Guys, just left JC for Ann Arbor a couple of weeks ago and it seems I got a lovely parting gift: My card was skimmed and someone went on a spree in Brooklyn to the tune of $900. Luckily Chase is covering it (but of course we all know this fraud comes back to bite us all in increased fees, etc.) but it still sucks to know this can happen so easily.

The last place I used it locally was at Broadway Gas on Broadway to top off the UHaul. Not sure yet where the skimming actually happened, but FYI.

*shudder*

I'd be remiss if I did not point out NJ.com's tasty bedbug section and big, bad infographic detailing everything you ever wanted to know (and maybe didn't) about them:

http://www.nj.com/bedbugs/

http://www.nj.com/bedbugs/index.ssf/2 ... ts_to_make_your_skin.html

Also, a place to share your stories:

http://www.nj.com/bedbugs/index.ssf/2 ... _worst_bedbug_storie.html

Living in JC and being in the city so much, I feel resigned that it's only a matter of time before I'm doing my own battle with them. If I were smarter, I'd be working on developing a repellent for personal use now.

For now, I'll be grateful I don't have any court appearances scheduled. :)

Jersey Journal has a follow-up this morning. Construction to begin "in a few weeks" according to the story: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... on_to_start_on_downt.html

i'm a little disappointed in y'all. as soon as i saw the frozen crap smeared on a bench in the northeast corner of the park, i thought for sure i'd find a thread about it here already! :)

have you seen it? showed up friday or saturday and has hardened into a solid crapsicle since.

so many questions:

human or animal?

why?

how?

crappy new year, nabes!

mrasg1, i must agree with the french press/grinding set. i went that route after my drip coffee maker broke and never looked back. it's really no more effort and there's something beautifully mechanical and ritualistic about the whole process that is more gratifying.

i got a $30 bodum press and have a cheapy grinder that i believe came from starbucks and have had for years. both work like a charm.

as for the sediment, it IS a problem if you grind the coffee too fine. just control the grind and you're good to go -- and worse comes to worse, just don't drink the final little sip, just as you'd leave the very bottom of a good home brew in the bottle. :)

Likely, he'll never leave the cushy confines of the Liberty National golf course while here to play The Barclays, but we can dream.

Check out our list of a few things he should do/see in JC and add yours to the list:

http://www.nj.com/the-list/index.ssf/ ... d_tiger_woods_do_whi.html

-C

God bless Jersey City, honestly:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... potatowielding_gunma.html

I think this might warrant a call to the Mythbusters crew, no?

Healy vs. Cabbies. Melikes.

We should make a bracket of a Jersey City ultimate fight. Maybe inspired by the Great Outdoor Fight of Achewood fame: http://achewood.com/index.php?date=01252006

How would we determine the regions? East Side vs. West Side? Neighborhoods?

And most importantly, who would take on my new favorite Journal Square feature, the screaming JESUS IS THE LIGHT guy?

1stStGuy, the next time i see an honest-to-goodness ultimate fight in journal square (probably tonight, let's be honest), i will do my best to film it and submit it for your approval.

Hey, if you think you can generate better crud -- or know someone else who can -- we welcome it.

Seriously, be in touch if you want to get involved.

If you'll pardon me, I need to apply more glitter. :)

I'm a web producer. So, most of the writing I do is in the form of project plans and memos. :)

Feel free to reach out any time.

twitter: colleenstone
nj: cstone (at) nj (dot) com

Now, back to the video: If someone can translate what the very vocal fellow is saying ("you have weapon with me"?) I'll be forever in your debt.

I suppose your standards for "duking" are higher (lower?) than mine.

Me, I feel a knee to the crotch and a tackle qualify.

Plus, there are actual dukes up! Check the stance at 00:45. ;)

Awesome video shot by a colleague of mine in Journal Square:

http://videos.nj.com/2009/06/fight_for_journal_square_09.html

It's hilarious and terrifying at the same time.

Srsly, though: What is up with that taxi stand? The tension is always palpable there.

Full disclosure: I work for NJ.com

Very chilling story and video:

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ce_video_shows_hitru.html

Here's hoping the driver is caught and the pedestrian recovers.

Psst:

You're on the home page of NJ.com:

http://www.nj.com/

(Left, in the "More on NJ.com" box.)

Fun!

Might I recommend uploading it to NJ.com?

http://videos.nj.com/

You're bound to get some more local eyeballs on it there.

On Vroom, just off of Bergen. West side of Bergen.

Did not note what the hookah prices where. Not my bag of tobacco. ;)

I'd seen this place before and finally made my way over for lunch today. (Vroom, just off of Bergen Ave. Look for the red tent.)

OMG.

Get thee there.

Given all the bumbling and uncertainty that came with ordering food, I started to think that maybe they didn't really serve food at all and that they pretended to in order to secure some other license (they do hookah). :) But once the food came, it was fantastic.

Their falafel puts Ibby's to shame, imho. The hummus was phenomenal. Turkey/Czechoslovakia soccer game on TV outside. And lots of hookah, if that's your thing.

There were some weird moments to be sure, a lot of which can probably be attributed to a (large) language barrier; iced coffee came in the form of a piping hot coffee. No iced tea with mint left, so we were offered peach iced tea...which was Snapple. (I guess I can't really complain since technically, Snapple peach iced tea is what it is, but given the juice menu, I was expecting something homemade.)

Lunch for three came to $30 -- three Snapples, three bottled waters (not ordered, but whatever), a generous side of hummus, a big side of eggplant and garlic (with a HUGE pile of fresh pita), a falafel sandwich, a lamb kebab sandwich and a chicken kebab sandwich. The sandwiches came with a side of assorted pickled vegetables. We certainly could have gotten by much cheaper, but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.

I'm must psyched to have found a good lunch option near my work.

Anyone else ever been?

How enlightened of you, GW!

I have had the same exact thought.

And really, how much cross traffic does that part of Newark Ave get? Doesn't seem like so much that eliminating that route would really put people out or cause undue congestion on what would be the alternate routes.

In my sorta new to JC totally not expert opinion:

Lisbon Pizza, no contest.

They're cruising alright -- for a bloody bruisin'.

If only it weren't usually that rancid cheap-ass old lady perfume that smells like a mix of urine and "flowers." Gah.

Anyway, I was quoted 74 smackers a month at the brick haus -- on top of the 149 enrollment fee. And the locker rental was way steep, too. I think 20/month for a tiny one.

Meh. I stopped in Friday night to check it out and still am not sold.

(I belong to Gold Coast now, which has its own issues -- I'm looking at YOU, people who bathe in perfume and AXE body spray before working out, wear JEANS TO SPINNING CLASS and never clean up after yourself -- but it's also cheaper.)

For me, the deal-breaker was the crappy lighting; I could see my shadow when I was walking around the place. Just weird. Made me instantly feel tired. And I like to get my reading on when I'm getting my cardio on. I'm efficient that way.

The music was also a little obnoxious. I felt like I was in a teenager's bedroom or something.

But the equipment is undeniably awesome.

Maybe if the prices come down, I'll get on board. Until then, it's the basement for me.

Eesh, people. No rat here: I myself have been lurking off and on and was moved to post after seeing a comment about a car break-in that I'd noticed myself while walking down Mercer -- which is where I live.

Same goes for my sig, who finally signed up yesterday to weigh in on another post after I sent it to him.

Carry on -- and go easy on the conspiracy theories.