B Squared

What a response by Mark Cuban

2011-09-08T18:53:00.000-05:00

I found this funny enough to repost here. Apparently several years ago, once Presidential candidate, Ross Perot had a lawsuit against Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, in which:

"The original lawsuit alleged that Cuban had made a "litany of questionable, business, financial and personnel decisions" with the Mavericks and had been "careless and reckless" running the franchise, causing Perot's real estate investments around the American Airlines Center to lose significant value. He requested that the organization be taken away from Cuban and run by a court-appointed person." - link

After winning the championship this last go around the attorney for (on the behest of? ) Cuban sent a large color photo of the team holding the championship trophy and a short brief with their motion to dismiss. Cannot make this stuff up.

Batter Up

2011-09-01T16:55:00.001-05:00

Now as a baseball geek and someone who played from like 6 to 17 this is fun and impressive to watch, not just the fact he can do it but how long he was able to maintain it

College Football Prep

2011-08-31T23:02:00.001-05:00

Kyle Veazey, former beat writer for MSU (now for Memphis) who is really good (even tho he tends to be overly negative) put together a great compilation of YouTube clips to kick off the football season. Spend about 10 minutes of enjoyment by clicking this link.

Another Football Season is Upon Us

2011-08-30T14:39:00.000-05:00

So I have to take a wild ass stab and give the BSquared SEC predictions

Alabama – 12-0
So. Carolina – 12-0
LSU – 11-1 - Loss to Alabama
Arkansas – 8-4 – Losses to Alabama, LSU, TAMU, So Carolina
MSU – 8-4 - Losses to Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, So. Carolina
Florida – 8-4 – Losses to Alabama, LSU, So. Carolina, Florida St.
Tennessee – 7-5 - Losses to Florida, LSU, Alabama, So. Carolina, Arkansas
Georgia – 6-6 - Losses to Boise, So. Carolina, MSU, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia Tech
Kentucky –5-7 - Losses to Louisville, Florida, LSU, So. Carolina, MSU, Georgia, Tennessee
Auburn – 4-8 – Losses to Alabama, LSU, MSU, So. Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Clemson
Ole Miss – 4-8 – Losses to BYU, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, MSU, Auburn, Kentucky
Vanderbilt – 4-8 - Losses to Ole Miss, So. Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky

Top 5 Dunks in Duke Basketball History

2011-08-23T15:48:00.001-05:00

Had to enjoy this video

Gotcha ...

2011-08-05T12:32:00.001-05:00

This has to be the greatest thing ever

Saw this pic today

2011-08-04T11:48:00.000-05:00

and felt like I just had to share -- also I have to say it's kind of funny as it is 2 of my alma maters

BSquared's Financial Baby Steps Revisited

2011-08-04T09:28:00.001-05:00

I've done this before, here, but now life has moved on and 2 years later it is good to reflect again on what are the financial fundamentals and how they apply to my excellent life right now. It all starts with the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps which I list below but alter for my own personal method. And as a reminder these are the big steps, sure there are other purchases built in but this is more of the skeletal structure of the financial body as buying a car, having a wedding, having a kid or 3 are all more like the flesh that sits on and is held up by the base structure.

Here are Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps:

1. 1,000 to start an emergency fund

2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball

3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

4. Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pretax retirement

5. College Funding for children

6. Pay off home early

7. Build wealth and give

Let me start by saying I really like Dave because he tells it like it is and isn't afraid to hurt someone's feelings or to give them a pat on the back. And I think his steps could be a great map for some people but I think we can better achieve what we want to achieve using a slight variation on some of the steps.

The BSquared version of the Baby Steps: (explanations afterwards)

1. 1,000 as an emergency fund (have to first have a little to keep something little from throwing everything else out of kilter)

2. Pay off all debts under $10,000 using the Debt Snowball, excepting those with a sub 3 APR (no debt is good debt but I think if your debt can be beat by inflation which is 4% over time then don't go crazy until further down the steps, with an exception I'll talk about at the end; I will also say that Dave's way takes the thinking and impulse control out of this with the no 3 APR exception which can be a good thing but for us we have proven over the past few years that we can handle the task of trusting the math and not abandoning the plan)

3. Bump up the Emergency fund to $5,000 (this is big for us as we carry fairly high deductible insurance on some things, lets assume a medical thing like I had last year then it takes $2k to the deductible, 5k here makes that keep everything from going crazy, also if have a bad car accident have to think 500 to get the car deductible another 500 for medical, if its not enough 2k for medical to kick in, its bad but it could be much worse w/o this safety net)

4. Invest $10,000/year (or whatever is the Roth max) in retirement (for better or worse none of us are getting any younger and compounding interest does magical, magical things when applied to 30 or 35 years, start now or forever eat canned tuna fish instead of Sushi)

5. Create savings of 3 months expenses (these numbers can seem kind of scary when you think about what is required BUT if you have paid off all debt except for sub 3's and the house it may not be as much as you think). Plus I will say that putting 3 to 6 months as I had before was just a little silly, everyone would stop at 3 and never get to 6 to get to the other steps BUT check out number 9, 6 months comes back around later.

6. Pay off debts over $10,000 using the Debt Snowball, excepting those with a sub 3 APR (this can get really discouraging, trust me, we know, the snowball rolls very slowly when trying to pay off $17k like with a car but it happens and when it does it makes you feel really good; also I count a 2nd mortgage in here, 1st goes to the house, 2nd goes to not having enough cash at time of purchase IMO so it's just a loan debt)

7. Build that children’s college fund, I know this is lower than some people might have thought but maybe having its ranking here maybe me hedging because of my old thoughts versus my new thoughts. There is a tradition in my family of parents not paying for college, my grandfather didn't pay for my dad, my dad didn't pay for me, and on some level I would like a kid of mine to have the satisfaction and self reliance that comes with making it on their own. Plus there is nothing wrong with junior college and state universities so it is affordable as long as you stay in state. That being said, it was the old way of thinking with me because I realize how financially positive it would be for someone to be able to get out of school with no debt hamstringing them, how much sooner they can walk up these steps per se. So … I think the hedge is to support them but not so early in the process it hurts our own steps.

8. Increase the retirement savings to at least $15,000 a year, perhaps more if a good investment (thinking real estate) comes available. Remember though that pretax is always a better investment than even things like real estate because what type of returns on investment bring you the 25-33% that avoiding taxes do? Really? None that I know of that are legal.

9. Create 6 months expenses and having in savings. Now you want to talk of piece of mind, this is the way to do it. Being able to lose your job and not freak out about it, very nice.

10. Pay off home early (with this I assume your house isn't a sub 3, I’m pretty sure ours isn't, but keeping a house payment for the tax implications just isn't smart, you don't rather keep a deduction than keeping all that money you are spending in interest on the house; run the number % of house payment going out not to principle v. what you are saving on taxes)

11. Pay off any loans with a sub 3 APR (here is the magical place we are still way away from (mostly because of the house but if you have paid the other stuff and put your retirement money in and built up 6 months of expenses you can certainly kill this and then you have all sorts of money to play with every month)

12. Stuff as much into investments and retirement savings as possible to shoot for early retirement (plus remember, in theory social security will still be around in 2045 when I hope to retire and if it is (but I'm not counting on it) that is just gravy to the preplanning we have laid here)

I almost forgot the exception I promised in #2 - The exception I include for paying off sub 3 APR stuff is if you anticipate a tough situation coming up or something where a cash infusion might be needed and you feel it best to clear a recurring debt (i.e. Car Loan at $350 a month) to make each month better if someone were to lose a job or something of the sort than I'm ok with forgetting the sub 3 APR thing because flexibility in tough times is worth its weight in gold (and piece of mind) regardless of the mathematical equations regarding inflation beating the loan.

100 goals revisited

2011-07-18T13:34:00.001-05:00

100 goals revisited -- I've talked about this before (here) but wanted to do kind of a 1/2 year recap since the last one was at the beginning of January. I'm sure if you wanted to compare with the old list you would notice that I've added a new bit of organization to the list that makes sense to me. If my count just a minute ago is correct I've completed 34 of these goals and some will probably take many years to accomplish (especially with the travel involved).

Have a family, that includes wife and kid/kids
Read through the entire Bible

Read 100 books - going to have to start counting - See progress

Watch the 10 greatest AFI American Movies of all time - See progress - 7 of 10 right now
Read the 10 greatest books per Time - See progress - 2 of 10 right now

Do Project365

Give blood
Build a snowman
Get a photograph published - AALL Spectrum
Drive a car fast enough it cuts off
Ride a Train
See a Stand-up Show - Kevin James & Daniel Tosh
Stand underneath a waterfall
Volunteer at a food bank
Tutor a little kid
Try Acupuncture
Give $100 to a complete stranger
Sleep under the stars
Catch an Alligator
Catch a 10 pound bass
Take dancing lessons
Take flying lessons
Ride a horse
Go Skydiving
Go Skinny Dipping
Do Firewalking
Buy some custom fit shirts
Sing Karaoke in a bar
Learn how to properly cook with charcoal
Stop drinking soda
Stop chewing finger nails

get Master's Degree - USM
graduate from law school - MC
pass the bar - Mississippi and Alabama
Teach law school classes
Present at a Regional Conference
Present at a National Conference
Publish a law review article

Publish a book
Get Tenure

Get under 222 lbs

Get under 200 - if I can do the marathon thing I will be here
Do a 5k
Do a 1/2 marathon
Do a whole marathon
Get off my BP and Cholesterol meds

