Still Searching for the Right Theme

Sometimes picking the right theme is hard to do. I’ve found myself being torn by aesthetics and functionality. I prefer not only a home run, but a grand slam so perhaps I’m setting myself up for disaster. I’ll be changing the looks of the site a lot in the next days, hopefully I’ll find the right one. Sorry about any loss of functionality.

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First Day in Indramayu
Our first day in Indramayu was the beginning of what seemed like one long endless day.

Camera Gear
You can find great prices on digital SLR'S, Lenses, camera batteries, filters, remote's, flashes, tripods, cleaning gear, diffusers, and more from Cannon, Nikon, and other top quality Camera manufacturers.

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I am available if you'd like me to do some event photography or help create a great website for you or your business.

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About
Relaxing-Fun is a collaborative site for members of our family.

The New York Islanders Blog Box

I wanted to share the fact that I’ve been accepted into the New York Islanders Blog Box for the upcoming season. safe image.php?d=5d6200d4b3109f1af8cd76e4120b7956&w=90&h=90&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.nhl.com%2Fislanders%2Fimages%2Fupload%2F2010%2F08%2FBlog box dl The New York Islanders Blog Box

Hopefully it will be a lot of fun and a good learning experience. I have a bunch of ideas that I might be able to do during the season involving video, but we’ll see how everything goes. I’ll know more after our first group meeting later next week.

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Cathedral Ledge
Cathedral Ledge overlooks Echo Lake in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Bear's Notch Overlook
Bear Notch is a seasonal road that cuts through the white Mountains.

The Best Thai Food on Long Island – Sri Thai

The best Thai food on Long Island? We think we’ve found it here at Sri Thai in Huntington Village. I’d like to preface this by saying I lived in Thailand for about 6 months and explored the country with a keen desire to learn about the locals and the land. The yearning for some dishes have stayed with me for life. Don’t get me wrong, some Thai foods have left me wishing I stayed at home as they don’t mix with my Western palate, however, there are quite a few dishes that are extremely satisfying and Sri Thai makes me remember the finer foods from Thailand nostalgically.

DSC 0410 480x319 The Best Thai Food on Long Island   Sri Thai

One thing that separates them is the staff is Thai. Many Thai restaurants on Long Island are Chinese run. I know because I speak Chinese and lived in Taiwan for 7 years. They do their best but I haven’t been to a restaurant that can meet Sri Thai’s standards. The staff is extremely friendly and kind; they know our names and seem genuinely happy we are their regulars.

On this visit, we started with the Tom Yum Kung, a sour and spicy soup with Shrimp. My wife loves the spice in it.

Tom Yum Kung

Tom Yum Kung

The staff always makes flowers out of the paper they leave on the straws. They make some very intricate and pleasant designs with them. I always see them in their spare time crafting the little flowers. They are wont to focus on the little details that make the experience quality.

straw paper flowers

straw paper flowers

We tired the new line of ginger ales they started carrying. The fact they use sugar cane and not corn syrup had me excited but I wasn’t used to the flavor of the drink. Next time it is back to Coke.

ginger ales

ginger ales

This dish is my favorite dish in the world. Spicy and a little sweet from the coconut milk, the soupy panang curry with chicken and vegetables is out of this world. I can’t go more than a month without eating this, and this is my favorite place to go for it. If you like moderately spicy food, get this dish.

Panang Chicken and Rice

Panang Chicken and Rice

My daughter loves the Chicken fried rice, and again, they make it better than anywhere I’ve been, including many Chinese restaurants. I can’t help but eat lots of this too when there.

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice

For desert, we tried the fried bananas. You can see the presentation is fantastic. It was yummy too. Not a huge desert but there is usually not much room left after the main dishes.

Fried Bananas

Fried Bananas

Sri Thai

14 New Street
Huntington, NY 11743-3569
(631) 424-3422

Open Tue-Thu 12pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-10:30pm; Sun 12pm-9:30pm

If you think your favorite Long Island Thai restaurant can beat this, let me know and we’ll happily put it to the test!

Scenes from the campfire and micro hibachi

We spent the last day of our 2010 vacation in Maryland at Tuckahoe State Park. We did some fishing at a canoe/kayak launching point near our campsite and had a great go of it. At one point there was a string of 4 times we threw the hook in the water and we had bites almost immediately. We bought a small Hibachi and grilled the fish and some hot dogs. Our timing wasn’t good, as we ran out of sunlight (because we had to go on a long trip to pick up more items at the local grocery which wasn’t close). It did make for some cool photos though. The flashlight light was just enough to illuminate the grill, smoke, and food. Some other pictures I took are of of the fire pit. There is something about fire that makes it an interesting subject.

