Eating Out

59,000 Raindrops

Litle FenwayAlternate Title: Down on the Farm.

The Single-A farm in Greenville, South Carolina. The Drive are affiliated with the FRS and to show the love, last year they opened a new stadium with the same dimensions as Fenway Park in Beantown (including a 30′ high Green Monster with manual scoreboard.

Because we are traveling we are eating out. Breakfast with the MMC at the Sunrise Grill in North Augusta. The joint we were supposed to meet at at 7:00 AM had changed their opening hour from seven to eight recently leaving us locked out in an empty parking lot. No worries mate, we just moved the show a 1/4 mile up the street. Half a waffle and two eggs for her, western omelette with home fries for me. I had a cup of joe and she had a hot chocolate.

Meal Cost: $15.63
Tip: $3.00
This Meal: $18.53

Lunch at a Cracker Barrel in Greenville. I had the spicy grilled catfish sandwich on sourdough and Donna had a bowl of tortilla soup. One iced tea, one water to drink and guess who had what.

Meal Cost: $13.25
Tip: $3.00
This Meal: $16.25

Dinner at the ballpark. $5 a piece tip to the Maitre De got us in the door (AKA General Admission tickets.) Nachos for her, Italian sausage for him. Diet DP for him, bottled water for her. We split an 8-pack of chicken nuggets a little later.

Meal Cost: $16.00
Tip: None
Spent Today: $50.78
Year to Date: $1314.32
Meals out, 73 of a possible 498.

The game was supposed to start at 7:00 PM, but it was probably still pouring down rain at that time. The rain did stop and the game started at 7:30. We entered the stadium at 6:00 when they opened the gates and after eating and taking shelter, by the time the game started we had had enough. From the way the skies looked we were sure it was going to rain some more any minute, so we left. Seeing as the rain showers were scattered we opted to drive around Greenville and take some of the PO pictures we were going to do tomorrow. Ended up doing all of them (that we could find.) There is one on the Furman campus according to USPS.com, but we didn’t see it.

At the last one of the night, a CPU in an ACE Hardware store, the odometer read exactly 59,000 miles.

Started down, went up, back down, up again, down once more, up yet again, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 203

Who You Callin’ A Hoh

Hoh Rain Forest Welcome CenterWell, I’ve posted the latest northwest trip’s photos. Trimmed the total down to 51, forty-eight regular and 3 panoramic shots. I’ve got about 2/3s of the titles and captions finished. Check them out if you want: Northwest Trip 2007

Still burning the CD collection with 5, plus a little more, out of 10 rows done. Five hundred directories with 3,751 files in them occupying 13.8 Gig of a hard drive space.

Tonight was haircut night and after getting our respective ears lowered we headed over to Wife Saver for chow. We split a 4 piece chicken strip dinner with mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and broccoli casserole. I had a sweet tea and Donna had water.

Meal Cost: $9.60
Tip: None
Spent Today: $9.60
Year to Date: $1244.02
Meals out 68 of a possible 486.

Here is a SC Blog that I just had to link to considering it’s content, pictures (and stories) about traveling around the state. Ok, it is a Mustang not a Miata, but I’ve got a few pictures of my car infront of some of the places he has photographed as well – Mustang Rolling. More South Carolina blog gems to follow.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 191

Stuck In Neutral

Victoria, BC Parliment BuildingWe went over to Augusta this morning so I could hand hold the leading candidates for the new digicam because Aiken doesn’t have a Circuit City. Pretty much decided to go with the Panasonic DMC-T3Z and holding it and looking at it nearly clinched the deal. The Canon SD800 IS was real nice too. It was a lot more pocketable than the Panasonic, but that 10x optical zoom kicked but. Didn’t buy it at the store because they had the price as $349 and it was listed as $289 on the web on Saturday.

There used to be a Winn-Dixie in this strip shopping center, but it went out of business a while back. Last time we were there it was still empty, but this time it was filled with an hhgregg store. I went in and poked around while Donna bought some beads at the Michael’s next door. They had the Panasonic for $319, but I still wasn’t buying, knowing it was cheaper on the web.

We ended up at the Atlanta Bread Company for lunch where we split a House Salad w/Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing and a Pressed Chicken Sandwich. Water and a small Coke to drink.

