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Snow-covered exterior of the Grand Opera House at Elm Place and Fulton Street, Brooklyn, during the Blizzard of 1888. [Photograph: Wallace G. Levinson/Life]

OK, people. I am at the office today. BFD. I’m am now officially sick of people acting like it’s crazy that the office is open today.

It’s not that crazy outside. Sure, it’s unpleasant at intersections, where plows have piled snow and there are puddles of near-freezing slush to navigate. BUT IT’S NOT THAT BAD OUTSIDE.

There is no reason not to go about business as usual. We have become a city of wusses. May I remind you that the subway was built partially in reaction to the Great Blizzard of 1888, which dumped 40 to 50 inches of snow in parts of New York. From Wikipedia:

The first underground line of the subway opened on October 27, 1904, almost 35 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. The heavy 1888 snowstorm helped illustrate the benefits of an underground transportation system.

Get out there and get to work, weaklings.

Here’s the poem Shane Koyczan recited in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games: “We Are More.”

I liked the pacing more in the opening ceremony more than here. I’m sure his Olympic performance will be up on the tubes soon enough. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on him.

We Are More

When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we’ve got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world’s anthem has been
” been there done that”
and maybe that’s where we used to be at
it’s true
we’ve done and we’ve been
we’ve seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don’t forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say “eh?”
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you’re welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like “someday”
someday we’ll be great
someday we’ll be this
or that
someday we’ll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday
we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don’t have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don’t all know what it is in life we’re looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you’ve been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can’t wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
” keep exploring… we are more”
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it’s true
Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”
so don’t say “been there done that”
unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don’t say you’ve been there done that
unless you’ve been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you’ll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn’t pack for the first time
but don’t let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what’s more
is that we didn’t just say it
we made it be.

On the Web, a Wave of Support for Conan O’Brien [Media Decoder/NYT]

When iTunes 9 launched, it became “Mark as watched” and “Mark as unwatched.” This is crazy.

Obviously, you can’t watch an audio program like a podcast. You can, however play it.

What’s more is that you can play a video, movie, TV show, or video podcast, too. So play works for both video and audio.

Just seeing that stupid “watched”/”unwatched” thing whenever I have to do some podcast cleaning drives me a little batty. I wish Apple would change it. These guys noticed it, too.

On Gothamist the other day, I was a bit sad to see how this post on Slice was credited to Serious Eats instead.

Sure, they’re from the same “family” of blogs, and, sure, “The Food Lab” posts generally live on the Serious Eats homepage, so maybe this isn’t the best example to whine about, but it seems like more and more these days, Slice is referred to as “Serious Eats.”

In the end, I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. It’s good that people are viewing what Slice does as part of the Serious Eats mission. But when something you’ve worked on for six years (and that predates Serious Eats by three years and was in fact among the first wave of food blogs) is sort of overlooked, it kinda blows.

Oh well, it’s from some dude whose name I don’t even recognize on Gothamist. Probably some new young turk there.

Curious as to what the 1970s UK rock powerhouse Slade actually looked like, I turned to YouTube. Was there a live performance of the iconic holiday song “Merry Xmas Everybody” there? There are at least four. And what’s beautiful is that each version is from a distinctly different era.

There’s the glam era Slade, the disco Slade, the ’80s Slade (in which lead guitarist/singer Noddy Holder looks like Tom Baker wearing Patrick McGoohan’s blazer from The Prisoner), and, last, the GnR-meets–Bon Jovi–meets–Robert Palmer Slade of 1991.

And, although they changed styles with each era, they lip-sync to the original recorded version of the song in each performance. Not a live version in the bunch. Anyway, check out the four videos after the jump.

1973

I’m guessing late ’70s on this one

1983

1991

“Merry Xmas Everybody” is one of the most popular British Christmas songs of all time. Though overlooked here in the States, Slade was a powerhouse of 1970s British rock. From Wikipedia:

No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and Slade actually came the closest to matching The Beatles’ 22 Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at #1 and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. By 1973 alone, “Merry Xmas Everybody” had sold over one million copies globally, and gained gold disc status.

That same Wikipedia entry notes that Cheap Trick inadvertently came up with its name after seeing a Slade show. Noting Slade’s slick performing style, Tom Peterssen said that they “used every cheap trick in the book.”

“Merry Xmas Everybody” was recorded in August 1973 in New York City.

You can’t really read it in this photo, but the piece of tape on the backrest says, “Free.”

