The Yeh Code - The Secret of Motivational Speakers

While in NY this past weekend, I had the privilege to catch-up with a friend of mine. We've both moved out of DC to new cities to start new chapters of our lives. Amidst this change, its reassuring to know that there are some constants in life. As I've gotten to know DY, I've noticed that he is a highly principled individual. It is not to say it's anything as formal as Ghost Dog's samurai code, but I've noticed that he seems to live by a few guiding tenets.

Call it his personal ten commandments or a code, he lives deliberately. Not only does he have these "rules" thought out, he makes key decisions in life to link back to it. I remember when I was a about eight or so, I told myself that I would never lie again. Ahhh, youth... Unlike me, he has the remarkable ability to follow his own principles.

Be on the lookout Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, Deepak Chopra, James Arthur Ray... The Yeh Code is coming and there's a new speaker in town.

Camping in Austin Day 1

I'm about a month behind on my travel blogging, so I apologize in advance. About a month ago, I flew down to Dallas to spend time catching with my college roommate BK. From Dallas we drove a couple hours to Austin. Coincidentally, SXSW was having its annual session.

In the end, we elected not to head into the city but stay in the outskirts. (Which I'm really glad we decided to do). Leaving Friday for Austin, camping nearby at Perdernales falls, and roughing it was definitely the way to go for two old friends catching up (yes, I do think I'm old... nights revolved around scotch and cigars).

Our first stop near Austin was Salt Lick. An old fashion bbq joint in the heart of Texas run by owner Hisako Roberts and her husband, the late Thurman Roberts. For 17.95 we treated ourselves to a hearty lunch/dinner. As usual, when faced with too much food, I gorged myself. As usual, I had trouble breathing after the meal.

After regaining my ability to take full breadths, we to the campsite to set things up. We had just enough time to set up shop and visit the falls before the sun left.

As darkness overtook our campsite we debated whether or not we should light a campfire (there was a burn ban). Being risk averse, I didn't want us to. Nothing like getting kicked out the first night. The most I was willing to do was to create a fake light fire with my camera and flashlight.

As we warmed ourselves up with single-malt scotch in the 40 degree weather, BK and I sat in the darkness and enjoyed the sea of stars that blanketed the sky.


You can see the rest of my pics here.

Innovation in a turbulent music industry

The future of entertainment is murky at best. Declining sales in music and increasing piracy a la P to P networks have disrupted the traditional business models. The entire entertainment industry is going through another growth spurt as companies struggle to determine how to leverage new technologies and paradigms.

History teaches us that established institutions react with fear and resistance as these new technologies take root and grow. Before they take root and grow, a lot of various business models will be thrown against the wall as the industry starts to filter the wheat from the chaff.

This creates an amazing and constantly changing landscape for consumers. Take Radiohead and Nine-In-Nails. Their innovation promotion strategies have elicited the buzz with their fans reaping the benefits. Wired.com compares the escalation of innovation between Reznor and Radiohead.

Pardon my introduction...

I always find it interesting when someone introduces me to another person. How are they going to describe me? What is the one liner about me? Thomas Edison--inventor, Benjamin Franklin--inventor/politician, Paris Hilton--socialite/actress/singer.

While its debatable whether or not Paris could really be considered either an actress or a singer, I gotta say, one of the worse things to be known as is a "game day curse."

Yes, defamer is a guilty pleasure.

Lou Piniella is my coach

New to Chicago, I am always amazed at how warm everybody is. Having been here only for only a couple months, imagine my surprise when Lou Piniella (famed Chicago's Cubs manager) was in my personal dugout giving me daily afirmations.


Have Lou brighten up your day with a couple daily affirmations.

My first Chicago dog

Over the weekend, I went to get my first ever Chicago dog. K and I took the Halsted bus north untilwe got to the "wiener's circle." It is known not only for its hot dog but also for the rude behaviour of the employees. K went up there, ordered a hotdog and cheese fries and quietly ate our meal. There's something about velveeta like cheese on a cheese fry--It's good the first 5 minutes but after it coagulates, it just doesn't have the same flavor...

Turns out, we were supposed to go a 2am, not 8pm. Then, in a sea of drunken young professionals the "color" from the atmosphere really comes out... Well I guess we gotta go again in the middle of the night.

