james_kieliszek

Back in the ROC after 9 days in the Adirondacks. A pile of fun was had by all, as we tore Nature a new one, Robinson Crusoe-style. Early in the trip, I was part of a team that tore down a pair of beaver dams that were flooding local streams. The first one was small, and the release was less than spectacular for the amount of work invested. The second dam was much larger, and while it took a great deal more effort, destroying it was a blast. I stood in the torrent we released to work on deepening the channel through the dam, and the force of the water (and debris) rushing past was enough to turn my cargo pants into hulk shorts. A few days later, I used a DR mower to clear a thicket of trees for a telescope platform, which was surprisingly enjoyable. I wielded the DR sans work gloves for the first half an hour, and earned some wicked blisters for my shortsightedness. After grabbing a pair of very nice Husqvarna chainsaw gloves, I finished off all but the largest trees in the thicket. The DR turned whole groups of smaller trees into pulp with incredible ease; if a strand of trees was too dense to drive over, I could pop a wheelie and begin slicing through them horizontally (think Dead Alive, but with trees instead of zombies). I was also worked on creating a diving platform; Andy cut down some trees, we stripped them of limbs and bark, dragged them into position, and lashed them together. After a day of such work, some of which was admittedly dangerous, I managed to get my hand crushed between two rocks while working on the benign job of installing a dock at another camp. X-Rays yesterday came back negative, so it looks like heat packs and Ibuprofen will be enough to get me back to full use of the hand in short order. In between bouts of mild to moderate personal injury, we ate like kings, consumed beer in abundance, and generally amused the hell out of ourselves. The trip has crystallized two things for me: 1) I want a house with a hot tub, 2) I want a DS-Lite. The former will have to wait, but the latter will probably get taken care of tonight.

...Timing!

I'll be up in Jersey this weekend sunning and funning with Grahams et al, and I might pay my Grandfather a visit - he fell at his home and is doing some rehab (learning how to walk with a walker, etc).

Addendum: I feel obliged to mention that while I've never been to an air show, and as of now have no intention to attend one, when I was sitting on Potter's dock and two A-10 Warthogs came in low (and relatively slow) over the lake, passing directly overhead before crossing Brandreth Lake and banking steeply - I was awestruck. Those things are all kinds of cool.

Also, any suggestions on what DS games qualify as must-owns?

On my last day in MD, Patrick and I hit up the Baltimore Aquarium. We had a family membership when we lived in "Bal'mer" (82-86), and used to go often. They've added an entire building since the last time I was there; I enjoyed it greatly, despite not being able to find the three-toed sloth in the rain forest exhibit. After a bit of nostalgia (and kids screaming "Nemo!" at tank with the clown fish), Pat dropped me off at the airport. I had plenty of time to catch up on my reading while thunderstorms delayed, then canceled my first flight, and then delayed my alternate flight on another carrier. I picked up about 10 Terry Pratchett novels from Pat which I had not yet read, and I've managed to read about one a day - I enjoy his writing more than Douglas Adams' - but now I'm out of leisure reading. I've still got a bunch of Philosophy reading I've been meaning to catch up on, and that will have to suffice for now.

Last weekend was Sarah and Randy's wedding in Ohio. In my mind's eye, Ohio was largely featureless, and what features it did have didn't speak well for it: the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame¹ and Drew Carey, both of which reside in what appeared to be Ohio's only identifiable city, Cleavland. It turns out that rural and suburban Ohio reminds me a lot of Maine - "quaint" is the adjective that come to mind - and is a rather nice place to get briefly lost on a weekend drive while making a point of not getting directions. The wedding was short and sweet (~30 minutes). After spending a few hours at the pool drinking Highlife it was time for the reception, which was at a country club a few minutes away for the hotel. As we drove up the road to the country club, we passed through an area being used as a fairgrounds. I noticed a sign that said the Willoughby Fair was concluding that day, and a little farther down the road I saw a fireworks display being assembled. Joe flew to Ohio, and knew a number to call to find out when the fireworks were scheduled (I guess you wouldn't want to fly through them). We told Sarah, and she and Randy stepped outside a little after sunset to have the wedding photographer take some shots as the fireworks went off. Fireworks are always awesome, having fireworks at your wedding is even cooler than regular fireworks - I hope the photos come out.

I'm just now settling in to my four-day weekend.



