Why I hate USPS...

I am going to use my blog for purely venting out purposes this time around. Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the USPS location (aka post office) 3 times within a 24 hour period. The goal was to apply for a passport.

As you can probably tell from my earlier post, I recently have become a US citizen and couldn’t wait to become a proud owner of one of those little blue books with gold letters. Of course, as a true procrastinator I spend over a month gathering the paperwork, trying to convince myself to go get passport photo taken, etc. Finally last week, partially because I did not want to attend a 3 hour long company meeting, partially because the weather was nice, I actually left work early and headed towards my local post office.

It is worth mentioning that I have been burnt by the bureaucracy of this institution before and felt the pain of the spending cuts personally. I have recently found out the hard way that USPS no longer has the money to keep their online info up-to-date when I was turned down at their door at 6:30pm while their website clearly stated they should be open until 7pm.

Keeping all that in mind I double checked the hours, and verified online that I in fact can apply for my passport in person at my local post office. I ran into the first obstacle as soon as I entered the building – there was a huge sign on the wall stating that passport applications are done by appointment only. Why couldn’t they post a similar sign on their website remains a mystery.

I did not give up right there and immediately emailed to the address stated on the sign in an attempt to get that appointment. No more than 3 seconds later the email got returned to me with a “Failure to deliver” message. The lady at the window made it clear they would not be able to resolve this situation and advised me to go to a different location that accepted walk-in passport applicants.

The next morning at exactly 9am I was the 7^th person in line at Cadman Plaza postal office with my paperwork. An hour and only 3 processed applicants later I realized that at this speed I will be unacceptably late to work and was forced to leave.  The staff at the post office was nice enough to tell me to come in earlier the next day, but not nice enough to put more than one person at the windows to help process the growing line.

You would think at $135 fee to get a passport you wouldn’t have to wait in line for half a day. But unfortunately you do. I am still passportless and the application is sitting in my drawer. I might attempt to apply again in a few days when the mental scars left by the process heal. But for now I remain angry and disappointed, feeling not as an American citizen but like I am back in the USSR in a never ending line for bread.

Plan to turn friends into beer drinkers (like me)

I will start this post by saying I absolutely love beer. I drink it all year round, at different time of day and various occasions. I have been blessed with a lot of friends who share this passion of mine. However, I recently came to the realization that the majority of them are male. More often than not, while out with my girlfriends I find myself at some speak-easy cocktail place or wine bar. There is nothing wrong with a nicely shaken martini or a glass of a French red. But sometimes I just wish my female friends could understand or just be open minded enough to give the amazing world of beer a chance. This summer I will make it my mission to turn a few of them into beer geeks just like myself. All I have to do is a plan and here it is: 

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier –

This one is a classic. Made by the oldest brewery in the world, this brew not only looks great with a thick creamy head and cloudy appearance, but also tastes phenomenal. Notes of banana, citrus, clove and orange zest make it too easy to drink. This one can be equally appreciated by folks with has limited beer knowledge as well as beer pros out there.



Kasteel Rouge –

This one is not an easy find but is definitely worth looking for. This beer will make my girlfriends forget all about their overpriced sweet cocktails (and possibly dessert). The ruby red color and rich sweet cherry flavor is absolutely irresistible. It is dangerously easy to drink considering the 8% ABV, but if I know one thing about my friends – it is that they do not complain about too much alcohol.


Left Hand Milk Stout – 

I would never start my course with a stout, but as an introduction for those female friends who can handle it, this beer may just open the door for more possibilities. Fairly light and smooth, this one goes down just like a glass of chocolate milk. And who doesn’t like that?



So these are going to be my first steps in attempting to turn a few of my snobby wine drinking friends into true beer lovers. It’s not going to be an easy challenge but if all I have to do is drink beer with my favorite ladies – I am up for it.

Favorite brunch spots in Brooklyn

Sunday brunch is by far my favorite meal of the week. I absolutely love the large time window , the variety of dishes and the lack of judgment coming from the servers when I order my bourbon bloody mary at 11am. Nevertheless, it is not easy to find a place that gets brunch done right – cheap, yummy and with a smile. These three spots below have never failed in any of those categories.

