The next stop will be…

A sample of what I accomplished this weekend.

1. Stacked a cord of wood
2. Hooked up the hose in the basement
3. Replaced two light bulbs
4. Cut up some downed branches with a chain saw
5. Mowed the yard
6. Rinsed off the front porch deck
7. Replaced the blades on the riding mower and cleaned its underside
8. Built a compost sifter
9. Took a short hike on a towpath
10. Went to a tag sale
11. Ran some errands

Wheww, I think it’s nap time.

Is there a word that describes a writer who reads his own writing? Does “vanity” work? Why do I bring it up? I just spent the last hour or so reading every single post on my old Blogger blog.

Discoveries? Sometimes I say funny things, sometimes I witness strange things, and sometimes I do dumb things. Also, I occasionally take a good picture. So I guess “vanity” does work.

A short timeline of my feelings regarding the use/purchase of reusable shopping bags.

Moral Superiority – I’m saving the planet and you’re not. This phase lasted several months.
Shame/D’oh – Realized I could have accomplished the same goal by constantly reusing a plastic/paper bag and it wouldn’t have required me to buy something. This phase lasted the longest and helped me get over my superiority complex.
Contented – Secure in the knowledge that I’ve saved many, many bags from going directly to the landfill by using my reusable bag and the bag is still going strong so I suspect it will save many more. This is the latest phase, I’m still feeling a little superior but mostly just happy to be doing my part for the planet.

E is in full-on gardening mode. This is the first complete growing season with her raised beds and she is taking full advantage of them. She told me all the veggies she’s planted and I think the list ran into the dozens. I’m expecting a bounty in the months to come. Must find a cornucopia.

My latest project is teaching myself electronics. I’ve bought a beginner book and kit to understand the basics. I’m also addicted to soldering little kits that include led’s such as these. This knowledge will add one more level to the “things I can fix” category.

In fact, I’ve already started. I bought some cheap solar garden lights at Target and upgraded them by installing longer lasting batteries and replaced the stock l.e.d. with a higher power one. Now they’re not only brighter but they last all night! Some are lighting up E’s walkway and garden and the others I use to provide ambient light in my bathroom at night.

And lest you think I’ve given up, I have made a bit more progress on my bicycle generator. I actually managed to light a compact fluorescent bulb with it briefly using just my arm to spin the flywheel. I need to get some parts though before I can start riding it and generating some real power.

Anyhoo, that’s what going on up here. Tah for now.

I don’t know why it’s taken me over nine years to figure out this quirk of the Upper East Side but at least I finally did. If you navigate the blocks in a zig zag pattern when going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from either the 77th Street or 86th Street subway station, you’ll make most if not all of the traffic lights. Conversely, if you attempt to walk straight across to Fifth Ave before heading up or down to the Museum, then you’ll get caught at every intersection and that sucks.

When removing the waist strap from a backpack, make sure you’re not cutting the shoulder strap by mistake or you’ll ruin a perfectly good pack. I’m just sayin’.

The internet has a long memory. I discovered that my very first attempt at blogging on LiveJournal lives on. You can check it out here. Also, prior to blogging here, I had an account at Blogger. It lives on as well and can be found here. And finally, a Google search for thenextstopwillbe turns up all kinds of stuff. Speaking of internet memory and Google, here’s how their page looked on December 02, 1998. It’s not a whole lot different than how it looks today and that’s pretty impressive.