Wiener's Circle
2622 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60614

Jeffrey, sorry we missed each other, i got caught up with a mannequin

Over the weekend, K organized a double-date with Mike and Scot (who we met at violet hour) to check out Lumen. Aoki, DJ extrodinaire from LA was scheduled to spin. Regarding Lumen, the distance from our apartment has always been an for me. It's too short to take a cab but it's way too cold to walk there (which is exactly what we ended up doing).

Doors opened at 9 and we got there at 9:45. I kept telling K, "it's ok, nobody is going to show till 10:30." I figured that getting there 45 minutes before the guest list closes would be time enough.

10:40 rolls around, and I've look down on my fingers to realize that I have sacrificed my digits for Jeffrey (of project runway fame).

10:45 and the guy tells us that they're not letting anybody in the RSVP list anymore... but mentions that he could be "bought" to let the four of us in. K wanted to pay, but she was outvoted by the three of us.

Just to be clear cuz I know K is one of 2 people who read this blog. You're right, I'm wrong; you're perfect, and I'm imperfect; you are fierce, I'm not fierce. I AM SO SORRY.

So instead, we went to mannequin instead down the street. Mike worked his magic and got us in. I don't remember much of the rest because I drank too quickly because I was trying to warm myself up. Oh, we later went back to Lumen to discover that Aoki was sick and did not attend.

Chicago Greek Independence Day Parade

Before noon today, K and I saw a huge semi roll up Halsted with a team of workers in the back laying down a barricade. We had magnificent plans to go to the Super H mart up in Naper. We quickly realized that we needed to cross over Halsted in order to take the highway to Super H. The race was on...

...We beat the truck and had an insanely awesome time at Super H (More on that later). We got back and I head out to capture a couple pics of the parade. Needless to say, there was a lot of blue flying around (I do live in greek town). I posted a couple pics on flickr.

Today was the Greek Independence Day Parade. After 400 years ruled of the Ottoman empire, Greece declared its Independence. ZITO!!

note: I know that I am now completely and undeniably domesticated. My excitement for Sunday was going to Super H mart. I felt like a kid in a candy store

21, the movie

21 a movie based on the book Bringing Down the House comes out in movie theaters this weekend. It's a great story of how a group of MIT kids work as a team to win millions of dollars.

Jim Sturgess an up-and-coming actor plays the lead role. I think the the casting director totally got it right. there's such an uncanny resemblance between the actor and the character that it's really based on.

Side note, Jeff Ma quit the card counting business and started protrade.com

RIP Egg McMuffin inventor

Inventor of the Egg McMuffin, Herb Peterson, has died at age 89. I can't recount how many times I've purchased an Egg McMuffin...

Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89 - CNN.com

My last post on new orleans (for now)

I've posted on a couple famous and hidden eating places in new orleans over the past months. I've got a couple more places to highlight before I move onto other cities.

Cafe du Monde
There's not much to add to the cafe of the world save for the fact that they've got some kick-ass strong coffee, awesome beignets, and they're open late. Great for breakfast or late at night.

Pj's Coffee
Anybody who knows me well, knows that I go through at least a large cup of coffee a day. After a full day of visiting the Garden District, K an I hopped off the trolly and started to walk back towards Canal St. I was desperately seeking a boost of caffeine when we came across this little coffee shop. The coffee is great, but the chocolates are absolutely delicious. If they have 'em available, try the tiger butter. Creamy chocolate goodness that melts in your mouth. I'm not much of a sweets person, but I swear I must've heard angels sing when I put both of 'em together.

Cochon
This place is supposed to be one of the hottest restaurants to watch. To be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed. However, I've got to note that we went with 25 people. It must've been a nightmare to try to get all of our plates out in some kind of synchronous fashion. While some dishes fell flat, some of the other rib dishes were absolutely divine. (it better if their namesake is cochon).

PS. the website is cochonrestaurant not cochon (very different)

Snug Harbor
How can one go to New Orleans and not go listen to its jazz music. Frenchmen street is where all the local cool people go. It reminds me of a cross between U street, DuPont with a tinge of H st corridor (all in DC). Walk down the short street and you'll hear music wafting into the street. Snug Harbor is an New Orleans instituion with nightly shows.

Cafe Du Monde
1039 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

PJ's Coffee
644 Camp Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Cochon
930 Tcoupitoulas
New Orleans, LA 70130

Snug Harbor
626 Frenchmen Street
New Orleans, LA 70116