family had barely been able to get outside for a week! This woman's husband apparently had to hike out the back door and thru their woods to a road nearby in order to get to work.
I've heard rumors that the Village is thinking about raising Springtown Road a few feet higher in order to combat the annual floodwaters. I'm not sure how feasible that plan is -- and how soon they're planning to do this -- but I remember feeling a great sense of relief when the floods came last spring and we WEREN'T affected. We'd almost bought a house there, but luckily we'd decided on a different house. I'm not sure how conscious we were about the flooding, but I do recall that the real estate agents had mentioned that a certain road did flood badly from time to time, and later we realized that they were talking about Springtown Road. Woe unto anyone who buys a house along that swampland. Shirra reports that when she drove Fiona back from riding yesterday, the road was finally open but there were lakes on either side of it, rippling in the wind.
Fog as Thick as Sea Poop
This past Monday, we woke to find ourselves in the clouds. Looking outside the kitchen windows gave us the impression that we lived in a castle in the sky, rather than a house in the woods. But as romantic as aerial castles might seem, they're hell to drive in. Shirra called me from her store to report that she'd barely been able to make it there safely: Route 32 was so white that it appeared that cars were driving out of nearby marshmallows. She'd had to honk while making the left turn across the 55-mph road, hoping that she hadn't misjudged the traffic. Later, when I tried to take the kids to the Galleria, I got to that same point on our road and realized that a drive to the mall wasn't worth the risk. We went back home and waited an hour until the sun suddenly came out long enough to melt some of the fog.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
3-D Word Hunt Final: OK, 65 It Is
I just got a few more emails from z. He first acknowledged that my list was perfect except for two words: PLENA, which he acknowledged is a bit more common than some of the 'acceptable' words on the final list, and KIKES. He then went on to note that he tried to get the Times to include KIKES but was rebuffed. The answers published this coming Sunday will be missing that word.
I wrote him back to ask if he minded if I wrote a letter to the editor about the exclusion of the word, and he wrote back giving his approval. I think it's safe to say that he has a similar take on words: They only have power to offend if we bestow that power upon them artificially. A word's a word.
Shirra pointed out that the negative powers of 'vagina' were greatly diminished as a result of the Vagina Monologues. The more people heard the word spoken, the less its shock value. I often point out to my students that 'idiot' and 'retard' are much meaner words than 'shit' or 'fuck.' The former are directed at people in an effort to sting, while the latter group is merely a scatalogical or sexual reference to ideas that our puritanical ancestors had difficulties with.
I wrote him back to ask if he minded if I wrote a letter to the editor about the exclusion of the word, and he wrote back giving his approval. I think it's safe to say that he has a similar take on words: They only have power to offend if we bestow that power upon them artificially. A word's a word.
Shirra pointed out that the negative powers of 'vagina' were greatly diminished as a result of the Vagina Monologues. The more people heard the word spoken, the less its shock value. I often point out to my students that 'idiot' and 'retard' are much meaner words than 'shit' or 'fuck.' The former are directed at people in an effort to sting, while the latter group is merely a scatalogical or sexual reference to ideas that our puritanical ancestors had difficulties with.
3-D Boggle: Letter from the Editor
After finding all of the words listed in my previous post, I wrote a note to the creator of my favorite puzzles. Will Shortz is quite an accomplished puzzler. He was actually the first (and thus far, only) person to achieve a college degree in the study of word puzzles. I met him a decade ago at a Scrabble function that was organized with a literacy group to help raise money and awareness in the name of adult literacy. Each Scrabble expert present was paired with a celebrity in a game against another expert/celeb pair. I was paired with Tina Louise, who had finally been rescued from Gilligan's Island. Although she was putting her back into helping illiterate adults, she wasn't especially gifted (or interested) in Scrabble. Our pairing was mostly about me playing a few odd words and the still-beautiful desert castaway oohing and ahing about them. It wasn't as bad as it sounds.
