I'm Rooting For Ya!

I have been remiss in finalizing my list of goals for 2009. How are you all doing on yours?

The big ones for me this year are:

Fluency in Spanish - It's so overdue!
Expanding my business - I made this year's goal for my business before the real estate bubble burst, I'm hoping an uptick is around the corner ...
Elevating my cooking game - I talk a big game but I have miles to go
Staying fully employed - A good one for us all I think

Of last years goals, I'm proudest of the fact that I've been "tobacco" free for a whole year. :-) It was a lot easier to do than I imagined.

Have an awesome and safe time tonight. I'm rooting for all of you to do big things in the coming year.

The Take All Guns Away From White People Program

Andrew Sullivan is asking folks to vote for the year's "best" examples of various types of political discourse. For example, you can vote for the Hewitt Award:

The Hewitt Award - named after the absurd partisan fanatic, Hugh Hewitt, is given for the most egregious attempts to label Barack Obama as un-American, alien, treasonous, and far out of the mainstream of American life and politics.

One of the nominees for the Hewitt Award is Steven Calabresi, Law Professor at the Northwestern School of Law, who published this in the Wall Street Journal:

"If Mr. Obama wins we could possibly see any or all of the following: a federal constitutional right to welfare; a federal constitutional mandate of affirmative action wherever there are racial disparities, without regard to proof of discriminatory intent; a right for government-financed abortions through the third trimester of pregnancy; the abolition of capital punishment and the mass freeing of criminal defendants; ruinous shareholder suits against corporate officers and directors; and approval of huge punitive damage awards, like those imposed against tobacco companies, against many legitimate businesses such as those selling fattening food,"

Another award being voted on is the Malkin Award:

The Malkin Award - named after blogger, Michelle Malkin - is for shrill, hyperbolic, divisive and intemperate right-wing rhetoric. Ann Coulter is ineligible - to give others a chance.

In contention for the Malkin Award is Michael Barone, a political commentator and regular contributor to US News & World Report, and Fox News. His gem of an entry below:

"The liberal media attacked Sarah Palin because she did not abort her Down syndrome baby. They wanted her to kill that child ... I'm talking about my media colleagues with whom I've worked for 35 years,"

Vote and reminisce. And because parody and satire do it best, after voting, re-watch this gem:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

One Day Batteries Will Rule The World

This weatherproof, solar powered battery charger by Energizer is so logical it's a wonder it's even being built. Perfect for camping and sunny locales. If you live in Seattle, you can juice it up the old fashion way. Not sure when these will be available.

Virtual Calling Card - Cool!

Needing to call a friend in Paris but not having a land line, I figured I'd buy a calling card and dial them that way. A little googling, however, led me to a much cooler and easier solution. Instead of buying a calling card at my corner bodega, an Acapulco perhaps, and going through the hassle of dialing an 800 number, entering a long PIN, then placing the call, I found a calling service called Rebtel that operates by converting long distance numbers into local numbers. The idea is that with a local number you'll be able to dial from your mobile phone (or any phone for that matter) without getting socked with huge long distance fees.

It works like this. Once you create an account at Rebtel, you enter the foreign number you wish to call - which can be a landline or mobile number - and give it a name, "friend in Paris, for example. Rebtel then supplies you with a local number, in my case, a "646" area code, that is linked behind the scenes to the foreign number you provided. Once the local number is created for you, you add a few bucks to your account with Rebtel - I added $10 - and you can start making calls. There are no long pin numbers or 800 numbers to dial, and there are no connection fees or monthly service fees; just dial the local number and you are connected to your party abroad at extremely low rates. A 32 minute call to France cost me $.31 - about a penny a minute. As soon as you complete a call your account page on their website is updated to show the length of the call and the amount deducted from your balance.

The local number that has been created for you does not expire unless you delete it from your account or it becomes inactive for a lengthy period of time; if you call the number with any frequency (once a month?), it becomes, in essence, a permanent number. Call quality is excellent and calls are placed instantly. With bargain rates to countries across the world, this strikes me as a killer retooling of an old idea; the calling card made virtual and better.

Highly recommended.

So Fresh And So Clean

You know, if you can't afford the yellow and purple Hyperdunks all cash, you shouldn't get them!!!!! Layaway, now offered by Foot Locker. Sigh.

Skillz, He Has Them

Run Fat Boy Run

12 years ago today I ran in my first Turkey Trot in Buffalo, NY. The Buffalo - Niagara Turkey Trot is an 8k race down Delaware Ave ending in downtown Buffalo. Though I've lost most of my cold weather cred over the years I figured it was time for another go - so here we go:

The oldest continuously run road race in North America; this year was the 113th running.

