This morning we headed south to fish the Butternut Creek which runs south-north through the valley up through Syracuse. We left 81 at the Lafayette exit and headed down into the wilds to a public fishing access parking spot. This was the first time I had fished Butternut Creek, and I wasn’t disappointed. One of my coworkers lives near the creek, and he gave me Google Maps directions on where to fish.
It had just stopped raining when we put our lines in, and the trout were biting immediately. I had just bought a new, cheap ultra-lightweight rod, because I knew the creek was smaller that what I usually fish. It came in handy. There was a fair amount of brush, and the stream was probably fifteen feet at its widest.
I was using night crawlers that I’ve had in the fridge for weeks. As soon as the line hit the water, I was getting bites. The hits were pretty powerful, and I saw a couple of the fish roll over and could see that they were larger than the trout I usually catch. For some reason, I couldn’t hook one – my bait kept getting stripped. I finally hooked a big one, but I hadn’t tied the hook securely, so he got away.
Finally, I landed a smaller fish, a brown that was about 6 inches. Very soon after that, I landed two nice browns that were about 12 inches. My fishing partner was using artificial lures. I suggested that he switch to night crawlers. He finally broke down and used one my worms. He quickly landed the biggest fish of the day. It may have been around 14 inches. He also went on to catch a nice brookie, something neither of us has ever caught in the Syracuse area before.
It feels earlier than it actually is, because we went to see a late showing of Star Trek last night at the Shoppingtown Mall. These days, the Shoppingtown Mall is a better place to catch a movie than the Carousel Mall, Syracuse’s flagship shopping facility. The multiplex at the smaller Shoppingtown has undergone renovations, and the result is a clean, modern, spacious series of theaters. The bathrooms have been outfitted with Xlerator hand dryers, which are powerful, and are my preferred brand of electric GreenSpec-approved hand dryer. The appeal of the Xlerator is its leaf-blower-like, force-of-nature hand drying power – it has no equal in the pantheon of non-paper drying solutions. But I don’t use the Xlerators at the Regal Shoppingtown Mall.
The problem is that the hand dryers have been mounted directly above the sinks (in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms – Kim has confirmed this). The unfortunate result of this positioning is that when the hand washer is done sudding and scrubbing he (or she) places his hands under the Xlerator, only to be doused in soap foam and water that has been blown clear of the sink bowl by the terrific downward thrust of the Xlerator’s blowhole. This effect cannot be exxagerated. Because the hand dryers are positioned so close to the sink, there isn’t enough time for water to drain from the reservoir. In fact, the hand washer doesn’t even need to turn off the faucets because of the infrared sensors. Due to the near-instant transition from rinsing to blowing, and the proximity of the hand dryer, the result is catastrophic.
Since discovering this, I have made it a point to linger at my urinal whenever possible, waiting to hear the blast of the hand dryer and the ensuing cry of “Son of a bitch!” as the stunned hand washer lurches back from the sink counter, batting soapy water from his hair and eyes. Often, this is better than the movie.
I have really let things go bad with this blog. I didn’t mean to let it happen, but I actually allowed this domain to expire. Again, unintentional. I was alerted by a friend in Buffalo who wrote to tell me that the site was inaccessible. Indeed, it could not be accessed. When I navigated to this URL, I was greeted with the placeholder of the domain registrar. Disturbing.
So, of course, I renewed the domain for another year. And I also renewed hosting, though I decided to move over to a low-cost provider, FatCow. I am not sure yet how I feel about them. The server runs on Debian, and the control panel is a little unorthodox (it is not cPanel – lame). But it is intuitive and very cheap so we’ll see how it goes. I had considered hosting this blog on one of the free sites, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I need the control.
You may notice that a few photos were lost in the migration, but not too many. I have also chosen a new photo gallery platform and hope to use it more than the old one. I have a feeling I will have more opportunities to post pics this year. In general, life is good in Syracuse. I am slowly getting back to the gym after a long absence. For some reason I got one of those weird pains that afflict those over 30. It took the form of a medium-grade stabbing sensation in my right shoulder, and made it difficult to work out. So I kind of avoided the gym for a while. I think it has healed itself now, though, and I tested the shoulder a few days ago with some military presses and it feels OK.
I happened to catch the end of Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey earlier tonight. It blew me away (it always does). That movie makes me feel very small. It also reminds me that my daily challenges are essentially meaningless. I plan on doing some fishing this weekend and will be heading to PA to visit the folks for mother’s day.
It is still very early in the morning on a Saturday. In an hour or so, I will pull out of my driveway and head out 690 West to the State Fairgrounds, where I will meet some friends to go trout fishing. This morning, we are tackling Nine Mile Creek, where we hope to have better luck than last week’s outing.
