Posted on 22nd February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Website Updates
Wordpress
Hi Everyone,
In case it hasn’t struck you, I’ve updated the site with a fresh new look and it’s now entirely powered by Wordpress. The website and the blog are no longer separate entities which means its faster to update and capable of holding a lot more content than ever before. For right now, I’ve employed a pre-built Wordpress theme, which I have enhanced, and that allowed me to get everything I wanted to get done in as efficient a manner as possible. This is just the start of things – look for more enhancements and more design work to come.
Posted on 21st February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Places To Stop Along The Way
Restaurants, Reviews, Vacations & Get Aways
During the drive to Garland Resort Natalie and I had passed through Rose City, Michigan, and identified what we thought was a neat looking little restaurant & bar called the Faull Inn that we thought would like to stop and eat at during our drive back down-state. We like to stop into these kinds of places that we find along our routes and have had really good luck with them in the past. Some of our favorite meals have come out of these stops and we’ve even come up with some recipe ideas from them, too. Plus, it’s really a great way to experience areas we’re traveling through and may never get back to again.
Sure enough, on our way back home we again passed through Rose City on highway 33 and swung into Faull Inn. We used the side entrance away from the street which was a little saloon-like and had a paper sign within it advertising that the owners of the Faull Inn were looking to sell the place and retire. That could have been a little disconcerting but upon opening the inner door and seeing the nicely finished wood bar, tables, chairs and the classic small-town smiling face from the hostess/bartender behind the bar, we felt like we were instead in for the treat we had hoped for.
We were promptly seated in the restaurant area of the establishment (the non-smoking side) and waited on by another friendly face who quickly brought us some lemonades that had asked for. The menu was pretty limited and basic bar fare – plenty of fried options, burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. We were hoping for something a little more unique from the place that looked like THE place to eat in this small town in northern Michigan, but the service and food quality made up the difference. Natalie had an Italian sub and I had a turkey club on a real nice toasted marbled rye bread – perfect size for a big lunch – and we had also split a cup of the Faull Inn Blue Ribbon chili. The chili was okay; A little like Cincinnati style chili and could have been a little more flavorful and/or spicy – but that certainly depends on how you like your chili. I like mine thicker, spicier and less with less tomato base.
The place is pretty well styled in that northern cabin wooden structural feel and was warm and welcoming. The bathrooms were quite large and clean and had all the supplies – always a good thing. You can get the private ownership vibe very easily from the place and that’s something that I always appreciate coming from a small business family. Looking around you quickly pick up the personally written signs and daily specials menus, easy and laid back communication between the business and customers or amongst the employees, and a willingness to play along when you want to have something ordered differently from what’s on the menu. Keep looking and you’ll see the items that the owners found in markets and craft shops that reflect their personality and almost make you feel like you’re eating at someone’s home. Prices were pretty modest and the place seemed to be a destination for locals getting out of church or from the immediate area.
While this wasn’t our best experience stopping off at a small, local place we knew nothing about (hey, we’ve been fortunate to have stopped at some excellent local bars & restaurants), I am easily willing to bet it will be far (FAR!) from the worst as we keep doing this. What the place lacked in certain areas (menu, for sale advertisement in oddly situated side entrance, smoking area easily bleeding over into non-smoking area) it more than made up for where it counts the most with the friendliness of the staff, the food quality, prices, charm and cleanliness. The owners deserve to find their retirement a welcome change of pace because you can tell they have put a lot of time and energy into keeping it up and making it a feather in the cap of Rose City, Michigan. In the end, we had a satisfying meal in a welcoming environment and I am definitely glad we stopped at the Faull Inn for lunch, during our passing through Rose City.
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Posted on 16th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Day to Day Goodies | Golfing
Fort Myers, Golf, Vacations & Get Aways
I’ve grown fond of our short February trips to Fort Myers in part because (a) we force nicer weather upon ourselves and (b) we get to play a little golf in February – something that wouldn’t happen in Cleveland, Ohio, regardless of any possible miraculous weather system moving in on the shores of Lake Erie because all the golf courses are closed until the spring. There’s a lot more to the trips down south but those two reasons are easy and relevant ones to point to, here. However, today’s golf outing would test the limits of those statements in every way. (Signal whiny Floridian to come to the microphone!)
Golfing at a pre-scheduled afternoon tee time of 4:00 PM, the concern weeks in advance was whether or not it would be too hot to play comfortably and what clothes to bring. Today, after a week where the weather struggled to stay in the ‘mild’ ranges, our concern took a 180 and was more pointed towards what to wear golfing that would keep us warm enough. The sun was out and it was making for a pretty day – warm in the sun, cool in the shade. Then the cold front came… bringing with it steady 20-25 mph winds, clouds and a significant drop in temperature.
