What You Do Not Know Because You Are Not Me!

I beg to differ. (STAY AWAY WALMART).

2013-06-19T07:06:00.001-04:00

I am a big fan of car sharing. I happen to own a car so I have never need one It is clearing a good thing, especially in city like New York If you don't know about Zipcar, they provide short term (hourly) car and van rentals with many locations all over the city. They even have a membership program that includes the fact that you don't have to actually go to a retail location to pick up or drop off your rental. Again, I own a car, so the details of the system are really a mystery to me. So, if you want more information about Zipcar ask the Google

On one hand, a Zipcar can be used to go shopping,

BUYING TOILET PAPER

one roll at a time is not

HOW WE WE WERE MEANT TO LIVE

First, let me talk about the people who might need a car share. Like me, they live in the dense parts of the city. They probably don't own a car because they are a short walk to the subway. I am a short walk to the subway (3 different lines). But I have kids. I think that people with kids are just a little more likely to own a car than those without. The point is, that it is really hard for anyone to walk home from the subway without passing a store that sells toilet paper.

Then there is the argument about how important it is to support your local retailer. Basically, if they loose their toilet paper business, they might not be there when you need a quart of milk I don't want to have to use a car to buy a loaf of bread. I don't live in suburbia for a reason. (STAY AWAY WALMART).

Also, if are looking at this subway ad and don't own a car, you are likely to live in a small apartment. Do you know what we call the volume of space 20 rolls of toilet paper takes up in a Brooklyn apartment? One-Third of the only closet I have.

I might get rid of my car and give a lot of business to car sharing programs. But I'm not going to rent an SUV just to buy toilet paper.

Gone 6 seconds.

2013-06-16T08:01:00.001-04:00

First, let me say that I did not lock up my bike. I have no one to blame but myself.

That said, when I got back form chaperoning my kids on their 7 grade trip to Boston, my bike was stolen. In my apartment building one corner of the basement is dedicated to bike storage. There are about 5 bike racks and about 50 bikes. Most of the bikes show no evidence of being used in years. Many have permanently flat tires. Most are locked, either to the rack, another bike or just have their wheel locked. I just put my bike in the middle of the heap of bikes and went on my merry way.

When I was doing laundry I figured I would 'check on my bike". I don't know why I had the impulse to do that and not the impulse to actually lock the bike up, but I did. And it was gone. Just an empty slot where it was. The supper's wife happened to be there. I asked her if she new anything about my bike. Mrs Super said that she she a guy leaving with my bike but he said it was his. ??????? ?!?!?!?!?!?. At first my reaction was to get uppity and ask her why she did not stop him. But, I quickly got to my senses and remembered that it is not her job to watch my bike and I would feel terrible if she would have gotten hurt.

So I walk down to the precinct and file a report. I don't expect the cops to do anything but I need that for my insurance. That all turned out to be a waste of time because the bike was worth less than my deductible.

But Mrs Super did tell me (about) when it happened and we do have surveillance cameras. I watched a video of their conversation

Here is the bike thief tell Mrs Super that my bike is his.

.
So, Monday morning I print up the photo above and a few more with his face and walk back to the precinct. I did not want to be the jerk who walked into the Police Station and demanded that they go find my bike. So I said that to the detective that came down to get my photos. I remember saying "This might help in the larger area of police stuff, so I figure I should not just keep them to my self"

Wednesday afternoon my phone goes nuts. I walk up the stairs from the subway and I have 5 missed calls from unknown and it rings. It is Sgt Whatever from The 78. "We are about to apprehend the guy who stole your bike and we want to see the rest of the videos. We are ringing your bell but you are not answering"

I don't think I ever heard the word "apprehend" not on TV before.

I get home and there are 2 guys outside wearing cargo shorts and football jerseys at the front door. Their guns, radios and handcuffs are hardly hidden. I walked over and introduced myself and they both showed me their badges in a panic. I told them I knew they were cops a block away. They laughed and we shook hands. I know this would at least be an adventure.

click to enlarge.