Bailey Arboretum

We spent a couple hours of our memorial day at the Bailey Arboretum in Lattingtown. We stumbled upon it one day a year ago while driving to Bayville and it is a gem. Both times we’ve been there we nearly had the run of the place to ourselves. The only sounds were of birds, chipmunks, and the wind.

The first garden area, behind the welcome center, has several wooden chairs for relaxing and just breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the country life. There are flowers planted all around the area and depending on when you go, might have some blooming. They have some blocks for children to play with and an interesting wooden xylophone that any child (or adult) will love to bang on for a while. The grass fields are great for running around, playing hide and go seek, or picnicking, which is allowed. Don’t forget to check out the giant-sized chair too.

After playing around and looking at the trees, flowers, grass, and surroundings, we decided to hit the trail for a hike. It is set up with signs about the ecology and development of Long Island since the ice ages. We saw many chipmunks running rampant and also a small bunny on our trip. Aliya loved our time there and I recommend, to anyone that has kids and a desire to relax in a peaceful environment, go there and have a romp around the premises.

The cost is the best part. It is free, but you can donate whatever you can to help support maintenance there. I like places like this because you can pay a little if you only stay for a short time or pay more if you happen to stay for many hours at a time.

Bailey Arboretum

Address:

Bayville Road and Feeks Lane
Lattingtown, NY 11542

www.baileyarboretum.org/

Phone Number: 516-571-8020

Email: baileyarboretum@optonline.net

Map:

Bailey Arboretum

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King's Park Bluff
The King's Park Bluff is another picturesque location on Long Island's North Shore.

Centerport Harbor Sunset

We stopped by the day before memorial day to see if we could catch a nice sunset and some fish at the mill dam/bridge in Centerport. The bridge really is a special location that makes a great walk. The restaurants situated on the south side of the dam, The Mill Pond House and the Thatched Cottage are perfectly located for gorgeous views on a daily basis. The view of Centerport Harbor makes for a nice bike ride, walk, or even drive by

We struck out, as usual, in our hunt for the bounty of the sea. Maybe we didn’t try long enough. The sand fleas were out in full force and were annoying even with a glossy sheen of repellent on. There were other fishermen that came and went, and I always see people fishing there. Seems like our luck is just bad and it is easy to get forced out by the relentless sand fleas.

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Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park is one of the nicest recreation areas we have been to so far.

Bailey Arboretum
We spent a couple hours of our memorial day at the Bailey Arboretum in Lattingtown.

Theodore Roosevelt's Gravesite
We stopped by Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay and learned a lot about our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt.

Sagamore Hill
Going to Sagamore Hill proved to be a very pleasurable experience.

Stop the Matinecock Housing Development Protest

We stopped by the protest against the Matinecock Housing development in East Northport earlier this afternoon. It’s been an issue in Huntington for over 3 decades and has recently gained momentum and is close to happening, with construction scheduled to commence next year. I remember the protests against this in the 80′s while I was in high school. Residents fear that “low income” families will bring with them the sort of problems that have arisen at other developments in nearby Huntington Station and elsewhere. The second precinct, which patrols Huntington Station, is one of the busiest and most dangerous on Long Island, and as gangs proliferate, crime and violence increase.

It appears that since this has been an “ongoing” issue for decades, many residents are growing immune to news and breaking developments. There are still a few obstacles but nothing that appears to be insurmountable for Housing Help Inc. (HHI), the owners of the property, except perhaps the community response. They have fought it this long and it looks like they’ll keep fighting.

There is a group of community residents that have begun a Facebook page titled Stop the Matinecock Housing Development in East Northport, NY. They are trying to alert the community to the recent developments and let them have a say before it is too late.

Here are several talking points against the project from their Facebook Page:

1. Affordable Housing may be already here: The housing market on Long Island is flooded with thousands of already available homes, co-op’s, condo’s and rentals. Mortgage rates are at historic lows, making payments, when qualified, more affordable than ever. Some speculate that Suffolk County home prices have still not hit bottom and may fall an additional 12%, and in addition, foreclosures and short sales persist.

