New Years Eve Snow

As I was leaving work today, I looked down and couldn't find my feet. Help! I'm sinking (I'm not short either). Happy New Year's Eve from a cold (5F) and snowy Albany, NY.

Best wishes in 2009!

DVD's!

These are just a few of the DVD's we got for Christmas and we only got around to watching one of them (Annie Hall). However, I did make it out to the movie theater to see some of the most recent releases such as Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (All of which I would recommend you go and see).

Christmas

Christmas was four days ago. How was your holiday? Did you enjoy it? Here is a view of my tree from back home in Texas.

Neward, NJ => NYC

So it's been a while. I've been gone the past 11 days or so visiting family for the Christmas holiday's and didn't get much time to post or take pictures of home. Anyway, I'm back now and should be back to the usual routine of posting photos again. This one was taken during my connection in Newark, NJ looking east towards New York City.

As the New Year rapidly approaches, I hope to have a "Year In Review". This will be a recap of the most popular and most visited photos of 2008 here on Albany Daily Photo.

Monster Truck Tires

This picture was taken a few months ago (notice the leafs on the trees) at the same corner where we have previously seen wind turbines and coolant generators. This day we had these giant monster truck tires proceeding down the Washington Ave. Extension and Fuller Road.

Scarf

We live in Albany. That means it can get really cold. For the next 10 days (as of right now) the temperature isn't suppose to get above freezing during the day. That means the days will be cold and the nights even colder. In order to stay warm when you go outside, consider investing in a nice winter scarf as seen here. The one seen here is a scarf my friend had at work yesterday. Yes it looks like a bee, but it's sure to turn heads when you walk by.

Got Milk?

Tomorrow is my last day at work before I leave for the holiday's. In honor of this special occasion I baked cookies for everyone in the office. Are they good cookies you ask? Yes! This is the best cookie recipe I've ever found and I've been making these cookies for about a year now without tweaking anything. Here's a hint...weigh the ingredients like it calls for.

Evapco

Evapco manufactures commercial and industrial cooling equipment. This is another selection of industrial sized machinery that I saw on the Washington Extension while at work.

Where does all this stuff come from?

Worst Ice Storm in 21 Years

So I rescind the comments I made yesterday about the ice storm. It was actually much worse than I initially expected. Supposedly it was the worst ice storm in 21 years. There have been about 1.25 million people in eastern NY and the northeast without power and it won't be restored until Wednesday in some location here in the Capital Region. For more news stories check the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. I feel very lucky to have power and heat!

Here are some more pictures: 1 2 3

Annoying Ice Storm

Last night was messy. Freezing rain and an icy mix hit most of our region. There was very little snow (none from what I can tell). This made the morning just an aggravation more than anything. Power was out in certain places (2 stoplights) during my way to work, but for the most part it wasn't as bad as it could be. There are about 100,000 people without power as reported by National Grid. Farther west they got much more snow and farther east they got more rain. Lucky for us. Today will just be annoying.

Familiar Egg

In case you forgot what The Egg looked like, here is another shot. Currently the grass is dead and trees are bare, but next summer it will look more like this.

Mutsu

These are my new favorite apples. If only I could get them to sprout in my apartment. Goodbye fall.....hello winter.

Cookies

Cookies are yum!

So Many Dynamos

This is the guitarist from So Many Dynamos who performed last week at Valentine's.

Random Note: It's freakin' cold out today/tonight. Bundle up!

Graffiti

This is some of the graffiti that is on the wall of Valentine's upstairs.

Sound Guy

A friend of mine recently told me that all sound guys are attractive. This one is for her. The sound guy at Valentine's.

SIMS

Does it help take the edge off?

The answer...

Most definitely yes!

Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot played tonight at Valentine's in Albany. This indie-rock band hailing from Syracuse, NY has been making waves since they first formed in 2006. Tonight I found out why. They are very energetic, sound great, and never want to let you down. If you get a chance to check them out you should. They are one of the newest buzz band's running around the blogosphere.

