The Major

Author: FourMajor

  • Trip to New York, Day Two

    I had a great time yesterday. I started off by seeking out some lunch. On Yelp I found Ganni’s Pizza. It had good ratings but it was a bit of a letdown. The sauce sucked. But it’s OK, I only got one slice.

    From there I went to Brownstoner’s Brooklyn Flea Market. Lots of neat stuff there, but I didn’t buy anything. Well, I did stand in a giant line a buy a taco. And a tamarind drink. Delicious.

    On the walk from the apartment to the pizza place and the pizza place to the flea market, I walked through some neighborhoods that had a large Hasidic Jewish population. Something you’re not going to run into in San Francisco, as far as I know.

    From the flea market, I hopped on the subway and headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Brooklyn side. I walked across the bridge, which was nice. I am currently uploading the pictures; I’ll put some up later. (Update: photo added below)

    When I got into Manhattan I decided to check out the main library, which was conveniently very close to Grand Central Station, which I also wanted to see. Unfortunately, the library is closed on Sundays during the summer. This was a real shame as there were actually about a dozen people sitting outside of the front door of the library, reading. I am sure they would have rather been inside. I am planning on going back to the library today.

    The library may have been closed, but I still wanted to read. So I hopped on Yelp and found Universal News and Cafe. The newspaper and magazine selection was better than anything I have seen in San Francisco. I picked up a few things and then got back on the subway. I met up with Greg in the DUMBO neighborhood. We headed over to an all-organic restaurant, the name of which escapes me at the moment. From there we went to the Lower East Side in Manhattan, near NYU, where we had a surprisingly difficult time finding a bar. But find one we did. Of course I don’t remember the name of that place either. But I do remember that we drank Brooklyn Lager, which was delicious. I have had some really good beer so far on this trip.

    From there I headed back to Brooklyn to my host’s apartment. This morning I am just doing a bit of laundry and, obviously, writing. Unfortunately it is raining right now. Tonight I will be staying in Harlem. Onward!

  • Trip to New York, Day One

    So far, so good.

    After a late night Friday night, I got approximately two hours of sleep in my clothes and with the light on (I find it easier to wake up if it feels like I was just napping). Hopped on the airport shuttle, which sucked because it is more expensive than BART, which wasn’t running that early. The flight was unremarkable but comfortable, considering I was in the back row where my seat wouldn’t go back all the way. I flew Virgin America, which I had been wanting to do, but really they are pretty much like all the other airlines despite the hype. They did have purple mood lighting, which both didn’t put me in a purple mood and also was a little bit annoying. Some of the features on the seat-back display weren’t implemented yet, such as the Internet. And their much-vaunted chat feature was a letdown, by no fault of their own. I joined the airplane-wide chat room and stayed there for over an hour while I read, and was a bit surprised when no one else joined.

    Anyway, that is enough about my plane ride. I got to JFK airport with my one backpack – I am really happy about my light packing abilities – and sought out the subway. I was amazed at the size of the airport – it was just massive. Once I arrived at the subway station it was pretty intuitive on how to get where I wanted, which included a transfer. I really loved the subway stations. They were old, run down in a very-lovingly-used sort of way and most of them had their own style and character. A marked difference with BART in the San Francisco Bay Area.

    I arrived at my gracious host’s apartment (from CouchSurfing) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She was very nice and conversational from the moment I arrived. After a little while of shooting the shit and a much needed shower, we headed around the corner to DuckDuck for a beer. It is always nice being on the East Coast where I can get a Yuenling. By the way, I won’t say too much about each of the bars and restaurants I go to because I will be reviewing them all on Yelp; my New York Yelp map is at the bottom of this post.

    After that we met up with a couple of my host’s friends and headed to a beer garden. What, did they do a personality check on me beforehand and figure out exactly what I would want to do? They nailed it. This place was great. I got some delicious German beer, a whole liter of it in one mug, and a brat with fries.

    After that we went to another high-end beer bar where I had some more of the best beer I’ve ever had. I had some great conversation with all three people I was out with.

    We finished the night off at a pizza place at 1:30am, and while it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for in a New York pizza joint, it came pretty close. The pizza was delicious – you might say it “hit the spot.”

    Off to bed I went on a comfortable air mattress. One note – it stays HOT at night in New York. Not that I didn’t expect that. But I slept pretty well. Today I am off to a flea market and then I will probably meet up with Greg later. I’ll try to actually get some pictures today.

  • Old(er) Stu Teaches Young(er) Stu

    Ah, young(er) Stu, how much you don’t know. Going on a trip? Don’t get a hotel, Couch Surf. Bring a suitcase? I don’t think so. Pack few clothes and just use the laundromat.

    You’ll learn eventually, young buck.

  • NBA Players Going Overseas

    As more and more NBA players jump ship to play overseas, I think it would be really weird if Kobe or LeBron took a large payday and left the NBA as well.

  • What Time to Go Running

    Recently I have changed my routine a bit and done short runs in the morning and long runs after work. I have noticed that I run much better in the later parts of the day, hence the short runs in the morning. One other thing I noticed is that when I run in the morning, my mood and energy levels are higher throughout the day.

    I took these observations and wondered if they were normal or it was just me. What I found from this site was pretty interesting. In terms of actual scientific studies it has been shown that:

    Subjects who exercised at night had much larger drops in glucose levels in response to exercise than at other times of day. Exercise in the evening and at night elicited large increases in the levels of two hormones important for energy metabolism, cortisol and thyrotropin. Exercise at other times of day had much smaller effects on these hormones. In contrast, marked increases in growth hormone levels in response to exercise were not effected by the time of day.

    The doc doesn’t go on to explain what that means exactly, but it seems that it means exercising at night will better increase your metabolism.

    In general I think I will stick with my routine. Running in the morning some days for that good-feeling mood and increased energy. And long distance at night because I can do the distance better then and it seems like it would be more effective in burning calories.

    Update: This article supports what I have read, and spells it out much better.

  • As Running Relates

    One of the great things about running is that the further out you go, the further you have to come back. It is a commitment you can’t get out of. I have realized this for a while but it hit home yesterday when I did a 10-miler, the longest run I have ever done. I got 5 miles out and I think I actually said out loud, “I did it!” I immediately reacted, thinking to myself that no, I hadn’t done it, that I had to come all the way back. But I made it inevitable that, short of an injury, I was going to do it.

    I find this to be a very valuable concept. I began to wonder what other kind of activity there is that once you get to a certain point you have to finish. I haven’t been able to think of any. Any ideas out there?

  • Novak

    Robert Novak hits a pedestrian, flees the scene, and gets let off with a ticket.

    This pisses me off so much…

  • Google Maps Walking Directions

    I am excited – Google Maps now has walking directions. For instance, here is my run from yesterday.

  • Middle East Dominance: Obama vs. McCain

    I don’t read Antiwar.com nearly enough. This great quote is from an article entitled “Coercive ‘Diplomacy’ – Prelude to War: Don’t be fooled by Washington’s diplomatic overtures to Tehran”

    The American elites are unanimous in their verdict that the US must establish and maintain an American enclave in the Middle East: the only “debate” is over where the main forward base is to be located. McCain says Iraq, and Obama prefers Afghanistan.

    That is close to a one-quote summary as to why I won’t be voting for Obama or McCain.

  • Translink on MUNI?

    It can’t be true…I won’t believe it until I see it myself: MUNI finally enabled Translink?

    I really goddamn hope it is true.