Dec 31 2010
iBryant kids
A family visit to a mac store.
“…I’m gonna be like him, yeah, You know I’m gonna be like him”…Cats and the cradle and the…”
Let’s hope not! Happy New Year every body!
Dec 31 2010
Bennett’s Bar-B-Que, Denver Colorado
I can’t figure out why in the world we thought we could get good BBQ outside of the South. No sweet Tea? The meat (chicken, pork, beef, and turkey) was all dry. The sauce tasted just like they poured it out of the bottle from Publix.
The service was good. I kind of felt sorry for the nice lady who served us such awful Q. Then again, maybe Coloradans don’t know the difference. Take me back to Creekside in Anderson!
Dec 31 2010
Argyll’s Gastro Pub, Denver Colorado
We had no idea of what to order, so we split a sample platter: House Made Charcuterie Selections 100% House Made Charcuterie Program – Pickled Cow’s Tongue, Rabbit Rillette, Country Style Chicken Pate, Lamb Cripenette, Country Style Rabbit and Pork Pate, Gin Cured Salmon Gravlox, Duck Proscuitto. Cheese Selections – Parmesan Reggiano, Raw Milk Manchego, Delice d’ Argental, Sierra Flamenco Andalucia, Stilton Bleu Cheese House Made Accoutroments – Caraway Seed Beer Mustard, Nicoise Olive Tapenade, Spicy Tomato Jam, Colorado Purple Onion Jam, Colemans Mustard, Port Gastrique, Apricot Chutney.
Argyll GastroPub has a feeling of pure Old World permanence like the timeless UK Public Houses it is modeled after. Part of a hot national trend of importing classic UK-style “GastroPubs,” Argyll is as serious about its food. At Weekend Brunch the “House” Cured Corned Beef Hash is ‘par excellence’, as reported by The Denver Post’s Bill Husted who called it “one of the best dishes in the city” Whatever you order, the “from scratch kitchen” promises to leave you satisfied. A warm and classy bar that’s fit for foodies; Argyll GastroPub is a true neighborhood gem.
Dec 30 2010
Zen Asian Bistro, Westminster Colorado
I would compare this asian food with PF Changs. Very fresh. Quite often typical Chinese restaurants all taste the same. We still like it, but we do like something different.
The egg drop soup was unusually good (it was well below freezing on this Colorado December night). The spring rolls were extra fresh, tasted like they were just made. Good, non-sticky rice went well with the Shrimp Tempura. Definitely a 10.
Dec 30 2010
Marco’s Coal Fired Pizza, Denver Colorado
Very cool place. Great pizza with very fresh ingredients. Hit the spot from walking in the downtown Denver snow. As the name implies, the pizza comes from a coal fired oven. It has a interesting taste to it from being baked in the coal oven.
As usual, Ethan was getting bored waiting on the pizza, so the waitress brought him a ball of dough to play with!
Dec 29 2010
a cool free program
Problem. You need a big poster or sign. You have a color printer that can print on card stock, yet nothing bigger than legal size. Until this morning, I thought my only option was to go to a printer and shell out 50 bucks or more.
I found this cool little program that takes a large image, and makes a pdf with several sheets of paper. After printing, you trim and glue up the sheets to make your poster. There’s a tiny overlap, so if you’re careful, there won’t be hardly any white space in the seams.
If your poster can have a few seams, viola! You’ve saved some serious cash.
The program is call posterazor and can be downloaded here.
Disclaimer: I just started using this program today, so proceed with caution. If this program crashes your computer, don’t blame me.
Dec 24 2010
Reminder: He was born to die!
These verses are featured in Handel’s Messiah
Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Dec 24 2010
you’ve got to try this sauce!
I’m Smoking two Beef Tenderloins (Dad paid for it!) for tonight. My side of the family gets together on Christmas Eve. I experimented with an awesome sauce that’s not too horseradishy and a little cheesy. What the heck is Gorgonzola? was my questions to. It’s sort of like blue cheese.
Gorgonzola/horseradish Cream Sauce
4 cups heavy cream
3-4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola cheese (not creamy or “dolce”)
3 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons prepared Horseradish
In a large saucepan (cream expands and makes a mess!) over medium-high heat, bring cream to a full boil. Boil rapidly 45-50 minutes until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat, add all ingredients. Whisk rapidly until cheeses melt.
To reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk rapidly until sauce comes together.
Dec 21 2010
commerce responds to SHAFT (TRAC)
Two years ago, we looked at the proposed Tax Realignment Commission (TRAC) with much skepticism. We’re going to refer to it as SHAFT because you the taxpayer are getting shafted when its all said and done. Originally, the SHAFT (TRAC) report was going to be presented to the General Assembly as a whole pie to be voted up or down with no opportunity to amend.
Back then, I introduced an amendment to force SHAFT (TRAC) to make the proposal revenue neutral (they could not present a plan that raised taxes). I lost that battle by 1 vote. The argument was why would we want to tie the hands of SHAFT to propose a plan that couldn’t raise taxes? Exactly, lets tie the hands, feet, and gag anyone that would dare suggest we raise taxes on South Carolinians already suffering under an unsustainable amount of tax burden.
We were, however, able to whittle it down a little bit by allowing the proposal to be amended just like any other bill. After this change, I was supporting the concept, but eventually voted against SHAFT.
Here’s why.
SHAFT is nothing more that an attempt to provide cover to Columbia politicians to raise your taxes. Here’s how. The SHAFT proposal is adopted by the General Assembly. The politicians go home to screaming constituents because he/she voted to raise your taxes. The explanation? “We created a committee made up of a diverse selection of experts from all over the Palmetto State. They reported that this plan will make us more competitive. This plan will sustain our revenue sources in government so we can focus on making South Carolina a better place to live, breath, and hope…blah blah blah”.
You get the idea, right?
In the past, I’ve commented on TRAC here and here.
The Department of Commerce has a presentation in response to SHAFT (TRAC) click: here
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