View Full Version : Wired Cricket Balls to Enhance Play
Australian IT
Wired Balls to Enhance Play (http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7686746%5E15321%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html)
Jennifer Foreshew
OCTOBER 28, 2003
"A SMART cricket ball that can help analyse a bowler's performance will begin field trials soon."
Our resident cricketer is not here at the moment, but I'd thought I would post this article anway.
flagreen
11-01-2003, 06:44 AM
Tannin no doubt is out gathering up more cricket balls with an exacto knife and a magnifying glass. Poor little bastards. Ever seen a cricket limp? Now you know why. Some sport!
I figured someone would comment on that side of things regarding this topic. I couldn't help but think about it myself. :D
flagreen
11-03-2003, 07:30 PM
It's a well known fact around here that I have no taste. Therefore I felt obligated to post what several others here were probably wondering about but unlike me have a good reputation to think of and were unable to. "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose".
Mercutio
11-03-2003, 07:40 PM
May I ask about the attribution on your quasi-profound .sig, Bill? "Oven Mitt" sounds like one of the hipsters Andy Warhol was hanging out with in the 70s.
flagreen
11-03-2003, 09:53 PM
Andy would be turning over in his grave if he could hear you say that. I got my snappy signature off of a large soft drink cup from Arby's. And they say I have no class.
timwhit
11-04-2003, 12:58 AM
Man I hate Arby's. I swore I would never eat there again after New Year's eve 1999. I ate there with some friends and we all got sick. No one threw up or anything, but I will never eat that shit again.
flagreen
11-04-2003, 03:19 AM
I like Arby's ok. Hardies have to be worst run fast food chain of all time in my opinion. The service always sucks no matter where you find them. And I have never seen a clean Hardies. Everyone I've ever been in is filthy. The help behind the counter are usually rude and grease looking. Beats me how they have managed to stay in business as long as they have.
blakerwry
11-04-2003, 10:08 AM
I like arbys... but then i know a couple managers.
Mercutio
11-04-2003, 12:36 PM
MMMmmmm... Big Montana
(that's 250g of roast beef and a couple of pieces of bread, if you don't have Arby's in your country).
I'm pretty regularly disgusted by Burger King myself. And Wendy's - home of the burgers so greasy their buns turn liquid.
And Wendy's - home of the burgers so greasy their buns turn liquid.
Yes, but their salads are good. Way better than those sad things McDonald's throws together.
Fushigi
11-04-2003, 01:59 PM
Well, now that the thread has been sufficiently hijacked...
McDonalds: Yuck. Home of the Bland. I do everything I can to not eat there. Especially following my last trip there where I was shortchanged and got a beef patty that was barely cooked & still mostly pink. My wife's wasn't raw but she became ill from the meal. Fries are nothing but grease sticks.
Burger King: I typically get the fish sandwhich. Or the occasional Western Whopper. Better fries than McDs. Maybe once every 3 months.
Hardies: Haven't eaten there in years; their presence in Chicagoland is minimal.
Arbys: The Big Montana & the Beef 'n' Cheddar are my favorites, but the Market Fresh sandwiches aren't bad. Add curly fries and a Jamocha shake. Maybe once every 2 months.
Wendy's: Get a baked potato & a bowl of chili. Skip the burgers. Decent fries. It's been at least a year...
Subway: Decent sandwiches. Skip the chips. Fast food for when you want to eat 'healthier'. Maybe every 3 weeks or so.
Boston Market: Owned by McDs, but don't let that stop you. I generally get the Turkey meal. About every couple of months.
There's also Steak 'n' Shake, Taco Bell, and any number of other fast food chains. But overall I prefer casual sit-down restaraunts to fast food. For just a few $ more you can get a good Indian food buffet, Chinese, or even pancakes & eggs at IHOP.
...Indian food ...
Yummy, lamb curry or lamb bhuna. Vindaloo for the unsuspecting guest. :)
flagreen
11-04-2003, 03:56 PM
The market fresh sandwiches at Arby's are excellent - BLT is the best. I don't go for the Big Montana though, I'm a Super Roast Beef sandwich guy. Arby's sauce is tops.
Boston Market - Great but not cheap. Best mashed potatoes around. Meatloaf is ok, forget the ham, turkey is decent - Chicken is excellent.
Steak and Shake is a rip off - too expensive. Their drive through window is a joke - takes forever. The food is decent but nothing to write home about. And what's with the stupid "takhomasak" crap? Someone ought to shoot the guy who thought that one up.
Burger King - Mc Donalds without class. Need I say more?
Wendy's is Ok. Bacon Double cheeseburger is the best in town. Stay away from any of their other burgers though.
Champs (anyone else have these?) - the food is cheap but tastes like puke.
Taco Bell - One of my favorites. Grilled Stuffed Burritos - awesome. They had a Chicken Cesar Grilled Stuffed Burrito for a while that was to die for. So of course they removed it from the menu. :(
We've got a new Drive-In chain down here in Fla now. Can't think of the name. But it's cool. You sit in your car and young girls in shorts and on roller skates bring your food out to you.
