Allen's Board

HTC Touch Pro

2009-05-03T22:15:00.002-04:00

Re: Pisa

2009-03-23T07:15:00.000-04:00

Duh - forgot the picture.

----- Original Message -----
From: Allen Miller
Sent: Mon Mar 23 07:13:39 2009
Subject: Pisa

Having fun in Italy.

Regards
Allen e Joyce e Susan

This blog is moving

2008-07-16T23:13:00.002-04:00

Just figured it was about time to change this blog. It turns out it is VERY easy to create a blog at wordpress.com and then import from the Google blogs. So, unless I change my mind, this will be the last post here. Allen's Board will now be found at AllensBoard.wordpress.com. Update your shortcuts or reader accordingly if you want.

Night Blooming Cereus

2008-07-15T16:51:00.003-04:00

If you don't think that mother nature is incredible you just need to look around and open your eyes a little. I'm lucky enough to have a wife that is a plant junkie (in her words) so we have some pretty incredible things in our house and our yard much of the time. Like HUMMING BIRDS that visit the backyard when we have our dinner out on the patio - the only bird that can fly backwards! Yesterday evening we observed the main event for a plant called the Night Blooming Cereus. This incrdible flower blooms from the edge of a leaf, not from the stem. It blooms at night (duh) and by the next morning it is spent. Click on this link to see a few pictures I snapped last night.

Trains always win

2008-07-11T18:32:00.004-04:00

Today I was driving on Wyoming Avenue in Cincinnati around high noon. If you know the area, you know that there is a railroad crossing between Lockland and Wyoming.

When I was taught to drive a car by my father a long time ago - one thing he told me was to stop when I approached a railroad crossing and to look both ways. Don't trust a gate or flashing light to protect your life - they might be out of order after all.

From time to time we hear about someone killed or injured in their car at a railroad crossing. I'm sorry if this seems cold hearted but I just can't feel any sympathy for someone stupid enough to cross a train track when a train is coming. After all - this is the Darwin Theory in full operation. The truly stupid will take themselves out of the gene pool - given enough time. Trains ALWAYS WIN - and - they are not hard to see or hear. You couldn't possibly say 'I didn't know it was coming'.

Back to driving on Wyoming Avenue.

So around high noon I am about 3 vehicles back at a railroad crossing with the gates down and lights flashing. There may have been bells ringing but it was hot, I had my AC on and listening to music. Then I was SHOCKED to see a QUEEN CITY METRO bus, the first car in the ones ahead of me - GO AROUND THE GATE. While he/she was going around the gate I was hearing the horn of the train blowing!

Of course in the urban areas trains don't go real fast - but they don't have to go real fast to hurt you if your vehicle gets stuck in their path. The bus made it across the tracks and there was no collision. I hope there weren't any passengers on this bus. I did make a telephone call to the Metro's business office to let them know what I observed. They advised me that there are video cameras on the buses and they would review this video and take appropriate action. I think appropriate action in this case would be canning the driver. Who knows what a person driving a bus that knows they are being video taped might do next time.

And then there is the issue of discipline in our local employers. I read recently that about half of the police officers that have been fired for job related performance problems have been rehired because the city caved in to the unions! Maybe they can hire the bus driver?

iPod

2008-07-05T17:34:00.002-04:00

I know what you will be thinking - what century are you from?

After setting up iPods and helping my wife and 3 daughters for many years with these devices I finally got my first iPod - an 8gb 3g Nano. I have to say this is one piece of technology art. I bought an Archos 605 a few months ago thinking I primarily wanted to watch video and it had a bigger screen. Once I got it I found I wanted to listen to podcasts and some music but it was kind of heavy for being portable. The Nano is really small - I joke and say I need 'one for each eye' for watching videos - but it really isn't that bad. The user interface on the Nano is great - and there is just so much interesting stuff available in free podcasts. I downloaded my first audiobook today that I will probably start listening to tomorrow when I paint one of our bedrooms.

