Countdown to moving day: 3 days to go

I picked up the keys to the new apartment this morning.  It's about a 20 minute walk from Kate's apartment, and about 15 minutes from the YMCA on 9th Street.  With the astoundingly fantastic neighborhood, the location just keeps getting better and better.  I met my new super, who seems like a good guy.  He grew up in the neighborhood and takes pride in the security of his buildings, which put me at ease.  Everything in the apartment itself was working, including both air conditioners, the refrigerator, and the oven.  I checked out the cabinets and the closets, and I still think I'll be able to get all of my things into the space without too much difficulty.  It will be crowded for a few weeks while I unpack but I'll manage. 

There is one not-so-small problem, and that is the lack of a storage room.  Both the broker and the landlord assured me that the apartment came with a 5'x5' storage room in the basement.  The extra storage became a big factor in my decision to take that apartment rather than continue looking for something else.  But this morning when I asked the super where the storage rooms were, he said my apartment was one of two that didn't come with a storage room.  He showed me a few places in the basement where I could keep my bike, and assured me that both of them were secure and that I didn't need to worry about my bike being stolen.  However, neither location is a substitute for a storage room where I could put things like my folding dining chairs, my cat carriers, or anything else I don't need every day.  I called my new landlord but he's on vacation until Monday.  Now the missing storage room isn't a show-stopper.  I have too much stuff as it is. But I'd been counting on having some extra space, so I'm disappointed.  I hope I can fit everything I'm keeping into the space I have.  I managed to fit too much stuff into my old apartment in Greenwich Village, so I'm sure I can manage.  I just don't want to feel cramped.

Something different on a Saturday night

"So when are we meeting up to go to the Roller Derby?"

Those are words I never expected to utter, but that's what I said on the phone with Kate on Saturday afternoon as we were planning our night. Two of her roommates are on the Queens of Pain team in the Gotham Girls Roller Derby league, and on Saturday evening we went to the gym at Hunter College to see them play the Brooklyn Bombshells. I had never seen roller derby before, so I had no idea what I was going to see. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had.

The entertainment started early. Since it takes a while to get through the metal detectors and security at Hunter College, and because the league likes to raise money, they played bingo to pass the 90 minutes or so between opening the doors and starting the bout. They also sold tickets to a 50-50 raffle and talked about the halftime entertainment. The bout started at 8:30 PM and I was lost for the first few minutes. Actually, I was lost for most of the night, but gradually I figured out how the game worked. The bout has two 30-minute halves. The players rotate in and out of the game during stoppages, sort of like a hockey lineup. Each "jam" is about two minutes and features a "jammer" from each team wearing a star on their helmet. Everyone skates counterclockwise (turning left as in NASCAR) and the jammers have to work their way through the pack (the blockers) and pass everyone from the other team in order to score points. There are penalties, injuries, and strategies, some of which I understood but most were lost on me. Queens jumped out to an early lead and at halftime was up by 30 points. But they had a few injured players so the team had to double-shift, which wore them down as the game went on. After a halftime show of bicycle polo and a cheerleader performance, Brooklyn chipped away at the lead and got it under 30 before Queens managed to hold on for the win. They did so in front of a packed gym full of Brooklyn supporters, who cheered lustily for their team. I was shocked to see a full gym on a summer Saturday night, filled with people who were as into the game as this crowd was. Kate cheered for her friends and yelled at the referees on questionable penalty calls the same way she yells at the TV during Yankee games, which I thought was funny. I guess sports are sports.

At the end of the night we congratulated Kate's roommates and then went in search of food and drink, which we found at a nearby pub. We all had such a good time that we're definitely going back. Next time I'll even know where to sit and what kind of photos to take.

Goin' home

Well, that was fun. But all good things must come to an end, and I'm on my way back to New York. I had a good time in Florida. I learned a few things about the product we use, I learned a few things about myself (mostly, that I'm 34 going on 74), I saw more fake breasts than I've ever seen before, and I got to relax on the beach and eat some great meals.

The conference ended last night around 8 PM, after a largely disappointing closing reception (not enough food, badly lit room). One of my former co-workers lives in the Miami area, and he met us at the hotel for dinner. We wanted to stay close by, but a consensus soon developed around the idea of going to the Hard Rock Casino on a nearby Seminole reservation. We had a bit of trouble finding the place, but once we saw the lights from the highway we couldn't miss it. I'd only ever been to casinos in Las Vegas, so I was curious if the typical Florida casino patron is of the same species as the Nevada variety. The casino is next to an outdoor shopping mall with a few restaurants, so we chose TATU, an Asian restaurant, for dinner. (No relation to the Russian pop duo, apparently.) I don't know if the place was a chain or a one-off, but the food was excellent. It was some of the best pad thai I've ever had. After dinner we went to the casino itself to see if we could find some of our friends. I was not surprised or disappointed to find that my anthropological theory was correct. There were plenty of old ladies (and old guys) in Members Only jackets chain-smoking in front of slot machines. There were also plenty of beautiful and surgically-enhanced women wandering around, but that didn't help with the depressing impression I had. I didn't like the casinos in Las Vegas, at least not the gambling parts of them, so I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything better from the Hard Rock. In any case we hadn't intended to gamble, and we couldn't find our friends, and it was after midnight and everyone else hadn't slept the night before, so we went back to our hotel.

Back in my room, I found that I'd somehow screwed up my Mac earlier in the day. I had no afternoon sessions to attend so I'd hoped to get down to the beach one more time before I left. But the afternoon thunderstorms that had held off most of the week appeared on schedule at 3 PM, and that put the damper on my beach plans. I went back to my room and read some blogs and tinkered with the Mac. I discovered via the system logs that the Mac was trying to load some software that I thought I'd uninstalled, and that some components of the software were still running. I found a tech support site that told me how to unload everything, and I rebooted and the Mac was fine. Then I went out for the night. When I got back to the room and plugged in my camera, the Mac was sluggish and unresponsive, so I rebooted it again. That's when things really got weird. The Dock crashed and Finder wouldn't load. I took a few deep breaths and didn't panic. What was the worst thing that would happen? I'd have a sad Mac to take home and fix back in my apartment, and I'd have to run to the office over the weekend to pick up my backup drive to restore my data. I rebooted in Safe Mode and OS X came up properly, and after a few minutes of checking some things I rebooted normally. So far (fingers crossed) the Mac has been fine since 2 AM last night. If I have any problems after this I have the Mac OS X DVD at home to help me through my troubles. Besides, I have TV on the plane so it's not like I NEED to use the Mac on the flight. I think I'll be OK.

I should have brought my thongs

I got out of my afternoon sessions a bit early so I decided not to wait and hit the pool and the beach this afternoon. And it was glorious. The pool was refreshing, but the ocean was warm and surprisingly not that deep. I walked a long way out and the water never got above my waist. I played around in the water until I got prune hands and the sun went behind some ominous-looking clouds, but I had a fantastic time. I wish I'd thought to bring my flip-flops, though, as I think I'll end up with sand in my sneakers if I keep wearing them to the beach. But that's a small price to pay to play in the ocean and hang out by the pool.

My first business trip in two years

This week I'm in Hollywood, FL, near Fort Lauderdale and Miami, for an accounting systems user conference. For the past year or so I've been the backup IT administrator for our Unix-based accounting system at work, and one of the privileges (or drawbacks) to that role is that I get to go to the annual conference for this particular system. Last year it was in Vegas, this year it's in Florida. So far it's been a relatively uneventful trip. My flight landed at the Ft. Lauderdale airport just before a major thunderstorm stalled over the field, so we sat on the tarmac for 90 minutes while the airport shut down to wait out the storm. Once I got to the gate, I had another hour-long wait for my luggage. But by late afternoon I was sitting in my room enjoying the ocean view from my balcony and watching another thunderstorm roll by. Tomorrow morning my plan is to get up and work out, then go to the beach and/or the pool before going to a some tutorials in the afternoon. This trip is as close as I'm getting to a beach vacation for a while, so I'm going to try to make the most of it while I'm here.

Moving sucks

I'm in the process of sorting my possessions into "keep," "trash," and "sell/donate" piles. So far it's been slow going. I'm moving on July 5, but I have the old apartment until July 31, so I can afford to leave some of my things there while I wait for them to sell on eBay or Craigslist, or for HousingWorks or The Salvation Army to pick them up. But I need to remember that after I've moved to Brooklyn, I won't want to shlep to the Upper East Side to take care of business. When I moved to the UES from the Village I still had my old apartment for three weeks, and I had to stop there occasionally to pick things up or meet with a broker in my unsuccessful attempt to find a new tenant for my lease. Those evenings were not fun, especially during a heat wave. So the more things I can get rid of in the next two weeks, the less I will have to stop by after July 5.

