Peter Kafka

Huff and puff

2011-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hello! It's time for my semi-annual post.

So: Hurricane hysteria (I sure hope it's hysteria, because, um, I'm in Zone B) has me thinking. Specifically, it has me thinking "What would Jay Z say?".

Also, there's a Minnesota town called New Prague

2011-01-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

Whoa. Been a while! Then again, Google hasn't done a whole lot with this platform, so I can't feel that bad. In the meantime, though, big news: Looks as if my name is going to get some extra Google-juice, courtesy of LinkedIn.

Bobby Stinson's Guitar by The Legendary Jim Ruiz

2010-06-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Bobby Stinson's Guitar by The Legendary Jim Ruiz

I am really, really, really looking forward to the World Cup

2010-06-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is not really about tennis

2010-04-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

I read this David Foster Wallace essay about a tennis player who's better than almost anyone else in the world, but still not good enough to really make it as a pro, sometime in the late 90s. It's one of my favorite things, and I think about it all the time.

In 2005, I got to fly to Spain to write about Maria Sharapova for Forbes. The trip was a lot less cool than I thought it would be. And as usual, so was the story I wrote. Not relevant to this tale, though. What is: Sharapova had basically no handlers, but one guy who was around was her trainer/playing partner.

He was this former American tennis pro who had knocked around the circuit but never cracked through to the top level, and now he was working full time with Sharapova. I thought he was this really interesting guy, because he got paid pretty well, got to travel a lot and did something very few other people in the world were qualified to do. But I couldn't help thinking of the DFW piece, and wondered if this guy ever saw himself the way that guy did.

I'm guessing you know where this ends up by now. But if not, check Wikipedia.

My real question: I loved that DFW piece, and spent enough time with it that I still know what the word "hypertrophied" means. But the penny didn't drop six or seven years later, when I met Michael Joyce and talked to him for some time. And then it took until tonight -- another five years after that -- for me to put it together. So how badly, exactly, does my brain leak?

Why I Thought We Couldn't Watch "Lost" Tonight

2010-02-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry. Totally boring. But imagine if you were the one who was chatting with "Mayboll" the Time Warner Cable rep! Then you'd be bored and aggravated! I'm going to go ahead and cut out almost all of it, but for the record, this was about 30 minutes of back and forth, and all of it was this kind Algonquin Roundtable stuff.

Oh, and the good news: Outage is over!

Mayboll>
Please give me one moment while I send you the refresh signal.

Peter>
just to be clear - there's no outage in this area, correct?

Mayboll>
I checked the outage when we beginning the chat, however I will recheck it, please give me one moment.

Mayboll>
Thank you for waiting Mr. Kafka. I already recheck it and my system shows that We are currently experiencing an outage in your area. Our technicians are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. At this time, there is no known estimated time of repair. I apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience. We are confident that our engineers will have this issue resolved shortly, but if you are still experiencing this issue in 24 hours, please contact us again. We’ll be happy to provide an update to you at that time.

Peter>
omg

Peter>
ok

Peter>
thx

Mayboll>
You are very welcome.

Mayboll>
I hope your services come back very soon.

Mayboll>
Do you have any other question may I help you with?

Peter>
No, you've done plenty. Thx.

Mayboll>
It is a pleasure to assist you.

Mayboll>
Thank you for chatting with Time Warner Cable. We value you as a customer and are here to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you would like to take a brief survey please click on "End Session" and the survey will load. Have a great day!

More in the "what people are saying about me on the Web" category

2010-01-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

I believe this is intended as a compliment/tribute. That's the spirit with which I'm taking it, anyway. From the wacky dudes -- and a couple nice women, too -- at Engadget.

Breaking news

2009-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Can't believe that I wasn't Google Alerting myself until recently. In addition to onanistic ego rub, you get to read interesting updates like this:

It's absolutely impossible not to find social media news, or not to find out news by using social media, just as it's impossible to breathe without oxygen. In fact, today, using social media, I discovered that the girlfriend of AllThingsD's Peter Kafka got laid off from Forbes.

Talk about news you can use! Except that I am married, and my wife remains gainfully employed. Still, the main thing here is that people are writing about me. Which is even better than me writing about me. Internet, you rock!