Meal Cost: $14.81
Tip: None
Spent Today: $14.81
Year to Date: $1234.42
Meals out 67 of a possible 480.

When we got back home I went online and found out that CC had bumped the online price back up to $349. Well, it as got to be cheaper somewhere out there. Found it on New Egg for $289 and they are tossing in a 1 Gig SD card for free. Yippee! While checking it out, I notice that this item is covered by their “Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy” which basically means you can swap for another of the same, but you *ain’t* getting your money back. This makes me very nervous, so I start reading reviews to reassure myself. Reading some of the posts on Steve’s Digicam’s Forum I see someone mention that it is too bad this camera doesn’t offer any manual control. Huh?!? I thought it did.

Turns out I misread something and in fact the TZ3 doesn’t have any manual exposure control. Too bad too because this is a deal breaker. I guess I will have to settle for the runner-up, the Canon SD800 IS, but I can’t bring myself to pull the trigger even though it is only $20 more at New Egg and the same 1 Gig SD card deal applies. I have been seduced by the 10x optical zoom on the Panasonic, the Canon’s paltry 3.8x will not satisfy me.

The CFO authorizes a bump up in the spending level in hopes I can find another contender. Believe it or not, there is not much out there at the $400-450 level. I guess we are getting too close to DSLR territory and manufacturers don’t want to offer anything that might cannibalize those sales. There is one intriguing possibility, the Panasonic LX2. 10MP, 16×9 shooting format and lots of manual control, but there is that wimpy 4x zoom again. Plus, what’s with the no built in lens cap? Why not replace the built in flash with those cute little flash cubes? Another possibility is the Canon G7. Its a 10MP camera too, with a 6x zoom, but it starts at 35mm not 28mm and the thing is a brick at nearly 12 oz.

I will probably wait for 3-4 months before trying to buy a camera. Things happen quickly in the electronic world and my perfect camera could be in the pipeline right now. If worse comes to worse the cost of buying the Panasonic T3Z might come down enough that I’d swallow the no manual exposure control thing.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 188

Olive Oils

Olive OilsWe went out with our usual group to our usual Aiken haunt tonight. Good times with good friends, but it was a bittersweet evening. I returned my Godson Gnorm to his parents. 🙂

Bruschetta for appetizer. I had the Sun dried Tomato & Prosciutto Personal Pizza. Donna had her usual Seafood Ravioli. We both had a glass of wine to drink.

Meal Cost: $42.80
Tip: $7.20
Spent Today: $50.00
Year to Date: $1219.61
Meals out 66 of a possible 474.

In Yesterday’s post I listed a couple of Spenser’s Crime Buster Rules. Later in the book he mentions “Spenser’s Rule.” Seeing as he is mainly involved in busting crimes is that to be understood here? I think in this case it must be, considering the rule in question is obviously related to that endeavor.

Spenser’s Crime Buster Rule #113: As a last disparate fall back position, you find someone to follow, and follow them.

If it was more along the lines of, “Always keep a cold six pack of Sam Adams on hand for guests.” I might have been labeled as just Spenser’s Rule…

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 184

Tired Of Me Already?

Washington CoastI’m digital camera shopping. It has only been 14 months since I bought the Kodak V570 and I still really like it, but there are a couple of features that it doesn’t have that I want. 1) Image Stabilization. Have you ever tried to take a blur free photo while standing on the vibrating deck of a ferry? 2) I really miss some sort of manual exposure control. Ever try and get a crisp image of something close and something far at the same time without aperture priority or a manual mode?

Any of my needs taken alone are not too difficult fulfill;

  1. Less than $350
  2. Image Stabilization
  3. Manual Mode or Aperture Priority min.
  4. 7 Megapixels min.
  5. 23mm Wide Angle Lens
  6. Fits in Shirt Pocket
  7. 6x Optical Zoom min.
  8. SD Storage
  9. Optical Viewfinder

(the last two are not deal breakers, but nice to have) all together they add up to something nearly impossible to find so far. Right now real close to and leaning towards: Panasonic DMC-TZ3

Donna had a tough morning, so we went out to the Evergreen Chinese Buffet for lunch:

Meal Cost: $12.31
Tip: $2.00
Spent Today: $14.31
Year to Date: $1169.61
Meals out, 65 of a possible 468.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 179

Oh, No, Not Again

White Rock MoonriseYes again. At 5:00 PM eastern time on the USA Network TDPM was broadcast and I watched the whole thing. This makes about 2 dozen viewings of Dead Man’s Chest. I’ve seen the second movie twice, once in the theater and once at home on DVD. In spite of the pan & scan, in spite of the editing, in spite of the commercial interruptions the first is far superior to the second. I haven’t seen the third yet and will probably rent it when it comes out, but I’m betting it won’t top the original either.

