Ramblin' with Roger

Not underwater

national news

A few people checked in with me last week with sentiments such as “How did you and your family fare during the deluge?” and “I saw there was bad flooding out your way; hoping everything is ok.”

Yes, our house is not underwater. The basement was damp, but there was no water on the floor.

It’s rare for upstate NY news to appear on the national newscasts, but it’s been “a thing” for a few days now. There was real damage in areas not far from our home. In West Albany, which is part of the town of Colonie, but only about 2.5 miles from our house, people were evacuated by boat.

The flood-prone areas – the city line to Colonie on Central Avenue (see above), the area around Stuyvesant Plaza at Western Avenue and Fuller Road, for two – caught some drivers unawares. According to a news report, one guy drove one way on Central at 4:30 a.m., picked up a passenger, drove back, and got stuck.

From the NWS: “July 29, 2026 was the 2nd wettest calendar day on record for Albany, NY with 5.45″ occurring! The daily record missed the all-time calendar day record set by the Tropical Storm Floyd rainfall back on Sept 16, 1999 when 5.60″ occurred at the Albany International Airport. The rainfall yesterday did pass the 4.69″ measured from Irene back on August 28, 2011. Daily records for Albany go back to 1874.”

It was a fairly narrow geographic band of rain, but the places that were hit got hammered. You may have seen the centuries-old grist mill in Castleton-On-Hudson, just 10 miles south of Albany, obliterated.

Cohoes Falls is quite pleasant, but it’s no Niagara Falls, except that day.

By comparison

Do you know what I did that day? Nothing. I never left the house, didn’t get dressed.

It had been a hectic few days before that. My wife had dropped me off to visit a sick friend on the previous Friday. When I got home via bus, my wife had left her keys in the door. The next day, I couldn’t find my keys.

So I don’t know whether I lost them inside or outside the house, which made the search more exhausting. Are they in the sofa, did they fall out of my pants on the bus, or something else?

Then, when my wife and I went to the movies on Monday, I turned off my iPhone. After the film, I tried to turn on my phone, but I saw “SOS,” which meant my phone was showing that I had lost my Internet connection.

I tried multiple times: toggling Airplane Mode, turning it on for a few seconds, then off to refresh my network connection; restarting my iPhone; toggling my cellular line/eSIM off and back on in Settings; resetting Network Settings. Nothing.

The next day, my provider messaged, “You’ve turned off our service on your phone.” I didn’t, but I went to THAT setting and turned it on.

Neither losing keys (my wife made more on Tuesday) nor not being online was a real crisis, merely a bother.

But they were enough stressors that I took the rain day to do nothing.

Sunday Stealing Invites You to Be Bold

Niagara Falls

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week’s meme was stolen from blogging mom Blue Milk. Back in 2008, she stole it from an invitation-only meme. It was originally a very loooong meme, with more than 100 questions in all. Too much for me! So it’s been pared back to 35. If that still seems daunting, remember all you have to do is bold the ones you’ve done. If you’d like to elaborate, feel free.

Bold the Ones You’ve Done

But I’m not going to do that because the whole post is bold. Sunday Stealing Invites You to Be Bold. BTW, I loved that TV show.

Have you ever …

1. Slept under the stars - Of course. Sometimes, I even liked it

2. Played in a band I think once, in junior high school, and I hated it because I was playing percussion and had to wait something like 74 measures to come in. It was anxiety-producing, and I think I was late.

3. Visited Hawaii  - No, but I was invited to go. There’s a story about that.

4. Visited Easter Island – No.

5. Watched a meteor shower – I believe so.

6. Seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace - I’ve never been to the UK

Walt’s World

7. Been to Disneyland or Disney World  - No. My wife and I thought that we “should” take the Daughter there, but she never seemed all that enthused. I don’t think she understood what a Big Deal it was.

8. Climbed a mountain  - Yes. As I noted recently, it was to my detriment.

9. Held a praying mantis – I believe so

10. Been to the Louvre – Well, TO the Louvre, but not IN the Louvre.

11. Had food poisoning - Yes, including quite possibly this year.

12. Eaten vegetables you grew yourself – As a kid, yes. It was never my joy.

 13. Slept overnight on a train  - I don’t believe so, though I’ve slept from NYC to Charlotte and arrived around 4:30 a.m.

14. Built a snow fort – Undoubtedly.

15. Held a lamb -Possibly at a county fair; uncertain.

16. Gone skinny dipping – At least twice, once in Broome County (the cops showed up) and once in Ulster County

17. Been on a cruise (day cruises and dinner cruises count) – At least twice, my wife and I took a Dutch Apple Cruise up and down the Hudson River. It’s rather cool. This reminds me that some performer was singing Sweet Caroline, which reminds me of Hank and John Green’s version of Sweet Caroline.

There was another time we were on the Hudson and went through one or more of the Erie Canal locks. And we went on the now-closed Albany Aqua Ducks, which naturally reminds me of Aqualung.

