Photos and Food

We spent yesterday doing what could have easily become disastrous but turned out to be quite enjoyable. We packed up the 2 preschoolers and the newborn and went and had our photos taken for a family portrait sitting with Huebinger Studios. Amazingly I think it actually went pretty well and Heather will get to see some proofs as early as Tuesday morning. I am positive that Stephanie was able to get a couple of decent shots as she is always able to work magic. She is not only a business person that I respect but someone that I have had the pleasure of socializing with in the past.

After the session she recommended a restaurant for us to try and I am pleased to report that it was everything she promised it to be. I am pretty particular about my Tex-Mex food and The Morelia Grill in Round Rock was up to par with my favorite spot in Cedar Park. The test for me is always the ingredients in the Chimichanga and here they didn't disappoint with copious amounts of grilled chicken and cheese lovingly wrapped in a large flour tortilla and then deep-fried. It is then served smothered in a chili-con-queso (mmmm - more cheese) with a pico de gallo and guacamole saled and rice and beans on the side for ~$9. Nothing ticks me off more that to be served rice and beans on the plate and also discover the inexpensive filler included in the Chimi but that did not occur here and I was very pleased with the overall dish. Wife ordered some kind of enchiladas with a cream sauce and pretty much licked her plate and even the kids both said it was "Yummy!"

Will post a low res copy of the photos we end up with for friends and family either here or on FB. Got to run for now. God Bless.

I'm back...

After what seems like several months of creating a new master bath and bedroom space as well as remodeling the old bedroom to be the nursery/office for the new baby due to arrive any day now, I am finally back at the computer.

More to come but for now, here is a quite powerful video message regarding social media...

Sympathetic P.I.S.S. suffering...

So along with sympathetic weight gain, apparently I too get to suffer from P.I.S.S. (see video below). Went to giant home store with a list of three items in my head to get. I came home with only two from the list and 3 completely unrelated items. I am telling myself that this is only a temporary condition and that it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I have officially crossed into the dreaded "middle age".

The Doomed Ship Steve Irwin

I am fascinated by this show. On the one hand, I applaud the singular efforts of Paul Watson and his 30+ year crusade to stop what he believes to be criminal activity. Whether or not you agree with this premise, you have to admire the tenacity and dedication that he has exhibited to his cause. On the other hand I can't help but be amazed at the complete idiocy of the people that he surrounds himself with.

I know, I know... they are a volunteer crew and you get what you pay for but come on people! I fearfully anticipate hearing that the Sea Shepherd's flag ship, the Steve Irwin, will soon be lost at sea with all hands but in the meantime, I find myself watching the show like the proverbial car crash that you just can't look away from.

Storytime @ the library

Big Brother at the supermarket...

For a few years in the early part of this century, I found myself banished to the DFW metroplex and whilst living there, I was subjected to the supermarket game of having all these "Bonus Savings" cards that each store offered. At the time I found the practice very uncomfortable and had pretty much boycotted the practice by finding a neighborhood Ole Foods that I shopped at for really well priced produce and used Walmart for everything else. After moving back to the Austin Metro, I once again had access to HEB as well as Walmart so I really stopped thinking about it... until last week.

I was at the video store when I decided that it would be just so much more convenient to run into the adjacent Randalls to pick up a 12-pack of Coke that my pregnant wife was having a craving for. Imagine my dismay when I discovered at the register that since I didn't carry a Randall's card, and I couldn't remember the phone number associated with our account from when I lived in Plano, I was to be charged an additional 33.33% or $5.99 vs $3.99 (and even more if you count the 5 "free" vitamin waters included if you bought 2 offer) for a 12-pack of 12oz cans of Coke for the "convenience" of shopping at that store. Now let me remind you that I had been out running errands for a few hours and my very pregnant wife's last words before I left were...


"Be sure you don't forget some Cokes" which actually means... "Do not come home without Cokes!"



Well heck, I might as well complain at customer service to see if they could remedy the situation but as soon as I walked up, the clerk walked off and after waiting for a couple of minutes I decided it wasn't worth my time.

Long story short... these guys have it right...



let's all rise up and say NO to this shameless invasion of our privacy. Demand that they end price gouging and call it offering a discount!



Now add to this controversy the idea of RFID and you really should start to be concerned... Check out this from CASPIAN

Pet Peeve...

Wow how the time flies. I really have meant to be more diligent in updating this but life has a funny way of getting in the way. I have many topics jarring around in my head so this will probably end up being like a pressure relief valve and I will post until the voices quiet down and then take a break and then when they start up again, I will too.

