Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Reflections on Living in New York
This afternoon we were playing in the snow at Central Park when we ran into a family that lives in our building who has a little boy about Katie's age. The two mom's set up a play date for the children later this week. That got me thinking about life in New York City. We live in one of the most densely populated areas in the world, but yet for us it often feels like a small town.
When I leave for work every morning, our doorman always inquires about Katie and Mommy. When I get home, our evening doorman and I briefly make small talk about the weather or the Knicks. Our doormen really are great guys.
If coupons for baby stuff are mailed to someone who has moved, our postman puts them all in our mailbox because he thinks we might want them (needless to say, we get a LOT of Toys R Us coupons).
Katie goes to the local park to play, and we see the same parents and children there - not only to we see them, but we also talk to them and become friends with them. If Katie and Mommy don't go to the park at their regular time, other parents inquire whether everything is ok. If some strange guy comes into the park, all the parents keep an eye on him - they know he's not from around here.
We go to the local market where our grocer knows us.
We have our vegetable market where the women who work there always fuss over Katie. They make suggestions about new shipments that look particularly good.
Our fruit guy hooks us up by throwing in a few extra pieces of fruit that he thinks Wife and Katie would enjoy.
We go to convenience store around the corner to get a Diet Coke, and the cashier asks how Katie is and throws in a few brownies for us to enjoy. If we don't go in for a few weeks, the cashier asks us if everything is ok the next time we make it in.
On the weekends, when we go to our local diner, the staff recognizes us and comes by to say "hi" to Katie. We order our "usual" and our waiter knows what we want.
We go to a large church, but after church we have mini muffins and coffee with people we know.
When we walk down the street, we frequently stop and chat with people we know.
If somebody ever tried to mess with Katie, I know that our doormen, super and building crew would break that person's neck. I'm not kidding. They wouldn't do that because it's their job - they'd do it because they love Katie.
After being here a few years, I feel like I live in a small town. Don't get me wrong - this ain't Mayberry. This is Midtown Manhattan. We look one direction and see the New Year's Ball. We turn the other way and see the world headquarters of the best financial institutions and law firms in the world. We turn on the local television station, and our local news is global headlines.
But even with the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, this is our town. We are part of this neighborhood. We take pride in our street. It shocks me that I feel more of a sense of community here than I have felt anywhere else I have ever lived.
When I leave for work every morning, our doorman always inquires about Katie and Mommy. When I get home, our evening doorman and I briefly make small talk about the weather or the Knicks. Our doormen really are great guys.
If coupons for baby stuff are mailed to someone who has moved, our postman puts them all in our mailbox because he thinks we might want them (needless to say, we get a LOT of Toys R Us coupons).
Katie goes to the local park to play, and we see the same parents and children there - not only to we see them, but we also talk to them and become friends with them. If Katie and Mommy don't go to the park at their regular time, other parents inquire whether everything is ok. If some strange guy comes into the park, all the parents keep an eye on him - they know he's not from around here.
We go to the local market where our grocer knows us.
We have our vegetable market where the women who work there always fuss over Katie. They make suggestions about new shipments that look particularly good.
Our fruit guy hooks us up by throwing in a few extra pieces of fruit that he thinks Wife and Katie would enjoy.
We go to convenience store around the corner to get a Diet Coke, and the cashier asks how Katie is and throws in a few brownies for us to enjoy. If we don't go in for a few weeks, the cashier asks us if everything is ok the next time we make it in.
On the weekends, when we go to our local diner, the staff recognizes us and comes by to say "hi" to Katie. We order our "usual" and our waiter knows what we want.
We go to a large church, but after church we have mini muffins and coffee with people we know.
When we walk down the street, we frequently stop and chat with people we know.
If somebody ever tried to mess with Katie, I know that our doormen, super and building crew would break that person's neck. I'm not kidding. They wouldn't do that because it's their job - they'd do it because they love Katie.