18. Seen Niagara Falls  - several times, most recently in 2011

Roots

19. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – it depends on how far back one wants to go. My maternal grandmother’s house is where her mother grew up. I’ve been in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where some of my paternal grandmother’s people grew up. But I’ve not been to Ireland or Nigeria or places like that.

 20. Sung karaoke - Yes, at least once at a work conference.

21. Sat for a portrait – yes, but generally by a caricaturist

22. Walked on a beach by moonlight - Yes

23. Been transported in an ambulance - yes, when I was in a car accident when I was 19

24. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling  - Yes, when I was in Barbados in 1999 on our honeymoon, but I wasn’t very good at it

25. Kissed in the rain - Yes

26. Played in the mud  – of course

27. Gone to a drive-in theater – several times growing up. I specifically remember seeing The Dirty Dozen.

28. Changed your vehicle’s oil yourself – well, it wasn’t my vehicle, but I did do this. Once. With constant instruction.

29. Taken a martial arts class  - no

30. Visited the Vatican - never been to Italy

31. Volunteered at a soup kitchen or food pantry - yes, but it’s been several years

32. Sold Girl Scout cookies – for some reason, yes, for friends’ kids

33. Bought a used car – no, nor have I purchased a new car

34. Sat on a jury – no, but I was in the courtroom in 2007 and 2014

35. Ridden an elephant – No. Or maybe yes? At a circus when I was a kid?

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Top Pop Singles of 1976, part 1

rollercoaster, hangover – ain’t love grand?

These are the top pop singles of 1976. Okay, many of them. The songs that were #1 on the Billboard charts for multiple weeks, plus those that were there for only one week but were in the Top 10 for at least 10 weeks, are represented.

The follow-up will include other #1 songs on the Billboard charts, as well as #1 songs on non-Billboard charts.

Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright) – Rod Stewart (Warner), 8 weeks at #1, gold record

Silly Love Songs – Wings (Capitol), 5 weeks at #1, gold record

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – Elton John and Kiki Dee (Rocket), 4 weeks at #1, gold record

Disco Lady – Johnnie Taylor (Columbia), 4 weeks at #1, platinum record

Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry (Epic), 3 weeks at #1, platinum record

December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) – the Four Seasons (Warner/Curb), 3 weeks at #1, gold record. A story: When I was working at the NY Small Business Development Center in 1998, we were underbid for a national contract to provide reference services to the SBDCs across the country, something we had done since 1992. Figuring we wouldn’t be there by December, we in the Research Network decided to have our Christmas party in September. We played this card game where we had to respond to the specific cues. One was to name a pop song that included a year and provide at least 8 consecutive lyrics. One answer I gave was this song: “Oh, what a night, late December back in ’63.” As it turned out, one librarian took another job, two were laid off, but four of us were hired to provide services exclusively for the NY SBDC.

From one of my favorite albums

50 Ways To Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon (Columbia), 3 weeks at #1, gold record. When this came out, my comic book buddies thought that both Stan and Lee referred to the Marvel writer, and that Jack was King Kirby. No one could figure out who Gus was.

Kiss And Say Goodbye – Manhattans (Columbia), 2 weeks at #1, platinum record

If You Leave Me Now – Chicago (Columbia), 2 weeks at #1, gold record

Love Hangover – Diana Ross (Motown), 2 weeks at #1; 12″

Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band (Windsong), 2 weeks at #1, gold record

The rest were number one for one week

(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty – KC & the Sunshine Band (T.K )

A Fifth of Beethoven – Walter Murphy/Big Apple Band (Private Stock), gold record, instrumental. Eventually on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Disco Duck (Part 1) – Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots (RSO), platinum record. novelty. This single may or may not be in my attic right now.

I Write the Songs – Barry Manilow (Arista), gold record

Love Rollercoaster – Ohio Players (Mercury), gold record

July rambling: Lord of Misrule

Code for the People is a new documentary short about the fight for the open web.

Workplace “flexibility” isn’t

As Data Centers Sidestep Tribal Consultations, Tribal Nations Are Fighting Back

A gripping documentary about the most courageous, legendary clean water activist anywhere: Texas’ own ‘Hellcat’ Diane Wilson

The Disappearing Las Vegas Buffets Hold a Mirror to the American Soul

Civil war erupts between Disabled American Veterans and its local chapter over $39k bequest

Hiker trekked 10 miles to safety after immpaling himself on pole

Some of the US aid money which left Afghanistan over the peaks of the Hindu Kush would eventually return to the UK, finding an unlikely safe haven on the streets of London.

The case for year-round Standard Time

The Pan Am Clipper Endeavor Is Found After Over 70 Years

Students at the University of Florida Discovered a 400-Year-Old Intact Pot That Reveals Conflict Among Indigenous, Spanish and English Powers

The Oatmeal: Oracle Scars

Ray

Cheryl Bentyne shines a new light

The Fugitive: The greatest ending to a serialized TV drama

What @ Meant Before Email

The Salt Shaker

“I just enjoy the moment I’m in. For me, life is a whole experience, not just a series of isolated moments. It’s like submerging yourself into a warm bath rather than sticking your toe under the faucet.” – Alex Trebek

A Date with Destiny and A Hateful Glass of Wine and Wheel of Fortune… or Divorce? and The Pokémon That Got Banned for Something It Didn’t Do

Internet

The internet can belong to all of us. Code for the People is a new documentary short about the fight for the open web. Who built it, who’s trying to close it, and what you can do about it.

