Thursday, December 26, 2013

Papa Gino;s Review- Northampton, Massachusetts

I'm sorry to say this was by far the WORST Papa Gino's I have EVER been to in my entire life! I live probably about 20 minutes so I only go maybe once a year but yesterday was just so absoultely disgusting I couldn't help but writing. 


I used to love eating there back years ago and it was also very popular in northampton at this location. but now I know why I was the only customer inside and the 3 workers spent so much time laughing...they knew what I was getting myself into. My stomach still hurts this am  from that crap, it was barely edible. I used the order online option which was very convenient and I'd definitely recommend all places that serve this type of food make it available. The website is pretty slow which is annoying when your in a hurry but a few different thing can contribute to that on your end as well such as your internet connection.  


As for the food, women and small children should close your eyes here. Ok, they closed? Damnit, I SAW YOU PEAKING KID. YES, YOU! close them! Ok, breadsticks have got to be the easiest item to make on any pizza shops menu right? Well, try feeding that crap they call "Cheesy Bread" to Seagulls and they'd prob fly back overhead just to shit on you! We unfortuneatly bought a large which was overpriced to begin with at $6.49 but add in the fact it was colder then room temperature, rubbery from the thawing and "re-heating" sorry I mean "Cooking" process I'd imagine, and even having a look that was so unappealing that I literally closed my eyes when I took a bite.....I wish the story ended there....but NOPE, IT DOES NOT! Decided to get the large since the small was almost the same price and that way we figured we could have leftovers for lunch this afternoon.

Papa Gino's Link in Google Maps
Papa Gino's Menu Link for Northampton Location

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Sox should be willing to ponny up the $20 mill without giving it a second thought

                                   ESPN.COM Article link

Once upon a time the Boston Red Sox were able to sign a player thought to be at the very top of the game of baseball no matter what country he pitched in....but then he pitched in the AL East. It wasn't pretty. The majority of his games were downright boring. Dice K Matsuzaka was a phenom of sorts in Japan and the Red Sox payed a pretty penny most thought at the time for a young stud to be at the top end of their rotation.  

baseball reference article link on DICE K

In his 6 years in Boston he posted an ERA under 3 only once, the 2008 season he went 18-3. His career era in Boston was over 4.5 in 6 years that became more and more painful to watch for fans.

Hopefully this time around the Sox outbid the competition again but get a better result by plucking the best starting pitcher in the Japanese League in his prime. The $20 million buy out that his Japanese team will receive if he signs in MLB is $30 million less the what the Red Sox paid for Matsuzaka before they negotiated his contract. Mashahiro Tanaka is dominant....much more so then DICE K. He has 53 complete games along with 18 shutouts.  This past season he went a steady 24-0 with just over 1 ERA. 

The Sox NEED to do something to strengthen up their starting pitching at the front end. While right now it may look as if they have more then enough pitching, by the end of the year it always seems like you can never have enough. Since it's an international signing and the only detriment to them would be in their wallets I see no reason that Tanaka isn't pitching in the AL East right behind Jon Lester and a healthy Clay Buckholtz. Getting a #3 pitcher who can go deep into ballgames and take pressure off the bullpen which is looking to already be a strength would be a move that could pay off for years to come. 

The Sox could sign Tanaka and possibly trade one of their heralded prospects to replace their hole in center-field if Jackie Bradley isn't deemed ready yet. While the competition in Japan obviously isn't what it is here in MLB but domination is domination and he has shown a steady progression throughout his 7 years overseas and is now in his prime. Having possibly 4 starting pitchers in their prime in their rotation along with young power arms mixed with proven veterans in the bullpen could be a recipe for success for a long dynasty type run in Boston.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Northampton District Courthouse, Massachusetts Legal System

Northampton District Court Directions from Google Maps


The courthouse is located at the intersection of 2 of the most well known streets in the town of Northampton, Main st and King st. Technically the building has an address on Gothic st which is always under construction for one reason or another so be prepared to take a little walk if you have court in the morning. Always leave yourself enough time to park at one of the meters on main st, which means bringing some change so you don't get a RIDICULOUSLY HIGH PRICED TICKET.

