The View From 103

2006-07-05T18:47:00.000-04:00

This blog has been folded into Bay Ridge Blog. Meet me there!!

Last Post from View from 103

2006-07-04T13:20:00.000-04:00

In the past year, I've had some fun running this blog, which deals with various political and other things, and a companion one, Bay Ridge Blog, which deals with Brooklyn's great Bay Ridge neighborhood.

I have a small but treasured group of readers on each site. I've liked running the two sites, but have often neglected both. Why? Because I work lots of hours, because I try to live my life, because I spend time reading on commenting on other people's blogs.

So, here's what I am going to do. I am going to leave this blog up, but will rarely or never post on it. I will focus my attention on Bay Ridge Blog. It will continue to be a Bay Ridge-centric blog, but I will include comments on the other things of interest. There will be no more or no less blather, so nothing is lost or gained by this change.

Happy July 4 to one and all. See you on Bay Ridge Blog.

NY Times: All the Classified Information Fit to Print

2006-07-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

We'll Print Any Classified Information We Want!!

Some here have hectored on the point " Why is everyone picking on the NY Times, when the Wall Street Journal and LA Times printed the story also"?

The NY Times printed the story first. They had been snooping around asking questions on SWIFT, and it became known that they were going to push the privacy angle. In news and editorial pieces ( hard to tell which is which ) they've repeatedly made the point that both the Wall Street Journal and LA Times printed essentially the same information.

Today, in a furious editorial, the Journal indicates that it does not like the NY Times hiding behind the Journal in its responses to criticism.

The Treasury Department didn't ask the WSJ not to print. They came to the Wall Street Journal, and apparently only did so when it was clear that the NY Times was about to go to press with this. The WSJ speculates that the government felt that the information was soon to go out anyway and that the WSJ " would write a straighter story". They said that if asked not to print they probably would not have.

The NY Times has said that their breach of security was in the public interest The WSJ begs to differ:

"Just as dubious is the defense in a Times editorial this week that "The Swift story bears no resemblance to security breaches, like disclosure of troop locations, that would clearly compromise the immediate safety of specific individuals." In this asymmetric war against terrorists, intelligence and financial tracking are the equivalent of troop movements. They are America's main weapons."

The WSJ says:
"We suspect that the Times has tried to use the Journal as its political heatshield precisely because it knows our editors have more credibility on these matters."

The WSJ knows that this is wartime. It's been wartime for over 4 1/2 years. Pity the word never made it to West 43rd Street.

Blueberries

2006-06-28T23:23:00.000-04:00

Always, I have loved blueberries. Now that they come in from Chile in our winter, you can get them almost all time time in New York. But the Chilean blueberry, like those from Florida and California, tends to bitterness, and is merely tolerable product. In early spring, they come from North Carolina, and they're just OK.

But I am in my glory in June and July when the New Jersey blueberry crop floods into New York. They're plump, and sweet and cheap as hell. I buy them in large numbers and inhale them a pint at a time.

Deutsche Bank Building

2006-06-26T22:11:00.000-04:00

Deutsche Bank Building, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

The internal demolition of this building is well advanced. the exterior structure will be coming down before long.

Double Check

2006-06-26T22:08:00.000-04:00

Double Check, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

A much-beloved resident has returned. Removed for safekeeping after 9/11, "Double Check" is now back on a bench at Liberty Park, still checking the contents of his briefcase, nervous as ever. He's at the northwest corner of the park, affording him a nice view of the WTC reconstruction, if he ever looks up from his briefcase. Pardon my ratty gym bag on the next bench.

Liberty Park

2006-06-26T22:06:00.000-04:00

Liberty Park, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

They've done a fine job at restoring Liberty Park, which reopened recently. It's a block away from the WTC site, two blocks from the Firefighters Memorial. . Back in the old days, I used to enjoy eating a Sam's Falafel sandwich in this park.

New York Firefighters Memorial

2006-06-26T22:03:00.000-04:00

New York Firefighters Memorial, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Yesterday, I went to lower Manhattan to visit the Firefighter's Memorial. If's a fine work, and I recommend that anyone who can do so comes over to see it.

World Trade Center / Firefighter's Memorial

2006-06-25T20:46:00.000-04:00

I've seen the Firefighter's Memorial three times now. It's on the side of the Engine Co. 10/Ladder Company 10 firehouse on the corner of Liberty and Greenwich Streets.

SS
The bronze images are not of supermen. They're firemen doing their jobs. Here in one of my favorite images, of an exhausted fireman washing his face, from an open fire hydrant.

The second plane hits Two World Trade Center.

The lower part of the memorial is of marble. It contains the names of the firemen who died.

See the very good NY Times article ( Click on the "interactive feature" to the left )

Also, beautiful nighttime photos from Test of Will. Like the man says, click 'em to make 'em bigger. There are other good photos on that site, and I may link to it.

Hungarian PHANTOM poster

2006-06-18T21:27:00.000-04:00

Hungarian PHANTOM poster, originally uploaded by Vermont Ferret.

Springtime doesn't last long in NYC anymore. In recent years, it's been a quick transition to summer, and its certainly summerlike today. Now where did I leave my shorts?

How is the A380 Like the European Constitution?

2006-06-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

A380 BNE Departure, originally uploaded by David McKelvey.

I've fallen and I can't get up!

Lou Minatti knows. For starters, they're both bloated and ugly.

You know things ain't goin' well when Der Spiegel starts to speak of an "airbust".

Airbus A380: White Elephant WAY Overdue

2006-06-14T22:56:00.000-04:00

A380-5, originally uploaded by All Glory To The Hypnotoad.

Heading down!

Shares of Airbus' parent company EADS crashed today, as Airbus announced a new, seven month, production delay of their superjumbo jet, the 840 passenger A380.

Singapore Airlines, which had been scheduled to take the first of the A380s this year, is sick of the delays, and stuck a dagger in Airbus' heart by agreeing to buy 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The delays are only part of Airbus' problem with the A380. I think that the entire concept of the plane is a mistake. Do you want to fly in a plane that has 839 other people in it? I don't. I don't think that too many others do either.

This monster-plane makes sense if people are going to primarily fly to from one hub airport to another, ie going from England to the UK by means of Heathrow and JFK Airports. But if you're going from New York to Edinburgh, why go through Heathrow when you can fly Continental Airlines nonstop to Edinburgh? They have two of those flights to Edinburgh now, and they're making a fortune on them. They also fly nonstop from New York to Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow, as well as London. They cover the NYC-UK route, better than British Airways does ; they cover NYC-Ireland ( nonstop to Dublin, Shannon and Belfast ) better than Aer Lingus.

But British Airways can serve the massive London trade to the US better than anyone. They'll take you from London nonstop to all kinds of places in the US without a stop. And so it goes worldwide. There's all kinds of service from smaller cities in one country to hub cities in a second country.

Point to point also means you and your luggage board one plane one time, and go through security one time only.

So, if this is the direction that the airlines are moving to, what the hell do we need a 840 seat plane based on the model of hub-hub travel that is unraveling every day? The hub to hub model will fall apart even more as very long distance aircraft become more common. The latest 787 model will go New York-New Zealand and Sydney-London nonstop.

Airbus bet the farm on a plane that the world doesn't want and doesn't need. The A380 is like the Concorde, an aviation curiosity that everyone will lose money on-airlines, airports, Airbus itself. But not me. Your friendly Phantom owns a few shares of Boeing stock. So, on behalf of all the Boeing shareholders, I say to Airbus, THANK YOU for coming out with this white elephant!! Stay the course, Noël Forgeard!!

World Cup Fever Hits New York City (*)

2006-06-13T21:52:00.000-04:00

This is the back cover of today's New York Daily News. The main sports story is how this year's NY Mets are now popular baseball team in town. ( Its not true, but they're heading in that direction. ) There's only the smallest mention of the US-Czech Republic World Cup game.

Sports fans here are certainly aware that the World Cup is being played, but they're not exactly on the edge of their seats with excitement. The first-game loss of the US to the superb Czech team won't exactly help the sport in this country either.

Its different over here. The US has its own rich sports traditions, and soccer just isn't a big part of it. Every four years, you hear that soccer is on the verge of a big breakthrough, but it never happens.

And you know what? Thats OK. Who says every country has to like the same things?

Meanwhile, as soon as the US Soccer Team is eliminated, which should be soon --their next opponent is mighty Italy-- I transfer my World Cup allegiance to England. This may dismay some of my Irish friends, but it is true to my contrarian nature. Go Becks! Hurray up and heal, Rooney!!

(*)not!

------

Weird Scientology Story of the Day
Actress Jenna Elfman confronts a man in LA wearing a t shirt making fun of her stupid cult

Delta Force Zarqawi Scandal
From the ever-fantastic Blame Bush

The Vile Anne Coulter

2006-06-12T22:16:00.000-04:00

Staten Island Ferry NYC Skyline
Originally uploaded by superkath.

I've never liked Anne Coulter. It's something visceral. There's something about her that I could never trust.

This is a blonde "conservative" writer who writes books with titles like "Treason" (about "liberal treachery") and "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)".

I've had my own problems with liberalism and the Democratic Party. I think the content of both that label and that party have gone steadily, terribly downhill since John F. Kennedy was murdered 43 years ago. I love stirring the pot with a direct political debate in which almost everything is fair game.

But there was something about this woman's "humor" that I didn't get. I'm from the Tip O'Neill / Ronald Reagan school--attack the other guy's opinion, not his character. Argue all day, have a beer afterwards and discuss something else.

But Anne Coulter isn't from that school. She engages in a shrill, ugly attack that passes for debate. All flame, no light. Now she's topped herself.

In her new book, "Godless- the Church of Liberalism", she attacks some politically active women whose husbands died in the World Trade Center. Of these women, she said, "I have never seen people enjoying their husbands' death so much" she writes. It hurts to read these words, to cut and paste them.

The sin that these women committed? To endorse John Kerry, and to take a Democratic view on politics. Now again, I don't sing from the Democratic hymnbook, have not for a long time, but I have a very hard time connecting the dots from "endorsing Kerry" to "I'm glad my husband's dead".

I worked in the World Trade Center. I know one of the women that have been mentioned, and I knew her husband. A sweet and happy and gentle man he was. I know how he died too. He wasn't one of the "lucky" who died instantly or without pain. I doubt that his wife found much joy in her husband's death, under such awful circumstances.

I don't think that all the 9/11 widows were all wonderful. I remember some FDNY widows in particular saying the most unfair, dreadful things to Fire Commissioner Von Essen and to other NYC officials in the months and much longer after 9/11. Some of what was said was simply unforgiveable. I've never felt that a loss, even one as terrible as this, gives you a lifetime pass to attack others and play the victim forever.

Likewise, the widows who have taken positions on political things should be prepared to have their positions attacked. And I don't think that they're immune from personal attack either, if there's anything legitimate to attack them personally about.

Here, they're guilty of taking some political positions that Anne Coulter, and a lot of us, disagree with. So what. That's hardly a crime. Those widows who want to be politically active should continue to do so.

One of the women in question said "Contrary to Coulter's statements, there was no joy in watching men that we loved burn alive. There was no happiness in telling our children that their fathers were never coming home again. We adored these men and miss them every day."

I believe her.

