With the next Gotham Princeton group meeting quickly approaching on October 16th, you might be questioning why you considered riding the circuit out to Princeton. "Well, there was that witty blog I read a month or so ago, but that’s not enough to convince me to come." You are right. It is not enough. There are so many more reasons to come and see what we are about.
While taking my son to ... More >>

I work for a business magazine and regularly cover the job market, which is a pretty depressing beat considering the current economy. While we and many other publications often write about how dire it is out there for experienced and well-paid professionals, there hasn’t been a lot written about how this recession has impacted young professionals. It isn’t just that jobs are no longer being ha... More >>

This past Saturday, my friend and I planned to run the semi-infamous 10K road race together. We don’t see each other often enough and race days are always a good way for us to “catch up.”

We figured between the drive from Roslyn to Northport (and back), and the hanging around before and after the race, we’d have ample time to find out what we’ve been missing in each other’s lives.
... More >>

It is just about time to fast for Yom Kippur. I go the whole nine yards, from sundown tonight until however long it takes me to get home after shul tomorrow night. It is typical during this time to be greeted by the phrase, "have an easy fast." I have always wondered about that. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

We are told that on this day to atone for our sins we must "afflict" ourselves... More >>

Some of you may not have seen the article on this. I can understand. There's the nuclear plant that Iran, oops, forgot to tell everyone, the Yankees plowing their way to the playoffs and Obama's eloquent speeches. But did you hear that Twitter received 100 million in investment funds. 100 million! They haven't made dime one and the service is valued at 1 Billion (yes that's with a B).

Now my fi... More >>

Who has not heard Bruce's "Glory Days"? I love it because it is about a high school baseball player, but more significantly, Bruce touches a very very sensitive nerve when he writes (sings):

Glory days yeah goin back
Glory days aw he aint' never had
Glory days, glory days

And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it
but I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to... More >>

We have a friend who always planned a personal getaway on the days of the Jewish holidays. He is not Jewish. He maintains that the weather is always good for the Jewish holidays. I am not sure that I ever embraced his logic. I was troubled by the underlying assumption of some divine intervention in the weather.
Humor based upon stereotypes abounds but, at this time of year near the Jewish... More >>

By the end of the summer I really needed to get away alone for some R&R and think time. My office is in my house and there are good and bad things about that. I can work at any time of the day or night as long as I get my work done on time. I like working at home. It’s a short commute. Since I am self employed I have a fabulous boss who is very flexible! However, sometimes I feel like I live in ... More >>

In a few weeks the swine flu vaccine is set to hit the shelves. I have been part of many conversations over the past few weeks that started like this. "Will you do it?" and then "How about for your kids?"

That is my question for you today. Of course, the question assumes availability but nonetheless, I am conflicted.

A few weeks ago, I asked our family pediatrician for his opinion. ... More >>

Do you see things only one way or another? That is, can you envision a gray area? Where things are not simply this or that? But maybe a blended version of both? Can you help someone else see the various shades?

For five years, I worked for the American Arbitration Association, an alternative dispute resolution company. It was a wonderful job, something I enjoyed very much. Although I wo... More >>

There is time to kill between having a late lunch after the Rosh Hashana service and dinner. And napping is not permitted. As they say, if you nap on Rosh Hashana, you will be lazy all year, and I do not need any help with that.

So my son Josh and I decided to have a catch in the backyard. (Yes, I now have a backyard, to be the subject of a future blog.) We stood on the grass throwing back ... More >>

Picture this commonplace scenario: You are strolling through the Supermarket when an item catches your eye. Before putting it in the cart, you check the label only to find it has ingredients you would never consider feeding your children, let alone yourself – dihexolribophospate… whatever that might be. What do you do? You shelve the snack in favor of one that only has four simple ingredients... More >>

I have a fish for a grand daughter. Her name is Maggie Olive and she is 9. We have a pool in our back yard and she has been immersed in it since an early age.

She loves to swim (once she gets over the initial shock of getting into the 80 degree water) and lately she has allowed me to coach her one on one.

Thus, we are working on her swimming all the way across the pool under water. The "ru... More >>

Flo's picture envelope had been missing for several weeks. Numerous searches -- literally tearing the house apart -- were fruitless. The pink leather envelope, which contained some of Flo's most-treasured pictures of her father, was gone. Our only solace was the hope that among the pictures were some that were digital and might be found on the computer.
Last Sunday was the unveili... More >>

Being part of a dynamic networking group, such as Gotham, is a great way to not only network, but a fantastic opportunity to learn from one another. Each time our group meets I always find it so interesting to learn about what each member – their current occupation, how they arrived there, what they are passionate about, etc. So, for this post, I figured I’d share a bit about what I do in th... More >>

This past Friday morning, as I was readying my 9 year old son for school, the television was playing in the background. Not an unusual occurrence in our house.