Good food too.
Bennigans - Excellent. Decent food - Monte Cristo sandwich is great, decent price - atmosphere is ok. Stay away from the Steaks - never had a good one there. There's usually at least one or two nice looking ladies to glance at there while you eat as well.
Applebee's (Sp?) - Good food, steaks are great. Good value. Waitresses are usually decent looking. But it's mostly a place to bring your Grandma to when she comes for a visit.
If I visit a fast-food establishment, it would be In N Out Burgers. The rest, in my opinion, are horrible. Besides the hours of heartburn and indigestion that I must contend with afterwards, the food is not very good. I'm better off cooking for myself, or getting invited over to a friends house for a meal. Aside from those typical fast-food dietary-hari-kari places, we do have some local food chains that turn out some good fare. There is the Natraj Tandoori chain that offers decent Indian food, and then we have some Mexican chains like Las Golondrinas and Senior Pedro’s. There was also a chain called Fat Burgers that had outstanding chow, however, the owner left the chain and reopened as Biggies. Thankfully, the food is just as good as before. We have a lot of mom and pop places that serve great food (thankfully); plus the usual sit-down chains (which I normally skip).
SteveC
11-04-2003, 04:30 PM
I don't eat fast food very often, but when I do McDonalds (they have the only fries I like) and Taco Bell are usually what I prefer. There's lots of very good small restaurants around here, serving just about every type of food, to choose from, so if I wanted to eat out, the only reason to pick a fast food place would be because it was quick.
Mercutio
11-04-2003, 04:35 PM
Anyone here live near a Jimmy John's? $3 for a really excellent sub.
I've never had Indian food. I like Thai, but both the Thai places I've been to are out of business.
Burger King's fries are a crime against humanity. They're proof that BK hates us. They taste a lot like fried packing peanuts. Burger King also uses only the most noxious onions and pickles imaginable.
McDonalds: Good fries, and I like McNuggets. Cheeseburgers are a comfort food. Not so much that they're good, but that they are what they are.
White Castle. Possibly worse than Burger King. They used to have mini-corn dogs, which were awesome. Now they have only items better suited to greasy, soggy construction materials. Certainly nothing I'd put in my mouth.
Boston Market. There's only one in Northwest Indiana. I like their Meatloaf and the creamed spinach, but quality is really uneven on the side items.
KFC: Wraps are good. I've also noticed that the twice-fried "Extra Crispy" is less greasy than "Original Recipe". I'm not a fan.
Popeye's: Chicken is mostly gross. Red Beans and Rice is a fast food meal of the gods, however, and redeems all other sins.
Long John Silver's: Good in small doses. I like fried clams.
Wendy's: Salads are good. Chili is good. Everything else they serve is another sign that there is no god.
Taco Bell: In 1995-6 I had the most visited Taco Bell page on the internet. Some famously weird rock band had it linked on their page. I worked a graveyard shift at a computer lab with scanners that was about two blocks from a Taco Bell, so I scanned everything I could take out of the store in my backpack, up to and including the food. People sent me Taco Bell stories, including stuff like descriptions of working at Taco Bell while high. There was Taco Bell fiction, theme music in painstakingly transcribed MIDI, Taco Bell testimonials, and comparisons between Taco Bell spokespersons (Willie Nelson) and other product spokesmen (Rush Limbaugh for Orange Juice, Michael Jackson for Pepsi et al). Then Purdue and I got a C&D letter from Tricon (parent of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut) and I didn't have a web page any more (Taco Bell didn't have a page of its own until 1999, by the way).
Anyway, Taco Bell food is hopelessly generic, made with the same 7 ingredients, but somehow they continue to tricking me into eating it. I like "7 Layer Burritos" best.
Subway: I'm annoyed that Subway costs so much more than Jimmy John's, and isn't as good. I suppose it's reasonably healthy food but why am I paying $6 for a sandwich?
Quizno's: Same as Subway, only add another $1.50. Good Clam Chowder, though. Plus every one I've been in has had a clerk incapable of making change.
Panera Bread: I think they pave the streets of DuPage County (Fushigi's neighborhood) with these things. Someone once gave me directions to a meeting including "Turn right at the fourth Panera Bread". Food is great. It's healthy. There are always lots of employed, business-type image-conscious women in them. Too bad they don't have them where I actually live.
TGI Fridays/Chilis/Applebees: Like Wendys, but without the redeeming qualities. Not really fast food either, but somehow they seem to be everywhere. Do people not have any taste?
Panda Express: Fast food Chinese. Almost always overcooked 'cause it's been on the steam table too long, generic and fairly tasteless for Chinese, but STILL better than most of the other fast food places.
Papa Murphy's: If you don't have these, you will, soon. $10 bake-it-yourself pizzas prepped before your eyes. They're phenomenal.
Papa John's: Best of the chain pizza joints, without question.
