BK's Blog

Furthur 2/24/10 - Radio City

2010-02-27T05:43:00.001-08:00

Luke

2009-05-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hard knock life

2009-04-26T13:45:00.001-07:00

Dead heads

2009-04-25T03:53:00.001-07:00

Lost sailor

2009-04-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

Rooster

2009-04-19T06:26:00.000-07:00

how this rooster found its way to jericho, i have no idea...but saw it walking the streets of east birchwood yesterday

Luke 3d

2009-04-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

And not a single kid crying....

2009-03-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

3 smiles too much to ask for, but at least there are no tears....

Only 11 years til her bat mitzvah

2009-03-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Sam shabbat king

2009-03-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Another cool Starbucks policy

2009-02-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

Recently learned about Starbucks un-posted policy of free refills....Found out about another cool one today - learned about it the hard way though....After spilling my $3.00 venti all over myself and the floor, was given another one free of charge - no questions asked....

My view of XLVIII

2009-02-01T17:56:00.001-08:00

Double carting at BJs

2009-01-31T13:13:00.001-08:00

Cool ice cold soda

2009-01-31T09:28:00.000-08:00

The carnage that results from leaving 12 pack of diet coke in your car during sub
zero temps

My 3 babies

2009-01-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

Skype on the iPhone / Fring

2009-01-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

Was looking for an iPhone app that allowed me to skype with people. Fring was available through the App store, installed without a problem, and within a few minutes, was skyping successfully...It also seems to aggregate other chat services into a uniform, centralized list, so my AIM and Gmail contacts are now also available in one app along with my Skype contacts....Very cool app.

(more than) a touch of grey

2009-01-25T06:30:00.000-08:00

i went to a lot of dead shows when i was younger, and it was always Jerry Garcia who looked ancient and Bobby Weir who looked really young.....not sure what's happened to bobby, but in this video from one of the Obama inaugural balls, he resembles my grandfather in his later years, or Mark Twain.....

Maddie moving it

2009-01-25T05:57:00.001-08:00

What did parents do before madagascar was released

Good sushi on the island?

2009-01-25T05:31:00.001-08:00

Take out sushi usually sucks, but Nisen in Woodbury is an exception...food looks and tastes great even though they still use the fake green plastic stuff to separate the rolls....

Don't make me pick a favorite please...

2009-01-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

3 of my favorites here in this picture...Sam, Luke and a diet coke...don't make me choose which once i like best though, ok?

The wing ding sampler

2009-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

If you've never been to Pancho's in Great Neck or Bethpage, its worth the trip...good mexican food but they also have amazing wings....

Madison's favorite

2009-01-03T05:26:00.000-08:00

My daughter just loves her US Weekly

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T09:05:00.000-08:00

Another Toy Warning!

2008-12-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

While Floam is fun to play with, it is basically made of the same filling that is used in bean bags...so while your kid will enjoy molding it into things that are supposed to resemble dinosaurs, cars, etc..., you'll spend the rest of the day cleaning up the pieces, or even worse, if you have small kids at home, on the phone with poison control after you realize that they ate a bunch of the pieces....

Warning: Hazardous Toy from China

2008-12-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

Seems like all the concerns about toys from China has died down this year, but my kids received a toy for Hanukkah that warrants a post, hopefully i can save other parents from the anguish and anxiety that it caused in my house.

Within 10 minutes of listening to the repetitive noises, and watching the Ken Kesey-esque psychadellic lights, you'll be ready to jump out a window.

If someone offers you one, my recommendation is to say "thank you SO much, but I already have 2 at home" or something like that....

My first 09 prediction...

2008-12-23T02:12:00.001-08:00

here's my first stab at a prediction for 2009...
I think 2009 is the year that high fiber steps out from the shadows and grabs the spotlight....we've already see it happen to food with multi-grain items being everywhere...but in 2009, i think metamucil, which has been around and living in obscurity for more than 80 years, will become the next Red Bull...They may need to do something about the name, but I believe that when 2010 comes along, I guarantee that I won't be the only one sipping a Stoli-Mucil.

Burning off the chicken fingers

2008-12-23T02:06:00.000-08:00

A lot of people have told me that having 3 kids so close together in age would be great cause when they got older, they would "entertain" each other...guess these laps through the kitchen are what they were talking about....

Twenty (at least) Questions

2008-12-21T11:01:00.001-08:00

We were pretty much snowed in on Sunday, and I spent a good amount of time with Sam, my 3 1/2 year old...I guess its age appropriate, but he asks a lot of questions...here's a running list of those asked during just a 15 minute sit down at the kitchen table....broken out into themes...(most of the time he asks his questions with the word "Right?" at the end of his sentence)

Hanukkah Related

Do policemen save menorahs as well as people?
Do policemen have memorahs? What about police ladies?
Do policemen light the candles?
This candle looks like a leaf, right?
Hanukkah comes every month?
What holiday comes in November, thanksgiving?
my menorah looks beautiful, right?
what's this hairy stuff again? (a pipe cleaner)
Next week when i get bigger, i will celebrate christmas?
do you get dreidels on Hanukkah?

While watching the patriots game on TV

Why is there snow on tv also?
Are they making snowballs?

Related to the movie Ratatouille

all the cookers have buttons on their shirts, right dad?
The cookers are all really silly, right dad?

