M@ Around The World

I recently took a trip to participate in two of my dear friends' wedding. It was located at Burg Rabenstein (NOTE this page is in German but can be translated using Google Translator ) in Ahorntal, Germany which is situated in the Franconian region of the country. The Burg is seated on top of a sloping hill, overlooking a gorgeous sea of trees and a windy river below.  My under-powered, manual-shifting Panda car struggled to navigate up the steep, windy, one-lane road. As I approached it, though, my jaw dropped at the surrounding natural beauty. Originally built in the 12th century, the Burg was destroyed and rebuilt in the 15th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.  Presently it is used as a hotel and event center; a school of falconry;  and a beer garden.  The interior has been restored to much of its former luster and decorum. Before the festivities began, I roamed through as much of the castle as I could with my camera in hand to photo journal the various rooms and artifac...

Although traveling around the world, seeing new faces and places, and learning about history is exciting, I believe it's important to alway return to "the nest". Where I grew up, there is also a lot of American, and family, history. One perfect example is my family's house set on the majestic, Great Sacandaga Lake . The "lake" is actually a reservoir. This part of the Adirondack region of Upstate NY was flooded after the construction of a damn in Conklingville, NY in 1924. The damn was completed in 1930. The reservoir feeds into the Hudson River and is managed by the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District . Interestingly enough, the money used to maintain the damn, reservoir, and surrounding land (which is owned by New York State) mostly comes from the electrical companies that run hydro-electric turbines at the damn. The damn was completed, and the land inside of the reservoir was flooded in 1930. Many families from the surrounding towns an...

Those close to me soon grow tired of hearing about stories from two places: Albany and Schenectad y. A large part of my family, though, hales from the great city of Schenectady, NY . Nestled in the Mohawk River Valley, it's 1/3 of the triad which makes up the Capital District of the Empire State. What few people nowadays know, however is that at the turn of the 20th century this now struggling city used to be a booming metropolis of industry and culture. Founded in 1661 by Arendt Van Curler (1619-1667), Schenectady slowly grew from a settlement to a borough (1765) and then incorporated as a city in 1798. It became home to one of the first colleges in the United States, Union College , in 1795 and to what would become one of the largest conglomerates in the world, General Electric , in 1892. This growing industrial capital was attacked and burned three times during its short history. The first and most bloody time, later named the Schenectady Massacre , was done by the French ...

While wandering around lower Manhattan enjoying the rare sunny and warm late winter's day, I stumbled upon a building at the intersection of 10th St and 6th Ave that resembled none other in this jungle of structured concrete and stone. With its soaring clock tower, Gothic pointed arches, and beautiful stained glass windows all in a fortress-like configuration, I wondered if this place, too, had once been a castle similar to Bannerman's . Once again I took to the Internet after arriving back at my Chelsea apartment in order to find out what the story is and was for this impressive edifice. The Jefferson Market Library, currently a part of the extensive New York City Public Library System and formerly part of the New York City judicial system as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, was constructed in 1875-1877. It was the courthouse for the City's 3rd Judicial District and contained rooms for the police court, civil court, and a women's prison which stretched down 10th St...

I've traveled along the Hudson River many a time on an Amtrak train while passing from Albany, NY to New York, NY, however it wasn't until today that by chance I poked my head up out of the magazine I was reading and caught a glimpse of the ruins of a fantastic structure standing out on a small island just off the river's east coast. In awe of this castle-like structure which might as well have been ripped out of a page of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, I gaped out the window as it speedily passed away, out of site in the setting sun which now barely illuminated the valley. My love of New York State, its vast and important history, and of medieval adventures and stories inspired me to do a little research to find out what this building was, how it came to be, and why now it was largely in a state of mystery and decay. The structure's name is Bannerman Castle named after its architect and creator, Francis Bannerman VI (1851-1918) and is situated on Pollepe...

It's been a busy month since the last time I took a breather to write here. I've since successfully finished my third audit here in the kingdom of General Electric (1 year down!); flew down to Orlando, FL for our audit staff new year kick off conference; hopped over to Nevada (Lake Tahoe area) to celebrate my "big sister" Gina's 40th birthday; and finally settled down in my new apartment in New York City to begin big number 4. I'll be living here in Chelsea until the middle of May. I'm very excited to say that I'm working with NBC Universal (you may have heard of the TV shows / movies :) on their largest IT project...ever! Good times! Orlando, FL: This year's January audit staff conference and dinner dance took place at the Sea World Renaissance Resort. The hotel was just "OK", but the events were spectacular. My dear straight girlfriend Megan joined me again this year for the ball (more affectionately referred to as the GE Prom)...