It's been a while since my last post, but that's partly because for my 500th post, I wanted to create something worth reading.
Here goes:
I went to the library yesterday to return a book. I knew the library was closed at the time I went, but I figured I could leave the book in the book drop. That seems like a fairly reasonable expectation, after all, libraries invented the book drop.
When I got to the library, which has two sets of double doors at its entrance, I noticed that the book drop was between the sets of doors. Pulling on the outer door in order to reach the book drop, I found it was locked. I checked again. The outer door was locked, making the book drop inaccessible. What then, is the point of this book drop?
As a side note, I thought that perhaps the book drop was no longer used because people dropped more than books in it. After all, this is New York City.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
This Week In Baseball
Summed up by three amazing plays and one semi-rare occurrence.
Three amazing plays. Sorry I don't have video / images of these.
1) David Wright's barehanded catch in Tuesday night's Mets / Padres game. He got an ovation from the opposition fans!
2) K-Rod's lapse of judgment and Jason Kendall's great steal of home to win the game for the A's in extra innings. What a great play by Kendall!
3) Mike Cameron colliding with Carlos Beltran in Thursday afternoon's Mets / Padres gams. Hopefully they are okay. Later in the game, Cliff Floyd was hit on the knee by a pitch and Roberto Hernandez had a ground ball hit him in the hand. The Mets also lost the game.
For the first time, post-9/11 a fan jumped into the net behind home plate at the Yankees game. There was a ton of press coverage about this, and the fan got put in jail. But, pre-9/11 this actually happened once before (and I hadn't noticed it in any articles until I checked google) but back then there definitely wasn't as much coverage of the event.
Three amazing plays. Sorry I don't have video / images of these.
1) David Wright's barehanded catch in Tuesday night's Mets / Padres game. He got an ovation from the opposition fans!
2) K-Rod's lapse of judgment and Jason Kendall's great steal of home to win the game for the A's in extra innings. What a great play by Kendall!
3) Mike Cameron colliding with Carlos Beltran in Thursday afternoon's Mets / Padres gams. Hopefully they are okay. Later in the game, Cliff Floyd was hit on the knee by a pitch and Roberto Hernandez had a ground ball hit him in the hand. The Mets also lost the game.
For the first time, post-9/11 a fan jumped into the net behind home plate at the Yankees game. There was a ton of press coverage about this, and the fan got put in jail. But, pre-9/11 this actually happened once before (and I hadn't noticed it in any articles until I checked google) but back then there definitely wasn't as much coverage of the event.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Football Prediction
While I've got football on the brain following the Ty Law signing, and WFAN's visit to Jets camp, where they interviewed Herm Edwards, Terry Bradway, Donnie Henderson, Mike Heimerdinger, Chad Pennington, Jonathan Vilma, Eric Coleman, Pete Kendall and Ben Graham, here's a little prediction I cooked up from a discussion I had the other day with a friend.
*Out of the twelve playoff teams in the NFL in the 2005-2006 season, five to seven of them will have qualified in the playoffs from the 2004-2005 season.*
Not an "official" prediction, but it's likely that three of these will be New England, Indianapolis and Philadelphia. I just hope the Jets will be one of the teams as well.
*Out of the twelve playoff teams in the NFL in the 2005-2006 season, five to seven of them will have qualified in the playoffs from the 2004-2005 season.*
Not an "official" prediction, but it's likely that three of these will be New England, Indianapolis and Philadelphia. I just hope the Jets will be one of the teams as well.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Two NY Sports Notes
Note 1
The New York Jets look to sign Pro Bowl CB Ty Law today, a move that should definitely improve the defense, even if Law still is not 100% from his foot injury last season. Unfortunately, it sounds like the team will also have to cut 10-year veteran Ray Mickens to make room for Law. While this move will add a spark to the recently one-sided Jets / Patriots rivalry, which has gotten a bit stale since Bill Parcells left the area, it's a bit sad to see Mickens, the Jet with the second-longest tenure on the team let go. Mickens has never been an outstanding player but he's been consistant and durable throughout his career (until last season's injury) and due to his smaller physical size (5' 8", 180 lbs) has been a bit of an underdog who has been easy to root for. Perhaps they can bring him back at a lesser salary.
Note 2
I try not to link to other blogs on this site, as an effort to keep the content fresh (no pun intended) but this transcript of banter between Ken Singleton and Michael Kay was too easy to pass up. I guess when the tv stations go to commercials, the microphones aren't always off on MLB.tv. It's too bad I can't get MLB.tv because the Yankees and Mets are blacked out for anyone living in NYC. Hearing this sort of banter would be worth the price alone.
