Snow train

The morning train, coming into Murray Hill on Tuesday, after a brief, pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm. Beautiful.

The Knife in the Bagel

I was slicing a bagel for breakfast when the knife got trapped in the bagel just so. Behold the picture below.

I was reminded of "The Sword in the Stone." You know, he who can remove the sword from this bagel is the true King of New York. Or something.

Bagel Excalibur

Spotted ....

Saw this church sign in historic Lambertville, NJ. Wonderful.

Cold as ice ...

Spotted on a hot dog pushcart's sign: "chilly dogs."

I've been away ...

I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook these days. But, not to worry. If I see or hear something amusing, I'll post (See above).

End of civilization

End of civilization, originally uploaded by barthjg.

This is from my friend John Barth's flickr site. I gotta agree wholeheartedly with his headline ...

Things to like in New York in the summer ...

Iced coffee. Ahhhh.

Things to hate in New York in the summer ...

The bad smells. For some reason, the heat and humidity in New York in the summer exacerbate any and all nasty odors.

Times Square serendipity ...

Recently, on the way to work in my office in Times Square, I spotted a man dressed like a lot of men, including myself, in what's come to be called "smart casual" (cotton slacks, button-down shirt, no tie). And, like a lot of folks, he had a laptop bag hanging off his shoulder.

But what distinguished this man was the flute he held to his lips and played as he crossed Broadway and headed east on 42nd Street (The Pied Piper of Times Square?).

In an increasingly time-constrained world, perhaps he was squeezing in some practice.

Turn of phrase ...

As I was walking north up Seventh Avenue this morning, I saw a group of four female medical workers, dressed in blue scrubs and apparently headed for work.

What do you call a group of nurses, I wondered. It's a "flock of birds," a "pod of whales" or "a murder of crows."

Suddenly, it hit me: a ward of nurses.

Facebooked

I've taken the plunge into social networking and have gotten a Facebook account. It's addictive and fun.

Saw this while visiting Annapolis

Another blogger in the family ...

My wife, Diane, has just become a pro blogger. She's writing a weekly blog for the magazine where she's a copy editor, Woman's Day, about life as a woman over 40.

Her first post is here.

She's enjoying it a lot. And I'm very happy and proud for her.

Apologies for the long absence. It's been a combination of not much to say and not a lot of time in which to say it.

The Tailor

This statue of a Jewish tailor in Midtown Manhattan's Fashion District recognizes the contribution that immigrants made -- and still make -- to New York's "rag trade." I pass it on the walk from Penn Station to work in Times Square.

May the Post be with you ...

Saw this mailbox on 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue not long after reading about an effort to promote a new "Star Wars" 30th anniversary stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. Very cool.

D'oh!

I have a beard trimmer that I occasionally use to whack back my mustache.

When I used it last weekend, I thought it was beginning to sound a little anemic. So, I thought I'd recharge it.

Which is when I realized that the plug on the recharger was British and that I'd bought the thing in the UK.

Looks like I'll need to buy a new one ... Amazing that it lasted this long (I left the UK in December '04 and India -- which runs on the same voltage as the UK -- in December '05).

Welcome

Welcome to my fourth and latest blog -- The Dashing Commuter. I have borrowed the name from an advertising character used to promote the Long Island Rail Road. As I remember him, The Dashing Commuter wore glasses and a raincoat and was on the run, presumably for his train.

I will use this blog to report on amusing things that I see, with the occasional photo. My intent is to amuse and occasionally enlighten.

Please do not hesitate to post comments!