Sam I am

Cool time lapse of A320 Recovery

Cool time-lapse video of the A320 recovery in the Hudson:

Posted on Kontain.com - [Flight 1549] from David Martin on Vimeo.

[Link via User Friendly.]

Labels: Hudson, New York

Manhattan Bridge Fireworks

In early October, I looked out my window to see fireworks exploding on the skyline. It was the 100th birthday of the Manhattan Bridge. Interestingly, the fireworks were south of the Brooklyn Bridge. I was okay with that since it gave me a better view.

Labels: Brooklyn, fireworks, New York

Ride in New York Harbor

Last month I took a trip on the Clipper City. It was a beautiful day.


My friend Peter helped work the ship lines. In addition to being fun, it also earned him a free drink.



For the anniversary of Henry Hudson coming into New York Harbor, many replica ships were sailing around the harbor.

Labels: Hudson, New York

Big Storm

Earlier this summer on July 26, some huge storms whipped through the New York City area. I was at home when one of them came through. Later, tornadoes were reported in Staten Island and Brooklyn; I think I saw a funnel cloud in DUMBO as well.

This is the view from my window of J Condo in DUMBO shortly before the storm began. If you look to the left of the tower, you can see an odd discoloration in the sky.


I took the liberty of enhancing the photo to emphasize what may have been a weak funnel cloud.


As the sky grew stranger and stranger, I decided to go up to the roof of my building to take a look at the view. A family of four was there. Shortly after they arrived we heard huge thunderclaps. The dad said that was that and after dragging the kids away from the metal kitchen vent pipes they went downstairs. I stayed up for around five or ten more minutes. However, I was also freaked out by the loud thunderclaps directly above my head and practically ran inside.


Shortly after returning downstairs, the heavens let loose a torrent of water. A friend of mine was driving in Manhattan at the time, and described having to pull over to avoid the wall of water coming down the street. As you can see from the photo, it was impossible to see Manhattan from my apartment.


Less than 15 minutes after the rain started to fall the storm abruptly ended. If you were to look at the sky it was like nothing had happened at all.

Labels: nature, New York, weather

September 11 Tribute in Light

Sept 11 Tribute in Light from Bleeker and 7th Avenue


Sept 11 Tribute in Light from Brooklyn, NY (linked to larger version)

Labels: New York

Tour of New York City's working harbor

At the start of the summer, I took a tour of New York City's harbor. The tour was run by the Working Harbor Committee; they are the same people who organized the tugboat races the other day. This was not your standard tour of the harbor--we visited all of the docks that regular tourists don't usually see.

There are four Working Harbor tours offered each year; the last one is next Tuesday on September 15. Tickets are still available. You can read more about the event or buy tickets directly.


It was a bit of a gray day, but some parts of the tour were quite picturesque. This panorama was shot midway through the tour.


The tour was run from the Zephyr, a ship run by Circle Line tours from South Street Seaport. Even though it got a bit chilly, everyone was on the top deck of the ship.


Anne, Phil and I enjoyed the tour. In the background are the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.


Large cranes outside of Red Hook.


New York Water Taxi berths all of its boats off of Red Hook near the Ikea.


We saw tugs and barges berthed at various locations throughout the tour. One fact I learned from the tour was that the barges and tugs are almost always owned by the same operators. In this photo, you can see that the tug and barge even have similar paint jobs.


Tires are hung from the pier to provide a cushion for ships approaching the shore.


New York Harbor.


The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island.


The tanker Ice Energy.


The Ellen McAllister won the tugboat races last weekend. Here she is working!


A tugboat working just outside of Bayonne.


The Andromeda Leader is a cargo ship.


Tugboats can be worked on in dry docks like these.


More tugs!


The tour was narrated by an executive from one of the dock companies. At points within the tour, he had mini-quizzes. Phil was thrilled to win a calendar!


The Michigan Highway is a Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ship, carrying tons of cars. We were stuck behind her for a while; a very large ship, and a bit intimidating compared to our small tour boat.


The Ever Reward is unloaded. The Ever Reward is owned by Evergreen Shippers.


Sunset in the loading docks.


Robbins Reef Lighthouse. You can own Robbins Reef Lighthouse.


The New York Harbor is regularly dredged to remove silt and deepen the water.


Phil took a photo of me in front of the Statue of Liberty.