The New York Jets look to sign Pro Bowl CB Ty Law today, a move that should definitely improve the defense, even if Law still is not 100% from his foot injury last season. Unfortunately, it sounds like the team will also have to cut 10-year veteran Ray Mickens to make room for Law. While this move will add a spark to the recently one-sided Jets / Patriots rivalry, which has gotten a bit stale since Bill Parcells left the area, it's a bit sad to see Mickens, the Jet with the second-longest tenure on the team let go. Mickens has never been an outstanding player but he's been consistant and durable throughout his career (until last season's injury) and due to his smaller physical size (5' 8", 180 lbs) has been a bit of an underdog who has been easy to root for. Perhaps they can bring him back at a lesser salary.
Note 2
I try not to link to other blogs on this site, as an effort to keep the content fresh (no pun intended) but this transcript of banter between Ken Singleton and Michael Kay was too easy to pass up. I guess when the tv stations go to commercials, the microphones aren't always off on MLB.tv. It's too bad I can't get MLB.tv because the Yankees and Mets are blacked out for anyone living in NYC. Hearing this sort of banter would be worth the price alone.
Friday, August 05, 2005
China - Part 3 - Terra Cotta Soliders
When we last left off my China trip virtual slide show, we were in the city of Xi'an. Just outside of the city are many tombs of leaders and a very well known cultural site, the terra cotta warriors. They were found thirty years ago by some farmer who was digging a well. I thought that was both funny and remarkable. The government has invested a lot in trying to publicize the soldiers and the cultural value. I think the farmer who found the soldiers is still alive and signs autographs.
There are three main pits with soldiers in them. The "first pit" is the largest, and that is where the first three photos are from. The "second" pit is smaller and did not allow photography. The "third" pit was the smallest and the fourth photo is from that site. There was one area where soldiers were removed from the pit areas and put on display. The final photos are all close ups of those soldiers.
This entire site is pretty wonderous, from the garden outside to the large airplane hangar-like structures that house the soldiers. In the parking lot, it's pretty sad, as there are many peasants trying to sell you trinkets, and these peasants will swarm around you the moment they realize you're from out of town.
An amazing site, and a highlight of my trip. Enjoy the photos.
There are three main pits with soldiers in them. The "first pit" is the largest, and that is where the first three photos are from. The "second" pit is smaller and did not allow photography. The "third" pit was the smallest and the fourth photo is from that site. There was one area where soldiers were removed from the pit areas and put on display. The final photos are all close ups of those soldiers.
This entire site is pretty wonderous, from the garden outside to the large airplane hangar-like structures that house the soldiers. In the parking lot, it's pretty sad, as there are many peasants trying to sell you trinkets, and these peasants will swarm around you the moment they realize you're from out of town.
An amazing site, and a highlight of my trip. Enjoy the photos.
Switch Pitcher
The other night two baseball observations of mine came together to form one great dream.
The first, which was actually made by my brother, was that no modern player will ever be able to be called, "The Greatest Yankee Ever." Why not? Because Babe Ruth has that title. Not only was Ruth one of the best Yankees ever, he's one of the greatest figures in professional sports ever. This means, even if a player is truly great, and a Yankee, he would still probably have to share the title of "Greatest Yankee" with Ruth.
So how could a player become the "Greatest Yankee" beyond Babe Ruth? Well, they'd probably have to change the game so dramatically that there would be no option but to call him so. A player like Barry Bonds or A-Rod won't make it. Sure, they are great players, perhaps some of the greatest in their time, but they aren't on the level of Babe Ruth. When Ruth hit 59 HR in 1921, the second most HR were hit by Ken Williams. Williams only had 24 HR. Ruth was a pitcher before that as well!
In order to be considered "the best" you then would have to be so innovative and yet also play the game at a high level, much like Ruth. What would be the next innovation that could strike baseball this well? Of course, it would be the switch-pitcher. I dream of teaching my kids to throw with both hands so that they can one day be major league switch pitchers. Think of all the possibilities! If you were in a jam against a batter you could just "change your look" by throwing with the other arm. You could alternate R/L depending on the batter. Even better still, you could pitch game 1 as a right-hander and game 2 as a left-hander. After all, you'd be using all the muscles on the other side of the body. You could be your own relief pitcher. The next innovation in the game will be the switch-pitcher. How great would it be if you could pound someone with your left-handed fastballs and cutters, and then suddenly throw right-handed knuckleballs to the next batter? You would be valuable as two players in one. If you were on the Yankees and you were good, you might just be able to take that title from Babe Ruth.
The first, which was actually made by my brother, was that no modern player will ever be able to be called, "The Greatest Yankee Ever." Why not? Because Babe Ruth has that title. Not only was Ruth one of the best Yankees ever, he's one of the greatest figures in professional sports ever. This means, even if a player is truly great, and a Yankee, he would still probably have to share the title of "Greatest Yankee" with Ruth.
So how could a player become the "Greatest Yankee" beyond Babe Ruth? Well, they'd probably have to change the game so dramatically that there would be no option but to call him so. A player like Barry Bonds or A-Rod won't make it. Sure, they are great players, perhaps some of the greatest in their time, but they aren't on the level of Babe Ruth. When Ruth hit 59 HR in 1921, the second most HR were hit by Ken Williams. Williams only had 24 HR. Ruth was a pitcher before that as well!
