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Pot Luck

by: JayinPhiladelphia

Thu Aug 09, 2012 at 19:47:31 PM PDT


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JayinPhiladelphia :: Pot Luck
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Pot Luck | 96 comments
Yo! (4.00 / 1)
Anyone still around?

It is always sunny in Philadelphia. I have the nicest tan I've had in like ten years. But it's phucking hot. So regularly hot, that even though it turned out to be 93 (on the bank's sign) degrees on my walk home from the El around 3:30 this afternoon, I distinctly remember thinking to myself that it wasn't too bad today. Pretty 'cool,' actually.

Until I found it that it was 93 degrees.

!!!

And then I exhaled deeply, and shook my head.

When even 93 seems relatively cool, well...

Welcome to the south. I mean, I know we're technically part of, and thought of as, the northeast and all... but Maryland's just a few miles away, and Virginia is only a couple hours down I-95.

Heat.  Portland's highs are sometimes lower than our temps at 3 AM, I've noticed this year...

weather is good for tomatoes (4.00 / 1)

http://twitpic.com/aho6i7 Its going to be dinner sat night

actually my garden has had a good year. Thanks to adding leaf mulch AND mushroom soil.

It's also good for weeds... (3.00 / 1)
I totally blew it on my 'garden' this year.  Oh well.  Wait 'til next year!

Crap, I think I'm moving again next Spring, though.  April 1 my lease is up here, and though I wouldn't mind staying in this apartment one more year if I have to, I'd really like to get up closer to K & A or Somerset.  Quicker walk to the El.  ;)

Three or four more years renting and saving, then hopefully I can buy my first (and last!) home right around there, too.  Anything within a four-block radius or so of the York-Dauphin, Huntingdon, Somerset or Allegheny stations is fine with me!

[ Parent ]
weeds...... (4.00 / 1)
sounds like you have a dislike for weeds!  Embrace them doodster....brings colour to the garden, requires no work to take care of them, some are edible and at the end of the day, Gods gift to nature :)
[ Parent ]
Attack of the Killer Kellogg (4.00 / 2)
George Mendonsa kissing Greta Friedman (4.00 / 3)
I saved one from my last High Line walking tour for this week. The view is from the New York's newest park, just about twenty blocks south of Time's Square and pretty fresh since the paint cans were still lined up. The name of the artist for this thirty foot side of building art is Eduardo Kobra.

And to go with this photo, Saturday's story on CBS This Morning, Sailor, nurse from iconic VJ Day photo reunited. The kissing sailor, the nurse and the sailor's girlfriend (now his wife) who was also in the original photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt are all still alive.

Good stuff... (4.00 / 1)
I did not know they were still alive, nor did I know that they were unidentified for so long.

A much better mural than this new crap down here, btw.  They look even worse in person.  I had to take the 23 bus up Germantown Avenue the other day just to see for myself.  Just cringeworthy, at least to my taste.

[ Parent ]
Well that's a shame (4.00 / 1)
Judging by my only mural experience with the town, the beginning of the movie Philadelphia with Springsteen singing, it has always struck me as the city of brotherly murals.  
[ Parent ]
Oh, there's a bunch of great ones! (4.00 / 1)
But definitely not that one I linked to above.  ;)

Particularly the series along the Market-Frankford El on West Market Street.  You should come on down one day to check them out.

[ Parent ]
mural arts program in Philly (4.00 / 1)
[ Parent ]
Here's my problem with some of them... (0.00 / 0)
There was no need for this mural.  Saw it in person for the first time last night, when my mother was in town and we ate dinner there.

The beautiful old, well-maintained building was fantastic-looking already (mural wasn't there last time I was there in 2009), and though it's not a bad mural by any means... what is its point?  It honestly looks kinda tacky in the context of its surroundings, and imo cheapens the appeal of the building itself.

I don't know, I guess it's just that I believe there's a time and a place for things like this, and it's just unnecessary in that location.

Reasonable people can disagree, and I'm only arguing with myself right now anyway.  :)

[ Parent ]
Knocked over two potato bins... (4.00 / 1)
One more not ready yet. Haven't weighed them, but looks like about 10 pounds of taters from two trash cans. Not bad. Between the economy and global warming, learning to grow taters is probably a Good Thing. Goddess save us from the blight.  
"10 pounds of taters" (4.00 / 1)
if youre ever in need of a home for them, drop me a note HAHAHA
[ Parent ]
the journey of a potato (3.50 / 2)
From trash can where it grew, to fridge for storage, 10 minutes simmering in pot and then to roasting pan in oven, escorted with olive oil, salt and rosemary.