Tim Russert

I was so shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Tim Russert on Friday afternoon. I've watched Meet the Press for years, mostly because of the wonderful job Russert did as moderator. I've had it programmed into my DVR almost since the day I got it. I found Russert entertaining, engaging, and above all the most well-informed and passionate analyst of the political landscape. I also enjoyed seeing him at 7 AM on the Today show in his role as Washington bureau chief whenever there was a breaking story in the capital. You could tell that he really loved doing what he did, and that there was no other place he'd rather be than at the center of the storm. Watching him with that whiteboard during election night coverage always made me smile. No matter what other technology the network deployed, Russert relied on that whiteboard, and often he had more accurate information to pass along than the computers did. I don't know what's going to happen to Meet the Press now. It's going to continue, of course, but no one can fill his shoes.

And, it's over

I saw another apartment on Friday evening that I really liked right away, and the next thing I knew, I was filling out the paperwork and texting my friends to let them know I was using them as references. One credit check later, I had an agreement to sign a lease on Sunday afternoon. This afternoon at 2 I was back in the broker's office signing the lease with the landlord and although I am now somewhat poorer than I was on Friday, I have a new apartment for the next two years. I'll be living on President Street in Park Slope in Brooklyn, between 4th and 5th Avenues. The apartment is considerably smaller than my two-bedroom on 1st Avenue in Manhattan, but I think I can shrink the amount of stuff I have to fit into the new space. I have a lot of junk I've been storing in my spare room that needs to go on Craigslist or eBay or be given away. My new apartment includes two air conditioners so I'll be getting rid of the ones I have. It also has laundry machines in the basement, as well as a private storage room for each apartment. When I heard about the storage, I was sold. Keeping my bike in my apartment has been an issue since I moved to New York. It's out of the way in the office but it still takes up valuable space. In the new apartment I'll be able to put it in the basement storage room and free up some space in the apartment proper. I even get a dishwasher! I haven't had one of those since I left DC. The only drawback to the apartment is that it's on the ground floor, with the sidewalk right outside. I'll have to be careful about what I leave out in my living room and when I leave my windows open. The landlord and broker assured me that the building is secure and that nothing short of stupidity (like leaving the windows open and my laptop out) would lead to theft. I hope they're right. I signed a two-year lease, because I knew I wouldn't want to move again next July.

After I signed the lease I spent some time walking around my new neighborhood and checking out the stores and restaurants. I already loved the area, having explored some of it with Kate over the past few months (she lives about 15 blocks away on the other side of Park Slope). I'm close to the subway to get to work, and getting home from rehearsals on Thursday nights shouldn't be an issue. Although with the longer commute I will probably not stay out for drinks as often as I do now. But I'm really excited about the move. I don't look forward to all the work I have to do here to clean out my unnecessary things but when I'm done I will have a much smaller version of myself to move, as an old roommate once said of himself.

It begins...

...and hopefully ends quickly. My Brooklyn apartment search starts this evening. It's the first time I've done this completely on my own, so I'm a little nervous. But I know what I'm looking for and so I hope I'll find something that suits my needs and my budget, and that I can have the whole process wrapped up before I go on a business trip the last week of June. Then I can move at my convenience sometime in July.

However, these things rarely go according to plan.

Game 5

I should have gone to bed by midnight last night. I'd gone to bed late on Sunday night and suffered for it all day Monday. By the time I left work, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to eat a quick dinner, watch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between Detroit and Pittsburgh, and go to bed. However, the hockey gods had something else in mind last night.

After the 1st period, I was cautiously optimistic that the Penguins could hold on to their lead. They haven't looked as good in the Finals as they did cruising through the Eastern Conference playoffs, but last night they owned the 1st period. The Red Wings cut the lead to 2-1 in the 2nd period, but I still had hope that I'd see a game 6 on Wednesday. In the 3rd period, two quick goals by the Wings put them minutes away from winning the Cup on home ice and ending the season for Pittsburgh. I started thinking about the groveling messages I'd have to leave for James and my Deadspin friends from Detroit. Then, with time running out, Max Talbot put a rebound past Chris Osgood and tied the game at 3-3. We're going to OT.

I spent the next two hours trying to stay calm and not panic every time the puck was in the Penguins' zone, or on every shot that Marc-Andre Fleury faced. On each one I saw for a brief second the end of the game. Likewise, when the Penguins managed to get the puck into the Wings' zone, I saw them extending the series on each shot. Also, the combination of being tired and excited had me all kinds of punchy. When the announcers said that Petr Sykora said he'd score the game-winner I thought he played for the Wings. It took me a few minutes to remember he was on my team. And at 12:45 AM, Sykora got a centering pass from Evgeni Malkin and shot the puck past Osgood to win the game. I may have woken up my neighbors with my screaming. It was one of the most exciting hockey games I've ever seen.

Now the series goes back to Pittsburgh for Game 6 on Wednesday night. I know the Red Wings are still favored to win the whole thing, but I'm just glad I get to see at least one more hockey game this season. I think the Penguins are more confident now and will give them another game to remember. And I'm really excited about the future of the Penguins. These young players have grown up tremendously during this playoff run. They have a bright future ahead of them.

Another crane collapse?!

Let's get the important things out of the way first. I'm OK. My apartment is OK. My cats are fine.

Another Manhattan construction crane collapsed this morning around 8 AM. The last one was in east midtown back in March, but this time it was at 1st Ave and 91st Street, which is two blocks north of my apartment. I didn't hear anything so it must have happened while I was in the shower. But I heard the sirens and saw the traffic outside. My first thought was "this is why I need to move to Brooklyn: less traffic and fewer sirens in Park Slope." Then a friend texted me asking if I was OK after the crane collapse. I turned off last night's Colbert Report and turned on the Today show and watched a few minutes of Matt Lauer before they switched to the local news which showed the live footage from the helicopters I could hear hovering over the accident. I called my girlfriend and my parents to let them know I was OK, then I finished getting ready for work and went outside. 1st Avenue was a mess. There were emergency vehicles everywhere and people like me gawking at the disaster. I thought the city inspected all the cranes after the last crane fell down a few months ago. Maybe they didn't check them all, or maybe they didn't check the connections between the cab and the base (which looks like what broke in this case). Or maybe it's just an accident.

I can't help thinking that the demand for new high-rise apartment buildings for rich people who want to live in Manhattan is driving fast construction which leads to sloppy work and accidents like this. We have cranes falling on city streets killing people. I hope this collapse leads to a larger-scale reevaluation of the pace of construction in Manhattan but I doubt it will. It's a business. Who cares if a few construction workers or a couple of people on the street get killed? That's just the cost of doing business in the city. Besides, those people wouldn't have been able to afford to live in the new building anyway, so what do their lives matter?

The best thing I overheard this week

On Monday night Kate and I were on our way back from a weekend in the Washington, DC, area by way of Stamford. Since we were on a late train back to Grand Central I decided we should take a cab home instead of lugging our stuff on the subway. As we approached the exit to 42nd Street we heard the sound of a driver leaning on their car horn. We walked through the doors just as the horn stopped and we heard a pedestrian screaming something at a cab driver. The pedestrian was trying to light a cigarette and kept shouting "It's illegal in the city! It's illegal in the city!" Then he looked at the driver and said "You wanna get out and fight?" I should point out that the cigarette smoking guy was about 140 lbs and 5'8", though the driver didn't look any bigger. After another "it's fucking illegal in the city to honk your horn!" the smoker told the driver, and I quote, "Go back to your fucking country!"

Kate's response: "Welcome back to New York."

I love this town.

I don't know where my head is lately

I should preface this story by pointing out that except for last night, when I slept about 7 hours, I'd slept less than 6 hours each night for the past three or four nights, and I don't think I've been eating properly for a few days. So sleep deprivation and a change in diet might explain what's been going on with my brain lately.

I had a weird trip home from work tonight. I left the office about 6:30 and got on a 5 train, which was good because if there was a Yankee game tonight the 4 train would be crowded but the 5 would not. I got out my iPod and put on Bob Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home," which I haven't listened to in a long time. I was thinking about what I had to do tonight: buy groceries, call a friend who's going to cat-sit for me this weekend, watch some TV, get ready for work tomorrow, talk to Kate, and go to bed early. For some reason I decided to play solitaire on my iPod, something else I haven't done in a long time. I thought I was keeping track of the stops, but I must have been "in the zone" because when I looked up I saw that the next stop was 125th Street, one stop past mine. I still think I was in some sort of time warp, because I've been riding the 4/5 trains for five years and I've missed my stop only once or twice before. I was a little freaked out at my mistake, but I switched tracks at 125th Street and got on a downtown 4 train and got out at 86th Street.

