Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs - NYTimes.com

This NYT article is interesting because it documents a trend which could have far reaching ramifications on how we live: The re-consideration of the logic and value of the far flung suburbs developers have been putting up like crazy. Suddenly, commuting and heating costs are enough of an issue that these outposts of suburbia don't make quite as much sense. Long story short: The article concludes that housing in cities will get far more expensive and the decline of housing prices in far flung suburbia is likely more than a cyclical phenomenon. Maybe the world won't be so flat afterall.


Fuel Prices Shift Math for Life in Far Suburbs - NYTimes.com: "Suddenly, the economics of American suburban life are under assault as skyrocketing energy prices inflate the costs of reaching, heating and cooling homes on the distant edges of metropolitan areas."

See the creator of Dyson Vacs beat the crap out of his own product

As anyone who knows me knows, I'm a big fan of beating the crap out of my things. I test them, usually until they break. My main complaint about my MacBook is that it feels incredibly fragile.

That's why this video caught my attention... I really haven't seen the creator of an elegant product beat the crap out of it live in front of a third party video camera. Its impressive stuff.

The Economics of the Surfers' Commons

This looks like a very cool article that has recently washed up from the archives of the Deakin Law Review (2004), The Tragicomedy of the Surfers' Commons. Props to Marginal Revolution for tracking this one down (and additional props to whoever their original source was).

Comedy legend, George Carlin, dies at 71

I've got to say that this is a devastating loss for the world of comedy. Carlin, along with others like Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor, always went out of his way to push the envelope and change the world's (well anyone with a sense of humor anway) view toward many topics that a lot of people take far too seriously. A perfect example is one of my favorite Carlin skits ever, 7 Words. In order to avoid being scolded by blogger for posting "obscene" material, I'll just ask that you go to youtube (or your clip-viewing resource of choice) and search "george carlin 7 words"... it's probably the first result.

If you haven't seen one of his comedy hours, I highly suggest you go to the video store, youtube, limewire, or wherever and see one in entirety. They are all excellent. He will be missed.

Op-Ed Columnist - The Two Obamas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Sometimes, when we fall in love with a politician, we tend to overlook their faults and pay more attention to what we like about them. It makes sense...when we pick a politician to believe in, if that ever happens anymore, we are investing a bit of our identity in that person. We are taking an action which fundamentally puts to test our ability to make character judgments, to see through the bull shit...But, as it turns out, most people suck at this. Bush, after-all, did have two terms didn't he?

I'm a supporter of Obama. He's the first politician who I've ever donated money to... the only one whose speeches I have watched, completely entranced. I'll admit that I fundamentally believe in the guy. But lately, I've noticed myself doing something that I don't like... When I see a headline pop up on Google News which doesn't seem to be postitive towards Obama, I don't click it. If I do, it's with great hesitance. Why? Well, I've made an investment. A character judgement. And to be wrong, sucks.

Anyways, that's a long way of saying, I'm going to try my best to listen to both the positives and the negatives and evaluate them both. Here's an article which takes a look at what Obama says versus the way he operates which I think does a good job of showing both sides. Fair and balanced... ;)

Op-Ed Columnist - The Two Obamas - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Distribution: St. John Brewers - U.S. Virgin Islands

Note to self Try this beer.

Distribution: St. John Brewers - U.S. Virgin Islands

Hippopost Lets You Send Free Postcards From Facebook

This looks pretty awesome, though I haven't tried it out yet.

Hippopost Lets You Send Free Postcards From Facebook: "Who says Facebook apps are useless? Hippopost has launched a new Facebook application that allows users to send their friends customized postcards free of charge. For now the service is limited to recipients in the United States and Canada, though we can expect the range to expand if Hippopost catches on."
-http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/16/hippopost-lets-you-send-free-postcards-from-facebook/

Fail. And fail often.

In a recent blog post titled "Is it worthy?", Seth Godin failure, hard work, and the time and place that each of us has been blessed enough to live in. It's a brief post, but still a pretty inspiring note with application to all areas of life. Take a read, leave your comments, and then go out and fail (in a constructive manner, of course).

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - U.S. news- msnbc.com

As I was on the phone with our IT guys in India, a news bulletin flashed across the screen. "NBC's Tim Russert, dead at 58". My heart literally dropped. He has been such a staple of my political news junking that I just couldn't quite believe it. This is one of the first public figure deaths that I can remember which has had this type of affect on me.

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - U.S. news- msnbc.com

The Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America

Summer is here.. and if you're feeling like a big old fatty (like I am), this article may be of interest:

Men's Health - Eat This, Not That - The Healthiest Supermarket Foods in America

Firefox 3: Firefox 3 to Drop on Tuesday

Beautiful day outside. Just got done hanging out at the park (doing some work) and getting some sun. Just a heads up that if you're a Firefox user, a brand spanking new version drops Tuesday... or so the rumor goes.

