I know I have some catching up to do, but in the mean time. Here are my plans for Saturday

Some things to watch for in the next few days:

• TAP NY Beer Festival Report
• Pictures of Sahkheed
• A trip report from the West

At the top of a lookout in the Catskills, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

If I could remember the name of the lookout I'd tell you, but we're near Wyndham, NY. It's a nice hike about 1.7 miles in.

Beer 1, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

Beer 1... So much more to go.

Stuck on the train, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

I am currently stuck on the train at my station watching the fire department walk by to address a track fire ahead. So now people are going between the cars and climbing over the guards onto the platform. What a good idea... Darwin's theories at work here in NYC.

Not to worry, I'm safe an it's above ground tracks so no nasty tunnel evacuations. And I just got off the train, via the doors.

Share Pangea Day?, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

On my way to the bookstore to pickup a book on Java ( neither food nor country). 5th avenue is a zoo. Mostly tourists and rubes out on a gorgeous day.

In front of the Apple store on at these two dudes are hanging out in Share Pangea Day shirts... Could it be Dogfish Head brewery? They have a beer called Pangea. Or are the continents re-colliding on the tenth of May?

All right, so I announced that I was back, and then I go and disappear again.  My bad.  Actually, I'm experiencing a slight crisis de blog.  Originally, I had intended this blog to be some technical some cultural some inane, but for the past little bit, IMHO, I've been focusing on the inane without much time or attention to la boeuf.  See, I'm even feigning clever by using foreign language tricks.

At any rate, fair reader, I'm aiming to aim higher, but I'm not sure higher what that really is.  After isn't 'up' just a construct of gravity?

Oooh, spooky....

and stolen from http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2006/02/the_paradoxical.php

Demolition in Manhattan, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

I love demolition in progress. Not for the obvious eight year old child reasons, but because of the unprecedented view of interiors. Interiors of rooms, of walls, of floors. My favorite demo was in Chelsea a few years ago. The former occupant had left posters on the walls. As the demolition progressed and the building was more or less sheared in half you could peer into the rooms as if watching a play taking place in an abandoned apartment.

I am also a big preservationalist - don't get me started about people who paint antique furniture. So demolition is always a bit bitter sweet to me. You may remember my bathroom renovation late last year. Don't get me wrong I like my brand new fixtures but the new bathroom is not the work of craftsmen like the former was. The contractor was in such a hurry to get paid and move on that doing the work seemed an unfortunate inconvenience to him. I wish I had done my own demo actually. The old bathtub they sledge hammered to pieces was worth about $500 (about 10% of the cost of the remodel) intact as architectural salvage.

I always thought it was "Morning" like the start of the day, but apparently it's "Mourning" like sadness or bereavement.  Who knew?

These are the mourning doves that have been nesting on my fire escape for the past few weeks.  We've been trying to get a picture but have not wanted to disturb the nest, so this is one of the first pictures we've gotten.

Did I mention how much I love this place?, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

I am long overdue on my gushing review of Fette Sau but if search the blog for earlier posts you will find some mentions. Here is a look at the interior. They have three of my favorite things: beer, bbq and bourbon. What more could a guy want than a mexican man hole?

A night at the summer house, originally uploaded by astoriahermit.

We call Fette Sau in Williamsburg (354 Metropolitan) the summer house cause that's where we like to spend our summers. The doors to the outside were open and the weather was nice... Spring has sprung.