Oaxaca MX

2008-07-02T19:57:00.003-04:00

We just returned from a five day trip to Oaxaca Mexico for the wedding of Monica and Ethan (our nephew). This was the first time in about 3 years that the five of us were able to all go away together. Oaxaca is a beautiful city. The hotel we stayed at - La Provincia - was over the top as far as service and facility. There was some issue that resulted from a language barrier. I requested one room for Joyce and me and one room with a large bed and a cot for our 3 collage age daughters. When we checked in and I asked to see the rooms, the second room had a large bed and a crib. I guess they thought we had a baby. Anyway this was easily corrected with a different room.

The wedding was fantastico. The ceremony was at the Santo Domingo de Guzmán church which was begin in 1572. The reception began at 6pm in the Ethnobotanical Garden that is part of the church complex. The reception ended at 6am - there was entertainment non-stop throughout the night. I'm a lowsy dancer and even I spent most of the evening on the dance floor. Joyce and I BOE (bugged out early) and went back to our hotel around 3am! Monica's family are just the most wonderful people and I feel honored to have been included in this celebration.

Worthington

2008-06-22T11:22:00.001-04:00

While we are at - here's a picture of some of Joyce's mosaic work on display at the Old Worthington Art Show - more at her website.

Technology?

2008-06-22T10:33:00.004-04:00

I'm sitting in a small park in Worthington Ohio. Joyce, my wife, is a mosaic artist and has her work on display at the Worthington Art Show. I have my laptop on my lap and since I don't have an aircard yet I have my Treo tethered to the laptop which is giving me internet access thanks to Verizon. With all of this I can connect to the web, browse, read email and create a blog post. I've got my point and shoot digital camera and took a picture that shows a little of what happened in the park yesterday afternoon when a storm blew up rather quickly. At the time of the weather event I was back in Cincinnati so I missed out on the fun.

The deal for these outdoor artshows is that there are a few manufacturers of the 10' x 10' display tents. The entry level tent is sold at the discount stores and costs $200 or less. These things open like an umbrella and are basically not intended to weather the weather. The move up to the heavier canvas waterproof jobs cost about $1k and up. This picture is what I saw as the remains of one of the entry level tents - get the picture.

Dale Unroe - Guy has a Gift for You

2008-06-18T19:40:00.003-04:00

Dale, we missed you at the SBS User Group meeting tonight. However, you weren't forgotten. Guy was especially thinking of you as evidenced by this set of bicycle training wheels he brought to give to you. Get well soon.

EFR - Emergency First Response

2008-06-18T11:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday evening I got together with a bunch of my scuba buddies and met some new scuba buddies at Scuba Unlimited in Blue Ash Ohio. We were there for our Emergency First Response course - CPR and First Aid training. As a volunteer scuba diver at the Newport Aquarium I am required to be current in these certifications. This training is a great program and probably something that would be beneficial to everyone, regardless of involvement with scuba.

There is just no telling when you might be the first one at the scene when someone has been injured or become seriously ill. In these situations seconds count. While I can't claim to be an expert - I can say that this training has helped me (and someone else) on more than one occasison.

Brugmansia

2008-05-27T22:18:00.001-04:00

In case you don't know, Joyce is a fantastic gardener. We all benefit by the beauty she coaxes to grow all around us. Here is another one of her green thumb results - one of our Brugmansia - or Angel's Trumpets plants.

As you can see, the flowers open pointing downward. These plants are actually NOCTURNAL - they are most fragrant at night - because they are pollenated by moths!

Gas Prices

2008-05-15T22:29:00.003-04:00

They just keep going up - gas prices - as if that's news. Kind of like when the local TV stations put a camera reporter on site at the post office the night of April 15 and show us the last minute tax return filers - how can they call what they do NEWS? Here's my fill-er-up today - $156 - and that's only for 39.5 gallons - the tank holds about 45! How far can this keep going?

The good news is that the Corvette is back in action. After dying on me when I drove to Dayton a couple weeks back - it now has 8 new fuel injectors and boy does it GO!

Gas Prices

2008-05-01T08:50:00.007-04:00

Last night David Letterman jokingly (I hope) said gas prices will reach $10 per gallon by labor day. I filled up the Suburban this evening - the bill was about $125! Notice this was for 35 gallons. As it turned out I had almost 1/4 of a tank left when I went to the pumps. This tank holds 45 gallons. Extrapolating - a full tank would have been $160 at this price.