Pizza Hut: Used to have a stuffed pizza called a "Priazzo", which was awesome. Now has gimmick crust of the week and no redeeming qualities at all.
Dominos: Gives Free Will a bad name.
Fazoli's: Italian food should at least in theory should be very do-able as fast food. Messy, but easy to prep ahead of time. Fazoli's, at least, serves as a counter-proof to this possibility, being only technically digestable and only fast in comparison to a pensioner with a broken hip.
Why yes, I do eat out quite a bit. :)
"Fat Burgers"
If there ever was marketing I didn't understand at all, it's this one......
"Fat Burgers"
If there ever was marketing I didn't understand at all, it's this one......
LOL -- Indeed mubs. The owner's change to Biggies leaves me speechless too.
timwhit
11-04-2003, 04:56 PM
I stopped eating out about 18 months ago. I only rarely eat out at fast food joints. But, a couple years ago I used to eat fast food all the time.
We have Big Mikes which is pretty similar to Jimmy Johns. It's good and I would get it before Subway any day of the week.
I hate Thai food, though I have only had it once. I only had Indian food on an Airplane. The airline happened to be Air India.
BK: They changed their fries a couple of years back. Now they have a hard outer shell on them. And they taste like hell.
McDonalds: I like the dollar menu. I can get too geasy sandwiches for $2.11. And then I ask for a water.
White Castle: I haven't eaten there in a while. Chicken rings...what can I say.
Boston Market: I haven't eaten it in probaly 8 years. Right after it came out. Will never eat it again. I don't care how much they have changed.
KFC: Chicken is not crispy enough.
Popeye's: I love Popeye's. The only problem is that they are only in Ghetto areas. Like near where I grew up. But, their chicken is great.
Long John Silver's: I don't eat fish...so I don't know if it's good.
Wendy's: ehhh, not that great. My dad loves it though.
Taco Bell: My roomates eat this crap like it grows on trees. I used to when I was in High School. I don't eat it anymore. Makes me sick.
Subway: Yes it is ridiculously overpriced. Not that great either. And everytime I go there it seems I have to wait in line for 15 minutes.
Quizno's: Good subs, just too expensive.
Pantera Bread: (Which is what they should be called), I don't like it. Too trendy. Always in places like where Fushigi lives.
Chili's: My roomate waits tables there. She gives us good deals on food. I like there food.
Papa John's: I work there, so I get free food. Too expensive, if I actually had to pay for it. Otherwise, it's good. I just eat it too much.
Fazoli's: I like it ok. The unlimited breadsticks ploy is a scam.
I'd rather just eat at home most of the time. I only like to eat out every few weeks. It's a waste of money, not healthy, and half the time I don't even like it.
Chilis/Islands -- respectable food, but expensive. Went to Islands last week at the behest of some acquaintances. I happily paid for the bill, but for three burgers (no fries or other side dishes), two sodas, and one smoothie, the total came to $30.00 plus tip. That is a little outrageous in my opinion for a very simple lunch. For less money, I could have purchased three large Indian meals (entrée (your choice of Chicken Vindaloo, Chicken Korma, Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Curry, Aloo Gobi, Mushroom Matter, or another veggie dish), Basmati rice, Naan bread, salad, and drink) around the corner at the Natraj Tandoori (to bad not all guests like Indian).
Mercutio
11-04-2003, 06:10 PM
I'm obviously missing something in Buck's posts for not knowing my Indian food.
For the record, Chinese food from the local hole-in-the-wall places is usually the cheapest and best meal I can get on a given day. I eat a lot of Lo Mein and Hot and Sour Soup.
Mercutio. I never realized what I was missing until an English friend and his Indian wife persuaded me to try some of their Indian food. Once I did, I was hooked, and was subsequently happy to find some Indian resturants nearby my house. However, I must point out, that Indian food, like any other cultural food, is never prepared the same way in different eateries, so you could come across some versions you don't like.
Circa 1994, I worked here in Southern CA for a recently arrived Brit. He constantly complained bitterly that the Indian food here was terrible. He missed his thrice-weekly fix of it at some joint in London. I've eaten at Buck's favorite joint (Natraj) just once, when I lived closer to it (Laguna Niguel). Was acceptable.
The joints that make Indian snacks (not food) usually do a better job.
I don't eat out much (with Timwhit on this one), but do know people that regularly eat at Indian joints in central and north Orange counties. Buck if you're in the mood to try some other joints, let me know.
flagreen
11-04-2003, 06:41 PM
KFC is not what used to be. When I was a kid they sold it in Tops resturants - kind of like a Bob Evans. There were no KFC stores. Just seemed better then. Nothing special about it today though.
When I was a kid there were no McDonalds or fast food joints. No cable TV. No PCs or Video games. Four channels on TV and that was it. No ATMs or even Visa or Mastercards. No digital nothing - not even touch dial phones. Transistor radios and Stereo record players were at the top of the technology pile. FM radio? Nope it was all AM.
