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If you’re having trouble getting a visa to enter China, you can get your food fix in Queens. The Times gets all detailed about Finding Beijing in Flushing. There’s even a Flushing Chinese food map so you won’t get lost while in a food induced coma.

Yum!

Prompted by a wouldn’t it be cool if… conversation, here are a few lists of BYOB places around town:

• BYOBs.com Manhattan BYOB and Brooklyn BYOB
• Metromix BYOB List
• Citysearch BYOB List and Citysearch Best New York BYOB 2008
• New York Magazine’s B.Y.O.B. List This list was last updated January 2006, so it might be out of date.

May is Bike Month NYC. To get things started, Hal Ruzal and Kerri Martin take a look at how well New Yorkers lock up their rides.

There are several good locking tips in this video. One, however, isn’t that great. They show one bike that uses hose clamps to secure the quick release skewers. The bike in the video had both wheels locked up, so they were secure. Learn from my stupidity, don’t rely on hose clamps alone to keep your wheels out of the hands of bike thieves.

via Streetsblog

The New York Public Library now has a presence on iTunes U. This makes a lot of the library’s digital content a little easier to get at.

via NYPL Labs :: TUAW

A hearty thank-you goes out to our State Legislators, whom, in their shortsightedness, decided that congestion pricing for New York City wasn’t even worthy of a vote. This ensures that those living and working in this fine city will be encumbered by automobile traffic for years to come.

The Mayor issued a strongly worded, yet thoughtful, response to Albany’s inaction on Tuesday. Part of this response pledges to continue working towards a better future. It is reassuring to hear that the city’s leaders will continue to look for ways to make this a better place; especially since those we have sent to Albany to represent us seem intent on putting their own interests ahead of their constituency’s.

The Mayor’s response is reprinted in its entirety after the break.

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I’ve wanted to visit the abandoned City Hall Station for many years. Today, I got my chance; thanks to the New York Transit Museum and the MTA. There are some grainy photos of the abandoned station posted on my photoblog.

Moving sucks. You have to find a bunch of boxes, throw all of your possessions in said boxes, rent a crappy truck, bribe your friends with beer (still cheap labor), put the cat somewhere for a couple hours– the list goes on. There must be a better way.

This video from StreetFilms shows how some Brooklyn residents made moving more fun by using bicycles–and a rickshaw–to eliminate the need for a crappy, rented moving van:

This photo by Bill Cunningham of The New York Times serves as a reminder that locking your bike to scaffolding is not a great idea. Check out the rest of the bike-themed slide show here: On The Street | On a Roll

The 34th Street Partnership is planning to create an attended bike parking area in Midtown. They have secured space on West 33rd Street and are seeking a sponsor to cover the operating expenses.

To help defray the operating expenses, perhaps the 34th Street Partnership should consider renting the space to a bike shop rather than looking for a sponsor. This would not only defray expenses, but also offer on site repair services.

Bug Labs, mentioned here earlier, has announced their initial pricing just in time for CES. Unlike other companies, Bug Labs will offer an early-adopter discount rather than a premium.

Here is the price list from the Bug Labs site:

• BUGbase $349 ($299 w/discount)
• LCD module $119 ($99 w/discount)
• GPS module $99 ($79 w/discount)
• Camera module $79 ($69 w/discount)
• Motion detector / Accelerometer $59 ($49 w/discount)

This pricing seems reasonable, especially in light of early rumors that BUGbase’s retail price would be closer $1,000.

The Bug Labs online store will start taking pre-orders on the 21st of January and the expected ship date is the 17th of March, so mark your calendar.