And thence to the plate...

Do not worry about a home for my potatoes.  

[ Parent ]
I had a chance... (0.00 / 0)
...to do some gardening this year, for the first time ever, but as Bobby DeNiro said to Sylvester Stallone is Cop Land, I blew it.

Bah.

Before I even try anything, I have to take a chainsaw to the jungle back there.  It's even worse than anyone can imagine.  Oh, and also very very heavy gloves.  Maybe two pairs.  Have to clean up the beer bottles, and needles, the friendly Kenzo neighborhood folk dispose of in my backyard.  Okay, only found one of those so far, but I'm sure there's at least one more back there as well, if the sidewalks are any indication.

Next year, I'll be more settled though, and I'll have more time and won't be so desperate work-wise and all that, and I will grow at least one tomato, one eggplant, one pepper and one tomato.  Hopefully, many more!  ;)

[ Parent ]
interesting conversation on my tomato mania list serv (4.00 / 1)
how climate change is affecting what we grow. The intense heat of July here along with already lots of rain hasn't been good for most of my tomatoes. Although I did grow the 2.56 Kellogg Heirloom.

[ Parent ]
"Tomato mania"... (0.00 / 0)
...is an awesome name!
[ Parent ]
Got a nice chart (4.00 / 1)
American corn yield through recent history.

Wow, Portland! (0.00 / 0)
98 today, 97 tomorrow.  Probably a few degrees hotter than it ever got while I was out there.  Never had a/c out there, but then again I don't have it out here either.

Just thankful our hundred-week stretch (heh) of close to 100-degree temps six days a week or so is apparently over for the year!  Next year, I need an air conditioner...

It hit 100 today, Jay. Gonna hit 100 again tomorrow. (4.00 / 1)
Pretty much all of western Oregon and western Washington is under a fire and heat alert. Of special concern are grass and brush fires set off by sparks from trains and the carelessly tossed cigarette butts.

The local news is filled with stories about the need to keep hydrated and to avoid long exposure to the sun.

The heat should break over the weekend when a line of thunder storms gets here and drops us down into the 80s. Hopefully, we won't see more fires started by lightening strikes.

You were here in 2009, weren't you , Jay? That was an unusually hot summer. We had 24 days over 90. We average around 11 days over 90, much less last summer which was record-breakingly cold and wet.

Still, considering what the rest of the country has had to deal with this summer, we have had a spectacular summer here. Really cannot complain.

[ Parent ]
It's 80 degrees right now at 11:30 PM. (4.00 / 1)
I find hot nights much harder to deal with than heat during the day. Like most Portlanders, I do not have a/c. t is just my little fan and me.
[ Parent ]
Ah, 2009... (0.00 / 0)
Yeah, I was out in Portland that year.  Must have forgotten.  That was probably my worst year ever, and I was drunk for most of it.  Probably didn't realize how hot it was.  ;)

Even though it's finally 'only' back into the mid and upper 80s here (well, it's going up to about 93 again today, but the next nine days look pretty good - there's even some 70-something degree days in there!), it's still at roughly a constant 85 to 88 degrees in my apartment at all times, mainly due to the overnight thing you mention.  If it goes down below 74 overnight, I consider it a good night.  Windows open, fan on.  Still doesn't help much if it's 77 at 3 AM, though...

[ Parent ]
Street performer... (0.00 / 0)
Saw one of the greatest ever at 8th & Market in Center City.  A (young-ish) Bill Cosby look-alike (dead ringer!), dancing to Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

Just so many levels of awesome.

Heh, Multnomah County courts... (0.00 / 0)
I was surprised I never got called for jury duty while I was in Portland.  I just did today.  They even sent it to my Philadelphia address.  It's not even the yellow "notify sender of new address" sticker.  Multnomah County actually sent a jury duty summons to an address in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna tell them I can't make it.  And that I'm not eligible to serve on a jury 3,000 miles away, either.  I'm wondering if they'll say, "Oh, well you can report to Gresham instead of Portland, then..."

;)

Almost gave me a heart attack, too, btw... (0.00 / 0)
Very official looking court letter, I was like "wtf?!"

Thought I was getting sued or something.  Though I have no enemies in Portland.  :)

Finally calmed down and realized that if I was, it would have been some kind of official server thing and not just regular mail.  Still, not the kind of 'surprise' I need these days...

