I would say the night test of the camera was a success. Hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth!

100 Degrees Outside!

Here in NY we are suffering through a little heat wave.

This is by far the hottest day of the year! My car’s thermometer says it hit 100 degrees between 12pm and 1pm. Now that’s hot!

Anyone else in the area have pictures to beat that?

It’s an iPhone App, it’s about Long Island and I do the review from the largest hotspot on Long Island. Consider this video #2 to the VLOG. You can find more information here about the “Essential Long Island” App that I used in the VLOG. I plan on using it the entire summer and will put it to the test a few more times.

Oh, and for your techies, I did upload in full HD, 720p. It was pointed out I filmed the precious Vlog in HD but didn’t upload in HD. Thanks for the tip! :)

My latest video and my Youtube debut if you’re curious. I purposely did the video in HD 720p. This is the format the new iPhone will be able to shoot in. An 8GB card will get you about 6 minutes of HD video. Yes, the files are large when dealing with HD. A 32GB iPhone will hold about 24 minutes of HD video and that doesn’t include your music files. So if your thinking of doing that upgrade to the iPhone 4 and do a lot of video shooting you might want to opt for the 64GB option.

As for my latest video… It’s filmed on the Long Beach Boardwalk, Long Island, which also happens to be one big wireless hotspot. Go early and avoid the crowds.

Related articles

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Living on Long Island for my entire life I’ve always enjoyed being close to the beaches. Memorial Day weekend was a time that at least for one of the days of the 3 day weekend I could get down to the Long Beach Boardwalk and enjoy the first weekend of summer, usually by bike. But this was the first  Memorial Day Weekend that I decided to stay away from the beaches. Why?

First, the annual air Show at Jones Beach. The show has become way too popular. If your not at Jones Beach by 5am you pretty much might as well just park along the closed parkway to get a glimpse of the airshow. Hundreds of thousands of people show up for this show every year and every year the crowds seem to grow larger.

Jones Beach you can really only reach by car and the ocasional bus with the exception of this weekend when it is completely packed to the point the parkways need to be closed. So even getting there by car is not an option.

Long Beach, on the other hand is easily accessible by the Long Island railroad but that brings problems all it’s own. The cost of a day pass to Long Beach is $10. The LIRR has a Beach Package. $19 for round trip tickets from Penn Station to Long Beach and that includes a beach pass. It’s an excellent deal.

From here you can guess that Long Beach attracts a different clientele than Jones Beach. The LIRR brings in beach goers from Brooklyn, Queens and the city.

It’s very common to find packs of kids of 30 or more strolling the boardwalk looking for trouble. So, many times for the summer months I limit my trips to the Long Beach Boardwalk either early in the morning or during the week.  The best time to enjoy the Long Beach Boardwalk is now between the months of September thru April. The crowds are gone, the real beach goers are around and you can actually relax.

So this year I will change things up a little. Stay away from Long Island beaches for a while. At least for a couple of months till the summer season is over. I’ll find other things to do and blog about.

Related articles

• Affordable Beachy Day Trips from NYC (gadling.com)

Some footage I put together from this morning. To think Long Island used to be overrun with Wild Turkeys. The first settlers of Long Island documented how these flightless birds just overran the island at that time. Today they’re pretty rare but these wild turkeys are starting to make a comeback.

Related articles

• Biologists assemble for answers to declining turkey hunting (sports.espn.go.com)
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Fooling around with the camera again

Hey! It’s Sunday! Get out and enjoy.

It’s early morning. Here I am fooling around with the camera again attempting to get a shot of a Canadian Goose who gets very close to my car.

If your not a Long Islander I will just let you know Canadian Geese are common. Wherever you find a halfway decent size of open piece of land you will find Canadian Geese.

Many of them stay around all year long but the one’s that stay usually are found close to a pond or water. Geese can get aggressive so my advice is to treat them with respect.

There’s an important Met Game today. Don’t forget to check out my work on MetsReport.com.

The more things change the more things stay the same.

I walked into a CVS Pharmacy a few days back. I normally avoid them. I worked for CVS over 10 years ago back when they were the Melville Corporation. Back then someone realized they could make huge profits by cutting payroll. I ended up working many nights with just myself and another employee. Lines everywhere, the place was a mess, the minimum wage CVS was paying couldn’t get you decent help beyond the 16 year olds who didn’t really need to work and just needed extra cash to have fun.

Most of those 16 year old employees moved on to college and then productive careers. The managers of the company are left to rot. Careers are hard to come by in retail. I was one of the lucky managers who broke out into a new career, much happier and healthier.

After 10 years I thought CVS would have changed. I really thought this recession, forcing people to demand more service for their money, would force change on corporations only out to make a buck .

I guess not. Check out the quick picture I took from the middle of a line at a local CVS Pharmacy. Pretty pathetic. An Assistant Manager was the main ringer. 1 employee was ringing along side him. They were telling customers the photo machine was broken so no one could drop off pictures but more likely there was no one to man the photo center.

This particular CVS was located in a low income area. Some of their stores in higher income areas are spotless and offer some credible customer service.

Shame on CVS Corporate for continuing to cut payroll to the bone and they really only do it in low income areas because these areas accept it. I avoid the chain pharmacies at all costs. There are still many local pharmacies out there. Do a search on Google and support your local Pharmacies.

Related articles

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This might very well be the only Japanese Flowering Cherry Tree on Long Island and it’s hidden behind the greenhouses of Farmingdale Gardens. I was surprised to stumble upon. It really should have been put in the main garden area.

Peak blooming time is usually late March so we have just passed it but the tree is in full blooming mode.

You would only have a few weeks to check it out so head on over to the SUNY Farmingdale Teaching Gardens.

You have to walk all the way to the back of the garden and behind the greenhouse to catch this amazing tree.

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I get this question quite a bit and the answer is “NO”! If you are an Optimum Online customer you get unlimited free WiFi with your internet package.

The same does not hold true for people who do not subscribe to Cablevision. Non subscribers trying to get onto the Optimum WiFi network will be considered a guest.

Guests will be able to access the Optimum WiFi network three times per 30-day period for a 10-minute session each time. There is a limit of one 10-minute session per day.

For guest access to Optimum WiFi:

Connect your device to the Optimum WiFi network.

1. Open a Web browser. You should be presented with the Optimum WiFi login screen.
2. Select the GUEST button at the bottom of the login screen.
3. Provide your Name, Mobile Number, E-Mail Address and Zip Code, then click SIGN IN(for laptop users, you will also need to check the Terms and Conditions Agreement then click SUBMIT).

And that’s the scoop on Optimum WiFi time limits. If you have any additional information regarding Guest access, feel free to leave a comment.

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