Friday Open Thread
January 27, 2012 7:13 AM - BoerumHillScott
Happy gloomy Friday

339 comments
January 27, 2012 8:02 AM - dibs
Very gloomy, yes. At home waiting for plumber to replace hot water heater.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:02 AM
#1
January 27, 2012 8:22 AM - petebklyn
the plumber makes you gloomy? taking the whole day off or head to the office after he is finished?

my patient comes home today I think. Was getting used to having this place to myself. Without the TV blasting.

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:22 AM
#2
January 27, 2012 8:25 AM - dibs
Need to go out in the rain and fill the bird feeder. As a Republican I strongly believe in helping those who cannot help themselves.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:25 AM
#3
January 27, 2012 8:28 AM - petebklyn
Equinox at Grand Central I assume is pretty upscale. I would think NY health and racquet on e45th is also.
The YMCA on 47th is very nice and very clean.
Surprised people are so down on NYSC.....never been but when I walk by the one on Boerum Place/pacific st.
looks nice.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:28 AM
#4
January 27, 2012 8:30 AM - petebklyn
problem is you try to help the birds and then all those teat sucking sponge loafer good-for-nothing vermin show up wanting hand-out and stealing -- mice, squirrels,rats.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:30 AM
#5
January 27, 2012 8:30 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
GM

NYSC used to be very nice (Boerum Place/Pacific st.), I had a membership for many years, but perhaps it's gone downhill as a chain?

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:30 AM
#6
January 27, 2012 8:33 AM - More4Less
DIBS, isn't your water heater relatively new vs it being 15-20 yrs old or something?
#7
January 27, 2012 8:34 AM - dibs
Pete, I'm hoping he's hot LAtino or Asian. I'm using Xing's contractor for this job.

Arkady, never heard back from your guy but like I said I had no idea where we left it. LOL
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:34 AM
#8
January 27, 2012 8:35 AM - petebklyn
that YMCA on Atlantic is big hit with the neighborhood. so crowded. luckily I can go off-peak times.
Rob would go nuts and I was bit put off......could barely get thru lobby with all the strollers one morning....
I'm sure fire dept would have cited them. Can't these people fold them up or something?
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:35 AM
#9
January 27, 2012 8:36 AM - dibs
m4l, the date is on it and it's 14 years old. It leaks in the summer a bit when it's humid in the basement and the pilot went out a few nights ago. No sense futzing around with it.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:36 AM
#10
January 27, 2012 8:38 AM - Arkady
Strange, dibs. He usually is very responsive. Dona's now a fan too. Glad you have it taken care of anyway.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:38 AM
#11
January 27, 2012 8:39 AM - More4Less
DIBS, that's true especially when you have a closing forthcoming - no sense letting this potentially delay closing. So you're using Tommy's plumbing guy? I've met a bunch of Chinese plumbers and I have yet to encounter one that is even decent (forget good) looking
#12
January 27, 2012 8:40 AM - petebklyn
another news item that could send rob off---
"Southpaw, which will close its location at 125 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn in February, will become a New York Kids Club, an activity center for children"
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:40 AM
#13
January 27, 2012 8:41 AM - dibs
Yes, Tommy's guy.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:41 AM
#14
January 27, 2012 8:43 AM - dibs
And I've never even actually met Tommy either, just spoke on the phone about 20 times and emailed back and forth about Xing's job

One of the things Tommy was good about was a line by line breakdown of all the renovation work...very professional
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:43 AM
#15
January 27, 2012 8:46 AM - More4Less
DIBS, Tommy is decent looking dude. My height but more trim vs my round shape. looks like typical Canton / Hong Kong small biz owner look. Good dude. if I didn't pick the current contractor, would've picked him.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:46 AM
#16
January 27, 2012 8:49 AM - More4Less
Arkady, got your HP back & fixed yet? if they ever offer to give you a new one, try to see if you can drag it out another 3 months - ie so you can ask them for the fancy new ultra think ultrabooks coming out in Q2
#17
January 27, 2012 8:52 AM - dibs
Rain stopped. I filled the feeder.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:52 AM
#18
January 27, 2012 8:52 AM - Arkady
M4L - Ex-bf bought me a new Samsung laptop that hasn't arrived yet. I'm hanging on to the HP until it does since the IBM, while reliable, is soooooo slow & HP works most of the time. HP will extend the warranty for another year (starting July 2012) & if it crashes after I get it back they've said I'll get a new unit.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:52 AM
#19
January 27, 2012 8:55 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Welcome Back Kotter episode...I love the Marx Brothers references...

welcome back kotter - the sweathog debate team

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZmlBTgaLEI
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:58 AM
#20
January 27, 2012 8:59 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Ooh, and for extra credit: Who is playing the teacher on the "non-sweathog side" side?
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:59 AM
#21
January 27, 2012 8:59 AM - More4Less
samsung has a nice ultrabook laptop now - real sexy looking but real pricey. the ultrabooks with amd chips coming out in Q2 will be half that price - although am not confident it'll be as sexy looking as the samsung one
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:59 AM
#22
January 27, 2012 9:01 AM - dibs
A lot of sexy looking stuff comes out of Korea!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:01 AM
#23
January 27, 2012 9:03 AM - Arkady
I don't know that I'd ever take another HP even if it were free.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:03 AM
#24
January 27, 2012 9:04 AM - dibs
I bet you like HP sauce on your meat.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:04 AM
#25
January 27, 2012 9:05 AM - Arkady
I prefer Pick-a-peppa
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:05 AM
#26
January 27, 2012 9:07 AM - Donatella
Hi Good Morning. Arkady, were you referring to John Hlad? Dibs, is that the one to whom you are referring? If so, he is a very good plumber. Not the cheapest, but then the cheapest might not be the best. He replaced my 75 gallon heater with AO Smith. The heater plus installation was 2400 bucks.

Houston worked out really well by the way. We have more talks but we'll see. So far, so good. Thanks everybody for the support.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:07 AM
#27
January 27, 2012 9:10 AM - dibs
No, not John Hlad.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:10 AM
#28
January 27, 2012 9:11 AM - More4Less
Arkady, if they offer you a new free HP replacement and you don't want it, the chinaman will gladly take it off your hands. FREE - take it. To BUY, can then understand not picking HP.
#29
January 27, 2012 9:12 AM - Donatella
oh Arkady, were you are talking about Winston?
#30
January 27, 2012 9:12 AM - Donatella
I didn't hear back from Winston.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:12 AM
#31
January 27, 2012 9:14 AM - More4Less
Donatella, come back with THE JOB or don't come back!!!!!!!! SEAL the deal girl - we BELIEVE in you!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:14 AM
#32
January 27, 2012 9:15 AM - lechacal
Thoughts on NYSC at Grand Central.

1. Packed, high-traffic, impersonal, feels like a cattle feedlot.

2. Lots of 20-something year olds who obviously take steroids. Gives the place a really low-class feel.

3. Towels are old and threadbare and aren't even big enough to wrap around my waist.

4. Showers are disgusting. Shower curtain instantly blows up against you as soon as you turn on the water. Have to spend shower batting away the curtain.

It's fine though, as I'm just using the place as a shower depot for when I finish my daily run in the park.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:15 AM
#33
January 27, 2012 9:17 AM - dibs
Is the steam room cruisy????
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:17 AM
#34
January 27, 2012 9:17 AM - lechacal
DIBS, I think you missed this last night so I will re-post. Two days ago my wife made a pork roast. Here it is. Remind you of anything? Note that half of it has already been cut away - used to be twice as long.

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:17 AM
#35
January 27, 2012 9:18 AM - lechacal
Another shot, for the sake of critical analysis.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:18 AM
#36
January 27, 2012 9:19 AM - dibs
Hmmmmm
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:19 AM
#37
January 27, 2012 9:20 AM - lechacal
"Hmmmmm"

Take your time. It'll come to you.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:20 AM
#38
January 27, 2012 9:21 AM - dibs
It usually does.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:21 AM
#39
January 27, 2012 9:22 AM - More4Less
it looks like it gone the back door when some tenants were given the boot - ie should've checked that it was OK to enter before running into it
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:22 AM
#40
January 27, 2012 9:24 AM - dibs
Translation from Chinglish, please?
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:24 AM
#41
January 27, 2012 9:26 AM - sixyearsandcounting
GM, Asshats.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:26 AM
#42
January 27, 2012 9:26 AM - Donatella
M4L, I came back last night. The "interview", the longest in my life (15 hours Wed, 6 yesterday) and went really well. I really like the company and they like me. So anyway, they want to hire me, but the devil is in the details and we are working that out. So it isn't a done deal, but getting there. Don't want to jinx myself.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:26 AM
#43
January 27, 2012 9:30 AM - sixyearsandcounting
In case anyone missed the Ditmas Park Blog coffee thread, it's now at 104 comments, including these:

"Is Alex the tall thin fellow that wears skinny jeans and has shaggy hair and an accent? If so my only encounter with him was when I ordered a cup of coffee to stay, but I wanted it in a paper cup. He gave me a brief lecture about the environment before I cut him off and said " I am paying you $3 for a cup of coffee, I would like to enjoy it in a paper cup."

