One upside to being spurned by the entire female population that exists for no other reason than to do Satan’s bidding: I get to spend on me, and me alone!

Once I got my tax refund, it was time to spend, spend, spendspendspend, all for me, and nobody else but meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Well, maybe Momsie too.

After coming back from Boston, it was time to finally make some much needed upgrades to my home office setup, a project that has at long last been legitimized by the fact that I am actually making some money off this blog now. My 8 year old desktop rig simply wasn’t cutting it anymore, making even the occasional Facebook use an aggravating bang-my-head-against-the-wall experience. My printer also fizzled out, not having printed a streak-free page for at least a year. So it was time… time to order the MOTHER OF ALL DESKTOP PCs, a custom build I put together that includes an Intel i7 CPU, a blistering fast Solid State Drive, the second fastest video card on the market from ATI, and a tower case fashioned with the same materials used to develop weapons for the military. OH YEAH, BABY.

Also placed an order for a new Canon MP990, a multifunction photo printer that scans and copies with the best of ‘em. I opted not to get one that includes a fax since I don’t have a landline, and even then I’d never use it. I can’t wait, as the photo printouts are said to be exceptional.

Finally, I’ll be plunking down for a new MacBook Pro, (if they ever release the new updates that is), and a GPS add-on for my iPod (if they ever get around to releasing that too). With that add-on I’ll be able to geocache, use Navigon for driving, and effectively utilize all the location based apps I have installed to help me find eateries and other points of interest while I get around.

Since I broke my old camera, I’ve also since upgraded with a Canon s90, the best compact digicam around for point and shoots and low-light photos, which seems to be my thing. I love me some night shots.

I am hoping this crazy nuts spending binge will all translate into a better blogging experience, both for me and you, especially with the acquisition of a MacBook. I’ve always wanted to compose music using GarageBand, and I’m hoping to dust off my electronic piano and see if I can’t finally put together some original tunes I can post here for my readers to enjoy, including my personal rendition of Air Supply’s All Out of Love. Tee hee.

On the downside, it also means I’m going to be very poor for a while, and I won’t be able to take another trip anywhere until May. Ah well, there’s always Manhattan in the meantime. I’ve made it here, so I know I can make it anywheeeeeeeeere!

Especially when there’s no female in my life to muck things up for me.

Tags: camera, canon, desktop computer, garageband, geocaching, girlfriend, gps, home office, iPod, MacBook, manhattan, music, poor, printer, tax refund, update, upgrade
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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Earlier I heard, “We might be getting a little rain Thursday.”

A little rain?? How about a flooping hemisphere’s worth of H20 threatening to bring about the second coming of Noah’s flood?

Holy… and because my job is considered “essential” I have to go out in this mess too. Awesome.

Not that I’m complaining mind you, given my synergistic relationship with violent storms, but Mommy might worry about me, and that I simply can’t have. Ah well. In any event this might be the perfect time for me to test out my new camera (a spanking new Canon s90), so I may go down by the Hudson to see if I can get some up close shots of the megastorm headed our way, then post the pics here. All for you, my beloved readers.

Tags: camera, canon, flood, storm, weather
Categories: News Fit To Blog
 
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I went for an afternoon of geocaching before it would be time to pick up LA Girl at JFK, and while checking the back of a road sign for a hidden cache, I happened to look upward and saw a JetBlue airplane fly past. Is it that time already?

A few text exchanges and I finally met LA Girl for the first time, waving to her as I tried to squeeze into the terminal. I had forgotten that airplanes tend to carry more than one occupant, and had to fight a crowd of cars all looking to pick up loved ones, friends, cargo, drugs or whatnot.

The drive from JFK to midtown went amazingly fast though. We made friendly small talk while I tried to resist the urge to put on 80s music, which I knew she HATED with a passion. (Who hates a decade of music anyhow?)

I finally dropped her off at the hotel and stashed my car at a Hertz parking garage. The attendant almost had a fit when I told him I wanted to keep it here for a few hours.