After being here a few years, I feel like I live in a small town. Don't get me wrong - this ain't Mayberry. This is Midtown Manhattan. We look one direction and see the New Year's Ball. We turn the other way and see the world headquarters of the best financial institutions and law firms in the world. We turn on the local television station, and our local news is global headlines.
But even with the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, this is our town. We are part of this neighborhood. We take pride in our street. It shocks me that I feel more of a sense of community here than I have felt anywhere else I have ever lived.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Katie's First Concert
After cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, I came into the living room to find Katie sitting in the middle of the floor with all her stuffed animals around her - singing. I think she was giving a concert.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Inflation Is Here
As I was looking at buying a Metro Card, I realized that inflation has hit us.
When we moved to NYC in 2007, a 30 day Metro Card had just risen to $76. Today, that same card costs $104.
When we moved to NYC, a ride on the subway cost $2 and a 20% "bonus" was added to your card. Today, a subway ride costs $2.25 and the bonus was reduced to 7%. So in 2007, putting $10 in the vending machine gave you a card with $12 on it, which bought 6 rides. Today, putting $10 in the vending machine gives you a card with $10.70 on it, which buys you 4 rides with $1.70 left over.
No longer are 1 day or 3 day passes sold. Up until a couple weeks ago, we could spend about $8.50 and then go wherever we wanted for that day - we could easily take 10 rides (which isn't hard when you spend a day going all around NYC). Now, we will each need to pay $22.50 for those ten Saturday subway rides (that's an increase from $17 to $45 for a day of traveling for two people).
And the MTA still has a $15 billion deficit.
The funny thing is that this is making cabs look much more appealing for short trips. We could spend $4.50 to take the subway to go 30 blocks and it will take the hassle of finding the subway stop, taking Katie down a few flights of stairs, waiting for a train to come, preventing the homeless guy that lives down in there from petting Katie's face, etc. Or, we could hop in a cab outside our apartment and get to the same place in five minutes when we spend $6 on a cab. Or, we could do it for free and walk. Point is, I'm more likely to now take a cab or walk than I am to take the subway for shorter trips. Maybe the MTA will end up making money on this, but I expect that they will actually make less money off me.
When we moved to NYC in 2007, a 30 day Metro Card had just risen to $76. Today, that same card costs $104.
When we moved to NYC, a ride on the subway cost $2 and a 20% "bonus" was added to your card. Today, a subway ride costs $2.25 and the bonus was reduced to 7%. So in 2007, putting $10 in the vending machine gave you a card with $12 on it, which bought 6 rides. Today, putting $10 in the vending machine gives you a card with $10.70 on it, which buys you 4 rides with $1.70 left over.
No longer are 1 day or 3 day passes sold. Up until a couple weeks ago, we could spend about $8.50 and then go wherever we wanted for that day - we could easily take 10 rides (which isn't hard when you spend a day going all around NYC). Now, we will each need to pay $22.50 for those ten Saturday subway rides (that's an increase from $17 to $45 for a day of traveling for two people).
And the MTA still has a $15 billion deficit.
The funny thing is that this is making cabs look much more appealing for short trips. We could spend $4.50 to take the subway to go 30 blocks and it will take the hassle of finding the subway stop, taking Katie down a few flights of stairs, waiting for a train to come, preventing the homeless guy that lives down in there from petting Katie's face, etc. Or, we could hop in a cab outside our apartment and get to the same place in five minutes when we spend $6 on a cab. Or, we could do it for free and walk. Point is, I'm more likely to now take a cab or walk than I am to take the subway for shorter trips. Maybe the MTA will end up making money on this, but I expect that they will actually make less money off me.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Quick Yahoo! Mail Tips and Tricks
Despite all of my recent Gmail tips, I'm actually a long-time Yahoo! Mail user. For about 15 years, my primary means of communication has been my Yahoo! account. Here are a few quick tips for using Yahoo! Mail.