"Alex miscalculated, and has decided to blame it on the neighborhood. Classy. I hung out in there a few times and found it to be a severely irritating place - menu items and decor rife with the cloying preciousness and francophile nonsense that goes over quite well in more genteel (read gentrified) neighborhoods like Prospect Heights, where frightened yuppies from the hinterlands want to live out their big city fantasies in hermetically sealed enclaves of urbane, pseudo-cosmopolitan privilege. The fact that Cafe Madeline "failed" and sent this Vespa-riding moron packing gives me faith in Cortelyou Road, not shame for it."
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:30 AM
#44
January 27, 2012 9:32 AM - sixyearsandcounting
21 hour interview, Dona? Sure this wasn't a background investigation for CIA work?
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:32 AM
#45
January 27, 2012 9:32 AM - dibs
LOL, six. Sounds like a very annoying place. That sort of attitude is one of the big reasons businesses fail
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:32 AM
#46
January 27, 2012 9:34 AM - dibs
The plumbers are late.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:34 AM
#47
January 27, 2012 9:34 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Surprised people are so down on NYSC.....never been but when I walk by the one on Boerum Place/pacific st.

all the homos jack and suck each other off in the showers and the saunas at so many of them. EW

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:34 AM
#48
January 27, 2012 9:35 AM - lechacal
I think that's just Crunch, rob.
#49
January 27, 2012 9:36 AM - dibs
Bulbs likely to push up next week. Are we going to get ANY snow????
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:36 AM
#50
January 27, 2012 9:36 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
another news item that could send rob off---
"Southpaw, which will close its location at 125 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn in February, will become a New York Kids Club, an activity center for children"

southpaw already WAS an activity center for children

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:36 AM
#51
January 27, 2012 9:38 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
I think that's just Crunch, rob.

no it's not. the NYSC in chelsea is a notorious aids den

*rob*

#52
January 27, 2012 9:39 AM - lechacal
OK so as we all know, stereotypes are awesome and are usually pretty accurate. Anyone want to take a crack at stereotyping the following clubs?

New York Sports Club
Equinox
Crunch Gym
Bally Total Fitness
New York Health and Racquet Club
YMCA
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:39 AM
#53
January 27, 2012 9:40 AM - More4Less
DIBS, that meat looks like it ran into and got coated with poop
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:40 AM
#54
January 27, 2012 9:40 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
New York Sports Club - homos
Equinox - homos
Crunch Gym - extremely queeny homos
Bally Total Fitness - urban frau
New York Health and Racquet Club - annoying 1%ers
YMCA - olds and the poor

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:40 AM
#55
January 27, 2012 9:42 AM - dibs
I suspect rob has it pretty much accurate.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:42 AM
#56
January 27, 2012 9:42 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
dont mind me today. im an extremely cranky bitch the weekend before payday monday.
thank god i have morals or id be mugging the shit out of moonfaces and tourists on my lunch break.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:42 AM
#57
January 27, 2012 9:45 AM - bfar
"southpaw already WAS an activity center for children"

LOL.


Edited at January 27, 2012 9:45 AM
#58
January 27, 2012 9:47 AM - lechacal
Well the NYSC at Grand Central doesn't seem to be full of homos. Most of those guys' dicks probably don't work any more due to steroid use.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:47 AM
#59
January 27, 2012 9:48 AM - bfar
six- wow. that's why I try not to drink coffee out. That, and the fact that I start each day with the equivalent of 4 tall shots (nh), which would be a little pricey.

oh, and the fact that I never leave the house.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:48 AM
#60
January 27, 2012 9:50 AM - Donatella
Lech, you left off the cheapest. Department of Parks. I got a 10 dollar a year membership (over 50 something gets the cheapie, the rest are 50 dollars a year). I used to swim in Williamsburg in an excellent 25 meter pool. Also, you left off Eastern Athletic Club which has a Heights and Eastern Parkway location (pool at that one not bad). I used to belong to that and it is way better than NYSC which I don't like much.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:50 AM
#61
January 27, 2012 9:51 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
my heart sings whenever a moonface business failes, especially their coffee shops.
i know i know, bad karma. bite me.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:51 AM
#62
January 27, 2012 9:51 AM - lechacal
Dona, congrats on your progress thus far with your interview - keep it up!
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:51 AM
#63
January 27, 2012 9:52 AM - bfar
okay, so I realize that this was an article about how he's an asshat, but using this photo was just sort of mean.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:51 AM
#64
January 27, 2012 9:52 AM - lechacal
LOL at the idea of Rob trying to mug someone.

[kind of looking to the side, speaking with rising inflection, shifting weight between feet] "um, so like give me all your money?"
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:52 AM
#65
January 27, 2012 9:52 AM - dibs
"Most of those guys' dicks probably don't work any more due to steroid use."

I see this in Thailand every now and then. It's really sad but you can spot them a mile away. Balls shrink too.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:52 AM
#66
January 27, 2012 9:53 AM - bfar
Wow! Just read the post - that's a heckuva interview, Dona. Keeping my digits crossed for you!
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:53 AM
#67
January 27, 2012 9:53 AM - Donatella
Lech, I have no knowledge of the Grand Central's NYSC male members genatalia but that is a 24/7 club and right at Grand Central Station so it is a bunch of commuters going from their jobs to work out.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:53 AM
#68
January 27, 2012 9:53 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
what does it matter since they're all screaming bottoms anyway?

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:53 AM
#69
January 27, 2012 9:55 AM - dibs
And you know this how, rob??? From the internet???
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:55 AM
#70
January 27, 2012 9:56 AM - lechacal
I absolutely, positively guarantee you that the steroid guys at that gym are not jumping on the Metro North to go home. Unless it's to Yonkers or New Rochelle or something.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:56 AM
#71
January 27, 2012 9:57 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
I saw that, Six. I went there 3 times. Once with Snaps, twice with BH. The customer service was not great. I felt like I was breaking up a coffee klatch when I stood at the counter waiting to order. It was a little pricey for the area, but the food was good. However, I felt the menu was really limited. I haven't been over to the new place. Qathra has a much better vibe, as you know, and feels like a place you can relax, with a much better menu/prices. I didn't realize how much animosity there was for Madeline's until I saw that thread on the Ditmas Park blog!
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:57 AM
#72
January 27, 2012 9:57 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
And you know this how, rob??? From the internet???

oh shut up. you know full well that 90% of the gays are bottoms. im so happy to be a 10%'er. how narsty to wanna take dick up your ass


*rob*

#73
January 27, 2012 9:59 AM - dibs
Employees talking to each other while customers are waiting is the WORST form of service problems.
Edited at January 27, 2012 9:59 AM
#74
January 27, 2012 9:59 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
wow my post didnt post. anyway dave, you know full well that 90% of the gays are bottoms.

*rob*

#75
January 27, 2012 10:01 AM - dibs
you know full well that 90% of the gays are bottoms.

*rob*

And you have what, a sample size of two????
#76
January 27, 2012 10:01 AM - More4Less
rob beat me to it with that post.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:01 AM
#77
January 27, 2012 10:02 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"Employees talking to each other while customers are waiting is the WORST form of service problems."

Especially when it's a really small place, with 2 other customers, and there are 3 counter people just standing there talking to each other ignoring you until you speak up! I worked retail for several years. It's not cool.

It always seemed over-staffed for such a small place. 2 vs. 3 workers would have been plenty.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:02 AM
#78
January 27, 2012 10:05 AM - sixyearsandcounting
CobbleDitmas, I agree with your take. But they did have some pretty awesome sourdough toast, so I made the trip a few times. I have a friend who lives near there and actually did write most of her dissertation in that cafe; when her stress level drops a bit I'm totally going to forward her that thread!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:05 AM
#79
January 27, 2012 10:05 AM - dibs
The comment about 90% of gays being bottoms, m4l???!!!!!!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:05 AM
#80
January 27, 2012 10:06 AM - dibs
I used to work with the guy on CNBC right now..Tom Porcelli
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:06 AM
#81
January 27, 2012 10:06 AM - Arkady
I saw snowdrops in bloom yesterday & my hellebore is gorgeous - has been for a couple of weeks.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:06 AM
#82
January 27, 2012 10:07 AM - Donatella
Thanks Bfar. It was a little unusual. It wasn't as though they shone a light in my eyes and grilled me about my weaknesses or anything. No 6, it wasn't the CIA, though I don't think I would mind working for the CIA. The most stressful thing was the dinner with the owner and his wife and one of the guys.

It was the WIFE who worried me. It was probably her way of conversing, but we were out of the biz talk then and she asked me questions about which specific restaurants I liked to go to in NYC. I thought that was some code culture question; she also asked me about my vacations. I told her about where I am going -- three vacations in order of priority --- Cuba, Istanbul, and a combo Uruguay to Argentina vacation. She looked at me like I was a Martian. They also asked me specifically about which wines I liked. I had the feeling that they might order artichokes for me to see how I ate them, but realized that I was very tired and they were just trying to chit chat.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:07 AM
#83
January 27, 2012 10:07 AM - dibs
"actually did write most of her dissertation in that cafe"

One of my biggest complaints about places like that. Moonfaces "occupying" the cafe, spending as little as possible and overstaying their welcome.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:07 AM
#84
January 27, 2012 10:08 AM - sixyearsandcounting
"She looked at me like I was a Martian."

Haha Dona, I like the Cuba-Istanbul-Uruguay-Argentina list! And I totally have gotten that look when I tell people where I usually travel!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:08 AM
#85
January 27, 2012 10:09 AM - dibs
I always get an interesting look when people learn how many times I've been to Thailand.

