It's another one of those stay-in-and-not-accomplish-anything nights, so I don't know what to write about. Therefore, here are some leftover vacation pictures of the Bunny.

Bunny acts all touristy.



Just a good ol' Bunny. Never meanin' no harm...



Bunny at the Wells Fargo Museum on the REAL Wells Fargo Wagon. Good thing she didn't have to shipoopi.

She won.

Thank you to everyone who voted. You can see her on the Today Show again tomorrow (Thursday) morning. The full video of the appearance can be seen here.

Tonight, Bunny and I ate at Risotteria (it was her idea). Ironically we had the risotto. It was very good and extra-creamy. I had tonight's risotto special with ham, arugula, and white truffle oil. Mmmmm good. Recommended. For dessert, we had Mary's Dairy. Also good. Kind of an expensive alternative to Cold Stone.

The issue at work was resolved by the end of day Tuesday. Now there are other issues at work.

My Rosh Hashanah went fine. Bunny came down on Sunday and met the family. She said it was scary to do so.

Did you miss me?

The crisis has passed. Normal blogging will resume tonight.

HOWEVER, there is an IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY for which I need the help of everybody and everybody's friends.

To begin, visit this page: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15000151/.

Then, vote for the "Stylish and Retro" option. Vote for that option as many times as you can get away with.

The winner appears on the Today Show again on Thursday. I want that little girl to win. Ask me no more questions. Just go vote, and please spread the word to vote. We only have a day. Thanks.

There was a disaster at work on Friday afternoon. It was my own fault. As a result, I lost two weeks worth of coding and I'll have to put in major amounts of time to catch up with what I lost. Until that time, blogging and blog-reading will likely be minimal.

I hope everyone had a happy Jewish New Year. As with every year, I spent it either bored at synagogue or with family.

I did manage to make the time to see Tamara and Louie this past weekend during their NYC visit. A familiar face even made a cameo appearance.

Spaceballs is being developed as a cartoon series. You gotta admit that's pretty awesome.

Last night, I went with Mike the Accountant to the Crocodile Lounge. Daryl joined us (which was cool since I haven't seen him in a little while) and we participated in the bar's Wednesday trivia night. I also took the opportunity to gorge on free pizza. Our team was called "Bloodless Coup", after the current events in Thailand. Daryl was the savior of current events and music. Mike the Accountant made the sports round his bitch. I was the cheerleader. Because of my teammates mastery of the subject matter, we won trivia. The prize was a $30 bar tab which had to be used that night (had we known this, we would have run a tab. Next time). Since it was late (the event started at 8:30 PM and went almost three hours), we skipped the tab. However, if you go to the Crocodile Lounge and look at the chalkboard where the write the winners for the week, you'll see "Bloodless Coup" in the number one spot.

Mike was kind of lax for the evening but did drink a bit. He brought a bucket, poured a bottle of Jack into it and a 2-liter bottle of Coke. He also dumped a bag of ice and began drinking. That wasn't the unusual bit. The unusual bit is that he drank this humongous concoction with a huge Crazy Straw. Weird.

In previous years, I've had friends male and female confess to me that they sometimes sleep with married members of the opposite sex because the married people are unhappy (or possibly not getting any) and they want to have sex without the complications of a potential relationship. Personally, I find this practice repugnant. Monogamy is hard enough and encouraging someone to have sex outside the marriage is a show of disrespect for both the person and the institution. Even if you no longer love your partner, you should show respect. Although I suppose if you're not going to love someone, then the honor and cherish portion of the vows can be invalidated as well. Still, if you're unhappy then divorce him or her and THEN have sex with whomever. I would hate to be married and have that happen to me. What do you think?

I got it. I figured it out.

I know the origins of this whole silly "geek chic" phenomenon.

It's the economy.

About forty years ago, the American economy shifted from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy as factory jobs were shifted overseas.

Once that occurred, the "tough guy" hero of the mainstream media became as redundant as the factory workers. In a service economy, information is key and therefore information workers hold the keys. I.T. is the factory worker of the 21st century.

Hence, the "geek chic". The sexy I.T. workers who secretly (or in some cases not so secretly) run the company.

Yes, many are still socially inept, but that doesn't ruin the romantic media view of them. Personally, I thought the character of "Mr. Universe" from the movie "Serenity" was closer to accurate (holed up in a cave, using a female automaton for sex) but even he was too charismatic for the actuality.

