Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Last night was pretty fun. My brother, Jeff, came over and we went out to dinner.
Lately, you pretty much have to drag me out of my chair to get me to do anything. I have my head stuck staring at this horrible computer screen 24 hours a day. It really is unattractive. Jeff told me that I have to get out more often. I explained to him that it’s not like it used to be.
When I was younger, I had no responsibilities. I was also bored a lot. Now, I am always busy and running a business takes a lot out of me. There is no one else to handle things if something needs to get done. I mean, I have help, but the majority of things rest right on my shoulders. Good thing they are so muscular.
It was good to get out. I decided that we would go up to Applebees in Glastonbury, CT. We drove up there and when we passed by the restaurant, I realized it wasn’t an Applebees, but a Chilis. Jeff told me that he always goes to Chilis and would rather not go there. I really didn’t want to go there either. I made a left from Main Street onto Glastonbury Boulevard. Glastonbury Boulevard is really cool. It is tree lined and there is a lot going on. I basically just wanted to show him the road and then turn around to find somewhere to eat. We drove down the road a little and noticed a Houlihan’s on the left. We pulled in and parked.
Since the restaurant was so close to Somerset Square, I thought it would be nice to show Jeff where people do some shopping. So, we got out of the car and walked.
I gotta tell you, I really love sidewalks. I also have to tell you that it did feel a little foreign to me to be walking. I am so used to driving every little place I need to go that walking felt very out of the ordinary.
Right before we began our walk, I ran back to the car to grab the camera. I could see that Jeff was wondering what the heck I was doing. I mean, what in the world is there to take pictures of during a little 15 minute walk to no where? I explained to him that this is what blogging is all about. I told him that I searched for photos of the different things in different towns a lot before we moved here. I thought people would appreciate it if I posted some of my own. I think he got a kick out of the camera thing because he jumped on board.
Anyway, the photo above is of the tree lines and sidewalk I was talking about earlier.
Before we got to the enterance of Somerset Square, we passed the backside of a few restaurants. I didn’t think the photos would come out so blurry, but because it was getting dark, I guess that’s what happens. The photo are of Max Fish, Max Amore and some other one. Perhaps we will eat at one of these next time. I have heard good things.
We walked a bit more and made it to the enterance of Somerset Square. The lighting of this place was really cool and it felt like I was on vacation. We walked through a little bit and took a picture of Cold Stone Creamery. Jeff told me that I had to get a picture of that.
We did our thing and walked back to Houlihan’s, which I forgot to get a picture of. We went in a sat down to eat. When we did finally eat, I have to tell you, I was really very pleased. I mean, the food was really great. I could believe it. Even Jeff told me that his potato soup was the best he ever had.
I had my usual Guinness. He likes to drink sweeter drinks, and mentioned that he didn’t really like beer. He took a sip of the Guinness and I think he might have changed his mind.
What’s the moral of this long story? Try Guinness, you might like it.
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Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
We took the leap. The leap to Costco (finally) up in Enfield, CT…near the border of MA. We have been meaning to do this for a very long time, but never got around to it.
Back at our old house, we were members of Sam’s Club, which is just an extension of Wal-Mart. We got pretty sick of it and didn’t renew our yearly plan. It seemed like there was some sort of stagnation with its stock. My father kept telling me that Costco is much better. I remember Costco from the Danbury location and it was pretty good. My father and I are a little different when it comes to shopping at Costco though. He likes to look at tools and equipment, while I like to look at the heads of lettuce.
One of the main things I was looking for was high quality food, mainly produce, and a big store. We visited BJs in Willimantic earlier in the week and were disappointed. It seemed like an older store and was much smaller than the others. I like to feel like I am in a stadium.
The Enfield Cosco was built in 2004, which means it has all the latest perks, groceries, tire changes, pharmacy, etc…and for those people who need to have dessert while they go food shopping, there is a fast food place. It’s almost sad.
Anyway, membership is $50 and good for a year, so we did it.