School related

every wednesday is show and tell, right?
you can see what my job is in school right?
i wasnt the door helper yet, right?

All people know what Spanish is, right?

Kentucky Fried Nasty

2008-12-12T04:17:00.000-08:00

Tried a healthier approach to dinner last night, used ground flax seed to bread chicken cutlets....
i know what you're thinking, sounds putrid, right? must've been pretty disgusting, no?
well, in short, yeah, in retrospect, a pretty bad idea and while they didn't look terrible, they were basically inedible....

Netfilx vs. iTunes

2008-12-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

With Tivo's new Netflix integration, there are now some interesting price comparisons for viewing online content on your TV...I've got AppleTV and Tivo, so if i want to watch for example, Heroes Season 1 in HD, I could purchase on iTunes for about $65...Or, I could watch as part of my Netflix account as part of my $20 a month membership which also gives me access to 3 at a time DVDs/Blu Ray discs. The one major drawback is that with Netflix, I would not be able to watch on my iPhone or iPod.

Sam's view of his mom and dad...

2008-12-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

In pre-school, Sam was asked to cut out pictures of people to represent his family...Was a little disappointed to see that while he saw his mom as youthful, attractive and bordering on hot, he pegged me as a graying (though definitely distinguished) man, straight out of a flomax commercial...

Netflix/Tivo Integration Arrives

2008-12-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Was happy to find a new menu option on Tivo the other day called "Video On Demand", which now provides users with access to the hyped Netflix integration.
Based on my experience with the Tivo/Youtube integration, had pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised at what I found. The UI was easy to navigate, and because you cannot select content via Tivo - instead you must add titles to your queue from a web browser, it is really easy to navigate in Tivo. (This could also be seen a bit of a drawback as you need to have access to the web to add new content to your Tivo queue, but I got around this by using my iPhone to add titles to my queue while i was watching).

Overall, it was a really good experience...Was able to watch a couple of standard quality programs as well as one HD quality movie. Also cool is the availability of complete seasons of TV programming - broken out episode by episode. I imagine this will cause some problems for iTunes pricing model...For example, I pay about $20 a month for a 3 at a time DVD plan on Netflix...With that, I get (at least today), all you can eat "Watch Instantly" content. If I wanted to watch a season of "The Office" on iTunes, that would run me about $20 on its own...With Netflix, I'd have access to that content as part of my flat fee.

So overall, I think the Tivo/Netflix integration is defintiely promising, and worth checking out.

Expired License

2008-12-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Found this in my office...Was my food handling license from when I was in the restaurant business....
Took a one day class and learned the ins and outs of helping to keep innocent people from getting sick from the food we made...

Thanks

2008-11-28T06:10:00.001-08:00

Last year on Thanksgiving, i wrote a long post about being thankful.....This year, was going to skip it and just refer to last year's post, but last night, as I was packing up the car to head home from Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's house, I captured a quick video which kind of summed up a piece of what I'm thankful for....

Blockbuster sucks too

2008-11-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

Based on my experience with Blockbuster yesterday, I am now, more than ever, anxiously awaiting the point in time when I tell Luke, Sam and Madison about this quaint concept that used to exist where people actually needed to go to a store to rent movies.

I rented a couple of video games back in September, and returned them in their drop box about a week and a half later...Well within the allotted time they give you to hold onto a rental....

Yesterday, went in to rent Sam a game for the WII....The guy behind the counter, who happens to be the manager proceeded to hand me a copy of the last game i rented back in September, and said "you own this now". I was really confused. Apparently if you don't bring back the game within 40 days or so, you end up owning the game. No warning is provided, no email notification, just a charge to your credit card (in this case, about $65) for the 2 games that they say were returned late. The manager thought this was really funny - chuckling at times - as I voiced my concern. I would've thought it was pretty funny as well, had he mentioned any sort of desire to remedy the situation - which he didn't.

My belief, which I stated to the manager, is that they had a process issue with their drop box - I returned the games when they needed to be returned, but somehow they were misplaced once inside the store. This was confirmed partially when the store manager couldn't even locate the other game I had returned on the same day...He actually said that they had no record of it being returned.

I did receive a call from Susan Feldman the district manager for Blockbuster last night, and while she repeatedly scolded me for returning the games late - even as I restated to her what actually happened - a credit is to be issued to my account.

It really highlights a pretty major challenge for companies with dying business models and a proven inability to rise to the technological and organizational challenges of changing markets. How do you find motivated, customer focused staff to join your soon to be a cautionary tale operation? In this case, my expectations for service and product have been molded by Netflix...The antiquated use of technology and sub-par service at Blockbuster is just night and day from what I've received from Netflix.

So i'll be checking out Gamefly today to see if that better meets my expectations, and am pretty sure it couldn't be any worse than Blockbuster.

Verizon Sucks, I'll go with the iPhone

2008-11-22T02:13:00.001-08:00

When I worked at Bloomberg about 10 years ago, I used to routinely work with staff from Verizon as part of my job, and always found the employees that I worked with there to be pretty rude, and not particularly focused on satisfying their customers...
10 years later, I visited Verizon to check out what I thought could be my next device, the Blackberry Storm, and found that not a whole lot has changed in the last 10 years.

