Messages

1

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: travel thread

« on: April 19, 2024, 08:14:33 AM »

Portland, Maine is a bucket list place for me. Keep notes of the cool places so I can get it from you when I go!

portland kicks tons of ass. I stated at The Press hotel which is a marriott property and was cool AF. eat at Central Provisions.

It's crazy that Portland is only 68K and has so much good food and drink. 100% on Central Provisions. The children's museum there is very nice, though you need a car to get to it. But there's more than enough to do in just the downtown area.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: travel thread

« on: April 15, 2024, 06:52:05 PM »

I really want to make it to Rome but I think it will be too rushed. I'm leaning towards adding another day or two in Paris (very much enjoying the vibe here) and a stop or two in a smaller French or Spanish city.

I'm biased, but I prefer small Spanish cities. Sitting in a Spanish bar and eating free tapas is preferable to me to what I've found in France. Spain is way more tranquilo than France. I've never been to Bilbao, but it's easy to get to from France and it has the Guggenheim. I studied in Santiago and it's great, but it's out of the way. Oh, I recommend you find a Pulperia in Spain and have the boiled octopus and potatoes. All they add is paprika, and it's amazing.

3

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Quantum Computing — WHAT THE eff WILL IT BE ABLE TO DO?!?!

« on: April 03, 2024, 12:31:53 PM »

My understanding is this is logical quantum computing, so different than the pure quantum computing. They are talking about building a "hybrid supercomputing system", which is kind of like a quantum simulator I gather. It's not surprising that its easier to fix errors in a simulator. 

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: travel thread

« on: March 26, 2024, 05:36:30 PM »

I drove through Baltimore the day before. We took the tunnel, but coincidentally I was thinking about what would happen if the tunnel failed as we drove through.

P.S. The cherry blossom festival is a nice time to visit DC!

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Let's talk about music in the 00's

« on: February 06, 2024, 07:54:36 AM »

Saw MGMT in the 00's and they did put on a good show. My favorite MGMT fact is that the guys were buds with Heems from Das Racist in college. Bet that was a good time.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: travel thread

« on: February 01, 2024, 03:47:49 PM »

Montreal is nice. Best to have your hotel in (or walkable to) the old quarter, though they more pricey. Bagels are amazing, and they have their own amazing pastrami ("smoked meat"). Walk up Mount Royal; it's a lovely park. I really love Quebec City, too, if you can swing part of your trip up there. I had a breakfast I will never forget in Quebec City, but would have to look up the name of the place.

I've been to Toronto a few times and do like the city -- it reminds me of a smaller NYC. But there wasn't a single meal I ate there that was memorable.

What about french whores?  While watching Kids in the Hall I was lead to believe there were loads of french whores there.

I don't know. My Canadian gf at the time (went to McGill) recommended certain notorious strip clubs when I went up there one time for a bachelor party, but I didn't mention that here because it's a family blog.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: travel thread

« on: February 01, 2024, 12:04:24 PM »

Montreal is nice. Best to have your hotel in (or walkable to) the old quarter, though they more pricey. Bagels are amazing, and they have their own amazing pastrami ("smoked meat"). Walk up Mount Royal; it's a lovely park. I really love Quebec City, too, if you can swing part of your trip up there. I had a breakfast I will never forget in Quebec City, but would have to look up the name of the place.

I've been to Toronto a few times and do like the city -- it reminds me of a smaller NYC. But there wasn't a single meal I ate there that was memorable.

8

Kansas State Football / Re: TRUE BLUE SQUAWK

« on: January 24, 2024, 01:55:28 PM »

I graduated from KU. But my fraternity pledge name was Apollo Boy Toy K-State-Wanna-Be Dick, so there's that. And when the crowd at Allen sang the KU fight song I would yell "Go" and "Fight" but remained silent when the crowd yelled "Win."

Go Cats.

9

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: January 08, 2024, 10:25:08 AM »

GOSP!

steve dave!

