The Third Larson?
Behold Larson, the hidden.
Way to go, e:Jim!!! Congratulations!!!
Tree-Planting E:Strip Picnic!!!
@terry posted about this city of buffalo tree-replanting venture some time back - @terry #44861. The city of Buffalo is looking to recover and spring back (quite literally) from the severe losses to its green cover from the awful October storm of '06. For those of you who sighed with sorrow at this terrible picture of destruction and pain:
Here is YOUR chance to do something positive and give back to the tree population of our city!! The City of Buffalo public works department is planning a community-driven Re-Tree WNY project almost right in your backyards!
From their posting at this site
Wouldn't you like to be part of team (e:strip)??? Together, we can return the lovely green of the summer and spring to barren lots of our city. Buffalo deserves it. You deserve it! Comment and join Team (e:strip)!!! Unlike little blowhards at some sites we know, we can actually do something practical and make a difference to Buffalo and in our lives.
Here is YOUR chance to do something positive and give back to the tree population of our city!! The City of Buffalo public works department is planning a community-driven Re-Tree WNY project almost right in your backyards!
From their posting at this site
Would you like to organize a tree planting in your neighborhood?
Step 1: Register your group to access the online system. Please click here:
Step 2: Once registered you will utilize the City of Buffalo's online street tree inventory to locate the specific locations you have chosen for your tree planting. If the site you have chosen is shown to be available on the online database, you can reserve the location and select a preferred species for that site.
Step 3: Once the sites have been reserved for your planting, we will contact you with a final list of your reserved tree planting sites and species.
Step 4: In the fall you will be contacted to participate in a mandatory tree planting training. These trainings are mandatory if you wish to receive your trees to plant.
If you are not part of a group doing a planting and organizing one yourself but would still like to volunteer to plant trees this fall please register here:
Wouldn't you like to be part of team (e:strip)??? Together, we can return the lovely green of the summer and spring to barren lots of our city. Buffalo deserves it. You deserve it! Comment and join Team (e:strip)!!! Unlike little blowhards at some sites we know, we can actually do something practical and make a difference to Buffalo and in our lives.
Congratulations, E:boxerboi!!!!!!!!!!!
What's an absolutely spellbinding story without a montage!??
Ready?? Cue the music >>>
I just received an awesome mail in my inbox!
@boxerboi successfully completed the Musselman Triathlon Challenge in 1:38:29!
The Triathlon Challenge started early in the day...
It was no walk in the park!!
Or even a casual dance by the disco!
It was a genuine time-bound sweat-drenched exhausting amphibious race!!
A arduous triple trek through the tunnel of exertion and grit!
But @boxerboi completed it with flying colours!!
@boxerboi!!!!!!
YOU ARE MY HERO!
Ready?? Cue the music >>>
I just received an awesome mail in my inbox!
@boxerboi successfully completed the Musselman Triathlon Challenge in 1:38:29!
The Triathlon Challenge started early in the day...
It was no walk in the park!!
Or even a casual dance by the disco!
It was a genuine time-bound sweat-drenched exhausting amphibious race!!
A arduous triple trek through the tunnel of exertion and grit!
But @boxerboi completed it with flying colours!!
@boxerboi!!!!!! Hellllooo, E:Roswell-Ripper!
So, get this! I work on the same floor and in fact, the same department as another (e:strip)per (yeah, not imk2. We are at WAR.) and I didn't know this for a WHOLE of three months!!!!
I was lounging in his cool office-space the other day and I noticed this very familiar picture on the desk. I thought it was @jim. When I looked closely, it wasn't @jim but I was convinced it was his brother or some cousin. So I bust into the same office today and point to the picture and ask, is the last name of that bloke in the picture, Lindley? He goes, "No, why?" I blabber on and on about how I know this Jim who is totally like that person in the picture. He exclaims, "That Jim who does all the cool photos etc.". I nod and then he says, " Hey! Do you know Paul Visco, who works in the Washington Building". I then take over and rattle off a string of e:Roswell-Rippers, and he says, "Yeah, I know most of them". And then it dawns on me and I ask, "WHO ARE YOU??" Turns out its none other than @boxerboi, that avatar with the hot red Tee, the sun-shades and the uber cool back pack!