It took us a while to find someone to let us into the room with the video system Then it took more time to figure out how the machine worked. The cops were really excited because it showed how he got in. They were able to download video of someone refusing him entrance and then being let in by someone else. This somehow promoted his crime from petit larceny to burglary.

Busted.

Anyone would have let him in. If you look at the photo above you can see some papers in his pocked. He had them in his hand when he was let into the building. I looked like any delivery / service person.

On Thursday, the nice cops called me the next day. They said they are on their way over to my home with Grand Jury Subpoena. I have to be there on Monday. 9 AM. Don't be late. Dress nice. But I have to work on Monday. Call your boss, tell him we will arrest you if you don't show up. Just kidding. Not. I call my boss. Work moved to Tuesday. That was good because it rained on Monday and Tuesday was nice. This job was 100% outside.

Friday I get another call. The cops said he "took a plea". Now that my part was over they told me that this guy is a "chronic crook". He just walks around Park Slope looking for stuff to take. Then he sells it quick. {Sorry your bike is gone, but we will keep an eye out for it.}

So far I learned 2 things.

If you want to wake up in the morning and come home with someone else's stuff. All you need is a lack of scruples.
If you think you have something that the police might want, give it to them. If they don't want it they can throw it away, but you never know when you can help.

But wait there is more. Under the pink tape I got the crooks name and Arrest #.

Because I know low people in high places in the world of New York State Courts I got help in accessing some public records. It turns out that his dirt bag has been "in the system" (there I am typing like a Law and Order Episode.) for decades. His is also going to spend the next 30 days in prison. He plead guilty to petit larceny instead of going to trial for something worse. So for a month he wont be stealing from anyone who is not in jail.

and not I am not getting my bike back.

but once I tuned up my old bike I realized it was just as good as the one that was stolen.

and I am not going to apply for victim compensation or counseling.

I will be fine.

But as I type this 2 weeks after this all went down, Mr well dressed thief is still not picking up the soap on Rikers Island

Two Views

2013-06-10T16:35:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning, just before 6 am, I was changing trains at the Smith & 9th St Station. If you have been paying attention you know that it is the highest subway station in the City, if not the world.

Behold the Sunrise.

another view of the canal, without the sun glare.

This morning I ran over the Canal. There was no sun and it was a putrid shade of green.

In the distance you can see the bridge was standing on about 30 hours earlier.

There was no sun today. In fact it just started raining when I took this photo. I ran 5 more miles and my shoes filled with water from the top.

The canal is full of raw sewage (IE: shit and piss). When it rains a lot what runoff from the street sewers mixes with the sewage and it all just goes into the canal, or the Hudson, or wherever. Our combined sewer system can't handle more than a few centimeters of rain at a time. A better explanation can be found at Pardon Me for Asking.

While we are on that subject, this was my Facebook Status this morning.

Someone should have reminded me that I ate all those beets yesterday.

On Broadway!

2013-06-04T08:49:00.000-04:00

I am not such a fan of the musical theater. Really. That shit is wasted on me. Let me define that for you if you don't know me.

A while back I had the opportunity to see Les Mis and Showboat in the same week. Wanna here my review? "The chair was much more comfortable at Showboat." I was the guy that woke up during intermission at The Nutcracker (at Lincoln Center) and put on his coat because he thought it was over. Yea I was that guy. I shoulda kept my coat on and gotten some fresh air.

Anyway my kids were in the school play. They were in Fame Jr. I thought they were in Fame with a Jr after it. No. Fame Jr is part of Broadway Jr,. 60 minute musicals designed for middle school kids. Broadway Jr also got my kids to see a real Broadway Show. A few weeks ago hey went to see a manatee of Nice Work if You Can Get It. Matthew Broderick even came out to speak to the kids after the show. It was cool the way he paid homage to the Stage Manager. "I might be a movie star, but she tells me when I ~~can~~ should get a drink of water."

Like most middle school events there was an end of he year celebration

Hundreds of students took to the Broadhurst Theater stage Monday morning, making their Broadway debut before their peers, educators and supporters, as part of Broadway Junior Celebration.

