Category: Uncategorized

I haven’t been posting a lot lately because I have been a bit busy. This heat wave we are having in NYC isn’t helping. When I am home the last thing I want to do it sit with a hot computer on my lap. I have been clicking around though. In my wanderings I found a site (I have no idea where, although something is telling me it was via Swiss Miss) of free ideas. Who knows, maybe your next big project is here waiting for you!

Today I did something new for lunch. A group of us from work went for conveyor belt sushi. As you are sitting at your table or the sushi bar, the sushi comes to you and you can pick whatever looks good. The way we were set up we had a spotter and two grabbers. Pricing is easy because each plate costs a certain amount. We got lucky and it was half off tuna day and I love tuna. Conveyor belt sushi is a little like dim sum in that you start grabbing things because you are hungry and if you aren’t careful pretty soon you have more than you can eat. Luckily I realized this before I grabbed way too much. I even ended with a cream puff… although on my first bite, half the cream squirted out onto the table. It was still delicious. I would try it again for sure.

One of our conference speakers was Liz Lambert, the woman behind the Hotel San Jose and El Cosmico along with architects Lake/Flato. Her projects and way of thinking really struck a real chord with me. For a while M&I have talked about using our property for an artist live work space while reusing as much as we can of what is there. When I heard Liz, a former Manhattan DA talk about how she took this rundown place for people down on their luck in a not great part of town and turn it into a boutique hotel whose mission was to give back to the community and make it a better place for all, not only those who could afford to stay there I was memorized. When I made the trip down South Congress to see it, I fell in love. This was the place I dream of when I think about what I want on the property. The wood slat walls, the concrete structures covered in ivy, the steel and canvas patio cover… I am swooning. I didn’t have my camera with me, but I met someone who was also at the conference on the way who happened to have a very nice Canon and she let me take some pictures with the promise to let me know when she put them on the internet. Lisa, if you are reading this, thanks again and I can’t wait to see them!

I am in Austin for a conference which starts today and yesterday I was able to poke around a bit on my own. Cute little city. One of the highlights was watching the bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Apparently Austin has always had a large bat population and when the Congress Bridge was renovated in 1980 the bats all had a place to call home. There are around 1.5 million bats living in the narrow deep openings of the bridge making it the largest urban bat colony. Around dusk people start to gather on the Southeast corner of the bridge, on the grassy area next to the bridge and in boats underneath. A little after sunset my friend and I started to hear the little guys pour out right under where we were standing. When lights flashed or the boats would shine a red light upwards we could see them coming out in a frenzy flying in a winding ribbon into the city. Needless to say I did not get one mosquito bite while in Austin!

People, please make sure there are not your passwords!

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. blink182
10. (your first name)

via

On our trip to New Zealand, being a very geeky group (2 computer programmers, 1 IT consultant and 1 gadget girl) we talked a lot about technology and what we thought would be cool. One thing we thought would be really handy was a travel guide that we could download to our hand held device. With airline weight allowances getting lower and lower it seems a waste to use it on a travel book. Those things can be weighty! Enter Schmap. This would have been so helpful. I especially like the fact that there is a version you can download just in case you can’t get internet easily or cheaply, which was the case in NZ.

We all want to be a little greener. And it seems like the best way to be green when it comes to cars is to to buy a new state of the art hybrid with excellent gas mileage, right? I mean, obviously a Prius is better than say a 1998 Honda Civic. Well, maybe not. According to this article in Wired, the Prius comes to you in carbon debt because of the energy used to make it. Just to work off this debt it will take about 46,000 miles of driving. Also take into account the fact that a used car has already worked off its carbon debt. So now depending on gas mileage of the used car you are considering, that Prius will have to go another 100,000 miles before it catches up! Phew that is a lot of driving. The articles points to a few cars as having very good gas mileage but also links to this handy site to compare models. New is shinier, but not always better.

I carry around a lot of cards in my wallet. The drug store, the grocery store, my yoga studio, the library all have cards with barcodes which I carry. Luckily most of them are the ones that are supposed to fit on a keychain which means they are smaller and I can put them in my change pocket of my wallet. I like my keys uncluttered. Today I saw two brilliant solutions. One was the Just One Club Card. From 5 cards down to 1. Not back. But then I saw this solution. You scan all of your cards, front and back. When it comes time to scan the barcode, pull up the picture on your iPod Touch (or iPhone) and the teller should be able to scan. What could be better than getting rid of all of your cards and using a device you are already carrying? Pretty sweet.

This is getting ridiculous. Imagine me in bootcamp. The home stretch. I am tired, but I am going to make it. I am definitely better than I have been before. Pushups, jumping jacks, pull ups, sprint up the hill, down the hill, running running running, up the stairs, CRUNCH! That crunch is my ankle… my “good” ankle. I screamed for M and he came running. I cried because it hurt, I cried because it is going to set me back goodness knows how long. I limped home. I rested, iced, compressed and elevated my foot. I am mad. Mad because I did bootcamp to jump start a fitness regimen… now all I jump started is recovery. At least I can walk. At least there is no soccer for three weeks so I don’t feel like I am missing anything. WHY???

Holy cow I have been busy. Expect to see something from me this weekend. I am going to ICFF and I am really excited.