A pre-race pose - no smiling, I'm in race mode. Cold weather running required compression pants, two dry fit tops, gloves, hat, and a fleece vest. I think the crosses on the wall were giving me that ethereal glow :-)

A quick stop at the loo before the run

Raring to go

And we're off - note that the clock already shows 4:11 (more on that below).

Through the Delaware Ave s-turns

Fast forward a bit. Getting close to the end now. Buffalo City Hall - one of Buffalo's (many) architectural gems.

Crossing the finish line - if you got sick from the handheld camera action in the movie Cloverfield, you might want to skip this.

How'd I do? Unfortunately, and I mean infuriatingly, my race chip did not register my time. Major bummer. Each runner is given a chip which is supposed to automatically register your time starting when you cross the start line and ending when you cross the finish line. A website posts the results automatically but for some reason my name isn't posted. I wasn't wearing a watch to time myself so I have to approximate. My starting time as noted above was 4:11, and my finishing time (barely visible in the video) was 48:30 resulting in an approximate net time of 44:19. Per mapmyrun.com, my average pace was 8:29/mile, my average speed was 7.07 mph, and I burned 784 calories. Not enough to offset the damage I'm about to do to the Thanksgiving Feast my mom has prepared but it should cover the first half hour or so!

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Weekends; All I Do Is Eat

I also saw two movies :-)

Friday: Two pints into our Friday night and wanting a burger, we chose Rare over Keens. Both make great burgers and are similarly priced but Rare won out for variety. Rare's burger menu features between 7-10 burgers. From the Classic burger for a very reasonable $9, to the luxurious Kobe burger for $22, to every variety in between including the Mexican, a Bison burger, a Chicken burger, and the Murray's cheese of the month burger, I've tried most and have always been satisfied. A shared order of shoe string fries and we left pretty happy. The biggest drawback to Rare is its pedestrian, bottle only, beer offering. I chose a Newcastle. Rare is located in the Shelburne Hotel at 37th and Lex. Keens, located on 36th Street between 5th and 6th, is also highly recommended.

Saturday: I've been lucky a few times to eat at great restaurants where friends worked or cooked. Friends of the house really are treated better. From off menu dishes to free and off priced offerings, the experience usually is gut busting and utterly enjoyable. So it was Saturday night at Hibino, a Japanese restaurant in Cobble Hill that a Japanese friend advised me was where the Japanese ate in Brooklyn. With her as my guide and inside connection, we enjoyed the unique offerings of the house. Hibino is known for its Obanzai, Kyoto style Japanese tapas that change daily. Saturday night's offerings included Soy Marinated Grilled Pork Spare Rib, Rice Croquette with Salmon and Shiso Leaf served with QP Mayo, Simmered Atsuage (Fried Thick Tofu) and Nanohana Broccoli Rabe, and Grilled Zucchini served with Special Miso Sauce. These tasty dishes cost a mere $4 each. Depending on how late you dine, some or all of these might be sold out - being insiders, however, a full set was saved for us. Un-ordered but welcomed by us was Beef Kakuni, a slow braised beef entree marinated in soy broth with Daikon and Scallion. Though we were both pretty full, the food kept coming, next a crispy oyster roll followed by pressed Spanish Mackerel sushi. Hibini's Sake list is apparently quite good - we let the chef guide us and did not have any problems polishing off the off-menu bottle he chose for us. Our bill wasn't really reflective of everything we enjoyed that night but because the Obanzai are so reasonably priced (and not that small), I think a very satisfying meal for two with liquor could be had for $75 or so, tip included. Hibino is located on Henry Street between Atlantic and Pacific streets. Go, enjoy!

Sunday: Trab's review on my mind and finding myself in Fort Greene Sunday morning, I happily snagged a pre-rush brunch table at Olea. I make a decent brunch at home most weekends but I don't make homemade chocolate croissants, perfectly warm and gooey, which is what we started with Sunday - Olea 1, Big D 0. For my main I chose the aptly named Green eggs and lamb, cilantro infused eggs served with lamb sausage, mixed green salad, home fries, and warm pita triangles. From omelets to french toast, I can't imagine not enjoying any of the dozen or so offerings in this rustic and charming gem. Brunch for two came to $35 including tip and was worth every penny.

Basic Rules

I'm often asked for advice on buying computers. This was a recent response by me to such a request and it sums up my philosophy pretty succinctly (applicable for most folks who don't have special computing needs):

Basic rules.