Hosted by The Shubert Foundation and Music Theater International, the annual event – now in it’s eight year – is a celebration and culmination of the Broadway Junior Program, which builds theater programs in New York City schools with limited arts programing. Backstage

So for the 4th school day in a row I chaperoned a school trip. All thirty school got to perform a song. Every school had one student speak first for a minute.

Let me paraphrases....

"I made new friends that like me"

"I am really shy, but on stage I can be loud."

"We are really proud of all the hard work"

"Our teachers are great"

So, Dr Dorita Gibson, Deputy Chancellor for Equity and Access (wtf does that mean?) said that being in the school play was a factor in improving school performance. Duh, you don't need a fancy title to know that.

Musical theater does not have to be for me, but now I understand why it has to be.

And, by the way. I could not help but stand and applaud after most of the performance. They were great.

I also got to put my special skills to work on the way to the theater. I knew that the passes that are given to teachers for their class to get on the subway specifically say that they could only be used after 9am. But we needed to be there by 9 and at 8:30 the clerk in the booth said she would not open the gate. The teacher in charge told me we were going to have to look for a clerk that would open the gate. I put a stop to that. Since they are all going to do their job I directed the 40 of us to an unstaffed entrance and had a kid with an unlimited MetroCard go in and open the gate.

Hey! Where did all my good karma go?

2013-06-02T07:23:00.002-04:00

What Possessed Me

For the better part of last week I was chaperoning a class trip. From Wednesday at 6:30 AM till just before Midnight on Friday night it was 140 7th graders, 10 teachers and 5 parents and 3 giant buses

The agenda was Boston. Honestly, till April 15th I always thought Boston was one of the many cities that is not New York. I knew lot of people in Boston that day... Running, watching or helping. Most of them got themselves accounted for on Facebook or on my running club's Google Group; Except one. I realized that it was my job as keeper of the membership roster to give him a call. When he answered I could not talk to him. I did not know it till he said hello, but I was not breathing while the phone was ringing or when I was pressing in the numbers. Anyway, "Boston is probably the only major city that if you fuck with them, they will shut down the whole city...stop everything.. and find you." Happy Gilmore

So, we ate lunch on the bus, and went directly to the

to me this sign says Boston

Museum of Science (they changed the show,

(Alex Ashlock/Here & Now)

I did not get to go in the birdcage of death).
then walked (some of) The Freedom Trail.
We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. (I have been to the original, in Amsterdam. Not the same kind of place. It was a pot bar.)
Holiday Inn 140 12-13 year-olds. We taped their doors shut.
Breakfast in the hotel. (Coffee!).
Back on the Bus to Salem. (I see dead people)
Lunch in a shopping mall.
Bus to Fenway Park (I really don't give a shit about baseball, so I volunteered to stay in Salem with the kids who opted to stay because on of the buses would not start. I was so glad they made me go. Small part baseball, big parts history and architecture)
Dinner and mayhem at Jay Gee's.
Breakfast in the hotel. (Coffee!).
A quick visit to the New England Aquarium
Lunch in a Pizzarini Uno (It was up the block from The Finish Line of the Boston Marathon. Before I ate I got to pay it a little visit. I am glad I got to see the
makeshift memorial without 140 kids.) (I added my PPTC Cherry Tree Race Director hat to the heap.)
Plymouth Plantation. (we were too hot and tired, but I did engage one of the "English characters. She was great. I told her we were visiting from New Amsterdam . She smiled and said. "Sir, you might think you live in a Dutch colony but the King of England owns all the land from the Canada River to the Floridas" Yes, in 1625 the Dutch and the English were busy not fighting each other, but not recognizing each other either.).
Dinner in a hotel at Sturbridge Village.
Home at midnight.

These long days wrecked havoc with the batteries in smart camera/phone so I don't have that many photos. (It was also kinda crazy that the teachers had to borrow their students phones to call each other).

