Indian Ice Cream and The Inherent Evil of Cable TV

Is cable TV evil? Yes. Yes it is, and not just because they charge you a pile of money just to sit through a bunch of commercials, but many of the programs ARE commercials and the others are just crap. CRAP! My kids however think cable TV is a godsend. See, we don't have cable TV at home...yeah, we're those people. So when we take a vacation the first thing they'll do if we stay at a Hotel is flip on the damn TV and assume the position of a good opium smoker in a Hop joint.(Slack jawed and vacant stare in case you're wondering). I mostly think this is one of the worst things you can let a kid do, but, my daughter who likes to watch every kind of cooking show on TV, actually came away with something useful. And that thing is: Bombay Ice Cream!! Luckily for you and me, you don't have to go to Bombay to enjoy it.(Unlucky for you if you are already in Bombay, but I'd wager you have such Ice Cream stores there).
Anyway, there was some cooking show about desserts I guess and she kept pestering me to take her to San Francisco to try the Saffron Ice Cream. We finally made it over the bridge and found the place. (Even with Google Street View, you'd think it was no longer in business, but you have to go around the corner of the building). It's located directly under the Central Freeway at 245 South Van Ness Avenue. It's worth trying to find it. Sadly, they had no Saffron flavored ice cream when we visited, but they did have Cardamom. I know. Cardamom? They lady at the counter was very nice and allowed me to sample it first and after one taste, I couldn't get enough of the stuff. I can't explain why it was so good or what it tasted like, except that it was great and tasted like cardamom. My daughter got the Rose flavor and it was tasty, but I preferred mine
They also have an impressive array of herbs and spices, most of which i recognized and one of which I knew what the heck to do with. I love Indian food...I mean, I love it, but which spices to use and in what amounts and, well, everything about how it's prepared is a mystery to me. Which is fine, I prefer to have someone who know what they are doing make it rather than have me try and fail.
I'm getting side-tracked. Do yourself a favor and go to Bombay Ice Cream located in the Bombay Bazaar, you will not be sorry.

Speaking of being sorry, I would like to ask everyone to go an buy ice cream(and other stuff) from this store. No, I don't have a financial interest in it, but I do want them to succeed and stay in business. My wife and I used to eat at a place in Berkeley called the India Cafe. It was above a store that sold spices, saris and other stuff and was the best Indian food I have ever tasted. The woman who ran it cooked all the food herself with help from relatives and it was amazing. The atmosphere was relaxing and you felt like you were thousands of miles away from home whenever you entered. Sadly, running two businesses became to much for her and she closed the restaurant. I would hate to lose another awesome source of supreme deliciousness, so please do yourself a favor and get some ice cream!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Found this great site the other day. It's a constantly-updated blog showcasing bands covering original songs.
You can check out the most awesome cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" performed entirely in a VW Polo!
What, Queen is not your bag? Well, How about "The Queen is Dead"?
Not weird enough for you? OK, how about Girl Crisis covering Black Sabbath?

You can search or browse by artist, so if you want to see who is covering Public Enemy or Elvis Presley, well, knock yourself out.

The anti-Union train keeps rolling( sans Union Engineers,Porters,etc.)

Found this ant-union video today. Looks like Target, in its move to take over the Grocery business(and head-hunt grocery store employees?), wants to make sure those pesky Unions stay the hell away from their stores.

Have a look at the Video. It gets good at around the 1:00 minute mark.

Look, I dont think every workplace is right for unionization, just like some things aren't going to run better when privatized(I'm looking at you Slate of Potential GOP candidates), but good lord! This video is a little over the top. A lot over the top.
"Refuse to sign!" Jesus, hey, thanks Unions for getting all those great labor laws in place, but we don't need you now. We can "cross-train" our employees, see? That way, they think they are bettering themselves, when in reality, we can get more work out of them for the same damn pay. Hurray Capitalism!
OK, see, there I go. Really, maybe Target isn't the place for Unions, but this is such overkill, especially in light of all the ant-union hysteria in Wisconsin a while back.
Why is it that when people try to stand up and protect themselves from powerful forces they are labeled greedy and lazy? Gee, all those top management guys at the big corporations, you know, the ones who drive the company into the ground, causing thousands to lose their livelihoods...yeah, those guys,with the obscene salaries and perks, why are they not the object of such mouth-foaming, teabagger hatred?
Ask Ronald Reagan.