Will was kind enough to send me the note that follows. I guess he means that the 65 words he alluded to when the puzzle appeared were a 'complete' list. I know that my list has at least two words not on his; altho he didn't include his words, there is no way to account for the fact that my list has 67 words (including KIKES) or 66 words (without it).
z writes:
Hi David,
Congratulations on your fine list of 3-D Word Hunt answers!
One of my puzzle testers was able to check my solution against an
electronic edition of Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate, so I'm
basically certain that my list, which will be published next Sunday, is
complete.
Please let me know if this is not the case!
--Will
It's only Wednesday, so I'm itchy to find out what words from my list are missing from his. At this point I'm guessing that KIKES is one of them, which would necessitate a letter from me to the editor of the magazine. After all, a word's a word (and that one is DEFINITELY in Merriam-Webster's.
Here are the 67 words that I'm sure of: AIRER *AIRTS ALACK ALIVE *ANENT ATONE ATRIA *ATRIP *CAIRD CANAL CANON CANTO DIVOT ENACT EVENT KIKES LAIRD *LANAI LENTO LEVEL LILAC *LITAI LITRE LIVEN LIVID *NATAL NOOSE NOVEL *OOTID PIANO PIKER PIKES PLANE PLANT *PLATS *PLENA RESTS *RIANT RIATA SCALE SCALP SCANT SCATS *SERER *SERES SOOTS STACK STAIR STALE *STANE STATS STILE STONE *STOTS STOVE *STRIA STRIP TITAN TITRE TONAL TOOTS TOTAL TRIAL TRIKE VENAL VITAL VIVID (*= uncommon, of which there are 16)
Removed from my earlier list: ALANE ALANT ANELE DREST NOTAL PLACK *TANTO *TRIAC.
These last words are NOT in the abridged MW that appears online. I was under the assumption that the dictionary was just not working when I tried a few of these (like ALANE) that I knew from Scrabble. I'll have to be more careful next time. Still, I did beat the number that z had set as the maximum -- now I just have to wait till Sunday!
Will was kind enough to send me the note that follows. I guess he means that the 65 words he alluded to when the puzzle appeared were a 'complete' list. I know that my list has at least two words not on his; altho he didn't include his words, there is no way to account for the fact that my list has 67 words (including KIKES) or 66 words (without it).
z writes:
Hi David,
Congratulations on your fine list of 3-D Word Hunt answers!
One of my puzzle testers was able to check my solution against an
electronic edition of Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate, so I'm
basically certain that my list, which will be published next Sunday, is
complete.
Please let me know if this is not the case!
--Will
It's only Wednesday, so I'm itchy to find out what words from my list are missing from his. At this point I'm guessing that KIKES is one of them, which would necessitate a letter from me to the editor of the magazine. After all, a word's a word (and that one is DEFINITELY in Merriam-Webster's.
Here are the 67 words that I'm sure of: AIRER *AIRTS ALACK ALIVE *ANENT ATONE ATRIA *ATRIP *CAIRD CANAL CANON CANTO DIVOT ENACT EVENT KIKES LAIRD *LANAI LENTO LEVEL LILAC *LITAI LITRE LIVEN LIVID *NATAL NOOSE NOVEL *OOTID PIANO PIKER PIKES PLANE PLANT *PLATS *PLENA RESTS *RIANT RIATA SCALE SCALP SCANT SCATS *SERER *SERES SOOTS STACK STAIR STALE *STANE STATS STILE STONE *STOTS STOVE *STRIA STRIP TITAN TITRE TONAL TOOTS TOTAL TRIAL TRIKE VENAL VITAL VIVID (*= uncommon, of which there are 16)
Removed from my earlier list: ALANE ALANT ANELE DREST NOTAL PLACK *TANTO *TRIAC.
These last words are NOT in the abridged MW that appears online. I was under the assumption that the dictionary was just not working when I tried a few of these (like ALANE) that I knew from Scrabble. I'll have to be more careful next time. Still, I did beat the number that z had set as the maximum -- now I just have to wait till Sunday!
