Life in NYC (and Princeton)

Obesity tax

Governor David Paterson proposed a substantial tax on soft drinks in an effort to combat childhood obesity in the State of New York. Reducing childhood obesity is a wholly admirable goal and cigarette taxes are widely lauded as a key driver in declining smoking rates, but targeting an entire class of beverages (and eventually food products) could be quite an administrative challenge. Perhaps it would be more effective to stop subsidizing the high fructose corn syrup that make soft drinks sugary in the first place, but I digress…

Reports of my blogging retirement have been greatly exaggerated...

Notable things have occurred since my last post was published on June 3, 2007.

 

Personal events have ranged from incredibly exciting (engaged and married) to exciting (new first cousin once removed, new dog, new house, new car) to mundane (new commute, renewed exposure to gasoline prices) to scary (new dog has a broken leg) to quite scary (mugged at gunpoint). Public events have also been exciting (new president) and scary (only my grandmother can remember a worse economic environment). 

 

Despite the occurrence of such highly bloggable events, I also got away from writing this blog.

 

I will attempt to write more often.

May Recap

It's been quite a while since my last post, but I'll do my best to summarize my activities during the month of May.  The links lead to see pictures of everything.

Rylie

We went down to see Rylie for the first time and Christie took some pictures.  It was starting to seem like everyone had seen her except us!

Graduation

Christie graduated from Columbia!  Lots of people traveled to NYC for the ceremony and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Traveling

Christie and I went on a Caribbean cruise for 10 days following her graduation.  The ship stopped in Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas, and Bermuda (my favorite). I found that cruises are very relaxing, but also quite crowded with people.

Reading

• Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel
• Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault
• Bartolome de las Casas' account of Spanish colonization of the West Indies
• Economist's Guides to Capital Markets and Wall Street
• Collection of essays by Friedrich Nietzsche
• Thus Spoka Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Expense Report

Too much...

I've been reading Nietzsche lately, mostly outside since the weather has been so nice.

Expense Report

Day 235, $0

Day 236, $0

Day 237:

• Lunch, $5
• Cleaners, $22.75

Day 238:

• Lunch, $4.05

Day 239:

• Morton Williams, $27.43

Day 240:

• Barnes and Noble, Free!
• Morton Wiliams, $7.72

Day 241:

• Lunch at Cafeteria, $1.80
• Drinks at 12 Chairs (in the Village), $15.55

Day 242, $0

88 Degrees

Sidewalk cafe weather is here!  Let's hope it lasts...

Expense Report

Day 234:

• Deli, $4

Cat Walking and Squirrel Stalking

I ventured twice into Riverside Park on Saturday. First for a long run and second to read at a patio bar/cafe along the Hudson River.  The picture on the left shows the view from my table.  To my left was the Hudson and to my right was a wide, boulevard-like walking/running path and a field with a volleyball game underway. The weather was beautiful and the sun shining, but the unseasonably warm weather, combined with bare trees, meant there was a dearth of shade.  It was a bit sweaty...

On Sunday, I went over to Columbia's campus to read and, in a stroke of luck, happened upon an ethnic music festival. I sat on the lawn, listened to the music, finished a book by Daniel Dennett and observed those around me. The variety of music reminded me of my ethnomusicology class in college and the passersby kept me thoroughly entertained.  One man attempted to hand feed a squirrel and came out looking like Rambo stalking the Soviets.  Next, a couple appear out of nowhere with a cat in a basket.  They attempted to leash the cat--in the middle of a loud music festival--and take it for a walk.  I have never in my life seen a successful cat walking.  Within seconds the cat escaped the leash apparatus and climbed a tree.  The cat was still in the tree-albeit a bit lower-when I left about an hour later.

In other news, Christie set a world record by spending an entire day buying things on the internet!

Book Reviews

In his "In Praise of Idleness," British philosopher Bertrand Russell offers his opinions on a variety of subjects--including the merits of hard work. The book is a collection of essays written during the approximate period 1920-1935. He writes as Europe descends into an environment of extreme political ideology, namely the rapid development of communism and fascism.

Russell wears many hats and delves into nearly everything. The essays range from very serious (Fichte and the history of fascism) to humorous (man vs. insects). As a trivia buff, Russell's defense of "useless knowledge" is refreshing. As a disciple of the market economy, his passionate advocacy of socialism is less refreshing. I disagree with his economics, but, then again, I wasn't a personal friend of Keynes...

In "Breaking the Spell", philosopher Daniel Dennett makes a case for the scientific study of religion--a wholly admirable endeavor in my opinion. Typically confined to the realm of geistesweissenschaften (social sciences), Dennett wants to see the methods of naturweissenschaften (natural sciences) applied to determine the inner workings and effects of religious experience. Since he is an analytical philosopher and analytical philosophers tend to embrace science more fully than others, his pathway to uncovering the "mysteries" of religion makes sense. Perhaps his goal is possible, perhaps it is not. Either way, it would be worth the effort.

Expense Report

Day 227:

• Little Italy Pizza, $4.25
• PATH, $3

Day 228, $0

Day 229:

• Burritoville, $6.48
• Vendor, $2.75

Day 230:

• Morton Williams Supermarket, $5.98

Day 231:

• Lunch at Cafeteria, $2.90
• Cafe in Little Italy, $27

Day 232:

• Cafe in Riverside Park, $17
• Deli, $3.80

Day 233:

• Apple from vendor, $0.45
• Morton Williams Supermarket, $26.47

A Nor'easter kept me inside today, but, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. I'm not Panglossian enough to subscribe to that, but I'll hijack it for now. The books that I bought yesterday (what foresight!) kept me well entertained throughout the storm.  Thumbing through the works of Truman Capote, Bertrand Russell, Daniel Dennett, Friedrich Nietzsche and Gabriel Garcia Marquez will never be a dull experience. 

Expense Report

Day 226, $0

Christie and I went running, exploring and to the street fair this afternoon. We stopped at Barnes and Noble and I was able to get lots of new books.

I mailed my taxes on Friday and I'm glad that's over.  I had to pay Ohio, but Uncle Sam and the Empire State get to pay me!

Expense Report

Day 223, $0

Day 224:

• Post Office, $1.80
• Sunny's Deli, $0.65
• Chinese Food, $8

Day 225:

• Barnes and Noble, $0  (gift card!)
• Morton Williams Supermarket, $18.07

I spent the evening in the area surrounding Houston St.  The food at Dallas Jones BBQ was great, but a bit more expensive than Dinosaur BBQ (just down the street from my apartment).

Expense Report

Day 222:

• Lunch at Cafeteria, $1.80
• Beer at Four Faced Liar, $5
• Dinner at Dallas Jones BBQ, $18.20
• Morton Williams, $7.26

Visitors

Christie's parents came to visit over the weekend.  We toured the city---Ground Zero, NY Harbor, Staten Island, Chinatown, Little Italy, Union Square, Herald Square, Times Square, Museum Mile, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, etc--and managed to find some great food in Little Italy and Morningside Heights.

Expense Report

Day 215:

• Lunch at Cafeteria, $4

Day 216:

• Fairway Market, $x

Day 217, $0

Day 218, $0

Day 219:

• $3.21

Day 220:

• Breakfast at Cafeteria, $1.50
• Subway & Sunny's, $4

Day 221:

• Duane Reade, $10.21
• Little Italy Pizza and Sunny's Deli, $3.85