Happy Halloween!

Neighbors on the first floor carved out awesome pumpkins!

Empire

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.

Office Supply Physics!

All through scotch tape!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/27/science/102808-XRay_index.html

China!

China is creeping up on me. In less than two weeks I'll have restricted internet use, great food, and great memories.

Beijing's weather is late fall / winterish weather. As we head south it will feel more like New York and then even a little Miamish.

Things I'll "miss" while I'm in China.
2 episodes of Entourage
2 weekends of NFL football picks for my pool
World Series of Poker finally
All of which I will happily do without.

I'm very impressed with how techmologist is approaching this trip. He's been really canvasing his network of fellow Asians and china travelers to consult with the big cities. With the planning and networking I really think this will be a trip of a lifetime.

Weekend Update.

Great weekend.

Friday Knick game and then Union Bar.
Saturday Caren's Bday party at Essex and then Around the Clock for Food.
Sunday hanging out at Dave's place in Hoboken.

Good times.

Pics below - All taken with my iPhone.

Fancy ventilation

Green tile work. It's pretty awesome.

Fancy Stove and Oven

62incher during the day.

62incher during the evening.

Gas powered wall O fire

Braised short ribs by fooddotout.

Cleaning up my place...

It auto plays so I've just posted the link.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=20349520

Tour de Bronx (gothamist)

_DSC0098.jpg
Originally uploaded by dogseat

One day you can travel to the bronx in style!

Grouphug

"I’m scared to get a Myspace because I don’t think anybody would comment me."

Grouphug

What I read.

I read a lot online. Majority of it is from nytimes.com and gothamist.com. Here are a few stories that caught my eye today.

Daily News Endorses Obama
Grape Expectations
Jets Nose tackle and his passion for food
Times Topic on Coffee

Grouphug.us

"i cant be just friends with you."
grouphug

How many times has that happened to you!

Trip to the Chinese Embassy

The Chinese Embassy is a walk in the park. Get your paperwork in order and you'll be in and out in 15 minutes. fooddotout and I are planning a trip to China and we need to get our visas in order. We took the bus over to 42nd street and 12th avenue. Quick and painless. I thought I'd be late for work but I wasn't at all. I pick our passports with fresh visas up on Tuesday.

Riding on the M42!

Didn't get a chance to take any pics at the Embassy. I did snap a shot of Flat Top! Bringing it back old schooooolllll.

On my way back to the office I tried to take a pic of the library without looking like a tourist. Success!

Self portrait in the lobby of my building.

Water under the bridge...

Went to the Falls in NYC. It was pretty cool. I biked down there with the techmologist. He snapped some really sweet shots. Here's one shot with me in it! Olafur Eliasson knows what's up.

They shut them off FIVE minutes early. Not cool.

quote of the day

MyBuddy: My mom is a real housewife of NYC

me: ?

My Buddy: she just went "God, this is house is so big. So much effort to clean it up. This maid is costing me too much."

I don't think she understands what financial crisis is

me: LOLLL

that's hilarious

Rock of Ages & The Hudson

I went to go see a musical last night. Like most musicals there was a love story and singing. This was way different and way more awesome.

Check out the set list!
"We Built This City" - Starship
"Nothing But a Good Time" - Poison
"Keep On Lovin' You" - REO Speedwagon
"(Just Like) Livin' in Paradise" - David Lee Roth
"I Wanna Rock" - Twisted Sister
"Too Much Time on My Hands" - Styx
"Renegade" - Styx
"I Hate Myself for Loving You" - Joan Jett
"Oh Sherrie" - Steve Perry
"Waiting For a Girl Like You" - Foreigner
"Shadows of the Night" - Pat Benatar
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"Heaven" - Warrant
"The Search is Over" - Survivor
"We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
"High Enough" - Damn Yankees
"The Final Countdown" - Europe
"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner
"Harden My Heart" - Quarterflash
"Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake
"To Be With You" - Mr. Big
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
"Can't Fight This Feeling" - REO Speedwagon
"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi
"Cum On Feel the Noize" - Quiet Riot
"Any Way You Want It" - Journey
"Heat of the Moment" - Asia
"Sister Christian" - Night Ranger
"More Than Words" - Extreme

It really rocked out!

Afterwards my friends and I headed over the Hudson Hotel bar. There was this old man. He was in his 60's possible 70's GETTING DOWN on the dance floor. He was going to his own beat and pointing his fingers up in the air like a pro. When I grow old I would be so happy to live his night life in the club. NOT the bedroom.



Enjoy the music!!!

Busy & I got me a bicyle!

Been a little preoccupied with work and play recently. I'm finally back on the blogging circuit. I got a road bike last night! My coworker Dan has been helping me search for the a nice road bike and found a Cannondale on craigslist. I hopped on a train after work and picked it up on the spot. I love it so far. I need to get a lock, better seat, new tires, and a helmet now.

This image is from the actual craigslist posting.

Matches the carpet. Kinda.

I'm very excited about my new bike.

Travel Plans for the near future.

I came across an article on Nytime.com. Think of the possibilities! I don't know if being trapped in a train for 3 days would be comfortable. We'll see. Wonder how many stops there would be on the way. Hmm...

September 30, 2008, 12:23 pm

Traveling From New York City to Berkeley, Calif., by Train

I want to know if it’s possible to travel from New York City to Berkeley, Calif. by train. I am a single senior female. How long would the trip take and what would it cost (roughly)? Thank you.

Jeanne Blumberg,
Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder on its route from Chicago to Seattle and Portland. (Amtrak Travel)

Taking the train across the United States is a trip of a lifetime, especially since the rails travel through stunning areas of the country where highways don’t reach. It is possible to travel on Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) from New York to Berkeley, going through Colorado and northern Utah, but you’ll need to change trains in Chicago and Sacramento, Cal.

The trip will take at least 74 hours, or three days straight, so I suggest getting a private sleeping berth for at least part of the trip. I took a three-day cross-county train trip from Washington, DC to Seattle with just a coach seat and only slept well when the seat next to me happened to be empty.

The cost depends on whether you get the room. A coach-only reservation for a mid-October trip can cost as little as $265.20, with a senior discount. But if you add a Superliner Roomette (holds two) for the two nights on the California Zephyr (the Chicago to Sacramento leg), the price of the same trip is $809.95.

Be sure to check out the Berkeley destination guide in nytimes.com/travel, which includes “36 Hours in Berkeley, Calif.” by Joshua Kurlantzick. And if you have time in Chicago or Sacramento, our archives include destination guides to those cities as well. - DAVID G. ALLAN

Any Given Sunday

This is an email I received today from a good friend of mine. Actually he's one of my best friends. It's a quote from Any Given Sunday. A little inspiration to start your weekend off right.

I don't know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. It all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team, or we're gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.

Now I can't do it for you. I'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces, and I think... I mean I've made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who's ever loved me, and lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know when you get old in life, things get taken from you. That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life's this game of inches. And so is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean... one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow too fast, you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this - in any fight, its the guy whose willing to die who's gonna win that inch. And I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face...

Now I can't make you do it. You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you're gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you.

You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him.

That's a team, gentlemen. And either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals. That's football, guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you going to do?

Quote of the Day

"I wish we had casual internet Fridays" Dan the coworker.