Take 8 days off and you forget. We went out to breakfast yesterday and I didn’t write in the post, so here is the wrap-up and I’ll try not to do it again. Toasted bagel with cream cheese for her and a cranberry pecan muffin for me. Donna drank a hot chocolate and I had water.

Meal Cost: $3.75
Tip Jar: 25¢
Spent Today: $4.00
Year to Date: $1155.30
Meals out, 64 of a possible 465.

Remember meals out on vacation don’t count. Good thing too, as I’m a little embarrassed by how much we spent on the evening meal at the Mariott last Friday.

Poor Donna because the day after we arrived in Washington she came down with a sniffley, sneezey, coughing thing and she is just now getting over it. At first we though it might be an allergy to something out there because spring is in full bloom out there, but we are not too sure. I’m thinking it is something she got at work before we left because a couple other folks at work reported similar symptoms. She is pretty much over it now and I think how she managed to get rid of it was by giving it to me. I started with a slight sore throat on Saturday night and today I’m flirting with a runny nose and some body aches. Didn’t I already have this crap once before not to long ago?

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 176

Who’s the Boss?

Fabrication ManagerOur Fabrication Manager has been gone for a week on vacation and now he is absent for fortnight visiting vendors in Asia. Gnorm moved into his office today in a bloodless coup. Don’t worry, because he is the boss, he’ll be taking next week so he can go to Seattle with us.

I’m still burning my CD collection and I’m almost done with row #5. I just came across a CD I have no recollection buying and I can not even think of what anything on it sounds like: Pourquoi Quebec? by Tony McManus. I may have to give it a listen.

I used to read quite a bit of science fiction as youngster and as I entered my twenties, horror became my choice of escapist “literature.” Used to read a lot of fellow FRS fan, Stephen King’s books, but quit about the time he started writing them thick enough to be used as nightstands. Now I’m into pulp stuff about private eyes and disgraced cops that save the world from criminals ans serial killers. I’m also a sucker for lawyer slash courtroom drama books. My latest read has been a real pleasant surprise, I picked it up thinking I was getting a typical lawyer saves a wrongly accused book, and it is that (at least I think he saves him, I’m not finished yet) but it also mixes in a very convincing horror plot. For the icing on this cake it is also told with some biting humor in places. The following is a snippet from Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper:

The next day is passed by explanations of DNA identification technology delivered by the google-eyed lab rat the Crown has brought up from Toronto. I feel for the poor bastard, though, trying to teach a remedial science lesson to the jury, who look back at him as though auditioning for the chorus in Deliverance: The Musical. It gives me a chance to doze off for five-second hits of sleep. A tricky business that involves holding your head up with one hand and positioning it so that your closed eyes will be hidden from the bench. This part is essential. Judges are universally intolerant of sleeping lawyers, mostly because their own seating arrangement prevents them from indulging in the same pleasure themselves.

Each time my eyelids spring back open it’s with the terrible image of Bert Gederov and Graham Lyle having kittens all over the boardroom floor two hundred miles to the south because I haven’t yet returned their calls. The reason is simple: despite my best efforts I haven’t come up with a resonable explanantion for my remarks to the press of the other day. By the time the court is adjourned in the afternoon (the DNA dweeb having just finished his “introductory remarks”), I know that it can no longer be avoided.

Donna was out at a business dinner with a couple bishops from the Vatican (ASCO HQ in NJ) and some vendors, so I was left to my own devices. A 6″ Italian Sub (Ham, Salami, Pepperoni & Provalone) from Sub Station II that I brought home and ate over the sink pretending I was a bachelor. All that was missing was a bottle of beer to wash it down. I substituted a Sprite Zero.

Meal Cost: $3.60
Tip Jar: 40¢
Spent Today: $4.00
Year to Date: $1151.30
Meals out, 63 of a possible 426.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 170