Web Whittler

Nanny state vs. Google

The BBC reports that a California state Senator is drawing up some legislation in response to Google's Gmail, though it doesn't really say what the legislation actually says. There are a few priceless quotes that really fired some sparks when I read them:

"The problem, Ms Figueroa says, is Google's plan to make revenue from users agreeing to their incoming e-mail being scanned for targeted advertising." (emphasis added)

Um, if I've agreed to have my email scanned, how exactly is there a problem?

Californian Senator Figueroa describes the service as being a bit like "having a massive billboard in the middle of your home".

Unlike that boxy, glowing machine that sits in my living room pumping commercials at me every 8-10 minutes.

I suppose some people are just hardwired to overreact to things. It's just a shame when they find themselves in government office.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

This place is on Georgia Avenue, can't recall the exact address, but it's before you head up the hill towards Howard. Five Guys is a local (VA/DC/MD) chain that has some seriously good burgers and fries. You owe it to yourself to go.
Here's the rundown:
1. Walk in and grab a handful of free peanuts in the shell to eat as you wait. Throw the shells on the floor when you're done. Make note of the chalkboard that tells you where today's potatoes are from.
2. Order a burger and a small fry. If there are two of you, only order one fry -- the small fry is huge, basically a paper bag filled with peanut oil-fried potatoes. Trust me, one order is plenty.
3. Grab a table and a Stewart's rootbeer from the fountain. Get lots of napkins -- you'll need them. Marvel at just how bad the red and white tile decor really is.
4. When your number is called, grab your food and dig in. The burgers are all made with fresh ground beef, never frozen. A regular burger is really two patties, so if you want something smaller try the Jr. burger. The buns are soft, white, and fresh. The fries are great, especially with malt vinegar. Good stuff all the way around.

Review: B.J.'s Barbecue

This is the consummate "hole in the wall" kind of place, and I was hoping it was one of those magical holes in the wall that hide great food behind a crumbling exterior. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

I'm a big North Carolina BBQ fan (the vinegar based kind), and that's what B.J.'s advertises. I got a pulled pork sandwich yesterday for lunch, and while the BBQ itself was pretty good, it was served mildly warm, on wonder bread, with a bottled sauce drizzled over the meat. Nothing special.
Walking into B.J.'s is like walking into the past. The place is cluttered and small, nothing appears particularly clean (which isn't a prerequisite for "magical holes in the wall"), but the weirdest thing is that there was no scent of anything cooking. Usually when you walk into any sort of small restaurant with an open kitchen, especially a BBQ joint, you're going to smell cooking meat, or at least the lingering aroma of previously cooked meat. There was no scent at all of that, which I thought was weird. My sense is that there's less cooking going on than just simple reheating (or partial reheating, as in the case of my sandwich).

Anyway, I'm bummed to say that I can't recommend B.J.'s. However, I do have hope still: there's that awesome BBQ smoker/grill that sits out front. If I ever catch scent of that thing firing up, I'll be front and center with a plate to see what emerges.

It's worth noting that the atmosphere inside is kind of odd in a Flannery O'Connor sort of way. When I walked in at about 2:00 in the afternoon there were four people in the place -- me, the proprietor, and two other patrons. Two of us were awake. Now, you might assume that they were drunk or something, but you'd be wrong. It just seems like B.J.'s isn't a bad place for a siesta -- it's quiet, not too busy, and no one bothers you if you nod off. At least, that was my impression from the ten minutes I was there.
If you looked hard enough, you could see that the place used to be a bit different, probably busier, more established. It had history, and it had been collecting artifacts of that history for a long time. Not the kinds of artifacts that might hang on the wall in kitchier places, but the kind of artifacts that clutter the kitchen of a lonely grandmother who can't bear to throw anything away. There was a TV on that was badly tuned and had a really bad color balance, making everyone's face look a bit pinkish-purple (I'm sure there's an actual name for that color, but it escapes me). There was a slight disconnect because with the quiet interior, the sleeping patrons, and the overall deadness of the environment, I had the sense that it should be 95 degrees out, there should be a large standing fan in the corner blowing stale air around, and there should be flies buzzing somewhere in the background. Maybe I'll go back in July to see if the scene completes itself.

Rating: * 1/2 (the half is for the bizarre atmosphere)

Review: Ella's Coffee, Gallery and Framing

I stopped by Ella's last Sunday to have some coffee and do some reading, but I ended up staying for the Sunday brunch. It's a good place and nice to have a local coffee shop in the area. The brunch was pretty good and is very much "home cooking" -- Ella herself cooks everything and takes great pride in her food, as I learned when I asked for hot sauce for the gumbo. "Have you tasted my gumbo? I don't make bland food!" was her half-joking reply :-)
The brunch last week consisted of a buffet of Jambalaya, gumbo, potatoes, sausage, and cooked-to-order waffles and omelettes. All of it was pretty good, some was a bit too salty. The was lots of seafood in the gumbo and jambalaya which was nice.
The coffee, alas, isn't all that great, so if that's what your looking for you'll probably have to go to Starbucks on Georgia Avenue. (is there anything that's closer?) Also, the atmosphere was a little more "restaurant" and less "coffee house", so it didn't feel as casual as I generally like it. By that I mean there were tablecloths and place settings on all of the tables, though that may have just been because of the brunch.
It wasn't busy, which always makes me fear for the small business folks behind the scenes.
It looks like they'll have a patio once the weather turns nice, which could be nice.
They sell and display art in addition to doing framing, so hopefully they've got enough revenue streams to stay viable :-)

Note about an NPR story

I'm a full-on NPR fan, so this isn't the ranting of a right-wing nut...

I was listening to NPR while in the shower yesterday when a report came on about some criticisms John Kerry was offering about Bush. The report spent a fair amount of time on the criticisms themselves, then, at the end, the report concluded with a single sentence, something along the lines of "A spokesman for the administration dismissed the criticisms."

Well, that's nice, but it made me really want to hear how and why they dismissed the criticisms. What was the rebuttal? Seems important to me...

Paging Mr. Rover, Mr. Spirit Rover...

Here's to hoping that they get the Spirit Rover to respond to commands soon. Must be quite a grim environment at mission control.

Dave's Big Demo

I'm on IRC and listening to the RA stream of Dave Winer's "Big Demo"... more to come

News Standards Summit

I attended the News Standards Summit in Philly on December 8th. It was a day-long presentation of the major XML standards relating to news and syndication, as well as presentations by some of the major news producers.

The Summit aimed to bring together a variety of people who develop
or implement news exchange standards, so the audience was made up of a mix of technologists, journalists, and business people. The first half of the day was spent on explanations of various standards from the people who developed them and the second half of the day focused on how people are (or aren't) using the standards today.

Below is a summation of the various standards discussed and the key talking points for each one.

What is RSS?

Arrrgh

Avast! It's national Talk Like a Pirate Day! So raise the Jolly Roger and hoist a bottle of rum...