Tag: Reviews

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60% of Postmodern Jukebox

Summer left for a race in Vilonia this morning. I tried to sleep in a little bit since I would be driving late, but still had to get up and clean my car for the trip. First, I made some eggs over sourdough, and then made some for Summer as she came in. Then I stripped the seat cover out of the back of my car and did a deep clean with a vacuum and a blower, washed the windows, and wiped down all of the surfaces to try and keep Mom from having an allergic reaction.

I finally had a chance to take my shower, then took Muad’Dib for a quick and early run before we went to pick up my parents. We barely made it to Ozark before Summer had to stop. I went ahead and charged partway so we could get up to Viet Buffet in Rogers and then back down. I was worried there would be a wait, but we actually got right in. Everyone really enjoyed it, and though it wasn’t all just like Mom made, it was probably the most authentic I had seen anywhere, and they had all the greats.

From there, we made it to the Ozark Music Hall and actually got to park right outside. The concert was far from sold out, but the seats I got us on the balcony were right behind a speaker on stage-right. About a third, to a half of the stage was covered up, and I was livid. We probably could have gone down to the floor, but Mom didn’t want to move. Summer and I ended up moving to the empty reserved section right next to us at the end of the stage. Nobody said a word to us, and we could finally see the show.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy it, and since we were able to charge while we were at the show, we were able to make it all the way home without stopping. We dropped my parents off at home, then Summer dove straight into bed. Eaddie had given Muad’Dib a bath, but he seemed to be shedding some dandruff or crumbs of some kind, so I wanted to give him another one. I ended up getting frustrated at a bunch of little things that were left undone, and gave up for the night.

What a bunch of geezers.

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Todo lo que puedas comer

I ran a little late today, but still arrived on time, and dove into more of my NetBox buildout. The morning wasn’t bad, but the afternoon got tiring. Summer came through on her way home from Little Rock, and we met at Ortega’s for lunch. They had an all-you-can-eat for about the price of one of their lunch specials, so I had that with an assortment of goodies. It was probably the best no-frills Mexican food I’ve had in a long time. They weren’t elevated dishes, but they tasted great, and were all molten hot.

Summer took Muad’Dib home with her because she had been having a rough day and needed some company at home. I finished what I could and made it home to take him on a run as it got dark. My board died again, but I was able to limp it back to the house where I cleaned up a bit and wrote a bunch of reviews before bed.

You look like you know what tastes good.

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Clock Ticks

We got out of the cold, wet house early this morning, so I stopped by Hardee’s for breakfast. Once at work, I tried to pick a task and stay focused, but I still felt a little like I had imposter syndrome. We took our short McDonald’s break and finished out the afternoon with a bunch of reviews.

I grabbed a deal from Taco John’s when we got back home, then stopped at Superfast for some washer fluid while Summer was there for a late team meeting. When we got to the house, I ate my Taco Bravo and then made a ham sandwich while starting some laundry. It wasn’t until after it was nearly done that Dad texted about bánh tôm chiên khoai lang. Summer said she wanted those when she left work, so I started walking with Muad’Dib and she picked us up along the way.

I wasn’t very hungry by then, but I had a couple with Summer and then we headed back to the house to fight about laundry.

Twenty One a Day

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International House of Apples

We got up this morning and Summer decided she really wanted to go to the new IHOP/Applebee’s duo. I wasn’t thrilled, but I figured we could give it a try. We eventually got around and made it across town with Muad’Dib in tow. There was a wait, even as early as we got there, so we let him romp around in the adjacent field while we waited for our text.

Once we got inside, I realized how much of a remodel it was. The whole place was different. It was still a relatively small restaurant, but they had a full bar with a bunch of TVs, and I think that will probably do a lot better than a dry pancake house. The food service was almost surprisingly slow, even with how busy they were, just because they had so much staff wandering around actively helping. The food itself was actually really good, but I was a bit disappointed in my portion sizes. While we were there, I spotted Keith and waved him down for a quick chat before we left.

From there, I wanted to take Muad’Dib to PetSmart just to acclimate him to the place some more. He did really well as we wandered around, and then we talked to the groomers for a bit before leaving. Jonell saw us as we were walking out, and we talked to her and Chris for a bit before we left.

As we got close to home, we stopped at the Neighborhood Market for a turkey, since we didn’t have any more frozen breasts at home. Summer stayed outside and played with Muad’Dib in a field again. I ended up not getting a turkey, but grabbed a couple packages of steaks. I saw Frankie and Yong Suk while I was there, and talked to them for a bit before we left.

When we got back to the house, we cleaned the smoker in preparation for Thanksgiving. Summer was a great help eventually. Then I picked up some wings from Zaxby’s before taking Muad’Dib for a late night run. We visited my parents, and then as we were nearing the end of our run, Julie’s friend Claudia stopped me and we chatted for a bit. I didn’t realize she lived right around the block.

