So the other day, I did something I hadn't done for quite a while. I watched a TV show.
I don't have cable, but back when I did, I enjoyed watching "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill". Both of those shows are still on the air, but nowadays, if I want to watch them, or any other network TV show, I log in to hulu.com. I don't do this often, for much the same reason that I don't pay for cable, but last Tuesday, I fired up the laptop, and my wife and I lounged around watching the best hour of animated evening programming the FOX network has to offer.
The episode of "The Simpsons" we watched was one of the most recent, entitled "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words". If you want to watch it without spoilers, just click below:
The episode centered on Lisa's love for, and obsession with, crossword puzzles, specifically the New York Times crossword, and it had Lisa qualifying for the finals in the national crossword championship. Homer accompanied her to the tournament and won a lot of money betting on her until betting against her, and benefitting from her loss, in the last round.
One specific puzzle was featured in the episode, a complicated bit of enigmatology (yes, that's a word) commissioned by a fictional character with a message (or two) concealed within it. Several days after watching the episode I found my mind going back to the puzzle used within the episode, which featured fleeting close ups of actual puzzle grid and clues, and it occurred to me... They actually created a puzzle specifically for this episode of "The Simpsons"!
I wondered idly, "what if I went back and watched that episode and paused it on the puzzle close ups? What crazy inside jokes would be contained in the clues and answers? Leave it to the Simpsons staff to concoct an entire 140-clue crossword puzzle only to flash it partially on the screen for a few brief seconds. I have attempted to build a crossword or two, and it is really freaking hard, but then again... so is writing and animating a hugely successful prime-time sitcom, and I can't do that either.
Anyway, less than a week after watching the episode, the fabulous folks at Netflix and the U.S. Postal Service brought me "Wordplay", the (2006?) Documentary about.... The New York Times Crossword Puzzle, and its associated annual tournament! I had added "Wordplay" to my Netflix "queue" about a year ago, along with over a hundred others, and it coincidentally showed up just after I watched this puzzle-centric "Simpsons" episode. It was a good movie, highlighting both the hardcore puzzle-solvers, with whom you and I can not possibly relate, as well as casual puzzle devotees like Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton, and The Indigo Girls. I learned from the movie that "intercoastal" is an anagram for "altercations", a fact which I promptly forgot, and which bugged me until I had to re-work it out for myself.
After watching that movie, you really want to pick up a Times crossword and hop to it. At least, you do if you are Me, and thus a Giant Nerd. I had a less-than-half-solved Sunday puzzle lying on my dining room table, and as the wife and I were getting ready for bed, I picked it up and figured I would re-attack it with my newly energized brain. I got a bit done, and then I came to the clue "Loses on Purpose". Ordinarily my mind would have skipped to "Folds", "Dives", or "Flops", but I knew that the answer was "Diets" ("loses on purpose", geddit?), because I had recently seen that clue used in another puzzle. Or Had I? I idly mused about where I had seen that clue before, and I realized I hadn't seen it in print; I had HEARD it. Heard it in the voice of Lisa Simpson, less than a week ago! Which meant that Lisa had been doing .... Waitaminute! Could it be?
I checked the upper-left-to-lower-right diagonal and found, sure enough, the "secret message" encoded in the supposedly fictional puzzle featured in one of the two TV shows I had happened to watch in the last several months. Then, as my wife and I reeled at the improbability of that (we had both watched the episode together in exactly the same spot where we were now solving the puzzle together), I remembered the other secret message. The one spelled out in the inital letters of each clue. Sure enough, there it was. Threaded throughout every single clue in the puzzle, and helping to explain why some of them were so oddly worded, was a message from one fictional character to another with NO REFERENCE MADE TO IT ANYWHERE IN THE PUZZLE. The only way any solver could have noticed this message (without being autistic or severely OCD) was to watch the episode of "The Simpsons" in which a yellow-skinned Will Shortz explains where it is. This is the ultimate example of an "easter egg" within a puzzle, and I just happened to have found it.
I still haven't finished the puzzle, though, and likely won't. It is an incredibly difficult one, even for a Sunday Times puzzle, and I believe this is due, in large part, to the crazy clues Mr. Reagle (The puzzle's constructor) had to find which started with the right letters for the hidden message.
Now if you will excuse me, I must go grab this week's Sunday Times, and get started. Happy Holiday Weekend to all, just in case I don't post again before then.
Showing posts with label Frank's Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank's Life. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
I'm Kinda' Sorta' Famous!
Remember way back in my last post when I said, that Language Log was my new favorite blog, and I steered you all to the site to go enjoy the wonders of word-geekery that abide there?
Well, I commented on one of their posts recently, and had a whole subsequent post devoted to my comment!
The Article I originally commented on is here, and the follow up, entitled "May Contain Nuts" is here.
Go read them!
The last time something like this happened was when no less a luminary that Peter Sagal re-wrote his post to address my opinion of the movie "Unbreakable"
Well, I commented on one of their posts recently, and had a whole subsequent post devoted to my comment!
The Article I originally commented on is here, and the follow up, entitled "May Contain Nuts" is here.
Go read them!
The last time something like this happened was when no less a luminary that Peter Sagal re-wrote his post to address my opinion of the movie "Unbreakable"
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Space-Time Continuum Is Feeling Kinda' Fragile Lately...
Wanna Hear A Weird Story? No? Oh, Well, I'm gonna' write it anyway...
Years Ago, Sometime when I was in college, I think, or possibly just afterward, I got a call from someone, out of the Blue, who had contacted me in a fit of excitement to tell me (and perhaps everyone else he could reach) that he was standing in a parking lot, right next to a De Lorean, the Gull-winged sportscar from the 1980's most widely known as the time-travel vehicle of choice for one Marty McFly in Back to the Future. The De Lorean Motor Company (DMC) also inspired the name of the Rap group known as "Run DMC".
The DMC-12 was the only model ever produced by the Ireland-based company, and only about 6,500 of them are believed to still exist. So running into one of these in a restaurant parking lot is pretty unlikely.
Here's The Thing; I can't remember who it was that called me to tell me this. It was a male, around the same age as me, and was most likely either my Friend Corey, or Glenn, or maybe Jarrod.
