Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Saturday, October 16, 2026

As I was falling asleep while watching a college football game this afternoon, I heard talk about a player who had gone from Temple University to Wake Forest University to the University of Texas. I wonder if he ever got to classes with all the time needed to pack and unpack.

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Here's a kind of a dumb (spelled with a b) question: What state capital is spelled without a letter in its state's name? Try to answer without A.I.

Sunday, October 17, 2026

How much can you get elsewhere for the cost of one square meter of centrally located New York City residential property?

If your social life is more important to you than real estate values, consider where boys are or aren't.

Monday, October 18, 2026

If you think that you have found your bashert, consider where to relocate. 

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We went to hear Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark discuss Roy Cohn, subject of their latest book, American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump. They offered so many interesting tidbits about Roy Cohn, that evil genius, that their book goes to the top of my reading list. Cohn emerged as a public figure in the early 1950s and Bird claims that his influence is still present through Donald Trump, because little differentiates MAGA from McCarthyism. 

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After the talk, we went to lunch at the Grey Dog, 90 University Place. It is an aggressively funky place, with class photos, license plates, untreated lumber and exposed brick on the walls, and scattered references to the University of Michigan thanks to one of the owners. There are five other locations, presumably with similar decors. 

The menu is pub/dineresque. I ordered the Big House Burger, a thick patty and a generous order of French fries for $19. However, although the food came quickly, it was lukewarm as if it had been sitting in a corner. Also, the Diet Coke was refilled for another $4. Far from a winning combination and very disappointing. 

Tuesday, October 20, 2026

After a pleasant and encouraging visit with my cardiologist, I went over to what is now called The Hugh, a food court at the bottom of the Citicorp Center, 601 Lexington Avenue, named for Hugh Stubbins the building's architect. It contains 15 bars and restaurants and is buzzing at lunchtime. When I worked one block away in the 1980s, the space had few vendors and was relatively quiet except for random piano soloists.

I sat at the bar of the Joseph Brothers, where a half pound of prime roast beef is piled on a sandwich with as little or as much adornments as you choose ($15). I kept it simple with just horseradish mayonnaise and a side order of very many onion rings ($9). I found it strange that, while the Jamaican, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, Turkish, Israeli, Korean, West African, Thai and French joints nearby were busy, I was one of the few people eating American. My second Diet Coke was complimentary.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Palazzo di Gotthelf had no running water from 4 AM to 4 PM today, for scheduled maintenance. We placed pails of water strategically last night and both of us found things to do away from home during the day. I had lunch with Stony Brook Steve at Simply Noodles, 267 Amsterdam Avenue, a modest, but thoroughly reliable pan-Asian place where all 20 seats were kept occupied. 

I had chicken soup rice noodles, with a tea-stained egg, corn kernels, scallion, seaweed, tofu puffs, wood ear mushrooms, and lettuce ($17). It was very filling and very satisfying. 

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Unsatisfying was the change to the Trader Joe's store on Broadway at West 72nd Street that just reopened after more than four months to replace its elevator and escalators, critical to a store that begins at street level and then burrows two stories underground. It wasn't the new equipment that's at fault, although it has already been subject to breakdowns. Rather, I am perturbed by what has been removed.

Prior to the renovation, there were two antique bathrooms, that is gender specific or what used to be understood as gender, large enough for several patrons. They are now gone. When I questioned the manager, he suggested that I seek him out in case of an emergency. Presumably, he would tell you where you could find a bathroom nearby.

Friday, October 23, 2026

"Trump DOJ sues to block Alaska US Senate results if Republican incumbent loses."

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/23/politics/doj-sues-alaska-dan-sullivan-us-senate?cid=ios_app

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Answer -- Pierre, South Dakota