[over 70]
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:09 AM
#86
January 27, 2012 10:09 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Six, Yes, the food was delicious, they got that part right, for sure. The times I went there, there were 2 people in the back typing away on laptops. Maybe one was your friend!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:09 AM
#87
January 27, 2012 10:09 AM - sixyearsandcounting
Unlike many of the laptop crowd, my friend spent plenty of money there. I also never had trouble finding a table.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:09 AM
#88
January 27, 2012 10:10 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
whatever, you KNOW the 90% stat is true. also 1 in 4 gays in nyc is infected with HIV. ew.

autosexuality = freedom



*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:10 AM
#89
January 27, 2012 10:10 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"One of my biggest complaints about places like that. Moonfaces "occupying" the cafe, spending as little as possible and overstaying their welcome."

That was one of the owners complaints, as well, DIBS.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:10 AM
#90
January 27, 2012 10:11 AM - More4Less
DIBS, per what you told me in the past (which I noted in pad), most big gay dudes are bottoms - that's what rob beat to post-wise
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:11 AM
#91
January 27, 2012 10:11 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"I also never had trouble finding a table."

It was never crowded, but I assumed that was because I went there midday/weekdays.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:11 AM
#92
January 27, 2012 10:11 AM - sixyearsandcounting
My roommate in Dubai was gay. He said that the gays who are exclusively tops or bottoms all have severe issues, and always made sure he dated versatile men.
#93
January 27, 2012 10:15 AM - dibs
I agree for the most part, six. That exclusivity gets to be obssessive. That said, it's usually not true!!!! They are just hiding something that they won't admit too, especially those who say they are 100% top and ONLY top!!!! LOL


Edited at January 27, 2012 10:15 AM
#94
January 27, 2012 10:16 AM - petebklyn
YMCA on Atlantic is hardly old and poor. Lot of young families...tons of kids programs and seems like lot of brooklyn law students. Very small % > 50 there.
YMCA on E47th - lot of office people...TIAA/CREF and other businesses in area. Spotless lockerroom.
great pools (the big one is closed temporarily redoing ventilation equip)
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:16 AM
#95
January 27, 2012 10:18 AM - sixyearsandcounting
Cobble, the owner said:

- laptop crowd was taking too much space and time
- the residents don't know what it takes to run a cafe (is it the customer's responsibility?!?)
- Ditmas Park just isn't all that
- he was making a profit

If he was making a profit, so what? People spent their hard-earned money at his place and then he closed shop and insulted them.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:18 AM
#96
January 27, 2012 10:18 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
i never claimed to be 100% anything, but i do know i dont want dick up my ass. i have no problems watching people take dick up their ass, but i dont want it. i really dont trust where that dick has been.

*rob*

#97
January 27, 2012 10:19 AM - Donatella
Six, I don't say this as a NYC chauvanist but certain parts of US have a more domestic orientation. She asked me WHY on earth I would want to visit Istanbul. I think I tried to explain why I was interested -- where the East meets the West, all the history, the Mosques, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, blah blah. I think I talked myself out of being a total weirdo in her eyes.

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:19 AM
#98
January 27, 2012 10:19 AM - lechacal
.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:19 AM
#99
January 27, 2012 10:20 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Lot of young families...

barf

sorry everyone, but im gonna be a dick all day today. i dont think there's anyway around it

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:20 AM
January 27, 2012 10:21 AM - dibs
I suspect that last one was a lie if he closed the shop.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:21 AM
January 27, 2012 10:21 AM - More4Less
six, the making money part is key. if the dude ran the place so so and still managed to make money, it gives hope to someone taking over. the reverse would be bad (ie ran place real well, lots of customers, lots of sales, etc but still couldn't make a profit) as it would hint at a structural biz issue - ie just can't make a profit running a cafe in that hood/location. So just pray another dude steps in to run it and run it better
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:21 AM
January 27, 2012 10:22 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
People spent their hard-earned money at his place and then he closed shop and insulted them.

blame the way he was most likely raised. obviously the type of spoiled brat child who picks up his toys and leaves instead of sharing.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:22 AM
January 27, 2012 10:22 AM - sixyearsandcounting
DonaT - I agree - and lots of NYCers never see the rest of America. Btw if you go to Turkey you should visit the "Valley of Love" in Cappadocia:
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:22 AM
January 27, 2012 10:23 AM - More4Less
DIBS, you needed at the insider thread from yesterday - ie ball kicked back onto your court
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:23 AM
January 27, 2012 10:24 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Yes, Six, I read his statements. Pretty arrogant and not too bright sounding. Say he wants to come back in a year or two...all that may come back to bite him on the butt!

Laptop crowd is just a fact these days, put a limit on it and post it! The part about DP residents was just jackassery, at it's finest. Screw him, it was his idea to open here, he clearly misjudged his audience/market if he expected other than what he got. If he was making a profit, then he should just STFU! : P

But I think he could have made a better profit and encouraged more customers if his service was better, prices just slightly lower, and he made it work with fewer counter people. Service/help was just lackadaisical.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:24 AM
January 27, 2012 10:24 AM - sixyearsandcounting
Dibs, he's opening a place in Prospect Heights. He might be lying about making a profit, but he was so bitter about DP I don't see why he would lie about that.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:24 AM
January 27, 2012 10:25 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
and lots of NYCers never see the rest of America.

it costs WAY too much money to travel and when you travel a lot of your privacy is violated. you can do it for free on the internet and you dont have to smell any of the stinky peoples.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:25 AM
January 27, 2012 10:30 AM - More4Less
making a profit could simply mean NOT losing money. that is quite different than making enough money to continue doing it. for all we know, he could be making $1.5k / month and $1.5K is simply not enough to support his living and/or worth his time to continue operating there. I know plenty of folks who opened restaurant and closed / sold them because it didn't cross their minimum threshold of $100k/yr. they often say, operating a restaurant is long hrs, tons of stuff to worry about, big risks of failure etc that if they aint at least making $100k/yr, they rather sell the biz
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:30 AM
January 27, 2012 10:30 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"and lots of NYCers never see the rest of America."

I think that can be said about a lot of Americans, not just NYers. I've probably seen more of the US than most, but Europeans...they're nuts, they REALLY travel around the US more than anyone. I hosted two Danish women who were making their way around the US one summer. They travelled for 2 months. They stayed with me twice. They spent so little money, but really really saw A LOT and spoke very highly of the entire trip. And they were a lot of fun and invited me to visit them. Which I stupidly never took them up on.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:30 AM
January 27, 2012 10:31 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
From the comments on the DP Blog, it sounded like he had a number of screaming fits in the cafe. I'm guessing this guy is high-strung and not the best manager. ANd he misjudged the area as compared to spots where he has other businesses.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:31 AM
January 27, 2012 10:32 AM - More4Less
not houston type rain but this is raining cats & dogs type rain.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:32 AM
January 27, 2012 10:32 AM - Arkady
Owning a restaurant is a big drag. You have to work while everyone else is having fun (think New Year's Eve). I wouldn't do that or be a doc or a farmer - all things to which you can't say "I don't feel like it today".
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:32 AM
January 27, 2012 10:32 AM - Donatella
I spent YEARS in the energy industry downplaying my being a New Yorker. A New York woman in the business set off a chain of associations and bells in certain people's heads. Add to that being interested in Istanbul, it is a killer. I forgot. I actually went to a gun shop in Eastern Washington state once to get a lessons on guns from some power traders to prove that I was not thier image of a NY liberated woman. (One of these guys would go CRAZY if you cared about saving the salmon on the Columbia River).
January 27, 2012 10:32 AM - lechacal
Laptop people are what happens to cafes. Dumbass shouldn't have opened a cafe if he didn't want loungey slackers taking up space without paying for it.

I remember back in Northampton there was this dipshit named Star or Starr who moved up from NYC and opened a cafe. Real hippy dippy theme to it. He used to get really aggressive with people and walk around talking about how you have to order something if you want to sit there. Of course he totally alienated everyone and developed a reputation as some New Yorker asshole strangely combined with hippie who was a jerk to his customers. What was the name of that place. Fire water cafe? Something like that. It shut down after a while.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:32 AM
January 27, 2012 10:34 AM - Arkady
Really pouring but radar shows it should be moving away fairly soon. And it's nearly 60°!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:34 AM
January 27, 2012 10:35 AM - sixyearsandcounting
For the non-cat people:
January 27, 2012 10:35 AM - Donatella
If I went to that failed coffee shop in Ditmas Park, I probably would have been one of his lecturees and gotten pissed off and cheered his exit from the cafe business. Sounds like a dillweed.
January 27, 2012 10:36 AM - lechacal
So... yeah. Fire & Water Cafe. The guy apparently hasn't stopped being a shameless self-promoter:

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article_print.cfm?aid=13144
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:36 AM
January 27, 2012 10:38 AM - sixyearsandcounting
ROFL Lech. "The cafe was only partly to be a restaurant, serving primarily as the couple's public work of art."
January 27, 2012 10:38 AM - dibs
The fucking plumbers are looking for my street in Merrick!!!!!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:38 AM
January 27, 2012 10:39 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"Owning a restaurant is a big drag. You have to work while everyone else is having fun (think New Year's Eve). .... all things to which you can't say "I don't feel like it today"."

