Get Covered - Govind Armstrong's Grilled Cheese Sandwich @ Table 8

I just HAD to write about my experience at Table 8 this past Saturday. I went to Table 8 for dinner and had the most AMAZING GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH EVER!!! You read right...a damn grilled cheese sandwich (with pulled pork and red onion marmalade). It was the type of food that you started eating and just thought "I've never had something so good before." What really set the thing apart was the fact that while it was rich in flavor and taste, nothing was overpowering. It was the perfect blend of short ribs, cheese, butter, and grapeseed oil. (I took a look at the recipe in his book). Needless to say, we'll be back at Table 8 to enjoy the food, and all the beautiful people that Govind Armstrong attracts to his restaurant here in LA. And don't forget to check out his book, which he signed at the restaurant.

David Guetta Part II

How about a little music to make you feel better while I go out and play

The challenge of blogging

Poor blog. I look at you and I feel like I'm staring at a puppy that I've left at home alone for too long. But I really prefer posting on thisnext. I promise I'll take good care of you. Just not today. :)

It Don’t Mean a Thing if You Ain’t Got That Ping

This article is so true. I can definitely attest to being one of these people. The first I do in the morning is reach for my blackberry, then my blackjack, then my laptop, then back to the blackberry. I've felt my hip vibrate, even though my phone is on audio or when the phone isn't EVEN on me. I don't just feel connected to the article. I AM the article. NYTIMES ARTICLE April 22, 2007 Tethered It Don’t Mean a Thing if You Ain’t Got That Ping By MATT RICHTEL THE BlackBerry network went dark last week — cache-flow problems, apparently. Service stopped for a mere 12 hours, but to bereft users, 12 minutes was too long. Information feeds our lives, they protested, and the BlackBerry provides it. What if we miss the e-mail message that makes or breaks our happiness, or our bank account? That’s always possible, of course. But what if what the users were missing was more primitive and insidious than uninterrupted access to information? Experts who study computer use say the stated yearning to stay abreast of things may mask more visceral and powerful needs, as many self-aware users themselves will attest. Seductive, nearly inescapable needs. Some theorize that constant use becomes ritualistic physical behavior, even addiction, the absorption of nervous energy, like chomping gum. This behavior is then fueled by powerful social motivators. Interaction with a device delivering data gives a feeling of validation, inclusion and desirability. (It’s no fun to be the only un-pinged person in the room.) James E. Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Computing at Rutgers University, said the data coming from the devices was really secondary. “Look at a lot of the communication — it’s idiotic in terms of substance,” Mr. Katz said. “But it’s vital in terms of meaning.” Mr. Katz argues that participation gives people a sense of belonging, one traceable to the atavistic desire to congregate and cooperate for safety and survival. In addition, he said, the constant checking is an exercise in optimism, like being an explorer or a gambler. Eternal hope delivered in tiny bits while you’re on the go. “It’s random reinforcement,” Mr. Katz said. The fact that you don’t know when important news will come, he said, “means you will quickly engage in obsessive compulsive behavior.” These social needs and yearnings may drive the use. But at some point, that use becomes an end unto itself — a physical ritual that can take on some of the qualities of actual addiction, said Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, where he specializes in neuropsychiatry. Several years ago, Mr. Ratey began using the term “acquired attention deficit disorder” to describe the condition of people who are accustomed to a constant stream of digital stimulation and feel bored in the absence of it. Regardless of whether the stimulation is from the Internet, TV or a cellphone, the brain, he said, is hijacked. “I liken it to a drug,” Mr. Ratey said. “Drug addicts don’t think; they just start moving. Like moving for your BlackBerry.” When the BlackBerry system faltered on Tuesday night, Steven M. Krausz, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, was attending an industry dinner at a conference in Washington, D.C. The malfunction didn’t interrupt his habit. “I checked it at least a dozen times during dinner,” Mr. Krausz said, in part because he was curious about when service would be restored but also because the constant checking was a placeholder for less desirable activities. “I’d rather reach for the BlackBerry than reach for bread or dessert and put some high-cholesterol item in my mouth,” he said, calling his habit “a reflexive response.” Besides, he added, he checked his device regularly “because it was a boring dinner speaker.” There were two speakers, actually: Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Tadataka Yamada, executive director of global health for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Not the least boring to some listeners, but the threshold for boredom is low these days, say compulsive device operators. BlackBerry users do half-joke that they have become junkies, insatiable data tokers. But because the tool is tied to productivity, defined by some as essential to modern employment, overusers don’t really regard their habit as the digital equivalent of firing up a Marlboro outside work. Perhaps they should re-examine the tie to productivity, however. The technology creates the allusion that every moment can be a productive one, said Tara Hunt, 33, a marketing director for a technology consulting company in San Francisco. When you’re not participating, it’s like you’re suggesting that you’re not keeping up, she said. “I might think I’m missing out if Google bought another company and I wasn’t part of the echo chamber around it,” Ms. Hunt said, referring to the chance she’d miss news of an industry development. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter a whole lot.” B. Marc Averitt, a technology investor, said that on the face of it, his fear was that someone would send him a message, become frustrated and bored if there wasn’t an immediate response, then go look elsewhere for an answer. He keeps up, he said, because everyone else is doing it, forcing his hand. But on a deeper level, Mr. Averitt said he found a frustrating, even counterproductive, psychological fixation. And one that he sometimes has to satisfy in secret. On vacations, he said, he has been known to check his BlackBerry even after promising his wife he wouldn’t. His wife says the activity takes him out of the real emotions of the present. And perhaps, for some, that is the point. Dr. Ratey, from Harvard, likens the problem to a food addiction, which is one of the most beguiling for psychiatrists. After all, he said, food is essential for life, but problematic in excessive doses. And that’s what makes breaking technology addiction so difficult. Sometimes the habit is there even when the device isn’t. Users talk of phantom urges, like (no kidding) the feeling of a hip vibrating, as if to suggest a belt-hooked BlackBerry is buzzing when, in fact, the person is the shower. Others hear a beep in the night, say from outdoors or an alarm clock, and reach for the device. “It’s like Pavlov’s dog,” Mr. Averitt said.