I started walking home when I realized that I had forgotten my Macbook Pro's power supply on my desk at the office. (I realize that I could do without bringing the Mac to work every day, but I have been using it to test the Lotus Notes client for Mac, and it's fun to have at work anyway, so I bring it each day.) I've been making this trip with the Mac since I got it in February, and I hadn't forgotten the power supply before. I was cursing my absent-minded, hunger-addled and sleep-deprived brain when I remembered that I could just buy a spare power supply at Best Buy back at 86th and Lexington. So I turned around and walked back. I had been thinking that I should just get a spare power supply anyway so I wouldn't have to worry about carrying one to work each day, so I didn't really mind paying for another one. When I got to Best Buy I was still thinking about how dumb I was when I realized that I was halfway down the stairs into the subway station again. Now that was me operating on pure muscle memory. I go into that subway station at least once a day on my way to work and sometimes twice if it's a busy travel day, so that's why some part of my animal nervous system ignored my brain and assumed that was where I wanted to go. I turned around again and walked into Best Buy and got my spare power supply.

Three hours later, I feel much better after eating dinner and relaxing. I plan to get more sleep this week and eat right and try to exercise and hopefully that will put things right in my head. It's hard enough to get through my day when my brain is operating at peak efficiency. When I'm suffering from self-induced ADD, I'm not doing myself any favors.

UPDATE: The NYPD killed the raccoon

Gothamist updated yesterday's story about the raccoon in the tree to note that the raccoon had to be euthanized after NY's finest shot it with tranquilizer darts. As I expected, the officers thought the raccoon might be rabid, so they shot it. The darts penetrated the raccoon too deeply and couldn't be removed, so Animal Control euthanized it after it fell from the tree. It's too bad, because it sounds like Animal Control would have returned the raccoon to Central Park or Carl Schurz Park or somewhere else in the city where it's supposed to live. Also, according to the Post story, it's not clear if the NYPD called Animal Control to check the situation before they went after the raccoon with darts.

The NYPD has a bad animal rescue track record in the past few weeks. They fished a lost badger out of the East River, only to have the badger die later. They caught a coyote in Central Park a few months ago and it died before they could transport it upstate. I think the moral of the story is that if your cat gets stuck in a tree, don't call the NYPD unless you want a dead cat.

Seen this morning on the UES...

There was a small crowd of people and a few police cars at the east side of the intersection of 1st Avenue and 88th Street this morning when I left for work. I couldn't see what they were all looking at, and when I saw scaffolding on the side of one building on 88th Street, I assumed some poor soul had fallen off the building while working, or that there was a problem at the high school just down the block. There was a guy watching the proceedings from my side of the street, so I asked him what was going on. He said there was a raccoon stuck in a tree and the police were there to get it down. The NYPD had deployed the ultra-sophisticated water hose displacement system in order to persuade the raccoon to vacate its lofty perch. I crossed 1st Avenue to get a better look and took some photos, which Gothamist was kind enough to mention in a post earlier this afternoon. My reaction this morning was a Stephen Colbert-esque "ooh, he's so cute!" However, I don't feel as happy after reading one Gothamist commenter's observation that if the raccoon was out during the day it was probably sick and possibly rabid. So the little guy (or girl) most likely met with a sad end once the cops got it out of the tree. Godspeed, little raccoon buddy. You were too beautiful for this world.

updating last night's tech post

I had no problems installing the new RAM in my Macbook, but I had some trouble installing my slightly-used RAM in Kate's Macbook. Her laptop refused to boot at first, so I had to take it apart again, remove half the RAM, close it up, reboot (it worked), then open it up again, insert the other RAM chip, close it, reboot (it didn't work), then swap the two chips. This time it booted up and recognized all 2 GB of memory, and it booted about four times as fast as it had before. When I left the laptop it was happily running multiple applications and playing a video podcast. I was a little worried that it wouldn't boot up another time, but so far I haven't heard of any problems with it.

This afternoon I switched back to Google Reader for my RSS feeds. I didn't have any problems for most of the day, but around 4 PM Firefox refused to play any Youtube videos so I restarted the application. When I went back to Google Reader it had marked 90% of my unread blog items as read. That wasn't a total disaster, as I wasn't going to read those 600 Slashdot posts anyway. But it seemed like a bad omen. It didn't drive me back to NetNewsWire, though. I'm going to stick with Google Reader for now, but I'll keep NNW around in case I want to give it another try.

Editor's Note: I intend to write more in this forum starting now. I've slacked off recently, but writing is one of the things in life that makes me happy and I can always use more happiness. So look for more posts from me from now on. I may take things in a more technical direction, so please bear with me. Content is content, and I'll try to make things funny when appropriate.

A minor upgrade, some other tech thoughts

I splurged a bit the other day and bought extra RAM for my Macbook Pro. While I hadn't exhausted the 2 GB I started with, I realized that for about $100 I could double the RAM and have plenty of overhead for a virtual machine or three. And I can give the RAM that came with my Mac to Kate, who only has 512 MB in hers.

I'm trying out NetNewsWire, a RSS reader for the Mac. I've been a happy Google Reader user for three or four years, but I hear good things about standalone RSS reader apps now and then, so I thought I'd give one a try. It's OK, but I miss Google Reader. I think I'm too used to doing everything in the browser. I had the same problem when I tried using Apple's Mail app instead of Gmail in the browser. It's just not the same. The only thing I like is the Growl notification when my feeds update, but even then I feel like I need to switch to the reader and check them out immediately. I think I'll switch back to Google Reader in another day or so.

I installed one of those newfangled flourescent bulbs in my living room the other day. It's dimmer when the light first turns on, but after that it's as bright if not brighter than the previous incandescent bulb. And I think the power savings made my overhead ceiling fan run faster. When the weather gets warmer I'll have to check that out in greater detail.

Can't watch this

With Leather posted this video of Myron Cope performing a parody of MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" about the Pittsburgh Pirates, presumably circa 1990-1992. I loved Myron Cope and everything he did, but wow, this one is hard to sit through. I especially enjoyed the part about halfway through where he devolves from "can't touch this" into unintelligible muttering. Also, a man in his mid-60s shouldn't wear a jacket with no shirt, not even for a parody video.

NYRO's final concert of the 2007-08 season

Dear Friends of the New York Repertory Orchestra:

As our last concert of the season swiftly approaches, mark your calendars for our final musical extravaganza of 2007-2008! We have a great program planned, full of favorites and rarities – please come and enjoy it with us. Here is the information:

• Date: Saturday, May 17, 2008
• Time: 8:00pm
• Place: Good Shepherd-Faith Church (152 West 66th Street)
• Admission: FREE
  

Program:

• Vincent D'Indy: Suite from "Karadec"
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor – Anna Polonsky, piano
• Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor "From the New World"
  

A few notes on the music we'll be playing:

The opening work on the program will be the delightful Suite from "Karadec" by French composer Vincent D'Indy. Originally written as incidental music to a play based on Breton legends, these enchanting and tender pieces end in a boisterous Breton wedding celebration.

By turns stormy, introspective, and joyful, the Piano Concerto in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the composer's most celebrated works. Greatly admired by both Beethoven and Brahms, this concerto has also been a favorite with audiences since its first performance. Almost operatic in its dramatic and emotional content, the concerto beautifully illuminates the expressive intensity that lay just below the graceful and elegant surface of this great composer. With pianist Anna Polonsky making her NYRO debut as soloist, this will be a performance to treasure. (Read more about our soloist below.)

The main work on the program will be the monumental Symphony No. 9 in E minor "From the New World," by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. One of the great masterpieces of the orchestral literature, Dvorak's "New World" symphony is steeped in the composer's musical experiences and explorations from his time spent in America. A favorite of audiences and musicians the world over, this great work will be a fitting conclusion to our wonderful season.

A word about our soloist:

Pianist Anna Polonsky is widely in demand as a soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared as soloist with the Moscow Virtuosi, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and many others. Ms. Polonsky has collaborated with the Guarneri, Orion, and Audubon Quartets, and with such musicians as Mitsuko Uchida, David Shifrin, Richard Goode, Ida and Ani Kavafian, Cho-Liang Lin, Arnold Steinhardt, Anton Kuerti, Gary Hoffman, and Fred Sherry. She is regularly invited to perform chamber music at festivals such as Marlboro, Chamber Music Northwest, Seattle, Moab, Santa Fe, Bridgehampton, Bard, and Caramoor, as well as at Bargemusic in New York City. Ms. Polonsky has given concerts in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Alice Tully Hall, Zankel Hall, Merkin Hall, the 92nd St. Y, and has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. A frequent guest at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, she was an artist member of CMS Two during 2002-2004. In 2006 she took a part in the European Broadcasting Union's project to record and broadcast all of Mozart's keyboard sonatas, and in the spring of 2007 she performed a Carnegie Hall solo recital, inaugurating the Emerson Quartet's Perspectives Series.

