Grand Central Then and Now

The New York Times is actually doing some cool shit online, from their 360 degree panorama photos of otherwise inaccessible locations to this (slightly less impressive) "then and now" of Grand Central, which is not two static images as above but an interactive Flash thingy on their own web site. It's interesting that they've chosen to compare today with 1978 - not the original design (which would be a bit cliché at this point).

The funny thing about Grand Central itself in these photos is that I'm not sure which is worse. The Times obviously raves about the current space that's almost "completely free of advertising" compared to the 1978 version, apparently oblivious to the giant banners hanging on the walls today, not to mention the massive American flags literally blocking the views across the hall. I'm pretty sure those weren't included in the original architectural design, and they weren't there in 1978. It's nice to have that kiosk gone from the middle of the floor, but otherwise I think it's pretty much a wash.

Still, I remember the terminal in 1978 (it's among my first memories) and it was kind of a dump. Grand Central is more than just the main hall here that always gets pictured - there's a big waiting room off this hall, then a maze of tunnels that house a market and what amounts to a giant underground mall. Most of it had the feel of a big rundown subway station, and it had all been "updated" with stuff like fluorescent lights and steel doors, so that it looked like what modern stuff looked like in the 1960's, when "modern" really meant utilitarian and ugly. (It still kinda does, doesn't it?)

These days Grand Central's restored mostly to what it originally was, which surprises some people at first because it's not totally what you'd expect. None of the light fixtures are covered, for example - they're just bare bulbs. The designers were showing off when this place was built and electric lights still weren't common. They wanted people to see all those light bulbs.

By the way, some people will tell you it's a mistake to call it "Grand Central Station" rather than "Grand Central Terminal", but they're wrong. It's not a mistake - it's just tradition. See, there was a train station here before this one, only slightly less "grand", and it really was called "Grand Central Station". Old habits die hard in New York City. (The word "station" also has a little romance to it - "terminal" just sounds like somebody's dying.) That name's been passed down through the generations now. We call it that on purpose. CONTINUED >>

Decode

Hayley's voice just makes me melt.


I don't think I could stomach the dumbass movie this song is from, though. CONTINUED >>

Motorcade!

Not that you can tell, but this was part of a presidential motorcade tonight. (I know, it's hard to tell that it's even a cop car - trust me!)

So was this:

Motorcades are a fact of life around here, but this one was a lot more impressive than most. Unfortunately, it's sometimes tough to capture these random little moments - you need to be ready all the time. But for a minute there tonight, I thought I was in an episode of "24".

My wife and I had this crazy idea that we'd drive an hour to our old neighborhood just to get some chicken and rice from this particular street vendor we used to like. As soon as I got on the Van Wyck Expressway, I noticed a cop car race up behind me and cut off the traffic coming out of the on-ramp I had just used. I was the last car to get on the road. This is the highway that leads from JFK Airport to both LaGuardia Airport and Manhattan.

The exact same thing happened at the next on-ramp, and the next. There was literally nobody behind me on one of the busiest New York highways besides cops. I'd see one speed up behind, then watch him slam on his brakes and wedge himself in front of an on-ramp I had just passed. "Ok, this is starting to get weird," I thought. Then three cop cars with lights on came up behind me and forced me into the next lane before passing at great speed. One of them peeled off to block the on-ramp just ahead. The other two sped off into the distance, clearing the left lane.

Finally, the motorcade came through, clearly exceeding the speed limit! I know it was a presidential motorcade both because of the size and the license plates: Maryland. (New York has its own motorcades for visiting dignitaries and New York officials, with New York plates.) There were about ten marked NYPD cop cars leading, two unmarked cop cars with flashing lights, several limousines, three large black SUV's, two more limousines, a couple of smaller SUV's, then four more marked cop cars. It was more of a convoy than a motorcade.

We unwittingly followed them for about 4 miles, so the road was lit up like a Christmas tree pretty much our whole way.

Oddly enough, we saw another, slightly smaller motorcade going in the other direction.

