Thursday, January 30, 2014

#527 - not so spectacular a few days later

May have been spectacular in Central Park Sunday but here's how it looked along First Ave this morning, after a week without any above-freezing temperatures or rain to remove the old snow drifts. Note crappy old bagel in second picture: authentic New York!
also, don't eat yellow snow
Here's an interesting short video on cycling in these conditions.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

#526- Snowy scenes Sunday in Central Park

While Australia Day was a non-event, the scenes in Central Park were -- as expected -- spectacular while the sun was out in the morning. And there weren't many people out, it was so bloody cold, which made it even more incredible.
and this magazine cover would be taken from the top of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle, looking east along CPS

Monday, January 27, 2014

# 525 - Another Australia Day in NYC

Work as usual today, but Australia Day does make a bit more of a ripple here than it seems to in Milan. As you probably know, Hugh Jackman organized to have the Empire State Buidling lit up green & gold last night. In case you missed it on the news, here's how it looked from our window.
Saturday nigh,t I went to a bar downtown for a party put on by the NY Magpies AFL team, with a live feed of the Hottest 100 as the highlight. I only stayed to about Number 93.
Then Sunday, I "celebrated" with a pie from Pieface (there are now 7 locations in NYC now - New Yorkers love 'em! - I went to the one near Union Square and there were no spare seats), followed by a large 'cap at the Toby's Estate in snowy Williamsburg and then a Cooper's Pale Ale at a bar around the corner. Then came home and had a bet on the first race at Wyong, as 3 Australian meetings are covered by the online TAB here.
Ever tried a selfie with a Blackberry??
Good to know you can still be a yobbo even if you're 15,000 km from home. By the way, should also congratulate an old school friend of mine Trevor Danos who lives around the corner in Tasman St Bondi, for his gong on Sunday, an AM for services to the community.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

# 524 - Also pretty amazing

Last race at Aqueduct (NYC's racetrack) yesterday. Despite the snow, the track which is dirt not grass was still listed as "fast". And of course like everything else, notice they still use the old fractional odds here and talk in furlongs. Remember, for best viewing, double click upon the video image to make it full screen (then esc to go back)

Thursday, January 23, 2014

#523 - Pretty amazing

Picture of the East River today. Never seen ice floating in it, in the whole time we've been here. It's -8 at present. Forecast maximums next few days are: Fri -7; Sat -2 (and more snow); Sun -6; Monday +1 (hooray); Tuesday -7. Not great for running.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

#522 - Update on the snow storm

A swirling storm dumped nearly a foot and a half (45 cm) of snow, leaving behind biting cold across the Tri-State area (that's NY, NJ and CT). A winter storm warning was in effect for Long Island until 9 a.m. A wind chill advisory is also in effect for much of the region. Wind gusts of 35-40 mph (50-75km/h) are expected to diminish by afternoon. But wind chills will remain below zero Fahrenheit (minus 15 Celsius) throughout the day. With as much as 13 inches of snow in some spots, authorities were cautioning that road conditions could be treacherous for the morning commute. The National Weather Service said black ice is possible on some roads. It took people 4-6 hrs to get home last night. Some of highest snow totals are in New Jersey where the National Weather Service says 16 inches of snow has fallen in Manalapan. More than 11 inches (27 cm) of snow was reported in New York City, while Stony Brook on Long Island recorded 11 inches and Armonk in Westchester County had just under 10 inches. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York City, Long Island and Westchester and Rockland counties.
Out our lounge room window this morning
First Avenue in the "60's". Always eerily quiet after a snow storm
A local side street
"Give me your huddled masses..." the sidewalks and crossing were very slick
Local playground. Hard to believe kids like X. will be playing in the water spurting out of these little elephants in 4-5 months time
Why does it always snow on a weekday when I'm at work?. Would be spectacular over in Central Park today now that the sun is out.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

#521 - tale of 2 different cities

While those Good Time Charlies over at "Milan Transfer" were partying in Zermatt, we had another major winter storm in the Northeast today. This is how the City lives and works in the snow. Not a good commute home. 3-6 inches are predicted for Manhattan, and the weather is not expected to get above freezing until Saturday so it will hang around until the weekend. Should make for some interesting touristic pics later in the week.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

#520 - Tale of 2 cities

From the January issue of Mileposts, the MetroNorth Railroad's newsletter

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

#519- In NYC, even a trip to the dentist can be interesting

So I had to go to the dentist this wintry morning for a routine follow-up appointment and cleaning. Like JFK (see post #502 in November 2013), our dentist is in midtown Manhattan. We go to Madison Dental, on the 39th floor of an art deco skyscraper on 53rd st between Park & Madison. They are really good. And it's a more spectacular view out of the window while you're being drilled than at our old dentitsts on Burns Bay Road :)
On the NW corner of 53rd & Park is the iconic Lever House, now on the National Historic Register for being the first privately owned skycraper of the "curtain wall" style (UN Building was the first).
It was built in 1952 and has "Don Draper" written all over it. It is also famous for it's contemporary art collection.
In case you are an architetural buff, here's a short video about it. As these experts point out, it doesn't really stand out nowadays, but it was revolutionary at the time. And don't forget to double click on the video to get the full screen

Monday, January 13, 2014

#518 - view from 30,000 feet

Came back from Down Under on Saturday. This pic was taken 90 minutes into the flight from LA to NYC (about one-third of the way across to NYC). That's the Rio Grande below and we are about 75 km N of the state capital, Santa Fe. Q: Which state are we flying over?
A: New Mexico
Snow over the New Mexico mountains (I guess the southern extension of the Rockies, as Colorado lies directly to the north)