Does Customer Feedback Determine Web Spending?

In the March 2007 Wired, the piece on online recommendation systems is really eye opening. As an online consumer, I look at these, read them closely, and sometimes make spending decisions on them, to an extent. Check out the chart within the link called Four Ways to Manipulate the Mob. It's so evident that these online-rating systems are hacked aggressively by those who want to give online businesses cred. Another, scarier method is the "Sybil Attack"-online identities that these grifters create (named after the infamous psychology patient with more than a dozen distinct personalities), writing a bogus favorable review, which boosts their rating, then auctioning off ten of thousands of dollars in merchandise that's never sent.

il laboratorio del gelato

I have been raving about il laboratorio del gelato for a long time, ever since I wandered past the Orchard Street location a few years back and peered into the "laboratory." At that point I had never been to Italy, and friends would always rave about the Italians' superior-tasting gelato. That summer day on Orchard a friend and I sampled several of the available flavors and were floored with the ingenuity, freshness, and incredible taste of its creations: Flavors like wasabi, black sesame, black mission fig, and cheddar cheese, ingredients that one would think were not suited for gelato became delicious treats. I’ve been to Italy since dear reader, and have had gelato up and down the country's south-central coast, and they’ve got nothing on this place. I haven't been down to the Lower East Side locale in a bit, but just found out several flavors are available at Whole Foods at Union Square. Sweet!

Celebrate Ornette Coleman

Today is Ornette Coleman's 77th birthday. For those of you who may not be acquainted with his music, when he showed up in NYC after recording an intriguing first record-according to the now-legendary story-during a six-week run (was originally slated to be two weeks but was extended b/c of the huge crowds) at the Five Spot, everyone showed up. Miles, Sonny Rollins, Diz, Monk, Coltrane, you name it- and all of the jazz critics of the day. His style was so unorthodox, so different that they all had to come out and see him. I provided an explanation of his melange of sound he called harmolodics here, but no matter what it says, it's best to listen. Today NYC's Columbia U radio honors him by playing his music for 24 hours straight- the WKCR birthday broadcast. I am streaming the broadcast right now thru iTunes. Give it a listen.

Blind Tiger is Back

When I lived in NJ the Blind Tiger Ale House on Hudson St was always the last stop for a nightcap for two reasons.
1. It was directly across from the Christopher St PATH station.
2. They had a great selection of craft beers. I had already moved to NYC when they relocated to Bleeker St. I recently passed by and saw that they had lost their liquor license. Bah! According to NY Mag's Grub Street they got it back! Stop by and welcome them back into the neighborhood.Here's the skinny.

Bob Dylan + The Band "The Last Waltz"

Yup, Scorsese again. Dylan as usual kills it. As does the Band...love the song selection. A joy to watch in the morning before I start my day in the office.

Ted Leo's new CD out March 20th

On the subway this morning as I drip-dried among the straphangers, "Hearts of Oak" by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists came on my iPod. Love that song. The lyrics stand as a great post 9-11 message from a person of my generation. I also love Ted b/c he's from NJ, is a hardcore vegan, writes a lot of good music, has strong political views and is not afraid to express them, and is an excellent live performer. I saw him at Maxwell's and was blown away. Looking forward to the new record on his new label coming out March 20th. Catch him on his current tour.

Forest's been great for years

Forest Whitaker deserved it. I've been a fan of his since Fast Times but really was blown away (!) by his performance in Bird. The dude learned to play alto-if you watch the film, look at his fingering; plus great direction by Clint Eastwood, he's a jazz head like me. Then came the 90s, first with Smoke and then Ghost Dog. Great films-both really hold up. You knew something would happen, i.e. he'd get recognized for a great body of work and it did. Bravo...
Same goes for Martin Scorsese-look at what he's done over his career. Good night to see them both win but too long...

The genius of Dead Man

I really love the opening sequence to Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man. The movie, for those of you who do not know of it, is brilliant. The music you hear in the opening sequence is by Neil Young, who scored the entire film.

Subway Blues

Subway Blogger inspired me - You know who you are, rude straphanger! Why do you feel the need to take up two seats on the subway? Ok some people are bigger than others and just can't help that they need more than the alloted space on those little seats. But the rest of you - seriously. cool it. Some dude sat next to me today and basically sat on my freaking lap. Yeah, I had to move over so my butt is on that hard crack betweeen the seats-that's real comfortable. so i get up and he gives me a look . whatever turn up the iPod man. Look around the train today. you deserve as seat as well. take it and be comfortable...

Been having a real hard time posting. let's blame it on work. The real story is that I stopped working at home: No computing at home means no work at home- I was signing on and checking work email, etc. It lasted for a while but...

Several shots from the last several months

These two are of Harbor Springs, Michigan. An amazing little town just south of the Upper Peninsula. The harbor pictured is one of the world's deepest inland harbors, over 200 feet. August 2005.
Santa Cruz Harbor, March 2006. That's a sea otter in the middle of the frame. They're common here.
A panoramic from several shots I took and then joined together using Autostitch
A lighthouse on the California coast, March 2006.

Can't concentrate this morning so I'd figured, post a few pics then go back to work. These shots are of the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. May 2006.

