Things I've bought for my bicycle in 2014

• MiniPump $15 (actually it was free with REI divident)
• Front tire - Continental GrandPrix - the Gatorskin blew out and I had to swap it out midride - $40
• Tubes 3 - $20

YTD Total - $75

Books read in 2014

1. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
2. Eat and Run - Scott Jurk
3. The Everything Store
4. Skunk Works- Ben Rich
5. The Wolf Of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort
6. The Gun Runner - Hugh Laurie

LinkedIn will not work on my iPad 1

Just got this email. Not sure how I feel about it. It's a website that does not need an app. If they were better at iStore maybe they could have figured out I removed this app a while ago. vs They're trying to make me buy a new iPad.

Hi George, Our team at LinkedIn is always working to improve your mobile experience. Sometimes we need to retire app versions or stop supporting certain devices to focus on building even better products. Starting February 18, the LinkedIn iPad app will no longer be supported on the iPad 1. To keep using LinkedIn on your iPad 1, you can go to www.linkedin.com for the web experience. If you have a newer iPad on the way, visit the iTunes App Store anytime to download our latest app – we think you’ll like it! Have questions? Visit our Help Center for more info.  Thanks for being a member, The LinkedIn Team

Things I have bought for my bicycle in 2013

I bought a used track bike in the fall of 2012 for the purposes of commuting in NYC. I met some seedy asian dude in LES and forked over $180 bucks. The bike was set up with a fixed gear and track pedals, a crappy seat and dirty handlebar tape.

Here is everything I've invested into this bicycle in 2013

• new bar tape - $12 with installation at LBS
• clip on rear fender - $15
• clip on fenders (rear and front) - $10
• rear hub rebuild and new bearings 2x - $40
• white lighting 2x - $16
• lithuium grease - $5
• Park Tool Chain cleaning system - $30
• rear rack - $15
• REI Panniers - $60
• Continental Gatorskin tire - $30
• Inner tubes 3x - $20

Total $243

I got a Kindle Paperwhite

I received a Kindle Paperwhite as a present for New Years. I've been reading books a lot more now. I think I read one book in 2012 ( The Rum Diaries ). My goal for this year is to read at least 15 to somehow justify another piece of electronic equipment in on my nightstand. The iPad and iPhone all have Kindle apps and, needless to say, there are a lot of ulterior ways of obtaining and consuming text.

So far I have read

World War Z - Max Brooks. The book is told through interviews with survivors instead of a narrative - which takes a little getting used to and piecing together. I suppose that's the intended effect. The text brings up a few interesting points of globalization, over popualtion and the capacity of modern technology. Mostly I'm happy this gives me enough 'geek cred' to discuss zombies with authority.
 







A Confederacy Of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole. I've stayed at the Chateau Bourbon which is where the department store at the begining of the book used to be. There is a statue to Ignatius J. Riley at the front of the lobby. I have not had read the book at the time so this was a little lost on me. 





   

Ski Season 2012

Fixed

I was drinking at mymoon a few years ago when I friend showed up on a single speed bicycle. He stayed for a few rounds, put on his helmet and proceeded to bike to his next venue somewhere in LIC. I was fascinated with the freedom his bike offered him - he could navigate to various venues with ease. No looking out for cops or parking.
This past Saturday I decided to do the same on my fixie. I took off the seatpost rack to seem a little more hip ( that didn't help ) and pedaled my way over the Williamsburg bridge to Lorely.  I was meeting up with an old friend at 8. My further plans were to ride back to Amity Hall and join another group of friends for a few more brews around 10. I got a little carried away at Lorely and after a few beers and an hour thunderstorm delay I decided to get back on the bike and go back to the West Village. My friends already assembled and sent me an 'are you coming' text. I go to unlock my bike and after a 10 minute conversation with a dude who's chaining up a 1970's cruiser converted to moped. My bike seems a little off. Further inspection reveals a flat tire. This dude nor his friend have a patch kit. I did not bring one either. I have security skewers on my wheels so even if I found a patch kid, the hole would have to be very evident in order for me to not take off the tire. It's 11pm and slightly drizzling.
Lorely is an off-the-beaten path kind of place. It sits squat right under the BQE, surrounded by a post industrial Hispanic ghetto. I start to wander off somewhere towards Bedford Ave, somewhat buzzed trying to figure out where I can find some bicycle repair help at 11pm on Saturday. I start thinking through a list of people in the neighborhood that I can call. I only know one, and his phone number is disconnected.
My BlackBerry is very much broken. The track pad does not scroll. I'm limited to calling whatever phone number dialed me last and whatever combination of shortcut keys I can remember. No Google Maps. It's starting to rain harder and harder.
With my fixie in tow, soaking wet I wonder through the dark industrial alleyways of Williamsburg. My cellphone is still refusing to call anyone other than my grandma. I begin to curse not being prepared, for being too ambitious with the evenings' plans. As my buzz is died off, I had a moment of clarity:
     Broken Fixie and Cellphone. I'm in a hipster scary movie.