When I was in college I had a 1962 Volkswagen Beetle. The tank held about 10 gallons and I can remember at Ohio State going to the gas station when they had price wars. You could buy gasoline at $0.25 per gallon. An entire tank for that bug cost less than one gallon now. Actually, I bought that car for $200! Just a little over the cost of one tank of gas now. I heard someone talking recently about their old pickup truck that they were selling. The other guy in the conversation only asked one question - 'how much gas was in it?'

Ciao Vanderbilt

2008-04-30T23:30:00.004-04:00

The final dinner of sophomore year at Vandy. Here we are (Fred, Danny, Ally, Susan and me) at Logan's Roadhouse. This was a LATE NIGHT dinner, especially for Fred and I who are really on eastern time. The entire day's schedule was pushed back because Fred was prevented from getting an early start on packing Danny's dorm stuff because SOMEONE (I'm not going to say her name but her initials are Gabby) was sleeping in. We had a lot of fun at dinner tonight discussing politics, world peace, and many other easily solved issues. Rumor has it that Fred may be back at Logan's tomorrow too.

And, in furtherance of my education, I learned today that studying at Rice University is considered to be studying abroad by some (or is that a broad?)

April 15 is almost here

2008-04-13T21:48:00.001-04:00

We did it. Joyce and I sat down this afternoon and wrote all the income tax checks - Federal, State, City - 2007 filings and Q1 2008 estimate payments. I'm glad that ordeal is over. My good friend Gary still has 6 months to go - two more extensions. He still has to pay the taxes - just doesn't have to do the filing until October.

Ohio River Disconnect

2008-04-06T18:46:00.001-04:00

Just leaving another fun day of my volunteer scuba diving gig at the Newport Aquarium and I had to stop and snap a picture of what might be considered a little business interruption situation. Once the bleeding hearts have all of us taxpayers pay for the fools that borrowed all this subprime money - maybe they'll want us to bail out the fools that pur their homes and businesses in the flood plain and then act surprised when they get flooded! Oh wait - I think they already have used the declaration of national emergency to bail out many of these folks. Why are they even allowed to build where we know it will get flooded?

A Great Product can make your Day

2008-04-03T21:52:00.005-04:00

Today I used a GREAT PRODUCT - and I was motivated to put it on paper here. We live in an older house in Hyde Park, Cincinnati. Our first floor powder room is in the process of being redone. The light fixture above the mirror and sink had a push button switch which we knew where to find but none of our guests could ever find (a little embarrasing when dark out so no window light). Part of the project is replacing the light fixture and the new fixture, of course, does not have a switch on the fixture. Now, here's the rub. The place where a light switch should be located - on the wall opposite the hinge side of the door - has our brick chimney behind it. No way to run wires or insert a switch box behind the wall. Check out RunLessWires - they make a fantastic wireless lightswitch which requires no batteries for the remote switch and will mount flush on the surface. They market these to people that have log houses which of course do not have hollow walls. This switch was easy to install and works like a charm and most of all - eliminates the problems that I had.

Nashville - Bluebird Cafe

2008-03-30T22:13:00.005-04:00

We just got back from Nashville visiting our daughter and her sorority's parents' weekend. It was a great weekend even with the rain. A lot of good food, nice people, bigs, littles, great music, art and cowboy boots. Saturday Susan took us to the most fun place - it's called The Bluebird Cafe. You wouldn't believe this place. It's a storefront in a retail strip of stores. You make reservations online Monday at 8am or come and stand in line to see if you get lucky. The venue is referred to as In The Round which means there are 4 to 6 chairs in a small circle in the center of the floor and then small tables around the rest of the floor. The entire place probably seats 100 people or less. The entertainers are song writers that play and sing their songs. Many of the singers have songs that have been recorded by big names and become hits. The music was FANTASTIC! The night we were there was being conducted as a fund raiser for the area YMCA organization. People were buying CD's for $100+ to support the cause. I got in the spirit when one of the keyboard players asked if anyone had a piano in their home. I raised my hand out and said you got it. Before I knew it I had made a donation to the YMCA and we have arranged a summer party in Cincinnati with a fantastic Nashville song writer and recording artist to play for us. You can see a short video and also see some pictures from the Bluebird Cafe