Southern Fried Chicken done right at Jimmy's

#1. Jimmy’s Diner. I can talk about this place for hours. All of my friends are probably sick of me bragging about it nonstop. But no matter what you can’t argue with the fact that this little tiny hole in the wall serves the absolute best comfort food brunch in Williamsburg (if not all of the NYC).  On the menu along the typical egg-bacon-homefries selection you can find absolutely fantastic items like “Hangover Helper” (fries topped with sausage, eggs and cheese), “Tater Heaven” (best tater tots in the world alert!) and very traditionally done “Chicken and Waffles” topped with a ridiculous amount of country gravy. Prices are more than reasonable ($6-$13) and the bloody mary’s are phenomenal.

#2. Lobo. One word – “Pancakes.” You can choose from traditional buttermilk or buckwheat pecan, and you won’t be disappointed with either option. Lobo is one of a very few tex-mex places in NYC and their margaritas (fresh lime juice, homemade ancho chili tequila) are worth trading your traditional brunch Bloody Mary for.  With the prices of $6-$10 per brunch entrée it is not only a treat but also a good deal.

Red Velvet Pancakes

#3. Two Door Tavern. Though I’ve only been there once this place has instantly become my favorite. I typically don’t go for lunch food during brunch, but I am glad I have made an exception this one time. The Breakfast Burger turned out to be one of the best breakfast meals I’ve ever had. Topped with crumbled bacon, a fried egg and cheese it is served on a big English muffin and is the definition of delicious. A lady next to me was having red velvet pancakes and made me wish I had two stomachs. The $16 price includes a cocktail and is a good deal for the amount of food you get (though I would avoid bloody marys).

I can only hope that by sharing these places with a large audience I am not increasing the time I sometimes spend trying to get into some of them. But I just couldn’t keep all this deliciousness to myself.

Picking a roommate can be tricky

Over the past 10 year I have probably lived with over a dozen roommates. So I think it is only fair if I call myself a roommate guru.

Some of those people were friends, some I have found via Craigslist. My latest roommate is probably the best I ever had and we’ve been living together for about a year and a half now.

Looking back at all the disastrous and successful roommates I definitely can see a clear picture of what is important to know and what red flags should not be ignored.

1. Diet. While I may sometimes wonder how my current roommate manages to survive on an American college kid diet consisting of fried chicken and vodka I do enjoy the benefits of it. This was not the case when I live with this older Korean lady who loved to cook what appeared to be some sort of decomposed fish dish. The smell was so bad I sometimes had to leave the house.

2. Pets. The rule is if you have pets and your potential roommate as much as looks weird at your beloved creature let them go. You will save your money (from having to buy pet gates) and sanity. Some people just don’t like animals and might not even know it. Figure this one out for them by not allowing them to live with you.

3. Parents. I find this one usually a good sign (when they live miles away). When parents are involved the rent gets paid on time, the shelves get hung on the walls and life just looks a little brighter.

4. Boyfriends/Girlfriends. This one can be a hit or a miss. Obviously it is important to discuss limits and rules but until you start living with each other it is difficult to tell what’s going to cause more problems – the fact that your roommate has a steady boyfriend or random people over.

I hope this helps someone to figure out who is the right candidate and who is not!

Smart Phone Network Effects. No room for Windows?

When I think about technologies that I use and are subject to network effects smart phone is the first thing that comes to mind. I have been an iPhone user for over 4 years now. For the longest time I was a very happy and proud user. However, recently the competition has become increasingly appealing and in some ways even superior which is why I do sometimes think of switching to an Android or (gasp!) Windows based phone.

Aside from the obvious physical specifications (screen size, memory, battery life, etc.) one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a smart phone platform is the application market. Google Play has recently caught up with Apple store impressive number of apps – 700,000. Windows store app 120,000 selection looks like a joke next to its two well-established competitors. Two-sided network effect is to blame.

Both platforms in the two-horse race have a pretty solid and loyal customer base. This is the main factor why businesses owners, game makers, advertisers choose these markets for their apps vs. Windows store. Apple and Google have bigger stores with more users and this attracts more developers with new apps, this in return creates more appealing stores and invites new customers. Windows store just happened not to be a part of this network effects vicious circle.

Could this mean game over for Windows OS phones before the game even began? Not necessarily. But Microsoft management and developers have a lot of catching up to do if they want to get their foot in the door and be a part of the smartphone network effects war currently dominated by Google and Apple.