All in all, a great way to end our season on the highest note possible – great music, great performers, and great fun – I hope we'll see you there!

Best regards,
David Leibowitz, Music Director
New York Repertory Orchestra
www.nyro.org

The streets are alive... with the sound of jackhammers (UPDATE)

Since Tuesday morning, the heavy-duty water repair contractors have been out on 1st Avenue cutting large holes in the street and chipping away at concrete with jackhammers. They've also deployed large replacement pipes and giant steel plates to cover the holes when they're done working for the day. I suppose that means that while the water leak was repaired two weeks ago, the DEP still needs to replace the pipes.

The good news is that my water service hasn't been interrupted all week. The bad news is that when they're not working, I hear the constant "ba-dump-dump" of car tires rolling over the steel plates. And, of course, trying to watch TV with construction noise in the background isn't easy.

This, too, shall pass.

If you're looking for me, I'll be in Liberty City

I picked up Grand Theft Auto IV this evening on my way home from work, and played it for almost an hour before I realized I was hungry. I took a break to eat and watch part of the Rangers-Penguins game (Pens win!). I have a feeling I'll be playing this game after work for a while.

Stanley Cup playoff hockey in HD? Not tonight.

One of the joys of having HDTV is watching sports, and at this time of year, watching the Stanley Cup playoffs in HD. This past week I've been watching all the games on Versus HD, which magically appeared in my channel lineup when the playoffs started.

However, tonight's game between the Penguins and the Rangers is only on Versus in SD, at least here in NY. I can't believe that the Penguins don't broadcast their games in HD, so I have to assume that Time Warner is blacking out Versus HD for some reason.

I should just be thankful that I can see the game at all.

It's over for Star and Al

Star Jones has filed for divorce from Al Reynolds. The two parties didn't give a reason. You think maybe it's because he's gay? No, that couldn't be it. Just because the man had the most awkward bachelor party ever doesn't mean he likes dudes. He's just really into bathrobes, crappy liquor, and simulated sex shows that don't get anyone excited.

BEWARE OF POPE

On Wednesday afternoon I checked the Pope's NY itinerary and noticed that one of the street closures on Friday April 18 (that's today!) was 87th Street between 1st and York. That's a block south of my apartment on 1st Ave. The pope will be at a special worship service at St. Joseph's Church on that block at 6 PM tonight. When I went to work this morning, the NYPD had already put up parade barricades along 1st Avenue and on 87th St. My block appears to be unaffected, but I'm sure it's a mob scene on my street right now. Normally I might be interested in a spectacle like this, and stand out there with my camera and try to get a picture of the Popemobile as it goes by. But the security for this visit is so heavy that I think I'll just stay out until 8 or 9 PM tonight and try to avoid the entire mess.

In other neighborhood news, the jackhammers and concrete saws that drove me crazy on Tuesday evening turned out to be there for a good reason: a leaky water main that had flooded several of the basements on my block. However, in fixing the problem, the water department had to shut off the water to the entire block on Wednesday evening and didn't turn it back on until Thursday morning. I discovered this when I got home from a long night of eating and drinking and all I wanted to do was pass out. I had the flexibility of making other arrangements for the night (and more importantly, for the shower I would certainly need and want on Thursday morning) so I was able to weather the crisis. When I got home on Thursday night the hole in the street had been filled with fresh asphalt and the water flowing from the tap was clear and plentiful.

I would like to apologize to the DEP guy that I complained to on Wednesday night. I'm sorry I gave you a hard time; I know you didn't want to be out there any more than I wanted to be without running water. I am especially sorry for suggesting that the water issue was in any way related to the pope's visit this evening. I did not really think that you were all terrorists disguised as water department repairmen planting a giant bomb in the street as a plot to kill the pope. You have to understand: I'm crazy and sometimes a little paranoid.

The streets are alive... with the sound of jackhammers

There must be some kind of water main leak under 1st Avenue right outside my apartment, because for the second night in a row, there are construction workers outside jackhammering (is that a verb?) a giant hole in the street. They're cutting and pounding away AS I WRITE THIS, which makes it difficult, if not impossible to watch TV or enjoy life in general here. I appreciate that evening construction work is better than early morning, and I'd rather have them fixing the leak than letting it seep into the basement next door (watch out for that drainage hose across the sidewalk!). I also understand that my neighbors a block over on 2nd Avenue have it much, much worse, what with their entire street torn up with subway construction. But it's still annoying me right now, and it's my blog, so I'll write about things that annoy me if I want.

Home theater improvements

Last week I bought a HDMI-DVI adapter that lets me hook up my Macbook Pro to my HDTV. Now I can use my 42" TV as an extra monitor. Why? Well, why not? It's there, it's beautiful, and the Mac can output 1920x1080 to fill the entire screen. Right now my extra HDMI cable is only 6 feet long so I can't sit comfortably on my sofa and use the TV as a monitor. I have to put the Mac on my coffee table and lean over to make it work. So at some point I'll get another HDMI cable that's longer and then I work in my living room with two monitors.

The other reason to get the adapter is that my old Dell PC has DVI outputs on the video card, so I can hook up my PC to the TV. I intended to keep the old PC as a media server anyway, so this way I can put it in the living room as well and just connect it directly to the TV. I still need to figure out just what I'll keep on that PC. I have room on the Mac for all my music and photos so I could just use it as a backup system. I'm not making any big changes until my housing situation is resolved. As long as I have the office then I have no reason to overload my living room power outlets with more equipment.

Another thing is that mucking about with my home theater setup is that it lets me avoid bigger things in my life, like thinking about where I want to move and what I want to be when I grow up. I should be devoting some time to those issues, but I'd much rather tinker with my computers.

Gawker doesn't want me to work for the rest of the day (or the week)

They just posted a link to Nerve's top 50 comedy sketches of all time. And in the comments, people have posted their own favorites that didn't make the list. I might just have to go home early, hook up the Mac to the HDTV, and go to town. Speaking of which, I've got another home theater post rolling around in my head, so look for that in the next day or so, whenever I get around to writing it.

another subway ranter?

I was on the 6 train this morning instead of my usual 4/5 commute, at least until I changed trains at 14th St. An older man got on the train at one of the stops. He was dressed in a decent-looking blazer and slacks, and had what looked like a violin pin on his lapel, and he was carrying a newspaper. As soon as the doors closed, he said he was an example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, that anyone could be in his position, and that we should all pray each day to our higher power. Then he read his paper. He didn't go on about Jesus or ask anyone for money, so I don't think he was preaching. When he got off the train a few stops later he walked past me and I caught a whiff of his odor. I don't know if it was old man funk, homeless guy stink, or something even more foul, but he had a nasty air about him. Maybe he was just hoping someone would offer him a clean pair of pants.

God has no place on public transit

On my way home from work last Friday night, I had the pleasure of having a subway preacher standing next to me and loudly proclaiming that Jesus was his savior and the one true god, etc., etc. I hate subway preachers. I don't like most forms of subway shilling, whether it's two kids doing a breakdance routine (always the same spiel, usually the same music, only the faces are different), a homeless person asking for money, or people selling candy. When I'm on the subway I just want to listen to my music and/or read my book, and all these interlopers force me to turn off my music (I can't hear it over theirs) or put away my book. However, I reserve my greatest loathing for subway preachers. At least with the other unwelcome types, you know that the show or the begging will be over by the time the train gets to the next stop. But with subway preachers, they just stay where they are through every stop and tell you all about how you're going to Hell if you don't accept Christ. This guy got on the train at 42nd St. and started by reading something from the Bible, and as soon as he got it out I knew that I'd be stuck with him next to me until I got off the train at 86th St. Sure enough, when he finished with his Bible passage, he started going on about how all the problems of the world were due to too many gods, and that Jesus was the only true god. And he kept it up, even though everyone in the car was ignoring him. When I got off at my stop, he was still going strong, telling everyone that he was on his way home to meet his wife and kids and that they were going to church that night. Well, good for them.

Later that night, I was back on the 4/5 train going downtown, on my way to Brooklyn. I was reading my book and listening to my iPod again (sometimes I can multi-task) when this woman got on the train at 59th St. She put her bags down on one of the benches, stood up at the end of the car, and started talking about Jesus. Then she started singing a gospel song, complete with clapping and exhortations for the rest of us to clap and sing along. Honestly, where do these people come from? I think she gave up somewhere between 42nd and 14th Sts. and moved to the next car, so I got a few free minutes with my music before I switched lines at 14th St.

I have no problems with anyone's religious beliefs or with free speech. But is a subway car really the best place to spread the word? Maybe I don't get it because I'm Jewish and nothing in my belief system tells me that I need to convert the heathens. In fact, rabbis actively discourage potential converts. You don't want any part of this, trust me.

