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November 29, 2007
A Snuffer's Of One's Own?
The Dallas Morning News reports that Pat Snuffer is going to try franchising his namesake restaurant -- again.
Back in the mid-90's they tried opening franchise restaurants in Houston and College Station, but they closed quickly. They found it difficult to reproduce the same menu with local supply chains, and (I suspect) the locale didn't work well with the concept. Snuffer's has always been more "Austin-like" than anything else (think 'juke-joint'), and that doesn't jib well in College Station, home of the Texas Aggies, nor Houston, which is more closely associated with A&M and U of H than UT or SMU.
I hope that it works out well -- I'd love to see Snuffer's restaurants outside of Dallas/Ft. Worth, but the original store and my new McKinney Snuffer's will always be my favorites.
Snuffer's celebrates its thirtieth year next June!
Posted by Steven at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
November 19, 2007
Ruby Returns to ZBS!
 | I was delighted to discover that ZBS Productions has put The Adventures of Ruby back on it's catalog (in CD and MP3 format). The main page for Ruby is here. |
Posted by Steven at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)
My Doctor Meets Alanna's Doctor
Alanna found this missing ten minute special on Dr. Who that fits between the last and next-to-last scene in the final episode of the third season of Dr. Who. Peter Davison and David Tennant team up for a few minutes to create an interstitial that is hilarious in how it maps the latest Doctor onto fanboys. (For those still puzzling the entry title: Peter Davison was the Doctor when I was watching Who back in 1983, and Tennant is the Doctor today.)
Joe Bob sez, "Check it out!"
Posted by Steven at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2007
Almost Settled in at Hotels.com
Finished my third week at HCOM, and I'm almost completely settled in. It's amazing how much HR stuff there is to do with a new job (401(k), insurance, peeing in bottles, &c.), and then there's figuring out who everyone is, and finally, figuring out what it is I have to do to earn my paycheck.
The good news is that HCOM, which is owned by Expedia, is pretty friendly to the development staff. The managers seem to want to keep the developers happy, and the work environment appears to be very "family friendly" (this is one of the reasons I shied away from the Linux kernel contract job in Richardson).
Probably the biggest problem with the job is the drive itself. I take between thirty and seventy minutes to drive one-way either to or from HCOM. Some days it's completely bizarre when and where the delays are, but I spend typically ninety minutes driving each day (and I just paid $3.40/gal. for diesel last week), so there are some additional costs to this job that my Maskina one didn't include.
I'm trying to figure out and document all the operational stuff that I am supposed to be doing, as well as engaging in my development (tools) tasks. I'll keep you posted to any interesting developments.
Posted by Steven at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2007
Boyd HS Playoffs: Week One (we won!)
McKinney Boyd HS won it's first (ever) playoff game tonight (49-35), propelling the school to Tyler, Texas next Saturday for the second playoff game. We don't know if it will be an afternoon or evening game, but we're definitely doomed to ride the dreaded "Yellowhound" buses for at least 160 miles (round trip) to Tyler. Alas, most of the band kids are hoping the football team loses so they can stop having to perform, but what they are not seeing is the fact that this is not likely to happen again for quite some time at Boyd as we move up to 5A (AAAAA) competition next year.
I'm actually starting to enjoy high school football, a mental condition I thought I would never contract. I guess I really am getting old.
Posted by Steven at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2007
Traveling to San Francisco in December
HCOM is sending me to San Francisco for training from the 11th of December until the morning of the 15th. I should be available to visit with friends and Ilk in the Bay every night. My co-workers are bringing family and we won't be renting a car, so I'll have to get around on BART and Caltrans.
If you are reading this, I'm hoping to see Matt Bailey, Russ Brenner, Zed Lopez, Ogen Perry and Ed Falk. If there's time I'll look up any WRPI alumni I can recall, but I think seeing that lot will be plenty for the week.
Posted by Steven at 05:59 PM | Comments (0)