Here's The Other Thing; This kind-of-slightly-interesting thing happened at least 5 or 6 years ago, and I hadn't given it a second thought for half a decade or more, but just recently, in the past 9 days or so, I have told this story TWICE.
My wife and I were talking about something-or-other while driving home, and somehow the conversation came around to this half-remembered story about getting an excited phone call from.. Who? My brother? or Corey, maybe? Might have been my brother, but I think it was Corey or Glenn or somebody. Then, just a couple of days after that, (Thursday, May 1st, to be exact) one of my co-workers mentioned the band Run DMC, and this led to me again recount this story of the time a guy I knew called me, out of nowhere, to let me know he was spitting-distance from this very rare and cinematically significant automobile. I didn't have to mention who it was that made the call, because my co-workers wouldn't have known them anyway, but again the thought nagged at me; I couldn't remember if it might have been my brother that called me.
3 days later, my cellphone beeply-beeped at me in the middle of the night as I lay in bed. I groped for it on the bedside table, and flipped it open to reveal a camera-phone picture of a De Lorean DMC-12, sent to me by my brother, completely out of the Blue! Underneath the picture was the brief, but evocative caption, "A Friggin Delorean!" (I only found out that that's not how "De Lorean" was spelled about halfway through writing this post.)
Now to make this even creepier, the message came after I watched a marathon of "Heroes" episodes from season 1, in which people are time-traveling, and predicting, painting, and altering the future all over the place. Was I "remembering" someone (maybe my brother?) calling me about seeing a De Lorean, or was I having a pre-cognitive vision of the future? After you watch 6 episodes of Heroes in 2 days, you start to think this way. Factor in the time-travel associations of the Back to the Future vehicle itself, and it really starts messing with your mind! I know I did get that call, and I am now relatively sure it wasn't my brother (What're the odds of seeing 2 of these things?), but it is nonetheless a really freaky coincidence!
Either that, or I am such a huge geek that the standard reaction upon anyone who knows me seeing a De Lorean is to instantly inform me of it.
Gotta go see Iron Man now, so... I'll see you in the future!
Years Ago, Sometime when I was in college, I think, or possibly just afterward, I got a call from someone, out of the Blue, who had contacted me in a fit of excitement to tell me (and perhaps everyone else he could reach) that he was standing in a parking lot, right next to a De Lorean, the Gull-winged sportscar from the 1980's most widely known as the time-travel vehicle of choice for one Marty McFly in Back to the Future. The De Lorean Motor Company (DMC) also inspired the name of the Rap group known as "Run DMC".
The DMC-12 was the only model ever produced by the Ireland-based company, and only about 6,500 of them are believed to still exist. So running into one of these in a restaurant parking lot is pretty unlikely.Here's The Thing; I can't remember who it was that called me to tell me this. It was a male, around the same age as me, and was most likely either my Friend Corey, or Glenn, or maybe Jarrod.
Here's The Other Thing; This kind-of-slightly-interesting thing happened at least 5 or 6 years ago, and I hadn't given it a second thought for half a decade or more, but just recently, in the past 9 days or so, I have told this story TWICE.
My wife and I were talking about something-or-other while driving home, and somehow the conversation came around to this half-remembered story about getting an excited phone call from.. Who? My brother? or Corey, maybe? Might have been my brother, but I think it was Corey or Glenn or somebody. Then, just a couple of days after that, (Thursday, May 1st, to be exact) one of my co-workers mentioned the band Run DMC, and this led to me again recount this story of the time a guy I knew called me, out of nowhere, to let me know he was spitting-distance from this very rare and cinematically significant automobile. I didn't have to mention who it was that made the call, because my co-workers wouldn't have known them anyway, but again the thought nagged at me; I couldn't remember if it might have been my brother that called me.
3 days later, my cellphone beeply-beeped at me in the middle of the night as I lay in bed. I groped for it on the bedside table, and flipped it open to reveal a camera-phone picture of a De Lorean DMC-12, sent to me by my brother, completely out of the Blue! Underneath the picture was the brief, but evocative caption, "A Friggin Delorean!" (I only found out that that's not how "De Lorean" was spelled about halfway through writing this post.)
Now to make this even creepier, the message came after I watched a marathon of "Heroes" episodes from season 1, in which people are time-traveling, and predicting, painting, and altering the future all over the place. Was I "remembering" someone (maybe my brother?) calling me about seeing a De Lorean, or was I having a pre-cognitive vision of the future? After you watch 6 episodes of Heroes in 2 days, you start to think this way. Factor in the time-travel associations of the Back to the Future vehicle itself, and it really starts messing with your mind! I know I did get that call, and I am now relatively sure it wasn't my brother (What're the odds of seeing 2 of these things?), but it is nonetheless a really freaky coincidence!
Either that, or I am such a huge geek that the standard reaction upon anyone who knows me seeing a De Lorean is to instantly inform me of it.
Gotta go see Iron Man now, so... I'll see you in the future!
Friday, March 28, 2008
A Year Ago Today...
....A Part of Me Was Born.
Today I am 30 Years, Two Months, and 4 Days Old (Approximately. Hey, Who's Counting?), But My Left Elbow Turns 1.
The Weather was Wonderful Last Year, Just as it was Today, I Rode my Scooter Last Year, Just as I did Today. But Today, I wore my Padded Riding Jacket, And Last Year, I thought I didn't need to, "Just This Once".
Happy Birthday, Left Elbow, And Here's to Many More!
Today I am 30 Years, Two Months, and 4 Days Old (Approximately. Hey, Who's Counting?), But My Left Elbow Turns 1.
The Weather was Wonderful Last Year, Just as it was Today, I Rode my Scooter Last Year, Just as I did Today. But Today, I wore my Padded Riding Jacket, And Last Year, I thought I didn't need to, "Just This Once".
I Did Need to, Just That Once. Today Is My One Year Painiversary.
Happy Birthday, Left Elbow, And Here's to Many More!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Happy Celebration of Spring Renewal!
For those of you Celebrating Easter tomorrow, Happy Easter! To those of you not, Happy Sunday!