Proceed to walk over to what looks like the back of the courthouse and go through the metal detectors and then proceed upstairs to whichever court has summoned you. When first arriving always make sure to check in at the probation office which will notify the court of your presence and where you will be filling out paperwork to determine if your eligible for a "free" attorney or must hire one yourself based on your income. The attorney is NEVER actually free though as there is a min $150 fee which can be worked off through community service if the judge allows. Typically your working at a rate of $10 per hour so you'd potentially owe 15 hours of community service somewhere in the near vicinity. 

Clean-Slate Recovery Program

Cleanslate has been every bit of the life saver for me that I say it is.....Without the combination of counseling at the main office weekly combined with counseling from an outside 3rd party and the medication Suboxin I would be still using heroine daily to this day. The comparisons can be drawn between a methadone program and a suboxin program however in my humble opinion there really is no comparison.... The clean-slate program has kept me clean and sober from any and all opiates since my first day of induction back 8 months ago. The Cleanslate program has two options of treatment, Suboxone/Buprenorphin-Naloxon) or Vivitrol.

The most basic difference between Suboxone and Vivitrol is the length of time between visits to the office and amount of time between doses..... Suboxone comes in both pill and film form and is taken on a daily basis by allowing it to dissolve under your tongue while it is absorbed. It is def not the best tasting thing i've ever had but it's detractors are ABSOLUTELY out weighed by its positives. It's taken as closely to the same time daily as possible to work yourself into a routine as to not ever forget it. You will feel uncomfortable as far as the beginning of withdrawal symptoms if you forget your dose in the am and are unable to take it until say 6 pm after work when you typically take it at 6 am.

http://www.cleanslatecenters.com/locations Just click the link and look for a cleanslate center in your area...it saved my life and if I can help just one person make the decision to eliminate opiates from their life and get clean, this was more then worth it.

Suboxone when taken correctly eliminates the often painful withdrawal symptoms from opiate dependence. In addition it has a "blocker" aspect that will not allow the receptors in your brain to "get high" by not allowing the opiate to attach itself. This can be dangerous for users who don't understand that no matter how much heroine they take for instance, THEY CAN NOT GET HIGH IF THEY ARE ON A NORMAL SUBOXONE PROGRAM AND ARE ADHERING TO THE DIRECTIONS OF YOUR CLINICIANS. Some ppl have overdosed or even died as a result of not understanding this process and continuing to either smoke, sniff or inject more heroine or pills when they don't get high after their first attempt. 

Vivatrol on the other hand is injected by a trained professional once a month and gives the patient less responsibility as far as making sure of taking their meds on time, daily, and keeping that routine. Vivitrol does have the same endgame possibilities though allowing patients to accidentally overdose if they attempt to get high without realizing the blocker will not allow it.

Ambien/Zolpidem

I've had sleep problems for most of my life for one reason or another....some of them self inflicted and others just a victim of circumstances. When I first head the word Ambien one image, one huge headline and one celebrity came to mind. TIGER WOODS. 

Link to article in which Tiger's use is explained

Unfortunately my sleep problems are with both falling asleep and staying asleep. It really makes mornings difficult as far as getting myself outta bed and functioning. I've now gotten into the habit of having a nice strong coffee first thing just to kinda clear my head and go over my itinerary of the day.  A standard dose is usually 10mg before bed but many doctors will start you off on a 5 mg pill to see if that is strong enough to ease the sleeplessness.

A drug such as Ambien should not be taken daily, ideally its only taken for a period of a week or two and then discontinued when whatever reasons you had for being unable to sleep have passed. It is prescribed monthly on a limited basis as long as it is not being abused or even used correctly nightly....at most it should be taken every other day to delay the body from becoming dependent. Once dependent if not taken as scheduled you will experience withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms range from trouble sleeping, shaking, racing thoughts, sweating, headaches, vomiting and even stiffness throughout the body causing pain.

