This guy clearly knows how to wash windows without a ladder (:‌

New York is replacing phone booths with LinkNYC stations. These things provide free Wi-Fi, you can make calls to any state from them (plus a special SOS button for quick 911 calls), and even charge your gadgets. All completely free for users.

And free for the city too. They don't spend a dime from the budget on implementation or maintenance. The system is run by a private company and supported by advertising revenue. Over 12 years they planned to make $1 billion (!) and give half (!!!) to the city's budget. But after the first 4 years of operation, it became clear that those projections were way too optimistic. Not least because they didn't charge for advertising from local small businesses and nonprofits.

Everyone says it's a small world. So there I was, halfway through my second week on a business trip, when I suddenly found out I've been staying in the same hotel as two colleagues for the past week and a half. On adjacent floors, no less. And we never ran into each other once the whole time, even though we go to the same office every day.

They told me there's this little balcony on the 17th floor with a free view of the city. It's really nice in the evening.

Waterfalls from the weekend. Finally developed the photos :)

So today I'm walking around the city, minding my own business. Then I notice this light drizzle suddenly appearing, like someone just sprayed water from a spray bottle. There are no clouds, no rain was forecasted, nothing like that should be happening.

I walk a bit further and it all stops. Then I realized what was going on: there's construction work happening up above. They're washing something down with water up there, it gets sprayed around, and from below it looks like it's drizzling. So not everything that falls is rain, you know?

Sometimes late at night the city falls asleep, and horses wake up. They stand at red lights and don't gallop (:

An American diner. It's a quick-service café that's a lifesaver when you're on the road. The food is always edible, and often actually tasty too. The interior is classic. It's got to have that stainless steel look.

New Jersey, according to the internet, is considered the world capital of diners: there are more of them here than in any other state.

Though the café in the photo is in Milford, Pennsylvania (almost on the border with NJ). But New Jersey also has a town called Milford. And so does New York. And Connecticut. Plus 23 other states...

The record holder for repetition is Riverside. There are 43 of those across the country.

In New Jersey, you can't pump your own gas. It's the law from 1949! Only a gas station attendant can do it.

Violating this gets you a fine between $50 to $250 on your first offense. Repeat violations can result in fines up to $500.

Local commuter train. When checking tickets, conductors take your ticket and instead pin a slip of paper with your exit station marked on it.

One or two stops before your exit, they'll take that slip back. Which means they won't come back before your stop.

If you didn't manage to buy a ticket at the station, you can pay the conductor. +5$ for the conductor's service. You only don't need to pay this extra fee if it was impossible to buy a ticket at the boarding station.

You can buy a bag of ice at the store (!)

Here's what the sandwich looks like.

I stumbled upon a really unusual eatery by chance.

When you walk in, you grab a ticket—make sure not to lose it. Then you head to the counter to order food. There are specially trained people there who prepare everything right away. The menu has all kinds of sandwiches, so you don't have to wait long. Once everything's ready, they write the cost on a piece of paper and you can go eat.

The sandwiches here are absolutely massive. The amount of meat is insane. I couldn't finish my portion. But it tastes great. And the prices are reasonable. Plus it's got tons of atmosphere. That's honestly a pretty rare combination.

Then you need the ticket when you leave. That's how they charge you.

The place basically operates like fast food, but tips are still expected. Standard 18-20%. I'll write about tipping separately sometime.

It's turning out pretty well, don't you think? A bit unrealistic (I figured it's because the work is still in progress), but it looks great.

Going to the nearest local movie theater wasn't appealing. So I headed to Brooklyn instead. Got a quick glimpse of the place while I was at it. The theater building itself is awesome. Been standing since 1908.

A movie ticket costs $15 (give or take the standard price). But that's just to get in. After that, it's first come, first served seating. If the showing's popular, there definitely won't be enough good seats for everyone.

I watched Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." My impressions kept shifting while watching—from "what am I even doing here" to "actually, this is really well done." But it didn't quite hit that "amazing, absolutely amazing" level. The soundtrack though? Perfectly curated, as always.

And before you watch, you really should read up on what actually happened back then (check out here). Without that background, you'll be completely lost watching the screen. But here in the States, this story is pretty well-known—people don't have questions about it. And it's not a spoiler at all, just getting some context.

At busy intersections in the city center (typically where traffic flows both ways on both roads), traffic lights can't handle the flow during rush hour. That's why we absolutely need to station a live traffic controller. They'll sort everything out. All they do is stop the traffic flow a bit before the traffic light.

In my opinion, drivers could probably handle it just fine on their own (:

AMC series ad looks funny. City of angry buses :)

Last night there was a light drizzle. As soon as it started raining, umbrella sellers instantly appeared out of nowhere. There was no sign of rain at all. But then boom, and suddenly you could buy a brand new umbrella on every corner.

These guys were actively promoting them. But the rain was pretty weak and nobody wanted to part with their money.

People here are so laid-back about lunch that they often just grab street food and eat right there on the nearest ledge by the stall. It's smaller scale in winter, but in summer it's like this all the time. You can see the same kind of hangouts in the evening too, but during lunch hour it's just something else.

Fun fact: the capital of New York State has never actually been New York, but rather... the glorious city of Albany :)

Along the same lines, I think of my colleagues' nicknames (I changed the names a bit, but you get the idea): everyone calls Muhammad Ahsan by the name Samir (don't ask why), and Ken Li is actually named Li Xu (at least there's some overlap there).