Just had the best dessert at Applebee’s for only one dollar! A tiny warm brownie with a small scoop of ice cream. It was delicious!!! And did I say it was only $1?

Not the best photo, but the flash was too bright and it was kinda dim (this photo) without it, it was even better than it looked!

I guess they’ve only been doing this Brownie Bites deal until 4 PM, but they (at least the Allen Park Applebee’s) is extending it.

They had Long Island Iced Tea’s for $4 and I got a huge amount of shrimp and fries for $11 with it. Yum!

Everything was great there (thanks Tiffany!) except there were at least 5 feet of receipts printed off for my purchase (I paid with credit and finished off a gift card) which was a little insane….

From the Friday Question #76:

What is your favorite (cold) cereal? You know, the one you could just eat bowls and bowls of?
So this summer, when I was up north at my Aunt and Uncle’s place, I had Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries Cereal one morning. It was delicious and it’s “Special K” so it’s got to be nutritious, right? Well, it turns out it’s pretty negligible on the being more nutritious when compared to something like Frosted Flakes, and it’s way more expensive. (But don’t tell my aunt!)

So my usual favorite is Frosted Flakes, but occasionally I’ll buy some of the Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries as a treat.

FYI, cereal is more of a snack to me, it’s pretty rare that I eat it as breakfast (especially when at home).

TGIFriday’s is a sit-down casual restaurant chain in the US, I think they’re all over. They’ve got a deal for penny appetizers and buy an entree get an entree for a dollar.

If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it’s that awesome of a deal:
0) Print the coupon and read the fine print on the coupon.
1) Sign up for their “Stripes” (frequent flyer) program and they’ll mail you the coupon within 24 hours.
2) Go to the bar and eat an appetizer for a penny (any except the two big sample plates).
3) You must order a drink (doesn’t no have to be alcoholic).
4) The e-mail says to move to the tables to order the entree, but it seems they don’t care.
5) It’s one coupon per person: So two people can get one appetizer and two entrees for somewhere about $11.01 (1 penny + two $10 appetizers) plus your drinks.
6) Don’t forget to tip your wait staff based on the price before discount.
7) They then generally tell me to proceed to come back again to use the same coupon until April 30, 2009. FYI, the coupon I have does not require the card so you can print more. Come back here and tell me what great deal you got!

You could use this for two people for two one-penny appetizers with two of that coupon. Ask before you try this, but I’ve done it once.

Obviously, if you don’t like TGIFridays, it’s not that great of a deal.

So I’m heading up north and thought I’d check the McRib Locater Map to make sure I didn’t miss an opportunity. I haven’t had one in years.

But as you can see by the map (click it a live map) that Michigan is completely bare. Please note that these points are put in by people, not McDonald’s so don’t be disappointed if there isn’t actually a McRib there…

I swear that I eat more candy and desserts more the last two weeks of December than I do the rest of the year. Plus it’s usually mixed with a few drinks. Not a good mix for my stomach any time of the year let alone the holidays.

On the other hand it’s really nice to see friends and family!!!

Just some photos of some of my meals from the lower Nicoya Peninsula. I thought they looked and/or tasted nice.

Sesame Chicken (Chicken dipped in Lime and Honey and rolled in sesame). La Narango resurant in Montezuma, Costa Rica. $7.50-ish

Big breakfast from the Soda Monte Sol in Montezuma, Costa Rica (2200 colones, just under $4). There is cheese in them Scrambled eggs! Server very fast!

Shrimp and Rice (Camarón y arroz) from a place in Cobano, Costa Rica (right next to the “big” grocery store). It was delicious, had lots of shrimp and it was cheap ($5 if I recall correctly).

While my life has been pretty cRaZy this past year it’s been awesome lately. I’m very happy with most parts of my life and I am looking forward to the future. It’s looking very promising with lots of things to be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

On this holiday note, I have no idea what I’m having for dinner today. Probably not turkey since there doesn’t seem to be any in this part of the country

So I’ve been looking for some high quality footage of the Spaghetti Harvest footage for years, this still isn’t that great but it’s completely watchable (previously all I could find was some really crummy footage on the BBC site).

I saw it as a child, a local theater generally ran mini-documentaries (skiing, skateboarding, car building, etc.) instead of cartoons before a movie, and I’ve always remembered it. I knew it was a joke but it was totally deadpan; I’m sure to this day some people think that spaghetti grows on trees. Most people don’t even believe me when I say that there is a such a mini-documentary.