I have to work a ridiculous shift, Smack in the middle of the Day (Late Afternoon thru Early Evening), so mine will not be quite as happy as I would like, but as long as we don't repeat certain Christmas Difficulties, then I should be OK. (Yes, that co-worker still has her job. The good news is, if she gets to keep her job, then I know mine is safe!)
I will refer you back to this post for pointers on how to behave yourselves this holiday.
(Elizabeth, I will be posting your wonderful Customer service comments soon.)
I have to work a ridiculous shift, Smack in the middle of the Day (Late Afternoon thru Early Evening), so mine will not be quite as happy as I would like, but as long as we don't repeat certain Christmas Difficulties, then I should be OK. (Yes, that co-worker still has her job. The good news is, if she gets to keep her job, then I know mine is safe!)
I will refer you back to this post for pointers on how to behave yourselves this holiday.
(Elizabeth, I will be posting your wonderful Customer service comments soon.)
Friday, March 14, 2008
A Computer With Not Enough Memory....
....Is worse than No computer at all.
It teases you into thinking you can do stuff, and then only lets you know you can't open a program after it has sat around "working" on opening it for a few minutes. Then it doesn't have enough memory to STOP working on opening it, then it doesn't have enough memory to turn OFF!!!!
AAAAAARRGGHHH!!!!
I am currently on a debt-reduction plan, and I know I should be putting my Tax Money Windfall toward that, but I am very tempted to start laptop shopping.
It teases you into thinking you can do stuff, and then only lets you know you can't open a program after it has sat around "working" on opening it for a few minutes. Then it doesn't have enough memory to STOP working on opening it, then it doesn't have enough memory to turn OFF!!!!
AAAAAARRGGHHH!!!!
I am currently on a debt-reduction plan, and I know I should be putting my Tax Money Windfall toward that, but I am very tempted to start laptop shopping.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
My First Post-Windows Post
Right after posting about how Free Software beats Copyrighted Software, I got the opportunity to Learn a LOT more about it, firsthand. While trying to remove some stubborn Spyware, I accidentally scrapped the whole operating system.
Yep. I killed my laptop.
So Now, it is a Linux Laptop.
I lost a lot of programs, saved passwords, photos, movies, and music, as well as a sense of familiarity with everything. I feel like my house burned down, with a lot of my stuff in it. And while I am really excited about my new "Ubuntu Linux" house, it is going to take a while before it feels like home.
Right now, I am still trying to figure out the little things, like where the light switches and electrical outlets are, but when I get it really going, it should be even nicer than my 7-year old "Windows XP" house.
Wish me luck, and pardon my absence from the blogosphere while I get my new system "broken in".
Yep. I killed my laptop.
So Now, it is a Linux Laptop.
I lost a lot of programs, saved passwords, photos, movies, and music, as well as a sense of familiarity with everything. I feel like my house burned down, with a lot of my stuff in it. And while I am really excited about my new "Ubuntu Linux" house, it is going to take a while before it feels like home.
Right now, I am still trying to figure out the little things, like where the light switches and electrical outlets are, but when I get it really going, it should be even nicer than my 7-year old "Windows XP" house.
Wish me luck, and pardon my absence from the blogosphere while I get my new system "broken in".
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Chapter 1 is Done!
I have finished the first 3,500 words of my novel's rough draft, and, while chapter divisions, nor nothing else, is fixed at this point in time, this roughly corresponds to chapter 1 being finished.
only about 46,500 words to go! It's starting to get more challenging, and more engrossing.
only about 46,500 words to go! It's starting to get more challenging, and more engrossing.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
SeaWorld Vacation Pictures on Flickr.
Have you ever wanted to bash your computer into little tiny pieces, set those pieces on fire, put out the fire by urinating on it, feed the charred, urine-soaked ashes to a rabid jackal, then light the jackal-poo on fire and fling it into the ocean, then invent a time machine so you can go back in time to join yourself in destroying it all over again?
That's kinda how I feel right now. I am in a library, so not only did I not bash my computer into bits, but I also refrained from unloading my fury in any other outward manifestation. But if Fist-and-Teeth clenching were an Olympic sport, I would be in contention for the gold medal right about now.
Besides, I don't even know where to find a Rabid Jackal at this time of the day.
I just uploaded 37 photos of my San Diego Vacation to Flickr, and spent at least 45 minutes (that I should have been sleeping) titling, filing, tagging, and describing them in my typically verbose fashion. I dislike looking through other people's pictures when they are all titled things like DSC234000005, DSC234000006, DSC234000007, Etc, And I try to put some effort into presentation if I am going to bother to post them on the web.
Then when I hit the "Save This Batch" Button at the end of this incredibly long labor of love, My 7 year old laptop got a bad case of Alzheimer's, forgot what it was doing, forgot it was a computer, forgot it was connected to the internet, briefly wondered what it was,if not a computer, and decided it was probably a 7-pound rectangular paving stone, and behaved accordingly. It froze up so solid, I couldn't even turn it off.
I couldn't bring myself to RE-title and RE-caption every picture, so...
Here's your stinking pictures! Sorry they aren't captioned or titled. I did RE-tag them, and I will make the attempt to further describe them some time soon, after I have cooled off a bit.
All VacationPhotos
SeaWorld Photos
Bahia Resort Photos
Mission Beach Photos
That's kinda how I feel right now. I am in a library, so not only did I not bash my computer into bits, but I also refrained from unloading my fury in any other outward manifestation. But if Fist-and-Teeth clenching were an Olympic sport, I would be in contention for the gold medal right about now.
Besides, I don't even know where to find a Rabid Jackal at this time of the day.
I just uploaded 37 photos of my San Diego Vacation to Flickr, and spent at least 45 minutes (that I should have been sleeping) titling, filing, tagging, and describing them in my typically verbose fashion. I dislike looking through other people's pictures when they are all titled things like DSC234000005, DSC234000006, DSC234000007, Etc, And I try to put some effort into presentation if I am going to bother to post them on the web.
