Steve Fischer's Random Blog

Category: Brooklyn

  • Crazy Brooklyn Filming Tonight

    No clue what is going on. Our block and two blocks either way are filled with film trucks. A store across the street that is currently vacant has crazy bright lights in front, with some older folks dressed up who look like you they might be famous but you wouldn’t remember exactly. Filming is clearly going on inside.

    The no parking signs mention UR&R Projects and Broken Record Productions, neither of which give me a clue on Google..

    So I went to the source, the guy running one of the trucks that does food for everyone.

    He said HBO, some rock & roll movie about the 70s, Woodstock, etc.

    They say if you want to know where a Google data center is, ask the pizza delivery guys. It’s all about the food…

  • World Cup Fun

    Well, it wasn’t the result we wanted, but it was at least the result we needed. I watched US/Germany under the arch of the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO.

    I knew it would be crowded. CitiBikeNYC even tweeted that this was the place to watch:

    https://twitter.com/CitibikeNYC/status/482151381911236608

    My office is right there (50 yards behind the vantage point of the pictures below), so I was watching to see when it would start filling up. I grabbed a spot at a picnic table around 10:30. Dumbo has free WiFi, so I sat and worked while the place filled up.

    About an hour before the match started, there’s still some room.

    20140626_111722

    We had people from multiple TV stations doing interviews (apologies for the lack of focus on the TV babe):

    20140626_103610

    First half. A tense crowd:

    20140626_122930

    As the match finished. Not a win, but a happy crowd:

    20140626_135325

    I had to stand on my picnic bench for 90 minutes to see, but I’ve never watched a match in that kind of environment. USA chants, random songs being sung, a few German fans being tolerated.

    Just a cool day. Go USA!

  • World Cup Fever

    Brooklyn is going crazy with this World Cup. Of course it’s a very international place. Our pastry shop next door is connected to a French restaurant and they are bringing in a huge screen a projector to watch all games. Seems like every place in our neighborhood is doing something like that.

    And right by my office is this:

    That is the arch under the Manhattan Bridge. I may watch US/Ghana there.

  • FBI Surveillance Van #345

    I’m a connoisseur of amusing Wi-Fi network names. While connecting to the free Dumbo Wi-Fi I couldn’t help noticing this one.

    Bravo.

  • One Year of Citi Bike

    I logged into the site to see how many rides I took over the first year of Citi Bike.

    154.

    I had no idea I’d used it that much. That comes out to about 65 cents a ride. A pretty good deal…

  • Happy Birthday Citi Bike

    After only one year, it’s hard to imagine the city without it. Over 8 million trips coverage over 14 million miles. Pretty cool.

  • Brooklyn Bridge Park–Even Better

    I’ve raved about this park before, but it keeps getting better. And it’s walking distance from where I live and work.

    Yes, that’s a beach with a Manhattan view…

  • Filming in Brooklyn – The Downside

    Friday after work, I was looking for a beer on the way home. As I approached my favorite bar I saw the telltale signs of filming. And sure enough, they were shooting the CBS show, Unforgettable, in my bar.

    They had finished and were cleaning up, so I didn’t see anyone famous (I’ve never seen the show, so I wouldn’t know who to look for). It was just a delayed opening while they cleaned up the place and got it ready.

    The fascinating part was the one guy who stayed behind to completely get the bar looking exactly how it looked before. They must have put something up on a wall and some paint was missing. The wall is an odd dark purple color. This guy had a full palette of colors to match this color and repaint. They had apparently taken before pictures so they knew exactly what it should look like (probably useful for fraudulent liability claims as well).

    One of those aspects of show business that you’d never think of…

  • Happy Mother’s Day

    This Mother’s Day NBC News clip was filmed at my daughter’s school. We know Stella, she lives in our building.

    http://player.theplatform.com/p/2E2eJC/nbcNewsOffsite?guid=nn_09_rel_momcard_140509

  • Poncho

    I subscribe to an amusing weather service called Poncho. It’s currently in NYC and Boston only. It’s weather with a personality. You get a brief morning and evening email (or text) with the basic info.

    It’s the descriptions of the day that make it good. We had one of those spectacular spring NYC days today. Poncho said:

    This is the Monday that all other Mondays should aspire to be

    Other examples include:

    I APPROVE THIS FORECAST. HIGH OF 57

    A bit cooler today, with partly cloudy skies & temps hitting the high 50s. This is the Sunday we need, & a Sunday we can believe in.

    Expect rain, gustiness, & temps in the high 40s all day long. Not so fetch. Keep dry & warm!

    Today deserves a slow clap for improving so much! Still some chances of scattered rain this evening, with temps dropping to the low 60s.

    Temps sink back below into the high 30s this evening. Expect more of the same tomorrow. Was spring just a dream?

    I’m  not sure how well this can scale, but getting some personality from your new tech service is refreshing.