Even the NY Times feels my pain


From the New York Times op-ed page (during a very rainy summer)

August 5, 2003

And the Forecast Is . . .

By MICHAEL RUBINER

Wednesday in New York : Rain. Heavy at times. Followed by periods of precipitation.

Thursday : Lingering showers throughout the day. Chance of rain 800 percent.

Friday : Moist. Damp. Sodden.

Saturday : Rainish. Showery. Precipitacious.

Sunday : Light rain followed by heavy rain followed by pouring.

Monday : Unseasonably rainy in the morning. Uncharitably rainy in the afternoon. Unconscionably rainy in the evening.

Tuesday : Endless showers broken up by occasional flooding.

Wednesday : Remember “Waterworld”? Like that, only with more rain.

Thursday : Not sunny. The opposite of sunny. Just forget about sunny, O.K.?

Friday : Clearing just long enough for you to make weekend plans. Followed by obscene amounts of rain.

Saturday : Take a wild guess.

Sunday : Incessant, spirit-crushing rain. The kind of rain that makes it futile to get out of bed in the morning. The kind of rain that seems as if it will never end. And guess what? It never will. Ever. Do you understand?

Monday : Please go away.

Tuesday : Ample, brilliant sunshine throughout the day. Wait

Anything’s possible

Late last week, my friend Harold told me he was taking this week off and that if I took a day off, we’d go to “The City” (Since I was a little child “The City” meant Manhattan which was treated differently than other parts of New York City).

Fine. I asked for, and received, Tuesday off.

But, what to do in The City? We talked about The Lower East Side (I am a knockoff watch whore and am looking for a new faux Breitling), getting tickets at TKTS and seeing a Broadway show, the Ansel Adams exhibit at MOMA and going to see David Letterman.

I have been a Letterman fan since the first time I saw him on The Tonight Show. When his late show began on NBC, I got on my knees and begged our program director at WGRZ in Buffalo to run it (which she eventually did).

Click to see the inscription from Dave

Around 20 years ago, Helaine and I went and saw a taping at 30 Rock. A friend who worked at NBC at the time got us into the studio early, where we shmoozed with Biff Henderson.

Letterman came out before the show and walked into the audience, looking for questions. Being right in front, we were tough to avoid. He called on Helaine and then answered her question, “What kind of makeup do you wear? My fiancee is on TV and his doesn’t look as good.”

When the show started, he made reference to the question and asked me what station I was on. Andrea Martin was on the show, but I don’t remember much more.

Of course, Letterman tickets are tough to come by, especially in the summer when his target audience is … at will, so to speak. So, I emailed my friend Mel at CBS. “They hate us,” he replied, making no bones about the Letterman staff’s relationship with the rest of CBS.

Next, an email to Aaron Barnhart at the Kansas City Star and www.tvbarn.com. Aaron has been a Letterman fan forever, and I figured he was connected. Anyway, I had just done a favor for him, so he was into me.

No pull.

But, Aaron suggested I go to the CBS website and put myself on the standby list. What the hell? It was late, the dog was chowing down, I had nothing better to do.

This afternoon the message appeared on my cellphone. Mitch at Late Night was calling, telling me they had a cancellation and I was invited. Assured seats, no standby. How cool is this?

All I had to do was answer a trivia question to establish my Letterman bonafides. First, how often did I watch? I told him 2-3 times a week (any more and too much Dave starts sneaking into my performance). My question, “Who is Alan Kalter?”

Damn! Alex, I’ll take staff announcers for $500.

So, Harold arrives at 10:00am. We”ll drive to Stamford and catch Metro North to Grand Central. And, we’re going to see Letterman.

Annual photo day

Every year, around her birthday, Steffie has a picture taken, which Helaine and I then hang in the hallway leading to our bedroom. Over the past few years we have started going to the mall photographer, with pretty good results.

Over the past few years we’ve also started bringing Ivy along, which causes some logistics problems. Malls aren’t exactly dog friendly.

Helaine made the appointment and we brought Ivy and Steffie in just before the mall opened and before the photographer was jammed with screaming little kids.

Once again, it’s a really nice photo.

Rick Springfield at Foxwoods (photos by Stefanie Fox)

I’m not sure how Helaine and Steffie could do this… I’m certainly not sure why they’re so motivated… but I know they are. In fact, they are one step short of ‘cult like’ when it comes to Rick Springfield.