As seen on Fourth Avenue near Union Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

I was looking for some travel toiletries in this drug store in Berkeley, California, on my Pizza Madness 2009 tour when I turned the corner and saw this. It actually startled me at first; I thought it was an actual animal sitting there in the aisle.

“We Three Kings of Orient Are,” The Beach Boys (iTMS, Amazon)
“All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey (iTMS, Amazon)
“Silent Night,” The Coctails (Amazon)
“O Tannenbaum,” Nat King Cole (iTMS, Amazon)
“We Three Kings,” Miles Davis (download here)
“Christmas at the Zoo,” The Flaming Lips (iTMS, Amazon)
“Father Christmas,” The Kinks [PNSFFG] (iTMS, Amazon)
“Marshmallow World,” Darlene Love (iTMS, Amazon)
“Wonderful Christmastime,” Paul McCartney (iTMS, Amazon)
“Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues [NSFFG] (iTMS, Amazon)
“Another Lonely Christmas,” Prince [NSFFG] (iTMS, Amazon)
“Christmas in Hollis,” RUN-DMC (iTMS, Amazon)
“Merry Xmas, Everybody!” Slade (iTMS, Amazon)
“Christmas Wrapping,” The Waitresses (iTMS, Amazon)
“Last Christmas,” Wham! (iTMS, Amazon)
“All I Want for Christmas,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs (download here)

Another note: I have more to add. Will do so later. And I’m taking suggestions….

P/NSFFG = Possibly/Not Safe for Family Gatherings due to language, themes, or the questioning of Santa’s existence.

Some of these people are annoying.

I’m not going to name names, but you know who you are.

Basically, if all you’re using your Tumblr or Microblog for is to “reblog” something you saw elsewhere, you should not be auto-retweeting this crap.

I don’t want to click on a shortened link in your tweet only to be taken to your microtumble that in turn links to the primary source.

You should have just tweeted the link to the original material in the first place, asshat.

Actually, I’ll use @romensko as an example (chart after the jump), since he’s not a friend of mine whose feelings I might hurt—and because he does this ALL THE TIME.

In the 1980s, specifically around ‘83, there was a bit of a mania for ATVs, specifically three-wheelers. The three-wheeler, however, was shown to be dangerous and was quickly replaced by its more surefooted cousin, the four-wheeler. But before the big, loud, motorized tricycle was yanked from the scene it would be immortalized in at least two iconic videos of the decade:

Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Big Country, “In a Big Country”

Would have been cool if ’80s Bob Dylan had jumped on the bandwagon—then we could have had The Three-Wheelin’ Bob Dylan.

If you know of any other three-wheelin’ videos, lemme know.

Jeremy concocted it in honor of a friend of ours who had recently returned from a year abroad in the Irish capital. The drink takes its name from the Dublin postal district Dublin 8, which our friend said was a particularly rough part of the city. (Note: This may or may not be the case anymore; this forum thread seems to indicate that Dublin 8 is by all accounts an OK area.)

The Dublin 8

To a heavy pour of Irish whiskey, add the juice of half a small lime, a teaspoon of sugar, a few ounces of orange juice, and a tiny dash of bitters—all followed by a splash of soda. Garnish with a thin lime wheel.

Photo credit: Dave Tamasi

The Woman and the Beagle, originally uploaded by antonkawasaki.

I don’t know what struck me today, but I ended up starting a Flickr photo group: Dogs on NYC Subway.

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I should note that it also includes any MTA trains (so Metro-North, LIRR, and SIR are fair game) as well as subway and MTA stations—which is where this beautiful photo of a woman and her beagle was taken.

I should mention at this point that there are two things you should never do in New York with people from California: eat burritos; and go to the beach. In both cases you’ll be subjected to constant reminders about how crappy they are here compared to how amazing they are in California. Every Californian seems to have an annoying story about some amazing burrito they had one time that was as big as a baby and only cost 14 cents, and every Californian seems to have out-sized and unreasonable beach expectations.

—The Bike Snob

At or Before 10 a.m. ET: Updates

After 10 a.m. ET: Tweets

The only reason I noticed, really, is that I administer at least five Twitter accounts and have Gmail filters set up to route them to their proper folders. The filters were based on the wording “Hi, [username]. [Username] is now following your updates on Twitter.” After the change, my Twitter follow alerts started popping up in my regular inbox. Grrrr.

