I used Shazam to discover All The Things I Look For by Dennis Ferrer

Hi,

I've just used Shazam to discover All The Things I Look For by Dennis Ferrer. I thought you might like this track.

If you have Shazam on your iPhone or iPod touch, tap here to add this Tag to your list. To get Shazam on your iPhone or iPod touch visit the App Store.

Shazam is free to download and use, so check it out.

Read More...

Summary only...

Nigaz For Life

Over at Stinque they say, "If it smells, we're on it" and they didn't miss this rather hilarious story. Of course I tweeted that shit and now I'm posting a link to the BBC story here on my blog just in case anyone missed it.

Read More...

Summary only...

Coffee the Way It Should Be

Read More...

Summary only...

Blog Fail

I took another run at posting everyday for a month and fell off the wagon after less than a week. I may try the everyday posting this again at some point in the future, but it will have to wait for a while 'cause the newest member of Swiss Family Rat is due to make his or her appearance sometime in the next three weeks.

Read More...

Summary only...

Teddy Folkman to Help out at Annual Brainfood Charity Event -- June 11

 

3^rd Annual Brainfood Grill-Off Brings the Heat of Competition to DC

Top chefs team up with amateur cooks to benefit local nonprofit

 

WHAT:             Teams of award-winning chefs, amateur grilling aficionados and Brainfood program graduates compete for top honors at the 3^rd Annual Brainfood Grill-Off. Brainfood is a DC-based nonprofit that uses food and cooking as tools to teach life skills and healthy living to teenagers in a safe and positive environment. In addition to the grilling competition, highlights include hors d'oeuvres, open bar and live auction. Thanks to the generosity of Reznick Group and other sponsors, 100 percent of ticket sales will support Brainfood after-school and summer programs, including hands-on instruction, educational field trips and guest chef demonstrations.

 

WHO:               Top local chefs team up with amateur cooks, including:

·         Glenn Babcock, Nage

·         Anthony Chittum, Vermilion

·         Daniel Giusti, 1789 Restaurant

·         Teddy Folkman, Granville Moore's (and finalist on the new season of The Next Food Network Star)

·         Jonathan Krinn, Inox Restaurant

·         Jon Mathieson, Inox Restaurant

·         Cedric Maupillier, Central Michel Richard

·         Bryan Moscatello, Zola

·         Shannon Overmiller, The Majestic

 

Emcee for the evening is Leon Harris, WJLA-TV ABC7.

 

WHEN:             Thursday, June 11, 2009

                        6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

 

WHERE:           Decatur House on Lafayette Square

                        1610 H Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006

 

COST:              $75 per ticket

                        $3,000 per team entry

                        http://brain-food.org/brainfood-grill-off-june-11th-2009

 

MEDIA VISUALS:         

·         Professional chefs help amateurs turn fresh ingredients into culinary masterpieces

·         Brainfood graduates – all DC high school students – show off their cooking skills

·         Event photos: http://brain-food.org/category/image-galleries/brainfood-grill-off-2008

 

About Brainfood:

Brainfood is a nonprofit youth development organization that uses food and cooking as tools to teach life skills and healthy living to teenagers in a safe, healthy and positive environment. Local high school students participate in our programs either twice a week after school or five days a week for six weeks during the summer. Activities include hands-on cooking classes, lectures, field trips and community service projects. Brainfood graduates are equipped with practical cooking skills, an introduction to the food industry, a framework for nutritious eating, and leadership and life experiences that prepare them to make a difference in their communities. Brainfood is in its 10^th year of operations and has locations in the Columbia Heights and Chinatown neighborhoods of Washington, DC. For more information, visit: www.brain-food.org.

 

Read More...

Summary only...

Real World DC Links - Updated

Borderstan is posting about the not so secret location of the Real World DC house. Prince of Petworth has also posted about the future home for DC's hand picked new residents. Some site name Vevmo has pix and stills of the house up and a very active message board for people who seem to care about all of this just a little too much.

UPDATE
There is, of course, the obligatory Real World hate site up that comes complete with Twitter stream.

Read More...

Summary only...

Friday Night Lights

Typical whirlwind Friday. We've been grilling and having low impact Happy Hour with another family or two on Friday evenings since we got a new outdoor set about six weeks ago. There are two things that initially led us to believe that WifeRat and I would be together forever. The first thing was travelling together and the second was entertaining together.

WifeRat and I both love to entertain and, perhaps more importantly, we love to entertain together. Neither of us thinks too much of last minute dinner guests, unexpected visits, and hastily called get togethers. At varying times in our relationship both of us have nervously called up the other, sheepishly explained the need for assistance, and then come home to an almost magazine worthy spread of food and drink in miraculously clean place.