It was a rush to get to bed after that. I cleaned up a little bit and got ready for work in the morning, and then we were out.

Finish up, already!

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Nix

Things seemed really quiet today. Joel came by in the morning to ask about an email that disappeared from his inbox, and we never quite figured that one out. I spent most of the day reading up some more, and eventually spinning up a Ubuntu VM. We took a break to try the Buffalo ranch chicken sandwich at McDonald’s, and it was depressingly small. Lucky(?) for me, they made my first one wrong and they remade a new one for me, so I got to eat both, which together was still barely the size of a chicken sandwich from any other restaurant.

I bot Ubuntu updated just before leaving, and Muad’Dib and I went out on a quick run as soon as we got back into town. Dad was out, but we visited Mom, then came back to the house and I ate some leftover burrito stuff with chips instead of tortillas, since we were out. Everyone was quick to bed, but I worked on reviews all night.

This is vine.

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Everybody Out!

We all woke up pretty early today. The girls went outside for coffee with the dog, so I joined them with a cup myself. Eaddie had a football game in the afternoon. Summer went to work and the gym while I got cleaned up. Then I made myself a burrito just before she left for the pregame show. I followed along with Muad’Dib, and we parked at the aquatic center and rode the Onewheel over to Tech from there. It was a short show, and then she went in for the game while Muad’Dib and I headed back to the house.

It was nice out, so we ran to my parents’ house to see them. We visited for a bit before Muad’Dib took me around most of the rest of his course. He skipped zig-zagging through the neighborhood blocks, but it was also pretty warm out. I spent the afternoon cleaning up and did some laundry when we got back to the house. Summer and Shaana had an Alabama concert in Little Rock later in the evening, so Summer dropped her car off and changed before running out the door again.

The kids came home after their game, and I offered to take them out for dinner. I wanted to take Muad’Dib since the weather outside was so nice, so our options were a little limited. We landed on Buffalo Wild Wings, which was a typical and expected disappointment, but they let the dog in.

Eli had a wrap, and Eaddie and I split a huge order of wings. We didn’t care for two of the sauces we got, but I liked the rest. The potato wedges were good, but the portion size for the $8 large was absolutely unbelievable. A single russet potato would have yielded more wedges than what we received. Even the small tray they were served on had an insulting amount of free space available. It was as though we were at a fine dining establishment that served single bites of food on normal sized plates. Service was also incredibly slow, but they were packed inside.

After we ate, we made an impromptu stop downtown for some ice cream at the Cool Cat Creamery. Eaddie got some rolled ice cream for us and we sat outside to eat and visit. There were some skaters over around the stage area who approached Eli and me while Eaddie was inside, and asked if either of us could do a backflip. I asked if I looked like the kind of person that did backflips. Eli’s respose was that he had a dog at home. He elaborated, after seeing the confusion in everyone’s faces, that he couldn’t allow himself the opportunity to injur himself, presumably because the dog needed him.

We eventually made it back to the house. Summer got home pretty late, and then everyone was off to bed.

Like a summer night.

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Signals Lost

I wasn’t at work for very long before I got a call from Calvin, who was at the warehouse in Conway. He was having trouble with the internet out there, and I didn’t know enough about the place to walk him through any kind of troubleshooting. I talked to Scott, and decided to head over there to check out the place.

By then, the sun was out of my way and I could let the car take over. It did really well, and got us right to the place we needed to go. Calvin had to let me in, and then he showed me the little box of an office in the middle of the big warehouse. From there, he walked me back to the core closet at the far end of the warehouse. He kept asking questions and trying to talk to me while I was trying to figure out what was going on, so I politely told him it was going to take me a little while to figure out what was going on, and asked where he would be if I needed to find him. That worked perfectly, and I spent the next few hours mapping cables and walking back and forth across the complex.

I don’t know how any of it worked before I got there, because it appeared to be plugged up wrong. I got their little Netgear router working again though, and then had to figure out lunch with Muad’Dib. The Rogue Roundabout turned in on bringfido.com, so I figured I would give them a try since they were just a little ways away. We found street parking and went in to inquire. Evidently they had a patio somewhere, but it wasn’t open at the time. The guy walked us back out the door to look for a table space, but then he changed his mind and just let us sit inside in a seat away from other patrons.

It was a fairly hip place, with long picnic table type seating. I would absolutely turn around and walk out if they were busy, but I wouldn’t mind to eat there again on a slow day. Of course I couldn’t try any beer, but Muad’Dib and I liked the beer cheese and pretzels. I didn’t care for the Wellington, and my Reuben was overtoasted, but otherwise good. I would have liked to see our server again sometime between ordering and paying, but otherwise it was fine.

