Coffee With Ian: Archive

A poem

I saw your tears tonight. Wow. Something is real inside of you. Inside of your heart. You have something worth living for. It might be a dream now. It might never be anything more than a dream. But it is worth waking up for, today and tomorrow and the day after until it is yours.

Jan 25th

Taking a break from social media.

Hello all, Starting today, I am going to take an extended break from social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter. I’m not sure how long my break is going to last, but I’m preparing to stay away for about a month. I invite you to call me and see in in real life while I’m away from this virtual world. You have my contact info, or can find it if you really care. In the...

Jan 11th

Today is Day ? of 90? Huh?

I currently have a daily posting on Twitter/Facebook that reads: “Today is Day ? of 90” These daily postings are an extension of a speech that I gave in my Toastmasters club a few weeks ago. Toastmasters is a public speaking organization that I’m a member of. The speech was called “Day 1 of 90”. I shared the power of creating a new habit by trying it out...

Nov 21st

Three reasons for (one of) MY MLB Wild Card...

Recap, I would have the Wild Card be decided by a one game playoff. The two participants would be the 2nd place finishers of the divisions that did NOT produce the Wild Card winner the previous season. (I also have posted another plan splitting each league into two divisions, each with their own Wild Card. However, since Houston looks like they’re moving to the AL, three division play...

Nov 17th

My view on Occupy Wall Street

Over the past few weeks, I have been formulating an opinion on Occupy Wall Street, and all of its spinoffs across the nation. Do I like it? Do I despise it? I am not protesting in Zucchini Park or Liberty Park or whatever it is called. I am not making signs complaining to banks. I am not branding myself as one of “The 99%” or “The 1%”. I see friends who have been...

Oct 18th

It is time for the Knicks to change their logo

This was the Knicks logo, introduced in the Pat Riley era: It was certainly an upgrade over this: The current logo, introduced in 1995 after Riley left is this: The added “NEW YORK” was unnecessary, and remains a symbol of the bad Knicks teams of the 2000s. Also added in 1995, and more prominent these days, is the alternate “Subway Token” logo: I’d like...

Sep 16th

All 8 unplayed Interleague series not scheduled...

Major League Baseball released its entire preliminary 2012 schedule this week. These days, one of the first things I check is if this is the year that the Dodgers finally visit the Yankees. Guess what, it’s not happening. Neither are the other 7 city-specific series that have not been played since inter-division Interleague Play started in 2002. (The first 5 seasons, 1997-2001, only had...

Sep 15th

The case to save Nassau Coliseum, even without the...

On Monday, August 1st, 2011, voters in Nassau County voted against a proposal to spend tax dollars on a new arena in Uniondale, NY for the New York Islanders. The Islanders lease at their current arena, Nassau Colieseum expires at the end of the 2014-15 season, and they have no intention to renew it. If the team cannot get a new or renovated arena in their current location, they may move...

Aug 4th

The Final 8 Interleague Series

This weekend, the 15th season Interleague Play has started up again in Major League Baseball. It is also the 10th season of interdivision Interleague play. This year sees a few regular season Interleague matchups that hadn’t happened yet, led off by the Chicago Cubs visiting the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time since the 1918 World Series. The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis...

May 22nd

SNY should rebrand as part of NBC takeover of...

Let me start by saying that I was against Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal (now NBCUniversal). However, the one immediate positive is that the new bosses at Kabletown (with a K) have let the NBC Sports people run their existing sports operations. Comcast, pre-NBC, owned Versus, a national sports network that has the NHL, Tour De France as well as some college football and basketball. ...

May 9th

Not going to Superball IX (Love to Festival 8)

Phish’s Festival 8 was one of my greatest concert-going experiences in my life. The band played 8 sets over 3 days over Halloween weekend 2009, in desert of Indio, CA. Seven of us (who had “met” on Twitter) flew to Las Vegas and took an RV together to the festival site. And it was amazing. I have never had a more enjoyable experience at a concert than the 3rd set on...