^{1 -} The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is a damn silly oxymoron: Rock is supposed to be both cool and non-conformist, requiring a lame-ass museum to codify which artists qualify as the best of the genre misses the point

The Stangers showed up brunch-ish with two loafs of bread, which I turned into french toast. We then attended the Air & Space Museum, and it was awesome. If you're in the area, you should definitely make a point to check it out. We ate dinner at Paulie Moto's (a place associated w/ Iron Chef Morimoto in a mall in Tyson's Corner), it was delicious and very affordable. Tomorrow we'll be at Six Flags 15 minutes before the gates open (9:45), then we'll ride roller coasters until we're good and sunburned, at which point we'll probably look for some shade and a few cool drinks.

I'm taking a nap on Pat and Risa's couch right now. Later tonight (8:15-ish) looks like hanging out at oompa's place with whatever CSHers I can manage to get a hold of. Monday, I'll ride rollercoasters until it's time to fly back to ROC; I might also end up at a theme park earlier in the weekend, which is alright by me. Sometime this weekend I need to get Pat to a pro shop to buy him a bowling ball; which means we also need to go bowling. No weekend with both bowling and rollercoasters could possibly be a bad one.

I realized the other day that I'd neglected to update this journal for far too long. A whole lot happened in the interim, and most of it was fun, but don't expect any details other than the few that managed to stick in my brain. Which basically means that all you get is details on travel and moving.

I spent the weekend of my birthday hanging out in Boston. I drove there, and got lost immediately, of course. I eventually arrived in Cambridge and was greeted warmly; Matt told me he had found a great recipe for a pound cake, which he was in the middle of baking. Being a smart-ass, I replied along these lines: "Oh yeah, I know that recipe too: 'A pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter, a pound of eggs...'" I took his odd expression to mean he was confused, as if he didn't get my (admittedly poor) joke. But something far worse was afoot - Matt had slipped the chains of sanity and had allowed himself to become convinced that a recipe for pound cake should contain nowhere near a pound of anything. In between calling all right-thinking chefs "barbarians" and other fits of apoplexy, Matt produced what I coined an "eight-ounce cake" (the name stuck), which was very much like an angel-food cake. It tasted good, but if you promise me "pound cake", I expect a confection with heft, milquetoast. The rest of the weekend was exemplary, the food and the company were both well worth the trip.

I have just recently moved - upstairs. The landlord and his wife were expecting (I assume their child has now been born), so they moved out of the (much nicer) upstairs apartment, and we moved in. Three nursing students are in the process of moving into our old apartment, and they're taking their time. I think only one of them actually lives here currently, and I never see any of them. No housemate problems yet, but one of the girls left the house unlocked today - I hope it's just a solitary incident.

I spent a glorious Memorial Day in Maine, hanging out with the 'rents, Pat, and Marisa. I did a bunch of cooking to bond with Mom, and Pop got to lend me some technical advice as I tried out his D70 (which is a lot of fun to use). I flew, and the experience is almost enough to have me swear off driving on trips longer than 400 miles. It's an enormous convenience; I've done the round-trip drive to Maine enough times that I could do it in my sleep, but less time wasted on travel and more time spent on vacation is worth the cost of a plane ticket.

On that note, I'll be flying into BWI 6/16/06 (a Friday) around noon to spend the weekend with my brother and the DC crew celebrating his belated birthday. He turns 24 on the 10th, but he's being dragged to a wedding that weekend. Plans for this trip include crabs steamed in beer with Bay Spice, going bowling with Pat, and a trip to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (where the Air & Space Museum keeps all the cool stuff they can't fit in the main building). Everything else is up in the air, and I'll be in town until Monday night (the 19th), so drop me a line if you're in the area.

Additional vacation notes: I've taken the week of July 10th off from work to go to Potter's camp in the Adirondacks. No exact dates yet on when I'll depart or return, but that's only because Potter himself doesn't know when he'll be at the camp.

That's all for now. Hopefully you'll hear from me again this calendar year.

Got out of work at noon today, which marked the start of a 3.5 day weekend, I figured I should do the monthly LJ update thing. Spent a weekend in DC with Pat and the gang earlier this month, and loved it. Among other adventures, I ate dinner at an excellent Irish pub, went bowling at an Army base, and defeated my brother at Super Street Fighter II for what is likely the first time in a decade. Also, it was T-Shirt weather outside. Work is good, and I'm staying in Rochester for at least another year, but DC-MD-VA is right at the top of the list for places I wish I was living. Christmas was great: all of my gift-giving machinations came to fruition smoothly. Dad's getting a lot of use out of the D70s, and has devoured the manuals for it and moved on to combing the internet for tips etc. Mom loves the stove, it was a piece of cake to install, and getting rid of the old stove was a walk in the park. Pat really likes his leatherman, and so do I; I need to lose my Wave so I can justify getting one for myself. I picked up a food processor, the best album ever, and a mystery gift - still in the mail - that I think is another of the Shun Classic line (to accompany my Santoku). The KitchenAid food proc is wonderfully useful - I used it to churn out two batches of baklava in record time. Had my first physical in years and, as far as my bloodwork is concerned, I am the picture of health. I owe it all to clean living. Tonight, dinner at the Toad. Tomorrow (NYE), something involving booze, TBD.