NOLA - Tour haunted houses
NOLA – Mardi Gras
Go on a church mission trip outside of the US
Go to the College World Series
Go to a Cardinals playoff game
Go to a MSU NCAA tourney game
Go Kayaking in Colorado
Go Trout fishing in the Rocky Mountains
Go see the Northern Lights
Go Deep Sea Fishing
Go to the Sugar Bowl
Go to the Olympics
Go Bowfishing
Go to a Mississippi State bowl game - Liberty Bowl
Go to a Dave Matthews Concert - Jazz Fest & Memphis
DC - Tour the White House
DC - See a SCOTUS argument live
DC - Cherry Blossom in DC
DC - See a Presidential Inauguration
NYC - Climb the Statute of Liberty
NYC - New Years at Times Square
LA - See Jeopardy from in the studio
Visit Philadelphia, PA / Independence Hall, Liberty Bell
Visit Cooperstown
Visit Chicago – Day game @ Wrigley Field
Visit Durham, NC – Game @ Cameron Indoor Stadium
See the Pacific (get in the Pacific)
Visit Mt. Rushmore
Visit the Smokey Mountains
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit Yellowstone
Visit Lake Tahoe
Visit Las Vegas
See a show in Vegas - Saw Kevin James & Rick Thomas
Crawl around on Mayan Ruins – Uxmal & Xunantanich
Visit Belize
Visit Africa
Take a class at a foreign University (Cambridge/Oxford/Paris)
Visit Rome - Stand in the Sistine Chapel
Visit Paris
Visit England
Visit Ireland
Visit Israel
Visit Egypt - See the Pyramids
See a game in every SEC stadium - only been to Starkville, Oxford, Tuscaloosa & Baton Rouge so far

See a game in every MLB stadium - only been to St. Louis, Houston, Arlington, Atlanta, D.C., & Colorado so far.
Visit all 50 states

Have a $5,000 emergency fund
Fully fund my Roth IRA
Buy a house - it's not that cool, especially when you try and sell it
Buy a car with cash (probably used but still)
Own an antique car, preferably a convertible or truck
Own land preferably 10 acres or more (my lot with the house I'm not counting here)
Owe NOBODY - no cars, no student loans, no mortgages

Miracle at Panther Burn

2011-07-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

Marshall Ramsey, one of the great guys I got to read regularly while in Jackson has a TERRIFIC piece on his blog I wanted to share called Miracle at Panther Burn. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

btw Marshall is a tremendous cartoonist (mostly political) and has a great, sharp wit about him

Too Cool

2011-07-11T15:02:00.001-05:00

I currently work at a good place, and I like my job, BUT ... when I see things that I consider very cool happening at my old job it makes me both proud and a little sad.

I saw this in my Facebook feed today - my old school, Mississippi College School of Law, is hosting a gubernatorial debate July 21st. We hosted a Senatorial debate for an open U.S. Senate seat a few years back and it is cool things like this that make me proud of my alma mater and former employer.

When I mentioned a little sad above it is not just that I'm not there for the fun that this could be but because I feel that my current school some how under achieves by not ever trying to do things like this. Maybe I am a little too pop culture, a little too play to the media and the crowds and not an egalitarian academic but I feel my current employer could easily have similar opportunities and just doesn't. Who knows ...

Net worth

2011-05-22T15:39:00.008-05:00

I wanted to pass along this good blogpost from Perkstreet about how way too many people dont really understand Net worth. Basically this hones in on what is the truth about being "poor" and how a beggar who doesn't have anything but doesn't owe anybody is actually "richer" than many people who appear wealthy but actually owe more than everything they own.

YouTube Fun

2011-05-21T15:28:00.003-05:00

Found this law school made video that I found pretty funny to the tune of FU from Cee Lo Green. That being said it does have language not appropriate for all (but very appropriate to law students)

Mitch McDeere is Back

2011-05-20T15:27:00.002-05:00

According to this article the classic character from the John Grisham's The Firm, Mitch McDeere, is back in a tv series format. I am actually kind of excited about this as McDeere was one of Grisham's more favorite characters for me.

Mitch McDeere is Back

2011-05-20T15:27:00.000-05:00

Flip This House - South Carolina

2011-05-18T10:27:00.000-05:00

A former student of mine did a really good job of tracking the very interesting (IMO) lawsuit between Trademark Properties and A&E which combined to make an entertaining television show several years ago when flipping houses was super hot (and profitable). The show also made a brief return as "The Real Estate Pros" but I don't think their old audience made the jump.

It appears that the suit may have finally wound down with Richard Davis and the Trademark team (including the cute and overtly Southern Ginger) ending up victorious (if for no other reason than A&E is a big boy and knows they should have written out the contract if they wanted to try and cheat someone out of something). See Marks post for much more information.

Great Fan Escape - Good Stuff

2011-05-17T12:16:00.000-05:00

Ron White Classic

2011-05-16T13:33:00.002-05:00

Ron White's Solution to the Financial Crisis

2011-05-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

minimalism

2011-05-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

at times I get on a real Minimalism kick so I feel like I should really bounce this article/interview off one more place in the web about Andrew Hyde who goes to the extreme (and fun extreme on some level) of having 15 items. CRAZY.

Now a very slight bit of helpful counting like saying "a toilet kit" but still the sheer fact of having so little frees him of SO MUCH.

FAIR tax v. Flat Tax

2011-05-09T15:39:00.003-05:00

The FAIR tax and the flat tax are not the same thing. Not even close. I think this is a greatly confused issue so today I just wanted to kind of walk through

In a great generality I will say that the FAIR tax is a tax on consumption, not on income. The flat tax is a tax on income, not consumption. Basically, one is collected when you spend it, the other when you make it. Really what is similar about the two is based on the fact is it tax reform that is fairly major and they are both 4 letter F words.

I will interject that I believe that both are better than the current system we have but I prefer the FAIR tax to the flat tax if we are comparing them.

The FAIR tax is pretty straight forward, take sales tax as you know it on the state level and say there will be a 23% sales tax on whatever new items you buy. Now 23% sounds like a lot BUT you no longer have to pay income tax and people like me are in the 28% bracket. So when one bounces through the 10, 15, 25, 28 brackets I bet 23% would be about a break even on income v. sales tax rate wise. HOWEVER, and here is the great part of the FAIR tax in my opinion, you are not taxed at all on what you save. So lets for instance say I make 85,000 and only spend 60,000. I am FAIR taxed on 60,000 and get a tax free savings on the other 25,000. It benefits savings and I really like that.

Now to try and compare this let say I make 85,000 and via deductions I can get that down to a AGI of 60,000 (actually probably decent numbers there) and it looks like a pretty much breakeven. Until you consider that the FAIR tax also wipes out Social Security tax (another 7.5% you are used to paying), capital gain taxes, gift taxes, and estate taxes (things that I don’t really pay anyway) and NOW you are seeing the gain or the benefit of the system numerically. Basically I would get like a 7.5% savings, some who are better invested would get much, much more. Additionally, and I’m not a fan of this part of the FAIR tax, the plan calls for a prebate to basically pay this tax on living requirements (think food, shelter) and everyone gets a check for this every month. This is thrown in there as an answer to “overtaxing” the poor and on some level I can see that a 23% tax on food is way excessive but I am leery of building in exceptions for fear of others. There is also some exception built in for an education expense (which I admit I’m confused on), I don’t fully understand how “services” (think personal trainer) is considered for tax purposes.

Another great benefit of the FAIR tax (or consumption tax in general) is effective taxation of the underground economy. What I mean by this is all those things that are not taxed such as illegal drugs, illegal gaming, mechanics on the slide, tax cheats everywhere would lose their great loophole (unless they are just saving it up) because the taxing happens when one buys new rims for a Continental or that estancia in Prentiss, Mississippi.

In simple what I like about the FAIR tax are: Many fewer exceptions, It promotes savings, It taxes the underground economy.

In simple my problems with the FAIR tax are: it opens up loopholes that can become slippery slopes to more exceptions, I’m not a huge fan of prebates

The flat tax is really, very simple. A number is picked (it usually ranges from 12.5 to 20 percent) and everyone pays that on their income. There are no exceptions, no deductions, no haggling, it is easy. The greatest benefit of this is that the idea is “fair” in that everyone pays the same tax. Another great benefit of this is how simple and absolute it is with no exceptions. This has great appeal in that once an exception is made then someone will always try for a second or a third and then we end up with the volumes of tax code that we have now. The flat tax idea would also obviously save quite a bit of governmental money that is spent on the IRS (but it is really not a game changer in the big picture).

In simple what I like about the flat tax are: No exceptions that mean no loopholes and shenanigans, does away with that “progressive” tax system, it greatly benefits the elderly who don’t make anything and just spend (and I like helping the elderly).

In simple my problems with the flat tax are: It is on income which penalizes savers (like me as compared to others), there are also some flat tax versions that do not have this absolute mentality that float around out there that I am scared of like Dick Armey and Steve Forbes have discussed which I think can lead to a situation much like we currently have.

Thoughts??? - I'm open to talking about this

the Book Museum

2011-04-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

I liked this article entitled "the Book Museum" by Ryan Saltz that includes the quote "There will always be a place for the physical library and the skills of librarians. People who use the library appreciate being able to find their favorite materials over and over again."

Ryan has a kind of a humorous metaphor of a library being like the best of museums, a hands on place that has tons of cool things for visitors to examine.

Assimilated Technology

2011-03-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

I like the theme of this Slate article but not really the hopefulness (lack there of) or answers it (or didn't) provide. Generally the article is about how none of our home entertainment things work together and even the best of universal remotes still sucks. And I definitely agree it should be much easier BUT I think it is kind of pointless to rant about it without more than just a comparison to how computers all got on the same page.

The question the article made me wonder is if I bought a Sony TV, and Sony Blu-Ray, and Sony home theatre system would they even talk to each other like we want? If not the issue is bigger than Sony and Vizio not agreeing or wanting to build on a common language it is a short sightedness on the part of electronics manufacturers.

AND, I think the point the author makes about how the "internet" is/was supposed to fix all this but they will just gum up the works is small minded thinking. Honestly, I think the wave that puts this issue to bed is basing an "operating system" on computers, not 20th century electronics (think TV, DVD, home stereo). Once the lines are in place there will be no need for cable or satellite dishes, it Cat-5's into your computer, your computer uses your current TV as a "monitor", you can hook up your Bose speakers to the computer and the computer is your operating system. Oh, and you know that DVR we love but keep running up on its limit, 2 TB drives dont fill up as quickly as some Tivo box. This technology is not impossible IF you are willing to admit that 1995 home systems should be left there and not what is needed in 2011.