Apr 2nd

MLB 2011 iPhone App: Not for all iPhones

I am saddened that the MLB.com At Bat application, which I had on my iPhone for the past two seasons, is not compatible with that same exact phone this year. It provides radio broadcasts of every baseball game, along with video and other goodies. Yet this year, it won’t work on my phone. And it is not cool. Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) has been genius in making their...

Feb 28th

NY outdoor venues for Phish that are NOT Jones...

Since Phish reformed in 2009 after a 2004 breakup, they have played a total of two venues in the NYC Metropolitan area. Jones Beach in the summer and MSG in the winter. At first, the concept of playing Jones Beach was awesome, since I had never seen them there before. However, after attending 3 of the 5 shows they’ve played there since the return, its time to check out other options. 1....

Feb 20th

How about MLB going back to 2 division leagues?

A while ago, I proposed the idea of having a play in game to determine the Wild Card. It looks like MLB is actually considering it, or even having a multiple game series for that honor. My idea gave the 2nd place teams of the 2 divisions that did not win the Wild Card the previous year the honor to play a game to make the playoffs. But what if we went back to 2 divisions, like MLB had until...

Jan 31st

What is it that's important to you? Seriously.

A while ago, I posted a tweet asking “What is the most important person, place or thing in your life?”. I got the usual mixture of silly answers as well as those that are serious. So here, seriously, what is it that you treasure and is special to you in your life, that you have now and provides that much value to you.

Nov 27th

Starbucks Digital Network is NOT Legendary...

As a one time Starbucks barista, I like to see my former employer do well. The company has faced some hard times in the past years with the stock falling, the decrease in sales and the loss of buzz. Starbucks was cool in the late 1990s - mid 2000s. What happened? Starbucks has launched the Starbucks Digital Network, which includes exclusive audio, video and print content for customers (and...

Nov 17th

5 tags

How would you change the Major League Baseball...

It is October, and time for the baseball playoffs! My team, the New York Yankees are in it once again. They won the World Series last year. However, this year, their road to the playoffs was not by winning their division, the American League East, as they had done almost every year since 1996. Instead, they are the Wild Card. The Wild Card, introduced in 1995 (actually a year earlier before a...

Oct 7th

Facebook Places on my iPhone 3G...

Facebook Places is out. Great. It’s just not adequately functional on my relic of 2008, the iPhone 3G. Over the past year, the official Facebook app has become useless on my old phone. It crashes every time I attempt to send data, whether responding to a wall post, or liking something. I then realized that the app is optimized for newer iPhone models, and that further updates will make...

Aug 24th

Jun 2nd

141 notes

4 tags

Yet another Phish 3D review.

If you know me well enough, then you have heard me talk about this band Phish on a quite frequent basis. I have seen them live in concert 20 times. Therefore, my experience of this movie is that of a fan. Phish 3D is a concert film shot in 3D at the band’s “Festival 8” event from Halloween Weekend, 2009. Over 3 days, the band played 8 sets, including their tradition of...

May 3rd

Should I blog more?

That is the question. What should I write about? Pie? Time travel? My beard?

Apr 23rd

Opening Day Interleague Number Crunch

Who’s ready for Opening Day??? I was reading an article in the Journal News about scheduling issues, and it brought me back to the one thing missing from interleague scheduling since 1997: When are the Dodgers coming to Yankee Stadium? Including the 2010 schedule, there are 2 NL teams that have not visited the Yankees since interleague play started in 1997. 1. Los Angeles Dodgers. The...

Apr 4th

ABC gets it right with Cafepress LOST deal →

Intellectual property has been a tricky issue with the move from old media to new media. Fan-made items, whether sci-fi fiction, t-shirts or films have existed long before the internet….

