As you approach lower Manhatten, there is an area that looks oddly familiar, with several grey, glass and comparitively stunted looking towers rising up relatively far from other buildings.  Like some modern architectural version of ancient rock formations, these buildings stand out of place in this City of compacted usage.

But then you realize that they are out of place, in a sense.  What's missing next to them is what were once the two tallest structures on the planet.

I approached the World Trade Center site with mixed apprehension.  The events of 9/11/2001 bring about such an upheaval of emotions - the tragedy of the day - and the further tragedy of how the events of the day were used to start forming our country into something it should never be.  Is a place where so many died a terrible death a tourist attraction?  Should it be memorialized in that way?  Or is visiting it more towards honoring those who have fallen and remembering what was, though undeniably tragic, a piece of our shared national history?  Is visiting Ground Zero much different than visiting Normandy or Gettysburg in that respect?

The tone at the site was that of quiet contemplation.  The whole of the area is blocked off by large metal fencing as they begin construction on the new site, with one large scarred building on the south end under repair, a cross made out of original girders, and a large concrete pit - the sublevels of the site.  Along the metal fence are pieces of historical information about the site along with a list of those who died on "IX XI".  Indeed, if you did not know what you were looking for and were not familiar with the area, it might just look at first glance like yet another construction area.  One lady walking by asked her friend, "I wonder what this is about?" before realizing.

In front of the cross of girders is a piece of fence where someone wrote "Love never dies."  In a place where so much hatred could be evoked and in whose name further pain has been inflicted in this world, I found it fitting.

I've always liked the saying that cliches are cliches only because they are that which has  resonated in the public consciousness.  So I say with all fondness that though it may be a  cliche, I Heart NY (though I must beg my faithful few to forgive the use of the word "heart" in lieu of taking the time to upload and use a picture of a little heart - it's just not worth the time as I race the clock of my laptop battery dying).  As I write this, I am sitting at a small table on the corner of E70th and Lexington just outside a bakery slightly larger than the table at which I write.  Having had a brunch consisting of an apple walnut muffin and a skim mocha, I have found an open wireless network gaining me open - if somewhat inconsistant - Internet access.

It's lunch hour in the City, and all sorts of pedestians walk by, giving some insight into the diversity of the populace.  Actually, scratch that, I'm genuinely surprised by the people here as the City in general is not terribly distinct from what I've found in other megalopolis cities (to borrow a term from SimCity) except for the fact that it just goes on and on and on.  And the accents.

It strikes me as how down to earth NYC feels.  What surprises me most of all is how the City resonates with me in a way I never expected.  Walking the streets, riding the subway, writing this entry and watching these two guys helping their friend parallel his Jaguar into a tight parking space, the City just fits with me in an unexpected way.  It actually feels very similar to how San Francisco felt for me - perhaps I am just a fan of coastal mega-cities.

To give a recap of the trip thus far:  Carrie and I were running late, so we got the the KC airport about 20 mins prior to our flight.  We were rushed to the front of the security line where, like always, I got pulled over for the security check.  Our lateness lost our seat assignments, so Carrie was now next to the Business Traveler From Hell.  The BTFH, an early veteran of the Big and Tall industry from his lengthy and loud cell conversations, managed to spend the flight playing solitaire left handed, which is relevant because Carrie was to his left so he managed to keep elbowing into her space.  But you must understand that BTFH didn't care, as he was born with that unique devil-may-care mentality that may be his secret to success in the Big and Tall sector - the same mentality that allows him to speak loudly and clearly into his cell while sitting on the plane because, hey, we all want to hear what he has to say, literally up until the moment he is told to put the phone away.  And upon landing, pow, it's out again and his vocal volume is back up.

Ok, so it's obvious that I did not like the BTFH.

We got into LaGuardia around 10:20 at night.  Since 2 of my last 3 flights were to Mexico, I half expected to go through customs, which is an absurd notion but was there all the same.  Ian was waiting for us by the baggage claim, and after a short wait for our bags we were in a taxi and off to his apartment.

Ian lives in the Upper East side at 79th St and 3rd Ave.  His apartment, which he shares with two girls we met briefly, Freda and Lonnie, either of whose names I may have just misspelled, was fairly large for a Manhatten flat costing less than a few thousand a month with multiple rooms.  And Freda had recently purchased a sofa hide-a-bed, which while not the lap of luxury certainly beat resting in a sleeping bag on the wood floor.

