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Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Interesting article here on the resentment the merely wealthy feel toward the ultrarich. I'd say this echoes some of what I'd heard here in LA. Update, another take on the same article. posted by Russell | 11:34 AM Thursday, October 12, 2006 Ever wonder where nachos came from? No? Well here's the story anyhow. posted by Russell | 2:57 PM Thursday, October 05, 2006 Need spare parts for your bicycle or accessory? This is the place to go. I couldn't find replacement parts for my pump anywhere in LA, but Mr. Spicer at SpicerCycles.com was able to get them, no problem. He's got access to one of the biggest distributors in the country, and you can search the catalog online. What more could you ask for? Good service? He's got that too! posted by Russell | 2:57 PM Thursday, September 28, 2006 Fascinating post on why progressives lose elections. This reminds me a bit too much of my own experience in sales. I used to believe that people bought based on facts, hard experience has taught me otherwise. posted by Russell | 10:53 AM Wednesday, March 01, 2006 Sure, sure one isn't supposed to talk about such things but hey - I just saw Robert Redford by my dentist's office! I can add that to my sightings list which includes
and probably some others that have slipped my mind. No biggie overall, but still - Robert Redford! posted by Russell | 4:55 PMInteresting piece on L.A. schools (and attitudes towards low income students generally) http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh030106.shtml
If liberals care about public schools, and about low income people in general, why are schools in a liberal Democratic stronghold so darn bad? I don't have the answers, but the article raises some great points. Many affluent liberals in the L.A. area shell out approximately 20k/year for private school - why not spend the same time/attention on our local district? posted by Russell | 4:49 PMWednesday, February 22, 2006 A note to some less experienced employees: Yes you are smart, and yes, you are knowledgeable. But you don't know everything, or even everything about the things you think you are expert in. Before opening your mouth and inserting feet, you might pause to consider that maybe, just maybe, someone else knows how to do their own job, and suggesting otherwise is not endearing. Just a tip. posted by Russell | 4:57 PM Tuesday, February 07, 2006 Right now, I'm reading the Cryptonomicon, an interesting book all the cool kids were reading a few years ago. It's the best story about cryptography, warfare and cross generational treasure hunting I've ever read. The sad part is everyone else has moved on. Ditto for Freakonomics, Blink, and just about everything else I've read recently. I used to stay quite current with books, but now not so much. I'm sure part of it has to do with being the father of a 2 year old, but it also has to do with the way I get books these days. As I learn about a book that sounds interesting, I add it to my Amazon wish list. Then once a year for Christmas, I send a list of those books around, and I hope I get some. So in general, I don't even bring a book in my house until many months after it has been published, and I usually don't read it until many months after that (in my annual pre Christmas book reading/shelf clearing frenzy). I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to break this cycle, but I am going to give it some thought. posted by Russell | 5:07 PM Monday, January 09, 2006 MAC 3 Stroller - Avoid if you can My wife and I bought one of these about 18 months ago, and at first we loved it. It was easier to handle than a "real" jog stroller, looked nice, and was easy to fold. Unfortunately, as the review notes, the design/build quality leaves something to be desired. Screws have fallen out (no locknuts or similar fasteners), we've had several flat tires, and the thing almost never tracks straight. The official Maclaren site doesn't even list the stroller anymore, which is probably for the best. posted by Russell | 2:34 PM Saturday, April 16, 2005 Whew, big Day for Max today.
Friday, December 03, 2004 Hey blog, long time no see. So much to say, and apparently little inclination to say it.