Life

2011-03-24T19:58:00.000-05:00

It has been an (seeming) eternity since I posted something here but a few thoughts on articles I've seen recently and a quick update on my life :)

- Fix the Deficit? We can Do That - a short article in Time about "10 ideas that will change the world" - The most telling part of this page article is the reference to the 60 or so page report from the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Now I'm not saying every single action they propose I approve of but I find it very refreshing to see solutions proposed that are oblivious (even if that makes it unlikely) to politics. And that is an important part of the article talking about how politics stand in the way of progress.

- Relax: You Don't Need to Worry About Meeting E.T. - another mini article in the same "10 ideas that will change the world" segment - BUT I completely disagree with the premise. Now I understand that thinks are a VERY long way away, BUT who is to say that ET (to use the articles parlance) travels at the same pace we do OR that he didn't start traveling those 14 billion light years distance 14 billion light years ago? I just think it is extremely short sighted to think that we came first or that everyone travels at our speed. I mean if we are thinking that their might be aliens out there shouldn't we at least conceive that they might be longer established or smarter (I know I have met many people smarter than me on this 'lil ole planet). Just saying, this Time author seems to have missed the ball a bit I think.

OK, my life, I have to say it has been exceptional strange in the past, I'll say 8 weeks. From March 4 - March 12 I traveled to Accra, Ghana on a trip with my church to "help" out some people that are what I can say are severely underserved. I am not willing to post a whole lot about this trip on the blog simply because I don't want any negative to ever come to anyone I had contact with in Ghana and they, even the poorest of them, have Internet access on occasion. Therefore, those who might want to expose, hurt, penalize those I've come to deal with and love have that access as well. If you want to know more about the trip feel free to shoot me an email and I'll talk your ear off about what was my best "vacation" ever.

A second major happening in my life this past month is that I got a contract extension with my job here as a librarian in New Orleans. I don't think it was a shock, in fact the opposite might have been a shock but a definite positive occurrance.

The final major happening to be listed in this blog post is that I have found someone really special to share my life with and while there are no rings or ringing bells (except for a cowbell perhaps :) happening just yet I feel like God has decided to reward me and I am really happy that he has done so. Maybe some day I'll talk more about her and our hopeful family but until then just know that I'm happy to be in what to this point appears to be a terrific relationship.

The NFL lockout

2011-03-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

While I have a ton of things to talk about on here I've been so busy lately the blog has diminished into something like a good book sitting unread and unupdated in the library. I will pass along this NYT article about why the NFL suit is in a Minnesota federal court and it also gives a good short history of NFL labor legal disputes.

Upward thinking

2011-03-01T14:40:00.000-06:00

I really liked this article, "A Chicago Campus Grows Up - and Up", in the Chronicles of Higher Education.

In a nutshell it describes the new skyscraper that Roosevelt University in Chicago is building to house everything from student housing to classrooms to labs and faculty offices. A really neat concept to read about.

"Everlasting Lightening Storm"

2011-02-10T19:15:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make sure and pass along this slate article that talks about the reportedly amazing natural phenomena that are the lightening storms at Lake Maracaibo. "Nowhere else on Earth is so much lightning concentrated in one spot, with such regularity."

This sounds like something that would be spectacular to see in person (but for the danger of the criminals)

Great Wrestling Entertainment

2011-02-04T14:12:00.001-06:00

It has been a long time since I laughed at anything this hard

A new home

2011-02-04T13:43:00.000-06:00

Part of the purpose of this blog is to commemorate events in my life. In this idea I wanted to make sure and note that this past Sunday, January 30th, I joined First Baptist New Orleans as a member. I actually had not moved my membership (or letter as some places call it) from St. Marks in Brandon (despite attending Redeemer Pres. and Pinelake after leaving St. Marks. We had our reasons for leaving St. Marks but I'm not going to post those here.

Needed Invention

2011-02-04T13:37:00.000-06:00

OK, this could come off as a complaint place but it is meant more as a holding place for things I think we need :)

1. DVR that can remember what I have actually watched after I have deleted or watched it. - Mine seems to not have a problem as long as I have not deleted the program but with serialized shows like Pawn Stars or American Pickers it would be nice if it could remember what (at least) the DVR has previously recorded and played. That would only require needing to save a show # or something like that, not the crazy large information like a program itself.

Increase the size of the US Congress ?

2011-01-24T07:54:00.000-06:00

In today's NYT there is an interesting Op Ed about increasing the size of the US House of Representatives - Link - and while I say the headline I thought "That is stupid" the piece makes some really, really excellent points. Additionally, one point not explicitely mentioned was that the more member of Congress there are the harder it is/will be for corporations to capture their interests. Now I'm not saying corporations don't have the money to do it but the more there are, the more likely there are to be those resistant to "being bought". I do, however, think the bigger plus would be what the piece focuses on of having a closer relationship with a legislator than is now available.

Like Plants? Lazy? - If so check this out

2011-01-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

You are quite a bit like me then as people think I have a "green thumb" but my real secret is to only care for plants that are exceptionally easy to care for OR take on something that is so dead that people are amazed if it is saved, if not oh well no one expected it.

Check out this article about "Xeriscaping" - Xeriscaping basically means plants that require a bare minimum of water, some cool stuff there. Additionally, my friend Karin had put me on Zee Zee plants which looks good and seems to be doing well with a minor bit of care.

Sewing

2011-01-19T20:48:00.000-06:00

How to sew a hem - video to share (it's not me thankfully)

I'm thinking about maybe trying to do a little hemming of my own clothes, thinking I can do it on my own for much cheaper than the shop.

New Orleans Dining #41

2011-01-06T10:40:00.000-06:00

Joey K's

Went to Joey K's last night with a friend b/c it was Wednesday and one of their special's on Wednesday is Brisket. If I haven't said before on here (I think I have) I love brisket. OK, the good and the bad, what they brought me was not brisket as I know it. It wasn't texas style brisket with a little char on the outside. What is was was a a really good piece of brisket meat (brisket just means the cut on the cow) cooked like a roast. Good, just not what I was expecting. Also had some rice and gravy and cheese fries both of which were good. My compadre had the chicken cor don blue which was also different than we thought it would be as it was kind of a country fried chicken with gravy. She liked it but again not what she was expecting. The service was also excellent. Prices, not bad.

Located at/near: Seventh and Magazine

On the web at: http://www.joeyksrestaurant.com/

Utopia ???

2011-01-06T10:30:00.000-06:00

For a different type of being subject to the Man, this was sent to me by a friend, pretty humorous IMO

Working for the Man

2011-01-06T10:24:00.000-06:00

One of my daily reads, Wealth Pilgrim, had a really good post on if you can get RICH by working for the man. In short I'm going to say not rich, like uber-rich. Comfortable sure, especially if you have your priories correct (that is truly my goal, I'm not shooting for multi-millionaire). BUT if you want to be uber-rich then you probably aren't going to do it working for "the man". For a much better and thorough way of explaining this check on the WP post. Good read IMO.

Convergence

2011-01-06T10:12:00.000-06:00

I was introduced to a new concept to me yesterday in some reading, convergence. Now what I am talking about is weather, specifically a Intertropical convergence zone such as the Puget Sound Convergence Zone. I read about this on Ken Jennings blog and it is a cool phenomenon where 2 regions meet and the prevailing airflow "converges" to create things like awesome dumpings of snow in tiny regions and the such. Just an interesting kinda deal

New Orleans Dining #40

2011-01-03T19:29:00.000-06:00

Martinique Bistro

Went here with my friend Karen (who btw is a high-roller compared to me, this is fine dining) despite I was wearing a hoodie (it was like 40 degrees) and was the most underdressed in the place :) Anyway, Think $25 entrees, $8 soups. BUT what I had was DELICIOUS. This place zooms definitely in the top 5 of best meals I've had in NOLA.

I started with a soup of a crab bisque that was green for some reason, idk. But it was so good I joked to Karen that I should have just ordered 3 of those and I'd be stuffed and happy. I had for the entree what was called a "Cassoullet" basically a bowl, had white beans on the bottom (of which I didn't eat a whole lot), then some thick cut bacon and andouille sausage (both of which were divine), and on top a leg quarter of duck that was perfectly cut, falling off the bone tastiness. Really, really good.

Located at: Magazine and Eleonore

On the web at: http://www.martiniquebistro.com/dinner/

MSU football recruits

2011-01-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

On the heels of State's dominating performance again Michigan yesterday I couldn't help but look forward to next year and who the Bulldogs are looking at signing recruiting wise this year. National signing day is Feb. 2 so with one month to go ...

Dak Prescott - QB - *** - Haughton, LA
Devonte Scott - RB - *** - Ferriday, LA
Josh Robinson - RB - *** - Franklintown, LA
Nick Brassell - WR - **** - So. Panola, MS
Joe Morrow - WR - **** - Ocean Springs, MS
Joe Price - WR - ** - Madison Cen., MS
Devin Fosselman - WR - *** - Wilkinson Co., MS
Daniel Knox - TE - *** - West Lauderdale, MS
Rufus Warren - TE - *** - Gentry, MS
James Maiden - OL - *** - Wilkinson Co., MS
Nick Redmond - OL - *** - Harrison Central, MS
Justin Malone - OL - ** - MRA, MS
Joey Trapp - OL - ** - LA Harbor, CA
Lloyd Allen - DE - *** - MGCCC
John Harris - DE - *** - Boynton Beach, FL
Preston Smith - DE - ** - Stephenson, GA
CJ Johnson - MLB - **** - Philadelphia, MS
Benardrick McKinney - OLB - ** - Rosa Fort, MS
Jermaine Whitehead - CB - **** - Elzy, MS
Justin Cox - CB - *** - West Point, MS
Darius Slay - CB - *** - ICC
Darion Arrington - S - **** - Stone Co., MS
Zach Jackson - S - *** - Heidelberg, MS
Kendrick Market - S - ** - So. Panola, MS

* Stars from Scout.com on Jan. 2
Yellow indicates a "soft verbal"

The only other really big name that I know of that is out there is Tobias Singleston from Madison Central but if you know of someone else that is a probably signee feel free to comment in the notes.