Trends live and die based on the economy. The "geek chic" is no exception.

Perhaps in 50 years, if the ozone layer dissolves, people with darker skin will become the new sexy thing? Perhaps if we have a nuclear war, mutant people with two heads will become sought after? The mind boggles.

An unrelated question for the men: other than for peeing and (maybe) for sex, what do you use your penis for? A measuring stick perhaps? A spare hammer to put nails in the wall? I may write an essay called "other uses for the penis" and I'm looking for suggestions.

Yesterday was Talk Like A Pirate Day. I missed it again. Aaaarrrr.

Doctor Who, Season Two, the Review.

Having finally seen every episode of Season 2 (somewhat out of order, but I understood what was happening), I feel I can now write a review of the series.

I loved it, but that sort of goes without saying. Unless they turned Doctor Who into some sort of daytime talk show or reality TV concept, I'll love the show. Even the weakest episodes of the season ("Fear Her", about a little girl possessed by a reality-altering alien and "The Idiot's Lantern", about an alien invasion in 1950's Britain done through the TV) had their positive aspects.

My favorite episode of the season was "School Reunion" which guest-starred Anthony Stewart Head (of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame) and Elizabeth Sladen reprising the role she had in the 70's as the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith. The storyline involves an alien incursion into a public school (so the "Buffy" analogies could be made). I can only say after watching the episode that I wish Mr. Head would be cast as the Doctor's nemesis, the Master.

A close send-to-favorite was the season finale "Doomsday" which pitted two of the Doctor's most popular enemies, the Daleks and the Cybermen, against each other. Upon first glance, since both are cyborg races, you'd think they'd be somewhat evenly matched. That thought is immediately dispelled when four Daleks begin slaughtering an army of Cybermen. I liked this particular interchange of dialogue:

Cyber-Leader 1: Daleks be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen.
Dalek Sek: This is not war. This is pest control.
Cyber-Leader 1: We have five million Cybermen, how many are you?
Dalek Sek: Four.
Cyber-Leader 1: You would destroy five million Cybermen with four Daleks?
Dalek Sek: No. We would destroy five million Cybermen with one Dalek. You are superior in only one respect.
Cyber-Leader 1: What is that?
Dalek Sek: You are better at dying!

Of course, this incarnation of the series has a lot more human drama (ironic considering the main character is alien) and when Rose finally departed the series at the end, for the first time ever on the program, the Doctor shed tears. Perhaps as he gets older and exposed to the race, the character becomes more human?

So, which was a better season, one or two? I would have to say Season 2 since it built on several ideas from Season 1 (the Daleks and Rose's relationship with her dead father to name two). And who is the better Doctor, Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant? Good question. It's tough to judge. I really like both because they have fun with the role and chew the scenery with the best of the actors who have played the role. If I had to lean towards one, I would say David Tennant because I know from reading interviews that he was a fan of the show when he was a kid (Eccleston wasn't).

In short, in my opinion, if you're not watching the current incarnation of Doctor Who you are missing out.

On Friday night, I went to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Singalong at the IFC Center in the West Village. It was a strange mix of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Movieoke, but Buffy-specific. I went alone, which I don't like doing, but it was something I wanted to go to. So I did.

The event was quite popular. The theater was full and over 200 people were turned away at the door. This was particularly disconcerting for me when I nearly lost my ticket. Another Buffy night is planned for November at the same place.

After being seated in the theater, the man that put the event together said a few opening comments and gave instructions. He sold bags of stuff relating to the event for two bucks (I didn't buy one, but it contained things like a kazoo, fake vampire teeth, Buffy trivia and other items to be used throughout the audience participation of the episode).

For the uninitiated, what was played was the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode from the show's sixth season. All the music was original and written by the creator of Buffy, Joss Whedon. In the episode, Buffy battles a musical demon named Sweet played by Hinton Battle, who is currently the director of Evil Dead, the Musical off-Broadway. But I digress...

Anywho, they started with "Buffyoke", in which scenes from the series were played with the sound turned off and the subtitles turned on. Audiences members acted out the dialogue and won prizes (including a DVD of "Cruel Intentions") based on audience applause. Some people even dressed up for the occasion, as if it was a Buffy convention (which I suppose, to a degree, it was).