Monday, February 11, 2008
3-D Word Hunt of Feb 11, 2008
Will Shortz is the editor of the NY Times Crosswords page (and now a millionaire thanks in part to his Sudoku books). About a year ago, he came out with his first 3-D Word Hunt, a sort of high-tech Boggle. The challenge is to find the most 5-letter-words. Because of my love of Boggle and the Scrabble skills that I've honed over the past 15 years, I've been able to find most of the words that later appear in his Answers page the following week... and then some. For each of the three puzzles he's published so far, I've found many more words than he's indicated. I'm not sure where the sloppiness comes in: Doesn't he have some experts who vet his puzzles for him? Actually, I offered that assistance last time (when I had found about 15 words he'd missed), but he didn't take me up on it. He published my extra words in an addendum a few weeks later, but he didn't thank me or the other solvers who'd found words missing from his Answers list. It turns out I'd found more than anyone who'd sent in answers. Ah well.
Here is my unofficial list for the most recent puzzle. I may still be missing a word or two, and there may be a word on my list that's not in the dictionary source that he's using, but all of these words are good in Scrabble, as they say, which means that they're most likely ok in this puzzle (Scrabble and this puzzle use almost the same word source).
KIKES in the PUZZLE
Here is a sign that his puzzle-vetters aren't up to the task when it comes to hallucinatory Boggle: They missed KIKES. I'm fairly sure that this one was NOT meant for entry in the puzzle and that, had Shortz noticed it, he would have altered the puzzle. It's not like I'm bothered by the word, but there are plenty of oversensitive types who would complain that this puzzle offended them to the quick. I look forward to a Letter to the Editor complaining about the puzzle.
Shortz divided his list among common words (50) and *uncommon words (he'd found 15, but I list 25).
AIRER *AIRTS ALACK *ALANE *ALANT ALIVE *ANELE *ANENT ATONE ATRIA *ATRIP
*CAIRD CANAL CANON CANTO
DIVOT *DREST
ENACT EVENT
*KIKES
*LAIRD *LANAI LENTO LEVEL LILAC *LITAI LITRE LIVEN LIVID
*NATAL NOOSE *NOTAL NOVEL
*OOTID
PIANO PIKER PIKES PLACK PLANE PLANT *PLATS *PLENA
RESTS *RIANT RIATA
SCALE SCALP SCANT SCATS *SERER *SERES SOOTS STACK STAIR STALE *STANE STATS STILE STONE *STOTS STOVE *STRIA STRIP
*TANTO TITAN TITRE TONAL TOOTS TOTAL *TRIAC TRIAL TRIKE
VENAL VITAL VIVID
Here is my unofficial list for the most recent puzzle. I may still be missing a word or two, and there may be a word on my list that's not in the dictionary source that he's using, but all of these words are good in Scrabble, as they say, which means that they're most likely ok in this puzzle (Scrabble and this puzzle use almost the same word source).
KIKES in the PUZZLE
Here is a sign that his puzzle-vetters aren't up to the task when it comes to hallucinatory Boggle: They missed KIKES. I'm fairly sure that this one was NOT meant for entry in the puzzle and that, had Shortz noticed it, he would have altered the puzzle. It's not like I'm bothered by the word, but there are plenty of oversensitive types who would complain that this puzzle offended them to the quick. I look forward to a Letter to the Editor complaining about the puzzle.
Shortz divided his list among common words (50) and *uncommon words (he'd found 15, but I list 25).