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-02T14:39:00.000-06:00

Still don't have a great mindset on what I want these to be right now so I may add to this later but for now, here she is:

Get Healthier (ok, I know I'm not unique here but I have to do it
Have more fun
Continue doing a good job with the not biting the fingernails
Keep improving with my religious/faith/God mindset
Work on those 100 goals I've been talking about

Resolutions 2010 Reflection

2011-01-02T14:00:00.000-06:00

OK, some people are resolving not to resolute, I think that is just dumb, I kind of like doing resolutions as it is a way to plan, project, and put something in your mind. But as a good little planner I want to look back at 2010's resolutions and see how I did.

1. Finish up grad school (should be done in May) - COMPLETED
2. Pay off the 2nd mortgage - COMPLETED - then sold the house in November
3. Get an article published in a law journal (this is different than my previous publications) - ugh, still in progress
4. Do some health stuff (see list below)
5. Continue to improve and build my rapport with the faculty (not necessarily sure how to do this) - think I did a good job of this
6. Stop biting my fingernails (I've tried to do this for years now, this is my equivalent to smoking a nasty habit that I've quit for months at a time but keep going back to) - doing really well with this, fall off the wagon on occasion but good
7. Try and do better with my religious/faith/God mindset (hopefully the church we started going to a few weeks ago will help with that) - At times doing much better, other times not as much, overall up trend
8. Do a better job of trying to be "out there" and less of a home body (I think there is more to life than what I have been doing) - Doing good with this but being single certainly has something to do with that

The Health portion of the list
1. Lose some weight (first step is to get back to 223 my low of 2008) then I would like to lose the 23 more to see 200 but first step to 223 is the big one. - ugh, I did better, got in the high 220's and then lost the way again, overall result is failure
2. Be able to run a 12 minute treadmill mile again, it doesn't sound like much but more than I can do now and running on a treadmill (at least our small one) is tougher to get good speed than outdoors. - Got there during the summer but not there now, does that count?
3. Be able to do 25 consecutive push-ups (once again, not a huge goal but sure can't do it now) - Never got there, I suck
4. Be able to run/jog/walk the 2011 Mississippi Blue Half-Marathon (not the full deal but a huge step for a guy who is really overweight right now) - I actually got to where I could walk/jog a half marathon during the summer of 2010 but not there right now so another kinda iffy

100 Goals revisited

2011-01-02T13:22:00.000-06:00

I blogged a while back about my 100 goals, things to accomplish in a lifetime but the idea is to make them goals so you always have something to work towards. Not just a broad, wishy washy idea laying out there.

Since I last blogged on this I accomplished 2 more goals

1. Having an Emergency Fund of $5,000. I have places I should be putting this, perhaps, or different things I could do with it but an Emergency Fund creates a sense of security and flexibility if it is needed. If you are not there in your life where you don't HAVE to worry about floating a check or how to get something you NEED then just wait till you get here. This is a great feeling.

2. Buy a car with cash. This was pretty cool but not as cool as I thought it would be. My other car was about played out so I bought a used 2004 BMW Convertible. Now it sounds really fancy but in all reality it is just a nice used car that drives really well and is expensive to fix. I'm trying to do some simple things on my own with it (hopefully some blogging will result from that).

These 2 bring me up to accomplishing 25 of my original 100 goals, an excellent beginning IMO so I thought this (plus the new year) made an update post very appropriate. Also I have a very big Spring planned for myself that will in theory knock off several of the goals - Visit Africa, Visit Belize, Go on an out of country mission trip, Present at a Regional Conference, Visit Philadelphia, and Go to the Sugar Bowl all should be done before the end of July.

MSU Bowl

2011-01-01T20:51:00.002-06:00

I don't really know how to put into words my pride, pleasure, happiness, and all the other words that might apply to how an alum and fan of Mississippi State feels today after their dismantling of Michigan 52-14 yesterday in the Gator Bowl. This was the best looking Mississippi State team I remember seeing since 2000 and they had their best game of an overall good season. Dan really appears to be the Man (btw I hate those shirts).

New Orleans Dining #39

2011-01-01T20:46:00.002-06:00

The Theatres at Canal Place

OK, this place was REALLY COOL. It is a tiny movie theatre, think 50 seats and you have dinner and drinks (if you desire) with your movie. The food, what I had the Iberian Flatbread Pizza was really good. Kind of simple for the price but it was tasty and this is more about the experience as they are tying together a movie with the dinner. Overall two big thumbs up even if it is a little pricey (for a cheapskate like me).

Found at: South end of Canal

On the web at: http://www.thetheatres.com/

New Orleans Dining #38

2011-01-01T20:45:00.002-06:00

Mona's Cafe

Went with my friend Ashley to Mona's for dinner the week before Christmas and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I had the 1/2 and 1/2 of chicken and beef shawarma. The chicken was really good, the beef was just all right. The service was good and price was average for a Med. place.

Located at: S. Carrollton Ave.

On the web at: http://www.monascafenola.com/index.html

quote

2010-12-31T00:53:00.000-06:00

I read this quote in a Slate article and really liked it --

"Champagne! In victory, one deserves it; in defeat, one needs it" - Napoleon Bonaparte

Really Enjoyed This Ted Talk

2010-12-21T12:33:00.001-06:00

New Orleans Dining # 37

2010-12-15T15:08:00.000-06:00

Ralphs on the Park

Had a work lunch function today with a bunch of New Orleans librarians (basically our NOALL Christmas party). This is what appears to be kind of a fancy place based on the decor and such (I didn't pay so not sure of prices) but the food was really quite good. I had the drum (fish) and it was really good. the potatoes and green beans with it were fine, nothing special but typical fancy restaurant fare. There was also a spinach leaf salad that was pretty good, and a chocolate mousse type desert that was actually much better than I anticipated (I'm not really a chocolate or a mousse person.

Located at/near: City Park, intersection of City Park Ave and Dumaine

On the web at: http://www.ralphsonthepark.com/menu.php

New Orleans Dining #36

2010-12-15T14:53:00.000-06:00

Taqueria Corona

Went here with a friend of mine who is like the queen of Magazine street eating. I thought it was pretty good but not special (and not displacing Sarita's as my favorite close latin place). This place is known for its taco's most especially its fish tacos. I had 1 fish taco and 1 churizo taco. The fish taco was good, probably the best fish taco I've ever had but it wasn't like super good. So ... I think that may be a reflection on me that that just isn't my thing. However, I really kinda liked the churizo taco but the person I was with said it was too hot for her. Which may mean the exact opposite of what I just said with the fish that maybe the churizo is my thing that I prefer. I hope that makes sense. Service was fine, fairly speedy.

Located at: on Magazine between State and Eleonore

On the web at: http://www.taqueriacorona.com/

New Orleans Dining #35

2010-12-15T14:41:00.000-06:00

PF Changs

OK, I know I am pushing the envelope of what is acceptable on my list as this is both a chain and I have eaten at a PF Changs elsewhere in the world, BUT this is a new to me New Orleans restaurant so on the list it goes :)

Went here with the big church group and it was good as it should have been. Had the egg drop soup which was better than I remember it being at other Chinese places (I don't normally get it b/c I don't care for it but this was better than what I normally experience). The for my meal I had the beef and brocoli bowl. It was good, not exceptional but good. The difference being that while the meat was really well flavored and tasty the brocoli was normal (as it should be I guess) and the rice wasn't that great. It wasn't bad but wasn't special. Decent prices at Changs for lunch so can't complain there and the service was really pretty good even though it was a little slow, but we had a group of like 18 so that is understandable.

Found at: in front of the mall in Metairie off of Veterans

On the web at: http://www.pfchangs.com/index.aspx

Something on my desk - and to live by

2010-12-15T09:53:00.000-06:00

I really thought I had already blogged this but apparently not. I honestly don't remember where I found it for the first time, I'm sure it was on a blog that I'm not giving proper credit to but the important part is the concept. General Colin Powell, if you don't know who that is please read up on him a bit as he is a smart guy with an interesting story, has what has been credited to him as 13 Rules to Live By.

1. It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.

2. Get mad, then get over it.

3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

4. It can be done!

5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

8. Check small things.

9. Share credit.

10. Remain calm. Be kind.

11. Have a vision.

12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

These are simple ideas that are really powerful if you think about it. I will also note that on my copy at my desk I have 3 highlighted, #'s 2, 8, and 11. They really speak to me, I'm sure everyone is different but this is a good place to start trying to "be all you can be" (sorry couldn't resist).

Deep religious thoughts

2010-12-14T20:10:00.000-06:00

I get an email daily (well almost daily) from my old church in Mississippi and the latest one I read had something that really spoke to me and really kind of spoke what I believe but in better words than I normally am able to find --

"I find that when I read Revelation, I want answers. All of the answers. The problem is that I long for information that God never intended for me to have on this side of eternity. The gift in that though is that in the vacuous spaces in my understanding into the meaning of Revelation, I have opportunity to fill those spaces with trust.

For that matter, my opportunities to trust in the sovereignty of God and His lovingkindness exist whenever He calls me to walk in faith, along a road whose end I cannot see. I will always have more questions than I do answers, which is unnerving to the control-freak side of me. But I find hope and peace knowing that He who knows and controls all, sent His Son to die for me so that I could be there with Him forever."

The bold parts are added by me but to me this is one of the greatest, and hardest parts of faith. The ability to give up control, to just trust and have "faith" in His plan.

New Orleans Dining #34

2010-12-09T11:13:00.000-06:00

Byblos

Went here last night with a group of friends from church and boy did it smell good from the outside, and that is always a good sign. I will also say they were very accommodating for our group who really had no clue if we were going to have 4 or 8. Now about the food, the hummus was good, pita bread fine, honestly I'm not really sure I've had bad of either of those though so ... I ordered the lamb kabob as I am a big fan of "good" lamb. In my opinion lamb (much like duck) can be really, really good or just all right. Last night my lamb was just all right, wasn't anything special about it. And we didn't specifically talk about the food as a group but I don't remember any of the 5 of us commenting on how good (or bad) it was, so take that for what it is worth.

