Leaves left

The clocks changed overnight, marking the end of Daylight Savings Time.  Yippee, does that mean we can now be as profligate as we like with daylight?

The Girl and I had skating lessons at lunchtime - the ice kind.  What with legs still aching from yesterday's rollerskating I found it quite an effort today.  And there was to be a hockey match later on, so there were a lot of college ice-hockey players hanging around rinkside ogling my instructor in her tight-fitting skating pants, which was a bit off-putting.

The children disappeared off to playdates in the afternoon, leaving the Man and me to rake the backyard.  We're nearly done with that for the year - the trees are sadly bare now.  There are just a couple of piles of leaves left to be hauled round to the front, a job we've abandoned for another day: the unsaved daylight faded too soon.

Meals on wheels

Unlike the rest of the family, I'd never been to Guptill's Roller Skating Arena before.  But we'd bought tickets through school for a fundraiser so I thought it was time I went for a spin.  We all had a wheely good time - here's the Girl, going past in a blur.

It's not like ice-skating.  Much harder.  The skates are so heavy and don't always take you just where you're expecting to go.  And looked at objectively, it's quite a barking thing to do really, isn't it?  Putting wheels on your feet and rolling round and round in circles.

Mind you, not nearly as barking as keeping wheels on your feet when you take a break and go into the cafe and order (from the Capital District's most unhappy serving staff) an overflowing container of popcorn and a brimful cup of something fizzy which you then have to convey without spilling to a table, staying upright yourself and not tripping over any of the other not-very-competent roller skaters carrying similarly precarious loads.

What could possibly go wrong?

Surprisingly (and disappointingly for purposes of this blog) nothing, actually.

Trivial pursuit

The Man and I haven't done a Quiz Night in ages.  Not since the last Linton Infants School Quiz 'n' Chips before we left the village.  So when I heard that Java Jazz Cafe in Delmar was holding a "Trivia Nite" we leapt at the chance.  Friends joined us in a team of four, and the Amnesiacs were born.

The comperes were sisters, one a college student and the other still at High School.  They were brilliant - not super-slick but just really charming and entertaining.  There were numerous rounds.  Pop culture was a bit beyond us, but we did fine on Fun with Physics (though we nearly blew it by failing to make a house of cards) and we were positively stellar on Multi-Cultural Manners (maximum score, doubled because we nominated it as our speciality round).  History and Literature went well, but Music from the Movies was nearly our downfall...

Nearly...but not quite!  For yes, the Amnesiacs scooped the prize!!  Almost literally:  the prize (which we'll have to collect another day) is a monstrous desert called the Java Zombie, featuring twelve scoops of ice-cream. 

Ah, the sweet taste of victory... 

Ok, full disclosure, there were only three teams competing.  But, hey, a win's a win.   It's not as if it's just the taking part that counts.

What's the big idea?

I've mentioned TED before in this blog.  I enjoy the online talks and sometimes email links to friends.

Well, today I got to attend a TED conference myself, right here in Albany.  At least, it was a TEDx conference, which is an independently organised smaller version of the original (and unlike the "real" TED, the ticket didn't cost thousands of dollars).

It was fun.  Twelve live presentations on a variety of topics, interspersed with videos of talks from TED events elsewhere.  Each talk was no more than 18 minutes long.  It was a bit like going to the gym and trying out all the machines (I imagine), except just using your brain.  Some were more taxing than others, some more inspiring than others - but I expect everyone present responded differently to each speaker.  In the course of a day we covered such topics as The Death of Copyright, The Only Constant is Change, Mycobond (a biodegradable alternative to polystyrene) and How to Have a 32-year Honeymoon.  To name but a few. 

My personal favourite was EJ Krans of the Capital District Community Gardens project, talking with infectious enthusiasm about the Veggie Mobile, a mobile greengrocer van that brings low-priced fresh produce to underserved neighbourhoods.

My favourite video (not entirely representative of the genre) was this one. It's quite short. I hope it makes you laugh, too.

Boy in a bubble

The other weekend we attended the Fall Fair at the kids' old school.  The highlight for the Boy was this "Human Hamster Ball". 

Looks like fun, doesn't it?

Way too much fun for likes of me, of course.

Sign language

Even in the UK you've probably been hearing about the mid-term elections happening over here.  Neighbourhoods across the US are bristling with lawn signs in support of whichever candidate for whatever office.  Well, today has been the day, and tomorrow we'll know how much of a kicking the incumbent Democrats have been given.  At least there's very little chance that "maverick" Republican candidate Carl Paladino will have become New York state's new governor.  He has run on the bizarre (to British ears) campaign slogan "I'm mad too, Carl!"

The entire school district has been off for the day, even though schools are not being used as polling stations.  So kids have been able to lounge around / catch up on homework / see friends / hang out at the playpark or whatever else they've seen fit to do.  They may even have been along to the Town Hall to watch their parents exercise their democratic right to vote, assuming their parents are lucky enough to have such rights.

With Hallowe'en now behind us at least one local radio station is already devoting itself to non-stop "Holiday Favorites".  Rudolf, Frosty and co from now until December 25... please, bring back the zombies, ghouls and politicians!

One fine day in the City

Back in April I'd planned to meet up in NYC with a friend from the UK, but our plans were thwarted by the Icelandic ash cloud.

Today was our rain-date (cloud-date?).  The Man dropped me at the station in time for the 8:05 Amtrak to the city.  After a very hectic weekend it was a lovely indulgence just to sit quietly on a train for two and half hours.  And then the bonus of meeting my friend at the end of the journey and spending a happy day catching up with each other's news.  In one of the greatest cities in the world!

We visited the site of the World Trade Center.  A new building, the One World Trade Center, is under construction, and two reflecting pools are being built where the Twin Towers stood.  Right now it all seems less a place of sombre reflection and more a focus of activity and energy - which is probably how it should be.

From there we walked down to the edge of Manhattan for a view of a famous lady.  The Staten Island Ferry offers a good vantage point and we enjoyed the free ride across and back.  Despite the bright blue skies it was perishing cold on deck and I was glad of my winter coat.

We finished up in Chinatown for a snack, more chat and then a rush-hour subway ride back to Penn Station where I caught my return train.  The family was waiting to meet me in Albany, happy to have me back (I think), and perhaps even happier to receive the gift of Hula Hoops and two enormous jars of Marmite that my dear friend had brought all the way from England just for them.