So needless to say I have an addiction (or two). The first is gadgets. I'm constantly IN NEED OF GADGETS. I love to get my hands on them. I love to play with them. Most importantly, I love to talk about them. My second addiction of course is www.thisnext.com. ThisNext is the PERFECT forum for me to fulfill my need to talk about gadgets, thus sparing my friends from having to listen to me blabber on about technology and gadgets. But this stuff is fun! See more of my Gadgets list at ThisNext.

Random Thoughts

Just a few things that I needed to jot down: - The Korean cafe owner at corporate and I had an interesting conversation today while I was paying her for my salad owner: You're xxxx right? me: yup owner: are you married? no: nope owner: girlfriend? me: umm, nope (wondering where this conversation is going) owner: I'd like to set you up with my niece. If I had a daughter, I'd set her up with you. m: Gee, thanks? So needless to say, I gave her my business card. Who knows what she's going to do with it. I better not get spammed. - Totally on David Guetta's jock right now. His mixes are just make you want to dance...nonfockingstop.

Weekend in Review

Gallivanted around West LA and checked out the Penthouse (Huntley) and Viceroy. Was told that I was "quietly arrogant," which is probably the most accurate description I have heard yet. I also realized that: a. my tolerance level for alcohol has skyrocketed and/or b. I've become an alcoholic. Case in point: A few of us decided to head out to ktown Saturday night to grab a few drinks. 10 shots of soju, 2 bottles of hite, and a redbull vodka didn't so much as elicit a reaction from my body other than: "Guys, let's go see what happened to Circus now that Spundae isn't promoting there anymore." Bad. I tell you. Bad. Off to get some work done, then it is time to watch my boy Ari. Ari, get yourself a new pda man...I can recommend a great Treo 750 from at&t mobility!

The World is Mine

I love this song. David Guetta - The World is Mine feat. Depeche Mode

Pepe's Part 1

One of the things I love about my mom is her willingness to try all different types of food when I bring it home. After spending 6 hours trying to decide what I wanted for breakfast (then lunch), I went to Pepe's in Alhambra to try their machaca and Wet Burrito. What is machaca you might ask? Dry shredded beef with onions, eggs, and chile peppers. It's one of my favorite dishes when I want that mix of breakfast (egg) food served up mexican style. Their machaca was a little drier than I expected, but I think I've been spoiled by El Tepeyac's machaca, which is seasoned better, a little more moist, and topped with two sunny side up eggs.

For your inner crackhead

I just had to share this post after seeing it @ NotCot Freebase Pancakes...rock on witcha bad self. I'm not really sure what to say...but I just know that I'd need A LOT of those pancakes. Unless of course, you're one of the kids attending Derek Zoolander's Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good

Got Pesto?

Since there isn't a lot of decent food establishments near my office in San Bernardino, I often end up going to Starbucks for one of their sandwiches. The winner for the last few weeks has been the Turkey Pesto, but today was the first time I actually did some investigating. What was in the sandwich: Turkey, bread, veggies, cranberries (yum). So where was the damn pesto???? I investigated further and found it in the spread...a few specks of basil in the spread. WTF! I was wondering why my sandwich tasted so dry. Back in Massachusetts, we used to make our own pesto (for pasta and leftovers for sandwiches) and we spread that baby on thick. I guess I'm just spoiled, but now that I've found a reason to dislike the sandwich, I'm going to need to find something new to eat when I'm in SB. (the imposter pesto sandwich)

Test

How does this work? [test blog sent from pearl]

This was rather interesting

Subject: You can read this-trust me! I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt! I pulled this off of someone's sig file on hofo. Did you have a problem reading this? I didn't. That's pretty crazy though.

Testing

My first post. I just popped its cherry.