Last Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:15:01 AM
Wood is perhaps mankind’s oldest source for fuel used to provide heat for warmth and cooking. For millions of people throughout the world it still is the only fuel available to meet their needs. The developed countries have eliminated nearly all of their need for wood for cooking but still have large segments of the population depending on it for heat. At present with the energy crisis the percentage of those who will rely once again on wood is likely to increase dramatically.
This is good ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:14:02 AM
I see no reason why every non-comatose Expresslandian can’t write a novel. It’s so easy that I’m going for number two. I’m inspired by the unsubstantiated cult status of my quintessential Adirondack thriller, “Belle of Blue Mountain (BoBM)” and the inaudible clambering for another tour de force from my capricious readership. Those who have yet to enjoy the sardonically irreverent BoBM may do so free of charge by perusing archived Express issues dating back to ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:11:59 AM
For the past few years the information superhighway has offered an inside look into the lives of pretty much everyone you have ever met in your life. Just check on Facebook. You can find out where they are, with whom, and what they are doing at pretty much any hour of the day. You can see the x-ray of their four year old’s broken arm and know what they had for dinner. It doesn’t take much investigation at all.
I enjoy a little investigating, myself. It makes me feel a bit secret-agen ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 7:13:57 AM
One of the signs of real old age is recalling trivial things that happened in the far distant past and remarking on them. I first became aware of the tendency for people to do so by interacting with my father in his late years. Suddenly he began to mention happenstances and inconsequential events I had never heard him mention before. I have heard it said if you look in a mirror you will see either your mother or father and I believe it’s true. I see more and more of my father in me the old ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 7:13:11 AM
I enjoy old adages and phrases. They pull people together in a sort of common bond. One of my favorites is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I take this to mean the following: if something is and has been working well then leave it the heck alone. Case in point; my laundry hamper. The hamper was behind the door in the bathroom. The hamper was doing a fine job collecting soiled clothing and towels, minding its own hamper business. It was out of view, yet con ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 7:09:09 AM
Today was the coldest day of the New Year and on my way to town to get the paper I began to reminisce about what I would probably have been doing on such a day in the late fifties, early sixties. There would be every likelihood that I would have been afield. Both my professional work and recreational pursuits were centered on the outdoors. If it was a workday it might be checking on a softwood logging job to check to see that top lopping regulations were being followed. State law dictates that a ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 7:08:21 AM
My propensity for fighting uphill battles, tilting at windmills and making yellow snow into the wind is indubitable. Therefore, the ensuing fume will no doubt be disregarded out of hand by aromatic people. I’m shamelessly allergic to perfumes and colognes. When I’m in close proximity to those who luxuriate in essential oils and aroma compounds, I suffer headaches, watery eyes and irrepressible choking. Once, after walking past the perfume counter in Macy’s, I projectile v ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 7:07:33 AM
I will let you in on a little secret about me: I am notoriously bad at following directions. I do not do well with sticking to plans or keeping within time constraints. I have never in my life excelled at being tidy and or organized; just not things I got when the genetics were distributed. I have tried, as of late, to rein myself in and set aside certain times for certain tasks.
For instance, I tried to allot myself a window of time each and every day for writing. The problem here is that the ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 7:06:41 AM
“What’s the best rifle scope to buy?” “Are the European made Swarovski and Zeiss brands really worth the money?” With so many options available along with some fancy marketing jargon, the choice of “which scope is best for me” can be mind boggling. However, with some basic optics knowledge you can narrow the field pretty quickly.
Rather than jump right into the topic by talking about the virtues of a 40 mm versus a 50 mm objective lens or whether Nikon ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:12:37 AM
There is an old saying, time flies when you’re having fun. If it’s true I had the time of my life last year. It literally flew by for me and I have to admit I did have a lot of fun. The start of every New Year provokes a lot of thoughts, regardless of ones age or status. I have always looked forward to the coming year. I am always full of resolutions determined to at last put my life and affairs in order. This year is no different from the last fifty. My resolutions have not changed ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:11:53 AM
I, in my quest to lower bills and make sure that I am getting the best rate, deal, price or what have you, have discovered some things. I’ve concluded that most people decide that the extra ten bucks a month for cable, phone or internet is simply worth not having to try to access a human being. Accessing a human being would be step one, while connecting with one that is both literate and knowledgeable seems to be a task akin to locating Jimmy Hoffa.
I wanted the best cable/phone/internet c ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 9:10:13 AM
I think old man winter is getting lazy. He used to run across the Canadian border in November and start freezing the ponds and lakes. Before you knew it, the old coot was piling snow on our roads, and siphoning heating oil out of our tanks.
Maybe it’s his age that is finally catching up with him. He’s getting on in years, and just can’t move as fast as he once did. It could be that knee of his, the one the doctor wants to replace, is giving him trouble. Or perhaps his sno ...
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 7:54:05 AM
As owners of the Knotty Pine Restaurant in Thendara, Cindy and Gary Isensee follow in a tradition of service and quality established by the first owners and perpetuated by a series of owners going back to the 1930s.