I took this panorama at the end of the cruise. A tour around New York Harbor is both enlightening and relaxing. It's a fun trip for any New Yorker. (Incidentally, I have higher resolution versions of this image if anyone is interested.)

Labels: New York

17th Annual Tugboat Race and Competition on the Hudson River

The 17th Annual Tugboat Race and Competition on the Hudson River was held this past Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. I went to last year's races, and had such a fun time I decided to go again. There were fewer ships racing this year; I'm guessing it was because it was on Labor Day weekend. However, it was still a blast.

Ellen McAllister was the fastest tug of the day.

The Urger looks great--it was the oldest tug at the competition and was built in 1901.


The Army Corps of Engineers dredging vessel marks the finish line.

The tugboats race to the finish line.



After the race, the line throwing competition begins. Tugs have to go as quickly as possible to the pier, and throw their line over the bulb on the pier. It's incredibly difficult.



The Merchant Marine Academy was racing as well. The crowd had a lot of fun cheering on the cadets.


The Tugboat Cornell was built in 1949 and is still seaworthy

The tugs also play around on the water and do pushing competitions.


After the competitions, all of the tugs tie up to the pier and each other.



Tugster also has some great photos from the races.

Labels: Hudson, New York, tugboat

September 11 Tribute in Light

From 9th Avenue and 14th Street


From 6th Avenue and 8th Street

Labels: New York

September 11 Tribute in Light

The September 11 Tribute in Light was tested last night. This photo was taken from the Lower East Side.

Labels: New York

NYC Storm

New York City was hit by a huge storm the night before last. I managed to get some photos from just outside of my office.

Labels: nature, New York, weather

How long will the New York Times publishing the Dining Section?

I've read the New York Times Dining Section for years. I've been attracted by the photography, design, and writing, and it's still one of my favorite sections to read each week. I was thrilled when they renamed the section "Dining In/Dining Out," and enjoyed the revitalized design and writing. I still talk with friends about some of the famous writers of that section, like R.W. Apple. I've stashed the Dining Sections for years, and occasionally I like to pull them out and check out the yellowing photos and stories.

I remember when the section was a minimum of 12 pages and chock full of both full page display advertisements and classifieds. But I've started to notice a shift. Late October in 2008, the New York Times quietly renamed the section back to the simpler "Dining" name. And gradually the section has become slimmer and slimmer--in the past few months the section has not exceeded eight pages.

One metric of a newspaper's health is the ratio of advertisements to editorial content. An important aspect to consider is that the time of the year does matter--newspapers typically have fewer advertisements in the mid-summer. However, a healthy section will typically have almost a 50% split between advertising and editorial content. It is not uncommon for the size of any periodical to be controlled by the number of advertisements.

This week's Dining section appeared to be an all time low for the number of advertisements. The back page of the section has two advertisements from New York Times properties: one from about.com and one from The New York Times Store. These advertisements are probably not revenue-producing. Inside, there was a single classified column-inch from Le Perigord, a classic French restaurant in New York City. I've seen this advertisement for at least five years; I'm a bit curious if it has run in the Times for the entire 45-years that Le Perigord has been open.

Inside the rest of the section was single column-inch display advertisement for California olive oil, and a two column by three inch advertisement for sommelier training in Umbria, Italy. And a couple of more house advertisements for the New York Times related ventures.

And that's it.

To sum up, this week's New York Times Dining section has eight pages, eight column inches of advertising, and a bit over a page of house ads.

I don't know how long the Times will choose to continue this section with that amount of advertising. And this is not a one-time occurrence. I cannot remember the last time there was a paid advertisement on the back page of the Dining section. And the only time in the past few months that the Dining section has exceeded three full pages of advertisments was a few weeks ago. The "official marketing, tourism and partnership organization" of New York City, NYC & Co., ran a double-truck advertisement for New York Restaurant Week. (A double-truck advertisement is two full facing pages, typically on a single sheet of paper.) I don't consider their advertising efforts a good barometer of a newspaper's health.

I think a publisher should think long and hard about the financial viability of a section when the majority of advertising is from other branches of their company and government-sponsored entities. I enjoy the Dining section of the New York Times, but I can't understand how it is working as a business venture. I wouldn't be surprised if the Times uses the departure of Frank Bruni as the main critic as an impetus for reworking the section.