My primary concern with the iPhone is the touch screen keyboard and how it might affect my ability to type emails. So when I went to try out the Storm, top of mind for me was the use of the keyboard for email. But Verizon would not allow the removal of the black piece of plastic that was attached to the Storm for security measures to be removed from the device so I could test out typing email. Instead, the 5 Verizon employees who were standing around chatting with each other, each provided their own ridiculous excuse as to why I wouldn't be able to fully demo the typing feature. The main sales guy from Verizon actually didn't even put down his own Blackberry throught this process - instead - he was texting or emailing while trying to answer my questions about the demo.

So I left Verizon, not having even gotten the chance to try out the Storm, but based on my interactions with Verizon, I'll go with the iPhone.

AppleTV vs. Tivo

2008-11-21T02:24:00.000-08:00

I've owned Apple TV for about a year, and while it doesn't seem to have caught on in a big way, I am totally hooked. I recently finished the 1st two seasons of Mad Med, purchasing episodes directly from Itunes via Apple TV...(Someone asked me what time Mad Men is actually on, and I had no clue - guess that's what the term time-shifting means). While there are some options for opening up Apple TV to online content outside of Itunes (You can apparently view Hulu content with software from Boxee), you're pretty much reliant on Apple to determine what you can and can't see.

Next month, Tivo's integration with Netflix will go live presenting another promising solution for bringing a massive content library into your living room...From the Tivo newsletter

"Starting next month, all TiVo® HD customers* are going to fall in love with Netflix® all over again (it's even better the second time around!) when you can send more than 12,000 movie and TV episodes straight to your living room using just your TiVo remote ..."

While I'm looking forward to testing it out, I am not all that optimistic. I've been using both the Apple TV and Tivo interfaces to Youtube - and if Tivo's Netflix integration is as clumsy as their Youtube integration, I anticipate that I'll continue to be a loyal Apple TV fan. The Apple TV UI is so slick - making it easy to search for and find Youtube content, and navigate menus - and Tivo's is sluggish and slow, making it a real chore to use.

Advantage iPhone?

2008-11-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

With the reviews coming in, looks like the iPhone will be the way i go...I'll probably try one out at Verizon, but the feedback on sluggish performance of touchscreen/menu navigation and email has me concerned about the storm...

Storm vs iPhone

2008-11-19T04:41:00.000-08:00

Trying to decide on my next device, and think i've narrowed it down to iphone vs storm...interesting article here

Luke's Haircut

2008-11-19T03:31:00.001-08:00

Took Luke to get a haircut...I think he cried more than he did during his circumcision....

XTC Skylarking

2008-10-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Listened to XTC Skylarking on Lala today for the first time in a while....its been about 22 years since it came out and probably 10 years since i've listened to it, but it remains one of my favorite albums of all time....definitely worth a listen

Lala

2008-10-21T01:56:00.001-07:00

Lala is a pretty cool site that lets you listen to and download drm-free music....definitely worth checking it ou

Steve Wolkoff

2008-06-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

The DoubleClick family suffered a tragic and sickening loss last week, when Steven Wolkoff, a former employee,, was killed in a car accident in California.

I had the chance to meet Steven for the first time in late 1999 when he interviewed at DoubleClick for a job on my team. He didn't have a whole lot of experience, but he had something far more memorable - sincerity -- a way of communicating that came across so genuine-- you would've wanted him on your team regardless of what you were setting out to accomplish, cause with Steve, it wouldn't have mattered -- he would be an asset regardless of the challenge. I did what anyone who had ever met Steve probably would've done and hired him. It took all of a few weeks to realize Steve's exceptional capabilities---technical aptitude in combination with human competencies -- Steve set his sights on rich media, and never looked back.

I remember a meeting in 2000 with a company we were thinking of acquiring - certainly an area Steve had no experience in at that time - but it didn't matter - I watched this young, inexperienced guy - command the respect of the entire room. If you knew Steve, this probably doesn't surprise you. Steven had a way of communicating - even and honest - which seemed to always resonate with those he came in contact with and while i am sure he may have been a bit nervous - he oozed inner confidence, the kind most never find, especially not at such a young age.

To the Wolkoff family and to Cindy and your family, my deepest sympathies go out to you.

Happy 10,000th view....

2008-05-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

10,000 views in 6 months....still can't explain it completely....

How to pimp your pilot

2008-04-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

I really like my Honda Pilot, but added the utlimate accessory about a month ago when I accidentally hit a bird in flight....Turned out the bird got stuck in the grill of the car...

I did feel deep regret over taking the life of an innocent bird, but you have to admit, it makes the family friendly Pilot look pretty bad-ass.

Luke Escapes

2008-04-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

He looks pretty cute, and definitely innocent, but the kid is rough and tumble, and a toddler force to be reckoned with...

This past weekend I left him in the exersaucer and took sam upstairs for a few minutes....Luke, like some sick combination of Harry Houdini and David Blaine, wiggled his way out escaping from the exersaucer, climbed up on a 2 foot high coffee table, and then, as if diving into a mosh pit or like walking the plank of a pirate ship, he jumped off the table.

Thankfully he is ok, but was one of the more frightening moments I've had as a parent.