[ Parent ]
Although it is usually very hard to get out of jury (4.00 / 1)
duty, I'm guessing Multnomah County will cut you a break here. Just be sure you let them know. If nothing else that should get you out of the pool of prospective jurors.
[ Parent ]
Yeah, but if they really want... (0.00 / 0)
...I'll agree to appear.  All I'll need is an Amtrak sleeper car round trip, a week at that Nines hotel (is that the name?), and cover a weeks' worth of meals at, say, Tanuki (I never made it there!), Mi Mero Mole, Laurelhurst Market, some food cart splurges, Gruner, etc etc.  ;)
[ Parent ]
We love India (4.00 / 1)
I saw this video called How to make Jowar Rotis. Jowar is sorghum. I learned how to make sorghum rotis from the youtubes, and they're damn tasty! Easy to make with a tortilla press instead of the way Indians do it. Anyway, so many Indian videos have English titles and descriptions, but the spoken language is definitely NOT English. This video shows what I imagine the average household kitchen is like, and that's probably nonsense. I guess these folks are kinda old fashioned, with a one-burner stove on the floor and a big tank of propane feeding it.

Contrast that with this video below - maybe of a TV cooking show. Vegetable Atta Pizza and it shows an American ranch-house style kitchen, complete with a massive refrigerator, an island for cooking and chopping. The lovely Mummy is wearing totally Western clothes. If it wasn't for the language, it could well be an American show.

Indian middle class expected to be 145 million people by 2015, or so I read. But who knows what middle class means in India?

Top 10 Lies Told by Monsanto (4.00 / 1)
on GMO Labeling in California.

"If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove" Cheyenne
Pawpaw! (0.00 / 0)
I need to head down the block to Greensgrow more often.

I missed pawpaws, which were on sale at last week's market.  A forager brought some in from South Jersey.  I can't make tomorrow's market either, or Saturday's, but next Thursday should be a go.  I hope I can find one then!  Have never had one.  They're in season until mid-September, so hopefully there'll be a few around in eight days.

Hey, Jay, Ducks and Beavers both won today. (4.00 / 1)
Ducks beat Fresno State. Beavers beat Wisconsin.

Even though the Ducks won, they played a crappy 2nd half. Marcus Mariota is a freshman QB, and the lack of experience was evident today. Still, he has a lot of talent, and is said to be a fast learner with a good football mind. We shall see.

Huge win for the Beavers... (0.00 / 0)
Good on 'em!

My boys just down the street, Temple, had a bad day.  Loss to Maryland, argh.  That's okay though, I still think they're gonna win the Big East!

;)

Rutgers is 2-0 (albeit against nobodies, Tulane and Howard).  Michigan State is 2-0, and will find themselves in the Top 10 again tomorrow.  Whoo!

Haven't been able to catch a Ducks game yet, but yeah.  Not surprised his inexperience came through.  At least it happened there though, rather than against a 'sneakily-pretty-good' Arizona team in two weeks.

Cringe at Utah and Colorado's losses.  And Washington got blown halfway to the moon.  Wazzu eked out a win over EWU.  Outside of Corvallis, not a good day for the PAC, was it?

[ Parent ]
Actually, it was pretty good day for the Pac-12 (4.00 / 1)

[ Parent ]
Here are some scores. (4.00 / 1)
UCLA beat Nebraska 36-30. Th start of the Jim Mora era.

Cal.beat S. Utah 50-31

USC beat Syracuse 42-29

Stanford beat Duke 50-13

Arizona beat Oklahoma St. 59-38

Arizona St. beat Illinois 45-14

So, eight wins and four losses for the Pac-12 this week.

[ Parent ]
Ah, yeah I forgot UCLA... (0.00 / 0)
Hmmm, I guess it was a better week for them than I got from my first impression.  I will say USC looked kinda sloppy though, in allowing Syracuse to hang around into the fourth quarter.
[ Parent ]
And the Jay Jinx strikes, argh... (0.00 / 0)
Kyle Kendrick had a no-hitter going for the Phils into the sixth.  Or more precisely, until I sat down and turned on the teevee.  Not ten seconds after I started watching, boom!  No-hitter no more.  Bah!
[ Parent ]
The main thing, though... (0.00 / 0)
...is Andrew Bynum coming back home to Philadelphia (just like I did!).  The Sixers matter again.  Philadelphia basketball is back!

:-D

I got caught up big time in this summer's improbable Sixers playoffs run (basketball is my favorite sport, and it's becoming even more so each year with all the unfortunate concussion problems football has), and I can't wait until tipoff on October 31!  I'm a huge homer, but it's good to know I'm not the only one picking Philly to go all the way this year, now that we have the best big man in the conference...