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: January 07, 2024, 04:11:16 PM »

You going to finally get a NYC snow day, mich? It's already coming down north of the City.

It used to snow there.

It snowed but barely stuck and turned to rain.

I strongly suggest going to Prospect Park for sledding when the snowless streak finally ends.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: January 06, 2024, 10:24:23 PM »

You going to finally get a NYC snow day, mich? It's already coming down north of the City.

It used to snow there.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: December 18, 2023, 08:28:59 PM »

What the eff is that? Now I'm certain he's secretly from New Jersey and not NYC.

Adams also told a buddy of mine at a donor's dinner in 2022 that he was supporting Zeldin over Hochul for governor, so he can just rot.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Quantum Computing — WHAT THE eff WILL IT BE ABLE TO DO?!?!

« on: December 06, 2023, 09:16:44 PM »

Right on!

14

Kansas State Football / Re: 2023 Dr pepper still in reach?

« on: November 16, 2023, 07:51:10 AM »

From a legal perspective, it is not a clarification but a change. The stupider course of action is to try to pretend it's a clarification instead of admitting it's a change. The Big XII chose to take the stupider route here.

But if I had to argue the Big XII's position in court, I would point to the comma and say the rule is legal gibberish as written, so some clarification is required. The Commissioner is authorized to clarify the rules. That's what he did.

It's just the intent of the rule was clear even if it was poorly drafted, and the "clarification" completely changed the intent of the rule.

Oh well.

15

Kansas State Football / Re: RANKINGS...

« on: August 08, 2023, 11:53:53 AM »

Here's your complete list

1   Georgia   
2   Michigan   
3   Alabama
4   Ohio State
5   LSU
6   USC   
7   Penn State   
8   Florida State   
9   Clemson   
10   Tennessee   
11   Washington   
12   Texas
13   Notre Dame
14   Utah   
15   Oregon   
16   TCU   
17   Kansas State   
18   Oregon State   
19   Oklahoma   
20   North Carolina   
21   Wisconsin
22   Mississippi   
23   Tulane   
24   Texas Tech   
25   Texas A&M   


It's going to be an interesting season!

I hope Oregon State whoops ass this year. Wins every game except the national championship.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: July 05, 2023, 12:56:26 PM »

A great song; a true song about Bloomberg's NYC.

Your mild billionaire mayor's now convinced he's a king
So the boring collect, I mean all disrespect
In the neighborhood bars I'd once dreamt I would drink

Bloomberg was definitely the best mayor in the past 30+ years.

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Tech Support and Suggestion Board / Re: 'Sup with these new splash ads?

« on: May 29, 2023, 09:45:24 PM »

Can't be good for traffic. I just close my tab and move on to some other mindless activity when I get one of those (often lately).

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: NYC

« on: May 16, 2023, 08:01:10 PM »

In my experience, there's been a small amount of crazy happening for years/decades on the subway. I haven't ridden since mid-March of 2020 (left the city to get more room for toddlers during COVID), so I don't know about NOW, but it was pretty steady from the mid-90s to 2020. Like, I only ever saw someone smoking crack on a subway in the 90s, but then it probably actually got worse in terms of confrontations when it got more crowded in the 2000s. And I also saw LOTS of people going out of their way to be very nice. It's just a mix of humanity and none of it ever bothered me. I used to ride late nights and fall asleep.

I definitely agree with this:

I feel like also for the subway, for the sheer amount of people riding it, the occasional verbal accosting being the worse anyone has seen is pretty damn good.

19

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Kansas City things

« on: April 15, 2023, 09:28:29 PM »

100k per day still sounds crazy

sports fans are bonkers

very true, I'm saying this as someone who spent over a thousand bucks to witness two (2) kansas state basketball games with my family

that's not even including the booze drinks

I offered to buy you beers!