Ich lebe noch...

Hey everyone...here's a little tip...when trying to keep a blog up to date, try not to get sickness in your family in January...then get a PUPPY(!), then get more sickness...then get the great idea you will do some home remodeling...then, I think, more sickness....oh, and Puppy.

So, I'll be back at it now, and trying better those hits coming.

BTW, here's Meg's Glamour Shot:
(click for super adorable big pic)

Merry Christmas

I think it's a toss up on which is the more un-Christmasy song, but since I like them both, here they are.
Holly Jolly.


Christmas in Paradise

Fairytale of New York

Julian ASSange

Come on, someone had to write that. No matter how feel about the Wikileaks big man and his penchant for publishing secret documents, you will have to agree he is a complete ass after reading these emails from him to a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.

Still waiting for more dirt on him, but this is a good start...

Tea Time

You know, these Tea Baggers, er, Tea Party-ers, have been getting a hell of a lot of press lately,and it made me wonder: WHY?

Honest to god, the people are just plain annoying. Actually, they are worse than annoying, but I'm in a good mood today.

And now the Teabagger that stomps on women who are being held down wants the victim to apologize. I hope this is the death knell for these dopes.

*click me*

Hidden Treasure

So my battery died(again) in my ancient Camry. Hey, the thing is pushing 235k miles, what do you expect? That car will last forever, and yes I know, I am not helping the economic recovery by holding onto a 17 year old car.
Anyway, the damn battery dies and I was away from home so I called AAA to jump the thing. I know, or have heard..or maybe saw it on the internet, that you are supposed to drive around for about 20 minutes after jumping the battery to "recharge" it. I decided I'd head out to Pt. Molate since I'd always seen the sign for that place and had never been out there. Well, the damn park is closed...no money (surprise) so I kept driving back around that area to see what I would see.
If you are not familiar with the area, it runs long the Bay on the other side of the Standard oil refinery. There is a strange mixture of government owned land/buildings and Refinery owned land, both with their own variety of signs admonishing you to stay the hell away from everything and don't drive down this dirt road and keep off that building, etc. Just the place where you want to wander around and explore old buildings and weird-looking industrial things.
Only, I saw a nice, paved road with a sign saying "Rifle and Pistol Range"...Hurray thought I, maybe I can stop by here some time and blast a few targets. I drive up the road and there's a guard shack with an old guy in it. He looks at me dubiously and when I tell him that I'd never been out this way, he says half-joking, 'So you're lost". I try to tell him about the battery and the recharging, but it starts to sound like the bad alibi of a suspected thief, so I switch gears and ask if the range is open to the public. He tells me it's not and allows me to pull a U turn in the lot by his shack.

After I got home, I had this nagging feeling...I really wanted to know how or why there was a shooting range in what looked like the Refinery. What to do? Oh, well of course, Google! They know everything...everything. They're like benevolent Gestapo. Sure they pry into every part of your life and know all about you, but look how smart and hip and young and cool they are! What's that? The cell on the right is mine? OK, no need to shove.

Where was I? Oh yeah, what lay over that hill past the Guard Shack I needed to know. Off I went to Google Earth and lo and behold, not only was there a shooting range, there was a pool, tennis courts, barbecues and a playground! Check out the shot below...I love this stuff. This hidden treasure..a little oasis in the shadow of the hulking, stinking refinery. Of course, it's off limits to you and me(unless you work for Chevron), but thanks to the magic of Google Earth, you can see it all. Almost. We need to get a Street View Car down there...

You can see the magical oasis here: (Click to enbiggen it!)

Aaaand...Action!

So I've been meaning to post some really great, hard-hitting stuff on the Tea Baggers(party)...but alas, I'm too lazy and easily distracted.
I saw this Mompetitors video on Consumerist and of course was drawn to the xtranormal site where you can make your own movie!
It's "text-to-movie", which is why the characters sound so robotic, although maybe the author of Mompetitors prefers that to make her point(?).
Anyway, watch this space for hilarious "text-to-movie" videos!