More Meta

2009-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

If meta means: "More about mememememememe".

Anyway, Paul Boutin promised to run this photoshop tribute, and he kept his word. Good dude, that Paul Boutin.

Too meta, but

2009-09-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I wish I understood how Google works. Given that I write about it and all. But maybe one of you knows: Why did I just see a David's Bridal ad on this page?

Face made for radio

2009-07-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

Mid-to-late summer, which means it's time for my annual appearance at "On the Media". Did this one at the WNYC studio, which was fun. Though slightly odd, since the offices are in Tribeca and Mike Pesca, who was interviewing me, was in Midtown. Also, apparently, when I don't drink enough water, a trained radio pro can detect a lot of "lipsmacking" in my voice. Who knew?

Also thanks to the friendly WNYC people for letting me stick around and work out of one of their conference rooms for a couple hours. Lovely view.

In which my hemp and bong jokes don't work as I'd planned

2009-07-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Dilemma. I promised the nice people at "Attack of the Show" -- a much-sharper-than-you'd-expect hour on the G4 channel -- that I'd embed a clip of my appearance this week on my blog. But I'm don't feel right about putting it on my work blog. For reasons of vanity, I think - no other good reason I can think of.

So I'm going to put it up here. Remember that TV does indeed add 10-15 lbs, and if the only part of you that's onscreen is your head, then all of that weight goes directly to your noggin, even if it's already plenty swollen.

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

In other me, me, me news: I have been corresponding, via Twitter, with Sebastian Bach, of Warrant/Gilmore Girls fame.

*That's a cable channel for people who like video games and/or are guys . If you have cable, odds are very good that you have it.

Uh oh.

2009-05-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

Periodically I try out those online surveys that pop up on ESPN, or the like, because I want to see if anyone's figured out how to make them comprehensible/completable. They're always fine at the beginning, but then devolve because they ask you to give yes or no answers to questions you don't care or think about, like your favorite brand of auto insurance, and the various attributes you associate with said brand of auto insurance.

But someone pays for this stuff and considers it worthwhile. Which means there is a really good business available for someone who gets this stuff right. Or less bad.

Anyway, before I bailed on this survey on Hulu today, which I believe was on behalf of a vodka company, I completed this page. I think it might be telling me something.

I'm Not Technically Precluded From Giving This Guy Advice, I Think

2009-04-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

Just morally precluded. From my inbox this am:

Dear Pete ,

I'm having 1300 stocks of Citigroup "C" at a cost price of 4.30 each . Should I sell it today when it reaches 4.30 , so that I will end up in no loss or no gain.
Or should I wait for tommorrow when Citibank will declare the Q1 report . Is there a chance that C will go to 5.00 tomorrow. I'm not interested in long term investment in Citibank.

Please provide your expert advise.

Thanks and kind Regards

Sree Menon

Back to the Future

2009-04-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

2001 debuted 41 years ago, Life.com tells me. (Still liking the Life.com). I was thinking about this movie last week, when I used Skype to talk to (ok, talk at) my son, via the screen on my MacBook. He was in New York, I was in California. In the Kubrick movie, the guy is using a public phone, as I recall. And I think he was on the moon. Or perhaps a space station. Still, you get the picture: After all this time, the future is now. Or something.

Trying something out here

2009-03-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

From the newly launched Life.com, which intrigues me.

Liked this one so much I'm double-posting

2009-03-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

More details here. For you: Just a great video.

Like watching grass grow

2009-02-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

But whiter. Which makes sense, since it's Minneapolis.
[Sorry. Had to strike the embedded video thing, which used to show you a live shot of snow falling in downtown Mpls. Now it's running an endless loop of video the StarTribune shot, which isn't really bad. But it does autoplay, so out it goes.]

Testing the ABC Oscar clip embeds

2009-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

No need to trouble any of my loyal readers with this. But! If you do insist on watching (and it works) do know that I found Slumdog to be very overrated (and its popularity unsettling, but that's a different story). But I do like many Danny Boyle films. Shallow Grave still rocks.

More wayback machine

2009-02-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

An hour and a half of MTV, circa 1983.

