Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 28, 2016

Good morning! Since it's Sunday morning, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the past week in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Please come by during the week and join in on the Survivor and The Amazing Race blog parties! I live blog those shows as they air while folks party in the comments area. It's a fantastic group of show fans. Please stop in!

But this ain't that.

We had yet another odd/wild weather week here in New Jersey. Some days were bitter cold with wind, but sunny. On Wednesday we had all day flooding rains with severe thunderstorms and a tornado watch. No, we did not have a tornado. (Yay!) The late-night temperature was in the high sixties! It remains a very odd weather pattern (or lack thereof) for February in New Jersey.

In other random stuff:

• NJ Transit train workers might go on strike mid-March. I've requested the Saturday of the "soft strike" off as a vacation day. If they don't strike, I have a weekend off. Win-win. If they do strike going into the week, I'll have to deal with buses and rearranging my work schedule to have a co-worker pick me up near the Shop-Rite not all that far from work. (But farther than I want to walk!) More co-workers go through there than anywhere near here.
• The bright side of that is that there's a Burger King there and I haven't had a Croissanwich in years. It's my favorite fast food breakfast sandwich.
• Things are going better at my workplace. I have new knowledgeable bosses I can actually work with and we share mutual respect. I forgot what that's like in the past few years.
• I'd still rather be retired and perhaps just do something I like to do.
• I've worked for the same company for about 34 years. I think I've paid my dues.
• But there's this pesky thing called keeping a roof over my head. I don't see Vincent the Cat going out there working to help me!

Oh, well. That's about it. Onto this week's photos! Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version. I hope everybody has a fantastic Leap Day tomorrow!

Into the light

While I like how this photo turned out, it shows the deplorable conditions of the NJ Transit Plainfield Station pedestrian tunnel between the westbound/eastbound platforms. When it rains outside, it now rains in the tunnel. Some light panels are entirely missing, others often have the rain running through them. The floor is always wet, slippery and grimy. It desperately needs repairs and regularly scheduled cleaning. Hey, NJ Transit. What's up with this? 

Don't fence me in

A sparrow rests on a fence and makes for a cute shot.

Coming in for a landing

A pigeon making a landing on a ledge on the Chotola Apartment building on North Avenue in Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

The Amazing Race Blog Party - February 26, 2016

The show is starting! As it airs here on the East Coast, I'll post the major happenings live. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as it always is ... the real party is in the comments area. Please join in on the fun! (And bring tasty beverages and snacks!) I'm still a bit iffy on the team names, so please bear with me!

The Magnificent Margo (and Mom) have made the random picks for the blog pool and here they are ...
Tyler & Korey-P- Paula Bell, Bruce & Ray, SueGee
Burnie & Ashley- Buzzmaam, Delee
Erin & Joslyn- Brian, Margo, Rbennie
Sheri & Cole- Donna in FL, Merrilee, Becky
Zach & Rachel- Sharon N, Nana in NW
Dana & Matt- Grandi, Nicklepeed
Jessica & Brittany- Donna in AL, Monty924
Scott & Blair- Meb, Jennasmom
Kurt & Brodie- David, Ed in OH
Cameron & Darius- chrob61, PDXGranny

Philiminated:
Marty & Hagan- Jackie, Willie J

Amazing Race fans ready? Let's GO!

Teams are running all over from place to place picking up clues. They have to go to San Diego for one (not California) and to the catacombs.

Detour - Tickets -- collecting tickets on a bus. Tejo has them throw a disk rock thing on some sort of bang type fireworks dohickey. It's kind of like cornhole with a bang. (No, that's not how Phil explained it.)

Dana and Matt continue to be the only team arguing. Sigh. Oh geez ... the alpha male team, Kurt and Brodie, actually chest bump.

Gah. One of the women on one of the female teams (the one whose person was claustrophobic during the prior cave challenge) is about to go into a full-burst anxiety attack in the catacombs. It's Jessica and Brittany -- not sure which girl it is, though.

The alpha boys get to the Roadblock first. "Who's left holding the bag?" They have to find bags by the same designer as one given to them, searching a gazillion bags and several vendors.

Kurt and Brodie are headed to the Pit Stop.

Pit Stop:
1. Kurt and Brodie - won a trip to Greece
2. Tyler and Korey

Oh noes! Rachel counted the bus money wrong. She and Zach have to go back and finish that Detour.

