Handbill Handout

Low 80s and sunny, supposed to get to the high 80s later.  I can't remember when I got the black metal Swingline stapler that sits on my desk but I'm very, very glad to have it.  Some folks have cheap mostly plastic staplers and they don't do the job quite as well or they opt to deal with the electric stapler on the copy machine that can be temperamental, stapling when and where it damn well pleases.   The stapler is black and exactly eighteen centimeters long and at its peak it stands five and a half centimeters high.  It feels like it weighs more than half a pound so it would be a solid weapon to use for a blow to the back of the head in an active shooter or insubordinate employee situation  I've stapled personal and business documents with the stapler though personal stapling is rare.   I fill the stapler with Allied Office Products brand staples that come in boxes of 5000 chisel point model staples.  The box is, seasonally enough, re...

High 70s and sunny, might hit the mid 80s later. The R46 subway car is still often seen on what in olden times was known as the BMT and the IND lines as well as the SIR (formerly known as the SIRT).  They were manufactured in the 1970s and look like it.  The seats are orange and yellow and are arranged in a groups of three  that fact perpendicular to the movement of the car separated by groups of two at a 90 degree angle to the groups of three with back to back seats facing toward and away from the direction that the train is moving. The outside of the car is silver and there's a number on each.  There are three sets of double doors on each side of the car though sometimes only one of the two doors opens and in rare cases neither door opens.  The roof of the car is curved and rain sluices off both sides. I have spent a lot of time in R46's in my life.  I even de tailed the adventures of a plastic bottle on (in?) an R46 just over nine years ago.  ...

Mid 70s and partly sunny. When I take the bus home from the office between early January and Thanksgiving week I typically wait on a bus stop located on an Eastbound midtown street.  The stop is located on the south side of the street in front of a storefront whose contents vary depending on the season.  Across the street is a pretty famous performing arts venue with a marquee that attracts tourists by the thousands.  People are forever taking photos and selfies and what have you. There's no shelter on this bus stop probably because of the high volume of pedestrian traffic moving through the area.  When it rains hard enough I go across the street and stand under the Famous Marquee, reducing its fame to simple utility as far as I'm concerned.  Kind of like asking a celebrity for directions without acknowledging their status which also happens frequently in this town.  I like standing under the Famous Marquee when it's really pouring because then there ar...

High 70s and sunny, thunderstorms coming in later they say. Nearly every morning that I go into the office for work I wait on a bus stop.  The bus stop is just off the intersection of the street that I live on and a main artery that runs the length of the island.  It's about 8-12 steps from the corner depending on how long your stride is.  There's a shelter that's mostly glass and it has an ad on the side furthest from the corner in the direction of the traffic flow on that side of the artery.  The top is frosted glass that's tilted on and angle to let rain roll off the back and there's a space between the walls and the roof that precipitation can blow through if the angle of the wind is just right but it rarely is.  On the side nearest corner of my street there's a blue strip that has the intersection spelled out l i k e t h i s except the letters are sideways as though the designer wanted everyone to read it with their head tilted 90 degrees to t...

High 70s and mostly sunny. There are mundane things that you see every day that you take for granted and then they disappear and even though their disappearance might actually make your life easier you still feel vaguely bereft because of their absence.   In this case the inspiration for that though are the toll booths of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (or I guess the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel for those of you who live in modern times, God help you).   I was aware that the tunnel was moving toward cashless tolling but the booths seemed to disappear without warning.  One day I was on the bus and we went through the tall green (were they green, a dark green or am I mis-remembering?) booths with the yellow automatic arm and their "do not back up" signs and the next day on the way home we emerged from the tunnel and weaved around piles of rubble that were the only reminders that the booths had ever existed. Man, it felt weird. My entire morning commute is thrown off now.  ...

Low 80s and sunny. Spent part of today traveling down the governmental rabbit hole because my driver's license needs to be renewed.  I want to get an enhanced license which means I need a social security card.  I don't have a social security card so  I need to get a replacement.  I'm going to have to show my driver's license to get a new social security card so I have to get that done before the license expires.  First world problems, I know. At least it's not as humid as it's been.

80 degrees and disgustingly humid, supposed to hit the mid 80s later today. This morning at the coffee cart. Me:  "Hey, so are you here Monday?   Eid   is in a couple of days, right? " Cart Owner:  "Yeah, well its either Sunday or Monday depending on when they see the moon, if it winds up on Sunday I'll be here and if it's Monday I won't". "Pretty good party right?  Lotta good food? " "Yeah man, you know we have a barbecue" "Lamb?" "Yeah, lamb, all kind of things, good time!  Eat a lot more food, maybe get laid a little more often too!" My cart guy isn't a particularly young man but he does love the ladies.  In the warm weather he's always asking if I just saw this one or that one that just walked by.  He's not a catcaller by any means, he just appreciates the fairer sex.   Guess you gotta do something when you're stuck in a coffee cart from 3-10am every weekday.