Goodnight Irene

I thought I'd talked about Grooveshark before, but I must have dreamed it. Grooveshark is a streaming music site, sort of like Mixturtle and the former lala, before it was assimilated by the Evil Steve Jobs.
What I like about Grooeshark though, is that you can not only search by title or artist, but it lists the album name as well. The fun things you find are, well, fun. I searched for "Goodnight Irene"...I'd only heard a version by Tom Waits (There is only one Tom Waits and his name is Tom Waits) and I found quite a surprise: Michelle Shocked's version was nice as was Johnny Cash's. The Pogues' version was a shambling mess as you'd expect, but the jewel may have been the version by the Chieftains with Willie Nelson, from the Another Country album.

I also found some interesting versions of "The Black Velvet Band". One was by a band called "Celtc Pride II", but I think that was a mistake. It featured a female singer with an accent I cannot place and it's driving me nuts...so, any help...
You might be able to listen to it here. I had to create an account to share it, you might have to do the same to listen to it.
It's fun to listen to several versions or covers of the same song...until your wife and kids go nuts hearing the fifth rendition of "Green Fields of France" and begin to throw whatever is handy at you.

Take your chances I say.

Amsterdamned

So those of us in California face a proposition on the ballot this fall(Proposition 19) which will essentially legalize the use of marijuana. Currenlty, "medical marijuana" is legal here and it seems that was the first step in a move to completely decriminalize it.
I always the thought the "medical" idea was kind of funny, not that there aren't benefits to its use for some people, but the fact that there is no real control...no control as to the levels of THC in the "medicine", no control on how much to take(prescription?), and the fact that so many "patients" take their dose right at the "pharmacy". I don't know, I just thought it was a "Emperor's New Clothes" thing, where I thought "Am I the only one who sees this for what it is?"

If Proposition 19 passes it wont matter anymore, but other things might. Here is an interesting article from the New York Times on how a Dutch city is dealing with the issue.

Surfin' USA

Really, they couldn't add a Beach Boy's soundtrack?

Irony

This is not ironic...or is it?

On A Lighter Note

Thanks everyone for your kind words and thoughts after Asher's death. We're still trying to get used to life without him around the house...Now we actually have to clean up whatever we drop on the floor in the kitchen, no more Asher standing by to grab whatever hits the deck.

I saw a link today to an "impossible soccer game"...a game in which Joseba Etxeberria, Athletic Bilbao's forward, promised to play against 200 local kids. It struck me becasue the team for which I am assistant coach had the same idea: Kids vs. grown ups. We only have 12 seven-year-olds, but still...

So, here's the video on the EITB sports site. It struck me as a great idea: Awesome for the kids and just a nice way to say thanks to the fans. But there was a comment on Digg that really made my day.
Someone 'Benny-Hillified' the video!Benny Hillifier Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like: Take a video and it will Benny-Hillify it by adding the Yakety Sax soundtrack!

And you can too! Just insert the URL of your favorite video and Voila! Instant idiocy!

I made This One

R.I.P Asher 1995-2010

My dog Asher passed away yesterday. He was 14 years old. I remember when I first saw him at the shelter...I wasn't even looking for a dog. I just used to go to the shelter to visit the poor dogs there and when I saw him, I had to take him home.
I almost didn't get to take him. Another person had seen him first and I didn't know there was a a "waiting list", only that I had to call on Monday to see if he was still available. Fortunately for me, he was.

Thus began a 14 year odyssey with sweetest(unless he didn't know you) and craziest dog you'd ever know. He had had such a 'sheltered' life in his first six months that he didn't know that he couldn't walk across water, and so his first introduction to swimming consisted of him trying to walk on the Bay, with predictable results. He was never a big fan of water after that.

His aloofnes and distrust of strangers earned him the moniker asher.mental when I worked at Red Herring, but after he got to know you, he was your friend for life.

When we brought him home, he met our cat, Spock, with whom he immediately wanted to play, much to Spck's dismay. After a while, they became the best animal friends ever and when Spock passed away a few years ago, Asher took the loss very badly. He never got over losing his best friend, and now I know how he felt.
I miss you Asher, you were a good dog.

Why does everyone hate us?