Scavenger Hunt

Here's something fun. If you can tell me where this picture was taken you win a prize. I have absolutely no means of actually awarding you a prize, but let's see if anyone gets it.

Poinsettia

This is a Poinsettia I have in my apartment now. This flower which is commonly associated with Christmas has many stories that can be found here, here, and here. As attractive as the leafs are, they are poisonous. Do NOT eat them! Also, water carefully. Enjoy!

Snow that Sticks

Yesterday we had the first amount of snowfall that actually stuck to the ground of the season. It wasn't a significant amount (probably just a trace) and it was gone once the snow turned to rain.

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart. Need I say more?

Nazar

This is a Nazar or an evil eye stone given to me by my friend Sarah from Turkey. This amulet is meant to protect against evil eye...or the belief that the envy of fortunate people will eventually lead to their misfortune. There are many stories that are associated with these objects: here - here and here. Along with the good protection they bring, they are also beautiful ornaments for ones house.

Post Thanksgiving

Oh boy! Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I was busy all day cooking, eating and entertaining. After cleaning things up last night I didn't want to start anything else, and left the leftover turkey bones in a pot.

Woke up this morning and started my turkey stock. Homemade stock always tastes better. Maybe a similar scene occurred in your home.

New CD's

If you know me or you keep up with this blog, you probably know I really like music. This is just a collection of some of my most recent CD's that I have purchased and been listening to. Take your pick. They are all very good.

Albany Map

I like maps. I was cleaning out my file folder today and came across my folder full of maps. I opened up the Albany map, got distracted, and felt that you should all know what the streets in downtown Albany look like.

Stickers

These are the stickers that are on the cover of my laptop.

Marshall Amp

This is the Marshall Amp that I use when I play my electric guitar. After rockin' out last night I went to unplug and felt like the light hitting the amp would make a good picture. I really like this amp for two reason:
1 - It sounds good
2 - It's Burnt Orange (Hook 'Em)

Flowers

This is part of a picture frame that I have in my place that came with some flower pictures in the holder to persuade you to buy this cheap wall art. Seeing as how I saved this thing from a goodwill bin as a undergrad, I was too lazy to ever replace the pictures. I think the flowers looked very good by themselves.

Tangerine Tree Update

If you have been keeping up with my blog for a while, you know that I have some tangerine trees that I've been growing in my apartment. This is the biggest tree that I have currently have. They sprouted in late May and have slowly been growing. With freezing temperatures and little sunlight, I have to keep them inside with an artificial grow light and heating pad. I hope to one day be able to plant them in the ground so they bear fruit. I have 7 tangerine trees and 6 lemon trees. I recently planted ~40 apple seeds, but none have sprouted yet.

Fruit

I've been keeping my bananas next to my pumpkin that I got a few weeks back while picking apples. I reached down this morning to grab a banana for my breakfast and thought this would make a good picture. Enjoy!

Stuck in my Head

I was listening to my iPod and "Crazy About You" by Whiskytown started playing. Needless to say I've had this song stuck in my head on and off the weeks now so it made me very happy. If you've never heard or listened to Whiskeytown I suggest you check them out. It was Ryan Adams' alt-country band before his current band the Cardinals.

Extra Paint and Canvas

I had some extra paint and a canvas laying around my place a few weeks ago so I decided to get rid of both and this is what I came up with. I'm not and artist and I don't claim to be one, but it adds some nice color to my apartment.

Shoes

This picture was taken during this past summer during my trip to Boston at Faneuil Hall. I haven't been taking many picture recently and hope to find some time to get out and take some pictures. I'm really looking forward to the Empire State Ice Rink to open up so I can take some pictures at night of the skaters. Pardon the interruption the week or so if I don't get a photo up each day.

Jazz

This was a mural I came across during the past week of Louis Armstrong.

On another note, this week it's suppose to start getting much cooler with hi's in the 30's. Wednesday may be the first full day below freezing.

Wind Turbine

Yesterday I saw this wind turbine going by outside my office window. We see these turbines leaving ever once in a while, but this one seemed much larger than all the previous ones we've seen. It had a very hard time turning the corner at the intersection and then getting on to I-90 West. We assume they are coming from a GE manufacturing plant somewhere off the Washington Ave. Extension, but that only a guess.