It wasn’t until years later I learned it was part of a (normally serious) BBC show they showed on April 1st, 1957 (which upset some people). It’s believed to be one of the first times television was used for a April Fools Joke. A lot detailed history, including the text of the narration, from the Hoaxapedia Article Swiss “Spaghetti Harvest”.

Direct link to the Spaghetti Harvest YouTube video (in case my imbedded footage doesn’t work). I finally found this since I saw someone stumble onto my site looking for info on it and decided to Google it again. But I’m still looking for a higher quality copy if anyone finds one on-line or knows where I can purchase it.

Do you eat the same thing everyday? Are there any foods/drinks, you feel like you have to consume on a daily basis? Or do you like some variety?

I’m totally a creature of food habit. Breakfast is almost the same every day (turkey bacon, fried egg, cantaloupe and OJ; sometimes I mix it up with real bacon). If I’m at a restaurant, I probably know what I’m getting before I went there (I decided what to eat and then picked the restaurant). Most restaurants I only get one or two different things. If it’s a sandwich, it’s “no pickle, no mustard and no mayo”. And at a few places I have a favorite table or two (at my local Einstein’s they know I’m disappointed if I can’t get the table I want). I really need my daily Coca-Cola but I try not to have any after 2 PM (unless there is alcohol in it). And I try to have at least 3 bottles of water a day (if not more).

From Friday Question #38.

So I’m getting desperate in my quest. As a last resort I e-mailed Ronald and Co. today, I said:

Dear McDonalds,

I see that McRibs are back at “participating” McDonalds.

How do the fans find a McRib?

Where in Michigan (Detroit or otherwise) or even Toledo, OH or Chicago can I find one of these? I’m traveling next month? I’ll schedule a layover for my flight so that I can stop in a McRib city, seriously!

Is there a list somewhere or at least someway I can check out some specific markets?

Thank you,
Gary

Do you think I might get a response?

So when I got trapped in Costa Rica for the few extra days I ended up staying at the El Punto B & B. It turned out to be an excellent place, it only has five or six units with a theme of colors, it might be the cutest place I’ve ever stayed. My unit had A/C, a ceiling fan, a very hot shower (but I never could get that much heat from the two sinks), two beds, two tables, three chairs and something I’d call a kitchenette but there wasn’t a way to cook anything but coffee (had a sink and medium refrigerator). I had found huge very comfy towels and a washcloth, made me feel very civilized. Outside I had another chair and table with a hammock. There was free internet but only up by the office and they also had what appeared to be a community area with couches, chairs and a television. There was also a nice double-sided page with info about the area (such as suggested restaurants), how to access the WiFi and useful info that all hotels should mimic.

Breakfast was amazing! A mini loaf of bread with jellies and jams and watermelon and pineapple and eggs with coffee and juice. My only real complaint is there just isn’t enough space to unpack (but I have that complaint quite often).

Here are some photos of the room at El Punto and of breakfast (breakfast included coffee and OJ which didn’t get shown in the photos).

It’s right around the corner from a nice outside mall, across from that is a Burger King/Papa John’s/Church’s Fried Chicken and down the street a bit (easy walk) is the downtown area. I’ll stay there again sometime (on purpose). I think they’re pretty close to the Zoo (that’s supposed to be excellent) and a nearby Volcano that was also recommended to me. Plus if I’m flying out of the Liberia airport it’s pretty convenient (I think during the busier season they might provide airport transportation?) and a cab was about $15.

I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow!!

I’ll give you a hint. It’s a McRib sandwich!

I thought after the farewell tour of 2005 it might be a while before we saw them again…

So my favorite ice cream bar to get in Costa Rica is ChocoMenta by Dos Pinos (Twin Pines). It’s is good sized mint ice cream bar cover in chocolate on a stick. It’s a generous size, especially when you consider the price, they were generally only about 75 cents! You can see in the image (click it) that it’s a decent sized stick, and I think that helped the ice creme to not fall off the stick in the heat and humidity (not that I had a lot this trip).

Occasionally, I couldn’t find them so they were a welcome treat when I found them. At at 75 cents it was an awesome treat!

And for my older readers: “Milky the clown says, ‘What’s the Magic Word?’”…

So Chico’s Bar and Resturant has the best Penne Pasta with Tomato Sauce and it come with a small bowl of parmesan cheese. They were too busy saturday night and the restaurant wasn’t open when I came by yesterday so I wanted to get a chance to eat this again.

Again? Yes, I had this last trip and loved it. We actually saw the waiter eating it at a different restaurant and it looked so good and he looked like he was really enjoying it so much Mark & I both tried to order it so he had to confess it was from down the street. So we came here a few days later to try it out ourselves. That’s not how I usually get my restaurant recommendations but it worked.