Why I Do Not Use Twitter

I have had a twitter account for a few years now and rarely used it. So the past of couple weeks while working on the class assignment I really gave it a second chance. I began following people and companies that I already check updates from on a daily basis. I am a true news junkie so naturally CNN, The New York Times and other news titans ended up in my tweeter page feed as well as a few celebrities and personal friends. I even used Twitter categories feature to find things of interest outside of the usual comfort zone.

Days have passed by and once again I found myself barely ever checking my Twitter page. I simply kept following my usual routine of getting information some place else. I had to try and identify the reasons why I could not force myself to use Twitter. The answer has surprised me. The core of Twitter business model – 140 character status updates – did not work for me. I simply found the messages annoying, too short, and too  difficult to digest. Most of the tweets had lots of attachments like hash tags, hyperlinks, etc. So when something would catch my eye I was required to decode the short message and eventually go to external pages to get the full story. For example:

ashton kutcher ‏@aplusk

luxury takes to the skies - http://bit.ly/Yw9nU2 

The message itself gave me very limited information regarding what was behind the link. You can discover the content by clicking at it which takes you to NBC’s website. As a user I had no idea of knowing what the tweet actually means before leaving the Twitter website.

Another example of Twitter being too small for it’s own content is the fact that you cannot post pictures without using an external application.

ian somerhalder ‏@iansomerhalder

Part Deux: http://instagr.am/p/W4nNXmqJwg/ 

So a tweet like the one above has no meaning without Instagram app that actually hosts the image.

The more I thought about all the disadvantages of Twitter the more I kept coming back to the same thought: “It’s just not Facebook.” Tweets just can’t compare to longer, more readable Facebook posts that allow users to view the content (pictures, videos, full articles) right there and then.

After comparing the content I get from the same people and companies on Facebook vs. Twitter I was surprised to find out that it doesn’t always match. This contradicted my initial understanding that liking someone on FB and following the same person on Twitter would result in duplicate posts. However, I found the content posted on Facebook to be more meaningful.

Besides failing to find value in tweets content there was another destructing component – the speed with which those tweets kept appearing on my screen. Because it takes very little time and effort to write a tweet, those short messages just kept piling up at the top of my feed. Very quickly I’ve experienced information overload to say the least. And then it hit me – Twitter unfortunately is the face of American culture. In the nation where 8% of children 3-17 years of age get diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, Twitter is just a reflection of what we have become. Our overfed and over stimulated minds can no longer consume information in full paragraphs. This would require time that we no longer have or are able to devote to quality. Instead, we gorge ourselves on quantity – 140 character half-sentences flashing at the speed of light.

I am sure small businesses and large corporations that advertise on Twitter are over the moon since they are able to appear on customer screens using very little effort. We cannot blame them. As consumers we have made it too easy to sell us things, influence our opinions, tell us what to think. By letting 140-character tweets run our life we are giving up something very valuable – our character. 

By no means am I social media snob and want to kill Twitter at its root. However, I cannot help but feel less intelligent after consuming tons of information via Twitter. Call me old-fashioned, but I will most likely stick to reading full-size articles in newspapers, view whole picture albums of my friends on Facebook, and obsessively check news online. After all CNN.com is only a click away in my browser bookmarks.

I should use StackExchange more...

Stack Exchange is a network of individual Q&A free websites (99 of them!) covering very narrow field specific topics. Anyone can contribute by offering their expertise and answering or rating answers to thousands of questions.

Examples of Stack Exchange websites include:

http://math.stackexchange.com/ - for Math lovers
http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/ - for random question
http://photo.stackexchange.com/ - for photography gurus
http://cstheory.stackexchange.com/ - for programmers

Since the 99 available websites cover many different fields of knowledge the demographics of the users varies widely. Most of the users are male in their 20s and 30s. This could be related to the fact that a lot of the topics discussed are very technical. The traffic mostly comes from USA and India - leading countries in software development.

Stack Exchange will be very useful to anyone interested in computer science, math, video games, physics, etc. People of all levels of expertise can contribute. Rookies can ask questions and vote for the answers. Users with proved knowledge of the subject can actually suggest answers and solutions to the problems posted.