I condemn Anne Coulter unreservedly. She is a vile, poisonous woman. There are others like her, plenty from the liberal side too. But we're not talking about them today.

For a perspective from a big conservative blog, see this from Red State

---
"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." - Anne Coulter

Lets Go Mets

2006-06-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

The Mets beat Arizona 15-2 today, to complete a four game sweep. They're now 39 wins and 23 losses. The Yankees, meanwhile, are 35 and 26. The Mets, from here, are both the best and the most interesting baseball team in town. The Yankees have "owned" New York for many years now, but that might be about to change.

America is blissfully immune from soccer's World Cup. While the rest of the world, esp the participating countries, grinds to a halt during the tournament, this country continues to follow its own baseball and basketball leagues this time of year. I happen to think that's great! Who says that the entire world has to like the same things? Just because Angola and Paraguay like soccer, doesn't mean middle America has to watch it.

That having been said, the US is actually in the World Cup this year --a fact that most Americans may not even know-- and they have a good, well-coached team. I get this from the sports pages, as I admit I know nothing about the game.

Anyway, the Phantom's picks for this year's World Cup. I predict that the United States will win. This is a prediction analogous to the first time visitor to the racetrack who picks a horse to win because she likes its name.

If the US does not win, England will.

But I have a perfect blog track record at predicting sports events based on my call of the World Baseball Classic win for Japan.

Mark it here: America wins.. Noone expects it. But it'll happen.

New Format on View From 103

2006-06-10T23:24:00.000-04:00

Bayonne Bridge, originally uploaded by corydalus.

Hope that you like the new format. It's fun to change looks once in awhile, but here I really had to--I've really started to enjoy digital photography, and have posted more photos on the blogs. But when I posted large photos from flickr onto the old template, the sidebar was pushed to the bottom of the page. The problem was mitigated when viewed via a Firefox browser, but not everyone uses that.

This is a template called "iconic", found here, and I may keep it for awhile. Unlike my apartment, its very clean and organized.

I've removed the support Denmark banner. Not because I have ceased to support Denmark, but because that issue has calmed down.

Above is the Bayonne Bridge, which connects Bayonne New Jersey with Staten Island. Its gorgeous. A few summers ago, I walked across this bridge, which most New Yorkers have never done. On a nice day, there is nothing like it. Its not that high above the water, and its cool to watch the ships pass underneath. Nice shot, corydalus

Zarqawi - Special Delivery Package to Hibhib

2006-06-08T21:31:00.000-04:00

F16, originally uploaded by Leonieke.

Can anyone sign for two 500 pound packages?
Wonderful news this morning, as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in the village of Hibhib, Iraq.
US F-16 aircraft dropped two 500 pound bombs on the safe house where he'd been staying. He probably never felt any twinge of fear, nor did he know what hit him. That's OK. Those beautiful 500 pound bombs removed Iraq's worst terrorist from existence, and that's a wonderful thing.

There will be those who may think Zarqawi as some sort of Iraqi Freedom Fighter. Well, he wasn't an Iraqi, and he was not a freedom fighter. He fought for terror, for torture, for oppression, for death. He sawed off the heads of living human beings. He really did this. He spent much of the past year trying to start a civil war between the Sunni and the Shia in a country that he was not native to.

Lets hope that this is a turning point in the Iraq War. Anyone who knows me knows that I support this effort, for reasons already stated.
A tip of the hat to the Americans, British and Iraqis who are fighting over there, and especially to anyone who had anything to do with yesterday's mission to Hibhib. Goddamnit, you're good!!

---
As Christopher Hitchens says, here
"If we had withdrawn from Iraq already, as the "peace" movement has been demanding, then one of the most revolting criminals of all time would have been able to claim that he forced us to do it. That would have catapulted Iraq into Stone Age collapse and instated a psychopathic killer as the greatest Muslim soldier since Saladin. As it is, the man is ignominiously dead and his dirty connections a lot closer to being fully exposed. This seems like a good day's work to me."

brooklynmetfan.com

2006-06-05T22:45:00.000-04:00

Mr. Met
Meet the Mets, Meet the Mets,
Step right up and greet the Mets,
Bring your kiddies, bring your wife,
Guaranteed to have the time of your life
Because the Mets are really socking the ball
Knocking those homers over the wall.
East side, West side ev'rybody's coming down,
to meet the M-E-T-S Mets from New York town
( "Meet the Mets" theme song, the original version from the teams formation in 1962 )

In this season of the World Cup , when some foreign guys are going to kick a few soccer balls around in Germany, we will add Brooklyn Met Fan to the blogroll.

As true connoisseurs of sport, from Tokyo to San Pedro de Macoris will tell you, baseball is the master of all the sports. We just may add an entire blogroll section for baseball as time goes along. If you have any selection of baseball blogs I should be lookin' at, let me know.

**Off to travel in Bermuda, back later in the week**

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea- Back to the John Rocker Express

2006-06-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Walking up the ramp to the No. 7 subway train. I've walked up this ramp many times since I saw my first NY Mets game in the 1960s.

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea- Hi There!

2006-06-04T23:54:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Yours truly just after the game ended

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea- Hon Sighting

2006-06-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Hey, Hon made it to the game!! Hon, its June, for Gods sake. You don't need that jacket.

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea - Usher

2006-06-04T23:03:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Usher keeping an eye on things. The NY Yankees laid off the ushers years ago, but the Mets have kept them on. Many of them are old timers who may have been working here since Shea Stadium opened in 1964.

SF Giants vs NY Mets at Shea - Mets Tie It Up

2006-06-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

METGAMEBAYRIDGEPOSTOFFICE 112, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

After David Wright hit a home run to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth , the game was tied 4-4, and Shea was a happy place. Not for all that long. The Giants scored two in the tenth inning, and the Mets hit back to back home runs ( Valentin, Milledge ) to tie it right back. But the Giants scored an additional run in the 12th, which was unanswered. Mighty Valentin grounded to second.

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea- Bonds ( * ) Nicked

2006-06-04T21:31:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

Steve Trachsel hits Barry Bonds, just barely.

Bonds, the famous steroids user, was not a factor in this game. He was roundly booed, but the mood at the stadium was not ugly.

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium- Dave Wright's First Home Run

2006-06-04T21:30:00.000-04:00

SF Giants vs NY METS at Shea Stadium, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

David Wright scoring after hitting the first of his two home runs. It wasn't enough, as the Mets lost 7-6 in twelve innings.

SF Giants vs NY Mets at Shea- Mother and Child

2006-06-04T21:29:00.000-04:00

Woman and child near the concession stand at the big Shea.

Other sports tolerate young children, baseball welcomes them. You can't imagine attending a game without seeing young kids there.

June 4, 2006

SF Giants vs New York Mets at Shea-Beltran Fan

2006-06-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

Young Kid at Met Game, originally uploaded by bayridgephantom.

The kid in the Beltran shirt couldn't sit down for long. He watched much of the game looking over his dad's shoulder, moving around between pitches.

A lot of orange in this picture!

Barry Bonds Steroids Tribute Video- Cheating Gets It Faster

2006-06-03T23:10:00.000-04:00

Cheating Gets It Faster
I've always loved baseball, far more than all other sports combined. Tomorrow, I meet up with the Hon to see the NY Mets play the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium.

I come from the last generation of kids who divided the sports world between a) baseball and b) everything else. Its pretty important to me.

The San Francisco Giants' biggest star is Barry Bonds. Bonds, who came up as a skinny outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates, developed enormous muscular bulk in the late 1990s/early 2000s. His head grew noticeably larger, and his home run production increased radically at a time in life when power usually drops off. It is "widely suspected" that both the midlife muscle growth and the pumpkin head were caused by steroid use. His personal trainer, Greg Anderson, was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for supplying anabolic steroids to athletes. What a coincidence.

Tomorrow, Barry Bonds will receive the thunderous boos that NY Sports fans reserve for the worst cheaters and bad guys. Bonds is a two-fer, a steroids abuser noted for being nasty to people.

I found the above song and video on youtube. I find the song to be perfect, as if it was written with Bonds in mind.

Nothing Ever Shames San Francisco
I initially thought the video itself to be just OK, but after a few viewings I like it al lot. To the lyrics, which are perfect for this subject, you see the San Francisco fans who idolize this criminal. San Francisco regards itself as a sophisticated place. How can you be sophisticated if you cheer on the fake accomplishments of a bighead steroids abuser? San Fran is the biggest hick town in the baseball world. I hope to God New Yorkers wouldn't cheer this guy if he wore one of our uniforms. Yes, we do have Jason Giambi, another ex(?) steroids guy, on our Yankees, but he's not surly, he isn't going to break any records the way Bonds might, and he at least had the character to admit that he used steroids, which Bonds, and other players never did.

I may take photos tomorrow, and if I do I will post them.

Shuffling the Deck

2006-06-01T02:01:00.000-04:00

Blogroll Reshuffling

The Penalty Box has been dismantled, and A Tangled Web has been returned to the Irish section. I had been contemplating this move for a while.

The fact is, that good opinionated writing is often found on ATW, and ringmaster David Vance has no trouble with opposing points of view. Like Jerry Springer, he keeps a lid on it.

This Northern Ireland-based blog is mainly political, and mainly Unionist. But there are plenty of Republicans, of both the Irish and US variety, speaking freely also. The kind words given to a wrongly attacked fellow-blogger, UI, have also been noted.

There's still the problem of ATW's co-host Andrew McCann. This guy likes to throw bigoted anti-Irish remarks at times. The only proper response to him is a sharp rap on the knuckles. That's a language that he understands.

Also added:
Tim Blair, a right-leaning site from Australia
Ask the Imam, from South Africa. Wasn't sure whether to add it to the humor or the international section, but there it is.

Step to the right for the blogroll.

Two Women Preachers on the Staten Island Ferry

2006-05-31T20:57:00.000-04:00

Really

Next door : The Kid from Brooklyn on the Bay Ridge Blog!

WTC: Helicopter Ride Around the World Trade Center

2006-05-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

Helicopter Ride

I found the below video on Google Video, with the following text: " The summer before the Sept 11 attack on th World Trade Center, Jody shot this gyro stabilized helicopter footage of the twin towers. He was ... doing a corporate video for a company destroyed in the 9-11 attack. I was in NYC at Magnetic that week, I remembered that I had the WTC footage and set it to Madonna's the power of goodbye. The video became a healing image of a world past. It was played at the Concert for New York and was used by the Port Authority Police to honor their fallen. Harry Douglas

Harry and Jody: thank you. It was good seeing this.

Happy Memorial Day

2006-05-29T12:03:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Remember those who serve, and who have served.

Photo taken today on Ovington Avenue, between Third Avenue and Ridge Boulevard, in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.

The Homeless and the Tourist- Waikiki

2006-05-27T20:09:00.000-04:00

The Homeless and the Tourist, originally uploaded by ZenzenOK.

This sad and wonderful photo, by zenzenOK, was found in Flickr. He writes "as seen Saturday morning during the March of Dimes' WalkAmerica event in Waikiki~ Mayor Hannemann walked right by them."

There is an astonishing number of good photos on www.flickr.com

Any bloggers out there who need a free, shared " stock photo " for a posting can often find one there that can easily be added to blogger.

If you like photography, time spent on flickr is well spent.