My New Colors

2008-03-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

After almost 9 years of wearing DoubleClick burgundy / black and more recently, nerve center green, tested out my new Google colors last night...Wore the new tee, but still had my DoubleClick 10 year anniversary fleece on top...old habits die hard...

Apple Air Song

2008-03-26T02:10:00.001-07:00

Here's Yael Naoim on conan o'brien....need to fast forward to 37 minutes in...try not singing it for the rest of the day!

march 15 webcam

2008-03-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

Red, the opposite of green?

2008-03-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

In the midst of a tantrum, you'll try anything to calm down a child...today, it was luke, freaking out for no (apparent) reason....Allison charmed him with a plastic, environmentally unfriendly, red cup....All the kids got in on the act....worked like a charm

Sunday Morning Watching the Kids

2008-03-09T05:25:00.001-07:00

Saturday Morning Babysitting

2008-03-08T04:08:00.001-08:00

Jerry Garcia lives in Denver

2008-03-04T04:17:00.000-08:00

I lived in Colorado for a year and never heard of this place, but last night my coworkers in our Thornton office took me to a place called "Sancho's Broken Arrow" in LODO. Reminded me of the Right Track Inn in Freeport where Allison and I met, and where we used to see the Zen Tricksters back in the late 80s... They played mostly Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia music, with a little bit of the Allmans thrown in. It was a great time. The whole place is decorated with dead paintings and posters, you can see some of those here.

Whole Foods - They have the gun and the mask out!

2008-03-03T01:46:00.001-08:00

Whole Foods is known for ridiculously high prices, but I thought $18.00 for a 12 pack of Heineken was pretty representative of their eco-friendly-chutzpha....I guess Heineken, with its "green" packaging, is a perfect fit, no?

Alliteration for the Day: Forward Facing Finally

2008-03-03T01:42:00.001-08:00

After a year of facing backwards, the twins are finally facing forward in their car seats...The backseat of the car now more closely resembles the middle section of a 767, which is what Allison and I have aspired to for the last 365 days.

Paying Bills...

2008-03-03T01:37:00.000-08:00

Sat down Sunday to pay bills...And while it is never something I look forward to, was particularly distressed this month at the sheer size of the stack....It was just about 5 inches high, as you can see here....With February being a short month, even with a leap year, this monthly ritual came a bit too close on the heels of last month's tedious bill paying session....Anyone know if you can outsource this to an offshore service provided?

111 days and counting....

2008-02-26T03:00:00.001-08:00

November 7th was a very special day...the last day that all kids in the house were without a cold, stomach virus, bronchiolitis, rota virus, etc... So its been about 111 days, and about 30 trips to the pediatrician, but spring is just around the corner...have to believe things will get better with some warmer weather.... i can dream, no?

Homemade Cooler

2008-02-24T03:06:00.000-08:00

The twins celebrated their 1 year birthday yesterday, and while we had all the food ordered in advance, i totally forgot to buy beer for the party...and with all the screaming in the house, beer would be a pretty large priority...
allison went to the supermarket at the last minute and bought some, but it was warm...thanks to the snow we got on Friday though, I transformed the patio table into a cooler, and all was well in the world.

One year down...

2008-02-23T02:57:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that its already been a year since the twins were born, but on 2/23/07, Luke and Madison arrived....While the first 6 months were pretty chaotic, the 2nd half of the year was a little more manageable....

A few of the key numbers for the year...

4500 - the number of dollars spent at babies r us
8550 - number of diapers changed
7 - number of nannies that have come in and out of the house
2 - Avg hours of sleep per night for first 4 months
75 - percentage of time this year that at least one of our kids was sick
58 - trips to the pediatrician
24,000 - approximate number of ounces of formula used

all adds up to a pretty amazing year, and wouldnt trade it for anything....

San Francisco - Berry Nice

2008-02-22T06:43:00.000-08:00

Out on the west coast this week for client and team meetings, and while the weather didn't cooperate, and i got rained on in LA and San Fran, I did get to sample some west coast strawberries at breakfast today that were totally worth the trip. Made a couple of trips to the buffet to load up on these...they were awesome.

I respect the whole "locally grown produce" thing but it really doesn't help you much when you're interested in some mid-winter strawberries...

Ipod vending machine

2008-02-19T06:33:00.001-08:00

Did a double take when I saw this machine at jfk today. It's a vending machine that sells ipods, as well as ipod accessories.

I tried to check it out, and thought it was pretty ironic when the touch screen didn't work.

Not sure if I'd be buying my devices or accessories at a vending machine, but a creative approach nonetheless.

Taken to the Cleaners

2008-02-18T05:50:00.001-08:00

Called a plumber to install a new bathroom sink after shelly cracked our current one....Wasn't sure how their prices were, but am now pretty sure i'm getting ripped off...

in addition to installing the new pedestal sink, he offered to sell me a new faucet as well...he was going to make me a deal, and give it to me for $250, down from what he usually gets, $500. I googled it and found that it retails for $150....he's a nice guy, but not that nice...

stay tuned...

Congrats Dwight Howard

2008-02-17T02:50:00.000-08:00

Practice Makes Perfect I guess!

Couldn't this happen to the knicks?

2008-02-16T03:20:00.000-08:00

Knicks woes continue, even their cheerleaders can't keep up with the competition!

has it been 25 years? holy crap.....