There was some sort of economic summit going on this weekend, so this was probably related. That would mean it was probably Bush in one of these motorcades, although who knows, maybe one of them was carrying Obama to meet with Clinton about taking that secretary of state gig. CONTINUED >>

Get to know me!

I worry that this blog seems a bit impersonal a lot of the time. So, a few bits of trivia about myself:

• I am allergic to penicillin. When I was a kid, I was allergic to dust. This was a big problem.
  
  
• I was born in Manhattan and I have a working class Manhattan accent (as opposed to the Jackie Kennedy aristocrat Manhattan accent). Think Robert DeNiro, but his real accent, not the exaggerated one he uses in movies. See here. That's what I sound like. The funny thing about Manhattanites is that when we get agitated, our accent gets stronger. We use it as a weapon.
  
  
• On the night I was born, two taxis who were racing to try to pick up my mother to take her to the hospital crashed into each other. One of them flipped over. The drivers were both okay.
  
  
• When I was very young, I was in a train accident. I don't remember it, but I have pictures. It sounds funny to describe it now - the train car I was riding in hit a parked steam locomotive sideways. Don't ask how a train car goes sideways. I ate a fair amount of broken glass. But I still love trains.
  
  
• One of my legs is an inch shorter than the other. I fell down three steps while juggling. I broke my ankle and my leg stopped growing. This is unnoticeable to anyone else, but it causes me back pain sometimes.
  
  
• I can play saxophone, bass guitar and guitar. I also took singing lessons when I was younger, although I am still not a very good singer and even less so since my lung problems (a giant tube rammed down your throat is not good for a person's singing voice). I was in a heavy metal band in high school. We thought we were pretty good.
  
  
• I can drive a stick.
  
  
• I graduated from NYU film school.
  
  
• I was music director for my college radio station (before NYU).
  
  
• I have both driven across the country and taken the train across the country, multiple times. This has hugely affected my world view and I urge everyone to do one or both sometime before they get old and cranky.
  
  
• I have stayed aboard the Queen Mary.
  
  
• I have lived in 25 different places in my short lifetime. That's almost a move every year.
  
  
• I grew up on both coasts. My parents are from the midwest. My brother lives in the Oregon desert. I lived in Rockford, Illinois for a few years after high school, by choice. I really liked it there. I was able to live on $25 per week working at K-Mart. I ate a lot of store brand macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and ramen noodles.
  
  
• I have really bad luck with girls named "Jean".
  
  
• My first car was a 1984 Pontiac Firebird. My second car was a 1980 Camaro. My third car was a 1990 Nissan Sentra. My fourth car was a 1980 Camaro. (A different one.)
  
  
• I met my wife online, halfway around the world. We got married three years later.
  
  
• In New York City, I have lived in Morningside Heights, the East Village, Chelsea, Woodside and Astoria. I have both good and bad memories from all of them, and they represent different phases of my life to me.
  
  
• I collect video game consoles and games. My first system was a Mattel Intellivision, which I got for Christmas in 1980.
  
  
• I used to work in the video game industry, and I will give you the following advice: do not work in the video game industry.
  
  
• I lived for a year with two bisexual girls. They started out among my best friends. Long story short, I haven't talked to them since.
  
  
• The first album I ever owned was The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour". I was 4 years old when I got it.
  
  
• I was considered for a part in "Clerks" but then forgot to follow up. I was not an actor anyway.
  
  
• I used to want to be a pilot, until the plane I was in almost crashed. Now I am afraid of airplanes, but still fascinated by them. I love airports as long as I am not the one flying. I will go to an airport just to hang out. I will drive anyone to the airport that needs a ride.
  
  
• I have been in two major car accidents. I have also lost three good friends separately to car accidents, all due to drunk driving. I have never gotten over them.
  
  
• I love history. Specifically, I love the history of rich people. I'm not sure why, as I am not rich. And half the time I root against them anyway. But they used to live interesting lives.
  
  
• I am a purist and a traditionalist in almost everything except technology. (But sometimes, even there.) Nothing beats the original. Nothing beats the real thing.
  
  
• My first computer was an Apple //c. I used it for 11 years.
  
  
• I think modern pop music sucks.
  