Firefighters Memorial

Our company boat is down at North Cove Marina which is right at Ground Zero. I've been down there countless times in the last two years and always walk past the hole when the towers once stood. I've kind of gotten used to it. That all changed yesterday, the day after the five-year mark of the attacks. Tributes were everywhere-pictures, flowers, handwritten notes, you name it. To me the FDNY Memorial was most powerful. There were many rubbings from the memorial that included all the names of the firefighters lost with notes from children, wives, fathers and mothers, husbands, etc. It was very moving and I wished I had photographed it but I was almost in a daze as I looked at it. It felt as if I were among ghosts. Above are a few pics I found online.

South Central Italy

For Labor Day 2005 I was in Sorrento, Italy on business, checking out a new boat from Apreamare. Took some extra time to see that area of the country and feast on the superb cuisine... here's some pics from Pompeii, etc..

What's Playing?

It's a truly rare Friday evening off from my duties as a father. Was thinking of catching a movie but seriously there's nothing out that interests me. Saw Little Miss Sunshine last week and enjoyed it. That movie Half-Nelson sounds good but not the type of movie that I want to see in the theater. So I was thinking of the Film Forum or a number of other theaters that show new prints of older films. BAM is now in the midst of a Sam Peckinpah festival, the director of Straw Dogs and many other violent films-- my favorite by him may be Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid. It also has an excellent score/soundtrack by Bob Dylan. He's got a bit part in it as well.

The $100 laptop

Sometimes there's a real inspiring, innovative feature that I'll find in my daily troll of the day's events. Never mind the day's distractions of Jon Benet and the lengths business travelers will have to go thru to brush their teeth, shave, etc. in some Marriot in Dallas.
It's all about the $100 laptop; Yves Behar, who runs San Francisco's Fuse Project, embarked on designing this for children of the Third World. Note the power crank, the bright colors that kids will love. Wired ran a feature about this last month-- it breaks down the details and features of the laptop, such as it's rabbit-ears attennas that'll give it as 1/2 mile 802.11 wireless range, built-in handle, heavy-duty rubberized casing, a touchpad that supports both drawing and typing, and impressive built-in software. Very cool.

It's Hot!

At 3pm in NYC it's 97 degrees with a heat index of 108. Yikes! I'd rather have three weeks of rain than a heat wave. For some reason the older I get the more the heat really bothers me.
Truth is I really don't know what to do besides drink a lot of water and stay outta the sun. Coping with a heat wave for me is doing almost everything indoors and I love being outside.
Once when I was about 14 I got heat exhaustion and fainted in the bank by my parents house-I had been riding my bike without water on a terribly hot day. I woke up and the EMTs helped me out. They gave me a drug test. wow

We Jam Econo

I love this guy. I still listen to the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime all the time. A friend of mine Jason S. used to tell me how great this band is like nearly 20 years ago when we worked together at a marina in suburban NJ. Well Watt is still at it touring with Iggy Pop and the Stooges and playing with myriad folks all over. A great guy, always with something interesting to say. I watched some of the live performances from We Jam Econo and they are awesome. Cannot wait to see documentary that Web site describes as : "The acclaimed feature-length documentary on the too-brief life of one of the most revered, intriguing, and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and singer and guiatrist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking band which refused to be categorized as Punk. The film weaves together personal tales from Watt and drummer George Hurley with archival interview footage of the band and rare live performances. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists, and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the tragic 1985 death of D. Boon in a highway accident in the Arizona desert. "

No AC Blues

There's no A/C in my office building, for the second day in a row. This is my only salvation. I love sweating while I type. Anyway I saw an old friend this weekend and her new baby. It seems many peeps I know either have/are having children or trying to get preggers. But how many people these days actually plan and succeed in getting pregnant? Sure they will tell you that their kids were planned; be wary of this (maybe I am a cynic). But how come when people are truly, obviously planning to have children they can never get pregnant. That is sad to me, the amounts of $$ spent and heartache and difficulties couples face when they're not successful in conceiving. My point could be adoption, or how kids are so great; i dunno. It's too hot to think clearly.

Smart Cars Coming to US!

I was chatting about these cars with a family friend last weekend who just returned from Italy. It seems our wishes are coming true. It'll get screwed up and delayed, but let's hope that it's happening.

What's Your Secret Wound?

I have been reminded over the past several days that people really like to be miserable. One incident sticks in my mind, because I was personally involved. It was Thursday afternoon, as I was getting off the crowded 4 train. As I walked off someone was shoving me from behind. After the third shove I turned around and saw this little woman, Crackberry in hand, and when I made eye contact she yelled (I say yelled as I had my headphones on loud and heard her clearly) "What the f**k are you looking at? Walk!" Wow. All I could do was laugh and think immediately that this is an angry person. And yes, I wanted to go right back at her, but I just didn't. I like to think it was foresight-likely it was the fact that as I turned forward directly in front of me was a man with his two small children and I was reminded of my own son. And how if he witnessed this woman's behavior he'd likely be scared. So I let it go. She clearly wanted a confrontation, and I didn't give in.
Something else happened this weekend and like so many incidents, it was dust in 15 minutes. But again I was reminded that misery loves company, and that the spaghetti Western maestro Sergio Leone title says it best when describing human nature: there's good, bad, and ugly. And all of us have the capacity to be all three. I certainly have. I write this because this morning on the way to work I was reading Italo Calvino and he said "We all have a secret wound which we are fighting to avenge." So true brother.