2008-02-16T01:37:00.000-08:00

Found this picture online of my bunk from camp anawana in 1983....25 years ago...i have changed a little bit since then, but was still vertically challenged

My old boss quoted

2008-02-16T01:11:00.001-08:00

One of my old bosses from William Morris, Cara Lewis was quoted in this article about Kanye West...

Formula Countdown

2008-02-13T08:00:00.003-08:00

The Lamp Post

2008-02-13T02:26:00.000-08:00

Google Maps added Albany as a city with "Street Views", here's a shot of the Lamp Post a bar I went to when visiting friends when I was up there...

View Larger Map

The Antidote for Barney and The Wonder Pets

2008-02-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 1/2 years my tivo has been packed with kids programming for sam and now the twins and while i've tried to take back some of the 80 hour capacity for myself, it has been a real struggle, and a battle i consistently lose....but finally this past weekend discovered some common ground with Sam...He loves music videos, and with Tivo's Music Choice, you can choose from a pretty good variety....Sam's favorite, embedded below, is Nickelback 'Rockstar'....but he also likes Daughtry's 'Home' and The Killers 'Read my Mind'....
the only problem is that unlike barney or the wonder pets which are 30 minutes long, with these music vids, youre forced to watch the same 3 minute clip upwards of 20 times a day....a small price to pay to rid yourself of the purple dinosaur

Sam Sneaker Envy

2008-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Sam got a new pair of nike jrs this past week, and i am totally jealous...much cooler than my old school new balance 865s....need to find out if they make an adult version....

My stache...

2008-01-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

We had our European regional company meeting this week in Dublin and last night was our party, which was an 80s themed event....They gave out mustaches and I gotta say that i am pretty certain that based on some of the feedback i got on mine, i'll be growing one of these out asap....

Consensus was that it allowed me to cultivate a look similar to Ron Jeremy or Cal Naughton Jr (John C Reilly's character from talladega nights), or even a bit of Rollie Fingers, so you can see why i'd be so enthusiastic about growing my own.

My son's future business

2008-01-29T04:12:00.000-08:00

Passed this shop on the streets of dublin last night, could it be foreshadowing of my son sam's career....

Cue Sunrise,Sunset...She's Walking!

2008-01-25T02:37:00.000-08:00

One of my first rapping proteges - sort of

2008-01-16T01:30:00.000-08:00

Back in the 90s, I worked at William Morris Agency, a 100 year old talent agency that represented authors, directors, musicians and other entertainers.....I worked in the music department for a while, and spent time working for a legendary music agent named jonny podell...

Jonny asked me a favor - could i record a rap demo of his son for one of his school projects....so jonny and his son cassidy came out to my house (i still lived at home at that time - ahh, to be rent/mortgage free), and we proceeded to record an anti-drug rap called 'drugs are lots of bull'...

anyway, i was eventually dropped by jonny and cassidy - replaced by MC Serch from Third Bass who i think was the act at Cassidy's Bar Mitzvah, and I got over it pretty quick.....

Cassidy has gone on to make a career in music, thanks to/in spite of my early influence.
You can see more about cassidy here...The picture above is cassidy with Puff/P/Diddy/Puff Daddy/P-Diddy

Scratching

2008-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

A few of my teams at DoubleClick had planning meetings in New York this week, and as part of those meetings, they organized a team building event at "Scratch", a school (founded by Jam Master Jay) that teaches you how to be a DJ....Gina from my team captured this picture as I lived out my rap/dj fantasies....we had an amazing time...madision and luke have a birthday coming up, and expect they will want a set of turntables for their 1st birthday.

The Pilot - Honda - Pretty good so far....

2008-01-09T02:09:00.000-08:00

Finally leased a 2nd car over the holidays....Opted for the honda pilot which is fine to get me to and from the train station, and more importantly, big enough to hold the 5-deep-posse....while i did have a used honda civic in the 80s, i never had an experience with leasing a new one....It was great...really terrific customer service....

once i got over the fact that they were playing contemporary christian music in the showroom (apparently an XM station mix up), it was all up hill....they were incredibly flexible, and the follow up since the purchase was great....they called 2 or 3 times to make sure i was happy with the car, they gave me some flowers congratulating me on the purchase (which i subsequently tried to pass on to allison, claiming i had purchased on my own - no dice), and they introduced me to showroom manager who also congratulated me on my new car....all in, a really solid, no pressure sales process....and while i miss hicksville taxi terribly - i am finding a way to cope - and drive myself the 2 or 3 miles to and from the railroad each day...

Holiday Project Update

2008-01-07T01:57:00.000-08:00

Cause I know you've been on the edge of your seats, here's the rundown....

hanging the flat panel tv -- Chance of completion: 10%
Complete! Got some advice from my coworkers and a lot of help from my dad, but the tv is up, and so far, has stayed up

exercise--Chance of completion: 10%
complete, sort of
i actually went to the gym last week, and spent a half hour on the treadmill and lifting some weights....

clean out the basement closets--Chance of completion: 5%
not done - but i did clean out my own closet and a drawer that had about 15 pounds of crap in it....i should get some bonus points for this one, cause i actually fixed the drawer as well, breaking out the under-used tube of gorilla glue i bought last year

2 plumbing projects--Chance of completion: 25%
almost complete - bought the sink for the kitchen, and was actually ready to get this one checked off, but my contractor went to san antonio for vacation so wont be done til next week

Buy a 2nd Car -- Chance of completion: 10%
complete - leased a honda pilot last week - will really miss the 2nd hand smoke from hicksville taxis, not to mention the great philosophy and politics discussions with the drivers

Take Sam to the City to see my office--Chance of completion: 1%
not even close to complete - just too much work to get this one done - will have to aim to do it this year

all in all, i was pleasantly surprised with how much i got done...