How funny, this group of older gentlemen, the same who helped one of their group park their Jag, are now sitting next to me discussing their morning jog, using terms like "phiffy", and eating pound cake.  It reminds me of the images I conjur when John Mandelbaum speaks of going places with his poker buddies.

Anyway, Carrie, who used to live in NY for a short time, wanted to continue her old ritual of buying a Times and drinking a coffee in the morning (which was 11:00am by the time we got out and about).  I refused to go to a Starbucks as there were surely several local coffeeshops in the City.  We ended up at Neil's Coffee Shop, which was really more of a diner.  I got a Diet Coke and a blueberry muffin, which they cut in half and toasted in a move that was unexpected but very good.  So take it from Jason and "Neil" - toast your muffins!

The Group of Old Coffee Drinkers has left.  As three of them were getting into the Jag, one of them called out to the one remaining behind, "Dewey, don't you invite that lady to dinner."  "You guys are clowns."  Then this lady sitting next to me calls back, "What are you doing ordering him around, he's a grown man."  "Crazy these guys," said Dewey to her.  "They've got nobody to talk to.  They're all bachelors these guys."  Then another approached, asking where they went, with a look somewhere between disappointment and relief for having missed his friends.

It's colder than I expected - probably around 50 degrees with a steady breeze making it cooler yet.  And the City is not nearly as polluted as I was expecting either.  Ian worked on Thursday so once we got out of the apartment it was a one-way affair until he got off early mid-day.  And I managed to forget my coat (though not my camera).  So yesterday was a brisk one for me.

After Neils, we met Ian at his job - World Monument Fund, where he is either/both a Program Assistant/Administrative Assistant.  They have a very nice office not far from the Empire State Building, with cubicle walls made out of a cherry-like wood and frosted glass - very contemporary and great style.

Ian suggested a quickie of a detour to the Museum of Sex a few blocks from his office, though he recommended only visiting the gift shop for it cost $13.50 to go into the museum itself.  I had no idea that they made Betty Page action figures ("Jungle Betty" and "Photo Shoot Betty" but there they were, in the, ahem, flesh as it were.  Carrie purchased some magnets and buttons for gifts and then We opted for lunch.

Some time back Carrie was watching the Food Network and saw a bit on this place called "Grilled Cheese NYC" which served, unsurprisingly, grilled cheese sandwiches.  So we walked and walked and walked and walked and some time later arrived in the East Village after a minor detour.  It's a small quaint restaurant with seating in the small dozens but a great brown brick interior.  There I had a provolone and swiss grilled cheese with sage pesto, a tasty combination on 7-grain bread and complimented with what tasted like fresh tomato soup.

Side Note:  Today is my mother's birthday.  I must remember to call her after I finish writing this.

Ok, my battery is about dead.  More later including our trip to the World Trade Center site, Rocco's on 22nd, and todays events.

Tomorrow I am off to "The Apple", "The City So Nice They Named It Twice", that's right - New York City.  Carrie and I are going to visit Ian along with Lena and Jay (all three of whom are fairly recent residents of the City).  Eating at Rocco's (of "The Restaurant" fame), hope to see a show and go to Ellis Island.  I've mixed feelings about visiting Ground Zero, as I don't think it should be a tourist destination, yet at the same time it IS a piece of our national history.  We'll see.  And Carrie wants to go to all sorts of art museums, which is fine by me as I've been looking to swipe a Monet (a la The Thomas Crown Affair).

I haven't decided yet if I'll do a travelogue like I did for Cozumel.  We'll see how it goes!

After nearly four years of living on South N St in my brick ranch, I have decided to put it up for sale.  It's gained in equity fairly well over the past four years, so I want to cash in on that gain and use the current low interest rates to move into something newer that needs less maintenance. 

I am NOT a handy person, so all the grouting, painting, and the like that I (along with help from my mother, sister and brother-in-law) have been doing over the past week in prep for it's listing has really confirmed the new-house-less-maintenance concept.

More news coming soon.  Check out my listing here if you want to buy a nice brick ranch in Indianola!  ;)

At dinner tonight, Chrissy and I got into the subject of the Recall and how disgusted it makes us.  And sure enough, they went and did it.  The Terminator is now Governator (and damn the use of a cliched nickname for a cliched candidate!)