In order to be considered "the best" you then would have to be so innovative and yet also play the game at a high level, much like Ruth. What would be the next innovation that could strike baseball this well? Of course, it would be the switch-pitcher. I dream of teaching my kids to throw with both hands so that they can one day be major league switch pitchers. Think of all the possibilities! If you were in a jam against a batter you could just "change your look" by throwing with the other arm. You could alternate R/L depending on the batter. Even better still, you could pitch game 1 as a right-hander and game 2 as a left-hander. After all, you'd be using all the muscles on the other side of the body. You could be your own relief pitcher. The next innovation in the game will be the switch-pitcher. How great would it be if you could pound someone with your left-handed fastballs and cutters, and then suddenly throw right-handed knuckleballs to the next batter? You would be valuable as two players in one. If you were on the Yankees and you were good, you might just be able to take that title from Babe Ruth.
Spoilers
What is the statute of limitations on spoilers?
(Warning, may contain some spoilers, depending on how they are defined)
When is it okay to discuss the ending of a book, movie or TV show? One might argue, you can never discuss it with someone if they haven't seen it, otherwise you've spoiled it. That's a good point, but what about media that is well-known? Can I discuss Darth Vader's relationship with Luke Skywalker and not worry about spoilers? What about the endings of "The Wizard of Oz" or "Rocky?" At what point do these pieces go from unknown to common knowledge? Certainly I can't talk about the ending to the newest Harry Potter book, but what about the ending to the first book?
With books, I feel that one indication that the book can be discussed freely is if the book has been turned into a movie. But still, is it okay to question the fate of Frodo and Sam in the "Lord of the Rings" or is that a spoiler?
A good friend of mine once spoiled "The Usual Suspects" but it was okay because I saw the Academy Awards before I saw the film, and the awards indirectly spoiled the movie anyways.
So what are good milestones to look for when trying to determine if something is spoiled?
The inspiration for this post is the third Harry Potter movie, which I saw last night. There's something about it that really bothers me, but I can't discuss it here because it really spoils the movie.
(Warning, may contain some spoilers, depending on how they are defined)
When is it okay to discuss the ending of a book, movie or TV show? One might argue, you can never discuss it with someone if they haven't seen it, otherwise you've spoiled it. That's a good point, but what about media that is well-known? Can I discuss Darth Vader's relationship with Luke Skywalker and not worry about spoilers? What about the endings of "The Wizard of Oz" or "Rocky?" At what point do these pieces go from unknown to common knowledge? Certainly I can't talk about the ending to the newest Harry Potter book, but what about the ending to the first book?
With books, I feel that one indication that the book can be discussed freely is if the book has been turned into a movie. But still, is it okay to question the fate of Frodo and Sam in the "Lord of the Rings" or is that a spoiler?
A good friend of mine once spoiled "The Usual Suspects" but it was okay because I saw the Academy Awards before I saw the film, and the awards indirectly spoiled the movie anyways.
So what are good milestones to look for when trying to determine if something is spoiled?
The inspiration for this post is the third Harry Potter movie, which I saw last night. There's something about it that really bothers me, but I can't discuss it here because it really spoils the movie.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Worst of the KFB
The Kitchen Fresh Blog completed its first year two months ago, so what better way to celebrate than emphasize some of the crappier moments in this space?
In the spirit of the Not Top 10 on Sportscenter, please find my five least favorite posts to this blog. In other words, I wish I had never written them.
In general, while reviewing the first year of the blog, I've noticed a few things.
Complaining about spare change seems to be a theme on the blog. As do rants about the Red Sox, weather forecasts, politics, and the Jets. Not surprisingly, these posts are of low quality.
My favorite posts were generally from things that have happened to me or from observations that I think are clever. I think the latter category may make me seem a bit smug, but it is my blog, after all.
Not-Top 5
1) Writer's Block posts. These are silly, and I've done it twice.
2) Speaking of posting things twice, why don't I tell the same story twice? I guess it was so traumatic, I had to tell it again.
3) I'm just an idiot. It's a chain restaurant!
4) I don't really understand the joke in this post... I wrote the joke!
5) In general, I had posted a lot about these vanity searches. Boring.
While I found these five to be the poorest in quality, in general, there were a lot of mediocre posts to the space, mostly revolving around current events, and posting links. I need a little better quality control.
In the spirit of the Not Top 10 on Sportscenter, please find my five least favorite posts to this blog. In other words, I wish I had never written them.
In general, while reviewing the first year of the blog, I've noticed a few things.
Complaining about spare change seems to be a theme on the blog. As do rants about the Red Sox, weather forecasts, politics, and the Jets. Not surprisingly, these posts are of low quality.
My favorite posts were generally from things that have happened to me or from observations that I think are clever. I think the latter category may make me seem a bit smug, but it is my blog, after all.
Not-Top 5
1) Writer's Block posts. These are silly, and I've done it twice.
