Random bikings in Jersey City

So last weekend I was jonesing for something new-ish to do with myself. The last couple of weeks before, I had been bouncing the idea of owning a bike around in my head; the last time I owned a bike, I was about 12 or 13... the paleolithic era of my life, when everything was simple and good, and people didn't just up and die on you; they were eaten. Good old days :).

So anyway, my jonesing led me to accompany 2 friends, who were apparently experiencing the same 1/3-life crisis I was, to Target to admire, and possibly throw some money down on some bikes. We spent about an hour pulling bikes off the racks, riding up and down the isles, possibly pissing off the Target staff, and getting the whole of Jersey City suddenly interested in bicycles (Target should have paid us that day for the bikes we probably sold to all those biters). At some point, we came to the conclusion that Road Bikes were too expensive, Hybrids were even more expensive (but there was this really sweet one I wanted, The Schwinn OR2! *Sigh*.), and Mountain bikes were awesome. So we got 3 26" Schwinn Rangers for $179.00 a pop. Tangent Alert: F#*@ing Target ripped us off! The next day I looked at their web site (don't know why) and realized that they were selling them for $154.00 on there!!! I was am pissed! But I'm also too lazy to go argue with them, so they can keep the damn $25 they STOLE! Tangent Over. We rode the bikes out of there, looking like two punkish cowboys and a punkish cowgirl, into the sunset... it was about 1pm.

My butt still hurts from all the riding that ensued that day. And my shoes are still wet from getting our a$$e$ kicked by the rain later that evening as we tried to escape from Hoboken. But it was all good times. I plan on posting a blog from now on, the day before we go out riding in Jersey City (or wherever else we can). If you think you'd be interested in riding around with a few random people, subscribe below, and you'll know where we'll be!


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The key to love? Sound a little gay.

God bless her soul, that tiny little woman of mine. She really is the cutest person I've met (except for her cousin's baby...you just wanna eat her up!), but her fashion sense-- well, that's another story. It's not that she couldn't develop a fashion sense if she wanted to-- she just doesn't care about fashion... and I guess that is one of the reasons I was attracted to her to begin with. There's nothing hotter (to me) than a beautiful dorky girlfriend walking about the house in gym shorts and my over-sized sweatshirt.

However sometime during the course of our relationship I realized that gym shorts and over-sized sweatshirts were not meant to be worn with pink and blue shoes, or slippers one size too big. And that combination of clothing was certainly not meant to be worn out of the house! So I put my foot down! I would no longer tolerate her terrible outfit combinations!... And she turned me into her personal shopper. Sometimes I think this was her plan all along-- to goad me into doing her shopping, by dressing like someone kidnapped Macy's and left no ransom note.

Anyhow, this experience of being a personal shopper hasn't been at all bad. In fact, its been quite enlightening-- I can now understand why some women spend such a god-awful  amount of time shopping (though I personally pull off my fashion miracles in under 45 minutes!).

Over the last few months, we've been planning what this summer will look like. Something about beaches, camping, and more beaches came up... I didn't listen that closely, but it's on my calender so it doesn't matter. Then sometime a few weeks ago I received an e-mail with the subject "homework assignment". It turned out the my assignment was to follow the included link to Victoria's Secrets, and find a bikini for her to wear, "because there were too many choices and it was overwhelming".....seriously? Well, I can't say I wasn't happy to oblige... it's not everyday you get asked to go peruse photos of sexy models (though some of them are too damn skinny!) in bikinis.

SO I dove, eye-balls first, into page after page of  scantily clad Victoria's Secret models.... and if you'd walked up beside me while I was doing this, the intense concentration you would have found on my face would have led you to believe that I was genuinely trying to discern what the timeless Secret of Victoria's was, instead of buying a bikini for my Lady. Good times :D.

When, after a few dozen pages, I had narrowed my selection down to about 4 sets, I gave this woman a call to report my victory. In my report, I detailed the methodology by which I had decided upon those 4 sets. I explained about body type and sexiness factor; about color coordination and skin tone; about flaunting goodies that I'd like to see flaunted... you know, stuff like that. After several minutes of giving my detailed report, I went silent to give her a chance to tell me how awesome I was etc. etc.

She stayed silent with me for a few seconds.... then she burst out with a giggle in her voice, and all the excitement of two 14 year old bff's at a Justin Bieber concert, "I love you because you sound so gay!"

