Monday, August 28, 2017
Last week, I was regarding my legacy, unwanted books, LPs and various collectibles that few others might consider collecting. Now, Rudi G., my favorite Latvian, informs me that my pile of expendables, what others might cruelly label junk, has swollen. His new Toyota and other 2017 model vehicles that he examined no longer have a CD player. That made me realize that our 2016 Lexus has a single CD player instead of the six CD player in the 2006 Lexus that it replaced. Suddenly, the future of my 800 CD collection looks very bleak. It apparently has been Pandoraed and Spotifyed into obsolescence.
Meanwhile, Rudi and I are considering giving our stuff to each other, eliminating the concern that it will suffer an anonymous fate.
. . .
I am agonizing over the old axiom "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Jeff Sessions as my new BFF?
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Yesterday's real estate section had some interesting figures on new home construction. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/0
Comparing year-to-date residential construction permits to historic averages, the survey found that Austin, Texas leads the nation, with 5 of the 10 top spots in the Sun Belt. Worcester, Massachusetts, Allentown, Pennsylvania and New Haven, Connecticut show the greatest decline, which might reflect their age as municipalities, long built up with limited room to grow. However, Philadelphia and Boston are fourth and fifth in new home construction. Maybe it's better to be a big old city than a not-so-big old city.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
The New York Times today writes about DNA ancestry testing.
Our dear friend and Commendable Citizen Marcia Hadad Ikonomopoulos has just had a very interesting result for her ancestry testing. Rather than using DNA, she submitted a full face photograph to an outfit that uses software recognition to discern ethnic patterns and origins, or so it would have you believe. Marcia, as her last name indicates, has a strong Greek connection and, in fact, is an authority on Greek Jewry past and present. However, this arose through marriage. She actually is able to trace her Sephardic roots to the Iberian Jews expelled in 1492. So, it was quite a surprise for the analysis of her visage to yield the following results:
Puerto Rican 53%
Han Chinese 24%
Native American 18%
European Jewish 5%
To me, it sounds like the making of a great restaurant.
. . .
"[W]hen it was New York and New Jersey hit hard by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, all but one Texas Republican in Congress ― Rep. John Culberson ― voted against a $50.5 billion package to help people in those states."
How exciting that the good Republicans should be able to implement a small government, market-driven solution to Hurricane Harvey relying on personal responsibility.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
As the waters keep rising in Texas, the New York Times reports that "Parts of Houston might receive 50 inches of rain before the storm ends. That's equivalent to all of the precipitation from the past 13 months in the Manhattan area — in just one week."
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My brother has been digging up old publications; possibly he is finally trying to see the floor of his apartment. He just came up with this item from the Observation Post, one of CCNY's two student newspapers, from April 19, 1956.
Besides the quaint thought that admission to a concert might be only $1, this event was very special to me. It was the first jazz concert that I ever attended, and maybe the first live concert of any sort, barring a performance of the Berriman Junior High School Orchestra.
I remember it distinctly after these few years. I still marvel that my brother agreed to take me where I might mix with his college friends; then, the excitement of the event itself. Aside from Charles, né Cohen, the leader, I recall three members of the group, Hall Overton, piano (the name stuck with me), Don Butterfield, tuba (so unusual that it was easy to remember) and the immortal Charlie Mingus on bass. Mingus confirmed his presence in a conversation that we had in 1964, after a concert in Ithaca. While the group made only one recording, its personnel shifted track to track and I am trying to avoid conflating musicians on the album with those on stage that night.
Back to economics for a moment. The subway fare in 1956 was 15¢, about 1/18 of the current rate, necessitating the first subway token in New York, while "[t]he average price of a concert ticket during the first six months of the year [2017] was $46.69."
Thursday, August 31, 2017
For the almost 14 years that I worked downtown in the court system, I relied on my eyes and ears to pick out places to have lunch as I wandered around the fertile neighborhood surrounding the courthouse at 60 Centre Street. Now, I have to read about and research places and make a plan to get to them. I just came across First We Feast, a web site given to making lists, my second favorite thing to do with restaurants. I found their list of best local sandwiches interesting and I took a suggestion from it today.
I took the subway to Chambers Street, the station that I got on or off just about every weekday when working, and headed to Hank's Juicy Beef, 84 Chambers Street. It's been open about a year, but went unnoticed on my rare post-retirement trips. It's an airy cube about 15 feet a side, with an almost entirely glass facade. Waist-high black subway tile waist-high runs around the interior. There is little else in the way of decor. Six two tops and four stools against a ledge leave a lot of empty floor space. Orders are placed at the counter opposite the entrance, and, if you're staying, delivered to your seat.
The menu is very simple, featuring "Hank's Juicy Beef," shaved roast beef, topped with "giardiniera," Italian-style pickled vegetables, on a roll. You have a choice of hot or mild versions. A quarter-pounder is $7.95, a half-pounder is $10.95. Other sandwich choices are sausage, hot dog or eggplant parm. Four dollars adds fries, curly or steak, and a fountain drink with free refills, a real bargain.
I had a half-pounder, mild, with superb curly fries. I liked the sandwich, but allow me to recommend that you wear a lab coat when eating it. It's messy. The "jus" runneth over. That may explain why only one woman came into the joint while I was there and she was waiting for her order when I left, so she might have only asked for a cup of coffee. Fortunately, the clean, single-occupancy bathroom allowed me to scrub up before hitting the street.
Friday, September 1, 2017
To prevent myself getting entirely disoriented, I sought out Di Di Dumpling, 38 Lexington Avenue, a hole in the wall, the wall itself actually on East 24th Street, right off Lexington Avenue. The room in front of the counter to order, wait and eat in on the six stools at either the tiny ledge or the very small ledge is five feet deep by 12 feet wide. Fortunately, most customers seem to take their food to go, allowing some space to chow down, but certainly not linger.
Di Di does dumplings, I should have resisted saying. Fillings are pork, beef, chicken or vegetable and they may be boiled (called juicy dumplings) or pan fried (called pot stickers). In all instances, 5 pieces are $3.95, 10 pieces $7.25 and 15 pieces $10.25, a big bargain by non-Cbhinatown standards. Soup and vegetarian lo mien are also regularly available. After I ordered 5 chicken juicy dumplings and 5 beef pot stickers, I saw a paper sign for cold sesame noodles with chicken for a mere $3.95. Next time.
Service was efficient, one woman taking orders another cooking. The boiled chicken dumpling was well prepared, but bland. The beef in the pot sticker was nicely spiced and, I'll let you in on a secret, I like fried food.
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