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STORIES FROM THE CAR CRYPT

Interesting collection of stories from automotive history, although I was disappointed to see nothing in there about the sweet Toyota Camrys.

Ferruccio Lamborghini was a successful manufacturer of farm equipment and the owner of a Ferrari 250GT with chronic clutch problems. When he sought an audience with the imperious Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari told him to go back to driving tractors as he certainly didn’t have the requisite skill to drive a Ferrari.

As it turned out, Lamborghini solved the problem by installing one of his tractor clutches in the Ferrari. But he vowed to get back at Ferrari by producing his own high dollar GT car. He succeeded with the 350GT and 400GT, cars generally regarded as the equal of contemporary Ferraris.

A few years later, Henry Ford II also sought revenge against Ferrari who backed out of a deal to sell Ferrari to Ford. The GT40 was born to spank Ferrari in international sports car racing.

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

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THOUGHT

Are there any other cities in the US or anywhere else in the world, excluding socialist or cooperative areas, that has a policy of rent control and rent stabilization? Update: San Francisco (and NYC of course).

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WEEKEND UPDATE

The next time I proclaim a social sabbatical please disregard it. After last weekend's debauchery, I stated that I needed a break from going out and such. How'd I do? Just two days after my proclamation: On Wednesday, I went to the Iron Man premier and drinks afterwards.

Thursday, I crashed a Univision party after work.

Saturday: Habana Outpost's block party. Drinks all day. Drinks all night at St Marks and a couple East Village parties.

Sunday: Russian Jewish party with open bar at 92Y followed by a late dinner in Chinatown.

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WEDNESDAY ITINERARY FOR MROD

We will be attending the premier of Iron Man on Wednesday at the Ziegfield Theater.  Thanks to Ben for the connect!  I may or may not have been a huge fan of this flawed comic book hero and could explain his personal struggles as well as provide a general overview of the abilities of the various iterations of the Iron Man powersuit.  So yea, I'm pretty stoked about this.  Please direct your jealousy and haterade towards Ben's blog.

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INTERESTING BIO

Kirk Kerkorian, currently the world's 41st richest individual according to Forbes, has led a really interesting life.

After the war, having saved most of his wages, Kerkorian spent $5,000 on a Cessna. He worked as a general aviation pilot, and made his first visit to Las Vegas in 1944. After spending much time in Las Vegas during the 1940s, Kerkorian quit gambling and in 1947 paid $60,000 for Trans International Airlines, which was a small air-charter service which flew gamblers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. He then bid on some war surplus bombers, using money on loan from the Seagrams family. Gasoline, and especially airplane fuel, was in short supply at the time, so he sold the fuel from the planes' tanks, paid off his loan - and still had the airplanes. He operated the airline until 1968 when he sold it for $104 million to the Transamerica Corporation.

There's a lesson here somewhere....Ah yes, got it!  Memo to self: Get commercial pilot license.

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LIES TOLD TO A 3 YEAR OLD

A list of "lies" told by a blogging father to his 3 year old. I find them poignant in a way and also wishing everything on the list was true! Also, I wish I could relive the period of my life when I still had that credulousness and sense of wonder. Here's a few from that list that I'm going to try really hard to believe is true.

  • Tiny bears live in drain pipes.
  • If you are very very quiet you can hear the clouds rub against the sky.
  • The moon and the sun had a fight a long time ago.
  • Books get lonely too.
  • Sadness can be eaten.

Relatedly, my friend IMs me this morning with the following.

C: So just a quick comment.

C: Probably too much information. But I've had some crazy gas.

C: And she's been sleeping.  So I'm just letting it rip.

Me: Nasty bro.

C: And she just woke up and goes, "That's gross. What's wrong with you??"

C: I couldn't help but just laugh and reply...

C: "There's a frog under the covers."

Me: Hahaha.

So there you have it, kids.  Frogs.

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QUOTE

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

- Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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BIKE ACCIDENT IMMORTALIZED ON GOOGLE MAPS

Talk about schadenfreude in the digital age. Google Map's street view is created with the assistance of a car that is outfitted with cameras, and these neutral eyes captures street incidents that are later immortalized on Google Map. Incidents such as this one of a kid falling off his bicycle. Haha.

And here's my FAIL contribution:

I was walking through Soho last summer and walked in front of one of those camera outfitted cars.

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LAST NIGHT'S PARTY: GROSS AFTERMATH.

So as you can infer from this entry I had a rough night yesterday from drinking too much.  After arriving home, I immediately proceeded to throw up outside by the curb.  This morning after grabbing some brunch, my friend Tony and I were walking past my apartment to the subway when he pointed at something on the ground and asked me if it was mine. I looked over and there on the curb was evidence of my shameful act.  Very gross:

My most sincere apologies for the owner of that vehicle.  I also thank the owner of the vehicle for providing something against which I could brace myself last night.

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