Computers are "disposable." By limiting yourself to $500-$600, you can replace them every three years or so and get a new much better one each time (as opposed to spending $1500 and realizing it's outdated in a year or two).

With laptops, bigger is usually cheaper. 15 inch is cheaper than 14 inch which are cheaper than 13 inch. I'd shoot for a 15 incher to get the best deal unless you'll be travelling a lot and need more portability.

Stick to Intel Pentium processors (vs AMD). There's an entry level Intel processor called "Celeron" but avoid that. It's old and slow.

In the Pentium hierarchy, the one to shoot for is "Core 2 Duo" - don't be confused by the "Dual Core" which is one step below the Core 2 Duo. The speed will range from 2ghz to 2.5 ghz. As long as its a Core 2 Duo, you can go for the cheapest one (ie, the slowest ghz).

You should have at least 2 gigs of ram, and 250 gig hard drive.

I personally would upgrade to N speed wireless. Most cheap laptops come with G speed wireless cards but since you live in a multi story house the N will give you much better performance. This is about a $30-$50 upgrade. Well worth it. To use the wireless in your laptop you'll need a wireless router. N routers are now on sale for between $50 and $75. The router is a one time purchase that should last you through your next several computers.

All other specs are pretty much irrelevant (meaning the minimum ones are fine).

Iron Chef Brooklyn - Battle Cheddar

Vaporware is a term used to describe software or technology that has been announced or rumored, but which does not actually exist, or which skeptics doubt could deliver what is promised even if it existed. My cooking has been something like vaporware; rumored to exist but with few eye - or taste bud - witnesses.

These doubts are perhaps what prompted me to accept a challenge to participate in a game of Iron Chef with some friends in Brooklyn. A few weeks ago I was asked to be a judge in the first battle - Battle Shrimp - and a fun time was had by all. When asked to participate more directly as a competitor I figured it was time lift the veil and put myself to the test. My partner in this battle was Cybele, a writer, and kitchen wizard who I once represented in a real estate transaction. Our competitors were Sherri and Becky, winners of Battle Shrimp. The preselected theme of this battle was Cheddar cheese (not ideal for someone lactose intolerant like me, but no one promised war would be easy). Since the battle takes place in an apartment with only one kitchen both teams cannot cook simultaneously. Our competitors spent one hour of their two hour time limit prepping and planning. My team followed but used our entire two hour allotment to prep, cook, and serve our dishes. Once we finished serving and cleaning, the second team used their final hour to complete and serve their dishes. Like the television show, dishes are judged on presentation, originality, and taste with a maximum score of 20 points per dish. The non-cooking team takes notes on the comments made by the judges, but cannot comment or judge.

Each team had the option of preparing three or four dishes, we chose to make three. There is a budget though its probably more of a guideline than an absolute limitation. After sharing ideas Cybele and I realized our dishes would have an international flare so we made "internationalism" our theme.

Our first dish was Käsespätzle with Buttermilk-dressed Salad - what I describe as a German take on mac and cheese (and a new favorite of mine):


Our second dish was a Cheddar Apple "Danish" with Powdered Confectioners Sugar (though more like a desert, cooking logistics led us to serve this second, a decision which baffled the judges but which they told us also worked to our favor - more on that in a bit)(btw, this photo does the dish no justice):


Our final dish was Papas Rellenas with a Black Bean Salsa and Cheddar Jalapeño Sauce. The papas were filled with a Panchetta and Shitake mushroom. The judges told us that ending with this dish served us well (with all modesty I must report that this dish was judged the day's best):


Despite the success of our dishes, we lost to Becky and Sherri by one tenth of a point!! The closest battle in Iron Chef Brooklyn history (and hard to imagine how it could ever be closer). Truthfully, as the photos that follow will attest, Cybele and I were surprised to have mounted such a close challenge. Becky and Sherri are no joke!

Their first dish was a New York State Cheddar-Bacon-Chive Soufflé - that's right, a soufflé!!!


Their second dish, a Welsh Rarebit made with Irish Cheddar and Stout. I didn't know what a Rarebit was but it was good!


Third was Grafton Cheddar Truffled Cheeseburgers on Brioche with Green-Chile Mac and Cheese. Are you getting the picture yet? Sherri and Becky's dishes were mutli-faceted, well thought out, and looked and tasted great.



Finally, for desert, they served Carmar Cheddar Profiteroles served with an Apple Cider Reduction.