Not much in the way of cuisine hunting lately, guess I'd better get moving. I'm having Moroccan this weekend though, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. posted by Russell | 4:45 PM Saturday, April 03, 2004 9 lbs. 6 oz! Delivered by C Section. More details later. Still blogging from hospital. posted by Russell | 3:30 AM Friday, April 02, 2004 Wow, way way better nurse after the shift change, she is a real pro. Not too talkative, but at least she's doing her job well, to our untrained eyes at least. No significant change recently, we are at 6cm, but are due to be examined soon. We'll cross our fingers. posted by Russell | 10:05 PM Dandy. She hasn't been turned in two hours, I got the wrong meal, her IV bag ran dry, and worst of all the doctor is over an hour late. I can't wait to get the comment card. posted by Russell | 6:11 PM Second breakfast was about as bad as it looked, lunch looked and tasted slightly better. Not going to be any culinary highlights during this hospital stay. At about 11 a.m., her pain got so intense we had the doctors put the epidural in. Our was administered by a Russian doctor who seemed extremely competent, but was almost unintelligble. It was rather hard to understand his jokes and small talk as he took a rapid fire medical history and performed the procedure. The procedure itself was rather exciting, mostly due to her IV tube becoming clogged. This meant a new line had to be inserted, which would ordinarily be no problem. Unfortuately, while our nurse should have done this before the doctor started he didn't. To make matters worse, last night's nurse had secured everything too, well - securely. I had to jump in and help the nurse while he tried to make the new connection and move the tubes. I was removing tape, unscrewing stuff (I have no idea what it was), applying pressure here etc. I think the highlight of the event was when I got bled on. I felt like a real pro. She is trying to sleep now, but it is difficult under the circumstances, and she's not the best sleeper anyhow. I caught another hour's worth after lunch, but she's just been resting. She's hooked up to a blood pressure cuff, and a pulse monitor on her finger. She finds the pressure from both a bit annoying, and particularly dislikes the cuff inflating itself every so often to take her blood pressure. Completely understandable. She was on oxygen for a bit, but we're not completely sure why. The doctors and nurses seem to tell us less and less as we get farther into this, and I'm not sure how big a stink to make about it. I awoke from my nap to find the doctor and nurse discussing something, and next thing you know - O2 mask. We feel like we are headed for a C section - which we were trying to avoid. More later - I have to go make her feel a bit more comfortable. posted by Russell | 2:35 PM Her water just broke! I wont go into any detailed discussion about it. If you are curious, I'd try Google. Surprise, they just brought me what Hobbits might call "second breakfast". Looks slightly gruesome, but i'll eat some anyhow I'm sure. posted by Russell | 8:22 AM Bleh, that was just fuel, but the price was right - 1.73. She's not feeling so great, still a bit hungover from the morphine, and her left side is sore from sleeping on it last night. Turning over to the other side is a bigger ordeal than you might think, but she managed. Started the second, more potent drug to induce about 20 minutes ago. This also means no more eating or drinking for her until after delivery. The drug is administered via IV and has Dextrose in it for some nourishment. Luckily she got down a Luna bar this morning, but no coffee. I imagine the caffeine headache that's looming will be basically unnoticed in the coming excitement. posted by Russell | 7:08 AM Been awake for about an hour now, she's been up for 30 minutes or so and feeling woozy from the morphine. She isn't crazy about the after effects of the morphine, but I doubt she'd have slept so well without it. As it is, she probaby got 4 solid hours, and 2 fitful. I'm at about 5, which should be plenty. The nurse just recommended the breakfast burritos downstairs - I'm on my way. posted by Russell | 6:26 AM Thursday, April 01, 2004 Just had a visit from the nurse. She "repositioned" the Cervidil, looked painful. She was also kind enough to remove the monitors for a while, though they'll have to be reattached later. Some good news, the baby's head is on top of the cervix, and the cervix is feeling thin. Think we're going to try and get some sleep soon. posted by Russell | 11:09 PM Just saw J & J from our childbirth class and they looked exhausted, she just delivered next door. Oddly enough, we watched her contractions and her baby's heartbeat on the monitor in our room. Small world. posted by Russell | 9:59 PM My wife is holding up well, and truth be told, has for almost the whole preganacy. Every so often now, she stops talking and gets a look of pain or concentration or something else entirely. After a bit it passes, and she's back to normal. She's definitely planning on pain medication during labor, so hopefully none of this process will be *too* painful. Easy for me to be somewhat detached from the contractions - I'm not having them. posted by Russell | 9:02 PM Among the many supplies in the