My Visit to Rochester

So I'm in Rochester, NY for my grandmother's 80th birthday. I've got a few minutes, so I figured I'd blog some observations.

The weather here is much nicer in the summer. Right now it's 75 degrees and not very humid at all. It's been bouncing between the high 60s and low 80s. Fantastic. Of course, there's 9 months of winter when it's not summer, but I could see following in the footsteps of the Canadian Goose and spending summers in a more user-friendly climate such as this.

Also, I saw a Quizno's today in its own building. I'd never seen a stand-alone Quizno's before. This may sound weird, but it's true. They've always been attached to something, in a strip mall or shopping center, or at the base of a large building in Philadelphia. And while I'll admit I'm unobservant, I'm usually VERY aware of the Quizno's locations in my immediate vicinity (and if I'm passing one, it usually merits at least a wistful glance and acknowledgment of its presence).

Fine dining is hard to find in Rochester, NY. Though there's one of every chain restaurant ever (slight exaggeration, but not by too much given the Rochester's demographics nearly perfectly represent America's, making it a major test market), the only thing worth writing home about when it comes to fine dining is the complete absence of restaurants worth writing home about. I may include more details in the new blog Chuck and I are starting, which will be specifically about food.

The people here are nice. I always feel like I should be mildly embarrassed while around Rochesterians, who have managed to construct a working city without acting like, well, like people who live in cities. That said, it is a fairly small city with no subway system, but still. I wonder: why are some areas nicer than others? What makes a city populace nicer than another city's populace? It can't be random chance, otherwise most cities would be very close to an average (maybe they are and some people are just good at detecting differences?). I know what can make a place mean, but what can make a place extra nice?

Meanwhile, back on the political front, recent statements from Mr. McCain lead me to ask my readers this: do any of you think he'd be remotely good at handling anything even tangentially related to economics or the American economy? If so, let me know; I've got some posting to do.