Saturday, June 8, 2015

Hi,

Tomorrow’s the anniversary of the VCR being introduced (1975), Bachfest Leipzig, Germany celebrating Johann Sebastian Bach since 1904, it’s Malta’s National Day and the Supreme Court struck down Connecticut’s Ban on contraception (1965).  Birth anniversaries include boxer James Braddock (1906), French artist Paul Gauguin (1848), early fashionist Beau Brummell (1778), stage actress Jessica Tandy (1909) and entertainer Dean Martin (1917).

I’d like to introduce the newest member of The Parador Team, Rayze:

We got her Friday, she’s eight weeks old and going to be a big girl, her mom’s 90# and dad’s 110#, watch out RJ (he’s 85#).  She has the sweetest personality and is very curious, which is an early indicator of intelligence.  She’s already conscious of her name and frequently comes when I call her with the hand motion.  She’s extremely popular with the guests.  Which I think is affecting RJ, he’s been a little grumpy with her.  They’ll work things out.

I’m reading an interesting book, Arundel by Kenneth Roberts.  It’s a historical fiction about the New Englanders that plodded through the wild lands between New England and Quebec during the early years of the American Revolution.  First published in 1931 it is one of a series of books of historical fiction by Roberts.  I Googled the accuracy of the depictions and it got great ratings.  The reason for this post is it brought me back to 9th Grade Civics classes and how one of the big reasons we won the Revolution was we used unorthodox methods of hitting and running as opposed to the British method of lining up as a regiment and then attacking.  The British never adapted to our methods and it makes me think about ISIS, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts we have been in lately, even Viet Nam and makes me wonder is our military too entrenched in the past that we take such huge loses?  We have spent billions of dollars, lost thousands of lives and really don’t have much to show for it.  I’m a vet, but not a military expert, so I don’t have the answers, but think our military should look “out-side the box” and come up with effective strategies.

There’s a bunch of free concerts down at River’s Casino‘s river front amphitheater. They are mainly tribute bands, but a free concert on the river front is always fun.  Add that to a Casino Package at The Parador and you’re off to a winning weekend.  For just $10 more, you get $40 free slot play, a nice walk down the the Casino and a wonderful breakfast the next morning.  Concerts all start at 7 pm  June 5 a Michael Jackson tribute by Who’s Bad, June 19 Head Games will be doing a tribute to Journey/Bon Jovi/Aerosmith & Foreigner, June 27 Blues Brotherhood will do a tribute to The Blues Brothers, July 3 Pure Gold will perform, July 4th No Bad JuJu will take stage.  July 17 Chris Higbee with the Hobbs Sisters will perform, July 18 Good Vibrations will do a Beach Boys tribute, July 31 the Bruce Springsteen Tribute featuring Vini Lopez will take the state, August 1 Full Moon Fever with tribute Tom Petty and finally August 14 Pittsburgh’s own Johnny Angel will perform with special guest Melvin Steals.

Another series of free concerts take place at Station Square on Fridays and starting at 7 pm.  June 26 will be Brownie Mary & Buzz Poets, July 3 will be Nieds Hotel Band and Bridgewater Station, July 10 will be tribute bands Live Wire (AC/DC) and RATM2 (Rage Against the Machine), July 17 will be tribute band Get the Lead Out (Led Zeppelin) and local band River Trail Acoustic, July 24 with be The Outlaws with local opening act Silent Partner, July 31 will be Springsteen tribute band Bruce in the USA and local band Time Tested, August 21 will be Tom Petty tribute band  Full Moon Fever and Traffic Jam and the last concert will be August 28 with local bands Gathering Field and Nameless.  More info at their website.

Core Reality is starting to disclose details for their conversion of the upper seven floors of the Kaufmann’s building (you can call it Macy’s, it will always be Kaurmann’s to me).  🙂  They went before the planning commission with plan for 311 apartments ranging from studios to two bedrooms with rents ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.  They will be smart apartments that when you sign the lease, you’ll get a smart phone app that will enable you to turn on and off appliances, lights and other electronics.  Core plans on removing the center of the building creating an atrium bringing light down throughout their project.  They have tentative plans to put decks and a swimming pool on the room.  The two floors below the apartment project will house a yet to be determined hotel and Macy’s will occupy the bottom four floors.  Interesting, parking for the apartments are going to be in the basement, I don’t know how much of a basement they already have or if they are going to have to excavate.

The Brighton Heights house tour is next weekend, June 14 from 1 to 5 pm.  Tickets are $15 or $10 if you order them from their website before June 12.  There will be seven houses and four gardens on the tour.  This year’s theme New Growth and will feature houses purchased relatively recently.  I thought they always did their summer tour featuring local chocolates, but I don’t see any mention of it.  If they are offering chocolate, it will just be an added benie for you.  🙂  The tour starts at 3830 California Avenue (that’s the Lutheran Church).

Here’s a disturbing twist on those blood sucking ambulance chasing lawyers that spend a fortune tying to lure people into starting lawsuits so they can get their cut.  Used to be they made those annoying phone calls soliciting people, rented billboards along the highway and that those “info-mercials” trying to scare you into calling them now before it’s too late.  Their latest is trolling social media for new clients.  Social media has all kinds of specialized groups, I know of several associated with bed and breakfasts.  But there’s also a ton of cancer survivors, and other ailments that these trolls are now finding more efficiently to hawk their spiels.

And finally there’s a newer App that helps restaurants manage their risk of taking reservations.  It’s well know in the industry that some people will make several reservations for several different restaurants during peak times.  When they gather with friends they plan to dine with, they then choose which restaurant they want to go to.  It’s a killer for the restaurant, particularly smaller ones that really count on every reservation to survive.  IF these people cancel, they cancel at the last minute and at that point it’s almost impossible to sell that table.  Open Table has been around for years, it’s like an Expedia for restaurants.  Participating restaurants set aside so many tables to offer through Open Table. Newer reservation system apps include Resy, Eater, Reserve It, Table8 and Reserve. There’s a program coming out called Tock, which is a reservation software that lets restaurants manage their tables.  The restaurant can either use it in the traditional way that guests can select the day, time and table they want.  Much like my reservations system, you put your dates in and anything available will show up.  You then pick your room.  With Tock, you put your date and time in and any available tables will appear and you can select which you want.  The idea that sets Tock apart is the restaurant can program it to just take reservations, take reservations with a deposit or even take a reservation with the meal paid in full in advance.  The benefits to the restaurant are obvious, what doesn’t strike you at first is the benefit to the guest.  Number one is being assured of a premium table at a premium time. Also, the restaurant can add incentives, like a specified discount, free appetizer, etc when utilizing the pre-paid option.  Having worked in restaurants as much as I have, I’m well aware of how costly it is to a restaurant for no-shows during prime times.  I think it’s a great idea and we will be seeing it a lot more in the future.

Well, that’s it for today.  Busy, Busy weekend, Taylor Swift concert tonight and I had a two night minimum.  Everyone checks out Sunday and I’m sold out again Sunday and Monday night, a family rented the entire in for a reunion/get-together.

Enjoy,

ed