I miss my iPhone.

My iPhone decided to die on me new year's eve, and I have been feeling a little down about it. From what I can tell through my research the battery burned up. I pulled it out of my pocket to fiddle with it as I always did, and when I turned it on the screen went white and it started to get burning hot, then wouldn't turn on. It continued to get hotter and hotter to the point I thought the battery was going to explode. When it finally cooled down I tried to plug it in, and nothing.

I stopped to think just how much of an impact my iPhone had on my life. That old saying, "you don't know what you have until it is gone" has never struck so close to bulls-eye with me for any posession. I knew the moment I picked up an iPhone for the first time at the AT&T store to see what all the hype was about that I didn't just want one, I needed one. Over time it became like an extension of me, not just a phone or a gadget that I had at my disposal to kill time, but something I just used without much thought like walking, talking, breathing... It was like in Avatar when the Jake of the Jarhead Clan chose his Ikran and it chose him.

I estimate that I used my iPhone for about 8 hours a day on average for the two years I had it, close to a third of my life for the past couple years. The first year usage was about 12 hours a day. That first year I had a job where I had about six hours a day with nothing better to do than play with my iPhone, added to that our computer was in storage at that time and my iPhone was the only way to keep in touch with the friends I made online over the years. The second year I would say average daily usage dropped to about 4 hours a day on average due to the new job and having our computer again.

My most recent obsession was the Brushes app, which is an amazing art app. I was doing a drawing, painting, or at least a sketch every day. Some can be seen on my Flickr account (link to the right), but sadly most are gone forever.

All hope is not lost though! It was the original 4gb iPhone, and it lasted all that time which is amazing considering the amount of use I got out of it. I had planned on getting a new 3GS 16gb iPhone soon anyway. And I have a new appreciation for just how much that little thing can do for me.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas: The best 24 hour stretch of the year, which begins at about 5 pm on December 24th.

Probably my favorite tradition is reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to my kids. I missed it twice when I was overseas, and it was gut wrenching. As I am preparing to do my fatherly duty we have some business to attend to. The kids have been cleaning and playing in the snow all day. After they thawed out we had a quick and easy dinner, watched A Christmas Story, then it was time to break out the book and gather all the kids up for story time. After the cookies and milk were put out and the little monsters were finally put to bed two of Santa's "elves" had to bring all the presents down from their hiding places, finish wrapping up the ones that slipped passed the wrapping process, and get them under the tree. It really is magical!

Photo from my iPhone. Finally done. It looks so beautiful. So peaceful.

Nothing beats the feeling of watching these little monsters shred the wrapping paper, which my wife so lovingly encased each present in, with their tiny claws and admire it briefly before moving on to the next one. It's the best, and it will begin in a few short hours. Then it will be my job to assemble all things requiring assembling, and of course testing them out to make sure they work properly... Breakfast will happen somewhere in there, which of course will be cinnamon rolls. Then it will be on to dinner preparations. Ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin rolls are all on the menu. And for a night cap I have a pint of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout in the back of the fridge.

Another year inches closer to it's end. Another Christmas down. A whole year to get ready for the next one.

Greatest Sandwich Ever?

So I went to Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh, PA a couple months ago, I have been itching to post this since then but who has the time these days? Anyway, I must say that on that day I ate the most amazing sandwich ever!

First let me set the stage: We went to the original location in the Strip District. Walking into the restaurant had a strange nostalgic feeling, like I had been there before. There is a toughness in the air, the spirit of the hard working people that have frequented the joint since the 1930's. That attitude is instilled in the staff; not rude but no nonsense. Like that aunt that you just don't want to piss off, you know she loves you to death but you have a feeling that the next words you speak to her may set her off...

Photo taken on my iPhone

Me and my friend Sam saddled up to the counter and ordered up the black angus sirloin steak sandwich. Sounds like it would be expensive but even though it is the priciest sandwich on the menu it comes in at a reasonable $6.75. Every sandwich comes topped with coleslaw, tomato, and a huge handful of fries and is served on fresh baked, thick sliced Italian bread. Sam isn't big on coleslaw but was up for an adventure. The toppings are lovingly smashed down on the sandwich by the cook, watching her cook added so much to the experience. The sandwiches are huge but so good we just looked at each other and knew what we were thinking - one more please!

We left very full and very satisfied. I envy him, work takes him to Pittsburgh at least once a month, and every time he is that way now he eats one of those amazing sandwiches. I have yet to go back, but that will change in the next couple weeks.

Primanti Bros. locations now include 15 restaurants in the Pittsburgh area and 4 in Florida.

Well, it was Mexican...

So my wife heard about a new Mexican restaurant, so we have a total of one in the local area now. Had to try it out.

Bad news first. The wait staff sucks. I hope they fix it. The people that sat next to us got there a full five minutes after we did, but somehow they got their food before we even ordered our drinks, and we had the same waitress. Half our food came out several minutes after the first plates arived. And for a Mexican resraurant the portions were super small. I'm used to a huge plate of food, I mean beans and rice are cheap. But I guess it was enough.

