Waiting for Speedway Fowler

...for the first time. The much-talked-about Spicy Steak Hash lives up to its reputation. Three people. Huge amounts of food, $14 bucks. I understand now why this place is such a Worcester institution.

And why it's always winning "Best of..." awards from Worcester Magazine.

The former bar/casual dining restaurant and the next-door Dominos have been leveled to make way for.....ANOTHER COOKIE-CUTTER, LARGE-FOOTPRINT, BLINDINGLY-LIT CVS STORE! Just like the 30 other CVSs that are a blight on the city. And the Walgreens that inevitably spring up opposite them. When are the city's planners going to realize that this is essentially the WalMart look with a different face? It's taking over the city and it has to stop.

He's almost 70. This will be his only area appearance.

Saturday, September 20th at the Calvin Theater out in Northampton. His voice is a little more reedy these days after his serious illness of a few years back, but, hey, it's still Lightfoot. There's nobody better.

They were originally priced at $80. Got 'em for $25.

Now THAT is the very definition of sexy, yes?

This is a photo of the streetlight at the corner of June and Chandler. If you click on it and enlarge it, you can see a wire running from one angle of the frame, connecting at the top of the post and then going off in another direction. This wire connects ALL the lamp posts from the corner of Chandler and June down at least as far as Lovell Street. It criss-crosses the street several times. I'm not sure how far it goes in the other direction, but I traced it along about thirty street lights and it DOES take the turn and head down June Street past the old West Side Station post office. I don't know what this could possibly be for. Lightning protection? Some sort of radio use?

This is the Worcester Youth Center, otherwise known as the old Capitol Toy Building. For a while it was the Tatnuck Bookseller Warehouse.

So I drove by the other day and I noticed one of those City of Worcester "diver down" style red signs on the front. As far as I know, one of those signs means the building is scheduled for demolition.

So is the Capitol Toy Building going to be torn down? And if so, where is the Youth center going to go?

I have no idea what this is all about. Click on the photo to embiggen it and see the details. That's a mailing label from the Post Office. Kinda cool, though.

I don't know what they're building here, but I think it's a couple new fields and (I've heard) a playground. It's been a noisy summer so far, but hopefully they'll be done by Fall.

This is definitely a niche product. They are impressively horrible... until you've eaten about half a bag and come to a sudden epiphany that their addictiveness completely outweighs their awfulness.

Two quick reviews:

First up - Humpty Dumpty "HD" Dill.




It's all about the "HD" factor with these chips. The company says "HD" stands for High Definition flavor, but "Horrifically Disgusting" would be more apt. These chips are so acrid-tasting they inpart a pucker that lasts for hours. After a handful, your tastebuds go numb and eventually your lips start to swell. Total overkill.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Old Dutch Creamy Dill Potato Chips. Now, THESE are the real deal.



These are a perfect balance of potato taste and dill flavor. Very low in acidity. Just the right amount of salt. You can eat a whole bag of these without even realizing it. They are insidious. Oh, and AWESOME.



And then there are the Pringles, which aren't really chips at all and so we won't be legitimizing them by considering them today, thank you.

Jeff over at Wormtown Taxi has been a longtime fan of the wind turbine being planned for Holy Name High School. Here's another wind project in the works. This one is in Auburn on the property of Worcester Envelope Company. It's a test site right now. Hopefully it will become a real electricity generator soon.

In the parking lot outside the Lake Ave. Skating Rink.

Looks like he either panicked and split before he could finish the job, or someone tried to peel the letters off and gave up.

SciFi bailed on "Charlie Jade" after two episodes. Brilliant move for a show with a reputation for building slowly.

Paul is the owner of That's Entertainment, Worcester's top comics store. I've known the guy for close to thirty years, though I haven't seen him in ages. His shrewd business ways and collecting instincts have allowed him to do extremely well in his field and to step away from the day to day operations of his stores.


(Paul and Rex Trailer)

Anyways, a while back I discovered Paul's chapter-by-chapter life story online. It's an interesting read. He's up to chapter 164 and he's been meticulous in the details of his tale. Paul and I are probably polar opposites on politics, religion, culture - just about anything I can think of, but perhaps that's why I find his online autobiography so intriguing. It's a painstakingly assembled look into a world unlike most. Stop by his store and buy stuff.



Stop by his website and learn about his interesting life.

Old friend Bill Kickham recently gave me a call as he was passing through Worcester. We had a chance to get together very briefly on Shrewsbury Street. Bill's been getting some face time as of late on Court TV as one of the analysts in the Neil Enwtistle case.

I always stop and buy a bag of these when I am up north:



Molasses caramels made by Quebec Trappists. They are less-sugary/sweet and heartier tasting than regular caramel candies and perfect for long drives. I think you get 50 pieces for $3.50.

I love the Summer Nationals.



I think it's a great event and it brings in a lot of business.



But couldn't the event organizers at least use spellcheck? What, exactly, is a "flammer"?

The mysterious "F0X" has struck again. This time far from his home ground! The three peel-off-stick-on letters were found affixed to the bottom of a large traffic sign near the corner of Park Ave. and Chandler. What's up with THAT?





"F0X" even tagged the BACK of the pole.