Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 146
A teenager walked into the coffeehouse a little while ago carrying yellow roses and accompanied by three buddies. A little later, two teen girls came in. One of them received the roses. The guy and the girl are sitting on the couch hugging and chatting. The buddies and the girl who did not receive the roses are now sitting around a nearby table not talking because they did know each other before arriving at the coffeehouse. Is this what teenage dating has become? Yellow roses, teenage chatter, and the wingmen – and wingwoman – left in uncomfortable silence?
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 145
Wonders why a man in his mid- to late-50s seems compelled to loudly slurp his iced beverage every single time he’s in the coffeehouse. Every. Single. Time.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 144
Just spotted a guy outside the coffeehouse take a yard-long stick, scrape up something gooey from the sidewalk, and stare at it for minutes with an expression of total pleasure and wonderment on his face. Imagine, bliss found in discarded gum at the end of a stick.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Sabattus teens express pride in their veterans | Lewiston Sun Journal
SABATTUS — Erin Black thought she'd be OK introducing her dad, two uncles and an aunt to her school. But moments in, her throat closed and her words ceased.
“I don't know what happened,” the 14-year-old said later, still choking back tears. Her dad, Gary Black, stood nearby. His eyes were red and puffy.
“I never get a chance to tell them how proud I am,” Erin said.
That's what the annual Memorial Day service at Sabattus Central School was meant to do.
Fathers, grandfathers, cousins and friends — veterans all — stood by while their eighth-grader introduced them. The intro included years served and where. Then, the kids spoke about why they were proud.
Erin Black called her dad “an American hero.”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Daniel Hartill in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Coffeehouse observation No. 143
It’s bright and sunny out for the first time in years – or so it seems. I’m inside a nice cool, dim coffeehouse enjoying a Red Eye before continuing the job search. Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend everyone. … And don’t forget that this weekend is to remember those who have fallen in defense of this country. It’s not just about burgers and hot dogs.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 142
The words “free golf” may be the only two-word combo that is better than “free coffee.” But I had free coffee two days in a row. That may not beat free golf, but it’s not bad!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 141
The guy at the next table at the coffeehouse has an interesting collection of tattoos, including the word “HOPE” across the knuckles of his left hand and “LOVE” across the knuckles of his right hand. I suppose that’s a bit of tough love and hope.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Launch the Maine Stuff in My California Apartment series: Maine stuff in my California apartment No. 1
This is the first photo in an irregular series called "Maine stuff in my California apartment." It includes a book of a history and heresay and a cookbook to mark Portage, Maine's centennial. And a cookbook to mark the centennial of the local Catholic Church parish.
I’m launching a new feature today on Letters From Away. I’m calling it “Maine Stuff in May California Apartment.” From time to time, I will photograph and share stuff from Maine or related to Maine that can be found in my California apartment. Um, I suppose you probably figured that out from the title of the series.
Most of the Maine Stuff may seem insignificant to some, but it is my stuff and it means something to me. I suppose it means something to me because the Maine Stuff helps me maintain my tie to that emerald jewel of a state.
I’m not sure how often or how regularly I’ll post Maine Stuff photos on Letters From Away, but the other night I took about two dozen photos of Maine Stuff and I didn’t even leave my living room, so there is Maine Stuff aplenty in this apartment. Look for at least one new Maine Stuff in My California Apartment at least once a week.
Enjoy! Or not. It’s your choice.
Today’s photo shows three books found in my California, a book of "history and heresay" and a cookbook marking the centennial of my hometown of Portage located on Portage Lake in Aroostook County and a cookbook marking the centennial of the St. Mark’s Parish and Missions. Portage turned 100 last year and St. Mark’s – including Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Portage – turned 100 in 2002. Fun stuff in the history book and yummy stuff in the cookbooks.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 140
I’m sitting at a booth table at Exotic Java and on the couches near the large front windows are two guys in their mid-30s to mid-40s – I’m guessing from their conversation that they work in construction or something similar – and every other word out one guy’s mouth is @#$% this and %$#@ that.
I used to curse like a stevedore when I thought it added something to the conversation. And even when I knew it didn’t. I now feel that in almost every case cursing isn’t really necessary. Except maybe in golf and when you stub your toe getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Then it’s OK.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
I used to curse like a stevedore when I thought it added something to the conversation. And even when I knew it didn’t. I now feel that in almost every case cursing isn’t really necessary. Except maybe in golf and when you stub your toe getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Then it’s OK.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 139
Ah, coffee. That aroma. That deep brown steamy liquid comfort. That flavor. That POW to the senses. Coffee, you are the perfect elixir.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 138
From my perch at empresso, the Miracle Mile coffeehouse I frequent, I can see several laptops open and Facebook on the screen, several other people texting on cellphones, some talking on cellphones, a professorly gentleman wearing suspenders and smoking a pipe, several people reading books – yes, books – a group chatting, and a fellow strumming a guitar. It’s a coffeehouse, all right.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 137
Surprising how busy the coffeehouse has been all day. Lines for beverages, hot and cold, and the weather is sunny and bright outside. Granted, it is a bit windy, but quite nice.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Looking back at ‘Emerald Kingdom invades’
Looking back at ‘Emerald Kingdom invades’
http://coffeehouseobserver.wordpress.com/
http://coffeehouseobserver.wordpress.com/
Restoration raises hope for future of Maine native – and ancient – fish | Maine Sunday Telegram
[For some reason, I do not recall ever hearing about this fish when I was growing up in Aroostook County. It is wonderful that this restoration project is taking place. – KM]
Click on the link for the rest of the story, photos and video by Deirdre Fleming in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.
TOWNSHIP 8, RANGE 10, WELS — To get from Big Reed Pond to Frenchville at the far northern tip of Maine requires a float plane trip to Munsungan Lake and from there a two-hour drive, most of that on logging roads.
It is a journey that state fisheries biologist Frank Frost has made on a regular basis for three years in an effort to restore one of Maine’s most uncommon species, the Arctic char. Until recently, Frost made the disjointed trek seemingly in vain.
Now the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologist and several locals in the St. John Valley are celebrating the restoration of the char, northern Maine’s unique, threatened and much-loved game fish.
To say the Arctic char is native to Maine is an understatement.
The population in Big Reed Pond is one of the few that remain in North America since the last glacier retreated more than 10,000 years ago. It is one of 14 Arctic char populations in Maine and the only population in the lower 48 states.