“You’ll need to be back here by 10 if you’re not doing overnight.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Make sure you’re back here BEFORE 10.”

“Sure, not a problem.”

“You HAVE to be here before 10, got it?”

… … … … …

“How ’bout I pick it up at 9?”

He shrugged and gave me my ticket. Dweeb.

Anyhoo, it was back to the hotel, where LA Girl met me on the corner, and we were off. It’s been a while since I’ve actually walked with anyone, so I didn’t really know just how much of a slow walker I was until we started walking together.

*pant *pant* pant*

I stopped every now and then to get a shot of the city with my new camera, only to realize every time I did so LA Girl was 20 blocks ahead of me. It was like a scene out a of Wil E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon.

*pant* *pant* pant*

Eventually we stopped at Whole Foods, her getting sushi and me opting for, what else, pizza. Only this was prosciutto pizza too, mmm mmm MMM! The supermarket was HUGE, and oddly enough, what I remember most about is was the trash receptacles being divided up into at least 5 different bins, each one for different items. Including one for cell phones.

After that it was a quick walk back to Tasti D-Lite, mmm mmm MMMM. It wasn’t exactly ice cream, sort of like a cross between frozen yogurt and regular ice cream, but it was indeed tasty. We enjoyed some bantering back and forth again while a crowd of college aged folks started gathering in the store, including a few girls. I watched them to see if any of them would look my way and acknowledge my existence, and sure enough, one of them did, thus proving my theory that women do indeed pay more attention to me when I’m with company of the female persuasion. Well maybe. Perhaps she was really looking THROUGH me.

After the ice cream, it was another quick walk back to the hotel, where we bid each other adieu and good night. Overall I had a good time, I was glad to help a fellow conservative get situated in the city and ready to enjoy a week of sightseeing. For once it was nice to mingle with an actual human being, rather than the usual liberal crapbags I have to deal with here in a regular basis.

And now that I’ve done it, I can go back to being my usual antisocial techno-hermit self. Yaaaaaaaaaaay me!

Tags: conservative, food, geocaching, girl, hotel, ice cream, LA girl, midtown, pizza, supermarket, Whole Foods
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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And not just a girl, an LA Girl!

Omigosh, omigosh, I’ll have to get my hair and nails done! Maybe buy a new dress too! *hyperventilates*

I don’t know how it happened either, I was just talking to a nice Chinese girl on a conservative blog, and next thing I know we’re set to meet on the Upper West Side for dinner and ice cream after she decided to visit the city for a week. Sometimes my locale does have its upside.

It’s a weird feeling though, I haven’t had a get together with a girl since… um… since…

.. … … … .. … .. … … *counts fingers*

7 years? 7 YEARS?? I had no idea that much time transpired since then.

Ah well. It should be fun… I hope, as long as I don’t do something silly, like throw up on her boots or anything. If we can manage to stand each other for the entire evening, I might also tag along with her to the Met and Museum of Natural History the day after. Maybe. I’ve been to both before, but I’d like the experience of seeing the exhibits and getting a different perspective on it for once, instead of having conversations with myself and drawing the attention of security, as is usually the case.

Besides, it gives me a chance to test my theory that I will be far more attractive to the ladies here if they see me hanging out with another girl, especially one from LA. It is a sad testament to state of affairs today that I am only seen as attractive to the wimmins if it already looks like I have someone.

So if y’all can light a candle for me and pray she doesn’t like, eat me or something, I’d be much obliged.

Tags: experience, girl, history, LA girl, ladies, Links, museum, upper west side, women
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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For my last day I used the morning as an opportunity to go geocaching around Boston, and by pure chance that led me across the river again to the campus of MIT. While I was cache hunting, something about the place seemed familiar to me, until I finally looked up and saw one of the main building’s inscription: “Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” Heh.

Now I can honestly say I've been to Harvard and MIT!

A view of the Charles River from the campus of MIT.