Monthly recap: I got back from spending Thanksgiving in Maine Sunday night. I made the trip north in what's become my average time, 8.5 hours driveway to driveway. Heading out after work on Tuesday it was snowing in Rochester and raining in Norway, so I planned on slushy/sleety driving somewhere along the way. Instead, I had clear (albeit dark) skies except for 20 minutes of rain in eastern NY. Coming back to Rochester, I ran into a 20 mph traffic jam in western MA, but somehow made record time - just under 8 hours for the entire trip. I didn't get the impression that there was that much less traffic overall on the return trip, but I must have spent a lot more time at 77-78 (my preferred "not quite fast enough to warrant a ticket" speed) than I usually manage.

At my folks place I managed to do a bit of cooking, which was nice, since I haven't been doing much of it at home in Rochester. I was in charge of the turkey, and while it wasn't brined, it came out nice and juicy. I made gravy from scratch and was really pleased with the results. With the gravy-making experience I gleaned from turkey day, I think I'll try to do a sausage gravy and biscuits breakfast for Pat and Marisa this weekend.

Ice is starting to cover the places on the lake with less current, which means the folks were past due for getting the dock out of the water. Pops and I dragged it ashore; Pat and I will probably put it on top of the ice during X-mas, which is easier than dragging it into the water in mud season.

Two weeks ago I was feeling a little under the weather, so I decided to have a bowl of chicken soup for dinner. I unwrapped the six-pack of progresso we bought at BJ's the day before, and was surprised to find that the cans inside were pop-tops. The top of the can instructed me to pull up slowly on the ring, and I did as directed. Pulling gently with my index finger, I opened the can half-way until the lid stuck a little. I then pulled considerably harder and the lid came free of the can, leaving an inch-long gash along the inside of my ring finger. I've always thought that I had poor circulation in my extremities, as my fingers and toes get cold quickly and stay that way, while the rest of me is pretty resilient to cold. This theory has been thrown into serious doubt, as it is evident that my extremities are, in fact, chock-full of blood. I managed to keep all of the red stuff out of my dinner, and some gauze and medtape stopped the bleeding. The wound would have healed cleaner if I had cut myself with a knife, but the dull edge of the lid tore the flesh rather than slicing through it. The deepest part of the cut didn't really close up on its own, I had to hold the edges together with super glue. Aside from making me feel just about as stupid as Dubya (nearly undone by a pretzel), this whole incident wouldn't really be worth mentioning except that it's left my finger a little girthier where the cut was deepest - just before the first knuckle - and this is a finger I need for bowling.

I went bowling tonight for the first time since cutting my finger, and managed to be pretty consistent: 160, 162, 155, 167. Not my best stuff, but consistency has to come before improvement, right? My ring finger didn't fit all the way into the grip, but I was able to jam it most of the way in. I also got reproducable results, which is what really matters. I might change the grip out for a wider one if the swelling hasn't gone down in a few weeks, but it's not a big problem.

I'll be in DC starting this Friday, circa 5:30pm, and I'll be leaving sometime late Sunday. I'll be at the Caps game Saturday night with a whole pile of other CSH alums, and Saturday morning is going to be tourist-y stuff with Pat and Marisa (the Air & Space addition where they keep the big stuff, Natural History, the new WWII memorial, etc.). I'm not sure what Saturday evening and Sunday will be spent doing, but I'm sure it will be fun. Drop me a line if you're in town and down for shenanigans (I finally fixed my voicemail, so I can actually return your calls!).