No blenders, no Zip codes, no seat belts, no VCRs, no fuel injection, and so on and so on. Life was a lot simpler then.
Mubs,
The Natraj Tandoori is a chain and serves their food in a cafeteria style (they also will cook items off the menu, but that costs more). There is also a sit-down place in Laguna Beach named the Natraj, they have very good Indian food in my opinion. My English friend laments like your acquaintance. They apparently have Indian restaurants like we have Mexican.
Thanks for the tip, but normally I don’t make it to the north county area, Irvine is far enough for me. :)
Fushigi
11-04-2003, 11:35 PM
Anyone here live near a Jimmy John's? $3 for a really excellent sub.I like Subway better. Could be the obnoxious staff at the JJ's my wife & I went to.
I've never had Indian food. I like Thai, but both the Thai places I've been to are out of business.Indian & Thai are both great cuisines. I have a coworker from India; he finds all the great places in the area and we hit 'em for lunch once in a while. Fantastic stuff.
White Castle. Possibly worse than Burger King. They used to have mini-corn dogs, which were awesome. Now they have only items better suited to greasy, soggy construction materials. Certainly nothing I'd put in my mouth.Let's just say they don't call 'em sliders for nuthin'.
Boston Market. There's only one in Northwest Indiana. I like their Meatloaf and the creamed spinach, but quality is really uneven on the side items.I typically will get the creamed spinach and the dill potatoes. Fairly hard to screw up. Somewhat pricey for what you get but it feels like higher quality than the average fast food. I haven't tried the latest McRestaraunt, Chipotles, yet although one just opened by work. $6 for a burrito?
A Chicagoland chain, El Famous' "football sized burritos" are excellent and only about $3.50
Popeye's: Chicken is mostly gross. Red Beans and Rice is a fast food meal of the gods, however, and redeems all other sins.RB&R is truly a great thing. Popeye's sides are decent, although I haven't eaten there in probably 3 years or more.
Long John Silver's: Good in small doses. I like fried clams.Indeed. About once every 4 to 5 months for my grease quota. I go for the chicken & fish combo.
Taco Bell: <snip>
Anyway, Taco Bell food is hopelessly generic, made with the same 7 ingredients, but somehow they continue to tricking me into eating it. I like "7 Layer Burritos" best.7 layer & grilled stuffed are both pretty decent. BTW, I know the manager for most of the TBs around Valpo & the surrounding area.
Subway: I'm annoyed that Subway costs so much more than Jimmy John's, and isn't as good. I suppose it's reasonably healthy food but why am I paying $6 for a sandwich?I figure part of the price is the fresh ingredients like bread baked on-site and part is for the convenience since there's a Subway roughly every 50 feet around here.
Quizno's: Same as Subway, only add another $1.50. Good Clam Chowder, though. Plus every one I've been in has had a clerk incapable of making change.Had it a couple of times; didn't care for it. I like grilled subs, but Quizno's just didn't strike me as any good. And too expensive.
Panera Bread: I think they pave the streets of DuPage County (Fushigi's neighborhood) with these things. Someone once gave me directions to a meeting including "Turn right at the fourth Panera Bread". Food is great. It's healthy. There are always lots of employed, business-type image-conscious women in them. Too bad they don't have them where I actually live.Hmm. I think I only pass 2 on the way to work. No, wait, 3. Good food but too fashionable for my taste and a bit pricey.
TGI Fridays/Chilis/Applebees: Like Wendys, but without the redeeming qualities. Not really fast food either, but somehow they seem to be everywhere. Do people not have any taste?We refuse to patronize Chilis as we went to several different ones and had lousy service 4 times in a row. We finally realized it was systemic and decided to ban the place. TGI & Applebees both have a couple of dishes that are good enough. At Applebees I get the chicken fingers platter.
Why yes, I do eat out quite a bit. :) :lol:
Mercutio
11-04-2003, 11:58 PM
Fushigi, have you ever eaten at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook? They have (or had. I haven't been there in years) table service, which is fun for the sheer incongruity of it.
timwhit
11-05-2003, 12:17 AM
Fushigi, have you ever eaten at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook? They have (or had. I haven't been there in years) table service, which is fun for the sheer incongruity of it.
I watching this program on the Travel Channel awhile back about fast food and there is a McDonalds in NYC that is sitdown with table service and is quite fancy. I would consider going there sometime, it looked pretty cool. And it even had live music.
CougTek
11-05-2003, 12:34 AM
No blenders, no Zip codes, no seat belts, no VCRs, no fuel injection, and so on and so on. Life was a lot simpler then.
Yeah, and it was half-a-century ago too...
Handruin
11-05-2003, 01:03 AM
I've had good experiences at Chili's in my area. I enjoy their food, especially their mushroom jack fajitas. The service has been decent the many times we’ve eaten there.
My favorite restaurant is Vinnie Testas of Boston (http://www.vinnytestas.com/), which happens to be in my town as well as Boston. If you like Italian food, everything is made to order at this place.
