Observations

On the Apprentice, Donald Trump’s right-hand man and general counsel George “Determinator” Ross is a ’53 grad of my law school. What a great, but high pressure GC gig that must be? My DVR failed to record this week’s episode because it recorded the competing Enterprise. Have to say I rather watch the Apprentice this time.

Mega Millions is now up to $222 million. That’s an extra $7 million from what it was when we passed the billboard on the BQE. I took the $2 that I won last time and reinvested it for Friday’s drawing. The odds of winning the jackpot are greater than 1 in 143 million; however, the odds of winning something is better than 1 in 43, which isn’t so bad.

Gage and Tollner, Brooklyn’s oldest restaurant, closed down on Saturday. It was counting on business from Ratner’s MetroTech to roll over and support a higher end market, but it never happened. The campus atmosphere encouraged companies to fund their own cafeterias so employees wouldn’t ever have to leave their buildings. The she-crab soup was really something, not to mention the landmark gas lit interior. I’d like to express my gratitude to all of the expense account meals that others have treated me there.

OnFocus briefly linked to us due to a few book mentions, such as The Tipping Point (note to everyone else writing — link your book reviews to Amazon) . The ultra-summary on the Tipping Point: there are three types of influencial people in the world: Connectors (know a lot of people), Salespeople (know how to be convincing), and Mavens (know how to find the info). The most powerful people are those that have 2 or more of these characteristics. It isn’t necessary to work on convincing a majority of the people. The actual tipping point that starts a chain reaction, or “epidemic”, turns out to be between 5% and 20%, if those “tipped” are composed of these influencial people. Growth occurs exponentially after that point. The author could have said that, and left it at that, but his book contract must have been similar to Charles Dickens — by the word. The thesis is rather simple and profound, but he repeats examples and concepts in the same way that one does to make a page limit for a term paper.

I’m booked for 2 trips to California with P– in March: 4-7 in San Francisco to catch the San Francisco International Asian Film Festival and see Napa, and 27-30 in San Diego to drive around Orange County and see Tiajuana, Mexico. That should net 10K miles, plus 5K + 1K mile bonuses, plus a free American Airlines ticket. Let’s see how that goes; I hope to see you there if you are in the area.

In the same vein, someone is trying to make a mega mileage run — he’s going to spend $7,000 to accumulate 500K miles within three months. That’s crazy!

YC just one step closer to Malaysian nuptials; leaving in his wake the SF gay marriage showdown. Would like to see him at the airport…