AIRER *AIRTS ALACK *ALANE *ALANT ALIVE *ANELE *ANENT ATONE ATRIA *ATRIP
*CAIRD CANAL CANON CANTO
DIVOT *DREST
ENACT EVENT
*KIKES
*LAIRD *LANAI LENTO LEVEL LILAC *LITAI LITRE LIVEN LIVID
*NATAL NOOSE *NOTAL NOVEL
*OOTID
PIANO PIKER PIKES PLACK PLANE PLANT *PLATS *PLENA
RESTS *RIANT RIATA
SCALE SCALP SCANT SCATS *SERER *SERES SOOTS STACK STAIR STALE *STANE STATS STILE STONE *STOTS STOVE *STRIA STRIP
*TANTO TITAN TITRE TONAL TOOTS TOTAL *TRIAC TRIAL TRIKE
VENAL VITAL VIVID
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Super Knitter
If we hadn't moved out of Brooklyn, Shirra might never have opened her knitting store, and if she'd stayed a recreational knitter, rather than a professional one, I most likely would never have felt the need to learn. But here we are in New Paltz, and her store is doing well, and I'm knitting my first scarf. Shirra's been knitting for years and has made every kind of clothing that can be fashioned of yarn. I'm not going to be able to help customers in the store for quite some time, but I figured the sooner I learn, the better. And it's fun.
Super Bowl Knitting Party
Part of the enjoyment I derive from knitting is the shock value. I took my knitting bag to the fire house and brought out my yarn and needles for our Super Bowl party. I love the comaraderie of the fire department, and as a big fan of South Park, I understand how teasing works. If they don't tease you, they don't love you. Or: If they do tease you, it means that they know you can take it. Sociology aside, I enjoyed the barbs and funny looks. My favorite comment was the suggestion that I knit myself a penis.
I was planning to make an all-blue scarf, but Shirra didn't have a second skein of azure blue yarn, so I chose an emerald green for my second color. Then it turned out that the scarf was too short (especially given how fat it was), so I added a third color.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Oops! Have an Ice Day!
As a favor to a blog buddy, Fiona and I picked up a neighbor's son for a carpool to the Middle School this morning. It looked to be a lovely day, with clear skies and temps in the low 40s. We listened to some fun tunes and managed to arrive at the building even earlier than I normally get Fiona there when it's just the two of us. There was one problem, however: Ours was the only car in the lot; school had been canceled.
Fiona called the school hotline just to make sure, but we all had figured it out even before the recording came on: There was obviously an ice storm a few hours away. A few minutes of listening to the radio confirmed this. I took everyone home and got back into bed. Before I got back up, our front steps were covered in ice.
Fiona called the school hotline just to make sure, but we all had figured it out even before the recording came on: There was obviously an ice storm a few hours away. A few minutes of listening to the radio confirmed this. I took everyone home and got back into bed. Before I got back up, our front steps were covered in ice.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
I Hate T*Mobile!
When we put our eldest on our cell phone plan last summer, we extended our contract with T*Mobile another two years from that day. Then we discovered that we hate T*Mobile!
In Manhattan and Brooklyn, it really doesn't matter what carrier you use because they all have brilliant reception. My cell phone even works in the elevator of my mom's building. But around New Paltz, my wife and I noticed that our cell phones cut out in various spots. This is especially true in the outlying areas like Gardiner and Rosendale, where there aren't any local cell phone towers, but more annoying is that my phone loses contact when I'm driving to and from Manhattan on my way to The City. This is especially troublesome because I often lose contact with my students' parents I'm speaking with, so I tend to have difficulty conducting my work. When I took the bus to Manhattan, this issue wasn't quite as irksome because people aren't really allowed to use their cell phones en route. But lately I've been driving, and the problem has become much more apparent.
I wouldn't mind this so much if it weren't for the fact that many other major carriers have better coverage. When I was up in the relatively obscure north western part of the state where the fire academy is located, all of the other would-be fire fighters had fine reception, but I was totally blacked out. In fact, I couldn't use my cell phone until I was miles away from Montour Falls. And the same is true for the highways to NYC. T*Mobile works fine for most of Interstate 87 (not all of it, mind you), but it fares poorly when I break from 87 and take some of the other roads that speed up my trip.
Verizon doesn't have this problem, and one of my friends showed me his cool new Verizon phone. It does everything my Sidekick III does -- AND it works where my stupid phone doesn't.
I called T*Mobile to see if I could get out of my contract, but I don't think it's going to work because they insist that if you have good reception at work and at home (but not necessarily in between), then you're stuck with them. Time ticks (almost) inexorably towards two summers from now -- just 18 months to go....
In Manhattan and Brooklyn, it really doesn't matter what carrier you use because they all have brilliant reception. My cell phone even works in the elevator of my mom's building. But around New Paltz, my wife and I noticed that our cell phones cut out in various spots. This is especially true in the outlying areas like Gardiner and Rosendale, where there aren't any local cell phone towers, but more annoying is that my phone loses contact when I'm driving to and from Manhattan on my way to The City. This is especially troublesome because I often lose contact with my students' parents I'm speaking with, so I tend to have difficulty conducting my work. When I took the bus to Manhattan, this issue wasn't quite as irksome because people aren't really allowed to use their cell phones en route. But lately I've been driving, and the problem has become much more apparent.
I wouldn't mind this so much if it weren't for the fact that many other major carriers have better coverage. When I was up in the relatively obscure north western part of the state where the fire academy is located, all of the other would-be fire fighters had fine reception, but I was totally blacked out. In fact, I couldn't use my cell phone until I was miles away from Montour Falls. And the same is true for the highways to NYC. T*Mobile works fine for most of Interstate 87 (not all of it, mind you), but it fares poorly when I break from 87 and take some of the other roads that speed up my trip.
Verizon doesn't have this problem, and one of my friends showed me his cool new Verizon phone. It does everything my Sidekick III does -- AND it works where my stupid phone doesn't.
I called T*Mobile to see if I could get out of my contract, but I don't think it's going to work because they insist that if you have good reception at work and at home (but not necessarily in between), then you're stuck with them. Time ticks (almost) inexorably towards two summers from now -- just 18 months to go....
Friday, January 18, 2008
Two-Hour Delays
When it snows during the night, we often get two-hour school delays the next morning. Normally these are a blessing, since everyone gets to sleep late, but today it was a curse for sure.
To begin with, I was looking forward to subbing for one of the teachers, but the delay caused a change in the schedule that precluded even a half-day of subbing. This wasn't a huge financial hit, but I really do like to sub, and I could have used the money. So it goes. I still had a full day of tutoring to look forward to; in fact, I was starting early on account of a make-up session, so I had to be in The City by 1:45, necessitating a New Paltz departure by 12 at the latest.
EARLY KNITTERS
The next snag was that Shirra's store has a special weekly gathering of Friday morning knitters; Shirra has to be at the store by 9:30. This meant that I had to take all three kids to their respective schools. The hours were rather horrendous: Fiona at 9:30, Maeve an hour later, and Emmett at 11! Then Fiona forgot her homework folder, and the next thing you know, I had to make an extra trip home to pick it up. I had to get something at the doctor's office before heading to Manhattan, too.
TWO DAYS in ONE
I often say that my life, split as it is between Paltz and York, makes it feel like I live two days every 24 hours. This was one such day. By 12, I had made these trips around New Paltz:
9:30 Middle School; also met with one of Fiona's teachers
10:00 Shirra's store; also The Bakery (for the paper)
10:30 Pre-School
11:00 Lenape
11:15 Middle School
11:30 Shirra's store
11:45 Doctor's office
All of this was followed by my 85-mile trips to and from Manhattan and my tutoring, which included 2 miles of unicycling. I didn't get back to New Paltz till 8, and then I had to spend the next half-hour shopping for some groceries.
I'm pooped.
To begin with, I was looking forward to subbing for one of the teachers, but the delay caused a change in the schedule that precluded even a half-day of subbing. This wasn't a huge financial hit, but I really do like to sub, and I could have used the money. So it goes. I still had a full day of tutoring to look forward to; in fact, I was starting early on account of a make-up session, so I had to be in The City by 1:45, necessitating a New Paltz departure by 12 at the latest.