This past weekend was the best I've had in quite a while. I spent it in Dryden (Ithaca), at Sean and Kelly's annual halloween party. We cut down some trees, installed a seriously over-engineered wireless connection to "teh intarwebs", and partook of much fine food and beverage. After a visit to a (surprisingly small) specialty meat store, I enjoyed some ostrich, elk, and buffalo along with some salmon and shrimp dishes. Everything was great, but Adam's pan-seared elk and Tourist's salmon & shrimp shanghai noodles stand out as the best of the weekend. Ln2 was obtained, and Josh made ice cream from fresh strawberries. The icecream was incredible, better than Potter's. I brought a mixed six-pack of Ur Weisse and Val Dieu, and used these wares to try to bring Matt Girard into the larger world of beer consumption (which was at least a partial success). I also brought a growler of CB's Hazel Nut Brown (which survived for me to enjoy at home, thanks to the cornucopia of beverage choices we had on hand at the party), as well as a bottle of wine. On a trip to a local liquor store (for cooking ingredients, we had plenty to drink), Knapp wines were being offered for tasting. I was pleased to see Prizm on display; it was the only wine from the Fingerlakes Wine Festival this summer that I haven't been able to find in Rochester. I bought a bottle (it was great with the elk dish), and left it at the house; I'm unsure if it got finished. The weather all weekend was mostly clear and crisp, which was a relief after wunderground.com warned me I might be in for some snow. While cutting down the trees, we didn't need to endure anything worse than light drizzle, the moisture from which quickly baked off in the sun; by the time we finished clearing the brush, I had stripped down to a t-shirt. The weather was nicest for the drive home on Sunday - I turned off the radio and drove with the windows down as soon as I was off the highway.

Last Sunday morning I turned in 6 games of bowling, averaged around 150, and felt good about improvements I'd made to my consistency. I then bowled another 3 games that night, and managed to give myself a large blister on my thumb and slightly sprain my wrist. After a week-long hiatus, I resumed bowling last night and bowled my first 500 series (166, 180, 160). This is very encouraging, as I feel like I'm finally achieving some consistency, and am able to string some strikes together. After bowling, I played poker on floor, where I split the pot with Fotios around 2am.

Had a follow-up appointment today with my surgeon. The numbness and scaring are to be expected and may be permanent, and while the condition of my leg is sub-optimal, it wins the lesser-of-two-evils contest with the pain and limited mobility of the bone tumor by a country mile. My health insurance is covering all but $80.13 of the surgery costs; I'm happy to be working for a small company with good health insurance.

Basically, everything's looking up, and I'm pretty darn pleased with my situation.

I have to say it was a good day. At work, I completed a project that we had thought might take the better part of a week in less than a day. I left work for dinner at the Highland Park Diner, one of my favorite places to eat in Rochester. Adding flavored syrup to a Coke is a diner staple, but for some reason I'd never tried any such beverage. Last night I felt like a cream soda with my Can-Am Burger, but since it wasn't on the menu I ordered a vanilla Coke instead. It was really, really good. For desert I had a slice of apple-cranberry-walnut pie, which was delicious; I may try to emulate it, but I'd need to buy a few pie pans first.

If you spend ~$8.50 on dinner at Highland Park, you can get a free ticket to the Cinema theater across the street, and Tom and I used our tickets to take in a double feature, Broken Flowers and Four Brothers. I was expecting the Cinema to be dirtier; not that the place is clean, but it feels more dusty than dirty, like all the faded things from your grandparents' attic that have been cleaned off for a yard sale. It looks like the place was built in the late 60's (guess based on color scheme and speaker tech), and parts have been torn out (like the floor and chairs), with the important stuff (chairs) replaced by more modern components. It appears that there is a cat living in the theater. I saw it mewing for some affection and popcorn in the row in front of me before Broken Flowers started, and I wondered who would bring a cat to a theater. Later the cat lost interest in the folks in front of me, and set out for greener pastures, mewing for other movie patrons. When the lights came on, I recognized the people in front of me, I had seen them walk into the theater before me, and they had not brought the cat with them.

Broken Flowers was good. I had read a review about it that was pretty negative about some plot points not leading anywhere, and it's now clear that the reviewer missed a lot. I had no expectations for Four Brothers, which closed out the double feature. It was awesome. It's a good action flick, but it's also really funny. Least-pronounceable segue ever: Chiwetel Ejiofor. He's the villain in Four Brothers, as well as in Serenity, which opens today. I think the CSH crew is planning on seeing it at 10pm tonight, and I'll definitely attend.

I left the crutches at home today, and I'm b-boy limpin' all over the place. I need to be able to walk (and not require vicodin) in order to attend (and enjoy) the Autumn Festival of Ales on Saturday. Sunday I think I'll see about getting my ball drilled and trying to bowl while using both feet. The swelling in my right foot is odd, viscous. I can push on my foot and it will leave a depression that slowly fills itself in. I've got a post-surgery appointment Monday, where I'll get a professional assessment of my healing progress, and the results of the biopsy.