WHAT?! Besides the fact that I don't believe I sounded gay, I couldn't believe that, assuming I did sound gay, that would be the reason she'd site for loving m!? It wasn't the time I took to look at all those models; it wasn't even the time I took explaining the process to her so she could one day replicate. No, it was simply how gay I sounded to her....lol. Well, besides questioning her priorities when it comes to loving someone, I don't know what else to say. But I figured since I have a pretty awesome relationship, there might be something to be said for sounding a little gay. SO guys... have at!

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Hey Jackass! Tips aren't compulsory.

O.k., let's get this out of the way before I begin: I have no problem with tipping. What I have a problem with is idiot servers/delivery people who feel entitled to a tip.

Sometime last week I read this article in the metro news paper about some jackass delivery guy/ designer/ developer named Larry Fox who created a web site to out bad tippers. I personally hate the idea so much, I refuse to mention or link to the web site. If you're interested, I'm sure you can find it through a simple google search with little skill. Anyway, this idiot Fox is the worst manifestation of a narcissistic sub-culture of the "service industry" that feels like they should be taken care off, pampered, and cajoled, just because they've chosen to do a job that, well, sucks!

Why should a person (i.e. a banker, dump truck driver or elderly caregiver) have to work hard at their job (without receiving a tip), sometimes from 6am to 11pm, only to go to a restaurant (or go home), order food, and be EXPECTED (sometimes guilted into doing so) to pay a tip?! Why has it become an unquestioned norm that when you order food, you HAVE to pay a tip? I think that is stupid. And I'll tell you why.

When I visit the doctor's office (or any other office for that matter), I don't tip the secretary or the doctor. When I fly, I don't tip the air hostess. When I do my job, I don't get tipped. SO why the hell should I tip someone for doing theirs? I've heard all the arguments for why tipping is mandatory, and none annoys me as much as the one that goes, "Servers/ [delivery people] get low wages [or no wages], so you MUST tip them." With all due respect, who gives a crap how low your wages are? I have low wages too, maybe not as low as a server, but low nonetheless, and I don't get tipped. Who forced anyone to become a server? In fact, I will go as far as saying that in my opinion, the ONLY people who can make a sensible enough argument for being a server/waitress/waiter/delivery person are students.They are trying to make a life for themselves by getting an education, which will probably lead to a better career. And even they should not be tipped as a matter of course! It is NO ONES DUTY to garnish the wages of another just because they've accepted (for whatever reason) a job that doesn't pay well. Isn't that capitalism, and aren't we in the US?

See, people get paid in this world in one of several ways: by your boss, for working for him; by your organization, for working for it; by customers who buy something directly from you ( a good or service). Now some servers seem to believe that they fall in that last category, but they're sorely mistaken; no one comes into a restaurant because they want to get waited on. They come into a restaurant to get food, and the server just happens to be part of the service the restaurant provides. When a customer pays the fee for the food and service, that should be the end of them shelling out money UNLESS they feel inclined to leave a little extra money as if to say, "Thank you for being so nice even though you're in a crappy job that no one forced you into." to the server. Delivery: no one orders that extra $5 of food they don't really need (to reach the $15 minimum for delivery) just because they also want to pay a tip. They order that extra $5 because it's logical that the restaurant needs to pay the delivery guy something ($5) for the delivery. If that money doesn't go to the delivery guy, why is it being charged, and shouldn't the delivery guy be asking for more from his employer? The situation with a delivery guy is slightly different from the waiter, but draws essentially the same conclusion: A tip should be at the discretion of the tipper. That leads me to my next point.

In case you haven't been following my argument, let me say this in plain English. Again: I do believe that tips should be given, BUT only if the customer feels like it. Tips should not be seen as an entitlement. Rather, they should be seen at best as a charitable donation,or at least as something someone does to be polite, because that is in fact what they are. When looked at in these ways (and these really are the only reasonable ways to look at it), how can you expect tips to be compulsory? It's not compulsory for someone to say "Thank You."But it's nice. Neither is it compulsory for someone to make a donation to help victims of war. But that's nice too.

When it's all said an done however, it's never a bad idea to tip your waiter or delivery guy, especially if you visit, or order out often... else you risk have this all up in your next order of Duck Confit!


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Quickscope: verb \ˈkwik(-)skope | Definition: One of many sucky things about MW2

A long time ago, when I was first introduced to first person shooters like Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein, I thought to myself, "This is how wars should fought**; winner gets bragging rights... and also gets to make policy decisions which the looser has to adhere to." Of course, you couldn't hope to get someone like Osama to abide by policy created in that fashion even, if he got severely owned by Obama in a good game of Black Ops... which is when you break out the MW2:

Obama quickscope

**I've heard a few horror stories from friends who lived through wars, and for that reason, death and war are not things I particularly encourage... but I just had to do this!