Another good place to eat is Tennessee's BBQ (http://www.tennbbq.com/). I enjoy their pulled chicken and corn bread.
I'm a picky eater and I actually like a Thai cuisine place near my work. I also enjoyed some Japanese Hibachi (http://www.cheforientrestaurant.com/japanese.html).
Another good place I enjoy is an Irish restaurant named O’Connor’s. As far as I know it isn't a chain, so you probably won't find this unless you are in my area. Probably not worth mentioning because of this, but if you are ever in the area, it is worth a trip.
I don't care for Applebee’s very much. I find their food to be bland and not very appetizing. I'd rather go to Friendly's than Applebees.
If I had to pick a sub shop, I like D’Angelo’s better than subway. The subway's around here have changed over the years. They don't seem to make very good sandwiches any longer.
timwhit
11-05-2003, 01:19 AM
I hate Applebee’s. I have gotten their chicken sandwich more than once and each time it is extremely undercooked. How hard is it to cook a piece of chicken all the way through? I can do it quite easily on my $30 George Forman Grill. I try to avoid eating at Applebee’s at all cost.
I ate at Biaggi's (http://www.biaggis.com/) last week. It is a new Italian chain, with about 10 locations. I thought the food was excellent, kind of like Olive Garden, but better food and comparable prices. Check their website, I bet some of you are close enough to one of the locations. Try it out, it will be worth it.
flagreen
11-05-2003, 05:29 AM
No blenders, no Zip codes, no seat belts, no VCRs, no fuel injection, and so on and so on. Life was a lot simpler then.
Yeah, and it was half-a-century ago too...
That reminds me, I forgot to add that back then "All Canadians were Canadians".
timwhit
11-05-2003, 05:52 AM
KFC is not what used to be. When I was a kid they sold it in Tops resturants - kind of like a Bob Evans. There were no KFC stores. Just seemed better then. Nothing special about it today though.
When I was a kid there were no McDonalds or fast food joints. No cable TV. No PCs or Video games. Four channels on TV and that was it. No ATMs or even Visa or Mastercards. No digital nothing - not even touch dial phones. Transistor radios and Stereo record players were at the top of the technology pile. FM radio? Nope it was all AM.
No blenders, no Zip codes, no seat belts, no VCRs, no fuel injection, and so on and so on. Life was a lot simpler then.
Actually zip codes were introduced in large cities in 1943. And FM Radio has essentially been around since 1937 when it was granted a construction permit by the FCC (the year my dad was born). I doubt you were born before either of these things. Since you were 50 on February 2nd 2002, the oldest you can possibly be is 52 now. (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120)
flagreen
11-05-2003, 06:17 AM
KFC is not what used to be. When I was a kid they sold it in Tops resturants - kind of like a Bob Evans. There were no KFC stores. Just seemed better then. Nothing special about it today though.
When I was a kid there were no McDonalds or fast food joints. No cable TV. No PCs or Video games. Four channels on TV and that was it. No ATMs or even Visa or Mastercards. No digital nothing - not even touch dial phones. Transistor radios and Stereo record players were at the top of the technology pile. FM radio? Nope it was all AM.
No blenders, no Zip codes, no seat belts, no VCRs, no fuel injection, and so on and so on. Life was a lot simpler then.
Actually zip codes were introduced in large cities in 1943. And FM Radio has essentially been around since 1937 when it was granted a construction permit by the FCC (the year my dad was born). I doubt you were born before either of these things. Since you were 50 on February 2nd 2002, the oldest you can possibly be is 52 now. (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120)
Ok smarty - I grew up in Northern Virginia. We didn't get a zip code until I was 11 or 12 years old. "22003" was ours in Annandale. Even then using them was not mandatory. Ask you parents Mr. Gotcha they'll confirm what I have said.
Yes there was such a thing as FM back then. But Rock and Roll stations were all AM and most radios didn't have the FM band on them. That's all I meant.
Shees.. kids today.
Fushigi
11-05-2003, 09:34 AM
Fushigi, have you ever eaten at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook? They have (or had. I haven't been there in years) table service, which is fun for the sheer incongruity of it.I've driven by their HQ literally hundreds of times as I used to drive by it on my daily commute from LaGrange Park to Lombard. Even now I work just about 1.5 miles away. But no, I've never actually eaten there.
BTW, my employer has a relationship with McDs and I can get their banquet facility free as long as I pay for the catering. I had considered it for our wedding reception but in the end, we decided to hold it in Indiana.
Mercutio
11-05-2003, 10:18 AM
Ok smarty - I grew up in Northern Virginia. We didn't get a zip code until I was 11 or 12 years old. "22003" was ours in Annandale. Even then using them was not mandatory. Ask you parents Mr. Gotcha they'll confirm what I have said.
Yes there was such a thing as FM back then. But Rock and Roll stations were all AM and most radios didn't have the FM band on them. That's all I meant.
ZIP codes weren't made mandatory until 1967. The post office does still make an effort to deliver mail without them, though. There's all kinds of stories about oddly-addressed or lost mail that manages to get delivered to the right person.