A Bit of Texas in Albany

James McMurty, the son of Larry McMurty (Lonesome Dove & Terms of Endearment + many more) played at The Egg tonight. It was much more rockin' than I ever expected. After living in Austin for 4 years and spending the previous 18 years of my life in Texas I had never seen him before....and now I wonder why I never took advantage of seeing him before. To put it simply....the show rocked! There is still a month and a half left in the year, but the show is easily in my top 10 for the year and probably in my top 5. Go see this guy whenever you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.

#42 Strangest Buildings of the World

#42 Strangest Buildings of the World

That's right Albany. We can be very proud that The Egg on The Empire State Plaza is the 42nd Strangest Building in the World.

If you have never been to The Egg I highly recommend it. There are tons of great shows coming up in the near future if you go here. Here is what I would recommend:
James McMurtry - 11.13
Susan Tedeschi & James Hunter - 11.14
Johnathan Edwards - 11.15
Duncan Sheik - 11.16
Jorma Kaukonen - 11.21
Stephen Kellog & The Sixers - 11.22

If you don't like music, there is always dance, comedy, film, theatre, and family events.

I just really like music and you will probably find me going to at least half of the shows I've listed. Oh...and David Byrne played there last week. Yeah...the David Byrne from the Talking Heads! Tickets were sold out!

Real Butter

Yes! Real Butter! After going to the movies a few weeks ago and not having enough good butter or salt on my popcorn, I ran across this sign recently. So if Wall-E, X Files, or The Dark Knight doesn't entice you, you can always go to the movies for the Real Butter.

Volleyball

Today is pretty gloomy outside. Not the best day to be playing Volleyball, but there are some people who are willing to tough it out.

Today's Forecast: Cloudy with a 30% Chance of Rain

This is a picture of University Hall on the SUNY Albany Campus. It houses the admissions office and administrations operations along with some other functions which I can't tell you about (I'm not really sure what goes on behind all those glass windows).

Halloween Recap

My Halloween recap comes in the form of an Etch-a-Sketch. Did it work you ask? Why yes! You could turn the knobs and it would write on the paper. The only drawback was that you couldn't erase what you just wrote. Still, one of the best costumes of the night.

Diwali Utsan 2008

This past Sunday many Hindu's celebrated Diwali Utsan, a major holiday celebrated across the globe at the "Festival of Lights". There were wonderful performances and excellent food to celebrate the occasion.

Election Day

Did you vote in the 2008 Presidential Election? I hope you did. Here in New York, we still use the antiquated system of lever voting machines. I was a little taken aback when I went to vote this morning (6:05 AM - 14th person in my district) and found the lever voting system. As a young adult, I felt quite out of place when the 70 year old man had to tell me how to shut the curtain. Is this really the best we can do New York?

Panda

I saw this panda while walking around a market today.

Reflection Pool

This is a shot of the New York State Capitol and the reflection pool that is at the Empire State Plaza. Soon they will have the Empire State Plaza setup for ice skating and holiday festivities for the season.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! This is my costume for this year. I made this Pac-Man costume in which you carry Pac-Man on your shoulders. It's build pretty solid and the whole thing is about 20 inches wide so I can stand inside of it. Wish me luck at during the costume contest!

Fall Colors

We've had a lot of rain recently and many leafs have fallen off the trees. There are a few however, that still have quite a few leafs with the beautiful fall colors still present. The beautiful red, orange, and yellow. Soon they will all be gone, the temperature will get even colder, and winter will be here for good.

Enjoy the fall colors before they are gone for good!

90,000 Miles

I was driving today and saw that I had just run over 90,000 miles on my truck. When I initially purchased it there were ~58,000 miles in the summer of 2003. That works out to ~17.5 miles per day since I got the vehicle.

You Live In Hell

1972 Paint Job

I took this a while ago at the classic car show I went to. This guy was really proud that this car had its original paint job from 1972. He didn't drive it at all and kept it garaged all the time.