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A Bugger's Delight...

The two highly coveted "lean-against-the-doors" spots

I stood on the crowded PATH train headed for 34th St. and Work this morning-- blurry, trivial thoughts entering and leaving my mind like faceless rush hour commuters going through turnstiles at NY Penn station. I was trying hard to ignore the passenger to my right who, despite the fact that I had outmaneuvered him to get the last of two "lean-against-the-doors" comfy spots on the train, continued to try to squeeze himself behind me with half his body awkwardly leading the way. I couldn't stand how he kept rubbing himself all over my right side each time the train jerked, so I stuck my right elbow out stiffly, and began to read my Metro news paper (I wasn't giving up that hands-free spot-- I hate holding onto the gross subway poles!). That worked to calm my nerves, knowing the discomfort I was causing him. And he eventually backed off-- halfheartedly re-positioning his torso to disguise his failed attempt at usurping my comfy spot, for a casual re-adjustment of his stance.

On page 4 of my Metro, I read an article on Latina teens and suicide rates. Then I read a shorter piece on a "several hundred" person pillow fight that took place on Saturday in Union Square. Did you know that the Union Square Pillow Fight Saturday is part of an international event -- International Pillow Fight Day? Well, neither did I, but this past Saturday marked it's sixth anniversary. Cool beans. Next page.

I took a cursory glance at page 5 of my Metro, fully intending to move on to page 6 (because I could care less about "Eco-conscious kids' clothing", or whatever anyone has to say about it.), when something big, rectangular, red, and bordered in yellow caught my attention:

I quickly flipped my paper back around to page 4 again and looked, with a touch of manic amusement, at the pillow fight piece, my disbelief growing with every passing second I processed the information. Seriously?! Had everyone forgotten that NYC was Camelot for these indomitable, armor clad blood suckers a.k.a BED BUGS?! I guess they had, since even I, with my past experience with these creatures, had failed to notice how this pillow fight was a HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE idea (unless the goal was to help spread Bugger* love...) until this brilliantly placed ad. Good job Metro.

For the remaining two stops to my final destination, I felt my skin crawl and itch. I suffered in silence because I am morally against scratching in public... unless you're sure you're on a deserted street, and sure no one (a hot girl/guy?) will walk around the corner the exact moment you decide to scratch certain part (don't act like you don't get an inopportune itch every now and again!). I wondered how many of my fellow commuters had been given a good dusting of bed bug eggs this past Saturday. Was that annoying fellow rubbing himself all over me, a walking Bugger hive? Ugh!

"G'morning pretty! Here's a love bite for ya!"

The train arrived at 34th St., and I spilled out. I walked briskly to work, into the restroom and washed my hands. Absurd, since washing my hands has no effect on buggers, I know. But seeing as how I couldn't fumigate myself (because I don't have easy access to Bugger fumigants, and because I'd probably die in the fumigation process), I figured I'd do the next best thing and cleanse myself of NYC/NJ subway grime.

Happy Monday....

*Since our experience with them, my ex-roommates and I have called these delightful little darlings, Buggers.

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Got [Radioactive] Milk?

Radiation has been found in U.S. milk (so says the news). Oh, but don't panic... the "experts" say it's all a matter of dosage, and in this case, the dosage is very low. Nice.

(Photo: courtesy of Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences)

"So how is my milk getting nuked, albeit in low doses?" you may ask. Unless you've been asleep under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you no doubt heard about the distressing events that have been unfolding in Japan since the dumb earth quake, and dumber tsunami hit. Here's a quick recap: The water from the tsunami screwed up some nuclear reactor thing-jiggers, resulting in some explosions due to overheating of some nuclear stuff-jiggers, leading to some other stuff I'm still trying to get my head around. And now they have varying levels of nuclear material in their air, in their drinking water, and in their ocean.

"But that still doesn't explain how we're getting our milk nuked!" You're right-- we're getting there. You may or may not know that radiation can (and does) travel by hitching a ride with other stuff, for example, water and dust particles in the air. These particles get moved around from place to place by the wind... and a flight from Japan to the U.S. is not that far for a dust particle. These particles get to the U.S., settle on grass, cows eat grass, and ... well the milk gets contaminated with the radiation.