In other (somewhat-[un]related) Twitter news, @slice (one of the accounts I run) is now beating @slicemag in terms of followers.

Hello,
How much does it cost to eat out in florence?
There are so many factors to consider. Would you be kind enough as to give me some pointers as what to look for or avoid?
Any help appreciated. Thank you very much. yours truly, Fred

The first time I got one, I got snookered and ended up posting it as a Dear Slice letter on Slice.

But then I started getting more, all from the email address petrov.gazprom@gmail.com, all signed with different names:

Hello,
How much is the cost of a cheap meal in italy? Before I go ahead, is there any pointers you might have?
A little advice would go a long way right now.
I really appreciate your help. Thank you,
James

Hi,
How much would a greece fantasy vacation cost?
There are so many factors to consider. Would you be kind enough as to give me some pointers as what to look for or avoid? Any help appreciated. Thank you so much.
Terry

Hi,
How much does schooling cost to go to johnson and wales culinary school? I am trying to figure out what is important. I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight. Any info much appreciated.
I am very grateful for your help.
Thankyou,
James

How many euros for a sandwich in italy? There are so many factors to consider. Would you be kind enough as to give me some pointers as what to look for or avoid? Any info much appreciated. Thank you so much. Kind Regards,
Lacey

What is the cost to eat in italy in dollars?
It has become obvious I need help with this. Any ideas you have would be very much appreciated.
Please help me.
I really appreciate your help.
Sincerely,
Janet

Hello,
How much cost breakfast ny?  Your insight into what would be the best way to proceed would be much appreciated.  Please point me in the right direction.
Thank you very much.
Warmest Regards,
Terry

I have no idea what kind of spam this is or what the purpose or desired result would be. Figured I’d post them here if anyone else is getting them.

Update: Commenters here suggested as much, and The Spamhaus Project confirms it—if you respond, your answer will appear on one or more websites that appear to be using the Q&A content as fodder to serve up Google ads against. So it’s a cheap way for the spammers to try to generate content for their pageview farm. —8/4/2009

Ugh. Second flat in two weeks. This time on the dreaded rear wheel. While researching this bike purchase, I read something about the tires being tricky to change because of the Shimano Nexus 7-speed internal-gear hub. Luckily, there’s a trick, which I found courtesy of a Bicycle Times article on the Breezer website [pdf]:

I did encounter the reality of a rear flat while testing this bike. Although the Nexus internal hub is a great design choice, it does require learning a trick or two to reinstall the gear selector cable in the hub while re-mounting the wheel. The owner’s manual recommends experimenting with this in your garage before hitting the road. Good advice, as trying to do this operation in a downpour or in the dark would be problematic without a trial run. A handy bike shop trick that Eric showed me for removing and reinstalling the cable: use a 2mm hex wrench to snag the gear change mechanism and maneuver it into place.

Now it’s off to the bike store to pick up a flat-repair kit. And, if you’re wondering, the wheel nuts are 14mm—so you’ll want to carry around a spare open-end wrench as you ride, too.

At some point in my life I read that the word posh was derived as an acronym for “port out, starboard home,” supposedly the preferred cabin arrangement of people traveling to and from the British colonies in the Far East. That appears to be hogwash, but I can’t help think of it as it relates to my bike commute into and out of Manhattan, for which I’ve coined the acronym BIMO: Brooklyn (Bridge) In, Manhattan (Bridge) Out.

I typically go over the Brooklyn Bridge on the way in to Manhattan because the Brooklyn-side ramp onto the Manhattan Bridge is crazy steep. Who wants that? Of course, you might say the Brooklyn Bridge is equally crappy but for a different reason—tourists. Well, if I get an early enough start, I avoid most of the tourists on the Brooklyn. Plus, the Brooklyn In route puts me onto the West Side Greenway, a more pleasant ride and a better way to start the day.

On the way home, though, I usually take the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn. That’s ’cause the Brooklyn Bridge really is lousy with tourists at this hour. They’re watching the sunset (who can blame them?), walking in groups of 20, and wandering into the bike lane to take pictures. Plus, it’s just nice to shuffle it a bit and get some variety in the day’s riding. (I do have to say, though, that the East Side Greenway is a piece of crap. Totally full of potholes and joggers, and huge pools of standing water after it rains.

