Saturday, February 21, 2026
The estimated population of Norway is 5.7 million people. That’s larger than Brooklyn and Queens put together. It has won 40 medals at the Winter Olympics so far. It must be the water.
. . .
We went to Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, for a solo performance by Mandy Patinkin. It was a full house and, while it was not compulsory, synagogue membership seemed desirable.
Patinkin is 73-years old, still quite nimble, but his voice shows signs of his age. The program was diverse, with some unexpected numbers (Bohemian Rhapsody!). Personally, I would have preferred more music associated with his career-defining roles in Evita and Sunday in the Park With George. For an encore, he sang Over the Rainbow in Yiddish (Iber dem regnboygn), a particular delight for me.
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Another view:
2026 Winter Olympic medals adjusted for population
| Norway | 3.3 | 2.2 | 2 | 7.5 |
| Switzerland | 0.7 | 1 | 0.9 | 2.6 |
| Austria | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.9 |
| Sweden | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.7 |
| Finland | 0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Netherlands | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
| Latvia | 0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 |
. . .
Our plans to have lunch in New Jersey with my brother and my niece were voided by the snowstorm. We were able, however, to make a shopping run to Trader Joe’s late morning with my fit and conditioned wife doing the heavy lifting.
Monday, February 23, 2026
The snow (19.7” in Central Park) has really shut things down. From our perch high above Amsterdam Avenue, we see very little vehicular traffic and the rare brave pedestrian.
My telemedicine appointment with Michael Perskin, Master Diagnostician, was canceled and the computer shopping trip with Mossad Moshe had to be postponed. I canceled tomorrow’s physical therapy session, assuming that getting to the bus stop would be exercise enough.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Richard Baker, pictured here, merged Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman into a luxury department store group 13 months ago. Now, it is in bankruptcy. I'm not sure when this photograph was taken, but it certainly gives me pause.
Although fully dressed, and probably expensively so, he is not wearing socks. All we see is his bony ankles. This is not a good look. At this moment, I am not wearing socks, but I have low end Birkenstocks on my feet. I am not poised to run a major commercial enterprise. If I planned to return to the business world in any capacity, I would put on socks.
. . .
I had my telemedicine appointment this afternoon and the doctor looked fine.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
A dream woke me up at 6 AM. I was being mocked for a business deal that I made in 1979. As it happens, it was one of the rare successes that my little computer company had in its brief lifespan. Once awake, I thought about how ineffective I was in building on that success and, now, a flood of ideas came on how to do the right thing. In 2026, I finally figured out how to succeed in business in 1979.
. . .
After the big snowfall, some things are easy and some hard. Hard was cleaning my car, parked outside. I did about 15% of the job before quitting in exhaustion. I don’t need it until tomorrow, so maybe a heat wave will come to my rescue.
Easy was walking with Stony Brook Steve to the Fairway Cafe, 2131 Broadway, for lunch. Sidewalks were clear, intersections passable, temperature tolerable. I had a grilled chicken sandwich on sourdough bread with Vermont cheddar cheese, arugula and aioli ($17). A generous portion of good French fries accompanied the sandwich.
. . .
In the evening, the good company of America’s Favorite Epidemiologist saved me from exposure to 108 minutes of presidential decadence.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
It’s not an original observation but brilliant that the Winter Olympics were created by knee surgeons who want boats.
. . .
If you like numbers, you’ll love this study of employment and earnings by college major done by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Engineers fared well along with finance and economics majors. On the other hand, the rewards for education majors are less likely material.
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