2) Speaking of posting things twice, why don't I tell the same story twice? I guess it was so traumatic, I had to tell it again.
3) I'm just an idiot. It's a chain restaurant!
4) I don't really understand the joke in this post... I wrote the joke!
5) In general, I had posted a lot about these vanity searches. Boring.
While I found these five to be the poorest in quality, in general, there were a lot of mediocre posts to the space, mostly revolving around current events, and posting links. I need a little better quality control.
Best of the KFB
As if having a blog wasn't self-aggrandizing enough, here is a post to that blog that highlights my favorite posts. Consider, it as "Blogman's favorites."
Of course, May 13, 2005 was the actual first anniversary of the blog, so it's great to put something together two and a half months later commemerating the event.
These are the posts in their order that they were posted.
1) My crazy roommate plays this silly name game. This is one of the stories that inspired the creation of the KFB.
2) Salads. I've never had a satisfactory answer to this question.
3) This post manages to capture two observations - one about complex family situations and the other about man-purses.
4) It's not often that I have my camera at the same time that I observe something funny.
5) Group dynamics. One of my favorite topics.
6) Sort of similar to #4, although the bottle wasn't going to go anywhere.
7) I can't believe this actually happened.
8) What is the convention on this anyways?
9) I found this to be fairly clever.
10) This still happens to me!
11) I haven't watched Law & Order in a while.
12) New York City is a strange place. Sort of the same theme as #7.
13) This post about Chien-Ming Wang is a bit silly, but wouldn't it be so funny??
14) Yet another true story about something that happened to me on the street.
Of course, May 13, 2005 was the actual first anniversary of the blog, so it's great to put something together two and a half months later commemerating the event.
These are the posts in their order that they were posted.
1) My crazy roommate plays this silly name game. This is one of the stories that inspired the creation of the KFB.
2) Salads. I've never had a satisfactory answer to this question.
3) This post manages to capture two observations - one about complex family situations and the other about man-purses.
4) It's not often that I have my camera at the same time that I observe something funny.
5) Group dynamics. One of my favorite topics.
6) Sort of similar to #4, although the bottle wasn't going to go anywhere.
7) I can't believe this actually happened.
8) What is the convention on this anyways?
9) I found this to be fairly clever.
10) This still happens to me!
11) I haven't watched Law & Order in a while.
12) New York City is a strange place. Sort of the same theme as #7.
13) This post about Chien-Ming Wang is a bit silly, but wouldn't it be so funny??
14) Yet another true story about something that happened to me on the street.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Spare Some Change?
I have a personal policy not to help anyone asking me for change, regardless of what they look like or their story. The reason for this is that I've been hoodwinked before and so I don't like to be taken advantage of because I'm nice. Therefore, I just assume everybody asking for change or food is up to no good, and then deny their request.
Today, a couple asked me for change and for some reason, I felt pretty bad for them. It's made me re-think the policy. Instead of punishing those who actually need assistance because of those who might not, shouldn't I just accept that not everybody is honest and at least help those few that I can? It's not like I couldn't afford to drop a dollar here or there to help folks out, even if they all don't need help. I don't think this will change my policy but it's something that was passing through my mind this morning.
Today, a couple asked me for change and for some reason, I felt pretty bad for them. It's made me re-think the policy. Instead of punishing those who actually need assistance because of those who might not, shouldn't I just accept that not everybody is honest and at least help those few that I can? It's not like I couldn't afford to drop a dollar here or there to help folks out, even if they all don't need help. I don't think this will change my policy but it's something that was passing through my mind this morning.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Changing Gears: Personal July Recap
Looking back at the blog, I've realized that I hadn't posted too many personal anecdotes, which is generally what these blogs are for. So here's a quick recap on my month of July, which featured many trips and goings-on.
July 2 - Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. I wrote a post about this.
July 4 - Fireworks at South Street Seaport. I never took any photos of all the things happening there, but it was jam packed. The friend I went to Live 8 with was also at the fireworks with me, and I told him I thought there were bigger crowds at the fireworks but he disagreed.
July 8 - Yankees versus Cleveland Indians. The second Yankee win I've attended. It was also visor night. There's a post about this, too.
July 11 - I skipped work during the day in order to get tickets to "As You Like It," a production of Shakespeare in the Park. It was a good show, with great production quality, and the stage was beautiful, especially at sunset. The lead, Rosalind, was played by Lynn Collins, who I guess has been romantically linked to Keanu Reeves. One thing about the comedy is that Shakespeare comedies seem fairly formulaic (I'm no literary critic). Someone cross-dresses, there's a misunderstanding and a bunch of weddings. They all lived happily (very happily) ever after. There you have another Shakespeare comedy! The other realization I had this day was that there are so many people in New York City who don't work. I'm not sure what these people do for a living but it's not working.
Week of July 11 - Also included a trip to Chinatown for dinner, drinks at the 79th Street Boat Basin, dinner in Times Square (Spanky's BBQ) and a dinner in Times Square followed by drinks in the East Village. Busy week but I don't have any silly stories to tell from any of these events.