- Put the folders you use most often at the top of the list, and then just hit the number of its placement to send messages to that folder. For instance, my first folder is "1. Wife." After reading an email from here, I just hit "1," and it is filed.
- When composing a message just hit the Subject: button to cycle through a collection of random subject lines. (This Easter egg doesn't work in the new Yahoo! Mail Beta.)
- Hold shift after selecting a message to select multiple messages. Hit Crtl-A to select all messages in a folder.
- Hit the letter V on your keyboard to have more space to organize your folder. Hit V again to reopen the message preview.
- Type the letter N to start a new message or R to reply to a message.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Gmail's Space Limitation - Yes, I Know the Problem
For the last couple of weeks, I've given Gmail a bit of grief about their storage limitations imposed upon advertisement-supported email accounts. This limitation is a real issue for me. However, I do understand Gmail's dilemma. There's a "hack program" called "Gdrive" or "Gmail Drive" that has gained an enormous following. This program allows Gmail users to treat their Gmail accounts just like a hard drive - it appears in "My Computer" as a separate drive and can be treated just like any other drive (i.e., users can drag and drop files straight to the email account). I realize this popular programs makes it impossible for Gmail to offer unlimited storage. I should note that by using the program PHPGmailDrive (or Gspace), users simply link multiple Gmail accounts together for purposes of using Gdrive. But that doesn't help a legitimate Gmail user that simply wants to store all his or her email. Thus, the storage limitation is targeted to prevent abuse, but those who want to abuse the system can, and do, abuse it regardless of the storage limitations.
But, I offer a solution. I realize that Gmail cannot just offer everyone unlimited space because of the large number of people who will simply back up their entire computers online. However, what if every user does not have the same amount of storage space. Let's say that every user who opens an account begins with the current limit of 7.5 gb (frankly, for a brand new account, this can be drastically lowered). After an account is established, permit each Gmail account to grow as it is used (I mean real growth, not the minuscule growth offered now). For each month that the Gmail account is active, add .1 or .2 gb to the account's allotted storage space (all I proposed is .1 or .2 gb a month - the amount of space that a moderate user would probably use in a month). Sure, 7.5 gb is a huge amount of storage for a new account. But it's not reasonable for a user that has been actively using their account for seven years to be limited to the same amount of storage as someone who has had the account for two days. Since I am confident that my blog posts have received the attention of Google executives, I hope they will consider my proposed solution.
FYI - Blogger (i.e., this website) is owned by Google.
But, I offer a solution. I realize that Gmail cannot just offer everyone unlimited space because of the large number of people who will simply back up their entire computers online. However, what if every user does not have the same amount of storage space. Let's say that every user who opens an account begins with the current limit of 7.5 gb (frankly, for a brand new account, this can be drastically lowered). After an account is established, permit each Gmail account to grow as it is used (I mean real growth, not the minuscule growth offered now). For each month that the Gmail account is active, add .1 or .2 gb to the account's allotted storage space (all I proposed is .1 or .2 gb a month - the amount of space that a moderate user would probably use in a month). Sure, 7.5 gb is a huge amount of storage for a new account. But it's not reasonable for a user that has been actively using their account for seven years to be limited to the same amount of storage as someone who has had the account for two days. Since I am confident that my blog posts have received the attention of Google executives, I hope they will consider my proposed solution.
FYI - Blogger (i.e., this website) is owned by Google.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Gmail Tip of the Day - Listen to MP3s
Many users aren’t aware that Gmail comes with a built-in mp3 player. This can allow you to listen to music right from your email without needing any other program.
Of course, given Google's space limitations, it may not be wise to send too many mp3s to Gmail users. Hopefully Gmail will increase their space limitation to catch up with Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL.
Of course, given Google's space limitations, it may not be wise to send too many mp3s to Gmail users. Hopefully Gmail will increase their space limitation to catch up with Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL.
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