about an Austrian living in NY City
Archive for May, 2009
colorblind or drunk?
May 31st
Looking at the designs of some user interfaces out there (including the one of that company I’m currently working for) makes me think if those responsible are either drunk or colorblind. I mean – no offense – but do you really want to have to deal with pink text on gray-greenish background as seen in one example below? But I’ve also seen dark grey text on light grey background before….
Terminator Salvation
May 30th
I finally had time to watch the long awaited new Terminator movie last night. Unfortunately most of the story is already told in the trailer and it doesn’t come any close to the Terminator 2 movie (I think we can all agree that Terminator 3 was not a worthy successor) but it has overall a good story plot and some nice action scenes. If you are a big fan of the Terminator 2 movie you definitely want to spend the money and go to the next movie theatre and watch this one. And yes, Arnie is back. At least you can enjoy a digitalized version of him playing his T-800 role for a couple of seconds 
Niagara Falls
May 26th
I used some miles to fly up to Toronto last weekend and meet a friend there. We went for clubbing – the night club scene in Toronto is awesome and highly recommended – and also took the about an hour drive to the Niagara Falls. Since it’s one of the touristic attractions it’s of course very commercialized but it’s totally worth to see it. You might wanna see it from the Canadian side though since you got the better view from there. Just compare my pictures with the one on wikipedia and you know why. You should also take a ride with the Maid of the Mist as we did which brings you close to the falls and gets you wet
BBQ World Cup @Memphis, TN
May 25th
I didn’t get a chance so far to write about the weekend that I’ve spent down in the south at Memphis, TN. I got the chance to go with a friend who is from there and we could stay at his parents place. It was the weekend of the BBQ World Cup Yes, that’s right, people in Memphis not only know how to make Whiskey, they also know how to bar-be-queue. The event itself appeared to be a huge party and we also got the chance to try some food. It was really fun.
But I also got to see the Stax Musuem of American Soul Music which is the birthplace of Soul and made people like Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding to the superstars of Soul. Most of these records even got popular in Europe. Another must see in Memphis is of course Elvis Presley’s house called “Graceland”. It’s now a museum that displays his planes, cars, bikes, etc and you can also do a tour through the house. Whenever you get the chance to go to Memphis you should really see it.
Perfect resolution…
May 21st
This is another example of a funny message under M$ Windows. I mean, which other resolution wouldn’t result in a fuzzy display
Food riddle
May 18th
Since my last post was abt food I thought I give u a little riddle to solve I brought with me from Memphis. What would you say is that thing on the picture below?
Hint nr 1: it’s not pizza.
Hint nr 2: it’s on the menu of “Flying Saucer” a nice beer place in Memphis, TN.
Post your thoughts as a comment.
The trip to Memphis and the BBQ World Cup was a lot of fun but I’m still sorting out my pictures. So hang on, I will post an entry soon…
Where to eat around the office?
May 10th
This is a post for all the visitors out there that are coming to our office here in downtown Manhattan and would like to have some nice lunch.
There are plenty of food stands on the streets around the office where you can cheap and sometimes decent food as well but in my opinion the best deal you can get is the 3 bucks Falafel sandwich at Sam’s Falafel which is located on the square between liberty and cedar street just one block away from the office. The sandwich is a little bit messy to eat but very delicious.
Another nice spot for Mediterranean food is Alfanoose but you should go there before 12 or after 1 pm to avoid standing in a long line. My favorite is the Chicken Shawarma sandwich. Highly recommended.
If you are more into Japanese food and sushi there are two options close to the office. Sushi ala kawa on maiden lane where you can sit down and have some nice and freshly prepared sushi or a place called Sushi! which is located on the corner of Cortlandt and Broadway and is more a take away place where you can get Sushi boxes or noodle soups. I recommend the Beef Udon there.
For Indian food I can highly recommend Baluchi’s on Greenwich. It’s a bit of a walk but the delicious dishes that are awaiting you are worth the walk. My recommendation there are the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Saag Panir.
The best options for Chinese food are in my opinion located in China town which might be to far to go to for a lunch break but if you want to have a decent option for quick Chinese food your place to go is Ho yip which offers a buffet for take out and is located on Liberty street two blocks from the office.
If you are more into Burger and Sandwiches my recommendations around the office are Suspenders, Pound&Pence and the Heartland Brewery at South Street Seaport. Highly recommended at the Heartland brewery is the Smoked Chicken Salad. At all these 3 spots you got the option of having some nice beer going along with your food but don’t tell anyone in the office since you know it is a absolute no-go to have beers for lunch in the US.
For Thai food one place you can try is Lemongrass Grill on William St which is just 4 blocks from the office. It’s decent food for a fair price.
If you want to go for a healthy option and just want to get some fruits or yogurt you can always go to a deli around the office or to my favorite place Whole Food Market on Greenwich.
This is just a small selection of lunch options around the office and there are also of course all the Fast Food chains near the office like McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, KFC, etc and several Pizza to-go places but it’s up to you if you really want to go for that option.
Mum and Dad at Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building
May 6th
My parents are already home over a week but I didn’t put all pictures online yet. Here are a couple of more to prove that they were having a good time and we had great weather when we were walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and going up the Empire State Building.
Missing bag
May 5th
I think I was kind of lucky for the past 2 years that I never got robbed or mugged in the city although I believe there was a lot of improvement in terms of security over the last 10 years. But yesterday I was reminded that it can always happen to you. Some friends from Austria are in town and they insisted of going to the hard rock cafe on Times Square for dinner which is a very touristy place but since it was their last night in NYC I joined them. But after we finished eating (the food was just alright….), Karin was suddenly missing her bag. We looked everywhere but since we couldn’t find it and she was taking out her camera 15 min before, we were certain that someone must have taken it. We filed a report with the manager who will contact her whenever the bag will appear again but I don’t think chances are very high. Thank god she didn’t have her passport, camera or cell phone in her bag and she already locked her credit card last night. But it wasn’t the nicest way to end a vacation in NYC…
Mum and Dad in Brooklyn Botanical Garden and at Japanese BBQ
May 3rd
Last weekend the weather was just beautiful. It was sunny all the time and the temperatures were around 30 degrees centigrade (80s F). We used that nice weather to visit the Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn and took a nice walk there. For dinner we were going for Japanese BBQ which my mum really enjoyed.
