In 2006, Western New York was hit by a Surprise October Snow Storm. The storm knocked out power here for three days (and up to two weeks in some areas). My basement was flooded because the sump pump had no power and I lost hundreds of books. Thousands of my books were saved because Patrick and his friends assembled shelving the summer before and the shelved books (other than those on the bottom shelf) were fine. After power was restored, Diane and I considered buying a generator. But, like most things, it was relegated to the back burner. But Hurricane Sandy changed everything. Watching the devastation, and people with generators who couldn’t find gas to run them, galvanized us. Diane and I decided on a natural gas standby generator. We contacted the people at Capital Heating and got an estimate. Their three man crew showed up on time, worked hard, and had everything in place in one day. We rewarded them with pizza and wings. As global warming creates weather havoc, we feel more protected with our new generator. For more information on the Generac Guardian, click here.

I don’t usually recommend live CDs (most of them have bad sound and sloppy production values) but I’m making an exception for this recording of the Concert for Sandy. The line-up is impressive: Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Alicia Keyes, The Who, and Bill Joel. The sound, for once, is surprisingly good. And the proceeds from the concert goes to Hurricane Sandy relief. You get some good music and you’re helping a good cause. What could be a better way to end 2012? Happy New Year everyone!
TRACK LIST
1. Land Of Hope and Dreams (Live) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 5:27
2. Wrecking Ball (Live) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 6:15
3. Another Brick In The Atlantic Wall (Live) Roger Waters 7:15
4. Us And Them (Live) Roger Waters 7:48
5. Comfortably Numb (Live) Roger Waters feat. Eddie Vedder 6:44
6. Hallelujah (Sandy Relief Version) (Live) Adam Sandler and Paul Shaffer 4:53
7. It’s My Life (Live) Bon Jovi 3:50
8. Wanted Dead Or Alive (Live) Bon Jovi 5:29
9. Got To Be Better In A Little While (Live) Eric Clapton 5:56
10. Crossroads (Live) Eric Clapton 4:04
11. You Got Me Rocking (Live) The Rolling Stones 4:18
12. Jumpin Jack Flash (Live) The Rolling Stones 5:24
13. No One (Live) Alicia Keys 7:22
14. Who Are You (Live) The Who 7:00
15. Baba O’Riley (Live) The Who 5:27
16. Love Reign O’er Me (Live) The Who 6:53
17. Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) (Live) Billy Joel 4:50
18. Moving Out (Anthony’s Song) (Live) Billy Joel 3:50
19. You May Be Right (Live) Billy Joel 4:37
20. Viva La Vida (Live) Chris Martin 3:00
21. Losing My Religion (Live) Chris Martin feat. Michael Stipe 3:58
22. Us Against The World (Live) Chris Martin 3:33
23. Helter Skelter (Live) Paul Mccartney 4:10
24. Empire State Of Mind (Live) Alicia Keyes

It’s fitting that this meaningless Jets vs. Bills game is blacked out here because 13,000 seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium remain unsold. Who in the world would want to sit in a snow-filled stadium to watch these two underachieving teams. This is the final game of the season for both of these disappointing teams. How is your favorite NFL team going to do today? Are you ready for the Playoffs?

Subterranean Press rendered us all a big favor by reprinting these Jack Vance mysteries in one handsome hardcover edition. Desperate Days includes The Fox Valley Murders, The Pleasant Grove Murders, and The Dark Ocean . All three books were written in the 1960s (The Dark Ocean was finally published in 1985) when Jack Vance was at height of his powers. Sheriff Joe Bain of Central California’s San Rodrigo County figures in The Fox Valley Murders, The Pleasant Grove Murders. The Dark Ocean tells the story of a young woman and her dangerous stalker. For more information on Desperate Days just click here.

In our unending quest to stimulate the U.S. economy before we fall off the Fiscal Cliff, I bought the DELL XPS One 2710 all-in-one computer. No computer tower: everything is in the monitor. And I really LOVE the 27 inch high-definition monitor! Yes, there are some annoyances. I have to learn Windows 8. I’m just bumbling around so far using the touch screen. Patrick needs to install the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard before he leaves for Peru. Right now, I’m using the Chiclet keyboard that came with the DELL. I HATE Chiclet keyboards! After just a day of using the new DELL XPS One 2710 I can testify that it’s lightning fast. If you’re looking for a new computer, I recommend this DELL.

This slim volume contains three gems: “A Christmas Memory,” “One Christmas” and “The Thanksgiving Visitor.” “A Christmas Memory” shows Capote’s childhood in rural Alabama in the 1930s. “One Christmas” revolves around a six-year-old narrator who is the child of divorced parents. The boy travels to New Orleans by bus to spend Christmas with his father. In the last story, “The Thanksgiving Visitor” Miss Sook, Capote’s cousin, invites the school bully to Thanksgiving dinner one year and tells what happened. For a little 100-page book, A Christmas Memory packs plenty of surprises and delights. GRADE: A