Several years ago, however, rainbow smelt were illegally introduced into Big Reed Pond and decimated char numbers there.
Where fly fishermen once camped at the remote pond full of the brilliant orange char, the famous fishery now attracts none.
Then, three years ago, Frost began an ambitious project in hopes of restoring the wild Arctic char at Big Reed.
Click on the link for the rest of the story, photos and video by Deirdre Fleming in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.
Whoopie for whoopie pies, that great New England treat
Two things contributed to this feeling:
1) I just found out that the Trader Joe’s nearby sells what it calls Whoopee Pies – and they are nearly as good as Mom made;
2) I just stumbled across http://www.whoopiepie.org/, which includes historical information, recipes, and even video!
Whoopieeeeeeeee!
For those of you who have never had a whoopie pie, I am sorry. Sooo, very sorry, because whoopie pies are wicked good. You missed out on a deliciously sweet treat – usually two soft, cake-like cookies with a creamy white filling. Yes, a sugar rush of the grandest kind.
Of course, there are variations on the combination. I’ve had whoopie pies with pumpkin cookies, oatmeal cookies, and even chocolate chip cookies. And the fillings can be peanut butter or maple, too.
The Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies were the basic chocolate cookies and white filling.
Whoopie pies are most definitely a Maine and New England tradition, and there’s even a small whoopie pie industry thriving in New England. Small bakeries ship whoopie pies all over.
This is from www.whoopiepie.org/:
Whoopie pies are considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition. They're one of Maine's best known and favorite comfort foods. People living in Maine often claim that they were weaned on whoopie pies. These treats are more like a cake than a pie, as they are generously sized to be about the side of a hamburger patty. To eat a whoopie pie properly, you need a glass of milk.The Pennsylvania Amish get credit for developing the dessert, but I don’t know about that. It will always be a Maine delight to me. The whoopie pie history on http://www.whoopiepie.org/ indicates that the treat was made with leftover batter and that the Amish children would yell “Whoopie!” when they found the dessert in their school lunches.
A whoopie pie is like a sandwich, but made with two soft cookies with a fluffy white filling. Traditional whoopies pies are made with vegetable shortening, not butter. The original and most commonly made whoopie pie is chocolate. but cooks like to experiment, and today pumpkin whoopie pies are a favorite seasonal variation.
I pretty much did the same thing in past years when my family has shipped whoopie pies for Christmas.
So, I had to take some of Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies home yesterday and give them a taste test. Frankly, I seriously thought I would be disappointed, but I was not. The cookie was moist and fudgy and the filling sweet. I can confidently endorse Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies as being, well, very close to the real thing.
As the photos prove, I finished off one. The photos do not show that I also finished off a second whoopie pie.
The website warns that eating whoopie pies requires a tall glass of milk. In most cases that is true. But red wine also works.
Trader Joe's Whoopee Pies are home and on my kitchen counter. I can hardly wait ... so I didn't. Container is open and the plate is at the ready.
On the plate. It won't be long now.
One bite down ...
Hmm, another bite. It's not bad at all.
I'm busy! Don't bother me when I'm with my whoopie pie!
Good to the last bite.
Nothing but crumbs.
See? Nothing but crumbs. Time for a second whoopie pie.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Aroostook farmers welcoming the weather | Bangor Daily News
Aroostook farmers welcoming the weather - Bangor Daily News
[Potato farming is big in Aroostook County, the county where I grew up. I even picked potatoes one fall break from school -- it was cold, wet, muddy, back-breaking work. The local school district generally let kids out for a week or so at harvest time so farmers could have enough hands to pick their crop. Mechanical harvesters pretty much take care of that now, I suspect. -- KM]
[Potato farming is big in Aroostook County, the county where I grew up. I even picked potatoes one fall break from school -- it was cold, wet, muddy, back-breaking work. The local school district generally let kids out for a week or so at harvest time so farmers could have enough hands to pick their crop. Mechanical harvesters pretty much take care of that now, I suspect. -- KM]
Coffeehouse observation No. 136
I didn’t overhear this at the coffeehouse, but spotted it in a Facebook chain: “My blood type this morning is coffee positive.” I love that!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 135
The empresso proprietors let local artists hang art for sale in the coffeehouse. Some of it is not, um, Monet. But something new today. An artist hung six painted skateboards and I like them.
I’ve never been a skateboarder, but I’m guessing these boards are not intended for use as a mode of transportation and aerial stunts. I would hang one or two of them. I’ll try to post a photo of them if I get a chance.
From left to right, subject matter includes:
A woman in a bikini with some of the board cut away where her hair is flowing; a Kingpin; AC/DC; John “The Duke” Wayne; an Aztec or other similar image with the edge of the board cut out; and a red, white and black board with the coffeehouse’s name and logo on it.
Artists should be envied.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
I’ve never been a skateboarder, but I’m guessing these boards are not intended for use as a mode of transportation and aerial stunts. I would hang one or two of them. I’ll try to post a photo of them if I get a chance.
From left to right, subject matter includes:
A woman in a bikini with some of the board cut away where her hair is flowing; a Kingpin; AC/DC; John “The Duke” Wayne; an Aztec or other similar image with the edge of the board cut out; and a red, white and black board with the coffeehouse’s name and logo on it.
Artists should be envied.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 134
I just spotted a woman crossing the street near empresso and she was wearing a sombrero. … A very large and very colorful sombrero. Go figure!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 133
There's a guy sitting on the empresso patio and he’s rockin’ out. Big time. Except, there is no music. None. He’s either hyped way, way up on something or ... yeah, he's hyped up on somethin’. ... Oh, Stockton, you never fail to entertain.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tom's of Maine launches '50 States for Good' | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Tom's of Maine launches '50 States for Good' The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Tom’s of Maine’s 50 States for Good website: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/community-involvement/living-well/project-sponsorships
Tom’s of Maine’s 50 States for Good website: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/community-involvement/living-well/project-sponsorships
Experts see Casco Bay kayak trip's tragic end as reminder | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Experts see Casco Bay kayak trip's tragic end as reminder The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
From the BDN story:
From the BDN story:
Guides and safety experts recommend that kayakers always check weather forecasts before any voyage, get safety training and have:
• Open-water sea kayaks, generally 15 to 16 feet or longer, which have watertight flotation chambers. The boats are more stable in wind and waves.
• Spray skirts that can keep water from washing into a boat and reducing stability.
