How I Spent My Afternoon

While half of Columbia (or so it seemed) was hitting my blog today, I was out at PacBell / SBC / AT&T Park watching my Mets kick the Giants’ butts. It was a great game. Perfect weather, good seats (Thanks Brendan!), and exciting play. I’m hoarse, sunburned, and exhausted, but I had a great time.

Unfortunately Bonds hit his 711th home run in his first at-bat (the bottom of the 9th) to tie the game, but even that turned out OK because his 2nd at-bat was a pop fly out to end the game.

After seeing Bonds in action, I’ve come to think that Aaron’s record may be safe after all. Bonds’ mobility is shot. He’ll be lucky to make it through this year, and unless he leaves the Giants and becomes a DH somewhere else, I don’t see how he’ll be able to play through to another 45 home runs. He can barely take the field.

Barry in the Field

And in the “It takes all kinds to make a world” department, here’s a guy who was sitting nearby in the stands:

The Balloon Guy

Things you Learn in B-School

Yesterday, I was chatting with a classmate who’s graduating in three weeks. She mentioned that even though her MBA is almost done, she really wasn’t sure what she’s actually learned.

Obligatory snark about a couple of useless classes aside, you actually do learn something in B-school. For example, if I hadn’t taken Macroeconomics, I would never have thought this was funny.

I could do without the “We’re Columbia, we rule!” verse at the end, and it might be a bit unfair to slam Bernanke when he’s only been Fed chair less than 3 months, but still, I laughed and sent the link to my econ prof.

You Know You’re From New York When…

Chain e-mail from my sister in law, but this one’s a hoot. And very true.

You know you’re from New York when…

1. You’re 35 years old and don’t have a driver’s license.

2. You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.

3. You take the train home and you know exactly where on the platform the doors will open that will leave you right in front of the exit stairway.

4. You know what a ‘regular’ coffee is. (For you non-NYers, this is a coffee with milk and sugar)

5. It’s not ‘Manhattan’; it’s ‘The City’.

6. There is no north and south. It’s “uptown” or “downtown.” If you’re really from New York you have absolutely no concept of where north and south are…. (and east or west is “cross-town”!)

7. You cross the street anywhere but on the corners and you yell at cars for not respecting your right to do it.

8. You move 3,000 miles away, spend 10 years learning the local language and people still know you’re from Brooklyn the minute you open your mouth.

10. You return after 10 years and the first foods you want are a “real” pizza and a “real” bagel.

11. A 500 square foot apartment is large.

12. You know the differences between all the different Ray’s Pizzas.

13. You are not under the mistaken impression that any human being would be able to actually understand a PA announcement on the subway.

14. You wouldn’t bother ordering pizza in any other city.

15. You get ready to order dinner every night and must choose from the major food groups which are: Chinese, Italian, Mexican or Indian.

16. You’re not the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

17. Your internal clock is permanently set to know when alternate sides of the street parking regulations are in effect.

18. You know what a bodega is.

19. Someone bumps into you, and you check for your wallet.

20. You don’t even notice the lady walking down the road having a perfectly normal conversation with herself.

21. You pay “only” $230 a month to park your car.

22. You cringe at hearing people pronounce Houston St. like the city in Texas.

23. The presidential visit is a major traffic jam, not an honor.

24. You can nap on the subway and never miss your stop.

25. The deli guy gives you a straw with any beverage you buy, even if it’s a beer.

That’s New York, baby! Ya gotta love it.

About Those Gas Prices

So President Bush has weighed in on soaring gas prices. His ideas?

– Stop adding to the Strategic Oil Reserve
– Encourage DAs to go after price gouging
– Relax environmental regulations
and
– Tell oil companies to build more refineries

None of which even remotely begins to address the real underlying issues — increased demand, reduced supply and price speculation due to global insecurity. (Gee, I wonder why people are feeling so concerned about the global situation. Could it be his warmongering about Iran?)

As usual, a completely incompetent response to a situation his own incompetence helped create.