Happy New Year!

2007-12-28T17:51:00.001-08:00

Pastrami Days

2007-12-21T10:06:00.001-08:00

The Paramount Delicatessen in Bay Ridge Brooklyn....

Holiday Projects

2007-12-21T02:33:00.000-08:00

I've decided to take a couple of weeks off for the holidays, and have really been looking forward to the time off...

we're not going anywhere, so basically will be out here on long island for 17 days with the kids...

i really don't know why i am doing this, but i've got this list of projects around the house that i am going to try to get done, though I am pretty sure i'll get pretty much none of it done...so here are the projects, along with the projected chances of completion...

wall mount the the 19" flat panel tv i bought on black friday on our kitchen wall - Chance of completion: 10%
i am too much of a wuss for this one...scared that when i drill into the wall, i will hit an electrical wire, kill the electricity in my house, as well as possibly me...all before i have the opportunity to gain my google 15

exercise
the time at home should give me an opportunity to use the neglected treadmill or go to equinox with allison to take some kind of class....
Chance of completion: 10%

clean out the basement closets
they're filled with crap, including a couple of toys from china that have been recalled....guess i really should get rid of them, but with all the procrastinating i'll be doing, probably won't get to this one
Chance of completion: 5%

2 plumbing projects
replace the downstairs bathroom sink which was shattered after shelly dropped a metal toothbrush holder on it, and replacement of our kitchen faucet, which to the outsider's eye, can use a dose of viagra as it hangs its head in shame and leaks like a cheney aide...
For this one, i don't even have to do it myself, i just need to hire someone...the problem is that while i've bought the replacement sink for bathroom, i haven't been able to find a faucet for the kitchen....
Chance of completion: 25%

Buy a 2nd Car
I've been using Hicksville Taxi to get back and forth from the Railroad to my house every day....adds about 20 to 30 minutes to my commute each day, and has reduced my expected lifespan by a couple of years as i breathe in marlboro red 2nd hand smoke from the drivers...
Chance of completion: 10%

Take Sam to the City to see my office
the big concern on this one is the long train ride in with a 2 1/2 yr old....the concern, maybe not that obvious, but do i really want to expose sam to the rudeness of human beings demonstrated by my fellow hicksvillians?
Chance of completion: 1%

What a Dick! My favorite new site...

2007-12-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked out Dickipedia, take a look...pretty funny stuff...

Facebook Changing - But Slowly

2007-11-30T02:35:00.000-08:00

Lots of stories today about Facebook's modification to their "beacon" program, it looks like some of the changes are in place already....I submitted a new review no Yelp, and while it was subsequently sent to my Facebook profile without my explicit approval to do so...it did not get published to my news feed...instead, it showed up on my homepage as an item waiting for my approval....
a step in the right direction....

Thankful!

2007-11-22T02:53:00.001-08:00

On this Thanksgiving holiday, i thought it could be appropriate to post about things I am thankful for....After thinking about it a little more, there was really one thing I felt warranted a post, vs. including a bunch of things.

It took Allison and I about 5 years to have our first child, Sam. And while now, that thought occupies just a 1/2 sentence in what I am sure will be an under-read blog post, it is hard to explain what those 5 years were actually like. The emotional impact, the physical pain (mostly for allison), and a series of ups and downs, too long to list here.

So what does this have to do with Thanksgiving? With my family now up to 3 kids, each now growing up a bit, Sam at 2 1/2 and Madison and Luke at 9 months, I wanted to thank our team of doctors, for all they have given me and my family.

First on this list is Dr. Zev Rosenwaks...If you ever want to know what I have in common with Celine Dion, it is this guy (he helped Celine have her baby). Its funny, cause this picture of him sums it up pretty well....The guy must be 60, but look at that head of hair! Sick. Apart from that though, this guy, who gets an (IMHO) undeserved reputation for poor bedside manner, is a passionate scientist, who really cares about changing his patients lives. He spoke to us while attending conferences, in the middle of giving interview with Katie Couric and most impressive...during his fast while he was in temple for Yom Kippur.

Glenn Schattman, who held Allison's hand on the night of March 6th when we lost our first baby, and also was responsible for our embryo transfer that lead to Sam's birth....We used to joke that Sam kind of looked like Dr. Schattman, but now that he's gotten older, not so much....Wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world...the guy is one of the leaders in the area of surgical robotics....

Isaac Kligman who was Dr. Rosenwak's right hand man, performed a couple of procedures for us along the long and bumpy way....A great scientist, and just a really nice guy. Isaac was also the doctor who performed the ultrasound on that crazy Sunday morning and told us that Allison was pregnant with quadruplets.