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Looking back I might think this was an ambitious plan. This might have worked if we were a few cars, but we had to deal with Boston traffic. However our leaders were great at dealing with the fact that we had to some issues. Like the fact that one bus died in Salem. (maybe it was a witch) and another lost it air conditioning (when it was 93 degrees). We crashed into a few other school trips. Most of them were all wearing matching t-shirts. That would have made my job a little easier.

I was lucky to be in Bus A. It was the only bus not to break down or loose it's air conditioning. It also had the lead driver. I got to witness an artist at work. She drove that bus like a sports car. She was also continually talking. It first I thought she was on the phone the the other drivers. Nosomuch. She was insane, and contractually talking to herself or to the cars around us. I am sure that if you ask the kids that sat near the front of bus A what their favorite part of the trip was, they will say Ms Dawn.

I am not going to use the space to brag about the fact that I stepped up to chaperon this trip. I can do that, so I do do that. I am glad that that parents that were waiting for the buses to come back thank me and gave me a pat on the back (Not like last year when one said "Thanks for watching my brat, we had a second honeymoon when he was gone.")

There were two things I did so that the local community feel some love. When we invaded the little mall in Salem to eat lunch we totally ruined the lunch break schedule for some of he locals. I noticed that a women who came in just after us was looking at a 45 minute wait to get her sandwitch (that is how they are spelled in Salem). I asked the manager to have her lunch made ahead of ours so she could move on with her day.

When our 3 buses rolled into Jay Gee's we added 150 people to the 10 or 20 that would have been here an that hot Thursday evening. Needless to say, our 150 created a great rumpus. We created a great bottleneck when the kids had to turn in their tickets for prizes. I got some of the kids to give me their fun passes with most of the activities still available. I gave them to the local girls that were still waiting on line to cash in their tickets. I told them we can't use them back in Brooklyn so they should enjoy the rides.

So if I was so nice during this trip why was my bike stolen while I was gone? (and why did I use so many parenthesis is this post?)?

Choose

2013-05-30T07:35:00.001-04:00

Another energetic water station - these girls all ran the last 1.5 miles with the last runner!! (Updated with some photos of me)

2013-05-28T06:20:00.004-04:00

I ran the Bob Potts Marathon for the second year in a row. My time was a 4:36, 24 minutes faster than last year. Other than that the race was a lot like last years race. BTW, this was the 28th marathon that I completed. I will update this when I find some photos of me.

But this year I went out there with some teammates. They all ran their fastest marathons ever! One of them even Boston Qualified. Maybe next year I will rent a bus.

The photo below is directly from the official photo album for the race Click here to see the rest. I like this photo the most. It really shows a perfect slice of the race. Enthusiastic, young people keeping me hydrated a soft, flat running surface and scenery that was overwhelming breathtaking.

Another energetic water station - these girls all ran the last 1.5 miles with the last runner!!

late update.

Photos of me at Mile 4

Then the photographer turned around and got a photo of me coming back when that was mile 22

But here is the money shot at mile 26.2.1

The barber in the beginning of the video cut my hair before most of you were born.

2013-05-24T05:41:00.001-04:00

Some things have changed, but lots have stayed the same.

When I was a kid I used to walk around the corner and get my hair cut by some old dude. One day I walk in and there was someone new in the shop. Looking back I think he said the only words he knew in English. "The old barber is dead, I am the barber now." The operative word in that sentence was now. The day before he was not a barber.

So this 17 year old bit the bullet and went with his dad to his barber; Mr Figaro. He is in the opening moments of this Video.

I taught him how to make a mullett.

How could the origins of my life be interesting?

2013-05-21T10:46:00.004-04:00

Well they are to someone. The fine folks at Forgotten New York are featuring Ocean Ave and they used the doorway of the apartment building I grew up in to shout about it.

Really, I lived on the 4th floor of 2261 Ocean Ave till I was almost 6. I attended half a year of kindergarten around the corner at PS 255.

After my family moved out to larger digs on Bedford Ave

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OMG, I just spoke to my Mom. We lived at 2270 Ocean Ave, diagonally across the street.

this one....