• Wet suits or dry suits, until water temperatures rise above 60 degrees, or until the combined air and water temperature exceeds 120 degrees.
• A waterproof VHF radio, or a cell phone in a watertight case.
• Signaling devices.
• Life jackets.
• Name and phone numbers written on the boat.
Forest cover declining across New England | Bangor Daily News
Forest cover declining across New England - Bangor Daily News
[There is a note at the bottom of this story that indicates there might be updates to this story. I'm guessing the BDN will localize it and expand the information. At least, that's what they should do. -- KM]
[There is a note at the bottom of this story that indicates there might be updates to this story. I'm guessing the BDN will localize it and expand the information. At least, that's what they should do. -- KM]
UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News
UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News
[In high school I played in a baseball playoff game hosted at the university baseball field near where this turbine was built. If that day was any indication of what the wind is like there normally, the windmill was put in just the right place. It was so windy that day that we could barely hit the ball out of the infield. More universities – more communities, more hospitals, more government buildings should consider wind power, solar power, and other alternative energy sources. – KM]
Live data on the turbine can be found at www.umpi.edu/wind; click on “Live Turbine Data.”
[In high school I played in a baseball playoff game hosted at the university baseball field near where this turbine was built. If that day was any indication of what the wind is like there normally, the windmill was put in just the right place. It was so windy that day that we could barely hit the ball out of the infield. More universities – more communities, more hospitals, more government buildings should consider wind power, solar power, and other alternative energy sources. – KM]
Live data on the turbine can be found at www.umpi.edu/wind; click on “Live Turbine Data.”
Coffeehouse observation No. 132
Bold coffee and loud Rolling Stones – only way to start the day.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 131
Warmer weather means lovely coffeehouse patrons wearing short shorts and sundresses.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Maine Friends for Haiti holding ‘raffle’ to benefit Haiti
Maine Friends of Haiti, a group working to get aid to Haiti, is holding a raffle of sorts to spur more giving to the island nation.
Mary Doyle of the group asked that I post a link to the YouTube video that tells of the Maine people and groups that have traveled to help the earthquake-ravaged nation or have given in other ways, from coin drives, school plays, benefit concerts to art sales, solar panels and used sails donated for shelters.
The video also tells of the Maine-Haiti Statewide $1,000 Map Challenge Raffle. If I understand the raffle correctly, the name of each of Maine’s towns and cities is listed on a map and for the name of the community to be highlighted, just one person has to indicate that they have done something , anything for Haiti relief. That person then gets a ticket for the raffle. The ticket’s are not for sale; you get them by doing something for Haiti.
“You have to do something for Haiti to earn it,” according to the Maine Friends of Haiti website. “It’s a raffle that recognizes the caring nature of Mainers. It’s a raffle that challenges every town and city in Maine to get involved.”
Also – and I’ve e-mailed Ms. Doyle about this and I’ll update the information if I am completely off the mark – the winner of the raffle gets to pick which agency helping Haiti gets the $1,000. The winner doesn’t get a prize, per se, simply the pleasure of picking a nonprofit to get the $1,000.
Anyway, below is the link to the video and Maine Friends of Haiti website address.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4zi_c-zI4o
http://www.mainefriendsofhaiti.org/
Mary Doyle of the group asked that I post a link to the YouTube video that tells of the Maine people and groups that have traveled to help the earthquake-ravaged nation or have given in other ways, from coin drives, school plays, benefit concerts to art sales, solar panels and used sails donated for shelters.
The video also tells of the Maine-Haiti Statewide $1,000 Map Challenge Raffle. If I understand the raffle correctly, the name of each of Maine’s towns and cities is listed on a map and for the name of the community to be highlighted, just one person has to indicate that they have done something , anything for Haiti relief. That person then gets a ticket for the raffle. The ticket’s are not for sale; you get them by doing something for Haiti.
“You have to do something for Haiti to earn it,” according to the Maine Friends of Haiti website. “It’s a raffle that recognizes the caring nature of Mainers. It’s a raffle that challenges every town and city in Maine to get involved.”
Also
Anyway, below is the link to the video and Maine Friends of Haiti website address.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4zi_c-zI4o
http://www.mainefriendsofhaiti.org/
Global temperature was warmest on record in April | SustainableBusiness.com News
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for both April and for the period from January-April, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Additionally, last month’s average ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for any April, and the global land surface temperature was the third warmest on record.
Click on the link for the rest of this press release on SustainableBusiness.com.
Deadly Portland kayaking trip: Young women die in ‘very cold’ bay | Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND – Two young college friends, one of them a longtime summer resident of Peaks Island, died after setting out for a short kayak trip Sunday and apparently falling into the cold and choppy waters of Casco Bay.
Irina McEntee, 18, and Carissa Ireland, 20, were found about 9 a.m. Monday by Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews about three miles off Cape Elizabeth and seven miles south of the kayakers' original destination, Ram Island.
The women, both wearing life jackets, shorts and light shirts, were severely hypothermic and unresponsive and had no apparent vital signs when they were pulled from the 48-degree water, the Coast Guard said.
A helicopter crew rushed them to Maine Medical Center, where doctors tried to resuscitate them before pronouncing the women dead about 9:30 a.m., according to a hospital spokesman.
Forty-eight degrees “is very, very cold,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Downey. “Survivability is very short in that type of water condition.”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by John Richardson in the Portland Press Herald.
State says beware of health insurance scam | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
State says beware of health insurance scam The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Consumers with questions or concerns about their insurance can contact the bureau’s Consumer Health Care Division by calling 1-800-300-5000, e-mailing insurance.pfr@maine.gov, or visiting the bureau’s website at www.maine.gov/insurance.
Consumers with questions or concerns about their insurance can contact the bureau’s Consumer Health Care Division by calling 1-800-300-5000, e-mailing insurance.pfr@maine.gov, or visiting the bureau’s website at www.maine.gov/insurance.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Photographer captures National Guard soldiers in civilian workplaces | Lewiston Sun Journal
On a 4-degree January morning, Buddy Doyle pulled off the road to wish a random soldier luck in Iraq.
“We argue to this day who initiated the long, lingering hug,” said Doyle of Gardiner. “I told him, 'Take care of yourself. Don't do anything stupid.'”
A year and a half after that chance meeting near the National Guard armory in Gardiner, when the soldier had returned home, Doyle looked the guy up.
“I had told him I wanted to shake his hand,” he said. “I still did.”
He had another goal, too.