2. Air Pollution: There have been studies done that there are toxins in the soil. Construction and removal of the surface soil may release toxins such as arsenic into the air, into our neighborhoods, and into our surrounding schools.

3. Water Pollution: They intend to place a SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT on the site. Byproducts and Hazardous Materials will exist. This will be built in proximity of our SOLE SOURCE AQUIFER, and the COUNTY WELL FIELD that provides our PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY as well as TWO SCHOOLS, the LIRR and a LIPA substation.

4. School Impact: The Northport School District has recently stated that they intend to lay off staff, discontinue programs, and increase class sizes. No one knows or can predict how many children will suddenly be wedged into classes. Their claim is that a study done 16 years ago is adequate. In addition: The SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT and SOIL REMEDIATION and related hazards are in close proximity to TWO SCHOOLS.

5. Safety: No one disputes traffic will be adversely and dramatically affected, so imagine our children and parents having to fight the intersections and train track crossings – which leads us to:

6. Taking From our Kids: They intend to use eminent domain via the County to grab land from Pulaski Rd. Elementary School to improve Elwood Road access to THEIR project, while destroying ball fields and play areas, and diminishing safety barriers from the roadway to the school property.

7. No experience: HHI have not developed, built or managed a property of this magnitude. It is hard to imagine that they have the skills to manage, maintain and respond to the needs of such a large project.

8. Ask a Question, Get a History Lesson: Feel free to check their documents. Many of HHI’s cited studies that they hold so dear and use to stay “on message” are often 10 to 20 years old. Do you base your family’s decisions today on plans you made in 1994? HHI does. This is a very different world, population, economy, and town as compared to 20 years ago.

As we went down Pulaski Road about 5 minutes, we passed Winoka Village, a completed low income project just down the road. There were multiple signs displaying the availability of apartments. After reading the first point by the Stop the Matinecock group it looks like they may be on to something there.

Check out the new website for the Stop the Matinecock Court Housing Project.

DSC 0052 300x199 Stop the Matinecock Housing Development Protest

DSC 0055 300x199 Stop the Matinecock Housing Development Protest

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Clay Pitts Park - William J. Byrne Park
Clay Pitts/William J.

Awesome Glass and Metal Website

Awesome Glass and Metal is a Huntington based commercial glass company. They do all sorts of commercial construction like glass, storefronts, curtain wall, doors, windows, glass enclosures, and more. They have done huge jobs and do great work. I recently remade their website using WordPress. I chose WordPress because I’ve been using it for years and know most of the tricks for optimizing and tweaking the site. I suspect that within 2 – 3 months their traffic will increase dramatically. Let’s hope that translates into more work for these good guys!

Awesome Glass Awesome Glass and Metal Website

Many businesses have websites and wonder why they aren’t getting much action online. It’s simple really. Your website my be terrible, or perhaps your niche is too saturated with competition and you haven’t taken any steps to enhance your position. Either way, you should always keep your site search engine optimized so it has the best chance to get customers to you.

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Bear's Notch Overlook
Bear Notch is a seasonal road that cuts through the white Mountains.

Cathedral Ledge
Cathedral Ledge overlooks Echo Lake in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Huntington Networking Group Website

The Huntington Networking Group is group I joined several months ago, and has been a good way to meet some more members of the community. The function is to get to know each other and make referrals for business leads.

Huntington Networking Group Huntington Networking Group Website

I created this site when I realized there was no site for the group and I was searching for the date of the next meeting. Also, selfishly, it was a chance to show off my Drupal skills too. The site is in its beta stage and is being released to all group members at this Wednesdays meeting. As a neat treat, I’ve added Google Maps functionality so when members add their businesses to our site, their business address automatically gets placed on the map.

If you’re interested in the group, have a look. Huntington Networking Group.

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Cathedral Ledge
Cathedral Ledge overlooks Echo Lake in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Bear's Notch Overlook
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Huntington Chamber of Commerce Newsline Photos 2

This is part of several posts I will be making of my photos being published in various mediums. These particular photos are ones that I took at the Huntington Chamber of Commerce’s annual Fall Festival.

My photos are the 3 at the bottom of the page.

scan0002 Huntington Chamber of Commerce Newsline Photos 2

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Cathedral Ledge
Cathedral Ledge overlooks Echo Lake in Bartlett, New Hampshire.

Bear's Notch Overlook
Bear Notch is a seasonal road that cuts through the white Mountains.

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