[I know I've written on this topic before, but I think it's an interesting barometer of the health of a newspaper.]

Labels: economy, food, media, New York

Sunset tonight

As I mentioned in my previous post, the weather tonight was perfect. Here are two photos stitched together from my window.

Labels: Brooklyn, New York

Fireworks

In recognition of the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson arriving in New York Harbor, this year Macy's moved their July 4th fireworks celebration from the East River to the Hudson River. Unfortunately, this meant that the fireworks celebration was a bit more difficult to see from my house. I originally thought about going to a party in New Jersey or visiting friends, but when today came I wasn't feeling very well and decided to stay home.

I took a look at the fireworks from my roof anyway, and it turned out that the view wasn't so bad. The weather was perfect, and the folks on the roof were able to see the top half of the fireworks through the Manhattan Bridge.

Labels: fireworks, New York

City Opera at the River to River festival

The New York City Opera performed at South Street Seaport on Saturday as part of the River to River festival. The weather was perfect and the opera was fantastic.

[Linked to larger version]

Labels: music, New York

Electric sky

A thunderstorm buffeted the New York City region this evening and lightning flashed across the sky.

Labels: nature, New York

Hour of Darkness

This past Saturday, New York City dimmed the lights of many buildings as a statement towards conserving energy. It was very strange to see the Brooklyn Bridge unlit.


Sarah and I were hanging out in DUMBO. For some reason, it was like I was seeing double.

Labels: New York

Sign of the times

Yesterday's New York Times Dining In/Dining Out section, aka the food section, had eight pages. Excluding advertisements by and for the New York Times, there was a single full page display advertisement and two small display classified advertisements. If that doesn't make the Times management a little nervous, I don't know what does.

In other New York Times Dining News, Kim Severson and Julia Moskin had dueling dinner parties to see who could cook the best meal. Frank Bruni, the restaurant critic for the Times was the judge. Unfortunately, in a non-critical piece, he ultimately weaseled. Unsurprisingly, it's more difficult to criticize people you know and work with than it is to visit restaurants anonymously and potentially destroy their livelihoods with your critiques.

Labels: food, media, New York

Verizon: fun with FiOS

Last week I decided to order Verizon Fios. I've been tired of Time Warner Cable's anti-competitive practices, their poor customer service, and their flaky appointments. In addition, Verizon Fios offers high-speed Internet for the home; I decided to order their 20 Mbps upload and 20 Mbps download package. (Compared with TWC, this is quite a different; my maximum download speed has been 10 Mbps and my maximum upload speed has been 1 Mbps.)

Signing up with Verizon should have been easy. On Monday, I went to their website, picked the correct package, chatted with the online service rep. and scheduled my installation. I confirmed with my manager that I could work from home on Friday to accommodate Verizon's very large installation window of 8 am through 5 pm.

A few hours after signing up, I received a phone call from Verizon: they did not have the CSC code from my credit card. I know I entered my credit card information correctly, and I am not in the habit of giving out private credit card information to random incoming calls. So I let them know I would call back. When I called back, it turned out that Verizon had no record of my order at all. Apparently, when I did not give them my CSC code the order was canceled completely.

This wasn't a huge problem, I thought and we were able to create a new order and reschedule the installation for the same date. The only minor snafus were when the Verizon representative attempted to get additional personal identifying information from me, such as my birth date and social security number. When I asked why they wanted that information, I was told it was totally unnecessary.

After the phone order was completed, I received email from Verizon confirming my order. Then, I received a phone call confirming my appointment. And finally, a few hours later, I received another phone call from the New York dispatcher's office confirming my appointment. The next day, I also confirmed the appointment online.

Yesterday, I sat around my house trying to do work. Unfortunately, I found out that my company's VPN solution does not play nicely with my cable modem, so I was only able to read email. Around 2 pm, I decided to check with Verizon to make sure they were still coming. And after navigating their phone tree and waiting on hold, at 2:30 pm I was told that I would get a call back within two hours.

At 4:30, my phone rang. It was Verizon telling me that my appointment had been scheduled and then canceled at 7:57 am. Needless to say, I was a big annoyed by this revelation. There was no explanation for the missed appointment, nor any guarantee of credit. (For what it's worth, New York City has regulations where if a cable company misses an installation appointment, they must perform free installation and give one free month of service. Verizon was trying to get this provision waived for Fios.)