A photographer, writer and designer, Doyle had spent years creating glossy calenders of firefighters. Now he hatched a plan to take portraits of reservists guard members at their civilian jobs. He wanted the soldier's help.
Click on the link for the rest of today’s story by Daniel Hartill in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 130
There’s an attractive black woman at the next table in a study group with two nerdy guys. She’s fairly busty and apparently doesn’t mind showing her study buddies – and much of the coffeehouse – her deep cleavage. … Some days are more aesthetically pleasing than other days at the coffeehouse.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 129
A guy just asked one of the coffeehouse servers “is the Internet broken.” I’m struggling to decide if that annoys me or if I find it prophetic. … In reality, I believe he was having a problem pay-to-use computers at the coffeehouse.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Riding the rail in Maine
If you’re going to visit Maine, but only the very southern tip, you might take note of the following information. It comes from today’s trivia question on DownEast.com.
Where in the world would you find a cable car from Dunedin, New Zealand?
Answer:
Where in the world would you find a cable car from Dunedin, New Zealand?
Answer:
At the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport. Founded in 1939, the museum has more than 250 vehicles and is the largest museum of mass transit and electric street trolleys in the world.This looks like fun, actually, and I wouldn’t mind making this a part of my next visit to Maine. Here is a link to the museum’s website: http://www.trolleymuseum.org/
Saturday, May 15, 2010
In search of pirate treasure on a Maine island
Tales of buried treasure have sparked the imagination of young and old for centuries. The high-seas adventure of boarding a ship or fending off marauders, the clink of clashing cutlasses and the boom of canons, it all stirs excitement in most of us.
Maine’s coast is a tough, rough, rugged fortress of surf-honed granite. It has been a favorite place frequented by pirates, smugglers, bootleggers, and drug mules.
So here is today’s trivia question from DownEast.com about buried treasure.
Trivia
On what island is Captain Kidd’s treasure reportedly buried?
Answer:
Maine’s coast is a tough, rough, rugged fortress of surf-honed granite. It has been a favorite place frequented by pirates, smugglers, bootleggers, and drug mules.
So here is today’s trivia question from DownEast.com about buried treasure.
Trivia
On what island is Captain Kidd’s treasure reportedly buried?
Answer:
Jewell Island in Casco Bay is most commonly mentioned as the pirate’s hiding place, but before he was hanged he gave his wife a piece of paper with the numbers 44-10-66-18, which have been interpreted as the latitude and longitude of Deer Isle. Richmond Island and Squirrel Island have also been mentioned.
If you aren’t a Cool Moose, you’re just not trying
For some reason that still escapes me, I wore a hate yesterday that my sister got me for my birthday.
Or it might have been Christmas.
I joked on Facebook yesterday: “Keith Michaud is wearing a cap that has a moose on the front. The antlers spell out 'Cool Moose.' And Keith is not at all embarrassed. ... Well, perhaps a little.”
A former coworker – who happened to have the intelligence and presence of mind to marry a Maine girl – shot back: “rock that with pride!” So here is a photo of the front “Cool Moose” logo – sorry about the sharpness; still learning the new camera. And a photo of the back. Bridgton the east of where my sister and her family live.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 128
In an apparent salute to past technology, a guy on the empresso patio is playing Pacman on a laptop. What next? iPong?
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 127
I am at the coffeehouse and am wearing a cap that has a moose on the front. The antlers spell out "Cool Moose." And I am not at all embarrassed. ... Well, perhaps a little.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 126
A woman just sat down at the table next to me. Tattoos on her shoulder and both her cheeks are pierced. Is that something new? She is the second woman in about a week and a half who has come into the coffeehouse with studs in her cheeks. Oh, and the one today is wearing a yellow strapless top that she keeps having to, um, adjust.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Get thee to Westbrook: Fancy a bit of the Bard? | Portland Press Herald
Acorn Productions hosts Shakespeare Festival
this weekend and next at Riverbank Park
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Meredith Goad in the Portland Press Herald.
this weekend and next at Riverbank Park
If you fell asleep in English class when your teacher made you read "Macbeth," well, fie upon thee.
Away, I say.
Get thee hence to Westbrook's Riverbank Park, where methinks you'll find redemption at the Westbrook Shakespeare Festival. This weekend and next, the Naked Shakespeare company, presented by Acorn Productions, will hold outdoor performances of "As You Like It" and "Romeo and Juliet" in the park.
But soft! There is more, my liege.
The plays are free (verily, donations will be accepted), and will include a musical prologue featuring a guitar and mandolin playing music contemporary to Shakespeare.
The audience is welcome to bring a picnic or buy a boxed dinner from Blue Burrito, which is preparing food especially for the event. Other local restaurants, including Portland Pie Co. and the Frog and Turtle, will be offering specials afterward.
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Meredith Goad in the Portland Press Herald.
Call it class struggle: How politics went too far at a Maine School | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
[I'd like to say I'm surprised by the so-called adults who showed extremely bad manners while they were very temporary guests in the classroom in question, but more often than not, politicians take the low road. -- KM]
Nemitz: Call it class struggle: How politics went too far The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Nemitz: Call it class struggle: How politics went too far The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Coffeehouse observation No. 125
I am at the coffeehouse sitting next to a gray-haired woman with “U.S. Census Bureau” on her briefcase. She’s fumbling around attempting to text on her cell phone and not doing a particularly good job at it. I sure hope she’s better counting than she is texting.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 124
Arrived at the coffeehouse early for a change. Still didn’t help me get done what I wanted to get done. Need more coffee.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Lewiston church group returns from mission trip to Haiti | Lewiston Sun Journal
LEWISTON — For two days after he returned from Haiti, Peter Geiger had trouble talking about his experience.
It was too emotional. Too intense. Simply too difficult to put into words.
“It was overwhelming,” he said.
Geiger had spent days as part of a rubble brigade, passing one bucket of debris after another down a line of volunteers working in 100-degree heat to clear a collapsed building that once housed a church and school. He had walked through the streets of a neighborhood built on trash, its water tainted brown. He had handed out soccer balls to children whose last play area was a sewer.
“Until you’re physically down there and you see it, smell it, hear it, it’s hard to describe,” Geiger said. “I knew it would be an emotional experience, but I didn’t realize, particularly until I came back, how emotionally I was affected by it. I’ve always been passionate about helping people, but this is a whole other level of need.”
