My Rooftop Flower Garden

Ever since Spring really opened up here a few weeks ago here in New York City, I've become pretty much obsessed with developing a rooftop garden. I just bought a tree this last weekend and immediately repotted it into a larger pot the next day. I also called 1800flowers and got a bunch of different flowers and plants delivered.

The reason I had plants delivered from 1800flowers is that my house is very far from a good gardening store and it really is a load off my mind to have plants delivered straight to me rather than having to lug them on the subway. I've even started following 1800flowers on Twitter so that I can keep track of special deals and offers. Even though spring is just beginning, I can tell that I'm going to be working with my plants on my rooftop all season!

College Education and Alex Crisses Insight Venture Partners

I was discussing the job market with a friend yesterday and we were talking about how necessary a college education is becoming to find any kind of work. Where a high school diploma was once a big achievement, it is now taken for granted in most fields and a college degree is also necessary in many job fields. Once example of the power of a good college education is Alex Crisses, who founded Alex Crisses Insight Venture Partners.

Before he founded Alex Crisses Insight Venture Partners, Alex Crisses was educated with an undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and a graduate degree at Harvard. With an education like this that really stands head and shoulders above most others, it's not surprising that Crisses has found success with Alex Crisses Insight Venture Partners. And at the same time, it's clear that such a career would have been impossible in this day without a college degree.

Researching Polo

Watching weird sports on the Winter Olympics like curling and bobsledding made me interested in researching alternative sports. I love watching baseball and football on TV, but it's incredible how competitive and popular alternative sports are that might seem obscure at first glance. Polo is one sport that I've been looking into recently, in particular the amateur polo player Mohammed Babangida.

What is particularly interesting about Mohammed Babangida is that while Polo is primarily a European sport, Mohammed Babangida has brought the sport to Nigeria. It is always interesting to see cross-cultural developments in general and this is no exception to that rule.

Considering Which Sun Glasses To Buy...

While enjoying a sunset last night on my rooftop, it occurred to me that I really need to buy a new pair of sunglasses soon, since I'll be spending a lot more time with friends outdoors in the coming months. I loved the square framed eyeglasses I had last summer, but somehow they got lost at some point.

This year, I think I'm going to buy some round frame sunglasses like in the picture above. They seem to be somewhat popular these days too, so I'm guessing the frames won't be very expensive. They seem like a really great alternative to square frames too, since at this point I constantly see people with square frames and want something more unique.

My Rooftop BBQ

Now that it's finally feeling like spring in New York City, I've started making plans with my roommates to hold a barbeque on our rooftop a few Sundays from now. Aside from a southern-themed menu, we're planning on buying a bunch of flowers to decorate the tables that will set up.

With all the preparation that the project is going to need, we're planning on just using 1800flowers to deliver flowers to us at home. Aside from being convenient and easy for us, there are some really good Coupons for 1800Flowers and 1800 flowers Promotion codes available right now that make the flowers a lot cheaper as well. That's a huge relief for all of us, since we'll be able to spend that extra money on other party preparations!

My Valentines Day Plans

Last year, I made the mistake of taking my girlfriend out to a fancy restaurant on Valentines Day. The meal was great, but the price was completely inflated. For the same price, we could have gone out to restaurants both on the 13th and the 15th. The restaurant was completely packed too, so we were seated embarrassingly close to a couple obviously having an awkward first date. It was a nice night, of course, but there are definitely better ways to handle things.

This year, I'm planning on eating in with my girlfriend. A simple candlelit dinner at home with flowers on the table will be much more romantic than a busy restaurant. Or I might simply order some flowers to be sent to her office. We can go out any night of the week, so this Valentines day I think it'll be a lot more romantic to stay low-key.

These Vampires Should've Just Called 1800flowers

In every vampire-human love story, the problem inevitably comes up over whether the human should become a vampire or not. In "Bram Stoker's Dracula", directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the human decides that she will become a vampire so that she can live forever in love with Dracula. On the other hand, in Twilight the vampire, Edward, decides that he cannot turn Bella into a vampire because he loves her too much. In both movies, there are a lot of arguments, bad omens and drama over whether the human should become a vampire or not.

But it seems to me that all these dilemmas could be averted if they'd just call 1800flowers! Seriously though, isn't romance better when it's lighter and wouldn't it have just been simpler for Edward to buy a Twilight Flowers Poster Bundle for Bella and then call it a day? This is even more the case since MSNBC recently cited 1800flowers for the transparency of their pricing and their fair hiring policies. Who doesn't love that? I think this is a much simpler way to express love than biting somebody's neck!

