You might be surprised to learn how long it takes to get to Saratoga from some places in VT!
However, it IS close to where I grew up in NY.
Re: Idle Chatter
693If any of you end up in this part of Ohio and you want to golf, let me know. Sonny will play with you.
Re: Idle Chatter
694VT'er wrote:You might be surprised to learn how long it takes to get to Saratoga from some places in VT!
However, it IS close to where I grew up in NY.
My last time to Saratoga my wife and I had plans to explore and possibly circle Lake Champlain after leaving "The Spa."
Unfortunately a tourist bus lost brakes coming down a hill and the wreck closed the northbound road along the shore of Lake George for a lengthy time. Lake George was nice, though. I almost purchased a signed and numbered winter scene print of Lake George, and made a reminder to myself to try to get a boat and go out on the lake as a bucket list item. That's how much I was almost enchanted by the lake and the surrounding terrain. That day we had to skip Lake Champlain we ended up back tracking and crossed into Vermont well south of Lake Champlain and ended up at a Mom & Pop motel and took advantage of a small rural steak house for a rare dinner of red meat.
The next day was lobster roll after our trip up Mount Washington.
Saratoga is a wonderful place to be at this time of the year.
Saratoga, and now Burlington VT?
How on earth did you become a Cleveland Indians Fan?
From western New York I certainly understand.
However it happened, I'm glad you joined the club!
Re: Idle Chatter
695No, I grew up in eastern NY (not far from Saratoga) and was a SF Giants fan for no particularly good reason but then went to CWRU for college. That explains it!
Re: Idle Chatter
696Donna, our resident golfers here are Rusty and Rocky Coltrane. In my best days I was playing what peers called "old man's golf." Nothing pretty or dramatic, but ordinarily straight.....even on "worm burners."eocmcdoc wrote:You might have played at L C Boles (College of Wooster)
I haven't wanted to touch a club since my left arm was paralyzed after killing the radial nerve about five years ago. I went through the PT, and did get about 85% of the arm and hand back. I just haven't wanted to try to carve a new game on the links.
I guess it's about time I give it a try. Conveniently and ironically, there's a 9 hole par 3 course inside the thoroughbred racing track in our town. I believe I'll take the clubs down and head there sometime this week.
Re: Idle Chatter
697VT'er wrote:No, I grew up in eastern NY (not far from Saratoga) and was a SF Giants fan for no particularly good reason but then went to CWRU for college. That explains it!
Case certainly does help explain it! I was also a Giants Fan as a kid in the days of Willie and Juan.
By the way I was pretty certain you did not have a western New York connection, but was just noting I've known many who did grow up in western New York that are Browns or Indians Fans.
Re: Idle Chatter
699I didn't feel it. My secretary did. She now accuses me of having been asleep in my office.
Re: Idle Chatter
701Aug 23, 8:17 PM EDT
Jaded West Coast chuckles over East Coast quake
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 3-20-17-20
There are a couple of AP stories going, including the one linked above. The Dennis Miller quoted lives in my neighborhood and is a big sports guy and former sports writer for one of the Oakland papers. He knows horses, and he and his wife taste wine the same place my wife and I do most Saturdays. We've met.
Armed with my 10 hours of college Geology, I'll note that a 5.9 on the east coast would be felt and experienced much differently than out here. Our many faults serve as "breakers" to the earthquake ripple. The East has fewer faults and a more mature crust that would allow the earthquake waves to go much further than here before diminishing intensity.
Several years back there was about a 5.9 in Paso Robles CA, about 180 miles to our South. We felt it and recognized it, but many here did not. In contrast we've had a 4.3 with the epicenter less than 15 miles from our house and it shook us pretty good.
In most all of the first person accounts I've seen from today people said they experienced the shaking for anywhere from 20 to 40 seconds. That would be rare in my experiences here unless the 5.9 epicenter was very nearby.
I was in a 7.3 while in Costa Mesa CA on business the weekend of October 16, 1999. It happened at 3AM on a Sunday morning west coast time, so didn't get much press note. It became known as The Hector Mine Quake by the USGS. The epicenter was 75 miles away from my hotel, but as it happened I believed the shaking lasted 40 to 60 seconds....enough time for me to grab some pants at 3AM, grab my Walkman/radio and head to the stair well from the 2nd floor to the exit all while the shaking was still happening.
I'm sure the 5.9 today was truly unsettling for many.
