Technology ?

I got some feedback that some did not see the pictures with yesterday's post. there should have been a duck photo and a hawk sitting on my pool surrond. I wonder if they don't translate if you receive it by email.

more birds:

now this is different also.. it's the old interface

There they go again....

Well, they’ve done it again. In an effort to “improve” things for improvement sake, “Blogger” the little interface Google uses to help you create your (and the Bottom Feeder) has created a new version. I already had trouble with the existing one, causing me to go “back” to Internet Explorer 8 in order to be comfortable.

So mostly I’m throwing words on paper here to “test” the new thing with the IE9 which I’ve kept on this computer (desktop vs. laptop where all the images reside).

I don’t know why you can’t just have something that works, is reliable, and just keep it. No, we have to have new buttons, formats, and screens leaving the poor user (like luddite me) to figure out how to do what you have done for years. I suppose to the twenty somethings that designed it, it’s obvious and child’s play.

I suppose I have to find a picture to test that also. How about that san diego duck?



 (five minute struggle to insert picture) and then i can add more text,, try bold, try italics, try underline and looks like they offer color among the new options.

so maybe I can get used to this if I have to..   how about another practice picture?

well, that works..

I guess I can get used to it if I have to...  Change is BAD

but one thing they can't change is my steadfast adhearence to

DFD!!

and now, holding his breath he pushed the "Publish" button...



Goings and Comings...

There’s one thing that is constant in the restaurant business. Openings and closings. It may be years, months, or days in between, but it always happens.

So it was with some regret that the rumors (you heard it here) came true and the McDonald’s near us (Millstone/235) closed on August 31st.



Whoa!! Wait a minute Mr. Bottom Feeder, you generally rail against “chains” and McDonald’s is almost the epitome of chains (with over 13,000 of them in the USA)! Well, yes, that’s true. But occasionally, when MFO and I are beat, or the weather is crap, maybe the hour is late, it was convenient for us to take the three minute drive, endure the waits, hope the drive through gets it right (remember the Joe Pesci line about the drive through in Lethal Weapon II?), but if you get the fries fresh and hot along with a quarter pounder with cheese, it isn’t too bad a stop gap.

Speaking of the drive through, a quick aside here, the last time I went there I ordered, and the faceless voice in the squawk box said: “that will be $11.73, at the first window”. Since there was a wait, and all I had were twenties, I scrambled around and found a dollar bill, and three quarters at the bottom of the console, so at the window I gave her $21.75 saying it was the best I could do. Blank stare. Sir, this is a twenty, not a ten, you gave me too much! Well, I gave you $21.75, so all you would have to do is give me a ten and two pennies. Blank stare again, and then resigned to having to deal with an idiot, she turned to her keypad and punched in the numbers. Light apparently dawned when the machine did the math for her, and she handed me a ten and two pennies. There’s another whole story here, but we’re talking openings and closings.

Anyway, back to the present, the only thing noting the closing (besides no playground, no sign, no lights, dark windows) was this sign:



At least they care about my inconvenience..

So as we segue into “comings” the new home of the quarter pounder will be in the sleek “new” design of the golden arches



I won’t say the old one had character, but it was a throwback to my youth..

Other Comings:

I guess the Texas LongHorn will join the unholy trinity already packing them in up the road, Texas's “legendary” steaks (and a “passion for grilling”). Price points generally in the low twenties for those legends in their own mind. So, I guess the beef side of things is pretty well covered, but how about fowl? While certainly available at the palaces of protein, we are informed that (with no quips about buffalos having wings. budda bang):



Of course “soon” is a relative term. As of yesterday:



So the chains continue to fulfill the seemingly insatiable local appetite of food manufactured, frozen, delivered and prepared to an exacting method specified by the corporate kitchens. We’ll see. Remember Lone Star and Damon's?

The merry go round continues…

It’s a dog eat dog… well maybe that’s not a good phrase for this subject, but there is a lot of competition for your dining dollar. And yes, the onus is upon the Indies to make people abandon the plastic stuff..


as always

DFD

Irene exits, and allowing myself a Rant

Before getting it off my chest, just a couple of closing comments on Irene, gone, but not forgotten…





Earlier in the week, I was driving one of the back streets around Town Creek, when a pickup approached, and a young man was in the bed of the truck embracing a chain saw. Attached to the driver’s door with what I would like to say was duct tape, but I’m not sure, was an obviously hand lettered sign (complete with the “plan ahead” feature) that said “(Name)’s Tree Removal Service”. It’s an ill wind….

And secondly, before going on to an honest to goodness rant, is just an observation. We usually listen to radio station WTOP for news. During hurricanes, storms, blizzards, etc., they emulate the Weather Channel posturing themselves as the center of information. They proclaim that they will “stay on top of the power companies until all power is restored”. What this actually means is that they tell (whoever has power) the amount of people who don’t. Reciting statistics that are public knowledge, they go through them: PEPCO reports 15,254 outages; BGE 8,739; SMECO 2,831; and so on. How exactly this is “staying on top of the power companies” escapes me.

Bye, Bye, Irene.. you are not welcome here ever again..

Sports Rant (mostly golf).

Alert readers will remember that I often lament the “we’re number one” mentality of the networks in their approach to sports coverage. The very first college basket ball game (of over 30) is hyped by CBS as “The Road to the Final Four”; college football rages about who is a “BCS contender”; all the sports talk shows on pro football immediately start the (off and on) season hypothesizing on who is a “playoff” caliber team. Hockey immediately starts talking about the Stanley Cup. Baseball? “the Hunt for October!”. The implied message is that the “regular season” is only a minor prelude to the “playoffs!” Never mind watching a season of good plays by talented athletes, enjoying seeing their ability (notice the on purpose avoidance of the word “athleticism”), good competition, rivalries, and so forth. It’s only about where you finish in the last game of the season.