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Of course she was right. I knew we faced Ocean Ave and our fire escape was in the front. My room was on the 4th floor on the left side of the photo.

I Mighta gotten the address wrong, but now I remember the window.

I remember looking out that window in the Summer of 1969. Looking at the Moon and straining to see Neil Armstrong.

I remember asking my dad why people count sheep when they can't sleep. He said that the shepherds used to drive their herds of sheep on Ocean Ave at night and if you were up late you could count them

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

2013-05-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

But how do you know who the few are and how many the many are? Who am I? Am I the one? One of the few? Or am I part of the many who get their needs met?

Spock knew what to do. But this past weekend all people knew what to do was complain. There was a lot going on in Prospect Park. Early last week The Great Googa Mooga moved in. This was its second year and a lot of people were freaking out because they were probably going to damage the park again and only pay $75,000. Well, I know the people who are in charge of Special Events and they don't like looking bad, so I am pretty sure they will do a better job at documenting and billing any damage this year. If they don't, the media will.

I have mixed feelings. On one hand, lots of things happen in public parks for private gain. Restaurants are in parks. City Field and Yankee Stadium are actually in parks. I have participated in and organized many races in public parks. Parades and fairs close our streets on a regular basis. Movie shoots make our lives nuts (A few blocks from my house Will Ferrell is filing the more of The Anchorman and this afternoon I will have to move my car for some tv show . Saturday morning, during the Googa Mooga, the Brooklyn Half Marathon passed through Prospect Park and then cut Brooklyn in half. I was the "Team Leader" for the fluid station.in Prospect Park. For a great blog post on what that morning was like click through to Qaptain Qwerty's post.. I can tell you first hand that from 7:30 to 8:30 that morning it was basically impossible to cross the roadway in prospect park because there were so many runners. Hey, on Saturday evening, my daughter attended a Bat Mitzva in Prospect Park's Picnic House. The only time anyone can ever go into that building if it is rented out for a private event. So, lots of things happen in public places that limit access to the public

On the other hand, the Great Googa was not about community or charity or food or music. It was about profit. It was organized by Superfly, a for profit event management company. According to Wikipedia.....

The company was founded in 1996 by Jonathan Mayers, Rick Farman, Richard Goodstone and Kerry Black.^[2]

After gaining notoriety as hosts of after-hours events during the New Orleans Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras, Superfly's owners realized they had hit a plateau, unable to compete with big venues that could profit from alcohol and other sales in addition to ticket fees. They wanted to put on bigger events and came up with the idea of Bonnaroo.^[3]

They did not care about the park or the people of Brooklyn. Celebrate Brooklyn brings thousands of people to Prospect Park for music and food and they don't crap all over the park. When I went to the training for Brooklyn Half staff, the NYRR said they will leave the course better than they found it and we did. We didn't clean up because we were worried about being billed, we cleaned up because it was our park and we wanted to wanted to come back to a clean park.

Superfly Productions is a for profit company. The bottom line of their existence is the same as Exxon-Mobil or Monsanto; Profit.

What do they need a fleet of luxury cars for? There is no driving in Prospect Park!!

For a week Well House Drive was turned into a trailer park..

It was not the end of the word, but.......

But this was just wrong. Fencing off a water fountain was wrong on so many levels.

First, this is is a food feast. They were selling food. Perhaps people want to drink some free water. Maybe they don't want to pay for plastic bottles of water.

Second, this fence was there for days before the mooga began and I took this photo after it was over. For no reason at all they were keeping me from a drink.

Finally, they could have with a little effort put that fence on the other side of the fountain.

So, I am not saying that we should not have events like the Not-So Great Great GoogaMooga, we just have to make sure they respect our public places. Because if we don't Prospect Park will become Disney World.

Sometimes you are one of the many and sometimes you are one of the few.

and another thing.

Hating on the Googa Mooga because you think it is for "hipsters" is no better than hating on rap music because you think it is for people who don't look like you. I gave my free tickets away, but I have no problem with the people who enjoyed the event.