Click on the link for the rest of today’s story by Lindsay Tice in the Lewiston Sun Journal. The story is accompanied by photos and video.
Unveiling of climate bill will include offshore drilling clauses | SustainableBusiness.com News
The long-awaited climate change bill is due to be unveiled in the U.S. Senate today. But a summary of the bill circulated in the media yesterday.
The Associated Press reported that under the new bill, coastal states could veto offshore drilling plans of nearby states, if they can prove negative impacts from an accident.
This clause is undoubtedly part of last-minute changes made in response to the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf.
Click on the lick for the rest of this story on SustainableBusiness.com.
Poll: Gulf spill influences public’s desire for clean energy legislation | SustainableBusiness.com News
Seven in ten Americans say clean energy legislation must be fast-tracked in the wake of the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, according to a new Natural Resources Defense Council poll.
In addition, two-thirds want all new offshore drilling delayed pending the outcome of a full and independent investigation into the disaster and the implementation of new safeguards to protect against such debacles in the future.
The survey queried 803 registered voters nationwide May 4-6, and suggests that the public – if not Congress--is ready to support reasonable climate change and energy legislation.
“It’s no surprise to me that Americans watching this ghastly disaster unfold are seeing it as a wake-up call for action we urgently need to take,” NRDC Director of Programs Wesley Warren said. “Now is the time for Washington to give America the change in direction it deserves.”
Click on the lick for the rest of this story on SustainableBusiness.com.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 123
Rudeness sucks. And a person can be educated and rude. A local educator is sitting at the coffeehouse table next to me and she is conducting a web-conference and is speaking very loudly into the microphone of her headset. This has to breach some sort of coffeehouse etiquette, especially in a coffeehouse frequented by students trying to study. And to boot, the Bluetooth on her computer seems to interfere with mine so I’m about to shove her headset down her throat to my elbow. … OK, perhaps I’ll just work off line and turn on Autoslave (with headphones) to drown out her side of the webconference
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Maine is more than half unorganized
Today’s DownEast.com trivia question is fun. It is about “unorganized territory” or UT. I used to camp, fish, and canoe in some of that UT. It is essentially and specifically and eternally Maine.
What is “unorganized territory” and how much of it does Maine have?
Answer:
What is “unorganized territory” and how much of it does Maine have?
Answer:
The UT is land outside the boundaries of organized towns or cities, and is predominately found in the sparsely populated North Woods. The UT includes 16,250 square miles, or some 10.4 million acres, of the state’s 30,862 square miles, more than half the state.
Picture is worth a 1,000 words – or just under $200
I finally dove into digital photography.
Sort of.
I’ve been without a camera for a quite a while. Well, that’s not exactly true. I still have two 35-mm film cameras – a Canon single-lens reflex camera and a Pentax.
But who shots film anymore? Not many people.
And ever since I started the Letters From Away blog, I’ve wanted to include photos to illustrate some of the things I’ve written about.
I’ve been thinking about getting a camera for a while, but I’m still unemployed and funds being what they are, I have been putting it off.
Finally, I gave in and picked up a Canon PowerShot A1300 IS at Best Buy. I know, I know, it is a very basic camera. But it will do what I need it to do until I can get a job and can pad my bank accounts and buy a better camera.
The package I purchased for a bit under than $200 included the camera, wrist strap, battery, charger, cables to connect the camera to the computer and another to connect it to a TV, software, a 4G memory card, carrying bag, and Flexpod gripper tripod. I figured it was worth putting on a credit card in order to put more photos on Letters From Away.
So, expect more photos. Some will be good. Some will be, well, not so good.
Also, if any reader has a photo of Maine or Mainers or taken by Mainers and you’d like it to have a little play, please forward it to me and I’ll put it up on this blog. Don’t forget to give me your full name, your connection to Maine, and a bit of information so that I can write a cutline to go with it.
Sort of.
I’ve been without a camera for a quite a while. Well, that’s not exactly true. I still have two 35-mm film cameras – a Canon single-lens reflex camera and a Pentax.
But who shots film anymore? Not many people.
And ever since I started the Letters From Away blog, I’ve wanted to include photos to illustrate some of the things I’ve written about.
I’ve been thinking about getting a camera for a while, but I’m still unemployed and funds being what they are, I have been putting it off.
Finally, I gave in and picked up a Canon PowerShot A1300 IS at Best Buy. I know, I know, it is a very basic camera. But it will do what I need it to do until I can get a job and can pad my bank accounts and buy a better camera.
The package I purchased for a bit under than $200 included the camera, wrist strap, battery, charger, cables to connect the camera to the computer and another to connect it to a TV, software, a 4G memory card, carrying bag, and Flexpod gripper tripod. I figured it was worth putting on a credit card in order to put more photos on Letters From Away.
So, expect more photos. Some will be good. Some will be, well, not so good.
Also, if any reader has a photo of Maine or Mainers or taken by Mainers and you’d like it to have a little play, please forward it to me and I’ll put it up on this blog. Don’t forget to give me your full name, your connection to Maine, and a bit of information so that I can write a cutline to go with it.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Group holds contest for worst Maine road | Bangor Daily News
Group holds contest for worst Maine road - Bangor Daily News
Contest entries may be submitted by e-mail to FixMaineRoads@mbtaonline.org; through the website http://www.fixmaineroads.org/; or at the Facebook page www.facebook.com/FixMaineRoads. For information, call 622-0526.
Contest entries may be submitted by e-mail to FixMaineRoads@mbtaonline.org; through the website http://www.fixmaineroads.org/; or at the Facebook page www.facebook.com/FixMaineRoads. For information, call 622-0526.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 122
The music from the church service in the Empire Theater is so loud I had to use headphones in order to hear some music. U2 earlier; “Juno” soundtrack now.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 121
I just spotted two monks at the coffeehouse. Um, where do they keep their change? Just curious.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 120
The coffeehouse is a good place to be when the clouds open up for a downpour!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 119
The guy at the next table at the coffeehouse has been loudly slurping a cold drink for the past five minutes. I want to yell at him: “Hey, dude! You’ve finished the drink! Move on!” … But I won’t.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Casco Bay’s forgotten forts | Down East
[I attended the University of Southern Maine in the early 1980s and had the opportunity to take a ferry out to one of the 365 or so islands in Casco Bay. But I didn't realize the significant military history associated with some of those islands. I enjoyed this story about some of the military forts that were built on those islands to ward off threat. -- KM]
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Colin Woodard in Down East magazine.