De Lorean Double Take

2008-03-15T11:58:00.006-04:00

I was driving on Columbia Parkway (Cincinnati) this morning and saw two De Lorean automobiles coming side by side from the other direction. It's not often to see one of these, pretty unusual to see two. These cars were orginally manufactured for the American market from 1981 to 1983 in Ireland. There were about 9k of these built.

The De Lorean Motor Company went bankrupt in late 1982 following John De Lorean's arrest in October of that year on drug trafficking charges. He was later found not guilty, but it was too late for the DMC-12. Approximately 100 partially assembled DMC's on the production line were completed by Consolidated International (now known as Big Lots).

Probably most known for it's role in Back to the Future.

Ikea - Bigger than the white death?

2008-03-12T12:58:00.000-04:00

The first Ikea in Ohio opened today in Cincinnati. This may have been a bigger event than the white death (snow) we received this past weekend. I had business in the general area so just happened to drive by the new store. They had police at all entrances turning people away! There was no room in the parking lot for more cars. It's just hard for me to get too excited about this - but a lot of people sure are.

My Cholesterol

2008-03-10T00:07:00.004-04:00

Check this out - I'm pretty proud of these cholesterol results. Thanks much to my new physician.

Oh yeah, what did it take? The usual - diet, exercise and drugs.

The White Death

2008-03-08T12:17:00.002-05:00

It's March 8, 2008, and it happened - the WHITE DEATH - was visited upon us. We had SNOW! Having grown up in Cleveland this is not too big a deal for me but for most of the other people in Cincinnati - it's a classic Chicken Little - The Sky is Falling . This picture is from Paxton Avenue in Hyde Park where a cross country skier passed along be for the dogs and I got there. I caught up with the skier when I got closer to home and got his picture - which you can see at Google's Picasaweb

Replacing Kitchen Disposal

2008-03-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend I went to the big box hardware store and bought a replacement garbage disposal. What a great invention. What else can take 10 lbs. of food waste and turn it into rat food so quickly? I'm not incredibly handy but can tackle some simple around the house jobs and I thought changing the disposal couldn't be too bad. I was told that the various fittings were pretty standard - I expected that I would just disconnect the old one - then connect the new one and voila (or as some say wallah)! I should have remembered that plumbing tasks just never work for me. First of all, the housing of the old unit was bigger in diameter than then new unit so the old pipes didn't reach. This just meant another trip to the hardware store. I found Ralph, who was very helpful, at our hardware store and he got me what I needed. I used my hacksaw to shorten one pipe, used my one or two replacement components and got everything hooked back together. I ran the water in the sink - no leaks. I switched on the grinder and it purred. Everything was fine - or so I thought. Only problem was - I omitted reading the instructions. Later the next evening I was working in my home office and my wife came in and asked 'have you been in the kitchen?' This was a loaded question - we now had water all over the floor. The fine point that I had missed was that - not everyone has a dishwasher. This means that the black hose that goes in the the upper part of the unit, which is the dishwasher drain pipe, is not something that everyone has. For those that don't have a dishwasher - the port that this hose connects to is blocked. If I had read the instructions I would have learned that those of us that do have a dishwasher need to take a screwdriver and a hammer and knock out the plug that blocks off this port!

Now I have rerun the dishwasher and when it finished - the bottom of the dishwasher was no longer filled with water and - I did not have a small lake in my kitchen.

Perhaps next time I will remember not to do any plumbing jobs.

Microsoft TS2 Event Survey

2008-02-20T15:13:00.006-05:00

Dear Microsoft,

Hi, Is this for real?????

> Thank you for attending the Microsoft TS2 Event from August 1, 2007 - December 20, 2007.

I would think that if I were at an event that lasted that long I would remember it. Wait, let me ask my wife if she remembers me being gone that long. I'll get back to you.

