Vincent's Journal

10/26/2009 23:41 #50126

Gentrification
Category: real estate

So they're almost done "cleaning up" downtown. First it was The hookers on Chippewa, then it was the House of Quinn, more recently it has been the demolition of the Continental. Now I guess they're going to kick out the crackhead bums out of the Hotel Lafayette

Because after all there is a proven track record of crackhead bums that live in that building

Now the last time I was in the general vicinity was in July with (e:metalpeter) as we went to the Lafayette Tap Room. I was pretty blown away even in the bar side by the marble and other intricacies such as the back restaurant section resembling the old aud club. So I'm torn as I do appreciate the history and the architecture of one of the few remaining building from the 1901 Pan Am Expo. Then another part of me mourns the inevitable loss of another shady aspect of downtown Buffalo.

metalpeter - 10/27/09 19:58
Well As long as they Keep Club Diablo I'll be happy. Hey Maybe there should be a hotel Diablo. That could be really cool. What a crazy story about that crack head I didn't follow the other link. Sometimes Down Town Buffalo reminds me of North Korea. They make all these places real nice but there is still nothing really going on. Show up downtown at about 6pm and the place is deserted.

mrmike - 10/27/09 12:11
I miss the House of Quinn, it was the last vestiges of amiable older drunks, place stocked Stroh's and Schlitz and stuck with PBR in those times when it wasn't hip to do so.

mrmike - 10/27/09 12:05
The disneyfication of downtown -- Something about the Lafayette, maybe its the amiability of the crackheads in question. In my cable days, I had to laugh when we wired the place for an event in the square. The tech poked his head out the window, then the "resident" took a look and his surprise at sunlight made me chuckle for reasons passing understanding.

james - 10/27/09 10:57
Generally, when people complain about gentrification in Buffalo, I get ready to yell horrible things at them.

But, this bit of nostalgia is perfectly acceptable.

Carry on citizen :)

10/25/2009 00:25 #50102

Hit or Miss?
Category: talk radio

These web bot guys on Coast to Coast AM make this prediction in July

# A big crisis is kicked off on October 25, 2009. It could be that Israel bombs Iran, or that Swine Flu goes into a level of extreme lethality. 10 days later, in relation to this crisis, the Obama administration will be thrown into chaos.

Now we have this:

Personally I think Swine Flu is sensationalized hype, but I'll give a day to say that these guys did nailed it pretty well. But We'll have to see what happens the day after election day to see if the second half is a hit as well...

tinypliny - 10/25/09 11:32
I think H1N1 was declared a national emergency just so we can get the targeted vaccine in faster. Its a political thing.

10/23/2009 15:11 #50084

Good News
Category: random thoughts

I finally got around to booking my room for next week for the wedding. Hopefully we will have a good enough time where it is put to good use ;-)

On another note it was interesting to see Buffalo get mentioned in a good light economically

But it's pretty obvious, as it states we're OK because you can never lose something that you never had in the first place....

metalpeter - 10/23/09 17:26
Hope you use the Hotel Room a few times, HA. That really is a good idea and I hope you wind up using it. The other reason why it is a good idea is that I'm not sure how much time will be between the end of the weeding and the start of the reception if it is a bit of time then that gives you some place to go for sure.

10/22/2009 19:37 #50077

UFO?
Category: paranormal

A couple news outlets covered this

Ch 7

A Niagara Falls Ont Newspaper

The longer vid

The Other Video

I really can't say what it was or if it was even anything at all. But what I can say is that over the course of my life living where I do, I have seen strange things in the sky.

Or who knows, it could be a marketing gimmick for the fourth kind movie...

10/21/2009 19:26 #50071

Foliage Test
Category: fall

Just testing out my new camera.

Auto

Foliage

metalpeter - 10/23/09 17:12
Not sure of its features but Cannon Power Shots are supposed to be pretty good cameras .

tinypliny - 10/22/09 09:13
Lovely pictures! :)

vincent - 10/21/09 20:36
It isn't a pro camera, it's a Cannon PowerShot SD960 IS. The selling point for me was the HD Video. When I searched for videos on YouTube what I saw was pretty impressive.

jenks - 10/21/09 20:24
which one did you end up getting?

metalpeter - 10/21/09 19:46
Nice Fall Colors. I take it you are liking the camera. I have a few suggestions on things to try it out at for both us veiwers of your blog and for you.

1. Lechworth
2. Some Sporting Event (like sabres or leafs game)
3. A Party indoors and out doors (like the Halloween party maybe)
4. The Weeding
5. (if you can do so with out risk to the camera) A fresh Snowfall

I don't know how much you have used a camera in the past or how talented you are but somethings with different lighting can be a good way to practice using "a pro" camera, I assume that is the kind you got and not a camera where all the settings do things. even if that is the kind you got then those places are still good ways to see what happens when you use different settings.

In any event looking forward to seeing more pictures.