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All responses Most smiled responses
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asked by WISM(This reply is 3 weeks late)
Goldman is the most fearsome shark in the sea, but sharks are not inherently evil... and no one is asking anyone to remove all sharks from the ocean and extinct them, so I don't know why we should kill off all market-makers and investment bankers. I agree entirely with Warren Buffett when it comes to Goldman.
(I might be biased as someone who previously worked for Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, AND Lehman Brothers in non-banking roles. But only in the sense that I hated all of those jobs)
I'll stop short of saying that any particular regulatory remedy to the problems in the banking sector are necessary or helpful. Some might help, some might make things worse, or some might not make any difference because they'll just be circumvented, too. I would like to see more time being spent discussing how the self-destructive behavior of the market participants is the real problem that deserves a real solution. But most people can't even figure out ATM fees. (Including investment bankers!) That discussion may never happen. So, good luck and God bless, everyone. It'll just get bumpier here on out. -
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asked by WISM
Ah, so someone finally brought up one of the actual benefits of living in Murray Hill! Yes, if you ever come across E28th and Lexington during daytime hours, you will be amazed at how many damn cabs are around... this is because it's the spot for great Indian food that does not require sit-down arrangements.
Unfortunately, I don't have much of an answer to this... for one thing, I don't usually go for veggie meals. I do eat meat-based dishes all the time, but the thing is that Carolyn already did the scouting for me, and she introduced me to Dhaba (27th and Lex) and we've eaten take-out at least once a week since last October. Yes, ONCE A WEEK. (The one other place I've sampled, Curry in a Hurry, was underwhelming, even for being a fast-food version) So, that's my only recommendation. Despite my lack of widespread experience in the 'hood, I'm more than willing to give other places (veggie or meat) a try!
And while we're here in the SEA isle: the original Baogette (25th and Lex) is pretty awesome, and the newer one + "Thao Noodle" (20th and 3rd) has really awesome pho & bun. We're waiting for the newer one to begin taking delivery orders, but in the meantime the original is on Seamless Web. (As is Dhaba, also) -
Well, there really isn't much to it, and I spend the bulk of my work and leisure time in other places -- when I'm not inside our apartment, which sort of doesn't count as neighborhood time.
It's fairly conveniently located, though... close enough to the places where I like to hang out, and pretty close to work too.
Where I wonder what use a lot of these neighborhoods are, especially if you're not filthy rich. Everything south of 14th Street is now veering toward theme park status, and that may be nice for some but is kinda lame in general. Sometimes I felt like eating out on the LES was like ordering the lasagna at the Italy pavilion at EPCOT Center. (FYI: two thumbs down for BaoHaus. Too expensive, too slow, and not tasty enough.) The parts of the city I enjoy the most are little outposts in otherwise completely disintegrated neighborhoods, as the only businesses that seem to be able to cluster lately are banks and pharmacies. (Or supermarkets that resemble chain pharmacies more than they resemble supermarkets) I can't defend any particular neighborhood for having the right mix of storefront clusters unless it's a neighborhood that's cripplingly expensive to live in. (Like Tribeca)
Interestingly, the Second Avenue Subway and the 7 train extension could change this a lot in Manhattan. Then again, there's still quite a few neighborhoods with great transit access but with nothing except cell phone stores and Chinese food.
BTW, wherever you live sucks too. -
Not a question, eh?
Well, the intent was not to bitch about people having fun, and people will back me up on that. Rather, there were two elements of the whole thing that didn't sit with me easy:
* I've been curious to go down there for years, but I've lacked the means. Even with travel and lodging spoken for, it's still a week away from home PLUS a not-cheap festival badge. I probably wouldn't pay $600 for any NYC-based interactive conference, either. And there is absolutely no other requirement to show up except the $$$ and the available time (which is partially during workweeks). So it is definitely an event for the privileged. I resent the fact that I work in an industry where privilege is such a strong factor in determining both career opportunities and recognition. Some refuse to admit this because it would suggest that it was something other than their own overwhelming intellectual and cunning superiority that got them where they are right now. (That doesn't make for great newspaper articles about tech founders.)