Brooklyn Coastline

2013-05-13T07:25:00.001-04:00

click to enlarge.

Yesterday I combined a long run with an opportunity to pick up my MIL. I ran down to Sheepshead Bay. A straight line would not have been enough mileage, so I took the coastal route.

I documented a big chunk of this run here in 2009. I was just about to type something like this.

also ran by the Federal Prison

I did not take this picture, it is from their website. The guards were serious about "no photographs". I was not gonna push my luck. In October of 2001 I ran there. When I was a block from the building I noticed that the road was blocked by a van. I man got out wearing body armor (not just a bullet proof vest, he was like a human tank.) Then another man got out wearing the same armor but also holding the biggest gun I ever saw. The first man pointed toward Sunset Park and said, "Halt, go that way." It was the most unambiguous statement I ever heard. There was not a molecule of my body that was going to do anything but "Halt" and "go that way." No questions... The guards at Federal Prisons in October of 2001 were not taking any crap.

Below is a Google Streetview of that spot. You will see that the Google Car could not get any closer to the building either.

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Yesterday I was allowed to run around the prison. But I was not going to take out my phone and take any pictures.

But a few blocks away I did take out my phone. 1st Ave is home to many gate factories and warehouses.

We Have Many Workers
But None To Spare.
Please Drive Carefully

On 1st Ave in the forties I saw this sign.

Turning around, I was this building.

You can swing around a look for yourself.

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Most of where I ran was underwater during The Storm last year. Some places are back to normal. But, the path along the Belt Parkway was busted up in places. Some of the stores in Caesar's Bay are still closed. There are still mountains of sand in Coney Island. Many homes in Manhattan Beach are still boarded up. Not so normal.

unconstructive edits

2013-05-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

At least 5 or 6 years ago I was with a bunch of friends and one of them insisted on using Wikipedia to prove his point. To prove my point that Wikipedia can be fiction I logged in and changed something real to something that was nonsense. I moved a decimal point. Anyone who would read it would know it was wrong.

It stayed like that for years.

click to enlarge

I just happened to go back to Wikipedia and noticed that I had a message.

Below is the corrected segment to Prospect Park's Wikipedia Entry

The Prospect Park Track Club, formed in the early 1970s, organizes regular training runs and races in and around the park. (The park has a 3.35-mile or 5.39 km loop.)^[40] TheProspect Park Women's Softball League has been playing softball games on summer evenings in Prospect Park for over 23 years. Circle rules football has been played every weekend from spring through fall at the tip of the Long Meadow nearest Grand Army Plaza since 2007.

You should know, however, that the "loop" is actually closer to 3.33 miles and citation 40 should link to the Prospect Park Alliance, not the Central Park Alliance.

Afterrain is my favorite smell

2013-05-08T14:06:00.000-04:00

Except maybe beforethesnow.

After my run yesterday I took a crappy phone-photo of one of the Cherry Blossoms in Prospect Park with Grand Army Plaza in the background. We had like a foot of rain this morning. Below is a different view of the same tree, 24 hours later.

I also hitched a ride in a truck to cross this flood on 9th Street.

they made it.

And the ducks will soon move into this flood in Prospect Park.

This looked so much better with my own eyes.

2013-05-07T19:24:00.000-04:00

I went out to do an easy loop of Prospect Park and met one of the fastest guys I know. He wanted to talk to me and was willing to turn his easy run into a jog...... It's been awhile since I ran myself into the ground and I felt pretty high when I got to the top of the hill.

I remember the sky being bluer and the arch being bigger.

Mixed Reuse

2013-05-07T06:28:00.000-04:00

"Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one."

I don't think I ever had a Schaefer Beer.

Anyway, my days of having more than one beer are behind me.

When this ad came out Schaefer was the best selling beer in America. I can see why with their direct appeal to alcoholics.

But on Kent Ave one of their buildings is still there.

Thanks Fishtown

I can just see the Schaefer logo going above that door.