[ Parent ]
Jay, I saw this interview with Cheri Honkala, the Green Party (4.00 / 1)
candidate for vice-president and thought of you. Honkala lives in Kensington. In the interview she talks some about that neighborhood. I thought you might want to read it.

Here it is.

Also, the Ducks won again. Of course, it was another, and thankfully the last this year, cupcake game. They beat Texas Tech 63-14.

And congrats to the Stanford Cardinal on their win over USC. I am always happy to see a Lane Kiffen team lose.

Correction: the Ducks beat Tennessee Tech, not Texas (4.00 / 1)
Tech. I need to stop trying to multi-task. I am not very good at it.
[ Parent ]
Ready for the inevitable... (0.00 / 0)
...11-1 LSU vs. 13-0 Alabama 'National Championship' Game, where the #2 team in the SEC West is declared 'champion' after winning a 3-0 game?

Eye roll.

2014 can't come soon enough!

[ Parent ]
Lol... (0.00 / 0)
Boise State beats a bad Miami (OH) team and it launches them to #24 in the AP poll?  Seriously?  Maybe they've been crying about always being 'disrespected' again.  I haven't been able to pay as much attention as usual so far this year...

With their killer (trying to keep a straight face) schedule (BYU and New Mexico up next!), it looks like Boise's only two or three weeks away from joining the Top 5 again, eh?

Eye roll, redux...

[ Parent ]
That is already the talk at some of the sports sites. (4.00 / 1)
We are just ending the cupcake portion of the season. Seems a bit too soon to be anointing BCS champs.

I am a little worried about Oregon. So far, the Ducks have been playing what amounts to the NCAA version of a high school freshman team. It's not the Duck's fault. They had better teams scheduled, and the cowards backed out (I mean you, Kansas St.), leaving Oregon scrambling to fill those holes in their schedule.

Still, they have been having a bit of a romp, and still managed to lose two very important players, John Boyett and Carson York, to season-ending injuries.

This coming Saturday it's Arizona. How will the Ducks fare against a real opponent? They are still sloppy on the field. The QB shows a lot of promise, he's a talented athlete, but he is new to the college game. If Oregon controls the pace of the game, the defense will be on the field a lot, a whole lot. They haven't looked as sharp and as fit as they need to be to prevail.

Oh well, time and Saturday afternoon will tell.

[ Parent ]
Yet therein lies the problem... (0.00 / 0)
It's never too early for the B(c)S to start anointing 'champions.'

I mean, just a few months ago we saw a team which not only failed to win their conference... they didn't even win their division (!!!)... play for, and 'win,' a 'national championship.'

In what was quite possibly the most boring 'championship game' in the history of sports.

There were at least ten bowl games better than that one, and also... who wouldn't have wanted to see Oregon - Alabama after that Rose Bowl?

Again, 2014 can't come soon enough! ;)

[ Parent ]
Yes, USC is a threat. Stanford should not be (4.00 / 1)
discounted, though. The Cardinal is flying high after their defeat of big bad USC. As the saying goes, they've got the BigMo.
[ Parent ]
Arizona will stick around for 2.5 quarters... (0.00 / 0)
...then get run out of the house.

Oregon 59, Arizona 31.

I think USC is still Oregon's biggest threat in the regular season, because now that they've lost they can't afford to do so again.

UCLA will become UCLA again in three weeks or less.  Oregon State's big win doesn't looks so great anymore after Wisconsin's struggle to beat Utah State.

Colorado.  Face palm...

[ Parent ]
I'll meet you back here after the game on Saturday, and (4.00 / 1)
we can compare notes. I hope you are right. I fear I am right.
[ Parent ]
If the game was in Tucson... (0.00 / 0)
...I'd be a little more worried.  That has been the Ducks' House of Horrors dating back to Kellen Clemens, after all.

I took home field into consideration for my prediction, btw. ;)

[ Parent ]
Jay, don't forget, you and me, here, tomorrow night (4.00 / 1)
after the Oregon-Arizona game. Was my cautious approach warranted, or were you, with your breezy confidence, the better predictor?
[ Parent ]
Nice, I'll be able to watch the game! (0.00 / 0)
First Saturday in a while that I won't be up in NJ.  Family stuff, I've had to go up there a lot lately.  Going up tomorrow just for the day.  Taking my daughter out to dinner for her birthday, and it'll be the first time in like ten years that she'll be out with both me and her mother at the same time.  Long, long, looooong story.  She turned 15 on Monday, and we threw her a little 'party' at my mother's last weekend.  And next weekend is my sister's wedding, so I'm up there all weekend; then the week after that is my father's back surgery, so I'm up that weekend and the following Monday, the day of his surgery, too.  

