Original Dates: The 80's
Bannerman Castle was in Metro today as Sen. Chuck Schumer is trying to raise money to restore the crumbling landmark. I never actually knew what this building was until I saw the article today. As kids, we would always see it from a distance on the freeway when my family made trips to the city from Congers. Though it was far away, it looked clearly like a castle atop a high mountain. It would spark our imaginations as we were into things like Dungeons & Dragons and the Lochness Monster.
The castle was built by Francis Bannerman VI in 1901 as a storage place for ammunition. He was a dealer for the military. The island was sold to the State Park Commission after he died. It suffered a massive fire in 1969 and has been falling apart since then.
Related: Bannerman Castle Trust (official site), Historic Hudson River Towns, Wikipedia
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Siews' January Birthdays
Wesley still remains the only Siew without a January birthday as Bradley came into the world last week. We all went over to their house to celebrate the birthdays and play with the kids. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy gray day. Cindy & Wil have their hand full and probably won't be able to leave the house for at least a month. At least we were able to help out with a meal and take Wesley off their hands for a few hours.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Satay Malaysian (Flushing)
Location: 46-01 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY
Cuisine: Malaysian
Hours: SUN-FRI (11am-11pm); SAT (11am-11:30pm)
Phone: (718) 888-1868
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 9
Value: 8
Environment: 6
Frequency: Unique (for Flushing chain)
We haven't seem Uncle Bock and Auntie Kim since before the holidays, so they invited us to dinner tonight. They knew we liked Sentosa and attempted to try a new Malaysian restaurant in Curry Leaves, so we tried out their favorite... Satay. I thought nothing of the name when I first walked in. "Satay" is a generic word with Malaysian food, so I didn't realize this was the same chain as the restaurant I eat at all the time at work in Hoboken until I picked up their business card at the end. The storefront looked completely different, but the business card was exactly the same.
Overall, the food is about equal to Sentosa. Some dishes were better here and others were better there. But the average portion size for the price gives Satay the edge. For more information on individual dishes, check out the Picasa album.
Service was good based on this one visit, but it was hard to tell if it's like this all the time or if it was just because Uncle Bock and Auntie Kim were regulars. Uncle Bock had to request them to bring appetizers first and wait a while before the main courses, suggesting that they normally rush everything out at once. They were fast in clearing finished plates and refilling the tea. Switching our dinner plates came at the right time and the waiter often asked how things were. So I got a good impression from the staff.
The environment was OK. The restaurant area was fairly clean, but could use an interior designer. In contrast, the Hoboken chain looks very nice. The bathrooms were a bit rundown. Signs to get to them could've been better.
Cuisine: Malaysian
Hours: SUN-FRI (11am-11pm); SAT (11am-11:30pm)
Phone: (718) 888-1868
Prices: about $15/person
Credit Cards: All major
Food: 9
Service: 9
Value: 8
Environment: 6
Frequency: Unique (for Flushing chain)
We haven't seem Uncle Bock and Auntie Kim since before the holidays, so they invited us to dinner tonight. They knew we liked Sentosa and attempted to try a new Malaysian restaurant in Curry Leaves, so we tried out their favorite... Satay. I thought nothing of the name when I first walked in. "Satay" is a generic word with Malaysian food, so I didn't realize this was the same chain as the restaurant I eat at all the time at work in Hoboken until I picked up their business card at the end. The storefront looked completely different, but the business card was exactly the same.
Overall, the food is about equal to Sentosa. Some dishes were better here and others were better there. But the average portion size for the price gives Satay the edge. For more information on individual dishes, check out the Picasa album.
Service was good based on this one visit, but it was hard to tell if it's like this all the time or if it was just because Uncle Bock and Auntie Kim were regulars. Uncle Bock had to request them to bring appetizers first and wait a while before the main courses, suggesting that they normally rush everything out at once. They were fast in clearing finished plates and refilling the tea. Switching our dinner plates came at the right time and the waiter often asked how things were. So I got a good impression from the staff.