On the web at: http://www.byblosrestaurants.com/

New Orleans Dining #33

2010-12-09T10:58:00.000-06:00

Casa Garcia

Went one day late last week to a Mexican place named Casa Garcia in Kenner. And boy was it good, like really good.

I went with a friend and we split 2 entrees, the fajita Nachos and Chicken chimichanga and both were excellent. I will definitely be returning to this Casa.

Located at: Vetarans, off the Williams exit turning back towards NOLA at the first big left

On the web at: couldn't find it.

Financial Thoughts

2010-12-07T21:24:00.000-06:00

Nothing of great intuition of my own here but I found a couple of posts that I wanted to share b/c I liked what they had to say.

First, is from Million Dollar Journey and how they paid off their mortgage in 3 years. A real inspirational story here of folks who are fired up about a goal and did what it took to make it happen. In addition to the story itself the post shares 6 pretty good strategies for paying down a mortgage faster.

Second, is from The Simple Dollar and it talks about how to try and create goals in a way by making a "5 year sketch". I really liked the way they explained it so mosey over there and give it a read (it is really pretty short too).

Egg Bowl 2010 Recap

2010-12-07T20:24:00.000-06:00

Another great video by Derek Cody

To Pay Off Debt or Save?

2010-12-06T10:07:00.000-06:00

I wanted to link (from Frugal Dad) to an article that hits right on the head something that I consider very important in personal financial management.

I'm not necessarily going to hash over the need to not be broke, we all get that, but the fact is that it can be kind of confusing on how the best way to get there is. And it is different for some folks than others. (The article does a decent job of looking at the alternatives) Taking myself as an example I am what I call very liability unfriendly. What that means is I don't like debt, I don't like payments, I don't like obligations. In reflecting back over my life it has always bugged me to owe someone a dollar, even though they know I'm good for it. I will get them repaid as soon as possible. That is a me thing, it may be different for you. And ... I will say I don't always follow my own plan every time, which I will throw under the "extenuating circumstances" doctrine; we just have to make sure and not get carried away with that.

So basically I still believe in my "baby step" tenants (also on the right of the blog) -

#1 - $1000 Emergency Fund
#2 - Pay off all debts under $10k (unless sub 3% APR)
#3 - Up to $5000 Emergency Fund
#4 - Invest the max for a ROTH (recurring monthly goal)
#5 - Create 3 months expenses of savings (not Emergency)
#6 - Pay off all debts over $10k (unless sub 3% APR)
#7 - Up to $7,500/person into Retirement
#8 - Pay off home early
#9 - Pay off any loans with sub 3% APR
#10 - Stuff as much as possible into retirement so get there early

Which kinda brings me to when exceptions might be ok, well in my world. I kind of play around with steps 3 and 4, I'm done with 1 & 2 but I kind of interchange 3 & 4 depending on the situation I'm in. As an example I just got a new (to me) car. And to do so I traded in my old car and took 10k of cash and put down on the new vehicle to buy it. Like outright. SEE HOW MUCH I HATE PAYMENTS. But in doing so I probably took my self under the #3 level but I'm still trying to save for the #4 level. My current idea in moving towards these baby steps is to be all the way through "baby step" 4 by April 15 (the last day to fully pay Roth for 2010). I'm also really hoping to see some significant gains in the ole cash flow since I sold my house in Jxn (that I haven't lived in like 3 months) and won't be having to pay insurance, mortgage, taxes, electricity, water, etc. on a second property. Anyway, that is my money update, well part of it, I have another small piece I want to blog when I get the chance.

New Orleans Dining #32

2010-11-21T20:26:00.000-06:00

Coquette

OK, this place is clearly in the fine dining category but it is fun to go and eat this type stuff sometimes. An obvious French influence and man was it tasty. I went with an attorney friend of mine so we split some stuff to try it out. We had the gulf shrimp and crab/pasta dishes as appetizers and they were good, well the shrimp was good, not great the crab/pasta thing was really, really good. I mate had for her entree the sea scallops which she really enjoyed and I had the "suckling pig" which was 3 types of pork. The "tenderloin" portion was just divine, the sausage part was not as good as I expected and the "pulled pork" portion was pretty good but not heavenly (and smaller than the other 2 portions). There was also a creamed sweet potato base that was really good that is on, plus a garnish I didn't really care for but it was a garnish, so ... I will also say that we had a dessert of carrot cake (not my choice) but the couple of bites I had were pretty good. They also had a Tom Collins based drink that was quite tasty. This place was really good but not an everyday place for a cheapskate like me :)

The honest comparison for me has to be to Dick and Jenny's for me and IMO Dick and Jenny's was slightly better.

Located at: Magazine & Washington

On the web at: http://www.coquette-nola.com/

Worky Work, Busy Bee

2010-11-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

OK, I'm not this guy but I felt super busy between Thursday and Friday and if nothing else wanted to post as kind of a progress report of sorts. So Thursday did the work thing, however, I felt so bad I actually left and went to the store for medicine and my laptop so I didn't have to sit in the big office area when I got back. Upon my return my co-workers thought I was sick enough that they had voted I go home (yeah, makes me sound kind of pitiful, I know). Stuck it out at work b/c I had to meet with a vendor rep (the super nice and helpful Ashley Bailey with YBP if you ever need a rep for there) at 1:30. And I actually took a short nap at work before hand (I'm going to call it on my lunch break and/or medicine induced). But ... that is just the run up to the post, not the post. I left work and headed to Jackson (a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour ...[think Gilligian]) got to my place there and worked around a bit cleaning up stuff, saw that someone had cleaned the gutters for me, etc. After a few hours at mi casa I went out for drinks with one of my best friends in Jackson for a few hours and then wrapped up the night with a trip to Wal-Mart (man that sounds like a big redneck statement right there) to get some Christmas stuff and I found a kick ass ottoman (that I have been looking for ever since K took my old one.

Have I mentioned I was sick?, yeah I think I did, so I go sleep but sleep terribly due to coughing, etc. and wake up, clock says 5:15 and I say what the heck, lets get up, gotta be rolling by 8 and still have some stuff to do. So take apart a bookshelf that had 28 freaking screws in it by hand because I'm an idiot and forgot my drill in NOLA, packed the car, stuffed, pushed, prodded, all sorts of stuff into the car, all big stuff so I'm rolling with an ottoman, a bookshelf, weedeaters, gas cans, waterhoses, airbeds, all sorts of craziness, packed to the gills it was. Get things packed in and checked my phone to see if I had missed anything and noticed something odd, the damn clocks had not been reset since the time change so I actually had gotten up at 4:15 and literally had only slept like 3 and a half hours. Anyway, I was being pushed by meds and resolve so whatever.

By time 8 rolled around I took a shower and was headed to the Flowood Water Dept. to get that taken out of my name and into the other guys name, then to the Bank of Yazoo to return my lock box keys to there, and then on to the closing attorneys. Thats right, the reason I went to Jackson was because I SOLD MY HOUSE, YAYYYYYYYY. Now I didn't make anything on the sale, actually sold it for less than I bought it for, quite a bit less when you factor in closing costs, improvements, and relators fees BUT the important part is SOLD. Which means no more payment, which will be huge in the future. So I get a nice little check from there (because I had put a bunch of equity into it when I refi'd K out of the mortgage). I then went from there to my home insurance guys office to sign a paper discontinuing the home insurance on the house since I no longer own it.

Then I went to lunch with Daniel and Alec and it was much like old times when we would lunch together and discuss Lost the day after at our favorite Mexican place, ah the good times. Went back and spent several hours at MC going by and seeing my old co-workers and such, I think they actually do kind of miss me, I know I miss them. I like my new job and all but after 8 years of working with some of them I developed pretty good relationships, especially with a few of them. After all of that, giving one of my friends there some stuff out of my car/garage I noticed the ottoman was kinda scratched up sooooo I decided to take it back and exchange it at Wal-Mart. So left MC at like 3:30, ran to the bank to close my Trustmark account (since I don't live there anymore and there are no Tmarks in NOLA) and then onto Wal-Mart to return one ottoman and pick up another. Did that, put new ottoman in car and noticed the top of this new one was broken, ugh, so had to go back in and return the top piece, get a top piece off the one I just returned, etc. Back to downtown to pick up the MC Credit Union check I had forgotten on my previous trip and then off to have a few drinks with another great MC friend. that wrapped up about 7, and then I drove home to NOLA. Just a bit of a day for sure.

So in recap-

- drove to Jxn
- drinks with friends
- ran to Walmart, got ottoman
- tore apart a bookshelf and table, packed all stuff in car
- shut off water at water dept
- turned in lock box keys at Bank of Yazoo
- sold house
- cancelled insurance at agents office
- lunch with friends
- closed account at Trustmark
- ran to Walmart, exchanged ottoman
- drinks with friends
- drove to Nola

Photo Time

2010-11-20T16:59:00.000-06:00

A single post with most of my best photos

401k v. Roth

2010-11-12T09:36:00.002-06:00

This is one of the best explanations I've heard of the Roth v. 401k discussions in a nice simplified manner.

http://wealthpilgrim.com/401k-or-roth-ira/

The first 3 hours of my day today

2010-11-11T20:37:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to sell my old house in Jackson since I've moved to Nola (for those of you who didn't know) and this was my day from 9-12 a.m.

In short the quitclaim deed that was supposed to put the house in only my name was not filed correctly after the divorce so I had to get a blank copy of it, sign and notarize it. I called ex to tell her I need her help, overnighted the deed to her so she can sign and notarize tomorrow and then send to closing attorney.

So I've talked to my relator (who started the ball rolling), basically shredded my apartment looking for the copy of the deed, called my divorce attorneys secretary, called my closing attorneys secretary, called my ex, and visited the UPS store today, all before going to work at noon.