I spent the rest of the morning walking the campus and eventually along the Charles River, and even found the building that housed some of the shhhmartypants that helped build the Hubble telescope too. Not wanting to leave just yet, I decided to drive back over the river and to the North End again to visit the Paul Revere House. I had walked past it a few times, but hadn’t yet been inside till then. Because it was Saturday the Freedom Trail was drawing more of a crowd than usual, and I was surprised to see how may were visiting the old house too.

I took a few minutes to visit each room and breathe in the history, still unable to believe where I was. This entire trip had been a surreal experience for me, and my only regret was not being able to share the many moments of traveling back to the past with a loved one. Perhaps someday.

It was already past noon now, and I couldn’t stay any longer. I drove around the city one last time, bidding adieu before getting on the interstate and making my way home.

Behind me the city buildings glistened in the sun, awaiting the day that I would return again.

Tags: boston, Charles River, geocaching, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, North End, Paul Revere, Paul Revere House
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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Today I do Harvard, or should I say, HaaHhhHVAAhhhd!

But first a stop at Fenway:

So, how'd you guys do last season? Oh wait...

Tee hee.

Yes, I did in fact dare to wear such a hat at Fenway, but I promptly took it off before anyone saw me… I think.

Funny thing about Fenway: after spending a few days at Boston, I only noticed maybe one or two locals donning Red Sox gear. But while I was walking around the baseball stadium, EVERYONE was wearing Red Sox hats, jackets or whatnot. I’m not kidding, either. I stuck out like a sore thumb even without my Yankees hat. And as an extra bonus, I saw the official mascot for the BoSox too, Wally The Green Monster, just walking down the street like any old dude:

Only at Fenway!

One girl actually ran across the street to hug him too. I was going to ask her to hug me as well, but I hadn’t quite hidden my Yankees cap completely out of sight, so I decided not to chance it. Ah well. Even ugly mascots get all the love.

Still, a fun visit, I walked around to see if wanted to get inside the stadium, but it seemed closed to the public. Once again, that will have to wait for another day. I got back to the subway and got out near the Hynes Convention center, deciding to take a brisk walk through the city and also check out the other hotel I was considering before I came here. When I finally got to it I realized I had made the right choice in staying in the financial district. There was a bar beneath the hotel and it also seemed positively squeezed between two busy looking buildings. Good call there, Linc.

After walking all the way back to the Commons, I went under again and took the T line to Cambridge. It was time to see the breeding ground that regularly produces the most repugnant and disgusting elements of our society mankind has ever seen: Liberals!

HaaahhhVAhhhdd!

To be honest, it didn’t look any different from any other university. The campus looked similar to some of the ones I’ve visited or used locally, and the students all looked the same to me.

As I walked around campus, two Chinese girls who were apparently tourists approached me and asked if they could take a picture with me, being a Harvard student.

“… suuuuuure, I’d love to take a picture!” We posed together and I gave a thumbs up sign to the camera and flashed my trademark grin. Oh what I wouldn’t have done to have my Sarah Palin button with me.

I continued walking around, passing by the law school and several other buildings before finally turning back to Harvard Square, where I passed by a student holding out a Starbucks cup and begging for money to help pay his tuition. Rich beggars, gotta love ‘em.

It was getting late in the day, so I decided I had seen enough, and headed back to the North End for another taste of Italian food. This time I went for Regina’s Pizzeria, which also touts some of the best pizza in Boston.

Meh.

I think I’ve been spoiled by New York pizza. There’s just nobody out there that can do it better than us.

I took the rest of the pizza back to the hotel and realized for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow it would be time to go home, and already I was beginning to miss the city. On the upside, I believe this would only be but the first of many visits to come.

Tags: baseball stadium, boston, Cambridge, fenway park, Harvard, Harvard Square, italian food, liberals, North End, pizza, Red Sox
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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The ground had a light dusting of snow this morning, but the sky was a clear blue when I finally left the hotel for the North End Church. I had breakfast at a cafe across from the old church, then continued the sightseeing, stopping again at another old cemetery before walking the bridge over to visit the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides).

Statue of Paul Revere with the North End Church in the background.