Yankee Game Tonight

2006-05-26T16:46:00.000-04:00

Derek Jeter, originally uploaded by Cools Pix.

Going to the Yankee game tonight. Its threatening rain, but I think they'll get the game in.

The opponent is the lowly Kansas City Royals, who have lost thirteen games in a row.

The Yankees have, at $194 million, by far the highest payroll in baseball. The Royals, at $47.2 million payroll, have less than 25% of the player resources that the Yankees do. Which means that no matter how good a job the Royals do at managing their resources, they cannot possibly compete against teams like the Yankees.

In the 1970s and 1980s, there were great Kansas City Royal teams, lead by the great third baseman George Brett. They won the World Series in 1985. It will never happen again.

----

1205am ( Saturday )

The rain that was predicted arrived late. It snuck up on us in the fifth or sixth inning, chasing the fans in unprotected seats for cover. Steve, Katie and I were in the loge section off third base. They're protected by the deck above, so we were fine.

The rain intensified. They used to suspend play in heavy rain, but they play through it now. It's the only way the owner/player money machine can be sated. If the fans don't like seeing the game played as a travesty, where batters squint to see the ball through the rain and the fielders slip in the grass, that's too bad. Don Fehr and Bud Selig do not feel the fan's pain.

After sizeable puddles had formed in the dirt part of the infield, they did suspend play in the middle of the ninth. That's when we and many others left. This was clearly going to be a long delay, so we headed to the D train and the long ride back to Brooklyn.

Play had just resumed when I arrived home, over 90 minutes after we left. In a stadium now very wet and nearly empty of fans, the Royals got a double-play to end the game. The KC Royals had won a game after 13 straight losses, in the mighty Yankee Stadium. Good for them.
---

This game saw Derek Jeter get his 2000th base hit. It was a squib fielded by the pitcher, who threw it over the head of first baseman Mientkiewicz.

This is Fleet Week in New York, an annual event wherein US and other naval vessels visit New York for a week. For the sailors, its a big party. There were many of them at the Stadium in their dress whites. They received a very warm reception. Their money is worthless in any NYC bar this week.

World Trade Center

2006-05-24T22:15:00.000-04:00

World Trade Center, originally uploaded by henrygkuo.

henrykuo posted this on flickr.

He says " I've never seen a shot of the World Trade Center towers taken from this angle. I wonder why. I think it's pretty darn cool. This picture and the others of the World Trade Center in my photostream were taken sometime between 1998-1999. For this photo and the other one just like it, I just walked right up to one of the towers, looked up, and this composition was just right there."

Henry, thank you. Very nice shot.

Yankee Stadium Express?

2006-05-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

crazy train #2, originally uploaded by Leadershipper.

Is this a real train? Got me. I saw it on Flickr. With blue Yankee Stadium type seats, all it needs is a peanut vendor and a beer man, and I'll start riding it all the time.

Raccoon Lodge

2006-05-24T19:36:00.000-04:00

Raccoon Lodge, originally uploaded by Manzari.

Does this mean I can't go to the Raccoon Lodge anymore? Can't be. There must be periodic visits to the Raccoon. I may be thirsty later on this week. May have to take that slow train to Warren Street.

Good job Manzari

Youtube and Hitler

2006-05-22T22:02:00.000-04:00

Youtube is a California-based website that allows users to upload, view and share video clips. Its an amazing place. Wikipedia reports that 35,000 videos a day were uploaded this past April.

They feature a few videos a day on the main page, or you can do a search using your keyword (s) and you can see what's up from your town. Or your subject, focused or free association can lead to interesting stuff from the vast library. I found a few humor videos on...Hitler.

There's a mock Hip Hop Song ( " I'm no longer a Nazi but I like to party" ", some lyrics offensive. Another version here

Also Hitler singing the YMCA Song

Home movie of Hitler's career, including " Mein Kampf " as an Oprah Book of the Month selection.

and the king of them all Hitler in England with Monty Python. An insanely brilliant John Cleese plays Hitler.

Don't know what this means. The Fuhrer lives on, as the star of a thousand comedy videos.

Barry Bonds (*), BALCO and Baseball: The Needle and the Damage Done

2006-05-21T12:17:00.000-04:00

The Truth

Major league baseball has a long, long history. The National League was formed in 1876, the American League in 1901. The sport at a major league level has existed for 130 years.

For the serious fan, there's pleasure in knowing the " all time " records established over this long history. For decades, Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs stood for 38 years until the Babe was surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1973.

Yesterday, surly outfielder Barry Bonds (*) hit his 714th Home Run. If you accept it as a real home run. For years, there have been suspicions regarding Bonds' use of steroids and other fine products of the laboratory.

The Fraud (*)

Now, this chemically-enhanced bum will forever be in the record books as having the same number of home runs as Babe Ruth.

Shame on major league baseball, and on its players union who have both protected the druggies for decades.

Congratulations to the great NY Post for a front cover that captures what every sports fan in America has been thinking.

BALCO and the worldwide drugs-in-sports industry may be happy with what has happened, but sports fans are very unhappy. Barry has supposedly tied the Babe. Noone believes it, but that's what the record book will say.

The record book is forever tainted. That means that the sport is forever tainted. Take a bow, Barry.

The Sultan of Swat

London - London Underground vs New York Subway

2006-05-20T23:02:00.000-04:00

I'm a mass transit geek, and one of the things I always pay close attention to is the mass transit system a big city has. London and New York both have great subway systems. But there are many differences between them.

The Underground is by far the oldest of the systems. It commenced service, as the private Metropolitan Railway, back in 1863. This was the same month in which Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, as the Civil War entered its second year.

The New York Subway is a comparitive baby. The first underground section of the New York subway opened in October 1904, the same year the Trans-Siberian Express opened. Like London's system, it began as multiple private systems that have long been brought into a government run system. How do they compare today?

Airport Service
London Airport Service
The Underground's Picadilly Line has served Heathrow Airport since 1977. It will take you right from the terminals into the center of town.

There is a faster Heathrow Express service. Its not part of the subway, leaves every 15 minutes, and takes you to Paddington Station in town in 22 minutes.

There is no underground service to Gatwick Airport. There is a fast train service though. TheGatwick Express
, similar to its Heathrow counterpart, leaves every 15 minutes and can take you to town ( Victoria Station ) in 30 minutes.

New York Airport Service

While London has more airports ( besides Heathrow and Gatwick, there are commercial flights out of Stansted, Luton, and City Airports ), New York basically has three- Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia, and Newark Airports. The New York Subway does not directly serve any of these airports. London wins this competition hands down.

JFK Airport
There is better service than there used to be, I will give them that. You can take the JFK Airtrain for $5, which can take you to a connection at either Howard Beach's A Train or Jamaica's E/J subway. It works for thrifty travelers like me, but it involves two trains to get to NYC, and that's one too many.

Newark Airport
You can take a NJ Transit train from NY Penn Station to a the " Newark Airport " station, but you must then change to the Newark Airport monorail. The monorail runs frequently, but the NJ Transit service is not that great. In the evening, there can be 45 minute gaps between NJ Transit trains. There is no dedicated place for airport passenger luggage. The service basically sucks and has not attracted large numbers of passengers.

LaGuardia Airport
You can take the N subway to the temptingly close Astoria Boulevard station, but must continue the trip on the M60 bus. Supercheap, aince this counts as one $2 or less fare, but not a good option if you have any luggage to speak of.

Advantage: London, hands down.

Fares and Fare Collection
The base fare of the New York subway is $2. The base fare of the Underground is 3 pounds, or $4.50 ( not a misprint ). Both can be reduced significantly by discounts, but London is much more expensive always.

New York's $2 fare applies to a journey of one stop or a long journey from Coney Island to the Bronx. The Underground has up to six zones, which are unduly complex. If you go from zone 1-6 on a weekday, the fare can run from 2 pounds to 4 pounds depending on whether its a weekend or not or how you pay. I like New York's simpler approach. One city, one fare.

How to Pay Your Fare / How You Buy Your Ticket
New York
New York got rid of its tokens a while back. Now, almost all travelers will pay with a MetroCard, an electronic card that you swipe through a reader that usually works but does not always.

You can buy a MetroCard at a " token booth " from a person at a " token booth " at most stations, but there are more and more automated machines that are very well designed.

After you swipe your ticket, no worries. You don't have to do anything when exiting the system.
London
They are transitioning from a paper ticket system. You can buy a paper ticket that you enter into a turnstile when entering the system. When you arrive at your destination, you enter that same paper ticket in the turnstile reader, which captures your ticket and lets you out.

The new Oyster Card is held over an electronic reader at your station of entry, and above another reader at your destination station. You don't touch anything. New York is believed to be moving to a similar system.

You can buy a paper ticket or an Oyster Card from an attended booth, or from a machine. There are long machines at the manned booths. And the automated machines are not as well designed as those of New York's.

Advantage: New York. Simpler fare system. Always cheaper. Better vending machines.

To be continued tomorrow. This subject is more complicated than I thought!

London - Speakers Corner

2006-05-18T21:31:00.000-04:00

London Trip 044, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

Tree near Hyde Park Corner, Hyde Park, London.
Sunday, May 14, 2006

I checked in to the hotel. It being a Sunday, I knew that they'd be out at Speaker's Corner. It walked down Picadilly ( Street ) and into Hyde Park. Despite the fact that there is supposedly a drought in England, the grass in these adjacent parks could not have been greener. The wonderful smell of healthy, growing grass could be sensed across the road.

Speaker's Corner is a designated area at Hyde Park where public speaking has been allowed since 1855. Usually, its not run-of-the-mill public speaking. Extreme views proliferate. When I first visited, over 20 years ago, I saw a number of crackpots, including one guy who wanted to revive the British Empire, in its entirety, including re-establishment of control over North America. What would I find this time?

The first speaker I encountered was this guy. He was very critical of suicide bombers in Israel. Fine, I'm critical of them myself. But his criticism was not that they were blowing up the Israelis. He said that he understood that completely. He didn't like the fact that by blowing themselves up, each operation was of necessity a one-off deal. Better, he said, to plant a bomb and hightail it out of there, so as to preserve the right to " fight " another day.

The old Muslim vs Christian debate. But this one's peaceful. The Christian speaks from the Bible and is challenged by the Muslim guy. A few minutes later it was reversed. Good-natured challenges to one another's statements.

Did I mention that I joined a new religion when I was over there?

-
Wasn't quite sure what this guy's gig was. Maybe I will find out the next time.

Speaker's Corner has been around for over 150 years. Check it out the next time you're in London.

Tomorrow: NYC Subway vs London Underground

Letter from London

2006-05-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

Well, its not really from London. Its about London. The city I just visited.

I would have posted a message from there but the dial-up connection was terribly slow, and I was too thrifty to pay the 15 pounds a day or whatever it was for a high speed connection at the hotel.

I took Continental Airlines No. 28, Newark to London Gatwick the other night. The flight was late taking off, but otherwise uneventful, it you don't consider the cow in front of me who reclined her seat as far as it could go. Not good for my 6 foot three inch knees. I rattled her seat pretty good every time I got up to express my thanks for her courtesy.

Night flights to Europe are pretty cool. You take off in darkness, then the long pre-dawn, then the dawn, then full-fledged morning as you arrive. Immigration and customs at Gatwick was fast, efficient.