I may not be the best source of information about Windows Vista

I got a tech support call from James last night. His Linksys router may be flaky, and it wasn't connecting him to the Internet. After about 15 minutes we figured out that the cable modem was fine and that the router was most likely the problem, so I gave him a few suggestions and we got off the phone. I don't know yet how everything worked out.

The bigger issue was that James was relaying to me what his Vista laptop was telling him about his network connections. One status message was "local only," he couldn't find the menu box where he could get to a command prompt, and he couldn't even tell me his IP address. I don't have Vista on my PC at home, and I bought the Macbook Pro so I wouldn't have to deal with Vista at all. So when he was telling me about these various error messages, I couldn't help him with them. I realized that I'm going to have to learn Vista eventually if my friends and family are going to continue calling me for computer help. And that's not likely to change. But I don't want to upgrade my home PC to Vista. Maybe this is where I get a copy of Vista and install it on my MBP with Parallels (a virtual machine manager) so I can just find my way around. I don't think I can get everyone to switch to Macs.

NYRO's next concert: March 29, featuring Stravinsky, Strauss, and the Dvorak Cello Concerto

For those of you who aren't on my e-mail list, here is the concert announcement from NYRO's music director about our next concert in two weeks. It's going to be a hell of a show.


Dear Friends of the New York Repertory Orchestra:

Spring is in the air and our March 29th concert is fast approaching – and you’re invited!

Once again, we have a great program planned and hope you can enjoy it with us. Here is all the information:

Date: Saturday, March 29, 2008

• Time: 8:00pm
• Place: Good Shepherd-Faith Church (152 West 66th Street)
• Admission: FREE
  

Program:

• Igor Stravinsky: Octet for Wind Instruments
• Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks
• Antonin Dvorak: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra – Eric Jacobsen, cello
  

A few notes on the music we’ll be playing:

In “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks” German composer Richard Strauss depicts, with great good humor, the jokes and tricks of the legendary prankster, Till Eulenspiegel. Written for a dazzlingly virtuosic (and huge!) orchestra, Strauss uses all his considerable skills to bring to life Till’s madcap adventures in a delightful musical romp that is be sure to bring a laugh and a smile to all.

The main work on the program will be the glorious Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. This concerto is one of the most popular works for solo cello and orchestra, and the touchstone to which all other solo cello works are compared. A monument to the composer’s incredible gift of haunting melody and rich harmony, the concerto is more than a showpiece for the solo cello – the depth of emotion and range of expression combine to make this, in actuality, a magnificent symphony for cello and orchestra. And taking on the virtuosic solo cello part will be the spectacularly talented cellist Eric Jacobsen. I know that this will one of the high points of this or any season. You won’t want to miss it. (Read more about Mr. Jacobsen below!)

The opening work on the program will be the delightful Octet for Wind Instruments by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. This sprightly work is full of charm, wit, and sly humor and is a most appropriate companion to “Till Eulenspiegel” Also, it gives us a chance to showcase our wonderful NYRO woodwind and brass players.

A word about our soloist:
In the fall of 2003, cellist Eric Jacobsen appeared with Renee Fleming at the opening of Zankel Hall, at Carnegie Hall and on the Late Show with David Letterman. He has worked with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and traveled to Japan where the ensemble had residencies in the National Museums in Nara and Fukuoka. Mr. Jacobsen has collaborated at The Tenri Cultural Institute and The Angel Orensanz Foundation in performances with musicians from Armenia and Iran. Mr. Jacobsen is a regular presenter and performer at Brooklyn’s Bargemusic and he has recently been appointed curator and musical director of the 92nd street Y’s Makor Center Classical Café. Also, Mr. Jacobsen has appeared as soloist with the Chamber Soloists of Austin in Texas , the Riverside Orchestra, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, the Greenwich Village Orchestra, and the Lake George Chamber Orchestra and he has been heard on NPR programs ‘Sound Check’ and ‘Performance Today.’ This is his first appearance with NYRO.

So...we anticipate another great evening of music with New York’s finest all-volunteer, community-based orchestra – the New York Repertory Orchestra. I look forward to seeing you on March 29th.

Best regards,
David Leibowitz, Music Director
New York Repertory Orchestra
www.nyro.org

------------------------------------------------------

PS - Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our Season Finale on May 17, 2008

Program:

• Vincent d’Indy: “Karadek” Suite
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor – Anna Polonsky, piano
• Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor “From the New World”

My current reading list

I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately. I finished The Mask of Command a few weeks ago, then took about a week to read Will Leitch's God Save The Fan (during which time the author signed my copy at a book reading downtown). I'm currently enjoying Alex Ross' The Rest Is Noise, an overview of music of the 20th Century. Normally I try to alternate fiction with non-fiction, but I received a number of books as holiday gifts, all of which were in the non-fiction category, so I'm working my way through those now. In particular, I am fascinated by Ross' recounting of the history of atonality and the popular reaction to innovations in composition by Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, and Bartok. (I'm only 120 pages in, so no spoilers!)

When I'm done with The Rest is Noise, I have Stephen Colbert's book on my shelf, and the book about the guy who spent a year reading the Encyclopedia Britannica. My non-fiction parade looks like it's going to continue for a few more months.

My new favorite blog

Straight Outta Johnstown

If someone starts up a Westmont blog, my head might explode.

another new feature

When I can't think of anything interesting to write about, I'll just add something new to the already-busy panel on the right side of the blog. Today's new addition is a chat applet that's supposed to connect you (the reader) directly to me (the blogger) via Google Talk/Gmail Chat whenever I'm online. Now, if you want to tell me directly and immediately what you think of one of my posts, you can use the chat feature instead of leaving me a permanent comment. Of course, it's Google chat, so your message will be archived forever in my Gmail account. So keep that in mind if you're the type who prefers not to leave any electronic footprint behind.

Don't mess with a good thing, OR a substitute funny

I had planned to post a detailed schedule for a typical Thursday, the point being that I'm a creature of habit and I do the same things and eat the same food every Thursday on my way to orchestra rehearsal. But then I went and changed some of my patterns today, and that messed up my universe to the point that I got stuck on the subway, was nearly late for rehearsal, barely had time to eat, and generally couldn't have had a worse time getting my evening started. Things improved from there (I can say right now that our next concert on March 29 will be spectacular!) but I decided to scrap what I was going to write.

Instead, I present this, with no fanfare. Really, I couldn't do it justice. There are many, many comedic gems on the site, including this, this, this one here (ooh la la!), and this other one from the later period. I think my parents may have some of these in their collections.

Freezing my ass off for astronomy

I remembered almost at the last minute that there was a full lunar eclipse last night, so after dinner I bundled up and hustled over to Carl Schurz Park on the East River to check it out. The last lunar eclipse I saw was in 1989 or 1990, and I camped out in front of my house in a lawn chair with binoculars, and all the neighbors thought I was either spying on them or watching for UFOs. When I got to the esplanade, I found a small crowd of fellow amateur astronomers and an assortment of telescopes. Members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York were there with information about what the eclipse was, how long it would last, and what other stars were visible during the eclipse. When the moon was about halfway shadowed by the Earth, Saturn became visible just below and to the right of the moon. One of the astronomers reoriented his telescope to point it at Saturn and people lined up and took turns gazing at Saturn and its rings. I'd never seen Saturn's rings before, but there they were: a little line angling through the small disk that was the planet. I could also see Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and another unidentified moon of Saturn, both of which were visible just as tiny specks. The moon itself turned a light reddish color, and through another telescope I could see seas and craters more clearly than on a full moon evening. Later, as the moon was totally shadowed by the Earth, other stars appeared over Manhattan: Sirius, Rigel, the constellation Orion, the Big Dipper, and Polaris (the "North Star"). I hadn't seen stars over Manhattan since the blackout in 2003 and while there weren't as many stars out as there had been that night, it was still a better show than we get in the city on any given night. I called Kate, who was at home in Park Slope, and she could see all kinds of stars out while the moon was obscured. I really do have to move out of Manhattan.

By 10:45 I'd been outside for about two hours, and while I was enjoying the show, I was also freezing. The total portion of the eclipse was nearly over, so I walked home as fast as my chilled legs and feet could take me. Once inside I realized I could have been watching the eclipse from my window, as the moon had risen high enough that it cleared the buildings across the street. I had a cup of hot tea and got my blood circulating again, and today I'm happy to report that I don't seem to have frostbite or any other permanent damage. The next lunar eclipse is scheduled for late 2010, and I just hope it's a little warmer. Why can't the universe schedule all eclipses for warm summer nights?

One purchase begets others

Since I bought the Macbook Pro two weeks ago, I've had to make some other, ancillary purchases. Last week it was an external hard drive to keep at the office for backups. Tonight it was a new laptop backpack.

