Lefty April 16th, 2008
Last Tuesday (April 8th) I officially turned another year older. The day itself was pretty uneventful, but on Sunday Emily took me to see Tracy Morgan do stand-up at a midtown comedy club.
Anyway, I think this is going to be my year! I’m finally going to graduate from the NYU MBA program (in August), so we could see a return of the old Lefty by the time fall rolls around. Watch out!
Lefty December 9th, 2007
I’ve been a bit neglectful of posting here over the last month, as I’ve been focused on getting a huge project out the door at work. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about the upcoming year and all the big decisions that need to be made. There are a lot of things happening next year, and all of them are going to require some thinking:
1. In February the aforementioned project will launch, so I’ll need to figure out what to do afterwards. I can stay the course, or I can more seriously pursue the online video project that most of my posts lately have been hinting at. We’re also going to take a vacation in March and I need to decide where to go. The contenders right now are: snowboarding in upstate NY or VT, snowboarding and visiting friends in Portland, visiting the state of Michoacan in Mexico, or perhaps just finding a nice tropical beach to surf in Costa Rica.
2. I’ll be graduating from Stern, most likely in the August. The program has been taking up pretty much all my free time over the last two years, and finishing will be a real transition point. It will free up a lot of time and mental energy for me, and I think also open some opportunities to go in different directions.
3. Related to both the above, I need to decide where to live. I’ve been back in NYC for 13 years now (after spending my childhood here), and the pace can take a toll. My wife and I have been talking a lot lately about moving out to the Pacific Northwest, and now that my school obligations are wrapping up, we’ll have the opportunity to do so. But leaving NYC won’t be an easy decision - I’ve got a lifetime of friends, relationships, family, and experiences here. At the same time, the call of life in a more manageable city, and the adventure of new surroundings, is very strong.
Lefty September 29th, 2007
With the advent of fall and the welcome relief from NYC summer heat, I’m planning a busy week!
Sunday, 9/30: It’s time to start getting in shape for hockey season. I think I’ll head out to the beautiful new rink at Aviator Sports for open hockey in the morning, and then fill up on tacos at the Red Hook ball fields for lunch with Emily.
Wednesday, 10/3: This is going to tough - there are three events that I want to check out, all featuring varying degrees of geekiness:
- First, my pal Todd Seavey is holding another edition of Lolita debates on the LES. This program is the descendant of the Athenaeum Society debates I used to run, but I haven’t had a chance to attend much over the last couple of years. The topic is “Is the Ivy League Superior?”, which is sure to stir up controversy.
- Second, the NY Tech Meetup is going on. Every month 500 or so folks that are interested in technology in NYC get together and watch while six people demo something cool to the larger community. I’m not sure what’s on tap for this week, but I’ve heard good things about this event and I’ve wanted to attend for awhile.
- Third, Dorkbot NYC is getting together. Their motto is “people doing strange things with electricity” and this month’s meeting features an inventor of an interactive haunted house, a presentation on the topic “Robots on Fire”, and a demo of the mysterious “SensorBib.” This is another one I’ve been meaning to check out for awhile.
And, of course, on Thursday, 10/4 is the kickoff of Stern’s annual business plan competition. I had a great time participating in this program last year, when me and the crew from Materialite made it to the semi-finals. I’ve got a few ideas I’m thinking about entering this year as well.
Lefty August 9th, 2007
I am pleased to announce that after a blissful two and a half year engagement, Emily and I are getting married this Sunday. We’re going to have a small private ceremony right here in Brooklyn, USA (just us and our parents.) Then it’s off to Phoenicia, NY for the last week of August where we will go tubing on the Esopus and eat lots of pancakes.
I’ll post pictures to Flickr after the blessed event.
Lefty February 24th, 2007
If you didn’t know it, the good folks at the Kaufmann Foundation are launching Entrepreneurship Week USA this week (February 24-March 3). They’ve got a big event out in Stanford to kick the week off, but us East Coasters have some options to participate as well. On Monday in DC they are hosting a conference on entrepreneurship in public policy (including the effects of legislation on immigration, healthcare, and education.) And in New York on Tuesday, they are holding a networking event at NYU Stern to connect young entrepreneurs with potential mentors.
Lefty February 17th, 2007
I lived in Austin, TX for most of the early 90’s, and in fact got my undergraduate degree from the UT Austin. I tend to make it down there once every year or two to visit old friends and eat massive quantities of Mexican food.
When I lived in Austin, South by Southwest was only a couple of years old, and it was only a music conference. Of course, now it’s much, much bigger, and also has a huge film and interactive media component. Just about everyone has heard of it, and just about everyone has been there at least once. And has the festival has grown, so has Austin’s reputation. I remember when I first moved down there, people I told would like at me like I was crazy and say something like, “You’re moving to TEXAS?!? They lynch Yankees like you down there?” Now when I tell people I lived in Austin they invariably say, “Austin is so cool - I was down there for SXSW two years ago and ate at this awesome restaurant/saw some amazing band/had a wonderful time.”
Anyway, in all my subsequent visits to Austin I’ve always avoided going down there during SXSW time. I wanted to avoid the crowds and craziness, and I wanted to experience the mellow Austin that I remembered. But this year I’m thinking really seriously about heading down to SXSW Interactive on March 9th-March 13th. Has anyone out there been to the Interactive event before? Or is anyone planning on going? Send me an email to “lefty” at this domain, or hook me up with a comment.
Lefty February 5th, 2007
1) I just got back from taking a three day intensive course at NYU entitled “Professional Responsibility: Markets, Ethics, and Law”. The class focused on defining the role of ethics in a business context, and we touched on a number of noteworthy topics: globalization, discrimination, privacy, market failures, whistleblowing, corporate espionage, insider trading, and several others.
We also had to read a course packet containing about 90 articles, the subjects of which ranged across all the various topics covered in the class. I think my favorite was an article the NY Times Paul Krugman, who addressed some of the criticism of globalization in the provocatively titled “In Praise of Cheap Labor.” I highly recommend it for a quick overview of some of the tough issues involved.
2) Man, was that a great Puppy Bowl yesterday, or what? This was my third year watching this great American institution, and I was pleased to see more mixed-breed dogs this year, as well as the big banner for Petfinder. There was even a puppy that was predominantly Pit Bull, but the announcer delicately referred to his breed as “All American”.
3) I just found out that my scheduled ice hockey game for tonight was cancelled by the Central Park authorities because it is too cold. Isn’t that like canceling a swim meet because it’s too wet? I swear, it’s times like this where I’m ready to pack my bags and move to Canada (or at least Minnesota). What an embarrassment. (For the record, it’s 17 degrees right now, with wind chill at around 0 degrees.)
Lefty January 2nd, 2007
As the calendar turns to a new year, it’s a natural time to reflect upon the year that’s past as well as to new goals and resolutions for 2007. Highlights of 2006 for me included:
Things I’m looking forward to in 2007:
Lefty December 19th, 2006
Tonight after work I swung by ITP’s 2006 Winter Show, which showcases the favorite creations of students in that program over the past semester. I had never been to one of their shows before, and it was quite a scene. There were easily several hundred people there, and dozens of installations utilizing various web-based, interactive, or mobile technologies. I knew a few of the presenters from the Stern business plan competition, and I got to chat first-hand with the inventors of several clever and creative projects. Highlights included an interactive clothing line, a wireless network that allows your plants to call you when they’re thirsty, a site that lets you monitor your favorite rock bands, and a Google maps mash-up that charts eco-friendly businesses across the U.S.
Lefty December 18th, 2006
To celebrate finishing my last final, I was able to overcome my eremitic inclinations (for the second weekend in a row!) and actually attend a few social events this past weekend. Saturday night I hit up a party that an old pal from OgilvyInteractive threw in Williamsburg, as well as another event thrown by a fellow derby announcer in Park Slope. Sunday afternoon, a friend from Wunderman had a get together in Prospect Heights, and I got to play in a hockey scrimmage Sunday evening.  I’ll see if I can keep the socializing going for awhile, or if I revert to my normal state of not interacting with any large groups for months at a time.