First. Not in Iowa. Just here.

Joel... I have a friend in NH who's an Obama supporter. If you see her, tell her I said "hey!"

Joel, please wave to my mom as you head down (or up) I-93. Or to NukeSpawn when you're over on the Seacoast. Thanks.

:-)

Repost from last kit:

Us Baltimorons have yet another accolade to be proud of. You can't coast on your rep as the heroin overdose capital forever. Now that I am a daily blogger (unlike certain journalists I could name), I'm always looking for fresh material.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2008/01/top-ten-tourism-for-bawlmer.html

We need to someday organize a Bawlmer BPH. The McCormick and Schmick up here has a waterview.

We could even tour the country. According to their website, there are at least 30 around the country. That's good for a couple seasons.

http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.display&pageID=4

I'm not sure what made Ohio such a hotbed of seafood.

Reposted from previous Boodling:

"Couple of quick comments this AM:

LiT, I'll remember you called Iowa as the Kiss of Death (ha!). Maybe everyone except Obama and Huckabee played it right...

Saw some of the meteor shower later last night, and the conjunction between Venus and the moon when I went to work this AM. Acutually saw a few shooting stars after breakfast - how great is *that*?. I love the sky, when I was a kid, I always thought I'd live there. Or at least commute to work there -- not that it's so different from my current 50 mile commute and there's far less traffic to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), though finding parking orbits up there is getting tougher, and I always seem to be finding more and more dings in my vehicle when I get in for the ride home...

Scotty, the new KITT won't be a Camry, but a Corolla. And the new Mike Knight will be played by Giovanni Ribisi (sp?)...

yello, I went to the Baltimore M&S this past summer and was distinctly underwhelmed. The service was uninspired, and the food - particularly and most surprisingly, the seafood - was not up to the standards set by the one in DC. Sorry, dude.

I liked Obama's speech, but I'm holding out for him to commit the country to send Americans to Mars before 2020. And he'll gurantee my vote if those Americans are the Bush Administration, current and former, lock, stock, and barrel.

bc"

bc,
I won't tell my wife. M&S is her favorite special occasion place. We keep meaning to try the Legal Seafoods down the street from it, but she likes M&S too much. There is also a M&S Grille in HarborPlace under the fake Irish pub. Don't know about their happy hour deals though.

I see the humorless folks are hard at work over at The Trail's version of Joel's piece...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/04/post_263.html?hpid=topnews

:-)

Reposted from previous Boodling:

CP, your granny is a very funny woman. In this region, I think I am right to say that over 50% of the Chinese (to a lesser degree, other ethnic groups), gambles on sweepstakes, esp 4 digits. If they buy a new car, they buy the registration number until they win or for a year which ever comes first. I was joking about buying 4-D in my earlier post. I have never gambled, except once in Las Vegas playing the slot machine. I'd never win gambling cuz I don't have the right attitude. I think of lost(?) before I even start gambling.

Good morning Boodle.

Keep this on the DL. Today one in our midst has reached a milestone in her life.

A very happy 50th birthday to my mother dr.

Sorry about letting the cat out of the bag mom, but mrdr demanded that I post this.

Maybe this is indelicate, but my biggest complaint about M&S on K Street (besides the achenwaitress' recent departure) is the consistently horrible state of the Ladies' Room. The floors are dirty, the seats are always broken and the TP rolls are installed so close to the seat and to the floor that it's nearly impossible to get any TP out through the teeny opening once you've committed to sitting down.

It's surprising to me not just because it's considered kind of a higher end restaurant, but because I believe the manager is a woman (not that I'm not sure whether she's a woman, but whether she's the manager). She must have her own personal bathroom in the restaurant because if she ever used the public one I doubt it would look like that.

Maybe I should just use the Ladies' Rooms in the Burger King or strip club down the street. They've got to be in better shape.

Everybody sing it with me!

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you
You're a half-century old now mommy
Happy birthday to you!

In Wyoming, zero degrees is OK, depending on the wind. Minus twenty unpleasant, minus thirty noxious, anything below that a great excuse to stay home.

McCormick & Schmick started in Portland, Oregon and thrives there. I was pleased when a local newspaper interviewed their seafood buyer, who pointed out that the unassuming seafood company a couple of blocks from my house was a great place to get the good stuff. Also, that limes typically cost less than lemons and taste at least as good.

The Obama campaign has been astute with email. Showed off a poll indicating they'd win in Iowa, then one titled "Turn On Your Television" last night.

Yello, the Legal Seafoods at the Inner Harbor is pretty good, I've eaten there. M&S provides decent seafood, but I prefer a local place that has fish to die for. Upstream, in case anybody's ever in the area. But be prepared to pay, it's not cheap.