I took the very good Gatwick Express train into town. It costs 25 pound r/t, which is not terribly cheap, but it is worth it because it leaves every 15 minutes, and runs fast right into Victoria Station, right in the center of south London.

I needed to take the Underground ( subway ) one station to Green Park station. The ticket area at the Victoria station was a crowded mess. I waited on line and asked for a " carnet " of ten tickets, and I had done on the last visit, but the guy at the window said that they didn't sell them anymore. I could buy a single ticket for three pounds (!) or I could buy an Oyster Card, an electronic ticket that can be recharged. When you pay with the Oyster Card, the single zone fare is one pound fifty pence, about $2.80, which is no bargain either, but which is better than the alternative.

You pay a deposit of 3 pound for your Oyster Card and then can recharge as needed. I could have sold it back to them today, but I kept it, as I plan on returning to London and it is a neat souvenir.

Londoners complain a lot about their Underground. But I have never had a bad experience on it. The trains run very frequently, and they have nice cushioned seats, should you be lucky enough to get one.

I took the Victoria Line one stop to Green Park, schlepped my gear to the Athenaeum Hotel, and crashed a bit. Later, I went down to Speaker's Corner.

I must depart now, because as on Sunday, I'm pretty beat.

Tomorrow: Speaker's Corner

Hi from London

2006-05-15T19:48:00.000-04:00

Greetings from London. This visit is far, far too brief, but it is good to be back. A very focused business trip, which means any significant comment, as significant as it gets here, will be made upon my return to Gotham City.

Suffice to say that its good to be back and that I wish I could stay longer.

WTC and Other Memorials

2006-05-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

Today's NY Daily News has a story about the floundering effort to raise money for the WTC Memorial. " Five Blunders that Plunged the Memorial Into Crisis ". The reasons stated are 1) errors in the time of the fund-raising, 2) budgetary carelessness, 3) developmental problems and infighting, 4 ) no star power to attract donors, and 5) lack of a leader to take charge.

I don't doubt any of this. But my problem with the memorial is a more fundamental one.

The proposed World Trade Center Memorial, and the other alternatives that were considered, were for large and expensive facilities. I question this. Not the need for a Memorial, but for such a large one. There is talk that the WTC Memorial could cost up to $1 billion. That's far too much.

A larger memorial will not make for a more vivid memory of what happened in 2001, not for me. If the memorial were to be one-tenth of the size, I would still think of that day often, and of the friends we all lost.

I don't like the idea of this memorial, or the one proposed for Shanksville, PA being large tourist destinations. The magnitude of what happened in NY, and of the large number of tourists that we see makes it unavoidable here. Tourists come to the WTC site every day, even now when it remains just a pit. When the large Memorial is there, I could see that number going up ten or twenty times.

There was great heroism that took place that day, and that's a huge story. But the essence of what happened was a mass murder. I want to remember it all, the heroism and the horror. Rick Rescorla, and the poor jumpers. The FDNY and the no good sons of bitches who hijacked the planes. I don't need anything to do this. And a far smaller memorial would have suited me fine.

Shanksville, Pennsylvania is in a rural area. There will be a memorial there. I am afraid that the memorial will be proportiontely large for such an area. It will attract tourists, and I could see that changing the character of the area. When I think of a visitors center, and hotels, and people selling " Lets Roll " t shirts, I am sickened. I think that the best memorial to the brave people on that plane who saved so many others would be a small, simple, spare memorial.

There will be more large terrorist acts in this country, and there will be more heroism in response to it. Will we build memorials to all of them? The best memorial is in our minds and hearts. I don't very much need big memorials of steel and concrete and finely-polished marble.

Lower Manhattan Construction Boom Begins Soon

2006-05-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

Today's New York Post has an article about a construction blitz that will commence over the next two years. In the next six years, that's $20 billion worth of projects, which includes:
The Freedom Tower, to be completed in 2011
The 9/11 Memorial, to be completed in 2009
The new PATH train terminal, for trains to New Jersey, to be completed in 2009
The Fulton Transit Center, which will connect various subway lines, to be completed in 2008
The new Goldman Sachs headquarters, to be completed in 2009
The demolition of the gloomy Deutsche Bank tower, to be finished in 2007
A new boulevard by West Street, to be completed in 2007
Five new residential buildings to be built in ( the lovely ) Battery Park City,
An East River Waterfront Project by an old ferry terminal, to be completed in 2009
The South Ferry Terminal Expansion, to be completed in 2007. South Ferry is where the big ferries come in from Staten Island. The bulk of the new terminal is already open. It looks great. What remains to be done is the underground connections with the Number 1 subway line, that begins at South Ferry and runs all the way up to the top of Manhattan, under Broadway

Lower Manhattan will be one massive construction zone. It will be a huge, noisy mess in a couple of years, but I cannot wait until it begins.

My company has announced that it will be returning to lower Manhattan in 2007. I'll be there to see all of this. See you in lower Manhattan.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006 - Delta 767

2006-04-30T23:38:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006 062, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

This plane took me from Honolulu to Cincinnati, from where I had to race like a still innocent OJ Simpson to catch a connection to the next flight to Newark.

Delta gave me a bulkhead seat, for which I give them massive props. They did no such favor on the way west. I contemplated killing the guy who leaned the seat directly onto my 6 foot 3 inch knees but decided not to. I would say that I hope that he got run over by a tractor trailer the minute he got out of the airport, but that would be unkind so I will not say that.

Trip to Hawaii April 2996- Honolulu Airport

2006-04-30T23:22:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006 057, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

Honolulu Airport's terminals are built around an outdoor area with a Hawaiian Garden, a Japanese Garden, and a Chinese Garden. The gardens are next to one another.

I have never seen an airport this nice.

You once needed to stop in Hawaii on your way from California to Japan or, later on, to Australia. But now, unless you're flying to the islands of Micronesia, or to Fiji maybe, there is little reason to stop at HNL Airport now. But if you are changing planes there...the gap between flights can be spent in a beautiful garden, feeling the trade winds from somewhere out on the Pacific Ocean.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006- Diamond Head

2006-04-30T23:14:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

Despite the overbuilding, if you crop your photo you can easily imagine Waikiki the way it was.

This is the first time in my six visits that I did not go swimming. And the reason was not the fancy convention meetings. The reason was that there was a sewage spill caused by a cracked pipe in the Ala Wai Canal area last month. The tourist honchos said that the water was fine. The cab drivers and other locals said that the water was not OK. I believed the locals.

Hawaii is a special place to me, and it pisses me off that I flew all this way and did not get to swim.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006Hilton Hawaiian Village

2006-04-30T23:07:00.000-04:00

HHV, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

This, the Rainbow Tower, is the oldest of the big buildings of the Hilton Hawaiian Village. I remember reading about it when I was in high school. I loved the tiled rainbow then and I love it now. This big building was played its part in the hyperdevelopment of Waikiki but...I still like it.

Trip to Hawaii - Death of Waikiki

2006-04-30T22:46:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii - Death of Waikiki, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

I have been to Hawaii six or seven times now. One of my favorite sections has been Lewers Street and Beach Walk streets. The businesses there were a little less upmarket than the rest of Waikiki, with a smorgasbord, a small fruit market ( Henry's ), a Starbucks, but they were small scale and real.

All these places and others have been torn down and will be replaced by massive concrete structures. I am astonished that Honolulu allowed this. Waikiki is terribly overbuilt as it is. This is a photo of a big concrete parking lot that will be across the street from the Outrigger Reef Hotel. Take paradise and put up a parking lot. A curse upon everyone involved in this transaction.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006- Segway

2006-04-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

Guy riding a Segway and blabbing on cellphone on Kalakaua Avenue, Waikiki.

Kalakaua was the last king of Hawaii.

I heard that there is a Segway dealership in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which may explain why I saw a number of people riding these things in Hawaii. They seemed to have a lot of get up and go. These things have been a flop so far, but maybe they will ultimately be a success.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006- Waikiki in 1880

2006-04-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

From the hallway at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. A photo of a native Hawaiian at Waikiki in 1880, before mass tourism but long after the Hawaiian nation was reeling from US and British contact.

Trip to Hawaii April 2006- Salt Lake City Airport

2006-04-30T22:25:00.000-04:00

Trip to Hawaii April 2006, originally uploaded by Phantom Photo.

Changed planes in Salt Lake City Airport. This airport is just the right size...the gate to the Delta flight from Salt Lake to Honolulu was right next to the gate my Newark-Salt Lake City flight landed at. As you can see, the airport is surrounded by mountains that are snow-capped this time of year. Also saw the Great Salt Lake on the way in

Hi from Hawaii

2006-04-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

Having a nice time here in Hawaii at the fancy industry conference. The weather is great, but, as is usually the case with these things, have spent all the days in meetings.

At least I was able to sneak away to the Ala Moana mall to buy three quality Aloha shirts. They're colorful, but not the tacky " Hawaiian shirts " that may come to mind. The kind I get cost $50 and up, are made of good fabric, and last for years. In Hawaii, noone wears a suit and a tie to work. Even if you work for a fancy bank, you wear an Aloha shirt. You're in Hawaii, and that's how its done here.

Off to Hawaii

2006-04-21T23:23:00.000-04:00

Off to Hawaii tomorrow morning for a convention. Last year, the convention was in Philadelphia. I prefer Hawaii.

Will make a plane change in Salt Lake City. Have never seen Utah close up before. I hope I enjoy my one hour stay there. Hope the Mormons don't get me.

I first saw Hawaii in 1976, when my flight to Guam had a two hour stayover at the Honolulu airport. Since then, I've been back a number of times. I like the less travelled places on those islands, but I also like the amazing Waikiki. There is nothing like lying down on the beach, feeling those soft trade winds, and seeing Diamond Head a couple of miles away. I'll never tire of it. Tomorrow I will be there.

Ben & Jerrys " Black and Tan " Blunder.. or Not?

2006-04-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

Ben & Jerry's the ice cream company is taking some heat because they named a new ice cream "Black & Tan " Students of Irish history will recall that the term " Black & Tans " comes from a violent, and oppressive British military unit who fought the Irish independence fighters in the 1920s.

The fact that the Black and Tans were a bunch of no-good criminals is beyond serious dispute. But the phrase " Black and Tan " is not offensive. It has fallen into common use. I've seen people order " Black and Tans "--one half Harp beer, one-half Guinness stout-- many times in New York Irish bars. I've ordered one myself in Dublin for Christ's sake.

So, to the sniveling milquetoasts who are pretending to be offended: shut up and find something serious to be upset about. And go down to the basement and bring up a six pack of Yuengling's for me.

Ben & Jerry's is innocent here.

Flying Outta Here

2006-04-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

Will be out to meet the new client in Chicago tomorrow, then back the same day. One day of work in the office on Friday, then off to Honolulu for some more meetings. Important meetings in a nice setting.

So there may be a slowdown in the blogging. But there will be some. Aloha, baby.

Responding to Anti-American Bullshit in Europe

2006-04-16T11:42:00.000-04:00

Today's No-Pasaran has an article about the phenonmenon of some Americans who respond to European anti-Americanism by apologizing for being American or by pretending to be Canadian, etc. I made a comment in the thread below the post.

Any American who would " apologize " for being an American or who, in a foreign land, would try to pass as a Canadian is less than a coward.

Some months after September 11, with the fires not yet out in lower Manhattan, I sat down to dinner in Zurich with an English guy and two Swiss. One of the Swiss gents out of nowhere started berating the US for the invasion of --Afghanistan, home of Al Queda-- . This was long before the Iraq War had started, or was even being discussed publicly. I was receiving a moral lecture from a citizen of the country that was profitably neutral in the time of Hitler about the US acting in self-defense against those who had attacked my city and killed my friends.

Needless, I did not apologize to this Swiss gentleman. Some might say that I got in his face a bit, much to the delight of my English dining companion.

Its OK to criticize the US government and any President, but any American who apologizes for his country in a foreign land is beneath contempt.

The Irish Easter Rising in Dublin - 90th Anniversary

2006-04-15T22:01:00.000-04:00

There are few people today who were alive in 1916. It's hard to imagine the world that existed then.

There were cars, but they were brittle and primitive things, far out of the reach of the common man. Rarer still were airplanes, which were delicate and experimental, nothing like the immense jets of today. If you wanted to cross the Atlantic, the only possible way to do it was by ship.

On Europe's Western edge was Ireland, an small island nation firmly in the grasp of England. Ireland was officially part of the United Kingdom, which controlled a British Empire that still included within it the impossibly vast colony of India, as well as immense possessions in Africa, and throughout Asia. The sun never set on that British Empire.

The European and world catastrophe that was World War I was well underway. The British forces, including many volunteers from every part of Ireland, were well into the slaughter. The Brits were on the right side of this conflict, but it was not as morally clear cut a war as was WWII.

In 1916, Ireland was a poor province inside a United Kingdom that it had never joined voluntarily. Many decades had passed since the dreadful Penal Laws, but there would have been elders who remembered the
Great Famine. Ireland had been under the British boot for 700 years, give or take a century. There were many atrocities, which won't be dealt with here ; there are many and better sources for historical information.

So in 1916, with the Great War raging, armed Irish rebels saw England's difficulty, WWI, as " Ireland's Opportunity " and made an armed stand against British rule.They seized locations in Dublin as part of the Easter Rising. The symbolism of the fight for a reborn, free, Ireland on Easter was not a coincidence. The fact that this rising was doomed to defeat was irrelevant. Irish men had taken a stand for freedom, as they had throughout the dark centuries, and here they set into motion a chain of events that was to lead to a free and independent Ireland not long after.

There is a great deal of material on the Irish Easter Rising on United Irelander both today, and in posts for weeks leading up it.

There's a time for war, and a time for peace. The USA won its freedom through armed struggle, and so did Ireland. Without the Easter Rising and many other armed risings, Ireland would still be a British province, and a poor one.

Great changes have taken place over the past 90 years, and the relationship between Ireland and England/Britain now is very substantially a good one. But, that good relationship of equals, and the freedom that led to it, would not have happened if a few brave men and true had not taken a stand, 90 springtimes ago, against impossible odds, on Easter.

Happy Easter to all.

Movie: " Bombay"

2006-04-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

I subcribe to the " blockbuster.com " service, which, like Netfix, sends you a stream of rental Movie DVDs via the mail for a low monthly fee. Both services are great, and allow you access to vast libraries of films that you might not otherwise be able to see.

Last night, I saw Bombay, an Indian film that was made in 1995. In the movie, a Hindu boy falls in love with a Muslim girl in the same village. This enrages the families, and the two escape to the big city of Bombay, get married and have two twin boys.

In 1992, when the boys are six, Bombay erupts in murderous Hindu vs Muslim riots after Hindus destryoed the old mosque at Ayodha which had been built atop an even older Hindu temple centuries ago. The Ayodha incident and the murderous riots really happened ; I remember reading about them.

You feel for the characters as they are slowly created over the first half of the movie. There are heartbreaking scenes as these people, including the two boys, are in the gravest danger as the mobs rampage through Bombay, asking " are you Muslim or Hindu "? The wrong answer means you are stabbed or burned alive in the street.

This is a political, antiwar film. Director Mani Ratnam has the characters make explicit statements against religious hatred and for Indians seeing themselves as Indians, as human beings.

This film is made for an Indian audience. It is sort of a musical, where there are many breaks where the characters break out in dance to Hindi songs, joyous or sad, some of which I really liked.

Up until the terrible scenes at the end, the film has lots of humor, including realistic banter between Shekhar ( the husband ) and his co-workers and neighbors in Bombay. Also, nice dreamlike scenes of the river village where the couple grew up.

I would see this movie again.

Glorious Day in New York

2006-04-13T23:08:00.000-04:00

Today was as glorious a spring day as you can imagine. Very comfortable outside without a jacket. Large crowds in the building plazas on Park Avenue, eating their lunch slow, not wanting to go back to work.

Remember spring days like this in college. The afternoon classes would be a sea of empty chairs as we hung around SUNY Binghamton, listening to the Dead or the Doors, perhaps consuming a canned beverage. Or six, or twelve.

Not much has changed. Nothing beats a beautiful spring day.

WTC: Detective Zadroga, NYPD

2006-04-12T22:55:00.000-04:00

Four and one-half years later, another death from the 9/11 attacks.

NYPD Detective James Zadroga died on January 5 of pulmonary disease and respiratory failure. He had lung-tissue inflammation. There was fiberglass in his lungs. A pathologist has ruled " directly related " to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Detective Zadroga was actually inside 7 World Trade Center when it began to collapse. He survived that, and later spent 450 hours looking for survivors, and then recovering bodies. You'll remember that the WTC fires burned well into December. The smoke in the early days and weeks was awful. I could smell it seven miles away in Brooklyn for weeks. Detective Zadroga was at the site, close to the fires, breathing the smoke, and probably not wearing protective gear. It wasn't always available in the beginning, and a lot of the guys did not want to wear them later.

Detective Zadroga's family was on TV last night. His dad quoted him as saying that he would do it all again, even if he knew he would get sick and die. He wouldn't even have to think about it.

He's the latest one to die from the 9/11 attacks. Sadly, he will not be the last.

Discussing it at work with M, as she spoke of a conversation she'd had with Kieran, whose son is a NY Cop. The son spent a lot of time on " the pile " looking for people. She mentioned Detective Zadroga's passing, and that it would maybe have been better if his son hadn't spent so much time there. Kieran said of his son, thankfully still in good health.. " You couldn't have kept him away. Even if you tied him to a chair, he would have found a way to get right back out there. "

Razr and Blackberry

2006-04-11T22:58:00.000-04:00

So, a few weeks ago, I gave in and got a Blackberry. The one to the left. Actually, my employer paid for it. I could have had one over a year ago, but I couldn't be bothered. It was one more thing to handle, one more expense to keep an eye on.

But everyone who had one swore by them. One attraction was that when on a short business trip, you can keep an eye on your e-mails without carrying the heavy, cumbersome laptop around. So, two weeks ago I gave in.

So far, I'm very pleased with it. The manual is atrocious to nonexistent, but the controls are so well designed that you can easily figure functionality out.

I did not want too much clutter, so I switched my mobile phone service to the Blackberry device, with Cingular as the provider. They're the same company that does my company's Blackberry data service. Bad move. Don't know it was the fault of the Blackberry or of Cingular, but the signal was not nearly as good as I had enjoyed with Verizon Wireless for two years plus, via a regular cell phone.

So, still in the trial period, I switched out of Cingular and went right back to Verizon Wireless. Verizon has a lousy DSL product, but their wireless network in the US is by far the best. Their CDMA technology does not work in Europe, but I don't care. I live in America, and can live without the damned phone when I'm in Europe.

Don't know why I left Verizon Wireless , a rare lapse from my normal infallibilty.

Today, I recieve my new Verizon phone, the Razr V3c. Its beautiful. Its thin. Ot has a camera and video capability, which will occasionally be useful. It has Bluetooth wireless technology, though I won't be needing that anytime soon.

This could be the start of a beautiful relationship. I signed a two year contract with Verizon Wireless so this phone better be good!

Duke " Rape " Case

2006-04-10T22:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry that there have been few posts recently. My computer has been down.

Not that I've been unable to look around the Internet.

Like many, have been following the " Duke University Rape Case ", where some have blamed the school's lacrosse team with gang-raping a black woman, a stripper.

DNA samples were taken from almost the entire team. The prosecutor was ready to hang 'em. Only one little thing. According to the defense lawyers ( and I don't know why they would lie about this ), the tests came back negative for everyone tested.

You'd think that this was good news. But some of the liberal persuasion were ready to convict the college students as soon as the story broke, and some of them won't change their minds, evidence be damned. See, from majikthise. I've made few comments here.

Baseball's Back

2006-04-05T21:59:00.000-04:00

Its the changeable time of year. This past weekend was glorious, but the past three days have been chilly here. Today, around lunchtime, there was a discernable snowfall in Manhattan. It didn't stick.

The baseball season has just started. The Yankees opened in Oakland, winning the first game and losing the second.

The Mets opened at Shea on Monday afternoon, winning 3-2, aided by a bad call by the home plate umpire. Soriano was supposedly tagged out sliding home, but Mets catcher Lo Duca clearly dropped the ball.

They played again tonight. It's wrong to play night games in April--its too damned cold. Its 41 degrees now. I don't mind walking in that weather, but I don't want to be sitting around for three hours in it.

The Mets had led 4-0 into the sixth. Brian Bannister was making his first major league start for them and had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings.

Then ex-Yankee Nick Johnson hit a three run homer in the sixth. Super new relief pitcher Billy Wagner came on in the ninth, and gave up a deep home run to left to Ryan Zimmerman. This ensured that young Bannister would not get the win. It was Zimmerman's first major league home run.

Washington has scored five runs in the tenth, leads 9-4, and its looking mighty grim in a cold, fast-emptying Shea Stadium. Jorge Julio has been rocked. If Wagner had made one better pitch, the game would have been over and everyone here would have been happy. What the hell. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

April 2006- Majikthise Wins First Phantom Award

2006-04-03T23:51:00.000-04:00

Effective immediately, there will be a monthly Phantom Award given to anything I feel like giving an award to. The first Phantom Award is giving to lefty blog Majikthise.

Host Lindsay Beyerstein tilts a lot further left than I'll ever do, but she runs a literate blog, and contributes to the discussion.

Congratulations.

View from 103 Quoted in Slate Magazine

2006-04-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

Online magazine Slate quoted our " 911 Calls " article this past Friday, which led a number of hits from Slate readers. Welcome!

WTC: 911 Calls

2006-03-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

We recently heard that more human bone fragments had been found atop the Deutsche Bank Building, across the street from the World Trade Center had been. This does not surprise.

Whose bones were they? From someone on the hijacked United Airlines No. 175, or someone from Two World Trade Center? Its awful to think of. They could belong to someone I knew. The logistics horrify.

New York City has recently decided to release recordings made by those trapped in the towers that day. Today's New York Times has a front page
article on it. Joseph and Marie Hanley, who lost their son Christopher, were interviewed. He was on the 106th Floor of the North Tower. He calmly informed the operator that " we have smoke and it's pretty bad ". His parents take comfort in the fact that he was calm, exhibiting " grace under pressure " in such a circumstance.