The musical episode was then played and we all sang along. I knew all the words even if they weren't being projected on the screen. As both a Buffy and musical theater nerd, it was practically a requirement.

After the musical episode, they showed the original half-hour unaired pilot used to pitch the show to the networks. Joss Whedon once described it as a "pile of suck". He was right.

It was fun. I'd do it again if someone else I knew was going.

I've finally finished watching season two (or season 28, depending on who you talk to) of "Doctor Who". A review with be forthcoming.

I did a lot this weekend. I attended that Buffy singalong at the IFC Center on Friday night, but that's a post unto itself and I'll probably write about it tomorrow night.

On Saturday, I saw my family for the first time in over a month, including Deniece and Denephew. I'm probably going to see them a lot in the coming weeks.

Saturday night gave me the opportunity to hang out in New Brunswick, NJ with Mike the Accountant and his brother, Dave the Accountant (note the same last name). Mike and I had a contest where we each got a point for every alcoholic beverage we drank and every woman we seduced that evening. I scored 2 points. Mike scored 65. We both drank the same amount. Do the math.

On Sunday, I got Bunny a gift of a wireless router for her apartment and she's having problems using it with her DSL. From time to time, she loses her Internet connection for a minute. Can anybody lend any technical expertise on this issue?

Later, Bunny and I went to the San Gennaro Festival briefly and had a couple of cannolis. On the way to Union Square, we got free strawberry milk. We also saw the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" (I got free tix), which was very funny particularly if you like intelligent toilet humor like myself. We ate dinner at Hampton Chutney, where the dosas were spicy but good.

I also want to write something later about the economy and its relationship to the concept of "geek chic".

Today has been on the sucky side of suck.

The weather sucked. That's for starters. Then three sucks followed it.

The first suck was when I tried to find a physician today mentioning that I used HIP as an insurance provider. HIP is the po' person's insurance. Doctors hate it. As a result, many doctors were not taking new patients when I mentioned it.

The second suck is that I had a doctor's appointment for a check-up today (the first I had gotten with the new insurance). When I walked into the office mid-day, the doctor was screamed on the phone something about a patient needing six bottles. He got so frustrated that he slammed down the phone and cancelled his appointments for the rest of the day. I left work for this?

The final suck was when I left work to go to the car, the battery died. It was the sort of dead that doesn't get better again without waiting an hour for a tow and a new $100 battery. Two separate people tried jump-starting it to no avail. It was dead like Ron Palillo's career.

I was so frustrated, I ate crap for dinner and got home too late to work out.

Anybody ever have a day like this?

I learned today that the move to North Carolina for my current employer is slated for early August 2007. I now have a deadline to figure out what to do with my life. Alternatively, I could just get another programming position and delay even further.

Finally got back to the gym tonight. I've gained a few pounds back. I'm up to 207 from 202 pounds. My goal is 185. This is not a good trend.

I have nothing of greater significance to write about tonight, so here's a picture of Bunny with a pop tart on her head.

Yesterday was 9/11. There. I said it.

Bunny hosting Trivia...



Mike the Accountant was so pissed off that his team lost Trivia that he hunted down and killed all his teammates when the game was over.

And finally, someone sent me the following in an e-mail...

The Guys' Rules­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down

Please note... these are all numbered "1"
ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon
or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport.
And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for .

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a Problem.

See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria 's Secret girls, don't Expect us to act like soap opera guys.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are.
Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of them makes you sad or angry, then we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something
Or tell us how you want it done.
Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.
We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle, besides we know you will bring it up again later.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answ er you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;

But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can - to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can - to give them a bigger laugh

To begin, as a reminder, some fool co-hosts Trivia tomorrow night.

I'm blogging live from a meeting of the Doctor Who New York social club. As I suspected, it's mostly male. Two women. Eleven men. They meet once a month at the Swift Bar in the East Village.

This got me thinking about the whole "geek chic" phenomenon. I've concluded that it's a pile of crap. There is prime-cut geekdom right here and not a woman in sight. I think the sort of geeks that are being referred to are the sort that know technology and the lyrics of some obscure bands, like the Beatles. The "geek chic" still seem to be sports fans as well. True geeks, the sort who like things such as Star Trek, comics books and Doctor Who, are as much the subject of ridicule as ever (there are SNL sketches like Shatner's "Get A Life" sketch and that godawful Paris Hilton sketch as examples).