FM really wasn't interesting until it could do stereo broadcast. Why would it be? It's short range and reception can be affected by local terrain.
I built a kit radio when I was 8 or 9. I could tune AM stations in Kansas and Ohio (from central Illinois) on a clear winter night, which I thought was really, really cool.
flagreen
11-05-2003, 10:58 AM
I built one of those crystal radios too. I think it was a "Scientific America" kit. They used to make little jars of chemicals that you could buy in hobby stores as well. All sorts of basic chemical and minerals were available for "scientific experiments". They had sulfur, potassium nitrate and powdered charcoal in little jars. My brother and I had great fun making crude gunpowder with it. Can you imagine such a thing being available today? The law suits?
I don't care for Applebee’s very much. I find their food to be bland and not very appetizing. I'd rather go to Friendly's than Applebees.
You must have a bad Applebees Handy. Where I have some relatives in Connecticut, its the other way around, the Friendly's has gone downhill and the newer Applebees is pretty good.
Pradeep
11-05-2003, 06:19 PM
I think the ribs at Applebees are pretty good. That and a couple of their margaritas and I stumble to the car, ready to be driven home. I usually have the ribs and chicken strips combo meal, it's extremely filling. I love the basket that's raised from the table, closer to your mouth :)
As for burgers, I have a liking to bacon double cheese at Wendy's. And their chicken strips are so much more chickeny than those crap nuggets that McDs serves. The only reason I go to McD is for the kids.
timwhit
11-05-2003, 06:22 PM
Dang, I forgot to mention Tumbleweed. It's Southwest style food, but I don't go there for the food. I go there for their $2 margaritas or $5 45oz. They are damn good and the foods alright too.
Burger King's fries are a crime against humanity. They're proof that BK hates us. They taste a lot like fried packing peanuts. Burger King also uses only the most noxious onions and pickles imaginable.
I used to love Burger King's fries. Then in 1999 or so they changed them radically. The marketing people wanted to claim that they were "hotter and crispier" than their old fries. In order to achieve this, they completely changed the fry and thus the taste (for the worse, in my opinion). They achieved the "crispier" part of the equation by doing some weird trick with the outside of the fry that, I believe, involves rice flour, chemicals, and salt. They achieved the "hotter" part of the equation - and this is the part that totally puts me off their fries now - by making the fries hold more of the oil once they're pulled out of the deep-fryers. What's more, to increase the amount even further than the recipe change could pull off, word was sent to franchises that the fry basket was no longer to be shaken by employees once pulled up from the deep fryers (at least not to the extent they used to require). Yup, that was the secret. They seemed hotter as a result (because they're holder more scalding oil), but once that oil has cooled down ... well, to put it nicely it just adds to the poor overall BK fry experience. Gross!
Oh, and I know I'm not the only one disappointed in that change back in '99. They got enough complaints that they asked their franchises to make it more apparent that customers can substitute onion rings instead of the fries at no extra cost. So they annoyed a lot of people, but decided to stick with the new fry "formula" anyway. Too bad.
McDonalds: Good fries, and I like McNuggets. Cheeseburgers are a comfort food. Not so much that they're good, but that they are what they are.
I had a friend who referred to McDonald's hamburgers and cheeseburgers as "meat cookies".
She was right.
Then there was the pair I knew who always referred to the place as "Rotten Ronald's". Funny, but it made me ill.
Burger King's fries are a crime against humanity. They're proof that BK hates us. They taste a lot like fried packing peanuts. Burger King also uses only the most noxious onions and pickles imaginable.
Oh hey, I forgot to mention the pickles!
Burger King's pickle profile is truly weird. You know how there are a bazillion different types of pickles (http://www.geocities.com/welovepickles/Alltypes.html)? Well, in Canada, I discovered that Burger King actually uses good tasting pickles. I'm not sure what kind, but trust me, they are a thousand times better than the vile variety they use here at home. (Add that to my list of restaurant-related things I miss about Canada.) It makes such a difference that up there, I really liked their double-cheeseburgers. Down here, I won't touch one unless I can detonate the pickles at a safe distance first.
Mercutio
11-05-2003, 06:58 PM
I prefer dark meat, so the not-all-white meat McNugget (which, incidently, is basted in beef broth repeatedly during preparation. That's probably enough to give a vegan nightmares) is superior to all those other places that have flavorless white-meat strips.
I'm shocked to learn that ANYONE likes Applebees/Chilis/Fridays. $10 hamburgers? "Quesadillas"? The pork rib version of the McNugget? Southwestern Fusion cooking + Bar food... done poorly. Digusting. The cooking philosophy of all three can be summed up as "Just put bacon, mushrooms and Jack cheese it!"
Gotten bad service in an Applebees? Wanna know why? The corporate mandate for servers there is that its EVERYONE's responsibility to take care of ALL the customers in the restaurant... which means that the people on the most direct paths through the kitchen get fantastic service, and everyone else gets an excuse to tip poorly. One of my brothers worked in those places for years while he was going through school. He couldn't stand 'em, either.