Via The Paul's Boutique Site

2009-02-03T15:09:00.001-08:00

Yup, that pixelated person is Peter.

Paul's Boutique is 20 Years Old

2009-02-03T03:52:00.000-08:00

Which makes me middle-aged, at the very least. These guys are no spring chickens, either.

Beastie Boys talk Paul's Boutique 20 Year Anniversary Reissue from ian rogers on Vimeo.

Google ads? Really?

2009-01-30T08:30:00.001-08:00

Yeah, you betcha. Because I write about this stuff in my day job. So I ought to know how it works. And just like fellow blogger Fred Wilson, any money I make from the ads is being earmarked for (an undisclosed) charity [remainder of post redacted upon advice of reader].

Associated content

2009-01-23T12:31:00.000-08:00

I'd like to be one of those people who does song of the day, or song of the week. But let's be honest. That's not going to happen. Even if I had less on my plate, no follow through for that sort of thing.
But. I do enjoy people who do that, and create stuff like this, which reminds me of the fact that I'd never heard of this song:

Until I saw this episode of the Sopranos.

Weird, right? Thank you, Andy Weissman. Thank you, David Chase.

"Lost" and its relevance to you and me, and the car business.

2008-12-28T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is a nice confluence.

For what are likely obvious reasons, I've been reminiscing about the early 90s, which it turns out I really didn't enjoy that much. But I did spend a lot of it consumed with music, and pop culture, and thinking about what it all meant, etc. Anyway, I've been listening to lots of my favorite early 90s music, which remains great. Ask me; I've got lots of great tunes to recommend.

And I've been plowing through the DVDs of Lost, which just like The West Wing is a popular show that I looked down upon without ever watching, and which turns out to be great. One of these days I'll learn. (Also, it turns out that I went to jr. high with one of the executive producers, which is a little bit mind-boggling to me, but not as much as the fact that both of us also went to school with someone who is now a very big rock star, in a limited, critically acclaimed indie rock star kind of way. Said executive producer gives said rock star a shout-out in one of the episodes. I think it's in season 3.)

So. The confluence: I thought that I recognized one of the characters in the new season because he was the guy who played the kid in ET, but I was wrong. He was actually the guy who played the guy who talked about how punk rock Subarus were (God, I love that line about making cars "less disappointing"), in the kind of marketing campaign that I used to spend a lot of time thinking about in the early 90s. See? All tied up.

Habt Acht!

2008-12-02T05:56:00.001-08:00

This link makes me feel awkward, and I'm not sure why. But I have some guesses. Upside: Reminds me that I should once again share this awesome video with you, my loyal readers.

Pretty great.

2008-11-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

I hate the electoral college, which makes my vote (and millions of others) meaningless and warps our elections to terrible effect. But I'm glad I went to the booth today, because I got to take these photos (except for the one Cindy shot in the booth). Great day.

"I Have The Chills!"

2008-10-12T15:28:00.001-07:00

Can't find the original "nest egg" speech. But this one's pretty good.

Do Not Call Me Julie Hagerty. Yet.

2008-10-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Long time no post. A little preoccupied. So... did I miss anything?

Oh. Yeah. That's right. Notice, by the way, the chyron below the decabox there on the screen. Remember when a sub-9800 Dow was a big story? Six days ago?

After dutifully listening to everyone who sounds sensible and not doing anything at all for the past few weeks, I finally checked with Mr. Fidelity today. The gut-punch: I've lost about 3 to 4 years. The silver-lining: Since I have been dutifully saving since forever, I haven't lost the nest egg. Let's see how this week goes.

Hmmmmm.

2008-09-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

What do I think about this?

Mr. Novak said he knew that he and Mr. Daniels thought alike when, during their first meeting, Mr. Daniels drew a Venn diagram to illustrate his definition of comedy.
“One circle was truly innovative, quality comedy, and one circle was what people enjoy,” Mr. Novak recalled. “And he said, ‘All I’m interested in is what’s in the middle.’ Which was all I’m interested in too. I don’t see the value in quote-unquote brilliant things that people don’t like, and I don’t see the value in things that people like that I don’t respect. It was also just a funny thing to do in a meeting, to draw a Venn diagram. I hadn’t seen one of those things since sixth grade. And I liked this one very much.”