But they don't make Schaefer in Brooklyn any more. They used to make a lot of things in Williamsburg that they don't make any more. and check out the Streetview below. It looks like they just recently took away the green sign that cover the Schaefer logo.

Also if you zoom on the door now, it says that the building is home to a movie studio too.

There is a lot going on in Williamsburg. You can tell from this one building that things change. A building that was once home to a brewery is now a special education school for Jewish children and a video studio.

That's ok. My kids go to school in a combination of 2 buildings. One of them was a high school and the other was a newspaper factory. They also share the building with another school. I will get to that latter.

Some things don't need to be said.

2013-05-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

This sign was on the East River Bike Path, under the Manhattan Bridge.

Yea. The Manhattan Bridge is Above.

On a vending machine that sells bikes part it says "COOLEST SUSTAINABLE VENDING MACHINE IN NYC".

Of course it is.

DEMENTORS IN BROOKLYN?!!!!!?? AHAHAHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2013-05-03T06:09:00.004-04:00

Where is Harry Potter, these things are gonna get me.

Not to worry, my soul is safe. Just a tarp getting old and blowing around. I will just call 311. Click here for a photo of that tarp doing part of it's job

I am glad someone's got a sense of humor

2013-05-02T06:26:00.000-04:00

Last week a van and a car had a little dispute and the van wound up on the sidewalk and in a store. You can look at the news story here. CBS News reported that Joggers dodge van seconds before it smashes into Park Slope Deli.

(BTW, do you know the difference between a jogger and a runner? A jogger jumps up and down at a red light and a runner stands there and looks pissed.)

I run by that corner all the time, and I have had more than a few cups of coffee from the guy in the back.

and I am glad nobody got hurt and they are open again.

What's amatta with you? (updated)

2013-04-26T21:39:00.001-04:00

This morning I went to the grand reopening of the Smith and 9th Street Subway Station. It has been closed for about 2 years for a major rehabilitation. This was not an easy fix because it is the highest Subway Station in the world.. Really. For reasons I can fathom it was build over a draw bridge. Really "With an elevation of 87.5 feet (26.7 m), this station is the highest subway station in the world.^[2] This elevation was required by now-defunct navigation regulations for tall-mast shipping on the Gowanus Canal. "

Because the subway platform is actually over a road (that is over a canal) you really can't use elevators, there has to be escalators. Well, there could be elevators but that might have added a few hundred million dollars to the cost of the project.

OK, the old station was at ground level.

It was a dump, but it was accessible to people who could not walk up or down stairs.

Now it looks great, but you can't get to the escalator without going up 3 steps.

When things were winding down, one of the advocates for the disables asked our Borough President why there are no ramps. I heard him say "Don't worry, their not done yet." What does he know, he has nothing to do with the Subway. It is a New York State Agency. What are they gonna do, rip out the new stairs to build a ramp.

Anyway, it is gonna be a tourist attraction.

(Update, after I slept on what I posted.)

I don't think those 3 steps are really a big deal. The escalators don't go all the way up to the platform. There is still an entire flight to walk up. Putting a ramp there wont help at all.

I am only training for a marathon.

2013-04-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

The end of May I will be running a 26.2 mile race. That is the easy part. The real work is being ready. You got to put in those 20s. Yesterday I did a 20. I ran from Grand Army Plaza to the Brooklyn Bridge. Crossed Manhattan and then ran up the Hudson River to 59th St. Cut through Central Park (WTF, the water fountains were off.) and got on the 59th St Bridge. Took Queens Blvd East and got a little lost till I actually got to Flushing Meadow Park. Click this for the route. It took me about 4 and a half hours. I stopped at 2 Starbucks for water and to pee. I got a little lost in Rego Park, so I am calling my millage at 20.

But, please, don't be impressed. For me it was an adventure. I wanted to get to Flushing Meadow for a reason. It is the middle of 18th Anual Self-Transcendence Ten Day Race. Click here for their blog

My friend Louis Rios is running the 6 day race. So is Phil McCarthy.

