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February 21, 2008
Performance Art in Grand Central Station
This is simply brilliant. No props. No damage to property. No one traumatized (much).
Go here to see the video!
Two hundred and seven random individuals agreed to stop, mid-action, all at the same time in Grand Central Station. The reaction of the other people is priceless. This is the kind of performance art that rocks.
Posted by Steven at 05:52 PM | Comments (1)
February 17, 2008
Google Maps Will Find You, Too
Aaron Heller posted this on the WRPI Alumni mailing list, and I had to share it with you.
Posted by Steven at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2008
Boardwalk VW Coming to McKinney
One of my fervent wishes for McKinney is that it become home to a VW dealership.
Today I was at Boardwalk VW in Richardson, and several of the staff there confirmed that they are opening a franchise dealership this year in McKinney.
Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!
I'll finally be able to get my car serviced in my home town instead of having to go to Richardson or Dallas or Irving.
It's a dream come true (sadly, yes, a dream come true)!
Makes me wonder if the VW dealership will beat a new big-box book store?
Posted by Steven at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2008
Fun With Your Oscilloscope
This goes out to my Dad, who collected used oscilloscopes from his employer in the '70s:
I'm stunned to see the beauty in this display demo. Incredible.
Posted by Steven at 08:19 PM | Comments (0)
"The Birds and the Bees"
Saw this video on YouTübe and liked it (the lead singer plays the clarinet!):
Posted by Steven at 08:13 PM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2008
Leo Accepted into NJHS
Leo has been accepted into Dowell MS National Junior Honor Society!
He's also taking on both Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band (plus Jazz Band) music, although he will only perform with the Symphonic Band at Dowell. He has the option to move up to WE next year, if I am not mistaken (he was offered WE this year, but decided to stay in Symphonic for performance purposes).
Posted by Steven at 02:07 PM | Comments (1)
February 09, 2008
Alanna is Driving (More or Less)
In case you hadn't heard, Alanna has her full driver's license as of last Saturday. She's still learning how to handle the five-speed manual transmission on the 2003 Golf TDI, but today she seemed to have a breakthrough. I've left the Garmin c320 GPS in it, so she has a digital, speaking map in her (five year-old) car. Soon we expect her to start driving herself everywhere. Surprisingly, Anne's more excited about this prospect than either Alanna or myself.
Posted by Steven at 07:04 PM | Comments (1)
February 02, 2008
Okada Hibachi in McKinney
Took lunch at Okada, a new hibachi restaurant in McKinney. This place opened in the still-warm body of what was previously the Citris Grill, behind the Rockfish and Saltgrass Steakhouse on El Dorado Parkway and US 75. I was really looking forward to trying out this new hibachi restaurant after the disappointment of the last hibachi place that opened on El Dorado, behind McDonald's. Unfortunately, this place really didn't live up to my standards.
The new decor is very attractive, and somewhat reminiscent of the Irving Benihana when it first opened. The hostess approached me at 11:50am and peevishly told me to come back after 12:00 when they opened. I got back in my car and drove over to Sprint to inquire about rates, and then came back at 12:15 to a place that was already bustling with customers.
I sat at a hibachi table by myself (later to be joined by a couple who didn't realize the hibachi food was prepared at the cooking tables, not the dining ones), and ordered my usual: hibachi chicken. They delivered a can of Dr. Pepper (a bad sign), and a very, very salty miso soup. The salad was uninspired (about the only thing that disappoints at Hibachi Rocks in Allen) with a very sugary dressing.
The chef came out and introduced himself. He went into the whole "show" that I find tedious at this point, and made some very lightly fried rice. Then they took a major hit when they put ginger sauce in one tray and mayonnaise in the other -- instead of mustard sauce. Ugh. The chicken was not as dry as most places, but when I asked for a teriyaki sauce, they put a light amount on the meat that I could barely taste. By this time, I was on my third can of Dr. Pepper and wondering if they charged for each one.
They do. Another huge negative. I was charged $7.50 for drinks -- it was like I was in Europe or something.
I left feeling pretty dissatisfied with the place. It's new and clean right now, but already the food is dull (duller than normal, I'm sure Anne will say) and the service -meh- ish.
Joe Bob sez "don't bother checking it out."
The good news is that Hibachi Rocks is opening their third restaurant at Custer and SH 121!
Posted by Steven at 12:44 PM | Comments (2)
February 01, 2008
HOV Heaven
I located a co-worker at Hotels.com to ride with me to work everyday, and as a result, I am driving the new HOV lane that runs from Bethany Rd. in Allen, down to the High Five (I-635 and US 75).
The main artery is twelve miles, and constitutes the bulk of the drive down Central Expressway. It used to take me between forty and seventy minutes to drive each way to work (the evening leg usually being the longer), but now it's almost always a consistent thirty-five minutes each way. To say that this has made the drive to work a less stressful drive is a wild understatement. I used to drive nutty circuitious routes to avoid the traffic on Central, but now I just blaze up the core of the highway like photons in fibre optic cable.
Posted by Steven at 07:12 PM | Comments (0)