July 16-17 - I visited Boston for the third time in three months. I've got a lot of friends up there so it's always nice to pass through the area. Before leaving, I got measured for a tuxedo for an upcoming wedding in December. Then, I stopped off in Connecticut at a BBQ hosted by the couple to be married in December. The weekend in Boston consisted of dinner, drinks and then dim sum Sunday morning. It was nice to see everyone, but I wish I could have spent a little more time up there. The drive was treacherous since I was very tired.
July 18 - I saw the Stephen Chow movie, Kung Fu Hustle. I enjoyed this film much more than Shaolin Soccer. It was much funnier. Someone told me that Ebert called it a combination of Bugs Bunny and Quinten Tarantino. This is a great description since it has the Looney Tunes type of silliness.
July 19 - The dinner destination was Spice Market, a hip and trendy Jean Georges restaurant that opened last year in the Meatpacking District. It was tasty, although a little expensive. We had chicken samosas and a spicy shaved tuna for appetizers, a grilled chicken and a cod dish for the main course, accompanied by ginger rice and for dessert, some sort of ice cream sandwich. I forget the flavor of the ice cream (Thai tea?) but it wasn't too sweet and very tasty. We also got drinks - a mojito and a mai tai. The decor is pretty cool, the restaurant is huge. There's so much hype, I'm not sure the place could ever live up to it, but it was definitely a hip place to be and the food was tasty. I don't know why there is such a difficulty in securing a reservation to this place (I made this one back in early July) because it wasn't packed when we arrived at 8pm.
July 22 - I moved. To a three bedroom apartment just down the road. My roommates are cool, although one of them hasn't moved in yet.
July 23 - Two milestones. I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I saw reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash while at dinner in the East Village. No comments on the Potter book, except I like to brag about how I reserved it back in January at the NY Public Library and got it right after it came out. What is it that makes Harry so popular? As for Steve Nash, I didn't talk to him, but it was exciting since I don't usually have a lot of celebrity sightings (although in June I passed Ice-T walking down the street in Times Square).
Also on July 23, I had a really substandard experience at Cold Stone Creamery. Not only did we not get very much ice cream, but there were only three strawberries mixed in! While I'm complaining about Cold Stone, why must they try to up-sell the customer on everything? It's like trying to buy a TV at Best Buy, except instead of "Would you like a service plan?" the question is "Would you like a larger ice cream? More mixed in?" Are these guys on commission?
July 24 - I had the waffle ice cream sandwich at the Original New York Milkshake Company. This will not be the last time I have this waffle ice cream sandwich.
July 25 - After several months of missing Smallville, I'm starting to catch up. Five more episodes for the rest of the season. The episode from this evening? Lex Luthor is split into two, his evil and good sides. For some reason I'm finding Kristen Kreuk (Lana Lang) less attractive than in the past. We've been away from each other for too long.
July 26 - Out to dinner on the West Side, at a mexican place. Why isn't this place listed in Zagat or on MenuPages? Note to self: while a chimichanga sounds good because of the words "deep-fried flour tortilla," it really isn't.
Well, that's a recap. If anything cool happens in these last three days, I'll keep the KFB posted.
July 2 - Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. I wrote a post about this.
July 4 - Fireworks at South Street Seaport. I never took any photos of all the things happening there, but it was jam packed. The friend I went to Live 8 with was also at the fireworks with me, and I told him I thought there were bigger crowds at the fireworks but he disagreed.
July 8 - Yankees versus Cleveland Indians. The second Yankee win I've attended. It was also visor night. There's a post about this, too.
July 11 - I skipped work during the day in order to get tickets to "As You Like It," a production of Shakespeare in the Park. It was a good show, with great production quality, and the stage was beautiful, especially at sunset. The lead, Rosalind, was played by Lynn Collins, who I guess has been romantically linked to Keanu Reeves. One thing about the comedy is that Shakespeare comedies seem fairly formulaic (I'm no literary critic). Someone cross-dresses, there's a misunderstanding and a bunch of weddings. They all lived happily (very happily) ever after. There you have another Shakespeare comedy! The other realization I had this day was that there are so many people in New York City who don't work. I'm not sure what these people do for a living but it's not working.
Week of July 11 - Also included a trip to Chinatown for dinner, drinks at the 79th Street Boat Basin, dinner in Times Square (Spanky's BBQ) and a dinner in Times Square followed by drinks in the East Village. Busy week but I don't have any silly stories to tell from any of these events.
July 16-17 - I visited Boston for the third time in three months. I've got a lot of friends up there so it's always nice to pass through the area. Before leaving, I got measured for a tuxedo for an upcoming wedding in December. Then, I stopped off in Connecticut at a BBQ hosted by the couple to be married in December. The weekend in Boston consisted of dinner, drinks and then dim sum Sunday morning. It was nice to see everyone, but I wish I could have spent a little more time up there. The drive was treacherous since I was very tired.