Helaine first got hooked over 30 years ago during the “Speak to the Sky” era and kept her affection during General Hospital, Jessie’s Girl, Hard to Hold and beyond. Now, Steffie is right there with her.

I was able to get tickets, through a friend at Foxwoods, and Helaine made reservations so we wouldn’t have to schlep back after the show. We arrived mid-afternoon and checked in. Then, we headed to the box office to pick up their tickets (none for me, thanks).

Unreal as it seemed to me, there was already a sizable contingent of women, mostly sitting on the floor, in line, hoping to be first in. For most shows, Foxwoods Fox Theater has general admission with maitre’d seating up front and reserved in back.

We ate at Foxwoods’ buffet. It’s not Vegas. What can I say.

Helaine and Steffie headed to the show around 8:00 (Steffie taking my digital camera for more photos) while I headed to the poker room. Unfortunately for me, the wait was so long I knew I’d never play before the show was over. So, I played some slots and lost $40.

Too early to meet the girls, I hung out in front of the theater finding my friend Vinnie and his wife Jacqueline. After they went in I started talking with Mike, who was running the merchandising.

After a while, three women walked out, recognized me, told me they had an extra ticket, and gave it to me. So, I walked in.

Rick was mid-audience, on a seat, singing and playing. To say the crowd was going nuts was an oversimplification. This was an audience made up of adoring fans… and he was eating it up.

I watched Helaine and Steffie, standing in their front row seats, looking at Rick. It was actually pretty cool to be spying on them because they were having such a good time together.

Being a lone male in this sea of women gave me the ability to move at will through the theater. I went to see Steffie and Helaine and tell them I was there. I saw Vinnie and Jacqueline. I said hi to a few theater staffers I knew.

After the show, I had arranged for Steffie and Helaine to go backstage (actually downstairs, under the stage, in a stairwell) to meet and greet.

Rick and his road manager “Bucky” looked at some photos Stefanie had shot the night before in Westbury. Bucky thought it might be nice to have her ‘rose explosion’ photo sent to the office. Helaine will try and make that happen… if she finds out where the office is.

Both girls had their photos taken with Rick, as he held them. Then, they took a surprise photo, to be held for a later time (and, of which I can’t speak).

There’s no way for me to put myself in their shoes. I’m not sure who in my life would be a comparable ‘get.’ But, I do know they were amazingly affected, and that this was a wonderful time for both of them that they’ll never forget.

Steffie’s photos from both nights are posted in my photo gallery.

Steffie was scheduled to work Saturday afternoon, so while she went to bed, Helaine and I went downstairs to play. I found a $5/10 Texas Hold’em, with a kill (meaning the bets are $5 or $10 except after a pot of $100 when they are doubled). After a few hours, I walked away up $52. I really enjoy poker, and hopefully, am getting better.

Rick Springfield on Long Island (photos by Stefanie Fox)

Helaine and Steffie went to Long Island this afternoon to see Rick Springfield at Westbury Music Fair. I remember Westbury from, I would guess, 40 years ago (and, as I heard, Steffie felt it looked old).

Because the trip could have taken anywhere from 1:30 to 5 hours, they left early. Luckily for Steffie, there’s a very nice, upscale mall nearby. Roosevelt Field is built on the grounds of the airfield where Lindbergh took off to fly solo across the Atlantic.

They said the concert was excellent. I lent Steffie my Fuji S602z digital camera and she took around 100 shots before the battery gave out. The camera was dead, its lens extended from the body. Steffie freaked. But, it was just the battery.

I posted some of her finer shots (and they’re really great) in a photo gallery.

Later today, we’re going to Foxwoods, and Steffie and Helaine will see Rick again. And, Steffie will get fresh batteries for the camera.

He’s back

Just when we thought it was over, “Elden” returned, tapping, smearing, touching up. I have no idea what’s going on on my steps.

Meanwhile, Helaine and Steffie are leaving in a few minutes to see the first of two Rick Springfield concerts, this one in Westbury, NY. They are taking my Fuji S602z camera. I gave Helaine and Steffie some very brief lessons, but we’ll see. With a camera like this, it’s possible to take incredibly great shots… or touch a button and prevent you from shooting anything usable.