I guess it’s like the old barbershop brain-teaser: “There are two barbers in town, one has a great haircut and one has a bas one. Who do you go to get your hair cut at?” And you need to say “the one with the bad haircut, because he’s the one who cut the other barber’s hair (the one with the good cut)”.

I just wished they had Fresca in a glass bottle instead of the can; I really like drinking out of a cold bottle…

I hadn’t been feeling great these past few days and yesterday it got a little worse, I did go in to work but since I’m worse today I’m thinking that wasn’t the best idea. Actually the last seven days have been pretty busy, so not a shocker that it caught up with me. Today I went in for a long morning meeting that I needed/wanted to be there for, but then I headed home.

I stopped at Bangkok 96 in Dearborn for some great fried rice with chicken, peanuts, shrimp and more in it. It’s delicious but a little spicier than I remembered. That might not have been the best idea…

A nap will really be nice but unfortunately, I had a lot of fun stuff I wanted to do tonight after work,,,

So I specifically wanted to mention The Velvet Hour it’s this odd bar with these velvet curtains and candlelight. No baseball hats or cell phones allowed! I was nervous for a minute since I had sandles on, but it was so dark inside I don’t think anyone noticed

It’s the second place we went and we and you could have just walked by because the door is kind of hidden (see photo); it’s not a fancy door I just thought the hidden part was interesting (although the camera flash lights it up good). I’m pretty sure Jen was the one who knew about this place (I think she usually picks out the places). Some of the boys got some Absinthe to drink but the rest of us got a carafe of some house specialty that I really liked but if I recall correctly it was kinda pricey ($90?). Can anyone tell me which one we drank?

So I’m in some restaurant having the best Philly Steak and Cheese sandwich ever! It”s more of a real steak sandwich than a sliced one. The French Onion Soup was great too, but it was way too hot!

But I have no idea where I am! Some Bistro on Washtenaw Road near Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti. The name doesn”t appear to be written anywhere inside the restaurant…

Nice place. With lots of TVs for the sports crowd, but not really a sports bar. A few pool tables here too. Free WiFi too…

I’ll have to check the sign on the way out for the location and update this later!
Later:
Ahh, it”s just called the “Bistro Bar and Grill”, it does say “Bistro” all over the place in there…

It’s at 4735 Washtenaw and I’m still not sure if it’s Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti but it’s in the area of St Joseph’s hospital.

So at some of the theater’s in London (and I’m sure in other places in the world) you place your order and pay for interval drinks before the show starts. This way when it’s time for intermission, your drink is already ready for you and there is no line. Very civilized

It’s just coincidence that it’s in “position L”, that was already on the sheet when I scribbled my name on it. So when I went to get my drink there was my bottle of Schweppes, a glass with ice and my order sheet (see attached photo).

So for the Waffle Toffee Crunch score: We were there eight days (Saturday to Saturday) and I was able to have a Waffle Toffee Crunch dessert seven of the eight days! They only day I didn’t succeed was the day we left for Cardiff. In my defense we were on the way to the train station before Garfunkel’s opened and they didn’t appear to have any in Cardiff (they few people I asked didn’t even know what Garfunkel’s was).

So I consider the dessert portion of the vacation as much of a success as possible

At this point I managed to get my dessert four days in a row!

Warm Belgian waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, maple syrup and laced with toffee crunch pieces.
- Garfunkel’s Menu

I wonder if they have Garfunkel’s in Wales? I’d hate to blow my streak…

So what are you having?

Unfortunately, they were closed. But I thought it was a funny name. This location isin East Lansing, Michigan.

They’re on-line at InsomniaCookies.com

‘Insomnia Cookies‘ uploaded by garylapointe

Traveled for almost 6 hours today, just to stay at a hotel near the airport for the flight out tomorrow. I’ll still keep posting Costa Rica tidbits over the next few weeks, I’ve got lots of photos and stories.

But trying to find a restaurant near the hotel is tricky, the roads are kinda bizarre around the airport (once we got on the road I remembered). The resturant across from the hotel is a Denny’s and it’s the anchor restaurant for the casino attached to it (how strange is that?) and we didn’t want to eat there.

So we drove and “tried” to get off the expressway and eventually at local little bar. And the airport we got back to was a different one. You’d think foreigners asking the gate guard where the other aeropuerto was wouldn’t be so tricky (even without understanding Spanish). Once he understood, we got understandable Spanish directions.

