Editors of GQ, Take Note: You Have Alan Richman to Thank for Losing Me as a Reader

http://www.seriouseats.com/required_eating/2008/03/alan-richman-is-pissed-at-bourdain-les-halles-review.html

The Merciless Bloody Slaughtering of Bear...

Today was one of those days when you start off thinking you've seen it all.... and the market proves you wrong with an unbelievable kick in your ass.

I've seen my fair share of rallies and crashes from sector moves, huge portfolios being bought and sold, Fed chairmen and Presidents opening their mouths when they shouldn't, but I can't recall a time when I've seen a spectacle like the one today. It really was quite a sight to behold - it's not an Internet startup that suddenly had its balance sheet exposed, not a dwindling dying American airline or car company - but an 85 year-old company and the fifth-largest investment bank in the States. And the stock lost almost half its value today - within the first hour of trading even.

Cratering was the word we used to frantically describe what we saw in that first hour of madness. The news tells you that financials, and the market as a whole, was dragged down, but honestly when you look at the horrific way that the price was just utterly vaporized in this one name - and the raw speed with which it happened, the other financials, and the entire market as a whole seriously seems entirely insulated from it by comparison.

But don't you dare take off those seat belts. There's no way this is over, not by a longshot. No one - save a select few, perhaps, know what to expect in terms of the final fate of the badly bleeding, battered, hobbling but not dead Bear that basically had both its legs, at least one arm, and an eye ripped out of its socket today. And as for the markets as a whole, we still haven't seen a real endgame there either in terms of stability, and we won't anytime soon.

The real spectacle to watch today, at least for me, was the unbelievable way that a super large-cap name completely melted down, completely independently. I don't think even Enron melted down like this in one single day (I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression it was more of a continual gradual decline). I still think comparatively the broader market as a whole did hold its own - all things considered, when you look at just how bad the meltdown was.

No doubt we're still in for a bumpy ride, but I just can't imagine more meltdowns like the one we saw today - whether they're single name ones as we saw today or broader market ones.... I really hope I'm right about this, but only time will tell....

London Calling

just got word today that I'm apparently going to be based in the London office for work for at least part of next week, on somewhat of an impromptu trip. I got an apologetic speech that it's not the way it's usually done around here and that they'll usually give me advance notice, but that every once a year or so, all the right people that need to be in a discussion will all be free at the same time, like the stars aligning, so... off we go...

I'd like to think that I'll have enough time to see some of what the city looks like outside of just the office and buy souvenirs for all of you, but realistically, it's probably going to be a short and hectic business trip... We'll see....

fresh ... air

I'll be the first to admit it. I'm an Apple acolyte. I'd be happy if my paycheck statement included a line item "PAID TO STEVE JOBS" with a cut of my hard-earned cash gone directly to padding Stevie's pockets in return for all the latest good stuff out of Cupertino.

So when I heard about the brand-spanking new MacBook Air, how could I say no?
A perfect super-ultraportable smallest machine in the world that doesn't even have a hard drive with moving parts.
It fit perfectly with my home computing strategy: a powerful Mac desktop that I'll use for my heavy-duty tasks like video editing, and a super-portable Mac tiny, thin notebook that I can take with me. Yes! Makes perfect sense, so get the MacBook Air as the super-portable!

... Have I mentioned, by the way, that I don't actually have a Mac desktop, I only have an older MacBook? Well, hmm.. I guess I can slightly change my plan to make the old MacBook the stationary desktop that's always plugged in and use the MacBook Air as the super-portable. Yeah.. yeah! That'll be the plan.
(I should probably also mention that I conveniently manage to change my plans every time Apple releases a product. Like swearing that I'd stay with Verizon Wireless for service..... until the iPhone came along, for instance).

As it turns out, this thin little machine that really does fit in a manila envelope is UNBELIEVABLY thin. unbelievably light. Most of my books weigh more and are thicker. Most of the magazines I read are even the same weight and thickness as this tiny thing! And it's fast! Snappy, a joy to use, doesn't crash, have I mentioned - light and thin - and honestly... a good consistent three to four hours of battery life! (okay, not the advertised five but... damn cool).

Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. It's a super ultra portable machine. Nothing else. It's not the machine you do video editing on, or the machine to watch dvd's on, or even the machine you hook up a printer to. It's a perfect machine to use like an "oversized iPhone" - surf, email, remotely login to work (if you have to), chat, blog... It's built for the ever-growing wireless world we live in. You actually need Ethernet, Firewire, USB, or the power to edit videos on the fly in a notebook? Then this machine isn't for you. Go get that big heavy lunch tray we call the MacBook Pro.

Is it for me? Absolutely. That little door on the side covering up the USB, headphones, and mini-DVI jack? I've opened it exactly twice - both times to just look at it. (it's sooo cute!) If all you need is a super portable little machine and you don't plan to use lots of hard drive space or processing cycles, this is a sweet little package.

And now (and thanks for reading as I go on and on...) is the part where I need your help, folks: What to name the machine. Being a finance geek, the MacBook was named fischer as a homage to Fischer Black (it's a black model). No more finance geek names, mainly for my wife's sake. I thought about "o2", _maybe_. Definitely not "mba" though. So, let me hear those suggestions!

And a couple of pictures -
First, sitting on top of the Sunday Times.
And, thickness compared to the Sunday Times, sitting on my lap.

Lots more to blog, plenty more other stuff going on, but so many of you have asked about the MacBook Air, I figured I'd post about it first...