Tue, 29 Jan 2008
Homesick Texan Hits the Nail on the Head (again)
Good lord, she hit the nail on the head again with a writeup about nachos. She even brings up the Piedras Negras history:
Nachos are reputed to have been invented in 1943 by a maitre d. named Ignacio Anaya who was working at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which is just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. As the story goes, some ladies from Eagle Pass came into the restaurant one evening, ordered some drinks and wanted some snacks. The kitchen was already closed, so Anaya melted some Longhorn cheddar on some tortilla chips and garnished each chip with a jalapeno slice. He presented them to the ladies calling his improvised appetizer "Nacho's Especiales" as Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio. And the name, without the "especiales," stuck.I've lived in CA
29 Jan 19:07 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Coffee Roaster Fined
Uggh. Another annoying story about a good business being fined/bothered after serving the community well:
ROCKLAND, Maine- A small downtown coffee roasting business finds itself in jeopardy for having offended the olfactory senses of some of its neighbors.The people who filed the complaint moved away shortly afterward too. 29 Jan 15:09 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
Patrick Reilley and his wife, Susanne Ward, co-owners of Rock City Coffee Roasters, the business credited by some with starting the revival of the city.s downtown economy 16 years ago, are facing heavy daily fines and possible closing if the couple cannot find a way to remedy a zoning violation by Feb. 15.
Mon, 28 Jan 2008
Still Craic'in
I went to The Last Supper Club on Friday night with Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™. I forgot how good that place can be. I hadn't been there in quite a while.
I think we also lucked out because we ate early and were lucky enough to get good parking in the Mission. But then again, it was pouring buckets, so maybe we were just rewarded for our moistness. Here is their menu, but let me just say that Crispy Dumplings of Taglionlini Pasta stuffed with Mozzarella, Prosciutto and Green Peas over Arrabbiata Sauce may not be for everyone, but rewards those who try it. Marc and Jen, the Birthday Girl™'s dishes eached looked fab-o as well. That's good craic.28 Jan 17:47 | /food_and_drink | 2 comment(s)
Sun, 27 Jan 2008
Eastern Promises - ***
I forgot to include Eastern Promises in my last DVD Roundup becasue it wasn't in my Netflix rental history- Cory loaned me the HD-DVD combo version.
I really liked the movie and recommend it highly, but I'm a bit confused as how to describe it now. You can look it up yourself if you'd like. Why am I confused now? Well, let's get the basic stuff out of the way first.... there's more to read here ...
27 Jan 13:18 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 24 Jan 2008
North Beach Nimbys
Yet another annoying San Francisco anti-biz story in the Chronicle here. I can understand the thinking behind their rules, but pulling the permits after approving them and after all the paperwork has been signed is evil.
Martha Garland, the executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce who blew the whistle on Kwon's enterprise, says regardless of the timing, the law is the law.Sounds like Martha Garland has too much power, and it sounds like SF continues to be a place that isn't friendly towards business. Just think of all the times this must be happening and we don't hear about it because the business owners *weren't* on Survivor. 24 Jan 15:46 | /rants_and_raves | 1 comment(s)
As is so often the case in San Francisco, this comes down to politics. There are enough hazy rulings to make everyone think he is right. For his part, Kwon says his group was granted a building permit on Nov. 13. He says he can prove that there were only four Red Mango restaurants when he applied for the permit and that there were fewer than 11 when his group got its building permit. He also says the process was delayed by the city until the other Red Mango outlets opened.
"I don't really believe that," said Garland.
And, she was asked, if it is true?
"I'd still fight it," she said.
But if Kwon's version holds up, the logic of the banning his store does seem a little shaky. What if a permit is granted with just four outlets in the country and then someone in Durham, N.C., suddenly decided to open eight stores? Would that mean your permit would be pulled?
"I think that's a valid argument," said Tony Gantner of the North Beach Merchants Association.
Mon, 21 Jan 2008
New '08 Bonus Plans
HR makes quantum physics, vegas odds calculations, and fractals look easy. New bonus plan!
if company makes x% of target, or better where x is less than y% and/or there are no sunspots, and lindsay lohan stays dry then there's the potential to make 7-18% depending on group goals, but only if the potential of goals is greater than but not equal to x+y over the % of your goal sheets column of "goals met" being greater than M (met) but not C (canceled)* and that percentage is lower than the individual share of the group funds (provided they haven't been spent by the Finance Dept.)Uhhh, ok. 21 Jan 16:53 | /tech | 2 comment(s)
*unless C was caused by course change by managerial-level or higher, but not e-staff
Sun, 20 Jan 2008
DVD Roundup 1/21
Wow, it's been a while since I posted a DVD Roundup. I think that's mostly due to a combination of my backlog of things to watch, holiday travel, and getting cable.
Most of the things I've seen though haven't been worth mentioning. I keep looking at my rental history in Netflix and remember that I haven't really liked anything recently. Or enough to warrant mentioning. edit: oddly enough, I started my last DVD Roundup the same way and I just now noticed that. Maybe I should get rid of cable. But enough of the whining, here are some notes-... there's more to read here ...
20 Jan 18:01 | /movies | 0 comment(s)
Fri, 18 Jan 2008
Your Weekend Video
A vid for your weekend enjoyment - hopefully I'll have some movie reviews up next week. I wanted to post this vid, but it didn't work. 18 Jan 19:26 | /links | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 17 Jan 2008
Sonic MythBusters
I've been slow to join the MythBusters bandwagon, but have finally been enjoying some episodes on the DVR. Mostly because I can check out that Kari chick that everyone on teh intarweb [sic] talks about. But what I don't understand is why they run ads for Sonic during the show. Yes, I usually skip over the commercials but right now they're running an ad for their sweet sweet slushies. When I looked at the Sonic locator, the closest on is in Tracy, CA! That's too far! I'm just glad I'm not a pregnant woman, or I'd be doing late-night 2 hour drives for the sweet sweet slushies. Anyone up for a roadtrip? We could get tater tots too. Side note- Kari looks like she has new tats, so she's off any good list I would have. 17 Jan 13:16 | /general | 15 comment(s)
Wed, 16 Jan 2008
(Cheaper) Wine Recommendations
I had some recommendations for you kids today. And some weird wine news as well.
For those of you who like the under $10/15 range, K&L just got in some Santa Ema "Reserve" from Chile. They have both a merlot, and a chardonnay both at $9.99.
The "Texas Spread"™ is in effect for these, they're about $2+ a bottle on the sites in TX that I've checked so far.
Santa Ema is the unofficial wine of Brad and Jen Haugh and they recommend it with Nachas and Conger eel. Tranquilo!
Now for some news- check out this story (via Reason). Basically, Texan wine distributors are being asses again.
16 Jan 16:52 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Tue, 15 Jan 2008
Macworld
Well, I wandered down to Macworld, mostly just to avoid meetings. After being jostled around by the crowds of fake hipsters I was wishing a fight would break out (especially in this room) and decided to leave. Meh.
15 Jan 17:37 | /tech | 1 comment(s)
iPhone Update
As most of you know, today's the big Mac World conference. I'm not going to get into specifics as there are tons of other blogs with those details. But there is an updated firmware for the iPhone out now. It hopefully will take care of some of the things I whined about before. New features include:
- New Maps application
- Find location
- Improved UI
- Send SMS text messages to multiple recipients
- Customize Home Screen
- Rearrange icons
- Add Safari bookmarks to the Home Screen
- Create up to 9 Home Screen pages
- IMAP support for Gmail
- Support for iTunes Store movie rentals
- Enhanced Video Player
- Chapters
- Subtitles
- Alternate language tracks
- Lyrics support in iPod
Mon, 14 Jan 2008
Disco Monday
It's a rough start to the week, maybe we need some disco
via Japundit Or if you prefer a Sinaloa version of Chacaron Macarron (via Sam): 14 Jan 13:11 | /humor | 0 comment(s)
Thu, 10 Jan 2008
Copa Wine Bar
A recommendation for the SA crowd.
10 Jan 16:27 | /food_and_drink | 3 comment(s)
Wine.com Sucks
I thought I had posted something about this already, but I must have just shared the link on twitter and not here. Anyway, Vinography, a good blog, has a great writeup about how Wine.com is screwing around with other retailers, essentially acting like little tattle tales.
Sure I understand why they're acting the way they do, but it's a sign that they are jumping the shark as a company. It's like when SCO started suing people instead of making products. Using lawyers isn't a valid channel sales silo.10 Jan 14:40 | /food_and_drink | 1 comment(s)
Tue, 08 Jan 2008
How I Know I'm Getting Old
Reason #47b:
The other day at work I was rocking out to some songs and a coworker asked what I was listening too. After I said the song, he said- oh, I don't know it, that song came out before I was born. Reason 29:
A girl I know gave me access to her restricted photos on a photo site. Instead of rushing to see if she had any "hot pics" up, I went straight to her latest food snapshots. Uggh 08 Jan 21:26 | /humor | 2 comment(s)
Sun, 06 Jan 2008
The Crazy Lady on the Plane (part 2)
So after putting on my belt and tying my shoes, I made my way up to the gate to look for my aunt to say hello and good bye before flying back to SF. I asked a gate agent and he said he hadn't seen her. But it's kind of funny, the gate agents seem to cover for each other, so I'm sure when I asked for my aunt by name he wouldn't help. But I said- I'm her nephew, I just wanted to say goodbye, but I think she was working the 5am shift and I must have missed her. Then he lightened up and said- oh, yeah, I saw her earlier, but she might have left already. I had a similar conversation at the ticketing counter, but that's no big deal. I just think it's kind of funny. It's like if someone calls tech support and asks to speak to the agent they just spoke to- the CSRs will say "oh, I'm not sure if they're still here, what's your incident number?" (well, that's what they're supposed to do). But at that moment my aunt walked up and we sat down and started talking. After a minute or two this guy walks by near us with his and his wife's bags. He plops the bags (including her fancy purse and his laptop bag) down on three lounge seats and wanders off to go pee and go to Starbucks (and he's gone for a while).
... there's more to read here ...
06 Jan 15:36 | /travel | 3 comment(s)
Thu, 03 Jan 2008
The Crazy Lady on the Plane
You know how sometimes people preface their stories with "well, I don't want to sound like a snob, but. . . "? Yeah, I was going to do that too, but I changed my mind. Before I flew back from TX, a friend of my parents (my replacement) had told them a story about people traveling over the holidays holding up the various airport lines with their confusion. She refers to it as "amateur hour". I agreed with her, even though there's a bit of guilt hitting me when I talk about "the n00bs who fly". I could go on about people blocking or not using the self-check-in computer terminals at SFO, but that's another post, and you get the point. So on the day when I was coming back to SF, there was a long line for the security checkpoint at SAT. Sure, it's an international airport (some flights to Mexico!), but I don't think it is one of the busier airports around- except on days like that day (the 31st). There was a long holiday line at the security checkpoint.
... there's more to read here ...
03 Jan 21:37 | /travel | 8 comment(s)
Coffee Cart Sadness
Just before the holidays I got some sad news. The coffee cart on the corner of Spear and Mission (next to the propeller) will be shutting down on January 31st.
Mike and Tom, who make me a few macchiatos a week on the days I've overslept, said that they got a letter from their landlord or the property manager of that building and they won't be staying open after the 31st of January. I'm not sure if the property manager is raising their rents to an obscene level or if they're just telling them to cease operations, I didn't ask Tom for specifics, but I will. It's such a drag that they're going away. I know some of you will say, big deal, there are 3 Starbucks within a block of there, but the cart guys make good drinks (and there's always a line, so I know they were doing well), and I like supporting them. So if you're in the Financial District some morning soon, go to the corner of Spear and Mission and get a cup. They're next to the big propeller, which is next to the Wells Fargo ATMs.03 Jan 13:40 | /food_and_drink | 0 comment(s)
Wed, 02 Jan 2008
Back in SF
I'm back in SF and back in the office (wheee?). It was good seeing (almost) all of you in Texas this trip.
I think it was a nice low-key visit and everyone was pretty relaxed-- granted, almost everyone had a cold or was just getting over one (including myself), but that may have helped keep the low-key vibe.
I'll have some posts up before Friday- and no, they won't be the "boring tech posts". I want to write a little blurb about Copa and some other SA restaurants.
Happy New Year!
02 Jan 13:09 | /travel/tx | 5 comment(s)