Feb 3rd

AOL signs off from Time Warner | A history of AOL →

Welcome. You’ve got mail. Goodbye. Today, AOL officially spins off from TimeWarner as an independent company, the last remnant of a merger originally announced in 2000, where the company…

Dec 9th

Comcast/NBC merger breaks my heart. →

One of my dreams growing up was to buy a TV station. One of the over the air variety. The power for a select few to reach and connect with millions was something I desired. And I’m sure…

Oct 13th

CBS is the General Motors of Television →

Many complain that the auto industry is being unethical keeping their business model alive. They keep on making and selling vehicles which rely on petroleum-based gasoline, even though…

Oct 5th

Friday Question: Who are YOUR trust agents? →

Last month, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith published a book called Trust Agents. Being a fan of Brogan, one of my social media heroes, I bought the book the day it came out, and was amazed…

Oct 2nd

Gary Vaynerchuk is the King of SEO →

There is one man who seems to be invisible from any controversy, or at least when you search for his name on Google. His name? Gary Vaynerchuk, social media icon and the star of Wine…

Sep 29th

The Phoenix Coyotes

On Saturday, April 24th, 1999, I went to a Phoneix Coyotes playoff game. They hosted the St. Louis Blues in game 2 of the 1st round of the playoffs. The home team won in overtime at the America West Arena. 4-3. The atmosphere was electric. The people of the desert were happy with this foreign sport of hockey, and they showed it. 10 years later, the team is in trouble. They are bankrupt. ...

Aug 26th

Theme for Global Live

I am co-organizing an event in NYC this Tuesday called Global Live. We will have a number of presentations on how to help businesses grow internationally. We need a theme. Here’s some ideas. “Fun with businesses around the world” “Leverage your business with passion around the world”? What do you think?

Aug 21st

My new AIM? coffeewithian!

After 12 years with the same AOL/AIM screen name, I have changed it to coffeewithian. I thought that with the new iPhone push notifications, it was finally time. Send me an IM!

Jun 28th

Partnership for Student Advancement

PSA is an amazing organization. You should know more about them. http://psapartnership.org/

Jun 17th

What is #2cats all about?

You may have seen some of my statuses / tweets today (My Twitter posts double as my Facebook Statuses). Every one of these posts is ending with the tag #2cats. How come? Meet Daisy and Bailey. For the last few months, my friend Nicole has had them at her house. They need a new home. Nobody has taken them. It is important that they stay together. Therefore, until they find a home, every...

Jun 7th

Spam on Ning

To all those who have signed up for the Coffee With Ian social network on Ning (coffeewithian.ning.com), you may have seen some recent activity of “members” spamming you. I appoligize. Coffee With Ian is about breaking the barriers between the real world and the online world, and such practices have nothing to do with this initiative. From this point on, all members have to be...

May 24th

The Im Tirtzu project

As many of you may (or may not) know, I grew up in a Jewish Zionist youth movement called Young Judaea. I spent my summers going to camps and Israel programs with other Jews. I spent the year between high school and college in the holy land on a program called Young Judaea Year Course. YJ was very important to me growing up and had a lot to do with the person I am today. YJ is in trouble. Its...

Apr 27th

1 note

At least I'm in the stadium. Right?

You know that I’m a bigger Yankee fan than you, right? I’m one of those remaining few nostalgic of those early 90s teams managed by Buck Showalter, with an infield of interchangable parts like Randy Velarde, Mike Gallego and Sarina’s idol Pat Kelly. I spent some of my greatest summers listening to John Sterling and Michael Kay on WABC painting the picture of a team on the...

Feb 19th

My phone and internet blackout!

At 12PM today, I did something very unusual. To me, at least. I took my iPhone, and switched on Airplane Mode. What is that? It shut off the phone and internet options, making the device into an iPhone. I also shut off my internet access. No phone calls. No incoming emails. No IMs. No text messages. No Twitter DMs. No Facebook pokes. Etc… Why? Because I needed it. I went to a...

Feb 19th