July 18 - I saw the Stephen Chow movie, Kung Fu Hustle. I enjoyed this film much more than Shaolin Soccer. It was much funnier. Someone told me that Ebert called it a combination of Bugs Bunny and Quinten Tarantino. This is a great description since it has the Looney Tunes type of silliness.
July 19 - The dinner destination was Spice Market, a hip and trendy Jean Georges restaurant that opened last year in the Meatpacking District. It was tasty, although a little expensive. We had chicken samosas and a spicy shaved tuna for appetizers, a grilled chicken and a cod dish for the main course, accompanied by ginger rice and for dessert, some sort of ice cream sandwich. I forget the flavor of the ice cream (Thai tea?) but it wasn't too sweet and very tasty. We also got drinks - a mojito and a mai tai. The decor is pretty cool, the restaurant is huge. There's so much hype, I'm not sure the place could ever live up to it, but it was definitely a hip place to be and the food was tasty. I don't know why there is such a difficulty in securing a reservation to this place (I made this one back in early July) because it wasn't packed when we arrived at 8pm.
July 22 - I moved. To a three bedroom apartment just down the road. My roommates are cool, although one of them hasn't moved in yet.
July 23 - Two milestones. I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I saw reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash while at dinner in the East Village. No comments on the Potter book, except I like to brag about how I reserved it back in January at the NY Public Library and got it right after it came out. What is it that makes Harry so popular? As for Steve Nash, I didn't talk to him, but it was exciting since I don't usually have a lot of celebrity sightings (although in June I passed Ice-T walking down the street in Times Square).
Also on July 23, I had a really substandard experience at Cold Stone Creamery. Not only did we not get very much ice cream, but there were only three strawberries mixed in! While I'm complaining about Cold Stone, why must they try to up-sell the customer on everything? It's like trying to buy a TV at Best Buy, except instead of "Would you like a service plan?" the question is "Would you like a larger ice cream? More mixed in?" Are these guys on commission?
July 24 - I had the waffle ice cream sandwich at the Original New York Milkshake Company. This will not be the last time I have this waffle ice cream sandwich.
July 25 - After several months of missing Smallville, I'm starting to catch up. Five more episodes for the rest of the season. The episode from this evening? Lex Luthor is split into two, his evil and good sides. For some reason I'm finding Kristen Kreuk (Lana Lang) less attractive than in the past. We've been away from each other for too long.
July 26 - Out to dinner on the West Side, at a mexican place. Why isn't this place listed in Zagat or on MenuPages? Note to self: while a chimichanga sounds good because of the words "deep-fried flour tortilla," it really isn't.
Well, that's a recap. If anything cool happens in these last three days, I'll keep the KFB posted.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Fight Club
Ninth Rule of Fight Club: Do not tell the NY Times about Fight Club.
What a great snippet to get me to read the article:
"In small cities and towns where there is not much to do, cage fighting is making a comeback."
Speaking of fighting, I saw an ad the other day for the WWE Summerslam. The headline match? Hulk Hogan versus Shawn Michaels: Immortality has a price. Was that an ad from twenty years ago? No, it's 52 year-old Hogan versus 40 year-old Michaels. I don't know if I should be amazed that these guys at their ages can keep up with the physicality (steroids?) or amused by professional wrestling's inability to market new stars.
What a great snippet to get me to read the article:
"In small cities and towns where there is not much to do, cage fighting is making a comeback."
Speaking of fighting, I saw an ad the other day for the WWE Summerslam. The headline match? Hulk Hogan versus Shawn Michaels: Immortality has a price. Was that an ad from twenty years ago? No, it's 52 year-old Hogan versus 40 year-old Michaels. I don't know if I should be amazed that these guys at their ages can keep up with the physicality (steroids?) or amused by professional wrestling's inability to market new stars.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
NBA Coaches
Larry Brown is headed to the Knicks at the tune of nearly $10 million per year. That will be more than Phil Jackson makes, around $7-10 million annually.
Mike Francesa on WFAN made a good point yesterday - when did NBA coaches make out so well on the pay scale?
The highest paid NFL coach? Parcells and Gruden make around $3 million, and Spurrier made around $5 million. I was looking for Bill Belichek's salary (he should probably be the highest paid) but it's probably in that range. It seems to me that these coaches work the hardest (not to mention often have personnel responsibilities) and probably would be expected to be paid the most.
MLB? Joe Torre makes about $8 million to take care of the Yankees, but his success with the team probably justifies it. Plus, the MLB season is the longest of any of the major pro sports.
So what is it about the NBA coaches that makes them so coveted and highly paid? Yes, they are a very visible personality on the sidelines, and are certainly instrumental in the direction of a team. But recent NBA coach successes aren't necessarily these big superstars. For example, Gregg Poppovich, Lawrence Frank, Stan Van Gundy and Mike D'Antoni have all had recent success without much "celebrity" status. It's clearly a demanding job, but I can't help but think the scale is out of whack.