There is always Sizzler. :boom:
Sizzler! Wow...I'd totally forgotten about them. They were one of my favorite restaurants back when I lived in California. Too bad they don't exist here on the east coast.
Howell
11-05-2003, 08:39 PM
We've got a new Drive-In chain down here in Fla now. Can't think of the name. But it's cool. You sit in your car and young girls in shorts and on roller skates bring your food out to you.
Sonic?
I eat McDs for lunch every Tues and Thurs. Those are hectic days and it's close. Other than that lunches are usually at some non-chain place and dinners are at home. Eating is a necessary evil.
Chick-Fil-A is pretty good. I like the taste of the BK patty better than McD or even Wendy's but I like the Wendy's burger better overall.
Handruin
11-06-2003, 12:18 AM
I prefer dark meat, so the not-all-white meat McNugget (which, incidently, is basted in beef broth repeatedly during preparation. That's probably enough to give a vegan nightmares) is superior to all those other places that have flavorless white-meat strips.
I'm shocked to learn that ANYONE likes Applebees/Chilis/Fridays. $10 hamburgers? "Quesadillas"? The pork rib version of the McNugget? Southwestern Fusion cooking + Bar food... done poorly. Digusting. The cooking philosophy of all three can be summed up as "Just put bacon, mushrooms and Jack cheese it!"
Gotten bad service in an Applebees? Wanna know why? The corporate mandate for servers there is that its EVERYONE's responsibility to take care of ALL the customers in the restaurant... which means that the people on the most direct paths through the kitchen get fantastic service, and everyone else gets an excuse to tip poorly. One of my brothers worked in those places for years while he was going through school. He couldn't stand 'em, either.
Chili's is the only one I like out of those three, and yes, even their $6.59 (http://www.chilis.com/menu/default.asp?catID=16&tierID=15&Unit_ID=001%2E005%2E0818&menuType=Dine+In) cheeseburger (not $10) is better than most I've had. (not better than the $10 BBQ burger at O'Conner's) Perhaps it's the location? As Buck has mentioned, he has had good food at Applebees and I don't really care that much for the place. FWIW, the mushroom jack fajitas are relatively new...and they taste good.
flagreen
11-06-2003, 09:53 AM
We've got a new Drive-In chain down here in Fla now. Can't think of the name. But it's cool. You sit in your car and young girls in shorts and on roller skates bring your food out to you.
Sonic?
I eat McDs for lunch every Tues and Thurs. Those are hectic days and it's close. Other than that lunches are usually at some non-chain place and dinners are at home. Eating is a necessary evil.
Chick-Fil-A is pretty good. I like the taste of the BK patty better than McD or even Wendy's but I like the Wendy's burger better overall.
Yep "Sonic" is the one I was talking about. The food was pretty good and the prices not too bad. Chick-Fli-A does have good chicken but those potato waffels are disgusting. It ain't cheap either.
blakerwry
11-06-2003, 03:39 PM
Sonic is a bit expensive for me... they also like to ice up your drink depending on the location so you get 2 sips then you're out....
Here in Lenexa/Shawnee the panera breads and sonics grow on trees... I used to pass 2 panera breads on the way to school... and there are about 4 sonics within 3 miles of where I live.
blakerwry
11-06-2003, 04:06 PM
anybody listen to NPR today? Joan crock (sp?) heiress to the mcDonalds fortune aparently died and left 200 million dollars to National Public Radio.
Mercutio
11-06-2003, 04:14 PM
I listen to NPR every day. It's marvelous news.
Flash required: Beef eaters, beware! (http://www.shagrat.net/Portfolio/cows.swf) :lol:
blakerwry
11-07-2003, 01:16 PM
I didnt ralize how large NPR's budget actually is. The person I was listening to said 100 Million a year for NPR alone and about 800 million a year for all the local stations combined.
Mercutio
11-07-2003, 01:36 PM
And only 1.5 million direct from federal sources.
The NEA and PBS are similarly self-supporting. It annoys me a great deal that certain people in our government claim that we need to stop supporting public broadcasting (all $1.5 million of it, for NPR), while they at the same time sponsor legislation to specifically exempt, say, tobacco growers from taxation.
I volunteer for WBEZ's pledge drives every year, as a clerk (i.e. money-counter, not phone rep). $100 million isn't really all that much money when you think about what it's doing - buying satellite time and sending reporters to foreign countries, paying for all the broadcast and editing equipment, finding all the interesting people they talk to on-air. Considering that ALL the other radio news networks piggyback on a for-profit TV news operation, they really do make miracles happen.
I keep hoping I'll get to meet Ira Glass, who is an absolute wild-man during our pledge drives (calling former members to ask why they haven't pledged this year for example) and who is responsible for This American Life (http://www.thislife.org), but that hasn't happened yet.
blakerwry
11-07-2003, 03:00 PM
I really like that show and Ira. Great speaker. I never turn off the radio or get out of the car if that show is on and I catch it. I'm just entranced.