To avoid drowsiness, went all day yesterday with only a couple aspirin to tide me over. Pain was very manageable, and I got my work done in a timely fashion. I cut my cast off last night, at the 5-day mark after surgery. The injury to my leg is interesting: the scar (about 4 inches long) is not stitched at the surface, but instead the wound has been closed beneath the skin with stitches that will dissolve and be absorbed by my body, and the outer skin is glued together; the scar isn't strictly linear (as I assume the incision that made the scar was), but sort of meanders right and left a little as it goes up my leg; the incision and the tissue directly beneath it hurt less than the surrounding area (which to me is counter-intuitive, as the muscles underneath should have suffered the most abuse in order to expose the tumor); the muscle that gives me the most trouble when I flex my foot is about two and a half inches above the area of the incision; bruising and swelling are worst around my ankle. I'm just using a pressure bandage and some gauze on the leg now, and have come to appreciate how much discomfort the cast spared me. I'm back on the vicodin, and although it hasn't made me drowsy, it hasn't taken care of the pain, either.

My boss is working from home today. He and I were planning on attending an RIT lecture (at 4pm) on imaging today; I'm not sure if I'll still go if he's staying home - I may keep working here until it's time to go to Quimby's.

Update:
I'll be attending the lecture, and then heading out to Quimby's from there. If any CSHers need a ride to Quimby's, drop me a line or catch me on the academic side (lecture's in Bldg 76 - room 1275).

Went to Potter's BBQ Saturday, and had a great time as usual. Spent some time manning the grill, enjoyed some sun and fresh air on an absolutely beautiful afternoon, and kicked ass at croquet. Some background: I'd played 3 or 4 games of croquet before Saturday, and had been consistently bad at it. For some unknown reason, I was able to make ridiculous shots on a regular basis, on purpose, even. I had balls curving over Potter's gently rolling lawn like they were on rails. The two possible explanations are: the pain (and therefore adrenaline) from my wounded leg gave me a heightened ability to focus; or, vicodin gives me the power of telekinesis. Joy took pictures of the event, as she needed 'action' shots for a photo class. She should have a pic of me vaulting an errant ball that was coming right at my good leg, which I'm eager to see once it's developed.

Sunday I went bowling. I'd crutch out to the end of the approach and then one of the folks I was bowling with would trade me my ball for my crutches. Normally when I bowl I get a foot or two of curve on the ball (which is pretty lame, for those not familiar with the sport). Apparently, standing on one foot at the line corrects my form in such a way that I get heretofore unseen amounts of curve out of my ball - I had to aim right on my release (just like a non-crappy bowler) to keep my ball from curving off the lane into the left gutter. Jym skipped the Giants game to catch the spectacle of my one-legged bowling, and I expect the video he took of the event to be made available online sometime in the near future.

Today I drove to work without difficulty. At work, I accomplished nearly nothing. The vicodin had not previously made me drowsy at all (one of the reasons I was confident in driving to work), but the pill I took mid-day hit me really hard. I think the reason was that I didn't eat much of a breakfast, and was taking the medicine on a practically empty stomach. I skipped my afternoon dose to make sure I was sober enough to drive home, and took a two-hour nap once I got home, ate, and took some medicine. I'll grab a couple slices of pizza first thing tomorrow to make sure I'm productive at work.

The surgery went well and now I'm luxuriating at home. I figure I'll grab some lunch (haven't eaten anything but saltines all day) and watch a movie with my foot elevated. No dice on keeping the tumor, as the doc shaved it off. The fibula and the tibia both had to be shaved down, as the tumor had deformed the fibula considerably (which wasn't evident until my CT scan on Tuesday). Sincerest thanks to Gillian and Courtney for helping me out today.

Still alive, just haven't been in an updating-my-journal kind of mood. Been spending more money than usual lately, mostly on eating out. This is a good thing - for a gourmand I really haven't sampled that much of what The Flower City has to offer in terms of food. Dined at Sinbad's on Park last weekend, and really enjoyed it. As soon as I'm feeling mobile again post-surgery, I'll make a trip to the Ethiopian place on South (Rochester has [at least] two Ethiopian restaurants - who'd have thunk it?).

I get my bone tumor removed tomorrow morning at Strong (have to be there at 7am). Anybody feel like dropping me off there?

Prologue: I had Thali for lunch on Wednesday; I was only able to eat half of my chicken vindaloo, and kept the rest for lunch the next day.