"Aaah gotit! O.k., but we're safe right?" you might ask. Ahem...I'm not an expert on anything nuclear or physics-ish-- not even close. But I do think. And I read. When radioactive particles go up into the clouds and accumulate, and when it finally rains, radiation spills forth in higher concentrations than when it first went up... kinda like that adage about little drops of water making a mighty ocean. If your head is spinning right now, check out this diagram for a better(?) explanation of how radiation can travel and how it can get concentrated in certain areas:

(Photo: From nytimes.com-- http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/03/24/world/asia/24japan-grx.html?ref=asia)

A couple of days ago, I heard some smart ass on CNN say "The solution to pollution is dilution." Cute. How do we dilute the milk we drink to reduce the amounts of radiation in it? Don't say water-- it's in there too. How do we dilute the cows' grass? How do we dilute radioactive particles accumulating in rain clouds? Let me know when you find the answers. Just kidding; I could care less about the answers. The truth is, there's not much anyone can do (not for long anyway) if our food sources are contaminated by high levels of radiation, so it's kind of a waste of energy to stress about it. I only wrote this blog post because it was fun to think about... have a great radiation filled day!

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Pronounce this: Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Hippopo...WHAT?! Yeah..., if you are like most normal, you probably shouldn't be able to pronounce that word. Then again, if you feel a need to pronounce "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" instead of just saying "fear of long words" then you probably are not normal anyway. But enough about how abnormal you may or may not be!

The reason I brought this ridiculous word to your attention was to introduce you to a pretty awesome web site I happened upon-- howjsay.com. Howjsay.com basically teaches you how to pronounce words (it actually pronounces the word!), so you don't make a fool out of yourself during that wedding toast, thereby costing youself that hot bridesmaid's phone number, because she thinks you're dumb. All you do with howjsay.com is enter the word you're looking for in the search space at the top of the web site, hit submit, and voila! you have your word pronunciation. Sometimes, you have to hold your cursor over the word to have it pronounced. And of course, you'll need speakers to hear the pronunciation, so have them handy.

One other cool thing about howjsay.com is that your spelling doesn't have to be great for it to produce some results. As an example, I entered "kantankros" and howjsay returned "Cantankerous"...pure awesomeness. So, go out there and use some words that, until now,  you've been terrified to think about!

Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to subscribe if you enjoyed this post.

Reason to live on the Jersey side.

I have often wondered why people who could live in Jersey City, opt instead to live in Manhattan... .Jersey City is as close to Manhattan as you can get without encountering all the noise pollution, rats, angry MTA agents, and maniacal cyclists who want to run you over, or off the sidewalk.

Jersey City also boasts an amazing view of Manhattan-- if you're high up enough, or close enough to the Hudson river. These three awesome pictures of the view from Exchange Place in Jersey City should help convince even the most ardent Jersey-Basher that Jersey holds some treasures worth experiencing.





































Let me know what you want to see and/or read more of, and don't forget to subscribe!

Allow people to subscribe to your blog (On blogger.com)! Pt. 2

In my last post, I explained how to place an RSS link on your blogger.com blog... that sounds silly. In this post, I'm going to explain how to place an e-mail subscription form on your blog-- my personal favorite way of subscribing to blogs because I actually read the blogs posts I receive in my e-mail.

PLACING AN E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION FORM
If you don't already have a feedburner account, please follow this link to set one up. THEN follow this link to my last blog post, and go through the Prep-work steps. Once you're done with the prep-work, it's pretty simple to get the e-mail subscription form.

On the feedburner landing page (see below), click on the title of the feed of the blog you want to create an e-mail subscription form for.

Click on the publicize tab at the top of the page (step 1), click on the email subscriptions link on the left side of the page (step 2), and finally, copy the HTML code that pops up about mid page (step 3).

Now make your way over to your blog and go to the "Design" view. Click on "Add a Gadget", and add a HTML/JavaScript gadget. Paste (CTRL+V) the HTML code you copied from feedburner into this gadget window. Don't forget to give it a subject-- if you want. Save the gadget, and you're done! Now hit "View Blog" at the top of your page, and admire your work.

And remember that there's no law that says you can't use more than one e-mail subscription box on your blog!

Thanks for reading. Please subscribe if this was helpful to you.

