January 21-22 snowstorm pictures January 26, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in News, Personal, Photography, Weather.2 comments
I said in my previous snow-related post that I expected more snow this season, and if there was another big storm, I’d have pictures to share. It only took ten days from that post, nearly three weeks since the blizzard, for that to happen.
I was not expecting a snowstorm anytime soon, but the specter of such a storm was dropped into my lap on the morning of Monday, January 20, when I saw that a winter storm watch had been issued for Long Island. Four to eight inches of snow was expected. By mid-afternoon, that was upgraded to a winter storm warning and the snowfall amount prediction increased to six to ten inches. By evening, it went up again to eight to twelve inches (one foot). Then, I vowed not to check the weather again until the following morning. I checked and the amount prediction grew a third time: ten to fourteen inches. On top of that, the snow started earlier than expected. This meant I would have a very busy Wednesday shoveling all that snow up.
The difference between this snowstorm (winter storm) and the blizzard at the beginning of January is weaker wind. It was still gusty, but not as strong as with the blizzard.
Expecting a lot of snow, I took pictures outside my window and my sister’s window every two to three hours. This was taken at 11:18 AM:
1:55 PM:
4:18 PM:
Just before 5:30, I decided to get a head start on shoveling for the next day:
My sister took these pictures from the front porch.
I was outside for 20 minutes and took this when I came back in:
8:34 PM:
40 minutes later, I felt the need to re-shovel the area I shoveled earlier. I brought a standard ruler outside with me and stuck it where I hadn’t shoveled. The snow only covered 6 1/2 inches, much less than I was expecting. Like earlier, I was only outside for 20 minutes. Back at my computer, I checked The Weather Channel desktop app and saw snow dissipating on recent radar echoes. Perhaps, I thought, we wouldn’t be getting much more snow.
This picture at 11:21 PM indicates that the snow was tapering off:
I woke up at 8:30 Wednesday morning as skies were in the process of clearing.
Here is what I saw outside my windows at 8:55:
30 minutes later, I got dressed for what I expected to be another three hours of shoveling.
Before going out the front door, I stopped at the backyard door to see how the snow looked on the deck:
Once out the front door, I took a before picture:
Next, I took a final measurement in the driveway: still 6 1/2 inches. Meanwhile, a trained spotter for the National Weather Service recorded 9.2 inches for Wantagh close to midnight. Either there was less snow where I was or there was drifting in my driveway.
I was finished shoveling in only two hours. I shoveled the driveway, curb, a path around the house, the sidewalk, and a path from the driveway to the sidewalk. The air temperature barely cracked the teens while I was outside. I wore two layers of shirts and pants in addition to the coat, hat, scarf, and gloves.
Here are the after pictures:
When I came back inside, I took a pair of pics from my bedroom:
While my mother and sister were out, I shoveled where their cars were, leaving the entire driveway shoveled:
I still had the backyard deck to shovel, which I did on Thursday morning:
I was back inside within 20 minutes, the same length as my Tuesday night shoveling shifts.
The temperature climbed through the teens on Friday night and reached the low 30s by Saturday afternoon. Temps fell back into the 20s as a band of moderate to heavy snow came through. Only an inch fell, but I still had to shovel it, which I did at around 7PM. I shoveled all the spots I shoveled on Wednesday and Thursday, retracing the paths I created to the sidewalk and backyard.
Until the next major storm, thanks for reading.
Chieli Minucci & Special EFX at The Cutting Room January 21, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Travel.add a comment
For the second time in three nights, I was in the New York City borough of Manhattan for a concert. Thursday, it was pianist Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. On Saturday, it was guitarist Chieli Minucci and his band Special EFX at The Cutting Room. Thursday was acoustic. Saturday was electronic. But each were exciting and entertaining, not to mention my first time at each venue.
The Cutting Room was one block south and five blocks east of where I exited Penn Station’s LIRR Terminal. Once there, I was directed to a room set back on the left. It was dark with most of the light coming from the stage. Most tables on facing the left side and center of the stage were full, but my girlfriend and I found an empty table close to the right end of the stage. But whatever side of the stage we were facing, we were going to be treated to great music from a legendary band, celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2014.
Special EFX was led by co-founder Chieli Minucci on electric guitar:
Jay Rowe on keyboards:
David Mann on tenor saxophone…
…soprano saxophone…
…and flute:
Jerry Brooks on bass:
And, as best I could see him from my seat, Lionel Cordew on drums:
Unfortunately, I couldn’t see much more of Jerry and Lionel from my seat. I probably could have taken shots from the right side of the stage behind the column that blocked my view, but I didn’t want to risk getting reprimanded. To make up for the lack of pictures, I’m dipping into the archives with pics of them from Special EFX’s appearance at the Long Beach Jazz Festival in September 2012.