Smart cricket balls, restaurant preferences ... seeing as how this discussion has touched on a variety of distantly related things already:
I wrote the following today as a sort of thought-provoking joke (or maybe I was just really bored) and posted it to Slashdot.
Officials at one of America's largest "all you can eat" restaurants announced today a new method of cost-cutting.
Tuesday, November 25th
For immediate release
Raleigh, NC: Silver Bucket, a nation-wide franchise restaurant chain with over 200 all-you-can-eat restaurants, has just introduced a new technology called Digital Plate Management, or DPM for short. Company executives are said to be excited about this new technology as they expect it will end the ability for unscrupulous customers to share food with non-paying companions.
"We've always faced a certain 'undesirable' component to our clientele," says Bryan Dawkins, CEO of Silver Bucket. He adds, "You can tell who they are as soon as they arrive. They'll arrive in twos or threes ... sometimes more. Only one or two will buy the buffet though. The others just matter-of-factly state they only want a soft drink."
Dawkins adds, "They're lying, of course. We seldom see it happen as they've become such experts at this kind of blatant theft, but come on ... there's no way someone comes into our restaurant as part of group and only wants a soft drink. You immediately know they're up to no good."
The Digital Plate Management technology that is now being deployed at Silver Bucket restaurants will bring an end to all that. The system relies on a high-tech buffet plate that is designed to work only with the person who purchases the buffet menu option. "These plates are going to save our bacon," says Dawkins. "They are just the most fantastic devices we've ever seen." The plates, which cost the company a little over $1300 a piece, are encoded at the time the customer makes their purchase upon entry into the restaurant. From that point on, the plate is designed to maintain its rigidity only when held by the authorized patron. "If someone else picks them up, they go completely flaccid. The plates, that is," adds Dawkins. In other words, the plates will only be useful for the authorized customer.
Digital Plate Management is the results of years of research, combining stunning effort in both materials engineering and biometrics. The plates include integrated sensors that allow them to be encoded with biometric data when the customer is first handed the plate. The plate stores information about the registered user such as fingerprints, skin elasticity, and body temperature. If these values change beyond a certain range of acceptable values, the plate goes limp. That might seem like a problem for restaurant staff, but the plates have been designed to handle encoding for more than one person. "One of the incredible features of these plates is that they can be encoded to allow any of our restaurant employees to handle the plate without having the plate become flaccid," adds Dawkins. This means that, while customers cannot share their plates amongst themselves, restaurant staff will be free to handle the plates when clearing tables and during dish washing. "Oh certainly, in the restaurant business, you never want to annoy your staff with potential hurdles like that," states Dawkins. He continues, "Multiple user encoding was one of the first things they had to solve in the design of these plates."
"Silver Bucket is committed to providing a first class customer experience," explains Dawkins. "Digital Plate Management is an absolutely revolutionary method for maintaining the level of quality our customers expect. These plates will allow us to make sure that only those honest, paying customer will have access to our all-you-can-eat buffet. We will thus be able to ensure a high-quality menu for our guests, and improve the bottom line for our shareholders."
Customer reaction has been mixed. David Johnson, a long time Silver Bucket patron says, "This doesn't make much sense to me. I mean, they're spending $1300 on each plate? I'm surprised it was that big of a problem; were they really losing that much money to people sharing food?" He thinks for a moment and then continues, "And what the heck happens if I drop one of them new-fangled plates? Do they want me to pay for it or what?" His wife Clare adds, "I'm really not sure I like this idea. What if I ask David to go and get me some more chicken wings while I look after our 3 year-old? It would be more than a bit awkward to see something otherwise rigid go completely flaccid the moment he takes it in his hands."
Company officials concede there will be some adjustment on the part of their clientele, but they maintain that the net result will be worth it.
Look for Digital Plate Management (DPM) at a Silver Bucket near you. The roll-out is expected to start today.
In retrospect I guess I could have included more silly double entendres.
Ah well. It kept me busy and amused for a while.
flagreen
11-25-2003, 06:25 PM
Well done I. Very professional sounding and hilarious. I wish I had thought of it but then I did or err... you did... no wait, I thought of it first, I mean ... err... :confused:
Howell
11-25-2003, 06:30 PM
Really funny i.
Nice one i. Bummer for the Samoans in Hawaii. The father usually stays seated as his 10 children go and fill plates of food for him.
McDonald's (R)(TM) Chicken McNuggets (R)(TM)(M)(X4)(Pat#2729403)...
...available for 20 years now...
...and they still taste like crap.
Mercutio
02-09-2004, 04:20 PM
They were better when they had some dark meat in them. :(
i, what's your /. ID?
You mean when I'm feeling bitchy, or when I'm feeling normal? :wink:
Yes, I have multiple personalities everywhere...
I'll PM you. :)
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.11 Copyright © 2012 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.