Firefox 3: Firefox 3 to Drop on Tuesday

ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: C's and the city: Both looking very good

So, I am totally wiped. I've been at the Enterprise 2.0 conference here in Boston since Monday, and it has literally been morning to night for three days straight. I finally have a moment to collect myself.

I just wanted to share a really cool article about Boston, and how it has turned around in the last few years by Simmons. He looks at it from the perspective of Game 2 of the Finals, but I think he does a great job of summarizing how Boston has changed. Here's the full article: ESPN Page 2 - Simmons: C's and the city: Both looking very good

And a quote:
"Once upon a time, Boston was a pretty easy place to understand. Things never changed and, more importantly, we liked it that things never changed. Life revolved around the weather cycles (often brutal), the sports teams (often disappointing) and those occasionally fabulous days in April or October when the sun was shining and there wasn't a prettier place to be. We dealt with traffic, snow, construction, parking problems and sports letdowns year after year, and that's just who we were. Everything was symbolized by the Big Dig, a project that promised to rejuvenate the city and put our highways underground, only it fell years behind schedule and bled billions in cost overruns, rendering Boston impotent for a number of years. I graduated from college in '92 and spent the next decade living in the city (mostly in Charlestown) dealing with jackhammers and detours the entire time. After a while, you stopped thinking about it and assumed that's the way the city would always be -- mangled, ugly and messed up. Nobody could conceive of life after the Big Dig. It just seemed incomprehensible. Well, the project finally ended two years ago."

Annual Summer Concert Tour

Thanks, Vlad, for the welcome to our blog. Love the title, as "no worries" is probably one of my top 10 most utilized phrases.

This post is loosely related to the title... since we're all going to die someday, we may as well live it up while we've got it. One of my favorite ways to do this is to make it a point to attend several concerts a summer, which range in genre from country (Kenny Chesney, Pat Green) to blues (B.B. King) to metal (Ozzfest) and everywhere in between. This year, I've got Bon Jovi and Pearl Jam on the intinerary so far, and I'm on the lookout for a few more. A recent post on Salon.com, provides some great detail on the best of the summer music festivals, including which acts you can skip when you finally decide to break the seal.

If you live within comfortable driving distance of Stamford, CT, there is a whole series of FREE (with the exception of $5 beers from the heineken stand) concerts held downtown. The concerts take place every Thursday night throughout the summer, beginning at the end of June. This year's lineup is particularly good, including 90's greats such as Blues Traveler, Blind Melon and, the coup de gras, Boyz II Men, as well as some lesser known but usually very entertaining acts. Check out the Stamford downtown website for more info.

"Honestly, who doesn't think Vlad is going to do this at some point?" - javed

Emailed to me:

"Honestly, who doesn't think Vlad is going to do this at some point?"

My response:

"Give me a little more credit. I'd at least wait till we were at the bar."

-v




Office Worker Goes Absolutely Insane - Watch more free videos

Ryan: Check out this song - From the new Coen Bros. movie

Welcome, Ryan!

I'm not exactly sure who I'm welcoming you in front of, given the fact that no one reads this blog yet, but welcome none the less!

Ryan and I have decided to launch a joint blog, since in all likelihood each of us individually won't be able to blog often enough to make it worthwhile to check out day to day. And, as Ryan rightly put it, "Yet another step toward our eventual conquest of the world..."

Look for amazingly entertaining posts the likes of which the world has never seen.

Facebook birthdays

To all of my loved ones who's birthdays I have missed many times over... don't blame me. Blame Facebook. There are only so many times a week I can log-in to check on upcoming birthdays. However, a new day has come...

Don't log into Facebook every day? Wish there was a way to get all of those Facebook birthdays into a calendar program you actually use? Check this new Facebook application out: http://www.fbcal.com/

I just used it and it works very well.

Beer Reviews

We all know the nerve raking feeling as one stands in front of the fridge at his or her local liqueur store and is overwhelmed by the sheer number of beers available. "What seems more trust worthy, an Eagle or a Shark?"

Take some of the gamble out of the experience by checking out ratebeer.com. Seems like a pretty solid user driven site to help you pick the perfect beer for the perfect night out.

Ratebeer.com

31 Places to Go This Summer - NYTimes.com

Since I won't be taking many long vacations any time soon, the article in the NYT came at just the right time:

31 Places to Go This Summer - NYTimes.com

Some local highlights:

2. NEW HAMPSHIRE

With 800,000 acres of rugged terrain and biking trails, the White Mountains of New Hampshire are sometimes called the Moab of the East. And while you won’t get red-rock formations or Road Runner vistas, the White Mountains do offer their own purple majesty. The Cherry Mountain Loop near Twin Mountain, not far from Bretton Woods, features remote waterfalls and thick forests. The trails around North Conway, a small, outdoorsy town near the Maine border where volunteer riders maintain more than 100 miles of downhill paths, are popular. For trail information, see the New Hampshire Trails Bureau (www.nhtrails.org) and New England Mountain Bicycling Association (www.nemba.org