The operator says " Sit tight. Do not leave, ok ? "

I know of at least one co-worker who called his wife to say goodbye that morning. It will not be any surprise to hear that someone else I ( and others I know ) know are on the recordings that are going out now.

Families who want them will get recordings of the conversations. Not all will want them.

Where the families have not given consent, the City will release tapes of just the operator's side of the conversation. That's about right.

Not every family will want their relative's words to go out into the world. Some of those calling would not be expected to be calm at all, as the smoke, and the heat, and the fear enveloped them.

P2120032

2006-03-28T01:41:00.000-05:00

P2120032, originally uploaded by gmpicket.

Test. Have always loved trains of all types, most certainly including the NY Subway. I ride this train line often. This was not taken by me but was found in Flickr. qmpicket, nice shot.

raccoon lodge

2006-03-28T00:45:00.000-05:00

raccoon lodge, originally uploaded by chromogenic.

Test...learning flickr

Japan Wins World Baseball Classic

2006-03-26T00:04:00.000-05:00

Well, actually they won it this past Monday, beating Cuba 10-6. I did predict it...and I don't know why. I tend to make my prognostications with my heart rather than with my head, and I had started to root for Japan mid-tournament, and that, more than any insights probably made me pick them.

I liked them because--they had suffered two bad calls by the American umpires that really hurt them, and were much more gracious than US players would have been under the circumstances.

I liked them because the great Sadaharu Oh was their imperturbable manager.

And I did feel bad for them when the Korean team beat them twice in a row, and then ran riot over the field, waving their flag over the field, planting it on the pitchers mound, something noone had ever done before. It was too much.

The Japanese lucked out when Mexico beat the US, which gave them new life. Allowed into the semifinals by good fortune, they beat Korea, then the mighty Cubans.

The final was a bit of a blowout, which was a surprise.

I watched the final game in a hotel bar in Jupiter, Florida. Most Americans had a very lukewarm interest at best in this competition, but to me it was as important as a Super Bowl. I was bitten by the international bug.

I was very happy to see the Cubans line up to shake hands with the Japanese at the end of the game. That was a classy gesture. NHL players do that at the end of a championship game, and I could never understand why baseball players didn't do some version of this gracious act of congratulations.

This was the first WBC tournament, and I think it can only be ruled an immense success. I heard that the final game drew 50% of the tv audience in Japan. The interest in Asia in general was very strong, as it was in the Caribbean, and in the rest of the world it was as big, or bigger than expected.

This was the first big time international baseball tournament, and it can only be ruled a great success. Good job.

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I think that the individual player who impressed the most was the great Japanese outfielder >Ichiro Suzuki. This catlike, graceful athlete could have blown off the tournament like most US players and as his countryman Hideki Matsui did. But Ichiro leaped at the chance to play for the country. He arrived at camp early, trained hard, and played well throughout the tournament. I raise my sake glass to you, Ichiro-san.

World Baseball Classic: The Empire Strikes Back

2006-03-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

Was very pleased to watch Japan beat Korea last night 6-0. The Koreans made for a great story, but their shameful, gloating performance after beating Japan last week made for a karmic necessity of whacking them down a peg.

It is hereby noted that Japan did not prance around the field after their huge victory last night, nor did they plant their flag on the pitchers mound. They acted with dignity.

Now it is Cuba vs Japan for the title this Monday night. Cuba should be the favorite. But I'll root for Japan.

Today's NY Post quotes Bobby Valentine as saying that Japan was " bullied " into participating in the WBC. Now they're nine innings from winning it.

World Baseball Classic - Will the Empire Strike Back?

2006-03-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

Koreans plant flag on the pitchers mound after beating Japan.

The first baseball classic has only two games to go. It has been an enormous success so far.

Pool One started out with the USA, Mexico, Korea and Japan.

The USA proved to be the flop of the competition. They beat Japan with the help of a bad call from an umpire, then lost to Korea, and then, with their survival on the line, lost again to Mexico.

Mexico bowed out, but at least will be consoled by the fact that they knocked the USA out.

Japan, like the USA, lost two out of three, but they advanced because they allowed fewer runs to score than the USA. I am happy that they went ahead, because they probably lost the USA game due to a bad call.

Korea continued to astonish, winning three and losing none. They beat archrival Japan for the second time, seemingly eliminating their ancient enemy. Then they paraded around the stadium with the Korean flag, and planted the flag on the pitchers mound. I don't like this type of chauvinism. It deeply offended the Japanese. It was not cool.

Pool Two

Puerto Rico and Venezuela are out.

Earlier today, Cuba played the Dominican Republic to decide who advances out of this pool. I watched most of this game. The Cubans, behind great pitching from sneaky starter Yadel Marti and fireballing reliever Pedro Lazo, shut down the mighty Dominicans.

The Dominicans had lots of power hitters from the US Major Leagues, but good pitching stops good hitting, a cliche that gets proven every season.

Its an embarrassment for the US govt to see the Cubans do so well on US soil. I hold no brief for Castro's personal dictatorship, but the Cubans deserved to compete and they've won fair and square.

So, the championship game will be between Cuba and whoever wins the Korea - Japan game. Who do I want to win that game? Japan. The Koreans were a little too proud after that last win over the Japanese. They thought the Japanese were dead, and they did a little jig on the grave, before they pissed on it like a bunch of drunk high school punks.

Well, the Japanese crawled out of the grave, and tonight, the Empire will strike back as the Japanese win 4-1.

Back from Phoenix

2006-03-14T02:21:00.000-05:00

I was invited to go to a conference outside of Scottsdale hosted by a company that I respect, and where I have a lot of friends.

Its busy, so I could only go for a cup of coffee. I flew out midday Sunday and I came back just now...after midnight, 1am on Tuesday. Just enough time to have dinner with my pals last night, lubricated by Fat Tire beer and to have a couple of meetings on Monday.

The event was at the Boulders, an impressive resort. It was chilly last night, unseasonably so. The normally red-brick colored mountains surrounding Phoenix were covered in snow, a rare occurrence. I wish I brought my camera, or I would have posted a photo.

World Baseball Classic

2006-03-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

The first World Baseball Classic is off a great start.

Pool A ( Tokyo ) was the Asian group- China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

Pool A - Eliminated
China is a great country, but it's a baseball baby. Japan whacked them 18-2, the Koreans beat 'em 10-1, and then Taiwan beat them 12-3. The Chinese were here to learn, to observe. There's no shame in their performance, and I will bet that they become internationally competitive before very long.

Taiwan ( known as " Chinese Taipei " because if they called them anything else, China would not have showed up ) lost to Korea 2-0, got whooped by Japan 14-3, and then coasted over the PRC. They're clearly more advanced than China, are still on the rise.

Pool A- Advancing
Korea wants to compete against Japan in all things, baseball included. Its personal. Japan has produced very good baseball players for some time, and now Korea is almost at the same level. They beat Taiwan, they beat China, and then--holy Jesus-- they beat Japan, in the Tokyo Dome itself. Don't think that this was a big story in Korea ? Only as big as New Years Eve ten times over. Korea and Japan will play one another in the next round.

Japan was expected to beat all the other Asian countries. They beat China and Taiwan, but when they lost to Korea, that certainly did not make it a good day in the Tokyo sports bars. If Korea advances further than Japan in this Series, it will be awful for the Japanese.

Pool B ( Phoenix ) group consisted of the US, Canada, Mexico and South Africa

Pool B - Eliminated
South Africa played bravely, but these young guys were completely outclassed by Mexico, Canada and the US.

Canada did not make it to the next round, but they had a game for the ages when they beat the USA 8-6. They're still talking about it and rightfully so.

Pool B - Advancing

Mexico lost 2-0 to the USA, but then whipped South Africa and subsequently beat Canada. That last victory helped the USA to advance after the unexpected loss to Canada.

The USA was in trouble after losing to Canada. They could easily have been eliminated. But after Mexico helped them by beating Canada, they once more had control of their destiny. Intimidating power pitcher Roger Clemens put his game face on against South Africa, the US winning 17-0.

Pool C ( San Juan, Puerto Rico ) group consisted of the Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico,and the Nethelands.

Pool C - Eliminated
Small Panama got beat by Puerto Rico and Cuba, which was expected, and by the Netherlands, which was certainly not expected.

When the Netherlands lost to Puerto Rico and then Cuba, their fate was sealed . But they nonetheless played the game of their lives when they beat Panama 10-0. Dutch pitcher Shairon Martis pitched a complete game-no hitter. He's from Dutch Curacao, in the Caribbean, and he's not the only good player down there.

Pool C - Advancing
Cuba has a long and magnificent baseball tradition. America likes baseball, America created baseball, but Cuba and the Dominican Republic love the sport with an intensity that Americans no longer have. They know the game, they breathe it, they live it from childhood.

Cuba is supposed to walk over everybody until they get to the Dominicans and the USA. Well, they beat Panama, and they put away the Netherlands, but then a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation when Puerto Rico beat 'em 12-2. Native Puerto Ricans Bernie Williams ( Yankees ) and Carlos Beltran ( Mets ) hit monster home runs. Fidel was not f***ing happy.

Puerto Rico beat Panama, the Netherlands, and as noted above, beat Cuba. I would not have picked them to do this well, but they have could not have been more impressive vs Cuba so lets see what happens next.

Pool D ( Orlando, Florida) group consisted of Italy, Australia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

Pool D - Eliminated
Italy beat Australia 10-0, a more impressive victory than I would have expected, then lost to Venezuela 6-0, which was closer than I'd have expected, and then lost 8-3 to the Dominican Republic. The Italians probably did slightly better than expected.

Australia got swept by Italy, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. This result was a dissapointment as there is a decent baseball tradition there, but this wan't their tournament.

Pool D - Advancing
Venezuela is a country rich in baseball history, filled with wiry shortstops and sneaky pitchers. They lost to the mighty Dominicans, then beat Italy and Australia. They had the luck of a mostly easy draw. They need to step it up in the next round.

Dominican Republic The last is not the least. The poor nation of the Dominican Republic, one-half of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola it shares with even poorer Haiti, produces great baseball players. The tiny town of San Pedro de Macoris has produced an immense number of major league players. They could win it all.

The Dominicans beat Venezuela, Italy and Australia handily. Don't be surprised if they win it all. If they do, they'll celebrate for days, as will the Dominican emigre communities in the USA.

World Baseball Classic

2006-03-11T05:16:00.000-05:00

I had started an article on the World Baseball Classic
when my DSL connection completely went to hell. Now that I have a great internet connection, I can begin writing again.

The World Baseball Classic is something that should have been attempted forty years ago. Baseball is not as universally played as soccer, but its much more international in scope than my friends from Europe think. It's roots are in the USA, but pound for pound the best players are from Caribbean and Latin America. Bush and Castro disagree on most everything, but both of them are serious baseball fans.

Baseball's star has been steadily rising in Asia. Japan's baseball roots in Japan go back a century. The sport is popular in Korea and Taiwan. And it's growing in China, whose government has made it a priority to become more competitive in international baseball. They think its a clean sport, which proves that they've never heard of Barry Bonds and his bag of tricks.

Baseball is not a big sport in Europe, but the Dutch and Italians, though they're already been eliminated, absolutely did not embarrass themselves.