I scheduled another appointment for Saturday from 8 am through noon. At 12:05 pm, since no one from Verizon had shown up, I gave them a call again. I got through to a rep around 12:15 pm and was told I would get a call back by 1. At 1 pm, I called again--I was told that they were running two hours late.

And now we get to 2 pm. A Verizon tech just arrived at my apartment. He has never wired a large co-op apartment before and does not know where to put the ONT or the power supply. His current proposal is to drill a large hold in my closet wall to access the apartment power supply. At best, that would look terrible, so he is going to make a few calls to see what he should be doing.

I'm going to file complaints with New York City DoITT, my council member, and probably the FCC--this kind of service is absurd. I'm curious to see if I'm going to get anywhere near of a good resolution.

Update 2:41 pm: I've spoken with the technician who has come to install Fios. Like all of the people I've dealt with at Verizon, he is smart and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, the Verizon management has over-scheduled the techs and not given them the equipment they need. In this case, the tech was sent out without the equipment to thread the fiber from the main distribution point on my floor to my apartment. We're waiting to see if he can get the equipment needed.

I'm not sure what's so hard with this installation. Everyone I've dealt with is professional and pleasant, and it's unfortunate that the employees seem hobbled by poor management. Verizon, you seem to have good product and good people! Why is this experience so unpleasant?

Update 4:30 pm: The technician from Verizon did not have the equipment he needed to perform the installation in my apartment. (He needed a tool to thread the fiber from the floor wire closet to my apartment.) His manager did not call him back, and he had to leave at 3:30 pm. (Verizon is not authorizing overtime.) I spoke with Verizon after he left for a bit, and I now have an appointment for February 1st. Who knows if they will be showing up. As I wrote before, I filed complaints with DoITT, the FCC, and my city council member. It will be interesting to see what kind of response I get. Hopefully, the official complaints will prompt change from the senior management of Verizon to run a tighter ship and bring some better management to their dispatcher teams. Also, note to Verizon: don't overbook appointment slots.

Ironically, I would be a much happier customer if Verizon had proactively called me to cancel or reschedule the appointment. I know it's a shocking idea for a phone company.

Labels: New York, technology

Miracle on the Hudson

Like everyone else in New York City, I was fascinated by the miraculous ditching of US Airways 1549 on the Hudson River. Several coworkers mentioned to me that the plane was visible from the offices of the 15th floor, and they watched it float down the river. The Hudson river has a strong current, and the water was frigid, and the prompt actions of the ferries, tugboats, and emergency services saved lives. (One friend of mine walking down 10th Avenue shortly after the crash saw more ambulances at once than she had ever seen.)

Two websites caught my eye after the crash. The first was FlightAware, which provides live tracking of airplanes. You can see the minute-by-minute progress of flight 1549; I've also grabbed a screen-shot from flightaware.com.

Another site that had a unique view of the rescuers was Tugster. I mentioned this website previously; Will Van Dorp had some terrific photos of the ships involved with the rescue.

Incidents like this make me proud to be a New Yorker--the city has so many heroes.

Labels: Hudson, New York, river

Interesting barge by the bridge

Shortly before Thanksgiving, I was taking a walk downtown with a friend of mine. We stopped by the South Street Seaport to take a look at the river and saw this barge pushed beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. (The Brooklyn Bridge goes over the East River in New York City.)

My friend Phil notes that this is a crane; the large posts are pylons that sink into the riverbed and keep the crane steady. I wasn't able to find any references to this barge in five minutes of searching, but I did find this interesting blog about the New York Harbor.

Labels: New York, river

Fake New York Times

Last week, while I was still at PhotoShelter, a coworker and I looked out the window and wondered what the commotion was outside of a van in Union Square. it turns out that it was newspaper distribution. The next morning, she picked up what seemed to be The New York Times from a person handing them out.

The New York Times wrote an article about the prank; there is also a well-done companion site.

Labels: media, New York

Spider, spider

You might think it is too late in the Fall to be hearing about the spider in my window; you would be wrong. Just this afternoon, I looked out my window to see the spider creating a giant 2-foot diameter web. After completing the web, it rested in the middle before hiding once again.

This spider has had some interesting behavior. I've seen it out at night a few times; as the nights have gotten colder this has stopped.