Allow people to subscribe to your blog (On blogger.com)! Pt. 1

I'm tired of finding a blog I like to read, only to realize that there's no way, or just one way (usually, the boring old atom/RSS link the template came with) to subscribe to it! Who the heck do you think you are (yes author-of-the-blog-I-like-to-read, I'm talking to you!)? Do you really think that because I have absolutely nothing else to do with my life, and because your writing makes me laugh, I will keep returning to your blog to read? The correct answer to that rhetorical question is, "No, Papi".

I do not have any awesome statistics to bamboozle you with (though I could probably whip some up if you want), but I can tell you from professional experience (and common sense deductions) that if the only means for people to subscribe to your blog is the RSS link that came with your blog template, you're in serious danger of having a bunch or "readers" who don't really read anything you write. Even worse, if have NO way for people to subscribe to your blog...well, I don't know what you're trying to do.

Anyway, because I'm awesome and like to share my knowledge, I'm going to show you how to:
1. provide your readers with a conveniently placed RSS subscription link on the side bar of your blog (as opposed to the default atom link that's usually placed at the bottom of your blog)
2. provide your readers with a way to subscribe to, and received your blog posts in their e-mails (this is my personal favorite)

Prep-work
1. Visit Feedburner and create a profile.
2.  Enter your blog's URL or feed URL in the space where it says "Burn a feed right this instant", on the "My Feeds" page. Hit next and follow the instructions.

3. Go to your blog's "Settings" tab (if you can't find it, leave me a message and I'll get back to you), and then click the "site feed" link underneath.

4.  Enter "http://feeds.feedburner.com/your blog's name" in the space where it says "Post Feed Redirect URL". You can also find the feedburner feed URL by clicking on the feed title (in feedburner) and hitting the "Edit Feed Details Link" (see image below). Copy the feedburener URL and paste that into your blog's "Post Feed Redirect URL" space. **If you have issues with this step, again, leave me a message, and I'll get back to you"

 - Now you've entered a whole new world of possibilities!

PLACING AN RSS LINK
Once you're all set up with Feedburner, it's easier than blinking to place your RSS link (see the second box to the left of this blog post). First, you have to click on the title of your feed on the "My Feeds" page. Next, click on the "Publicize" at the top of the page. Finally, click on the "Chicklet Chooser" link on the left side of the page. This page has a whole lot of icons you could use to represent your RSS feed to reader-- pick one (you can always come back and pick another later). Scroll to the bottom of the page, select (CTRL+A), and copy (CTRL+C)  the HTLM code in the box you see.

Now make your way over to your blog and go to the "Design" view. Click on "Add a Gadget", and add a HTML/JavaScript gadget. Paste (CTRL+V) the HTML code you copied from feedburner into this gadget window. Don't forget to give it a subject-- if you want. Save the gadget, and you're done! Now hit "View Blog" at the top of your page, and admire your work.


In my next blog post, I will complete this little tutorial by showing you how to enable people subscribe to receive your blog posts in their e-mail. Thanks for reading.

Limitless? Uh-uh.

[Spoiler Alert!] 

I recently saw the movie "Limitless".

"Ice age" and "A Bug's Life" are but two examples of movies that I believe have more substance than "Limitless". Seriously.

"Limitless" is a movie about a loser (lives like a loser; dumped by his gf because he's a loser; lost his wife weeks after being married because he's a loser; is drunk at 2pm because he's a loser etc.) writer who bumps into his ex-brother in law (who happens to be a drug dealer) one fateful day, is introduced to a new drug that makes you super smart, uses his super smarts to start and finish a book he'd been putting off for months, in 4+ days, and then goes on to become a stock trader, after which he decides to be a politician. Wait...! What?! Yes, that's "Limitless"...not in a nutshell. That's really it.

I was personally so unimpressed by that movie that I have nothing else to say about it...except that the 1.5hr+ long show was quite painful to sit through. So if you have a low tolerance for poorly developed GREAT ideas (because the concept of this movie IS pretty awesome), or unnecessarily long movies, please do not pay to see this. Or if you do, have a good remedy, like "post-bad movie" pan seared pork dumplings, for the massive headache that you will undoubtedly develop.

Happy movie going!

Places to donate for Japan relief

Please visit any of the links below to find a way to make a little donation to help Japan. Be blessed and have a great day!

•  https://livingsocial.com/deals/32115-5-for-10-donation-to-red-cross-relief-efforts
• www.billygraham.org/ChristianRelief
• www.savethechildren.org/JapanQuake
• www.nyc.gov/apps/311
• donate.worldvision.org
• ABC.com: More links where you can donate to Japan relief efforts

Kirk Franklin - Brighter Day

A beautiful song. Thank you Lord for my life, my family, and my friends.