Rather than grilling tonight, the kids from across the street were over. The folks that live across the street from us have a daughter who is about six months older than BabyRat, a son who is 2 1/2, and they just had a third about 6 weeks ago. Naturally BabyRat and the daughter are BFF and the younger brother is always invited to tag along when the BFF comes over. When I realized that I could easily accommodate a couple of extra kids in my dinner plans I called across the street and got the OK.

So rather than an ad hoc grill session/Happy Hour, we had the neighbor kids over for dinner to add some excitement to the end of the week. It was hectic, but fun to have three kids at the dinner table with us tonight. The BFF's mom says that she's a picky eater, but all I know is that kid chows down whenever she's at our house. It's kind of cool though to have neighbors whose kids are at your house enough to notice something like that.

Read More...

Summary only...

Teddy Folkman Named Executive Chef at Capitol Lounge

Does posting a press release count as my post for the day?

Teddy Folkman Named Executive Chef at Capitol Lounge
The Next Food Network Star Finalist Brings Acclaimed Cuisine to Capitol Hill

Washington, DC- The Capitol Lounge, one of Capitol Hill's most storied restaurants, is raising the bar to a new level this summer. Finalist of Food Network's The Next Food Network Star and co-owner/executive chef of Granville Moore's, Teddy Folkman has entered the fray on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Chef Folkman, debuting on Food Network's The Next Food Network Star on June 7th, will unveil a menu that touches both on his celebrated dishes at Granville Moore's and Capitol Lounge's classic pub fare. Dedicated to enhancing the Capitol Lounge dining experience, Chef Folkman brings his own signature style and pedigree to a block that already boasts the likes of Food Network's own Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery and Barton Seaver of Sonoma. He formally assumes the role of Executive Chef on June 8th, 2009 with a new menu launching that week.

Beginning Sunday, June 7th, guests are welcome to watch each weekly episode of The Next Food Network Star at Capitol Lounge (229 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC) with Chef Folkman. Episodes are scheduled to run Sundays at 9pm EST. Other viewing party locations include:

-The Argonaut - 1430 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC
-Reynolds Street Bar and Grill - 34 South Reynolds Street, Alexandria, VA
-Veritas Wine Bar - 2031 Florida Ave NW, Washington DC
-Enology Wine Bar - 3238 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington DC

The Lounge's new menu will feature Folkman's signature dishes, Moules Fromage Bleu and his one-of-a-kind frites, in addition to items including Fried Tabasco Oysters, Goat Cheese Poppers, Crispy Tuna Rolls, and made-to-order pizza. Chef Folkman will work closely with leading purveyors and vendors to bring guests top-quality ingredients. He will be a significant presence at the restaurant and oversee all menu developments.

"It is really exciting to be able to take over the kitchen of Capitol Lounge. When I first moved to DC in 1999, I lived around the block. Because of that and my love for their pizzas and wings, it is a place where some of my best memories lie. I'm hoping to create some new memories and bring some really fun gourmet bar food to what is sure to be one of the most exciting blocks in the city this summer," says Folkman.

Restauranteur Joe Englert opened The Capitol Lounge in 1994. After numerous fires in the last two decades, one which left the venue inoperable for months, the property has received a major facelift. A series of renovations on both floors has been completed in recent months leading up to Chef Folkman's arrival. Additionally, the Lounge will now showcase an expanded beer list of 70 items, 12 of those on draft, and 30 wines to compliment Folkman's offerings.

"I've always craved change," says Englert. "I've always felt that the only way for a restaurant to remain viable is to keep up with trends and movements. Americans, in general, and Washingtonians in particular, now demand fresh, innovative food, and this is exactly what Teddy will deliver. The kitchen will have much more attention to detail and we will be a very attractive night out for young families, foodies, and anyone who works on the hill."
Capitol Lounge will continue serving dinner beginning at 4 p.m. every evening and will begin serving lunch at 11 a.m. on July 8th, 2009.

About Teddy:

Teddy's cooking experiences have taken him all over the metropolitan DC area, where he started as a commis at Cashion's Eat Place. After working as a Sous chef at The Reef, Clyde's of Georgetown, Evening Star Cafe, and Vermillion, he headed the kitchen at The Reef and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. Teddy is co-owner and Executive Chef of Dr. Granville Moore's Gastropub in the Atlas District on Capitol Hill.

Teddy has been an integral part of Granville Moore's success, gaining notoriety from the Washingtonian (Best of 2008 - Top 100 Cheap Eats), Washington City Paper (Best of D.C. 2008 and 2009 - Best Mussels), Imbibe Magazine Top 100 Places to Drink in America (Top Ten Gastropubs), and "Every day with Rachel Ray". He was challenged to a Moules-Frites showdown in March 2008 with Food Network Star Chef Bobby Flay - and won!

Teddy has appeared on Fox5 News, DC 101's Elliott in the Morning, and The Mike O'Meara Show. As well, Teddy goes back to the Food Network as a finalist on the upcoming season of Food Network's The Next Food Network Star. Teddy serves as a volunteer at Brainfood and local metropolitan schools and currently resides in Alexandria, VA.