So, I'm working late on Wednesday, when Pat calls me saying I need to let him into the apartment so the crabs he purchased don't die in the outdoor heat. I drove home and set about putting the crabs into cool, dry (if you give them water to sit in, they'll exhaust the oxygen from the water and drown themselves) storage. They had made the trip inland in doubled-up paper bags held in a trash bag, and only 8 of the 36 kicked it in transit (and therefore had to be thrown away uncooked). I had a previous engagement of drinking at Quimby's at 7pm, so I showed up on time and invited the CSHers gathered there to join me for a blue crab dinner instead of the planned pub food. We had some appetizers and beer, and then drove over to my place for the feast. Joe has also spent time growing up in Maryland, and he provided some invaluable help in preparing the crabs. The crabs were delicious, and I was able to introduce two novices to the wonder that is Maryland blue crab, so I'm really happy with how the impromptu dinner went. Next time, I'll slightly alter the ratio of Old Bay to salt I use to spice the crabs, and I'll consider steaming them with beer rather than with apple cider vinegar.

Yesterday, we had a big development meeting at work, and the CEO says we need to have another in a week. He further states that we should make it a lunch meeting (this usually means getting a platter of subs, 'meh'). The meeting then adjourns to my office, so I can demonstrate the application I've been working on. The CEO enters and notices my lunch (which I hadn't finished eating when the meeting started) sitting on my desk and asks, "Indian food?" I replied that it was from Thali, and he says that he's been meaning to go there for a while. Knowing how to seize an opportunity, I offered, "How about for lunch on the 25th?" Score. Who's got two thumbs and just earned themselves a business lunch at Thali? This guy. *points to self with thumbs*

Later that day, Shane invited Pat and me to Ryan, Adam, and Cheston's place for a cookout. Shane was a charming host, considering that he basically showed up that night and announced to the people living there that he was using their house for a dinner party.

Today, I took a late lunch to grab Mark's plates with Pat. I drive back to work and nearly everyone is gone. I asked our Senior SE where they were, and it turns out the AC in the building was down for maintenance, and we were being given the rest of the day off. I sat down and polished off some quick tests of my most recent changes to the app I'm working on, and started my weekend early. Tonight we'll see if team Shotglass will have any challengers at Drinking Trivial Pursuit.

It's been a while since my last update. Since then, I've been pretty busy with work and a series of summertime distractions. In the weeks following the Finger Lakes Wine Festival I attended the 'Ten Ugly Men' festival and the High Falls Beer Fest, and while I am a fan of drinking, staying on my feet all day - even while drinking - isn't very comfortable. My osteochondroma has been bothering me pretty much every day for the past few weeks, so I've decided to have it removed.

I had to choose a primary care physician (need to have a check-up for the first time in a couple years, and get a referral to an ortho), so I called my father for suggestions. He looked through some online DB of docs in the area and read off the names of people he knew from his residency at Strong. He spent a few minutes browsing the DB, and every time he found a doc who he had been in charge of as chief resident, he gave me a quick evaluation of their medical ability. The search ended abruptly when he found a woman who was one of his chief residents, and whose skill he admires. I've got an appointment with her on the 26th. Dad's already mailed my X-Rays to me, which the ortho will probably want as reference. I left my cane in Maine when I moved to Rochester, so I'll have to buy another; I'll wait until I see the ortho before I do.

Between alcohol-fueled festivals I found time to hang out with Sean Graham and his girlfriend Corrina, who stayed at our place for a weekend when they were passing through, bowled often but poorly, hung out with friends a lot, and bought a bread machine off woot. Today wraps up our Summer bowling league, and I get a new ball for my trouble. I need to get it drilled and buy a two-ball bag ASAP - I want to get a bunch of bowling in before I get my leg repaired; the operation will almost certainly put all bowling activity on hiatus while I heal.

Patrick is coming to visit, starting tomorrow. He'll be staying at my place while he's in town for an old roommate's wedding on the 20th. I've requested he bring up some MD blue crab, which are the best seafood I've ever had. I'm looking forward to hanging out with him; it'll be a great excuse to drag ourselves to the parts of Rochester we feel are iconic, and to lend our patronage to the finest gustatory establishments in the Flower City.

Spent this weekend at the Finger Lakes Wine Fesitval. It was a fantastic time; I tried a few hundred wines over the two days we spent there, but found myself spending much more on food than on wine.