The competition began with 16, divided into four brackets. Two teams will advance from each bracket after the first round, half of these teams will be eliminated in round two, then four teams will advance to San Diego, where there will be three single-elimination games to determine the champion.

Tomorrow, some comments on the field and on the competition so far.

I'm so happy so happy

2006-03-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Well, it's just that I finally have a good internet connection. Through the cable company Time Warner Cable. Its 5000 kbits, as compared with the super-erratic and slow Verizon DSL.

I've put the other two eggs in this basket too- phone service and cable tv. Which includes HBO, just in time for the Sopranos season, and Fox Soccer Channel, so I can see what my European friends have been seeing.

Bada bing!

Off the Screen for a while

2006-03-08T11:15:00.000-05:00

Will not be blogging much until maybe this Saturday, as my internet service ( from Verizon DSL ) has not been functioning at all recently. I plan to switch to another provider this Friday, so you may hear from me soon.

There are a couple of recent posts on Bay Ridge Blog

Mardi Gras, New Orleans 2006

2006-02-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

There's a big part of me that wishes I was walking down Bourbon Street this Fat Tuesday. To those who have suffered, for those who showed up in New Orleans to support it, and to those who just showed up to get hammered...I raise my glass to you. God bless,baby. See you at Pat O'Brian's again someday soon.

Follow on Nola.com

WTC- 13th Anniversary of 1993 Bombing

2006-02-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

This is the 13th Anniversary of the 1993 bombing of One World Trade Center, the north tower.

The bombers drove a rented Ryder van into the parking lot in the basement, where it exploded. Six people died in the blast.

I worked in lower Manhattan during that time, near the South Street Seaport. I had lunch plans with someone in One WTC. I called him late morning to confirm, and he told me that he'd probably have to postpone, as he'd heard that " a boiler of something blew up in the basement ".

Before too long, we learned what really happened. It was a pretty unproductive afternoon. Subway service was suspended for a time, but we later were able to get home just fine.

I know a number of people who worked in One WTC, and it was not so good for them. Lots of them had to walk down 30 plus flights of stairs through the smoke. The lucky ones had paper towels or handkerchiefs to give some protection. Lots of them had black smoke stains around their mouths by the time they reached the ground floor.

One year later, my company moved into offices high up in Two World Trade Center.

Bode Miller, Flop

2006-02-26T00:20:00.000-05:00

It's hard not to have a big dose of schadenfreude at the abominable Olympic performance of US skier Bode Miller.

Just before the Olympics, he did an interview with 60 Minutes, in which he admitted to skiing when drunk. That's not good.

During the Olympics, as in other US ski competitions, Bode does not room with his teammates. He's too cool for that. He travels and sleeps in a separate RV.

Throughout his career, he has refused any attempts at coaching him, preferring to coach himself

Well, all this is fine if you can back it up. But this so-called rebel went to Torino and came up with nothing. Five events and zero medals. His sloppy attitude may have infected his US teammates, who as a whole were a grave dissapointment.

Nike prepared a fancy website for Bode and probably paid big cash for the rights. What a fake. I'd say that he should be arrested for stealing the money, but Nike deserves it.

Maybe the great Bode can spend the money on a coach, who can teach him how to ski. There was one other natural sports talent who could not be coached, that being Mike Tyson. He fired coach Kevin Rooney because Iron Mike just knew it all. His career had its moments, but it would have been so much greater had he listened to someone he knew. Athletes have coaches for a reason.

World Trade Center - 9/11 Denial

2006-02-25T22:07:00.000-05:00

As a New Yorker, and as someone who worked in Two World Trade Center until the evening of September 10, I take a very personal interest in what happened in 2001.

One of the strangest phenomena we've seen since the attack has been the rise of a very small but utterly convinced group of people who think that the 9/11 attack was the work of the US Government, as a " controlled demolition". It wasn't the Arab hijackers who flew planes into the buildings that did it, it was Bush and Chaney that did it.

Some people really believe this stuff. I've seen them on the NYC subway, and I have seen them on Church Street in front of the WTC site, where I regard their presence as as desecration. Again, there are not many of these guys, but they do represent an interesting phenomenon.

This week's cover story of the left-wing Village Voice is about the "9/11 Truth Movement" . I was surprised when I read it, because the article is completely balanced and serious.

Was Y2K A Big Hype?

2006-02-20T19:31:00.000-05:00

I think so, and thought so at the time. See Freakanomics, who holds the same view. I think Freakanomics is interesting, so add it to the blogroll. Also, Bookslut is being added. It's an interesting site. And I love the name.

This is pretty much a zero-sum game, so Feigning Interest has gotta go.

Changing My Communications Providers

2006-02-20T13:59:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a slow burn over the past two years over the s-l-oooo-w service given me by my internet provider Verizon DSL. The service is supposed to give me up to to 3000 kbits per second. They've occasionally reached this speed, but more typically they've given me 1500 kbits / second...which is ok for most of my uses.

My problem is that they occasionally get much slower than this. This week is one of those times. This morning it gives me 250 kbits/second. That's no good. I've called Verizon technical support, and they have told me that the signal is a perfect 3000 kbits/second to my modem, and that the problem must be in my PC. I don't believe them. They said this to Seth a while back. Then he switched to internet service as provided by the local cable company Time Warner. For the past six months, he's been running at 5000 kbits / second, 100% of the time.

So, I'm cutting the cord. I just signed up for Time Warner Cable for my internet service.

But to maximize my discounts, I am also giving them my phone service, which will now be a " digital phone " as offered by the cable tv company.

I will also switch my tv provider from Directv to Time Warner. This is strictly an economic decision--Time Warner pays a $200 incentive for switching, and there is a bundling discount for having tv/internet/phone with TW. I'm not dissatisfied in any way with Directv, and I will be sad to leave them.

The plan I signed up for gives me a) a wide spectrum of digital channels, shown here
http://www.twcnyc.com/downloads/chlineupBQ.pdf , b) digital phone incl unlimited local and US long distance service, and c) 5000 kbits internet service. The price for this is $99.95 a month for the first year, going to $109.95 in year two. Thats a good deal.

I'm paying $19 a month extra for DVR service ( an recorder for the tv ) and for an additional tv set in the other apartment.

The service will be installed on March 10.

The channels will include Fox Soccer Channel, so I will be able to see what my European friends have been talking about.

Vacation Thoughts

2006-02-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, I never traveled anywhere, not even to Florida. Our family was too poor for that sort of thing. Going away on vacation was something that the " rich kids " did.

I traveled a lot when in the Navy, and have kept it up ever since.

Here's where I've been:

North / Central / South America

USA - lots of places, incl Hawaii
Canada - Montreal, Toronto, Quebec
Mexico - Acapulco
Panama - Gamboa, Panama City
Argentina - Buenos Aires
Uruguay - Colonia

Europe

Italy- Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice, Sicily
France - Menton, Paris
England - London
Scotland - Edinburgh
Ireland- Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Belfast, Derry
Netherlands- Amsterdam
Belgium- Antwerp, Brussels, Brugge
Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Grenada
Switzerland - Zurich
Denmark- Copenhagen
Sweden- Stockholm
Norway - Oslo, Voss
Germany- Munich, Berlin, Hamburg
Greece- Athens
Austria - Innsbruck, Vienna
Poland- Warsaw, Crakow
Czech Republic - Prague
Hungary - Budapest

Africa

Tunisia- Sousse
Djibouti

Middle East

Israel / West Bank - Haifa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem
Saudi Arabia - Dharan ( Persian Gulf coast )
Bahrain
United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

Asia / Australasia

Australia- Sydney, Melbourne
Indonesia - Bali
Japan- Tokyo, Kyoto
Hong Kong
Singapore
Vietnam - Saigon, Dalat, Hoi An, Hanoi

I have an informal goal of traveling to one new country every year. So where should I go this year?

Bad Samaritans?

2006-02-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

You'd want to think that this story is a joke. But I'm afraid it isn't. A family vacationing in Hawaii lost an expensive digital camera. Another family, from Canada, found it, but doesn't want to give it back, saying that their child " really loves it and we can't bear to take it from him ".

See the blog reporting this, along with many comments. If this story is true, it won't be long before the Bad Samaritan's identity becomes known...and some local ostracism will resolve the issue. The Canadians that I've known would never put up with this bullshit.

Hi from Bermuda

2006-02-16T16:26:00.000-05:00

Have had a rapidfire set of meetings over the last day and a half, but now they are over and can concentrate on having a pub-grub dinner and cocktails at the Hog Penny with some of my buddies over here.

The weather is glorious here, but unfortunately was stuck indoors almost all the time.

Bermuda is a British possession, so they drive on the wrong side of the road. Roads are so narrow, that they don't permit tourists to rent cars. They avoid much carnage with this policy.

The tourist industry is not all that strong, because it's expensive here compared with Florida and other destinations. But its a nice place to visit. The people are friendly and easygoing.

The place gets a little less British every year,due to the large US influence. A lot of local politicians would like to break the tie altogether and become independent.I don't think its a good idea for an island of 50,000 population to pretend to be a " country " but its the Bermudians' call.

Back to NYC tomorrow morning.

Off to Bermuda

2006-02-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

Will be off to Bermuda tomorrow morning for a two day business trip. It sounds like fun, but its really just meetings, meetings, meetings. May make a short post or two when away.

Bookslut leads me to Freakonomics Blog

2006-02-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Bookslut

We're always looking for interesting blogs, and discovered two of them this morning.

Bookslut deals with, with, well, books, and that helpful slut gave a reference to Freakonomics Blog", put out by the authors of the bestselling book.

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The big snowstorm has hit. It was over a foot, and some of it was wet and heavy, giving me a good workout when I shoveled the front walk. Photos next door in the Bay Ridge Blog.
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I did grocery shopping this week at a Pathmark in Staten Island. I wanted to buy Danish beer or cheese, but could not find either. So, I bought a tin of Danish sugar cookies here in the Rite Aid drug store, even though I have no intention of eating them. Will open them at work. BUY DANISH.

Here's my Podcast!

2006-02-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

Memories of John Lennon

2006-02-09T23:12:00.000-05:00

I don't read enough books. Hardly any, actually. Why, when I love to read?

Work eats up immense amounts of the day. I read a lot of newspapers and magazines. And now this blog vice. So, I may try to be a bit more selective in my journalism reading, and have to be a little more militant on the time management on this blog thing.

A week ago, checked this book from this branch of the New York Public Library.

As the Amazon reviews will largely indicate, its not a great book, but it does have interesting little details about John Lennon.

The Killer

My favorite: In 1973 or 1974, Lennon attended a Jerry Lee Lewis concert in the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. Mid-sets, Lennon was brought backstage to meet Lewis. John got down on his knees and started kissing Jerry Lee Lewis' boots saying " Thanks Killer for showing me how to rock and roll ". Lewis responded, in his Southern drawl, " Now, son, that ain't necessary at all. "

When Lennon left, Lewis's son said " Do you know who that was "? The Killer just laughed. " Yeah, Son, I know who that was."

NYC Polar Bears are Happy Tonight

2006-02-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

It has been the mildest of winters until very recently here in New York. December was mild. January was like late February. But a couple of days ago, winter bit back. It will be 23 degrees F tonight, colder than most would like it. But its fine by me.

