My Day of Thanksgiving for Equinox

There I was.ย  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…

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Equinox 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…

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The 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.ย  With that, we have to weed out all the spam and junk…

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The 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.ย  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…

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Recalling 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…

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Wife’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.ย  I increased the laptop’s memory from a puny 512MB to 1G.ย  I cloned and swapped out her 30 gig hard drive with an 80 gig hard drive. I…

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Week 11 of the Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

As we get into the homestretch of the $2,000 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament, teams are still trying to pick up points here and there, in order to ensure that their squads make it into the top eight teams for the final round, and the chance to pick up the big money at the end. Which…

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Photographing in St. Agnes Cemetery

About a month ago, I was reading Metroland and saw a notice for an open photography contest.ย  The contest was hosted by St. Agnes Cemetery in Albany, and the photo subject had to involve something within the cemetery itself. But by the time I saw the contest bulletin, the deadline was only a week away.…

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The Tragedy of Frosty the Snowman

Figured I’d share this little holiday moment with everyone.ย  It’s essentially my attempt to relate the worst holiday experience I ever had.ย  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.ย  At…

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