Monthly Archives: January 2009

Computer World

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Jeez, I have a blank page in front of me, and nothing to write about. I never really have anything to write about, just my day which is tedious. Can’t say if it’s entertaining though on occasion I have gone back and read thing’s that I’ve written and found what I had written enjoyable.

That’s something that I never used to be able to do. I would write and immediately put it away. Editing was something I was totally unfamiliar with. And I would write in various states of mind. Sometimes drunk, sitting at the bar at McSwells and checking ID’s. Instead of me standing by the door, I was situated at the end, next to the brick wall.

I would get more than drunk sometimes and would wind up at someone’s apartment trying to be the DJ. I have several notebooks filled with drunken observations about the people drinking around me. Those are too strange to go back and read.

Still I have them in the closet. Perhaps one of these days I’ll use one of the entries after I tidy it up for public consumption. All for $50.00 and a burger. Oh and Guinness. Actually I think I was drinking mimosas. A pint of cheap champagne and just a dash of orange juice to give it color.

I don’t think I started drinking Guinness until I moved to Weehawken.

I was thinking today, yes I know, how’d that happen? But there I was thinking about the fact that I have been online for about 10 years. Roger Johansen lent me his Mac book and I just plugged in and immediately started surfing.

The first time I went anywhere really, was to Gay.com. I just went to the browser and typed in Gay.com. It was a different site than it is now and I did wind up spending a few years there. I made some friends and met a couple, the only one that I connected with was Juan, but not 10 years ago. I didn’t meet Juan online until about 4 years ago.

I think I took to the Internet naturally and couldn’t understand why people would take courses to lean how to surf the net. There was a point in the 1990’s when my then downstairs neighbor knew of some office computers that were being sold for $30.00.

Those weren’t as user friendly as the computers around today. Only a black screen with green fonts and the only communication was through a BBS, on which I offended some queen down the Jersey shore when the night before the Fourth of July I wished the group a happy co-dependence day.

Soon Harpy gave me my first computer actually, his used Packard Bell which was fun and did the job. Rand and I drove up to LaGrangeville in Rand’s hatchback one morning and of course Rand fixed it all up for someone like me.

I’m still grateful and plan on taking Rand and Lisa as well as Bill to dinner. I got a nice gift card for a few restaurants in Manhattan and would like to use it. An adult dinner, something that one gets dressed up for. That’s the plan.

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

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Well if Monday was mentally ugly today was even worse weather wise. This morning, on the way to work it was snowing, then it turned to freezing rain and now it’s just rain, coming down quite hard. It was a mess no matter which way you looked at it. If you had an umbrella it didn’t matter you were going to get wet.

Huge puddles, through which cars would splash making a wave onto sidewalks. I wisely avoided those streets were I knew there would be major puddles. Smart like that, I am, sometimes.

Last night was mellow. Watched O, no RM. Instead watched The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Both very funny of course. And then I watched Scrubs which is now on ABC. It definitely has a different feel to it.

Maybe because they characters are a little bit older, and it’s also Zach Braff’s last season as JD. They say the show might continue without Braff, but that all depends on the ratings. Tonight is Lost though and I am looking forward to it.

Work was very quiet today. Tom Chin was out due to the weather, Vivek mentioned that he would be coming in, in the afternoon. He wasn’t there when I left a little early at 4:10. It was just me and Greg Stevens.

It seems that I’ve become Greg’s computer guy. At least once a week I’ll hear Greg calling my name and I walk in there and he mentions that his computer is slow, or how do you do one thing or another. I don’t mind, he’s a good guy and with my limited knowledge of computers, I know more than Greg does and that in turn makes me a valuable asset to him at least.

At one point during the afternoon, 3 firetrucks were stopped in front of my building. It turns out there was an underground fire on the next block. There was an foul odor in the air, which was probably the smell of insulation burning. I

n the winter so much salt is thrown on sidewalks and streets that eventually seeps into the pavement corroding whatever wires and pipes lay beneath. It doesn’t happen instantly, it’s a process. Rust never sleeps and neither does corrosion.

A year or so ago a major explosion happened on Lexington Avenue in the middle of the street just as a truck was passing over. Truck went flying and the driver was hospitalized with major burns, the steam melting away skin and clothes.

You can never tell where something like that will happen since the infrastructure is old and in need of maintenance and repair. To make these repairs, rates would have to go up and since no one wants to pay higher rates, nothing really gets done and these underground fires and explosions happen more and more.

Now I’m watching the news and they’re saying there are a million people without power. So I’d better hurry up and finish tonight’s entry just in case the power goes out.

Today’s scenes

Park Avenue, Hoboken

Park Avenue, Hoboken

Washington Street, Hoboken

Washington Street, Hoboken

Bryant Park NYC

Bryant Park NYC

Firetrucks at 50th Street and Third Avenue

Firetrucks at 50th Street and Third Avenue