EARLY KNITTERS
The next snag was that Shirra's store has a special weekly gathering of Friday morning knitters; Shirra has to be at the store by 9:30. This meant that I had to take all three kids to their respective schools. The hours were rather horrendous: Fiona at 9:30, Maeve an hour later, and Emmett at 11! Then Fiona forgot her homework folder, and the next thing you know, I had to make an extra trip home to pick it up. I had to get something at the doctor's office before heading to Manhattan, too.
TWO DAYS in ONE
I often say that my life, split as it is between Paltz and York, makes it feel like I live two days every 24 hours. This was one such day. By 12, I had made these trips around New Paltz:
9:30 Middle School; also met with one of Fiona's teachers
10:00 Shirra's store; also The Bakery (for the paper)
10:30 Pre-School
11:00 Lenape
11:15 Middle School
11:30 Shirra's store
11:45 Doctor's office
All of this was followed by my 85-mile trips to and from Manhattan and my tutoring, which included 2 miles of unicycling. I didn't get back to New Paltz till 8, and then I had to spend the next half-hour shopping for some groceries.
I'm pooped.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Powerless
Shirra and I awoke on Friday morning to the sound of our eldest walking into the bedroom. She was carrying a flashlight, and the house was eerily dark. Despite my stupor, I realized that we were experiencing a power outage due, no doubt, to downed power lines. I was not at all surprised that 3 seconds later, my fire pager went off. In fact, I was already getting out of bed and putting on my clothes, ready to drive to the scene.
It turned out that a power line had been severed near the Freihoffer's on N. Putt. By 7 am I was crawling back into bed for a few minutes of relaxation; I took Fiona to school a few minutes later and didn't get to take a nap until the other two kids were at school a few hours later. Power came on at 8.
It was strange driving around New Paltz during the power outage. There were whole areas that were blacked out, and then I'd pass a house that must have had a back-up generator because all of their Christmas lights were blazing away merrily. It was also weird trying to walk around my house when it was so dark. The only lights I could see were the tiny battery-operated blinkers of my cell phone and the smoke alarms.
It turned out that a power line had been severed near the Freihoffer's on N. Putt. By 7 am I was crawling back into bed for a few minutes of relaxation; I took Fiona to school a few minutes later and didn't get to take a nap until the other two kids were at school a few hours later. Power came on at 8.
It was strange driving around New Paltz during the power outage. There were whole areas that were blacked out, and then I'd pass a house that must have had a back-up generator because all of their Christmas lights were blazing away merrily. It was also weird trying to walk around my house when it was so dark. The only lights I could see were the tiny battery-operated blinkers of my cell phone and the smoke alarms.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
NEWSFLASH: CON ARTIST
Just after reading that last post (below) to the wife, she reported that she'd been hustled by a man about a month ago during a snowstorm. He came by her store and told her a story about how his wife's car had broken down and that she was somehow stranded on the highway. He showed his own car (his 8-year-old son in the back) and explained that he needed $10 for gas so that he could get to her, yadda yadda yadda. Shirra's NYC antennae were down, and she didn't immediately suspect that this was a con. She handed him the money, fully expecting to be repaid when a few days later when the man had a chance to send her a check. She's still waiting for that envelope.
Now, Shirra's no dope, and she never fell for stuff like this back in the Big City, so he must have been a pretty good con artist. Still, she felt ridiculous when she realized that she'd been had. Her only description of the miscreant is that he's an Aftrican-American man in his 40s.
I'm sorry to hear that anyone gets fooled like this anymore, especially my family, but it does help to restore my faith in inhumanity.