Plus, at the restaurant I dropped my keys and when I bent down I hit my forehead on the back of the chair next to me (it was really dark), I’m sure it’s gonna leave a mark (it even bled a bit). So when you ask about the bruise and I say “I got it at the bar”, you’ll know what I mean…

So all the little towns north of Samara aren’t really my kind of vacation spot, not much of a “downtown”, it’s all spread out. Generally not as spread out as Santa Teresa but no real central location. Now, we didn’t drive down every street so we might have missed something. But that seems to be more of the norm around here. Garza was a little town right off the ocean, there was a big Fut Bol (soccer) game going on, but it wasn’t a tourist place at all.

We did get to cross a pretty wide river in our little 4×4, I would have been a little hesitant but the littler BoGo 4×4 in front of us made it so we knew we could. Although we’re pretty confident the woman in the passenger seat wasn’t sure they’d make it (and they waited to make sure we made it). In hindsight we should have taken a picture of the river.

I thought Nosara would be a place I really liked but it was spread out a bit, but there seemed to be a lot there, a lot of “side streets”, a lot of isolated hotels (some really fancy looking ones). It was off the main “highway” so that was really nice this town might require some more exploring.

But the cruise “up the coast” really wasn’t the case, it was a lot of side roads that you had to take down to the water so you never know what might be down there: public access, a home, a hotel, a farm so that was a little tricky.

Found a nice little restaurant north of Nosara, in the town called Oxtional, just called “Tony Resturante”. I think the ocean is just behind here but you can’t see it. Nicely shaded, celling fans and just overall clean and nice (especially since they aren’t far off a semi-dusty road). I had a delicious “Arroz con Camarones” (rice & shrimp) and Mark had some kind of Thai-ish Chicken entree (Pollo Tailandes) that he loved. And they have Coca-Cola and Fresca is glass bottles (that were mucho frio). They do have a translated semi-English menu if you ask (we couldn’t translate Tailandes).

It’s not dusty where we are eating, but we’ve passed a but of “health / dust warning” 20 KPH signs in various towns along here. Overall it hasn’t been too dusty today, I think the rain helped.

I know everyone keeps their eyes open for good gas prices and will hit one gas station over another since it’s a few pennies different. I’m sure some people sometimes waste gas by driving a little farther. I know I’m always happy when I can save a few pennies per gallon (I usually fill up on Tuesdays since I’m usually over by some cheap stations). Here’s something to keep in mind, 6 cents more a gallon (if it’s around $3) is only a 2% difference (12 cents more a gallon is only 4%).

Normally, when I eat at McDonald’s I get a number 3 meal (Quarter Pounder – no pickle, no mustard which includes a 20 oz soda and medium fry). At the McDonald’s by work (Plymouth/Beech, Redford, MI) it’s $4.77 (tax included); at the McD’s by my house (Michigan/Greenfield in Dearborn) it’s $5.36 (tax included). That’s a 59 cent difference! That’s 12% more at the more expensive McDonald’s. FYI, both the McD’s I’m referring to have been renovated in the last few years and the cheaper one has a playland.

So keep in mind if your $3 gallon of gas was 12% more at a nearby location it would 36 cents more per gallon! Now it’s not cost effective for me to take the time (and gas) to drive home to save 60 cents, but maybe I should check out the other two nearby McDonald’s to see what they charge. Plus Kelly always refers to the Redoford one as an expensive one (that’s the one I say is cheap).

When they talk about fuel price gouging, maybe we should consider all types of fuel…

These Chicken Nachos are delicious! I’m at the Restaurante Tabacon in Jaco, it’s right across the street from Planet Food (closed for years but still a landmark for giving directions). They come with everything, including sour creme, beans and guacamole (I did not get the latter two). It’s a huge bowl for 3,000 colons ($6), it’s not a appetizer, it’s a meal.

I think I really enjoyed my food lat time here too. They used to be a pizza parlor and I think that was really good too, if I recall back 3-4 years correctly…

Other details:

So I’m at my Einstein’s bagel and someone is at the table a always sit at. It’s the only high-top table in the place and it’s by the window but next to a wall so that I get shade for my laptop. When they asked at the counter “what would you like?”, I said “I’d like my table”. The one person didn’t know what I was talking about, but the other one said “I noticed that when you came in…”

I guess I’m just a create of habit.

Update: The guy just left, I’m trying to decide if I’m obsessive compulsive enough to move. “It’s nice and sunny right there”, he thinks as he tries to rationalize it….

