(AP photo)

A couple years ago I attended an event at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. After circling the floor a couple times and mingling with some guests I noticed someone who resembled Steve Fossett standing alone and sipping his drink. I did a double-take and thought to myself, how is it this guy is not surrounded by a large crowd? No way, probably not “him”.

I slowly approached him, introduced myself, and proceeded to have an interesting conversation. Yup, it was him… the self-made millionaire and the first person to fly solo around the globe in a balloon (in addition to a bunch of other records). He was a friendly person, well spoken, humble, and very genuine. Sure, we talked about the weather, NYC, MoMA, what it was like circumnavigating the globe by himself, etc, but probably the most surprising thing about our conversation was that he didn’t seem to want to talk about his accomplishments. He actually wanted to know about ME. I was flattered. He was genuinely interested in what I did with my life and what made me tick… surprised I was.

We only managed to speak for a few minutes (it wasn’t long before the other guests started to smother him again), but I learned a lot in those few minutes with Mr. Fossett. One of my favorite quotes kind of sums it up…

“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” -Socrates

Steve Fossett was an incredible man. It’s tremendous that he was able to accomplish so many things in his life. He was an inspiration and will be missed.

[1010 WINS News Coverage on Steve Fossett]

I posted a bunch of pics from this year’s parade up on Exit172.  Got a few good shots… especially one of Bindi and Terri Irwin (daughter and wife of the late Steve Irwin, a.k.a The Crocodile Hunter).

Technorati Tags: macy’s,thanksgiving,parade,holiday

I hope I never have to use Google Maps and Twitter like this, but it’s good to know these apps are proving themselves useful during real-life crisis situations.

[Google Maps and Twitter Are Essential Information Resources For California Fires]

Yeah, that’s what I’M talkin’ about! (Warning: profanity)

I’m a long time Mets fan and this year’s season was such a huge disappointment. However, you can always count on Conan O’Brien to lighten things up….

I’ve been hooked on Facebook lately and have been moblogging with my iPhone when I’m in New York City. I’ve decided to make my pics viewable by anyone, even if you don’t have a Facebook account (which you should!). Pics here:

Dio’s NYC Moblog on Facebook

I had an interesting day in NYC today… attended a meeting at the New York Stock Exchange and was able to get onto the NYSE floor for the closing bell. Got to see Brad Garrett from “Everybody Loves Raymond” up close and also met NYSE CEO John Thain. Brad was an absolute riot (and one tall dude)!

I made it to The Gym (yes, that’s the name of my gym) for some exercise early this morning (5AM). Flat panels everywhere… these were the headlines in the news…

“Beaten to Death”
“Thrown from the Roof”
“Sex Sting”
“Britney’s Bomb”

Nice. I guess the real news starts at 6AM with Morning Joe.

I’m disappointed that AT&T has chosen to get rid of the Cingular brand. I think it’s a big mistake. I concur with Jason Dunn (of Pocket PC Thoughts):

AT&T Dumping Cingular Brand Explained by Stephen Colbert

I went for a bike ride today to survey some of the damage from Tropical Storm Ernesto. Lots of debris on the roads, but I managed to make my way up to Nyack, NY. There were some lucky homeowners in Rockland and Bergen counties… in almost every instance the downed trees I came across fell away from their houses. Pictures here.

Be sure to click on the “Map This” button (upper right part of screen) when viewing the pics on Smugmug — it’ll map the exact location on Google Maps!

What a huge disappointment (although I still want to believe he’s innocent)…

PARIS (Reuters) - Floyd Landis is likely to lose his Tour de France title after a second drugs sample on Saturday confirmed a positive test for excessive amounts of the male sex hormone testosterone.

[Reuters Article]

May 17th is Livestrong Day — a day to help raise awareness about the health policy issues facing cancer survivors. Lots of events happening around the country to help the cause.

Some interesting cancer facts from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) home page:

* There are more than 10 million individuals in the United States today who are living with cancer.
* Nearly 40 percent of people living with cancer are under the age of 65.
* 64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today will be living 5 years from now.
* In 1960, 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years.
* Nearly 80 percent of children (age 0 through 14) diagnosed with cancer today will be living five years from now.
* The five year survivorship rates for young adults (age 20 through 40) with cancer has remained unchanged for the past 30 years.
* Three out of every four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer.
* 24 percent of adults with cancer are parents who have a child 18 years or younger.
* One of every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.
* In 2005, 570,280 Americans will die of cancer - more than 1,500 people a day.
* The annual cost of cancer in the United States is $189,800,000,000 in direct and indirect costs.

As the birth of my second child quickly approaches, I can’t help thinking about September 11, 2001. I realize that’s a strange comment, but my first child was born one week after that day. His birth was a godsend and really brought us some joy during a tragic time. I hope that circumstances are better this time when this little guy makes his arrival.

Today the local news posted more stories and audio about 911 emergency phone calls placed from the World Trade Center on 9/11. One example was from a 35 year old man who was attending a conference at Windows on the World on the 106th floor. This brought back more 9/11 memories for me… I was the same age at the time and had visited Windows on the World frequently. More importantly, I could have easily been at that same conference that morning. Luckily, I wasn’t. I declined the invitation to that conference and worked from home that day. I know… lucky, very lucky.

I won’t go on about 9/11, but it’s life events and news reports like these that bring back some strong memories. One can debate whether things are any better today than they were in 2001 (I think they are). Either way, my heart still goes out to the many people who lost their loved ones that day.

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Fossett at an event at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC. Mr. Fossett is the first person to circumnavigate the globe solo and is now embarking on another record breaking adventure. Good luck Steve!

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off in an experimental plane on Wednesday on an 80-hour flight that he hopes will set a nonstop distance record.

[via Reuters]

It’s nice to see strong demand for AMD and HP products. Happy Holidays!

“We’re completely sold out of the $378 laptop, the $997 42-inch flatscreen TV and pretty much most of the electronics featured in the blitz sale,” an employee at the Wal-Mart store in Brick, N.J., told CNNMoney.com, adding that people had lined up outside the store since 10 p.m. Thursday to take advantage of the retailer’s six-hour “blitz sale.”

Industry watchers had picked Wal-Mart’s $378 HP pavilion laptop as one of the must-have deals of the season.

CNN showed video of a brawl inside a Wal-Mart store in Orlando, Fla. There were no immediate details about the scuffle.

[Article and Video at CNN]