All Things Must Pass

2008-09-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Wisconsin State Journal, 9/15:

Late Monday morning, I watched them tear down a great Madison landmark.
"It's tragic," Carol Kolb said, when I reached her in New York City. Kolb had already received the sad news via a text message from a friend.
Kolb is currently the head writer for the Onion News Network, a daily Web video broadcast launched by the Onion in March 2007.
But for much of the 1990s, Kolb lived in Madison and was curator of an unusual museum that received national attention, including a 1997 write-up in Time magazine.

The Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue was located in Kolb's apartment at 305 N. Hamilton St.
On Monday, a demolition crew was taking down the building, which was adjacent to the Pinkus McBride Market & Deli, not far from the Lake Mendota shore. A four-story, 70-unit apartment will be built on the block. The grocery is not affected and will remain open.
Inside Pinkus McBride, a clerk was asked if he knew the famous history of the building next door.
He grinned. "The toilet paper museum," he said. "People would come by and ask about it. They still do, but not as much."...

It goes on in that vein for a while. I'm nearly 100% sure, by the way, that the Seinfeld creation myth posited here is bogus. I find it hard to believe that anyone who lived in that house would admit to watching Seinfeld. In fact I think that if they knew that there was a possibility that they'd be linked to a Seinfeld joke, they'd have aborted the project early on.

Patricia2, I like the cut of your jib.

2008-09-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

Smart lady.
By the way, if you happen to be looking for my contact info: pakafka AT gmail.

Split Personality

2008-09-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure this is relevant. But haven't read it yet, because I'm a little distracted this week. In other, related, MeMeMe news, I've added yet another repository for all things MeMeMe. This is the one to visit if you want my family's more photogenic members.
By my count, I now have 5 cyberhomes that I maintain with varying degrees of regularity:

That's way too many, no? Need to think about a slim-down plan.
*No, Popeye Doyle has nothing to do with this post. But I've always wanted a picture of Popeye Doyle on this blog, and that's why the Web is great. It lets you put pictures of Popeye Doyle on your blog.

I'm A Whipster

2008-08-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

I sent in a Gawker tip (I know! What am I doing with my life?) and learned a new bit of Web argot (I think -- maybe it's pretend).

Burp

2008-08-21T08:11:00.001-07:00

I'm not a vain person, obviously. But this upsets me -- there's no way I can blame this on camera angles, right?

Wilco At McCarren Park Pool 8/13/08

2008-08-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

Definitely one of my all-time favorites. If you're into this sort of thing, definitely recommend getting a tape from one of the shows with the horn players. They're great.
Via Chicago
Blood of the lamb (w/ clarinet)
You are my face
Hummingbird
IATTBYH
A shot in the arm
Side with the seeds
Misunderstood
Far far away
Impossible Germany
Pieholden suite (total pros)
California stars (total pros)
Handshake drugs
Pot kettle black
Poor places >
Spiders (kidsmoke)

Jesus, etc.
Can't stand it (total pros)
Hate it here (total pros)
Walken (total pros)
I'm the man who loves you (total pros)

Heavy metal drummer
Late greats (total pros)
Kingpin (total pros)
Monday (total pros)
Outtasite (total pros)
I'm a wheel

Humbled

2008-07-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Man oh man, is Lyons on fire. Just pumping out wit and insight multiple times a day. Me? I'm posting YouTube videos. Once a week if I remember to do it.

If I was required to present a defense, I'd note that Dan currently doesn't have a job, and I do.

But let's be honest. Say I was hanging out around the house, in-between very well-compensated gigs. Do you think I'd be hopping online to say smart stuff, multiples times a day? Twitter about what I ate for dinner last night (gnocchi, mediocre, to be expected, pleasant all the same), sure. But that's about it. Can't even keep up a head of steam on this post. Then again, I do have some work to do...

