Deezer: Music on Demand

Seriously, why isn't deezer.com more popular? Free, legal, on-demand music? Yes, they even have major labels. What more is left to say?

First Meetup!

I've read about 'em, I've been on their mailing lists for over two years, and yet today was the first time I actually attended one of their events. Yes, I'm referring to meetup.com. Thousands of groups, and it seems New York is especially active on there (is this really a surprise?)...

So I decided to join the non-profit meetup and attend tonight's event. Very cool group of people -- ecclectic and out-going, from guys working at hedge funds, to people starting new NGOs, to teachers, and students too. I really enjoyed it, and am now in the process of writing foll0w-up e-mails to a few of them (I really need to get business cards).

I definitely feel like I'm getting comfortable with the city now, so mission accomplished on some parts of my crazy time here. I won't even describe the various projects and ideas I have, but will do so at some other point in time.

Dining Solo?

There are some activities which, at least in my view, are done in groups rather than alone... Seeing a movie or eating at a restaurant are two activities that I personally attribute with a "social group" -- in other words, I'm used to doing these things with at least one other person and notice if I do it alone. One of the things I've that stands out about New York City is that the sight of a person eating alone at a restaurant is more common here than elsewhere.

Maybe I'm specifically looking for this, now? I don't think so -- so far every time I eat in a restaurant that isn't around Times Square, there's a few people dining solo. This isn't me passing any sort of judgment -- I'm writing specifically because I got sushi today at the Noodle Cafe Zen after dropping by the Strand Bookstore (needed to get my fix of sci-fi novels).

Coupled with the fact that rumours keep circulating about New York City having the highest proportion of single people, I'm starting to wonder if this city that has something to offer for everyone, is really a bit of an introverted or lonely place? Nothing wrong with being alone, of course, and my views as someone who (a) doesn't live in the city itself, and (b) has been here for just over five months are a bit biased.

Or maybe it's just how people prefer the city? I must say, I spent the whole day alone today, mainly working but also getting a fix of sci-fi books and sushi, and must say I am completely happy with how things turned out.

Thank You, Stranger

So last week I was on the train with a friend, heading up to Mount Kisco (where I live). Turns out when you buy two train tickets at once, they print two tickets. Seriously. Why does this baffle me? Well if you buy a two tickets for one person, it only prints one ticket.

Well, I only picked one up and we didn't have any cash on us, so some nice strangers actually ended up helping us buy an extra ticket. How nice is that? Very nice. So it's been a week, and I'm still thinking about how nice that was.

Netflix, Hulu, and ABC(.com)

On my mind this week: social networks, blog crawling, and why the hell Jack and Kate don't get along in Lost! What? Yes... I just watched all of Season 1, and that's all -- I won't do season 2, 3, or 4 -- both for my sanity and productivity.

These last few weeks, I tried out a few "on demand" services for TV and movies -- NetFlix, where I fell asleep to "A Boy and His Dog" (sorry, post-apocalyptic genre -- you're still my favourite). Also tried hulu.com for watching American Dad and The Simpsons, and well, like I said, abc.com for Lost.

Any thoughts? Well, I'm impressed, either because of my ISP or these sites' awesome bandwidth. Not sure if it's HD quality, but very few skips or moments where things were buffering or downloading. Definitely recommend it, though sorry to my Canadian friends -- you won't be getting Hulu for a while.

... I'm just glad I can control myself and avoid watching TV. :)

The MF Gallery

One of the things I'm trying to do with this blog is post events and things I go to. Why? Well, one of the things I really want to do is go to more of these things, and what better way to ensure tha than by posting the ones I do attend? At least it'll let me keep track of things.

Ah, so one thing I went to about a week ago (okay, so I'm living in the past) was the sci-fi art show at the MF Gallery in the East Village. Very small gallery, but completely interesting art -- if I had a few thousand dollars lying around, I might purchase something! Anyway, great shows all around -- their upcoming ones will be "Girls 2!", an all-female show, and them "Zombies"... You can pretty much tell what that will feature.

This is me.

It's the most important painting I've ever seen or been given. Thanks mom. :)

Kindle, Forgive Me

I had dinner with a few friends who work in social computing, and the star of the dinner party was Amazon's Kindle. I haven't really been interested in e-books or readers and when this initially came out, I thought it was pointless and a waste of money.

How semi-wrong I was... It feels great, and the electronic ink technology it uses is easy on the eyes. This is the most comfortable piece of technology I've held and used in a long time. While it won't get me away from regular books, I can see how those who travel a lot or like to carry obscene amounts of information on them could use this... Especially in areas without Internet access. Check it: will definitely bring one with me if I ever go on a month-long sabbatical to the middle of nowhere, now all I need is a power source (oh wait, maybe not -- thanks Rawi).

And on a side note, my favourite target customer for the Kindle:

This time's for real. Seriously.

I keep starting blogs and then I keep forgetting about them. This time's for real, though, seriously and not-jokingly. Completely and utterly.

Why? A few reasons... This blog is about the world (my world and the world as a whole), about technology, and new experiences. It's both a moblog and a regular blog. Maybe even a vlog. Hell, anything you can think of.

I'm currently in the Greater New York Area, and will be going to events and things as well, to document on here. So there you go. Read it or don't, whatever, it's me documenting and experimenting.