That will make it eight straight weeks I've gone up there.  Four hours on trains, every weekend.

But after that I'm taking at least three weekends off from those trips, although I'll still be traveling on weekends.  I'll be taking the TrailWays bus up to New Hope, PA and Lambertville and Frenchtown, NJ in a few weeks for the day.  Those little Delaware River towns in breezy jacket weather are some of my favorite places in the world!  And I have to spend a Sunday out the shore, too, now that the season's over and all the meatheads and other assorted Jersey Shore cast rejects are gone back home to Bergen County and Long Island.  Either Asbury Park (preferred) or Atlantic City (easiest to get to by train from Philly).

[ Parent ]
OMG! Oregon State leads UCLA 17-10 at the half. (4.00 / 1)
the Beavers just might win another one. Two wins in a row would be quite something for the Beavs.

Go, Beavers!  

[ Parent ]
Perhaps UCLA... (0.00 / 0)
...is remembering that they're UCLA.

;)

[ Parent ]
Even with new coach Jim Mora, UCLA is still carrying (4.00 / 1)
the burden of the Rick Neuheisel era. I expect the Bruins will shake it off in due time, hopefully not before the end of today's game.
[ Parent ]
Speaking of college football coaches neither of us like, (4.00 / 1)
I read this story about the tantrum prone Lane Kiffin on Grantland last week. Poor Lane did not handle the loss to Stanford very well.

I think you will like this.

[ Parent ]
Heh. (0.00 / 0)
He took his ball(ot) and went home!

And speaking of coaches.  Bleh to Temple's Steve Addazio.  The only thing his 'conservatism' is going to conserve is Penn State's 71-year unbeaten streak against the Owls.  30 wins in a row, I think this will be for the Nittany Lions.

The game was close, until Temple got the ball at their own 10 with 1:30-ish to go in the 2nd quarter.  7-3 PSU at the time.  Penn State still had all their time outs, so my call would have been to at least try for one first down, and then run out the clock and go into the half only down 4.

What does Addazio do?  His 'philosophy' is to be 'conservative,' apparently, so he runs it for a combined 1 yard or so, and manages to take maybe 20 seconds off the clock as PSU used up all their time outs.  Punting from their own end zone, the kick only went a few dozen yards, PSU got the ball back at the Temple 34 or so with over a minute to go, and of course they scored a touchdown just a few plays later.  14-3, half time.

Now it's 21-6 Penn State, nearing the end of the 3rd quarter.  Addazio ain't no Al Golden.  This Temple team has one glaring weakness - its head coach.

The good news, though, is maybe I can get the job when he's fired after three 6-6 seasons!  ;)

[ Parent ]
With 8 minutes left in 4th quarter, OSU 27, UCLA 17. (4.00 / 1)
By gawd, the Beavers just might do it.
[ Parent ]
Good thing Addazio ain't their coach! (0.00 / 0)
Otherwise they'd surely find a way to lose.

Good on the Beavers.  Best state in the West, represent!

:-D

Anyway, back to Addazio.  I officially dislike this guy.  And no surprise, since he's an Urban Meyer protege.

24-13 Penn State, final.  Including a last minute Temple touchdown.  This game was over before half time, though.  It wasn't even nearly as close as the score would seem to indicate.

Temple and Penn State don't play again until 2014, and of course that will be a Penn State team three years into their non-death penalty NCAA death penalty, and you know what?  I think that 2014 Penn State team will probably go 2-10, but one of those wins will be over Addazio (if he's still at Temple).  This guy flat out sucks.  Their inexcusable loss to Maryland two weeks ago wasn't a fluke, it's the way things are gonna go as long as he's around.

This Temple team has at least 8-4 talent, but they're gonna go 5-7 this year with this coach.  At best.

Bah.

[ Parent ]
Oops... (0.00 / 0)
Temple only plays 11 this year, that's right.

They'll go 5-6.

[ Parent ]
Beavers win 27-17. (4.00 / 1)
So far this season OSU has knocked off two ranked teams and played a much harder schedule than the Ducks.

Things should be very interesting in the Pac-12 this year.

[ Parent ]
And Nebraska... (0.00 / 0)
...tries to be Oklahoma and Boise State.

73-7, seriously?

I can't wait until Ohio State beats them by 40 in two weeks.  And I hate Ohio State.

