I have been addicted to the website scrabulous.com for the past 6 months. It's not a stretch to say I've played at least a game a day, sometimes as many as ten in a single sitting. Sure, the game is a rip-off from Hasbro's actual Scrabble game and the website owners were probably making tons of money off of somebody else's idea (let's just set aside the American ideal of intellectual property rights for the moment).

What made this website better than any "official" Scrabble website on the web? I suppose that's a bit complicated. What Scrabulous lacked in fancy graphics and cool flash videos it made up for in simple, easy-to-use interfaces. The website provided a medium for Scrabble enthusiasts all over the world to play with each other. Not only that - but it also catered to all level of Scrabble players, from newbies to fanatics. And it kept them coming back using a versatile scoring system which identified players by their level of skill at scoring points and winning games.

After reading all this this, you can imagine my dismay when I hit my quick link to Scrabulous.com this morning only to find the site had disappeared! Literally, the Scrabulous site was gone overnight, replaced by fancy graphics and a totally ludicrous explanation "this website is parked FREE courtesy of GoDaddy.com." I'm not sure what "parked FREE" means, but the bottom line is my favorite Scrabble site is apparently gone.

I hope that Hasbro will purchase the interface from the "Scrabulous" owners and restart this java-based program so us Scrabble-lovers everywhere can once again enjoy a morning game with our breakfast.

With energy prices rising, it's easy to start considering ways to reduce fuel costs. It's been said before, but we are luckily blessed by the close proximity of the Adirondack park. Instead of taking a long drive down the coast or flying out west for vacation, we can all save money and still have fun by visiting the many waterfronts of the Adirondacks.

Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Cranberry Lake and Lake Champlain are all within easy driving distance for a weekend or day trip. You can save money by camping instead of staying in a hotel, by using human-powered watercraft rather than motorized and by biking or walking instead of driving for a beer run.

I hope this latest entry finds all of you and yours well. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Since purchasing the building which housed the former "Chat and Nibble" in Brasher Falls a little over a year ago, Ducci's Fine Dining has taken the North Country by storm! People drive from as far as Watertown to sample the fare by 25-year-old up and coming chef Kyle Vesper, who serves it up "Ducci Style!" for customers young and old.

While the remodeled building still has a hometown diner feel, Ducci's is serving up high end cuisine at reasonable prices. From delicious, homemade mac-and-cheese to sumptuous filet mignon, Ducci's head chef knows not only how to make food taste food, but also how to make it look good. Each dish is served on a professionally decorated plate in a manner you would expect to see in a NYC steakhouse, not a small local business in upstate New York.

I have been a frequent customer at Ducci's since discovering this wonderful restaurant about six months ago. It's about a 20 minute drive from Potsdam and well worth the gas. I recommend the vegetable stack and cannoli.

In a few words: the food is fresh and the place is fun.

Ducci's can be found at:

993 Route 11C
Brasher Falls

Phone: 389-4060

They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as take out.

I'd like to take the time to welcome you to my blogging site and briefly introduce myself.

I am a freelance writer from upstate New York (aka the North Country). As a member of my high school's newspaper staff, I wrote scintillating articles about teachers, covered grave issues such as which member of the senior class put the rubber ducks in school lavatories, and regularly enjoyed gossiping with other paper members during the morning meetings. It was, in all, a satisfying experience.

Upon entering Real Life as a full-blown engineering student at Clarkson University, I soon realized that I missed reading, writing and (*gasp*) liberal arts courses. After meeting up with a local web developer, I soon realized that I have a talent for creating web content as well as writing nonfiction and fiction pieces for various off line venues. Since then, my client base has grown to include not only local businesspeople, but also international entrepreneurs. I particularly have enjoyed working with people from exotic locals such as Bangkok and Potsdam (little joke there).

Although my interests vary day-to-day, the current focus for my writing is based on reviews of local businesses, current events, solutions to the energy crisis, the economy, politics, agriculture and, of course, nuclear space propulsion. Each of these topics will be covered in this blog in a way that relates them on multiple levels, from the entire earth to the North Country.

I would like to share with you my insights into the world as a young woman, mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and enthusiastic reader. It is my pleasure to write for you, and I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy creating it.