3. Burnie and Ashley
4. Dana and Matt (He thinks they need to work together better. Y[think?)

Jessica is trying to help Cole on the Roadblock even though she's ready for the next clue. Finally she leaves him be. Rachel and Zach finally finished the Detour.

5. Jessica and Brittany
6. Sheri and Cole
7. Erin and Joslyn
8. Scott and Blair
9. Zach and Rachel
10. Darius and Cameron -- Philiminated.

Really nice guys, but The Amazing Race isn't their strength!

Survivor: Kaoh Rong Blog Party - February 24

Survivor fans ready? As the show airs, I'll update this entry with the major happenings -- refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. Please join us there. We like snacks.

Lifeguard Laurie was kind enough to offer to add the latecomers who posted last week to the blog pool, as well as reassign those who unfortunately were Darnell's pool peeps as he was the first boot.

Here are the revised match-ups:
Chan Loh - Brains
Elizabeth Markham - Donna in FL, Terry is a Texan
Peter Baggenstos - Jackie, Tammy
Neal Gottlieb - Merrilee, JoyzJenn
Debbie Wanner - meb, Rbennie
Aubry Braco - Jennasmom, Glenn
Joseph Del Campo - Grandi, Petals

Gondol - Beauty
Tai Trang - Margo, anonymouse
Nick Maiorano - Laurie, ML
Anna Khait - monty924 , SueGee from the Left Coast
Michele Fitzgerals - Brian TCC, Kelsey NY
Julia Sokolowski - Indiana Jane, Nickelpeed
Caleb Reynolds - Ed in Ohio, Stephanie in Baltimore

To Tang - Brawn
Kyle Jason - Nana in the NW, Sharon N.
Jennifer Lanzetti - David, Paula Bell
Alecia Holen - Becky, Donna NY
Scot Pollard - Delee, Pinky
Cydney Gillon - Leo Lionharted, PDX Granny

Torch has been snuffed:
Darnell Hamiltonn - free play!

Let's get this party started! If I vanish during the show, we're having some severe thunderstorms here and we've just been put under a tornado watch.

Recap, recap. 

Alecia, although saved last week, is very suspicious of her tribe mates. She's next on their list to go. Gah, Alecia calls an ember an "embryo." Oh, duh!

Over on Beauty, Tai is still determined to find a hidden idol without a clue. And he's found a clue saying the idol is buried at the base of the tree. He found that clue and it directs him to find a key to unlock the idol. He has to climb a tall tree to get at it and has to give up ... for now.

Debbie is sure the water they have to drink is safe without boiling. She's proving more and more of a nut. 

Heh. Caleb has taken a liking to Tai. Who woulda thunk it?

Brains weren't so brainy ... they wasted/spilled most of the kerosene thanks to Joe. At least he's the one they're blaming. Joe himself thinks he's at kindergarten camp because the "book" brains are all trying failed experiments rather than just working to achieve their goals.

On Brawn, while Scot and Kyle slept, Alecia worked for hours with the flint and got a fire going. Will that redeem her in their eyes? Now they can cook their chicken and boil their water. 

Immunity Challenge time! Race down river, retrieve log, carry it through obstacles, knock down targets. Reward for the first tribe is a huge fishing kit and boat. Second gets a smaller kit. Geez, Debbie is sitting up and cheerleading. I think I'm ill.

Beauty wins first place immunity and reward! Brains wins second place. Brawn once again will go to Tribal Council. 

Of course, Scot and Kyle are wanting Alecia out once again. She decided she needs to go out searching for an immunity idol. Meanwhile, Jennifer is getting tired of Kyle (Jason) and would rather keep Alecia. Jennifer and Alecia approach Cydney about an all girls alliance. If the girls stick together, it's Jason (who is actually Kyle Jason!). Now Jennifer is having second thoughts because she doesn't want to let Scot down.

Tribal Council has Jennifer spilling a few too many beans and making the guys suspicious. Uh-oh, Jennifer lies and claims the all girl alliance was Alecia's idea. Alecia denies it and claims Jennifer. Is Jennifer sinking her boat?

The tally:
Jenny, Alecia, Alecia, Jenny, Jenny.

Welp, she did it to herself! Alecia is safe and Jennifer is gone.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - February 21, 2016

Good morning! It's Sunday morning. You know what that means. It means it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. If you're a fan of the shows -- please stop by on Wednesday and Friday evenings for coverage of Survivor and The Amazing Race! I hope to see you at the blog parties!