New Orleans Dining #31

2010-11-11T19:40:00.000-06:00

Dick and Jenny's

This place ROCKS - It is kinda pricey and what I would call fine dining but it was SO good. Went with a friend and we both actually got the special which was Pork Grillades with aspargus and goat cheese grits. So very good. I also had the seafood gumbo which was really good (so much better than Gumbo Shop 3 days before) but I still struggle with how to properly eat crab in the shell. We even had some cocktails b/c it seemed like a good idea and they were like specialty drinks and very good there as well. 2 Thumbs Up.

Located at/near: Tchoupitoulas and Jena

On the web at: http://dickandjennys.com/

New Orleans Dining #30

2010-11-10T17:18:00.000-06:00

Sun Ray Grill

Had some sushi here, I went here because I LOVED the brisket they used to have but they didn't have anymore. I split 3 rolls with a friend and we had a Blackened Voodoo Roll, a Philly Mob, and a shrimp tempura. What I absolutely loved was the Voodoo Roll. The other 2 were just ok IMO.

Voodoo is Spicy Tuna and Crawfish on inside, blackened Redfish and Aoli on the outside
Philly Mob is Salmon, Avacado, and Cream Cheese
Tempura Shrimp is Avacado, Cucumber, Tobiko, and Unagi Sauce outside

Found at/near: Annunciation and John Churchill

On the web at: http://www.sunraygrill.com/

New Orleans Dining #29

2010-11-10T17:07:00.000-06:00

Gumbo Shop

Ate here with some friends of mine from out of town. This place had a very good ambiance for a dating type place, fairly nice, and the food was pretty good but not great in my opinion. I had a cup of gumbo and the jumbalaya. To be picky the gumbo had really good sausage in it and the flavor was ok but the chicken wasn't all that great. The jumbalaya was kind of the same way, as in it was slightly bland for my tastes. I'm noticing this with quite a few "touristy" places in Nola that they can kinda bland down the food.

Locate at/near : 630 St. Peter, French Quarter

On the web at: http://www.gumboshop.com/

Tri-level Emergency Fund - Tweak or Rebuttal?

2010-11-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

Frugal Dad, which I blogged about earlier has a pretty good post based on a good idea of how to arrange one's emergency funds. And I use the terms funds because I believe you should have multiple funds because there are different types of emergencies. FD goes into a good discussion about this but I don't necessarily agree with all of his reasoning.

FD's List:

In House E Fund
Local E Fund
Mega E Fund

*** ok after rethinking this and trying to write it out I don't think I really disagree that much with FD, because I actually kind of do this with my own money and didn't realize it. I will actually lay out the accounts I have and just not tell you the amounts ;)

I have:

1 checking account that is local to Nola, a brick and mortar establishment that I go to if I have cash or check in hand I want to deposit and I think I could go to if I needed a loan.Think #2 Local E Fund. I also deposit 1/4 of my check every pay period into this account b/c I do write a few hard copy checks for things like church tithing and bar dues.
1 checking account with my old bank in Jackson, a brick and mortar that I plan to close completely when I sell the house and no longer have those MS ties. I currently keep $500 in there as a emergency, emergency type deal
1 ING checking account - This is my work horse, my debit card, where I pay bills out of with internet withdrawls and checks they write and mail for me
# 1 ING savings account - This is my base Emergency account, I keep it at $1,000 because I always want that cushion, its baby step #1, don't mind telling ya about it :)
#2 ING savings account - This is my true savings (if you want to call the other an emergency). This is where I save for a couple of different things such as a future car, vacations, and for my 2010 Roth. I'm not in love with the market still so I've been holding out on just buying the Roth as the year goes along. At one point in time I had different accounts for each big thing I was saving for (1 for car, 1 for vacations, etc.) but I did away with that b/c with the divorce and house buying and moving and then house selling I got short enough that it just made sense to combine them all.

Places to hide money at home

2010-11-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

I want to link this really good article from Frugal Dad that I liked about were to hide your "secret home stash" of money for emergency type stuff. Among a few of my favorites are: "In the hollowed out pages of a book", "In a used soup can", and "in the freezer wrapped in aluminum foil" , but I want you to go there and read the whole thing so I'm not going to give you all 7.

I will actually say none of these 7 is where I hide my home cheese but I'm not going to reveal what my #1 is (and no its not under the mattress).

1300th post

2010-11-04T18:42:00.002-05:00

Wow, it is kind of crazy to think that this is post 1301 on this blog (and we lost a whole bunch during the terrible accidental purge of like 2 years ago). That is a lot of randomness and nonsense that no one reads. Anyhow, I guess it is a milestone of sorts :)

New Orleans Dining #28

2010-11-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Mandina's

Got to go to Mandina's last night with a friend of mine and it lived up to the talk that people had been telling me about. Very Good. I had the Fried Shrimp and Catfish plate and it was really good. My friend had the Chicken Parmesan which I thought was kinda crazy b/c I considered it a seafood place but she loved it. Service was great, just a good ole place. It was kinda pricey but the serving was huge so not going to complain much about that.

Found at/near - Canal and Carrollton (about 2 blocks down Carollton from the corner

On the web at: http://www.mandinasrestaurant.com/

Pic of the day

2010-11-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

Now you want to see a scary looking Jack-o-latern? How about mine today when I came home --

Gene Taylor

2010-11-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

I used to talk about politics on here but kinda got out of that because on some level my interest waned, on some level I just didn’t want to put it out there because my current employment, and on some level I think I might run for office some day in the distant future. Today I jump in for just a minute with a note about Gene Taylor

Gene Taylor, who represented the MS Coast in the US House, got defeated yesterday by Steve Pallazo. I will admit I have only met Gene once in person and that was just a handshake and hello deal and I’ve never given him (or any other politician for that matter) money. BUT I liked Gene for who he was and how he acted. In my experience Gene was gutsy, he was a conservative Democrat, he walked that fine line best he could and it is a fine line I kinda agree with of fiscal conservatism but some liberal socialness. Anyway, where my direct fandom comes from is several years ago (think 7 or 8 maybe) Gene was on a radio program in Jackson hosted by Paul Gallo. IMO Paul can be a Grade A ass. And on this morning he was in fine being an ass form. Now I’m not one who thinks people should be super nice to Haley Barbour b/c he is Haley Barbour, he is just a guy, but I think we should have respect for the office, he is the Governor and I do respect his position. Gene is (was) a Congressman and I respected that, Paul being the ass that he is doesn’t mind that distinction.

Anyway during the interview Paul was extraordinary rude IMO and Gene did a great job of being calm, not backing down from his positions, and basically being what a Statesman in the classic sense should be. After the interview I sent a short note to Gene on his website but to do so I had to put in a bad zip code because you aren’t supposed to be able to send other Congressmen than your own messages. About a week later, despite my erroneous address I received a hand written card from Gene saying he appreciated my kind words and my interest in the political process.

Now I know this isn’t much but it meant a lot to me. He didn’t have to write me, in fact I had no clue he would. He didn’t have to figure out my address b/c I had to finagle my info to just send the note. And unfortunately (b/c many politicians and people aren’t) he didn’t have to be a cool customer when on an interview with an Ass. But he (or someone in his office) did and I appreciated that and will continue to appreciate that.

I know some people probably don’t care for Gene, I know he hasn’t been perfect and a vote for Pelosi as Speaker isn't something I would have done, and there are probably plenty of political differences I have with him on some things but he is a stand up guy I will continue to root for and I hope he lands on his feet.

Pic of the day

2010-11-02T17:20:00.000-05:00

Not really sure why this is my pic today except it is night time and I was kind of wondering why I was still up even tho has to be a work early the next day --

Project 52 / 365

2010-11-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

I love the idea of taking a picture everyday and putting it on the blog, in many places called Project 365. That being said I know I will suck at it so ..... I think what I will do is possibly give it a shot and make a great effort at doing a Project 52 (once a week) if I go over that is just gravy (or as it is called here in Nola lagniappe). I have a feeling what will happen is that I won't remember it and I will take pics with my mediocre iPhone camera and load then in mass. We shall see. For our first entry we have a pic of the River where I stopped by and chilled out for a little while and did some reading after work today.

Snakes

2010-11-01T12:25:00.001-05:00

I'm officially done, well as officially as a blog posting is :) , getting out of the snake handling business. What I mean by that is that I got a credit card a while back in the summer anticipating travel expenses, moving expenses, etc, etc. And quite honestly it was a good thing for me because at one point money got really, really tight.

BUT

I don't like the "ability" to get myself in a bad spot and the avail"ability" of free money means nothing to someone who has money. (I'm not rich by any stretch but I once again have a good 2k in emergency b/t me and operating so i feel good). I think I will blog about some personal money stuff in the future perhaps, but not now, mainly because I'm not proud of where I am, I'm subsisting, I'm making and now have enough cushion I'm at least not uncomfortable. SO to take the analogy from long ago that "If you play with snakes you will get bitten" and I believe credit cards to be fairly snaky so I'm only going to plan on using it for travel type stuff.

I will also say that there is a reluctance in me to their accounting, for some reason I always struggled to get their balances to add up to what I was paying. HOWEVER when I chart it all out over the course of 3 months it balanced up. What does that mean? For me it means they are loose either with when transactions go through or loose with when they are posting my payment, neither of which I liked. So back to the ING Debit Card for me.

New Orleans Dining #27

2010-10-31T16:17:00.000-05:00

Basil Leaf

This place was really, really good and not expensive compared to other Thai places. I had what they called the Basil Chicken - basically chicken, veggies and basil sauteed together with some tasty rice. The portion was HUGE for what I was expecting. It had spice, and good spice but not blow you out type spice. Think my nose was running just a bit but not like sweating, crazy hot. I will also say the service was pretty good, place can be kinda loud I would think b/c of how it was made but it wasn't overly crowded and thereby fine when I went. When I crave Thai food I will be returning.