The environment was OK. The restaurant area was fairly clean, but could use an interior designer. In contrast, the Hoboken chain looks very nice. The bathrooms were a bit rundown. Signs to get to them could've been better.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Donations to Haiti
I gathered some links for donating to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Each item below was personally link-checked to make sure there was an option for the specific crisis:Also check out NY1's relief list. They made it a point to review organizations to insure that donations would really make it to their intended destinations.
Please feel free to republish this post on your own blog. Click here to download the source code for Blogger.
Thank you.
Please feel free to republish this post on your own blog. Click here to download the source code for Blogger.
Thank you.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Baby Bradley
Last night, my Dad stayed with Wesley in the living room until about 12:40am. I took over from then until Wil arrived at almost 2am. We didn't want to risk waking up Wesley by moving him into the room while he was already sound asleep.
After a long night, everyone got up surprisingly early... before 8am! I guess we were all anxious to hear updates and see when we could go visit Cindy & Bradley at the hospital. We ended up going a bit later because I had an open house at my apartment from 1-3pm and Wesley needed a lot of napping time to make up for the late night the day before. Wil must've been super tired as well and Cindy definitely needed the extra rest after the difficult labor.
After a long night, everyone got up surprisingly early... before 8am! I guess we were all anxious to hear updates and see when we could go visit Cindy & Bradley at the hospital. We ended up going a bit later because I had an open house at my apartment from 1-3pm and Wesley needed a lot of napping time to make up for the late night the day before. Wil must've been super tired as well and Cindy definitely needed the extra rest after the difficult labor.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Babysitting
Just a couple of days ago, Cindy was trying to anticipate all possible plans for the various times the baby might come out. She mentioned that she felt a little off today and made an appointment to go to the hospital.
Cindy (1:11:21 PM): Hi
Me (1:11:34 PM): hello
Cindy (1:11:49 PM): We're near the hospital...gonna hang out here and see if I can be admitted
Cindy (1:12:00 PM): Ur dad knows
Me (1:12:03 PM): oh ok
Me (1:12:16 PM): is he going to get Wesley?
Cindy (1:12:23 PM): We'll call when we know more
Me (1:12:27 PM): OK
Cindy (1:13:00 PM): Possible, it depends on if the baby is really coming and at what time
Cindy (1:13:08 PM): We don't know anything yet
Cindy (1:13:35 PM): Have to see if they would admit me first
Cindy (1:13:53 PM): Will keep u and emily posted
Me (1:14:08 PM): ok... good luck
Cindy (1:14:55 PM): If he has to, he is authorized by daycare and we will give him garage passcode to get into house
Cindy (1:53:05 PM): Probly getting admitted
Cindy (1:53:05 PM): Wil will be in touch
Cindy (4:24:11 PM): R u there
Me (4:24:23 PM): yup
Cindy (4:24:41 PM): I am most likely staying at hosp. No more hotel rooms. I think wil and wes are gonna stay at ur parents
Me (4:24:52 PM): OK
Cindy (4:24:57 PM): And the wil can come back here to hospital if needed
Me (4:25:41 PM): OK... so I'll head to Flushing then
Me (4:26:09 PM): So it's likely tomorrow or Sunday if the doctor is keeping you there.
Cindy (4:26:27 PM): Well maybe today
Me (4:26:32 PM): ic
Cindy (4:26:57 PM): Baby is not in a rush
Cindy (4:27:04 PM): I have to c if wil wants to get a different hotel or stay at ur parents
Cindy (4:27:09 PM): Not sure
Me (4:28:34 PM): Flushing might be OK since it'll be after rush hour if he's coming out tonight.
Cindy (4:29:59 PM): Or if he wants ur dad to get wes
Cindy (4:30:27 PM): Trying to talk to him. He already left hospital
Me (4:31:12 PM): I'm going to head to Flushing in a little bit... ttyl
Cindy (4:32:28 PM): Ok
By 4:30pm, we still weren't sure, but it looked like Cindy was going to stay overnight just in case and my parents were already heading out to pick up Wesley, so I headed over to Flushing after work. My parents and Wesley got in at about 7. The whole situation was unfamiliar to Wesley, but he was in a good mood the whole time. He played with the usual toys and we watched Finding Nemo twice. He wasn't looking for Wil or Cindy at all.