5th and Washington

Everyone has a guilty pleasure; for some it's watching "Teen Mom 2", and for others it's watching someone who seems to deserve it get their butt kicked... . I fall into the later category *Devilish Smile*.

A good friend found this video while trolling youtube this morning, enjoy:



The moral of this ass wooping? Don't talk ShiNt you can't backup!

**UPDATE**:

Youtube didn't seem to find that spectacular a$$ whooping funny :). It was great while it lasted though *grin*.

Awesome world: atop Bear mountain, NY

Awesome picture of the day.

Youtube video => Youtube audio!

Disclaimer: This blog post is not meant to encourage people to steal, or in anyway misuse content that they don't own, or that they haven't been given express permission to use by the owner. This blog post is simply meant to...educate. If in the course of your education you break rules and get grabbed by the authorities concerned... tough noogies!

O.k, so if you're anything like me, you've probably come across a couple of videos on youtube with awesome (or hilarious) sound effects, music, or voices, that you wanted to use for something  e.g. a cellphone ringtone etc. The only problem is IT'S A VIDEO! So, how do you circumvent that little problem? Simple, find a way to "rip" the sound from the video.

Now, though there are hundreds of ways to rip sound from youtube, I always (like anything in life) prefer the easy, lazy, technical-free way. For that reason, I use this web site. The cool thing about this web site is that you don't have to download any software. You just place the url of the video you want to get sound from, follow 3 simple directions (click, click, click), and wait for the sound to be ripped! Then you download it to your PC. Another cool thing is that you have the option of ripping the sound as an mp3, ogg, wmv or wma file.

The only downside to the web site is that you have a maximum of 5 downloads a day.... which is probably not that big a deal unless you're doing something you're NOT supposed to.

SO anyway, now you know how to get sound off youtube using the awesome Media Converter web site, and I hope you are wise and honest IF you do use it.

While reading ghanaweb...

... I came across this article that claimed in it's title that one Dr. Nana Obiri Yeboah (a sociologist) had fired Michael Essien's father. "Oh" I though, "Michael Essien's dad [James Essien they say his name is] works with sociologists? Is he a sociologist himself? What, by the way do sociologists do in Ghana?" I quickly set upon the article and read it top to bottom.

27 paragraphs later (because I read all 11 paragraphs twice, then read the first 5 over again to make sure I wasn't missing anything), I still haven't figured out what "Senior" Essien does (nor sociologists in Ghana for that matter), when or why he was fired by Dr. Nana Obiri Yeboah, or why the editor of Ghanaweb allowed an article like this to be published.

I guess Ghanaweb is probably not the place to go for well reported nonfa-free news (lol), though for some reason I keep returning to it.One of these days I'm going to post links to alternative sites that provide decent news without the... well, nonfa.

Oh, and for you grammar Nazi's out there, you'll go slightly nuts over the article below.

Article Link

I put up this picture just in case the story disappeared

**UPDATE**

When I first read this story, I felt the "news" being reported was so unworthy of being called news that I neglected to offer my opinions on the issue. I still feel that way. I think the real (and only) story here is the discrepancy between the title of the article, and its contents. However, since I know some people might wonder what I think about all this (yes, i'm that important!), let me just offer my two cents..... LOL, I can't do this! This issue is just too ridiculous!

Why I'm NOT a Game Gbee!

I have been accused several times of being a nerd, geek or "game gbee". And yet, I come across videos like the one above (thank you techrepublic.com for highlighting this video to show what a real nerd is) and I realize I'm really not as far gone as people seem to think I am :).

on a side note, I think this is really awesome!

I know what I did last summer

Leaving the Fish Town dock

At some point during the past weekend, weather.com reported 57 degree weather... and it actually felt like 57 degrees outside. That was nice of them.


The weather reminded me of a blog I had hoped to write last summer about a pretty awesome backcountry camping experience I had (thank you Joanne!).

I spent four awesome days on North Manitou Island in Michigan with my girl friend Joanne. North Manitou is an island located in lake Michigan, about 1.5 hours by boat from the Fish Town Dock in Leland, MI (see below). Our journey started way out in Ann Arbor (approx. 5 hours away). We hit the road early on a Sunday morning, and were on a boat in Leland by 11am, ready to go cross Lake Michigan to North Manitou.