I have a tough time finding laptop bags that I like. I've tried standard bags that go over one shoulder, a messenger bag (first detailed here, later derided as "the Big Bag"), and several backpacks. My favorite bag was the backpack I got for attending Novell's BrainShare conference in 2002. I took that backpack everywhere for 18 months until the shoulder straps began to give and I tore a hole in the bottom two days after the NYC blackout by carrying too much weight. I had hoped to get a replacement backpack at BrainShare 2004, but they gave us rolling bags instead. Don't get me wrong: I love my rolling bag and I use it on trips out of town, but it's not much good outdoors on NY sidewalks, and forget about carrying it up and down the subway stairs. I used the messenger bag for about two years, but with everything I carry to work (probably more than I need) it was too hard on my neck and shoulder.

For the past 15 months I've been using a backpack I got at a VMWare training class, but it's starting to wear out now. I really prefer a backpack to anything else, despite how unprofessional it might look, so I looked for a tough but still fashionable backpack to hold my stuff. I settled on a black Wenger backpack I found at J&R. It's another "big bag" but this time I want something that can hold my laptop, my lunch, a book and maybe even a change of clothes if it's a weekend and I'm going away. It certainly looks sturdy enough for my needs. I'll see how well it performs on Thursday when I have rehearsal after work. If it fits my music stand along with everything else, I'll be ecstatic.

UPDATE: It doesn't quite fit the music stand, but it won't stick out as much as it did in the VMWare bag.

More Guitar Hero?

My friends and readers know I love Guitar Hero (even though I don't play it enough, as the figurative ass-kicking I received from one of my guests after the Super Bowl party proved) and I can't get enough of the game. Sometimes I wish every song was a GH song. Last night at dinner the restaurant had an '80s rock station on the sound system, and when "Paradise City" came on I said I could play it on GH when I got home, then I remembered that it's not in any of the games (yet). My friends also know that I have a bit of a thing for Aerosmith. I've seen them live three times, and while they're approaching Rolling Stones-like longevity, I still listen to their older music, mostly material from the '80s and '90s.

So it is with excitement and trepidation that I greet the news that the next GH title will be dedicated to Aerosmith. I've never thought of Aerosmith as a great guitar band, though there are a few songs with excellent solos from Joe Perry, "Sweet Emotion" and "Dream On" among them. The latter song is going to be a free download this weekend so I will have to find some time to work on my Joe Perry impression on Saturday or Sunday. But I'm not sure that an entire game devoted to Aerosmith is the best next step for the GH franchise. There are so many great rock bands and songs out there that are crying out for the GH treatment that I wonder if this move is just a way to throw a bone to the GH owners who haven't upgraded to the group- and party-friendly Rock Band game. Or maybe there's a huge Aerosmith fan among the GH hero design staff. I'll buy the game in June, there's no question about that. I mean, it's not like I'm the best manager of my own cash flow (see here and here for two recent examples).

Follow-up on the previous post: I bought a WD MyBook external drive on Wednesday evening and I've been using that for Time Machine backups. I'm leaving the drive at work so I have an offsite backup. If you're not backing up your data, you should do it immediately. One hard drive failure can cost you years of photos, music, and documents. Do it! Do it now!!

still loving the new Mac

I've spent lots of time on my new laptop this week and while I'm still figuring out how best to use all of its features, I'm really enjoying it. I hooked it up to my 19" widescreen LCD last night and unlike Windows, which would prompt me for what kind of monitor it was and how to configure it, the Mac just added it as a second screen. Right away I could drag an application like Firefox to the LCD panel and use two monitors like I do at work.

One thing I haven't been able to do yet is take advantage of the Time Machine backup feature. I have a spare external HD at home, but when I tried to format it for the Mac I got an I/O error that I haven't been able to solve. I might end up buying a new, larger external HD anyway and keep the other one for my PC. Otherwise the Mac has been everything I wanted and more. I've been carrying it back and forth to work since I got it, and while I think I'll stop doing that eventually, for now I can't really bear to be parted from it. It's just that much fun to use.

I have a new toy, and I love it

Last Friday, I caved and clicked the "buy" button. Less than a week later, I am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro. As of yesterday, the FedEx tracking still said it was in Shanghai, but it appeared at my desk at 11 AM this morning. I commemorated the occasion by taking photos of the unboxing. So far, I'm really happy with it. I've been telling my friends that I'm not excited so much as filled with a sense of smug self-satisfaction. I guess this is what it feels like to own a Mac.

Tales of moving

Saturday was moving day for several people close to me. James and Jessica moved to their new apartment in Bed-Stuy, and since James was busy at a school debate tournament in New Jersey, I had to stand in for him and help Jess. "Help" consisted of making multiple stops in the U-Haul van that she and our friend Jeremy rented to move things they were giving away. We started in Fort Greene at the old apartment, dropped off several bags of junk at Housing Works in Brooklyn Heights, moved an air conditioner into Kate's new apartment in Park Slope (she was also moving on Saturday), and then drove out to Jeremy's place in Queens to drop off chairs and couches at his apartment. We picked up Jess at her new apartment on the way to Queens, so I got to see the new place and I gave it my seal of approval.

We stopped at a McDonald's for lunch and went through the drive-thru lane. I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years, so I ordered one of their new Angus burgers. I'm still waiting to try it, because they forgot to put mine in the bag. I had to eat chicken nuggets instead. At least I got lots of fries.

After lunch we drove the U-Haul out to IKEA in Hicksville on Long Island. Jess and I were both riding in the passenger seat, with one seat belt for both of us. Had we been in an accident, I would be dead now, as the seat belt was right across my throat and windpipe. IKEA was another adventure. We only took about 90 minutes to shop, but it took about an hour to collect all our things from the warehouse and another hour or more waiting in various lines. The home delivery line in particular took an hour. We had arrived at IKEA at 3:30 PM, and we left around 7 to drive back to Fort Greene. Then we had more cleaning and moving to do before we finally ate dinner at a tiny bistro on Carlton Avenue at 10 PM. I took a cab home with my sole purchase of the day, a new LACK coffee table that already has a chip out of one corner. Stupid $30 coffee tables. But it went together in about 10 minutes on Sunday morning, so it was ready for the Super Bowl party that evening.

Speaking of moving, I will have to find a new apartment by midsummer. It's a long story that I won't recap here, but my building is for sale and the new owners want to make some big changes that wouldn't be fun (or possible) with people living there. So a few phone calls and conversations with lawyers later, I've agreed to move out and be compensated for my trouble. I'm looking at renting for another year or two, hopefully in Park Slope in Brooklyn, and then I'll take a serious look at buying an apartment in an affordable and maybe decent neighborhood in Brooklyn. This will be the first time I've lived outside of Manhattan, and while I'm apprehensive about re-learning all my commutes and bike routes, I'm excited about the change. I have some time to think about where I want to live and I don't have to feel rushed. It's going to be fun.

"That was a hell of a thing."

That was the most exciting fourth quarter of a Super Bowl that I've ever seen.

I had my regular party going on again this year. I made Buffalo Chicken Dip, James made Cincinnati chili, and we had baked beans, hot dogs, cookies for dessert, and lots of beer. The party turned out to be a couples event, as everyone there had a spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend with them. That was unintentional but a funny touch. We were enjoying the game but not really into it until the 4th quarter. When New England scored to take a 14-10 lead with 3 minutes left, the air went out of the room. I don't think any of us thought the Giants could come back and score a touchdown against that defense. But wow, we were wrong. Eli Manning played out of his mind. I've watched the replay half a dozen times and I still can't figure out how he avoided a sack AND threw the ball to David Tyree, who caught it with his hand and his helmet. And when Manning floated that ball to the corner of the end zone for Plaxico Burress, we went nuts. We were screaming and jumping and calling people and just freaking out. And then we had to wait and see how the Patriots responded. When the game ended, we were all drained and elated. I said "we get a parade on Tuesday!" The Giants' victory parade will go up Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall, and that goes right by my office building, so I'll be there.

I'm still kind of giddy about this game today. It's not my team, and it feels much different from the Steelers' championship two years ago. That game was crappy and didn't have as exciting an ending, and I felt relieved more than anything else when it was over. I'm not a Giants fan but unless you're a Patriots fan it's impossible to watch the way that game ended last night and not root for the Giants to pull out the win. It's that kind of exciting victory that has me in a great mood today. We don't get to watch football again until September, so I'm glad the game went out on such a high note.

On not pulling the trigger

I was thisclose to clicking "place your order now" for a brand-new Macbook Pro from the Apple Store when one of my colleagues forwarded me a blog post about rumors of new Macbook Pros coming soon from Apple. After talking to him, I closed the browser window.

