urbanblitz

This year the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks returned to the Hudson River in celebration of the 400 anniversary of the Henry Hudson voyage.  Pretty much the fireworks were launched between 24th – 50th street.  No more downtown viewing.  This year, we were invited to view this spectacular display at the Meatpacking District. And let’s just say, fireworks up close is definitely the way to go.

You’re probably wondering why I even have an analog tv.  And why I haven’t made the switch to cable. I have crossed that divide a few years ago.  I have the whole shabam — cable, internet, VoIP for a grand total of about $137 a month and about $1600 a year.   A pricey luxury, I must say.    But when I first signed up, I had opted not to get another cable box for my 2nd tv.   I saw no point to pay more considering all the taxes that would be attached to the additional box.

So like my other fellow Americans, I requested for a coupon for a DTV coupon back in December of 2008.  Luckily, I got my coupon before they ran out of money.  And the games began.  All I did was research the best DTV converter box to purchased.  In the end I decided on the Zenith DTT901 which was sold out at pretty much most of the Radio Shacks online.  I was on a mad dash to get this box before the change over on Feb 15th.  Armed with my new box, I was ready to cross over to digital tv.  But no!  This change was delayed till June 12th.  Oh wells!  

Setting up the box was easy.  I ran into a little snag though with reception. I quickly made a call to Zenith who had informed me that I might need to get an amplified antenna.  But that I wouldn’t know until they move the channels over the digital divide.   So what’s the point of this story.  Well places like Radio Shack didn’t learn anything from the initial DTV converter box incident. Because I can’t seem to find one store with an amplified antenna. Did DTV2009 anticipate that the change over is costing each household at least $70+ for a converter box and antenna.  I think not.  

Despite the delay, people have still been ill prepared for this change.  How do you know which is the right antenna for your situation.  Just absolutely frustrating, that’s all I have to say about the matter.

It’s exactly how I feel without my camera. On Sunday, at Monkeytown the shutter release on my camera died. And I feel like the chicken without a head.

The worst dining experience in my whole life. I don’t mind sharing communal tables, but they try to cram everyone in such a small space. It didn’t make dining in the restaurant anymore plesant.

If David Chang was named the best new chef by Food and Wine, he might want to consider hiring a new kitchen staff. Overall the food was mediocre. Portions were small and would probably be a meal more fitting for a model. It was overpriced and the food was crap.

The all mighty pork bun was okay. It wasn’t spectacular. The fried brussel sprouts were excellent despite the fact it was a tad to salty. The staff was attentive. But more in the lines of refilling your drinks and clearing dishes that haven’t been finished.

I’ve never been so disappointed. It goes to show that the Momofuku brand is more hype than anything else.

I’ve realized that I’m such a delinquent blogger. I think it’s just the general cycle of blogging in general. It’s been about 7 years since I’ve I decided to post my thoughts online. And I found that I was much more open about my life online in the beginning. These days, I find that I tend to keep my private thoughts offline. Life online is very different. There are repercussions to living too freely online. And that’s why I prefer a bit of anonymity in blogging. And why, I don’t really go out of my way to promote my blog. In a way, I kind of prefer that people just stumble upon my random thoughts.

As much I’ve been offline, I’m very much part of the online world. I twitter and aggregating most of my updates via jaiku. I find that there is a very thin line that you have to walk in this online world. Like most of my friends, I’m on most of the social networking sites. But I also feel that I have to be more careful when I’m using these sites on both a personal and professional level. As much as I want to keep both parts of my life separate, I find that they are colliding in this online world. It’s enough to feel that big brother is watching. But it’s becoming silly to feel that you have to censor yourself to live your life online. Perhaps, this is just the life cycle of a blogger. Or the changing times of this internet age.