YouTube Pro, Con, Starring Ricky Gervais

2008-07-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

YouTube rocks, because you can see all these excellent Ricky Gervais standup clips. And they're free! On the other hand, had I found these before I went to the Ricky Gervais show tonight I would have been a little bummed out, because it turns out that most of what I saw tonight he's been doing for a couple years. Yea ignorance!

Also, yea to the MSG schedulers, for booking Ricky at the little theater on the same night they had Bon Jovi in the main arena. Awesome crowds.

Second Facebok Birthday

2008-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last year I knew a few folks on FB - I'd signed up basically to please a former employer. One of them "gifted me" a birthday cake (do people still do that on FB still?) but that was about it. This year I have, um, a lot of FB friends, and many of them are indeed my friends. So this turned out to be a very pleasant experience, all things considered.

Baby, I've Come A Long Way!

2008-07-14T04:30:00.001-07:00

God bless the good people at Fark.com, who wished me a happy birthday this morning. What was I doing at Fark.com this morning? Why, I was submitting a story with this headline: "How to save the newspaper business: lots of photos of naked dudes playing rugby (one boobie, too)."

I am 37 years old.

Me, talking on the radio, about the Internet, on the Internet

2008-07-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

I did an On The Media interview last year, and I think it's by far my favorite interviewee experience: They made me sound good (they work really hard on audio quality) and kind of smart (they work really hard at editing). This one didn't come off as well, and that's completely my fault: I had a lot I wanted to say, and made the rookie mistake of trying to say it all at once. I hope they let me back on again in another year.

New! Yet another way to satisfy your Peter Kafka cravings.

2008-07-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

Yup. Writing that headline made me want to take a shower. So does posting this RSS feed. But presumably it's going to fulfill the needs of... someone. And I'm nothing if not a need-filler. Enjoy. I'm off to buy some soap -- and about 14 pounds of pork ribs.

First Rule Of Gentrification: If You Use The Word "Gentrification", You Can't Complain About Gentrification

2008-07-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Hey look! It's the story of the last 11 years of my life, told through the story of someone else's last 11 years. I've eaten at just about every one of these places.
(Btw, not to get all Weblognerdy here, but wtf with the 8MB restriction on Blogger photo uploads? How am I supposed to illustrate my blog with the professional work provided to me gratis (if not willingly) by the NYT?)

Writing This Is Just As Productive As Watching TV

2008-07-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Have seen all the Pixars except for "Cars" and have loved all of them, and have loved the idea of knowing that I'm guaranteed to love a movie just because Pixar made it. So that had to end eventually, right? Right. Anyway, saw "Wall-E" last week. And it isn't bad, but it just isn't great, and my mind kept wandering for most of it.

I initially thought that my slight dissatisfaction may have had something to do with the dissonance involved with a ginormous entertainment conglomerate that depends on consumer apathy and waste releasing a movie that purports to critique consumer apathy and waste. And that could be. But it may just have been missing the charms of the Gute.

Famous!

2008-06-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Nerd famous, that is. But still!

Yup, Pretty Much Just Posting YouTube Clips Now

2008-05-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

Odd self-referential experiment

2008-05-09T14:17:00.001-07:00

I thought this was some sort of widget that would sit on the blog, but apparently that's not the case. Anyway, I've been wondering what DayLife has been up to. And I now I know. At least a little bit.

Went To Paris, Saw Nothing Like This

2008-04-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Turns out updating your "blog" takes more time than you'd think. Regardless, this is awesome. Lou doesn't show up until about 2:30, so be patient.

I Got Zogby'd

2008-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not nearly as fascinated with the race as many of my friends and family, but I'm still curious, of course, and I'm always interested in media/polling issues. So imagine my delight to receive a call from Zogby this weekend!

The takeaway: No wonder those polls produce such shitty results. A whole slew of questions started with a bullshit premise -- for instance, that I know what "change" or "experience" mean, in the context of a presidential election, and that I have an opinion about them.

Sample question (paraphrasing): How important will "change" be in helping you decide what candidate to vote for? With a 1-4 scale ranging from "A lot" to "Not really!" Option not included: "A value-free word like change doesn't mean anything without context, so I don't really know."

In fact, almost none of the questions included an "undecided" or "don't know" or "don't care" or equivalent option -- unless you asked for them. Like it was an off-menu item at a restaurant or something.