I mean, at least as far as Republicans go he's pretty liberal, but still.  The problems the recall was cited over - namely the financial crisis and the power issues - were happening last year.  And they re-elected Governor Davis then - I remember, I was there that week!  But we now live in an era where if you don't like how an election turned out, a relatively small number of people can work to get it overturned.

I know I know..."it was a fair election" I'm sure will be heard, along with those citing "the people have spoken, and Gray Davis lost."  Except he didn't lose.  He didn't win either.  He wasn't on the ballot.

In a recall election like this farce held tonight, the sitting Governor doesn't get an entry on the ballot.  Instead the vote is two parts - 1) Should the election be recalled and 2) Vote for the person to replace.  And because of this, the sitting governor requires a majority of votes to stay in office, yet the successor can gain office with a plurality.

And beyond that, don't recalls make voting rather meaningless in states where they are allowed?  Why bother putting any thought into who makes the best candidate when odds are a small number of people in the opposition will force another election within a year?  Do you really think it will stop with this one?

I fear Pandora's Box has been opened in California.  A recall of the Governator is already being tossed around (perhaps a joint ticket of Edward Furlong and Nick Stahl can run against him).  And after that another...and another...and another.  Until eventually, inevitably, the law is changed and they are no longer allowed.

Idaville Detective "Encyclopedia" Brown Found Dead in Library Dumpster

IDAVILLE, FL—Police are currently investigating the death of police detective Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, 49, whose body was discovered in a Dumpster behind the Idaville Public Library Monday.

Above: The trash bin inside of which police found the mangled body of Detective Brown (inset).

"Detective Brown's death is a great loss," said Idaville Police Commissioner Rupert "Bugs" Meany, a longtime critic of Brown's unorthodox investigative technique who nevertheless appeared to be shaken by the murder. "Thanks to him, Idaville has the highest arrest-to-conviction-due-to-obscure-trivia rate in the nation. I believe I speak for everyone in Idaville when I say that Encyclopedia Brown was truly the greatest sleuth in sneakers."

Police discovered Brown's badly beaten, nearly decapitated body after the detective failed to respond to routine radio check-in calls. Pages from Brown's battered casebook, which contained such cryptic entries as "Whales are mammals, not fish," and "Dinosaurs and cavemen did not live at the same time," were found stuffed in the detective's mouth.

Police said the only other evidence found at the crime scene was a pair of "disgusting sneakers" and a damaged floral-patterned cookie jar that held dozens of human teeth.

According to friends, Brown spent hours at the library each evening memorizing facts—blooming cycles of house plants, the notes of the harmonic scale, America's state capitals—that often proved crucial to his violent-crime-unit investigations.

"Leroy taught me everything I know about investigative police work," said Capt. Sally Kimball-Brown, Brown's friend since childhood and wife until their divorce in 1986. "You can be sure we'll use the technique that bears his name to track down his killer."

"Encyclopedia was a good man who helped a lot of people," Kimball-Brown added. "For him, no case was too small."

Brown, the only son of former Idaville Police Chief Brown, is survived only by Kimball-Brown. Brown's salary, $.25 per day plus expenses, will be placed in a fund to establish a criminology scholarship in his name at Idaville University.

Kimball-Brown said Brown was so respected that even several criminals he helped convict have stepped forward to assist investigators.

"Thanks to him, I got a new start," said parolee Margaret "Maggie" DeLong, who was convicted for intellectual-property theft late last year in Case 03-823: The Case Of The Stolen Tape, but was later released on Brown's recommendation. "You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be working closely with the cops on this one."

"Looks like Brown finally ran up against a case he couldn't crack," said a caller who identified himself to police only as "Stewie." "But everything isn't what it seems here. Check out a gang called the Tigers. See who really runs it. There's your clue."

Officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Internal Affairs Division are investigating the lead by making a long list of all the facts they know about tigers. They are also investigating wildcats, the jungle, zoo history, and rumors of unrest within the Idaville Police Department.

"Leroy and Commissioner Meany butted heads before," Kimball-Brown said. "Leroy knew he was the better detective, and it bothered him that Bugs' smooth-talking and glad-handing got him the commissioner's seat, in spite of his spotty past. It's also common knowledge that Bugs resented Encyclopedia's cleverness, which often made Bugs look like a clumsy, no-necked bully."