BH's half-brother owns a well-known cafe in Venice, CA. and has said much the same, but he's finally, after years, gotten to the point where he has good managers and doesn't have to be there as much and goes sailing A LOT!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:39 AM
January 27, 2012 10:40 AM - lechacal
Yeah Six, you can imagine how I felt about the place.

Imagine how I dealt with Northampton generally, if you're familiar with the scene there.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:40 AM
January 27, 2012 10:40 AM - dibs
No rain here, Arkady!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:40 AM
January 27, 2012 10:40 AM - lechacal
Holy crap - just started raining like crazy in midtown.
January 27, 2012 10:40 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
crap, how long is this rain supposed to last? it's coming down super hard and i have a bunch of errands to run at noon

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:40 AM
January 27, 2012 10:41 AM - sixyearsandcounting
What were you doing in Northampton, jackal? Going to college?
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:41 AM
January 27, 2012 10:42 AM - Arkady
Fur cat people:
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:42 AM
January 27, 2012 10:43 AM - lechacal
"What were you doing in Northampton, jackal? Going to college?"

Growing up.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:43 AM
January 27, 2012 10:43 AM - dibs
I know a guy who has a very nice cafe in Philly and he has managers there. Of course there's a lot less attitude from barristas in Philly than here so they actually work and don't have a hissy fit if they have to sweep up too.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:43 AM
January 27, 2012 10:43 AM - petebklyn
Northhampton is lesbian central.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:43 AM
January 27, 2012 10:44 AM - Arkady
Looks as if it'll be at least another half hour of heavy rain:
http://www.bradleyloritheo.com/weather/weather.html
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:44 AM
January 27, 2012 10:44 AM - dibs
OK, NOW it's raining hard here in the ghetto
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:44 AM
January 27, 2012 10:44 AM - Donatella
There has got to be a way to limit the laptop people in coffee shops like giving them 40 minutes of free Wifi everyday. Or limiting access to plugs. Nothing personal, otherwise you alienate people but free-lancers/job searchers use these places like offices which has to be a killer for business. One cup of coffee for several hours of taking up real estate? Not gonna work.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:44 AM
January 27, 2012 10:45 AM - lechacal
Was born in Northampton. Lived for 12 years in the hilltowns just west of Northampton, then moved to Northampton for a few years, then to Vermont, but even when I was "living" in Vermont I basically spent all of my time back in Northampton. Then I went to UMASS Amherst, and thus continued to spend a lot of time in Northampton. I am, regrettably, very familiar with the town and its residents.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:45 AM
January 27, 2012 10:45 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Pouring here in Ditmas Park.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:45 AM
January 27, 2012 10:46 AM - sixyearsandcounting
"What were you doing in Northampton, jackal? Going to college?"

Growing up."

That explains your commentary on NPR, yoga, Subarus, Park Slope, Obama, gyms, sports, etc.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:46 AM
January 27, 2012 10:47 AM - lechacal
"That explains your commentary on NPR, yoga, Subarus, Park Slope, Obama, gyms, sports, etc."

DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!

GIVE THE MAN A PRIZE!!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:47 AM
January 27, 2012 10:47 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Of course there's a lot less attitude from barristas in Philly than here so they actually work and don't have a hissy fit if they have to sweep up too.

i dont believe that at ALL

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 10:47 AM
January 27, 2012 10:50 AM - dibs
Have you ever been to Philly, rob??? No, I thought not.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:50 AM
January 27, 2012 10:52 AM - lechacal
Basically I know the attitudes and behaviors of the white, overeducated knee-jerk liberal even better than she knows them herself. I grew up around those people and learned to utterly loathe their intellectual dishonesty. Living in Northampton cemented my future as a Republican.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:52 AM
January 27, 2012 10:52 AM - sixyearsandcounting
Dibs, as we all know, attitudes and hissy fits are detectable on the internet.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:52 AM
January 27, 2012 10:53 AM - petebklyn
sun is shining in florida
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:53 AM
January 27, 2012 10:55 AM - lechacal
cmu is a PERFECT Northamptonite specimen. Every post I've ever seen of his has been a perfect little time capsule of Northamptonite attitudes, reasoning, biases, assumptions, the whole thing.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:55 AM
January 27, 2012 10:55 AM - dibs
Well, certainly on youtube, six.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:55 AM
January 27, 2012 10:57 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Have you ever been to Philly, rob??? No, I thought not.

yes i have. and im sorry but a barista is a barista is a barista. the moonfaces in philly are still moonfaces, but they are just a lil poorer

*rob*

January 27, 2012 10:59 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
lech....
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:06 AM
January 27, 2012 10:59 AM - sixyearsandcounting
DIBS, I was thinking of the OT!

January 27, 2012 11:01 AM - sixyearsandcounting
can someone email this to montrose? i'm sure she's already seen it but just in case:
http://flatbushgardener.blogspot.com/2008/11/90-years-ago-malbone-street-wreck.html
January 27, 2012 11:02 AM - dibs
"the moonfaces in philly are still moonfaces, but they are just a lil poorer"

Wrong again, latte breath. They are likely much better off since the cost of living is so much lower. But you would know more about that than me.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:02 AM
January 27, 2012 11:09 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
the cost of moonface shit is pretty much equal across the board. (except for housing OBVIOUSLY) so your point is moot. anyway, stop arguing with me today. i have my opinions and you have yours, so bug off

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:09 AM
January 27, 2012 11:12 AM - dibs
Yes but mine are backed by reality and yours are just formulated by internet searches.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:12 AM
January 27, 2012 11:17 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
rob....
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:17 AM
January 27, 2012 11:19 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
yeah i am crabby cuz my birthday gift was lost in the f'ing mail by the USPS. :(

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:19 AM
January 27, 2012 11:19 AM - dibs
Some scumbag lawyer on CNBC now talking about the class action suits against Carnival Cruise, as if he really cares about the "suffering and pain."
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:19 AM
January 27, 2012 11:19 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
Six, I sent the post to MM.
January 27, 2012 11:20 AM - dibs
LOL, Carl Quintanilla just asked him if he was a "cruise ship chaser."
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:20 AM
January 27, 2012 11:20 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
i also fucking HAAAAAAAAATE getting paid on mondays. what the hell am i gonna do all weekend sit on my thumb?!
ugh


*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:20 AM
January 27, 2012 11:20 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
I thought it was your Xmas gift? The shirts from your Gram?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:20 AM
January 27, 2012 11:22 AM - dibs
what the hell am i gonna do all weekend sit on my thumb?!
ugh

*rob*

That would make you part of the 90% bottoms
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:22 AM
January 27, 2012 11:23 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
oh maybe i was complaining about it before as my xmas gift, i meant my bday gift.
my xmas gift was cash. i told her to just buy me clothes from the salvation armies down there instead of giving me cash for my birthday. im such an idiot. i should have just taken the damn cash.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:23 AM
January 27, 2012 11:23 AM - sixyearsandcounting
Thanks cobble!
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:23 AM
January 27, 2012 11:27 AM - DeLepp
Must be plumbing day in brroklyn. Our guys just left as our 14 month old hot water heater has crapped out. Lucky it's under warranty.
January 27, 2012 11:34 AM - MontroseMorris
Thanks Six (and Cobble) for the link. I had already found it in my research, but nice knowing you're looking out for me!
January 27, 2012 11:35 AM - lechacal
I want to get a leg massage and not pay too much money. I feel like most of the options are places where they ask you if you want to get jerked off at the end of the massage (not what I'm looking for).
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:35 AM
January 27, 2012 11:36 AM - Donatella
I have a friend who is a conservative Republican and who would vote Republican regardless of who was running. Nothing, and I mean nothing would make him vote any other way. He is not a crusader or angry tea party person. He just has a very conservative political philosophy which was developed over his life in the corrupt, Democratic machine political cauldron of Hudson County, New Jersey. I thought of him when Lech was talking about Northampton.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:36 AM
January 27, 2012 11:36 AM - lechacal
Dona, also note that Benson's political views were shaped by growing up around the filthy corruption of the Democrat machine.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:36 AM
January 27, 2012 11:37 AM - dibs
Xing's place in Chinatown, lech but I don't know where it is really or the number.

email me if you want to go down there and i'll give you his number. There are female masseuses as well and there's no hanky panky there
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:40 AM
January 27, 2012 11:37 AM - petebklyn
"if you want to get jerked off at the end of the massage (not what I'm looking for)." -- you mean you want one where they do that first and get it over with?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:37 AM
January 27, 2012 11:38 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
dont go to any massage parlors in chinatown, ew, youll likely wind up with a nasty bacterial infection or something.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:38 AM
January 27, 2012 11:39 AM - lechacal
Exactly, Pete. Exactly.
January 27, 2012 11:39 AM - gay smurf hoodlum
wait nevermind, im thinking of buying turtles, not massages. duh

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:39 AM
January 27, 2012 11:40 AM - lechacal
Rob, seriously, what the fuck are you talking about?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:40 AM
January 27, 2012 11:47 AM - Donatella
My friend grew up in Bayonne. He is one of the smartest people I know, one of the nicest and most kind people ever. I have to say that he is disgusted on a cellular level by the hat in hand, kow towing to local corrupt or just sleazy politicos. In Hudson county, it is still hard for a Republican candidate to hold a political rally. Oh those pesky permits and police protection necessary, all arranged by local political functionaries (who have been Democratic since the year of the flood.)

