Author: James

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Archery Night: Zombie Apocalypse training

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In light of the “Avengers”, the “Hunger Games”, and the new Green Arrow TV series, both of my kids have been interested in trying the sport of archery. So when I came across a Groupon deal for the Queens Archery Range I decided to take the whole family. We had an amazing time. My wife even enjoyed it, and I didn’t figure her for the archery type. We shot recurve bows that first night and I was shocked at how much fun I had getting my inner Hawkeye on! While the girls enjoyed themselves, they didn’t think that archery was going to be something that they would want to do on a regular basis. My boy on the other hand was hooked.

A few weeks later I took my boy back Continue reading “Archery Night: Zombie Apocalypse training”

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Here we go again

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It is a damn shame that we are having this discussion yet again today. The murder of 27 people in Connecticut, 20 of them small children between the ages of 5 and 10, once again highlights a unique problem with American society. I have been watching the television coverage for most of the day with a mixture of sadness and calm acceptance of the reality of the world we live in today. I wasn’t sure of whether or not to add my two cents since I have recently become NRA certified with a pistol and have taken up range shooting as a hobby. As a child of the 70’s and a a resident of NYC, where we have some of the most strict gun laws in the country, I would be a Continue reading “Here we go again”

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I am the Night…The Dark Knight!!

Most people I know are aware of my fixation on a certain comic book character. So just as a goof I took an online personality quiz which asked the question “which Superhero are you”. To be honest, I should have guessed the outcome.

Results: You are the Batman

Batman
75%
Hulk
65%
The Flash
65%
Superman
60%
Supergirl
57%
Iron Man
55%
Spider-Man
50%
Robin
49%
Wonder Woman
42%
Catwoman
30%
Green Lantern
15%
You are dark, love gadgets
and have vowed to help the innocent
not suffer the pain you have endured.


Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

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My New Mac Mini is on the way


Since it has been at least 7 years since I have upgraded my Apple desktop system I finally decided it was time to pull the trigger on the new Mac Mini that Apple announced last week. I ordered my new setup from MacMall and it should arrive in the next few days. The miniature form factor of the mini is perfect for my desk, and the third generation Intel quad core processor will provide enough power for most basic multimedia tasks. After years of favoring Apple, I have been primarily working on PCs since this summer because certain software could not be run on my old Powermac Quad G5. However, while the transition was not as dreadful as I had expected because Windows 7 was better than Vista, I still I missed my mac environment and have been anxious to Continue reading “My New Mac Mini is on the way”

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…..and my Lambo is blue!

With just a few days remaining until the presidential election I find myself for the first time in many years very anxious about the political direction the citizens of this country will decide upon. My hope is that we will ultimately as a nation gather up the strength to do what is right instead of what is easy.

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We cut heads!

The Pres

I came across this picture of President Obama recently and it made me think.  The worst thing about having a shaved head is……. I miss going to the barbershop.  The last time I went to a barbershop was probably close to 20 years ago. I started shaving my head right around the time that my wife and I started dating.

The barbershop I used to go to was the old Jerry’s Den on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. It was always packed because everyone was waiting for the one or two barbers that were guaranteed to give you a good cut. Most people would rather wait and hour or two to make sure you got a barber that didn’t give you a jacked up cut.

The main thing I miss about the barbershop is the Continue reading “We cut heads!”

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Rollin’ with Wifey

Despite the middle age cliche, I have been thinking about getting a bike for some time now. So a few weeks back I purchased a set of introductory lessons offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) for my wife and I. The course was purchased via one of those Groupon type sites to which I have become addicted. I could tell that wife was a bit nervous about me climbing on one of those, as my mother calls them, “two wheeled death machines”. And while my girl would never outwardly say anything to try to prevent me from doing something I really wanted to pursue, I thought that reducing her anxiety as much as possible would be a nice thing to do . So I signed her up to take the class with me so that she could see that motorcycles can be relatively safe when operated properly.

Surprisingly enough, the wife had a blast. Me on the other hand, I struggled all day with the tiny little bike they had us riding. I stand 6’2″ and a half of all legs and weigh around 220lbs. The miniature Suzuki 250cc cruisers had my knees up by my head. I could barely move my legs enough to switch gears. The instructor then got slightly pissed at me for sitting way back on the passenger seat in order to fit more comfortably on the bike.

My first time on a motorcycle in 25 years and I kinda sucked at it.
Midlife crisis – 1. James – 0.

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To ink or not to ink…. that is the question!

As another birthday has passed I am finding myself increasing attracted to “extreme” activities like shooting, archery, motorcycle riding, mixed martial arts, and body ink.  The body ink has been especially foremost in my thoughts. I had an in depth discussion with my kids over dinner about the benefit of waiting until you are much older before deciding whether or not to get inked. My argument was basically a tale of how silly it would be for me today if I had gotten the tattoo that I wanted at 15. I would now be stuck with a full chest Iron Fist dragon tattoo instead of the far more sensible full chest Batman emblem that I am considering at 47.

I really think I am having a minor midlife crisis.

 

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Midlife Changes

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It takes me at least a month to feel “right” again every year after I come back from visiting family and friends in Scandinavia. However this year I feel especially off center after returning. I am not sure whether I am in the midst of a full blown midlife crisis or is it just the fact that once you see how other people live outside of the US, and outside of NYC, your perspective changes on what constitutes “quality of life”. Plus, the whole final year before tenure review can’t be helping.

However, right now, I am leaning towards my midlife crisis theory.