Tensions between Brown and Meany came to a head in 1999 when, against Meany's wishes, Brown testified before the Florida Supreme Court in The Case Of The Slippery Salamander. Meany publicly threatened Brown several days after the The Miami Herald lauded "ace case-cracker Encyclopedia Brown" for his expert testimony on a dead cockroach, a runaway judge, a peacock's egg, and a stolen surfboard.

Because of the long-standing mutual enmity between Meany and Brown, Meany was named among the suspects in The Case Of Encyclopedia Brown's Mangled Corpse. Meany denied the allegations.

"It's true that Detective Brown and I didn't see eye to eye, but I would never do something so downright dirty rotten as murder him," Meany said. "Besides, it's a matter of public record that, at the time the crime was committed, I was at the North Pole watching the penguins."

While no solid leads have surfaced, Kimball-Brown said she has a hunch that Brown knew his killer.

"The bitter irony is that Brown would have easily cracked a case like this one," Kimball-Brown said. "I just can't help but wonder: WHAT DID ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOW THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED HIM SOLVE HIS OWN MURDER?"

For the answer to this story, turn to page 76.

---

Stolen, like oh so many funny things, from The Onion.

One of the great things about living in Indianola is that come election season, we have just the right combination of A) being within 1/2 hour of Des Moines and B) being a rural enough setting to be a good photo-op for "the working American".  Thus we get lots of candidates coming through.

Each year, Senator Tom Harkin throws a big steak fry, and this year former President Bill Clinton was the guest speaker.  Several of the Dems running for Pres in 2004 were also there as well.

Left to Right:  President Bill Clinton, Senator Tom Harkin,
Senator Bob Graham, Senator Carol Mosley Brown,
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Governor Howard Dean

Clinton gave a great speech, really got the crowd going, and then as he left I managed to shake his hand as he was walking the line past the crowd!  (And for those who care, he had a nice grip but a bonier-than-expected hand).

Goodbye

Hello

You'll either love it or hate it.

Should I suddenly disappear, please contact your local legislators to get the habeas corpus provisions back into the Patriot Act...

It's late news but good news (thanks to general busyness leading to a lack of site updates around the event):

Megan and Brad got hitched on August 30!  Heaps of Congrats to the wedded couple!

Once again, I prove to be a friend to the Des Moines Register - this time regarding McDonald's and Wi-Fi access:

Jason Cross, director of consumer Internet services at Lighthouse Communications in Des Moines, likened McDonald's wireless service to the McRib sandwich.

With 30,000-plus restaurants, McDonald's has to test consumers' appetites for high-speed wireless hot spots before rolling them out to millions of customers.

"If you're there eating a Happy Meal and you don't know how to configure your computer (for wireless access), the kid behind the counter isn't going to be able to help you," Cross said. "They want to get all the bugs and issues" sorted out before the company decides whether to expand the service nationally.

The whole thing is here.

It gets weirder and weirder...

Taco Bell is running a promotion in California where you can place a "vote" (not legally counting) for your favorite Recall election governor choice by purchasing a taco or burrito.

Remember in the movie Demolition Man how Sly and Sandra go out for an evening of dinner and dancing at Taco Bell because it's the only surviving restaurant?  This is how it starts!

Stolen from The Onion.

And don't go acting all surprised or indignant...  you all already knew I was a liberal!

Click picture to read

Hot air ballooning, that oh so Indianolan of past times...  I have my pictures from this year's National Balloon Classic and O'Henry crewing up in the ImageGallery.  Click here to check them out.  Warning--hundreds of pictures!

This morning I got to take my second balloon ride.  It was a beautiful morning - great visibility and calm winds.  I took about 70 photos while in flight, many of which I hope to have online Sunday. Ah Sunday...when I can finally sleep in (since ballooning requires 5am mornings each day this week!)

Click picture for a larger version!

I was interviewed by the Des Moines Register yesterday about that Primate Programming, Inc. site (I am on their list of tech people to call when they need a quote), but unfortunately the Iowa Primate Learning Center was unhappy about the site (who links to the IPLC), so their unhappiness made the article rather than my hilarity.

BUT as it turns out, a second article was submitted and picked up by the AP, which in turn made the front page of Salon.com today!

"It's hilarious," says Jason Cross, director of consumer Internet services for Lighthouse Communications in Des Moines. Click here to read the whole thing.

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