s! the outlaw torn

holy crap! we did an interview with the awesome one, and suddenly two months are gone, and yet no posts are forthcoming. shame, because lots happened in the two months and yet, nothing. in no particular order..

• Spain finally held their nerve and won a World Cup.
• BP finally put a fucking cap on the gusher. No one knows if they’ve finally gotten to the bottom of this.
• The Outlaw Torn finally got hitched.
• Summer finally came, with a heatwave and a vengeance. Who knew the Northeast could hit the 100s.
• The Buffalo Sabres finally got to the playoffs again, and got KO’ed by a mediocre Boston outfit.

had one fantastic annual trip down to NOLA with family and friends in tow, and then was in DC for July 4th weekend which was awesome too. can i complain bitterly why there are no more Nando’s in the country apart from in DC?? it is good to see the South African giant make inroads here, and if they keep making their amazing chicken and sauces (and unlimited fro-yo!) they will definitely be an unmitigated hit!

have been on an astronomy trip since watching the Hubble 3D movie – am ruminating buying a space telescope after seeing how cool Vip’s is. the downside of that skywatching escapade was finding out that mosquitoes will not be dissuaded in the dark by any amount of bugspray and insect-proof sunscreen. if i do get a telescope i will limit myself to what i can see out of the living room window. shame none of the neighbors are ogle-able though. oh well.

finally got both mountain bikes fixed and roadworthy, so we’ve been cycling a lot in the evenings. unfortunately it’s not the best time to be out in the bushes since the bugs are coming in to roost, but if you cycle fast enough you get by. we’re really lucky that the Nashua River Rail Trail begins virtually a stone’s throw away from home. scenic views, peaceful surroundings, no car traffic, all make for idyllic biking.

ok so this blog has seen a shakeup in the last couple of months. dedicated and loyal readers are feeling betrayed and confused about the changes and lack of communication. you have no idea what’s going on, where we’re headed and there’s no one reasonable to talk to. “is this what it feels like to be a young republican under the current GOP leadership?” you wonder aloud..

the hitherto flamboyant author of this blog was recently interviewed in a frank, ‘state-of-the-union’ style pow-wow over a polystyrene foam cup of office cafeteria coffee, the stark reality of the dark steaming brew swirling in the morning chill..

so there you have it, the awesome one is hale, hearty and simmering mad it appears. we await further posts with trepidation.

i took these pics from the plane as we flew over the North Atlantic, off the coast of Newfoundland

so one day i’m browsing through the bookshelf, and suddenly i realize i cannot find any of my andy mcnab’s!! now those of you who don’t know me too well probably also don’t know how much i love his books, and so it really bothered me to also realize that the books were still in a box back in my old apartment in buffalo! so then i got a-thinking about what the heck else i had left back there! it appeared that there was actually a good chunk of my wardrobe and books and other important documents still back at old 122H..

then i also got thinking, that it would be fantastic to go go check out the Buffalo Sabres play at home, surrounded by raving raging buffalonians rather than in the stodgy confines of boston, in enemy territory! by the miracles of ebay and travelocity, credit card info was transferred and tickets were bought, and before you could say “let’s go Sabres” we were headed off to buffalo to watch the Sabres play the Capitals, with the added bonus of watching Ovechkin play – his rugged jawline makes the gf swoon, apparently..

unfortunately the Sabres lost, but the rest of the two-day whirlwind trip was fantastic, despite the snowstorms and biting cold. i retrieved all my missing stuff, had strong sensations of deja vu walking the streets of University heights, past 33H and 122H, eating at Just Pizza, dropping by the library i worked at, peering into classrooms that i rarely sat in and finally meeting up with my thesis advisor and being surprised by how warmly he welcomed me back!

one final note, these small puddle-jumpers for local direct flights make for some rough flying in bad weather, definitely not for the queasy ones!

was up north of Denver some time ago to commission some new equipment we were buying.. that’s beautiful country up there, east is flat all the way to Ohio, and looming large on the west is the Rocky Mountain range. the air is nice and clean, albeit thin.. not the best place for people with breathing troubles. of course, the altitude also means that the alcohol kicks you faster! is it a coincidence that there is a vast proliferation of microbreweries out there? there’s a bunch of them, and many of them are pretty good too..

thanks to the Fleetwood-Goldco-Wyard-Ambec conglomerate, that took care of food, drink, travel and other entertainment while we were up there!

oh yeah, there was a small matter of commissioning a machine too.. well, we already own #001 of the line, and they put in whatever we learned on that into #002.. so that was that..

the overdue final instalment of pictures..

not the kind of nympho or mermaid you expected!!

let’s do some shots shall we!

oh yeah.. girls girls girls

balcony parties are where it’s at.. throw us some beads!

one of the many bars on the Bourbon strip

and now for the second instalment of pics

this is one of the classic jazz preserves, right in the heart of the madness that reigns on Bourbon Street

still on Bourbon Street, among the numerous live bands that play every night, there’s Big Al & The Blues Masters playing at The Funky Pirate (and yes, Big Al is really big!)

here’s a plate of spicy Cajun crawfish, the local speciality.. shell and eat the tail, suck the heads!

and you can’t leave before you eat another staple.. seafood gumbo! the one at Coop’s Place is jazzed up some with rabbit and sausage too

here we’re feeding an alligator, but they made some good eating too.. diced up and stir-fried with Creole seasoning. even better tasting than crocodile i felt!

“Laissez les bons temps rouler!“

yes, let the good times roll, as i bring you pics of New Orleans..

here’s sunrise over the Mississippi, as it winds its way down to the deltas and the Gulf of Mexico

this is the India House hostel, where we stayed

the tram.. a novelty, slow yet fun to ride

going down to the swamps, serene by day, nightmarish by night.. what demons, ghouls and beasts haunt these seemingly placid waters?

the sun sets over this busy bustling port city

got back from New Orleans on Sunday, and dived straight back into the deep end. i had an absolutely awesome time, as the pics i will post soon shall attest. as will all the stories. some of them at least, heh!

will upload the pics and type out a few posts soon.. hang in there

yes, i’m off for spring break! i’m using my one week of vacation from work to go down to The Big Easy, aka New Orleans! we’re gonna eat, drink and make merry in Nawlins, hang out with all the nekkid boobies on Bourbon Street, haunt with the ghosts in the French Quarter.. see you when i get back!