Worst of all: NO BEER!!!

Good news, the food was good. Fairly authentic. Reasonable prices. Nothing to do cartwheeles about though, but since they have a monopoly on the market it will have to do.

If you have patience to spare and are desperate for some decent Mexican food and you happen to be in the Olean area let me know. I'll get you the address.

Happy Zoo Day '09

If you know, you know. If you don't you don't. Either way enjoy 2/22!

It's been a little while...

Not that anyone ever looks at this :-P

We are settled in our new home in Olean, NY. There are quite a few local food establishments around for me to post about. So check back soon.

A Great Breakfast

Here's one of mine and my oldest son's favorite breakfast recipies:

Ingredients
2 eggs, scrambled with a dash of milk
Spam, sliced
Directions
Fry in a pan. Repeat as necessary.

Sad News

Looks like my favorite beer of all time will probably not return.

From: "Webmail @widmer.com" <Webmail.widmer.com@widmer.com>
Date: June 13, 2008 12:18:45 PM EDT
To: Ray
Subject: RE: Craft Brands Contact

Sorry, Ray, STILL no good news. There's talk it may come back in draught form for our restaurant, The Gasthaus, but so far that's all we've heard. No doubt we'll know more by the end of Summer as we transition into OKTO and prepare for our new Winter seasonal (it's called Brrr), but I still wouldn't get your hopes up.

david

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
929 N Russell St.
Portland, OR 97227
P (503) 281-2437
F (503) 281-1496

---

From: Ray
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:00 PM
To: Webmail @widmer.com
Subject: Re: Craft Brands Contact

Dear Widmer Bros.,

Did you change your minds? Snow Plow is by far my favorite beer. Not bringing it back would be a tragedy of epic proportions! Well, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but I sure would miss it, and I know a lot of others would as well.

Sincerely,

Ray

On Mar 6, 2008, at 8:15 PM, "Webmail @widmer.com" <Webmail.widmer.com@widmer.com> wrote:

Thanks for your email, Ray.

Sorry to hear about your "predicament", but things might not be as dire as you think because we're actually in 48 of the 50 states, including Maryland!

Alas, the Snow Plow issue is a tad more...vexing. Not only is the Snow Plow season over (it was pulled and replaced in early January by our W '08 seasonal), but rumor has it that Snow Plow will NOT be back as the 2008 / 2009 Winter seasonal! Unless Kurt, Rob, and the folks in sales and marketing change their mind it appears that Snow Plow will join the ranks of Hop Jack, Winternacht, Blonde, and a few others as beers whose end came far too soon.

Sorry I don't have better news.

Prost!

Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
929 N Russell St.
Portland, OR 97227
P (503) 281-2437
F (503) 281-1496

First Name: Ray

Question/Comment: I recently moved from the Portland area to Baltimore, and I miss your beers, especially Snow Plow! Is there any way to order a case?

Brand: shop.widmer.com

Holy Frijoles!

So here's my first restaurant review. Holy Frijoles is the best Tex-Mex place I've been to in Baltimore, MD so far. The decor is eclectic, somehow authentic in a surreal way if that even makes sense. The wait staff has been excellent the three times I have been there for lunch with my wife and youngest boy (4).

The food is excellent. For starters they bring out the chips and salsa, not the store bought stuff either. I have tasted their tacos, enchiladas, chicken and chorizo taquitos, chicken quesadilla, and my personal favorite so far the refried bean and steak burrito, not a single complaint about any of them. The portions are huge, and the prices are very reasonable.

There's a full service bar there, and they serve a couple Samuel Smith's beers including the Oatmeal Stout and Nut Brown Ale. According to one of the waiters the place is busy on Friday and Saturday nights.

Holy Frijoles is located at 908 w. 36th St., Baltimore, MD 21211

Welcome to the Cart Ride of DOOM!

This is the first post of many to come. Maybe... We'll see how it goes.

What is this "cart ride of doom" I speak of? Well, its a long story... Basically me and some friends used to get on this push cart which had front wheels that automatically wanted to turn forward. We would get on backwards and push off the wall, then it would turn itself forward and if we could keep our balance we would see how far down the hall we could go on one push. Well one day I decided one push wasn't enough. I pushed off the wall, got in a couple pushes with my foot off the floor, and jumped on just as the cart swung around at warp speed. I lost my footing and was violently thrown up in the air while the cart continued on it's merry way. I seemed to be in mid-air horizontally for minutes before I came crashing to the ground, flat on my back, head scraped against the chain link fence that made the walls of the hallway. Uncontrolable laughter ensued for the next twenty to thirty minutes. The event was comemmorated by me with a stick figure comic of the event titled "Bobo's Cart Ride of Doom", which was drawn when we realized that words alone could not do justice to the telling of the story, but the simple comic explained perfectly.

So I have adopted the term "cart ride of doom" as a sort of reminder that sometimes one push is quite enough. Or was it to enjoy the ride while it lasts? Or quit horseplaying before someone gets hurt... Meh, whatever.