So I just got a bite to eat at the new Dearborn Kerby’s Coney Island at Ford and Mercury (next to the Best Buy). I gotta tell you this is the most boring Chile-Cheese Omelet I’ve every had in my life. The eggs are boring, the chili sauce is boring and the toast seemed boring. I even tried the hash browns, which I generally find boring, to also be boring. Fortunately, the strawberry jam tastes normal so I know it’s not me; and the water actually tastes pretty good!

There is another (non-chain?) restaurant, Parthenon II (Coney Island), where I usually get a Chile-Cheese Omelet, a little farther into this strip mall area that I’ve been to a million times and I’ll be sure to go back there next time. Unfortunately, they’ll probably lose business since Kerby’s does have a much better location.

I’ve also got to try the new Seahorse Grill which just opened at the same mall.

UPDATE – I just drove by the Parthenon II and it looks like they are out of business

So I made it to Chicago, even with the traffic reports not helping me any (actually I had two ways to go and choose the one that I hadn’t heard any numbers mentioned so maybe it did help). The weather is awesome right now and looks like it will be great.

On the way in, I was starving and I headed straight for Standing Room Only to get some ribs. It was the last meal I had the last time in Chicago and they were delicious, so I made it my first meal this time around. Google maps on my phone helped me get here, I sure wish it had GPS to figure out where I am so that when I want directions and I’m don’t have an exact location that it could figure it out for me!

I think I might take a short walk, and then go check in. I’ve got to get this car into the hotel parking so I don’t need to deal with driving/parking any more today, then I’ll see if I can hook up early with some of the people I’m meeting later on. I had planned on being in town hours and hours ago but yesterdays delays resulted in my not getting enough sleep and flooding delays encouraged me to do some shopping in Michigan City before getting too close to Chicago in hopes flooding would die down..

So after my box of yummy Limited Edition Alpha-Bits (now with the sugar back where it belongs) I hadn’t seen it anywhere but Meijer’s so I started feeling anxious that they might stop making it again (it is “limited”). But then I was at Target the other day walking out with my arms were full (I had paid back in the electronics section) and they had just opened (I needed stuff for work) I passed all the employees standing in the aisle having their morning meeting I spied an end-cap with the Limited Edition Alpha-Bits 3 boxes for $7. So I checked the expiration date and managed to stack up 8 boxes in my arms (in addition to my bags and the water, this was all I could hold), this will give me about 1 box a month until expiration, but that’s probably not enough sugary letters for me, I should probably get another 8 or 10 boxes while they’re still on sale today.

Long live Limited Edition Alpha-Bits!!!

So about 18 months ago I mentioned that Post removed all the sugar from Alpha-Bits cereal. Not only that, they removed all the flavor! They were awful!!!

So someone e-mailed me last week about the new “Special Edition” dark blue box that was out. Here’s the thing, the box says “special edition” but not what’s “special” about it. THe box does say it’s sweetened but that’s it. Very strange.

It’s like the old Alpha-Bits are back. Very yummy! The last box I bought was the un-sweetened kind and I didn’t even finish the first bowl. I hope these last a while. I which there was a place to vote or something they should never return to the awful bits they’ve been trying to peddle for the last year…

So I’m at McDonald’s and I want my regular order, a number 3 combo (Quarter Ponder, Fries, Soda); so I order a “number 3, no pickle, no mustard” slow and articulated but as usual they have to ask me again what it is that I want. I don’t understand how they don’t get it the first time, it’s a limited selection of items that I can order even if I slur my voice someone should be able to figure it out, it’s not like I ordered an iPod with a side of onion rings. But that’s actually not my complaint today, she did get it correct and processed that part of the order quickly and accurately.

So they hand me my order, while the QP box has the “no pickle, No mustard” tag on it there is an excessive amount of mustard on the box which lets me know to check before I bite. Sure enough there’s mustard on it (maybe pickle too). So I sent it back. Minutes later I get another one, with pickle and mustard. So I send it back, it’s easily 5 minutes more until I get a correct sandwich. They did give me fresh fries (the first order was better than delicious) and offer me a pie (but they didn’t have apple so I passed). They handed the final order to me in a togo bag, was that a hint?

How much money (food and staff time) did they waste trying to make this sandwich correctly? We’re not even factoring in my time wasted and the fact that this is the most expensive McDonald’s around here.

I really like these new chips! They’re new Lay’s, cooked in 100% Sunflower Oil, Sour Cream and Onion chips. I like them better than the regular Sour Cream and Onion chips, I’m not sure what it is but I’ve really been enjoying them. And I really don’t like the regular Sour Cream and Onion chips all that much, I’d rather have plain chips and use Sour Cream and Onion dip. So I’m sure this is way the heck healthier than the old way being cooked with the dip.