* Everyone goes down there for what is ostensibly an industry conference, including a lot of people who are going on someone else's dime, and they instead act as if they were at a festival. Which it is, by name! It's a week of drinking, eating, and schmoozing. While I don't begrudge anyone for taking a week off, I find it misleading that anyone would claim that anything going on down there is anything BUT a week off, and obnoxious that anyone would hype themselves up so much to the world for having attended. It's just not that interesting! And it baffles me that so many people claim that it is! What if I got tickets to Coachella and sent out 200 tweets in a week about it? You'd think I was a prick.
Add these things, plus the obnoxious commercialism on display (just an endless amount of product hawking going on down there, drowning out any attempt to talk about real problems and real projects), and what you've got is... a microcosm of the very pathetic worst parts of this industry.
Most of my anger issues with this, as with many things, have nothing to do with me being bitter about my life, which is very very blessed. They stem from the fact that I restrain myself from approaching very specific people to tell them how wrong and how stupid (and how destructive) they are, because their stupidity makes me self-righteous. As a consolation, I write a few vaguely-targeted incendiary rants, then move on. Some people around here remember that I used to name names... I'm improving. -
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I do not own a vehicle. I would like to have one of those well-outfitted vans with an entire bedroom in the cargo area. Or a camper van, which is much less visually appealing but more useful for camping and tailgating. I'm all about tailgating.
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You can't just pick one. So many are so good.
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asked by barbetti
The camera is still around, I just have little use for it lately. I'm not doing the party circuit stuff anymore because there's nothing creatively worthwhile about it anymore... people throw boring parties and I've already seen it all. One nice thing lately is that I actually participate in more events rather than hang out on the sideline with a big heavy glass/metal device dangling from my neck. Taking care of the camera puts a lot of limits on what I can do, so it's great not to have it at times. Also... the big camera is nice but the iPhone captures 80-90% of what I need in snapshots, and that's enough for now.
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A good question for Presidents' Day. I have the day off. Yes, I started a new (permanent!) job and haven't mentioned it because I didn't want to jinx the whole thing. I haven't had much otherwise to discuss lately, so I'm not sitting around day/night trying to figure out what to say for some daily quota or something. I have been reading the dashboard at night, though...
I want to reiterate a point that I've made a bunch of times in various essays (many of which were longer than a paragraph and probably too much for most of you to get through): These free online services, especially for things like "social networking", are very nice to have, but there are more worthwhile things to do than to sit around all day on them. Sure, if you're unemployed (as long as you're actively participating in the job market) and doing the whole "stay home all day" thing, you have as much free time as a kid on summer break - so do whatever it takes to stay engaged. But there's always something else you can be doing to put yourself ahead. These online things are distractions, and they're built that way. It's better if you have some sort of thing going on that takes away all your online play time. And don't worry about anything you're "missing"; even if you feel the need to do so, six hours of daily reading can be done in 15 minutes in the evening. No regrets if I spend 90% less time on here, I'll get enough out of the remaining 10%.
(Though Tumblr gets me writing a lot, and the extra writing practice is something I'd like to keep up) -
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I am not sure what the equation is for this sort of thing, but I must be a successful enough entertainer to keep the interest of... whoever. People don't even ask questions with their real names. 90% of the questions could have come from someone trying to embarrass me. So I can't even tell you that you SHOULD want more questions, never mind HOW you would do it. (It's sort of like giving you the plans for a bomb without saying anything about how you should or shouldn't use it.)
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At a younger age I thought I'd find it as I went along, and I think I found it: seriously, just do what it takes to eat, or you will be eaten. This is not just a bad economy, this is a buyers' market for talent, virtue, and soul. Seller beware.
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Also: I have never had an issue where my height was a practical disadvantage. Socially, however, people bring it up as if I should be ashamed of it, and sometimes use it to counteract my opinions (as if what I just said was nonsense because I'm short, therefore discreditable). I used to rant a lot about that because I thought it mattered, and sometimes it DOES matter. But my canned response nowadays: get better material, morons.
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BrianVan.
or: Krucoff.
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Brian Van’s Bio
something about yourself, but keep it short