Yes, that is the actual Enfield store.
We filled our cart up last night and made out like bandits. I got a 2 1/2 pound bag of spinach and a huge box of veggie burgers, among other things. The prices were pretty good, but you can never really tell. On some stuff, they are definitely better. On other stuff, it’s a little tricky. The good thing is that we don’t need to keep running out to the grocery store for every little thing, like we used to. Now, we just load up the trunk and that’s that. Of course, we are still going to have to go to the regular grocery store for some stuff, but this place helps out a bunch.
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Saturday, May 17th, 2008
In an effort to learn more about the area we now sleep in, I have been suggesting that we visit different grocery stores for our food shopping. So far, we have been to Whole Foods in Glastonbury (very nice, but expensive), our local grocery store (pretty ok), Super Stop and Shop in Colchester (big and very well priced, but nothing wowed me) and today, Shaw’s in East Hampton.
We have been seeing quite a few Shaw’s grocery stores around in various towns. I haven’t really wanted to go in any of them because I prefer those jumbo super-stores. I like a wide variety. Well, today was different. Laura needed to deposit a check and her bank is in East Hampton, so Shaw’s was the store of choice.
We parked in the parking lot and began walking into the store. I turned to Laura an told her I really liked what I saw. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and the store looked great. We shopped around for a little while, when I turned to say something to Laura. She kind of had a weird look on her face and hadn’t been putting any groceries in the cart for some time. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the place had crazy high prices. I started to look around and I quickly agreed. Things were way out of whack. I understand that food prices are going up, but this was a little up, up and away. We did what we had to do and left.
After leaving the store, I stopped on the side of the road to grab some photos of Lake Pocotopaug in East Hampton. It looks like a really cool lake and it might be good for the canoe I want to get.
Pretty cool, huh?
After mentioning the canoe idea, I have been informed that this wouldn’t be the best place to go. Apparently the Connecticut River offers some sort of a canoe rental. I will let you know what we find.
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Saturday, May 17th, 2008
On Thursday night, my brother met Laura and me up in Manchester for dinner. Laura and I left a little early so we could visit Pottery Barn at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor.
I really like Pottery Barn, not for its fame from a certain “Friends” episode, but for its quality furniture. I need some office furniture, so we went to browse. We didn’t buy anything, but checked some stuff out for another day. I would say we need a bunch of things. Besides the office furniture, we need a bedroom set, coffee table and end tables, to say the least. One day it’ll all be complete. For now, we will focus on one item at a time.
After we left Pottery Barn, we had some time to spare. We wandered over to Williams-Sonoma to check out their kitchen stuff. This is another really good store, but expensive. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s expensive when you really compare quality. A few minutes in there and we were ready to go. I would say that the Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk is a very nice place. It felt like we were down South on a vacation.
A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Manchester. My brother has been raving about this place for a few weeks. He just loves the bread.
We all sat down and ordered. A few minutes later, the waitress brought over the bread, which was very good indeed. After that, we ate and ate and ate (the main courses). It was sinful. When we were almost done, the waitress asked if we needed anything and my brother mentioned that I wanted more bread. I said, “No I don’t” kind of embarassed. She offered to bring me a loaf to bring home and I accepted. Just a bit later, the nice and very kind waitress brought me three loaves of bread to bring home. Wasn’t that nice of her?
Every time we go someplace, I ask Laura to remind me to take a picture of whatever we are doing. Every time, I forget and she never mentions anything. When I sit down to write about it, I end up not having any photos. With that being the case, today’s photo is of the bag we brough the leftovers home in. In this business, you need to be creative.
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Friday, April 11th, 2008
I feel like I am reporting breaking news or something here.
I was on my way down to Lowe’s this afternoon when I happened to notice a very large area of black smoke in the sky in Middletown, NY. I kept looking at it, but it was over the horizon, so I couldn’t see what was causing it. I did my shopping in Lowe’s and pulled out of the parking lot. On the way out, I got these photos:
I thought this couldn’t be a good thing. Anyway, I wanted to see what the heck was causing all that smoke, so I checked it out online at this website. Apparently, Lee’s Quality Tire in New Hampton was on fire. A worker dropped a gasoline soaked rag on a light fixture and the place went up.