So I guess Buffalo is a tiny world and all cool (e:strip)pers do work at Roswell*. Haha. :)
PS: *Yeah, @imk2, you don't get mentioned. I don't care if you wear the most amazing clothes and see niche movies. You absolutely withheld important information. So, we are officially at war. ;)
I was lounging in his cool office-space the other day and I noticed this very familiar picture on the desk. I thought it was @jim. When I looked closely, it wasn't @jim but I was convinced it was his brother or some cousin. So I bust into the same office today and point to the picture and ask, is the last name of that bloke in the picture, Lindley? He goes, "No, why?" I blabber on and on about how I know this Jim who is totally like that person in the picture. He exclaims, "That Jim who does all the cool photos etc.". I nod and then he says, " Hey! Do you know Paul Visco, who works in the Washington Building". I then take over and rattle off a string of e:Roswell-Rippers, and he says, "Yeah, I know most of them". And then it dawns on me and I ask, "WHO ARE YOU??" Turns out its none other than @boxerboi, that avatar with the hot red Tee, the sun-shades and the uber cool back pack!
So I guess Buffalo is a tiny world and all cool (e:strip)pers do work at Roswell*. Haha. :)
PS: *Yeah, @imk2, you don't get mentioned. I don't care if you wear the most amazing clothes and see niche movies. You absolutely withheld important information. So, we are officially at war. ;)
A thousand and one comments!
Reached a thousand and one comments on E:strip today. It has all been as exciting, fascinating and absorbing as the famed thousand and one Arabian tales. In fact even more so because its all real and happening right here, where I live, in Buffalo!!
Thank you everyone for sharing your lives, your stories, your opinions and your scandals with me. You are all an inspiration and a family away from home!
Thank you everyone for sharing your lives, your stories, your opinions and your scandals with me. You are all an inspiration and a family away from home!
I missed you all, but most of all...
I missed blogging on E:strip! It has been pretty un-therapeutic and unproductive for me to believe that not blogging and generally not running amok here would help me concentrate on my dissertation. I think I am going to make sure that I refer back to this post when I come to lethally erroneous conclusions such as these.
I met @paul and @jon (Are you the same in-the-flesh Jon that I met today? As you perhaps noticed, I really don't look too different from my profile picture. However, I couldn't say if those are your hands hovering over the keyboard though.) today for lunch and also ran into @terry and @jbeatty, apart from nagging @imk2 a bit. It was my best day in 3 months and I think it spells out in clear non-blurry neon-lighted alphabets that keeping away from (e:strip) is just a climb down into the unhappiness drain - where I have been rotting and languishing for an unhealthy period of time. There is also one more subtle inferential point here for future reference. If I ever need to have just such an awesome day as today, I need to meet and chat with approximately 5 (e:strip)pers or more (whether they want to or not is immaterial.)
Since there is so much to generally catch up on here, I am just going to pick (e:strip)pers to stalk all week so that I stalk all their posts these past 3 months and embarrass them as thoroughly as possible on my blog and generally exercise my penchant for ill-advised inappropriateness into shape.
But first, a few things I want to shout out loud.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @jim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you had an awesome day and if you did, everyday in this following year gets progressively better till you hit the BIG 30 - when it gets EVEN better. Your NO #1 stalker is back! (But will need to take break to stalk every one else.)
@mike, say hello to your brand-new-and-improved but with some-of-the-old-evil-retained stalker!
@paul and @jon, sorry about all the hideous coughing. I just could not help it and I thought you were slightly freaked out about it. I promise I will be healthier next time and not cough all ominously at lunch. This change in weather brings out the worst in me. :/ Thanks once again for coming out to lunch and listening to me drone on and on. And yes, for not gasping in horror and edging away when you heard the ominous coughing. All the gestures meant a lot to me!