My friend Steve told me his DSL installation kit has arrived. I’ll probably help getting everything running. I’ve been tech support to most of the people I know, except the others I know who also do tech support. Helaine figures when I retire I’ll go door-to-door fixing computers and support myself that way. Why not? I enjoy doing it.

I forecast increasing clouds today… which have not yet arrived. I hate waiting. It’s weird having to have the limited perspective of hoping for deteriorating conditions just because I forecast them.

Front steps revisited

Yesterday, when “Elden” left, the stairs were draped with a tarp. So, we left it there and avoided all step contact. During the day, the tarp blew paritally off… guess what? The steps were complete! Oops.

He didn’t come back tonight (it’s his tarp).

Now all we need is the painter and paver to come back and finish the small parts of their jobs that didn’t go right the first time.

My front steps

A few months ago we refinanced the house and then used the proceeds to do some house repair. Nothing major… painting, new kitchen counter tops, more painting, a little roof work.

As it was ending, I noticed some cracks in the mortar on our front steps. We called in a man who had done some work for a neighbor. so far, it has taken as long as painting the inside of the house and it’s quickly approaching the length of the outside painting too.

Remember Elden from Murphy Brown!

Here’s what my beautiful, little, brick steps and landing look like today.

Bob Hope – dead at 100

Bob Hope died last night at age 100. It was announced early today.

Over the past few years it has been sad to watch the Hope family milk Bob’s memory. It’s not like they don’t have all the money in the world already.

It’s been pretty well known that Bob was in sad shape for the last few years. Still, on the occasion of his 100th birthday the family attributed a pretty good ‘ad lib’ to him. Even in his prime Bob was written for. At this moment, who would believe he wrote the line at all? Why not let him live in dignity, without making up things to make him seem even larger.

As far as I’m concerned the true judge of Hope’s stature was his treatment on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (I’ll use the show’s full name). Bob could walk in, at any moment, while any guest was on the air, and Doc and the band would play “Thanks for the Memories”, and Bob would sit down. And the other guest… too bad.

When Bob was done, he’d get up and leave. And he could do this anytime he wanted to.

That’s an achievement.

John Mayer

This is weird!

We bought 4 John Mayer tickets, but they were in a terrible location. So, since the show’s a sellout, we’re selling them on eBay and using the proceeds to buy 2 better tickets. So far, so good.

Except, tonight one of my co-workers bid on them!

If they weren’t already on eBay, they’d be hers… but I’m sort of locked into the auction.

Here’s an article from the Waterbury Republican American about John Mayer… and me (a little)

What does the singer John Mayer remember most about his childhood in Connecticut?

“Geoff Fox,” he says, referring to the longtime WTNH-TV weatherman.

“I remember waking up on winter mornings, looking out my window and seeing eight inches of snow. Then Geoff would instill hope that the next day of school would be canceled.”

Publishing with Movabltype

I’m not so sure what was so difficult about it, but at 2:30 in the morning, whispering on the telephone to Peter Sachs, I got Movabletype configured on my server! Now, I can run a blog for me and a blog for the WTNH Weather Department. The same install will handle both separately. Best of all, it’s all free.

This program is very powerful with lots of customizations. Of course, I worry I’ll customize it into not working!

As it turns out, my original formatting, with photos two across, caused the blog to be out of format with a screen resolution of 1024×768 or less. It’s fixed now… I think.

Liza Minelli

So, the word is out that Liza Minelli and David Gest have split. I don’t know who’s been cheating, but I think we can narrow it down to another man.

Observation

Sometimes I think about what it will be like when Steffie goes to college… so I can go back to being an only child.

Bye Bye Las Vegas

The last day… so depressing.

Helaine had arranged for a 6:00 PM check out. We knew we had to return our car by 9:00 PM. We spent the vast majority of the day close to home at Mirage.

Helaine had awful luck at blackjack. I was doing better at poker, up another $200+.

By mid-afternoon she was looking for something to do and I invited her to play Hold’em at the same table I was at.

Bad move.

Listen, I love having my wife there, but we both started getting awful cards… fractions… suits that were green. In Hold’em, 2-7 off suit is the worst hand you can get. I had more 2-7’s than I can believe. Helaine too.

And we started losing.

I think, between the two of us, we gave back around $150 before finally getting up and walking away.

