Tuesday, June 17, 2008

View out my window

This is the view out my office window in my new Studebaker Hall digs. It's pretty nice to see water, especially for this old sailor.

Our World Runs on Dunkin

What a cutie...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Tales from the Train - following footsteps

Yesterday I got to follow the footsteps of a prior associate in what had to be one of the worst commutes I have heard about. Jeremy Brown, prior Associate Dean of Faculty for Princeton University used to live in New Haven, CT and would make the daily trek to Princeton University. He would board a train in New Haven to Grand Central Station, would shuttle to Penn Station via the subway, board another train to Princeton Junction and then take the Dinky to Princeton University. This had to be about a four hour commute each way.

The path that I followed yesterday was the shuttle to and from Grand Central at 42nd street (Times Square). There was quite a bit of walking involved to get to the shuttle stop and then to Grand Central Station but the shuttle itself was fairly uneventful since it just went back and forth. I didn't have much time to explore Grand Central Station and all it's amenities but at least I know how to get there for a future exploration.

A footnote for this Tale from the Train, Jeremy did this commute for about a year and then moved his family to University housing in Princeton. His wife was from a highly placed family in the Panamanian government and they later moved to Panama associated with the canal being transferred to government ownership and operation. The Degenerate Bosons, our Physics softball team, lost a good bare-hand-catching outfielder (another story...) and Princeton lost a good science oriented Associate Dean.

I still can't comprehend that commute with all the connections and getting from place to place. God bless the man for sticking with it as long as he did.

Monday, June 09, 2008

1990 Lincoln Mark VII For Sale in Princeton

I came upon this car being shown for sale by a resident on Princeton Pike just south of Province Line Road on the way to Princeton. The interest is that I was currently driving the exact same car on loan to me while my son's car is being repaired (or replaced) after a rain-induced accident.

I enjoy driving the 1988 Mark VII as it is a smooth ride and has plenty of power. Mr. D's Lincoln is a 1988 with 67K miles while this one is a 1990 with 90K miles. The asking price was recently lowered from $3,450 to $2,900. A main concern for this auto is the gas consumption as it has the 5.0 liter V8. Otherwise it is a very solid and well-built car.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Reading Recommendations from Manager-Tools

Recommendations for books from Manager-Tools.com

http://www.manager-tools.com/favorite/

I have read several of these and respect the judgment of these guys. I agree especially about "The World is Flat" being an important book for at least every American to read.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Guess the Origin of the Plate

This Columbia plate was given to me by Maria Mosca on her departure as SIS Director. She gave this to me upon my promotion to the position she had held for about 6 years. I have forgotten the origin of the plate and whether this is part of a series so if anyone knows that please fill me in.