By the way, speaking of Hudson county, several past Jersey City mayors are now in jail.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:47 AM
January 27, 2012 11:48 AM - dibs
Corrupt Dems seem so stupid as well. Most of the corrupt repubs never actually get caught!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:48 AM
January 27, 2012 11:49 AM - petebklyn
so - in that theory- Texas should be producing lots of future dems.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:49 AM
January 27, 2012 11:50 AM - Cobble B. Hiller
"Most of the corrupt repubs never actually get caught!!!!"

I guess Newt isn't one of the smart corrupt repubs. : P
January 27, 2012 11:54 AM - dibs
Chinese plumbers just arrived. Not cute at all but very apologetic in that Canto sort of way.."Solly, solly." which means they are not, really. But not surly like your typical chinatown waiter!!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:54 AM
January 27, 2012 11:56 AM - dibs
"I guess Newt isn't one of the smart corrupt repubs. : P"


Well, he never went to prison and he's now running for President of the United States with the lead. I'd call that pretty smart.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:56 AM
January 27, 2012 11:56 AM - sixyearsandcounting
"im thinking of buying turtles, not massages."

ROFL!
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:56 AM
January 27, 2012 12:02 PM - dibs
Gartman getting back into gold. i think this is a mistake at these levels. Global contagion is waning, slowly but still waning.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:02 PM
January 27, 2012 12:03 PM - Kensingtonian
The dude with the coffee shop sold it for profit so he is laughing all the way to the bank, no matter how much of a douche he is. He also owns 2 other successful coffee shops (Milk Bar in prospect heights and another one in the village). He was a total douche for writing that email or whatever and Qathra is ways better than that crappy place but he managed to sell it and put his money into expanding his village coffee shop. Good for him. I personally wouldn't go to his shops for being such a douche but apperently he is making money in other places so whatev.

Meanwhile I spoke to Max (owner of Qathra) and he is probably taking over the old Whisk place. (DIBS thats the investment I told you about that was looking for investors in the biz).
January 27, 2012 12:11 PM - dibs
Tommy told me to keep $100 because they were so late!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:11 PM
January 27, 2012 12:16 PM - More4Less
DIBS getting VIP treatment. Tommy will pay those dudes the 100 out of his pocket but he knows you'll hook him up with more biz
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:16 PM
January 27, 2012 12:18 PM - dibs
Of course they are typical low end plumbers...no hand truck to remove the old one, no pump to pump the water out either.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:18 PM
January 27, 2012 12:32 PM - Arkady
Don't you keep a sump pump on hand?
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:32 PM
January 27, 2012 12:33 PM - dibs
No, my basement is bone dry.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:33 PM
January 27, 2012 12:37 PM - dibs
Not going to disassemble the pump from the fountain for them either.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:37 PM
January 27, 2012 12:38 PM - dibs
They are bailing it into the P-trap on the main soil pipe, gallon by gallon!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:38 PM
January 27, 2012 12:39 PM - dibs
Yes and I'm surprised that there isn't enough pressure just because of the amount of water in it to get it up three feet to the washer drain using the hose!!!!!

Even after they broke the vacuum by unhooking the pipes at the top!!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:40 PM
January 27, 2012 12:39 PM - Arkady
Isn't there a hose bibb on the tank that you could attach a garden hose to?
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:39 PM
January 27, 2012 12:44 PM - Arkady
Silly of me to ask you, I know, but are you sure the cock is open?
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:44 PM
January 27, 2012 12:44 PM - dibs
I think I just heard them move it.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:44 PM
January 27, 2012 12:45 PM - dibs
You mean the valves at the top???
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:45 PM
January 27, 2012 12:46 PM - dibs
Didn't you hear that 90% of us are bottoms. What would I know about how to use a cock.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:46 PM
January 27, 2012 12:46 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
My friend grew up in Bayonne. He is one of the smartest people I know, one of the nicest and most kind people ever. I have to say that he is disgusted on a cellular level by the hat in hand, kow towing to local corrupt or just sleazy politicos. In Hudson county, it is still hard for a Republican candidate to hold a political rally. Oh those pesky permits and police protection necessary, all arranged by local political functionaries (who have been Democratic since the year of the flood.)

By the way, speaking of Hudson county, several past Jersey City mayors are now in jail


lol. yeah hudson county is mad corrupt. it's where i grew up. one of the mayors in that county was the one who got my family into mega cheap projects housing even tho we didnt exactly qualify.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 12:46 PM
January 27, 2012 12:46 PM - Arkady
You could try making a "U" above the 3 foot mark & then create a vacuum in the hose - I've had gravity work over a height of 3 feet w/ the pool.
January 27, 2012 12:47 PM - dibs
Arkady, speechless??? ROTFLMMFAO
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:47 PM
January 27, 2012 12:49 PM - Arkady
Start the syphon action at a low point, kink the hose & lift it higher than 3', then start it up again where you want it but w/ the hose in an upsidedown "U" shape higher than 3'. I've done that w/ the pool.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:49 PM
January 27, 2012 12:50 PM - dibs
Davos must be the biggest, most expensive boondoggle clusterfuck in the world. All these pompous prognosticators and wannabees. It's just a boondoggle for all these government employess to go on. What a colossal waste of money.
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:50 PM
January 27, 2012 12:50 PM - Arkady
Me teaching my gramma how to suck eggs...
Edited at January 27, 2012 12:50 PM
January 27, 2012 12:54 PM - Arkady
Gov't types go for free (aside from travel there.) Conference is paid for by corporate reps & private individuals. There was a rundown on the expenses somewhere yesterday or the day before.
January 27, 2012 1:01 PM - Slopefarm
"Well, he never went to prison and he's now running for President of the United States with the lead. I'd call that pretty smart."

I'd call that pretty ironic.

Oh, and a belated LOL to rob for his Southpaw comment.

And double LOL to 6 for the doggie campaign flyer. Could be a very effective SuperPAC campaign. Why limit the expansion of first amendment personhood under S.Ct. FEC decision to corporations? Why not extend same personhood rights to dogs and cats?? I can foresee the next negative add: Hey Mitt!! We dogs have a bone to pick with you!!!!

Edited at January 27, 2012 1:01 PM
January 27, 2012 1:04 PM - dibs
Slopey, how about discussing the candidates platform??? Oh wait, that would require some knowledge of it. :-P
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:04 PM
January 27, 2012 1:14 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
yay my package came!

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 1:14 PM
January 27, 2012 1:22 PM - Kensingtonian
Question....is it Controller's office OR Controllers' Office.
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:22 PM
January 27, 2012 1:22 PM - sixyearsandcounting
Lol Slopey, I got that from an arch-libertarian friend who loves animals.
January 27, 2012 1:25 PM - dibs
depends upon whether there are one or more.
January 27, 2012 1:25 PM - Slopefarm
"Slopey, how about discussing the candidates platform??? Oh wait, that would require some knowledge of it. :-P"

Didn't realize that the only way one was allowed to comment on or joke about politics here was following a full exigesis of one's views and analyses of the candidates' platforms. I'd forgotten that this is a serious political blog and that there is no room for kidding around. I guess there's no room for this on the OT, either:

EMILY LITELLA: What’s all this fuss I’ve been hearing about the 1976 presidential erection? Now, I know they erected a monument for Mr. Lincoln and President Washington, but that’s because they’re DEAD! Hopefully, the 1976 President won’t be DEAD! So he won’t NEED an erection! If Americans are going to spend money to erect anything, why don’t we tear down those nasty slums and erect luxury high rises for poor people and senior citizens! Not for presidents who can afford to pay for their OWN erections!

CHEVY: Miss Litella -

EMILY LITELLA: I can’t believe the way things are turning out in this country - what?

CHEVY: I’m sorry. That’s election. The editorial was about the presidential election, not the presidential erection. Election.

EMILY LITELLA: Oh, that’s very different.

CHEVY: Yes.

Emily Litella: Never mind.

Edited at January 27, 2012 1:25 PM
January 27, 2012 1:28 PM - Kensingtonian
One office.
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:28 PM
January 27, 2012 1:29 PM - dibs
But how many controllers???? If there's just one it's controller's
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:29 PM
January 27, 2012 1:31 PM - lechacal
LOL, slopey.

One of my favorite snippets is the Monty Python you copied here a while back.... too busy to find exact words, but it's the I'm sick and tired of everyone being sick and tired, right thinking people, wrong thinking people, etc...
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:30 PM
January 27, 2012 1:31 PM - Kensingtonian
just one. Thanks!
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:31 PM
January 27, 2012 1:33 PM - lechacal
OK, OK, I had to google it:

Graham Chapman: I think all righthtinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired.

All: Yes, yes...

Graham Chapman: I'm certainly not! And I'm sick and tired of being told that I am.

Not Sure?: Mrs. Havoc-Jones.

Mrs. Havoc-Jones: Well, I meet a lot of people and I'm convinced that the vast majority of wrongthinking people are right.

Not Sure?: There seems like a consensus there. Could we have the next question, please?

Edited at January 27, 2012 1:33 PM
January 27, 2012 1:39 PM - Slopefarm
"I'm convinced that the vast majority of wrongthinking people are right."