Allan Kessler, Allison's OB...I always told Allison that in another life, he and I would be good friends...The nicest doctor I've ever met, who blends caution and practicality into the care you receive...yes, he had Allison on bed rest for quite a while in both pregnancies, but 3 years later, who can complain?

These doctors were a part of our lives for years, and while I am extremely happy that I will never need their services again, they are great people, who I think about all the time....They have really changed my life and are deserving of a (not-so) public thank you.

As corn bread as it might sound, for me, really every day is Thanksgiving, and each day I walk into my house and see my 3 kids, I give thanks - sometimes out loud - sometimes to myself - but should dinner conversation turn to the now cliche "what are you thankful" for, i'll just point people to this post....

The Little Pie Company...

2007-11-21T01:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of years back, I started picking up pies at "The Little Pie Company" on Wednesday before Thanksgiving for my team....This will be the third year I'll wait in line on 14th street to pick up their famous Sour Cream Apple Walnut pies....

If you happen to be at DoubleClick's New York Office today, stop on over....you won't want to miss it....

My Day of Diaper Changes

2007-11-20T07:38:00.001-08:00

Video from this Weekend...

2007-11-19T02:05:00.001-08:00

My wine cellar...

2007-11-16T08:00:00.001-08:00

When I moved into my house, one of things we did was put a refrigerator in the garage to house stuff that we couldn't fit inside....I am an admitted Diet Coke addict, and over the last few months, the refrigerator in the garage has become the equiv of a wine cellar for me....always making sure we've got proper mix of caffeine / no caffeine, dr. pepper for special occasions, you get the idea...

Love ya baby!

2007-11-14T04:51:00.001-08:00

The requests have been rolling in from tons of people (me) anxious to hear about some of the talent agents I worked with back at william morris, so here's the first in a really short series of posts that aims to quench that serious thirst.

Wma had a division that focused on what they called "adult contemporary". Old fogies, somewhat washed up artists who played casinos and private parties--in some cases they also generated a ton of cash--regis philbin was an adult contemporary client for example.

There was a pretty legendary agent named lee salomon who was credited with coining the "agenty" phrase "love ya baby". This guy was a sketch--a caricature of everything you thought about when you thought about talent agents. He wore expensive gaudy suits, a fur coat in the winter--and big ass cazal glasses which seemed to have diamonds on them. He was blingy before bling was thing.

He smoked cigarettes in his office and my job was to get him coffee, clean his ashtray, take dictation, whatever. The coolest thing about this guy, was that he couldn't even be bothered to learn my name. He just referred to me as "boy". It is amazing what time will change----cause at the time, i know i didn't find it very funny at all, but looking back on, it was hysterical.

Lee hung in there for about 50 years at the agency, and was eventually let go. that in itself was a legendary story, where lee was advised at his daughter's wedding that his services were no longer required

Cross Site Facebooking

2007-11-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

Wrote a review this morning of a restaurant I went to in Boston....As i hit publish and went to close my browser, i saw that there was a pop up box that came up, and went away really quickly....you can see it here as it "runs away".

so the bottom line is that facebook has struck deals with a number of properties to track its users off their core facebook pages, and is publishing key events from those sites in your news feeds....while in this case, i don't have a problem with sharing this info, kind of seems like this should've been on an opt in basis, vs. opt out? no?

Can i see some ID?

2007-11-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

went to sign up for a musician's page on facebook today, and was basically "carded".. they need me to upload to them a copy of my drivers license, passport or something else that would allow them not know it was me....

I need some time to process this one, but an internet first for me

My Solution to Writer's Strike - Hire a Spammer

2007-11-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

I have a proposed solution to the writer's strike...a really simple one....There's a group of creative writers out there untethered by union regulations and hollywood-sized egos...these are the folks who bring us email spam....i found this one in my spam folder this morning...
i am very sure that the author of this note could easily craft episodes of "2 and a Half Men", or maybe even cross over to write a drama, like "CSI".

Facebook's Social Ads

2007-11-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

So Facebook announced their Social Ads concept today...you can find info on the press conference and the concept all across the internet.....As you do that, you'll likely go to Google, type in a couple of keywords like "Facebook Press Conference" or something like that and the results will be returned accompanied by a text advertisement.....if i understand the Social Ads concept, the integration of advertising will be completely different in many ways, from how Google has monetized their inventory.

Facebook will use the news feeds function to allow its users to recommend brands and has also launched "Pages", which sounding similar to Myspace, will allow brands, products, etc.. to launch its own pages for users to interact with. Ads will also be targeted to users based on info in their profile...a no-brainer,and of all the items they announced, the one that sounds most in the interest of the facebook end user.

I have tried to come up with a POV on the announcement, and after thinking about it, will have to take a wait and see approach...On an emotional level, it feels wrong....i use Facebook, but do not anticipate myself recommending brands to others...Unlike the Google business model, which enhanced user experience (more targeted advertisements relevant to your search), this Facebook announcement, on the surface, will detract from end user experience, cause we don't come there to interact with brands, we come there to interact with people.

