I’m completely hooked. The best pancakes on the planet are made by B&H Dairy. I get either banana or strawberry. I think the two behind the counter have a running bet between each other to guess my flava’ of the day. I also get a side of two scrambled eggs. That and my daily NY Post makes for a wonderful way to start my day.

I really do like the tree lined streets between avenues here in the city. Walking around, I saw a dog without his master. Sad. You could see he was anxious.

After breakfast, I camped out at Whole Foods. They have a good internet connection unlike the Time Warner Cable crap I have in my sublet. Cable internet is horrible in dense urban areas. Why? Because they oversell their capacity and each person ends up with very little bandwidth. Its exactly like airlines overselling flights. They make more money but don’t get passengers to places on time and anger them. Just like Time Warner Cable doesn’t download my data on time and angers me.

Back to Whole Foods…and IRAs. After I sold my primary house in Seattle, I took the proceeds are have invested them in some aggressive mutual funds. All funds outside the US because growth and strong currency outside the US is the way to go for the short term. I’m also researching moving my old Microsoft 401(k) into an IRA that has more investment options and that I can manage myself. Now being a self-employed guy, I want to get my hands into those funds and move them into more interesting investments. What I have them in now is good…but I want better.

I’m also moving into action on my housing plan for 2008 and beyond. I’m seeking to start a group of people, two to six, to join in to rent, lease, or buy a live/work space in the Lower East Side, East Village, or maybe Chinatown in 2008. It could be separate bedrooms, shared, build-out, loft-like…I’m open to lots of creative ideas. I think a live/work space would allow the most flexibility for everyone in the group; again I’m open to alternatives. All interest and leads are appreciated and welcome.

I’m very interested to also cultivate a group of people to join as a partnership, LLC, co-op, etc. to buy a space or a small building. I have experience in purchasing buildings in Washington and am happy to be the lead for a purchase here. The laws and customs are different in NYC but based on my knowledge and advice I’ve received, I only need to have good partners, a good real estate agent, attorney, and banker to make this dream happen. I’m exploring the co-housing and intentional community organizations to learn of best practices, build allies, and make friends. This Wednesday, I will be at the Brooklyn Co-housing meeting.