We wanted to hit some balls at the driving range to see what would happen with the wind. With it blowing right at our faces we quickly found out that it wasn’t about hitting anything long or well but more about hitting it square and straight into the teeth of the wind. I did okay on the driving range. As it turned out, that’s pretty much where I should have stopped.
I lost two balls … in the pond just in front of and to the left of the first tee box. For some reason I changed my swing to something more of a punch stroke to get the ball low and straight into the wind. That turned out to be a disaster and it was to get no better from there. I carded a 10 on the first hole, followed by a bogey 6 on a par 5 that would prove to be the highlight of the day. After a disastrous 7 on a par 3 at number 3, which included another lost ball, it was clear that the wind had taken its toll on my mentally as I just wasn’t swinging the club right at all. If we needed any more proof the 9 on the par 4 at number 4 sealed the deal. From then on, scoring was optional and I was reduced to just finding any reason to keep swinging the club. By this point, the sun was blocked by the clouds and the temp had dropped to a level where we started trying to figure out what the wind chill would be because we were all so cold.
We know Natalie finished with a 50 – that’s the only score we completed for the round. I know I had 50 – but I didn’t have a score for a par 5 and a par 4 along the way. So I’m sure I would have ended up with at least 64 and that would have equaled the worst round I’ve ever turned in. I lost 9 balls in total, today, and I hit a house – the ROOF of a house – while blading a shot with a PITCHING WEDGE… that’s nothing short of ridiculous. And I didn’t even get to light up the cigar.
If it weren’t for the fact that there are palm trees on the courses at Heritage Palms, I would have sworn we were playing golf in October back home in Cleveland. It was cold enough at the end to lose feeling in your hands and feet. Our noses were running, eyes tearing up from the wind, hands/wrists were stinging at any mis-hit… it was pretty bad.
But HEY! We were golfing in February in Florida! Right? Good times.
Posted on 15th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Day to Day Goodies
Manatees
Went to a park, today, that was placed on an inlet where manatees head in order to mate/breed due to the water being warmer than larger bodies of water or the gulf are at this time of year. This trip was attempted during previous years’ trips to Florida but was always unsuccessful because the manatees were already on the move to their primary habitats due to higher temperatures. However, this year has been colder on average so we were lucky enough to get to see them given that our trip again fell on the same week of the year.
There were something like 50 manatees present at the park, according to those working there. We were just happy to see some in a setting other than a zoo. There were seemingly all manatee age groups present and a couple with the now unfortunate trademark boat propeller scars on their backs – an obvious sign that a boater had run over one of the creatures as they lumbered in the water just beneath the surface.
Apparently, this particular inlet was often a temporary home to a larger than normal number of manatees. You see, this inlet’s water supply was subsidized by a power plant water exhaust and that warm water run-off helps keep the temperature higher than normal. This leads to an extended season of sorts for the manatees to find a comfortable habitat in which to rejuvenate and breed.
It was a great little day trip, and was free. Well, I guess we had to pay a buck to park. I highly recommend taking a visit – it might help demystify these creatures and, if nothing else, makes you more aware of what these creates are all about.
Posted on 14th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Holidays
Holidiays, Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is upon us! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Here’s another holiday that has a real wide range of ‘buy-in’ attached to it. There are those that get very much into Valentine’s Day and there are those that hate everything to do with it – and of course everything in between. As always, I’m right in the middle… I like it but don’t love it or gear up for it all that much. I certainly don’t hate it.
I see nothing wrong with going with it. Let me see a show of hands of all those out there who are confident that they have communicated everything that they should have to their significant other in terms of the love and bond that they share…
That’s what I thought: a fraction of what it should be.
So tonight, get the lead out and either make a great meal or get out for a great meal with your significant other. Enjoy your night and let them enjoy it, too. You might be pleased with the results.
We enjoyed a great evening at a dinner & comedy club during our Fort Myers getaway. Whatever you did, I hope you enjoyed a Happy Valentine’s Day – and maybe a great night, too 
.
LaChaim!
Posted on 14th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Golfing
Fort Myers, Golf
Went golfing today during our Fort Myers getaway; shot a 47. I didn’t play very well but considering that I haven’t played since the early fall I am plenty content. Not to mention, it’s Febrary 14th … And I’m golfing… And nowhere near Cleveland, Ohio or any of the snow we left behind.