room are something called "chux". Anyone have any idea what those are? It just wouldn't be any fun asking the nurse. posted by Russell | 9:00 PM Just finished dinner from Izzy's deli on Wilshire. Her - 1/2 Turkey Salad Sandwich, cup of matzoh ball soup (plus fruit salad and green salad not touched). Him - Tuna melt with cheddar, fries, bit of slaw (also not touched). The spawn is so big that he's mushed up her stomach to point that she just can't eat too much. She just told me she's topped off, sounds like a car. Just had a nursing shift change. From a good nurse to a great nurse, things are lookin up. :) posted by Russell | 8:44 PM Ruth and I are at the Hospital. We arrived about two hours ago and have already had a few surprises. First, she is hooked up to monitors, and will be until the delivery is over - apparently this is standard for induction. Second, she gets to wear these over the thigh compression stockings from now until a week after delivery! Sexy! We are, by the way, in the room where Amy Irving delivered both of her children. We feel so honored. More details later. posted by Russell | 6:52 PM Thursday, December 18, 2003 Starbucks vs. Subway I don't know why Starbucks own their stores outright, and Subway has franchisees, but I'm pretty sure Arnold Kling is wrong. Subway is notorious for selling many franchises in a given geography. According to a press release excerpting a study Pierre Azoulay (Sloan School of Management, MIT) ...another franchisor in the sample declared it was following the Subway franchises lead when denying exclusive territories to franchisees, apparently not realizing that Subway faces chronic litigation from franchisees because of encroachment-related disputes. I'm not sure I believe CE Petit's claims about the relative difficulties of making sandwiches and coffee either. There is a world of difference between a good sandwich and a bad one. If you don't believe me, try a Subway turkey sandwich and compare it to one in shrink wrap from a convenience store. Think the only distinguishing factor is the knife they used to cut the bread? So why have they chosen their respective strategies? I think Wayne Eastman's thoughts are the closest to mine. It's all about the brand... posted by Russell | 4:13 PM Tuesday, July 15, 2003 My most expensive burger ever I went to Josie's on Pico last night. It was heavenly as usual. Dinner started with Josie's customary slice of cheese and mushroom quiche; it was very thin, and very, very good. We only ordered one appetizer for the table - the sublime 100 tomato tart. Why 100? I have no idea. The tart consists primarily of rather sweet grape tomatoes on a bed of melted goat cheese, all nestled in a shallow tart shell. The tomatoes are impossibly sweet and explode with flavor when you bite into them – a nice contrast to the creamy taste and texture of the cheese. When I was ordering, I had my eye on two entrees, the lamb chops (too normal?) and the buffalo burger topped with foie gras (too gimmicky?). When I asked our waitress for more detail, she recommended the lamb chops, but said ordering the burger was an “event”. That sealed it, I got the burger. It was monstrous. Without the top bun it was easily 7 inches tall and surrounded by herbed and truffled fries tossed with a bit of grated cheese. The fries were fair; in my opinion they would have been better without the terrible truffle treatment. Eggs and truffles – fine, pasta and truffles – also fine. Fries and truffles – I’ll pass. The ground buffalo was quite good and just slightly on the rare side of medium. Topped with a thick slab of foie gras, grilled onions and mushrooms, it was served with fresh catsup, mayonnaise, and an excellent red pepper based sauce. A Juicy Crumbly Rich Meaty Mountain of meat. Of course, I ate the whole thing. (and inspired the woman at the next table to do the same) Dessert was a chocolate lava peanut butter cake, with peanut butter cream and a wedge of peanut brittle. Imagine a 6 inch wide Reese’s peanut butter cup, and invert it. Then inject an ounce or so of warm chocolate sauce and serve. Two (or more) great tastes that taste great together. If I could eat at Josie’s more often, I’d be as big as a house. posted by Russell | 5:09 PM Thursday, June 19, 2003 10 of my LA favorites Inspired by Armed Liberal, who in turn was inspired by Tedman. I've only lived here 3 years, so I'm hardly an expert on L.A. dining, but listed in alphabetical order below are 10 of my favorites.... 26 Beach Cafe - Breakfast - Venice Although some praise their burgers and salads, I will not. I must however state, for the record, that they serve the most incredible French Toast I've ever eaten. There are many varieties available, but I favor the one with strawberry and cream cheese stuffing. Abbot's Pizza - Pizza - Venice, Santa Monica Tomato/Basil and BBQ Chicken are my favorites. The Venice location turns out more consistent pies and a more interesting experience , but Santa Monica has the better parking and fountain drinks. An excellent meal for the money, the taste/dollar ratio is in the same league as In N Out. Carousel - Armenian, Hollywood and Glendale locations Falafel, hummus, baba ganoush and a whole lot of stuff you may not have eaten before. Everything I've had here is excellent. Relatively