PS: My brother had the same con pulled on him (in Manhattan) over a decade ago. He fell for it, too. Then about 6 months later, the same man approached him (on the same street, no less). John heard the same story (about the man's wife being stranded in their car, yadda yadda yadda). My brother has a sneaky streak. He let the man tell the entire woeful tale and kept plugging away with questions and comments until he felt that he'd wasted a good portion of the man's time, at least 15 minutes. Finally, my brother said that he recognized the man (and the story) from before and that he'd be willing to part with another $5 if the man would simply admit that it was a con both times. Interestingly, this schnorrer had too much dignity to fess up to his lie and walked away from the money. There's a moral in there somewhere if you're willing to look for it closely.
Now, Shirra's no dope, and she never fell for stuff like this back in the Big City, so he must have been a pretty good con artist. Still, she felt ridiculous when she realized that she'd been had. Her only description of the miscreant is that he's an Aftrican-American man in his 40s.
I'm sorry to hear that anyone gets fooled like this anymore, especially my family, but it does help to restore my faith in inhumanity.
PS: My brother had the same con pulled on him (in Manhattan) over a decade ago. He fell for it, too. Then about 6 months later, the same man approached him (on the same street, no less). John heard the same story (about the man's wife being stranded in their car, yadda yadda yadda). My brother has a sneaky streak. He let the man tell the entire woeful tale and kept plugging away with questions and comments until he felt that he'd wasted a good portion of the man's time, at least 15 minutes. Finally, my brother said that he recognized the man (and the story) from before and that he'd be willing to part with another $5 if the man would simply admit that it was a con both times. Interestingly, this schnorrer had too much dignity to fess up to his lie and walked away from the money. There's a moral in there somewhere if you're willing to look for it closely.
I Saw a Man (Begging) about a Dog
For just the 2nd time since I've moved to New Paltz 16 months ago, I came across a person asking for a handout. Both times it happened in the New Paltz Plaza in the Stop and Shop parking lot. The man today was carrying a pooch in one hand and some trinkets in the other. He asked if I would buy a Tibetan keychain to help him feed his dog. A month ago, a young man asked for some money for food.
In NYC, I knew that the 'proper' way to handle such requests was to ignore them. It's a good bet that anyone asking for assistance is a con artist or a ne'er-do-well, and the prevailing wisdom is that everyone would be better served if citizens didn't help out but left the assisting to government agencies and charitable groups like churches, synagogs, and soup kitchens. In theory, this would eventually force the truly needy to seek out proper help rather than relying on the unreliable public. I never liked this 'proper' method. I've come to prefer the way my ancestors handled things in the shtetl.
Back in the days of peasant Jewry, beggars were called schnorrers (or shnorrers). They called upon townsfolk rich and not-so-rich for regular handouts, and the religion (and tradition) called for those better off to give schnorrers a meal and a bed for the night. I like this form of public assistance even more than handing someone a $5 bill and hoping that they have a warm place to sleep.
But I have a feeling that the modern shtetl of New Paltz has already figured out some methods to help those in need. And I'm pretty sure that they don't involve Tibetan keychains. I just wish I knew what they did involve.
In NYC, I knew that the 'proper' way to handle such requests was to ignore them. It's a good bet that anyone asking for assistance is a con artist or a ne'er-do-well, and the prevailing wisdom is that everyone would be better served if citizens didn't help out but left the assisting to government agencies and charitable groups like churches, synagogs, and soup kitchens. In theory, this would eventually force the truly needy to seek out proper help rather than relying on the unreliable public. I never liked this 'proper' method. I've come to prefer the way my ancestors handled things in the shtetl.
Back in the days of peasant Jewry, beggars were called schnorrers (or shnorrers). They called upon townsfolk rich and not-so-rich for regular handouts, and the religion (and tradition) called for those better off to give schnorrers a meal and a bed for the night. I like this form of public assistance even more than handing someone a $5 bill and hoping that they have a warm place to sleep.
But I have a feeling that the modern shtetl of New Paltz has already figured out some methods to help those in need. And I'm pretty sure that they don't involve Tibetan keychains. I just wish I knew what they did involve.
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