So, it is with this background that “Golf” apparently had to climb on board. Now to me, a “playoff” is head to head competition where the winner continues, and the loser goes home. If I (or my team) beats you, you’re done. Last man/woman/team standing can then claim they are “number one”. Fair enough. But the problem with golf is that it is an individual sport. You and the course. You can only control what you do, and pretty much have no interaction or impact on your opponent. So, how in the world do you come up with a “playoff”?

The obvious answer is to (somehow) develop a match play scenario which does have a head to head format. But no. Let’s come up with a system of “points” that nobody can possibly understand, changes drastically after every tournament all year, then when the “playoffs” start everything gets reset, and nobody knows what the hell is going on. It works so well that in years past the “leader” didn’t even have to play to win. So every year they “tweak” it in an attempt to create drama. Bull Hockey. Other than the $10 million for the final winner, I don’t think the golfers give a damn. They just play until the points tell them to eventually go fishing. And now that the playoffs are being covered, I can barely stand it. The little inset that used to tell you the player, what hole he’s on and his overall score, now contains another little number that indicates his “place” in the playoff. It’s either red or green depending on if he’s above or below the number that will continue, and rockets up and down depending on what player some player does 8 holes away. Announcers struggle to explain all of this to us ignoramuses, “If things don’t change, he’ll finish 73rd, but if so and so sinks this putt, he’ll be 21st”. Projected this, projected that… What idiocy. More announcers in post game: “What do you have to do to improve your chances of the cup?”; “What was going through your mind when Ernie Els sank that putt and ….”. They just play golf. It’s just the “media” trying to make this interesting. It’s not. Junk it.

Happier thoughts from our back yard yesterday:












oh yeah,,

DFD

The "I's" had it...

As Sunday progressed into Monday and we began to get out more, everywhere we went it looked like (borrowed analogy here) the road was carved through snow banks, except they were trees. Didn’t much matter where you were, there were scenes like this:







And if you look closely you can see various lines and such under them.. As more time passed without power, we begin to adapt to the situation. Fortunately we have so-called “city water” so that wasn’t a problem, and since we did have a propane cooktop we could heat water, and of course we had ice bags for a few things. Showers sort of posed an issue, but we found out that since we didn’t use any hot water from the tank after the power outage, if you got ready, held your breath, screamed a little, soaped up, and cranked the water to full hot you could get a minute or so of warm water. By Monday evening, this technique resulted in more screaming than warm water.

Anyway as we went out Monday morning, and turned onto Millstone (main escape route from the digs) we saw the most beautiful sign in the world (besides “bathrooms, next exit”) :



Then another beautiful sight



And more



At that point we didn’t question why or how, we just were happy to see them. On one trip back to the digs, MFO was at the head of the line waiting to use the one lane open to traffic. A workman was standing there with a computer so she figured he would know, and asked the most popular question: “sooooo, when do you think we might have power?”. He replied that he “hoped” by this evening.. cautiously optimistic..

Monday evening our Rotary club held a little life rememberance for our friend and fellow Rotarian Kirk MacKinnon, and when we left for that around five, the power people were still working. When the service was over around eight or so, we grabbed some of the leftovers from the little buffet for a “dinner” at home. Tension was building the closer we got to Millstone Landing road, no power trucks in sight, and we were disappointed to see dark houses. So once again, raise the damn garage door by hand, stumble around in the house, find the candles, and I used the remaining precious ice cubes packed away to make a couple of drinks, broke out the chili con queso, seared ahi tuna, spinach dip, and sat down on the screened in porch to a little candlelight buffet of our own.



Trying to maintain a positive attitude toward SMECO and the “hopefully” statement of the guy with the computer, aided by flashlights we retired to bed, and then in the glow from the lights on the Solomon’s we drifted off to sleep..

And then, and then, sometime around 11:00 I was awakened by something, sort of lifted the lids, looked around and thought “Damn it, we left some light on” Then the brain reluctantly began to work and it hit me….Wait a minute!! Holy (expletive deleted)!! We got POWER!! And indeed we did. Clocks blinking, fans rotating, the unmistakable noise of air coming through ducting, and all the other signs of a healthy house. It was over.

And I hasten to add that although we were without power from Saturday night through Monday night, there still are many, many, people who are without electric, and some with trees in the attic. So, all we are is grateful, and hope we are joined by everyone soon..

It’s a strange thing about these situations. I’m not saying it is a benefit to have no power and trees strewn about the landscape, but somehow it induces a sense of community. With nothing much to keep you inside, you go out in the yard, actually TALK to your neighbor instead of texting them, help them pick up, sweep some and share the experience. And with no A/C and open windows, the insulation between you and the outdoors is removed and you hear things! And without cable/internet/TV you can find this thing called a book, and read it (maybe by candlelight). Or just talk between you. While there is no doubt that our “modern conveniences” makes one more comfortable, there are things that shouldn’t change regardless of the weather.

So, Irene has gone away, but she left an indelible mark on lives and property, and a reminder of the tremendous power of nature. We are nothing.

We wish the best to those who are still in distress, and tomorrow will begin looking forward instead of backward. There are some notable food things to relate. And a new drive to

DFD

If you see this today (Friday) don’t forget Leonardtown will continue the First Friday tradition tonight. MFO and I are planning on attending.