I think there may have been two spiders near my apartment at one point. I saw a desiccated spider body caught on a web at the same time as the live spider.


I've often wondered where the spider goes when it gets cold and windy. A few weeks ago, I found my answer.

As you can see from this photo, the spider is actually hidden in the sill, specifically between the outer lining and the window.

More interestingly, the spider actually had two legs out hooked to a thread. The thread ran to the center of the still intact orb. In other words, the spider was still hooked into it's main web and could detect if an insect landed on the web itself.

I've never heard this behavior described before.

Here's a photo that really shows off the web


I've taken a couple of videos of the spider. The spider doesn't move a lot, and when it does, it's difficult to capture all of it's movement. (I think this is why you always see spider webs being shown fast-forward.)


I had to swap out the audio of this movie since what I had from the television was even more annoying than the music I swapped in.

Labels: Brooklyn, nature, New York

Empire State Building

Empire State Building from 43rd Street and 6th Avenue on November 6th

Labels: New York

I had this!

Two of my friends have also had this stomach flu; it's probably what I had when I went on a cruise around Manhattan: another bout of stomach flu.

Labels: New York

Go Obama!

Labels: New York, politics

Go Emily!

My friend Emily ran the New York City Marathon today. As far as I know, she is my first friend to run a marathon. It was my first time watching any marathon in person; I went up to Sarah and Jeremy's new apartment in Park Slope to watch her go by. It was a ton of fun, and something I want to repeat next year.

Emily wrote about her training for the marathon and also raised over $1,400 dollars to fight cancer. This was her first marathon, and she completed it in under five hours. She looked great when she passed Jeremy, Sarah, and I at 4th Avenue and 1st Street--not only was she right on pace, but she looked fantastic. She called out to us as she ran by. (Jeremy made a large cardboard "Emily" sign that Sarah was holding.)

Congratulations Emily!


I also took some poorly composed video of the marathon before Emily came by.

Labels: friends, New York

Other magazine notes...

Today it was announced that Condé Nast would be cutting 5% of it's staff and 5% of it's budget. I personally know one person who has lost their job; I hope I do not find out about others. American Express also announced layoffs of 7,000 jobs worldwide, and American Express publishing has announced a layoff of 22 positions, or 10% of its staff. Cutbacks by Gannet and the Tribune Company have also been reported.

Both of the publishing cuts come on the heels of the Time Inc. announcement. These cuts will certainly have a large impact in New York City in combination with the financial industry meltdown.

Labels: media, New York

Pulse Park in Madison Square

Ginny and I were walking by Madison Square this evening, when we saw an odd array of lights. It turns out that we got a sneak preview of Pulse Park, a public art installation by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. It's scheduled to run from tomorrow through November 17. I recommend checking out the video, since my still photos do not do the project justice.



[Visit YouTube to see the view in high quality]

Labels: art, New York

Downtown fire

My brother called me to say that there was a fire close to his apartment building and that there were a large number of firetrucks present. I saw the report on the Gothamist Labs: Maps; it was reported on Gothamist as both a 10-75, "notification of fire or emergency," and a 10-76, "notification of fire or emergency in a high-rise building." He said that he could see water shooting out of the windows. Hopefully everyone is okay.

(Codes from F.D.N.Y. Radio Codes.)

Labels: New York

Katy Pfaffl at the Canal Room

Last Friday, October 17, Betsy and I went to see Katy Pfaffl at the Canal Room. Katy is a fun singer/songwriter. For this performance, she was backed by a full band, including a string trio. The Canal Room is a small, intimate venue with a decent sound system, but some weird choppy lighting. It was a fun performance; Katy is a great singer and a lot of fun.


(You can go to YouTube to watch the video in high quality.)

After the concert, Betsy and I went to Bouley Upstairs. It is in the same price range as several small bistros in the same neighborhood, but the food is cooked with the same love and attention to detail that is given at the affiliated high-end restaurants. And the wine is also fair, if you stick to the wines by the glass.

Labels: music, New York

Goodbye QE2

Last Thursday Evening, October 16, Anne and I went to the Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park to wish the Queen Elizabeth 2 farewell to New York City. The QE2 is on it's final voyage; after returning to England she will be moved to Dubai as a museum.

It was a windy, gray night, but the managers at the Rise Bar had the balcony open so that we could see the QE2 along side the much larger Queen Mary 2. The ships are both very impressive, but the QE2 looks more like a classic ocean liner than the QM2.

