Category: News

  • ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    ODDS and ENDS: I Felt the Earth Move, Tottenham Home Stretch, and the Dog Got a Haircut

    (She blinded me with science…)

    NYC and the surrounding area got hit with a 4.8 magnitude earthquake which lasted for about 20 seconds. The epicenter was about 50 miles west of Manhattan. I was at home with the wife when it hit, and for the first few seconds of the quake, I thought it was come from the construction site behind our building. You know, like they were drilling or something. Then I thought that a truck had hit our building. But my wife was the first one to say, or I guess ask, “Is this an earthquake?!” In fact, it was. Thank God for social media, because within three seconds, people were posting. Funny enough, this is the second NYC earthquake I have been through. Back in August of 2011, a 5.8 quake hit northern Virginia, which was felt all the way up here. I was on the 12th floor of a building in midtown at that time, and all I felt was the building swaying, which was a very strange sensation. But in both occurrences, the overwhelming feeling I had was disbelief. You don’t think about NYC having earthquakes.

    We are down to the final nine matches of the season, and I hate to admit it, but it looks like Tottenham is playing for a place in the Champions League next season. Of those nine matches, three of them are against the teams ahead of Spurs on the table (Man City, Arsenal, and Liverpool), then there is Newcastle twice and Chelsea who both are hanging around in the middle, followed by three matches against teams fighting against relegation. The way I see it, Tottenham will walk away with three wins, three draws, and three losses, concluding the season with 69 points. Will that be enough to get past Aston Villa? I don’t think so as Aston does have the easier schedule compared to Spurs. This will be an interesting two months. Interesting in the sense that it will be infuriating, and gut wrenching.

    My dog got groomed yesterday. She’s very happy about it. She looks like a puppy.

  • ODDS and ENDS: SPRING!, DJ in the Band, and That Smell

    (Every morning…)

    It’s a month early, but it’s Spring in New York. Things are becoming green and flowers are coming out, and trees look like they are about to bud as well. I haven’t worn a scarf or my winter coat in a week, though I think it is premature to pack them away for the season. Each season change has its own magic and quirks, but Spring has one of my favorites which is the “Super Optimistic” person. You can identify them because they’re the person who dresses like it’s 85 out, when it’s actually 65. Shorts, tank top, and flip flops. I respect their desire for warmer weather, and their disregard for reality.

    What happened to all those DJ’s that used to be in rock bands? In the late 90’s, seemed like everyone was adding a DJ to their line up. Just wondering what happened to them.

    I don’t know if you know this, but it is official, New York City has a new scent. The Official Odor of NYC is “Pot Smoke.” It’s hard to believe that the former scent was dethroned, but “Rotting Garbage” had been the champ since 1624, so it was due.

  • Things Happened on This Day

    As someone pointed out to me this morning, it was four years ago today that COVID was declared a National Emergency. You know, “The Day the World Changed.”

    Not to be glib about it, but I have now lived through three “Day the World Changed” moments. First was 9/11, then Trump’s Election, and COVID.

    I bet if you ask other people, they’ll add to, or take away from my list, but suffice to say, it’s been a lot to take for the past twenty years.

    Personally, I have to add the day I got married, and the day my kid was born to “World Changing” list.

    Again; lot’s has happened in twenty years.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Goodbye VICE, WONKA Disaster Documentary, and Disc Golf

    (Locks clipped nightly)

    I never trusted VICE. I remember watching an interview of Shane Smith, the co-founder, on Charlie Rose of all places. The two things I took away from his word salad answers was that HE was the only person who could save media, and HE was the coolest person on the earth. (You know, “He’s hip! He’s cool! He’s 45!”) Turns out VICE was never profitable, though it was valued in the billions, and all Smith was good at was convincing VC’s to give him millions over and over again. As for the media, they did what everyone else does; the C-Suite got paid millions while the staff was paid virtually nothing, and they put out tons of content- quality be damned – to drive up traffic. I do feel for all the people who lost their jobs, just like everyone over at BUZZFEED, and all the other writers at all the media companies. In the end, Shane Smith got what he really wanted; he’s rich.

    I’m not here to dog pile on that Scottish “WONKA Experience.” There are tons of great takes out there, so I won’t embarrass myself in trying. But I have started to wonder; How long until someone produces a WONKA Disaster documentary? I think it took two years for the Fyre Fest to get the treatment, so my guess is that in nine months we’re gun’na hear from the Oompa-Loompa bartender lady about what really happened. (UPDATE: The Fyre-ing of this has started)

    For me, it’s almost disc golf season. I have no idea if there is an official disc golf season, my guess is there is, but I view March as the start. I’m looking to make par this year, as I have never done that, it seems like a reasonable goal.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Back on the Moon, Cats, and Home Repair Videos

    (I was here first.)

    You guys! The USA landed on the moon! We haven’t landed on the lunar surface since 1972. And when I say “we” I mean a private company that landed a probe, but still – American stuff is back on the moon. I actually do think this is rather cool news, but I also can’t help but feel underwhelmed by it. We have entered the era of private space exploration and exploitation. I hope we do a better job in this age of “exploring for profits,” than the last time. It’s bad enough that there are tons of space junk floating around in low orbit which we have no plan on cleaning up. I would hate to think that the moon is going to get trashed up, and Mars might have Tesla billboards.

    In my core of being, I am a cat person. Now, I do have a dog, and I love my dog, and dogs are great. But I do miss having a pet that tolerates me. Gives me affection when they want to. And who slaps me in the face when they want me to wake up. I’ve always been suspicious of blind loyalty.

    I’m working on breaking my IG addiction. I don’t post as much as I used to, and I guess I should rectify that if I’m building a brand here. What I do find myself doing on IG is watching home improvement and renovation videos. Especially people who put up drywall and tiles. Part of it is the desire to be more “handy” which I feel is a measure of “manliness” is our culture. But I also know that if I am to buy a home in the near future, there will be an element of having to “fix it up.” I want to believe that I will be able to take on these home projects and watching videos is a good way to prep for that eventuality. So, I’m doing myself a service but spending all my time on this. Right? Yeah…