I also beat Natalie and her Dad and had a cigar… And, most importantly, a great time. Natalie had the putt of the day. Every bit a 34-35 footer from the edge of the green. Up and over, then left-to-right … A great putt!
At least one more round while we’re here. Can’t wait.
Posted on 13th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Day to Day Goodies
Fort Myers, Weather
Watching the 11:00 news during our first night on town … I busted up laughing when the weather man said something that just struck me as perfectly silly. “There could be some morning cloud cover, but don’t freak out … It should only be the morning!”
Now, for us Michigan or Ohio folk, a morning in February with the possibility of a little morning cloud cover is certainly nothing new. In fact, the opposite statement could apply for us (“now, the sun could peek out in the morning … Don’t freak out!”) as we almost never see the sun in Cleveland from December through mid-March. But I particularly loved the plea to not “freak out” because a bit of cloud cover might ruin your life temporarily.
By the way … Weather man’s name: Mark Van Winkle. I can’t make this stuff up!
Posted on 12th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in Day to Day Goodies
DVD Recorders, Electronics, Samsung, The Hangover
One of the things we were slated to do down here in Fort Myers, during our little get away, was finally watch ‘The Hangover’ on DVD. We never ended up going to the movie theater to see it and we still hadn’t made it that far in our blockbuster movie shipping queue. So we’re all excited to see it, the DVD goes into the DVD player while we are sorting out our travel bags when I hear a cry from the other room – “Ben, why’s the DVD player not showing a picture?!”… Time to go to work.
Natalies Dad and Karin have a Samsung DVD recorder which they use for their DVD source and have only had it for about two years or perhaps a bit longer. On top of that, they have only used it sparingly and only do so once or twice each time they are in Fort Myers using their condo. Worse, they have never used it to record. Still, here we are looking at a TV picture that’s black while audio plays in the background.
I had hooked all these componenets up just the year before after they had to start using a Comcast cable box due to Comcast’s BS money making scheme requirements following their own private ‘digital account conversion’ … and checking the TV inputs again quickly shows me everything was still connected and selected properly on both the TV and the DVD recorder. Now I know that something isn’t working right and the process of elimination proves that the video outputs on the DVD recorder (other than the cable/tuner output) have all gone bad (not discreet outputs). Sweet.
We instead watched the incredibly boring Vancouver Winter Olympics opening ceremonies and decide to go and put our travel day to bed, deciding also that there wasn’t a lot of sense in getting the old DVD recorder fixed and instead to buy a new straight forward DVD tomorrow.
I guess we’ll just have to wait one more day to watch ‘The Hangover’.
Joannie Rochette Skates Like A Champion After Her Mother’s Death
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Posted on 24th February 2010 by Ben Krasner in In The News | Sports Commentary
2010 Winter Olympics, Joannie Rochette
If you were watching the Olympics, last night, I hope you caught the skate of Joannie Rochette’s life (see also CNN’s Rochette article, here) … and if you watched her skate I hope that her effort and her emotion tugged at your heart strings because I know she sure did for me. I’m not a fan of ice skating so much as I am a fan of athletic achievement and last night’s performances on the ice were pretty special – none, though, were more special that Joannie Rochette’s.
I honestly don’t know what I was feeling the most during her skate. Was it hoping that she did well because of all the hard work and time she had put into getting to this stage? Was it simply hoping that she would not fall on any of her jumps or have any problems during her skate because of the seemingly strong likelihood of that happening? Was it hoping she would do well to honor her mother’s life? Was it actual excitement for the quality of her skate? All I know is I was on the edge of my seat … for the first time during Olympic women’s figure skating … and I could not blink.
You could hear the crowd suffering the same fate. At times they were simply holding their breath. At times they were likely choked up. At times they were into the music, clapping, rhythmically into the performance. At times they were excited, then hopeful, then back to worried. I know, even without being there, because that’s what I was going through thousands of miles away in my own home.
Somehow she pulled herself together and competed – so well that she earned her personal best score for her efforts. When she finished she was immediately overtaken with emotion, as anyone should have expected. By the looks of things she was teetering on that edge just BEFORE she took to the ice so I can only imagine the rush that came over here at the end, after performing so well – a performance her mother would never physically see. Immediately, I welled up inside and out as if somehow I completely understood what she was going through when there’s just no way that I could.
What a champion. In a world looking for heroes searching for individual efforts that inspire – here we were provided with a tremendous example in the form of a French speaking Canadian figure skater. Absolutely one of the most amazing Olympic stories/moments I’ve ever heard of and I will never forget it.