Oh my gosh, this week's weather has run the gamut here in New Jersey. We had record low temperatures to start the week, snow, ice, torrential rain, heavy winds, thunderstorms and temperatures nearing record highs by Saturday. There was even a small earthquake but that wasn't felt in this area. That's okay. I've felt earthquakes before. I don't really need more experience at it.

I didn't really have an exciting week photo-wise. In the beginning of the week, the cold kept killing my camera's battery and/or it was too cold to really take photos. Some of the time, it was rainy or icy. I look forward to spring with bugs and flowers for me to shoot!

Life goes on here in the apartment building. One day I got home from work and the elevator wasn't working. It still wasn't working when I left early the next morning. But it was working when I got home from work that day. Since this landlord took over, the elevator has been rapidly repaired any time it has decided to stop. I recall going months at time without it before. And, since we have some elderly and disabled folks on upper floors living here because it's an elevator building, we can't really go without it for long even though we're far from a skyscraper!

Kids playing in the hallway managed to spill sparkly green glitter on the forest green carpet. I've been fighting sparkly green glitter for days now. My vacuum doesn't get it all off my red welcome mat outside my door! Nor did the maintenance staff get it all out of the hallway carpet with their equipment. I ask again ... why are there so many children and adults in that one-bedroom apartment in my corridor?

Onto this week's photos -- clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger version.

Did you see the moon last night?

It's almost full. The actual full moon will take place on Monday night. This full moon is called the Snow Moon. I'd rather some other name, please ... like the SPRING Moon!

Plotting

Since they're not birds of a feather flocking together, their nefarious plan is obvious. They're plotting to overthrow humans and take over the world. Atop the Chotola Apartment Building on North Avenue in Plainfield.

One cool ride!

You'd think they'd at least cover the seat! I wouldn't want to ride that home in the ice and snow. Parked at the Bridgewater Train Station.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

The Amazing Race Blog Party - February 19, 2016

Ready to race from your couch? As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll post the major happenings live. Refresh the page to get the latest! However, as it always is ... the real party is in the comments area. Please join in on the fun! (And bring tasty beverages and snacks!) I'm still a bit iffy on the team names, so please bear with me!

The Magnificent Margo (and Mom) have made the random picks for the blog pool and here they are ...
Tyler & Korey-P- Paula Bell, Bruce & Ray, SueGee
Burnie & Ashley- Buzzmaam, Delee
Erin & Joslyn- Brian, Margo, Rbennie
Sheri & Cole- Donna in FL, Merrilee, Becky
Zach & Rachel- Sharon N, Nana in NW
Dana & Matt- Grandi, Nicklepeed
Jessica & Brittany- Donna in AL, Monty924
Marty & Hagan- Jackie, Willie J
Scott & Blair- Meb, Jennasmom
Kurt & Brodie- David, Ed in OH
Cameron & Darius- chrob61, PDXGranny

Amazing Race fans ready? Let's GO!

Teams are flying to Columbia ... a first for the show. Uh-oh. My blog pool pick team is on the last flight.

Roadblock - Who is a hot mess?
Teams must submerge themselves in a mud pool at a volcano site and retrieve a satchel with an emerald. Some of the satchels have other rocks or gems in them. Korey dropped his coming down the volcano and had to go back. Still, the teams on the first flight are all finishing the Roadblock before the last teams get there.

After they finish the Roadblock ...
Detour - Pop-Up has them building a shelter which needs to be approved by locals. Parilla -- cooking and serving a barbecue type meal. Heh. Tyler and Korey beat out alpha male team Kurt and Brodie in building the shelter. They're on the way to the Pit Stop. My poor blog pool gals are getting frantic stuck in last at the Roadblock.

For their Speed Bump, Scott and Blair must help local fishermen pull in a fist net and retrieve the catch.

Okay, Matt and Dana are the first ones to bicker.

Pit Stop --
1. Tyler and Korey - won a trip to St. Thomas
2. Kurt and Brodie
3. Burnie and Ashley

Uh-oh. Cameron and Darius missed finding their clue. They better get it together!

4. Dana and Matt
5. Joslyn and
6. Jessica and Brittany
7. Zach and Rachel
8. Sheri and Cole
9. Scott and Blair

The brothers pass Hagan and Marty who were running because they let their cab go.

10. Cameron and Darius
11. Marty and Hagan, Philiminated in tears.

There goes my blog pool random pick. Now I'm on my own!