Even though I had a tripod, it was difficult to keep the camera steady due to the fierce winds.


The QM2 waiting for the QE2


The QE2 passing in front of the QM2


The QE2 sails ahead of the QM2 and out of the harbor

The New York Times has an article about the departure. And, of course, let's not ignore the "it's a small world" moment. The New York Times reports, "A duplicate of the pennant was presented Thursday to Grover Sanaschagrin [sic], 88, who as a harbor docking pilot guided liners to their berths from 1944 until his retirement in 1996." I believe this is the grandfather of Grover Sanschagrin, my coworker at PhotoShelter.

Labels: New York, river, tugboat

Dogmatic first thoughts

This past Monday, Dogmatic, street vendor turned fast food restaurant, opened on 17th Street in the former Mandler's space off of Union Square. Mandler's was a fast food store that served high end sausages, fries, and beers. Unfortunately, their food did not match their aspirations, the store always looked dirty, and the prices were a bit too high. Dogmatic is a new sausage store billing themselves as the "Gourmet Sausage System." And they don't disappoint.

The sausages at Dogmatic are served with a variety of sauces, but their bread steals the show. Rather than a standard hot dog bun, or even a fancy Chicago-style poppy-seed roll, Dogmatic uses French bread-style loaves. Each loaf is cut in half and shoved on a spike. The spike has two functions: it warms the bread and makes a nice receptacle for the sausage and sauce. I've tried a couple of sausage so far; my favorite combination is the beef sausage with the truffle-Gruyere sauce. (Don't spill the sauce on your shirt--it is embarrassing, especially when your coworkers don't tell you that you've spilled and you walk around all day with a splotch of Gruyere on your shirt like a nimrod.)

Dogmatic costs more than your typical dirty water dog stand--a sausage costs around $4.50. However, compared with nearby Chop't (salad for $12), or other restaurants (sushi for $15), Dogmatic is a bargain. And I think the bread alone is worth the cost. Also, vegetarians (and those of us who have had their fill of sausage) have a very nice option: Dogmatic prepares grilled asparagus as a sausage substitute.

If you are in the neighborhood and want a quick bite to eat, Dogmatic is worth visiting.

(Dogmatic sausage with horseradish mustard sauce: if you love strong mustard and horseradish, you will love this sauce. For everyone else, it might be a bit too strong.)

Labels: food, New York

Boating and hiking

Last weekend, I rode on a yacht, had food poisoning, and climbed Anthony's Nose.

I took Friday, October 3rd off to sail around the New York Classic Week Regatta, a schooner race around New York Harbor. Anne, Ginny, and I met at Chelsea Piers to board the yacht Manhattan. We paced most of the race to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and then made our way up the East River before heading back to the finish line at the Hudson. There was a bit of extra time, so we continued up the Hudson to see the Intrepid before returning to dock.

The day was overcast, but it was still pleasant outside and we all had a great time. We were supplied with a brunch of waffles, quiche, ham, salmon, and bagels; not to mention a fully stocked bar.




The Pride of Baltimore


New York harbor is a working harbor, and the sailboats navigated along large container vessels and barges.



Turning at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.


Anne and Ginny


The Manhattan was comfortable, fast, and fun. It's worth looking into if you want a pleasant cruise around the city.


The New York City Waterfalls. The project just finished this past weekend. We were able to get very close to the falls.


The day before our ride, the Intrepid returned to its permanent berth.


The view of Manhattan from the middle of New York harbor.

Unfortunately, several hours into the ride, I started to become sick. I was still fatigued and weak after the ride, and took a nap when I went home. I woke up shaking several hours later and realized that I had food poisoning. I don't think it was from the food on the ship since no one was ill; I think it was from my breakfast at a coffee shop or my lunch the day before. The details are a bit gross, but the good news is that my fever broke that night at 3 am, and by the end of Saturday I was in good shape.

So on Sunday, I went up along the Hudson to visit my friend Phil at his house in Garrison. Anne, Mary, Phil, and I started out the day by climbing Anthony's Nose, a peak overlooking Bear Mountain. We climbed the mountain fairly quickly; it's a fairly easy, but steep, climb with a beautiful view.


Phil and Mary at the peak of Anthony's Nose.


