At the risk of becoming dull, I have one more set of pics from our walk today in Central Park. The weather was mid-70s, dry, and sunny. In other words, perfect. The park was very busy today.

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.

Here are the pictures I promised. First set is Central Park. It was a nice day for walking, albeit a bit muggy. The temps were fine, though, so it was easy to walk for hours. The second set is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What a huge place. We didn’t come close to seeing it all. If we lived here, I think we’d be members just so we could come back again and again to see everything. 

Ups and Downs of the week.

 New York City – This place has its down side to be sure, but it’s a great place to visit. I especially like Central Park. We walked about 4 miles today through the park and around the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I’ll get some pics posted later. The food here is awesome as well. Today I stood dumbfounded in a deli just marveling at all the food choices. Then Sarah called and said she was coming back from the conference, so I was saved from the decision and went to meet her for lunch. 

   Dad – Back to the rehab facility to regain his strength after the hospitalization last week. Looks like a couple more weeks before he’s home again. 

  Red Sox - Well, they had first place for a bit. Tonight’s loss to the Jays could land them in second behind the Yankmees if the Evil Empire wins, which is likely.

 Verizon 3G data network – Got a Verizon USB760 adapter, so now I have broadband access virtually anywhere. I’ll be trading it in next week, though for Verizon’s new Mifi 2200. More on that gadget later.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Long weekend – I need it. Starting Thursday we’ll be gone for most of the next three weeks. Thursday we’re off to NYC to BookExpo. We come back on Monday and leave again on Thursday for London, Ontario for Sarah’s cousin’s wedding. We’re back on that Sunday and gone again on Wednesday to Chicago for the HNS conference, finally coming home the following Monday. Lots of travel and not much rest.

   Dad – Back in the hospital again. Nothing too serious; just the same buildup of fluids that makes it hard for him to breathe. Thing is, this is exactly what convinced the docs he needed heart valve replacement way back in October. Now after 7 months of recovery from that, he’s having the same symptoms. Modern medicine is still a lot of guesswork. Dad should be home again on tomorrow, though.

 Red Sox - Despite tonight’s loss to the Mets (they got outpitched and Lugo was playing, so there you go), they still swept the Jays this week and are a half game out of first. Jays and Yankmees both lost tonight as well, so no ground lost.

 Weather – What a great week for weather. Got a bit of a sunburn from all the top-down driving, though.

  Illinois government – What a joke. The whole bunch of them need to be fired. Start over fresh. Maybe if the job paid better and was full-time we’d get some intelligent people to run for office.

 Bob Marley - What a shame he died so young. Incredible music.

 Grand Prix of Monaco – The premier race of this weekend. True racing talent on display here. High speed racing between Armco barriers through the streets of Monte Carlo. Much better than a couple hundred identical laps around an oval track like that other race this weekend.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Dad – Home at last. He came home Tuesday and has been doing well. My sister is staying with my folks now to help out for a bit. Welcome home, Dad.

  Celtics/Bruins/Red Sox - All three teams lost last night. Bruins are done for the season. Celts now face a Game 7. Sox again fail to capitalize on a Toronto loss. Big Papi went 0-7 and left 12 men stranded. Something needs to be done to move him out of the number 3 slot.

   Weather – Some nice days this week but lots of rain as well. More nastiness in store for us tonight, but starting tomorrow we should be entering a dry spell. Good news for the farmers.

 Graduation weekend - It’ll be nice going to work next week with the students all gone.

  Emergency Alert System – While the system itself can be useful, this cable company goes way overboard with it. I’ve been watching TV for about 90 minutes now and these messages have interrupted 9 times (so far). Sooner or later you just stop watching them.

 The Wall – Never know what you’re going to see. Our newest resident bird, The Redhead, or Mama Coonie cooling herself on the concrete.

Finally caught him up close.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Red Sox – Looking much better again. They swept the Yankmees and won game one against TB tonight at Fenway.

  Celtics/Bruins – Both teams struggling. Both lost tonight.

 New Toy – ASUS EEE-PC 10.1 inch mini-laptop. Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive. 9.5 hours (claimed) battery life. Just under 3-lbs. Right about $350. Nice color on the screen (picture doesn’t do it justice). Got it running MLB.com’s player with the Sox game on.

 Weather – Some nice days this week. Sunny and warm. Perfect weather to go topless. (The car, not me.)

  Virus/malware writers – Scum of the earth.

 Dad – Went home today with the advisors from the nursing home to check for possible issues with the apartment vis-à-vis his home recuperation. Everything looked good. He’s slated to go home for good this coming Tuesday.

I seem to be collecting woodpeckers in the backyard. Busy out there this morning.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Red Sox – Despite the last two losses against Tampa Bay, the Sox have turned it around and have been flirting with first place in the AL East.  

  Celtics – Struggling against the Bulls. Doesn’t bode well for the rest of the playoffs, if they even get to the rest of the playoffs. Although I seem to remember this same path last year. UPDATE:  Celts won tonight. They move on. Bulls go home.

  Weather – Typical Illinois Spring. Lots of rain and cool days.

  Hysteria – Swine flu. Not even that bad if, by some exceedingly slim chance, you do happen to catch it. What’s with all the hysteria?

 Dad – Going home in a week or so.