Jaded West Coast chuckles over East Coast quake
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 3-20-17-20
There are a couple of AP stories going, including the one linked above. The Dennis Miller quoted lives in my neighborhood and is a big sports guy and former sports writer for one of the Oakland papers. He knows horses, and he and his wife taste wine the same place my wife and I do most Saturdays. We've met.
Armed with my 10 hours of college Geology, I'll note that a 5.9 on the east coast would be felt and experienced much differently than out here. Our many faults serve as "breakers" to the earthquake ripple. The East has fewer faults and a more mature crust that would allow the earthquake waves to go much further than here before diminishing intensity.
Several years back there was about a 5.9 in Paso Robles CA, about 180 miles to our South. We felt it and recognized it, but many here did not. In contrast we've had a 4.3 with the epicenter less than 15 miles from our house and it shook us pretty good.
In most all of the first person accounts I've seen from today people said they experienced the shaking for anywhere from 20 to 40 seconds. That would be rare in my experiences here unless the 5.9 epicenter was very nearby.
I was in a 7.3 while in Costa Mesa CA on business the weekend of October 16, 1999. It happened at 3AM on a Sunday morning west coast time, so didn't get much press note. It became known as The Hector Mine Quake by the USGS. The epicenter was 75 miles away from my hotel, but as it happened I believed the shaking lasted 40 to 60 seconds....enough time for me to grab some pants at 3AM, grab my Walkman/radio and head to the stair well from the 2nd floor to the exit all while the shaking was still happening.
I'm sure the 5.9 today was truly unsettling for many.
Re: Idle Chatter
702http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtra ... story.html
It has become more difficult to find the telethon on television, but I've always looked forward to Jerry Lewis's rendition of "When You Walk Through a Storm," to close out Labor Day weekend.
Jerry Lewis' MDA telethon status gets nutty
It's becoming a story right out of a Jerry Lewis routine.
The comedian, who was unceremoniously relieved of his duties as host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon two weeks ago, seemed poised to reclaim those host duties, at least according to a Sunday gossip column in the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The column, written by longtime city reporter Norm Clarke, said that "Comedy king Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association have made peace," going on to say that "n a stunning reversal, Lewis was reinstated Saturday to the MDA Labor Day Telethon he has hosted since 1966," attributing the information to "a source close to Lewis."
But late Sunday Clarke sent a tweet that appeared to recant the story ."A source told Vegas Confidential that Lewis had been 'reinstated,' " Clarke wrote. "The source clarified that today, saying he meant reconciled."
Clarke's muddled retraction comes after a period of denial and confusion.
Reached just before noon, Lewis spokeswoman Nancy Kane told Show Tracker she had not heard anything of the news and would reach out to her client to confirm; she has since been unavailable. A second Lewis spokeswoman, Candi Cazau, then told Reuters that the report was untrue. "Him being reinstated as the host of the MDA telethon is not accurate," she said. Clarke would later also tweet a denial from an unnamed Lewis publicist.
Meanwhile, multiple calls to an MDA spokesman went unreturned, in what amounted to a strange turn for an organization that had allegedly made peace with the performer.
Clarke's report came after the 85-year-old Lewis turned out to receive an award at the Nevada Broadcasters Association gala in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Lewis himself made no reference to the MDA controversy in accepting the honor.
As remote as it seems, a reinstatement or even reconciliation would've saved face for the organization, which came under withering criticism from the comedy community this month when it severed ties with Lewis and reversed an earlier decision to make this Labor Day weekend telethon his last. That news suggested Lewis would leave the telethon he hosted for 45 years quietly, but the developments on Sunday ensured that at least the exit would not happen with some noise and maybe even a few pratfalls.
It has become more difficult to find the telethon on television, but I've always looked forward to Jerry Lewis's rendition of "When You Walk Through a Storm," to close out Labor Day weekend.
Jerry Lewis' MDA telethon status gets nutty
It's becoming a story right out of a Jerry Lewis routine.
The comedian, who was unceremoniously relieved of his duties as host of the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon two weeks ago, seemed poised to reclaim those host duties, at least according to a Sunday gossip column in the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The column, written by longtime city reporter Norm Clarke, said that "Comedy king Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association have made peace," going on to say that "n a stunning reversal, Lewis was reinstated Saturday to the MDA Labor Day Telethon he has hosted since 1966," attributing the information to "a source close to Lewis."
But late Sunday Clarke sent a tweet that appeared to recant the story ."A source told Vegas Confidential that Lewis had been 'reinstated,' " Clarke wrote. "The source clarified that today, saying he meant reconciled."
Clarke's muddled retraction comes after a period of denial and confusion.