Inbound, the ride is roughly 7.5 miles. Homeward-bound, it’s about 8 miles. I’m getting faster, and the commute is getting easier, so I try to keep it challenging by trying new tricks. Like lately, I’ve been avoiding shifting into 1st gear. (Yeah, that sounds lame, but I’m out of shape. The good news is that I can do the ride both ways now without resorting to 1st gear.)

I recently bought a new bike: a Breezer Villager. I had enjoyed riding around Brooklyn on my previous touring bike, but it wasn’t a good fit. The frame was too big (23″), it threw me into a hunched-up riding position, and the tires were so skinny that I always worried about bending the rims on the rough streets I biked along.

It was not a good fit, and consequently, I always found excuses to avoid commuting in to work from Brooklyn.

My Breezer Villager, however, is a dream. It’s built to commute right out of the box, with fenders, a dynamo-powered light set, a cushy suspension-pole seat, wide bump-absorbent tires with reflective sidewalls, and an internally geared seven-speed hub—which means there’s no front derailleur and that you can therefore fit a chainguard over the front chainring (so I don’t even need one of those pantleg straps).

I’ve been riding to and from the office for a couple weeks now and love it. The Breezer is not the fastest bike (I routinely get passed by all sorts of cyclists—even a chubby teen with the worst riding form I have ever seen*), but after only about 100 miles’ worth of riding, I’ve achieved time parity (more or less) with my typical subway commute—plus, I don’t have to deal with people.

In all the web research I did before buying this bike, owners raved about it. The only negatives I saw were that it was a bit slow and that it had steel rims and therefore was difficult to stop in the rain. To that I say, slow and steady wins the race—and I’ve not had any problems stopping in wet weather.

My only complaint is the name. When I was a kid, my mom’s euphemism for flatulence is “breezer.” So if I think too hard about it, I’m basically riding a fart.

Other than that, it’s a perfect commuter if that’s what you’re looking for. If you’re in New York City, there are a couple of dealers I know of—A Bicycle Shop on 22nd (near Seventh Avenue), and Continuum Cycles on Avenue B (12/13th streets).

* Seriously. It was painful to be behind him, watching him wiggle in the seat and expend all that extra energy rocking side to side.

My friend Justin has been drawing insanely cool fictional portraits on the subway since he moved here a few years ago. Recently, he’s been working on a set called the Urban Tribal Series, which is strange, disturbing, and compelling. It’s sort of based on the concept of Japanese salarymen, but the suited men of Justin’s drawings have creepy biomorphic cellphone headsets, helmets, or otherwise freaky appendages.

Anyway, he was asked to participate in a project through CalArts in which 365 artists all take one day of the year and create a piece of art—all the while documenting the process. Justin asked me to document his trip through the subway system on Saturday while he created one of his drawings.

In the photo above, we’re starting in the morning near his home in Astoria.

We spent the whole day on a variety of NYC transit options—subway, ferry, Staten Island Railway. Our itinerary:

• Astoria to Coney on the N Train
• Coney to The Bronx (last stop; Norwood) on the D Train
• D Train, Norwood to 161st/Yankee Stadium
• 4 Train from 161/Yankee Stadium to Manhattan Bowling Green
• Staten Island Ferry to St. George Ferry Terminal
• Staten Island Railway to end of the line at Tottenville
• SIR back to ferry
• Ferry to R Train
• R Train back to Park Slope

This kid had a pretty cool retro ’80s style.

Tottenville, at the very southern tip of Staten Island, is like going to another city altogether.

On the way to San Francisco on Friday afternoon, I accidentally left my laptop at the security checkpoint at JFK. They were taking an unusually long time with my carry-ons, and my items didn’t come out of the machine in the same order they went in. (I think the Eileen’s cheesecake I was carrying had something to do with it; the screener, who looked a bit like Eileen herself, was sort of eyeing me with a bemused but knowing look as she ran my bakery box back and forth through the scanner.)

Anyway, as we were all waiting to board the plane, I saw photographer and viral-video star Noah Kalina walk up up to the gate. I was like, “Hey! That’s Noah Kalina! I’m going to tweet that we’re on the same flight and then go introduce myself.” (I’ve been a fan of his work since I started seeing his restaurant interior shots on Eater years ago, and I think he’s commented once or twice on my Flickr photos, and I know a lot of the same people he does, but I’ve never met him.)

I wanted to @message him in the tweet, and since I couldn’t remember if he was @noahkalina or @kalina, I figured I’d consult the web via my laptop instead of trying to blindly guess it on my phone (he’s @noahkalina).