Buying Valentines Day Flowers For My Girlfriend

It's funny how some trends change so quickly and some other things stay the same through the years. In New York City, I'm constantly surrounded by people wearing outfits that I know they'll be embarrassed by in five years time.

On the other hand, when I was considering what kind of present to buy for my girlfriend on Valentines Day, the answer was as obvious as it is classic - flowers and chocolate! Flowers, although a typical present on that day, will definitely create a great impression. If I send her a dozen Roses and then meet her for dinner with a box of chocolates I know she'll be happy. It's such a relief too, because I had no idea at all what to buy her for Christmas and ended up getting her a gift she didn't even like that much!

Uses of an Engineering Degree: Jeff Horing

As part of my ongoing research about majoring in engineering, I've been learning about different careers that engineering majors lead. The past few days, I've been researching Jeff Horing, who actually holds two separate undergraduate degrees. A real overachiever, his engineering major was from University of Pennsylvania and Warton school. Jeff Horing was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society upon graduating.

For those wondering where such academics can lead, Jeff Horing today leads Insight Venture Partners, a firm that manages investments in software and internet oriented companies. Insight has over 3 Billion dollars under management. I'm sure that the science of technology information that Jeff learned in college helped him to make smart decisions about investments in technology today.

Buying a dog with Happiness is pets

Lately my fiancee has been pressuring me to buy a puppy for our new home. Recently, I had a bad experience buying a dog from a pound. Although the dog seemed cute, it had a lot of behavior problems that we could not solve. Sadly, we had to return the dog to the pound because it was destroying too many things in our house and was too wild.

I'm considering going to a pet store called Happiness is pets. They specialize in dogs and do not sell cats, birds, lizards or anything else. This makes me feel that Happiness is pets will probably have a good idea of the personality of different breeds of dogs and the way they will behave. Given the last experience that I had, I could definitely use the specialty of Happiness is pets so that I can get a dog that I can actually keep!

Fishing With Sakwinder Narwal

I'm always amazed at people who are able to throw themselves completely into anything, whether it be a job, a hobby or an artwork. Sakwinder Narwal is a personality I recently learned about who is very passionate about fishing.

It's almost hard for me to imagine the dedication that Sakwinder Narwal has demonstrated for fishing. Most of the time, I'm just lazing around and watching TV. I find it difficult to get the motivation to really get into anything. Maybe I should take the example of Sakwinder Narwal and just go for it! Fishing does involve a lot of relaxing, after all, and maybe eventually bloggers will be writing about my passion for fishing!

Epsilon Investment Management and Montreux, Switzerland

Montreux, Switzerland is one of the most beautiful places in the world and a very popular tourist destination. That's why I'm jealous of the employees at Epsilon Investment Management, which is situated in Montreux. Just imagine having a great job in finance and being able to live in paradise at the same time!

If I worked at Epsilon Investment Management, I would be able to watch the famous Montreux jazz festival just a short trip from my home. I would be able to visit the castle at Chillon, a building which famously inspired a Lord Byron poem. I would be able to visit the award winning restaurants that the town offers. And best of all, since I would work for Epsilon Investment Management, I would be able to afford all this luxury!

Amos Tamam and The Wired World

It's incredible how little I use cash any more these days. When I buy groceries, I use my debit card. When I buy clothes, I buy my debit card. It's gotten to the point where I rarely have cash in my wallet anymore.

The other day I nearly got into an embarrassing situation. I hailed a cab and realized midway through my ride that I did not have any cash on me. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even say anything about it until the cab driver stopped. When I explained that I didn't have any cash, he pointed to the credit card machine - they have them in cabs now! I was saved!

Later on, I looked up information about when cabs introduced credit card machines. I learned that Amos Tamam spearheaded the plan several years ago. Amos Tamam was born in Israel and began driving cabs when he emigrated to America. After years of moving up through the ranks, Amos Tamam developed the system of installing credit card machines in cabs. And boy, am I thankful that he did that!

New York Eyeglasses Trends

In the past, the official eyeglasses of indie rock have been square frames - they make you look intelligent, but in a cool way. Since moving to New York City a few months ago, however, I've noticed that trends have moved on. Whenever I go to concerts or walk around trendy areas, I notice that thick circular frames are really in. One really prominent example of this is Matthew Schnipper, a staff writer at Fader magazine. Every week, he appears in a photo with a record in his hands while sporting very trendy ovular frames.