@jbeatty, All the best with your project and your exciting new job and all the other new things that you are doing (that I need to update myself on by stalking your blog at some point). I still have your Lebanese cook book and I haven't forgotten that it belongs to you. I do intend to return it at some point and I promise that I am not scheming to make it part of my library and deny that it ever belonged to you (though that might be something to consider, now that I have spelled out the possibility. It does have excellent lentil-soup recipes...) My dull dull totally slow grey cells figured out FINALLY, about 4 hours after I walked out of Caf� 59, that you were talking about the *Sea*bar and not the C-bar or C-barn as I thought earlier - which, btw, was a source of terrible bewilderment to me. I mean, what on earth does sushi have to do with hitting the c-bar or even a barn, right? Since you mentioned that it was kind of an exclusive pricey place, I was actually deeper in the fog about the name than you could possibly have imagined. I briefly considered asking you to spell it but decided against it because it seemed like a tad too obsessive of a move over nitty-gritties at lunch time.
@terry, you looked absolutely gorgeous today! Was that a new haircut?? I can't wait to come and check out the floors and all the stuff that you guys have done to the house on April 27. I have a friend who bought a new house recently and I think it might be excellent inspiration for her to check out all the cool homes around E:strip. How many of you are going on this tour??
Once again, it feels good to be back and I think I am not going to go away at all. Well... till of course someone manually drags me away to the infinity upstairs. Wait, I don't believe in that. Make that, till I am reborn into the rodent kingdom for all the heinous deeds I have committed as a biped. Wait, I am already a rodent. Maybe I should aim lower - the invertebrate world? All the heinousness should amply add up by then...
PS: I wonder why all the accent marks in my posts are not working... They are turning up as �. Is that a mocking message reminder that its really quite ridiculous snobbery to use accent marks in plain English?
I met @paul and @jon (Are you the same in-the-flesh Jon that I met today? As you perhaps noticed, I really don't look too different from my profile picture. However, I couldn't say if those are your hands hovering over the keyboard though.) today for lunch and also ran into @terry and @jbeatty, apart from nagging @imk2 a bit. It was my best day in 3 months and I think it spells out in clear non-blurry neon-lighted alphabets that keeping away from (e:strip) is just a climb down into the unhappiness drain - where I have been rotting and languishing for an unhealthy period of time. There is also one more subtle inferential point here for future reference. If I ever need to have just such an awesome day as today, I need to meet and chat with approximately 5 (e:strip)pers or more (whether they want to or not is immaterial.)
Since there is so much to generally catch up on here, I am just going to pick (e:strip)pers to stalk all week so that I stalk all their posts these past 3 months and embarrass them as thoroughly as possible on my blog and generally exercise my penchant for ill-advised inappropriateness into shape.
But first, a few things I want to shout out loud.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, @jim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you had an awesome day and if you did, everyday in this following year gets progressively better till you hit the BIG 30 - when it gets EVEN better. Your NO #1 stalker is back! (But will need to take break to stalk every one else.)
@mike, say hello to your brand-new-and-improved but with some-of-the-old-evil-retained stalker!
@paul and @jon, sorry about all the hideous coughing. I just could not help it and I thought you were slightly freaked out about it. I promise I will be healthier next time and not cough all ominously at lunch. This change in weather brings out the worst in me. :/ Thanks once again for coming out to lunch and listening to me drone on and on. And yes, for not gasping in horror and edging away when you heard the ominous coughing. All the gestures meant a lot to me!
@jbeatty, All the best with your project and your exciting new job and all the other new things that you are doing (that I need to update myself on by stalking your blog at some point). I still have your Lebanese cook book and I haven't forgotten that it belongs to you. I do intend to return it at some point and I promise that I am not scheming to make it part of my library and deny that it ever belonged to you (though that might be something to consider, now that I have spelled out the possibility. It does have excellent lentil-soup recipes...) My dull dull totally slow grey cells figured out FINALLY, about 4 hours after I walked out of Caf� 59, that you were talking about the *Sea*bar and not the C-bar or C-barn as I thought earlier - which, btw, was a source of terrible bewilderment to me. I mean, what on earth does sushi have to do with hitting the c-bar or even a barn, right? Since you mentioned that it was kind of an exclusive pricey place, I was actually deeper in the fog about the name than you could possibly have imagined. I briefly considered asking you to spell it but decided against it because it seemed like a tad too obsessive of a move over nitty-gritties at lunch time.
@terry, you looked absolutely gorgeous today! Was that a new haircut?? I can't wait to come and check out the floors and all the stuff that you guys have done to the house on April 27. I have a friend who bought a new house recently and I think it might be excellent inspiration for her to check out all the cool homes around E:strip. How many of you are going on this tour??