The only thing we had trouble with was getting him to sleep at 9:30pm. He was visibly tired, but didn't want to sleep yet. He kept finding things to play with in each room. He eventually ran out of gas at 11:30pm in the living room.
Wil called just after the delivery. Bradley Kyle Siew was born at 11:43pm on January 8, 2010. He was a whopping 8+ lbs & over 20" tall!
Cindy (1:11:21 PM): Hi
Me (1:11:34 PM): hello
Cindy (1:11:49 PM): We're near the hospital...gonna hang out here and see if I can be admitted
Cindy (1:12:00 PM): Ur dad knows
Me (1:12:03 PM): oh ok
Me (1:12:16 PM): is he going to get Wesley?
Cindy (1:12:23 PM): We'll call when we know more
Me (1:12:27 PM): OK
Cindy (1:13:00 PM): Possible, it depends on if the baby is really coming and at what time
Cindy (1:13:08 PM): We don't know anything yet
Cindy (1:13:35 PM): Have to see if they would admit me first
Cindy (1:13:53 PM): Will keep u and emily posted
Me (1:14:08 PM): ok... good luck
Cindy (1:14:55 PM): If he has to, he is authorized by daycare and we will give him garage passcode to get into house
Cindy (1:53:05 PM): Probly getting admitted
Cindy (1:53:05 PM): Wil will be in touch
Cindy (4:24:11 PM): R u there
Me (4:24:23 PM): yup
Cindy (4:24:41 PM): I am most likely staying at hosp. No more hotel rooms. I think wil and wes are gonna stay at ur parents
Me (4:24:52 PM): OK
Cindy (4:24:57 PM): And the wil can come back here to hospital if needed
Me (4:25:41 PM): OK... so I'll head to Flushing then
Me (4:26:09 PM): So it's likely tomorrow or Sunday if the doctor is keeping you there.
Cindy (4:26:27 PM): Well maybe today
Me (4:26:32 PM): ic
Cindy (4:26:57 PM): Baby is not in a rush
Cindy (4:27:04 PM): I have to c if wil wants to get a different hotel or stay at ur parents
Cindy (4:27:09 PM): Not sure
Me (4:28:34 PM): Flushing might be OK since it'll be after rush hour if he's coming out tonight.
Cindy (4:29:59 PM): Or if he wants ur dad to get wes
Cindy (4:30:27 PM): Trying to talk to him. He already left hospital
Me (4:31:12 PM): I'm going to head to Flushing in a little bit... ttyl
Cindy (4:32:28 PM): Ok
By 4:30pm, we still weren't sure, but it looked like Cindy was going to stay overnight just in case and my parents were already heading out to pick up Wesley, so I headed over to Flushing after work. My parents and Wesley got in at about 7. The whole situation was unfamiliar to Wesley, but he was in a good mood the whole time. He played with the usual toys and we watched Finding Nemo twice. He wasn't looking for Wil or Cindy at all.
The only thing we had trouble with was getting him to sleep at 9:30pm. He was visibly tired, but didn't want to sleep yet. He kept finding things to play with in each room. He eventually ran out of gas at 11:30pm in the living room.
Wil called just after the delivery. Bradley Kyle Siew was born at 11:43pm on January 8, 2010. He was a whopping 8+ lbs & over 20" tall!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Family Guy: Something Something Something Dark Side (Blu-ray)
Action: 6Acting: 7
FX: 8
Durability: 7
Special Features: 6
Blu-ray: 1
Since getting the PS3, I've been considering the Blu-ray version of all upcoming movies now. I was undecided about Family Guy: Something Something Something Dark Side though because Family Guy is a low quality cartoon. I went for the Blu-ray anyway, thinking that they must've done the movie in hi-res because it was a straight to video release. It turned out to be a mistake though. While the menu was 16:9, the movie was in the old aspect ratio. It's not really true 1080p either... just a video stretched to that resolution. The movie is enjoyable and funny, but not worth paying extra for the Blu-ray format. This is a must for any Family Guy fan, but I would encourage you to just get the DVD format. There are just some movies that won't make a difference at hi-res and this is one of them.
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