Anyway, a very pleasant experience, in part because of my curiosity and in part because the Zogby lady was so nice. She constantly complimented me: Good for you! That is a good answer! and more excitingly: You have a very nice voice! Best one, given at the end of the poll: You are a good American! That one was nice.

Other tidbits: The pollster was a nice lady (see above) but could not pronounce Obama's name. Kept going at it like it was the first time she'd seen it. Really?

Poll spent most of time on presidential politics, then a brief detour in state politics (what did I think of Spitzer? What did I think about nuclear power at Indian Wells or wherever that this up near Westchester?), then a weird sidestep into my insurance purchasing habits. The race/religion/income bit was at the end (odd thing to say out loud: "I am white"), and the religion query included, among many options, one for humanist. So that was fun to say out loud as well.

Haven't Watched It, Probably Never Will

2008-01-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

But don't want to deny anyone else the pleasure.

Thanks For Sharing!

2008-01-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

Normally I'd make fun of people who post this sort of thing, but I feel an obligation to my blogging brothers and sisters, who insist on disclosing as much as possible. Not that I will, mind you, but I ought to at least show unflattering video of myself. Bonus: More to come!

Whoops. Blogger won't let me embed for some reason. So if you want to see you'll have to head here.

Should Have Shaved Today

2008-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Argument in support of headline TK.

Sitcoms Are Funny

2008-01-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

Because they're true!

* Who's playing tonight?

• Seattle and Green Bay, and then the Patriots and someone...

* Does it not matter because whoever the Patriots are going to play they're going to beat them?

• Yes. Jacksonsville. They'll kill them.

* So why watch it?

• Because it's fun.

• That doesn't sound like fun.

Pants are funny

2008-01-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

Not to be all "I'm from Minnesota" or anything, but I'm from Minnesota. Ok - I grew up there. Anyway. 17 degrees in January is warm, dude.

ESPN-- Seattle Seahawks kicker Josh Brown says he'll wear heated warm-up pants in the freezing weather at Saturday's playoff game in Green Bay.
Brown says he has equipped his pants with battery-powered heaters for the calves, thighs and hamstrings.
Brown told KIRO Radio that no matter how low the temperature drops, his legs will be 75 degrees.
Brown says kickers, who spend most of the game on the sideline, have to work harder to stay loose in cold weather by walking around, practicing kicks or using heaters.
The National Weather Service is predicting a 20 percent chance of snow showers on Saturday in Green Bay, with a high near 28. Temperatures are expected to dip to 17 degrees on Saturday night.

Mmmmmmmmmmeta

2008-01-09T14:11:00.002-08:00

Apologies for the crude cut-and-paste. As ironic (maybe?) as this may sound, I don't actually know how to use blog software.

Big News Coming

2008-01-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

At least in my blinkered view of the world. Very exciting. More soon. Hint: Involves video.

Poor In Paris

2007-12-29T05:24:00.001-08:00

For a long time I've had a long boring rant about how po middle-class folk like myself and me and I are being priced out of New York City. So it's nice to be able to shake things up and complain about how I've been priced out of Europe as well. (This is actually concomitant with the first rant, since I'm now convinced that Europeans are at least partly responsible for bidding up NYC real estate -- though I'm happy to see them snarfing up iPhones and the like on Fifth Ave.)

This isn't the worst thing in the world. I don't usually budget at home, but I really need to. So this is good training. And a reminder of what it's like for some of our friends when they visit NYC. Need to be more cognizant of what being in that defensive economic crouch can feel like.

Meantime we've more or less adjusted for this trip, at least, using the following strategy:

1) Don't purchase anything except for food and museum tickets.
2) During day, buy only coffee, bread, sandwiches, etc. Remark how they're not that expensive, really -- and quite filling and pretty good! Know that much of what you're saying is actually true.
3) At night, rationalize that spending $20 or more per plate for food you might send back in other cities simply means that you're a global citizen, enjoying the rich tapestry of life.
4) Limit fantasizing about eating in your favorite New York bistros.

Did I mention that we're having a swell time? We really are.