I found some sour cherry jam that I thought was really good, and I complimented the vendor on it as I bought a jar - and before I left his booth he had managed to sell me two jars of concentrated, unsweetened sour cheery juice. I'm all out of stoli and seltzer, but they've just been added to the grocery list. If I ever get around to buying an ice cream machine this summer, you can be sure that I'll try my hand at a "cherry garcia"-inspired flavor with sour cherries and (bittersweet?) chocolate.

Speaking of chocolate, I picked up some chocolate-covered maple sugar candy that was incredible. I bought the last four boxes they had; I'll try to make it a month or so before I manage to eat all of it. I only bought one bottle of wine (some really weird stuff that tastes like a bloody mary - no joke, this winery also sold a wine made from habeneros - strange but good!).

My group (darrin, tom, rhu, and sharon) and I found a lot stuff we liked, and took copius notes. Swedish Hill's Viking Red will replace Louis Jadot's Beaujolais Village as my (cheap!) dry red wine of choice if it's as good as I remember... I need to consult the notes we took and head out to Marketview later tonight and see what I can find.

Freaky-weird networking thing: I was talking to another festival attendee we randomly met at a tasting booth about the around-the-neck wine glass holders we were using (a vital tool, every few minutes the festival din was punctuated by a cheer from the crowd acknowledging that someone had dropped (and inevitably broken) their tasting glass (next year, sharon plans to make and sell her own version of glass holder - I plan on making a chrome goblet (krunk!) that I can wear as a necklace (I am only half kidding))) when she mentioned she was the head of IT at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and that she was hiring. I have no idea why she mentioned this (we weren't wearing any computer or geek paraphenalia, but I guess heading up IT at a liberal arts college has tuned her nerd-dar). We all exchanged contact information with her, and I mentioned that CSH was chock-full of talented geeks who wouldn't mind relocating to the mid-atlantic region.

The weather reports for the weekend predicted nothing but thunderstorms, and I came to the festival expecting to be uncomfortably wet the entire time. Instead, the weather was dry almost the entire time we were at the festival - the only sustained rain we experienced was on the drive home. I did get rained on during the game of mini-golf that (along with watching the 1960's Batman and Robin movie (with the commentary on, of course)) served as the most excellent capstone to a very enjoyable weekend, but I didn't mind at all.

Next weekend will be the 10 ugly men fesitval, an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink event that Sharon reccomends highly. For a more expensive entrance fee, you can apparently buy an all-the-Dinosaur-BBQ-you-can-eat pass. Tempting, but no thank you - I'll stick to more plebian eats, and the costs that accompany them, as I don't plan on really gorging myself.

Showed up early on Wednesday, after shopping for supplies with Potter. Helped a wacky old lady get a jug of peanut oil into her cart, and convinced Potter to buy much more smores makings than could be consumed. Drove up to Brandreth and jumped in the lake. I cooked a dinner of steak and a McGuyvered greenbean casserole (surprisingly good!).

Thursday, we cut down a blighted tree, and I dusted off my mad chainsaw skillz and busted it up into lengths suitable for firing Potter's hottub. I wore longsleeves and pants in the midday sun to keep woodchips out of my underclothes, and managed to get a bit of a tan while saturating my clothes with sweat. Went out for a kayaking venture on the lake, and learned sweatproof sunscreen only stays sweatproof if you put it on when you aren't already sweating; I had to hop out of the kayak to wash the sunscreen off my face, as it kept running into my eyes. On the way back to Potter's dock, a loon surfaced about 40 yards in front of me, and as I approached it, it displayed vigorously and dove again. That was particularly nice - close encounters with loons remind me of home, as Pennesewasse Lake has two nesting pairs. Steak again for dinner, with a (decidedly mediocre!) scalloped potato dish I scraped together with what was available. I found some real cheddar cheese the next day in Potter's freezer, and was upset that I missed it when I needed it (only had American and processed cheddar [from instant mac-and-cheese] on hand for the potato dish). Finished the day with some time in the hottub.