There has been something that has been bugging me for years that occurs at many restaurants around town. It occurs in fast food places as often as upscale or fine dining establishments equally. I blame the culinary arts school for instilling a need in new chefs to make their plates look cool or pretty or different, etc...

Ok, here it is...

When you are served a salad, everything in the bowl needs to be in edible form and equally distributed! I should not have to remove things to further cut them down to size, I shouldn't have to take a pile of oh, lets say cheese, from one side of the bowl and sprinkle it around the rest of the bowl with my fingers and a fork. I shouldn't have to fish out and then cut down tomatoes, cucumbers, or anything else.

Recently I was at a place that shall remain unnamed for the time being that insisted on serving me wedges of tomatoes that were 1/4 of a whole tomato. I have a pretty large oral capacity for food as my wife and others can attest and yet I found these monster wedges to be ridiculous. If you ever have tried cutting a tomato wedge in a inherently unstable bed of lettuce with a plastic knife you know what happened next.

Having been in the "business" in various capacities from busboy to general manager, I know the drill when it comes to prep standards and serving specifications. It isn't the poor pimply faced kid behind the counter's fault - they are usually just doing what they are told to do. I blame the idiot in charge who thinks it's more important to have the food look pretty than be conveniently edible.

More on swine flu... whoops... Infuenza A/H1N1

As a follow up to yesterday, I know that there will be many people who will wonder if they are coming down with the dreaded pig/swine flu now known as Influenza A/H1N1. One of my facebook friends was kind enough to post a link to this very important website to answer your questions...

Do I have Pig/Swine Flu?

Be sure to have all relevant information ready before clicking on the link because the answer can be somewhat complex.

Good Day.

Laziness caused by Swine Flu???

Ok, I know it has been a while but things are starting to get a bit nuts what with the impending birth of baby #3 that is requiring a major remodeling project to get done, daughter's gymnastics class, son's t-ball practice and games. That said, I think it is really because I have developed a really bad case of laziness lately. I just can't get into all the work that needs to be done. I know it needs doing, I feel great when things get done, yet I still can't seem to get my fat lazy ass off the recliner and just do them. I know I am really gonna regret not getting more done this spring when it turns 100+ degrees this summer.

All of that brings me to the topic of the day, week, etc... Swine flu. I just heard Ft. Worth schools are closed for 2 weeks, our local schools have canceled all extra activities. There is a definitive note of panic in the air. Why is it that the nation will panic and not leave their houses over a handful of deaths due to a virus yet has no problem getting on the highways and driving over 3 trillion miles and getting into accidents that killed over 40 THOUSAND people in 2007 alone?(ref NTHSC)

And why is everyone wearing surgical masks? The only people that should be wearing surgical masks are surgeons while in surgery or anyone that has symptoms of the flu. If you have symptoms of the flu, you should STAY HOME! If bad enough, go to the hospital (you can wear your mask for this trip). Oh yeah, big thanks to Barack Obama last night... I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was such a big relief to hear the leader of the free world remind everyone to WASH YOUR HANDS!

Well, it's time to get ready to go to my son's t-ball practice. Maybe we should stop and get some surgical masks, you know... just in case?

Tax Day 2009

I have only two words about this day...

FAIR TAX!

Genesis - An apology

First and foremost, let me start out this endeavor with an apology. Yes, that's right... an apology. For all of those unsuspecting readers who's feelings get hurt either inadvertently or purposefully, I wish to preemptively offer my deepest heartfelt apologies.

I have decided to embark upon this whole "blogging" effort for the primary purpose of having a safe outlet for my tirades about the many things in life that I find irk me, cause me consternation, or just flat out piss me off. My wonderfully patient spouse has heard many of my rants already and when I light back into some of the more repeated subjects, she just tends to roll her eyes and tune me out. I understand this to be her defense mechanism and she really has no interest in debating the finer points of how miserable a specific restaurant has become or how blatantly corrupt some local official has behaved, or even how magnificently the latest special effects were integrated into the new action movie. She doesn't care how automotive engineers have joined with the ASE Institute in a secret cabal to prevent people from performing their own simple automotive repairs or maintenance, etc... I think you get the drift.

My goal is not to let this spiral into an endless spout of negativity and rage because that wouldn't be very entertaining to read but rather to use this platform to discuss the sublime to the ridiculous, the fair and the foul, the... well I think you get the drift. That disclaimer stated, I am sure that there will be some who find what I may or may not say offensive to some degree. While I am happy to apologize to any I truly hurt; for all of the others I say... that's life - Get over it.