Bear Mountain Bridge


Me (Sam Greenfield) overlooking Bear Mountain Bridge from Anthony's Nose


Anne, me, Mary, and Phil

Climbing down the mountain, I saw many weird looking mushrooms. I would have taken more pictures, but I didn't want to keep everyone waiting.





I didn't do as much this past weekend, but I did walk down to Brooklyn Bridge Park with a friend of mine. It was a clear, warm day.



I finished up the weekend playing with my camera. I want to work with the strobe to see if I can capture better images of water droplets.

Labels: friends, nature, New York, river

Dessert Truck Throwdown

Bobby Flay versus Jerome Chang

Labels: food, New York

Possible Throwdown with Bobby Flay?

It looks like there might be a "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" filming in Union Square. I saw the logo for the show briefly on one of the trucks, and one of the film crew mentioned a contest with Bobby Flay. I wonder if he is competing with the Dessert Truck.

Labels: food, New York

Carpe Diem, New York City edition

I had a fantastic weekend and took advantage of quite a bit of what the city had to offer.

The weekend started out with Dance. Friday evening, I met my friend Mary and her father and we went to see my friend Kristen perform in Sawdust Palace at Dance Theater Workshop. The piece, by Susan Marshall & Company, was a fun and entertaining 80-minute set of 20 dances. Kristen and her fellow dancers are extremely talented. The pieces were sensual and athletic. Some pieces were whimsical, while others were heart-rending. It was a great set of shows, and I wish they had more performances. That being said, they had a grueling schedule of six shows in four days; Friday and Saturday had back-to-back shows at 7:30 and 10.

After the dance, Mary, her father, and I went to Brooklyn and had some light dinner and drinks at Clover Club on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. I had a "Gin-Gin Mule," a tall gin drink with ginger, and an Anejo Mole Old-Fashioned. The Old Fashioned was made with tequila and flavored with mole seasonings; even though it sounds nothing like a traditional Old Fashioned, it managed to incorporate non-traditional ingredients while still remaining true to the spirit of the original drink. (I apologize in advance if I mangled the names of the drinks.)

Mary headed home, and I wandered towards my house down Smith Street. A few doors down from Clover Club is Char No. 4. I decided to stop in for a quick nightcap. Char No. 4 features over 150 whiskeys, including scotches, bourbons, and ryes. I decided to have a 2-ounce pour of Wild Turkey Single Barrel. It's a very strong bourbon at approximately 100 proof, so I had it with a bit of water and a couple of cubes of ice. To further cut the heat of the alcohol, I ate a small order of deep-fried cheese curds with pimento sauce. Deep fried cheese and hard liquor? Not the worst end to a fun evening. I have two suggestion for Char No. 4, one silly and one serious. It would be nice if the strength of the alcohols were listed on the menu. And it would be nice if they had poutine. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out which idea is serious and which idea is silly.

Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to prepare brunch with my friends Harri and Kristiina. I always have fun making brunch, and this was no exception. In addition to fresh pastries from Almondine and berries from the farmer's market, I also prepared Eggs Florentine and fresh homemade biscuits. It's gotten easier to prepare brunch the more times that I do it. I've realized that the key to poached eggs is that they can be prepared ahead of time and kept in water before serving. (Thanks Mastering the Art of French Cooking!) This allows everything to come together very quickly. Also, fresh spinach, while a pain to clean thoroughly, is easy to prepare and tasty. This was my first time making biscuits for guests. I used cake flour. While it made for a very nice tender crumb, the biscuits did not rise as much as I would have liked. I think I will try all-purpose flour next.

Saturday evening, I met up with Betsy. We started the evening by going to Los Dos Molinos for dinner. They are a good New Mexican restaurant. It's a bit pricey, but the food is very good with a fair amount of heat. It was also the perfect location for the next stop on our itinerary....

After dinner, we headed down Irving Place to the clumsily named The Fillmore at Irving Plaza. After waiting around for thirty minutes or so, we saw an opening act by Shawn Mullins. If you don't recognize the name, you would certainly recognize his music; for example, check out this video of Lullaby.