Then when I hit the "Save This Batch" Button at the end of this incredibly long labor of love, My 7 year old laptop got a bad case of Alzheimer's, forgot what it was doing, forgot it was a computer, forgot it was connected to the internet, briefly wondered what it was,if not a computer, and decided it was probably a 7-pound rectangular paving stone, and behaved accordingly. It froze up so solid, I couldn't even turn it off.
I couldn't bring myself to RE-title and RE-caption every picture, so...
Here's your stinking pictures! Sorry they aren't captioned or titled. I did RE-tag them, and I will make the attempt to further describe them some time soon, after I have cooled off a bit.
All VacationPhotos
SeaWorld Photos
Bahia Resort Photos
Mission Beach Photos
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Waiter. Blogger. Novelist.
Last time I mentioned my novel-in-progress there was a question mark at the end of that post title. No more. I have been energized to put something out there, and I am following through. I have experienced a paradigm shift in the way I think about novel writing. A long-form work of fiction does not have to be the work of a lifetime. The Great American Novel is kind of a cheesy myth. People who really write novels do it in a few months. 3-6 months of writing a few hundred words a day, and bango! You got yerself a novel. If you have a couple of other jobs, and pets, and a wife, and civic organization memberships, and a garden and a worm bin and a home under construction, then it should still take no more than a year.
In the last four days I have sloshed the premise of my book around in my head, and it has started to congeal nicely. There are still quite a lot of blank spaces and unknowns to work out, but I am attacking it aggressively. I have already knocked out over 1400 words of the rough draft. Only 48,600 words to go, and I will go from "aspiring novelist" to "novelist seeking publication". And from there, hopefully, to "published, award-winning, multi-millionaire novelist and celebrity"! Okay, maybe not all of that last one.
In the last four days I have sloshed the premise of my book around in my head, and it has started to congeal nicely. There are still quite a lot of blank spaces and unknowns to work out, but I am attacking it aggressively. I have already knocked out over 1400 words of the rough draft. Only 48,600 words to go, and I will go from "aspiring novelist" to "novelist seeking publication". And from there, hopefully, to "published, award-winning, multi-millionaire novelist and celebrity"! Okay, maybe not all of that last one.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Waiter, Blogger, Novelist?
I have over the years been creative in a number of media. Having flexed my writing muscles enough with the blogging thing, I am hoping I will be able to now successfully complete a novel.
I have started one or two other novels in my life, and I get a little further along with each attempt. I have had characters a-go-go. Characters come to me so easily that it almost seems as if they already exist, and want me to put them down in ink. (or pixels, nowadays.) Plot, on the other hand, is hard. Plot is also the thing I appreciate most as a reader. I meet "Characters" everyday (some of them even read my blog), but in real life, a sufficiently complicated and satisfying plot is harder to come by. That is where I really admire the craft of the writer, and where I have less natural talent.
Well, I have more of a full-bodied idea of this book than I have ever had for any previous attempt at fiction, and my hopes are high. Also different this time around, is that I have a daily dose of cheerleading and community from the blog MagicalWords.net, a blog about sci-fi/fantasy writing maintained by 4 published authors who have all enjoyed some commercial successes.
I won't go into too much more than that here and now, but this blog is for sharing my thoughts with the world, and today, my thoughts are fixed on developing this literary zygote into a full fledged story worthy of publication.
I have started one or two other novels in my life, and I get a little further along with each attempt. I have had characters a-go-go. Characters come to me so easily that it almost seems as if they already exist, and want me to put them down in ink. (or pixels, nowadays.) Plot, on the other hand, is hard. Plot is also the thing I appreciate most as a reader. I meet "Characters" everyday (some of them even read my blog), but in real life, a sufficiently complicated and satisfying plot is harder to come by. That is where I really admire the craft of the writer, and where I have less natural talent.
Well, I have more of a full-bodied idea of this book than I have ever had for any previous attempt at fiction, and my hopes are high. Also different this time around, is that I have a daily dose of cheerleading and community from the blog MagicalWords.net, a blog about sci-fi/fantasy writing maintained by 4 published authors who have all enjoyed some commercial successes.
I won't go into too much more than that here and now, but this blog is for sharing my thoughts with the world, and today, my thoughts are fixed on developing this literary zygote into a full fledged story worthy of publication.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Just As I Was Achieving Dailiosity...
A blog Telegram...
SIDELINED BY SICKNESS TODAY STOP
NASTY STOMACH VIRUS STOP
GOING HOME TO BED NOW STOP
That's All I got, people. See ya' tomorrow.
SIDELINED BY SICKNESS TODAY STOP
NASTY STOMACH VIRUS STOP
GOING HOME TO BED NOW STOP
That's All I got, people. See ya' tomorrow.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Joy of Meat!
OK, One last thing about my Chattanooga trip last Saturday!
After Buying the Cheapest High Quality Sneakers on the Face of the Earth, I met my wife for some lunch at a place we had been wanting to check out for months.
Sugar's Ribs, on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, has a cute name, and an approximately 25-foot-tall sign next to their building featuring what I can only assume is their namesake mascot, "Sugar", a smiling, pleasantly-plump, African-American waitress carrying a heaping tray full of BBQ ribs. Whether this waitress is a hypothetical construct, like Mrs. Butterworth, or actually based on a real person, Like Wendy, from the Dave Thomas restaurant of the same name, I do not know. I do know that "Sugar" does not own the restaurant, nor did she cook my meal when I was there. (Clicky the linky at the beginning of this paragraph to see what I am talking about.)
As you take I-24 east past downtown Chattanooga, you cannot help but notice the restaurant and huge sign, which are located on the ridge facing the interstate and downtown in such a way as to be only slightly less prominent that the famous "Hollywood" sign in Los Angeles.
Nearly every time my wife and I would pass the place, one of us would say something like "Y'know, one of these days we need to stop in there and check that place out", while we continued driving to the Collegedale Airport, which is where we were usually going.
Well Saturday, I finally took the bull by the... ribs, and when Becca called me (while I shopped for shoes) to tell me that her meeting was done way early, I told her to get a ride to Sugar's, where I would meet her for lunch.
