Daily Doings at the Line of Death Bar & Grill

A couple of months ago, I asked myself this question: "What was the last time you had a real vacation?"

What is a real vacation? Once where I don't have to worry about what's on my to-do list, my budget, keeping up on email, watching TV, or any other "distractions" of home. The times I was on unemployment, or staycations (where I stayed home and tried to catch up on home stuff), or trips to my parents, relatives, and friends in Buffalo -- they don't count as vacations.

I think the last one was 2007, when I went to Starwood.

The past few years haven't been great for me, financially. As a result, my travel budget has been zero.

( Before then.... )

Where I currently work produces some Neat Stuff! They manufacture parts made from silicon. These parts are then used by solar cell and computer chip manufacturers in their fabrication.

And I had no idea they were doing this in my part of the country.

The first step is growing the crystals, or ingots. They use the Czochralski Process, or "CZ" for short, to create the ingots on-site. These ingots are pretty to look at, but they're heavy.

Then these ingots are sliced and machined. Sometimes they're polished, and sometimes holes are drilled into them, using either diamond-tipped drills or electrical discharge machinery (EDM).

Naturally, quality is critical, so there are plenty of quality control measures taken during the fabrication process.

I don't spend a lot of time on the factory floor, so I don't know everything they do. (But I did get a tour the first week.) And if I did, what I would know would be considered proprietary information or a trade secret.

Why silicon? Because some of these parts need to be non-conducting, which rules out parts made of steel.

One drawback to silicon is that it's brittle, and can break easily, like glass.

But I like working here. I like working in engineering support, working side-by-side with engineers. And they seem to like me and my work. I just hope they have plenty of tasking for me -- and money in their budget -- to keep me employed for a long time.

So I've been listening to a lot of the Pat Metheny Group -- and Pat's solo work -- this past week. It's my favorite music for long-distance drives and traveling. I don't have all his CDs, but I'm working on it.

How did I first hear about him? In 1978 or 1979, there was a series of films I saw in high school science class called "The Search For Solutions". And the theme music the used in the opening credits was by the Pat Metheny Group. (The song they used was called "The Search", from the "American Garage" album. How appropriate.)

Flash forward to 1984. A new radio station in town, with the call letters of WRXT, and a free-form play list, played Pat's solo guitar song, "New Chautauqua", from the album of the same name. I loved the song so much that I just had to get my own copy. And so I went off in search of his albums.

Over the years, he's been a pioneer and a trailblazer. He started off playing trumpet, and switched to guitar a few years later. He's also taught at prestigious music schools such as the University of Miami and the Berklee School of Music, and did so at a very young age (late teens). He was one of the first guitarists (that I know of) to experiment with guitar synthesizers, and the myriad sonic possibilities available through them. And he uses the various guitar sounds for different effects, much like a painter would use different colors on a pallette to create a painting. Some of the guitars he uses are quite distinctive and unique. Perhaps the most unique is the 42-string Pikasso guitar that Canadian luthier Linda Manzer built for him.

And sometimes, he's outspoken and opinionated. Years ago, Metheny ripped Kenny G a new one, after Kenny G released his version of the Louis Armstrong classic, "What A Wonderful World", with Kenny G playing along with ths song via an overdub.

I don't know much about his personal life, and I don't need to. It doesn't matter to me. I do know that he travels a lot, performing for audiences all around the world.

I got to see him live in 1997, during the "Imaginary Day" tour, which had a stop at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio. And I hope I can see him in concert again.

This Friday, the multi-state Mega Millions jackpot is at $476 million. Yesterday, it was $363 million...and nobody won it.

So,what are the odds of you winning? In a nutshell, not bloody likely!

( The mathematics behind it all. )

I don't watch that much TV these days. In December of 2010, I cut back from standard cable to basic cable, in order to save some money. Other than recording a few things for a friend (his daughter was a contestant on Jeopardy), I haven't recorded anything off TV in a long time. I think the last series I recorded was "Blood Ties" (when Lifetime aired it), and the Simpsons 20th Anniversary special.

I have software and a hardware dongle to convert a three-jack audio/video signal (video, audio-left, audio-right) to a USB signal. (I use the Honestech VHS-to-DVD 3.0 package.) But I haven't used it much. And I probably should. I have about 500 VHS tapes and 100 Beta tapes I ought to covert to digital format soon, before the tapes degrade.

So I'm thinking....could a digital video recorder (DVR) fill my needs? But first, what do I want it to do?
1) Record shows off the air (for the few times I'd need it)
2) Play back on any of the three TVs I have in the house, preferably without connecting wires to them
3) Accept a video signal from an external device (e.g. a VCR) and record it on DVR, replacing the computer and Honestech software and box
4) Burn DVDs, or at least put it in a format that can be burned to DVD
5) Basic video editing, such as chopping out commercials and creating titles (I may still need software to do this)

Next, whose unit should I buy? I've liked TiVo for years, and they have a decent unit for about $100. I'd prefer to not deal with the cable company (I have Time Warner), they're always trying to sell me services and features I don't need or want. And I want to do this an inexpensively as possible.

Any recommendations?

Earlier this week, I was in a Half Price Books near Hamilton, OH, looking around. A few things caught my eye -- a book on Jung, and maybe a CD or two. But I walked out of the store empty-handed. I rarely do that. I always feel a need to make a purchase in any store I walk into, otherwise I'll be looked at as a shoplifter.

But looking around at home, I see that I already have plenty of books, CDs, DVDs, video tapes, record albums (!), etc. I may not have all that I *want*, but I have what I *need*.

I think it comes with the territory, but many science fiction fans are collectors. The spend huge amounts of money to amass large collections in order to impress their fellow fans. The problem is, when it comes time to sell the collection, or parts of it, they will probably receive less than what they put into it. It's not a money maker -- it's a money loser.