4. PHILADELPHIA

There are enough history excursions in the City of Brotherly Love to fill an entire summer, including big landmarks like the National Constitution Center (215-409-6600; www.constitutioncenter.org), with its interactive displays in which kids can be sworn in as president or cast their ballots in authentic voting booths. But there’s also plenty to do off the history track — much of it affordable for a family weekend. For starters: the new $20 million Big Cat Falls exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo (3400 West Girard Avenue; 215-243-1100; www.philadelphiazoo.org), where lions, tigers, baby pumas and snow leopards are on view. A quick trolley ride from Center City can take you to one of the nation’s oldest — and most lovely — botanical gardens, Bartram’s Garden (54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard; 215-729-5281; www.bartramsgarden.org). For local flavor, it’s worth a lunch visit to John’s Roast Pork (14 East Snyder Avenue; 215-463-1951; www.johnsroastpork.com), where the made-to-order cheese steaks are legendary (the James Beard Foundation declared John’s one of “America’s Classics”). The Loews Philadelphia Hotel is well situated at 1200 Market Street (215-627-1200; www.loewshotels.com), with occasional family packages. Rooms with two double beds start at $179.

6. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.

The 55-acre Hard Rock Park (www.hardrockpark.com), billed as the “world’s first rock ’n’ roll theme park,” just opened in Myrtle Beach, complete with a Led Zeppelin-themed steel roller coaster and nightly fireworks set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It may be an unlikely addition to this popular resort, best known for its golf courses, but it’s not the only reason to visit this summer. Many of the area’s hotels are offering deep discounts on their weekend rates, ranging from three-bedroom suites for $225 a night to two-bedroom golf villas starting at around $200.

8. NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE

You won’t find much evidence of George Bernard Shaw at the Shaw Festival (www.shawfest.com) this year — just “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” and the seldom-performed “Getting Married.” But there are still excellent theatrical offerings this summer, including two Stephen Sondheim musicals, “A Little Night Music” and “Follies.” But even if you never go inside a theater, Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario has plenty to offer, including a lovely setting on Lake Ontario, a clutch of charming B & Bs and some excellent wineries — particularly Peller Estates (www.peller.com), with a restaurant featuring creative seasonal menus from its executive chef, Jason Parsons. The historic Prince of Wales Hotel, in the center of town (6 Picton Street; 905-468-3246), is an excellent place to park yourself for the weekend. Summer rates start at about 290 Canadian dollars, about the same in United States dollars.

24. MONTREAL

Whether your iPhone is loaded with chamber music or Arcade Fire, Montreal is music to all ears this summer. The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (www.osheaga.com), a new showcase for avant-garde talent, is on Aug. 3 and 4. The huge Montreal Jazz Festival (www.montrealjazzfest.com) takes over the entire city from June 26 to July 6, with 3,000 performers including Leonard Cohen and Woody Allen (yes, that one). And every Sunday, Piknic Électronik brings the rising stars of Montreal’s electronic music scene to Jean Drapeau Park. The city’s revamped Web site (www.tourisme-montreal.org) has listings, maps and a nifty planner.

25. TANGLEWOOD, MASS.

For a little Brahms to go with your Brie, picnic under the stars at the Tanglewood Music Festival (www.tanglewood.org), the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the pastoral Massachusetts Berkshires. Under the direction of James Levine, the symphony’s opera-rich season kicks off on July 5 with a concert performance of “Les Troyens” by Berlioz and continues with weekend-long Beethoven and Mozart festivals. John Williams also returns to conduct the popular “Boston Pops: Film Night at Tanglewood” on July 26, featuring selections from his latest blockbuster with Steven Spielberg, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

Why the hell am I doing this..and what's up with the name??

Let's tackel the name first. My favorite song, hands down, is William Shatner's "Live Life Like You're Going To Die". It's one of those songs that is uncomfortable to listen to, is funny, and very true. Here's a link to the song and video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6yRMrwA5Hk

Why "No Worries, Vlad"? Because I studied abroad in Australia, have some family there, and was obsessed with the phrase for some time.

Why am I starting this blog? Well..I'm not really sure. It's probably a combination of factors:

1. I've been working since November to come up with ways to introduce Web 2.o technologies into companies and I come across a lot of articles I would like to share (you'll hear me referring to this once in a while as "ESNI" or Enterprise Networking, or Social Networking, or Enterprise 2.0...or..well, you get the idea

1a. I have opinions about these articles and would like to share those as well

2. I'm a news junkie and a blog junkie - i often find myself sending links to friends and family, so it would be nice to centralize everything - oh, and I have opinions about all those things as well

3. With ESNI taking over a good portion of my life, I find less and less time to keep up with friends and family (especially my Australian folk). I hope this is a way for them to keep abreast of what I'm up to - even though I'm terrible at calling.

4. It's an unapologetically self centered attempt to keep track of my life. My hope is that this will be a statement of record for myself to look back on years from now and to remember where I was and how I got to where I will be.

Hopefully, the above give me enough selfish reasons to keep this blog up to date...and maybe some unintended good comes out of it...