As I’ve said before, we never visit Connecticut without stopping in at the Book Barn in Niantic. Today was the day.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Sarah – Her review of Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants is in today’s The Globe and Mail, which is the largest newspaper in Canada.

Formula One in HD – Very nice indeed. Except for the graphics which are still placed on the screen so non-HD viewers can see them. For someone with a 16:9 HD screen, the graphics are near the center and in the way.

Texas Rangers – Held the Tampa Bay Rays to just one run in two games in their own stadium. I love it. I hope they sweep and win the series at home. Go Rangers!!

Ups and Downs of the week.

Formula One – Monaco this weekend. Best race on the circuit. My dream is to see a Monaco GP in person. Unless I hit the lottery, it’ll never happen, though.

  Drill baby, drill! – Maybe not so much.

  Bruins – I never expected them to get this far, but it’s sad that they blew a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7. Gonna be a long off-season for those guys.

Red Sox – Looking steadier. Offense is coming around and the starting pitching is slowly finding the groove.

Celtics – Made the Cavs look like amateurs. On to the Magic.

  Highway Construction – It’s that time of year again. Seems they never finish it.

Weather – Aside from the occasional shower, the weather has been awesome. I love temps in the 60s and 70s.

Spies of the Balkans – Alan Furst’s new book is out. Can’t wait to read it. He is always excellent.

400th Post – Small milestone here on Randomography.

New Garage Door – No more worries about it falling in on the cars.

Just about every time we get out to New England we try to stop by the Niantic Book Barn. Sarah likes it for the books. I just like the photographic opportunities. With so many books and cats, there is no shortage of subjects.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Vacation – As of today I’m off until Nov. 1st.

  Weather – It’s been a miserable autumn so far. Cold and rainy. The poor farmers couldn’t get their crops in the ground this spring, and now they can’t get harvest going. It’s supposed to warm up this coming week.

 Phillies – I’d love to see them take the World Series again. Talk about a quiet, under-the-radar group of performers.

  Kid-in-the-Balloon – Had to be a hoax. The father is a pathetic attention whore and should be billed for the rescue services.

  No Less Than Victory – Jeff Shaara’s latest novel is another winner. Outstanding novel about the end of WWII in Europe.

  Illinois State Employee Ethics Training – It’s sadly ironic that the crooks at the top of state government want us to take ethics training.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 My Wife, The Organizer – We’re at the third Historical Novel Society conference in Schaumburg, IL. Sarah is the key organizer and driving force behind these conferences and this one is going off quite well.

 Dad – Stronger every day. Should be home soon..

 Red Sox - Swept the Yankmees and won a marathon game tonight.

 School is done for the summer – I took an online course which is now over. Now I get to enjoy my nights and weekends for a while.

 All in all, a good week.

We can’t come to NYC without stopping at The Strand bookstore at Broadway and 12th St. This is a huge bookstore with used books and remainders and rare books and such. While Sarah was browsing, I took the opportunity to shoot some different sort of pics with the little Lumix P&S I bought a few months ago.

Here’s The Strand from the street.

What I see when I’m there.

Not what most people see.

Ups and Downs of the week.

   Sarah’s New Book – This represents over a year of hard work. Between this new volume and her original book, the vast majority of historical novels are now indexed, classified, and described. I know I’m bragging, but she deserves it.

  Prehistoric Road Maintenance - This week it seemed every road I drove on had holes and cracks patched with oil and loose pea stone gravel. I really need to get some pictures of the idiotic way the state of Illinois patches roads. They spray a little bit of thick oil on the crack or hole and then blow in 1/4″ pea stone. They always use way too much pea stone and the first time someone runs over it, it gets scattered everywhere. Then it gets tossed in the air to chip paint and crack windshields. The really stupid part is that it doesn’t last a week. The crews are back at it on the same roads week after week. If I knew whose idea it was to do it this way, I’d sit outside his/her house with a bushelful of these stones and a slingshot and plink away at whatever car they drive. I just hope we’re not throwing away our stimulus money on this nonsense.

  My 2006 Z4 3.0si – This car is a beast. It’s fast and corners like it’s glued to the road. I’ve been having a blast in it for a week now. Best of all, it gets great gas mileage on top of being fun to drive.

Today we made our semi-annual pilgrimage to the Book Barn in Niantic, CT. It’s a fascinating place for book hounds and cat lovers. Books and cats everywhere scattered over an acre of houses, barns, sheds, tents, and hovels. Many of the books are quite recent releases, but there are also loads of very old books. The cats are all the mellowest critters you’ll find anywhere and the folks who run the place are friendly and helpful. We never miss a chance to stop here when we come back east.