Yes, one of my faves, too, along with:

M: Oh look, this isn't an argument! (pause)
O: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't! (pause)
M: It's just contradiction!
O: No it isn't!
M: It IS!
O: It is NOT!
M: You just contradicted me!
O: No I didn't!
M: You DID!
O: No no no!
M: You did just then!
O: Nonsense!
M: (exasperated) Oh, this is futile!! (pause)
O: No it isn't!
M: Yes it is! (pause) I came here for a good argument!
O: AH, no you didn't, you came here for an argument!
M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
O: Well! it CAN be!
M: No it can't!
M: An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
O: No it isn't!
M: Yes it is! 'tisn't just contradiction.
O: Look, if I *argue* with you, I must take up a contrary position!
M: Yes but it isn't just saying 'no it isn't'.
O: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:39 PM
January 27, 2012 1:41 PM - lechacal
LMAO.
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:41 PM
January 27, 2012 1:42 PM - Slopefarm
Farmhand's favorite Python bit is Anne Elk's big theory about brontosauruses. She's also partial to the fish license/bee license skit, which concludes with "Eric the 'alf a Bee" song. She has not yet asked me to explain what it means to love a bee "semi-carnally."
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:42 PM
January 27, 2012 1:45 PM - lechacal
OMG I know every line of every one of those skits. I myself am partial to the Australian Bruce skit.
January 27, 2012 1:57 PM - Slopefarm
"the Australian Bruce skit"

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant . . . etc.

Some stuff isn't LOL funny but conceptually loopy -- e.g., skit on why England's best soccer goalies are drawn to writing poetry about Yangtze River.
Edited at January 27, 2012 1:57 PM
January 27, 2012 2:02 PM - lechacal
For some reason I often think of "upper class twit of the year", but now that I think of it that started when I moved to Westchester.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:02 PM
January 27, 2012 2:03 PM - dibs
All this crap on CNBC about the facebook listing. Some of the shit these people say is really ridiculous.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:03 PM
January 27, 2012 2:04 PM - lechacal
Tomorrow night is the annual blowout Irvington school auction fundraiser. Everyone gets drunk and apparently a lot of money is raised. Sort of like the PS 107 fundraiser, but with sweater vests.
January 27, 2012 2:04 PM - Slopefarm
Oh, and my favorite, though obscure, philosophical joke from the Pythons:

[Mid-sketch, Mrs. Premise and Mrs. Conclusion are arguing about Sartre and they decide to call him directly and ask him to resolve their argument. Mrs. Premise had previously vacationed with the "Sartres".] Hallo? Hello Mrs Sartre. It's Beulagh Premise here. Oh, pardon, c'est Beulagh Premise ici, oui, oui, dons Ibiza. Oui, we met... nous nous recontrons au Hotel Miramar. Oui, a la barbeque, c'est vrai. Madame S. - est-ce que Jean est chez vous? Oh merde. When will he be free? Oh pardon. Quand sera-t-il libre? Oooooh. Ha ha ha ha (to Mrs Conclusion) She says he's spent the last sixty years trying to work that one out.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:04 PM
January 27, 2012 2:06 PM - Slopefarm
Do not drink until the bidding closes. You will be sorry otherwise.
January 27, 2012 2:10 PM - lechacal
Yes, that's a good one too. I just refreshed my memory on upperclass twit of the year. So good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Class_Twit_of_the_Year
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:10 PM
January 27, 2012 2:12 PM - dibs
"Do not drink until the bidding closes. You will be sorry otherwise."

Very good advice.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:12 PM
January 27, 2012 2:17 PM - lechacal
I don't bid at charity or fundraiser auctions. I only bid at auctions where someone somewhere is desperate and has things they need sold at any price. Bidding at charity or fundraiser auctions is usually a dumb idea.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:17 PM
January 27, 2012 2:49 PM - lechacal
Don't everybody talk all at once.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:49 PM
January 27, 2012 2:50 PM - More4Less
who turned off the lights to the sky???? just got dark all of a sudden. thank god I got back from seeing architect before this crap hit.
Edited at January 27, 2012 2:50 PM
January 27, 2012 3:06 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
it just got really bright and sunny, looks gorgeous out!

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 3:06 PM
January 27, 2012 3:35 PM - dibs
It's incredibly warm out
Edited at January 27, 2012 3:35 PM
January 27, 2012 3:46 PM - Arkady
Getting dark clouds again here. Garden therm says 59°.
Edited at January 27, 2012 3:46 PM
January 27, 2012 3:49 PM - dibs
Left the plumbers. had to go into my office because my train ticket was there...leaving shortly for Philly.

Yeah, i thought it had to be near 60 degrees
Edited at January 27, 2012 3:49 PM
January 27, 2012 3:52 PM - Arkady
High winds coming. I think I have to lower the feeders again.
Edited at January 27, 2012 3:52 PM
January 27, 2012 4:11 PM - Arkady
Anyone know how to find out what bldg collapsed on Charles St. in Manhattan? Friend of mine lives on that block.
Edited at January 27, 2012 4:11 PM
January 27, 2012 4:14 PM - Arkady
Ahh. Not my pal.
January 27, 2012 4:25 PM - lechacal
a building collapsed?
Edited at January 27, 2012 4:24 PM
January 27, 2012 4:38 PM - dibs
Never heard of Charles St...west village???
Edited at January 27, 2012 4:38 PM
January 27, 2012 4:40 PM - petebklyn
tons of brooklyn demographic data: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/pub/departments/csb/1659.htm
CB6 area (park slope, cobble , carroll gardens, etc) --- 5 top places for place of birth
(so rob -- seems the moonfaces are more apt to be from california and new jersey than ohio, or wherever)
New York State (50.9%)
California (2.7%)
New Jersey (2.6%)
Puerto Rico (2.4%)
Massachusetts (2.2%)
Edited at January 27, 2012 4:40 PM
January 27, 2012 4:54 PM - dibs
The sun on the marsh grasses coming out of the tunnel is really beautiful...got to be what "amber waves of grain" look like
Edited at January 27, 2012 4:54 PM
January 27, 2012 5:10 PM - dibs
Did that drive away all the unpatriotic liberals????
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:10 PM
January 27, 2012 5:21 PM - Deleted
who's got a 9pm meeting? this guy!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:21 PM
January 27, 2012 5:22 PM - dibs
LOL, 9pm on a Friday!!!!!! Unless the company is going bankrupt or has just received a takeover offer, there is NOTHING worth that.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:23 PM
January 27, 2012 5:26 PM - dibs
I think Denny Crane and Allan Schoor used to work that late and then retire on the terrace for scotches and cigars.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:26 PM
January 27, 2012 5:29 PM - More4Less
too bad it's still early for my "G-Men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Oh well, just another week before they kick some NE Asses
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:29 PM
January 27, 2012 5:30 PM - dibs
Throughout my whole career I don't think I've ever stayed in my office past 6:00 or so except for those few times I had sex in the office.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:30 PM
January 27, 2012 5:32 PM - More4Less
DH, that's price to pay occasionally for the big chedda
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:32 PM
January 27, 2012 5:34 PM - Deleted
haha - back in my big 4 auditor days i worked til 3am on some friday nights. that was the worst.

at least in a half hour i can run down and pour some whiskey from the bar downstairs.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:34 PM
January 27, 2012 5:35 PM - dibs
I gotta find out what sort of company has a bar downstairs.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:35 PM
January 27, 2012 5:35 PM - dibs
And an open bar??????
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:35 PM
January 27, 2012 5:38 PM - Arkady
Charles St. runs between 7th Av. So & Bleecker - just north of Sheridan Sq.Christopher St.
January 27, 2012 5:39 PM - More4Less
DIBS, but you've consistently had pretty early starts to the work day right - ie like with the recent gig?
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:39 PM
January 27, 2012 5:40 PM - dibs
Yes, I enjoy early starts. I'm usually there by 7:40. Any later and the trains are too crowded.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:40 PM
January 27, 2012 5:45 PM - Deleted
early starts are good if you can leave before evening rush.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:45 PM
January 27, 2012 5:45 PM - lechacal
Yeah DH, well it's 9 pm this Friday, then you'll be working weekends, and then another late Friday, and then you start bailing on social plans, and you lose friends because you never see them, and your family ties are strained, and you don't have time to exercise, and the amount you get paid keeps going up and up because there is more responsibility and more pressure, and then the next thing you know you have to give all of your money to the government to pay for pensions for corrupt cops and firefighters, and then as a bonus joke you get to read every day about how you're the problem, not the corrupt people, not the lazy people, you.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:45 PM
January 27, 2012 5:48 PM - Deleted
haha lech, best rant ever. god forbid i start doing something crazy like running when noone is chasing me and getting bloody nipples.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:48 PM
January 27, 2012 5:50 PM - dibs
lech, that about sums up life for the hardworking people like us (including me for another two days).
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:50 PM
January 27, 2012 5:54 PM - More4Less
Lech, watching some tv once in a while will help your mood better than reading shit
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:54 PM
January 27, 2012 5:54 PM - sixyearsandcounting
...not to mention crapping your pants in front of crowds of people.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:54 PM
January 27, 2012 5:55 PM - More4Less
Dibs, am not convinced you'll stay retired.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:55 PM
January 27, 2012 5:56 PM - dibs
Time will tell, m4l. I'm very flexible. I think I would like to work with my contractor in PA. That would also open the door to meeting a lot of the Mexican worker talent!!!
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:59 PM
January 27, 2012 5:56 PM - Cobble B. Hiller
(World's tiniest violin for Lech.)
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:56 PM
January 27, 2012 5:56 PM - Deleted
dibs, you having a crazy retirement party? you should rent out a private space and hire a bunch of muscley topless asian dudes to pass around hors doeuvres and bubbly.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:56 PM
January 27, 2012 5:57 PM - dibs
dh, not sure Montero's would like that.
Edited at January 27, 2012 5:57 PM
January 27, 2012 5:57 PM - Deleted
"Time will tell, m4l. I'm very flexible"