One more note about the Brown signing, regarding the Knicks roster. I took a look at the 2003-2004 roster (pre-Isiah Thomas) and there's only one player who is on the '05-06 roster, Allan Houston. I just can't help but think with Brown now in the fold, the Knicks will make yet another round of changes to the team. It would be nice to have a team I could recognize and begin to root for (although I have to admit, I'll also take a good team).
Mike Francesa on WFAN made a good point yesterday - when did NBA coaches make out so well on the pay scale?
The highest paid NFL coach? Parcells and Gruden make around $3 million, and Spurrier made around $5 million. I was looking for Bill Belichek's salary (he should probably be the highest paid) but it's probably in that range. It seems to me that these coaches work the hardest (not to mention often have personnel responsibilities) and probably would be expected to be paid the most.
MLB? Joe Torre makes about $8 million to take care of the Yankees, but his success with the team probably justifies it. Plus, the MLB season is the longest of any of the major pro sports.
So what is it about the NBA coaches that makes them so coveted and highly paid? Yes, they are a very visible personality on the sidelines, and are certainly instrumental in the direction of a team. But recent NBA coach successes aren't necessarily these big superstars. For example, Gregg Poppovich, Lawrence Frank, Stan Van Gundy and Mike D'Antoni have all had recent success without much "celebrity" status. It's clearly a demanding job, but I can't help but think the scale is out of whack.
One more note about the Brown signing, regarding the Knicks roster. I took a look at the 2003-2004 roster (pre-Isiah Thomas) and there's only one player who is on the '05-06 roster, Allan Houston. I just can't help but think with Brown now in the fold, the Knicks will make yet another round of changes to the team. It would be nice to have a team I could recognize and begin to root for (although I have to admit, I'll also take a good team).
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Toll Free
Now that cellular phones are so ubiquitous, do you think toll free numbers actually help companies? After all, the toll free number prevents long distance charges, but with cell phones those are nearly non-existent. In addition, a toll free call still counts against your cell phone minutes, so it's not really "free." Perhaps most people still have their land line, so the toll free call is nice, but for most of my peers, who have cell phones as their primary phones, it doesn't seem as useful.
Late Night Subway
Waiting for the subway late at night is never easy, as the trains run infrequently and it's the most common time to have service changes and outages. But you know you're really in for it when the "money train" or the "trash train" pulls into the platform. Particularly the trash train, which is like a bunch of flatbed subway cars that have dumpsters on them. Not only do you realize there's no hope for a train to come in on your track (and the train moves quite slowly, so even if it leaves there will still be delays), there's also a ton of trash in the subway station with you.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Yet Another Reason Why People Don't Vote
People don't vote because our politicians spend less time on things people care about and more time wondering how long daylight savings time should be and making comments like "The beauty of daylight-saving time is that it just makes everyone feel sunnier" (Edward Markey, D-Mass).
I Think My Next Computer Will Be a Mac
Despite all the things I might complain about with Macs - stringent software restrictions, high prices, lower number of software titles, "trendy" computer user base, I think I may have to make the switch in a few years with my next computer. I'm sick of worrying about security features, and incompatible iTunes updates.
The announcement of WindowsVista doesn't make me any more excited either. What a stupid name. I think the pose in this photo is hilarious too.
Addendum: I've noticed a lot of free video content on the web (CNN.com, ESPN.com, etc) requires windows media player, which unfortunately is not available for Mac. This adds a little monkeywrench into my plans of Mac switching, although hopefully by the time I have to make any decisions, everyone will have embraced quicktime formats.
The announcement of WindowsVista doesn't make me any more excited either. What a stupid name. I think the pose in this photo is hilarious too.
Addendum: I've noticed a lot of free video content on the web (CNN.com, ESPN.com, etc) requires windows media player, which unfortunately is not available for Mac. This adds a little monkeywrench into my plans of Mac switching, although hopefully by the time I have to make any decisions, everyone will have embraced quicktime formats.
Safety versus Individual Rights
I understand that the police want people to feel safer, so therefore are initiating searches of people's bags on the subway. But it still makes me feel uneasy.
Look, I'm not carrying anything that anyone would take away or get me into trouble. Still, there's a few things that concern me with the searches.
1) I don't really expect them to last that long. I get the sense that once the London bombings fade from memory, these searches will be viewed as more of an inconvenience and an annoyance. Think of how people view increased airport and stadium security these days.
2) That the searches aren't that effective and are more for show. This really worries me. Maybe it's just something for peace of mind but not won't actually to do anything. The Police Commissioner said they would search fewer people if the subway was busier. Shouldn't they be searching more people when the subway is busier? After all, isn't that when these guys are most likely to attack?