Once again, it feels good to be back and I think I am not going to go away at all. Well... till of course someone manually drags me away to the infinity upstairs. Wait, I don't believe in that. Make that, till I am reborn into the rodent kingdom for all the heinous deeds I have committed as a biped. Wait, I am already a rodent. Maybe I should aim lower - the invertebrate world? All the heinousness should amply add up by then...
PS: I wonder why all the accent marks in my posts are not working... They are turning up as �. Is that a mocking message reminder that its really quite ridiculous snobbery to use accent marks in plain English?
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
What an apposite day for offering one of the most precious human sentiment to everyone who has gone out of the way to make me feel so blessed!!
Thank you, Amma, Appa and K for always standing by me and in fact, encouraging me, in all the crazy things I have decided to do throughout these years!
Thank you, CBA, for being the best-EST advisor in the whole wide world!
Thank you, SGF, for being the most brilliant teacher there ever was and will be, and for bringing clarity into my brain!
Thank you, PL for making me fall in love with what I do and showing me how to be passionate and not passive.
Thank you to everyone who left me with their most precious thoughts before they left this world.
Thank you, Paul, for bringing us together with (e:strip)!
Thank you, (e:strip)pers for making me feel at home in Buffalo and welcoming me with open arms!
Thank you to everyone who smiled at me on the streets, laughed at my inane jokes and never made me feel out of place!
Thank you SA, for getting out of bed at 5:00 AM just so I wouldn't have breakfast alone after that miserable night. I wonder where you are and hope you are super-happy and successful!
Thank you JC, for being the most caring and responsive landlady I will ever have and almost being my second mom in the two years I was in Rochester. I miss you!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you, Amma, Appa and K for always standing by me and in fact, encouraging me, in all the crazy things I have decided to do throughout these years!
Thank you, CBA, for being the best-EST advisor in the whole wide world!
Thank you, SGF, for being the most brilliant teacher there ever was and will be, and for bringing clarity into my brain!
Thank you, PL for making me fall in love with what I do and showing me how to be passionate and not passive.
Thank you to everyone who left me with their most precious thoughts before they left this world.
Thank you, Paul, for bringing us together with (e:strip)!
Thank you, (e:strip)pers for making me feel at home in Buffalo and welcoming me with open arms!
Thank you to everyone who smiled at me on the streets, laughed at my inane jokes and never made me feel out of place!
Thank you SA, for getting out of bed at 5:00 AM just so I wouldn't have breakfast alone after that miserable night. I wonder where you are and hope you are super-happy and successful!
Thank you JC, for being the most caring and responsive landlady I will ever have and almost being my second mom in the two years I was in Rochester. I miss you!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Verbatim: Spam is not welcome.
A while back, I had an email exchange with a chap who was deleted from (e:strip) for spamming his realty business advertisements on the site. I wanted to post this before, but I guess I was just being lazy. Well, here it is. I think this person totally deserved the severe comments, and no response from me, but I realized this too late.
This was my original comment:
Dear uptownevolutio,
tinypliny commented on journal #41785:
<
m(0_0)m
FYI, I am not planning on moving to Charlotte anytime in the next 1000 years. I am not sure this is a right group of people you need to be targeting. Most of the people here are firmly rooted in Buffalo.
m(0_0)m
>
In reply, he wrote:
Thanks for your kind words and support. Ummmm.... really, I deal with people from the Buffalo area on a weekly basis relocating to Charlotte for something called jobs...... But the smile on my face must be from all the people Not moving from Buffalo/Upstate NY. Oh well..... It's comments like these that I laugh at on my way to the bank. Enjoy your deep roots in Buffalo. I guess everyone has a place and I am glad you found yours. Enjoy it.
Best,
Scott Russo
Broker/Realtor
Center City Realty
704.421.0706 direct
704.358.0050 office
<charlotteflight2@aol.com>
I ignored this, but then he wrote again...
On 10/30/07, Scott Russo Broker/Realtor Center City Realty <charlotteflight2@aol.com> wrote:
> I am not sure this is a right group of people you need to be targeting. Most of
the people here are firmly rooted in Buffalo.