Mary and Michael Martin built the Knotty Pine in the 1930s and sold it in 1946 to the Schultz Family who ran it until 1972 when they sold to partners Dave Tickner and John Scholl. Restaurateur Nini Ventura of Old Forge and Utica owned the Knotty Pine until 1983 when he sold it to the ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 11:08:18 AM
The end of the big game season signals the start of three other traditional winter season activities in this area. They are rabbit hunting, snowmobiling and skiing. Of the three rabbit hunting is the oldest sport, but today it trails the other two in popularity. Rabbit hunters are a breed of their own. The quarry is not the ultimate thrill or inducement to participate in the practice, the dogs are.
Hunting, it goes without saying, is the oldest and most basic form of human activity. Dogs became ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:48:16 AM
Happy New Year? In the first place, I’m now writing 2012 on my overdrawn checks to our Inlet tax collector. Happy Gregorian New Year, Linda Nelson. In the second place, Jan. 23 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Lose your Dragon-self. In the third place, the dragon is enigmatically considered the most encouraging of the Chinese zodiac animals. In the fourth place, we should prepare for scores of lion dances, karaoke competitions, dragon parades and Chinese operas at View. In the ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:48:16 AM
My affinity for cluttered spaces never ceases to amaze me. I’m very similar to a small animal filling its den; I squirrel everything away just in case I need it later. Things in my world are in no specific order, but I can tell you where just about anything is located. The sharpie marker I especially like is in the junk drawer underneath the empty Steely Dan cd case. The prime example of this is my car. It tells a story ... a jumbled, crowded, nonsense sort of story. I do hoe it out on occ ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 12:28:27 PM
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a baby around the house. We have one now two days a week. We have been baby-sitting our newest great-grandchild while the parents work. Now that may not sound like much and it probably would not be if we were not so old. It has been going on for about three months now and it has been a real eye opener for me.
We had three youngsters of our own and raised the mother of this latest tad from the time she was two. One would think that we should know what ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 12:28:28 PM
I am not a resolute person. It’s just a fact that I have accepted. This is the time of year when everyone is talking up their New Year’s Resolutions. I’ll let you in on a little secret: when these little tidbits of positive change and promise are thrust at me by the well-meaning masses, I’m laughing on the inside.
Keeping it on the inside is pretty much all I can do. My personal history has made me resolve not to make resolutions.
I’ve had the years that made me th ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 12:28:28 PM
As I approached a straight spot in the road, I slowed down, cradled the wheel between my knees and with both hands unzipped the window and folded it down. It’s a Jeep thing, and by “Jeep thing” I mean Jeeps that are direct descendants of the original Willy’s utility vehicle.
I love these Jeeps and always have. I’m not talking about today’s plush Grand Cherokee or Commander; I’m talking about the original Jeep CJ and its successor, the Wrangler. Th ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:08:17 PM
The Christmas season means many things to many people. I have found that my feelings toward the holiday have changed with age. At first I was totally absorbed with the thought of presents for myself. Then my focus changed to gifts for our children and grandchildren. That era has lasted longer than any others I may have encountered along the way.
I well remember my most memorable. It was the first year I was away from home. I was a teenager and in Japan as part of the occupation forces. I gave a ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:08:17 PM
On the table, along with this note, you’ll find your favorite Spam fillets caramelized in Riehle maple syrup and Gatorade for your electrolyte deprived reindeer. There’s also a shot of Monster Hitman Energy Drink to kick your butt from here to Sacramento. Don’t tell Kathy that I fried Spam in Ted’s maple syrup. She considers that sacrilegious and I’ll be relegated to her $#.?list.
I’ll make this brief. I don’t want any Christmas gifts ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:08:18 PM
My wife has painted three ceramic nativity sets. The unpainted sets are sold by a seller in Ohio who has them listed on EBay. When the box comes in the mail, we carefully unwrap each of the twenty-two characters that are shrouded in newspaper. The magi, Joseph and Mary, the animals, even baby Jesus, are pure white. But they don’t stay monochromatic for long.
My wife has a work bench where she paints like a non-unionized elf. Perched on her stool with her music playing in the background; s ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 1:08:19 PM
It’s Holiday Party time. This means lots of food and drink will be flowing and personally I get very excited about party food. Oh, the teeny tiny appetizer-sized tidbits do so delight me. My rule regarding bite sized food is as follows: It doesn’t count; not toward calorie counting or dinner-ruining, none of it; if it did not require sitting in a chair and the use of utensils, why it never existed at all. Follow my rules and you, too, can consume a veritable vat of cocktail franks an ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 12:48:16 PM
For three quarters of a century residents and visitors in the Central Adirondacks have patronized the Knotty Pine Restaurant in Thendara. Whether for a special occasion or just a friendly evening out, to dine at the Pine is a tradition and a treat.
The founder of the establishment was Michael Martin who moved to Thendara from Rochester and immediately became known as “Little Mike” because there was all ready a “Big Mike” Skirment (a larger man) also in the business who ra ...
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:28:12 AM
Everybody needs a hobby. A hobby can be many things for many people. I have had several over my lifetime and, if I include my work, my life has been one continuous hobby. Many of my friends have led the same existence.
Work is perhaps what many consider an affliction. Work meant something they did only because they had too to live. It was truer years ago than today because government has made it an awful lot easier to get by without working. I have had many friends who when asked how’s it ...
