Tag: St. Louis

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St. Louis Metropolitan Area- A Mixed Bag

The St. Louis metropolitan area is such a mixed bag. I bring this up due to a recent study that listed two St. Louis suburbs among best places to live in the US.

It placed the St. Louis suburb we live in, Chesterfield, as 19th on their list, and another St. Louis suburb, Brentwood, which is closer to the actual city of St. Louis, as 18th on their list.

Chesterfield is undoubtedly a nice place to live. We have a school system with one of the better reputations in the state, the crime rate is reasonably low, all the conveniences are within easy driving distance. The city authorities are striving for growth, but they are doing so in a fashion that does not impact the quality of life here.  In fact they are doing many projects that Continue reading “St. Louis Metropolitan Area- A Mixed Bag”

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Eurasian Tree Sparrow

I would not really call myself a birder, but birds have always fascinated me.  We keep a 4 station feeder outside our kitchen window and hummingbird feeders on the porch during the warmer season.  A time or two Señora has complained that the birds were eating us out of house and home, but she keeps buying seed. They are definitely fun to watch and we get more than a few species taking advantage of our generosity.

I have a Biology degree that specialized on the zoological side of the science.  One of my regrets is Continue reading “Eurasian Tree Sparrow”

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Article from EatThis.com on Iconic Pizza

An article popped up in my news feed this morning, Two St. Louis pizza parlors make ‘Eat This’ top 10 list. The article linked to an article on Eathis.com, 10 Iconic Pizza Restaurants That Still Serve Old-Fashioned Pies

The original article cited EatThis.com as saying

“Eat This, Not That writer Carly Terzigni calls St. Louis, “One of the pizza capitals of the United States.” She features Imo’s and Pizza A-Go-Go on her list, 10 Iconic Pizza Restaurants That Still Serve Old-Fashioned Pies.”

It was more than a little interesting to me as I had just posted this article on Curmudgeon-Alley.com,  Iconic St. Louis Foods. In it I gave my considered opinion on how really awful St. Louis style pizza is.

Sorry, you are still not going to get me to eat Imo’s Pizza, even if a national website praises it, IMHO, it is totally unappetizing. Yeah, they probably sell a lot of pizza around here, but St. Louis is the last place in North America I would call one of the pizza capitals of the United States. But then opinions are like a***, everyone has one.

And so it goes.

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Iconic St. Louis Foods

 

There are several foods that are considered iconic to St. Louis: Gooey Butter Cake, Toasted Ravioli, Provel Cheese, St. Louis Style Ribs, BBQ Pork Steak, St. Louis Style Pizza and a few more.  I’ve tried around 8 of these local favorites on the list in this article: St. Louis Food: 12 Delicious Dishes (And Where to Try Them)

However, the raison d’être of this posting is St. Louis style pizza, specifically from the iconic local purveyor. Yup, that one. This pizza typically strongly divides Continue reading “Iconic St. Louis Foods”

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Amazing St. Louis by Charlie Brennan

This book is subtitled, 250 Years of Great Tales and Curiosities, which sums up this book perfectly.  If you live in St. Louis, have lived in St. Louis, know people in St. Louis or just have a general interest in St. Louis, you will find this book enjoyable.

Because it is a series of very short articles, it makes the perfect night stand book or a book for the bath room. I read the whole book over a period of time while visiting the throne room.

