Although I find the Amazon Kindle E-book reader revolutionary, I haven’t bought one yet. Its ugly, its too expensive , and I am not a big book reader to begin with.
However, I think its a brilliant concept, and I knew it would be successful and spawn much better models down the line - and that is exactly what is happening this fall.
According to analysts, the new Kindle 2.0 is thinner, lighter, has a better screen, a better interface, better controls - but most importantly, its more *sexy*, like an iPhone - sex appeal was the #1 missing factor in Kindle 1.0. As a bonus, the price is coming down to under $300.
Although Amazon is not releasing exact figures, most analysts have predicted they have sold about 300,000 Kindles, and are looking at revenues of $100M+/yr based on unit, media, and vertical sales (you can download and buy ebooks wirelessly in about 2 min, plus you can buy anything on Amazon from the device).
In addition, a second Kindle is being launched in an 8.5×11″ form factor, designed more for textbooks, which are more likely to include advanced illustrations, tables, graphs, and figures which presumably need the bigger screen.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to go to college with a Kindle instead of textbooks. I probably had 30 or so books to buy a semester, weighing a total of 20 lbs. Half I would need to buy at one campus bookstore, the others were only available at the other bookstore on the other side of campus. Of course in the beginning of the semester at least 10% of your books would not be in stock, so you would have to revisit the stores to get them. Also inevitable was the 10% of books on the course’s list that the professor ‘never got around to’. Then you would have drag them back to the bookstore at the end of the year to get some really disappointing news on their resale value.
How about clicking your professor’s Amazon reading list link from his Facebook page - while in class - and having all of the books downloaded onto your Kindle instantly? In your knapsack, just a notebook computer, a Kindle, and your iPhone. Bliss.
How do people get accidentally hit by trains? You might ask - cause, you know, you can see them coming from a mile away. Not always. This video is an example of just how fast and quiet a train can come up on you, and how the engineer really cant do anything but blow his horn and try to stop.
I have to admit, when I checked the news this morning and saw that Senator Joe Biden (D-Del) had been chosen by Barack Obama as his running mate, I felt confused.
It was kind of confusion I felt during the pivotal scene in ‘The Crying Game’.
Factoid: Biden’s middle name is ‘Robinette’ -?
But when I read the analysis of it, it all made sense. Obama lacks experience and avoids mud-slinging, so he hired a 35-year Senator as his pit bull. Makes sense. I think Biden also is appealing to a lot of McCain fence-sitters.
Biden has a sad family history - and, of interest to our readers, has commuted 90 minutes by train daily since 1972!
In 1966, while in law school, Biden married Neilia Hunter. They had three children, Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi. His wife and infant daughter died in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972. His two young sons, Beau and Hunter, were seriously injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden was sworn into office from their bedside. Persuaded not to resign in order to care for them, Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, DC, which he continues to do.
Kind of an interesting contrast to McCain’s early family tragedy.
Biden has no military experience but his son Beau is being deployed to Iraq in October - he is a lawyer for JAG (BTW who the hell watched that show that it was on for TEN seasons???)
Last election, I was a McCain supporter, but Obama won me over quickly. This has only gotten more solidified this campaign, as McCain seems to be having more and more ’senior moments’ in his speeches and interviews.
Most recently, he could not remember how many houses he owned, or what kind of car he owned.
For the record, he and Cindy own 4 homes of their own worth $9M, and also 4 other residential income properties for use by relatives. He drives a Cadillac CTS, which gets a whopping 17 MPG, “but”, he added, “I just bought my daughter a Prius”. Oh, ok - I’m appeased!
In more McCain gaffes, he defined America’s ‘rich’ to be those who make over $5M a year (!)
Factoid: Cindy is worth $100M
In related news, McCain sponsored a bill to send New Canaan a $5B economic stimulus package when told its 20,000 residents had a $169,403 median income.
Here are some mini-reviews of restaurants around Greenwich I like to order delivery from.
Be sure to add your favorites in the comments, even if it’s not in Greenwich proper.