Whenever Helaine and I fly somewhere, we always comment on how happy the people look arriving, and how sad the departees are. No different here. And, we would have all day to think about it.

Because of the time difference, you don’t have many choices when flying west-to-east. You can leave midday, and waste the whole day, or leave late at night and try to sleep on the plane (good luck).

Since we had first class tickets, with room to relax, we thought the redeye would be acceptable, even with a nearly 2 hour layover in the formerly crowded Pittsburgh International Airport (USAir, in financial trouble, has cut traffic back heavily to its Pittsburgh hub, favoring Charlotte instead for most East Coast north-south trips).

Returning the car at Dollar was no problem. For some reason the area where you drop the car, and where the shuttle bus arrives are separated, and that meant bag carrying.

The airport itself was quiet. Helaine, once again, went without a shoe inspection (something that had become a family joke and Helaine tradition). The federal agent did notice I had a small set of diagonal wire cutters in my carry-on. I had brought them to cut the cable ties I used to ‘secure’ our luggage against baggage handlers posing as thieves.

The official rules say these wire cutters should be OK because they had blunt ends, but that wasn’t the interpretation at the airport. I’m not exactly the threatening type, but no matter. These cutters, called dykes by electricians, are now part of some huge federal stash.

The flight was uneventful. Sleeping was the order of the day. They didn’t even lower the TV screen in the First Class cabin.

We made Pittsburgh on-time, Hartford too.

While Helaine got the bags, I took the shuttle and picked up the car. By the time I got back to the terminal, Helaine was at the curb waiting.

And there you have it. Every year, in July… when it’s really hot. Every year, same hotel, Mirage. Every year, it’s a ball. And I’m looking forward to going again ASAP.

Saturday… time’s running out.

First things first. This was another really good day at the poker tables. Somewhere north of $250 won playing $6-12 Hold’em. I am definitely getting better… and the cards are running my way.

OK – now to the real events of the day.

Earlier, we had played in the ‘No risk slot tournament’ at Aladdin. It’s actually pretty cool. You play in the tournament… and lose and then you get $10 in free slot play and a $20 comp for food. So, for $30 you get the chance to win and you get your money back.

And, Aladdin’s not stupid, because the food brought us back.

I have always been a huge fan of the buffets at Mirage and Bellagio (Bellagio with cracked King Crab legs). However, I could easily be won over by Aladdin. This is also an excellent buffet with pretty much everything you’d want. The quality seems excellent. There are a half dozen (or more) separate stations with individual specialties.

One thing I don’t like about Aladdin (and Bellagio and a few others) is where you retrieve your car from valet parking. It is under cover and stiflingly hot!

Helaine wanted to try and get some beads and maybe a Chippendale’s shirt for Steffie, so we headed to the Rio. Here’s another hotel I can take or leave. We tried their buffet years ago and I found it very un-special. There’s no poker for me, and the casino is ho-hum. But, they do have the Masquerade in the Sky.

The show this year was different from what we had seen in the past… but they’re all pretty similar. I was somewhat surprised at the number of beads thrown, which I remember as being more in years past.

All week I had been asking Helaine to go downtown. Downtown is where Vegas used to be, before the Strip cam into being. It has been a difficult journey for the hotels there. They’re older, more cramped, without good parking. Many of the older ones like Binions have very low ceilings and, when last I entered, were quite smoky.

We pulled into the valet stand at the Golden Nugget. Valet was full, but I said I was staying at Mirage (same owner) and after looking at my key, they let me in. It is very convenient to park at the GN valet. You’re less than a block from Fremont Street.

Before the hourly Fremont Street Experience started, Helaine took me to the Golden Gate Hotel. This is a Las Vegas tradition… actually more like a legend. You can go to the Golden Gate and get 99 cent shrimp cocktails!

They were very good. The sauce is strong and tangy. The tiny shrimp are more texture than taste. But, it’s amazing that it’s still 99 cents.

The Fremont Street experience, with thousands (maybe millions) of lights projected above your head and set to music, was very good. Fremont Street itself is a little bit like New Years Eve in Times Square or Mardis Gras in the French Quarter. And, there are every type of person you would and wouldn’t want to meet.

It’s a shame we’ll have to leave tomorrow. Helaine is starting to get melancholy. It will be nice to get back to Steffie and my folks, but this has been a really great vacation, and as always, we’ve done a lot.