3) This is the most paranoid concern: what's to say if an apartment blew up that the police wouldn't start randomly searching apartments? We're definitely looking at a conflict of search and seizure versus individual rights. Granted, the MTA can set rules and you don't have to use the subway or any other public transportation. Also, it will be more than 99.999% of people who are compliant with these regulations. But still, what happens if a guy gets caught with something and then the charge gets thrown out in court because of illegal search / seizure? Obviously, you can't legislate to what "might happen in court to get the charge thrown out." But when I hear politicians (Bloomberg) say things like, "We know that our freedoms are threatening to certain individuals and there's no reason to let our guard down." I have to think, "If you keep rummaging through my stuff, then soon there won't be that many freedoms for those people to worry about."
But still, I don't want the terrorists to win. I'll stay vigilant.
Look, I'm not carrying anything that anyone would take away or get me into trouble. Still, there's a few things that concern me with the searches.
1) I don't really expect them to last that long. I get the sense that once the London bombings fade from memory, these searches will be viewed as more of an inconvenience and an annoyance. Think of how people view increased airport and stadium security these days.
2) That the searches aren't that effective and are more for show. This really worries me. Maybe it's just something for peace of mind but not won't actually to do anything. The Police Commissioner said they would search fewer people if the subway was busier. Shouldn't they be searching more people when the subway is busier? After all, isn't that when these guys are most likely to attack?
3) This is the most paranoid concern: what's to say if an apartment blew up that the police wouldn't start randomly searching apartments? We're definitely looking at a conflict of search and seizure versus individual rights. Granted, the MTA can set rules and you don't have to use the subway or any other public transportation. Also, it will be more than 99.999% of people who are compliant with these regulations. But still, what happens if a guy gets caught with something and then the charge gets thrown out in court because of illegal search / seizure? Obviously, you can't legislate to what "might happen in court to get the charge thrown out." But when I hear politicians (Bloomberg) say things like, "We know that our freedoms are threatening to certain individuals and there's no reason to let our guard down." I have to think, "If you keep rummaging through my stuff, then soon there won't be that many freedoms for those people to worry about."
But still, I don't want the terrorists to win. I'll stay vigilant.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Product Endorsement
I laughed when my friend told me he had put his Sandisk Cruzer Mini flash drive in the laundry and it still worked after going through the washer. Of course, I then proceeded to do the same thing. Mine still works too. So here's a KFB product endorsement for the Sandisk Cruzer mini flash drive. You can accidentally wash it and still keep your data.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
China - Part 2 - Xi'an
In Part 1 of the China Trip Posts, I gave a glimpse of the city of Xi'an. Here are a bunch of additional photos from Xi'an. Next time up will be the Terra Cotta Soldiers.
Xi'an was traditionally known as an arts and cultural center, and generally seemed a little less cosmopolitan than Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai. Perhaps that's just the parts of the city we visited.
The bell tower of Xi'an. It's in the center of the city wall, but the city now extends far beyond the walls. This was an alert-type tower. We went to dinner at a dumpling restaurant near here that was pretty cool, as the dumplings were shaped like the meats they contained (such as little chickens, ducks, pigs).
When you climb up the bell tower, which isn't that tall, this is some of the view. One friend asked, "What are all the green cars?" They're taxis. Speaking of taxis, imagine a place where everyone moves like a NY taxi driver (pedestrians, mopeds, bus drivers) and that's what Xi'an was like. Referencing two of my favorite amphibians, crossing the street was like Frogger, and riding in a taxi was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
You can walk up on the Xi'an city wall. It extends like this all the way around what was originally the city.
This is a summer palace that Chinese leaders had used. It's just outside of Xi'an. I believe Chiang Kai-Shek got kidnapped here back when he was in charge.
This is called the wild goose pagoda. It's part of a Buddhist temple. We paid extra to climb up this, but it totally wasn't worth it. The view was crummy and since it was a hot day, all we got was dehydrated.
Xi'an was traditionally known as an arts and cultural center, and generally seemed a little less cosmopolitan than Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai. Perhaps that's just the parts of the city we visited.
The bell tower of Xi'an. It's in the center of the city wall, but the city now extends far beyond the walls. This was an alert-type tower. We went to dinner at a dumpling restaurant near here that was pretty cool, as the dumplings were shaped like the meats they contained (such as little chickens, ducks, pigs).
When you climb up the bell tower, which isn't that tall, this is some of the view. One friend asked, "What are all the green cars?" They're taxis. Speaking of taxis, imagine a place where everyone moves like a NY taxi driver (pedestrians, mopeds, bus drivers) and that's what Xi'an was like. Referencing two of my favorite amphibians, crossing the street was like Frogger, and riding in a taxi was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
You can walk up on the Xi'an city wall. It extends like this all the way around what was originally the city.
This is a summer palace that Chinese leaders had used. It's just outside of Xi'an. I believe Chiang Kai-Shek got kidnapped here back when he was in charge.
This is called the wild goose pagoda. It's part of a Buddhist temple. We paid extra to climb up this, but it totally wasn't worth it. The view was crummy and since it was a hot day, all we got was dehydrated.
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