Directed by Bao Nguyen (Be Water, The Greatest Night in Pop, BTS: The Return) and featuring Matt Mullenweg, Linus Torvalds, Jensen Huang, and builders from around the world, the film is now streaming free at codeforthepeople.com.

Why everything seems to be getting worse

Google Is Censoring Reviews of ICE Detention Centers

The government at “work”

What blind Lord of Misrule keeps showing he can’t avoid wrack and ruin, leans hard on dumb Big Lies, and expects different outcomes?

Officials admit to canceling grants to states that did not vote for FOTUS

These Americans say they’d be disenfranchised by SAVE Act

What if he gave an election fraud speech and nobody came?

His version of sex ed: More teen pregnancies, please.

Slashing CDC food safety efforts

HHS Changes Two Vaccine Committee Charters

The number of measles cases in the U.S. has surpassed the record-breaking tally for all of 2025, with five more months of 2026 still to come; the worst year since 1991

He Orders Warnings Placed at ‘Inaccurate’ Smithsonian History Museum

Army scales back legal services for soldiers in disability evaluation process

Regime narrows Endangered Species Act protections by removing habitat destruction rule

Regime Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee Flagship Report

Republicans Are Trying to Give Big Oil Immunity for Causing Climate Chaos

FOTUS BOMBS at WH DINNER as CROWD GOES SILENT!!!

VS.

The impacts of the 2021 expanded child tax credit on family employment, nutrition, and financial well-being

MUSIC

Fantasy for organ and orchestra by Atsutada Otaka

When You Wish Upon A Star– Voctave

WHCL’s reggae past: Dead At The Controls, circa 1983-1985

Home To Us -Paul McCartney with Ringo Starr

Chinese Satellite – Phoebe Bridgers

Chromatic Symphony “Maria-Magdalena” by Kosaku Yomada

Circling The Sun – Peter Sprague, featuring Allison Adams Tucker

Les Cactus – Jacques Dutronc

Holding Back The Years – Simply Red

Come On – the Rolling Stones

Blue Bayou – Linda Ronstadt

Build Me Up, Buttercup – Cynthia Lin and her All-Ukulele Band

Gloria – The Shadows Of Knight

There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) – Billy Ocean

Invisible Touch – Genesis

Heatwave – Phil Collins

What’s your favorite soundtrack?

It COULD have been West Side Story…

Greg Burgas, who I’ve only known online for a couple of decades, wrote as as his Question of the Week: What’s your favorite soundtrack?

Then he started coming up with RULES. Old-timey bloggers like Greg (and me, to be sure) always have RULES. His include that he didn’t consider movies where everything is sung. He notes “my absolute favorite soundtrack of all time if I considered this is the score to Jesus Christ Superstar.” My love for Superstar is well-documented, though it goes back to the album prior to the movie.

He also eliminated straight musicals, e.g. The Music Man and The Sound of Music. I like the former but my love of the latter, and also West Side Story, is massive.

Greg continues, “Finally, I narrowed it down to a few. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? has a killer soundtrack. It’s a bit too close to an actual musical for me, though.” Yes, a tremendous collection, and that would have been my pick but…

He ended up with Singles as his favorite. Since I have never owned it, I can’t consider it.

Moi

I’m going to try on a few choices:

A Hard Day’s Night. The Beatles’ first movie has some great songs, including the title track, created at the last minute.

Easy Rider. If it wasn’t the first movie to take previously recorded songs as the soundtrack, it was very early on. Songs such as Steppenwolf’s Born To Be Wild became strongly affiliated with the film.

Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony is a 2002 documentary film depicting the struggles of black South Africans against the injustices of Apartheid through the use of music. The film takes its name from the Zulu and Xhosa word amandla, which means power. I dare say Greg would bounce it for the singing by the participants, yet note the context. “The freedom songs heard in the film have an important historical context…In South Africa, the songs take on a different meaning, referring to a unique collection of songs tied to the struggle for racial equality during the 20th century. ” There are a lot more songs besides these.

Cold Mountain. I’ve never seen the movie, yet I have the soundtrack. From Wikipedia: Cold Mountain: Music from the Motion Picture shares producer T Bone Burnett with the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a largely old-time and folk album with limited radio play that still enjoyed commercial success, and garnered a Grammy. As a result, comparisons were drawn between the two albums. Burnett brought in musician and scholar Tim Eriksen to teach the performers Sacred Harp singing, which features prominently in the soundtrack.”

Ultimately, I’m going with the Fab Four. It was the first soundtrack I bought with my own money, though I saw the film Help! begore HDN.