Long Island Sound is an estuary between Connecticut and mainland New York on one side and Long Island on the other. This body of water is renowned for its fast currents and shoals, which earned it the nickname The Devil’s Belt. The most famously difficult portion to navigate was the narrow inlet between the East…
That’s the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question. The question is who are the grandchildren mentioned in The Beatles’ When I’m 64. Vera, Chuck and Dave. Once you know it you don’t forget it, and you hear the names every time you hear the song. And I find that to be the case with many…
One of the biggest heroes for the American Colonists in the Revolutionary War in 1776 was a fisherman from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Actually, he was more than a fisherman, he was also a cordwainer (shoemaker), rum trader, merchant and notably, the first Captain (of the Hannah) in the Continental Navy a later in the war he commanded…
I’m trying to establish better habits – nothing new there, I’ve written about it before. When I’m home, my morning habit starts with helping Bodhi get up and outside for a little relief. I drink a pint of water and brew coffee while he’s outside, and read a little. Simple start-the-engines stuff. I take stock…
In the Southeastern corner of Brooklyn, New York is an oddly-named village named Gravesend. The definitive origin of the name is lost to history, but it’s generally agreed that it comes from the Dutch phrase “Count’s Beach”. This was part of New Amsterdam in the 17th century, and it remains one of the only place…
“Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day – if you live long enough-like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve.” – Charles T. Munger I’ve heard this quote a few times over…
This morning we had a typical March snowstorm. Heavy, wet snow that eventually turned to rain. It was well-predicted that it would do exactly what it did. Well, almost exactly. The snow started a few hours earlier than originally expected, and that seemed to catch the world by surprise. Throw in the “spring forward” aspect…
“Routine is one of the most powerful tools for removing obstacles. Without routine, the pull of nonessential distractions will overpower us. But if we create a routine that enshrines the essentials, we will begin to execute them on autopilot.” – Greg McKeown I’m a big believer in established routines. Unfortunately I’ve got a lazy routine…
Deep in the recesses of my brain are memories of Algebra 1. In the fall of 1980 I took Algebra 1 in a fragile state, and it didn’t end particularly well. I’d moved to a town I wasn’t particularly fond of, went to a school with a bunch of people I didn’t know, and was…
One of the more significant street corners in American History is the intersection in Albany where Broadway meets Hudson Avenue. This is the site of the old Stadt Huys where in 1754 representatives from several colonies met to discuss the Albany Plan of Union. This group, known as the Albany Congress, consisted of a few famous…
