Michael Ring of the Prospect Park Track Club shares his story.

A real dive

On Monday we made a quick trip to Philly and figured that we should actually act like tourists and go to a "famous cheese steak place".  We found the one that seemed to get the most attention and added it to our map.  We went to Tony Luke's.

First, I would like to point out that the food was good.  I ordered The Roast Pork Italian, with Provolone and Spinach..  It did not look anything like the photo on their Internet menu but it was really good. If one is gonna shave a day or two off your live by eating so much fat and salt, this is the way to do it.

My daughter had the classic roast beef.  My son and his friend had a chicken cutlet hoagie.  My daughter (rightly) scowled at the boys because ordering a chicken cutlet sandwich at Tony Luke's was like ordering a hamburger at Nathan's.  I was just glad nobody puked on the 95 mile ride home.

Below I embedded some of the professional videos that were made about this place.  None of them show that this place is a true dive.

- It was full of cops, (they look the same in Philly, as they do in NYC)
- It is next to a highway
- Has abundant parking
- and no indoor bathrooms.  Yea, portapotties.

I had the time, so I let this photograph affect me

We took a quick road trip to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  Now that they are not so dependent on me, all I have to really do is say is "Have fun and we will regroup near the big statue of Ben at 2pm."  I got to walk around and enjoy a museum like an adult.  I really did not need to climb in the Giant Heart or the Train Factory again.  So I  meandered into the 50 Greatest Photographs of National Geographic and decided to read every caption.

One of them helped me understand the power of a photograph.

William Albert Allard, 1982. A Peruvian boy mourns his sheep, killed by a hit-and-run taxi driver [461x331]

This "boy" is 9 years old but has the responsibilities of an adult.  But when his herd is decimated he cried. The caption explains that the photographer wished he could have helped him but could not.  He had nothing to give.

Below is text and images from Burnéd Shoés  The story has a good ending.

Here’s a picture of William Albert Allard showing the well known picture to grown up Eduardo and his family (source):

WILLIAM ALBERT ALLARD: PERUVIAN BOY

Above photograph shows Eduardo Ramos with his dead sheep after a hit-and-run taxi driver had killed half of his family’s flock in 1981. Photographer William Albert Allard had been exploring Peru at that time and stumbled upon that crying boy near Puno.

The photo was published in National Geographic in March 1982. The readers of the magazine responded so generously that the boy’s family was able to buy five new ewes after more than 6,000$ have been contributed. Enough money was left over to aid other people in the region.

This story demonstrates how a photographer can give something back and make a difference in a person’s life. Find more examples on the National Geographic website.

Here’s a picture of William Albert Allard showing the well known picture to grown up Eduardo and his family (source):

Evidence that there will be another season of Boardwalk Empire.

I stopped watching a long time ago.

Yea, gotta move the car.

I wonder if these are the people who complain about government imposed safety regulations?

We make jokes about Darwinism in action.  But they are not really that funny



Are they the same people who complain about Obamacare and don't have insurance when they drop a silo on their heads?

Yea.

Snatching Defeat From the Hands of Victory

Yea,  I am a Met Fan.

I am am Met Fan because my dad is a Met Fan, and I guess he is a Met Fan because he used to be able to walk to Ebbets Field to see the Dodgers. (Now I can walk to where Ebbets Field was and almost every day I pass the spot where the Brooklyn Dodgers played before there was an Ebbets Field)

One of my earliest memories was opening my window and screaming when The Mets won The Pennant in 1969.  I remember that all the windows were open and everyone was screaming too.  (I was 6, maybe I don't remember nothing)

So today I actually went to Opening Day at CityField.  Below you can see the melting snow of the roof of a car in the parking lot.  Some had a lot more.  For the first half of the game we were in the sun and I actually took off my coat.  Then it was 40 degrees again.

The Mets really sucked today.  More than once they were one out or one strike from winning.  But they lost.

I figured out why I am really a Met Fan

Because

When The Yankees lose, their fans believe it is an abomination against god and nature.
When The Mets lose we know it's the punch line to a joke we heard already.

Best Handshake Ever

The hard part of running a marathon is not race day.  It is all the long runs that get you ready for race day.

My goal race is the Bob Potts Marathon on May 25th.  So with a little less than 2 months to go it is time to put in the millage.

Yesterday I ran a "gut check race".  I did not run it to win I ran it to find out what I was made of.  I signed up for The Broadway Ultra Society 3 Hour Race and I planned on dialing in a 10 minute per mile pace and holding on as long as I could.

The thing is that I thought they were joking about "challenging hills".  Not so funny.  But I was able to do each of the first 5 loops of the 5K course in about 31 minutes.  So I was pleased, 18 10 minute hilly miles means I can run 26.2 flat ones.

At the awards ceremony someone I asked the Male Master Winner how far he got.  It turned out he beat me my 0.7 miles.  He reached out to me and gave me and congratulated me on my run.  I love this sport.

The Fake House.

I knew it was there, but if I didn't remember to look I would have just walked by.

Or maybe I subconsciously thought to look because I walked by.

But this townhouse is not what it tries to look like.

It's an airshaft for the Lexington Ave IRT.

I knew to look because it is the Eighth Best Fake Building Facade in NYC according to Scouting NY.  Mar Scouting NY also says it is not the only fake house the MTA built to hide an air shaft.  There are more in The Bronx

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The townhouse at 58 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights was built in 1847 as a private residence and in 1908 it was converted to "the world’s only Greek Revival subway ventilator".^[1] The ventilator also serves as an emergency exit from the eastern end of the Joralemon Street tunnel which carries the IRT Lexington Avenue Line between Bowling Green and Borough Hall, where it intersects the IRT Eastern Parkway Line.^[2]  The property is owned by the MTA and as of 2010 was valued at $2.8 million.^[3] The exterior facade and black Lexan windows are the result of a 1999 agreement with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to help the facility blend into the neighborhood.^[4]

So If I want to find a photo of the property before it was an air shaft it would have to be from before 1908,

The Brooklyn Heights Blog  knows it there but makes fun of the people who discover it  here.

If if you look at this blog you can see
what it looks like through a slit in the door

[Image: A view through the front door of
58 Joralemon Street; photo by BLDGBLOG].

Below is the Streetview.  It fits in ok.  and it should it was built when the rest were back in 1847 and people lived in it for 60 years.



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Dude! I am sorry about your bike.

Really.  I've been there.  Last year my bike was totally stolen.  Really.  But I have noticed that all over the city there are literally thousands of bikes that have been stripped and are still locked up.

The one below caught my eye first because that is the same seat from my old bike.  I miss it, but not enough to take it.

This seat looks good too.  But you can see it will take some tools to remove.

Yea, If I were to walk around for a day I could take a thousand pictures.

That was once three bikes.  They are all chained together.












Maybe we can find out who stripped this bike.


The sign says














But I don't understand one thing.  Why are they still there?  There as so many that 2 years ago someone wanted to map them all.  People also ask When is it OK to strip and abandoned bike?

The lock was strong enough to keep the frame in place.  So, dude, take your lock home, its a good lock.  I am sorry about your bike, but it is just making a mess now.

This product is interesting and you will never be wearily

Sometimes I entertain myself by visiting the 99¢ and up stores.

Lets see if Engrish.com takes this one.