Back in 2006, I had to do an inventory of my estate -- all my possessions -- and calculate their value based on "fair market rate". How much would it cost to replace everything, either new or used? My estimation is that fair market rate is approximately 10% of retail. And some items of mine don't exactly fit that pricing formula. While my Minimoog might fetch a lot of money on EBay -- I've seen some in great condition go for more than $3000 -- I have no plan or intention to sell mine.

Since then, I've put less emphasis on buying "stuff". I may still buy CDs and DVDs, but I'm not adverse to buying them second-hand. I used to worry about germs and contamination. I still do, but not as much. I'll still run an antibaterial wipe on the discs.

I should also thin out my various collections and sell what I'm no longer interested in. Even though I'll get a pittance for them, someone else will have the opportunity to enjoy them.

Last week, I talked about a family vacation to the gulf coast of Florida in the summer of '75. In this installment, I'll cover the second trip to Florida, in the summer of '78.

We left on the morning of July 5, 1978. My sister chose to stay at home this time. We took the same route down -- I-90 from Buffalo to Cleveland, I-271 to bypass Cleveland, I-71 through Ohio (taking I-270 around Columbus), and I-75 from Cincinnati to St. Petersburg, FL. I forgot what cities and motels we stayed in on the way down. Someone mentioned "Days Inn" to my dad, so that's what he looked for. Once again, we stayed at our aunt's place in Pinellas Park. And this time, the car -- a '76 Chevy Malibu Classic -- had air conditioning.

( We didn't do as much of the touristy things as we did in '75. )

I've already talked about subs and pizza here. Now I need to cover the third item in the "holy trinity" of great tavern food: chicken wings.

Having come from Buffalo, I know chicken wings. I know all about their history -- how they were first invented at the Anchor Bar in 1964, and spread through the town like wildfire. I can't remember when I first had them, though -- probably high school. But I've grown to love them. And you'll notice that I don't call them "Buffalo wings".

When I return home to visit family and friends, I try to go to a wing place and have some real wings while I'm in town. My first choice is usually Duff's in Amherst, but I often can't find a parking space there.

In college, a good friend and I used to frequent Rootie's Pump Room, in Getzville, for a meal of wings, fries, and a pitcher of Pepsi. Even if we used a coupon, we'd get another coupon to use for our next visit. But Rootie's is no longer there.

When I first moved to Dayton in 1989, I found a little hole-in-the-wall place called the L.C. Wing Company, in Kettering. The owner was an expatriated Buffalonian (same as myself), so he knew how to cook wings "the right way" -- drop them in the deep fryer for about 12 minutes, take them out to drain, put them in a bowl of melted butter and Frank's RedHot sauce, close the bowl, shake it up, and serve. Unfortunately, the business went under a few years later.

( So where do I usually go to get my wing fix? )

Ealier this week, I talked about the sub shops in town. Now, my attention goes to pizza.

I came from a town that had lots of mom-and-pop pizza shops, many excellent local chains, and a few national chains. Here in southwest Ohio, were there aren't a lot of people of Italian descent, the national chains appear to dominate, but a few local chains and some standlone places stand out.

For the national chains, we have Pizza Hut, Domino's, and a couple of Little Caesar's.

Some of the local and regional chains here, in alphabetical order:

Cassano's. A local family-owned chain, which used to be called "Pizza King" before I moved here in '89. They're one of two places in town that cut their pizzas into tiny 1" or 2" squares. That alone was culture shock to me. I was used to wedge-shaped slices. One of the locals told me, "I can hold my pizza with one hand and my beer in the other."

Cousin Vinny's. I suspect the name was insired by the movie "My Cousin Vinny". I've yet to try their pizza.

Donato's. This chain, based in Columbus, has a tasty thin crust pizza, and tangy sauce.

The Flying Pizza. Some of their pizza chefs will toss the dough in the air and spin it, hence the name. Decent New York style pizza. And New York style service, too.

LaRosa's. This chain, based in Cincinnati, also serves up spaghetti and dinners at their locations. Personally, I think they put a little too much sugar in their sauce.

Marion's Piazza. The local favorite. On the walls are photos of famous actors who dined here while part of the summer "Kenley Players" troupe. I love their "super cheese", which is a deluze pizza with extra cheese. And they cut their pizzas into tiny squares as well. And note: they're cash only.

Marco's. The new kid on the block. Don't think I've had their pizza yet.

Noble Roman's. It's been several years since I've had their pizza. There just isn't one that's convenient to me.

Papa Murphy's. They make it, you bake it. This results in a slightly less expensive pizza. But I like it. And there's on e close to me.

But since I often eat pizza alone, I look for places that sell by the slice. My current local favorite pizza joint does just that. Johnny's, A Slice Of New York, in "downtown" Centerville. The owner, Johnny, is from New York City, and is very personable.

The car is still somewhat out of commission. It's still driveable, but I'd prefer not to do so. When it do, there's a whole lot of bumping and griding in the engine compartment. I suspect there's something wonky with the steering mechanism. And now it's affecting my braking capability.

So I spent the week at home. I probably saved a little bit of money by not needing to buy gas, or going out for lunch. There were a few times I had friends pick me up and drop me off. In the meantime, I'm eating what I have at home, in the freezer, and in the canned goods section. I think I need to keep two weeks' worth of food at home, in case I get stranded.

But I didn't get that much done on the decluttering front. I did some filing during the State of the Union address on Tuesday night,and did some data entry for a couple of spreadsheets I maintain for myself, but that's about it. My goal was to have 5 carloads of boxes going in to storage this week. I think I had only one carload.

And it looks like next week will be the same way.