Personally I take a 10 mg dose as needed. I make sure to never use Ambien more then 3 times per week and have managed to typically only use it 1 or 2 times weekly as to avoid a physical or mental dependence.  I have tried over the counter sleep aids such as the ones sold at 7-11 or CVS and those never really worked for me. Even over the counter meds can be addicting and habit forming though so be careful when taking any type of med for an extended period of time. 

Vistaril/Hydroxyzine Pamoate Capsules For Generalized Anxiety

Vistaril or Hydroxyzine Pamoate as the generic version is called is a anti-histamine which has been shown to help patients experiencing anxiety symptoms in certain circumstances. A typical dose would be a 50mg capsule which is green on one end and white on the other. Typically it's acceptable to take up to 4 doses per day depending on the patients drug and medical history along with symptoms. For someone with a more active metabolism such as myself I take 2 50mg capsules right when I wake up, 2 after lunch, 2 after dinner and 2 more before bed.

Vistaril listing on RXLIST.com

In my experience the Hydroxyzine has def helped dampen the anxiety I have to try and deal with constructively on a daily basis. It is by no means a cure-all per se and without taking my other medications in addition to the Vistaril it is not as effective. When taking a drug like Vistaril it is important to gauge the effects honestly and openly with your doctor because it can have an effect on your ability to do certain motor functions such as drive safely. While I haven't noticed a "drowsiness" effect myself, it is on the warning label.

Always be sure to tell your counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, pharmacist, doctor, and anyone else prescribing medication all meds you are taking even the over the counter ones. It is extremely important to be honest and up front with medications because of possible adverse side effects when certain ones are combined...

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Yankee Candle- New Scents

Turquoise Sky(with pure natural extracts)- This is by far my favorite of the new lineup

Paradise Spice(with authentic Yankee fragrance)

Waikiki Melon(with pure natural fruit extracts)

Black Coconut(with pure natural extracts)

Golden Sands(with pure natural extracts)

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Lies and Illusions featuring Christian Slater+Cuba Gooding jr

The snippet that Comcast provides didn't reveal exactly just how low budget and straight to DVD it must have been. While the plot-line wasn't exactly perfect, probable, or believable, the popular movies often don't fit into those categories either. It seemed extremely low budget and cheesy feel for a 2009 flick and while watching a rated R movie on television eliminates a lot of the feel sometimes, I can't let the producers off the hook that easy.

The real problem was the absolutely PATHETIC, EMBARRASSING, AND LAUGHABLE attempt to insert "real" action/adventure drama we so often look forward to seeing. I don't know whether it was filmed during a weekend that the SAG was on strike or stunt doubles were all busy shooting Fast and Furious 126 I believe, you know the newest one where they now are in monster trucks???

Regardless of the excuse the scenes were just terrible and really REALLY, that hard to watch. Venture to your television or the bargain bin at Walmart at your own risk my friends!!! I WARNED YA!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Spoleto Restaurant - Northampton, MA

Pioneer Valley Deals Website Link to Spoleto Restaurant- Northampton, MA

Overall Grade: 48 out of possible 100
F-

Ambiance:2/10
Location: 9/10
Accessibility:8/10
Food:4/10
cleanliness:9/10
Service:3/10
Price:3/10
Feel/Comfort:1/10
Reputation:9/10

Spoleto is located on a very busy, high traffic, prime location in a popular and populated town

It's a very tidy, semi elegant eatery in the heart of downtown Northampton at the intersection of Main street and King street. Parking is a pain in the arse if you happen to go at those certain hours of early morning, lunch, early evening(after work) and then when kids start their trek to populate the bars. On their way to drink isn't too bad it's the leaving part that gets either scary, funny, rude, or even hostile....don't stare at the oddly dressed people that you are thinking in your head can not possibly have a mirror at home to know what that outfit looks like!