So when I went to pull out my laptop and … “FUCK! I left my machine at security!”

With only minutes to initial boarding, I ran back through the terminal and retrieved the computer. Luckily it was still there and they hadn’t sent it to lost and found or blown it up as a suspicious package. Conveniently—but perhaps not super securely—they didn’t even challenge me to prove the computer was mine. So I guess if you ever want a free laptop, just skulk around the security area and watch for someone to leave a computer. Then just run around a bit, get sweaty and frantic-looking, and then tell them you left your MacBook and can you get it back.

By the time I got back to the gate, Noah had already boarded and was in his seat with earbuds in. I ended up finding him at baggage claim at SFO, introduced myself, and thanked him for saving my stupid ass.

Noah, if you’re reading this, thanks again!

I love this RSS icon pillow that C. pointed me to on Etsy. It’s 12 inches square, which is a little small; I think a big 24-incher would be better, but until I dust off my rusty home-ec sewing skills, who am I to complain. On that note, it’s totally easy to make a square pillow like this. You could easily do it by hand with a few dollars’ worth of materials and a needle and thread. 14.99 (plus shipping), from Etsy user Craftsquatch

Lady Gaga is the “Princess of Electropop.”

There are three “queens of Tejano” and six “queens of Rock and Roll,” Gwen Stefani inexplicably one of them.

Jully Black is the “Queen of Canadian R&B.” (I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her before.)

“His Purple Majesty”: Prince, duh.

There are two “princesses of Wails”—Charlotte Church and Cerys Matthews—both from Wales, interestingly enough.

Pavarotti is the “King of the High Cs.”

In the East, there are the “Four Heavenly Kings of Chinese Pop”: Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai, Andy Lau, and Aaron Kwok.

Back in the West, there’s the “Big Four of Thrash”: Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer.

Clapton is, of course, “God.”

I really love this list of honorific titles in popular music on Wikipedia.

P042909CK-0021, originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream.

From a Flickr commenter:

I really appreciate the behind-the-scenes pictures. We hardly ever see photos of the White House staffers who keep things going – the butlers, secretaries, floor-polishers. Work is dignified and everybody who does work has dignity.

Publishing these photos means the White House believes that working people are important – not just top management, but the people who walk the dog, ice the cakes, and hand the President a face towel.

Now that Colicchio has set the precedent and I’ve set the stage for you, I am pleased to announce my own clandestine restaurant concepts (I’m also capitalizing on the “secret dining” trend). Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…

Hotplate: Every two weeks, I place a hotplate on top of my stove and cook single-pot meals from it. As at Coliccihio’s Tom Tuesday Dinner, which makes use of Craft’s private dining room, guests of Hotplate will enjoy a separate dining area—the hallway just outside my apartment. The menu will be market-driven and local, featuring ingredients that come exclusively from Key Food market or from the foodshed in the cabinet above the range.
— Market prices —

Fridgidaire Friday: This menu will be constantly in flux and guests are asked to appreciate the omakase nature of the meal, as they will also be eating down my fridge. Watch for menus to rely heavily on milk, orange juice, dairy, bread, wilting produce, and anything else whose expiration date may be approaching. Dining will also occur in the hallway, unless the housekeeping staff is in that day, in which case guests will eat in my bedroom closet.
— $10 a person —

Kuban Stingy Sunday: Guests are locked in the bathroom without dinner. Patrons may avail themselves of the self-serve NYC tap water fountain. (The water here is some of the best in the nation.) One Dixie cup per guest, please.
— $50 —

I was robbed. My New Yorker Caption Contest photo was far superior to any of these. As C. says, “You should do a write-in vote. Yours was way better and incorporated a bunch of New Yorkers’ (the people, not the magazine) favorite things: Jewish people who eat Chinese food on holidays.” My caption was, “Do you know how hard it is to find a kosher Chinese place in this wilderness?” The only one above that even comes close is the second one, and I think it’s a bit too long.

And the one about the weight of the tablets doesn’t even acknowledge the Chinese characters on the tablet!

Hmmph.

I must seem like a beginning photography student, taking all these pictures of corrugated sheet metal.

What can I say? I like the colors.

This one, of my longtime friends Charlie and Jeff, was too good not to include. I haven’t seen these guys in a long time, and it was good to catch up a bit.

This is how I always think of these two—making bizarre inside jokes and causing lots of laughter among themselves and friends.