Although it might be cold, I hope that you are basking in the warmth of your perfect predictions.

What this feels like, to me, is Christmas morning when, after an eternity of preparation, it is finally time to see what Santa brought. Maybe some new electronic toys, like these "Blackberries" of which I have heard tell, or maybe scratchy socks.

And, much like Christmas morning, the crowded primary schedule suggests it will all be over very quickly.

Happy Birthday dr! Welcome to the Other Side.

TBG,
Anthony Bourdain's infamous book on life in restaurant kitchens commented that a quick way to see if a restaurant is clean, is to check the restroom. Restrooms, he said, are easy to keep clean. Kitchens are difficult. So a place with a less-than-immaculate bathroom is almost certainly to be avoided.

So call M&S!

Happy birthday dr!

yello, I've been to the M&S Grille in HarborPlace too. I prefer it as a resturant to the regular M&S over there, but the Happy Hour specials at the Grille are not as expansive as M&S Classic.

On the other hand, Michel Richard knows my face and name and keeps telling me that I need to come down to Citronelle more often or eat regularly at Central so he can fatten me up. I tell him that when his food costs what a Subway meal deal does, then I'll be able to afford it.

bc

Happy Birthday dr!!!

Happy birthday, dr!

According to the Chowhounds, Upstream in Silver Springs is closed. Is there another?

There goes bc namedropping again. Michel Richard is a food celebrity. I don't know anyone that famous, but I'm on a first name basis with Donna Crivello of the Baltimore coffee shop chain Donnas. She hasn't been on any Food Network shows, but she gives weekly Mediterranean style cooking classes in the location down the street from me.

Many happy returns, dr!!! *HUGS*

*faxin' Kerric a helmet and pads for the expected response from dr*

:-)

Let me add here that Citronelle is my favorite resturant anywhere, bar none. Like heaven, but with better service and a cleaner kitchen (the Men's room's not bad either).

Heck, even the food in the lounge is fantastic.

bc

Joel's The Trail piece:

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/04/post_263.html

We should go defend him.

HBdr

Happy Birthday, dr! You are now officially eligible for all of the retirement spooge that comes in the mail.

Thanks S'nuke. I'll need them.

*puts on helmet and pads

Hey! There's no face guard on this thing!

*crafting faceguard from materials on hand.

happy birthday, dr!

Happy Birthday dr!

Happy Birthday, dr!

yello, I'm all for whatever food makes you happy. Even though I'm basically a skinny guy (though I've packed a few on over the Holidays here), I love good food and drink. And I know it when I taste it.

And sometimes the best food in the world comes from a home kitchen.

bc

Happy Birthday, dr!

Slightly off-kit but definitely on-Boodle, I'd like to recommend these to the dog peeps. I bought several a few weeks ago and the dogz love them. They've flung them all over the yard, wrestled and tugged with them, and Emma is sitting and looking at them longingly because they're on the windowsill. Not a chew toy, but a great play toy. Given a long one, Cutter has proven he could definitely kill those attic snakes. All proceeds benefit Dane rescue.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5140076

Now to go find a dress for that wedding tonight!

Kerric;

Just curl up in a ball, that protects the face just fine.

Make sure you have a kidney belt, tho...

:-)

I knew etsy was breaking into the mainstream when I saw a necklace from there on my teenage son's screen. Don't know who he was buying it for. Definitely need to spend more time reading his gmail. Or logging his chats.

Happy birthday, dr, welcome to the right side! You're such a youngster, compared to some of us.

Yuck, TBG, you need to call M&S and complain! Sounds like the TP holders aren't installed to code. (There are building codes in DC, aren't here?)

Happy, Happy birthday, dr! Don't forget, it's the new 30! Right?! RIGHT!?!?!?!

Hey, there's a brand new McCormack and Schmick's down here in Virginia Beach and it's delightful. Come on down!

Happy Birthday DR!

Yellow, Have you gotten crabs at Bertha's in Fells Point? I have had the crab cakes there, and they were the best!

From today's NYT, a pean to Angela Thirkell

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04fri3.html

Have not done Bertha's crabs or mussels. Haven't even ever been to Obrycki's. Something contrarian in my nature makes me seek out the less famous places.

An interesting take - and apologies to anyone who might have posted a link to this earlier - on how people make decisions and how groups can affect those decisions.

Like in Presidential primaries.

"Once a primary is over, real life does not allow you to go back and rerun the race a second time. But if you could, the music experiment and other research suggests you might arrive at a different result, even though the candidates and voters start out the same. This is disturbing -- if Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic primary or Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination, wouldn't you like to believe that running the race over would give you the same result?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002287.html

bc

I've been to Bertha's - the mussels are good, but not as good as all those t-shirts might suggest.

bc

Happy B-Day, DR. You look fabulous, dearie.