Karen Lannon and her brother Hal Cushing have perhaps the most unusual piece of waterfront property in Greater Portland: a twenty-four-acre island complete with an artillery-ready, three-bastion granite fort. The two-story fort is fully equipped with walls, parapets, parade ground, and cavernous munitions bunkers and is suitable for repulsing any hostile parties who might wish to attack the Old Port with nineteenth-century naval assets. All Lannon and Cushing would need to hold back the steamers of the old Spanish Navy is a shipment of ten- and fifteen-inch Rodman guns, sixty trained artillerymen, and a large supply of ammunition.
Fortunately, Casco Bay isn’t under any immediate threat, so the siblings concentrate on the more mundane responsibilities of fort ownership. They mow acres and acres of lawns — every few days in springtime, the grass grows so quickly — and keep the walkways and outbuildings maintained for the tour parties they bring over from the city four times a week in season. Over near the old Immigration and Quarantine station there are lobster bakes to stage and weddings to cater, but at least they don’t have to clean up oil spills anymore. After their mother, the late Hilda Cushing Dudley, purchased the fort in 1954 to save it from being torn down, the family would regularly have to clean up their beach whenever oil spilled from tankers at the South Portland terminals. (“When we get a spill we get down on our hands and knees and clean it up,” she told a reporter in 1977. “People aren’t going to come out here if there’s oil all over the beach.”)
Asked what the hardest thing about fort ownership is nowadays, Hal doesn’t have to think. “Paying the taxes,” he says emphatically, referring to the $35,000 annual bill from Portland, of which House Island and Fort Scammell are a part. “We don’t have any services, but we’re charged by the square foot so we’re in the top ten tax residents in the city.”
But previous custodians of Fort Scammell and the network of other fortifications protecting Maine’s largest port had even worse things than taxes to contend with. They were slaughtered in Indian attacks in the seventeenth century, bombarded by British cannons in the eighteenth, suffered for lack of supplies, heat, and entertainment in the nineteenth, and shot at by suspected spies in the early twentieth. On the eve of World War II, thousands of soldiers and sailors manned anti-aircraft guns, heavy artillery, watch towers, and the controls for remotely-detonated mines, alert for a Nazi surprise attack that fortunately never came.
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Colin Woodard in Down East magazine.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Here's to Mom!
To my Mom, my sister and all my favorite mom’s, step-moms, adoptive moms and surrogate moms:
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!
Oh, to be in search of a job – still
But I think things are looking up – at least, I think they are
Not a particularly great week for the job search. I was only able to get three resume packages out – one on Monday and two on Tuesday – and had only a view or two on resumes posted on various job websites.
But it was much better than a few very slow weeks that I have had during this search and my online portfolio has received more visits in the past couple of weeks than it has in months, so I remain upbeat that I will find employment.
I had a couple of days this week during which technical problems bogged me down. I use an HP laptop at empresso, the Stockton coffeehouse I frequent most often. And when certain other people are there running HP or Compaq laptops my WiFi seems to turn to mush and I can barely load even the best websites. There was a woman there Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I could barely get anything done online when she was there.
(And on Thursday she spent most of her time there talking loudly on her cellular telephone. She wasn’t even working online that very much, she just had the laptop on and connected. I felt a mild urge to ask her: “Do you realize how very loud you are?!” But I’m not that confrontational.)
I also have a problem sometimes when nearby laptop user is using a similar wireless mouse to the Microsoft mouse I use. I’m guessing in both cases it is a matter of similar frequencies crossing over. (I’m not technically endowed so please forgive if does not make perfect technical sense. It does to me.)
When either problem happens I simply disconnect the wireless connection and work on something on my desktop. I’ve starting putting aside work that I can do in such instances. That helps keep the blood pressure down a bit.
Yesterday was sort of a throw-away day, too. I received a phone message late Thursday from the publisher of an East Coast newspaper. I had emailed them a resume package last week for an opening there.
Unfortunately, I did not notice the message until it was after 6 p.m. or so EST so I emailed her that I would return the call the following morning, which I did. I waited for a few hours yesterday for a return call and headed out to empresso when it got to be about 4:30 p.m. EST. Perhaps she’ll call on Monday.
Or not.
I make it a point not to let that sort of thing bother me too much. It would have been nice to get some job searching done yesterday, but that’s the way it goes.
I truly wish my portfolio was better, more stunning, more compelling. Much of my writing is not easily accessible online. Much of my carry involved moving pages, writing editorial, directing news coverage and reporters, for which there are no bylines. Anyway …
Next week I’ll get down to it again. Perhaps I can double the number of resume packages.
Not a particularly great week for the job search. I was only able to get three resume packages out – one on Monday and two on Tuesday – and had only a view or two on resumes posted on various job websites.
But it was much better than a few very slow weeks that I have had during this search and my online portfolio has received more visits in the past couple of weeks than it has in months, so I remain upbeat that I will find employment.
I had a couple of days this week during which technical problems bogged me down. I use an HP laptop at empresso, the Stockton coffeehouse I frequent most often. And when certain other people are there running HP or Compaq laptops my WiFi seems to turn to mush and I can barely load even the best websites. There was a woman there Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and I could barely get anything done online when she was there.
(And on Thursday she spent most of her time there talking loudly on her cellular telephone. She wasn’t even working online that very much, she just had the laptop on and connected. I felt a mild urge to ask her: “Do you realize how very loud you are?!” But I’m not that confrontational.)
I also have a problem sometimes when nearby laptop user is using a similar wireless mouse to the Microsoft mouse I use. I’m guessing in both cases it is a matter of similar frequencies crossing over. (I’m not technically endowed so please forgive if does not make perfect technical sense. It does to me.)
When either problem happens I simply disconnect the wireless connection and work on something on my desktop. I’ve starting putting aside work that I can do in such instances. That helps keep the blood pressure down a bit.
Yesterday was sort of a throw-away day, too. I received a phone message late Thursday from the publisher of an East Coast newspaper. I had emailed them a resume package last week for an opening there.
Unfortunately, I did not notice the message until it was after 6 p.m. or so EST so I emailed her that I would return the call the following morning, which I did. I waited for a few hours yesterday for a return call and headed out to empresso when it got to be about 4:30 p.m. EST. Perhaps she’ll call on Monday.
Or not.
I make it a point not to let that sort of thing bother me too much. It would have been nice to get some job searching done yesterday, but that’s the way it goes.