Thanks.

Regards,
Allen
================================================

From: Feedback@MicrosoftTS2.com [mailto:Feedback@MicrosoftTS2.com]
Sent: Wed 2/20/2008 12:05 PM
To: Allen Miller
Subject: Reminder - Microsoft TS2 needs your feedback

Dear Allen Miller,

Thank you for attending the Microsoft TS2 Event from August 1, 2007 - December 20, 2007. You have been invited to complete the TS2 Event Satisfaction Survey. The goal of this survey is to measure the effectiveness of our events and help us gain deeper insight on how we can improve your relationship with the Microsoft Partner Program. By completing the survey and sharing your feedback, you will help us gain additional insight on your interaction with the Microsoft Partner Program tools and resources while helping us to improve your overall experience with TS2 Events.

Monster Jam

2008-02-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

Monster Jam - Cincinnati, Ohio - US Bank Arena

Man, it just doesn't get much better than this. My wife, one daughter and a friend, and myself took in MONSTER JAM tonight. Where else other than this great country of ours could they make a 'sport' out of this stuff? Don't ask me how but I managed to score front row seats on the 50 yard line! You better believe it was loud. I brought my dinky little digital camera and felt like a kid - not only does it take still shots - but also video with SOUND. You can see some actual video by clicking here or here and the stills are at here.

2/14 Our Anniversary

2008-02-14T22:23:00.003-05:00

Today is the anniversary of the day we eloped, plus it's Valentines Day. To celebrate, instead of dinner at Prima Vista where we usually go for this oberservation (and it really is the best view) we ate at Otto's Deli in Covington. It was FANTASTIC. If you go there, you must have the fried green tomatoes appetizer - they are the best. The rest of the meal was also terrific.

The Other Side of the Tracks

2008-01-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

Check out the Windows!

Shvitz Visit 1/08

2008-01-23T21:50:00.000-05:00

(photos)

So, for my nephew's high school graduation (CHHS '08), I went with my nephew, my brother, two of my brothers' friends and one of my newphew's friends (son of one of the adults in our group) to the Shvitz in Cleveland! There is no directory assistance listing for this place, there is no web site, there is no street address on the building and no sign on the outside identifying what it is. The building is down an alley that doesn't go to anything else. There is a dirt/gravel parking lot behind the building. Basically, the only way to find/go to this place is if you've been there before or are taken by a friend. This is in a neighborhood that was the old Jewish neighborhood (Kinsman Road) like 60-70 years ago, I guess. Now it's very run down - you can probably get an idea from the above pictures of the outside of the building.

After parking your car in the lot, you enter the small door that simply says ENTRANCE. Inside the doorway there is a sign that tells you to go upstairs. Upstairs there is a small kitchen area and eating area (I wouldn't go as far as to call this a dining room) and then there is the 'locker room'. The locker room is really more than a locker room although when you enter it it is so dimmly lit it is a little difficult to tell what you are looking at. Basically, after your eyes adjust, you see that there are two rows of table height cots. The cots in each row are side-by-side, parellel to and touching each other. The only way to get on a cot is from the end of the cot. The head end of the cots has some elevation to and the foot end of both rows of cots are off the central aisle. There are small outer aisles at the head of each row of cots and the lockers line the two walls on the other side of these aisles. At the far end of the room are two additional cots that are used if you take a massage.

Once in the locker room you pick an empty locker and strip off all your clothes. You can use a lock if you brought one or get a lock from the pile by the top of the stairs - but all the locks in this pile use the same key!

Once undressed it's time to head back downstairs. At the top of the stairs there are some shelves with a sign that you may take up to 2 towels. Now with our towels we head downstairs.

At the bottom of the stairs you go through a doorway into a good sized room. Cement walls and floor all around, no windows. On one wall are a couple open showers - showerheads with water valves. In a corner on another wall is a urinal. Along one side of this big room is a low wall, about 4' high. Toward one end of this wall is an opening with a couple steps that go down into a not full sized swimming pool.

