Daniel Bachhuber joined us for this week's Realtime Brunch.

He's a nice-looking young developer guy who moved from Portland, Oregon to the Big City to work at the J-school at CUNY.

He also writes WordPress plug-ins. Interesting guy.

He did something I've been thinking about -- he quit using Twitter and Facebook.

I had to shake his hand so I could say I shook the hand of someone who had quit.

I talk about it, but I haven't had the guts to do it yet.

I even have a site ready for the day I do it.

http://qwitter.us/

Every time I adorn it with another hamster cage I'm thinking. Thinking.

But I believe in not slamming the door on the way out. So that's all I"m going to say now.

Anyway, here's the post where Dan announced that he deleted his Twitter account.

His girlfriend wasn't pleased.

But the deed was done.

 12/2/2010; 5:24:28 PM.   .

If you're looking for the single place in NYC to position yourself for maximum access to the rest of the city, Union Square is the place for you.

You can get to the upper east or west sides, the financial district, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, the airports.

It's only one of two Manhattan streets that has a cross-town subway, the miraculous L train, which is probably responsible for the resurgance of Williamsburg, which is a single stop from Manhattan and just three stops from the magic of Union Square. (The other cross-town street is 42nd.)

On a walk today I happened by an entrance to the subway that tells the story.

 12/2/2010; 3:42:39 PM.   .

At breakfast this morning Jeremy said something I've been thinking. He wants to be able to blog a single idea, without researching anytihng. A note like the notes he puts in the book he keeps in his breast pocket.

I said I agree! In fact that's what Scripting News was like in the early days.

DaveNet was where I wrote my longer pieces. It was more like what people think of as a blog today.

 12/2/2010; 3:39:17 PM.   .

Jeremy Zilar and I have been having a roughly weekly breakfast in Manhattan for much of 2010, usually at a wonderful French restaurant in the West Village. We'd usually have the same meal, Feuille de Brique. Very tasty.

Since I moved to the east side we've been in search of a replacement and today we may have found it. The Silver Spurs diner at 771 Broadway. It has all the features you look for in a regular tech meetup place.

1. It's relatively empty for the morning meal on a weekday morning.

2. The tables aren't nailed to the floor so they can be reconfigured if 20 people show up.

3. The prices aren't bad.

4. It's got a bit of kitsch.

In fact it reminded me of Buck's Woodside, but without the kooky quirkyness.

So if we have a breakfast meeting don't be surprised if I ask to meet at the Silver Spurs on Broadway.

 12/2/2010; 3:37:15 PM.   .

As you weave among the obstacles on the sidewalks of Manhattan, it's easy to get distracted from your thoughts and pay attention to the people you're encountering. It's okay to do that if you're at a stop, but if you're in motion, if your eyes engage with another that signals that you would like to negotiate. Not good. A sign of weakness. Whether the oncoming traffic is aware or not, he or she will take advantage of this weakness and charge right into your path, all the while not making eye contact. There is no appeal.

All you can do is shift out of their path, but even this won't avoid a collision because your adversary will unconsciously shift closer to you. Your weakness is attractive. Your space is up for grabs. At this point you have no choice but to collide, and in the etiquette of NY street walking you're responsible.

That's why the people who check their smartphones for text messages or emails while walking so totally command the sidewalks. They are heat-seeking missiles, and it's your heat they seek.

I don't think this is just New York, it's a feature of the human species. We seek companionship.

For a while in 2005 I lived on the beach in northeast Florida outside St Augustine. The beach is so long and relatively empty, they let you drive on the beach to find the perfect spot to bathe, and if you're willing to drive a bit you can be alone. So I would drive to a secluded spot, park my car and go out into the surf. When I came back, more often than not, there was a car parked right next to mine. They could have parked anywhere in a mile in either direction and had it all to themselves.

 12/2/2010; 4:31:50 PM.   .