I must come from a long line of polar bears. I love fish, and I love the cold even more. I only wear a proper topcoat a couple of days a year. The rest of the winter, its a spring coat, if that. Its a running gag in the office.

Lucy from the office wears proper coats all winter long, but she has a vice. She swims with the Polar Bears. Not with the bears you see above, but with the Brooklyn Polar Bears. These lunatics go for a swim every week during the winter at Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Though I like the cold, I can't really imagine swimming in frigid winter waters. But maybe someday....

When the weather gets cold, my distant relatives, the true polar bears at the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zooare quite happy. They're happy tonight, I'll tell you. I raise my beer glass to them from here in Brr Ridge.

Tangled Web Downgraded / New Links Added

2006-02-07T20:58:00.000-05:00

( updated once )

There have been a number of conversations about A Tangled Web on Irish blogs recently. It is a two-man deal. The junior partner in this relationship, unworthy of being named, recently took it upon himself to mock the victims of the Bloody Sundaymassacre in Derry by dismissing them as " lawbreakers ". The other guy backed him up, which will be taken here as tacit agreement.

That's not the only disreputable thing that has appeared on ATW, and it has led to it being de-linked by United Irelander and by other good sites.

That's a good approach, but, after due reflection, I will keep the link with ATW. There are good pieces in it at times. But I will keep it locked up in a separate " Penalty Box ", all the way at the bottom of the blogroll. If ATW ever reforms itself, it will get out of the box and join the blogs of better repute that are shown above it.

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Further updates
John Batchelor runs the best radio show for political / US News / World News junkies. The John Batchelor Show may be heard on mighty WABC, from 10pm-1pm East Coast Time Monday - Friday, and there is a link to an internet stream. They have an international network of correspondents, so when they're not talking about the US budget, they may be speaking to their man in Gaza, in Uzbekistan, or in Adelaide, Australia.

On tonight's show, Mr. Batchelor gives recommendations to Brussels Journal and to Opinion Journal.

UI recently linked to Sicilian Notes, which I just eyeballed for the first time. I looks like an intelligent place, and I loved the Google image they posted dealing with censorship on their Chinese search engine, so I will check them out. ( Image stolen below )

So, look right, and you'll see some new members of the Hall of Fame. And one new dungeon dweller.

I support Denmark

2006-02-06T16:03:00.000-05:00

During WW2, Denmark's king and Denmark's people supported the most vulernable of its people, despite great pressure from the occupying Nazis.

Today, Denmark needs your support. One way is to offer the Danes moral and poltical support. Another is to counteract a boycott by the most reactionary and backward Islamic types. Beat the boycott and buy Danish beer, buy Danish cheese, buy Danish butter, and buy other things from that peaceful and tolerant Scandinavian nation.

How Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban Repays Danish Hospitiality

2006-02-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban is a Palestinian imam who has been the beneficiary of Danish hospitality since 1993, when he moved to Copenhagen. He has been a frequent guest on Danish television.

When he saw the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten, he complained in Denmark, but did not get much of a reaction. So, he brought his complaints to the Muslim Brotherhood and to others in the Middle East. This is how Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban , recipient of the hostpitality of the Danes, has repaid this most liberal and hospitable of societies.

He has been quoted denouncing the attacks on Denmark and praising them in Arabic on Al-Jazeera. The old Arafat trick.

Please read fromNational Review.

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Last night, I brought Carlsberg and Elephant Beers, both Danish, to the Super Bowl Party. One of the other guests brought Tuborg. I will make every effort to buy a few Danish items every week until this event passes over.

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Will soon update blog listings. Will add The Counterterrorism Blog

Two Weeks Until Pitchers and Catchers

2006-02-05T00:54:00.000-05:00

Yankee Stadium, Bronx NY. The Yankees have played here since 1923. This stadium has also been the site of many famous boxing matches and was the home of the NY Giants football team for years.
This of course is the famous Super Bowl Sunday. Even I, whose sporting heart beats only for baseball, will be joining my two brothers in law, one sister, and a very sports crazy young nephew for a Super Bowl watching evening down in the wilds of Wayne PA. It'll be good, it will be swell seeing them, and hopefully the football match will be good also.

But, contrarian that I am, I will take the greatest pleasure in noting that the end of the Super Bowl marks one day close to the opening of baseball's Spring Training Camps. Our long national nightmare of days and nights without baseball will soon be coming to an end. And not a minute too soon.
Shea Stadium, in Queens NY, has been the home of baseball's NY Mets since 1964. When it was opened, it was right next to the World's Fair which ran from 1964 through 1965. Shea Stadium was the home of the football NY Jets for many years. The Beatles played here in 1965. I saw the Rolling Stones there in either 1989 or 1990 ( Steel Wheels Tour ) They were great.

Al-Salem Boccaccio Disaster

2006-02-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

In December 1979, I boarded the USS Blandy ( above ) for a three-month cruise that began in Rota, Spain, near Cadiz. This was an older Navy ship, near the end of its service life. It had been launched in 1956, and had served in both the Cuban Missile Crisis and off the coast of Vietnam during that war.

We cruised east through the length of the Med, and hung a right for a slow cruise through the Suez Canal. I was able to go outside during most of the transit through the canal, and found it very intersting. Though we were far away from the Pyramids and the other famous places, I found if incredibly interesting to be able to see Egypt, ancient Egypt, just off the side, at times close enough that you could have thrown a stone or a baseball to the shore.

After the transit, we headed south down the Red Sea. Not much to see, it's much wider than it appears on a map. The water was choppy, becoming moreso the further south we went.

We spent Christmas Day in the Red Sea. We had " surf and turf " for Christmas Dinner, both steak and lobster. Most of my shipmates, from the Midwest and South, weren't into the lobster, but I ate all of their share, gorging myself with the stuff.

Late evening the sea became rough, perhaps brought on by winds funnelled by the narrowing sea, as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula became ever closer. . The boat rocked from side to side, food trays slid across the table ( which is why there were little metal parapets on the table to catch them ).

I had to go down a vertical ladder near the top of the ship some hours later, and was afraid I might fall off.

The rough seas continued through the night. Its hard to fall asleep when you think that you might fall out of your rack. It was the roughest water I've ever ever experienced.
Now we hear of the disaster at sea of the Al-Salam Boccaccio, where it is likely that over 1,000 died fairly suddenly in the cold and the waves. These were not big shots on a luxury cruise, these were mostly poor migrant workers returning home for a visit. I imagine very few of them knew how to swim ; in any event, many of them were trapped inside the vessel, which sank quickly and with little warning.

The sea is a beautiful and life-giving thing, but it is and always will be dangerous . Spare a thought for those who perished so quickly and so terribly on the Al-Salem Boccaccio.

Danny Boy

2006-02-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

Is the character who sings " Danny Boy " male or female? I've always thought it to be male ( a father ), but Majikthise believes it to be explicitly female. What say you?

Mohammad Image- Every Paper Should Print It

2006-02-03T22:17:00.000-05:00

The Muslims are rioting, by God they're always rioting about something. The most recent cause celebre is beyond stupid. They're upset that Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published some cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of the famous " Religion of Peace ".

Islamic tradition -- but only tradition, not the Koran -- says that its forbidden to show images of the Prophet.

Well, earth to Islam :tough noogies. In any newspaper, I can see images lampooning the Pope, the President, historical figures, people now alive who are precious to any. In the Arab media, there is a constant parade of anti-Jewish cartoons, showing rabbis as cannibals and murderers. Below, a fat yarmulke-wearing Ariel Sharon sets the world, and the dove of peace, on fire.

If its ok to lampoon people you don't like, its OK for all of us to post images lampooning your big time holy guy.

Road Trip to Derry And Belfast

2006-02-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

In January 1997, I made a return trip to the north of Ireland.

I started with a short trip to Dublin, made my way up to visit family and friends in Dundalk, Monaghan, and up in Letterkenny, then took a bus into Derry town. I arrived without reservations on Friday, but quickly found a nice, inexpensive B&B to crash for a couple of nights.

Its a pretty compact city, easily covered by foot.

I soon learned that Sunday morning was to be the 25th Anniversary of an awful incident in that city's history. In January 1972, there was a large, peaceful demonstration that had been banned by the local authorities. The British Army set up blockades and shot 14 unarmed men and boys to death. I won't get into greater detail here, as the event is better described on Irish sites such as United Irelander and El Blogador. The situation had been bad up to 1972, but after Bloody Sunday, the gates of hell opened, and an awful lot of innocent people were hurt.

It was a beautiful, Sunday morning. I got up early, walked down to Free Derry corner in the Bogside, a place I had seen so many times in print and on television. Visited a monument to the 14 victims.

Then, I took part in the march. It was a long walk on a glorious day. Only one bad note. A security guy ( soldier? RUC? ) behind a small grey vehicle at the side of the road, grin on his face, pointed his weapon in the direction of the crowd, then took it back, then pointed it back somewhat in the direction of the crowd. We all saw it.

Derry's come a long way since Bloody Sunday. But they'll always remember, and they always should. I'll always be glad to have taken part in that march, and maybe I will do another one some day.

I took an " Ulsterbus " east from Derry to Belfast.

Belfast is a much bigger, busier place than Derry. The bus station is in city center, from which I walked for 15 minutes toward Queens University, where I found a nice, clean B&B. ( I've stayed a number of B&B's in Ireland, and most of them were just great value for money, with a great breakfast to start the day )

I liked the center of Belfast. The people were friendly, the food was ok, and the pubs were good. The area around Queens' was excellent, with a nice easy pace and lots of college students.

As I remember it, the security situation must have calmed down since four years prior. I don't recall seeing many armored vehicles at all. And I didn't have any nervous travelers with me, which was good.

But my short visit had a political angle to it. I wanted to see for myself some of the areas where the conflicts had taken place. I studied the maps over and over, and decided I was going to see both the Falls Road and the Shankill Road. These are inner city streets that are strongholds of the city's Catholic and Protestant communities respectively.

I went to the Shankill Road first. On the way there, passed houses with UDA and " No Surrender " murals. I saw guys in crewcuts with camaflage outfits on. These guys were not military. I wasn't going to ask them what they were.

I saw a bar there and considered going in. But I wasn't sure of the situation, and the pub had a buzzer you had to push to get in, and my instinct told me to move on.

There were small stores, and the area seemed old-fashioned. And not terribly well-off either.

Somewhere between the two communities there is a thing called the Peace Line. It's basically a wall in the middle of the street. To prevent people from the one community from crossing into the other's turf. As bad as it has been over the years, without those walls, events might have been even worse.

Crossed over onto the Falls Road, much of which looked just like the Shankill. Except for a Sinn Fein store, which you'd hardly see on the Shankill. I had a quick look around. Political posters, books, coffee cups with Michael Collins picture on them were on sale.

There was a security helicopter high overhead, motionless, for a very long period of time. As I walked through these neighborhoods in a red jacket, I imagine I was in a photo or two. It was a long walk back to center city, but I had seen what I wanted to see.

The next morning, I caught an Aer Lingus flight back home. They flew from Belfast to JFK via Shannon until 9/11.

Belfast still has a lot of unresolved problems, but its safer and happier since the Clinton-brokered " peace process " brought an end to the worst of the conflict. I'd like to visit the place again, maybe this year.