1. Sushi
Kira Sushi II menu - Directions
4 Lewis Ct
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 422-2990
Kira Sushi is my kind of sushi bar – small, unpretentious, good service, great sushi. I am not a fan of their Robata or other non-sushi dishes, but their sushi is great. A couple of my favorites include a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll (not technically on the menu but any sushi place will make one for you – try scallops instead of tuna also), their White Tuna albacore and yellowtail nigiri are also very good. I can never remember their specialty rolls by name by they are all good.
As for on-site dining, although its popular we never wait for a table there, and the dining room is cozy and service prompt and excellent, with both tables and sushi bar.
(Photo is of a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll by gabrielletilley on Flickr, and is not a photo of an actual Kira Sushi hand roll - ed.)
2. Italian/Pizza
Arcuri’s Pizza & Salads menu - directions
226 E Putnam Ave
Cos Cob, CT 06807
(203) 869-6999
Arcuri’s has a very extensive menu of pizza and Italian fare are good prices, and their delivery is super-fast. I know this because I order from them all the time. However, nothing on their menu really stands out for me, except their specialty ‘Bullet Pizza’, which is great – but everything else is good too. They do a nice steak bomb also (make sure you ask if you want mushrooms and/or mayonnaise), and my wife likes the gorgonzola salad.
Arcuri’s is not really a sit-down place, with just a couple of cramped tables.
3. Thai
Little Thai Kitchen menu - directions
21 Saint Roch Ave
Greenwich, CT
(203) 622-2972
Little Thai Kitchen is a Thai restaurant which, which, like Kira Sushi, covers all the bases of their cuisine well. My favorite Thai dish is drunken noodles with beef, but their yellow curry chicken is a favorite in our house as well (order extra white rice though – they don’t pack much). Make sure you get some shrimp summer rolls and Tom Ka Gai soup for appetizers.
The one downside of LTK is that their delivery is VERY slow – however, some of this is due to the fact that my house is a little hard to find and on the opposite side of town from them.
As for onsite dining, it should really be called ‘Little Thai Dining Room’ - it is lilliputian inside, although clean and cozy. Service is good. Seems like it was carved out of a multifamily home.
4. Chinese Hunan Gourmet menu - directions
68 E Putnam Ave
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 869-1940
Again, Hunan Gourmet is just a solid Chinese restaurant that gets all the basics right. The Szechuan Dumplings are a peanuty fat treat. The fried rice is very good, and they also have cold noodles, which is one of my favorites which a lot of restaurants don’t offer. I usually get some beef Lo Mein or beef Chow Fun, or some General’s Chicken – my wife likes the Moo Shu Pork with extra pancakes.
Hunan Gourmet has very fast delivery in my experience, and the dining room is surprisingly elegant.
5. Indian
Tandoori, Taste of India (Port Chester) menu - directions
163 N Main St
Port Chester, NY 10573
(914) 937-2727
I hesitate to add these guys to the list because technically they are in Port Chester (they had a Riverside location which has closed), however they have delivered to me in Greenwich in the past. We have eaten in the dining room there also, which is a great prelude to a movie at the Port Chester cinemas.
When I worked in Silicon Valley as a programmer, I would up eating a LOT of Indian food. The reason for this is that when you get a bunch of programmers going out for lunch, at least one or two are going to be both Indian and vegetarian. Silicon Valley has some great Indian buffets to take care of them, and I never minded them at all - especially if they had soft-serve mango ice cream!
In my opinion, Tandoori Taste of India is better than most Indian restaurants in terms of taste and menu.
I usually get the Lamb Vindaloo and my wife likes the Chicken Tiki Masala or Chicken Korma, with the Uthappam to share as an appetizer. Sometimes I will get a mango lasse.
The dining room at Tandoori is a little dated but fine, service is good but like some asian restaurants sometimes certain dishes can take longer than others.
I just got word of a very important event that is happening Saturday - sorry for the last-minute notice.
To protest the illegality of women being topless in public, all women are encouraged to meet Saturday at noon, at Merchants Gate at Columbus Circle, sans top. The organization is sponsored by gotopless.org.
BTW if you or any of your friends need a ride to the event, let me know
Arcuri’s Pizza & Salads 
Hunan Gourmet 
Tandoori, Taste of India (Port Chester) 
