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I've known for many years that there was a trail along the north side of the Mohawk River by Cohoes Falls. I tried and failed to find it once. This trail held an allure: The promise of a nature walk with forest on one side, and steep cliffs down to a huge waterfall on the other.
I am a completist about hiking trails, and aim to know every part of every trail within about a forty minute drive. Last January (before I had a job), I was enjoying the warm weather with a walk near Lock 6 in Waterford. Karen had earlier shown me the gravel road that runs along the canal, and I had noted some side trails into the woods, to take later. They turned out to lead right to that elusive path along the river. The view and sound of the falls from the cliffs directly above it were stunning. I also saw two bald eagles, one of which (possibly the biggest I've ever seen) took off from very close to me.
After we had watched "Guardians of the Galaxy 2," Karen told me, "I want a dancing Groot." Some weeks later, I was out shopping while she was sick, and picked up a meal for her at the food court, so that she wouldn't have to prepare anything. I just happened to discover a dancing Groot (sound activated) at ThinkGeek. It was possibly the most effective cheering-up gift I have ever given: She was gleeful for the rest of the evening.
One of my extremely awesome and talented friends (yes, this doesn't narrow it down a whole bunch because I'm astonishingly lucky) has opened an Etsy shop. It currently has stuff you may want for the holidays. Do check it out, and note that buying stuff there will help out an awesome person.
Gratuitous links:
Two Women Erased $1.5 Million of Strangers' Medical Debt Just Because They Felt Like It (Thanks, Amanda!)
British Member of Parliament publishes 250 pages of damning internal Facebook documents that had been sealed by a US court. Excerpt: "Facebook knew that the changes to its policies on the Android mobile phone system, which enabled the Facebook app to collect a record of calls and texts sent by the user would be controversial. To mitigate any bad PR, Facebook planned to make it as hard as possible for users to know that this was one of the underlying features of the upgrade of their app." (Thanks, Alan!)
The rudest Christmas song ever by Fascinating Aïda. (Thanks, Jess!)
Six13 - Bohemian Chanukah (a Queen adaptation) (Thanks, Amalia and Jenn Q.!)
Hamildolph (An American Christmas Story) - a Hamilton parody by Eclipse 6. (Thanks, Tikva!)
Payless Opens Fake Luxury Store, Sells Customers $20 Shoes For $600 In Experiment (Thanks, Dan and Jessica!)
A Short List Of Shenanigans My Parent's Dog Has Engaged In. (Thanks, Mia and Tikva!)
The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu: Mongolian folk rock, with striking scenery. (Thanks, Remy!)
"Siri, I'm getting pulled over": A new shortcut for iPhones can automatically record the police. (Thanks, Amalia!)
Chemicals used in Teflon and Scotchgard are a much bigger health threat than previously disclosed (Thanks, Caitlin!)
APNewsBreak: Georgia election server wiped after suit filed. (Thanks, Conni!)
Study: Artificial sweeteners toxic to digestive gut bacteria (Thanks, Amanda!)
I am a completist about hiking trails, and aim to know every part of every trail within about a forty minute drive. Last January (before I had a job), I was enjoying the warm weather with a walk near Lock 6 in Waterford. Karen had earlier shown me the gravel road that runs along the canal, and I had noted some side trails into the woods, to take later. They turned out to lead right to that elusive path along the river. The view and sound of the falls from the cliffs directly above it were stunning. I also saw two bald eagles, one of which (possibly the biggest I've ever seen) took off from very close to me.
After we had watched "Guardians of the Galaxy 2," Karen told me, "I want a dancing Groot." Some weeks later, I was out shopping while she was sick, and picked up a meal for her at the food court, so that she wouldn't have to prepare anything. I just happened to discover a dancing Groot (sound activated) at ThinkGeek. It was possibly the most effective cheering-up gift I have ever given: She was gleeful for the rest of the evening.
One of my extremely awesome and talented friends (yes, this doesn't narrow it down a whole bunch because I'm astonishingly lucky) has opened an Etsy shop. It currently has stuff you may want for the holidays. Do check it out, and note that buying stuff there will help out an awesome person.
Gratuitous links:
Two Women Erased $1.5 Million of Strangers' Medical Debt Just Because They Felt Like It (Thanks, Amanda!)
British Member of Parliament publishes 250 pages of damning internal Facebook documents that had been sealed by a US court. Excerpt: "Facebook knew that the changes to its policies on the Android mobile phone system, which enabled the Facebook app to collect a record of calls and texts sent by the user would be controversial. To mitigate any bad PR, Facebook planned to make it as hard as possible for users to know that this was one of the underlying features of the upgrade of their app." (Thanks, Alan!)
The rudest Christmas song ever by Fascinating Aïda. (Thanks, Jess!)
Six13 - Bohemian Chanukah (a Queen adaptation) (Thanks, Amalia and Jenn Q.!)
Hamildolph (An American Christmas Story) - a Hamilton parody by Eclipse 6. (Thanks, Tikva!)
Payless Opens Fake Luxury Store, Sells Customers $20 Shoes For $600 In Experiment (Thanks, Dan and Jessica!)
A Short List Of Shenanigans My Parent's Dog Has Engaged In. (Thanks, Mia and Tikva!)
The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu: Mongolian folk rock, with striking scenery. (Thanks, Remy!)
"Siri, I'm getting pulled over": A new shortcut for iPhones can automatically record the police. (Thanks, Amalia!)
Chemicals used in Teflon and Scotchgard are a much bigger health threat than previously disclosed (Thanks, Caitlin!)
APNewsBreak: Georgia election server wiped after suit filed. (Thanks, Conni!)
Study: Artificial sweeteners toxic to digestive gut bacteria (Thanks, Amanda!)