[ Parent ]
Ha, just checked... (0.00 / 0)
The Beavers haven't won back to back games since October 2 and October 9, 2010, when they beat the Arizona schools by a combined 5 points.
[ Parent ]
Whoa, that's gonna be weird... (0.00 / 0)
Watching an Oregon game that won't end until after 1 AM my time.  Heh.  It's 8:20 now, and there's still three and a half hours until the games start!  Argh.
[ Parent ]
Crap... (0.00 / 0)
Why are the Phils playing the same time as the Temple game?!

Temple - Penn State at 3:30, Phillies - Braves at 4:05.  Remote's gonna get a work out for at least a couple hours there...

If the Phillies make the playoffs (3 games out of the second wild card, with 11 left to play; after being in last place for most of the season, and 11 games under .500 just a month or so ago), some stat site said it'll be the 2nd-greatest comeback in baseball history.  I'm focused on baseball more than any other sport right now.

[ Parent ]
A note about bikes... (0.00 / 0)
As a pedestrian and sometime cyclist, cyclists here in Philadelphia disgust me.

They ride the wrong way down one-ways, they obliviously blow through stop signs and red lights.  They ride on the pavement (Philadelphian for sidewalk) at full speed, usually the wrong way, and expect me to get out of their way!

Two thoughts.

1.  Nobody in Portland should ever complain about cyclists, ever again.  Youze have the nicest, most considerate and law-abiding riders in (possibly) the entire world.  Or at least, North America.

2.  I was almost killed today by an SUV, which rode up onto the pavement (again, sidewalk) in order to make an illegal turn they desired to make (this illegal turn is one many make from Aramingo onto York; but this is still, of course, no excuse).  The psychopathic, maniacal automobile enthusiast (how ya like that?) aimed right at me, and did not even slightly slow down for even a fraction of a second upon encountering me.  In what she considered "her way," on, umm... the fucking sidewalk!

As for cyclist assholes, I think my fellow pedestrians should get one free punch at lawbreakers.  That'll set 'em straight.

And then...

Here's a deal I'll make with drivers who insist on complaining about cyclists (and remember, I have many problems with them these days, too) - drivers who direct their vehicles toward pedestrians on the sidewalk automatically receive one-year prison sentences for first offenses, three-year sentences for second offenses, and fifteen years for third offenses.

Drivers who park on sidewalks (ask a Philadelphian how common this shit is!) should receive a $250 fine their first offense, a $1000 fine and a 60-day license suspension their second offense, and a $5000 fine and a three-year suspension for every subsequent offense.

Those fines alone will solve our city's budget problems.

Don't you have traffic cops in Philadelphia? (4.00 / 1)
My god, if people pulled that crap here, cyclists and drivers, well, it just would not be tolerated.

I actually understand parking on the sidewalk. When i lived in San Francisco, a city that at the time had 3 cars for every on street parking space, people did it all the time. I didn't like it, but I understood it. Fortunately, since my apartment came with a garage, the highly coveted off-street parking, I never had to resort to sidewalk parking.

Driving on the sidewalks, though, that's insane. Did you get that license plate, call the cops? I would so drop a dime on every idiot i saw driving on the sidewalk. And I'd be tempted to throw something at the ones who gunned for me.

For the most part, everyone in Portland is so very polite and nice. Yeah, sometimes you'll cross paths with a total jerk, but that happens so much less here than anywhere else I have lived. Friends from other cities are always so surprised by that courtesy. They can't believe people generally board and leave MAX in an orderly fashion with little to no pushing, and that jaywalkers don't just dart out into oncoming traffic, but instead jaywalk when there are no cars coming.

Be careful, Jay. Talk about your mean streets.

[ Parent ]
Traffic cops? (0.00 / 0)
Shit, we can't even bring our murder rate down under one a day.  Fugheddaboutit...

But they'll keep pushing me, and I'm gonna have no choice but to run for City Council in 2015. ;)

Again, quality of life issues.  They're what I'm going to build my campaign around...

[ Parent ]
My to-read pile... (0.00 / 0)
It currently contains 27 books, including a few 1,000-ish page monsters.  Also, since moving back to within a two-hour train ride of my mother's house, I have another 40 or so books I kept there from before I moved out West.  Just found them, stored in the attic wall (seriously), last weekend.

I have to read those, too.  My plan is to bring one or two of them back down here every time I head up there.

And then there's the 100 or so other books I have in my head to find in the library or a used book store one day.

I'm beginning to get the feeling I'll never be able to read everything I want to, even if, like Burgess Meredith, I ever found time enough at last...