    • Did you know – that halitosis became a thing thanks to a St. Louis company
    • Did you know – that using flake to refer to a person started in St. Louis, thanks to Cardinal baseball player
    • Did you know – that Reddi-wip was invented by a businessman from St. Louis
    • Did you know – that if Colorado Springs had not gotten the Air Force Academy the next choice was Alton, IL, a town just up the river from St. Louis
    • Did you know – that a St. Louis doctor was  suspected of being Jack the Ripper
    • Did you know – that a St. Louisian, William Sherman, forever changed the face of warfare
    • Did you know – two brothers, both World Heavy Weight Champions, are from St. Louis
    • Did you know – Darth Vader got his start in St. Louis
    • Did you know – that there is a good argument for the first skyscraper being built in St. Louis
    • Did you know – that the movie Animal House was co-written by a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and may have been, in part, based on a fraternity there

Available from Amazon–  Amazing St. Louis

Also available as a used book from Abebooks – used copy Amazing St. Louis

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Move Over Red Baron

I do not have a yellow sheet of paper torn from a  legal pad tacked to my wall with a bucket list of things I want to do before I ride the final comet.  I do have a list in my head of approximately 242 more places I would like to visit in this lifetime. Along the way I am trying to do as many cool or adventuresome things as I can.

Robin and I have been parasailing in Florida.  A few years ago I took a hot air balloon ride in Sedona.  While we were in Costa Rica we did several things of this nature.  We went white water rafting on class 3 and 4 rapids.  We did what they call canyonering. Essentially you are rappelling down a mountainside and occasionally going through small waterfalls.  The last part of that experience was a 150 meter vertical drop using only rappelling ropes to do so. Just to put that in perspective the St. Louis Arch Continue reading “Move Over Red Baron”

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Me Too

met_square_stlI work in the Metropolitan Building in downtown St. Louis.  The Metropolitan is the tallest building in St. Louis and the second tallest in Missouri.    It is 42 stories tall in the tower section of the building.  It is listed as 593 feet.  The next tallest building in St. Louis is the AT&T Center at 588 feet.  For comparison the St. Louis Arch is 630 feet.  I once rappelled from 150 meters (492 feet) which is a pretty good drop.  I do not work at such lofty heights, but I am on the 7th floor of the non-tower portion of the structure.  My cube is right next to the outside walls and thus the large glass windows of the skyscraper.

Once year they clean all the windows on the outside.  For part of the building they use the stereotypical platform hung from two points.  On my portion of the building the window washers strap on what looks like a Continue reading “Me Too”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 4,575

…yeah I know you did not ask!

I’m not much of a sports fan. I used to follow college football some, primarily the University of Oklahoma. Mainly because it is difficult to live in Oklahoma and not follow them, like it is difficult to not follow the Cardinals when you live in St. Louis. However, I have noticed a trend the last few years… guys who are not interested in sports and who are not afraid to say it. It used to be that you were less than manly if you could not cite the latest win/loss record of whomever. What a nice trend.   There is more to life that sports.

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 8,331

…yeah I know you did not ask!

I do not know if this inability to observe and learn or an overestimation of one’s driving abilities and reaction times. 031212 carfailure

According to the State Farm website a safe following distance is the 3 second rule, 4 seconds is better.  That is when the car in front of you passes an object start counting.  You should be up to at least 3 before you pass the same object.  Rush hour traffic in St. Louis moves between 0 and 80 mph.  I try to get no closer than 2 seconds. Primary because at 62 going on 69 I know my reaction times are not what they were.  Even at this separation, I have folks pulling in front of me all the time, or trying to whip around me because I am going too slow.  Never mind that I maintain a constant separation with the vehicle ahead.

The percentage of all accidents that are rear-end collisions (termed a shunt in UK) is between 23 and 30%.  I drive 50 plus miles round trip commuting from Chesterfield to downtown St. Louis.  I almost never have a round trip without seeing at least one accident.  Frequently I see multiple accidents, and the accidents frequently involve more than two cars.  My estimation of the rush hour traffic accidents being rear-end collisions is in the high 90s.  Rear-end collisions are almost always caused by following too close.

Let’s get back to my opening statement.  I would think if you see this type of accident repeatedly happening a bell would go off somewhere.    I will vouch that it does not.  Tailgating is an awful problem in St. Louis rush hour traffic.  Maybe there is a reason humanity keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over, century after century.  Meanwhile I will maintain my 2 second separation and if you get too close to my bumper I will start slowing down.