Plinkomatic

I’d pick the Air Force

I can fight in Pakistan w/o ever leaving Las Vegas.

I head to Cheddars for my favorite sandwich

When you want an unusual sandwich experience.

They are the sandwich Nazis. A Greek family that is too much fun.

Make sure you know what you want to order!!!

Greek rollup is the best.

Three overplayed songs I love anyway

I have XM Satellite 20on20 going on in the car much of the time so I’m blasted with repeats of the latest “greats”. A few a worth listening to, though…

Stuck in an elevator with James Bond

James Bond
His watch will help us get out.

My song about Toms River, NJ

This is from my friend Steve…

large town with 4 highschools

Three overplayed songs I love anyway

Advice From a Sage VC

I’m not sure who first said it, but I heard it years ago from an old-time venture capitalist. It makes sense and it ties to the “always try to raise money when you don’t need it.”

Dollars ! by Paul Falardeau (pfala)

“If you want money, ask for advice. If you want advice, ask for money.”

Fighting The Berry Addiction

I resisted getting a cell phone for a very long time. My first device was a Nokia 6160. What a tank! It even survived a plunge in the Charles River. Then I got a MOTO flip phone. Good HW, the worst SW imaginable.

My first Blackberry could only do email. Remember those? So many years ago… This is when the addiction began. I much prefer asynchronous communication (like email or IM or texting) to phone calls which are rudely interrupting. Rrrrriinnnnggggg. Stop what you are doing and pay attention to me. Not quite.

When my Berry also became a phone it became hard to leave home without it. I have spent a day without it but only if I’d forgotten it.

Lots of smartphone users have shared tips on fighting the addiction. In my experience this is a common topic of conversation on BOS-SFO flights. It is not that hard, actually. Step one is to limit the interruptions the device emits into your life. I have several custom profiles. At work, calls, text messages and meeting reminders vibrate but everything else is quiet. At home, calls vibrate and meeting reminders and text messages turn on the indicator light. If I want space from the device, I just put it on its charger.

What about the iPhone? Mine is permanently on vibrate. I use it as a portable browser and app desktop. The battery life cannot handle my normal business use without all sort of battery dongles that just look funny.

And my G-1? Often in my bag and off as a spare. I have an early build of the voice search on it and it simply rocks.

Hint: A trip to Caneel Bay would be nice this Valentine’s Day

Caneel Bay
Mmm, Caneel Bay on St. John. Where I went on my honeymoon. Scotts Beach. The turtles. Yeah, that would be great.

Chopper Ride to the Vineyard

I’ve lived 12 years in the Boston area but I’ve never been to the Vineyard…. So, it’ll be a nice treat to take a chopper ride down there and check out the island’s nooks & cranies. Too bad it’s winter.

Watch “Guns of Navarone” next time you’re home sick

Growing up in Communism I was fed a staple of World War II movies. There is nothing they don’t cure: from the common cold to hangover.

Guns of Navarone is an old school action/adventure film. There is a plot but it’s simple-enough to survive the occasional dozing off or tripping brought about by a NyQuil overdose. (If you don’t believe me, check out the Wired article “What’s Inside: NyQuil, Fortified With Powerful Narcotics!”)

Chooper Ride to the Vineyard

I’ve lived 12 years in the Boston area but I’ve never been to the Vineyard…. So, it’ll be a nice treat to take a chopper ride down there and check out the island’s nooks & cranies. Too bad it’s winter.

A thousand bucks won’t be enough…

Hmm, how would I spend a $1,000 from the lottery?

I don’t scuba dive enough these days to justify upgrading my equipment. It was top of the line, well, a long time ago. My setup is designed for travel because I can’t get used to the cold, murky waters of New England. Yeah, there is a lot of life here but it’s all a shade between light brown and dark gray. Hawaii, here I come. So, I went with a hoseless Oceanic dive computer, an integrated BC inflator / octopus and a top-of-the-line Atomic Titanium regulator. Two hoses in all. Not much to streamline here but that dangly Oceanic computer.

So… With a thousand bucks (and a few extra of my own) I can probably go for the latest in scuba streamlining—a mask with a heads up display (HUD) scuba computer. Take the Oceanic hoseless computer. Squeeze it into a fob-sized object stuck under the right mask lense and, voila, you have the Oceanic DataMask HUD. I just hope the mask fits. ;-)

But, since I mentioned already that I don’t scuba dive enough these days to justify upgrading my equipment, the thousand bucks will likely get thrown into the slash fund for that Florida vacation with the toddler.

I recommend hiking Sonamarg when you’re in Kashmir

When I was there more than 20 years ago, you could get away without a bulletproof vest. Nowadays, I’m not so sure…

Sonamarg means something like “the meadow of gold.” It’s a little less than 100km from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. Best way to get there is to hire a cab for the day. The drive will take several hours.

The valley itself is pretty but the fun part is trekking up onto the glaciers. The view of the surrounding mountains is breathtaking.

When I get home, I have to change

Ah, clothes. I used to pick what to wear in the morning and stick with it till the end of the day.

Now, with a toddler in the house, there is a need for “house clothes”. In the winter, they are a comfy light sweater or long sleeve T and a pair of pants that one can wash dinner off over and over and over again.