Chittenango Creek was our destination last Sunday. Because of substantial rain the previous three days, we found ourselves knee deep in raging brown water. The volume of water in the stream was so great that casting a line was almost comical. An upstream cast resulted in the baited line rushing downstream with such force that the angler would need to reel in seconds after releasing the line.
We played this game for a few hours before heading to IHOP for some nutrients. This morning should be better. The weather has been stable over the past few days. I have a bunch of night crawlers that Kim and I pulled off our lawn last week. I have been keeping them in my fridge, feeding them coffee grounds. I also have a supply of “stink cheese” trout bait that was a source of amusement during last week’s outing.
Results of this morning’s trip will be reported soon.
I had a root canal performed on my lower right rear molar two weeks ago. The abscess was detected by x-ray; I didn’t have any pain in the tooth, and certainly did not know that it had rotted through the root and into my jawbone. But there it was in the x-ray, a white bulbous plume of decay spreading down through the cone of a root, merging with the dull mass of bone. The dentist was matter-of-fact: “We must perform a root canal immediately.”
Well OK. Let’s do this.
So she got to work, numbing the side of my face with a liberal dose of anesthetic. The drill hammered into the tooth, but the pain wasn’t bad. There was a sense of pressure. My dentist is skilled, and she works quickly. I now have a temporary crown, and must wait two weeks until the porcelain cap is ready to be placed over the now excavated and chiseled remains of my once proud molar.
This is my complaint with the dentist: They are doing a bunch of shit to my face, and they are not telling me what each step of the process costs. “Nurse, we need an x-ray. Give him a cleaning. Build up the post. Let’s take another x-ray. Make a mold.” The list of services goes on and on. And everything is a la carte. If you need to rinse and spit, they charge you for the Dixie cup. Well, not exactly, but you get the point.
The “insurance” company covers a fraction of the total cost, so by the time I am presented with the bill, I feel like I just finished a meal at a restaurant with no prices listed on the menu. My head spins and I try to figure out 1) why they did all this stuff to my mouth and 2) How the insurance company pays for (or avoids paying for) these services.
Again, I see the value in having these services performed. Dental health is expensive, and someone needs to pay for it. Just tell me how much it is going to cost before installing a satellite receiver in my upper jaw!
Saturday night I went with my brother to the Scriba Town Inn in Oswego NY, to watch Sal and Richard from the Howard Stern show. They were both pretty bad, but one of the opening acts, Chipps Cooney, was hilarious. He was introduced as David Copperfield’s favorite magician. He did not disappoint. He is an older gentleman who performs nonsensical “magic tricks” which require no talent. His resigned, sarcastic stage presence and the sheer ridiculousness of his tricks made for a great performance.
After leaving the STI, Pete and I stopped at the BK in the Oswego Plaza for a six pack of those new mini burgers. I bit into one and blew mustard all over the seats of my truck. I was pissed because I had just had the seats cleaned at the Delta Sonic on Erie last week. After the burgers, we headed down to the greatest bar in the history of Oswego, the Gaslight Pub. We had a couple of beers in the old haunt and checked out our names, which are still on the wall, engraved in a small bronze-colored plaque. It’s sad because the bar has a new owner (a guy who looks to be about my age), and he has no idea who we are. The former owner, Tommy, would have recognized us maybe given us free brews.
Yesterday I had breakfast with Kim at the No Name Diner on New Court Ave. It was the first time we’d eaten there. I enjoyed the food, and the fact that I didn’t have to wait 20 minutes to be seated (sorry Stella’s). We may end up going there more frequently. While I am at it, I need to mention the Melt Shop on James. They make a mean fish fry sandwich on Fridays. If you haven’t eaten there yet, you should. http://themeltshop.food.officelive.com/default.aspx
Later in the day, we went to see the French film, “The Class” at the Manlius Art Cinema. Whoa. Excellent flick. It was the Grand Prize Winner at last year’s Cannes Film Festival – with good reason. It is the story of middle school class in Paris and the student – teacher dynamic.
The Something of What and his companions were preoccupied with disturbing reports from the district of Which. It seems that the ruler of those parts, the Everything of Which, had drifted from the pledge she had made years ago to the Council of Interrogatives.
“Difficult as it is for me to be the bearer of ill tidings, dear friends, I feel it is my duty to convey to the members of the Council those things that of late have caused me to lay sleepless in my chambers,” said the Nothing. The great furrow that marked the Something’s aged brow shifted and wrinkled as he reached beneath his weighty royal garb for his pipe made of tamtam antler.
“Please, tell us more dear friend,” grumbled the Something as he patted about his substantial midsection, feeling for the pouch which contained the precious biffle weed. The Nothing paused and looked ever so briefly at the Anything, whose countenance registered what he took to be anxious encouragement . . .
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Again, I am sitting on my sofa in my house in Eastwood. The dog is fed, the cats are sleeping upstairs with my fiancee. It is still early enough in the morning that there are no passing cars outside. The snow that falls to the ground is so light that it melts on contact with asphalt, and even grass. The maples that line my street are still iron gray and bare, but there is a sense that their waiting will soon be over.