Reached just before noon, Lewis spokeswoman Nancy Kane told Show Tracker she had not heard anything of the news and would reach out to her client to confirm; she has since been unavailable. A second Lewis spokeswoman, Candi Cazau, then told Reuters that the report was untrue. "Him being reinstated as the host of the MDA telethon is not accurate," she said. Clarke would later also tweet a denial from an unnamed Lewis publicist.
Meanwhile, multiple calls to an MDA spokesman went unreturned, in what amounted to a strange turn for an organization that had allegedly made peace with the performer.
Clarke's report came after the 85-year-old Lewis turned out to receive an award at the Nevada Broadcasters Association gala in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Lewis himself made no reference to the MDA controversy in accepting the honor.
As remote as it seems, a reinstatement or even reconciliation would've saved face for the organization, which came under withering criticism from the comedy community this month when it severed ties with Lewis and reversed an earlier decision to make this Labor Day weekend telethon his last. That news suggested Lewis would leave the telethon he hosted for 45 years quietly, but the developments on Sunday ensured that at least the exit would not happen with some noise and maybe even a few pratfalls.
Re: Idle Chatter
703Aug 23, 11:00 PM EDT
Heart attack kills Philly cheesesteak stand owner
By RON TODT
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Joey Vento, the owner of a landmark south Philadelphia cheesesteak stand who told customers to order in English, has died at age 71.
Vento's nephew Joseph Perno, a manager at Geno's Steaks, told The Associated Press that Vento had a massive heart attack and died Tuesday. He said family members had just gotten out of the hospital and wouldn't be making any immediate statements.
In November, Perno said Vento had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer a few months earlier and was to have surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Longtime friend Domenic Chiavaroli told the Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer that Vento had been at the cheesesteak stand Tuesday morning, as he was every morning before opening, but went home to Shamong, N.J., later in the day and told his wife that he wasn't feeling well.
"I've been coming here since 1967," Chiavaroli said. "Joe was a good guy. He always tried to help everybody."
According to Geno's website, Vento learned the cheesesteak business from his father, who had opened Jim's Steaks in the early 1940s. The site says Vento opened Geno's in 1966 "with $6 in his pocket, two boxes of steaks and some hot dogs."
He came up with the name after seeing a broken door in the back of his store upon which a neighborhood boy named Gino had painted his name, and he changed it to Geno's to not conflict with a food chain of the era, the site says. The south Philadelphia location, however, was a given, because "he figured that if he was going to sell a steak, he had to be where they were already eating them."
Geno's and its chief rival across the street, Pat's King of Steaks, have become the focus of an area described as "ground zero for cheesesteaks," a traditionally Italian community that has grown more diverse with an influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin America and is a popular tourist destination.
In June 2006, Vento and Geno's made headlines over two small signs posted at the shop stating, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING `PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.'"
Vento said he posted the signs because of concerns over the debate on immigration reform and the increasing number of people who couldn't order in English.
Vento said he never refused service to anyone because he or she couldn't speak English, but critics argued that the signs discouraged customers of certain backgrounds from eating at the shop.
Amid extensive publicity, the city's Commission on Human Relations began looking into whether Vento was violating Philadelphia's ordinance banning discrimination in employment, public accommodation and housing on the basis of race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The following year, the commission found probable cause against Geno's for discrimination.
The case then went to a public hearing, at which an attorney for the commission argued that the signs were about intimidation, not political speech. The matter then went to a three-member panel, which ruled 2-1 in March 2008 that the signs didn't violate the ordinance.
Heart attack kills Philly cheesesteak stand owner
By RON TODT
Vento's nephew Joseph Perno, a manager at Geno's Steaks, told The Associated Press that Vento had a massive heart attack and died Tuesday. He said family members had just gotten out of the hospital and wouldn't be making any immediate statements.
In November, Perno said Vento had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer a few months earlier and was to have surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Longtime friend Domenic Chiavaroli told the Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer that Vento had been at the cheesesteak stand Tuesday morning, as he was every morning before opening, but went home to Shamong, N.J., later in the day and told his wife that he wasn't feeling well.
"I've been coming here since 1967," Chiavaroli said. "Joe was a good guy. He always tried to help everybody."
According to Geno's website, Vento learned the cheesesteak business from his father, who had opened Jim's Steaks in the early 1940s. The site says Vento opened Geno's in 1966 "with $6 in his pocket, two boxes of steaks and some hot dogs."