About the returns, I found Ron Paul's beating of Guiliani intriguing. What do those Iowans know?

We wandered into Bertha's on our first visit to Baltimore, completely unaware of its reputation, so it was a surprise that it was so good. I suggest it as a possible BPH venue, though I doubt that their Happy Hour prices are as good as M%S's.

Happy Birthday, dr! *Still racing to catch up*

Cassandra, there is no need to go to Walmart. I am sure the scam does not involve the store, only cons using the name. By all means contact your local force.

I got my first Nigerian 419 letter in 1992; I can't believe these jokers are still in business and people still fall for it. Here in Canada, the RCMP formed a special unit to deal with it, after a Canadian from Winnipeg (duh!) actually went to Nigeria and was killed. Every time I get an email from one of the scammers (there are literally thousands of them) I forward it to the "C" Division; the most fun thing is that they taught me how to find the real email address from which it was sent, instead of the fake one that always shows up in the header. This allows me to reply to the actual sender informing him that I have passed his message onto the Canadian federal police. Hahaha.

bc - that's dangerously close to a philosophical question. I think it comes down to how robust our political views are. That is, how many people really change their allegiance due to some minor factor subject to random fluctuations. I would like to think the answer is not many, but who knows? This kind of "what-if" thinking can easily drive one mad.

Thanks guys. My age may be younger than many and yet most of the time the stories I identify with are those from boodlers who remember the dark times before all this whiz bang technology. I still remember the phone at home looking like this -

http://www.oaktreevintage.com/web_photos/Telephones/Crosley_CR-91_Country_web.jpg

- but without the numbers. I've come to understand that it's because we were not just rural, but Saskatchewan rural. There is a time warp problem when you cross the border to there and I really am only 39.

Kerric is safe. All he really needs is his wallet. He is going to buy lunch.

Yoki - When I hear about these scam emails, I just feel sorry for the many honest Nigerian businessmen who are attempting to offer legitimate business opportunities to perfect strangers. Poor fellows.

Happy Birthday dr!

Well, one thing for sure is that people who haven't voted yet are swayed by the results, tending to support the winner of previous votes. Nothing succeeds like success, they say. I was surprised at myself how much more positively I was looking at Obama this morning. I like to think I'm an independent thinker. But it's legitimate to take input like that--it's like our restaurant discussion; you can benefit from other people's observations.

Happy Birthday, dr, and many happy returns of the day! I'll be joining the second-halfers before long--I just have time to squeeze in a mid-life crisis or two.

Hey dr! HBTY and many, many more. Welcome to the middle ages, so to speak. . .You will learn (if you haven't already) that you are now at the age where taking prisoners isn't at all necessary or even in one's mindset.

Interesting results in Iowa last night. I'm still an Edwards fan, tho. We'll see how NH plays out. Met a guy this morning who I know voted for "little boy" both times and he just *loves* Obama now. Edwards, too. Hates Hillary, but at least I was able to get from him the fact that if she is the nominee, he will vote for her (but gagging all the way). That's pretty interesting, I thought.

Enjoy the weekend (after a week where everyday has felt like a Monday, fer cryin' out loud).

Happy B-day, dr. Where's your red hat?

Yoki, could you share that little true email address trick you mentioned at 1100?

I'd love to go to a BPH, if they aren't on a Wednesday evening. (Cub Scouts then)

I've got to go spend most of the rest of today playing with the black helicopers. I don't do it often, and don't like it. feh. See ya's all later.

New Kit.

Joel is on a tear today.

I loved the "60 Minutes" show on the 419 scammers. They interviewed a heart surgeon who had been taken in. He was admitting that he was cretinessly gullible and dishonest when he tried to claim property that wasn't his, while demonstrating that he is still stupid by going on national television to complain that he's cretinessly gullible and dishonest.

You are quite right, RD. That is why I always tell my international-type clients to do their due diligence. We have a group who have some new down-hole oil services technology that is revolutionary but relatively low-tech and inexpensive, thus perfect for developing-country applications. The first place we looked for new markets was Nigeria, and of course the client got an email from a potential local partner. No no, my dears. Go to Lagos and Port Harcourt, speak to the trade officers at the Canadian High Commission, interview many potential partners, get a big six accounting firm to look at their data room... It all worked out splendidly in the end, but my babes-in-the-woods would have trusted the first contact.

Chuck Norris is not going to be Secretary of Defense. His boot is going to be Secretary of the Interior. Of your ass.

Wow, cool man, big thanks! http://qknpcahtpqn.com