Plus, it really seems as if it lasts a long time before they go stale. I went way past the overdue date with the last bag and they were still super-fresh.

I’m not sure if they’re migrating all the chips to Sunflower Oil or what. I’d link to the nutrition info but since their site is all flash, you can’t link to anything (I hate that!) but it’s pretty (it’s just slow and unlinkable).

So I made out like a bandit at the auction at school. I ended up with five baskets (three of them were the hugest ones there) and two gift certificates. I got good deals but I still spent some cash but I use to donate to the foundation by having it taken out of my check, which was boring, now I just go nuts at the auction and spend it there.

Results on the stuff I donated: My Costa Rican coffee basket had gotten quite a few bids but I think it still only went somewhere in the thirty-ish dollar range. My Cat in the Hat Visit basket wasn’t selling very high at all (it had a few books, an audiobook, stickers and a visit from the Cat in the Hat [that would be me] for story-time or a party) so I bought it. The few times I’ve done it before I did birthday parties and it’s hot inside the costume and the parties are usually outside and if someone isn’t interested in donating enough money I’ll donate it myself (and keep one of my Saturday afternoons free). Plus this means I’ve already got my basket made up for next year!

So here’s the loot I got (click the image for a larger photo):

So I haven’t really done much at all today. So you get an “about my day” post. I’ve eaten a lot (and often) and had too way much Coca-Cola (but the last few had some Capt. Morgan’s in it so that’s okay). And I’ve been on the ‘net all day (at home, at Wendy’s, at the bar) catching up (and fixing) on things.

I did participate in a survey that I got $25 for (it might have been $25 for Amazon.com but that’s as good as cash to me). It was a survey about the new extra-secure security features in IE 7. The thing is, I’m not so worried about my information being intercepted en-route; I’m more worried about their servers being compromised after the fact (or someone losing their laptop). My real concern when shopping on-line is that “Bob’s Computer Shack” is just a place that “Bob” set up so he can steal my Charge Card information (he could even have an ultra secure certificate).

But tonight I need to drive to Ypsi to get a CAT scan of my hand. It’s been bugging me and it’s time to get it looked at. My problem is with chronic problems like this is they tend to not find a cause, which means they can’t find a solution. He has said he doesn’t think it’s anything carpel-tunnel or repetitive anything-ish.So I cleaned up my web site and tried to make it more XHTML compliant (total pain in the ass). But Technorati hasn’t been indexing me lately and I can’t figure out why and Googling-around I some people report that as a possible reason. But Overall people seem pretty dissatisfied on updated with Technorati updates. I know without any effort I used to show up all the time. I ping the heck out of them and I just don’t show up, not sure why, everypne else just seems to look at my RSS/Atom feeds and index me just fine.

Oh, and I’ve been keeping an eye on Woot since they’ve got a Woot-off today. I did get a bluetooth Keyboard/Mouse that I’ve missed a few other times but I missed the ever elusive Bag of Crap….

So I stopped by the Midnight Espresso Cafe in Dearborn. I really like it there but it’s generally pretty smokey (lots of smokers hang out and smoke cigarettes or a hooka) but they didn’t look too busy so I stopped by. WOW! They just renovated and made it much bigger and it seems brighter too!

They’ve got a wide variety on the menu, I’m guessing much of it is Arabic in origin. Whenever I bring people here they generally find something interesting that they like. I generally get the BBQ Chicken Quesadillas and that’s what I’m getting today.

Bonus, I pulled out the laptop hook up my phone as a modem and realized I connected to a network! So they’ve got WiFi now too (or else the business next door does), with their new larger non-smoking section and WiFi I think I’ll be here a bit more often now.

So I gave up Coca-Cola for a few weeks for several reasons. It’s on my list of 101 in 1001 to try and see how if it makes me feel any better or sleep any better, etc. I chose this time just to hopefully have less sugar/caffine in my body to maybe stay healthier for the holidays (especially since I’m hosting Christmas for 25-ish people on Saturday). I’m not allowed to substitute other (inferior) caffeinated drinks or extra amounts of chocolate, etc.

