College supplies: new PC, new clothes, new crossbow compound bow

Ah, autumn. Those bucolic days when hordes of undergraduates return to college, with their crossbows compound bows with built-in quivers on their backs. Check out what this Brandeis student has prominently displayed on the back shelf of his car...
Maybe it's just my lonesome opinion here, but displaying your hunting crossbow compound bow in a city (where there is no hunting of any kind) when your sedan has a perfectly serviceable trunk strikes me as evidence of severe insecurity. Or at least massive jackass-ery. In any case, this is not the kind of personality that makes me feel real comfortable toting around lethal weapons.

A homemade recumbent bike

I spied a homemade recumbent bike being ridden in Newton,MA (just west of Boston) this afternoon. Here's the bike from my cellphone... It's a long wheelbase design with underseat steering, and in my brief glimpse it looked like it was put together with some sort of unpainted rectangular tubing or bars. It was definitely not a round frame, in any case.

Boston vs. Philadelphia 2008 Round 9: Steaks!

The Travel Channel has recently produced a show titled "Steak Paradise." The show features 3 restaurants - 1 located just outside of Boston, and 2 in Philadelphia proper.

In Saugus, MA is the Hilltop Steakhouse. This is a value-oriented steakhouse with a sort of faux Western decor and capacity for 1250 diners. It's been open since 1961. I swear, sometimes I wish I actually liked steak, aside from the occasional burger. Other people seem to get so much enjoyment out of it.

Philadelphia sports two cheesesteak specialty restaurants, the minimalist Pat's King of Steaks, and the colorful (or garish, depending on your view) Geno's Steakhouse. CtI, you should comment on the relative merits of these two, since I've never been to either.

Ok, a nationwide show does steaks and they pick these ones in (or near) our fair cities. Due to Hilltop not actually being IN Boston, and the 2 in Phillie (across the street from each other), I'm afraid I must admit that Philadelphia has won this round.

Microbes once again take us down

Cheesesteak goes on vacation...and my family is attacked by Streptococcus pyogenes and Coxsackie A, causing strep throat and hand-foot-mouth, respectively. Oh, and a febrile seizure was in there too for good measure. As you can tell, the results aren't pretty, blog-wise.

And just for your amusement...a guy biking up Fargo St. in LA - the grade is 32%. Ow.