He came up with the name after seeing a broken door in the back of his store upon which a neighborhood boy named Gino had painted his name, and he changed it to Geno's to not conflict with a food chain of the era, the site says. The south Philadelphia location, however, was a given, because "he figured that if he was going to sell a steak, he had to be where they were already eating them."
Geno's and its chief rival across the street, Pat's King of Steaks, have become the focus of an area described as "ground zero for cheesesteaks," a traditionally Italian community that has grown more diverse with an influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin America and is a popular tourist destination.
In June 2006, Vento and Geno's made headlines over two small signs posted at the shop stating, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING `PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.'"
Vento said he posted the signs because of concerns over the debate on immigration reform and the increasing number of people who couldn't order in English.
Vento said he never refused service to anyone because he or she couldn't speak English, but critics argued that the signs discouraged customers of certain backgrounds from eating at the shop.
Amid extensive publicity, the city's Commission on Human Relations began looking into whether Vento was violating Philadelphia's ordinance banning discrimination in employment, public accommodation and housing on the basis of race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The following year, the commission found probable cause against Geno's for discrimination.
The case then went to a public hearing, at which an attorney for the commission argued that the signs were about intimidation, not political speech. The matter then went to a three-member panel, which ruled 2-1 in March 2008 that the signs didn't violate the ordinance.
Re: Idle Chatter
704SAN FRANCISCO - Steve Jobs, the mind behind the iPhone, iPad and other devices that turned Apple Inc. into one of the world's most powerful companies, resigned as the company's CEO on Wednesday, saying he can no longer handle the job.
The move appears to be the result of an unspecified medical condition for which he took an indefinite leave from his post in January. Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, has been named CEO.
In a letter addressed to Apple's board and the "Apple community," Jobs said he "always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."
Jobs' health has long been a concern for Apple investors who see him as an industry oracle who seems to know what consumers want long before they do. After his announcement, Apple stock quickly fell 5.4 percent in after-hours trading.
The company said Jobs gave the board his resignation Wednesday and suggested Cook be named the company's new leader. Apple said Jobs was elected board chairman and Cook is becoming a member of its board.
Jobs' hits seemed to grow bigger as the years went on: After the colorful iMac computer and the now-ubiquitous iPod, the iPhone redefined the category of smart phones and the iPad all but created the market for tablet computers.
His own aura seemed part of the attraction. On stage at trade shows and company events in his uniform of jeans, sneakers and black mock-turtlenecks, he'd entrance audiences with new devices, new colors, new software features, building up to a gran finale he'd predictably preface by saying, "One more thing."
Jobs, 56, shepherded Apple from a two-man startup to Silicon Valley darling when the Apple II, the first computer for regular people to really catch on, sent IBM Corp. and others scrambling to get their own PCs to market.
After Apple suffered slump in the mid-1980s, he was forced out of the company. He was CEO at Next, another computer company, and Pixar, the computer-animation company that produced "Toy Story" on his watch, during the 10 years before he returned.
The January leave was Jobs' third medical leave over several years. He had previously survived pancreatic cancer and received a liver transplant.
The move appears to be the result of an unspecified medical condition for which he took an indefinite leave from his post in January. Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, has been named CEO.
In a letter addressed to Apple's board and the "Apple community," Jobs said he "always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."
Jobs' health has long been a concern for Apple investors who see him as an industry oracle who seems to know what consumers want long before they do. After his announcement, Apple stock quickly fell 5.4 percent in after-hours trading.
The company said Jobs gave the board his resignation Wednesday and suggested Cook be named the company's new leader. Apple said Jobs was elected board chairman and Cook is becoming a member of its board.
Jobs' hits seemed to grow bigger as the years went on: After the colorful iMac computer and the now-ubiquitous iPod, the iPhone redefined the category of smart phones and the iPad all but created the market for tablet computers.
His own aura seemed part of the attraction. On stage at trade shows and company events in his uniform of jeans, sneakers and black mock-turtlenecks, he'd entrance audiences with new devices, new colors, new software features, building up to a gran finale he'd predictably preface by saying, "One more thing."
Jobs, 56, shepherded Apple from a two-man startup to Silicon Valley darling when the Apple II, the first computer for regular people to really catch on, sent IBM Corp. and others scrambling to get their own PCs to market.
After Apple suffered slump in the mid-1980s, he was forced out of the company. He was CEO at Next, another computer company, and Pixar, the computer-animation company that produced "Toy Story" on his watch, during the 10 years before he returned.
The January leave was Jobs' third medical leave over several years. He had previously survived pancreatic cancer and received a liver transplant.