Well, the health thing didn’t work out since I got sick a few days later (last week) and don’t know if I slept better due to the illness or the decrease of sugar/caffine. No friends or coworkers have noticed I seemed to be less hyper

But I do get cravings for Coke, even when I haven’t removed it from my intake. But the other day at McDonald’s I got my number three which includes a drink, fries a Quarter Pounder with cheese, no pickles or mustard for those of you who may not know what a McDonald’s is, let alone what a #3 is. And as I took a drink of my soda I realized I was taking a really really long drink through the straw and it was tasting really really good. And then I realized why, I accidentally got a Coke. So while I hate to be wasteful, I went and dumped it out and got a Sprite instead. The Sprite just wasn’t the same…

So I’ve got two more days to go. Actually, about two days and five hours. And I’m really ready for it. And I know I need to try this experiment again sometime, the getting sick really through off the results the “experiment”. But I think I’m gonna stick it out for a few more days just because I can. Maybe…

So I had some of the best Coca-Cola* yesterday at Pangea’s Pizza in Traverse City. It was just extra tasty, I’m not sure why. And not only was it served in fancy old Coca-Cola glasses it was served by the charming Rachel** who attended to all my cuisine related needs. That, a slice of pepperoni pizza, some on-line access and I was all set. I was hoping for more dead animals on my pizza but I would have had to order a whole pizza.

I mentioned WiFi availability earlier today: I could see a few local access points from inside the restaurant (none of which I think were Pangea’s) but eventually I’d lose the signal, the same if I hooked up with my cell phone. Not sure why. Probably something with all the pleasantness radiating from Rachel was interfering with my digital*** reception.

* – In case you were wondering the best Coca-Cola I ever had was at the Chicago Aquarium in February of 2002. This is fountain Coca-Cola, in the bottles it’s generally the same, unless it’s in the glass bottles where it’s extra delicious.

** – I’m thinking Rachel was spelled slightly differently (sorry).

*** – Pleasantness is a full spectrum analog signal in case you didn’t know. It’s supposed to overwhelm everything.

For a while my local Burger King had WiFi. Then it only worked if I tweaked with the TCP/IP settings. Then it was intermittent. Eventually it died and I had to use the wired port (or my Airport Express adaptor) and that pretty much died. I can honestly say I’ve eaten here less since then. I mean if I gotta be WiFi-less or mess with my phone as a modem I can go anywhere, right?

Today I popped in for a quick snack. Wasn’t 100% sure if I was going to hook up the modem but I knew I wanted to type a few things. I opened my laptop and got the wonderful message “Do you want to join the network ‘Burger King’?”. I love WiFi….

(I think it’s gone again)

So as we all know, metric is going to take the word by storm one of these days). HA!

The funny thing is I always thought of it as something that came over here from overseas, but the amount of signage in England that is in miles (and not kilometers) makes me laugh. I always chuckle when I see teachers teaching metric (I work for a school district) since it seems they are telling them the same thing they told me as a kid (and I’m still waiting).

Actually it’s bottled water that’s the cause of this post. One of my 101 in 1001 things items is to drink a 1/2 gallon of water a day for three weeks and see if it makes me feel healthier. So I bought water today (it’s on sale at Target) and the bottles are a 1/2 liter so I needed to figure out how many I needed to drink. Here’s the thing they don’t list it in ounces, they listed it as “1 pint 0.9 ounces” so I had to think if a pint was 16 ounces or not. Why wouldn’t they just list it as 16.9 ounces?!?

The real question is why are the bottling companies going along with this? Most people will pretty much pay the same for 16 ounces or 16.9 ounces, right? So it seems like they’re just giving away stuff (water, coke, whatever it might be).

Although I just looked at the Mike’s Lemonade that I’m drinking and it’s 11.2 ounces. See and I thought I paid for 12 ounces

This was my view at lunch!

Originally uploaded by garylapointe.

So this is what I got to look at while I was sitting on the pier at the beach eating my lunch.

It was a really great view of the city.

It was a pretty good burger too

List 10 items that can always be found in your fridge at any given time on your blog. Copy and paste the directions on your weblog and tag 3 people to name 10 things that can always be found in their own fridge.

Every time I’m in Grand Rapids it’s always such a struggle to find Coca-cola. This does not make me very happy, especially when I’m dying for a coke…

I just really liked how this sounded so you get get to hear it too.

‘‘There’s something sort of magical about putting flour and sugar and eggs and chocolate chips in a bowl and having it turn into cookies that taste this good.’’
— Mi

Mi from Le blog d’une voyageuse de femme said this and it stuck in my head (and now I want cookies).

“I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every
other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the
locks, they are always locking three.”

–Elayne Boosler

Here’s another…

“Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I’m halfway through my
fishburger and I realize, Oh my God….I could be eating a slow learner.”
–Lynda Montgomery

From Don’t Forward.