Despite all the hard work, it was a fun day for everyone. Great food, plenty of drink, and the judge's contemporaneous comments, read after the battle is finished, provide loads of laughs. Since Cybele and I lost we'll be judges in the third battle, date and secret ingredient to be determined. Until then I think I'll be taking a hiatus from Cheddar - I've had my quota for 2008.

Reach Out And Touch ...

I saw photographer Richard Renaldi's work highlighted on Andrew Sullivan's blog. In this project, he asked strangers to pose while "touching." Some people apparently felt more comfortable with this than others. I love it. On his site you can find other standout work.

A Young Rakim Movin' The Crowd

Posted Without Comment

Thank You!

Honor those who serve, past and present. In my family:

• Abby Iñesta (Army) - RIP
• Alfonso Iñesta (Coast Guard)
• Maria Moreno (Coast Guard)
  
• Dennis Brioso (Navy)
• Makiko Brioso (Army)

Life And Times

Long weekend, here's what I did:

• Thursday: Despite the raves it's earned, I've never been willing to stand in line for a Shake Shack burger, however, I was walking by Madison Sq. Park with a friend Thursday evening when we both noticed the line was only about 5 people long! Holla. Like many before me I'll confirm, that's a tasty burger (which I washed down with a Shack Shack Ale - meh). It was warm enough to eat outside which was nice except for the fact that there's a slight rodent problem in Madison Sq. Park. After a couple rounds at Taj in the Flatiron District we headed to West 8th and McDougal to the subterranean, cave themed club - Club Love - where wouldn't you know it but the Tortured Soul boys just happened to be playing. I haven't been out that late on a week night in a while. Fun.
  
  
• Friday: I headed to Carroll Gardens Friday night to try the much raved about brick oven pizza and calzone destination, Lucali. I knew waits here were long but unlike any other restaurant I can think of, they take your number when adding you to the wait list allowing you to entertain yourself elsewhere until your table is ready. We walked to the Brooklyn Social on Smith Street. The Social is located in a space formerly occupied by a members only social club and tries hard to retain an old school flare. From the jukebox to the barkeep, everything intentionally evoked an earlier era. I didn't find it particularly appealing but they did have Six Points Hop Obama on tap which was enough to keep us happy until Lucali called. It's a testament to a restaurant that hour long waits can be deemed worth it. So it was for Lucali. The charming dining room was dimly lit and casually romantic. The menu consists of two items, pizza and calzones. A dozen or so toppings are available for each. We had basil, portobello mushroom and onions on our pizza, pepperoni and peppers in our calzone. As delicious as it all was, particularly the calzone which was the best I've ever had, it was simply too much food for two. I can't recommend this place highly enough. Cash only and BYOB. (Corner of Carroll and Henry)
  
  
• Saturday: Thanks to the generosity of my boy Kurt Emhoff a good friend, I found myself ringside for the Roy Jones/Joe Calzaghe fight at Madison Sq. Garden Saturday night. (Crappy camera phone shot but great seats!!!) Calzaghe, a resident of Wales, was supported by thousands of fans who had flown in for the fight. Their energy was incredible. Aside from the roar of the Calzaghe fans the highlight of the night might have been running into an apparently drunk Danny Devito near the restroom and overhearing a British fan exclaiming "oh my god, I knew he was short but I didn't think he was that short!"
  

And Turn Your Phones Off Too

Hail To The Chief

A Sober Look Back At The Campaign

Syke!!! Here are some campaign photoshops from Fark.

Respect Your Elders, Even The Painfully Slow Ones

Got to my polling place - conveniently located across the street from my house - at 5:59 in the hopes of avoiding a long wait. I was 10th in line. My hopes of a quick in and out, however, were rapidly dashed. The seniors running my polling place were a bit disorganized, probrecitos. The simple task of looking up names in the district book took frustratingly long, a committee of elders seemingly needed to confer on each name. The grumbling of discontent grew in tandem with the length of the line behind me. About thirty minutes after arriving, civic duty complete, I walked out (skipped?) past a line of about 100, many looking at me with a hint of envy and chagrin.

For The Win!!!

Cell Division + 1

RIP. Though referred in the media as a "two headed boy", these boys - given the single name "Kiron" by their parents - are in fact Siamese Twins. For such a strange sight, this is a remarkably peaceful photo.

All Election All The Time

• Check on your voting registration status here.
  
  
• 
  
  
• Right wing blogs are convinced Joe Biden embarrassed himself in this interview. Some argue Biden is a gaffe prone fool hardly more qualified than Palin to be Vice President. I think he showed remarkable restraint in the face of blatant gotcha journalism.
  