is that the same as versatile?
January 27, 2012 6:00 PM - sixyearsandcounting
Jesus H. Christ, 122 comments on the DP blog cafe thread now.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:00 PM
January 27, 2012 6:00 PM - More4Less
DH, dibs working with his contractor will legitimize his "handling some big tools" comments without using "(nh)"
January 27, 2012 6:00 PM - dibs
I'm not sure if versatile is the right word if I'm a bottom 90% of the time, as all homos are, according to rob
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:00 PM
January 27, 2012 6:00 PM - Deleted
i had to go to jersey city today. it's actually really nice over there. blasphemy, i know.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:00 PM
January 27, 2012 6:01 PM - dibs
Isn't that where Adam lives??
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:01 PM
January 27, 2012 6:01 PM - More4Less
Dibs, if you can stay busy, you will be able to stay retired else you'll unretire to hunt down some action
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:01 PM
January 27, 2012 6:02 PM - Deleted
yeah dibs, i actually thought of him while walking down a nice brownstone block (nh)
the path train really blows tho.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:02 PM
January 27, 2012 6:03 PM - Cobble B. Hiller
Never stayed past 6pm???

Omig*d, several of my jobs went past 8 and 9pm regularly. One went 24 hours on a regular basis sometimes I got to go home to nap/shower. Sometimes worked round the clock for several days.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:10 PM
January 27, 2012 6:03 PM - dibs
OK..train pulling in. have a good weekend everyone.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:03 PM
January 27, 2012 6:03 PM - More4Less
Harimus cove, Hamilton park, van vorst, Paulus hook sections of JC are pretty nice.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:03 PM
January 27, 2012 6:38 PM - dibs
Newt is right in saying that Reagan had exactly the same pushback from his party before he won
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:38 PM
January 27, 2012 6:41 PM - lechacal
.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:41 PM
January 27, 2012 6:46 PM - dibs
The whole town of pontiac, Michigan is for sale..city hall, police station, cemetery, etc, etc, etc
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:46 PM
January 27, 2012 6:50 PM - Arkady
Maybe we could all chip in & call it PLUSAville.
Edited at January 27, 2012 6:50 PM
January 27, 2012 7:02 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
wow, my grandmother done good. i loved every single one of the shirts she sent me!

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 7:02 PM
January 27, 2012 7:06 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
I'm not sure if versatile is the right word if I'm a bottom 90% of the time, as all homos are, according to rob

omg will you PLEASE just get over me saying that? sorry, but it's like totally true.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 7:06 PM
January 27, 2012 7:09 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
i had to go to jersey city today. it's actually really nice over there. blasphemy, i know.

my birth city! jeez, i havent been there in like forever. adam dahill said the new barcade there is really good tho. i read some thread talking about bars in JC and lots of people said it's really expensive. i guess the owners decided to ship williamsburg prices over the river, and then another river. im assuming the games are still a quarter tho.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 7:09 PM
January 27, 2012 7:11 PM - lechacal
Rob, I'm impressed that you know there are two rivers involved.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:11 PM
January 27, 2012 7:12 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
I'm not sure if versatile is the right word if I'm a bottom 90% of the time, as all homos are, according to rob

um, i said 90% of homos are bottoms, not gay people take in the butt 90% of the time.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 7:11 PM
January 27, 2012 7:14 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
im totally talking to myself here. oh in line at the supermarket earlier some moonface father (screaming brat in tow) put lightbulbs on the conveyer belt and asked the cashier how do you make the lightbulbs change brightnesses (it was one of those 60-75-100 bulbs or something, you know what im talking about.) i actually let out a cobble *snort*. the cashier just ignored his question.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 7:14 PM
January 27, 2012 7:15 PM - lechacal
Lol at how rob just schooled DIBS on statistics. I was actually about to correct DIBS but rob beat me to it.
January 27, 2012 7:16 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Rob, I'm impressed that you know there are two rivers involved.

why? ive lived along rivers my whole life (and not down in a van!). except for here in park slope i guess.

*rob*
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:16 PM
January 27, 2012 7:20 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
he's probably taking it in the butt right this second and calculating figures in his head. either that or he just threw his partner down and fucked him up the butt screaming who's your 10%, bitch!?


*rob*
January 27, 2012 7:20 PM - lechacal
It means you have a modicum of geographic awareness.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:20 PM
January 27, 2012 7:22 PM - Cobble B. Hiller
"Newt is right in saying that Reagan had exactly the same pushback from his party before he won"

Holding onto little shreds of hope for Newton, DIBS? : P
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:22 PM
January 27, 2012 7:28 PM - petebklyn
Willard must have tons more money in his (negative)campaign.....hardly see any for Newton.

my peace and quiet is over....the patient is home....tv blaring....he has great sound system and bad hearing...lethal combo.
I didn't turn the thing on once when I was here alone. he just took a percacet so mood should improve soon.
His last name in weinstein.....and I joke ....accent on 1st syllable...whine.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:28 PM
January 27, 2012 7:34 PM - petebklyn
rob -- aren't you big fan of this person? really trashy.
http://gawker.com/5879171/this-is-a-picture-of-miley-cyrus-eating-a-penis-cake

and you said nothing about those studies I linked to showing most moonfaces in park slope are from NewJersey and California
followed by Mass.
January 27, 2012 7:41 PM - Arkady
pete - I had that kind of thing for a while - got my deaf friend a pair of earphones that pick up the audio from the t.v. Excellent quality sound, I'm told. Best Buy, Radio Shack, etc.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:41 PM
January 27, 2012 7:44 PM - Deleted
Most bars in Williamsburg aren't expensive (especially barcade)
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:44 PM
January 27, 2012 7:46 PM - petebklyn
I wonder if he'd go for it? probably not. and this apt is 'loft-type'. No doors on bedrooms.....high ceilings, industrial look, polished concrete floors, etc.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:46 PM
January 27, 2012 7:47 PM - petebklyn
the worst is when the commercials come on.
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:47 PM
January 27, 2012 7:51 PM - Cobble B. Hiller
"the worst is when the commercials come on."

What? The remote doesn't have a MUTE button? I trained BH to use the mute button, or at least lower volume during commercials. BAH!
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:51 PM
January 27, 2012 7:54 PM - rf
My favorite on Newt:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/deconstructing-a-demagogue/
Edited at January 27, 2012 7:54 PM
January 27, 2012 8:13 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
rob -- aren't you big fan of this person? really trashy.
http://gawker.com/5879171/this-is-a-picture-of-miley-cyrus-eating-a-peni...

and you said nothing about those studies I linked to showing most moonfaces in park slope are from NewJersey and California
followed by Mass.

yes, i love Miley. she's been trashy forever. i dont get the point of your study. i never said midwestern moonfaces make up the biggest population in NYC, ever. but they do make up the most annoying population and they tend to do nothing but promote themselves in every magazine, website, etc. i would imagine most people who live in nyc are generally FROM the nyc area. why is that shocking? i kinda LIKE that most people in ny are from the area and most are from california. california makes great people, so does the east coast. the anal gullet of the country? um, no.



*rob*
January 27, 2012 8:15 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
Most bars in Williamsburg aren't expensive (especially barcade)

:-/ you've GOT to be kidding. oh wait, i forgot youre mr. money bags now, nevermind. seriously tho, sorry, but any drink over three dollars is expensive.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:15 PM
January 27, 2012 8:19 PM - Deleted
There's more bars to get $5 beer and shot happy meals than places to get 12 dollar cocktails.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:19 PM
January 27, 2012 8:19 PM - Deleted
Damn. Being the first post on page 2 sux.
January 27, 2012 8:19 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
like seriously, if you REALLY think paying 6 dollars PLUS tip for a beer is not expenive, then you are insane.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:19 PM
January 27, 2012 8:21 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
even a 5 dollar beer is still 6 with tip. sorry, but that is just ridiculous. and dont even ge me started on every Molly McCankle who doesnt even know what a fucking smurf cocktail is.


*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:21 PM
January 27, 2012 8:35 PM - Arkady
I'm really glad you're not my age, rob, or we'd have to listen to you rant about how beer was 35¢ for a stein in the good old days.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:35 PM
January 27, 2012 8:45 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
this dude i work with saw me take money from some girl outside our building for a cigarette just today and told me he will pick me up newports from stop n' shop (or a similar named store) in jersey. bless his heart. it was funny cuz in the elevator back up to work we were talking about cigs back in the day and i was like yeah they used to be FIVE bux and he was like oh yeah they were like 1.30 for me lol

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:45 PM
January 27, 2012 8:46 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
quote:
I'm really glad you're not my age, rob, or we'd have to listen to you rant about how beer was 35¢ for a stein in the good old days.

oh im gonna be a real doozey when im older. it just gets worse every year. in 2 weeks i turn my Sweet Sixteen x 2 + 3! where did the years go!>!?!?!?