I have been truly busy this last week but wanted to send you some info. I did some research as to how many people are so firmly rooted in Buffalo. It seems you have topped the list of the most people moving from your area for the last decade from 1990 to 2000. Congratulations!
My guess is that it could be related to the rise in crime since 1999. I mean after all .... you only have double the amount of crime in your small city as the average city in the US.
City Residents
1980: 357,870
1990: 328,175
2000: 292,648
2004 estimate: 282,864
Percent change, 1990-2000: -10.8%
U.S. rank in 1980: 39th
U.S. rank in 1990: 50th (State rank: 2nd)
U.S. rank in 2000: 69th (State rank: 2nd)
Density: 7,205.8 people per square mile (2000)
Truly,
Scott Russo
Broker/Realtor
Center City Realty
Charlotte, NC USA
704.421.0706 direct
<charlotteflight2@aol.com>
I was really tired that day and somewhat irked by his last email when I wrote my reply. Some of my "facts" were skewed, but it was very liberating to type away wildly without thinking about the consequences, for a change. :)
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the statistics. I have no reason to doubt it at all. I know that Buffalo is a dying city. There is a lot of crime in the city and employment rates are at a record low. Add to this equation, appalling mismanagement on the governance front and sky-rocketing taxes. I am sure that, given this rather bleak scenario, moving to Buffalo or staying on in poverty and crime is not the dream of most people around the US.
When I made that comment in your journal, I wanted to balance, what I thought were somewhat harsh, comments left on the journal by some of the other (e:strip) people. I truly apologize that my comment didn't strike the right chord, and instead sounded negative and patronizing. When I said that I was not sure that you were targeting the right group of people I meant the regulars on (e:strip). I do know for a fact that most of them are really quite attached to the place. Jim and James, for instance (the people who commented) are seriously considering buying a home in Buffalo.
Many of the regulars on (e:strip) have been here for a long time and a large chunk of them own their homes around Elmwood, Downtown Buffalo or in the suburbs such as Amherst and Kenmore. Moving is not a option for them because they have families and relatives here. More importantly, they have secure paying jobs or are attending graduate school/doing research.
I am not aware of the official policy of advertisement on (e:strip), but I am confident in saying that advertising is not the focus of the community and is generally looked down upon. The concept behind the creation of the (e:strip) site was to build not only a close-knit online community but also to transcend barriers of anonymity to bring neighbours together. It is a complete non-profit both in sense, and in vision, run by Paul Visco - the creator. It is quite clearly a labour of love.
We at (e:strip), are not just online personas, we are almost a family. Almost everyone knows everyone else by their real name and occupation. We meet at frequent get-togethers and exchange views and ideas. While being close-knit, estrip also welcomes new members. However, we strongly prefer that new members take the site personally, and respect it for what it is, a family of friends. Naturally, we feel more than a little irked when new members use the public forum for advertisement or for private gain.
I came to Buffalo about 5 months back for my Ph.D. research, and I have to admit that (e:strip) was one of the major factors that made me feel at ease in a new city and in a new neighbourhood. My move and transition to a new community was almost effortless. I was made to feel welcome by almost all of the (e:strip) family. I deeply regret that you did not have a similar experience and faced bitterness, instead. I am sorry for rambling on and on, but I wrote this letter in an effort to illustrate the feelings of (e:strip) regulars and an explanation of not only my comment, but also the reception that you unfortunately received.
I am sure that you are still most welcome to post at (e:strip). However, we do ask that you treat us as your family, and not hurt us by treating us as your prospective clients for future profit.
Cheers,
TP
cc: Paul Visco, Vision, Design and Creation, Estrip.org
Future spammers better take note and edge away quietly, before you are detected and decapitated!
This was my original comment:
Dear uptownevolutio,
tinypliny commented on journal #41785:
<
m(0_0)m
FYI, I am not planning on moving to Charlotte anytime in the next 1000 years. I am not sure this is a right group of people you need to be targeting. Most of the people here are firmly rooted in Buffalo.
m(0_0)m
>
In reply, he wrote:
Thanks for your kind words and support. Ummmm.... really, I deal with people from the Buffalo area on a weekly basis relocating to Charlotte for something called jobs...... But the smile on my face must be from all the people Not moving from Buffalo/Upstate NY. Oh well..... It's comments like these that I laugh at on my way to the bank. Enjoy your deep roots in Buffalo. I guess everyone has a place and I am glad you found yours. Enjoy it.
