tien mao's little read book...

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour

2009-06-29T18:31:43-05:00

Way back in early June, Shannan and I went on a tour of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in Brooklyn Heights. The tunnel, built in 1844, is the oldest subway tunnel in the world and is a half mile long. It was originally built to accommodate LIRR trains that lacked breaks good enough to run above ground.

The hour and a half long tour, which is led by Bob Diamond, goes deep into the history of the tunnel and all the research and work that Bob did to find the long abandoned tunnel in 1979. The tunnel is an impressive piece of work and it's almost hard to believe that it's in perfect condition to this day (gotta love those Sandhogs).

I would recommend making a reservation with the BHRA for its next tour of the tunnel.

Our 1st Week From the Greenpoint-Williamsburg CSA

2009-06-23T15:47:25-05:00

Pictured are strawberries, a bunch of lavender, pea shoots, and garlic scapes. Not pictured asparagus, cilantro, rhubarb, sugar snap peas, mesclun, kale, and eggs.

Some of this helped make a tasty dinner on Sunday night!

Willa at the Big Apple Barbeque

2009-06-18T17:23:22-05:00

Stumbling Upon the Hare Krishna Parade and Festival of Chariots

2009-06-15T13:58:11-05:00

Apparently the parade (Festival of Chariots or Rath Yatra)culminated with a vegetarian feast in Washington Square Park. Of course, I had just left Madison Square Park where I, and thousands of other people, were gorging themselves on pork and cow at the Big Apple Barbecue. New York City is random like that.

The 2009 Belmont Stakes

2009-06-08T12:49:53-05:00

This year's Belmont Stakes wasn't nearly as crowded as years past. I guess the lack of a Triple Crown possibility will do that. But the weather was perfect and the favorite didn't win the 141st running of the stakes. Summer Bird (pictured before the race in picture #2) won pretty easily after it passed Dunkirk and Mine That Bird.

More photos over at flickr.

Manhattan From a Helicopter

2009-06-02T18:37:05-05:00

My transportation out to Long Island for that little airplane thing wasn't by car, or by train, but by helicopter (!!), which was also a first for me. It was surprisingly calm, but really, really noisy (I took the headset off for a second to take a listen). We flew up the West Side from 30th St. and, over Manhattan, over Queens including LGA and eventually into Long Island.

From the Back Seat of a P-51 Mustang

2009-05-26T13:50:47-05:00

Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to head out to Long Island to check out The Horsemen and their P-51 Mustangs. Not only did I get to walk around and take pictures of the airplanes themselves, but I got to go up in one of them for a short flight. Ed Shipley took me out over South Oyster Bay for a couple of rolls (one regular and one four point) and a loop. He also let me take the control for another roll.

I'm happy to say that I didn't throw up in the back seat, despite it being my first time in a non-commercial airplane. It was certainly the experience of a lifetime.

Shannan in the DC Metro

2009-05-20T13:29:25-05:00

Who Needs A Beach?

2009-05-18T17:18:07-05:00

Why go to the beach when you can use your American Flag umbrella on the old, ratty couch that you keep in the garbage room of your basement. What better way to protect your eyes from the fluorescent lights.

Obligatory Picture of the DC Metro

2009-05-13T17:47:29-05:00

Dupont Circle station in the Washington DC Metro.

Ying and Pat's Wedding

2009-05-11T13:08:55-05:00

This Saturday, Shannan and I drove down to Maryland for my cousin's wedding at Montpelier Mansion. Since we had a 4 hour drive down to the wedding, we decided to change once we got to the wedding, which we got to just as it was starting. We sat down as Ying was walking down the isle with her father.

Lessons learned from this wedding: Don't let my uncle (or my dad, for that matter) speak at our wedding and there's a reason, the bride and groom don't traditionally speak at the wedding.

Between the Garbage, a New REVS Piece

2009-05-07T17:45:55-05:00

Cirque du Soleil's Big Top on Randall's Island

2009-05-04T17:49:50-05:00

If you're debating whether to see Cirque du Soleil's Kooza this summer or hold off and see their holiday show Wintuk, let me settle that little quandary. DO NOT see Wintuk. It sucked. Kooza, in comparison, was awesome. There were parts that I thought were stupid (specifically, the juggler) and parts that I thought were unnecessary (I don't care about the storyline), but there were a couple acts of the show that were just amazing.

One small pain about the show was getting to it. Randall's Island is not easy to get to unless you have a car.

Spacebuster in DUMBO

2009-04-28T15:24:11-05:00

Last week, when the Spacebuster (a portable event space) made a stop in DUMBO last week for an architecture contest, I was able to take some photos from outside and even got to go inside while they were setting up.

Full set on flickr.

On Mountain BBQ in Vail

2009-04-21T18:21:16-05:00

While skiing at Vail, you can eat barbecue at 11,000' at Wildwood Restaurant. As with all the on-mountain food, it's not cheap. But if you've already eaten your homemade sandwich for a really early lunch, a late lunch of BBQ is good stuff. And since the weather was so nice on our final day, we ate our food outside in the glaring sun.