So, what are the titles to some of these books? (4.00 / 1)
My list of books-I-want-to-read is pretty long, but I love adding to it. Tell us please, what tomes are on the Jay reading list?
[ Parent ]
Mostly novels these days... (0.00 / 0)
Going back to read some of the old ones I've always wanted to but never did.  A couple Hemingways.  For Whom the Bell Tolls is right at the top of the pile and I'll probably start that this weekend.  A couple Faulkner novels.  I have Ulysses set aside for one day, but who knows when.  Some quick ones I should be able to knock right through, like Charles Jackson's The Lost Weekend.

I want to finally read David Foster Wallace's first novel, Broom of the System.  That one's not even on the pile yet.  I also still have to read Infinite Jest straight through without distractions.  I still have to read The Pale King, for the first time.

There's also some nonfiction like the Frank McCourt memoirs, which my grandmother sent to me a couple years ago and which I haven't gotten around to yet, and I still have to finish Caro's LBJ bios, including the fourth one which just came out.

Paradoxically, I had more time for reading when I was working a regular job full time.  These days I just can't bring myself to read much aside from when I'm on the bus or the subway or right before I go to bed.

I can't read on the train these days, although I find myself spending four hours a weekend on SEPTA and NJTransit trains between Philly and North Jersey.  That's my iPod time, apparently.  Would be nice if I could read during that time, that would help make a big dent in the pile!  But I just can't concentrate enough to read on those trains, for some reason...

[ Parent ]
Oh, and Jonathan Lethem... (0.00 / 0)
I don't know why I waited so long to read his stuff, but I have to read all of it now!  Gun, with Occasional Music was great.  I read that a couple years ago.  Then I just finished Motherless Brooklyn a few weeks ago.  I have Chronic City on the pile now, and I'll get to that soon.  Then I have to find all of his other ones.  That's some great stuff there...
[ Parent ]
Well, that sucked... (0.00 / 0)
Temple's regressing, and even though the Phillies teased us for a couple weeks, their season is now over.  They're not making up 4 games in the standings with 10 left.  Maybe next year.

Hockey's determined to destroy itself with yet another lockout, just when I was really starting to get into the Flyers.

The Eagles are looking good if they can stop turning the ball over so often (and they're still 2-0 despite that), but I don't really care much for the NFL.

And basketball is like a million years away.  But the Sixers are gonna win it all this year, whoo!!!1!

:-D

I guess this means my free time in October is available for reading, at least!

Rutgers' helmets in this game are awesome... (0.00 / 0)
Luminescent silver, with the red R.

10-7 Arkansas, at Arkansas, midway through the second quarter.  RU ball.  Corso picked Rutgers for the upset early this morning, which will be the reason why they lose if they do.  The bastard!

Wow... (0.00 / 0)
Rutgers is beating the living crap out of Arkansas.  I mean, literally.

21-10, RU.  With the ball.  10 to go in the 3rd quarter.  So it's still a game.  And it looks like this is a down year for Arkansas, but still.  

It's at their place, and as someone who has watched more Rutgers games than possibly anyone in the country over the past 15 years, I have never seen them physically beat a team up this bad.

Rutgers may finally have made 'the leap' this year.  Perhaps Schiano just wasn't cut out to win at the college level.  This may be the year for Rutgers' first Big East championship.  I don't see any team they can't beat, and even two losses in the conference will be enough to grab this year's BCS slot.

Lol, and maybe I spoke too soon... (0.00 / 0)
Arkansas got the ball back, and has picked up like 40 yards on just two plays.  Their wideout tripped over his own feet on the last play too, otherwise it'd be 21-17...
[ Parent ]
28-13, Rutgers. (0.00 / 0)
Nice!

3 to go in the 3rd...

[ Parent ]
Wazzu?!?! (0.00 / 0)
How do you lose to Colorado?  At home?!?

Ouch...

35-26, final. (0.00 / 0)
Rutgers over Arkansas.  At Arkansas.

And Rutgers kneeled in the red zone to close it out.  If they were Nebraska, they could have easily made it 42-26...

;)

Great win!

Big East crushes SEC!

Heh.

LOL, Arizona... (0.00 / 0)
Can't even catch a snap for a chip-shot field goal.
Rich Rodriguez is not a happy man... (0.00 / 0)
Good.  Speaking of coaches I don't like.

;)

In three years, he'll be cursing on the sidelines of Gardner-Webb games as their offensive coordinator...

[ Parent ]
Jay, once again I must ask you to please find me a safe (4.00 / 1)
online site to watch the Ducks. I went to that JustinTV link you gave me last year, but no football.

I can find lot soy links for live streaming, but the last time I tried I ended up being bombarded with porn offers. It took me forever to get that cleaned off my computer.

So, if you can help I would be ever so grateful.

BTW, Notre Dame beat Michigan 13-6. Go, Irish.