Best,
Scott Russo
Broker/Realtor
Center City Realty
704.421.0706 direct
704.358.0050 office
<charlotteflight2@aol.com>
I ignored this, but then he wrote again...
On 10/30/07, Scott Russo Broker/Realtor Center City Realty <charlotteflight2@aol.com> wrote:
> I am not sure this is a right group of people you need to be targeting. Most of
the people here are firmly rooted in Buffalo.
I have been truly busy this last week but wanted to send you some info. I did some research as to how many people are so firmly rooted in Buffalo. It seems you have topped the list of the most people moving from your area for the last decade from 1990 to 2000. Congratulations!
My guess is that it could be related to the rise in crime since 1999. I mean after all .... you only have double the amount of crime in your small city as the average city in the US.
City Residents
1980: 357,870
1990: 328,175
2000: 292,648
2004 estimate: 282,864
Percent change, 1990-2000: -10.8%
U.S. rank in 1980: 39th
U.S. rank in 1990: 50th (State rank: 2nd)
U.S. rank in 2000: 69th (State rank: 2nd)
Density: 7,205.8 people per square mile (2000)
Truly,
Scott Russo
Broker/Realtor
Center City Realty
Charlotte, NC USA
704.421.0706 direct
<charlotteflight2@aol.com>
I was really tired that day and somewhat irked by his last email when I wrote my reply. Some of my "facts" were skewed, but it was very liberating to type away wildly without thinking about the consequences, for a change. :)
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the statistics. I have no reason to doubt it at all. I know that Buffalo is a dying city. There is a lot of crime in the city and employment rates are at a record low. Add to this equation, appalling mismanagement on the governance front and sky-rocketing taxes. I am sure that, given this rather bleak scenario, moving to Buffalo or staying on in poverty and crime is not the dream of most people around the US.
When I made that comment in your journal, I wanted to balance, what I thought were somewhat harsh, comments left on the journal by some of the other (e:strip) people. I truly apologize that my comment didn't strike the right chord, and instead sounded negative and patronizing. When I said that I was not sure that you were targeting the right group of people I meant the regulars on (e:strip). I do know for a fact that most of them are really quite attached to the place. Jim and James, for instance (the people who commented) are seriously considering buying a home in Buffalo.
Many of the regulars on (e:strip) have been here for a long time and a large chunk of them own their homes around Elmwood, Downtown Buffalo or in the suburbs such as Amherst and Kenmore. Moving is not a option for them because they have families and relatives here. More importantly, they have secure paying jobs or are attending graduate school/doing research.
I am not aware of the official policy of advertisement on (e:strip), but I am confident in saying that advertising is not the focus of the community and is generally looked down upon. The concept behind the creation of the (e:strip) site was to build not only a close-knit online community but also to transcend barriers of anonymity to bring neighbours together. It is a complete non-profit both in sense, and in vision, run by Paul Visco - the creator. It is quite clearly a labour of love.
We at (e:strip), are not just online personas, we are almost a family. Almost everyone knows everyone else by their real name and occupation. We meet at frequent get-togethers and exchange views and ideas. While being close-knit, estrip also welcomes new members. However, we strongly prefer that new members take the site personally, and respect it for what it is, a family of friends. Naturally, we feel more than a little irked when new members use the public forum for advertisement or for private gain.
I came to Buffalo about 5 months back for my Ph.D. research, and I have to admit that (e:strip) was one of the major factors that made me feel at ease in a new city and in a new neighbourhood. My move and transition to a new community was almost effortless. I was made to feel welcome by almost all of the (e:strip) family. I deeply regret that you did not have a similar experience and faced bitterness, instead. I am sorry for rambling on and on, but I wrote this letter in an effort to illustrate the feelings of (e:strip) regulars and an explanation of not only my comment, but also the reception that you unfortunately received.
I am sure that you are still most welcome to post at (e:strip). However, we do ask that you treat us as your family, and not hurt us by treating us as your prospective clients for future profit.
Cheers,
TP
cc: Paul Visco, Vision, Design and Creation, Estrip.org
Future spammers better take note and edge away quietly, before you are detected and decapitated!