Back on Saturday night, the band played eight songs:
1. Ballerina
Originally heard on: “Just Like Magic,” 1990
2. Courageous Cats
Originally heard on: “Jewels,” 1995 (Chieli solo album)
3. Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
Originally heard on: “Renaissance,” 1996 (Chieli solo album)
4. Crazy Eights
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
5. Till the End of Time (preceded by Jay’s intro)
Originally heard on: “Genesis,” 2013
6. Kickin’ It Hard/Spain
“Kickin’ It Hard” originally heard on: “Night Grooves,” 2003 (Chieli solo album); “Spain” is a Return to Forever cover
7. Speak to Me (preceded by Chieli’s intro)
Originally heard on: “Masterpiece,” 1999
8. Bodybeat (preceded by Chieli and Jerry’s intro duet)
Originally heard on: “Body Language,” 1995
#6 and 7 featured occasional vocalization from Chieli.
Now that you’ve seen Jerry Brooks and Lionel Cordew, here are pictures of the rest of the band, starting with Chieli Minucci:
Jay Rowe, seen here during his “Courageous Cats” solo:
It was Jay’s birthday, and Chieli had a present for him:
Jay’s “Till the End of Time” intro:
David Mann:
The last song (“Bodybeat”):
The bow:
As I wrote earlier, it was another night of great music from the legendary Chieli Minucci and Special EFX. I hope to see them again soon.
Lisa Hilton at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall January 17, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Football, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Sports, Travel, TV, Video, Weather.add a comment
Previous recap: June 2011
Later recaps: January 2015, January 2016, January 2018, January 2019
Last night marked the second time I saw jazz pianist Lisa Hilton perform. The first time was about 2 1/2 years ago in Greenwich Village (see link above). This time, I was uptown at Carnegie Hall‘s Weill Recital Hall. It was my first time ever at Carnegie.
My journey began at around 4PM, when I left home to walk to the Wantagh LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) station for a 4:27 Penn Station-bound train. I would have taken a later train, but I wanted to be safe in case any delays popped up during my walk to the station. That’s what happened the day before when I had to take a train to Rockville Centre. But even though there were delays earlier in the day, there were none when I arrived. My trip to Penn Station was smooth sailing. No one sat near me after Freeport. It was a peaceful journey as I took in the sights while listening to my iPod, not a noisy one where I’m surrounded by chatter from people of varying ages. (The ride back was somewhat crowded, but not too noisy. And it helps to have studio headphones.)
I was in a railcar near the back of the train, which meant I needed to walk a little extra from the train to the LIRR Terminal. Once there, I had dinner at TGI Friday’s. Then, I walked up to the subway terminal and took the E train uptown to 7th Avenue and West 53rd Street. The second I emerged from the seemingly endless flights of stairs, I saw the Ed Sullivan Theater, home to the CBS late night talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman. I whipped out my Nikon D5100 and took a picture:
I was fortunate enough to attend a taping with my father back in December 2004, but that’s another story.
I arrived at Carnegie Hall just before 7PM. Since photography wasn’t allowed during Lisa’s performance, these outside pictures will have to do:
Thinking that the time when the doors to the hall are opened was the time to go inside, I waited outside the Weill Recital Hall entrance for 15 minutes. Two couples went inside while I was waiting. Finally, I opened the door and asked if I was allowed to come in. Of course, I was. I got my ticket, went up to the lounge adjacent to the hall, and waited for the hall doors to open.
According to my watch, I took my seat at 7:42. The Weill Recital Hall was not what I was expecting. It was an intimate hall with one row of orchestra seats, where I sat, and a balcony behind them. There were three chandeliers on the ceiling; my seat was between two of them.
The hall was completely acoustic. There were no speakers, no engineer, no amplification, nothing of the kind. I was in for a unique experience.
Lisa entered at 8:06, joined by Ben Street on upright acoustic bass and Billy Hart on drums. Lisa played a Steinway & Sons piano.
The set primarily featured music from her upcoming album, Kaleidoscope. Here’s what the set looked like:
1. Kaleidoscope
2. Whispered Confessions – This one was my favorite.
3. Midnight Mania
4. Bach/Basie/Bird: Boogie Blues Bop
5. Sunny Side Up
6. Blue Horizon
7. Stepping Into Paradise – This was a solo piano piece. Ben and Billy left the stage and took a break. They returned for the rest of the set.