The ship was now owned and maintained by the navy, so when I walked in, I had to go through a security checkpoint and basically strip myself half-naked. Apparently I carried a lot more metal objects than I thought. The guard waited patiently as I emptied my pockets, pulled my belt buckle, took out my phone, my iPod, my old camera, dumped my backpack, my work ID and badge before I could finally walk through. I can’t even imagine what TIA would do to me if they saw me coming.

I finally got in, went inside the main entrance where I saw a group of other tourists waiting. A park ranger saw me and asked me if I wanted to join the tour to board the ship.

“You mean it’s still open?” I was surprised.

The old ranger didn’t respond, instead he just looked away as if I had just asked the most monumentally stupidest question he had ever heard, then went back to continuing a conversation he was previously having with another tourist.

I decided I didn’t want to board the ship if this douche nozzle was going to be giving the tour, so instead I went outside to see it for myself. Tours are for girlie boys and little children anyway.

*sniff* so beautiful... *sniff*

After spending some time admiring the ship and giving it a hug on the front end until the navy seamen shooed me away, I continued to the museum nearby. A sweet girl at the front desk greeted me, but then got a little uncomfortable when I asked her to be my love snuggles, so I continued onward, reading about the history of the ship, the war with Tripoli, and enjoying the model ship exhibits they were having in the conference room.

I had only one stop left in the Freedom Trail now: Bunker Hill! I followed the line back, then hoofed it up to where a monument now marked the spot of the famous battle.

There is NO way I'm going up that.

pant… pant… wow… it really IS a hill.. pant… pant…

By the time I finally reached the top I decided I was not going to kill myself by climbing 20 flights of stairs just so I could get a bird’s eye view of Boston, no thank you, I’m good here, really. Ugh. I really wanted to, but I’ll save it for next time, hopefully when I have a girl then willing to travel with me and carry me up the stairs.

Don't fire until you see the whi- hey you! Yeah you with the Yankees hat! You're blocking my view here!

After relaxing inside the monument for a while, I decided it was time to go to Griffins Wharf, the site of the famous Boston Tea Party so I could do my own tea dumping. On the way I stopped by the Bunker Hill museum to see some of the fascinating exhibits that had been excavated from the hill, including a British drum and several swords and cannonballs. Amazing.

Cannonballs excavated from Bunker Hill

I found another T line from there and got out again at Southern Crossing, enjoying the walk and the booths there until I reached the harbor. I bought a Snapple bottle from one of the hot dog wagons nearby, then walked over the bridge until I reached the middle. I had to wait out some of the pedestrians though, who might not understand why I would want to dump perfectly good Snapple tea in the middle of the harbor, or in case they were eco-algore loving crazypants thinking I was littering mother nature.

Where it all began!

But I pulled it off, and I had to admit the feeling was awesome. I think every proud member of this great country should do this once in their lifetimes, (just make sure you dump only the TEA, and not the bottle it was in too, lest I should slap you one.)

The dumping of Snapple tea into the Boston harbor concluded my journey into the past, and it was now time to get back to the present again. Whatever I missed would have to wait for another time. I went back to the hotel and wracked my brain over and over on where to dine tonight, considering that dining out was going to be far cheaper than ordering in.

Where to go, where to go… where could I go, where I could take a break from all my worries? That sure would help a lot… Sometimes I just want to get away… maybe go, where everybody knows my name? And they’re always glad I came?

NoOoOoOOoorrrmm!!!

Well ok, no, Norm wasn’t there. But the food sure was! I stopped by the replica in Faneuil Hall, found a quiet spot inside and a outlet to plug my laptop in, and I was happy as a clam. I ordered a Norm Burger and Carla’s Boston cream pie, all while enjoying the twinkling lights of the marketplace inside the windowed dining room. Somewhere in the background, a radio was playing Boston’s “More than a Feeling.” I knew right then and there the city was welcoming me home.

Tags: boston, Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, cannonballs, cemetery, cheers, church, Faneuil Hall, freedom trail, Griffins Wharf, history, marketplace, museum, navy, North End, Paul Revere, snapple, Southern Crossing, USS Constitution, William Prescott
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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