Found A Kindle Fan

2007-11-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

My 66-year-old dad, who's quite excited about the e-reader. His only critiques:

• Device is too expensive: Amazon is asking $400 for it; he doesn't want to pay anything for it.

• Books are too expensive: Amazon wants $2 to $10 per book; he doesn't want to pay anything for them. In theory, he should be able to download free ebooks from the library - big library guy, my dad - but in reality Amazon has done its best to make this only theoretically possible.

Besides that, he loves it. Seriously. Genuinely thinks he'd be better off with the gadget than a real book. Just have to figure out the whole pricing thing.

Endorsement

2007-11-20T18:54:00.000-08:00

Bob Dylan. Jewish dude from Minnesota. You heard of him? Has some good songs. Worth checking out.

Derek Nystrom Needs To Get Out More

2007-10-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

J'adore le Derek Nystrom, so I'm happy to fulfill whatever metarequest he makes. Within reason, of course. Like, I definitely wouldn't want to do anything that made me seem like an easily pleased narcissist.

Endorsements

2007-09-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

My pal David Mizner became a father last fall, then also became a hermit. A very busy hermit! He's got a blog, which I might write for occasionally since it turns out that blogging is fun! Also, a book, which I hear is very very good. You should buy one.

I'm Flattered.

2007-08-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Benoit Brookens III,

Thank you so much for your invitation to be my Facebook friend! I'll confess that I was puzzled when I saw that you had added me, because I couldn't figure out where we had ever met. But your message cleared it up for me - we've never met. Nor have I ever spoken to you. Nor have we ever exchanged emails. You just found me, somehow, randomly, and figured we ought to be pals.

"I was doing economic research and found that you were a researcher at Forbes. I deal in markets and economics and thought It would be beneficial to connect with you."

Right on! I have to confess I'm not sure how our Facebook friendship will be beneficial to either of us, but I'm sure that will become clear eventually. You certainly seem to know what you're doing! After all, you have 904 friends! That's cool!

There's a Mr. Show sketch I wanted to show you here. It features Bob and David as some sort of funny-sounding immigrants (or maybe just foreigners - hard to tell) who dance around in a circle and say funny things. At the end, they say "We are friends again!". Couldn't find that one though. So this will have to suffice.

About Time

2007-08-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

Just occured to me that I've yet to post anything Wilco/Tweedy related, which is of course a terrible oversight. I'll begin rectifying that now.

Can you post from a blackberry?

2007-07-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

And if you could, what would you say?
Perhaps something along the lines of ... "I am in an Econolodge off of I80 outside of Toledo, in a room with a leaking faucet and a toilet that doesn't flush properly. Please send help."

Up And Running

2007-07-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

Not running very quickly. But still.

The twist: We're up for a day, then I'm heading to the U.P. next week, where I hope not to come anywhere near a cell phone or broadband connection. Pretty sure that is bad startup form, but pleased I'm able to do it nonetheless.

Anyway, the site says Beta, but I'm pretty sure we're still in Alpha. Not that that's an excuse for whatever's there: Drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Seriously, I'm working.

2007-07-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Also, sweating a lot. But working, still. Here's evidence -- and no, that's not my permanent home, just a stopover.

Where's Your Site? What's It Called? Why The Big Secret?

2007-07-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

All reasonable questions, asked by reasonable, well-meaning people. It'd be sexier if there was a, um, sexy reason, but unfortunately it's your basic Occam's Razor explanation: There is no site because we haven't built it yet. It doesn't have a name because we haven't decided on one. So it's not really a secret - there's no there, there, yet. That said, if you're one of the 6 or 12 people who've bothered to come here in search of more information, we'd be happy to share it with you when we have it - in fact, you can have it in beta! (Always wanted to say that.) Leave an email address in comments or ping me and we'll send you an email when we're ready to show you...something.

Much of this is actually true.

2007-06-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

More important, they didn't use the truly awful photo of me; believe it or not this one is actually more flattering.

Something New

2007-06-20T12:40:00.001-07:00

I've been employed at the same place for 10 years, and that's worked out well for me. Now I'd like to try out a new gig. Worst case scenario - it fails, and I spend lots of time curating this blog. Best wish me luck.