8. Getaway – This was another favorite.
9. Subway
10. When It Rains
11. Evening Song
12. So This Is Love
“Getaway” and “Evening Song” are from Getaway (2013). “Subway” and “When It Rains” are from American Impressions (2012). “So This Is Love” is from My Favorite Things (2005).
“Getaway” was first performed on Seduction (1997) and in a slightly slower tempo on In the Mood for Jazz (2003). “Evening Song” also debuted on Seduction. “Stepping Into Paradise” originated on Getaway.
After the show, I caught up with Lisa in the lounge, and even got to meet her daughter Fiona. Fiona was nice enough to take our picture:
My original plan for returning to Penn Station involving taking the M7 MTA New York City Bus back to 34th Street and walking to the LIRR Terminal from there. But when I got to the bus stop, I had a clear view of Times Square. I could see the Jumbotron, which still had up the “2014” sign, complete with the New Year’s ball frozen in place above it. Forget the bus, I thought. I’m walking back and taking pictures. And I did:
42nd Street Subway Station:
My last two pictures of the night came at the LIRR Terminal entrance:
I initially boarded the wrong train: an express that didn’t stop at Wantagh. Luckily, I was able to grab all my belongings quickly and exit the train (thanks to the doors not closing right away). I quickly found the right train on a different track and barely boarded that one in time. I was bound for home, capping a memorable night. I opened my eyes and ears to a new experience and I enjoyed it. Thank you, Lisa, Ben, and Billy.
January 2-3 blizzard pictures January 11, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Health, News, Personal, Photography, Weather.add a comment
***This is my 300th post!!!***
2014 had barely begun and already a major winter storm was headed my way. The snowfall wasn’t as great as last February’s blizzard, but Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island were under a blizzard warning, nonetheless. This was due to blowing snow from wind gusts above 35 miles per hour. The bulk of the snow came overnight Thursday, January 2, into the morning of Friday, January 3. I shot this picture before I went to bed:
I woke up around 9:00 Friday morning as snow was tapering off. I took these pictures outside my bedroom windows, but without opening them:
Then, I moved on to another room to take pictures of the backyard:
With that out of the way, I got dressed for shoveling. The bulk of my work was on the front porch, in the driveway, and at the curb. Here are the before pictures:
Before I started shoveling, I measured the powdery snow in driveway with a standard 12-inch ruler. I measured about 8 1/2 inches of snowfall, which was 4.4 more than the National Weather Service’s official total for Wantagh, courtesy of a trained spotter. Perhaps that was taken south of my section of Wantagh. NWS totals for nearby North Merrick (10.6″) and North Massapequa (10.3″) were relatively close to my measurement.
Three hours later, I was finished. I shoveled the front porch, driveway, curb, and a path around the house through the front yard, right side, backyard, and left side. I was hoping that neighbors would offer to help with their snow blowers, but I ended doing everything myself. I didn’t have the energy to shovel the deck in the backyard, opting to save that for Saturday. Here are the after pictures:
After hitting the shower, I took after pics from the upstairs windows as before:
Unfortunately, the snow was followed by polar vortex temperatures, which were at their worst Friday night into Saturday morning. Low temperatures reached the single digits, but moderated back to the 20s by Saturday afternoon. After returning from a haircut and grocery shopping, I did some touch-up shoveling in the driveway…
…and finally shoveled the backyard deck:
The result of three hours of shoveling on Friday was pain in my left foot and right arm, but the pain gradually went away.
Above freezing temperatures and rain helped to melt much of the snow on Sunday and Monday, but what was left froze overnight Monday as the next round of polar vortex air moved in. I had to dress in layers Tuesday morning just to bring back empty garbage pails from the curb following pickup earlier that morning. I was only outside for five minutes. The next time I ventured outside was Wednesday evening en route to dinner with friends. Luckily, temperatures won’t be that cold again anytime soon. In fact, the snow that hadn’t fully melted by Monday should melt today and tomorrow thanks to more rain and more above freezing temperatures. I expect more snow before winter ends, and if there’s another big storm, I’ll have pictures to share.
50,000 views! January 5, 2014
Posted by Mike C. in Internet.add a comment
Earlier today, MikeChimeri.com reached its biggest viewership milestone yet: 50,000 views! Thank you to all that have visited the site, since its early days as The Mike Chimeri Blog, for making this milestone possible.
The next milestone post will come at 75,000. Until then, keep reading for new posts from the world of Mike Chimeri.
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