All Over Albany

Recycled: Those stinky trees

The stench from a blooming pear tree prompted us to cross the street yesterday, so we figured it'd be a good time to recycle this post about the stinky trees. As Ryan Palumbo wrote a few years back:

I am sure many, if not all of you, have seen these trees as the warm weather gives way to the blooming of flowers and leaves, and have no doubt noticed that they STINK. And not only do they just stink: they seem to give off what some have called a particular, familiar odor ("fish that's been sitting out way too long" is another description).

It seems like these trees are everywhere. Surely there have to be better/different varieties of street trees.

Something stinks about the Hudson near Albany

The Hudson River at the Dunn Memorial Bridge was among the 10 worst spots in the study.

The environmental org Riverkeeper released a report this week on Hudson River sewage contamination levels -- and the results for this part of the Hudson were... uh... gross.

Riverkeeper's testing found sewage-indicating bacteria levels were above acceptable limits more than 50 percent of the time at both Island Creek/Normans Kill in Glenmont (65 percent of the time) and the Dunn Memorial Bridge in Albany (50 percent). Those two spots were among the top-10 worst of all the spots tested. The data for all the locations tested are posted online -- and table with local data is after the jump.

So, what's causing this problem? The Capital District's combined sewer systems dump untreated sewage into the river when they're over capacity (example: after a heavy rain).

Riverkeeper says the systems release 1.2 billion gallons of untreated sewage and wastewater into the river each year.

(there's more)

Should I text a pic of my junk?

You would think that people -- especially public figures -- would have figured out by now that texting or messaging explicit photos of themselves to other people is a generally bad idea.

You would also be wrong.

There is, of course, Anthony Weiner. And on Thursday it came out that Saratoga Springs police chief Christopher Cole had texted an explicit picture of himself from his office in city hall. Not so bright, chief.

Clearly, people still have a few things to learn. Even people who should know better. So, at Siobhan's urging, we have created a flow chart -- a public service announcement, of sorts -- to answer the all important question:

Should I text a pic of my junk?

(there's more)

That frozen slush on the bottom of the car

Yuck.

Winter's enthusiastic effort this year has prompted us to consider many issues, among them:

What do you call that wedge of gray, frozen slush that sticks on the bottom of a car behind the wheels?

We've never heard a word for it, but it seemed like one would be useful. For example:

Friend: What are you doing?

You: I'm just kicking the (whatever the word is) off the bottom of the car. I hate that stuff.

So, in search of a name, we asked people on Twitter what's it called. There were many responses...

(there's more)

Help for bedbugs?

A bit freaked out, Anonymous emails:

I'd like to ask readers about local resources for getting rid of bedbugs.

Mostly looking for companies who will diagnose and get rid of them once you've identified that you have them. For example, are any bedbug sniffing dogs in the area? (That is the most absurd sounding question I've asked in awhile!)

Wondering, too, how anyone locally has dealt with the experience of having them, how they approached getting rid of them, and what they wish they had done differently.

We had a feeling this question might pop up eventually. And, frankly, it kind of gives us the willies.

In October, the Times Union declared that "bedbugs have officially infiltrated the Capital Region." The article mentioned a business in North Greenbush -- Northeast Pest Control -- that has used a bedbug-sniffing dog. (Just recently, the New York Times reported that people are starting to doubt the effectiveness of some of these bug finders.)

So, anyone have suggestions for Anonymous? Please share.

photo: Piotr Naskrecki via CDC Public Health Image Library/Harvard University via Wikipedia

Fried

From the "who ever thought we might need a law for that" file: a state senator from Central New York has proposed legislation that would make it illegal to possess "embalming fluid with either the intent to use such embalming fluid or knowledge that some other person intends to use such embalming fluid for purposes of human ingestion or inhalation."

Yep, that would by people who are not dead.

(there's more)

What are those stinky trees?

Pretty. Stinky.

I was recently reduced to a position not unlike one commonly assumed by a heaving cat while on my way up from University Heights to B'yond Style for my monthly haircut, as I passed by a row of trees sporting what anybody would surely consider to be a beautiful arrangement of white flowers from each branch. Curious.

The next day, while riding the #10 CDTA bus, I smelled it yet again. Unsurprisingly, those trees were around. At that I concluded that the miasma that had been violating my olfactory system for nearly a week had to be radiating from these trees.

I am sure many, if not all of you, have seen these trees as the warm weather gives way to the blooming of flowers and leaves, and have no doubt noticed that they STINK. And not only do they just stink: they seem to give off what some have called a particular, familiar odor ("fish that's been sitting out way too long" is another description).

Thus my research into these odorous organisms began.

(there's more)

Worms under the kitchen sink

He's not very photogenic-- but he's helpful.

Leah Walsh has worms.

Lots of them, in fact.

And they're living under her kitchen sink.

The Albany resident, whose blog Our Yellow House documents DIY crafts, cooking, gardening and raising her two girls in the mansion neighborhood, got the worms awhile back to help her compost food waste and garbage.

So how's that working out for her?

(there's more)

Overheard at lunch

A mom, kids, and grandparents are lunching together at the Latham Panera. One of the kids -- a boy -- is wearing a t-shirt. The conversation turns to snot.

Grandpa: You know why a lot of men wear shirts like that tucked in, don't you?

Kid: uh-uh

Grandpa: So they can blow their nose in their shirts and nobody will know.