Tag: brooklyn

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Photo of fireworks against the downtown Manhattan skyline.
Low res fireworks

Happy belated July 4th to those who celebrate. There was a lot going on in New York to celebrate 250 years. First, we were treated to a spectacular Parade of Tall ships and International Aerial Review, then the fireworks. Hats off to the people that went out in the heat to see these things, we opted to enjoy it all from the air conditioned comfort of our apartment.

Speaking of air conditioning, ours has been cranking for days, which is unusual for us. We’re not the only ones. ConEd reduced voltage in large swaths of Brooklyn on Friday. I was curious as to how much, so I broke out the multi-meter: It was around 115 volts in our apartment. Without measuring, we wouldn’t have noticed, but some of our neighbors’ air conditioners weren’t performing well in those conditions.

Earlier in the week, I was invited to the annual Blessing of the Fleet in Sheepshead Bay. Mechanical trouble forced us to go back to the mooring just seconds after we cast off—better there than in the channel. This prevented full participation in the blessing, but we were able to enjoy some time on the boat and a taste of rum punch.

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Finished reading Street Smart by Sam Schwartz (a.k.a Gridlock Sam) this week. One of the things he points out how easy access to transit information increases transit ridership. In hindsight, this is obvious, but I hadn’t really thought of it. Sure, public transit needs to be frequent, safe and connect many places. But, if it is difficult to decipher the maps and timetables, it’s also difficult to understand how to get where one wants to go.

I remember how difficult it could be to navigate an unfamiliar city’s transit network. Especially when one doesn’t speak or read the local language. Things have gotten so much better in the past several years. Most of us are carrying a connected computer with specialized apps, not to mention the inclusion of open data in the popular map applications. Tap to ride is also a great improvement. Tapping with a credit/debit card or phone makes transit in unfamiliar cities much more approachable. Don’t get me wrong, fumbling around the first time I used a strippenkaart (Dutch) is an experience I’m happy to have had. However, I’m sure the commuters waiting for me to do it are happy I can just tap and ride now.

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Black and white photo of Dave Brubeck at a piano with text: "SORRY, NERDS 5/4 IS DAVE BRUBECK DAY"

Dave Brubeck Day is tomorrow, so a very happy Dave Brubeck day to all who celebrate.

I broke my guitar tuner last week. In the process of purchasing a new one, a new microphone ended up in my shopping cart. I tried it out during our weekly jam—massive difference. This one has much more definition than the old, cheapo mic. So much definition that I was slightly afraid of it when I started singing. It will take some getting used to for sure.

In other musical news, a couple weeks ago at the local, two guys were talking about getting together for a jam. Someone overheard the conversation and said “JP plays bass!” I was very clear about my ability, or lack thereof. They said, “perfect” and I thought that would be the end of it.

Friday night one of them walked by, clapped me on the back and said “you’re hired”. My immediate thought was oh shit.

Now, I give this jam even odds of ever happening. Just in case, I should probably practice a more.

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Photo of a number table tent on a wooden table. The number is "86".

On my Birthday, we got 86ed from some place in Park Slope (see photo). The woman behind the counter wasn’t all that impressed by my attempt at humor after she handed over this number. Perhaps she’s tired of the not so original reference, or maybe she thought it was some sort of middle-aged 67.

I did up a very quick app (I’m using the term very loosely here). Thanks to generative AI, I spent less time on this digital version than on laying out the printable version I was using before. It’s just a little tracker to help me stay on the right dietary path using the DASH diet (from the days before the government added beef tallow to its recommendations). After using it for a week, I made a couple tweaks and am pretty happy with it. You can check it out here: Simple DASH Diet Tracker, if you’re interested in such things, the code is on Codeberg.

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Photo of a massive pile of dirty snow stored (and blocking) a street near a park. There is a street sign for "Court St." in the photo.
Snow removal elsewhere is snow acquisition in Red Hook. Photo credit: Angela Lin

This week, we moved house or apartment, as the case may be. It’s been a little hectic to say the least. For instance, I think I’ve spent the better part of three working days packing, and almost immediately unpacking the kitchen. It’s also exercising muscles I’ve been neglecting at the gym making, which is making me feel creaky.

The move out was uneventful thanks to an amazing NYC moving crew. They whisked everything away in short order despite having to move the truck twice to let others pass due to the lingering snow. Dismantling the bed frame required some consultation and discussion. Even if we had the instructions, they were probably in Italian.

Moving in was even faster. There was a space in front of the building and a service elevator to get everything upstairs. Shortly after the movers departed, cupcakes in hand, leaving us among many boxes, we went to the local for a couple pints. That was the goal I was working towards for a couple days. Since the new place is only a 5 minute walk from the old, it’s the same local I’ve known for the last 16 years. Some things change, others remain the same.

While we’ll be settling in for a bit, the new place is already starting to feel like home. We’re getting used to different noises and idiosyncrasies like which cabinets don’t close quite the same way as the others. I even managed to find dig out the various electronics and cables needed to set up for the Friday night Jamulus session.

Finally, what move wouldn’t be complete without at least one trip to Ikea? On ours, we encountered the absolutely massive snow pile in Red Hook pictured here. The streets around the ball fields are closed and filled with 15 foot high piles of grey snow.

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