[ Parent ]
Hmm, lemme look... (0.00 / 0)
13-0 Ducks, half time.

I'll try to find a safe stream for you.  Brb...

[ Parent ]
Hmmm... (0.00 / 0)
Uh oh, looks like that site may have been shut down by the college football folks.

ESPN.com apparently has a free stream up for everyone, but it's in Spanish.  Of course, the language doesn't matter as long as you can get the video.

Can you get this feed?

[ Parent ]
If that doesn't work... (0.00 / 0)
...go to -

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/i...

The option for the Ducks game is right on the front page there.  I don't know if you need to be a cable subscriber to be able to watch it, though?  It doesn't seem like it, at least as far as I can tell...

[ Parent ]
ESPN won't let me get to this feed either. (4.00 / 1)
Oh well. Thanks.
[ Parent ]
Can't access this feed. ESPN says i must be a subscriber. (4.00 / 1)
Thanks for trying, though.
[ Parent ]
Sorry! (0.00 / 0)
Let me keep trying.

Is the game not on local teevee?  That sucks.

Still 13-0, 7:20 to go in the third.  Oregon just got the ball back at midfield.

And whoa!  40-yard pass.  First and goal from the 2 for the Ducks...

[ Parent ]
21-0... (0.00 / 0)
TD Ducks!  And a two-point conversion.

I think I was right.  Arizona hung around for exactly 2.5 quarters, and now Oregon's gonna open it up to an easy win...

Although I do have to admit I thought it would have been something more like 31-20 at this point, and not a shutout!

[ Parent ]
28-0, Oregon... (0.00 / 0)
Game over.  ;)

Sorry I couldn't find a feed, coming up empty.  These games should be on local teevee, anyway!  What's with that?

[ Parent ]
Pick six! (0.00 / 0)
35-0, Oregon.
[ Parent ]
If the Ducks don't jump LSU... (0.00 / 0)
...who barely scraped out a 12-10 win over an unranked Auburn team, I'm gonna call BS.

Oh wait, that's right.  Speaking of BS.  Boise State beat BYU 7-6, so they'll surely get at least 4 first place votes tomorrow!  Eye roll...

[ Parent ]
49-0. (0.00 / 0)
3:53 minutes to go.  If they can preserve it, this will be the Ducks' first shutout since 2010, when they had two (72-0 against New Mexico to open the season, then 69-0 against Portland State two weeks later) to start off the season.

Before those two, their last shutout was 35-0 over Stanford in 2003, back when Stanford consistently sucked.  They also shut out Portland State 41-0 in 2002.

The last time the Ducks were shutout was that 16-0 game against UCLA, the week after Dennis Dixon went down while Oregon was ranked #2 in the country, and well I don't think any of us want to remember that one...

[ Parent ]
Looks like your breezy optimism won the day for the Ducks. (4.00 / 1)
My more cautious approach proved unnecessary. The Ducks certainly unloaded in the 2nd half.

Next week it's Ducks vs. Cougars in Seattle. I think they play at the Seahawks stadium.

I don't want to declare that next week will be a blow-out because I fear that the universe frowns on hubris and would make the Ducks pay for mine.

We got the Oregon State game today on KATU. The Ducks were on ESPN, available only to cable/satellite subscribers. So, bad for me. It was nice to see the Beavers whomp the Bruins in national TV.

[ Parent ]
Sorry, Jay, but any win by a SEC team is worth more than a win (4.00 / 1)
by a Pac-12 team. Thus is the way of the ranking polls. Very SEC-centric.
[ Parent ]
If that's the case... (0.00 / 0)
...then Rutgers is a Top 5 team, after beating the ever-loving crap out of Arkansas today!

;)

[ Parent ]
If I had a vote... (0.00 / 0)
...it would look like this -

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. LSU
4. Florida State
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Kansas State
9. West Virginia
10. Florida
11. Texas
12. Ohio State
13. TCU
14. Rutgers
15. Clemson
16. Michigan State
17. TCU
18. Louisville
19. Mississippi State
20. USC
21. Oklahoma
22. Nebraska
23. Virginia Tech
24. Arizona State
25. San Jose State

Errmm, oops... (0.00 / 0)
I ranked TCU twice.  Bump Louisville and everyone after up one, then put... ah shit, okay I guess... Boise State at 25.
[ Parent ]
Oops, scratch that! (0.00 / 0)
I see where I made my mistake.  I meant to put Oregon State at 17.  So just substitute the Beavers for that second TCU, and all else is good!
[ Parent ]
Pot Luck | 96 comments
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