And, Boy! I am glad I did! The Brisket I had that day was, quite simply, the best piece of dead livestock I have ever run across my taste buds. Hands down.
Some of you reading this, if you are a really fortunate person, have had the good luck to eat at Sticky Fingers, the small chain Ribhouse which serves "Memphis-Style" ribs that are exceptional. If you haven't had the pleasure of eating at a Sticky Fingers, I suggest that, the next time you find yourself in the Southeastern United States, you check and see if there is one near you. The Memphis Dry-Rubbed ribs they serve are extraordinarily, eyes-roll-up-in-the-back-of-your-head delicious, and the Peach Cobbler available for dessert ain't bad, neither!
But the Brisket I had at Sugar's was even better than that! Seared on the outside just enough, and so tender that, not only did you not need a knife to eat it, you didn't even need teeth! I probably could have sucked it up with a drinking straw! I'm talking seriously tender meat, here!
My wife had the half-chicken, which you can watch cook while you are ordering it, and it was awfully good too, if you are in a white-meat mood. Next time I go, and there will be a next time, I will probably get the ribs, or the pulled pork, just to compare. But I expect to be disappointed, because I can't imagine a more satisfying carnivorous experience than the one I got on Saturday.
After Buying the Cheapest High Quality Sneakers on the Face of the Earth, I met my wife for some lunch at a place we had been wanting to check out for months.
Sugar's Ribs, on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, has a cute name, and an approximately 25-foot-tall sign next to their building featuring what I can only assume is their namesake mascot, "Sugar", a smiling, pleasantly-plump, African-American waitress carrying a heaping tray full of BBQ ribs. Whether this waitress is a hypothetical construct, like Mrs. Butterworth, or actually based on a real person, Like Wendy, from the Dave Thomas restaurant of the same name, I do not know. I do know that "Sugar" does not own the restaurant, nor did she cook my meal when I was there. (Clicky the linky at the beginning of this paragraph to see what I am talking about.)
As you take I-24 east past downtown Chattanooga, you cannot help but notice the restaurant and huge sign, which are located on the ridge facing the interstate and downtown in such a way as to be only slightly less prominent that the famous "Hollywood" sign in Los Angeles.
Nearly every time my wife and I would pass the place, one of us would say something like "Y'know, one of these days we need to stop in there and check that place out", while we continued driving to the Collegedale Airport, which is where we were usually going.
Well Saturday, I finally took the bull by the... ribs, and when Becca called me (while I shopped for shoes) to tell me that her meeting was done way early, I told her to get a ride to Sugar's, where I would meet her for lunch.
And, Boy! I am glad I did! The Brisket I had that day was, quite simply, the best piece of dead livestock I have ever run across my taste buds. Hands down.
Some of you reading this, if you are a really fortunate person, have had the good luck to eat at Sticky Fingers, the small chain Ribhouse which serves "Memphis-Style" ribs that are exceptional. If you haven't had the pleasure of eating at a Sticky Fingers, I suggest that, the next time you find yourself in the Southeastern United States, you check and see if there is one near you. The Memphis Dry-Rubbed ribs they serve are extraordinarily, eyes-roll-up-in-the-back-of-your-head delicious, and the Peach Cobbler available for dessert ain't bad, neither!
But the Brisket I had at Sugar's was even better than that! Seared on the outside just enough, and so tender that, not only did you not need a knife to eat it, you didn't even need teeth! I probably could have sucked it up with a drinking straw! I'm talking seriously tender meat, here!
My wife had the half-chicken, which you can watch cook while you are ordering it, and it was awfully good too, if you are in a white-meat mood. Next time I go, and there will be a next time, I will probably get the ribs, or the pulled pork, just to compare. But I expect to be disappointed, because I can't imagine a more satisfying carnivorous experience than the one I got on Saturday.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
My Busy Chattanooga Saturday: The Threequel!
After leaving the book reading at ChattaCon (or as my Dad thinks it should have been called, ComicNooga) I still had a few hours to kill (or so I thought). As I mentioned in part two of this tale, I headed back toward McKay's Bookstore from the Con, but I didn't actually head back to McKay's. As I had left the bookstore earlier that morning I spotted a Steve and Barry's location on the other side of the Interstate.
I had heard about these guys when looking for the much-hyped Starbury athletic shoe, the worlds first $15 Athletic Shoe, designed for, endorsed by, and even worn on the court by NBA Basketball Player, Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks. For more about the Starbury, you can check out this article: Unfortunately, when I had been doing the looking, the nearest Steve and Barry's location was in Atlanta, the trip to which, given the gas prices at the time, might well have tripled the price of the shoe. So, excited to see an outlet in my neck of the woods, I popped in to check out the $15 footwear.
Fifteen dollars is an absurdly inexpensive price for quality athletic shoes, and it just so happened to be the amount I had been paid just a couple of hours before for my box of unwanted paperbacks and old DVD's. So imagine my surprise, my shock, even, when I walked in to the outer vestibule to be greeted with 2 large banners declaring "Winter Liquidation: Everything In The Store $8.98"!!
I looked immediately for the asterisk.
I could find no asterisk.
I still assumed that shoes were excluded. After all, every sale we ever had back when I worked in a retail clothing store always excluded shoes. But then again, we always had an asterisk, too.
I found the Starbury shoe Aisle, and sure enough, the signage proclaimed that the laughably low price of $8.98 applied to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in the store.* I still wondered where the catch was. The catch was, they had every style available in sizes 12, 13,14, and 15. I usually take about an 8-1/2, but have been known to wear anything from a 9-1/2 down to a 7. Yeah, I have little girl feet. You want to make somethin' of it?
I once, while working as a camp counselor, offered my extra pair of shoes to a 5th-grader who had for gotten to bring along "creek-stomping" shoes and was understandably reluctant to drag his new, $100-plus, Air Force Ones or Air Jordans, or whatever they were, through a mile and a half of Tennessee creek bed. The 5th grader could not wear my shoes. My shoes were too small. One of the other kids had a pair large enough for him.