I was not able to stick around and take more photos because a ride home suddenly became available. If you zoom in you can see that Phil is currently in the lead with 127 miles and Louie has 79. This is day 2 of 6.

Before last years race I wich Louie luck on his race. He said, "It is not a race, it's a meditatin."

Dodging cars on Queens Blvd was somethign else.

Film is cheap.

2013-04-20T19:41:00.003-04:00

I stood in front of my house for about 10 minutes this afternoon. I am not going to exaggerate, over half of the people walking by stopped and to a picture of the trees across the street from my house. Instead of asking why I just did it too.

Wicked Cool

2013-04-20T04:46:00.002-04:00

The end of next month I will get to chaperon my kids on their 3 day trip to Boston!

Trip on!

These kids will behave.

Ambivalence

2013-04-19T11:06:00.000-04:00

I have real mixed feelings towards Starbucks.

As a native Brooklynite is see them as some sort of invasion. No better than Papa Johns or Walmart. We already got plenty of good coffee, what do we need that shit for. Also, I want a small coffee - Whatthefuck is a tall. If I wanted flavors in my coffee, I would do to a candy store. Finally, why do you need to know my name, just give me my coffee.

On the other hand, their stores have provided a new kind of quasi public place. I have had meetings there. Not like "I will meet you at Starbucks." But, lets bring our laptops and babies and get through this agenda - meeting. Their corporate policy as enforced by their employees was clear. Do what every you want in our store as long as you don't move your home office there or really bother the other people there. They don't really care if you don't spend any money.

But the real good thing that Starbucks brought to NYC was their toilets. Starbucks are everywhere and they all have one or two bathrooms. As a runner I used to have to find bathrooms in parks (forgetaboutit). I also knew that I could run into a hospital and use their bathroom. (Once a hospital guard did not want to let me in so I said "then admit me because I am going to explode right here. That worked.) Police stations also have public bathrooms. (But I think as a policy, they never clean them) So if you need a toilet in NYC, you can get this app

About 13 years ago, the first Starbucks opened in Park Slope. I was pushing my babies in their stroller and I remember stopping dead in my tracks and saying "WHO THE FUCK LET THIS HAPPEN?". Well, a few years later I had more than a few PTA meetings there.

And another one is about to open. Just on top of the stairs from he B/Q Train at 7th Ave and Flatbush.

I wish them luck. I, along with many other people have to pee when we get off the train.

I will still go to the newsstand and get justasgood coffee for half the price.

Many more details on pee can be found here.

Now, more than ever. I want to run Boston.

2013-04-15T18:37:00.001-04:00

This morning's FB status.

One day I will qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Some things I saw on my run yesterday.

2013-04-14T06:49:00.000-04:00

I was looking for 4 hours on my feet this morning and I found it. I met up with my track club for their Usual Saturday Morning Run. From Grand Army Plaza to Downtown Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, crossing Manhattan to the Hudson River and around the Battery back to the Brooklyn Bridge. They went back. That round trip is about 12 miles. I continued uptown to the Williamsburg, then crossed the East River and stayed with it till I got to Red Hood, then I ran back up to Park Slope.

It looked like this http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5888166

On my way to the Williamsburg Bridge the sky looked kinda crazy.

It looked crazier with my eys. The camera phone did not do it justice.

A little further uptown I saw a cool new thing. A table for cleaning fish

Across the bridge in Williamsburg I came across the COOLEST SUSTAINABLE VENDING MACHINE IN NYC.

Yep. That is what is says. It is because it sells bike parts. There was also a tire pump chained to it.

Speaking of sustainable, across the street from the most sustainable building that I have ever been in. (go to the bottom of this post for more on Building 92) they were installing the CitiBike bike sharing program.

Lets see how this works out. I have read that it works OK in other cities, but this is NY. I am hopeful.

Almost home and in the grey area along the East River in Carroll Gardens I saw some writing on the sidewalk

I stepped back and saw that the shadow of this brave red oak remained.

It would not stand a chance. It is a tough place to be a tree. But that is where we would have appreciated it the most.