Finally, on another side of this room is a door that is the entrance into the Shvitz - Steam Room. Enter the Shvitz and you are in another dimly lit room. On one side is a plain wall with a square opening into the gas oven that is the heart of this activity and this place. Along the opposite side of the room are a series of wide, tiered wooden steps that get you pretty close to the ceiling. You pick the altitude you want, lay your towel down on the wood and have a seat and start to sweat. There is probably room for about 30 guys in these tiers. You just hang out, sweat and kibbitz with your friends and whoever is sitting near you. On the wall with the oven door there is a big sign that reads "Do Not Throw Water in Oven - Ask Attendant". Only problem is, there is no attendant. I started on the top tier and it wasn't too bad. After a while my brother, who has been to the Shvitz before, got down and filled the bucket next to oven door, sprinkled in a little peppermint oil he had brought, and then heaved this 5 gallons worth of water into the black abyss of the oven. There was a whoosh of sound an almost immediately, across the room on the top tier - I fealt like the oxygen had been removed from the room and been replaced with searing heat! I immediately dropped down two levels so that I could breathe. Some of the more hearty guys actually stayed up there.

For me part of this great evening was sitting in that room and thinking about my dad, uncle and grandfather - that have all been gone for quite a long time - and the fact that they had come here together probably 65 years ago and sat on these same wooden steps.

When you want/need a break from the steam you exit the steam room, walk to the other side of the outter room and jump (I don't think there is any slow way to enter) into the pool. It's making me shiver right now just writing this. Then out of the pool and back into the steam. You do this process as many times as you like until you can't take it any more or are just ready to continue the evening.

After the steam, if you want, just mosey up to one of the shower heads in the outter room, rinse off, soap up and rinse off if you want - then grab your dry towel that you should have left outside the steam room to wrap yourself and head back upstairs.

At the top of the stairs, where we got the towels, you are also allowed to take one sheet. The sheet is your new wrap as we return to the locker room and climb up onto a cot to just RELAX! There is no alcohol served at the Shvitz but people that know, know to bring their own. I think we started with a bottle of Jack Daniels and several glasses in our group. Just sipping a drink, laying back, and kibbitzing amongst ourselves in the dimly lit room. Unless you've done this yourself I am not sure if it's possible to really know how relaxing this really is. Eventually it's time to move on and we climb off our cots and move back to the eating area. This is a room with a bunch of formica topped tables probably like the kitchen table my family had when I was a kid.

In this room are a bunch of what I believe were mostly Jewish guys wrapped in various fashions with their sheets. Now the Shvitz is located in Cleveland and Ohio has a "No Smoking" law. I am not sure what all the details of the law are but I can tell you that cigar smoking is almost everywhere in this room. So you have all these guys wearing sheets, smoking cigars and drinking whiskey and wine. There is a guy who doesn't look like what you would expect a waiter to look like - and he is the waiter. He brings a basket of rye bread and some margin. Next he brings a plate of hot peppers, pickled sweet peppers and pickles. I ate some of the sweet peppers and they were delicious. Especially with some whiskey or Slivovitz.

Eventually the waiter guy asks us what we would like to eat. The menu here is not too complicated - rib steak, yellow fin tuna or chicken. It seems like most people have steak - that's what I had. If you order steak you pick the size you would like - small, medium, large or extra large. If you see all of these on plates side by side, and look from the top down, they all look the same. The size dictates the thickness. In the kitchen/grill area there is a band saw and a side(s) of beef - they cut your steak to order. You also can choose the preparation for your steak (or fish or chicken). You can have them grilled and 1) coated in chopped garlic, 2) with onions or/and 3) with hot peppers. I had a medium steak, prepared medium and with the garlic - it was FANTASTIC. Only other choices are a side salad or a baked potatoe.

So the six of us sat around in our sheets, many smoking stogies (not me - I couldn't even stand cigars when I was a smoker), eating, drinking, talking and having a terrific time. We had arrived around 6pm to start this event and at 9:30 p.m. we closed the place up.

If you have read this entire discourse I hope it has been of some interest to you. It will help me to periodically go back and re-enjoy this experience for times when it is too inconvenient to make the 500 mile round trip - or when the Shvitz is out of season.