I truly wish my portfolio was better, more stunning, more compelling. Much of my writing is not easily accessible online. Much of my carry involved moving pages, writing editorial, directing news coverage and reporters, for which there are no bylines. Anyway …
Next week I’ll get down to it again. Perhaps I can double the number of resume packages.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 118
Ugh! Someone is running some hardware that is interfering with my Bluetooth! I hate that when that happens!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 117
The proprietor of empresso a little bit ago quietly asked two young women to leave. They each came into the coffeehouse with Starbucks drinks. Why on this green Earth would you go into a coffeehouse and settle down at a table to drink a beverage from a competing coffeehouse? When invited to a friend’s for dinner, do you bring your own food? When you go to a doctor’s office, do you bring your own physician? How very rude. … And the thing is, I don’t think that they understood the breach in common sense.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Motorcyclist in hospital after hitting moose | Bangor Daily News
[A moose usually wins in a vehicle vs. moose crash. Especially when the crash involves a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet. -- KM]
Motorcyclist in hospital after hitting moose - Bangor Daily News
Motorcyclist in hospital after hitting moose - Bangor Daily News
Just another day as an unemployed journalist -- another step forward
I hate this. I absolutely hate this!
Today makes 14 months since I was laid off from my job at The Record in Stockton, Calif. That is one year and two months; or 56 weeks; or 417 days; or 10,008 hours, give or take; 600,480 minutes.
Give or take. But who’s counting. Phew! …
I’ve written about this before, so I won’t belabor this too much. To make a long story – at 14-month long story – short, I had been a journalist at mid-sized newspapers in Northern California for 22 years. I had been working at The Record since 2006 when I was laid off March 5, 2009.
Underestimating the severity of the downward dive in the economy, I assumed that I would be back to work within three months or so if I made finding a job my job. But three months came and went. And then six months. And nine months. And one year. Now, 14 months.
I have been looking for work every since – at newspapers, wire services, online news services, governments, green industries, nonprofits. I recently applied for a job at a greeting card company, which I’m sure my newspaper buddies will find as ironic as I find ironic. I mean, a long-time curmudgeonly crime and chaos reporter turned curmudgeonly copy editor turned curmudgeonly columnist turned curmudgeonly assistant news editor turned curmudgeonly opinion page editor – you get the point – is not your typical greeting card employee.
Over-qualified or undertrained, that’s been part of my problem. Oh, and trying to find a job in a really shitty economy doesn’t help.
I have applied for hundreds of jobs from sea to shining sea. Seriously, sea to shining sea, and a few places in between. My job search has centered on the West – California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Washington state – and my native New England – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Frankly, I’ve noticed that the greater the distance the job opening, the lower the chances that I’ll even get an email telling thanks, but no thanks, but I keep trying. Everything has to be about making a step forward every single day.
But – again, frankly – momentum has been a problem. The holidays took a bit of the wind out of my momentum sail – too many three-day weekends that stretched into four-day segments when job websites didn’t post new openings. And – again, frankly – there usually wasn’t many job openings to be posted, even without three-day weekends that stretched into four days.
But things are changing. Or so they say. The economy is picking up. Or so they say. And businesses and nonprofits and governments and everyone is hiring or at least planning on hiring. Or so they say.
I have noticed more and more job openings being posted on job websites and more friends and acquaintances are passing along more job openings.
And I am again gaining momentum and applying for more jobs. I even feel confident enough to be relatively selective in my job pursuit – the greeting card application notwithstanding. (Very frankly, that job would be pretty cool, despite the irony of a crusty, dusty newspaperman participating in something as soft and fluffy as the greeting card biz.)
I’m fed up with being unemployed.
I’m hungry to get back to work.
I’m ready, willing and able to get back to work.
I’m just hunting for a break.
I’m sure that I will be working again. I just want it to be now. Now would be good.
Today makes 14 months since I was laid off from my job at The Record in Stockton, Calif. That is one year and two months; or 56 weeks; or 417 days; or 10,008 hours, give or take; 600,480 minutes.
Give or take. But who’s counting. Phew! …
I’ve written about this before, so I won’t belabor this too much. To make a long story – at 14-month long story – short, I had been a journalist at mid-sized newspapers in Northern California for 22 years. I had been working at The Record since 2006 when I was laid off March 5, 2009.
Underestimating the severity of the downward dive in the economy, I assumed that I would be back to work within three months or so if I made finding a job my job. But three months came and went. And then six months. And nine months. And one year. Now, 14 months.
I have been looking for work every since – at newspapers, wire services, online news services, governments, green industries, nonprofits. I recently applied for a job at a greeting card company, which I’m sure my newspaper buddies will find as ironic as I find ironic. I mean, a long-time curmudgeonly crime and chaos reporter turned curmudgeonly copy editor turned curmudgeonly columnist turned curmudgeonly assistant news editor turned curmudgeonly opinion page editor – you get the point – is not your typical greeting card employee.
Over-qualified or undertrained, that’s been part of my problem. Oh, and trying to find a job in a really shitty economy doesn’t help.
I have applied for hundreds of jobs from sea to shining sea. Seriously, sea to shining sea, and a few places in between. My job search has centered on the West – California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Washington state – and my native New England – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Frankly, I’ve noticed that the greater the distance the job opening, the lower the chances that I’ll even get an email telling thanks, but no thanks, but I keep trying. Everything has to be about making a step forward every single day.
But – again, frankly – momentum has been a problem. The holidays took a bit of the wind out of my momentum sail – too many three-day weekends that stretched into four-day segments when job websites didn’t post new openings. And – again, frankly – there usually wasn’t many job openings to be posted, even without three-day weekends that stretched into four days.
But things are changing. Or so they say. The economy is picking up. Or so they say. And businesses and nonprofits and governments and everyone is hiring or at least planning on hiring. Or so they say.
I have noticed more and more job openings being posted on job websites and more friends and acquaintances are passing along more job openings.
And I am again gaining momentum and applying for more jobs. I even feel confident enough to be relatively selective in my job pursuit – the greeting card application notwithstanding. (Very frankly, that job would be pretty cool, despite the irony of a crusty, dusty newspaperman participating in something as soft and fluffy as the greeting card biz.)
I’m fed up with being unemployed.
I’m hungry to get back to work.
I’m ready, willing and able to get back to work.
I’m just hunting for a break.