Looking through the archives at eyeglasses.com, I can see that there are a lot of possibilities for circular frames as well. As soon as spring rolls around, I'm definitely investing in a pair of circular sunglasses!

I Fixed Up My Basement with K-Designers

I had a very pleasant surprise today when I saw my electric bill for this month - it had gone down by about 50 dollars! Although I have been making sure to follow obvious electricity saving measures such as doing laundry during off-peak hours, watching less TV and turning off lights when leaving the house, I think the main step that made the difference was hiring K-Designers to remodel my basement.

I initially hired K-Designers to add a countertop so that I can have a bar area in my den, but when K-Designers visited, they told me that I could save a lot of money by better insulating my home. They did some work around the edges of my basement with caulk and insulation and insulated my hot water pipes and I've found that it was worth it. At first I was worried that hiring a home remodeling company would be needlessly expensive, but I'm very happy to see that it's actually saving me money!

Deven Parekh and the Many Uses Of Business Degrees

It's incredible how many different ventures people can go into with business related degrees. Deven Parekh is one personality I recently learned about. After majoring in economics at University of Pennsylvania. Currently, Deven Parekh became a managing director at Insight Ventures Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on software and internet-enabled businesses.

Like many prominent businessmen, Deven Parekh also has done important humane work. He is a Henry Crown fellow at the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute does work to encourage business leaders to maintain ethics and fair behavior. Thanks to his work, business leaders he influences are helping to build a better society. I'm amazed that one man can do so much work in so many different fields.

Learning SEO with Carl Sgro

Did you know that SEO is a major growth industry in internet communications? Do you even know what SEO means? Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a new field in which web programmers find ways to give websites a favorable place in search engines such as Google. When a consumer Googles a product, he can sometimes choose from hundreds of sellers. Search Engine Optimization helps a company's product be placed in the top results of Google searches so that consumers will be more likely to click on their product.

Carl Sgro is an entrepeneur who founded Internet Reputation Management, a site that uses SEO technology to maintain a good public image for its clients. Many people are unfairly defamed on the internet and do not deserve the negative credibility that a Google search reveals. Carl Sgro and his employees use SEO to promote truthful, positive content about clients on search engines. In a world where advertising is quickly changing and becoming increasingly dependent on internet search engines, Carl Sgro is at the forefront of the new media that utilizes the most current search engine technology.

The Complex Beauty of Iris Flowers

I was visiting with my in-laws last week and was left alone in the house for a few hours while the rest of the family went on errands. In my boredom, I took to looking through the ornate decorations of their living room. Since they are quite wealthy and quite tasteful, the paintings on the walls were all very lovely and intellectually stimulating.

What surprised me was how interested I was in an Iris they had sitting by the window. I've never been particularly interested in flowers before, but I was completely amazed by the elegant, extremely complex beauty of these flowers. It made the paintings hanging on the walls seem coarse and simplistic. It just goes to show that no matter how talented an is, he can never match up to the pristine, overwhelming beauty of nature, the best artist.

I ended up ordering a lot of Flowers for myself from 1-800-Flowers and have been obsessing about them ever since. I've never been so happy to have visited my in-laws!

A Friend's Patent Idea and The Success of Amos Tamam

I have a friend who's been bragging about some patents lately. As he says, "I have ideas that will be valuable to many companies." Still, I find his confidence in it kind of laughable. As with everything in this world, pursuing a patent isn't simply about imagining something useful; a successful patent comes from somebody with industry experience and connections.

Take Amos Tamam for example. After a thorough education in Israel as an electrical engineer, Amos Tamam came to America and began driving taxi cabs in New York City. After several years, Amos Tamam began to repair taxis and eventually managed a fleet of taxis. After many years, in 1992, he began developing a machine that has become very valuable to cab drivers: a box to enable credit card payment for taxi rides. After years of developing this idea, Tamam is still developing the infastructure and perfection of his invention.

This is a perfect example of the kind of dedication that I don't think my friend understands is necessary for a successful patent.

Got the house to myself - thanks, YMT vacations

In the past few weeks, I've been meeting tons of recent college grads trying to get into fields like PR, Journalism and other kinds of media - MOST of them are still living at home with their parents while freelancing as much as possible. I, friends, am one of these.

But this week it's almost as if I were a responsible human being with a salary, since my parents took a vacation that YMT vacations is organizing. It's this really cool transatlantic cruise that will eventually bring them to Paris and New York. From the looks of it, YMT Vacations also has a bunch of other travel packages. Meanwhile, I'm at home blogging. But at least I don't have to wait for somebody else to get out of the shower - thanks YMT vacations!