Couple things to be aware of about the city and eatery itself. Northampton is one of the largest communities in regards to gay/lesbian/transgender people in the entire United States. I believe they were #3 as far as population when I was looking at statistics about 4 or 5 years ago. I bring this up not because it's a reason to avoid Northampton but as example of the unique combinations of citizens that can co-exist in harmony. By now many of the ignorant "GAY MYTHS" are much less common at least less prevalent in most places but just as racism is still lurking in parts of our society, so is bigotry and discrimination of homosexuals. 

The positive about your dinner plans if you still plan to eat at Spoleto....the link above to Pioneer Valley Deals has gift certificates valued at $50 selling for $40. All you math guys out there will tell us that's $10 discount on our meal maybe or 20% off. Well, yep that's a good start if your going to a place that you know is on the expensive side. With Spoleto i'd personally use the word Overpriced. This type of promotion would typically score some good bonus points for specials, deals, sales etc but I can't stand it when business offer something that's supposed to be a great savings and then put stipulations in addition....with this gift certificate for instance alcohol is not permitted to be paid for.

 Hmmm, so i'm buying the GC with my money, it says $50 to dine at Spoleto. When I dine I usually tend to get a dry throat on occasion. Sometimes I even want to relax and enjoy my lovey girlfriends company and have a drink or two while we talk after dinner. SO, your going to tell me that I can not pay for part of our night out with my GC, I bought with my money to take my girl out for dinner with? I guess the $7-$12 per shot is really killing them. I mean a 700% mark-up hardly covers the owners kids private school educations, who are we to question? (I don't know the owners whatsoever, i'm obviously just having a little fun at their expense.) 

To be fair, it's common practice for restaurant's to exclude alcoholic beverages from the bill and list them separately when a gift card is being used for payment. It still doesn't make it right in my opinion. Just because other businesses have chosen to find yet another way to increase profits at the customers expense does not mean you HAVE TO FOLLOW SUIT right? My mother always said, "If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?" in response to anytime I said something along the lines of... "but John's parents are letting him do it"

I'd really have a TON of respect for the restaurant that actually bucks the trend and proudly announces that from now on customers with gift certificates are welcome to do whatever they please with them since THEY ARE ALREADY BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. Yes, I do understand that some places offer specials and discounts occasionally and couldn't afford to have every customer that comes in for the next month have a GC that was purchased half off. That would literally bankrupt places, but there are other ways to get around that such as limiting 1 gift certificate per table, only give GC up to a value of say $50 or $25 depending on what type of establishment you have, those are just a few possible solutions. 

I actually was just thinking that it's possible that in certain states there are restrictions on liquor purchases, I know Massachusetts is particularly tough, things like a special happy hour for a holiday are not even allowed any longer. IF, there is a law that does not allow Spoleto's or any other business to remove that restriction then I apologize for that point and believe that our representatives have really overstepped on that one. In the grand scheme of things going on in the world today is it something that needs to be looked into by congress asap, ABSOLUTELY NOT, i'm just mentioning it as one small inconvenience about my own personal opinion, which is sometimes insignificant, just ask my girlfriend! HAHA.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Better History Extension for Chrome.....

If your looking for an extension that will enable you to keep a detailed and organized record of your history then check this out! Its the best one I've found in the category.

Link to extension in google chrome webstore


and if you give it a try and like it as much as I do be sure to leave some positive feedback as well!

Link to leave feedback

Yahoo Sports....reason #12327 why not to go to Yahoo Sports for my sports news

Yahoo article link to: Unfortunate headline paints a graphic picture of West Virginia’s loss to Syracuse

Yahoo Sports picked up the HUGE "SPORTS STORY" of some little West Virginia Newspaper that had the massive, life altering, world changing, story of the year, and committed a typo.....YES, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? A human made a serious error like that. Can you believe we water-boarded all of those innocent terrorists? Used "stress positions" trying to get information from suspected enemy combatants for merely trying to plot to kill innocent Americans and other civilians around the world and they haven't "captured" this obvious MADMAN YET?

Really Yahoo? PLEASE, pretend to be a serious news publication. It's not even that difficult, just try it for a few days. If you don't like it you can go back over with the Inquirer and TMZ....