Found at/near: Carollton & Jeanette

Found on the web at: not found

New Orleans Dining #26

2010-10-31T16:07:00.001-05:00

Sake Cafe II

Went here when a friend of mine had a craving for some sushi and it was quite tasty. Service was good and the prices were not too high as compared to normal sushi places. The rolls weren't tiny either so even tho they can be kinda pricey I didn't feel cheated.

Found at/near: Magazine & Washington

On the web at: not found

Poem

2010-10-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

do what? is BB posting a poem, wtc?

I read a ton of other blogs everyday and rediscovered an old favorite that posts some poems, pictures, quotations, etc. and I really liked this Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What if you slept?
and what if,
in your sleep
you dreamed?

and what if,
in your dream,
you went to heaven
and there plucked
a strange and
beautiful flower?

and what if,
when you awoke,
you had the flower in
your hand?
ah!!!

What then?

New Orleans Dining #25

2010-10-28T19:40:00.003-05:00

New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Company

Went here with a group as they seemed to like it and it was pretty tasty. I had a Cowboy Burger that was a TON of food. It is a burger, ham, cheddar cheese, onion rings (on the burger) and bbq sauce. I liked and while it was slightly pricey for a burger I did get a specialty burger so I'm not complaining.

Found at/near : 817 Veteran's (technically Metairie)

Found on the web at: http://nohsc.com/

New Orleans Dining #24

2010-10-28T19:39:00.003-05:00

Theo's Pizza

Went here with a group and it was quite tasty. I had a pretty standard pepporoni pizza and added cheddar cheese to give it a little twist. I thought it was good. The only complaint I might have was that the service seemed pretty slow BUT I was with a group of about 20 so I think they were trying to get the orders out best they could Some others had more unique pizza's involving ham and pineapple, veggie, etc., but I'm not normally that adventuresome with my pizza, if you are check out the menu.

Found at/near : Corner of Carrollton and Canal

Found on the web at: http://www.theospizza.com/

New Orleans Dining #23

2010-10-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

Acme Oyster House

Went here the other day to try and get a little bit of a seafood fix and it was fine. I had a shrimp po-boy and some seafood gumbo. I'll say it was fine but not great. The shrimp seemed kind of small (but it is out of season) and the gumbo had a bit too much onion for me but I'm kinda being picky here. There was nothing wrong per say with the meal, maybe I am becoming jaded because I like the little neighborhood place's po-boys so much.

Found at / near: 3000 Veterans in Metairie

Found on the web at: http://www.acmeoyster.com/

New Orleans Dining #22

2010-10-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

Commander's Palace

If you are not familiar with Commander's it is a well, well known place here in NOLA for being a "fancy" restuarant. Think like I was required to wear a jacket, jeans not allowed type place.

The food was excellent, it was a 3 course meal consisting of started off with a soup that was made out of pumpkin somehow, had like that very fall/grandmothers house type feel with a little biscuit. Then had a perfectly cooked pork tenderloin on top of some mashed sweet potatoes. Then desert was this terrific glazed apple thing with ice cream on top. I know this would be an embarrassing description for someone who really knows food and how much went into making this BUT I know what taste good and this definitely did.

I'm honestly not sure how much it would cost to go on a normal evening as I was part of a group of young professionals who had some sort of a deal since there were like 60 of us but I don't think it is cheap. One of the things people kept talking about though is how they do 25 cent martinis on Fridays and they are best known for their turtle soup; perhaps that will be on my next trip.

Found at / near: Washington & Coliseum

On the web at: http://www.commanderspalace.com/

Dream from last night

2010-10-22T07:26:00.000-05:00

I rarely remember dreams but I feel like I dream a lot. I mean a couple of times a week probably. But this one was semi humorous, very memorable for me so I thought I would post.

OK, what I remember is for some reason my dad was sitting outside eating a plate of something like roast, green beans, carrots, that type of stuff. And then there appeared a lion, like a female, non-mane type lion. And my dad being the nut he is decided to walk over to the lion and see if the lion would want some of the roast.

Yes, just keep following me here

As he gets close the lion sees/smells the roast and walks towards my dad and when they get close he kind of reaches up with his 2 front paws to basically try and rake the plate out of my dads hand.

If you own a cat you know the motion I'm talking about.

And what this resulted in was dad jumping around with his forearms all sliced up by the lions claws, the lion eat roast off the ground and me for some reason laughing uncontrollably b/c of the nuttiness of my father thinking he could just walk up to a lion.

So there it is, I don't know what it means but odd to say the least.

Humorous Video

2010-10-20T17:31:00.001-05:00

The dispatcher is like " .... do what ? ... "

How to Freeze Water

2010-10-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Many moons ago I had an argument with one of the smarter folks I know that you could freeze hot water faster than you could freeze cold water. One of those, hey, why the hell are you putting hot water in the ice tray deals in the work lounge.

I knew I had heard/read this somewhere before but couldn't back it up with anything ... UNTIL today. I present for your edification - the Mpemba effect. Basically its not a solid science of why but it is a recognized result that hot water at times can freeze more quickly than cold/cool water.

History of Rap

2010-10-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this JT and Jimmy Fallon fun

Reading List

2010-10-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

People like to make fun of folks like George Bush and how many books he has read and I like to think of myself as a reader. So ... I in making my 100 goals, one of my goals I found some others doing that I thought would be a good one for me would be to have read 100 books. This will actually be pretty easy for me I think. And since I am a list guy why not put it on the blog. Anyway, if nothing else it might give you an insight into me. These will be in no particular order I imagine.

A Time to Kill - John Grisham
The Firm - John Grisham
The Pelican Brief - John Grisham
The Client - John Grisham
The Chamber - John Grisham
The Rainmaker - John Grisham
The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
The Partner - John Grisham
The Street Lawyerv
The Testament - John Grisham
The Brethren - John Grisham
A Painted House - John Grisham
Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
The Summons - John Grisham
The King of Torts - John Grisham
Bleachers - John Grisham
The Last Juror - John Grisham
The Broker - John Grisham
The Innocent Man - John Grisham
Playing for Pizza - John Grisham
The Appeal - John Grisham
The Associate - John Grisham
Ford County - John Grisham
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
The Bourne Supremacy - Robert Ludlum
The Bourne Ultimatum - Robert Ludlum
The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva
Sammy's Hill - Kristen Gore

Top 10 Movies per AFI

2010-10-18T22:05:00.002-05:00

I love to watch movies but that doesn't necessarily mean I have seen all the classics and I like to be well rounded. So ... I want to try and at least start with watching the top 10 movies per AFI. The bold ones I have seen, others I will get to. * I will do 11 since I have seen #11 :)

Citizen Kane
Casa Blanca
The Godfather
Gone with the Wind
Lawrence of Arabia
Wizard of Oz
The Graduate
On the Waterfront
Schindler's List
Singin' in the Rain
It's a Wonderful Life

Top 10 Books per Time

2010-10-18T21:59:00.000-05:00

I will admit I am not very well read, IMO, for a librarian so I want to slowly improve on this. Below is the list of the Top 10 books according to Time who compiled the list by asking something like 125 authors for their selections. I actually think that is probably a good way to do that so I will slowly try and make my way through this list.

· Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

· Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

· War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

· Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

· Hamlet by William Shakespeare

· The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

· In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

· The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov

· Middlemarch by George Eliot

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1578073,00.html#ixzz12lejCBBX

New Orleans Dining #21

2010-10-17T18:18:00.000-05:00

Village Coffee

Swung by here for a little while to check it out. Now I don't drink coffee but like most nice coffee places they have more than that. I had a Strawberry Cremosa. Think a Strawberry Frosty that wasn't ice cream based, but it did have that tasty strawberry stuff and half and half. A nice little anomaly for this list.

Found at/near: Jefferson & Feret

Found on the web at: http://www.villagecoffee.biz/

New Orleans Dining #20

2010-10-17T18:15:00.000-05:00

Crepes a la Cart

I had my first NOLA style crepes yesterday and boy was it good. I had the Monte Cristo version which is basically a crepe vehicle for a tasty ham, chicken, cheesy deliciousness. I think that dessert type crepes are more the norm but this meal type crepe was delicious.

Located at/near: Broadway & Zimple

On the web at: http://www.crepecaterer.com/

New Orleans Dining #19

2010-10-17T18:11:00.001-05:00

Cafe Navarre

This place is about 5 blocks away from church so a good convenient place if I have a little time to burn. More importantly for this list is that it is really tasty and fairly priced. I've gotten breakfast there twice, b/t the town the omelet, the eggs, hash browns, grits were all pretty good. Also, the lady at the counter has been super nice both times I've been in there. I like this place.

Located at/near: Navarre & Vicksburg

On the web at: Couldn't find it

100 Goals

2010-10-12T22:38:00.011-05:00

ok, so i have posted before that I read the blog hundredgoals.com and I am definitely a list person, so I am going to share part of a list that I've already compiled but I want to get a more well rounded out list that actually gets to 100. Some people call this a bucket list but actually the idea is to kind of figure out a way to live, hopefully long before one kicks the bucket. * Note to say that this blog post actually kind of spurred me on to sharing. If it is in italics it is something I am working on now or plan to do in the next month.

