Hi, Dave.

The Shake Shack has a countdown to opening clock that bloggers can post on their blogs.  This is brilliant marketing.  I've pasted mine on my sidebar.

I don't know where this guy needs to go, but here's the ridiculous thing about Brooklyn... about 2 minutes later, someone came and took that open parking space.

I run a mentoring program for college students interested in finance.  We're looking for two more speakers to round out our breakfast program... one for 7/20 and one for 7/27.  If you work for/own your own hedge fund or if you work with futures, options, or derivatives, please contact me right away.  CFA charterholders highly preferred.

I got scammed.  These puppies aren't real...  here's the scoop. 

At least they're cute, though.

A friend of Kerri's just send her a note about some puppies.  If you're interested, or if you know anyone who would like a free Golden Retriever puppy, contact Mrs. Gaëlle Wenger at gaellewenger (at) hotmail.com.  We really don't want to say what will happen to these little guys if no one takes them...  so just take one, give it a good home, and we don't have to worry about that.

Please use the "e-mail this post to a friend" post and help spread the word.

I saw 24 Hours on Craigslist last night and it was pretty damn funny.

I was surprised the theater wasn't packed, given that is the 18th most popular site on the web.  Perhaps if they had put a Craiglist ad up, more people would have showed. 

Basically, they took something like 80 ads from one single day and filmed the stories around them...  everything from crossdressing rockers to moms selling strollers.  Some of the people score really high on the Unintentional Comedy Scale. 

Having met Craig Newmark in person, it was especially hilarious to hear people's comments on whether there even really is a Craig and what he's like. 

The thing is, Craigslist is really a reflection of ourselves in a lot of ways, and so I feel like I learned a few things in this movie:

1. No matter how creepy you are, there's always someone creepier out there.
2. There is a really thin line between hilarious and creepy.
3. There's no fat end of the curve...   In the end, its all long tail.
4. Its unclear whether anonymity breeds more or less honesty.
5. Free is good.  People love free.
6. Homemade cookies are the universal currency.  If someone has 50 pairs of surplus women's army pants, you can trade a bag of homemade cookies for them.
7. Flash mobs are cool... NYC should have some of them.

The next time someone jokes about you...  turn it into a sales pitch.

Way to go, Chuck.

*gives thumbs up*

If you haven't seen the Random Chuck Norris Fact Generator yet, go here.

For those of you not living in a cave that has no broadband, Supr.c.ilio.us has some great web 2.0 related additions:

Link: Supr.c.ilio.us: The Blog � Chuck Norris 2.0.

My favorite:  Chuck Norris doesn’t search Google. He just stares at the screen until Google pops the website he needs.

This blog is hilarious...    There's no reason why it should have half the RSS subs I do.  You should go subscribe to their blog now, or Chuck Norris will roundhouse kick you in the face.

I'm finding myself glued to Indian music videos on Channel 73 this morning.  This isn't the first time I've flipped through and stopped to listen and watch. 

I have no idea what they're singing about and a lot of the dancing looks like its a fight between the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story.  What's with the dancing in big groups?  There also seems to be a lot of rising overhead shots of guys singing with outstretched arms and shouting towards the sky... sort of like Kirk yelling "Khaaaan!" in Star Trek II. 

But yet, I can't stop from bopping along.  This is great stuff.

Music truly is the international language.  Attractive female Indian dancers don't hurt either, admittedly.

So, if anyone has any recommendations as to some of this stuff I should be listening to, let me know. 

From my buddy Ryan...

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?

Who knows?

I don't drink coffee, but this is interesting nonetheless.

Link: How is coffee decaffeinated?.

Heather, who went to the Superhero's Ball as a our defense against the forces of evil bunnies, had some thought provoking words on her blog tonight:

"It's easy to love being in love, and when you're fresh out of it, you definitely feel an emptiness where something once was. But I know better than to seek it out from the past. One of the greatest pieces of wisdom a woman can have in dealing with a man is to know that you cannot change him. And you should not. The only harmless woman influence is to help him dress better. And of course if he's a good one, he will learn from you and you will learn from him to both be better. But never ever push against a man's nature. If you don't like him, or your situation with him, as is, don't bother liking him at all. If he'll ever change, let him do on his own time, and out of his own volition."

Link: AOL News - 'Old School' Actor Cranshaw Dies at 86.

Link: USATODAY.com - Marriott timeshare unit says customer data is missing.

ORLANDO (AP) — The timeshare unit of Marriott International is notifying more than 200,000 people that their personal data are missing after backup computer tapes went missing from a Florida office.

Link: CNN.com - Texas House�to cheerleaders: Don't shake it - May 5, 2005.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) -- Texas lawmakers sent a message to the state's high school cheerleaders Wednesday: no more booty-shaking at the game.

U.F.R.   (First word utterly, last word ridiculous.)  Isn't this something that, um... the PARENTS should be monitoring?  If its such a big issue, why don't the parents talk with the coach?  Why doesn't the school talk to the coach?  The idea that elected politicians are censoring cheerleader dance routines in 2005 is just plain sad.  If I lived in Texas now, I'd throw myself in front of a bus.  Then, I'd move.

Link: AFB's Blog Home.

Last week, the NYT published an article where a restaurant owner, Gabrielle Hamilton, interviews a blind man for a cooking position.  Now, I don't know if you've ever had any interaction with many blind people, but with the right tools around them, they can accomplish some pretty amazing stuff.  At GM Asset Management, there's a Canadian bond trader that is blind.  (Can you imagine all those quotes wizzing by on braille!  Amazing!) 

Anyway, so it seemed like this applicant had some trouble in these surroundings...  The article rips the guy apart with stuff like "His eyes wandered around in their sockets like tropical fish in the aquarium of a cheap hotel lobby..."?

I mean...   how do people get away with stuff like that?  The whole piece is basically making fun of this visually impaired job applicant.  How do you run a customer facing business with that kind of attitude?  I don't think would stand for an article like that if the owner was making fun of the applicant's race or even if the applicant was in a wheelchair.  How would Gabrielle feel if we made fun of a smaller female chef who couldn't carry a heavy item?

The article is here.

Gabrielle's restaurant is called Prune.  You know what's really ironic?  I checked out some reviews and I found these two:

From Dine.com...   "Prune Restaurant & Bar... opened it's doors to the discriminatingly hip east village crowd one year ago."   Yes...  definitely discriminating.

From Gayot.com...   "Prune may not be the most appealing name for a restaurant (it’s for the owner’s childhood nickname, not the fruit), but once inside any prejudice disappears."    Obviously hasn't been there lately...

If anyone knows Gabrielle Hamilton, I'd say they should urge her to write a public apology.

I've joked around with people about how the best way to get on the del.icio.us popular list is to come up with a top ten list...

...which means the ultimate del.icio.us popular item would be a Top 10 list of top ten lists.

Makes sense, no?

So, if anyone of you know of any great top ten lists, no matter what they're about, tag them in del.icio.us with for:ceonyc and I'll try to compile a list.

While I'm doing an address change for a misdirected order:

Customer Service Person:  "I do apoligize as I am from Canada myself...  Broadway is spelled B-r-o-a-d-w-a-y, is that correct?"

My question is, was she apoligizing because they don't have any Broadways in Canada or because Canadians are poor spellers, which would be news to me.