Moestly Harmless
Posted on | April 3, 2008 at 6:52 am | 5 Comments
Pet Peeve of the Day: Yesterday I had lunch at one of the few restaurants close to work that I had never been to before: The Moe’s Broadway Bagels on Grant St. The reviews I saw of it online (like here, here, and here) made it look pretty good, but my experience was not optimal. First of all, I thought the service was problematic. There were only two people in line when I got there, and yet I had to wait at least 10 minutes after ordering before receiving my sandwich. I think it was closer to 15. It’s not like I ordered anything complicated: just a corned beef reuben on a jalapeño bagel. I don’t think the bagel was even toasted, though the swiss cheese was melted and the sandwich was warm. The staff (which was pretty big) was fairly friendly, but they also seemed to be preoccupied with other things, though I’m not sure what, since there weren’t many customers. I also had trouble understanding what they were saying, as no one talked very loudly and the acoustics were bad. I repeatedly specified that my order was To Go, but when I finally got it, the sandwich and chips were in a paper basket as if I were eating it there. (The sandwich was also wrapped in aluminum foil.) When I reminded the guy that it was To Go, he just wrapped the whole thing in plastic instead of putting it in a bag like they did for other orders. That made it awkward to carry back to the office with the drink and the copy of Westword.
I was not impressed with the food either. That was one of the blandest reubens I’ve ever had – the meat, the cheese, the sauerkraut, the thousand island dressing – none of it had any distinguishing taste at all. It was like a lump of lukewarm, soggy Generic Food Stuff. Worst of all, the jalapeño bagel was not the least bit spicy. I could see and taste the jalapeño pieces, but they had no bite to them. After the meal, the whole thing just sort of sat in my stomach. Even the fountain drink was all carbonated water and very little syrup. The online reviews say their bagels are the closest thing in Denver to New York bagels. If so, I pity New Yorkers, because they’re not getting the real bagel experience.
I know I shouldn’t judge an eatery on one bad experience, but it makes me really not want to try the place again. At least the price was right: I think they didn’t charge me for the drink upgrade. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe I’ll give them one more try, just to be sure.
Latre.
Restart From Last Checkpoint
Posted on | April 2, 2008 at 9:51 pm | 4 Comments
InfK got it right yesterday, I think. The April Fools prank was not that I had never seen Rocky, but that I was going to stop daily posting. At this point, stopping daily blogging would be like stopping daily breathing or stopping daily belly shaving. It’s just something that I’ve got to do. Although that could easily change. And I really, really had never seen Rocky before last weekend.
I notice Steve didn’t take the bait and he posted today. Rats. I knew I couldn’t outsmart him
Speaking of AFD pranks, I saw this article on the 1st and thought it must be a joke: Researchers Compress Music Files 1000 Times Smaller Than MP3s. That headline alone screams out “April Fools”. And then when you read the article it gets worse. They haven’t actually come up with a new compression method, they’ve just supposedly figured out a way to recreate the original performance (notes, intonation, timbre, etc):
The technique involved isn’t an audio recording technology; rather, it re-creates the clarinet solo in the same way that a player piano re-creates a piano piece from a roll of punched paper. But in addition to re-creating the notes, it also re-creates the way in which the player played the notes.
It’s like a next generation version of MIDI. The example given is with a solo clarinet, and I seriously doubt it sounds all that identical to the original performance. I also doubt it works for multiple instruments playing at the same time, much less a full rock band recording. Something tells me it’s not going to replace MP3s (or other compression schemes) anytime soon, but of course the media can’t help spinning it that way with the slightly misleading headline and lead comparing the result to MP3s. But at least it does appear it’s not really a prank, as the story is persisting beyond the 1st.
Latre.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “songs about shitty friends”.
Creepy Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “motion activated machineguns”.
Gonna Fly Now
Posted on | April 1, 2008 at 6:14 am | 6 Comments
I filled another one of the gaps in my lifal education last weekend – I finally saw the original Rocky. N was surprised I’d never seen it – it’s one of her favorites. But, y’know, she’s never seen Star Wars. Anyway, I had recorded it off of HDNet Movies awhile ago and finally got around to watching it. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but more for the character scenes and the depiction of life in a Philadelphia neighborhood in the 70s than for the fight. Thankfully, the fighting didn’t take much screen time. And I had a little trouble figuring out the ending, since the music was so loud it obscured what everyone was saying. Or maybe that’s just because the continued deterioration of my Old Man hearing. Luckily I already kinda knew about the ending, since it’s hard to avoid that kind of spoiler for 30 years.
Sly was actually a pretty decent actor back in the day, though maybe he wasn’t really acting. Did you know this movie won some Oscars in 1977? It’s true: Best Picture and Best Director. And Best Film Editing. It might’ve won more, but it looks like Network kinda swept things that year. I thought it had won for the screenplay too, but that was just a nomination.
I’ve never seen any of the sequels either, and I’m not sure I want to. Might ruin the original experience for me.
Next up: Reading War & Peace and Moby Dick.