So the Jones Soda company has released their Thanksgiving Dinner in a bottle. The soda flavors included are: Brussels Sprout with Prosciutto, Cranberry Sauce, Turkey & Gravy, Wild Herb Stuffing, and Pumpkin Pie (Also included: Serving spoon, moistened towelette, and wine list). how cool is that?!? I’m armed with some to take with me to Thanksgiving Dinner. We’ll see who I can dare to try it.

They also released a pack with Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Paté, Turkey & Gravy, Corn on the Cob, and Pecan Pie. I’d really like to try the Corn on the Cob but I guess that packaging was just regionally distributed.

Around Halloween I tried the Caramel Apple, it was interesting. It tasted like apples and then the aftertaste was the caramel. Definitely different…

Why is is so quick to get takeout at a Chinese Restaurant when it takes SO long at a “fast food” joint?

I was nervous asking the question (any question), but it was the only way to find out. “Do you still have the that deluxe chicken sandwich,” I asked the BK lady. She named it without hesitation and said they had it, so my earlier fears were gone and my guard was down. So I said I’ll have that here in a meal (which they always try to force on you anyways) with no mayonnaise and onion rings instead of fries. So we did a few rounds of you wanted a large soda, right?, no, the regular meal, you said to go?, no it’s for here. And I reverify with “regular size, onion rings and no mayo”.

“That’ll be $10.79, is that to go?” It’s for here but that seems a little expensive, (blank stare), “that seems a little expensive for the meal.” Oh! She pulls out the receipt and explains to me she void it later and have to re-ring it. I think she wanted me to agree to this because there was a big pause before she actually did this. We did our little dance, but shorter this time. After she prints the receipt (which they don’t give you so you can double-check your order) I say “no mayo”, and get back “huh?”, “no mayonnaise on that” I repeat, which she says sure and yells it back (since she didn’t get it on the third try).

So I get my soda/napkins/straw and some other people get in line, so I go wash my hands, they’re still ordering (two ladies for themselves and two kids who are sitting down). So I stand there and wait, I can see the receipt (no mention of mayo) and it says “fries” so as she takes a break from their order (yes, they are still trying to order) she grabs my tray and sandwich and I say three times, “don’t forget I want onion rings” (I’m getting no acknowledgment, which is why I’m repeating). As she hands me my tray (with fries) I say “I wanted onion rings”. “But I rang up fries” she says, and she says this a few more times as I very politely keep repeating I want (and also that I ordered onion rings). When what I really want to say is, “what did you put down on my first two meal orders…?” She was really hung up on this, I’m not sure why, she knows darn well I ordered the rings, but she’s really concerned that she might get fired (or something) for giving me what I ordered. (That’s the least of the reasons they are going to fire her.)

PS – My sandwich was delicious!!!

FYI – They actually still have the nerve to own Have It Your Way dot com.

Did I mention that there is road construction out front? I’m the only person in line. No one waiting and very very few cars in the drive thru. The slowest day I’ve ever seen there, i.e. no distractions or chaos…

And (generally hyper) me? I’m totally relaxed and in no hurry (fortunately), I didn’t even drive up there since it was a nice sunny afternoon.

The hired help here is pretty useless many times. The biggest problem is they don’t know how to say "I don’t know" and just make up an answer so if it’s an important question be sure to get (at least) two confirming answers. For example:

1) When you see a train arriving (on the wrong track) and you ask the guy at the ticket counter where it’s going and he tells you there is no train. Don’t argue with him for more than 88 seconds that there really is a train, just go down and check for yourself. That 2 seconds might be what you need so you don’t have to wait another 30 minutes for the next train (trust me).

2) When you ask the waitress what the "Scampi and Chips" is and she says it’s chips with scampi don’t bother asking any more. But if you feel the need and all she clarifies with is that chips are (french) fries (which anyone who’s been in London more than 15 minutes knows, i.e. fish and chips) with scampi. So you feel the need to clarify more and she tells you scampi is beef don’t think it’s a chips=fries thing, think it’s a she’s clueless thing. (I saw this one happen)

FYI – prawns=shrimp and tiger prawns=jumbo shrimp. When you order water (unless you want bottled) order tap water, it’s yummy and free. They don’t keep anything cold so be sure to get ice.

Also the less busy a store/restaurant is and the more staff they have, the lower the quality of service.

I’m not saying we didn’t have fun, I’m just saying it wasn’t had to find bad service.

Raya was awsome! (Pronounced Ria) She worked at the same place as #2. She answered all of our questions we asked about food, the restaurant, the register surveillance system (which she never noticed before), acting school and told us that M is for music.