However, Friday was 9/11. Instead of Cartoon Network, the sound in the background was the slow, emotional reading of the names of everyday people lost on that tragic day. Every few minutes, I was compelled to stop and listen.

"Mom,... More >>

Erik Scheibe’s comment to Fred’s blog last Friday inspired me to write about music and how it can bring you back to another time, place and feeling in your life.

Music is powerful. It has the potential to resurrect images and emotions that you may have completely forgotten about. A song can unleash a flood of memories, often subconsciously.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” brings me back to J... More >>

Through the gloomy gray skies, rain, and sound of bagpipes bringing sad remembrances of 911 on Friday, came a little shining light. Derek Jeter. I just got home and was half laying down comfortably on my couch in front of my new HDTV. And just in time.

You knew it had to come. Everyone knew, and waited. And sure enough, after two badly thrown unhittable pitches that drew boos from the cr... More >>

Has our country gotten more polarized? Are both sides, and I might venture to say the extreme sides, gotten more vial?

What every happened to civility and respect? Some politicians (and there are more than just one shouting in chambers) don't seem to modeling such behavior. Sure we have our political differences but this country was founded on these differences.

I have grown very tired of ... More >>

Last Friday I marched off to my seeming execution, showing up for a dreaded knee MRI (at Gothamite David Katz' well appointed and staffed Next Generation Radiology in Great Neck).

You may know that I am a confirmed claustrophobic: subways, elevators, crowds, etc. And MRIs take the cake and this was not to be in an alleged (they're never as open as hyperbolized) "Open MRI".

Showing maturit... More >>

An annual end of summer ritual for Flo and me is going to at least one session of the U.S. Tennis Open at Flushing Meadow. From the flurry of ticket activity on Fredslist, this is obviously a ritual that we share with many in Gotham.
We swapped our tickets for Wednesday night with my brother-in-law, Jeff, and went on Tuesday night. Jeff also had tickets to the Yankee game on Tuesday and was hop... More >>

I am so pleased to blog again, and this time I want to tell you about Gotham here in the Northernhinterlands...

Some folks tend to wind down in the summer, but not Gotham New Haven! We were active all summer: we met on the second Monday mornings of June and July. We laughed our way through an annual comedy club night under the stars at a local outdoor venue. In August we added 2 new members to... More >>

As I write this, my house is readying for the start of another school year. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the "big day". To some degree, we have been talking about and planning for this day ever since school ended in June. Summer always seems so long looking forward from a June vantage point and so short looking backwards from Labor Day.

There are some nerves this evening but mostly excitement about... More >>

I wrote this entry more than 10 years ago, before I had children, when the two words "travel hockey" meant nothing to me.

At the time, it was intended to be some sort of an advertisement for a brand of hockey skates. Possibly the voice-over during a wintry scene of kids playing pond hockey somewhere in Canada --

It’s so cold out here, though I don’t feel it anymore. I know it’s cold ... More >>

Winter is coming. Sad news, and who wants to hear it on Labor Day weekend when the beaches are still full. But the morning is cooler, the sun is setting sooner, and my first issue of SKI magazine has arrived, a sure signal that my linen shirts and khaki shorts soon have to be moved to the off-season closet.

As summer sadly slips by, my SKI magazine is a fresh reminder that with the changing ... More >>

Blog by Jake

Just recently, certain addictions of mine have come to my attention: Singing, Smiling, and Laughing. :)

Now you may think, what? you can't be addicted to those kinda things. The truth is, you can be addicted to pretty much anything. These addictions came to my attention when one of my friends made the comment that I'm always smiling. She had referred to me as "the happiest perso... More >>

When I was a boy in the 1950s I was fortunate to have been given electric Lionel Trains by my parents. I had both a freight train and a passenger train, but just one incredibly detailed, heavy as a lead weight, black engine with black coal car attached. The engine whistled and even puffed white smoke when I placed a special white pill in the smoke stack.

Over the years the transformer failed... More >>

It was late. It was raining. I was driving back from dinner on South Road in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, there are no street lights on two-lane, curvy South Road.
Flo was nodding off when the red and blue flashing lights appeared in my rear view mirror. Coming from congested New York, my first thought was to move to the right and let t... More >>

It’s that magical time at the end of the summer. The twilight of the season where the kids are through with camp, people are away on vacations and we are sliding gently towards Labor Day. Which, by the way, is late this year – by a whole week. Leaving three lovely weeks between the end of camp and school, with no real routine in place. Which is great for slowing down, getting away. In my case... More >>

Have you ever had the experience of meeting a celebrity and asking for an autograph or a photo? I am always taken with how those in the public eye react.

I recall being on a business trip in Mobile, Alabama in the late 1980s. One day, outside my hotel, I heard the noise of a parade and decided to venture out to stand on the side and watch. Across the parade route (which could not have been m... More >>