Friday, it rained most of the day. After demonstrating that I can, in fact, fit an entire blueberry pancake in my mouth without chewing, we went on a dump run/picnic in Potter's truck. I rode in the back in a camping chair with a cupholder and a cooler full of beer - a redneck safari, sans gun. We walked the train tracks until the sky started to really open up, when we returned to the truck for a trip to shelter and lunch. Bill and I turned our chairs to face forward so it would be easier to duck low branches. While facing backwards earlier, I had watched Dan Lee (who was sitting against the tailgate, facing forward) for my cue to duck; this plan got scrapped after Dan started faking me out, dodging imaginary branches, and remaining still for the real ones. Daredevils that we are, Bill and I managed to catch some leaves/branches in our teeth. We also engaged in a hilarious battle against a swarm of scores of deer flies that were chasing the truck. They're less manuverable when they're charging forward at twenty miles an hour, but swatting them is the best tactic - spraying them with OFF doesn't even distract them. Dinner was two deep-fried turkeys that the assembled crew absolutely demolished. After dinner, we ate ln icecream and introduced some new folks to the wonder that is the mexican domino train. Liquid nitrogen turns whipped cream into a fatastic treat that melts in your mouth while giving you a mildly freezer-burned tongue and the ability to exhale a dense mist.

Saturday was rafting, which was a blast. It rained all day, but we were given wetsuit tops, which kept us nice and warm. I did some last-minute dealing at the trade deadine, and managed to swap Wanker and his gf Stephanie for Matt Girard and his gf Michelle. Having completed Team Danger with my Steinbrennerian machinations, we set off on our adventure, and quickly began entertaining Matt's plans for a mutiny. After it became clear that Matt had no idea how to guide a commandeered raft, we decided to stick with our guide "Critter", who put us through some of the more interesting stuff on the river, and let us intentionally flip the raft. We also traversed a mild stretch of rapids outside of the raft, at which point Sara Schumann lost a good-sized chunk of flesh on her knee to a hungry rock. We ate dinner at the rafting company, and then again a few hours later at Potters. After dinner, more fun with ln and butane. Potter put out a fire he deemed out of control by throwing a cup of ln on the table (which pushed all the oxygen away from the fire), and Matt had to scramble to keep his genitals at something resembling body temperature - hilarious.

Sunday was paintball (fun, and hits hurt less than I would expect) and then the drive back to Rochester. The winding (paved) road out of Brandreth is a joy to drive, and makes me want to buy a sportier car when my impreza bites the dust. I spent the evening at Rhubarb's, hanging out with Casey and Dan before they drove back to NC on Monday. I stayed there until around 3:30am, at which point I decided I did have to show up at work that day, after all. I found out that night that there's a pizza place in town that'll deliver until 4am, and maybe it's the beer talking, but their pizza's pretty darn good for the only place in town that's open that late.

Back from the 'dacks; update forthcoming.

My company (Logical Images) needs to hire a full-time entry-level developer ASAP. It's a small company that's growing quickly - I can promise that you won't be bored. Most of the work I do is Java, but all the devs here are involved in multiple projects in various environments/languages, and you'll likely end up doing the same if you're hired. We're located in Winton Place (you know, where Beers of the World is), so the commute is pretty reasonable from anywhere in the city. If you're in Rochester and interested, send me an email and I'll fill you in on the details.

Bought a honing steel and a carbon steel wok last week, and have already put them to good use. So far I really enjoy my ventures into Chinese stir-fry, as it's fast, easy, and delicious. Made some mapo tofu last week that was great - I halved the chili paste called for in the recipe, and ended up adding just a bit of chili sauce when I plated it. I made it again last night, and used a little more chili paste then the recipe called for - it was still great, but eye-wateringly spicy. I think I'm getting a decent feel for how much heat the various ingredients add to a dish.

Rhubarb and I have decided that tomorrow at my place I'll be hosting a "Spaghetti Eastern" movie night: a Kurasowa samurai film, followed by the western that copied it. Potential pairings include Yojimbo/A Fist Full of Dollars, Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven, and Rashoman/The Outrage. Food served will be a mix of south-west and far-east. Movies start at 6pm, show up anytime after 5:30. Next week is chock full of activity (July 4th, Adirondacks), so the week after that is when we'll watch the other 2 pairs of movies that don't get shown Thursday.

...and no, For a Few Dollars More isn't a remake of Sanjuro, but I might show them anyway (because I really enjoy them).

I'll be making the promised trip to Sticky Lips BBQ tonight at 5:45; you should come too. Everything on their menu sounds either highly delicious or weirdly foreign, and I'm up for a little of both. I was looking at a online menu the other day that featured battered, fried pickles as an appetizer. I thought this was doubly odd, as Sticky Lips has them as well, and when I read their menu this past weekend, it was the first time I had ever heard of them. There's nothing else for it, I'm going to have to try them tonight. Also, I cannot believe I didn't think to put cinnamon on my sweet potato french fries before - Sticky Lips makes them that way, and it makes a noticable difference.

After BBQ - bowling!