simple dishes, but executed very, very well. Plan of attack - Go with friends, order too many items, share, waddle home. El Cholo - Mexican, various locations Yes, some people hate this place, but I think they're nuts. Anyone who has served so much food to so many people for so many years has clearly got a good thing going. My personal favorite here is the #1 combo, a cheese enchilada and beef taco, two staples that should always be this good, but often aren't. El Tarasco - Mexican - various locations Oh, the beefy, cheesy, greasy goodness. The Super Deluxe reminds me of the Tex Mex of my childhood - only better. As good as the Super Deluxe is, the El Tarasco burrito is even better. Marinated beef with onions and cilantro (among other things), and it's outstanding. In N Out - Almost everywhere Could be the best taste/dollar ratio available in the Southland. I don't go for any of that off the menu stuff, though I'm sure it's fine. They only sell a few items, but each one is excellent. Compare/contrast with Carl's Jr, many items of dubious quality. Langer's Deli - Mac Arthur Park The Best Pastrami Ever. Get the rye bread, which is exceptional. And don't forget the validated parking down the street. Josie - Fine Dining - Santa Monica I'm not really sure how to categorize this one besides excellent and expensive. Minor emphasis on game, creative (but not annoyingly so) menu. The only restaurant in this price range that I like enough to spend my own money on; so bring your wallet, or better yet, someone else's. Pie and Burger - Burgers of course - Pasadena The urBurger that all others aspire to. Simple, meaty, tasty. The pies are also excellent; this is always worth a trip to Pasadena. Better than Apple Pan in my opinion. Versailles - Cuban - various locations Yummy, Garlic, Chicken, Pork, Beans. I don't really think I need to say anything more about it, except for the fact it is the only place I've ever seen Mate soda. Did I mention the garlic? posted by Russell | 10:49 AM Wednesday, June 11, 2003 Favorite Thing I Saw On A Blog Today A bit of a movie review from Bruce Anderson's Journal (no permalinks, but dated 2003-06-06) "Movie is muddled and confusing. If you have to read a long treatise on the meaning of the film after watching it to understand it, it's crap." I know I've had that feeling before. posted by Russell | 2:35 PM Monday, June 09, 2003 The World's Best Concession Stand Crabcakes It was mid afternoon in Northern Virginia, at a little town fair. You've probably seen the type, plywood booths selling cotton candy, softserve ice cream and frozen -> microwaved corndogs. (These last are abominations, settle only for freshly dipped and fried dogs served with mustard. Yum) Also, little tent type booths selling "art" that seemed to be made primarily of coke cans and rusty wire, or wooden toys turned out by retired engineers. Upon arrival, I had two thoughts: first, there would have been approximately 254,876 more people if this was in Southern California; second, where is the "food" court? When I saw that sign, I knew there was no way I could pass it up. I mean, come on, "The World's Best"? I wasn't exactly qualified to judge, as I'd never before eaten a Concession Stand Crab Cake, but I plunged ahead nevertheless. As I slowly moved to the front of the line I noted that the crab cakes didn't come from a box - good. Buns fried in butter like substance, pleasant aroma, no heat lamps - good, good, good. So I forked over my $5 and got, well, The World's Best Concession Stand Crabcake. Nice juicy lumps of crab meat crisply fried and pleasantly spiced. I've spent more on crabcakes that weren't as tasty many times. I'm amazed and pleased when I come across a treasure like this. Now just one question remains. What is Old Bay seasoning, and why did I see it all over the region? As usual, I'll turn to Google for answers and post if I find anything interesting. posted by Russell | 11:29 AM Tuesday, June 03, 2003 Southern Pride? Went to the the Robert E. Lee Chapel and museum in Lexington, Va. last week. His horse, Traveler (who died of lockjaw) is buried outside. Patrons (mostly southerners) leaving the museum throw pennies on top of the horse's grave. I don't know about you, but I'm fairly sure Lee would not have appreciated people tossing portraits of Lincoln on Traveler's grave. posted by Russell | 5:26 PM Tuesday, May 20, 2003 The blog words They're not flowing. They are unlike a well poured Coke, or a beer with the perfect head. Or even the glug glug glug of milk from the nifty paper box with a plastic cap. No, recently they've been more like honey. Not just any honey, but the kind of honey you bought for a recipe a year ago. And used once, then stored on the lazy susan. It waited, quietly drying out and crystallizing until it barely flows at all. Until only a Herculean squeeze of the little plastic bear could coax it out into a guest's tea. (Be careful not to let them see you do this.) So I guess really, the words are just like the honey in my kitchen. Mostly ignored, seldom used, and in danger of being discarded. posted by Russell | 5:45 PM Monday, April 28, 2003 ROOOWWWWRRR! Chewie's Back! But please, oh please, don't bring back the Ewoks. posted by Russell | 1:31 PM |
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