Well, after 5-some months of daily blog posts, I think I need a rest. The daily grind is really getting to me. I’ve been snapping at the dog, even though I don’t have a dog. I’m putting vodka on my Corn Flakes. I take notes while shopping at Safeway in case something interesting happens. I take pictures of anything and everything, no matter how dull. So, I’m going to take a week or so off and get my mind together and try to get some other things done. No, I’m not going on vacation. Although I’ll probably just use the extra time to do more videogaming. Steve, you win the post-every-day-since October-30th competition! All you have to do is post something today and tomorrow…
Latre.
Jogged Today: Yes (@ 22°F)
Songs That Came Up On The iPod While Jogging:
- “Within These Walls (Reprise)” (Richard Barone)
- “Second Best” (Barenaked Ladies)
- “Dr. Music” (Blue Öyster Cult)
- “Everyone’s Hero” (Bill Nelson)
- “5 O’Clock World” (Julian Cope)
- “The Ocean In Between” (Matthew Sweet)
- “Little Decisions” (Paul Kelly)
- “Life Begins at the Hop” (XTC)
- “I’m Tired” (Field Music)
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “ＫＩＤＳ　ＳＰＡＮＫＩＮï¼%”.
The Past’s Always Yesterday
Posted on | March 31, 2008 at 8:01 am | Comments Off
Why is Sunday night Historical Epic Night on the pay movie channels? Is Sunday a kind of high brow TV-watching night in the minds of the network programmers? Probably not. Last night saw the second season premiere of The Tudors on Showtime, and the 4th part (of 7) of HBO’s John Adams series. I’ve already discussed the HBO series and still find it entertaining and informative. I like watching The Tudors mainly because all the opulence of the king’s court looks great in HD. It’s all hysterical historical melodrama, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes a suitably histrionic Henry VIII – flying off into petulant rages at a moment’s notice. Natalie Dormer’s Anne Boleyn is appropriately seductive and manipulative. The court intrigue is strong and sometimes it’s a little hard to keep track of the issues and the players.
I’m not sure there’s much historical accuracy though. I really began to question it all during the first season when I learned that they had taken Henry’s two sisters and merged them into one character. What’s up with that?
This season we get the added bonus of Peter O’Toole as Pope Paul III, playing him with both humor and gravity. You go, Pete.
So, even though I know how this story ends up (unless they change it), I’ll keep watching for now. Love those red robes in HD.
Latre.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “dress up godzilla”.
Charity Evolution
Posted on | March 30, 2008 at 7:16 pm | 1 Comment
Yesterday when I was doing my grocery shopping at Safeway, they introduced a new wrinkle into the “hitting you up at the cash register for charity” game. And I have to say, this is quite clever. Instead of asking you “Would you like to donate a dollar to Easter Seals?”, they now say “Would you like to make the total an even number of dollars and donate the change to Easter Seals?”. So, if for example your total is $23.13, they ask if you want to donate 82 cents to Easter Seals and make the total grocery bill an even $24. This works for cash, check and credit.
I believe I’ve written before about how I don’t like getting hit up for charity as I’m checking out of a store and that I prefer to choose my own charities and donate to them privately, but I can’t find that blog entry. Maybe it was in some comments. Anyway, I feel there’s too much pressure there to contribute and that the object is to make you feel shame in front of the clerk and the other customers if you don’t, which just makes me not want to do it all the more. Nevertheless, I did actually donate my change yesterday, and it looked like most other customers were doing it as well. The donation even shows up on your receipt. So somebody really did some good research on that one. And I’m sure the donation money really piles up for Easter Seals if most customers are donating their change.
Latre.
P.S. If you feel like giving today, my friend Lorrie is doing the March of Babies Walk for March of Dimes on April 26th. And Sue has issued a DonorsChoose.org challenge.
Poignant Search Term Of The Day That Led To This Blog: “friends dont’ grope friends”.
The Yellow Impurity
Posted on | March 29, 2008 at 5:45 pm | 7 Comments
Remember the discussion we had back around this post involving red light cameras? Well, there’s been a new development. According to today’s Rocky Mountain News, the city of Denver is re-evaluating their plan to install red light cameras at the four intersections. The reason, as this article says, is because an RMN investigation (good to see they share my priorities about what’s wrong with this city) revealed that the yellow lights are timed too short at those intersections. If the yellow cycle is extended, then fewer red light runners and fewer accidents are anticipated.
According to the article:
Numerous studies on red light cameras show that while they can reduce the number of more serious T-bone type crashes, they more often result in a spike in rear-end collisions. Aurora put them in two years ago and the number of tickets and accidents has gone up.
It’s interesting reading. It almost makes it sound like the city is actually perpetrating a scam on drivers by having the yellow lights set at the very minimum three second duration. I have noticed that the yellow light part of the cycle seems very short in Denver compared to Lakewood, but I just figured it was because the cycles in general were shorter. I must admit that ever since I saw the first article, I’ve been approaching that 6th & Kalamath intersection (which is on my way to work) very carefully, and have almost been rear-ended a few times by people who want to try to get through it.
The whole issue of yellow light timing never even occurred to me, even if my subconsciouses did notice the difference. Now I’m going to be real aware of that. I just hope I don’t get into an accident as I’m glancing at my stopwatch.
Latre.