t1a7n72: Have you downloaded the app as I requested in my last communication?
Troy: I did. I have it on my phone. But it doesn't seem to do anything.
t1a7n72: Click on the three dots in the upper right hand corner.
Troy: I get a menu of sorts. Letters and numbers but I don't understand them.
t1a7n72: In your day, it's still just a prototype. Is there a capital P?
Troy: There is.
t1a7n72: You need to find a doorway that faces north. It MUST face north.
Troy: Um. Okay. But you'll have to wait a moment. I have to figure out for sure which way north is.
t1a7n72: You must hurry. Our window ends at midnight.
Troy: One moment. Okay. I have it pointed to the doorway.
t1a7n72: Click on the P and you'll see a light illuminate that doorway. Walk through it, but be sure to keep a hold of your cellphone the whole time.
Troy: Walking ...
t1a7n72: Once you get through the portal, you'll be with me in 2084.
Troy: Wait, what!?!
t1a7n72: It's almost midnight. You must take action. But make sure you're facing north.
Troy: How do I know you're not catfishing me?
t1a7n72: You have less than ten minutes. I've contacted you multiple times. It's now or never. Come join me. Walk through the portal.
Troy: Walking ...
t1a7n72: Welcome to 2084! We have been waiting for you ...
December 31, 2016
Random Soapbox for Saturday 12/31/16
In response to all the 2016-shaming I've seen on the interwebs (which in turn seems to have resulted in some shaming of the 2016 shamers ['cause, you know, that's how the interwebs work]), I want to be sure to rave about the sixteen best things from *my* year -- and also because it's an annual tradition for me (this is the seventh! list).
Consistent with the way things have been presented in the past, the list will be alphabetical and is as follows:
1.) BIKING: I'm on a long term weight loss journey, and after my attempts at jogging in 2015 led to a knee doctor telling me I was going to have to lose weight some other way before my knees would permit me to lose weight by jogging, I ended up back on a bike for exercise -- a place I hadn't been since I was regularly on a bike for actual transportation before I had a car back in the early 90's. I am happy to report that the time away didn't matter, as that whole "it's like riding a bike" thing is actually spot on.
2.) BOOK SALE: Guess who found a local annual "friends of the library" book sale, where hardcovers are only $1 (and it's buy 4, get 1 free) and paperbacks are only a quarter? Guess who's going to need a new bookshelf before too long? (The answer is "me" ... to both questions.)
3.) CASANOVA and OZZIE: It was the third year raising two rescued pit bulls (one with allergies and the other with anxiety [and only 3 legs and a "wing" ... but that doesn't really stop him from doing much of anything]). I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure it's the reason "work from home" was invented.
4.) CHERRY CHERRY WHISKEY SOUR: When I was young, I was a proficient bar crawler. Now that I'm not as young, it's more likely that the drinks will happen at home once a week or so -- and the specific drink of the night is going to be a cherry whiskey sour with a splash of cherry juice and two to three cherries. You know what? It's a lot less expensive, too!
5.) ELECTION SEASON: Admittedly, it was a bit unpresidented all around (and it looks like it's going to stay that way for some time). Things could get serious really quickly in the new year, but until the nuclear war starts, I'll stand by my statement that it sure was fun to watch it all come together/fall apart. Plus I now live in a contested state, so although all votes matter, it felt like mine might have mattered a little more than all those years living in Chicago.
6.) FIFTY TASTES OF FLORIDA: I've been doing this writing thing for so long now that every now and then, I have to change it up just for the heck of it ... and this year, that meant that the "Random Thought for Thursday" became a "Random Taste for Thursday" instead, with one new eating establishment to review each week of the year. Having completed all fifty meals, I have to say we had a blast (and we will continue in 2017 with fifty more new places to eat).
7.) ICE CUBE TRAYS: Sometimes it' s the simple things -- and the ice cube trays needed to be replaced this year. The first attempts were too cheap -- and snapped into pieces the first time I tried to break out the cubes. But that second set, though: perfect cubes, every time. There were *other* good things that happened this past year, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit as to how happy they make me feel.
8.) JOHN GUARE: My acting "career", such as it was, started my freshperson semester of college with a role in 'House of Blue Leaves'. Thanks to a presentation at a local university here in Florida, I got to meet the playwright AND he graciously signed my cast poster. Good things come to those who wait ... and to those who hang on to their college stuff twenty seven years and counting.
9.) MATTHEW, THE HURRICANE: Three years I've been a Floridian -- and the storm named Matt was the closest I came to getting to experience an actual hurricane EXCEPT I was out of town when it showed up and EXCEPT it decided to skip our part of Florida for landfall further up north anyway.
