Jesse’s Space

Had a great night out last night with Lana. Since getting our regular babysitter back we have started to get out again and I have to say it is awesome to be in NY. Being able to step outside your door and have thousands of places to go makes date night pretty sweet (and has the added bonus of being able to be a slacker on the plans). 

When we hit the street yesterday all we knew is that we were going to walk down to the Village and find somewhere new. This is sometimes harder than it sounds for us. After wandering all over the West Village and then down Bleecker we wound up outside a fairly nondescript restaurant called Gus’ Place. Since we both love Greek we decided to give it a shot. Turned out to be a good call. Started with some Saganaki, Lemon Soup, salad and Greek wine (all amazing, but the Saganaki won in my books). Then moved onto Souvlaki. Lana had lamb, I had chicken. Both were great. To finish it up we had some Chocolate Baclava with Greek yogurt. We will definitely be going back there

 

Well after having used my Macbook Air for quite some time I have to say it really rocks. I have had it in meetings, carried it all around, used it on the go and it has been my primary machine at home the whole time (I do have an iMac at work as well). I have not been hampered in any way by the lack of extra ports or media drive (over the years I have never really used them either). I feel the same way about the removable battery. I have always carried a spare but have rarely if ever used it. After having had to lug around and use a large number of different laptops in the last decade this is by far my favorite. 

A good friend of mine is the director of a non-profit organization called Students for a Free Tibet. They do education and activism to further the cause of bringing freedom to the people of Tibet. This year with the worlds attention on the Beijing Olympics in China they have a lot on the go to make sure the Chinese oppression in Tibet is conveyed to the world.

At the moment they are in a heated battle to win a $50K prize in a giving contest. If you can spare the time and money they would greatly appreciate a donation. It could mean they wind up winning their single largest grant in the history of the organization. Having visited with them I can tell you they run very lean and the money will definitely be put to work for the cause.

Please donate here.

Finally got off my butt and integrated my Flickr photos into the blog. You can browse them here. I even was motivated enough to organize them into sets. Crazy eh.

Heading out to Vegas tomorrow morning to go to CES and the Digital Hollywood conference. Going to be flying on Virgin America for the first time. Really looking forward to checking them out. Had booked a flight back in November with them but had to cancel last minute. They have all sorts of nifty features like leather seats, entertainment system and the ability to order your food and drink right from your seat (no more waiting for the drink cart to work its way down twice a flight).

And I am really looking forward to the show this year. Last year was my first time attending and I had a blast. So many gadgets and geeky things to check out. Also got the confirmation that my name is on the list for the Bloghaus so beer, beanbags and broadband lookout!

Jason Calacanis pretty much says it all in his blog post here. Cigna f$#%ing sucks!

There are certain advantages to living right in the thick of things here in Manhattan. Whether it be amazing food, access to the cities parks/attractions, the nightlife or pretty much anything you can think of, it is all at your doorstep.

This past weekend I took Emma to her first musical. It was a play based on one of her favorite cartoons, Max and Ruby. She absolutely loved it. For a whole hour she sat mesmerized by the actors singing and dancing. At the end she decided we had to go back.

To my point though about the advantages of living where we do. To get there we hopped in a cab outside our house and got dropped off in the village. A quick walk and we were at the theater. After the show was over we walked over, found another cab and then stopped for burgers at the restaurant at the base of our building. The whole trip took less than 2 1/2 hours. It was simple easy and pleasant. Not only that but there are a dozen other things just like that that I can start taking her to now. When we lived in CT that just wasnt the case.

I gotta say, I love NY!

Glad to see that Facebook is taking a more measured approach with Beacon. It seems that Zuckerberg might not have been hosting quite the defining moment in advertising he thought he was a month or so ago. When Silicon Valley meets Madison Ave they sometimes seem to forget the logistics of it all (aka reality). The FB crew certainly has their work cut out for them to realize that $15B valuation.

Is it just me or does it seem like this week took 10 days to complete? The combo of the short week before and then 4 days off really seems to make the week after the Thanksgiving Holiday really lag. Oh well. At least today is Friday.

I love American Thanksgiving. Why you ask? Because we get two days off and it feels like an actual holiday. Starting on Wednesday afternoon things begin to wind down (some would argue the whole week is a little slow) and for four days life becomes about hanging out with the family, eating well and generally enjoying your surroundings. In Canada we have Thanksgiving too (it actual pre-dates the US holiday) but since it is just one day off it feels more like a long weekend with the opportunity to stuff yourself. Plus since we reside in NYC this year we will be checking out the parade and the massive balloon characters live. Should be a blast!