We made it back to Morrilton, got some wine for Summer, and then it was pretty dull the rest of the afternoon. I did figure out an issue that Jessica was having, so hopefully that was visible enough after the call I had tiwth her and Shane. It seemed like everyone was ready to get out of there, and we made it home without any fuss. Again, I let the car do its thing, and it performed excellently.

I took Muad’Dib out for a quick run. My parents weren’t home, but we continued on around Inglewood and made it back to the house well after dark. Summer was still complaining of back pain after her bath, so she went on to bed. Eaddie was home and showered before going out again. I separated myself until it was time for bed.

pure tingles

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Bring Grandma to Work Day

We had enough time to stop for coffee and then a biscuit this morning, and then still had time to stretch our legs when we got to work before putting on Muad’Dib’s costume. I wore my red hoodie, and he wore his robe, hairnet, and eyeglasses, which everyone loved. Joel brought Dexter, and though he was skittish at first, he eventually warmed up to Muad’Dib. Muad’Dib kept stealing his toy bone though, and I had to scold him.

I got into the firewall some and figured out how to pass the traffic I needed to make the Unifi captive portal work, so we won’t need a WiFi password next week when everyone shows up for training. I spent a bunch of time out and about, and felt a little more comfortable joking around with people, which was great.

We went to McDonald’s for lunch and had a pretty bad experience again. It wasn’t terrible, but every single aspect of being there could have been made better with almost no effort. I ended up sending a huge letter of complaint through their online form, since they requested I do so after I left a poor Google review.

The afternoon went by fairly quickly. I had a sudden anxiety attack, and Joel sent us home half an hour early. Muad’Dib and I got to the house where Summer was preparing for trick-or-treaters. We went on our run with Muad’Dib dressed as a cow, and then I took him around the block again without the outfit so he could feel more comfortable running fast.

I ate some food and then we sat outside with Summer while she passed out candy. There weren’t very many people in our neighborhood, which was great news for me. We came inside and watched the rest of Ironheart before winding down for bed.

My, what big runs you have!

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Off Grid

Today started out fairly tense. Summer and I left for Little Rock to see Tron, and it was just awkward silence the whole way. Things lightened up after that as we went through a whole bucket of popcorn before the previews started. I thought the movie was okay, but it was grungier than I liked. A huge part of the appeal for me was the digital perfection of everything, so it was kind of ick that the main character was a program who looked like he hadn’t showered in a couple of days. Of course Daft Punk could never be replaced for the soundtrack, and NIN only added to the grungy feeling of it all. Ultimately it was an entertaining flick without too much Morbin’.

We hunted for food after the show, and ended up driving a ways further south to eat at La Patrona Asian Sushi Buffet. It was an odd fusion of Asian and Mexican, split pretty closely down the middle. The food was okay. I liked the variety, but it wasn’t a huge selection. The service was very lacking because we didn’t seem to have a dedicated server, but we had already paid up front. I’d eat there again, if I were hungry, and if I were already very close.

After that, we made it over to the Outlets of Little Rock, which was a cute little outdoor courtyard type shopping center. It reminded me very much of Disney Springs, but only in the way that Arkansas could do it. The highlight was probably the weird Asian arcade behind the weird Asian pop culture store. There was hardly anyone there, except for one guy that was really getting into whatever piano-style rhythm game he was playing.

We made the loop and headed toward home, stopping in Conway so Summer could pick up something from the wash there. Once we got to the house, I took Muad’Dib for a quick run as the sun went down, and then it was a rush to bed.

end of line

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Cloud Failings

Today started out pretty early with SharePoint sync issues, which reinforced my frustrations with Microsoft cloud services. I’ve avoided OneDrive at home for so long, and the business experience is no better. Sync had broken on one of the computers downstairs, and reconnecting overwrote all local file changes with the older cloud version, which it thought was newer.

Lunch was interesting because I wasn’t the best dressed person in the Morrilton McDonald’s. There was something in the air, because it looked like there was a higher-level manager on duty, and there was actually someon walking the lobby to keep it clean. The usual staff was still just as curt with their yelling order numbers, but the food was good, and otherwise it was a decent experience.

Muad’Dib had some big zoomies to run out when we got back to the office, and fortunately it was a quick afternoon after going to lunch so late. Mark texted earlier in the day, so I called him on the drive home. Then I stopped by Julie’s house to trade a Dutch oven for a pretty loaf of sourdough. We talked for a bit before I continued on to visit my parents.

When we left there, Muad’Dib started whining and I let him out of the car to run home. He did great as I followed him in the car, and then Summer and I ate some leftover enchiladas before she wound down for bed. I opened up some Vine stuff and then continued vacuuming until I had an anxiety attack, which mostly just left me feeling suddenly extra-exhausted, so I wrapped up to go to bed too.

Sleep Paralasys