I understand that brand interaction is really key for marketers, but as a mass marketing strategy, I am not sold. As an example, I've used Yahoo's Avatars application for a few months, and while I am presenting with opportunities to create branded avatars each time i visit the site, up until today, when I tested out my pepsi avatar, haven't really felt compelled to associate myself with Pepsi in this way. (By the way, check out the picture when I set up my pepsi avatar, was served a Dr. Pepper Ad - Nice! )

Maybe I am not the target audience? Possibly, but again, there in lies a crack in the foundation of Facebook's revenue model....When my mom, my dad, my aunts and uncles searche google, they ALL see more relevant text ads as a result of Google's ad technology...If Facebook is banking on increased interactions with brands to bankroll their operation, I think there will be substantial challenges.

But, what do i know? Right? Time will tell...

Maybe its a typo?

2007-11-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

I am in boston for a couple of days attending a conference and was looking for a place to grab something to eat...there's chili's within the hotel complex, so was going to walk over for dinner, but thought I'd check out the menu before I did....There was a link to nutritional info so i thought i would give it a quick read....the one item that caught my eye was the "Awesome Blossom", their answer to Outback's Blooming Onion I guess...

Check out the nutritional info on this bad boy...200 grams of fat, and 194 grams of carbs in 1 serving...Holy crap, and this is just an appetizer....So I am obviously going to head over there after I click "Publish Post" and see what all the hype is about....Something tells me it is probably pretty damn tasty.

Interesting week in Social Networking Space

2007-11-03T02:14:00.000-07:00

Within the last week or so, the social networking space has changed drastically and a lot like in a game of school yard football, teams have been chosen for the ensuing battle for supremacy in the Social Networking arena.

If I have it right, Microsoft and Facebook are on one side, opting for a closed approach, meaning that participants can't take their data with them to other social networks, and that facebook app developers wouldn't be able to port their apps to other social networks.

On the other side, there's Open Social....A consortium of top social network players, (as well as companies we do not typically associate with Social Networking). Oracle, Salesforce, Linkedin, Friendster, Myspace, Flikster, RockYou, Slide and of course, Google. Through a collection of OpenSocial APIs, social networking apps can be shared across this consortium, enabling a supposed proliferation of web apps for end users.

So based on this, it seems the OpenSocial approach is one that will bring more functionality to end users. And ironically, the Facebook approach ends up seeming very closed, old school and Web 1.0 when it flies in the face of the blatantly wide ope OpenSocial.

The one thing that is not yet clear to me is how this OpenSocial initiative may approach the challeng of unique identifiers for folks in the social fabric. I am Brian Kane on linkedin, Brian Kane on Facebook, Brian Kane on orkut, etc... When do these get linked? Do they get linked? stay tuned...

My old sneakers

2007-11-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

Lots of people have asked me recently about the sneakers i have owned in the past...so here it is, at long last, the blog post that answers all the questions...some of my old sneakers

An old fave...the magic johnson converse hightops..i LOVED these, and wish i never threw them out

Another gem, the original Air Jordans...so sweet, not to mention my orange chuck taylors that i bought right before i started at University of Miami (yeah, i know, not a very cool way to start freshman year)

Of course, the classic Adidas Superstars...my parents thought i was nuts when they needed to spend $40 on them and bring them up on visiting day during summer camp...

What has happened to Eminem?

2007-11-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

Based on this video, it is safe to say that Eminem (and possibly triumph the dog too) are officially irrelevant.

Their first halloween and this is what they are wearing?

2007-10-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

Not my favorite choice of costumes for the twins, but i guess they kinda look cute

Would've been a nice shot of the family if not for Sam...
I've never seen a real construction worker cry like this before (please, no village people jokes)

When Luke Attacks!

2007-10-31T02:18:00.001-07:00

Matthew "Mick-On-A-Hey" Where are you?

2007-10-29T02:20:00.001-07:00

Note: I didn't want to give the sexiest man alive any additional rationale for a swelled head, so i didn't google the right spelling of his name, so the phonetic version is listed above....

I have been a huge fan of Amazon's unbox since it launched...I really believe that this is a sound model for content distribution, and in my own discussions with folks at Amazon, I have basically begged them to show some patience in evaluating the success of the technology....So in short, i am a fan...

on saturday though, decided to try something different and forgo the the re-runs of Law and Order SVU for an Unbox download, "We are Marshall" starring Mr. Matthew Mick-on-a-Hey....Well it has been over 48 hours and I am still waiting....I will of course now contact Amazon support to find out what happened, and try get my 99 cents back, but I have now already been forced to watch Stabler and Bensen yet again track down NYC's slimiest pervs.

While I love the idea of Unbox, there are still challenges - the bandwidth issue primarily as i see it - that will prevent the wide-scale acceptance of this technology. Fiber to the desktop may help, but we're years away from that at grand scale...I am hopeful that Unbox doesn't go the way of "Urbanfetch" before that time.

Johnson and Johsnon / Completely Delusional

2007-10-28T10:30:00.001-07:00

The side of a box of Q-Tips outlines 4 suggested uses for the product...
First Aid, Baby Care, Household and Electronics...Not a single mention of ear-cleaning...

As they suggest on the package, I visited their web site and there found another site for a variety of other uses - no mention of ear cleaning - they do mention that i can create a masterpiece or touch up other works of Art, but not a single mention of getting the nasty build up of wax out of your ears....

I think Johnson and Johnson is now up there on the list of most delusional companies - right up there with the folks from EZ Wider, who are out there pitching their product for use with tobacco.