Fully fund my Roth IRA
Stop drinking soda
Stop chewing finger nails
Visit Belize
Visit Africa
Go on a church mission trip outside of the US
Present at a Regional Conference
Visit Philadelphia, PA / Independence Hall, Liberty Bell
Get Tenure
Publish a law review article
Read through the entire Bible
Get under 222 lbs
See a game in every SEC stadium - only been to Starkville, Oxford, Tuscaloosa & Baton Rouge so far
Read 100 books - going to have to start counting - See progress
Watch the 10 greatest AFI American Movies of all time - See progress - 7 of 10 right now
Read the 10 greatest books per Time - See progress - 2 of 10 right now
Do Project365
Tour haunted houses / cemeteries in NOLA
Ride a Train
Owe NOBODY - no cars, no student loans, no mortgages
Volunteer at a food bank
Tutor a little kid
Try Acupuncture
Give $100 to a complete stranger
Sleep under the stars
Publish a book
Catch an Alligator
Catch a 10 pound bass
Take dancing lessons
Go Skydiving
Do Firewalking
Do a 1/2 marathon
Do a whole marathon
Get under 200 - if I can do the marathon thing I will be here
Get off my BP and Cholestorol meds
Learn how to properly cook with charcoal
Take a class at a foreign University (Cambridge/Oxford/Paris)
Have a family, that includes wife and kid/kids
Own an antique car, preferably a convertible
Ride a horse
Own land
Buy some custom fit shirts
Take flying lessons
See Jeopardy from in the studio
Present at a National Conference
Sing Karaoke in a bar
Go see a Duke game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium
Go to the College World Series
Go to a Cardinals playoff game
Go to a MSU NCAA tourney game
See a game in every MLB stadium - only been to St. Louis, Houston, Arlington, Atlanta, D.C., & Colorado so far.
Go Kayaking in Colorado
Go Trout fishing in the Rocky Mountains
Go see the Northern Lights
Go Deep Sea Fishing
Go to the Olympics
DC - See a SCOTUS argument live
DC - Cherry Blossom in DC
DC - See a Presidential Inauguration
Visit NYC - Climb the Statute of Liberty
NYC - New Years at Times Square
Visit Cooperstown
Visit Chicago - Wrigley Field
Visit Mt. Rushmore
Visit all 50 states
Visit Rome
Rome - Stand in the Sistine Chapel
Visit Paris
Visit England
Visit Ireland
Visit Israel
Visit Egypt - See the Pyramids
See the Pacific (get in the Pacific)
Go to the Sugar Bowl
~~Buy a car with cash (probably used but still)~~
~~Have a $5,000 emergency fund~~
~~Buy a house~~ - it's not that cool, especially when you try and sell it
~~See a Stand-up Show~~ - Kevin James & Daniel Tosh
~~Give blood~~
~~Build a snowman~~
~~graduate from law school~~ - MC
~~pass the bar~~ - Mississippi and Alabama
~~get Master's Degree~~ - USM
~~Teach law school classes~~
~~Tour the White House~~
~~Get a photograph published~~ - AALL Spectrum
~~Drive a car fast enough it cuts off~~
~~Do a 5k~~
~~Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans~~
~~Go Bowfishing~~
~~Go to a Mississippi State bowl game~~ - Liberty Bowl
~~Go to a Dave Matthews Concert~~ - Jazz Fest & Memphis
~~Crawl around on Mayan Ruins~~ - Uxmal
~~Stand underneath a waterfall~~
~~Visit the Smokey Mountains~~
~~Visit the Grand Canyon~~
~~Visit Yellowstone~~
~~Visit Lake Tahoe~~
~~Visit Las Vegas~~
~~See a show in Vegas~~ - Saw Kevin James & Rick Thomas

Places to Eat in NOLA

2010-10-12T15:43:00.014-05:00

OK, this post is mostly for me as a reference but since I'm doing it maybe it could be of interest for someone else so I'll put on the blog instead of in a Google Doc. The area's I am calling these things are my names so if you are a true New Orleander and don't like it, chill out

My Square

Sarita's (Latin / Mexican)
Superior Grill (Mexican)
Village Coffee (Tea / Lite Food)
Freret Street Poboys
The Box Office Bar & Lounge
Friar Tuck's
Gautreau's : 20-30
Il Posto Cafe
Charlie's Steak House
Pascal's Manale
La Crepe Nanou

Claiborne Corner

Felipe's Taqueria (Mexican)
Lids Frostop Burgers
Naked Pizza
Bud's Broilers

Carrollton

Camila Grill (Breakfast / Downhome)
Basil Leaf (Thai)
Panchitas (Mexican)
O'Henry's (Burgers / Sandwich)
Louisiana Pizza Kitchen (Pizza)
Singleton's Grocery (Po-Boys / Sandwich)
Crepe a La Carte (Crepes)
Jacques-Imo
Saltwater Grill
Jazmine Cafe
Hana's Japanese
La Madeleine
Cooter Brown's Tavern
Lebanon's Cafe
Mikimoto
Chinese Kitchen
Five Happiness

Magazine

Dick and Jenny's (Fine Dining) - all the way down on Tchop
Coquette (Fine Dining)
Reginelli's (Italian)
The Bulldog (Burger / Bar Food)
Juan's Flying Burrito (Mexican)
Commander's Palace (Fine Dining)
Sake Cafe II (Japanese / Sushi)
Theo's Neighborhood Pizza
Pita Pit
Flaming Torch
Clancy's Restaurant
Le Bon Temps Roule
La Petite Grocery
Slice Pizza
Lilette
Joey K's
Magazine Poboy Shop

St. Charles by 90 ( Lower Garden District)

Slice Pizzeria
St. Charles Tavern
Delmonico
Bridge Lounge
Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar - breakfast / brunch

Lower Poydras

Ernst Cafe
Mothers
Commerce Restaurant
Mother Cluckers
Restaurant August
Herbsaint
Emeril's

In the Quarter (and past)

Palace Cafe
Irene's Cuisine (Fine Dining)
Sun Ray Grill
Gumbo Shop
Landry's
Johnny's Po-Boys
Napolean House Bar & Cafe
El Gato Negro
Brennan's
The Old Coffee Pot Restaurant
Port of Call
Stella
Cafe Brasil
Spotted Cat Music Club
Galatoire's
Cochon Butcher - Lindsey recommend
Willie Mae's - North of 1/4
Elizabeth's - for Brunch - 504
The Joint - BBQ

Mid-City

Cafe Navarre (Breakfast)
Juan's Flying Burrito (Mexican)
Theo's Pizza (Pizza)
Mandina's (Seafood)
Finn McCools
Rouses Market
Parkway Bakery & Tavern

Even Further Away

Acme Oyster House (Seafood)
The Galley (Seafood) - Metairie
Churros
Moe's (Pizza) - Westwego
Taco San Miguel
Frady's One Stop
Dimartino's
Village Inn - Josh recommend

* last update November 24, 2010

Ghost Signs

2010-10-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed this slideshow of "ghost signs" in Chicago. If you are like me and unfamiliar with the term ghost signs they are the old-timey signs painted on the sides of building that over time get rediscovered.

What a busy place

2010-10-10T20:53:00.003-05:00

OK, when I moved to NOLA I really had no clue that I could literally do something every single night in this town and never run out of stuff probably. So I will highlight some of the stuff I've had the opportunity to do since being in NOLA

- went to hear Dr. John at the Harvest the Music event at Lafayette Square

- went to a mixer with Kermit Ruffin and the BBQ Swingers playing at Kingsley House

- went to see Daniel Tosh (host of Tosh.0) live at the Mahalia Jackson Theater

- went to hear the Rebirth Brass Band at the Harvest the Music event at Lafayette Square

- went to see The Town at the historic Prytania Theatre

Future things I want to do

- Historic Haunts - visits 10 "haunted" places in NOLA - given at 2 Tuesday - Sunday in October

- Deutches Haus - Oktoberfest events - 5 on F, 1:30 on Sat - thru Oct 25

- Ivan Neville - Oct 27 in Lafayette Park

- Saints game

- Hornets game

- Sugar Bowl game

- Tulane baseball game

Future Maybes

- Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival - Oct 16 & 17 - Lafayette Park

- Gabriel Iglesis - Oct 17 night - House of Blues

- Voo Doo Fest - Oct 29, 30, 31 - headliners include Ozzy & Weezer

- Krewe of Halloween Parade - Oct 30

- Swamp Fest @ the Zoo- Nov 6 & 7

TV on the Internet

2010-10-09T12:37:00.002-05:00

As many football fans like me are seeking out the ability to watch their favorite college team play the discussion often arises of "where can I find that online?"

I don't advocate any of these sites but these are some that I see being referenced a lot of the time.

Return of the Quack

2010-10-07T21:54:00.003-05:00

No one can accuse me of being an Oregon fan, on some level I am the typical Southern redneck who thinks that Pac10 football is pansy ball BUT .... I really enjoyed this video, really high production value for what is is, a lot of school incorporation which I think is cool (and no one can say Oregon ain't trying to be hip, they try so hard they go over the line sometimes but that is a good thing in my book) enjoy

New Orleans Dining #18

2010-10-07T14:03:00.002-05:00

Last night I went out to dinner with old lawschool friends and one of their friends to a place called Irene's Cuisine in the Quarter. Now this is what I would call a "nice" place. Think wine list, dinners ranging from 15 to 35, candles, etc. I had the soft shell crab and honestly wasn't greatly impressed. That being said two of my cohorts had the special which was the veil, and I was perilously close to getting that as well, and they LOVED it. Our 4th had the duck and he really liked his as well so perhaps I was in the minority. That being said this town has a ton of places so ... I will probably not return until my exploring many of the other haunts has taken place.

Located at/near: Chartres & St. Phillip

On the web: can't find it so probably not there

New Orleans Dining #17

2010-10-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

Tuesday night Ashley and I continued our trying to go out to a new place once a week deal and we went to Juan's Flying Burrito. We first tried to go to Mandina's but their wait was like 35 minutes on a Tuesday night so, uh no. Juans (at least the one we went to) was close by so visit we did.

Juans is my favorite Mexican place in town so far. REALLY good. Affordable, as in normal mexican prices for me, and even though it was small and there was a little wait it was well worth it. A definite return trip to Juans.

Located at/near: the corner of Carrollton and Canal

On the web at: http://www.juansflyingburrito.com/

New Orleans Dining #16

2010-10-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

Sunday I was wanting some good Mexican good so I went to this place called Felipe's that one of the ladies I work with told me about. Now I wasn't expecting what I am going to reference as a Moe's type fastfoodish type mexican place but the look was different than the food. I got the Super Burrito, which I think they are kinda known for, and it was good. Not great but good. That being said as my meat I got chorizo and that part was DELICIOUS. I think it woulda been really good if I selected some different toppings (was is a place were you kinda stand in line and tell them what you want). Felipe's definitely stays on the list

Found at/near: Near Claiborne and Calhoun, very close to the Tulane baseball stadium

On the web at: http://www.felipesneworleans.com/