Anyway, after scouring the racks for shoes in the Sub-sasquatchian sizes (say that three times fast!), I found a pair that fit pretty well. I dropped a $10 bill for them, and got back change. They survived a hectic night of waiting tables, and as of this morning, they have passed the Gas station Stand-behind-a-counter-all-night test, too. If you follow the S&B link above to go look at the shoes, I got the low-top Starbury II, in black. It was also available in bright blue, and even brighter orange, but I already have a perfectly good pair of clown shoes.
*Seriously. Everything. I just wanted to throw in an asterisk**
**Actually, I didn't look at everything in the store, so I can't swear that an exception didn't exist somewhere, just to make a liar out of me. Also, I will assume that cash registers, store lighting fixtures, and most of the employees were not available for this price. They should have had an asterisk, after all.
I had heard about these guys when looking for the much-hyped Starbury athletic shoe, the worlds first $15 Athletic Shoe, designed for, endorsed by, and even worn on the court by NBA Basketball Player, Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks. For more about the Starbury, you can check out this article: Unfortunately, when I had been doing the looking, the nearest Steve and Barry's location was in Atlanta, the trip to which, given the gas prices at the time, might well have tripled the price of the shoe. So, excited to see an outlet in my neck of the woods, I popped in to check out the $15 footwear.
Fifteen dollars is an absurdly inexpensive price for quality athletic shoes, and it just so happened to be the amount I had been paid just a couple of hours before for my box of unwanted paperbacks and old DVD's. So imagine my surprise, my shock, even, when I walked in to the outer vestibule to be greeted with 2 large banners declaring "Winter Liquidation: Everything In The Store $8.98"!!
I looked immediately for the asterisk.
I could find no asterisk.
I still assumed that shoes were excluded. After all, every sale we ever had back when I worked in a retail clothing store always excluded shoes. But then again, we always had an asterisk, too.
I found the Starbury shoe Aisle, and sure enough, the signage proclaimed that the laughably low price of $8.98 applied to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in the store.* I still wondered where the catch was. The catch was, they had every style available in sizes 12, 13,14, and 15. I usually take about an 8-1/2, but have been known to wear anything from a 9-1/2 down to a 7. Yeah, I have little girl feet. You want to make somethin' of it?
I once, while working as a camp counselor, offered my extra pair of shoes to a 5th-grader who had for gotten to bring along "creek-stomping" shoes and was understandably reluctant to drag his new, $100-plus, Air Force Ones or Air Jordans, or whatever they were, through a mile and a half of Tennessee creek bed. The 5th grader could not wear my shoes. My shoes were too small. One of the other kids had a pair large enough for him.
Anyway, after scouring the racks for shoes in the Sub-sasquatchian sizes (say that three times fast!), I found a pair that fit pretty well. I dropped a $10 bill for them, and got back change. They survived a hectic night of waiting tables, and as of this morning, they have passed the Gas station Stand-behind-a-counter-all-night test, too. If you follow the S&B link above to go look at the shoes, I got the low-top Starbury II, in black. It was also available in bright blue, and even brighter orange, but I already have a perfectly good pair of clown shoes.
*Seriously. Everything. I just wanted to throw in an asterisk**
**Actually, I didn't look at everything in the store, so I can't swear that an exception didn't exist somewhere, just to make a liar out of me. Also, I will assume that cash registers, store lighting fixtures, and most of the employees were not available for this price. They should have had an asterisk, after all.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Costumed Geeks Part 2: I Conned Chattacon.
As promised, this is the continued adventure of my Saturday in Chattanooga. Part 1 is here.
After dropping off my wife at the airport a few miles north of Choo-Choo-Town, I waited for McKay's to open, and received a little over 15 bucks for my crate-o'-junk. I then had about 45 minutes to make it to the convention before 10am eastern. (9am by my watch.) After getting lost (twice) around downtown, I got there just barely in time. I found the convention center, but instead of finding the registration booth (Where I would find out whether or not I could afford to get in), I instead found the reading, about to get started.
So I walked in and sat down. Nobody kicked me out due to lack of convention badge. With my poor complexion, ponytail, and official San Diego ComicCon Swag Bag, I certainly looked like I belonged there. I got to listen to the reading, which was quite good, while sitting to the immediate left of an overweight 40-something lady wearing a Hogwart's School Robe. After the reading I got my copy of "The Sorcerers' Plague" signed, chatted with Mr. Coe for a few minutes, and then set out to find the registration table.
As it turned out, I couldn't afford to go to ChattaCon. And after taking a look around, I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to ChattaCon. The only thing it appeared that my 50-dollar registration would get me was in to the Dealers' room, where I could then spend even more money that I didn't have. So I went and paid the three dollars for the parking garage, and took off back toward McKay's, from whence I had come. There were lots of Artists displaying their works at the Con, But I felt like the biggest Con Artist of them all.
There is more to tell about my Saturday in Chatt-Town, but it will have to wait until another day. Look for Part 3 tomorrow, in which I will tell you where to get Awesome (and Cheap) Shoes, And some of the Best Barbecued Brisket on the Planet.
After dropping off my wife at the airport a few miles north of Choo-Choo-Town, I waited for McKay's to open, and received a little over 15 bucks for my crate-o'-junk. I then had about 45 minutes to make it to the convention before 10am eastern. (9am by my watch.) After getting lost (twice) around downtown, I got there just barely in time. I found the convention center, but instead of finding the registration booth (Where I would find out whether or not I could afford to get in), I instead found the reading, about to get started.
So I walked in and sat down. Nobody kicked me out due to lack of convention badge. With my poor complexion, ponytail, and official San Diego ComicCon Swag Bag, I certainly looked like I belonged there. I got to listen to the reading, which was quite good, while sitting to the immediate left of an overweight 40-something lady wearing a Hogwart's School Robe. After the reading I got my copy of "The Sorcerers' Plague" signed, chatted with Mr. Coe for a few minutes, and then set out to find the registration table.
As it turned out, I couldn't afford to go to ChattaCon. And after taking a look around, I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to ChattaCon. The only thing it appeared that my 50-dollar registration would get me was in to the Dealers' room, where I could then spend even more money that I didn't have. So I went and paid the three dollars for the parking garage, and took off back toward McKay's, from whence I had come. There were lots of Artists displaying their works at the Con, But I felt like the biggest Con Artist of them all.