I personally use Stack Exchange to find answers to programming questions. However, after doing the research I've discovered that the website could be useful for other topics like traveling and cooking as well. Overall, I highly recommend this social network as a source of valuable and verifiable information.

Thoughts on "Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry)" by Siva Vaidhyanathan

Overall, ideas presented by Vaidhyanathan make for a useful read for those interested in internet history, philosophy and modern media. The author tries to be fair throughout the book by exposing both positive and negative effects of Google on modern culture. Vaidhyanathan’s acknowledges the great deal of good that Google has done to our Internet experience. He recognizes that Google provides many useful tools and simplifies many everyday needs. He endorses Google in some chapters and bashes its products and policies in others. However, this attempt to be impartial causes the author to lose track of his own thoughts and many times go on for too long trying to prove a point.

The sub-title “Why we should worry” hints at the book’s objective to make the readers feel tormented by the idea of global Googlization.  Vaidhyanathan tells an enchanting tale but fails to present enough convincing arguments to sway the readers in any particular direction. The biggest claim of the whole book is that Google is a money making business and not a charity organization.  Vaidhyanathan presents this idea as if it was something new. In reality, no one reasonably familiar with the concept of capitalism and free market would be naïve enough to believe in the opposite. The author’s accusations of Google delivering information “to facilitate consumption” lack substance since consumption needs are at the core of human existence.

Some of Vaidhyanathan’s arguments are interesting and alarming. For example, notion of a 15-year-old company running our lives is quite disturbing and unsettling. There are plenty examples of big failures in our history. Nevertheless, by comparing Google to Caesar and attacking it for being too innovative Vaidhyanathan sounds a lot like critics of radio and television back in the days.  Regardless of the current situation, privacy dilemma, fear of Google growing too big, etc., Vaidhyanathan fails to suggest a different way of getting and sorting information. Human Knowledge Project looks good in theory, but in reality is nowhere near its implementation stage.

At the end we felt a little disappointed – you start reading the book feeling like your world is about to change and you will discover something really important. And it simply doesn’t happen. This book is written for librarians, legal analysts, copyright lawyers.

NYC Beer Week 2013

This post is definitely time sensitive so pay at attention! This weekend I had a chance to go to the NYC Beer Week opening party. What? There is a Beer Week going on? - you ask. Hell yeah! And it's awesome.

I have probably tasted 20 different brews in less than 24 hours. Can not wait to have more! So here is a brief line up for those of you who love beer:

Friday, February 22 - Opening Night Bash at Galapagos in Dumbo. Lots of beer tastings, live music and good times. You've already missed it but there is still time to catch up.

Wednesday, February 27 - NYC Brewers Choice annual event at City Winery. It ain't cheap but the $70 will get you beers from 20+ breweries, yummy food from 20 different stations and some hard liquor tastings as well.

Sunday, March 3 - NYC Beer Week Closing Ceremony at Eataly. It is a pay as you go event at the famous rooftop Birreria and will be nothing but fun to go to.

There are dozens of other events going on around the city in all borough so make sure to check out the full Schedule. I hope to see you guys there. Cheers!

My Oscar 2013 Predictions

Best film - "Lincoln"

Why:  I hated how commercial and main stream "Argo" felt. "Beasts of the Southern Wild" was the best movie this season but there is no hope of it being acknowledged by Affleck-obsessed Hollywood.

Best director - Steven Spielberg

Why:  I would like to thank the Academy for not nominating Affleck. That's why.

Best actor - Daniel Day-Lewis

Why:  Bradley Cooper needs to take a few more acting classes. Hugh Jackman is in a musical. Joaquin Phoenix is umm... Joaquin Phoenix.

Best actress - Jennifer Lawerence

Why:  Hollywood loves characters like JLaw's Tiffany in "Silverlinings" - dysfunctional, beautiful and desperate for love.

Best supporting actor - Robert De Niro

Why:  "Silverlinings" is the first movie since 1981 to get nominations in all four actor categories. De Niro's unscripted tears and strong performance have contributed to this rare occurrence of nominations.

Best supporting actress - Anne Hatheway

Why:  Any woman who loses this much weight and chops of her gorgeous hair in order to look like a homeless 9-year-old boy deserves a medal. An Oscar will do.