10.) MOVIE WEEKENDS: I've previously disclosed that "my name is Troy ... and I'm a television addict", but this year I took it up a notch and devoted some of that tv time to movies (almost always at home curled up on the couch with the puppies) with #superherosaturdays and #stephenkingsundays. I'm a man on a mission ... and I've made tremendous progress.
11.) MULCH: I may also be addicted to mulch. To be fair, the back yard can't have dirt patches in it because of Casanova's allergies ... and the three attempts at sod (in ever smaller amounts) all failed. So if I get my jollies on the weekends getting four bags and spreading it around over and over again again ... so what?
12.) MURDER, THE CAT: She was the only one who lived in PA, Chicago AND Ft Lauderdale -- which is what happens when you live a good long seventeen years or so. This year, she passed, and although that's sad, the best part is of all the memories we have of her ... 'cause that way she lives forever.
13.) OCTOBER TRAVELS: In a car, up the coast, through Greenville and Charlotte in the Carolinas plus Blacksbug and then into western PA, across the center of the state down to my alma mater and back down the coast through DC and Chapel Hill and Jacksonville. All in all, it was eight states in eight days (or more like 16 states since I was in almost all the states more than once) and the itinerary wasn't as important as all the people I got to see along the way. If I missed you this time, I 'll be back in Sep 2018 (mark your calendars now) ...
14.) SIGNING A 2 YEAR LEASE: Little did we know that negotiating when we re-signed in March would pay off ... when the landlord's father put the house up for sale in the last few months of the year. Although an offer came in, when you factored in our timeline and the amount of money we needed to buy out the lease, the offer was pulled and the house is no longer for sale. Some decisions pay off dividends in ways you couldn't predict.
15.) WALT/DOLLY: Sometimes, vacation comes to you. At least, that's how we feel when Walt and Dolly come for their annual stay in the winter. We're all getting older, so we don't have quite as many activities as when they used to come to visit us in Chicago, but it's still a chance to go to the fair ... or to go out to eat a few times ... or to just stay home and play cards. Plus, as tradition dictates, it always includes my annual birthday dinner at a steakhouse ... so there's that.
16.) YOU: It takes this honorary position every year at the end of my best of list (I'm not sure what's going to happen if I ever have a best something or other that starts with a Z), and that's for a specific reason. Whether I managed to actually see YOU this year in my travels, or whether I just followed along with what YOU do on the Facebook, rest assured that my life is better because YOU are in it. If ever there was a time to remember that YOU and I are in this together, it's now. Thank YOU for being YOU -- and here's to YOU (and me) having the best new year ahead!
OF COURSE THEY'RE ON MY BEST OF LIST:
https://www.facebook.com/thecasanovajames/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
OF COURSE I HAD A GREAT TIME WITH THIS:
https://www.facebook.com/troy.neidermyer/media_set?set=a.10204145370194844.1073741843.1843633569&type=3
OF COURSE I WAS THERE WHEN JOHN GUARE CAME TO TOWN:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2016/01/random-scandal-sheet-for-sunday-13116.html
December 30, 2016
Random Flashback for Friday 12/30/16
Seeing as how our family was (and still is) scattered across the country, this was her way of keeping us apprised of the activities of the nieces and nephews out west with her -- and by nieces and nephews, I mean my sister Holly's kids Ashlyn M (she with the Barbie travellin' house) and Nicholas (he with the unknown item that clearly is requiring ALL of his concentration to open).
So ends this 1996 photo album on the Facebook ... here's to photos from 1997 appearing in a fortnight (because I will continue to alternate these kind of pictures with the special series of "photos I inherited from my father" on alternating Fridays).
Happy New Year (whether this one we're currently in OR a belated greeting for the one that started two decades ago to which we'll be flashing back soon enough ...)
December 29, 2016
Random Thought for Thursday 12/29/16
First -- some numbers. 19 of the 50 got perfect scores for ambiance and 14 did the same for service and for bacon (because it can't be a score of mine without a separate category for pig candy). 70% of them earned the final +1 bonus point designating that we'd gladly return. Almost half (23) of the eating establishments had a Ft. Lauderdale address ... and the most popular types were burger joints (7), diners (6) and sports bars (5). Grades were awarded from a high of 98 (to 2 places ... more on that below) on down to 70, with a grade distribution as follows: 12 As, 23 Bs and 15 Cs.