I've been waiting for a while to buy a Macbook Pro. I've been thinking idly about it for about a year, and when I decided last fall that my next computer would be a laptop, a Macbook Pro was a natural choice. I don't want to use Windows Vista, I've gotten to like the software that comes with Mac OS X, and many of my friends have Macs and love them. A Macbook Pro would have the RAM and processor requirements that would be equivalent to my last few desktop PCs. And with a laptop at home, I could finally sit in front of the TV and use my own laptop instead of the one from work that isn't quite mine no matter how much I tweak it.

But a Macbook Pro would cost about twice what I paid for my last PC. It would be the most money I've ever spent on a computer. I bought a custom-built PC in 1998 that cost about $2500, and the only reason it cost that much was that I bought it through a vendor friend of mine and I wanted to give him some business. (Actually, the Macbook Pro would only be slightly more expensive than that PC, but with the warranty and the tax the difference is significant.) I know that for the price, I'm really getting two computers: Macs can run Windows as well as as OS X.

I guess what I'm really afraid of is that I'll buy a Pro now, and then in a week or two Apple will announce the new lineup and there will be some hot new feature that I really want but can't have. One of the rumors is that the Pro line will get the same multi-touch trackpad that the new Macbook Air has. Another rumor is that they'll update the hardware with the latest Intel processors. I know that every technology purchase is obsolete the minute you get it. On the other hand, if I'm one of the first ones with a new piece of hardware then I get to be one of the first ones to figure out what's wrong with it. The advantage of buying a Pro now is that the hardware has been tested by the user community and most of the issues are known. I'm not sure I want to be an early hardware adopter when I'm not that familiar with the OS either.

So I'm waiting for now. I'll give it a few more days. Maybe I'll do my taxes in the next few days and see how that affects my financial situation. Maybe Apple will decide to announce the new Macbook Pro specs next week and I can make a truly informed decision. Or maybe my gadget lust will overcome me, I'll click that "buy" button, and I'll hope that whenever the new laptops are announced my reaction is "meh."

Saturday night with the Philharmonic.

Saturday night was the first concert on my New York Philharmonic subscription series. Riccardo Muti was at the podium, and the first piece was Schumann's Piano Concerto with Radu Lupu. I'm not that familiar with this work except for the last movement, but I enjoyed watching Lupu interact with the other musicians and take cues from them. For example, the oboist would play a melody and Lupu would listen to how the oboist played it, then he would follow the same style a few measures later when the piano solo had the same melody. The orchestra for the Schumann was smaller than usual, with many of the Philharmonic's principal players missing. I don't know much about how a world-class orchestra operates, but it made sense to me that the assistant principals would lead their sections for the smaller concerto and then the heavyweights would come onstage after intermission to play the second half of the concert.

The major work on the program was Bruckner's Symphony No. 6. I don't know this piece that well either, but it is one of Bruckner's lesser-known symphonies, and undeservedly so. It's a beautiful work, with majestic fanfares for brass and sweeping melodies for the strings. I particularly enjoyed principal horn Philip Myers' solos in the Bruckner. I heard Myers play Strauss's Horn Concerto No. 1 with the Philharmonic three years ago, and I noticed the same quality of tone and vibrato in his orchestral playing as in his solo performance. There's also a huge difference between watching the NY Philharmonic on a big screen and with a professional sound system out in Lincoln Center Plaza (as we did back in September) and hearing them inside Avery Fisher Hall. The strings have a richer color and the brass resonate to the point that you can almost feel the sound. In short, it was glorious. I'm looking forward to my next concert in March, and I'm already excited about the Philharmonic's 2008-2009 season, when they will send Lorin Maazel off with a series of performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, his largest work. I will not miss that unless I'm dead, and even if that happens I'll find a way to haunt Lincoln Center.

One more thing: our programs had an insert with a list of people who had been subscribers for three or more years and were in the audience that night. I've never seen something like that before, but it was an innovative way to honor long-time listeners. And I recognized several of the names on the list as local musicians and minor celebrities. This is my first year as a subscriber, but it won't be the last. Maybe in a few years I'll see my name on that list.

Newark Pants Party report and photos

I went out to Newark on Saturday night for another Deadspin reader meet-up. The event was a Seton Hall-Louisville college basketball game at the brand-new Prudential Center. I took the PATH train over there, which was my first time on that train. If you like seeing the ass end of New Jersey, it's the train for you. We stopped at The Arena Bar, the only bar near the arena, and met up with the rest of the group. There were little kids in the bar, which reminded me of the 12-year-old coal miners on "30 Rock" a few weeks ago. I think one of these kids was playing poker at a table in the back.

We got to the game right around tipoff. We were sitting behind the Seton Hall band, and I noted that one of their game songs was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. At first the game was lopsided in Louisville's favor but Seton Hall closed the gap by halftime and in the second half they got out in front for good. As a Georgetown fan I didn't want to cheer for "The Hall" but the atmosphere was infectious and soon all of us were screaming and high-fiving over SHU baskets. I forgot how much fun college basketball games can be.

After the game we took the PATH train back to Manhattan and took the subway to the Village. On the E train we ran into a group of girls dressed like flappers. So one of us asked them "are you going to a flapper party?" They said "no, we're going to a '20s party." OK then. They challenged my friend Jeff to a dance-off, and I think it's safe to say they got served.

We ended our night at Kettle of Fish in Greenwich Village, where I discovered the joy that is Six Point beer. I don't remember which beer I had, but I had a lot of them, and a shot of Wild Turkey. It was a great night.

Photos are in the usual place. I haven't tagged them with commenter names, but I will on request.

Tim Page on Leonard Slatkin and the NSO

Sunday's Washington Post had a debate between Tim Page "One" and Tim Page "Two" over the benefits and effects of Leonard Slatkin's 12 years as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra. Slatkin is stepping down in June and moving on to other opportunities in Detroit and elsewhere. I'm not sure the "two minds" approach works as a story-telling device, but it's a unique way to explore the good and bad aspects of Slatkin's tenure in Washington. I was a fan of Slatkin before he came to DC, and a smooth sales rep from the Kennedy Center talked me into buying season tickets to the NSO based largely on the orchestra's hiring of him in 1994 (he conducted a few concerts a year in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons before taking over full-time in 1996). I was a student at Georgetown at the time and I had avoided the NSO up to that point, as its reputation was not that good. Also, I couldn't really afford season tickets, but when the guy told me that getting in early was the best way for me to get to hear Slatkin conduct, I broke out my then-pristine credit card and paid up.

And it was worth it. I was a season ticket holder for four seasons, and the orchestra's playing improved each year. I especially enjoyed Slatkin's renditions of Mahler's symphonies; one of the highlights of my time in DC is hearing the NSO perform Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in January 1995. Slatkin had a particular fondness for the Labeque sisters piano duo, but I think it was justified: two years in a row I made sure to get tickets to their performances with the orchestra. Slatkin also emphasized American composers, and often included new works or seldom-performed works on his concert programs. I moved to New York in the fall of 1999 and so I have missed the remainder of Slatkin's time with the NSO, but I was aware that the excitement about Slatkin had abated. I still think Slatkin is an extraordinary musician and conductor and I'm sure he will continue to make his presence felt on the American musical scene. He'll leave behind an orchestra that is in much better musical shape than when he arrived, and I hope that the NSO continues to grow. I think Slatkin's legacy will be that he gave the NSO the push it needed to become an orchestra on par with other great American orchestras.

Conan O'Brien plays Rock Band, sings like Edith Bunker

"Your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear, Archie!"

'Who's going to clean up this mess?"

Gawker and Gothamist are both covering this story about an out-of-control New Year's Eve party and the resulting swath of destruction left behind in the host's apartment. People splashed wine on the walls, poured beer down the stairs, left an unspeakable mess on the couch and even tore the shower curtain off the rod in the bathroom. I've been to some crazy NYE parties, but nothing like this. It sounds like something out of a movie. The host is asking people for Paypal donations to cover the cost of the clean-up. I think that if you throw a party and your house gets trashed, you get what you asked for. I've thrown a few big parties too, and my apartment has always been a mess afterwards. The clean-up from any sort of party, whether dinner or alcohol blowout, is the big downside and one good reason why I haven't had anything bigger than an Oscars party at my place in over two years. I do have responsible friends, which may be one reason I've never faced a disaster of a mess like this one, but I still don't need to take chances.

another year, another end-of-year post

Continuing a tradition, it's the end of 2007 and I'm listening to the Classical Countdown on WQXR.com and writing my last blog post for the year. It's been an unusually good year around here. I rode another 1100 miles on my bike, I played some challenging music with NYRO, I upgraded my home entertainment system, and my job stayed mostly the same. I lost a cat in January and got a new one in June. (After six months, the cats are now tolerating each other the way North and South Korea share a border: lots of talk, the occasional skirmish, but mostly coexistence.) I made some new friends on the Internet and had the usual successes and failures in my personal life. Lately there have been more successes: meeting Kate has been one of the best things to happen this year and I hope that our relationship continues to grow stronger. I didn't follow through on last year's resolution to travel more, so I'll reuse that one for 2008.

