"A cache of recently obtained information -- including hundreds of photos, drawings and written documents -- indicates that al Qaeda operatives have undertaken meticulous preparations to case the five specific buildings." - WSJ

I'm sorry, but if I see ANYONE of ANY ETHNICITY taking hundreds of photos of the Citigroup building, I think I might stop to ask them what they're up to.  Its just like the story about the terrorists being at the WTC a day or two before with a GPS finder.  This is the kind of suspicious stuff that people need to be asking about.

Anonymity...     we think it exists, but it definately doesn't, not on the internet anyway.  Like, for example, if you leave anonymous posts on a blog from far off places like Denver or Fordham...  people will find out.  Its just a matter of technological knowhow.  :)

We know you're watching...

Its apparent to me that my life has become my own personal crusade... to weed out idiots, assholes, and the inconsiderate. The world, or at least this city, has run let these people run amuck. Amuck, I tell you! People who aren't doing the right thing, mostly in the realm of treating their fellow human beings with decency and respect, need to be stopped, or at least told off. When this guy parked across two spaces in front of my apartment, to save a spot for his other car, I said something to him. "Its hard enough to park in this city without people like you doing shit like that. That's a bush league move, dude." He just stared at me. The people on the stoop next to me looked at me like I had two heads--but I shouldn't be the one to be made to feel like I'm taking the world too seriously. We need to put a stop to all this--to speak out when wrong is done. Its like that movie where Chris Rock runs for president. You need to just turn around and say, "That ain't right!" Otherwise, all of these people will just gone on doing the same insensitive, selfish things over and over again. We need to collectively put our foot down as a society. No more laughing at someone when they drop a fly ball in kickball. No more saving spots, or even worse, going headfirst into one from behind while someone else is pulling in. And, when you makeout with someone, you owe them an explanation if you decide you don't want to anymore. Ignoring phonecalls is bush league and so is stalling. Stop the insanity!

So the last softball game went much better... In fact, it nearly went perfectly. We won 16-1 in a mercy rule shortened five innings, and the only run they scored was on the last play of the game, where the next runner they tried to send home got cut down at the plate by yours truly. :)

Anyway... Its 3AM on July 5th, and I'm eating an apple w/peanut butter. (Skippy Super Chunk) I've been spending more and more time, as I did tonight, with people I've met kayaking. I think what I like about spending time with these people is that it expands your social horizon--challenging you to mesh with people you would otherwise have no social connection to. I mean, when I go to ILPA conferences or Fordham Young Alumni events, there are certain shared sets of circumstances that give you something to work with--social training wheels so to speak. Here, there's nothing of the sort, and the extent to which I know zero of the lives of the people around me overwhelms me (in a good way, I think).

As I was driving home, there was a car in front of me whose license plate said, "Howyedoin".

I think pretty good.

This is probably politically incorrect, but... .well... I don't really care so much, I still think its a good idea that solves a problem.

While biking around the city yesterday (I rode about 19 miles), I came up with an idea. Its become apparent to me that homeless people and street performers need to get in on this Mobil Speedpass-like technology. Imagine if you had a little keyfob with a button on it that was connected to your bank account. You see someone asking for money on the street, and all you have to do is press the little button, and 25 cents instantly drops into their account, or on a smart card, if they don't have an account. What happens sometimes is that people, rightly or wrongly, don't want to step out of a crowd to put money in a hat or jar or whatever they're collecting in. They feel embarrassed, or in the case of some of the more troubled looking homeless, simply don't want to get too close to them. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't have an issue with this myself, but I think I'm objectively observing the opinions of the average NYC passerby. I don't think that all of the people who walk on by are cold hearted and often times I feel like they probably want to give something, but something prevents them. Maybe they don't want to break out their wallet on a crowded city street. Maybe they honestly don't have any change.

Think about it. You could set the button to determine exactly how much you want to give, and set limits over a given time span... let's say a dollar a day or something. All you would need to do is point and click your little key fob at the person you want to give to, and its done... anonymously if you want.

From the perspective of the collector, its a huge improvement in efficiency. First off, it makes their money more secure. You could keep the money on a smart card with a pin number. Should they lose the card or get it stolen, only they would know the pin to get access, and they could have it replaced quickly. No more need to worry about getting ripped off by other homeless people.

Also, it increases the number of potential collection hours. When people are sleeping on the street late at night and someone walks by them, that's when the passerby often feels the worst for them. Yet, they never give, because... well... how are you going to give them anything? Are you going to put the spare change on the person when they're sleeping? Certainly you wouldn't wake them up to give them money. This is a prime collection opportunity that they are missing out on.

It also solves the problem of knowing where the money is going. You could set up the smart card so it is only able to purchase certain items, like food, clothes, or shelter. Items like alcohol would be prohibited.

Now, of course, the plan is not without its hitches. If there were other people carrying smart cards, you wouldn't want someone else stepping into your beam and stealing the quarter. Plus, there are people like my friend Grace who just think the idea is stupid. Surely, they will have to be further educated with a more convincing argument. I think the whole thing would work pretty well. Of course, making a business out of it, taking a small percentage of all of these tiny transactions, might prove someone difficult. Maybe you could just make it a non-profit endeaver and just get philanthropic money to pay for it.

Yes... these are the kind of things that go through my head when I ride my bike.

So I pose this question: "Can a Friend Guy ever be a Guy Guy?"

What is it that makes a guy fit into, or fall out of, the catagory of potential date. See, men are different. For men, if we are single, any single female that we are hanging out with has the potential, at least at first, to be a potential date. There's never a question of whether or not a guy who asks you out is actually interested in dating you. But for girls, you never really know. You can be doing all of the dating type stuff... showing interest, asking them out, etc... and they'll seemlingly go along with the whole thing, until the point that you're sitting across from them and you realized, "Hey... wait a second... this isn't a date at all!"

I think we should all wear some kind of color coded clothing. Like, we all wear green if we're available for a date, or on a date. This way, when you show up to pick the girl up, and you're wearing green and she's not, you can say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was something else. My bad." People in relationships, they could wear red... you know, like for "stop." This way, you don't chat with someone for a 1/2 hour and then suddenly have them drop the b-bomb on you that they have a boyfriend.

That's not to say that people aren't worth just being friends with. They totally are, and there are some people I'd love to spend more time with, no matter what the kind of relationship--I just want it to be clear what people are getting into at the start.

Some guys would always get green shirted girls... like my college suitemate. I swear, he could be buying sneakers and he's come out of it with the phone number of some chick--a customer, clerk, or both. Me... I practically have to keep reminding people that I am, in fact, an actual male. Who knew that paying attention to women, showing a little care, and being courteous would make them confuse you for another woman? Maybe that's why I seem to have better luck with lesbians. Weird.