And before we get to the specific categories, four entries earned perfect 10s in the food category, and deserve to be called out: Howie's Top Dog, Smoke BBQ, The Spillover and Tequila Sunrise Mexican Grill.
Now ... the BEST OF 2016 (with what was said in the original post in the quotes):
BEST AMBIANCE ... The Alchemist: "one of the big reasons to find this little corner of the world is for the people-watching and the surroundings-watching -- where you can look every which way and see something new and interesting with every glance ... it's exactly what you want an outdoor brunch spot in sunny Ft. Lauderdale to be".
Honorable Mention ... World Famous Parrot Lounge: "outdoor seating ... with multiple TVs in sight ... just a block or two from the beach ... and a bucket of brew ... plus almost everyone -- customers and staff included -- dressed in your team's shirts (it's a Penn State bar!)"
BEST SERVICE ... Linda at The Floridian: "the server was excellent at her job, making every stop at the table seem like we all were just picking up a multi part conversation ... and, in many ways, we were, as we got to talk to her about her frequent trips to Chicago and other recent fun of hers".
Honorable Mention ... Annie at Grampa's Bakery and Restaurant: "'hey guys' was the greeting by the kind of waitress you expected to see at a place named Grampa's ... personable and professional and so much on her game that she seemed to float past the tables in her section passing out things that you didn't even know you needed yet while she was infecting folks with smiles and her good attitude."
BEST DRINK ... deconstructed hot chocolate at The Alchemist: "who cares about the food when the hot chocolate arrives as steamed milk and a swiss roll type hunk of chocolate that you make yourself by dunking it into the mug while you wait for it to melt (the longer you wait, the more your patience is rewarded because the chocolatey-er it gets)".
Honorable Mention ... the mead flight at The Spillover: "every sip was delicious ... [including] the variety of additives in the honey-sweetened mead drinks".
BEST APPETIZER ... gator ribs at The Spillover: "the sauced up ribs of the alligator -- which our party ordered as an appetizer and shared, because the chalkboard countdown told us that there were still some available, what with only 15 being prepared daily".
Honorable Mention ... zucchini planks at Primanti Bros.: "for putting those zucchinis in planks -- I've had sticks and circles and fries ... but never planks"!
BEST SIDE ... special brussels sprouts at Temple Street Eatery: "the menu description wasn't available, but there were apples and red onions mixed in".
Honorable Mention ... fries at The Burning Oak BBQ: "the special seasoning on those thick cut fries -- the secret was disclosed to me, but I'm not sure that I want to ruin the pleasant surprise for anyone visiting next".
BEST MAIN ... brunch sampler at BC Cafe: "[one of] the ten 'outrageous' brunches in the area. This particular place was deemed 'outrageous' because it permits its customers who can't decide which dish to order ... to get ALL of them (in half-portion size, for a reasonable price for parties of two)".
Honorable Mention ... the tray of food at Smoke BBQ: "from cornbread to meats to tater tots, everything was fresh and hot and tasty ... rubbed just right and cooked to perfection with straightforward sides that didn't try too hard to be something they weren't ... and the best part may have been the chicken, which had the extra taste of being quickly deep fried and was chopped up in just the right pieces ... plus, while walking to the car afterwards, I realized that I had a pleasant tingle on my lips from all the flavor".
BEST BACON ... the bacon chocolate manhattan at ROK BRGR: "bacon infused makers, aztec chocolate bitters sweet vermouth and a splash of maple syrup served on the rocks".
Honorable Mention ... the candied bacon at The Burning Oak BBQ: "any non-breakfast place that is smart enough to put bacon as a side in the same spot on the menu as the vegetables is MY kind of place ... plus that candied bacon (that I got as dessert instead) was on my loaded chips and was also available for other dishes".
BEST DESSERT ... the s'more sundae at Bonefish Mac Sports Grille: layers of graham crackers, chocolate ice cream, warm marshmallow sauce and hot fudge topped with mini-marshmallows and a fudge graham cookie
Honorable Mention ... Mrs. McHugh’s banana créme pie at The Spillover: homemade crème pie made with vanilla beans, a walnut and graham cracker crust, topped with bananas, whipped cream, caramel sauce and dusted with bittersweet chocolate
BEST OVERALL ... as previously mentioned, there were two locations that earned the highest scores of 98 ... Bonefish Mac Sports Grille and The Burning Oak BBQ. Their complete reviews are provided in the links below/to follow;
Congratulations to all of the winners and a special thanks to all 50 of the Tastes for this inaugural year. Here's to 50 more in the year to come!