L'chaim.

Shvitz (Cleveland) Road Trip 1/08

2008-01-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

This is it - the Cincinnati to Cleveland overnight road trip to attend the Shvitz.

I grew up in Cleveland and have lived in Cincinnati since I got out of college. Being Jewish it has been quite a disappointment that there are NO good deli's in Cincinnati. I grew up with Corky's and Jacks and one or two others. It was only a few years ago that I ever heard about one called Slyman's. It's closer to downtown and caters to the business trade - so it is closed on the weekend I found out recently - to my disappointment. Slyman's is not real fancy but they have the BEST corned beef anywhere. ANYWAY, the Shvitz trip is going to be started off with lunch at Slymans.

--------- pause ----------------

Okay, we (Joyce and I) did Slyman's. And it was FANTASTIC! I had to remove half of the corned beef from my sandwich to be able to fit the sandwich in my mouth. And it was mouthwateringly good. Of course, when I finished the sandwich - I moved on to eat the meat that was on my plate. Now I have to be content that this visit will hold me until the next time I get to visit Cleveland.

Shvitz (Cleveland, OH) visit planning for next week

2008-01-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

I'm 56 years old. I remember when I was younger (maybe in the 1960's), my father telling me about when he was a young man, he and his brother and their father all going to the Shvitz on Saturday night. They would go to this building in an urban part of Cleveland for an all men's steambath. After sweating for a while they would exit the steam, take a massage, eat a steak dinner, then go sleep the night on a cot. Get up Sunday morning and go home to whomever.

When I was young and hearing this story, I always thought that the Shvitz was an anachronism and had been gone for the many years since my dad was a young man.

Flash forward to now. My brother, living in Cleveland, tells me he and some friends are going to the Shvitz to celebrate my nephew's high school graduation! I couldn't believe it! This thing still exists - in the same place - whose neighborhood has downgraded over all this time. They invite me to join them and I really want to check this out. My dad has been gone for a long time but I can't wait to see this place/activity that I just assumed hasn't existed for 40+ years at least and that he used to go to.

Here's some recent email exchange with my brother in planning my visit next week.

===================

From: Allen Miller To: Brian Miller

Subject: RE: Schvitz Time!!

Do you have an address for the shvitz?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Brian Miller

To: Allen Miller

Subject: FW: Schvitz Time!!

The address is the Twilight Zone. For directions: see attached map or plug the following coordinates into your GPS: 41.469 N by 81.602 W
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Allen Miller

To: Brian Miller

Subject: RE: Schvitz Time!!

That’s wild – I’m glad I asked. Do they have a name listed in the telephone book? I haven’t been able to find anything.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Brian Miller

To: Allen Miller

Subject: RE: Schvitz Time!!

You’ll understand this when you get there but even with the map and coordinates you might not find it or believe it when you do. It’s best to go the first time with someone familiar.

They are very proud of the fact that they are not listed anywhere. As they say when you ask. Not in the book, not on the web and never will be. If you ask you might be able to get a business card from them. Shirts are available at the register of course.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Can you believe this garbage?

2007-12-13T22:31:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't you be embarrassed?

Ho, Ho, Ho - glub, glub

2007-12-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again - Ho, Ho, Ho. I'm a volunteer Scuba Diver at the Newport Aquarium - and also one of the Scuba Santas. What a blast.

Parking Rules in Hyde Park Abandoned on Sundays

2007-12-02T23:15:00.000-05:00

Do I detect some unspoken favored treatment of the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church attendees? Maybe all the churches get this - I just happen to be closest to HPCUMC. It seems like parking rules are suspended for Sunday mornings. This would be Cincinnati Police on the job, so to speak.

SundayParking

matisyahu

2007-08-08T23:17:00.001-04:00

matisyahu - cincinnati

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My Other Ride

2007-08-06T14:08:00.000-04:00

Corvette 1991

Newport Aquarium

2007-08-06T13:34:00.000-04:00

Newport Aquarium w/ Denver the Loggerhead Turtle and a Sand Bar Shark and L HH.