The main event of the evening was a performance by Dar Williams. Dar is on tour in conjunction with her latest album release, Promised Land. She performed at one of the first concerts I attended when I first moved to New York City. I remember going to shows of hers at the Bottom Line and Town Hall. I really admire her, and once stood in line after a show to get her autograph on an album. She now lives in New York State very close to my friends Phil and Karen. Below are two shaky, poorly recorded clips from the show; in one she is performing Spring Street and in the other she other she is performing As Cool As I Am. You can really hear the crowd singing along during As Cool As I Am.


Dar has such a great energy, and it was clear that she loved performing in New York City. I'm really happy that I was able to catch her performing again.

Betsy and I stopped by The House for a quick drink after the show. In the future, I would not order a cocktail here; I ordered an Old Fashioned and received a very odd watered-down drink that tasted like it was made with muddled lemons and cherries and no added sugar. Betsy had a perfectly decent glass of Moscato D'asti. We were both going to switch drinks, but our waiter misunderstood us and brought another round. The twist on the evening was that I was charged extra for Maker's Mark without requesting a premium liquor. Despite the odd drinking experience, the wine list and menu look very nice. It's also a very elegant space, and I would love to check it out on another occasion.

I was looking for a fairly calm day on Sunday. I spent most of the day poking around on the computer and reading Elements of ML Programming, and then I met up with my friend Anne for Chinese food and soup dumplings. The default, and arguably best, choice for soup dumplings in New York City is Joe's Shanghai. We enjoyed a terrific meal of soup dumplings, shrimp, and eggplant. Joe's always has speedy and attentive service, and the food is terrific. (When my friend Andrew was visiting town, it was one of only three restaurants we went to in a city full of excellent restaurants.) After a nice late lunch, we walked through Chinatown and picked up some ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I had lemon sorbet.

We walked around a bit; the day was surprisingly hot and muggy. (I wish I had worn shorts.) At the South Street Seaport, I was able to scope out my apartment from the Manhattan side of the East River before taking the subway back to Brooklyn Heights.

Overall, I had an amazing weekend. It was the kind of weekend that reminds me why I love New York City.

Labels: food, friends, liquor, music, New York

September 11

Every year on the week before September 11, New York City has a memorial in the form of the Tribute in Light. Two beams shoot through the sky reminiscent of the World Trade Center. If nothing else, it allows you to appreciate how significant the World Trade Center was to New York City.


University Place and 8th Street


5th Avenue and 8th Street towards Washington Square Park


Great Jones Street and Bowery


Carroll Gardens


Brooklyn Heights panorama (image linked to a larger version)


The sky is beautiful today

Labels: New York

Dinner with Shiho, Keith, and Andrew

My friend Andrew was in town (from Los Angeles) to take photos at the U.S. Open; he flew in from China after working at the Olympics.

We went out to dinner with Shiho and Keith, two other talented photographers.

I didn't get a good photo of Andrew, but I did manage to take a quick snapshot of Shiho and Keith.

Labels: New York, photographers

Tugboat Races

This past Sunday, August 31, the Working Harbor Committee held the Sixteenth Annual Great North River Tugboat Race & Competition on the Hudson River. My friend Anne and I went to Pier 84 at 44th Street.

All of the tugboats line up at Pier 84 and parade up to the starting line at the 79th Street Boat Basin. Then they race as quickly as they can back down to the finish line at Pier 84.

Here are some photos of the tugs before the race.


The crane ship from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers marks the finish line.


The tugboats parade up to the 79th Street Boat Basin



More tugboats!


The NYFD was also on hand.


Lined up for the start of the race.


The race to the finish



After the race, the tugboats participate in other competitions, like a pushing competition. They go head to head, and the tug that is pushed backwards loses.



More tugs hanging out on the river....


The crews of the tugboats compete in a line throwing competition.


The Tug Pegasus was built in 1907 and is the oldest Tugboat in the New York City region.


After the race, the tugs dock on the pier, and you can get a very close look.



[Both of the panoramas are linked to larger versions. I have more images and high-resolution copies; contact me if you would like them.]

Labels: New York, river, tugboat

Waterfalls

The Waterfalls project by Olafur Eliasson is pretty, but not necessarily as impressive as I thought it would be. I think the view from the East River looking into Brooklyn is fairly attractive even without the additional public art.

Labels: art, Brooklyn, New York

Tasteless

I'm sure this is not the most tasteless commemoration of the attacks on September 11 [Flash warning], but it might be close. I wish I ran into them in the street, so I could be the "middle-aged man" in this Overhead in New York.

Labels: New York