BONEFISH MAC SPORTS GRILLE TIE FOR BEST OVERALL TASTE OF FLORIDA '16:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2016/08/random-thought-for-thursday-8416.html
THE BURNING OAK BBQ TIE FOR BEST OVERALL TASTE OF FLORIDA '16:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2016/07/random-thought-for-thursday-7716.html
December 28, 2016
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 12/28/16
Used in a sentence: "Contrary to what you might think, the Zion curtain is NOT a proposal to address the mess that is the middle east NOR is it a decoration tip for the almost completed holiday season but it IS what you can expect in restaurants in Utah that opened after 2012 -- a minimum seven foot wall shielding innocent eyes from the mixing of alcohol into drinks."
If you're a regular reader, you already know I have a one person crusade against the privacy shields at my local Publix, ostensibly hiding boobie cleavage from young ones (young ones who then go slaughter avatars of each other in their video games ... but I digress), so you can only imagine the frustration I feel at this little legislative gem.
Of course, I know, I know ... religion rules in Utah, and the church/state separation in other parts of the country is nigh unto non-existent there. But if the geniuses behind 'South Park' proved nothing, it's that it's socially acceptable to mock a Mormon every now and again (see also: "president"-elect Trump meeting Romney early in his transition). To that end, it's time to tell folks to stop getting their temple undergarments in a twist, and that real life has to be lived in front of, not behind, the Zion curtain.
Count me among those who say, "Utah legislators, tear down that Zion wall ... I mean curtain!"
COULD IT BE THE NEXT POPULAR PROTESTABLE TREND:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-utah-zion-curtain-20161111-story.html
MORE ALCOHOL FUN IN UTAH (THAT WOULD MAKE A QUAKER FROM PA UPSET):
http://philadelphiafreepress.com/behind-the-zion-curtain-here-are-utah-liquor-laws-that-would-even-drive-p5666-1.htm
UTAH ISN'T ALONE WHEN IT COMES TO LAUGHABLE LIQUOR LAWS:
http://time.com/money/4048973/states-with-crazy-alcohol-liquor-laws/
December 27, 2016
Random Tune for Tuesday 12/27/16
Eagle eyes will see though that the B side of this homemade recording is showing this time. As for why it's in the trash, well that's because it represents an item for which there is also a matching CD in the personal music collection, rendering it okay for the cassette to be discarded.
Another programming note ... this will be the last Random Tune for Tuesday (something new starts next week), but the discarded cassette series will continue with a small tweak as it moves to Mondays in 2017.
As such, I'm going to break with tradition and feature TWO tunes from this particular album -- because I couldn't choose.
There's the wisdom about the secret of life ...
The secret of life is gettin' up early
The secret of life is stayin' up late
The secret of life is try not to hurry
But don't wait
Don't wait
But there's also the inspirational song -- much needed for our times -- reminding us to be there for each other:
The whole world's gone and let you down but
Better days they're comin' for you
I know they will
'Cause I'll be right here makin' sure they do
Thanks Faith for helping us keep the faith ...
TRY NOT TO HURRY BUT DON'T WAIT, DON'T WAIT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNnlcqf00YU
TOGETHER WE CAN BRING BETTER DAYS FOR EACH OTHER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnVboZ2HlEI
December 26, 2016
Random Memorial for Monday 12/26/16
Or is he?
I mean, let's face it. He's been "gone" in some capacity or another before -- a LOT of times. According to wikipedia, he did so in '83, '84, '85, '91, '94 (twice), '96 (twice), '02, '04, '07, '12 and again earlier this year in '16. How else would you get the nickname of the Phoenix? (I didn't personally see all of those, since I picked up Days full time the summer before college in '89 and stopped watching for the last time back in '12.)
Now that I've seen the obituary in the New York Times, it *sounds* a little more official, but I guess only time will tell if he's really really gone.
All (attempts at) kidding aside, thoughts and prayers to the family of Joseph Mascolo, who passed away in real life earlier this month. You who brought a classic character to life on the best daytime drama ever made, partly by creating your own accent that will be forever remembered for its uniqueness, you will most definitely be missed.
THE SOURCE FOR THE DEATH DATES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_DiMera#Fake_death_timeline
THE LAST TIME THE CHARACTER DIED:
http://soaps.sheknows.com/days-of-our-lives/news/46359/joseph-mascolos-stefano-killed-off-days-of-our-lives
THE LAST TIME THE ACTOR DIED:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/arts/television/joseph-mascolo-days-of-our-lives-villain-dies-at-87.html?_r=0
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