All Over Albany

You didn't actually ask, but...

Karner Blues hang with a notoriously tough crowd. (We might have made that up.)

Believe it or not, there are some people who don't visit AOA via a bookmark, feed reader, irresistible urge, or unconscious habit. (Yes, shocking, we know.) Many of these people come in looking for something via Google -- and sometimes we can't help but take notice of what they're looking for.

Well, as you know, we like to help. So even though you didn't actually ask, here's the (an) answer...

February 2: how many words can you make out of Albany

Using all the letters in one word? Uh, probably none. Breaking the letters into separate words yields some interesting results. From the wordsmith.org anagram solver:

Anal By
Lab Nay
Lab Any
Alb Nay
Alb Any
Ably An
Nab Lay
Ban Lay
La An By

Many of those seem kind of dirty.

February 6: what do karner blue butterflies hang with

Well, they're butterflies, so probably a tough crowd.

Actual answer: the blue lupine and the sandy pine barren habitats where it lives (such as the Albany Pine Bush). Karner blues lay their eggs on the plants.

Karner blues have also been known to hang with a famous author.

February 7: where can i buy cool t shirts in albany ny

Cool is in the eye of the t-shirt wearer. But New York Old School has started selling shirts again, including the famed "Albany is Eggcellent" shirt.

And this area also happens to have some great t-shirt designers, among them Jess Fink and Andrew Gregory.

February 9: when is albany ny getting fios

You probably shouldn't hold your breath.

There was a report two years ago that Verizon had basically stopped the rollout of its fiber-optic-to-the-home service. And when we pestered the Verizon guys making repairs in our neighborhood recently about it, they gave us a gentle chuckle not unlike a parent explaining there is no Santa Claus.

Parts of the Capital Region -- including sections of Bethlehem, Guilderland, Colonie, Scotia -- do already have the service. And last year Verizon announced it was starting FiOS TV service there. So if you really want FiOS -- like, you can't live without it for some reason, or you have crippling internet addiction that no longer responds to DSL or cable -- you probably need to move to one of those areas.

February 21: why whole foods has no stores in upstate new york

Well, you're not going to get an answer from the company -- we've asked (they just tell you to watch their quarterly store announcements). So, let's speculate:

+ There aren't already other Whole Foods close by, so a distribution network needs to be set up or expanded.
+ The population isn't growing very quickly, so the competitors have to fight over a pie that's not getting bigger.
+ Many upstate communities haven't fared well economically -- and Whole Foods is not cheap. It's going to gravitate toward high incomes.
+ Because they sense our desperate need for external validation and find it off putting.

February 24: carmine to open bavarian restaurant albany

Wrong continent, but it does start with a "b." He's opening a Brazilian-style restaurant in downtown Albany modeled on churrascaria -- where the servers walk around with meat and custom carve servings. The countdown on the restaurant's website says it's scheduled to open next week. They've been posting updates on Facebook of the restaurant's construction.

March 8: when is shop rite opening in Albany

We checked with a rep for the company this week -- he said there was not an official date, yet. But we'd bet on April.

photo: Hollingsworth, J & K/US FWS via Wikipedia