Still, it's a group with which I have no shortage of things to talk about. I'm not just saying that because I told them about the blog. I may attend their social functions in the future.

A new week begins. And with it, some fool co-hosts Tuesday Night Trivia this week. Yes, it's back. Come one, come all.

I spent my Friday night partying with Mike the Accountant. I can't mention everything we did for fear of legal repercussion, but there was this one incident in which Mike told me he needed some cash and we drove to this seedy-looking area in Queens where some provocatively dressed women were standing on some streetcorners. Apparently, they all gave him some of their cash. One of them didn't have money on them so (and this is the funny part) he responded "Is Mike the Accountant gonna have to choke a bitch?" I guess you had to be there.

On Saturday, Bunny (the flesh-and-blood one) and I went around the Lower East Side. We took a Tenement Museum Walking Tour and I took pictures of the tenements at which my grandfather and grandmother lived in their youths (they were only a few buildings down across the street from each other on Orchard). We had some gelato at Laboratorio Del Gelato. Later on, we ate at one of the recommendations from New York Magazine's Cheap Eats called Tia Pol (which is named after a cat). Here's my concise review: the food was good. The wait was long. On the way there, Bunny and I stopped at Bamn and ate a grilled cheese sandwich from the automat.

All I can say about Sunday is that Dave is no longer a virgin.

Last week at work was busy. I was told on Friday that I would be let go late August/early September 2007 and was essentially given my one year notice with regards to the job. It was very disheartening. I had hoped things would somehow get better. Sometimes I feel like they really didn't want me there. Yet here I am turning down a job to finish a project there (and, to be honest, the new job is kind of questionable). The whole situation stinks. I'll write more about it later when I want to kvetch.

I want to attend this on Friday night at midnight. Any Buffy-philes out there willing to join me?

Trivia on Tuesday!

I bet all of you thought I was going to comment about the recent article about the "geek chic" from Time Out New York. Wrong! Everyone else has already written about that article anyway.

Rather, from reading the magazine, I have found a new Broadway musical that I can embrace with almost as much enthusiasm as "The Producers" and "Spamalot".

I want to see Evil Dead the Musical. Who's going with me?

Speaking of geek, who knows of a bar in Manhattan where one can drink on a Friday night while watching new episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" and "Doctor Who" back to back?

Reasons to take the new job:

1. Break into the marketing biz.
2. Located in Manhattan.
3. Same salary on paper.

Reasons not to take the new job:

1. Fly-by-night small-business vibe.
2. Less money after taxes and commuting costs.
3. Fewer benefits.
4. Messy office.
5. Hired after only one interview and only met with one person in that interview.
6. Have time to look for something else.

I think the "nots" have it.

Remind me to write about some stuff I read in Time Out New York tomorrow.

My first day back at work was bittersweet.

I have a project that, in theory, is due in November. I'm not sure if it can be done. Today I hit a major roadblock and had some software completely go crazy near the end of the day. Unrecoverable crazy. I spent an extra hour at work trying to get it to work again, unsuccessfully.

However, I also got a job offer. It's in downtown Manhattan for a marketing company. It's the same salary on paper, but the benefits aren't as good. I'm going to compile some benefits questions to ask them. On one hand, I think working for a marketing company would fit my personality better. On the other hand, it would essentially be a cut in salary and benefits (commuting costs and taxes would equate to a decrease). If my job weren't moving to N.C., I would probably not consider the move. As it is, I have until middle of next year before I should be concerned. I have to give a definitive answer by this coming Monday to the marketing company and start two weeks later. If anybody has any suggestions regarding this situation, I'm listening.

Mike the Accountant is in the house. I hope he doesn't engulf my condo in booze and hookers.

Three years go by in the blink of an eye.

UPDATE: 10:30 PM EST. FYI, I've gotten home safely. Thanks for reading about the silly adventures of Bob and Bunny.

As I sit in McCarran Airport in Las Vegas using their free Wifi, I would like to write some thoughts and conclusions regarding this trip.

Total miles driven: 2462. Awesome.

I've been thinking about this trip for about five years, since I turned 30. At the time, I was very depressed and wanted to live somewhere else. California kept coming to mind due to the different culture (while not needing a Visa to work or live there). Throughout my life, the people from California have always treated me nicer than their East Coast counterparts. I thought it meant that my social life would be better there. I since learned that their sociability was due to the culture where you treat everyone right because you don't know who could make you a movie star. It's a fake nice from a culture of celebrity-worship.