I know what you're thinking, Jersey Shore, right? Well, yeah, maybe, but that is a relatively new phenomenon, there must be something else that leads the world to hate Americans...something enduring, something that's been happening continually over the past few decades.
There is. It's our absolute helplessness in our lives. It's the incredible obstacles we have to overcome in our daily lives, just to remain happy. Tings like not spilling milk all over the table, getting our shoes on without having to bend over, organizing our ever-growing pile of useless CRAP!


Yes, we Americans have it so tough. Apparently we really have a problem with cooking and eating...Meanwhile, a large portion of the world's population is just trying to get enough to eat. In Haiti, they eat dirt cakes.
Also, our uncoordinated and weak pets need a lot of assistance.
I watch this video an cringe. I love the looks of utter despair on their faces!
"Oh what's the use of living, this is not a soft-boiled egg!"
"I just can't keep my storage containers organized! What ever will I DO??"
Man, if this is all you had to go on to get an idea what Americans were like, you'd think we were a nation of spoiled, lazy and stupid losers who can't handle the slightest obstacle in life. Luckily this isn't all the world has to go on....There's also Fox News.

Web$ites

Back in the early Nineties, when the TV show Cops was in full swing, I remember thinking that Reality TV was the future! Unfortunately, I did not know how to capitalize on that.
Now it appears the money-related websites are the new wave of the future. I base this on two, two!, observations:
One was the Cars For A Grand Site(which is still awesome by the way), and the latest is Fiverr(via The Consumerist). This site is devoted to people offering to do things for five dollars. That's right, five bucks! What can you get for five bucks these days? Well, apparently, having your likeness made into a Cartoon or anAnime Characteris pretty popular.
But I like the guy who will hold a poster with your name on it, stand in front of the Sydney Opera House and have a picture taken the best. Because, really, what the hell is that?

P.S. I have no idea how to capitalize on this trend either, but I'm thinking of a quick way to make five bucks!

Happy St. Pat's!

A little cheer from Jonathan Swift:
"All folks who pretend to religion and grace,
Allow there's a HELL, but dispute of the place:
But, if HELL may by logical rules be defined
The place of the damned -I'll tell you my mind.
Wherever the damned do chiefly abound,
Most certainly there is HELL to be found:
Damned poets, damned critics, damned blockheads, damned knaves,
Damned senators bribed, damned prostitute slaves;
Damned lawyers and judges, damned lords and damned squires;
Damned spies and informers, damned friends and damned liars;
Damned villains, corrupted in every station;
Damned time-serving priests all over the nation;
And into the bargain I'll readily give you
Damned ignorant prelates, and counsellors privy.
Then let us no longer by parsons be flammed,
For we know by these marks the place of the damned:
And HELL to be sure is at Paris or Rome.
How happy for us that it is not at home!"
-Jonathan Swift

I have no idea...

It sure is fun to watch though. Oh, and in Soviet Russia, song sings YOU!



Here is a supposed explanation of what you just saw.

Even more and better info HERE with graphs!!

What's The Frequency Kenneth?

I was reading an article in Computer Power User magazine(more about that name later)that floored me. It wasn't really an article, more of a side bar. The gist of it was that RCA has developed a device that you can plug into your mobile phone that will suck the energy from WiFi signals to charge your battery. It's called the Airnergy.

I know...that's what I said. But Gizmodo has a write up on it too.(On the internet, must be true, etc.,etc.) So this thing converts Wifi energy...great, so why aren't we converting radio waves? Are they too weak? Will it distort the signals so Lady GaGa or the Black Eyed Peas will sound lamer than they already do??
I'm not an Electrical Engineer...I can install a ceiling fan, so, yeah, that's the exetent of my knowledge. But, I immediately envisioned people modding these things and hacking their Priuses(Prii?)to take advantage. Imagine a herd of them parked outside a Starbuck's feeding off the wireless teat of the global caffeine giant.

Ew.Anyway, more Priuses that currently congregate outside a Starbuck's.

As far as the name of that magazine goes: Pure Genius. No, I'm not talking about the clever abbreviation of CPU. I'm talking about having the "Power User" in the title of the magazine you're reading.
"Yeah, I'm a Power User baby...overclockin'!" Well, maybe not.But I'm sure someone thought that would be a good idea. Kinda like how I always have a copy of the Scientific American in my back pocket.