what about the plastic animals?

Let's Try This Again

It works!  That was a strange interlude.  Over the weekend my Internet connection, especially the upload speed, slowed to a crawl. 

Let's bore everyone with details.

I've got a wireless connection between my computer and the router.  The wireless connection between the router and my phone was just as slow, so the computer wasn't the problem.  Plugging the ethernet cable directly into the computer didn't speed things up, but it did eliminate the router as the problem.  That was good news because the two expensive items weren't the cause of the problem.  The modem lights were blinking properly and resetting the modem didn't improve the situation.

Hmmm.  What to do next?  The only thing I could think of was to look at my ISP's web site.  Muddling around there for a while wasn't very helpful but I eventually stumbled upon a page where I could test my connection speed.  Downloading was fast but not only did my connection fail the upload test, it actually caused that test to crash.  I reloaded the page and started the test again.  This time both download and upload speeds were normal.  Four more tests resulted in four more normal speeds.

I don't know if the test fixed the problem or if the service improvement coincided with the test, but the problem has been fixed for the time being.

Reconstruction of Hudson Street

It's pretty impressive that this sign has stayed up, virtually undisturbed, for twenty years.

A Cup of Revelations

Impaled on a fence in the West Village.  The handwriting is immaculate.

Seventh Avenue Birdhouses

Over the weekend I noticed these birdhouses in the little triangle park bound by Waverly Place, Charles Street and 7th Avenue.  The apartment building is a model of the condo at 15 Charles (switch to Street View and look up), and the Birdbath Bakery is across Charles from the park, but there wasn't any indication that the houses belonged to either.

Unrelated:  The Muppets perform Bohemian Rhapsody.  For comparison, the original and computer, manualist, brass band, male octet and computer versions

I'm away until next week.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Tortured

Downtown Charleston has a small arts and entertainment district.  There was a folk singer playing at this nice little bookstore/coffeehouse on Friday night.  Not knowing what else to do in Charleston, I stuck around for a while.  I didn't return for the local author on Saturday as I had to meet Dane and the Mothman up in Point Pleasant.

Jackson Square

The fountain in Jackson Square Park.  One of the oldest parks in the city, the park appears without a name on an 1811 map of the city.  Nobody knows for sure where Jackson Square got its name.  Probably Andrew Jackson, who was popular with Tammany Hall Democrats, but the first record of the name Jackson Square wasn't until 1872, long after President Jackson's death.

I'm back from my Christmas trip.  Photographic evidence will be forthcoming but blogging will be slow this week as I do other things.

Sunset on Piers 45 and 46

After an aimless walk yesterday afternoon I found myself reading a book and looking and taking in the sunset on Pier 45.  Well, I tried reading a book but couldn't concentrate after overhearing someone explain why he had a urinary tract infection "even though they use the same canal those two fluids should never mix..." and how he has not used cocaine since New Year's when "the dealer in my building came down to my apartment and we got high from eight that night until noon the next".  That was my signal to move to Pier 46, where the balancing people were located.

The Thrifty Millionaire column in today's Times talks about how spices can be much cheaper at ethnic grocers than at supermarkets.  Once again I was ahead of my time.  Five years ago, when I was still living in Nyack, I did a similar price survey.  The conclusion?  McCormick spices at suburban groceries are way more expensive than bulk purchases at Sahadi's.  Maybe I should update the table to see how prices have changed since then and how Whole Foods and Trader Joe's compare.

Just for Viewing Pleasure

Bank 11th Street, West Village

A basement apartment has many disadvantages.  They're dark, damp and noisy to name three.  On the other hand, they're ideal for setting up displays in your front window.  If this is the tip of the collected iceberg wouldn't you want to know what makes up the underside?

Yes, I still have the 135th Street question to answer.  I'll get to it tonight or tomorrow.