  
• I am generally a skeptic, a pragmatist and a realist out of necessity and experience. But I love to feel caught up in a movement when one takes me.
  
  
• My favorite sport is NFL football. My wife calls herself a football widow.
  
  
• My first concert was Journey in 1985. I have been to around 50 more concerts since then (almost none of them Journey!).
  

That's about all that comes to mind. Now you know me a little better.

CONTINUED >>

(Defective) ThinkPad SL500 in da house!

So the new computer is here, BUT...

First, a little backstory. After my previous experiences with my last couple laptops, this is what I was looking for:

• Build quality!
  
  
• Matte (non-glossy) screen
  
  
• Dedicated graphics
  
  
• Windows XP

And it had to be cheap, because this was an unexpected major purchase.

I figured I'd need to compromise, and I did. I didn't get my Windows XP or my dedicated graphics, though I could have if I'd spent another $200 or so (that actually surprised me). I did get my matte screen. And buying a ThinkPad, I thought I'd be getting good build quality too. I had a ThinkPad a few years back, when they were still sold by IBM, and it was a tank.

The SL series are Lenovo's entry-level ThinkPads. Mine only cost $561. I knew it wouldn't be quite as good as the T series or above, and I was right about that, but I think mine is also just defective. Take a look:

Weird, huh? I've never seen anything like that. The keyboard and palm rest are actually warped. This thing is going back.

It actually looks somewhat worse in the pic than it does in real life (mostly because you're not usually looking at that angle), although it's noticeable. I can feel it when typing. When I called Lenovo support (which is still run by IBM), they actually wanted me to fix it myself! I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, so I did try - but I couldn't get one of the screws out. Anyway, I feel like they need to know what's going on in their factories - this is unacceptable quality control. So they're sending me a box and I'm sending it in to them. (Not for replacement, though - they're still going to try to repair it. Given that it's going to IBM and not Lenovo, I have at least a little confidence.)

Other than this bit of weirdness, I'm generally happy with the SL500. It is definitely not what I'd consider a "real" ThinkPad, in that it's got a plastic case, a glossy top, and no roll cage. But I knew about all that stuff. It does have enough of what makes a ThinkPad a ThinkPad to justify purchasing it (notwithstanding the problem above).

The power connector is really chunky:

The anti-glare screen is wondrous in this day and age of ludicrous mirror-like finishes:

It does also have the anti-shock thingamajig for the hard drive that's common to all ThinkPads. It's kind of funny to open up the anti-shock app, shake the laptop around and then watch the little laptop icon shake around the exact same way.

Oh, and it's got a Trackpoint. God how I missed this! I hate touchpads. Hate 'em! They're so imprecise, and if you slow them down enough to where you can actually click things without missing, then it takes about five swipes across the pad to move your pointer across the screen. You also need to take your hands off the keyboard to use one, which was IBM's whole point in developing the Trackpoint - your hands stay in typing position the entire time.

Most people who haven't tried one look at a Trackpoint and say "how the hell can you use that thing?" But almost anyone who has used one will tell you that they can never go back to touchpads. You can zip all over the screen, then stop on a dime and click exactly where you want, every time. And your hands never move.

In fact, I'd have been happier if I could have ordered this thing without the touchpad at all. That's the way ThinkPads used to be.

Lenovo also doesn't load a lot of junk on their ThinkPads, which was always an IBM trademark too. They do load some, but none of it's actually set up by default - Mcafee, Office 2007 trial, maybe a couple other things. You don't end up with 100 different tray icons and apps running the first time you turn it on, though.

Speed and all that seems good, though I haven't tested the graphics yet. It has an Intel 4500MHD, though, which is at least a somewhat nice surprise - their web site just says it's an X4500. That's a step down from the MHD, so I got a slight upgrade from what I thought I was getting. This is an integrated graphics card, but it's the best one Intel makes and is on par with some low-end dedicated cards. It runs Vista Aero just fine.

Here's the ultra-shiny outer case - I actually think it looks quite nice, even if it is a fingerprint magnet and not very ThinkPad-like:

I just can't wait to get the damn thing back so I can type on a flat keyboard. CONTINUED >>