If I Had Hair????

With my new frames??

This is Gordon Freeman, the protagonist of the greatest computer game series Half Life. Due to an offhand comment by my boss, I've felt compeled to replay Half Life 2 the past few weeks. It's been 4 years since I first played it and it's still awesome.

Ways to Make Me Feel Better About Myself

I don't claim to be the neatest person in the world. In fact my nature leans a bit towards the slovenly. So when I saw this on Black Beard's website, it made be feel good about myself.

Not only does it make me feel better about my self as a "house keeper" but also in that my interests are more than the narrow band of cigarettes and fast food.

I'm Guessing Obama Supporters Like A Little Cream In Their Coffee

While surfing Amazon for new coffee to try, I stumbled across Coffee People's Obama Blend. I guess it's a big seller since it won't ship for 4-5 weeks. So I guess they're hedging their bets to make sure he actually is elected.

Farmers Fight! And Fling Poopy

clipped from hosted.ap.org 2 Iraqi researchers sue Texas A&M, alleging bias HOUSTON (AP) -- Two former Texas A&M University researchers allege colleagues threw animal feces and urine on their prayer rug and routinely mocked and mistreated them because they are Muslims from Iraq, according to a federal lawsuit.

I Used To Look Like My Avatar

Not that I'm going out of the country any time soon, but I checked my passport to see when it expires (2010, thank you). I could help but be amused by how much I looked like my avatar. All I needed was a snarky tshirt.

Luckily, these days I'm all about the fashionista "Hipster-Terrorist" frames.

The Honeycrisps Are Here!!!!

Yet another reason why Fall is my favorite season.

Another Political Giggle

Exciting and Nerd aka The Self-Love Boat

Please, No Crack at The Barley House

Not pictured is that this guy was drinking red win. Who knew plumbers were wine drinkers??

Shitty Ending to a Day

I can't say I had "One of those days", but I did have "One of those evenings".

It all kinda started last week when I was moved from my nice private cube into a shared office. It's not the sharing I'm against. Although I'm an only child and thus hate to share. It's more like little things that used to work don't quite anymore.

In my cube I had an "ergonomic" desk that had holes for mice and other cables. Not so in the new office. My mouse only reaches halfway across my desk. So my "window of mousing" is very small.

But most importantly the LAN connection in my new office is as slow as my old CompuServe account. For a couple of days I thought I had fucked up and somehow made the application I'm working on dog slow (which makes no sense since dogs are fast).

Well this all leads up to the end of today. Occasionally we send people out to collect data and upload it to our server. I have a small app that fires off that takes that uploaded data and pushes into our database.

But not quite today.

First, the geniuses in IT think we should change our passwords every 15 minutes. So, the scheduled task on the server didn't fire because the password I used to schedule the task was no longer valid.

Ok, that's easily fixed -- but wait. My coworker changed one of the tables I push the data into.

Ok, I'll recompile and try again. But wait, part of my app moves the uploaded file from one server to another. I need to copy it back. Except that with my slow connection it took 2 minutes to copy a 2M file.

Well after trying to figure everything out and nothing working it 6:30pm and I decided to give up, go home and then go play some Ultimate.

Except that my 1yo Xterra decided that today would be the day it would teach me how to change one of it's tires. As I pull out of my parking spot, I hear and feel the tell-tale rumbling of a flat tire. So I spend the next 15 minutes 1) searching for my tire changing tools 2) figuring out how to disengage my spare from my car frame.

Eventually I got it all figured out and after about 45 minutes I got rolling home.

Now I'm tired and am going to the Barley House for many beers.

Seth McFarlance's Cavalcade of Family Guy Cutaway Rejects

Somehow this flew under my radar. But Seth McFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy is finally out. Here, try some:

UPDATE: I removed the player since it always ran and that's just fucking annoying. You can now see it here.


I love the Family Guy. It's probably the funniest show on TV. But this is not funny. They appear to be Family Guy cutaways that didn't quite make the cut.

Dang. I Guess I Really Do Live In A Red State

clipped from www.seriouseats.com

Random Central Market Purchase of the Week

Back in my college days, one of my best friends went to UT (oh, excuse me t.u.). So there were many late nites spent stuffing my drunken face with buttermilk pancakes at Kerbey Lane. And I was delighted to see that I can have that same experience in the comfort of my home.

I whipped them up one morning. But I have to admit, they lose a little from not spending the night at Scholz's or the Cedar Door.

Now if we can only get an Amy's Ice Cream up here.......

The Infinite Talent of Tina Fey

Sure, she's a dead ringer for Sarah Palin. But in only two weeks she's been able to to get down her voice and mannerisms.



And in other SNL videos. I may be the only one that liked this. But I loved Andy Samburg's sendup of nerd rockers like Dream Theater, Rush, Muse. And of course the cameo of the Old School Galactica.

Fall Is Here!!!!

Thank you Ike for blowing out the summer weather and leaving us with our first full week of fall temperatures according to forecasts. Although, I guess, as a quasi-anthropogenic global warming denier, I'm not supposed to believe any weather forecasts.

Yeah, but still. Enjoy the new banner.

The Fall Autumn of Steve is finally here!!

Cool Pic of the Day: Large Hadron Collider

This ominous beast has begun smashing protons together in hopes of discovering what happened during the first few picoseconds of the universe. Or maybe it will create a black hole (with apologies to John Wiley Price) that will swallow up the earth and kill us all. If you're worried about such an occurrence, please consult this website to find out: "Has the Large Hadron Collider Destroyed the World Yet?"

Eating Lake Highlands: Bonnie Ruth's Cafe and Catering

I have to admit, this place looked a little frilly on the outside. I was afraid that I was going to be surrounded by members of The Greater Casa Linda Knitting Bee Brigade. My fears were quickly squelched and this place, simply put, was a delight.

The place is very small with only about 6-8 tables. But it has a full beer, wine and booze service. So what's not to like?

A small loaf of rosemary infused bread was presented as our meals were being prepared. On a slight down note, pre-packaged pats of butter were served with the bread -- a minor annoyance. I would have expected some kind of specialty butter.

I ordered, and luckily was served, a grilled sirloin with Bearnaise along with mashed potatoes and balsamic-ed up green beans. The meat was perfectly cooked and tender and went perfectly with the Bearnaise. The mashed potatoes were tasty, but a bit runny. The beans were also very good with a nice balsamic twang.

Balsamic seems to be the signature flavor here as my dining companion had some creamy tomato fettuccine in which the fresh tomatoes were so infused with balsamic vinegar that the dish was to sour to be finished.

The place recovered nicely with a slice of fresh, moist carrot cake. This is probably my most favorite cake in the world and this was a good example of it. Although it did not quite reach the heights of the carrot cake at Truluck's.

Overall this is a nice neighborhood restaurant for when you want something good but not the same old thing.


B+
1152 N. Buckner Blvd, Dallas, TX. 75218

Kids Say The Darndest Things

While staring longingly into the beer case at Central Market, looking for a strong Belgian to help me pass out, I overheard someone in a gaggle of SMU kids say:

"Well, you can never go wrong with Heineken!"

I would have directed them to my Top 10 Beer List, but I was too busy laughing hysterically.