Read More...

Summary only...

Bad Training Class

I've been in a SharePoint Designer training class for the last two days that has largely been a waste of time. I'm far from being some sort of website guru but what I needed was more SharePoint specific information about data sources and pulling info from .xml documents, not a class on how to use Designer to edit HTML and apply master pages. I probably could have taught this class myself with two days of prep time.

Perhaps most disappointing was the fact that the instructor didn't actually have a lot of SharePoint specific knowledge. This kid's (and he's definitely a kid, he might be 25) specialty is DreamWeaver and he's just applying his knowledge of that program to follow along with a really shitty book provided by the training company, New Horizons. Yes New Horizons, your training materials suck.

Honestly, it's not really the instructor's fault that I'm not getting what I need out of this class; I blame our client's training coordinator for that. Since I'm the de facto lead SharePoint developer where I work, it probably would have made sense to consult with me about exactly what I needed to learn in a SharePoint Designer class. And since it would have made sense to do that, it didn't happen.

The real problem with not learning anything of real value in this class, is that we (really I) have been kind of stuck on a couple of SharePoint projects. It doesn't matter that what our client is asking for is shit-in-your-pants stupid, they are now going to expect that I will be able to surmount all previous obstacles and will probably ask for some additional bells & whistles just so they feel like they got their money's worth out of their training dollars.

This brings me to the problem with the gov't and their lack of need for efficiency of any kind. Rather than doing some sort of cost/benefit analysis to determine if it makes sense for me to spend a couple of months developing a "staff locator" or automated meeting agendas or whatever type of computerized snipe hunt they come up with, they just say, "Do it." They don't care how little benefit they will get out of it, they don't care if what they're asking for doesn't make any sense, and they really don't care how much it costs. They want what they want and, as gov't contractors, we're obliged to give it to them. Seriously, it's like working for children sometimes; they just want to see how far they can push you before you tell them "No."

Read More...

Summary only...

What's the Opposite of "On Blast?"

I do a lot of whining, complaining, and otherwise excoriating various people, places, and things for slights and misdeeds both real and imagined. I experimented with a regular feature called "on blast" that ended in abject failure. To balance the karmic scales, it seems like I should talk about the good things that happen in my life with the same enthusiasm.

Too bad today was far too annoying for me to write a glowing post about anything. I'm just trying to get rid of some of these old drafts and I somehow thought that I was going to be able to muster up some enthusiasm when I sat down to write.

Last time I did this posting everyday for a month thing, I gave myself a 500 word minimum on posts. Things being what they are these days; WifeRat is 8 months pregnant and I've been extremely busy at work for the last couple of months; I don't know how realistic it is to set such a lofty goal. All I know right now is that I'm tired, it's almost ten o'clock, and I'm done doing anything other watching TV today.

Read More...

Summary only...

A Sign?

For what was probably the first time in a couple of months, we had a weekend day with absolutely nothing planned. No family obligations, no rugby, no school nonsense, no work stuff, no date night, no play dates, no friends coming to town, no nothing. It was a relief to be able loll around in the bed this morning with our most pressing concern being whether to make French toast & bacon or shoot down to Sidamo for breakfast sandwiches and coffee.

After breakfast (I went to Sidamo and brought it home) we took the paper downstairs to the backyard to sit around the table and chill. We made some paper airplanes out of the mass of circulars until I finally got moving on cleaning out the back of the car so I could finally get the bikes & bike trailer out of storage.

Once I got everything home and made sure it was in working order (pumped up the tires and swapped out an uncomfortable seat), we went for a little ride around the Hill. We stopped at Lincoln Park to let BabyRat run off some of the energy she had accumulated during her nap and ended up at Matchbox for a fairly early dinner.

$.88 soft serve cones at Dunkin' Donuts proved to be too much to resist following our meal and by some unplanned miracle, we end up at home exactly at bath time. Of course, none of this was enough to get that recalcitrant child of ours to just take her little ass to sleep in a timely fashion but you can't have everything.

By the time I finished watching the Tivo'd Super League Championship game I was starting to feel pretty worn out. I still forced myself to go grocery shopping at Whole Paycheck lest we end spending another week doing a la minute dinner planning which often takes the form of going out to eat.

On the way home from the grocery store I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to stop by Jimmy Valentine's. Not surprisingly, I ended up having a pretty informative conversation there before I came home to put away groceries and finally take a shower after living like a dirty frat boy all weekend.

Now it's 2am and I'm having trouble sleeping, so naturally I decided to get up a do a blog post and I notice that it's June 1. A perfect time for me to re-commit to this blog and see if I can bang out another month of non-stop blog posts.

It seems like a good time to do it; I have so much to write about and my first day's post is already done. Who's with me?

Read More...

Summary only...