There is more to tell about my Saturday in Chatt-Town, but it will have to wait until another day. Look for Part 3 tomorrow, in which I will tell you where to get Awesome (and Cheap) Shoes, And some of the Best Barbecued Brisket on the Planet.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
In Case you were wondering...
My Vacation has been completely totally awesome!
I got to pet a Dolphin! I got to see Sea Lions getting fed! I got to Ride a Segway!!!
I will have a full report sometime tomorrow (I hope), but for those of you keeping tabs on me, I have had a better time than I was expecting with the dismal weather forecast I was given.
I got to pet a Dolphin! I got to see Sea Lions getting fed! I got to Ride a Segway!!!
I will have a full report sometime tomorrow (I hope), but for those of you keeping tabs on me, I have had a better time than I was expecting with the dismal weather forecast I was given.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Are You Doing the Whole "Resolution Thing" This Year?
I tend to look, as does most of America, with a somewhat jaded eye on New Year's Resolutions.
But Resolutions can work, and you are reading proof of that right now! I started this blog (actually I started it over on MySpace) as part of a resolution to write every day. Well I haven't kept that resolution perfectly, obviously, but if I had the same level of follow-through on a resolution to, say, workout daily, or floss, then I would definitely be reaping the benefits now.
I could have written everyday in a journal, and kept it under my mattress, but then I would very likely have not kept it up, because there would be no accountability. Even back before I had readers, the fact that my writing was going out there on the intertubes was a powerful motivator to make sure that I was writing something interesting, not just my own spewing, rambling, innermost feelings. (yeah, I know.. You get that too, sometimes)
(And Thanks again, Christina, for being the only person ever to complain when I didn't post. That meant an absolute ton to me, and I hope that, even as I have fiddled with the format of the blog, you still get a laugh out of this stuff every once in a while.)
The internet can be a wonderful tool for providing accountability. and with that in mind, I have signed up for an account on Traineo.com , where I will be recording the details of my effort to regain my college weight, or at least my college waist. The button below will update as my weight changes (or at least as I record its change. I could lie, I suppose.)
Anyway, An Idea that's been around for a while, but that I specifically encountered at flylady.net and zenhabits.net, is that of forming habits methodically, over approximately 30-day periods.
So.. I am going to make 12 resolutions this year. (I don't know what they are yet, stay tuned!) And you, my friends, family, and readers, without doing anything at all (except continuing to read this blog - stay tuned!), will be helping me along!
I would love to return the favor (of not doing anything at all?), so if you want to join me in any of these resolutions (once they are announced), then just let me know. I am sure my desires for self-improvement will overlap with yours at some point. I will throw this post open to comments now; what are some areas we can focus on improving ourselves this year? What resolutions are you making?
But Resolutions can work, and you are reading proof of that right now! I started this blog (actually I started it over on MySpace) as part of a resolution to write every day. Well I haven't kept that resolution perfectly, obviously, but if I had the same level of follow-through on a resolution to, say, workout daily, or floss, then I would definitely be reaping the benefits now.
I could have written everyday in a journal, and kept it under my mattress, but then I would very likely have not kept it up, because there would be no accountability. Even back before I had readers, the fact that my writing was going out there on the intertubes was a powerful motivator to make sure that I was writing something interesting, not just my own spewing, rambling, innermost feelings. (yeah, I know.. You get that too, sometimes)
(And Thanks again, Christina, for being the only person ever to complain when I didn't post. That meant an absolute ton to me, and I hope that, even as I have fiddled with the format of the blog, you still get a laugh out of this stuff every once in a while.)
The internet can be a wonderful tool for providing accountability. and with that in mind, I have signed up for an account on Traineo.com , where I will be recording the details of my effort to regain my college weight, or at least my college waist. The button below will update as my weight changes (or at least as I record its change. I could lie, I suppose.)
Anyway, An Idea that's been around for a while, but that I specifically encountered at flylady.net and zenhabits.net, is that of forming habits methodically, over approximately 30-day periods.
So.. I am going to make 12 resolutions this year. (I don't know what they are yet, stay tuned!) And you, my friends, family, and readers, without doing anything at all (except continuing to read this blog - stay tuned!), will be helping me along!
I would love to return the favor (of not doing anything at all?), so if you want to join me in any of these resolutions (once they are announced), then just let me know. I am sure my desires for self-improvement will overlap with yours at some point. I will throw this post open to comments now; what are some areas we can focus on improving ourselves this year? What resolutions are you making?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
A Word To Holiday Travelers
Friends and Readers, please allow me this moment of freedom to sincerely express my innermost feelings at this moment:
Why do I Aargh so, you ask? Because I work at a Gas Station, and everybody in the world is traveling this weekend. And it's not just the number of travelers, it's the fact that they are dumber than sheep, and twice as stubborn. The parade of freaks has been especially varied and colorful this Christmas Weekend.
I could rant for hours here with the specifics, but I won't. I just want to ask all of you who might be out and about for the next few days (the next two weeks or so, actually) that as you visit the Gas Station, Hotel, Motel, Airport, Movie Theatre, or anywhere else where some poor service industry shlubs are being made to work through the holiday for your convenience, please remember to be nice to them. Here are some tips for being nice to "The Help":
And For The Sake Of All That Is Good And Holy in This World... If you want to throw something away, and the garbage can is overflowing, look for another place to throw your trash! Do you really need that Mello Yello Bottle out of your car so badly that you will cram it into the last remaining inch of space in the lid of the Garbage can?
And a MAJOR PET PEEVE of mine, coming from back in the day when I rocked a Taco Bell Uniform (about 100 years ago). Whenever Possible, I avoid throwing liquids in garbage cans.
This is the NUMBER ONE thing you can do, year round, to help out the unlucky schmucks who get the privilege of taking out your trash: Don't EVER throw a cup full of liquid into a public trash can. Think about it for a second. Would you do that at home? No, of course not. You would pour the liquid (and Ice, Ice counts as a liquid; it will be one eventually) out, down a drain, and throw away the empty cup. There is usually a drain around, if you bother to look. And if not, there is probably some grass just outside.
Because if you throw that drink in a plastic garbage can liner full of drinking straws, then that liquid is going to end up, at best, all over the floor, and at worst, right down some unlucky employee's shoe. I have been that employee. I have worn that shoe. Wear a sock soaked in a mixture of Mountain Dew, tobacco spit, and coffee grounds for about seven hours sometime, while working on your feet the whole time, and let me know how you like it. Yeah, I didn't think so.
So as you share the Holiday love with friends and family this Christmas, remember the less fortunate, who are accommodating your family instead of being with their own.
AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghh!!!!
Why do I Aargh so, you ask? Because I work at a Gas Station, and everybody in the world is traveling this weekend. And it's not just the number of travelers, it's the fact that they are dumber than sheep, and twice as stubborn. The parade of freaks has been especially varied and colorful this Christmas Weekend.
I could rant for hours here with the specifics, but I won't. I just want to ask all of you who might be out and about for the next few days (the next two weeks or so, actually) that as you visit the Gas Station, Hotel, Motel, Airport, Movie Theatre, or anywhere else where some poor service industry shlubs are being made to work through the holiday for your convenience, please remember to be nice to them. Here are some tips for being nice to "The Help":
- Don't try and be nice to them by talking to them about their day, or saying sympathetic things like, Gosh, it must really be Horrible working on Christmas day, huh? Really, REALLY, Horrible! This does not help.
- Be understanding if the employee seems to think you are dumber than a sheep. They are simply letting past experience be their guide. Chances are good that the 580 people in front of you in line were of Sub-sheep intellect.
- Try leaving some cash! This is especially important for hotel workers like housekeeping staff, but you might try catching somebody working at some other, usually un-tipped job, and slipping them a 5-dollar handshake for being there when you needed them. It is really amazing how much 5 dollars can mean to somebody making $6.50 an hour.
And For The Sake Of All That Is Good And Holy in This World... If you want to throw something away, and the garbage can is overflowing, look for another place to throw your trash! Do you really need that Mello Yello Bottle out of your car so badly that you will cram it into the last remaining inch of space in the lid of the Garbage can?
And a MAJOR PET PEEVE of mine, coming from back in the day when I rocked a Taco Bell Uniform (about 100 years ago). Whenever Possible, I avoid throwing liquids in garbage cans.
This is the NUMBER ONE thing you can do, year round, to help out the unlucky schmucks who get the privilege of taking out your trash: Don't EVER throw a cup full of liquid into a public trash can. Think about it for a second. Would you do that at home? No, of course not. You would pour the liquid (and Ice, Ice counts as a liquid; it will be one eventually) out, down a drain, and throw away the empty cup. There is usually a drain around, if you bother to look. And if not, there is probably some grass just outside.
Because if you throw that drink in a plastic garbage can liner full of drinking straws, then that liquid is going to end up, at best, all over the floor, and at worst, right down some unlucky employee's shoe. I have been that employee. I have worn that shoe. Wear a sock soaked in a mixture of Mountain Dew, tobacco spit, and coffee grounds for about seven hours sometime, while working on your feet the whole time, and let me know how you like it. Yeah, I didn't think so.
So as you share the Holiday love with friends and family this Christmas, remember the less fortunate, who are accommodating your family instead of being with their own.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Calling in Sick
After three (or is it four? I can't keep track anymore...) days of (mostly self-inflicted) Sleep- deprivation, I am calling in sick. I called in from work over at Crust, and now I am calling in sick from the blog as well.
A good evening's sleep will hopefully get me back on my feet.
See you soon, readers!
A good evening's sleep will hopefully get me back on my feet.
See you soon, readers!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Playing Catchup
OK, I haven't posted for awhile, because I've been spending a lot of time on... that, thing.. What's it called? That thing where you are not sitting at a computer? Oh! Yeah!
REAL LIFE. Yeah, that's it!
Yeah.. So spending time on real life really eats into the old "Virtual" life of the blogger. I had a little Wi-Fi-Enabled time at lunch on Saturday, but I spent it getting airline tickets and hotel reservations for my Big San Diego Adventure.
Other than that brief window, the weekend was just too busy to get any serious bloggetry done. I spent 48 hours away from the interweb, and just spent 2 hours clearing out my various in-boxes. My sincerest apologies to my cult-like band of devoted followers (if you, in fact, exist) for not posting enough. And my apologies to the rest of you for the deluge of posts that I am about to create in an effort to catch up.
Speaking of Ketchup, What's the deal with this? I walked into the Ol' Workplace the other day and spotted this Heinz "Mini-Me" Ketchup Bottle sitting on the counter. We do not sell these at the store, and none of the employees that I spoke to knew where it came from. It struck me immediately as:
So, instead, I used it to make a corny pun. So sue me!
Incidentally, this little glass bottle holds exactly the amount of Ketchup you threw away with your last bottle of ketchup, bacause you couldn't extract it from the container.
REAL LIFE. Yeah, that's it!
Yeah.. So spending time on real life really eats into the old "Virtual" life of the blogger. I had a little Wi-Fi-Enabled time at lunch on Saturday, but I spent it getting airline tickets and hotel reservations for my Big San Diego Adventure.
Other than that brief window, the weekend was just too busy to get any serious bloggetry done. I spent 48 hours away from the interweb, and just spent 2 hours clearing out my various in-boxes. My sincerest apologies to my cult-like band of devoted followers (if you, in fact, exist) for not posting enough. And my apologies to the rest of you for the deluge of posts that I am about to create in an effort to catch up.
Speaking of Ketchup, What's the deal with this? I walked into the Ol' Workplace the other day and spotted this Heinz "Mini-Me" Ketchup Bottle sitting on the counter. We do not sell these at the store, and none of the employees that I spoke to knew where it came from. It struck me immediately as:- ridiculous
- impractical
- totally unnecessary
- awfully freakin' cute!
So, instead, I used it to make a corny pun. So sue me!
Incidentally, this little glass bottle holds exactly the amount of Ketchup you threw away with your last bottle of ketchup, bacause you couldn't extract it from the container.
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