As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
Recent updates
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The surrounding darkness
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YouTube Rabbit Hole – Honda N Vans to Camper Vans
So, we started out watching a video about a girl going on a trip in an N-Van to a tourist destination in Japan, then watched the couple in the video above ride an actual Thomas the Tank Engine steam train in Japan followed by a stop at a scenic suspension bridge, and then I wound up watching a long, long video (below) of a guy living in a box conversion on the back of a Toyota pickup truck for the winter which was oddly relaxing. In each video, the people slept or lived in the back of their vehicles.
I think these kinds of videos appeal to me because there’s a sense of freedom involved in not being tied down to one location. There must be a lot of hidden costs and complexities involved, but it feels like simple living and an escape from reality while watching from this side of the screen.
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Upside down flag on a NYC TLC vehicle
This was last Tuesday, December 5th, around 5:20 PM heading north on I-278 near Cobble Hill in Brooklyn.
Besides being disrespectful to passengers, I didn’t think this kind or amount of political messaging was allowed on TLC licensed vehicles. Imagine ordering an Uber and having this show up. I wouldn’t want to get in and then I’d have to go through the hassle of disputing the cancellation fee.
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Pizzeria at 36 St. Mark’s tells 2 Bros customers to F— Off
I’ve never eaten at either spot, but can you imagine the drama that had to happen before the Pizzeria at 36 St Mark’s put up that sign? It must have been something to see.
Also, it’s just good manners to not sit down at a restaurant and eat food from a different restaurant there.
By the way, Udon West is open again, but under another name: Udon St. Mark’s. The place looks exactly the same inside and has the same menu as before as far as I remember. Maybe it’s a little cleaner, but it’s the same ambience. I kind of wonder if they didn’t have a fire and just needed time to renovate.
In any case, I’m glad they’re not temporarily closed for renovations forever like Two Little Red Hens on 2nd Ave and 86th St.
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A view from the northbound FDR
It’s nicer at night, when you can see the Empire State Building lit up, but it’s nice that there are certain sections of the FDR and other highways in New York City that offer worthwhile views of the city that you can’t get while on foot.
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A short walk in downtown Manhattan
I left work early today for an appointment in the Financial District. There’s no parking down there so I parked on the Lower East Side and, rather than take the bus, I decided to walk to get some exercise and to enjoy the sites and sounds of the city for a change.
Usually I’m rushing from place to place, but I planned a nice buffer between leaving the office and my appointment and I got lucky with parking, so I had almost two hours to spend on myself before I needed to check in at the dentist. I was thinking about something my wife told me about how I never take time to just walk around alone and enjoy myself.
I got lucky and found some really interesting art.
It’s a shame that most of it is painted on temporary barriers, but I guess that will make way for something new when they come down.
This art is located at 33 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003 (along Houston St) in First Street Green Cultural Park.
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Counting crows
I don’t recall seeing a lot of crows in this area, but I saw two on a light pole by the Petco in Teterboro, NJ. Hopefully it’s not a bad sign.
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Attempted break-in and slow NYPD response
My wife and I were watching a movie and we started to hear this banging noise from the hallway. When it went on for more than a few minutes, I stuck my head out the door to see what was going on and I saw this skinny crackhead looking dude in a heavy black coat banging on a door down the hall with some kind of tool.
I looked at him and he looked at me and he didn’t even care. He just kept banging on that door.
While I was looking down the hallway, the super’s wife opened her door across the hall and I waved her back inside and told her someone is breaking into an apartment down the hall. I took one more look at the guy and shut the door and called the police.
I placed that phone call at 5:50 PM.
We listened to the guy hitting the door and using what sounded like a hammer and chisel for about ten minutes. Then we got bored and went back to watching our movie.
Twenty minutes later, we heard an altercation in the hallway so I went and looked again and the building super was running the guy off.
The police never showed up. I called 911 again and asked why the police hadn’t responded to a report of a man hammering his way through the door of an apartment. The operator told me that the “job [was] in the system” and she wasn’t sure why there was a delay in my area.
I could only say, “very reassuring” and ended the call.
The NYPD finally responded an hour after my first call. One hour. The criminal got away because the NYPD failed to respond in a timely fashion, which means the guy will probably be back. What if he had attacked someone in the hallway?
Thankfully, the door held. Even if there was no one home, no one deserves to have all of their property stolen or vandalized, or to possibly have pets injured because the NYPD was too busy eating donuts to respond to a call. We’re supposed to trust them to help us when we need them but how can we?
They don’t show up for 311 calls for noise or huge numbers of double and triple parked cars blocking the road, or parked on the sidewalk. They don’t show up for a crime in progress. Will they really show up and save you?
You can’t rely on the police to save you or even to help you, only to write a report about how you got wasted after the fact. We need more 2A friendly laws in New York City so regular citizens don’t become victims due to lax policing and even laxer sentencing.
Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog 