They bathed him in bright red light one evening in 2006, as part of a promotion for the American Heart Association. He still has a beacon in his left ear, in case an airplane flies too close. From his perch, he has had a clear view of not one, but two different flea markets. And…
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The snowstorm… one year later
Friday morning, December 6, 2008. My wife wakes me up from a sound slumber. “Chuck…” I roll over. “Chuck, wake up…” One eye opens, looking for the alarm clock to tell me what time it really is. I can’t see the alarm clock’s illuminated display, for some unknown reason. I roll over and check my…
Read MoreTournament of Carols – The 16 Songs that Didn’t Make the Cut
So I read with some amusement the choices for the Times-Union’s “Tournament of Carols,” an NCAA-style single-elimination bracket to determine the best holiday song. First off – with hundreds of hundreds of carols, we can only limit this to a top 16, a “Snowy 16” if you will? For those who aren’t aware of what…
Read MoreMy Day of Thanksgiving for Equinox
There I was. Standing in line in the concourse of the Empire State Plaza at 7:30 in the morning, waiting with hundreds of drivers and their families, waiting to deliver Thanksgiving meals to those in the Capital Region who did not have an opportunity to receive a Thanksgiving bounty. The line for drivers already snaked…
Read MoreEquinox Deliveries – My Thanksgiving tradition
Yes, I’m writing this blog at 5:30 in the morning, but I need to get my thoughts down on cyberpaper before I leave for the Empire State Plaza. While the Capital District’s families gather together for delicious turkey dinners, reunions with loved ones, and trying to guess how many points the Detroit Lions will get…
Read MoreThe Spam I Keep From You
One of the requirements of operating a Times-Union weblog, aside from always referring to blog editor Michael Huber as “the one ring to unite us all,” is to make sure that responses to our blog posts are within the bounds of good taste. With that, we have to weed out all the spam and junk…
Read MoreThe Albany Indestructible Phonograph Record
During the years I wrote for Goldmine Magazine (1996-2006), I always wanted to delve into an article on the earliest sound preservation format – the cylinder record. Unfortunately, my editors at the time, while recognizing the importance of cylinder records and their existence from the 1890’s to as late as 1929, felt that the format…
Read MoreRecalling Blue Note Record Shop
WHETHER you collect stamps, coins, records or anything else, you never forget your first time. No, not that first time. Get your mind out of the gutter. For record collectors, I’m talking about the first record we ever bought – the record that would eventually be the rock upon which our holy musical scriptures are…
Read MoreWife’s laptop update – the battery finally arrived
The story so far. I am in the process of updating my wife’s 2003 HP laptop so that she can still use it for another few years. I increased the laptop’s memory from a puny 512MB to 1G. I cloned and swapped out her 30 gig hard drive with an 80 gig hard drive. I…
Read MoreThe Tragedy of Frosty the Snowman
Figured I’d share this little holiday moment with everyone. It’s essentially my attempt to relate the worst holiday experience I ever had. Compared to the true story below, Rob Madeo’s Worst Christmas Ever blog post is about as depressing as a Hallmark card. Spin back in the WABAC machine with me to Christmas 1969. At…
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Chuck The Writer 
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