I’m sure that I will be working again. I just want it to be now. Now would be good.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Coffeehouse observation No. 116
A woman just walked into the coffeehouse – her cheeks are pierced. I just don’t get facial and neck tattoos and over-the-top piercings. I didn’t notice any facial/neck tattoos.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 115: Hey, it’s Joey Casanova – what an oaf
There’s this fella I see at empresso every so often and also at the library branch I frequent. Let’s call him Joey Casanova. The reasons will become clear in a bit.
By the way, if you’ve forgotten, empresso is the coffeehouse I patronize most frequently. It’s located in the Empire Theater on the Miracle Mile in Stockton. Students from the University of the Pacific, CSU-Stanislaus satellite campus, San Joaquin Delta College, and the nearby adult school keep the place pretty busy, which is great for the owners what with this economy the way it is.
Anyway, in the two or so years that I’ve been going to empresso, Joey Casanova has had at least three or four different girlfriends. He swaggers in with the woman on his arm, they grab a beverage, and then they usually sit in the patio area at the front of the theater. He sometimes lights up a really cheap cigar or pulls a book from a cheap canvas book bag and begins to thumb through the book.
Whether he’s with a woman or not, he carries himself with a swagger and air of self-assuredness that is somehow, well, revolting. He carries himself as if he believes he is God’s gift to women.
But the thing is he’s not that much to look at. He’s about 6-2 or so, 275 to 300 pounds – soft pounds, too, not much muscle bulk – dark hair that’s always nicely trimmed, but nothing special to look at. He usually wears a T-shirt and black jeans or black shorts, which contrasts with his somewhat pasty white skin. He often wears sandals and sometimes he wears a fedora.
I’ve heard the guy speak; nothing special there either. He doesn’t come across nearly as intelligent as he seems to believe he is and I’ve even heard him make a couple of borderline inappropriate comments.
I think it is the swagger that grates at me most. And the way he seems to view women. If a woman is sitting alone in the coffeehouse, Joey Casanova frequently goes up to them and strikes up a conversation as if it is expected that they respond to him positively. And they often do just that. The thing is, the very next day he might show up with the girlfriend du jour. And his swagger.
Yeah, I suppose it could be just coffeehouse confidence, but I don’t think so. I mean, sometimes he simply ogles women. I suppose it might be a touch of jealousy since I haven’t had much luck dating lately. Besides, I’d rather think of Joey Casanova as an oaf, lout and a boor.
Here’s another thing that contributes to my distaste of Joey Casanova. As people are gathering at the front door of the library branch, he’ll swagger up, move directly to the front of the pack, and very typically attempt to strike up a conversation with the most attractive woman there. It doesn’t matter if she’s in her teens or her 70s, he’ll attempt to win them over with a cliché or two and what I suspect he believes is a charming grin that comes across as smarmy.
Once the doors open, however, Joey Casanova bolts for the computers provided by the library for internet access. He pecks in his library card number and does whatever it is Joey Casanova does online, which is a scary thought.
Here is a typical Joey Casanova move: The other day I was sitting in the library where there are tables set aside for WiFi users and a pretty black woman sat down across from me. Her top revealed a bit of cleavage.
As soon as Joey Casanova’s hour was up on the computer – you get an hour each day on the library computers – he swaggered by and I’m pretty sure he did so simply to look down the woman’s shirt. See, an oaf, lout, and boor.
And women don’t seem to see that. How do the Joey Casanova’s of the world do it? Ah, well, at least he's not in the coffeehouse today.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
By the way, if you’ve forgotten, empresso is the coffeehouse I patronize most frequently. It’s located in the Empire Theater on the Miracle Mile in Stockton. Students from the University of the Pacific, CSU-Stanislaus satellite campus, San Joaquin Delta College, and the nearby adult school keep the place pretty busy, which is great for the owners what with this economy the way it is.
Anyway, in the two or so years that I’ve been going to empresso, Joey Casanova has had at least three or four different girlfriends. He swaggers in with the woman on his arm, they grab a beverage, and then they usually sit in the patio area at the front of the theater. He sometimes lights up a really cheap cigar or pulls a book from a cheap canvas book bag and begins to thumb through the book.
Whether he’s with a woman or not, he carries himself with a swagger and air of self-assuredness that is somehow, well, revolting. He carries himself as if he believes he is God’s gift to women.
But the thing is he’s not that much to look at. He’s about 6-2 or so, 275 to 300 pounds – soft pounds, too, not much muscle bulk – dark hair that’s always nicely trimmed, but nothing special to look at. He usually wears a T-shirt and black jeans or black shorts, which contrasts with his somewhat pasty white skin. He often wears sandals and sometimes he wears a fedora.
I’ve heard the guy speak; nothing special there either. He doesn’t come across nearly as intelligent as he seems to believe he is and I’ve even heard him make a couple of borderline inappropriate comments.
I think it is the swagger that grates at me most. And the way he seems to view women. If a woman is sitting alone in the coffeehouse, Joey Casanova frequently goes up to them and strikes up a conversation as if it is expected that they respond to him positively. And they often do just that. The thing is, the very next day he might show up with the girlfriend du jour. And his swagger.
Yeah, I suppose it could be just coffeehouse confidence, but I don’t think so. I mean, sometimes he simply ogles women. I suppose it might be a touch of jealousy since I haven’t had much luck dating lately. Besides, I’d rather think of Joey Casanova as an oaf, lout and a boor.
Here’s another thing that contributes to my distaste of Joey Casanova. As people are gathering at the front door of the library branch, he’ll swagger up, move directly to the front of the pack, and very typically attempt to strike up a conversation with the most attractive woman there. It doesn’t matter if she’s in her teens or her 70s, he’ll attempt to win them over with a cliché or two and what I suspect he believes is a charming grin that comes across as smarmy.
Once the doors open, however, Joey Casanova bolts for the computers provided by the library for internet access. He pecks in his library card number and does whatever it is Joey Casanova does online, which is a scary thought.
Here is a typical Joey Casanova move: The other day I was sitting in the library where there are tables set aside for WiFi users and a pretty black woman sat down across from me. Her top revealed a bit of cleavage.
As soon as Joey Casanova’s hour was up on the computer – you get an hour each day on the library computers – he swaggered by and I’m pretty sure he did so simply to look down the woman’s shirt. See, an oaf, lout, and boor.
And women don’t seem to see that. How do the Joey Casanova’s of the world do it? Ah, well, at least he's not in the coffeehouse today.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
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