  
  
  
  
• Self hating, all of them
  
  
• This kid cracks me up:
  
  
  
  
  

Main Street & God's Country

The right deserves the backlash it's receiving for trying to claim the mantle of real America; of decency, honor, and patriotism. As if party affiliation and zip code are reliable indicators of one's values or character. This type of demagoguery has been a productive election season tool for the right for many decades but times have changed and it's clear the returns are diminishing. The Daily show exploits the BS of it all in this clip about Main Street, Wasila, Alaska.

It Has Begun

This is a screen shot from inside the game "Burnout Paradise." If you play games like these, you'll notice plenty of sponsored ads from snack and drink companies in the form of billboards, vending machines, stadium signs, etc. Contemporaneous real time advertising, however, is a whole new ball game (possible only when your console is connected to the internet - which for most people is always). When reading about this a couple of years ago the idea was to advertise new and upcoming movies, music, and games. There was also talk about location specific advertising; perhaps a timely billboard ad from your local Dominos Pizza franchise, for example. Considering the fact that adults, young and not so young, make up such a large part of the gaming community, I guess political ads are a logical extension of the idea though it's hard to imagine anybody other than Barack having the cash for such niche advertising.

I'm Stunned

As much as I've rejected the right's flimsy attempts to link Obama to domestic terrorism, I have to admit, this link to the Weather Underground is hard to ignore.

Puns, I Like Them

This porta potty in midtown caught my eye - perhaps it jogged my thoughts on our economy. In any event, I thought the name of the company was brilliant. Only so many (tasteful) ways to make a company in the poo business stand out.

A Few Things

It's been a while so here goes:

• Did you know that the economic crisis is the fault of Niggers and Spics (capitalized out of respect)? Me neither. Sure, we all know these groups are often the root of problems that face America, whether it be overly exposed underwear or the loss of gardening jobs for White men, but in matters involving Wall Street, it's an American tradition to blame the Jews. Nonetheless several prominent voices are now telling us that a substantial portion of the blame for our current economic malaise can in fact, be laid on the backs, ashy or wet - take your preference - of the Niggers and Spics. They call it the diversity recession and instead placing blame on (a) the wall street geniuses who got richer than most of us can even imagine pedaling spectacularly risky financial products such as credit debt-swaps and derivatives, (b) the wall street financed lobbying firms that convinced (bribed?) ratings agencies and Fannie and Freddie to lower their risk criteria, or (c) simple old fashioned greed by an industry where folks named Leon and Jose have enough power to misplace your mail but not much more than that, instead of all that, our economy is imploding because the government made banks start loaning to Niggers and Spics. I love when complicated things are simplified for me. Speaking of simple, did you know?:
  

  ... whites (non-minorities) received 72.5% of subprime mortgages. Blacks got 16.2% of subprime mortgages, which isn’t all that different from the 12.4% of the general population that blacks comprise. The Hispanics about ... 6.2% of subprime mortgages, significantly less than their 14.8% of the general population

  I suspect the liberal media for these unhelpful facts.

• Bloomberg wants to do an end run around the term limits law by having the city council revoke the voter mandated law. Lot's of big players in the New York power scene are all for it: we're doomed without his vast financial expertise, say the the Wall Street titans who got us into this mess ...

• This article attempts to justify the practice of churches blessing pets but I still think it's stupid. I'd like to bring my Xbox 360 in for a blessing, as I've discussed in the past, the shit's got the devil in it.
  
  
• I just lost my fantasy football game by .03 points. I'm bringing my laptop to church dammit.
  
  
• Some say Track Palin, the recently deployed to Iraq son of Sarah, chose the Army when faced with jail time for a drug offense. I don't know if this is true, but I wanted to experience the fun of saying misleading shit to taint the character of a political candidate. Here's a picture of Sarah "Barracuda" Palin with her other son, Branch. I feel bad for the Palin kids not being exploited by their mom in this election, they must feel so unloved.
  
  

Bible Spice

Just Say No, Seriously

Amy Winehouse, like a fine wine rotting corpse, aged four years

Embrace It Obama!

It's Not Lying, It's Fine Print

This product doesn't quite measure up to its advertising:

Modern Art Blows

This is an actual police sketch of a suspect in a kidnapping. The absurdity of this sketch overshadows some other crazy facts about this case. Namely, the 300 pound victim who said he was kidnapped by a 5' 5" assailant.