On purchasing a dSLR

I've been tossing around the idea of purchasing a DSLR for a few years now. I'm still unable to decide whether I wish to commit to this purchase.

I've sampled a few DSLRs in the past

• Canon Rebel XS - for a weekend. Didn't like it
• Sony Alpha A230 - drove San Diego to SF along PCH and took some photos.

Pros as far as I can see

• better photos
• better photos in more conditions

Cons

• more expensive than my current H300 and will take more investment in LowePro bags, lenses and stuff
• I'd have to learn how to use the thing. 
• I'd have to haul it around. I hate carrying things - especially heavy and fragile that I have to closely guard

/r/gameswap is the best thing ever

Here is a small sample of games that I've played and traded via /r/gameswap. Amazingly I've only gotten screwed once. Each trade ends up costing about $4 for USPS shipping and media mailer envelope. 

• Modern Warfare 3
• CoD Black Ops
• La Noire
• Brink
• Rage
• Crysis 2
• RDR
• Killzone 3
• Resistance 3
• Dead Rising 2

Dead Island

Having fun at first. Got pretty good at Zombie fighting. NPC character escort missions are glitching and impossible. Gave up. Good concept for a game - not quite there.

Dead Rising 2

This game irritated me to the point of me (almost) trading it away before I got through 4 missions.

• Navigation is too time consuming
• Weapons break too quickly
• The main character is too serious
• I'm wasting a lot of time but not having any fun

Update Aug 2012

I've picked up the game and got through about a 1/3 of it but lost my interest again. Spending too much time to acquire weapons is no way to play. Sorry. On to the next one.

Limitless

Bradley Cooper is the new Matthew McConaughey. You heard it here first. Limitless was more or less Two For the Money with DeNiro and instead of Pacino. The predictability made me cringe - I had to stop watching because I already figured everything out. I realized this was only 45 minutes in and there might be more plot twists. There were. There were worse than I envisioned. Who gives movies like this and ending like that?

Crysis 2

Played through this in about 5 days. Probably the better FPS I've played this year. Stealth Mode is particularly enjoyable - nothing like sneaking up on fools, close pulling off a stealth kill, silencer tapping another Cyph in the head and hiding back in the bushes. Weapons are balanced and there is plenty of ammo everywhere. There was an awesome part where all the lights went out and I had to battle a Ceph Pinger and a swarm of Stalkers and Commanders. I hunkered down in some bunker and had to outplay the AI - a feasible task in Medium mode. A love me a good boss fight

Cold Weather biking ( again )

Arguably it was not that cold today but I still broke down and decided to invest in a UA ColdGear hood quarter way through the ride. Fortunately for me there is a Sports Authority on 53 & 3rd. The face mask is a bit doofy looking but it keep the head warm, allows for breathing in cold air via the face mask, and it probably very useful for holding up liquor stores.

A+ would do business again

Trip to Cambodia Honorable Mention

Good job South East Asia on having universal electrical sockets. I didn't need to figure out adaptors between all the countries I visited. This used to be a huge pain in the ass. This time it wasn't. #FTW

Cambodia Trip memories

• Flooding in Thailand - nobody seems to care. People sitting around in very flooded stores, chilling on raised furniture.
• Getting fooled by the tuktuk drivers and not seeing the grand palace
• The beach on the islands of sihanoukville
• Watching the sunrise at Ankor Wat
• Siem Reap Ankor What? Cafe. Sickest air band performance of Sweet Child of Mine. I played an excellent Slash
• Siem Reap - biking around town before getting on the bus. Breezing through town, navigating around and generally feeling like a local. I even bought an H1N1 themed bag
• Killing Fields - guide sharing his story of forgiveness
• Sanderzone
• Riding scooter to the top of mountain, hanging at the observation point and riding back down.The driver taught me how to holler at women in Vietamese
• Seeing water world - city of Chau Don in the Mekong Delta ( Vietnam ). We took a boat ride to see floating village, much like the Kevin Constner movie.
• Petting an elephant. Feeding it bananas.

Hello from Cambodia

The weather is wonderful and the flooding is minimal. Everything is super cheap. Spending 2 days at the beach is a great idea.

Posting via iPad app

Not bad
actually pretty bad. I had to use the browser to get the rage face in here

5ive games I want to play

• Dead Island
• Deux Ex : Human Revolution
• Brink
• Batttlefield 3
• Modern Warfare 3

Manhattan things I've done as a Manhattanite Part 2

• Bought a used Hybrid bike on craigslist ( Trek 720 )
• Paragon Warehouse Sale
• Biked on the West Side highway to the George Washington Bridge
• Had some sausage at the Feast of San Gennero 
• Bought fish in Chinatown