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Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
This post may seem a little fragmented towards the beginning, but keep reading. It will all come together…trust me.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone about the internet and about half way through, you noticed them mentioning websites and services they just assumed you knew about? I have. It’s a real personality trait for these people. I am not talking about industry people talking about industry things to other industry people. Obviously those people know what they are talking about, even if we don’t. I am talking about those types who blow the smallest little service out of proportion and think the world should know what the heck is going on. I remember I was talking to someone (artist) once about art. He needed some help with designing a website. He says, “There is a HUGE buzz about me on the internet!” I’m like, “Who are you again?” I think he was insinuating that we all hang out in art chat rooms or something.
Now, if you are talking to someone and they mention that they just purchased the best little treasure on EBay and you don’t know what that means, you really need to see a specialist. Well, maybe they do…they really should do their shopping on WebClassifieds.US. I wonder how the execs over at EBay feel knowing that WebClassifieds.US is creeping up on them. (hehe)
Let me break in here for a second - I want to mention one of my favorite things about the internet…and that is creativity. What if the internet was never created? Can you imagine some of the world’s most creative people sitting at cubicles selling buttons instead of devising and creating fascinating solutions to problems and wonderful websites that you never even thought you needed. I mean it. There are things today that just boggle my mind. They do things that I never thought could be done or ever thought should be done. It’s like this amazing extra slice of the world was born and finally gave habitat to all those people who never truly had a home. Now that is deep folks. In just a few years, (relatively speaking) the internet has woven its way into so many people’s lives…and many people don’t even know it. I for one, make a living off it. Ten years ago, I would’ve laughed at that idea. Me, at a computer? Pleeeeaase…I was too busy taking engines out of cars.
Ok, here it is. The point of this chatter is all about two up-and-comers that you may hear about in conversation. After reading this post, you will know a little about them. I really get excited when a team gets together to bring us another nifty tool.
The first website is StumbleUpon.com. I literally stumbled upon this one. I was in Paul’s office yesterday and he was checking his blog’s stats. He was like, “Whoa, 65 visitor from StumbleUpon since this morning!” My ears perked up. I thought that if he got 65 new visitors, I could get at least 32.5. I went back to my desk to investigate.
Apparently, StumbleUpon.com works like this: Someone visits their website and signs up for an account. Then, they download their toolbar (which works with other toolbars, not instead of). When set up, they can push the “Stumble!” button on their new toolbar and their browser shows a random website. Not all that new of an idea. What is pretty cool is that you can rate any site out there and give it a review with the toolbar. Also, there is a networking element to it as well. You can recruit “friends” and join “networks.” Kind of like MySpace. The big benefit of the whole thing is that, once a site is reviewed by someone and StumbleUpon discovers the site, StumbleUpon drives traffic to that site like mad. People everywhere are now pushing that “Stumble!” button visiting random websites. This isn’t targeted traffic, but traffic nonetheless. You figure out what to do with it.
The second website is FeedBurner.com. If you have a website that has a RSS or any other type of data feed, you can sign up to push your feed to FeedBurner. Once they have it, you use their feed service instead of your own. They make it really easy for people (who are looking for site content) to grab your content and use it on their own websites. Take a look at the right column of this blog. This is good for you because again, this drives traffic to your website. Once again, it is up to you to find something to do with this traffic. If you have no model, you might not want all of these visitors because it may just increase your web hosting bill. The cool feature of FeedBurner is that they offer stats on who is using your feed.
Having the personality I was born with, I get excited, yet frustrated when I come across these types of great sites running with awesome ideas. I wonder why I’m not on their team…but then I get sucked back down to earth and am reminded that I have my hands full with my own boiling cluster of websites.
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Posted in Internet, Websites | 3 Comments »