As you approach North Manitou, your begin to realize just how secluded you're going to be...it's awesome! The island is pretty huge if you try to hike the coastline-- approx. 21 miles of sand, rock, and dead birds. And with the exception of the 27 acres surrounding the ranger's village, there's no running water, formal camping grounds, or bathroom facilities anywhere on the island. We came prepared with a collapsible bucket, hand trowel and water filter...and out 40-50lb hiking packs.



View Larger Map

Approaching North Manitou

Once on the island (along with about 40 other people), we had a 30 minute chat/Q&A with the park ranger, and we were free to do whatever we wanted to do in the "wilderness" for the next 4 days... talk about feeling of absolute freedom. Oh, I forgot to mention that the boat that brought us only docked once a day. In the event that there was stormy weather, the boat would come the following day, so it's always advisable to bring extra food for about 2 days... just in case you're stranded. Anyway, we spent the rest of the day
hiking along the coast.

First night camp area

In the photo to the left, you can kind of see the coast turning to the north-east...that's where we came from. We camped to the left of where I was standing when I took this photo. We had dinner right by the water that night...the most peaceful period of my life ever! It was unbelievably SILENT. Except for the lapping of the water against the shore, and the wind, there wasn't any other sound! No honking, loud music, voices...nothing. It was so  great I was inspired to make  my version of the "Miles Away from Ordinary" video that Corona uses...I  just didn't have a Corona on me that day.

View from "dinner table"

 In the video below, you'll see Joanne relaxing and digesting her dinner, and right behind her, over the knoll, is where we camped for the night.

The rest of our time on North Manitou was pretty much the same as the first day-- warm and peaceful-- with a few exceptions. For example, we came came across several coyote tracks in the more remote areas of the southern part of the island. We also happened across some garter snakes, chipmunks, and saw a Piping Plover nest. I'm pretty sure I saw a piping plover too, but I never got a picture. I'll update this post in the future with a link to select photos from my trip to North Manitou.

Now I'd like to give some tips to anyone who is planning on visiting the island:

• Arrive in Leland at the fish town dock before 9am in order to pay your camping fees, get your ticket for the boat ride, your parking pass and your maps.
• Make sure to pack some REALLY STRONG mosquito repellent.
• Bring along a reliable water filtration system, and remember to ALWAYS fill up your water bottle(s) whenever you're leaving the coast. The maps you pick up from the ranger station and at the Fish Town dock may show inland water bodies that may not exist during your visit. Also, if possible, have an emergency water bottle always full.
• DON'T try to get apples from the various orchids on the island.... they're poison ivy traps.
• DON'T t get caught camping too close to the water. Read up on the rules of how close you can camp to the water, or risk getting a hefty fine.
• Learn everything you can about poison ivy (i.e. all the forms it takes, where it's most likely to be, and how to treat it). We were lucky not to have had an encounter with poison ivy, but it's all over the island.
•  PLAN your route carefully, but don't rush through the island...it's a beautiful place.

Please let me know if you have any questions about my experience, and I'll be more than happy to share what I remember.

**UPDATE**:
Here is a link to select photos from my trip to North Manitou Island. Please share your though

Life-y questions...

I've always done this... wondered what life's ultimate goal or purpose was. In recent times, my musings have grown... frequent.

I haven't found any answers. But I have found a few categories that I think most, if not everyone finds themselves in.

I've wondered: could the purpose of one's life be just to make another's possible/ bearable/ enjoyable? Kinda like Jesus Christ (for you Christian's reading this), or.....ummm.... well I was going to draw a parallel of Christ for another religion, but I can't seem to think of one... . Anyway, so could that be the purpose of one's life? Just for the sake of another's?

Could the purpose of you life be to change the world in a large and fundamental way, by developing the world's first working teleportation device (or maybe becoming America's Next Top Ponzi Schemer)? That would be nice...

Could you just be here to struggle and survive to the end by any means you can.... only to die when God or fate decide it's time? i.e. Life sucks and then you die...

Eh who knows...it's probably all the above. And that answer still doesn't help.

Ridiculous...

After this weekend's doughnut fiesta, I unfortunately fell woefully ill... no thanks to the filthy NYC subway system (which I might explore in some detail at a later date). The stupid yo-yoing weather couldn't have helped much either...It got so bad on Monday that I had to take a sick day.

Tuesday morning is here and I still fell like crap, so the question is: am I taking another sick day? Nooo! Of course not! Because I only have one sick day a month, and I happen to have already used up my stockpile from last year (and it's really not that easy to take them in advance). So, I have to come in to work. Now, I don't have a problem with work, but I think it's ridiculous that such a thing as sick days are "rationed". I know, some smarty-pants is probably already formulating an argument for why certain organizations have sick days-- and that's great and all, but I still think it's nuts to penalize people for being sick longer than their 12 day allotted sickness allowance.