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Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: Extend Jerome Tang

« on: March 27, 2023, 09:44:53 AM »

Reminds me of Roy Williams. I well remember the 1989-90 KU season, when the Hawks were unranked to start the year and had a longtime assistant coach new to their program (Roy was in his second season). The Hawks didn't have much talent that year but took off, jumped into the top 5, and it was obvious to me (and everyone) that Roy was the real deal. The game when they put 150 on Kentucky that season feels similar to the 116 we put on Texas.

That KU team got to #1 in the country but didn't win the conference (the Big 8 was loaded that year) and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Played out of their minds and over their ability all year, but didn't have the horses yet to finish. All seems very familiar. And exciting for the future.

Just to follow up on the parallels between Roy Williams (1990 KU) and Tang (2023 KSU):

Conference Comparison
Don't know which conference was better: 1989-90 Big Eight or 2022-23 Big XII, but both were amazing. The Big XII this year was arguably tougher in that it was deeper, but the 89-90 conference was pretty good. For example, here are the #1 teams in the country in the 89-90 AP Poll from week 8 to the final poll (week 17):

• Week 8: #1 KU (15-0)
• Week 9: #1 KU
• Week 10: #1 MU (17-1)
• Week 11: #1 MU
• Week 12: #1 MU
• Week 13: #1 KU
• Week 14: #1 MU
• Week 15: #1 KU
• Week 16: #1 OU
• Week 17: #1 OU

Team Comparison

2023 KSU

• conference finish: 3rd
• NCAA finish: Elite Eight
• preseason AP rank: unranked
• highest AP rank: 5
• final AP rank: TBD -- top 10
• final record: 26-10 (11-7)
• Key players (awards): Markquis Nowell (All-Conf, 3rd team AA)
• Key players (awards): Keyontae Johnson (All-Conf, 3rd team AA)

1990 KU

• conference finish: 3rd
• NCAA finish: Rd of 32
• preseason AP rank: unranked
• highest AP rank: 1
• final AP rank: 5
• final record: 30-5 (11-3)
• Key players (awards): Kevin Pritchard (All-Conf, hon. mention AA)
• Key players (awards): Mark Randall (2d team All-Conf)

Roy had a better record and got to #1 during the season but he was also in his second season with the team and his roster, and had only gone 19-12 in his first year at KU. And Tang got KSU further in the tourney. Anyway, some real parallels between the two years (and perhaps the coaches abilities).

21

Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: Pay Tang

« on: March 26, 2023, 11:30:34 AM »

We’re going to learn a lot about tang today

I know all I need to know

We know more than we did before, but we still have much to learn

What did you learn?

That he couldn’t take advantage of an incredible opportunity to make the final 4

I think he could, he just didn't. I knew it could have gone either way before the game, did you not know that?

When you get good seeds your opportunities to make the final 4 frequently seem incredible.

Rusty, you're an infinitely better and more patient man than I am.

Agreed. Rusty was the only one in purple in MSG that I saw clapping for the team's good season after the loss yesterday. Inspired me to do the same.

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Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: ELITE EIGHT KATPAK - Haymaker Bar (not dorm) Saturday at 4 (or earlier)

« on: March 25, 2023, 11:45:58 AM »

Yes, train times don't get me there in time to pregame, but I will be at the game toasting michigancat while we enjoy the Cats. Thanks michigancat!!

23

Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: goEMAW pre-Sweet 16 KATPAK- Haymaker Bar and Kitchen

« on: March 23, 2023, 02:25:28 PM »

Of course this happens after I leave NYC after 25 years. 

No longer in the state????

Still in NY up the Hudson. Might be able to make it on Saturday...

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Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: No sleep till Brooklyn

« on: March 23, 2023, 01:52:53 PM »

The Crooklyn Dodgers song is legit. Reminds me of the Brooklyn I lived in in the 90s (gentrifier).

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Jerome Tang Coaches Kansas State Basketball / Re: goEMAW pre-Sweet 16 KATPAK- Haymaker Bar and Kitchen

« on: March 23, 2023, 01:49:13 PM »

Of course this happens after I leave NYC after 25 years.