May 2005 Archives

The old kitchen has been ripped out and electrical outlets are being added to accomodate the new appliances. The fuse box was replaced with a circuit breaker, and the kitchen required so many additional circuits that I had to go back to the other apartment to see what I had. It all checked out. Dishwasher? That's a circuit. Microhood? That's a circuit. Fridge? That's another circuit. Oh, and the kitchen itself needs a general circuit. Old Macdonald had a condo. E-I-E-I-O. And in this condo he had a kitchen...

You can see where the refrigerator used to be. There was no dedicated outlet for it, so it must have been plugged into the outlet above the counter to the right. Fresh! The new outlet for the fridge can be seen to the left of its silhouette.

The kitchen vent, which we asked to have vacuumed. There was probably 30 years of dust in there. Does that intercom phone work? Not likely. The old cabinets are visible in this older entry.

The sink will go here. The grey filler at the right covers the hole made when an outlet was added to the bathroom.

The old range was here. Additional outlets and wiring have been added to support the range's electrical ignition, the hard wired dishwasher, and the microhood. In the middle left, an outlet was moved farther away from the range. In the middle top, the first attempt to place an outlet for the microhood appears to have been unsuccessful.

Florence Fabricant recently reported in the NYT that papayas from Belize were available at Fairway and perfect for ceviche. I thought this might be a good time to try the Good Eats island ceviche with pickled onions recipe, perfect for marking the start of summer.

A gaping hole is all that's left of the old medicine cabinet. You can see the back of the kitchen wall.

We skipped the Sixth Ave Street Fair to eat at Shake Shack. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea and we had to wait a while before we got our food. It was worth it.

A Chicago dog, fries, and a very expensive plastic cup of Duvel just moments before it leaped off the table. Ah, the Chicago dog. This ridiculous midwest concoction with celery salt and most of the toppings available at Subway feeds a craving I didn't even know I had. The specialty concretes are not being served yet - check back later this summer. At four ounces, the standard burger could leave you hungry but its combination of sirloin and brisket will pack a flavor you won't find at a chain fast food joint. Yoo Mee overheard one of the line staff say that a combination of one burger patty and the fried portobello from the 'shroom burger can't be beat.

Good hot food in a park on a sunny day... one of life's pleasures.

Warm weather means street fairs, and we stumbled into the Sixth Ave Street Fair after watching Star Wars Episode 3 at the Ziegfeld. Both the movie and the kettle corn we got from the street fair were disappointing. Save your money and go to Popcorn, Indiana on Broadway and 48th instead.

Looking south...

Looking north, towards Central Park.

Mmmm, arc lamp.

Travelling by train along the Northeast corridor offers an interesting glimpse of life. I never tire of the scenery as it changes between lush fields, decaying factories, crosses of lakes and rivers, and offers glimpses of scenes difficult or impossible to capture otherwise.

Here's an abandoned industrial building. It's not easy taking pictures while moving at over 120 mph. The window panes are often covered in dry water streaks, the lighting conditions change quickly, and it's hard to keep the camera still for long exposure times. Using a fast shutter speed provides a clear picture but eliminates the sense of motion. Juggling all these factors when you're an amateur and when your target streaks past in a matter of seconds makes matters all the more difficult.

Some stations are busier than others.