See, now that I have to come in to work, chances are that every door knob, key board, mouse and phone I touch will be infected with sickness juice...and trust me, I touch a lot of those things. I'll leave the repercussion of this to be discerned by y'all.

What would I see done in place of this 1 day a month system? Nothing that isn't already being done by other organizations: let people take as much time as they need to get better for crying out loud! I think it's kinda logical to expect a healthy person to be more effective and efficient than a sick one...not to mention that a healthy person won't potentially send a whole department home on sick leave.

Ok, I'm going to finish a cup of blisteringly hot oatmeal, and chug a gallon of water and see what happens. Have a great week.

Tasty? Yes. Tears? No.

Today I was made to visit a tiny doughnut emporium in the LES. The main 'buying area' was no larger than 11' by 11', and I kept expecting Willy Woka or the White Rabbit to show up and lead us through the out of place metal door in the room, down a passage-way, and into some fantastical inner world where doughnuts were a mode of transportation and chocolate glaze run through the standpipes.

Though Willy Wonka or the White Rabbit never showed, it was still somewhat of an adventure mainly because I had never (and would never have done so voluntarily!) stood in a half-a-city-block long line for 15 minutes to get some doughnuts. The thought was, and still is a little nuts to me... I was assured that I would understand the reason for the long line once I tasted the doughnuts and cried tears of pure pleasure as a result....ummm....I'm still waiting for the tears.

I will say this though: the doughnuts are pretty damn good. I especially like the chocolate cake and triple chocolate doughnuts (oooh and the carrot cake doughnut too!). They're definitely worth trying at least once, if only to be able to say "I've had those!" when you read about the The Doughnut Plant in the NY Times. I'm however still pretty sure that I would never voluntarily get in that long a line to purchase them...it's just a matter of principle.

Ok, i'm going to finish my orange glazed doughnut with milk and then see what St. Patty is doing in Hoboken!

**UPDATE**:

There is apparently another Doughnut Plant location at the Chelsea Hotel, right on 23rd and 7th.

Ghana Talk

I just realized that I sometimes enjoy throwing a word or two of Ghanaian pidgin English into my long rants about nothing :). So I've decided to try to compile a little glossary of terms to which I will link whenever I catch myself using one of those very fun words or phrases. Ghana peeps reading this, please share your thoughts if you see/read me going waaay off. I will be updating this blog continuously for as long as I continue to use pidgin words in my posts. Here goes:

Capa: Energy, strength e.g. The boy has capa.
Padi: Friend
Padi-padi: Friendly
Game Gbee: Literally translates to game dog. Used to describe someone who has an insatiable appetite for video games.
Nonfa: nonsense, rubbish e.g. stop talking nonfa i.e stop speaking rubbish.

Friday 4th March

It's in my nature to talk a lot. It doesn't always make for coming across as Mr. Smooth-Short-Dark & Mysterious to the under 30 ladies at happy hour. But it works really well on the over 45 crowd who seem to unconsciously equate my intelligent, yet incessant conversation with sophistication (don't get me wrong, i'm pretty sure I am sophisticated and all that, but that's a conversation for another time). Anyway, I bring all this up to try to explain the reason for this, my third (and hopefully final) blog.

See, when I first came to the realization that I always seemed to have something to say about anything, I tried several times to put all these ideas down on....er....some blogs. The problem is, I could never really find a common thread on which to blog continuously, and the blogs quickly started sounding like someone with A.D.D.wrote them (maybe I have ADD?). Besides that, I realized I didn't have the capa to keep writing 3, 4, and 5 paragraphed articles for the reading pleasure of the masses (all 10 of them!)... not that my articles were anywhere near as engaging as my bar conversations....

Anyway, for some reason, I have decided to give this blog deal another go, and this time don't expect long, perfectly worded articles. This time around, I might blog in a single controversial sentence (If you don't like it, please write a book in the comments section and let's have a discussion), introduce you to The Annoying Thing, post some photos of my latest camping experience or just give props to people that I think everyone should aspire to be like...amongst several other things. Furthermore, I would appreciate, and will attempt to answer any questions posed to me by readers, so have at. That should keep things interesting...

I hope you enjoy this new blog, and I hope to be able to keep it, entertaining and somewhat informational for you.

Have a great Friday.