Al's Blog-o-Sphere

I closed a checking account a few days ago. It was with great reluctance, but they really left me no choice. I have had the account since I opened it in the early ’70s. At that time I also had a savings account at the same bank, the old-fashioned passbook savings account, where you brought in your book and they entered your deposits and withdrawls into your booklet. You had to bring it in to get your interest added too.

I had the savings account since my teens. It was the account the Union, Sun & Journal opened when I had a paper route. They made you set aside some money each week into an escrow account in case you didn’t pay your bill. They kept the passbook, and if you stiffed them, they took it out. If you didn’t, when you quit, it was yours. Continue Reading…

We were on the way home from NYC, my son Frank, his Girlfriend Beth and I and we decided to stop to see the Delaware Water Gap. We weren’t real clear what a Water Gap was, so it seemed like it might be fun to find out.

We got off Route 80 and went onto the local roads. We went through a small town and saw some Trolley Tours. That might be a way to see this Gap thing. We looked around and decided not to take the tour, but were told of several overlooks up the road where we could see the sites. We went off to the scenic overlooks.

Continue Reading…

We’ve heard a lot of buzz about Spotify, the Swedish music-subscription service that’s just become available here in the US. They are rolling it out gradually, in a Google-like way. You can short-cut the process if you want to jump right up to any of the pay versions, they’ll take your money right away.

I requested an invitation only a few days ago and received it last night. I’ve been playing with it today. I’m sure there is a lot I haven’t discovered about it yet, but I thought I might mention what I have learned so far. Continue Reading…

Is it just me, or do other people find it irritating to be approached by those people pushing scripture at outdoor concerts? We’ve all seen them, standing on the street corners with their signs, trying to yell over the music.

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I usually ignore them, but last week here in Lockport, I ran into an especially pushy woman who just wouldn’t take no for an answer when I wouldn’t accept one of her tracts.

Why must they mar an enjoyable time with their preaching? Who are they trying to reach? Do I look like I need their religious assistance? How do you tell by how someone looks?

I mean, this isn’t some pagan third-world country. 90% of the people here were raised in some sort of Christian religion and have, by the time they reach adulthood, found their way to whatever beliefs suit them. These people have nothing new to tell anyone, in fact, they’re pretty much literal Bible-believers, so they have nothing we haven’t all heard before. Continue Reading…