As usual for me, tonight's plans involve a party, though a much smaller one than I've gone to for the past two years. If you're going out, stay safe, and if you're staying in, what's wrong with you?

See you in 2008!

heard last night on the subway

It was actually the uptown 4/5/6 platform at Union Square, but it was still in the subway. I was on my way home and I heard bagpipes and drums as I descended the stairs to the platform, so I thought it might be an actual Scottish bagpiper group down there. It turned out to be a lone bagpiper and another guy playing one large hand-held drum. The bagpiper was white and the drummer was not, so I'm not sure they were together. Also, the piper wasn't always playing to the beat of the drummer so musically the performance didn't mesh. Finally, the most important details was the songs the piper played. Instead of the usual "Scotland The Brave," "Amazing Grace," or other Highland tunes, he played off-key versions of "Over There" and I think a Christmas carol or two. I have to read more about it, but I think there's a reason bagpipes play certain melodies and not others, having to do with the key of the instrument and the notes it can play. In other words, this piper couldn't hit all the notes of these songs on his instrument. I wish he'd gone "Over There" to play.

I'm slightly famous

I must note that my commenter alter ego, Peter Cavan, received a mention in Dan Shanoff's yearly Christmas poem for Deadspin. This, along with my comment of the fortnight and presence at two Pants Parties, makes 2007 the Year of Deadspin, at least for me.

The next step for "Peter Cavan" is that he need his own blog. Maybe I'll work on that for 2008.

Busy busy busy...

Work has been kind of crazy for the past few weeks. We've got a couple of projects that are due early next year and so many of us are scrambling to get things done before the holidays. My vacation starts tomorrow (though I'm not going home until Sunday) so I'm trying to get all of my work done by the end of the day. The last thing I want is for someone to call me while I'm at home next week. (I should probably be working instead of blogging....)

Also, it's holiday party season and my schedule has been booked solid with gatherings of one kind or another. Monday night was the office party on Wall Street and I took it easy on my liver, my stomach, and my dancing shoes. I did have a great time enjoying the firm's largess and another year at this job. The evening reminded me that as much as I sometimes complain about work, I know some great people here and I have an extremely generous employer. As for the rest of the week, I have dinner with new friends tonight, as-yet-undetermined birthday plans tomorrow, two parties on Friday night and something else on Saturday evening. And then there's the matter of passing the time on the 7+ hour train ride back to Johnstown. Last year I watched episodes of "Heroes" that I'd downloaded, but this year I don't have any TV series to catch up on. Maybe I'll work my way through some Netflix movies and some podcasts instead.

It's a twister! It's a twister! Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

Schools across the NY metro area canceled class today in anticipation of a monster snowstorm bearing down and expected to drop between two and ten inches of snow by the end of the day. I slept in a little this morning, thinking that it would be raining when I got up and I wouldn't want to walk to the gym. Also, I had a couple of drinks last night and a big dinner so I felt a little lazy. Of course, there was no snow, ice, or rain this morning, just dry streets and a cold wind. I stayed home and did some pushups while watching Tuesday night's episode of Boston Legal.

ASIDE: I'm not sure why I watch that show anymore. It's become a vehicle for David Kelley's left-wing rants about Iraq via Alan Shore. I'm as liberal as the next raised-in-PA-living-in-NY Democratic Jew, but even I'm getting tired of the same shtick each week. Also, Crane, Poole, and Schmidt NEVER loses. Even the firm on The Practice lost a case once in a while. But I like William Shatner/Denny Crane, so I guess that's why I stick with the show. And with the writers' strike, there aren't that many original episodes of anything left.

Anyway, we're looking at a big storm today, and another one on Saturday night. That might give me an opportunity to stay in and do some serious cooking and movie watching/Xbox gaming. I finished Halo 3's single-player campaign last night so now I can focus on getting my ass handed to me by 12-year-olds everywhere on Xbox Live. I'm also playing Guitar Hero III, but my guitar needs a tuneup. The GHIII guitar comes in two pieces and sometimes the neck doesn't connect to the body properly, so some of the fret buttons don't work at critical times, like last night when I was trying to play "One" by Metallica. At the fast section the green button is crucial to the main riff, and it wouldn't respond so I failed the song. I'm going to try a couple of DIY fixes and see if I can improve things.

End of year meme

This is quite Myspace of me, but whatever. At least I'm posting here.

As 2007 comes to an end...

1) Where did you begin 2007?

At an overcrowded party on the Upper East Side with the woman I was dating at the time. We should have just stayed home.

2) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?

Single, cold.

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?

I went to a Linux training class in August.

4) How did you earn your money?

Doing the same job I've had for the past seven years.

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?

Just for my other job with HealthTV, not for any actual health problems.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?

No.

7) Where did you travel this year?

DC, Johnstown. Wow, I haven't wandered much. That would explain the surplus of vacation time.

8) What did you purchase that was over $1,000?

My HDTV and my new sofa.

9) Did you know anybody who got married?

Some friends in the orchestra.

10) Did you know anybody who passed away?

My ex-wife's grandmother, and my cat Vladi.

11) Biggest surprise?

Kate.

12) Did you move anywhere?

No, and thank God for that.

13) What concerts/shows did you go to?

The Police at MSG, Madama Butterfly at the Met, Avenue Q on Broadway

14) Are you registered to vote?

Yes, but I didn't vote this year. In my defense, it was an off-off-year election.

15) Who did you want to win Dancing with the Stars?

I don’t watch it.

16) Where do you live now?

The Upper East Side of Manhattan, in the same apartment I've had for the past four years.

17) Describe your birthday?

It's next week, but it will include taking the day off work, probably dinner, and maybe a movie. I'm easy to please.

18) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?

Go to a meetup of online friends and have one of the best nights of the year.

19) What has been your favorite moment?

Watching the New York Philharmonic season premiere concert in Lincoln Square with Kate.

20) What's something you learned about yourself?

I'm doing better on my own than I ever thought possible.

21) Any new additions to your family?

My cat Grady

22) What was your best month?

September.

23) What music will you remember 2007 by?

Icky Thump by the White Stripes, Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses, Barber's Violin Concerto

24) Who has been your best drinking buddy?

My friends from work.

25) Favorite night out?

The Deadspin night at Shea is a close second to the NY Philharmonic concert in Lincoln Center with Kate.

another one of these e-mail survey things

It's been a busy week here at Five Guys Productions, and I haven't had much time to think about blogging. I got this survey on Wednesday evening and replied to it then but I'm posting it now. (I have been down this road once or twice before.) I changed one answer from the e-mail version: I remembered that the last time I cried was not when my ex-wife and I decided to break up, but was in fact this past January, when my cat Vladi passed away. I felt bad that I'd made the mistake in the e-mail, so I've rectified that here.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

My father's older brother, who was killed at the age of 6 in a bombing
raid on Glasgow, Scotland, where my grandfather had sent his family to
avoid the bombings in London.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

When my cat Vladi died unexpectedly in January.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

No. It's deteriorated from years of typing on computer keyboards.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Pastrami.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

No.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

I'd either think I was the coolest guy ever, or a jackass, depending on the day.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

All the time.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS

Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

No.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

Life.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

Yes, otherwise I can't get them off my feet.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

I've moved heavy appliances on my own, so yes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

Mint chocolate chip.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Face.

15. RED OR PINK?

Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

I worry about everything.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My family.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?

Yes, but those of you I don't know will get a spamblocker response.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

Blue khakis and brown loafers I bought at Macy's on Monday.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

Tuna sandwich and tortilla chips.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Georgetown-Alabama basketball game on TV.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

Silver.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?

Coffee, simmering tomato sauce.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

Kate.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

Yes, Jess is one of my oldest and closest friends.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Football and hockey.

27. HAIR COLOR?

Dark brown.

8. EYE COLOR?

Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

Yes, and I need to change them.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?

Pizza.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Happy endings. I like to think there's something to hope for.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

The Mist. That was a scary movie.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

Brown & white striped shirt.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Winter. I love the wind and snow.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?

Don't these two usually go together?

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?

Apple pie a la mode.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND

N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?

I'm between books, but I want to pick up a copy of His Dark Materials
before The Golden Compass opens.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Nothing. I'm using a laptop with a touchpad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?

Nothing - I had to work late.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?

An orchestra playing Beethoven.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?

Beatles.

44. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE VACATION SPOT?

London.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

I play the viola.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Johnstown, PA