That being said, I've always liked California because there is the most entertainment-related stuff to do outside of New York and maybe London (San Francisco was nice, but it wasn't my kind of place). I figured if I didn't live near New York, the Los Angeles/Las Vegas area would do quite nicely for an entertainment junkie like myself.

Over time, my social situation improved and California became less necessary. My thoughts of moving turned to a driving vacation, just to see if Cali is the sort of place I wanted to live. I threw Seattle in the mix because I'd never been there.

So, after a two-week trip, what is my conclusion? Do I want to live in California for a little while? I thought of this throughout the drive, and my conclusion is this: I don't know. I certainly feel I could live in Southern California and wouldn't dismiss an opportunity to do so. But, I have no overwhelming drive to be there. I think I would be more clear in my choice if I had a chance to talk to more people that lived there.

Of course, if I did live there and was single, I think I'd do even worse with women there than I did here. I'm not in great shape and don't have that much money.

I certainly want to visit again and ponder the question more in the future. Places that I want to revisit include the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Trip highlights: the Sci-Fi Museum. Napa and Sonoma Valley. Free Al Franken concert in San Fran. Hearst Castle. Jimmy Kimmel taping in L.A. Freaks and Geeks reunion. Star Trek, the Experience. Seeing Becky and Tamara and talking with Mr. Tamara (there is a funny story about Tamara making a comment about Superman being a very Reagan-style superhero, and both he and I saying at the same time "Dark Knight Returns". We're both comics nerds). Travelling with Bunny (both versions) was pretty sweet as well.

I still hate travelling alone, but I made the best of it in this case. Bunny photos rock!

I had a really great time on this vacation. While I will undoubtedly be complaining in the near future about the loss of money and the gain of weight that this trip has caused, I will never regret the trip itself.

Back to the work routine.

It's my last full day of vacation and I managed to find some spare time and free Internet. This will be my last post with pictures of Bunny for this trip. I may post more after returning for those nights where I can't think of things to write about. I do have many, many photos which I didn't post.

Today I went up the Stratosphere. Maybe it's just me, but the tower is reminiscent of a giant arm giving the middle finger to the rest of the strip. After that, I went to the buffet at the Aladdin (as good as I remembered it) and saw Mike Tyson doing some practice sparring in the middle of a ring in the hotel. I also saw Richard Kiel (who played "Jaws" in "Moonraker") signing autographs. I went around a few casinos on the strip and saw a complimentary show in my hotel (one of the dancers took off her shirt and threw in into the audience. Sadly, she had on a sports bra underneath. I caught the shirt. Who wants an adult small T-shirt that has a pictures of semi-naked female dancers on it and says "Viva Las Vegas"?)

Tonight I'm going to a burlesq....dancing show.

With no nekkidness whatsoever.

Nope. Not a bit.

(Runs and hides)

Tomorrow before I head on the plane home I hope to write some thoughts about this entire vacation.

On to the final pictures for this trip:

Bunny and one of the Hooters girls at the new Hooters Hotel and Casino.



Bunny hanging out over the side of the Stratosphere.



Bunny prostrating herself over the dessert buffet at the Aladdin.



In a reversal of roles, Bunny getting eaten by a giant M&M.



Menage' a Bunny (this was from a couple of nights ago, but I wanted to post it).

I'm in Vegas. With Bunny's help (the flesh and blood one), I found free Internet across town at the Excalibur. I wish I could write in details of what I've done, but there is no time. Here are the highlights:

-Met with Tamara and Mr. Tamara and we had a rollicking time at dinner. The geek it was a'flowin'.
-Went to UCB in L.A. and saw a Freaks and Geeks reunion hosted by the TV Geek from "Beat the Geeks" on Comedy Central.
-Visited the Calico Ghost Town in Cali on the way to Vegas.
-Ate lunch at In and Out Burger (I've now eaten there in San Fran, L.A., San Diego, and Vegas).
-Went to Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton and bought way too much crap.

Here are some photo highlights (the last one is from the "Freaks and Geeks" reunion and doesn't have the Bunny):







Tomorrow is my last full day of the trip. If I find more free Internet, I'll post pictures tomorrow. On the way home, I'll write some thoughts about the trip. I hope everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend.