It never ceases to amaze me, when asking someone for a signature, how many people ask for someone's "John Henry."
I could go on for a while citing sources, but it's pretty simple:
It was John Hancock with the flowery signature on the Declaration of Independence. John Henry, whose life is preserved mainly in folk lore was a railroad worker. By the most popular accounts he pit himself against a steam-driven hammer machine in a bid to save the jobs of his fellow rail workers.
So unless you want them to hit something with a sledgehammer, ask for their "John Hancock"
Friday, February 04, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
Gluttony and Pacing
As an occasional attaboy, my manager will give out a $50 expense account to individuals on his staff. I was the recipient of one of those recently. If you have read my other postings, you know that my wife I don't go out for sit down meals all that often. So as we had some "free" money, we decided to go somewhere nice.
We decided on The Melting Pot, a national chain Fondue restaurant.
Not giving it much thought, we just showed up with no reservation. We were told there was a fifty minute wait, but we weren't in a hurry and we were looking forward to this, so we waited it out in their lounge. Two excellent, and reasonably priced Margaritas later, we were called to our table.
The menu is thick, mostly covering the amazing wine selection. But we were there for the fondue. We opted for a three course dinner for two, to which we would add desert. There are basically three ways to go: a four course meal, a three course meal, or a la carte.
We started with a cheese course fondue containing Fontina, Butterkasse, and a smidge of bleu cheese. It was served with Veggies, chunks of apple, and of course cubes of various hearty breads. We were off to a good start, but we knew we had to pace ourselves.
The next course was salad. My wife selected the Mushroom salad: a reasonable portion of greens and a mound of thinly sliced, no, shaved mushrooms. Tasty, but the mushrooms were limited to basic button mushrooms. A variety of mushrooms would have made this good salad great. But, again, we were there for the fondue. My salad was the California Salad: mixed greens, slices of roma tomato and red onion with bleu cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I had to remind myself not to eat too much of the salad as we still had the main course coming.
The entree fondue was a platter called the Pacific Rim: Marinated beef tenderloin, duck, chicken and pork along with pot stickers and shrimp. At Melting Pot, you not only choose what food you are going to eat, but how you are going to cook it. There are four cooking liquid choices, we chose the "Coq au Vin" broth. The entree also comes with vegetables and a selection of dipping sauces. We made it through about two thirds of the entree before throwing in the towel. We knew we would have to save space for desert. One would think that fondue would not be something conducive to a doggy bag, but on a whim I asked if we could just cook the leftovers up and take them home. But of course!
It was about at this point that it sunk in. We had to wait when we arived not because all the tables were full, but rather because they strictly limit the number of tables any waiter has at a given time. They limit the seating rate at the great benefit of service. And great service it was! Our waiter was congenial, prompt and attentive all without hovering.
The extra cooking time for the leftovers gave us a little time to "recover" for dessert, for which we chose a dark chocolate fondue with Bailey's Irish Cream. The dessert fondues are served with an assortment of pound cake, marshmallows (coated in oreo crumbs or graham cracker crumbs), and fruit. Like the entree where you can request more vegetables, with the dessert you can request two items from the platter for replenishment, we chose the bananas and pound cake.
The evening has to be chalked up to one of the very best dining experiences I've ever had. So when the bill came, and we had spent just a tick over $100, I didn't even bat an eye. It was worth every penny!
If there was a low point, I'd say it was the salad, but I'm willing to give that it is the least important part of the meal in this case. Sure it works well to cleanse the palatte after the cheese course, but it is probably what they do least well. For a night on the town, and a nice relaxed meal, The Melting Pot is a winner!
We decided on The Melting Pot, a national chain Fondue restaurant.
Not giving it much thought, we just showed up with no reservation. We were told there was a fifty minute wait, but we weren't in a hurry and we were looking forward to this, so we waited it out in their lounge. Two excellent, and reasonably priced Margaritas later, we were called to our table.
The menu is thick, mostly covering the amazing wine selection. But we were there for the fondue. We opted for a three course dinner for two, to which we would add desert. There are basically three ways to go: a four course meal, a three course meal, or a la carte.
We started with a cheese course fondue containing Fontina, Butterkasse, and a smidge of bleu cheese. It was served with Veggies, chunks of apple, and of course cubes of various hearty breads. We were off to a good start, but we knew we had to pace ourselves.
The next course was salad. My wife selected the Mushroom salad: a reasonable portion of greens and a mound of thinly sliced, no, shaved mushrooms. Tasty, but the mushrooms were limited to basic button mushrooms. A variety of mushrooms would have made this good salad great. But, again, we were there for the fondue. My salad was the California Salad: mixed greens, slices of roma tomato and red onion with bleu cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I had to remind myself not to eat too much of the salad as we still had the main course coming.
The entree fondue was a platter called the Pacific Rim: Marinated beef tenderloin, duck, chicken and pork along with pot stickers and shrimp. At Melting Pot, you not only choose what food you are going to eat, but how you are going to cook it. There are four cooking liquid choices, we chose the "Coq au Vin" broth. The entree also comes with vegetables and a selection of dipping sauces. We made it through about two thirds of the entree before throwing in the towel. We knew we would have to save space for desert. One would think that fondue would not be something conducive to a doggy bag, but on a whim I asked if we could just cook the leftovers up and take them home. But of course!
It was about at this point that it sunk in. We had to wait when we arived not because all the tables were full, but rather because they strictly limit the number of tables any waiter has at a given time. They limit the seating rate at the great benefit of service. And great service it was! Our waiter was congenial, prompt and attentive all without hovering.
The extra cooking time for the leftovers gave us a little time to "recover" for dessert, for which we chose a dark chocolate fondue with Bailey's Irish Cream. The dessert fondues are served with an assortment of pound cake, marshmallows (coated in oreo crumbs or graham cracker crumbs), and fruit. Like the entree where you can request more vegetables, with the dessert you can request two items from the platter for replenishment, we chose the bananas and pound cake.
The evening has to be chalked up to one of the very best dining experiences I've ever had. So when the bill came, and we had spent just a tick over $100, I didn't even bat an eye. It was worth every penny!
If there was a low point, I'd say it was the salad, but I'm willing to give that it is the least important part of the meal in this case. Sure it works well to cleanse the palatte after the cheese course, but it is probably what they do least well. For a night on the town, and a nice relaxed meal, The Melting Pot is a winner!
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Experiences of Dining Out
My wife and don't often dine out. Sure, we grab a bite to eat somewhere if we have errands to run after work, but it's seldon that we go some place to "sit down and enjoy a meal". Last night however, owing to having a gift card that we knew "we really should use one of these days," we decided to go to "The Cheesecake Factory".
Advertising?
After were seated we started looking at the menu, just anyone else would. To my surprise, every other page of the menu was advertising, and not for the restaraunt. Mainly, the ads were for stores in the mall the restaurant is attached to. But ads! I found them to be distracting. They went to such ends to have a consistent look and feel throughout the restuarant, and in the menu, and then they go and shatter it with all these ads!
Did it detract from the meal? No, not really. The food was pretty good, the service prompt but not hovering, and I would have to concede that the price matched the value, at least for the entrees we had. The bill was about $38 for two entrees, two sodas, and a shared desert.
Random Acts of Kindness
When we were seated, there was a gentleman seat at the next table midway through his meal, dining alone. He paid his bill with a giftcard as well. When the waitress brought his reciept back, she informed him that there was still some value on the card. I didn't catch the exact number. He gathered his belongings, put on his jacket, and as he walked by our table he put the card down on it saying, "There's twelve bucks still on there, enjoy!" He didn't even give us a chance to thank him!
With the combination of the two cards, we walked out there having spent just under eight dollars including the tip, plus we both had doggy bags for today's lunch.
Advertising?
After were seated we started looking at the menu, just anyone else would. To my surprise, every other page of the menu was advertising, and not for the restaraunt. Mainly, the ads were for stores in the mall the restaurant is attached to. But ads! I found them to be distracting. They went to such ends to have a consistent look and feel throughout the restuarant, and in the menu, and then they go and shatter it with all these ads!
Did it detract from the meal? No, not really. The food was pretty good, the service prompt but not hovering, and I would have to concede that the price matched the value, at least for the entrees we had. The bill was about $38 for two entrees, two sodas, and a shared desert.
Random Acts of Kindness
When we were seated, there was a gentleman seat at the next table midway through his meal, dining alone. He paid his bill with a giftcard as well. When the waitress brought his reciept back, she informed him that there was still some value on the card. I didn't catch the exact number. He gathered his belongings, put on his jacket, and as he walked by our table he put the card down on it saying, "There's twelve bucks still on there, enjoy!" He didn't even give us a chance to thank him!
With the combination of the two cards, we walked out there having spent just under eight dollars including the tip, plus we both had doggy bags for today's lunch.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
New light on things we take for granted.
Minimum: Primary definition (formula 01.35.02.0001)
While looking for articles by Stephen Wolfram, I came across his http://functions.wolfram.com web site. Intrigued, I started to poke around, and looked at the alphabetical index of functions. The Min(x,y) caught my eye.. Sure it's simple enough... Take two numbers and return the lowest. Pretty intuitive, in fact. But how do you prove it?
The function above does just that. At first blush the function looks a bit daunting, but just write it down on a piece of paper. Pick two numbers and plug them in. Since you are proabably, like me, a little rusty on the on the mathematics, the bit after the semicolon just means that x1 and x2 need to be members of the set of Real numbers, imaginary numbers need not apply!
Imagine my surprise when I realized that I wasn't looking for Stephen Wolfram, but rather Theodore Gray. Well, they Co-founded Wolfram Research, so I guess the confusion is understandable.
While looking for articles by Stephen Wolfram, I came across his http://functions.wolfram.com web site. Intrigued, I started to poke around, and looked at the alphabetical index of functions. The Min(x,y) caught my eye.. Sure it's simple enough... Take two numbers and return the lowest. Pretty intuitive, in fact. But how do you prove it?
The function above does just that. At first blush the function looks a bit daunting, but just write it down on a piece of paper. Pick two numbers and plug them in. Since you are proabably, like me, a little rusty on the on the mathematics, the bit after the semicolon just means that x1 and x2 need to be members of the set of Real numbers, imaginary numbers need not apply!
Imagine my surprise when I realized that I wasn't looking for Stephen Wolfram, but rather Theodore Gray. Well, they Co-founded Wolfram Research, so I guess the confusion is understandable.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
My Wife Rocks!
When adding items to an amazon.com wish list is free, you tend to add items that you think would be cool to have, but probably wouldn't go out and buy yourself. I have, for example, a Dyson vacuum sweeper on mine.
This year I mentioned to my wife that it would cool to have an iPod, and I added it to my wishlist. I thoroughly did not expect to get one.
Come Christmas Eve, when our family gets together to open gifts, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what my wife got for me! I could not imagine what was in that little cube. I guess it's fair to say that I had never really noticed the packaging for the iPod anyway. I knew it had to be something special, and saved it for last.
I honestly can say that I haven't been more surprised, nor more grateful for a Christmas gift in many years.
This year I mentioned to my wife that it would cool to have an iPod, and I added it to my wishlist. I thoroughly did not expect to get one.
Come Christmas Eve, when our family gets together to open gifts, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what my wife got for me! I could not imagine what was in that little cube. I guess it's fair to say that I had never really noticed the packaging for the iPod anyway. I knew it had to be something special, and saved it for last.
I honestly can say that I haven't been more surprised, nor more grateful for a Christmas gift in many years.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Bookstore Syndrom
Hi, I'm JB and I suffer from bookstore syndrome. "What the heck is bookstore syndrome?" you ask. Bookstore Syndrome (BS) is the experience of completely losing any and all ideas of waht you might have been looking for. It's happened to more times than I can count. In fact I'm still carrying around a B&N gift card that I got for my birthday, just because ever time I go in there I'm completely overwhelmed. Maybe instead I'm like the kid in a candy store who only has a nickel to spend and can't decide what to spend it on.
If I'm lucky something catch my galzed eyes and trigger a memory. If I then proceed, post haste, to the appropriate section of the store, I might find the fleeting item before I get distracted...
...what was I saying??
If I'm lucky something catch my galzed eyes and trigger a memory. If I then proceed, post haste, to the appropriate section of the store, I might find the fleeting item before I get distracted...
...what was I saying??
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Joe Mike does Four...
Comic Book Resources - CBR News - The Comic Wire
I'm no expert, but I think Straczynski do pretty decent job... I think if there is something that JMS is good at, it's the arc story.
I was a fan of Babylon 5, but it was a love hate relationship. Sure JMS did a great job, but we were always left wondering if the stories could be better if JMS wasn't trying to do everything. He did (do them all) and it came out pretty well.
I'm no comicbook expert (see the wastebasket for that expertise) so I have no idea if he's been brutalizing Spiderman or keeping it going well, riding high on the cinematic successes.
So I say, what the heck, the guy's gotta make a living!
I'm no expert, but I think Straczynski do pretty decent job... I think if there is something that JMS is good at, it's the arc story.
I was a fan of Babylon 5, but it was a love hate relationship. Sure JMS did a great job, but we were always left wondering if the stories could be better if JMS wasn't trying to do everything. He did (do them all) and it came out pretty well.
I'm no comicbook expert (see the wastebasket for that expertise) so I have no idea if he's been brutalizing Spiderman or keeping it going well, riding high on the cinematic successes.
So I say, what the heck, the guy's gotta make a living!
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Operating System Bigotry
I'm often confronted with the heinous experience of Linux fans and their common (though certainly not universal!!) bigotry against anything Microsoft. I work with and support Microsoft products every day; I freely admit that Microsoft products are certainly not perfect, but I also don't go around preaching that Windows is great and Linux sucks.
Today I found a posting on slashdot that I thought really said what I feel, and did so very eloquently, I've copied it here for you enjoyment, many thanks to the original poster!
Re:Catch-22 (Score:5, Insightful) by obeythefist (719316) on Tuesday December 07, @11:50PM (#11028954) (Last Journal: Tuesday March 30, @01:55AM)
I don't believe I mentioned BSD or Linux or Jaguar or any other OS or company apart from Microsoft.
I'm not sure what you mean however with regards to "fixing and breaking things more often". Microsoft patches are quite strenuously tested, so they are very slow to arrive (not more often, less often) Very few if any MS patches break third party software. Compare this to the complexity of handling Linux dependencies. I am sure if you upgrade some components of Linux and replace dependencies, you might find a lot of things suddenly stop working. Microsoft isn't really responsible for making third party software work on their OS... are you holding MS accountable for the work of Adobe? Or for the work of nameless shareware developers? Is it not their responsibility to fix the software if they write applications that work outside of Microsoft's preferred APIs?
My experience with Linux dependencies on a couple of different distros have been nothing like your example. Many different applications just don't work on Linux without downloading and installing very specific packages to handle dependencies... so much so that people need to write software purely to handle dependencies. For some reason.. when I install software on a windows box, I double-click an exe file and it works. I don't even need to see the word "dependency". I'm not trying to say one method is better than the other. But what I am saying is that Microsoft have decided to take this path and as a result they have to be very precise with the fixes and patches they apply to their OS.
The unified patching for debian and redhat really makes it easy on the user when you can run a single command to update EVERYTHING in your system.
Shame that isn't available on every Linux distro. With every current version of Windows, I can go to a website called "Windowsupdate.com" and click a single button to update EVERYTHING in my system. And you know what? I don't have to go looking anywhere but microsoft.com for fixes for Windows.
Windows XP SP2 hasn't broken any drivers that I know of, unless they are drivers that for some reason need a hole in the firewall and I suddenly forget how to configure a firewall. Of course I can simply uninstall the service pack if that does ever happen (it doesn't, RTFA please).
So basicly the windows way is bad and painful to use. and the linux was is nice and easy for once
You haven't demonstrated this. Please explain with consise examples of what you mean. Providing a questionable statement without decent supporting arguments is hardly compelling, although on Slashdot people will believe you because "Linux good, Windows baaaaaad".
Microsoft have made the best business decision possible in terms of advancing the security of their platform at the minor cost of a few applications that (again, RTFA because you don't seem to have noticed this) don't work when a firewall blocks them. This is applicable to Linux. Firefox on Linux is *broken* when you install a firewall and block port 80. By your arguments, Linux is therefore "fucked if they do and fucked if they don't" because if you install a firewall the "API is so hacked together to keep everything working" and this somehow has something to do with applying a default-on firewall to the OS. Linux users are purportedly more open minded and understanding of basic OS principles. Why am I constantly meeting Linux advocates who are so more closed minded than the average AOL toting Windows user?
People are bitching at microsoft for no real reason in this case. An unconfigured firewall breaks a few applications that need ports opened, and for some reason, as my parent post said, Linux advocates believe this is a flaw in Windows XP and put the blame squarely on Microsoft.
Explain yourself clearly, concisely, or put your PC back in the box and send it to your OEM. Computer license revoked by the Darwin Internet Preservation Act.
Today I found a posting on slashdot that I thought really said what I feel, and did so very eloquently, I've copied it here for you enjoyment, many thanks to the original poster!
Re:Catch-22 (Score:5, Insightful) by obeythefist (719316) on Tuesday December 07, @11:50PM (#11028954) (Last Journal: Tuesday March 30, @01:55AM)
I don't believe I mentioned BSD or Linux or Jaguar or any other OS or company apart from Microsoft.
I'm not sure what you mean however with regards to "fixing and breaking things more often". Microsoft patches are quite strenuously tested, so they are very slow to arrive (not more often, less often) Very few if any MS patches break third party software. Compare this to the complexity of handling Linux dependencies. I am sure if you upgrade some components of Linux and replace dependencies, you might find a lot of things suddenly stop working. Microsoft isn't really responsible for making third party software work on their OS... are you holding MS accountable for the work of Adobe? Or for the work of nameless shareware developers? Is it not their responsibility to fix the software if they write applications that work outside of Microsoft's preferred APIs?
My experience with Linux dependencies on a couple of different distros have been nothing like your example. Many different applications just don't work on Linux without downloading and installing very specific packages to handle dependencies... so much so that people need to write software purely to handle dependencies. For some reason.. when I install software on a windows box, I double-click an exe file and it works. I don't even need to see the word "dependency". I'm not trying to say one method is better than the other. But what I am saying is that Microsoft have decided to take this path and as a result they have to be very precise with the fixes and patches they apply to their OS.
The unified patching for debian and redhat really makes it easy on the user when you can run a single command to update EVERYTHING in your system.
Shame that isn't available on every Linux distro. With every current version of Windows, I can go to a website called "Windowsupdate.com" and click a single button to update EVERYTHING in my system. And you know what? I don't have to go looking anywhere but microsoft.com for fixes for Windows.
Windows XP SP2 hasn't broken any drivers that I know of, unless they are drivers that for some reason need a hole in the firewall and I suddenly forget how to configure a firewall. Of course I can simply uninstall the service pack if that does ever happen (it doesn't, RTFA please).
So basicly the windows way is bad and painful to use. and the linux was is nice and easy for once
You haven't demonstrated this. Please explain with consise examples of what you mean. Providing a questionable statement without decent supporting arguments is hardly compelling, although on Slashdot people will believe you because "Linux good, Windows baaaaaad".
Microsoft have made the best business decision possible in terms of advancing the security of their platform at the minor cost of a few applications that (again, RTFA because you don't seem to have noticed this) don't work when a firewall blocks them. This is applicable to Linux. Firefox on Linux is *broken* when you install a firewall and block port 80. By your arguments, Linux is therefore "fucked if they do and fucked if they don't" because if you install a firewall the "API is so hacked together to keep everything working" and this somehow has something to do with applying a default-on firewall to the OS. Linux users are purportedly more open minded and understanding of basic OS principles. Why am I constantly meeting Linux advocates who are so more closed minded than the average AOL toting Windows user?
People are bitching at microsoft for no real reason in this case. An unconfigured firewall breaks a few applications that need ports opened, and for some reason, as my parent post said, Linux advocates believe this is a flaw in Windows XP and put the blame squarely on Microsoft.
Explain yourself clearly, concisely, or put your PC back in the box and send it to your OEM. Computer license revoked by the Darwin Internet Preservation Act.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Take 'em Down Already
OK, People... You all rushed out and got the political candidacy signs to stick in you front yards, your windows, your fields backing up to major highways... Now, in case you hadn't noticed, election day was last week, and that means it's time to take down the signs!
And all you politicos who had your underlings put out signs in empty lots, go pick them up too!
And all you politicos who had your underlings put out signs in empty lots, go pick them up too!
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
We can... And we've got to... Do better than this
Sunday night, the local PBS affiliate aired a film on "Independent Lens" called "The Political Dr Seuss" For many (of us) whe grew up with Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat early reader books, it came as a bit of surprise just how politically motivated many of his writings were. Sure, The Lorax is a not so subtle commentary on the evils of clear cutting, polution, commercialism and apathy towards the evirnoment, I had never heard of "The Butter Battle Book", published in 1984 as a statement against Ronanld Regan's foreign poicy and the Cold War.
According to the film, not long before Ted Geisel's death, his biographers asked if there was some sort of statement that he would want to "leave behind", he told them he would think about it...
A week later he wrote back, "The best slogan I can think to leave with [the kids of] U.S.A. would be: 'We can... And we've got to... Do better than this.'" He apparently scratched out the "the kids of" just before sending it.
According to the film, not long before Ted Geisel's death, his biographers asked if there was some sort of statement that he would want to "leave behind", he told them he would think about it...
A week later he wrote back, "The best slogan I can think to leave with [the kids of] U.S.A. would be: 'We can... And we've got to... Do better than this.'" He apparently scratched out the "the kids of" just before sending it.
Friday, November 05, 2004
First Blog
Well, there's a first time for everything isn't there? I'm not sure what I am going post here as time goes on, but I'll put something up from time to time. Do I have something to say, something that makes me get up on my soapbox and shout? Sometimes...
It's late fall here in Minnesota and it's golden hour all day long, though the day isn't all that long! It's golden outside, and I balessed/cursed with a south facing office window.
SCCA ProRally is dead and Rally America is about to pick up where SCCA left off. We'll see how that progresses, and maybe I'll comment.
Until Next Time.
It's late fall here in Minnesota and it's golden hour all day long, though the day isn't all that long! It's golden outside, and I balessed/cursed with a south facing office window.
SCCA ProRally is dead and Rally America is about to pick up where SCCA left off. We'll see how that progresses, and maybe I'll comment.
Until Next Time.
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