*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:46 PM
January 27, 2012 8:51 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
oh and normally when people say "can i buy a cig from you" i usually just give them one. except i dont get paid til monday and that dollar bill felt awesome. i felt bad cuz she kinda didnt think i was gonna actually take the dollar bill. i've had people ask to buy a cigarette and then just not give money :-/ scrubalicious! it's so funny, whenever i've tried to scrub cigs from people on the street i get a no answer like 99.9999999% of the time. but when people ask me they get a yes like 95% of the time. it's embarassing asking a stranger for a cigarette. so i understand when other people do it. there are some people i will flat out say no to, those in the totally .0000001% who i really dont like (has nothing to with economics, just how they ask).

bumming cig ettiquette:
-if you ask someone for one and they give it to you, you immediately smoke it and ask the person who gave it to you for a light. (is that not just DUH?)
-dont walk away and whip a lighter out of your pocket
-strike up a conversation

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 8:51 PM
January 27, 2012 8:52 PM - Arkady
I remember saying I'd quit when they went to a dollar a pack. When I started they were a quarter & in Duty Free they were a buck a carton.
Edited at January 27, 2012 8:52 PM
January 27, 2012 9:13 PM - gay smurf hoodlum
but, but, but, but big gub'ment relies on smokers for welfare and education :-/

bard, that actually makes me wanna stop smoking. i pay more in taxes on cigs than most people on property taxes,, jeez.

*rob*

Edited at January 27, 2012 9:13 PM
January 27, 2012 10:01 PM - petebklyn
maybe poor people subsidize all the welfare and foodstamps themselves from taxes on cigs , booze, lottery, and sales tax from dollar stores and walmart. rich people should stop complaining.....all their taxes probably go to military (which very few of them enroll....99% poor people), and subidies to corporate america, and debt (which they own and collect interest on the bonds anyway).
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:01 PM
January 27, 2012 10:02 PM - petebklyn
I love fig newtons. do you think gingrinch was named after the cookie?
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:02 PM
January 27, 2012 10:33 PM - Deleted
newt
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:33 PM
January 27, 2012 10:41 PM - Arkady
Fig Newtons are one of the few sweets I dislike. I admire Isaac Newton though.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:41 PM
January 27, 2012 10:45 PM - ij
I never really believed (and still don't) that cigarettes are truly addictive. I smoked constantly through college, stopped over the summer, then resumed in the fall. I'd routinely pick it up and then drop it, never feeling adverse effects. It's all in your mind: sex, drinking, gambling, smoking, drugs - everyone has a weakness, and no weakness is absolute.


Edited at January 27, 2012 10:45 PM
January 27, 2012 10:53 PM - Donatella

HI JESTER!!!!!!!!!!


January 27, 2012 10:54 PM - Donatella

My parents bought Fig Newtons as their treat when we were kids because they knew we wouldn't eat them. We had standards for Crissakes. I still don't like them.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:54 PM
January 27, 2012 10:56 PM - petebklyn
i dunno, lot of evidence that nicotine is addictive. but I suppose could be variations. some people may not have right genetic material to become addicted to it. or can take longer time to become addicted.
Peoples reactions to drugs differ. reactions vary.
And I have no weaknesses....just preferences.
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:56 PM
January 27, 2012 10:57 PM - petebklyn
are you still in texas for the wkend, dona?
Edited at January 27, 2012 10:57 PM
January 27, 2012 11:05 PM - Donatella
Hi Pete. I came back last night. It was a good trip but I am exhausted. Are you still in FL? Ft. Lauderdale?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:05 PM
January 27, 2012 11:05 PM - ij
I had a friend from 1st grade, his father died when he was one and he was raised by his mom across the railroad. My twin and I would go over and play Star Wars with him. He was "spoiled" in that she bought him every toy there was, out of guilt or powerlessness or something unnameable I never understood but felt.

At 2 pm she'd serve Fig Newtons, overly sweet and wet and gross. If we were lucky she'd serve Chips Ahoy, but that was rare. At 3 pm we'd need to leave. They would need to care for the sickly uncle lying in a back room. Turning briefly I'd see the man's back as he coughed into a thin wool blanket. I see my old friend about town occasionally but how to connect with him? It is harder than it seems.
January 27, 2012 11:08 PM - petebklyn
will be here for awhile. friend is home....using walker after the hip surgery. and I'll stick around till I jump of the terrace or push him off.

Edited at January 27, 2012 11:08 PM
January 27, 2012 11:09 PM - Donatella
I know nicotine is addictive. I had a hell of a time quitting and when I finally did I was sick with withdrawal symptoms - nausea, sweating, felt shaky. That lasted for 10 days. Then I had a toxic reaction to alcohol after that for a while. I would get sick. My body went through a major change. But it seems there are a few people who don't get addicted and can smoke one or two cigarettes but not many. It is a highly addictive drug.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:09 PM
January 27, 2012 11:10 PM - Donatella
You are a good friend Pete.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:10 PM
January 27, 2012 11:11 PM - petebklyn
chips ahoy are the other cookie on his shelf. I like the fig newtown better. maybe because I can make choc chip cookies myself which are 100x better. but I can't make fig newtons.

I assume you see this guy around town...means when you are up in Maine visiting. You're a friendly guy....couldn't just say..remember me, I'm Jester. How's your mom?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:11 PM
January 27, 2012 11:15 PM - ij
Interesting, ok. In college, my only real smoker life, I'd smoke 5-7 cigarettes a day, and when getting drunk a pack a day, and then just stop. I still believe each brain has an addiction-shaped hole for something, whether it be some substance or whatever. No particular substance is overwhelmingly captive-forming.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:15 PM
January 27, 2012 11:17 PM - petebklyn
I've never been to texas. but I picture it similar to here without the ocean. lots of wide street.avenues...parking lots, strip malls, long blocks and lowrise except for downtown. not many big trees. too much sun.flat. bit too sterile.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:17 PM
January 27, 2012 11:20 PM - Donatella

ah....but Jester. We wouldn't want to test that hypothesis with crystal meth, crack, heroin or cocaine would we? Each one of those things are highly addictive. Maybe not the first time, but the body will form powerful dependencies. Unfortunately I have seen it up close.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:20 PM
January 27, 2012 11:21 PM - petebklyn
not sure pharmacologist would agree with you.
florida is oxycontin central. I read that majority of oxy prescripts in this country are written here....all these 'pain management' places. A Tale of 2 Cities here.... and I think invisible to each other. lowlife transients and affluent decadents.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:20 PM
January 27, 2012 11:22 PM - ij
My twin did - had a long talk. But the guy regressed. I always pride myself in reaching out for people losing their shit but...

A friend of our's father died in '86. Out of the whole school, my twin, me and this guy went to the funeral. He was a "nerd" and people sympathized but no one truly went out of their way.

Last year, the friend's mom died. My twin was in D.C., I was home, and this guy was home, but he refused to go to the funeral because he had a physics professor job to prepare for. A job he's since been fired from. Since then, I feel, Fuck him. How much do I need to extend myself?
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:22 PM
January 27, 2012 11:26 PM - ij
Dona, as I feel zero interest in trying any of those drugs, they are not addictive to me, proving my point.

The real horror of addiction is how you want to try something, either unknowing or knowing it will destroy you. The wanting is the addiction.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:26 PM
January 27, 2012 11:27 PM - petebklyn
that one sounds suspiciously aspergers.


Edited at January 27, 2012 11:27 PM
January 27, 2012 11:31 PM - ij
Yes, and get this, a valedictorian at a prestigious college but just floundering since. Maybe I should try to reach out again but he is so battered by life, I wonder if it will make any difference. Still, can't hurt to try.

Later all! Good talking to you.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:31 PM
January 27, 2012 11:31 PM - petebklyn
what I said to friend in st. pete.....It is the landscaping, flora that make the whole difference between drab desolate ugly and lush pretty tropical looking. that is how know whether in rich or poor area....the amount of greenery.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:31 PM
January 27, 2012 11:32 PM - Donatella
Jester, there is the psychological attraction to escaping, there is no question you are right about that. That is definitely an element of addiction. But once you actually use those drugs, for whatever reason, you are in big trouble because of the purely physical reaction of the body.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:32 PM
January 27, 2012 11:32 PM - petebklyn
sleep well, IJ. have a good wkend.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:32 PM
January 27, 2012 11:35 PM - petebklyn
I should get to sleep myself. g'night dona. hope that trip turns out fruitful.
breakfast duty starts early.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:35 PM
January 27, 2012 11:35 PM - Donatella

Well, Pete, good night. Good night, Jester. Welcome back.
Edited at January 27, 2012 11:35 PM
January 28, 2012 12:28 AM - Donatella
Physically, you are struck with the flatness of Houston. It is pretty humid generally and all kinds of trees survive there - the deciduous trees you see in the Northeast as well as palm trees and tropical plants. It was 70 degrees there but did go into the 40s, which is normal for this time of year. Re lay of the land, another thing that one notices about Houston is the lack of zoning, i.e. none. If the preservation movement has made it difficult/impossible to change things in a landmarked area like Brownstone Brooklyn, Houston is the polar opposite. Anybody can build anything, anywhere. The housing is really mixed too. SOOOOO much cheaper than here. And it has a high water table -- lots of water underground and lots of rain and flooding. I think Houston is overall a physically ugly place but you drive through certain parts of NY that are hideous too so who knows....I probably am not giving credit to other areas of Houston which are wealthy and beautiful.
Edited at January 28, 2012 12:28 AM