They say it’s a buyer’s market right now.  I think mostly this refers to people looking for homes, but I’ve found the statement holds true for at least a few other things.  Travel is one of my bigger interests, and with weekly deals e-mailed to my inbox, I get fed a steady stream of temptations.  In the past few weeks, the desperate appeals from a couple of airlines have finally found the sympathies of this particular buyer.  So now I have tickets to Moscow in April and Athens in May.  Greece poses few travel challenges, but Russia, I’ve learned, is a completely different story. (more…)

Welsh Rabbit - safe for bunnies.

I came to the conclusion recently that I’ve been in an eating rut. My daily routine relegates dinner to an afterthought that always catches me off guard as my roommates arrive home well past 7, and I suddenly realize that I should probably start thinking about eating.  So then out comes the Tader Joe’s tomato soup and grilled cheese or some other simple, fool-proof meal.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a great staple for bachelors.  The ingredients are simple: bread, cheese, tomato soup, and butter.  Plus I’ve got a handy panini-maker which saves me the step of even having to flip the grilled cheese. I must say, I’ve done plenty of experimenting, and I do believe I’ve finally found the ultimate (more…)

Yup, I still bleed red.

Skiing, snowboarding, rollerblading, boogieboarding, mountainbiking…  I’ve always had a thing for recreational sports that present a risk for injury.  On Saturday, I found a new one… (more…)

Just Looking, Thanks.

I’ve heard about The Little Italy of the Bronx for several years now, as one of my clients gives a couple of walking tours there each year.  I maintain the web site for her, so I’m familiar with the tour descriptions.  So, I’ve had it on my back burner list of things to see at some point, but as every venture into the city seems to bring me only to Manhattan, Arthur Ave seemed to be stuck on my back burner.

I was talking with one of my new clients about restaurants as we sat over lunch in Darien a few weeks ago. He was a bit surprised that I knew exactly where to eat down in a town more than 30 minutes from my house, and I confessed (more…)

The Grand Doodle

I’ve been slowly putting together a digital audio workstation so I can start working on my own recordings. I’m using Cubase 4, a Presonus Firebox audio interface, a Presonus Faderport controller, Steinberg’s The Grand for my piano virtual instrument, and a Korg SP-250 keyboard. I just purchased some NHT M-00 active studio monitors (and the NHT S-20 sub) which I’ve heard great things about, but FedEx isn’t due to deliver them until sometime next week. So, for now I’m still using headphones, which actually work pretty well. (more…)