Syracuse is definitely ready for spring. You can tell by the way people talk about it. In fact, my fiancee just came downstairs, looked outside, and said, “Oh my God, it’s snowing. That’s ridiculous.” I agree. This morning we are heading to Stella’s for some Sunday morning breakfast action. I will be eating a shortstack of pancakes, some eggs and some coffee (decaf – it’s an afib thing). Later in the day, I will watch the Syracuse basketball game.
I finished reading the Watchmen. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. The book was awesome. The movie has received mixed reviews. Has anyone seen it?
Long ago, in a forgotten time, in an age when tonsillectomies were rarely performed, there lived a great man who governed the vast realm of What. He was known to his subjects, enemies and friends alike as the Something of What. This was a man, a great man, who strove to uphold the ideals of peace, fairness and prosperity.
To the east of What lay the Kingdom of How, and to the south, the Duchy of When. It just so happens that on this day, the Anything of How and the Nothing of When were on a state visit to review matters of great importance with the Something. Indeed, these were troubling times, and the three had much to discuss . . .
There has been a lot going on in the CNY since the latest update, and much of it has been good. Most of my friends and family know that I got engaged a few weeks ago. This event has had a significant impact on the way I view things in general. Needless to say, I am very pleased, and have little more to say about it other than just that.
I spent the weekend with my family, as this marked the start of High Birthday Season. We were fortunate in that the entire family was able to get together, something that happens infrequently these days. It was great to see my brothers, sister and parents. As usual, there was a lot of raucous laughter and joking around. My brother and father somehow began discussing the anatomy of the duck-billed platypus and the fact that it is a monotreme and excretes waste through an organ know as the cloaca. For much of the weekend, comments such as “I will punch you in the cloaca,” and “My cloaca hurts” were heard regularly.
My father gave me his father’s old desk, which is too large for any room in my house, so it’s in pieces in storage right now. Maybe someday I will live in a house large enough to warrant the use of such a big desk.
Yesterday the local temperature shot into the 20s, which allowed us all to wear a little less clothing, and breathe comfortably outdoors. For about a week now, a sizeable ice berm created by passing ploughs has blocked the entrance to our driveway. Last night I was able to smash away most of it, since it had softened to the consistency of half-set concrete. The mound of heavy slush cracked and gave way before the edge of the shovel, creating the appearance of an ice pizza whose crust was being torn off my driveway.
I’ve been awake since 4:30 for the third morning in a row, and I can sense that it’s catching up with me. My pug is on the floor a few feet from me, snoring in his tiny, round, foam-stuffed cloth bed. With each of his contented exhalations, my eyelids droop. I feel the faint pressure of fatigue inside my skull. I know that I will start to “burn out” later this afternoon. In addition to the disturbing presence of our new dog, the lives of our two cats have been further disrupted by a change in their feeding schedules. Because both of our felines are larger than ever (they wheeze when sleeping), and because it’s easier now just to feed all of the animals at the same time, the cats are getting roughly one less meal a day. This is a good thing, but it does not please them.
One of the cats is docile enough not to make a fuss, but the bigger one, Frankie, is not liking the new arrangement at all. This morning, at 4:30 AM, she danced on my face. I wasn’t able to resume REM sleep after that. I can’t really complain, though. The stories I’ve heard from my friends with newborn babies remind me that I probably don’t have it all that bad. Time to head into the mill. Must grind the grain to make bread for the people . . .
I’ve heard that Rammstein are working on an album to be released in late 2009. That is awesome news. Here is a clip of drummer Christoph Schneider apparently working on one of the new tracks in LA. This footage was shot in late 2008. Sounds pretty cool . . .
We are now the proud owners of a little pug dog – Winston. He arrived last night, and is currently busy walking around our house, sniffing and making guttural choking sounds.
He is great. We bought a small pug-sized crate for him, which he slept in all last night without making a fuss. He drinks his water, eats his kibble and “eliminates” as he should. This morning I took him out for a walk and we encountered the neighbor’s golden retriever. The golden is about a year old, so he stands several inches over the diminutive Winston. At first, the larger dog overpowered Winston, but he soon rallied and gave the golden retriever a series of powerful, if not so loud, barks.
The golden retriever lay down on the ground in a submissive posture. It was pretty fun to watch. Our cats have taken to living their lives on the “second tier” of the house, keeping to chairs, couches and windowsills. But it is clear that they are not afraid of the pug at all, and that it’s only a matter of time until everybody gets along.
We are still enveloped in atrociously cold weather here in Central New York. There is little wind, though, and this makes the cold easier to deal with. Kim and I are recent converts to Sam’s Club – so far I think it is a way better value than BJs. I will post pics of Winston soon.
