Category: dallas

Meetup and McFlurry

Ashley Bischoff4 Comments

I went to the Slashdot Meetup for Dallas last night. It was held at a Starbucks on Coit Rd. It was maybe not quite as fun as last time, but I still had a good time :).

There were more people this time around — about ten, compared with five last time — so that changed the dynamic of conversation. Whereas last time the conversation was more close-knit, the large group this time made for more of a “lecture” atmosphere, as one or two people spoke while the rest of the group listened.

In particular, there were one or two alpha-talkers that just loved the sound of their own voices. They had a tendency to speak loudly, and occasionally interrupted others before they were finished talking — just to stake claim on the next “speaking role”. During the course of the evening, I got maybe one or two sentences in (bah!).

My hope is that the group may be smaller next time, to allow for more casual conversation. Or, if not that, perhaps a larger group could be divided among several tables (instead of one-large-circle).

On the way home, I stopped by McDonald’s for some dessert. I considered a hot fundge sundae for a moment (an old favorite of mine, especially with nuts), but I turned towards the McFlurries. Essentially a Blizzard clone, I figured this would be a good opportunity to compare it with the abysmal Sonic Blast that I had the other day.

So, I ordered a small Oreo McFlurry. And, as it turns out, it was pretty tasty. It was thick, creamy, and full of dairy flavor (a good thing). The Oreos were crushed a bit finely for my taste, but at least they weren’t soggy ;). True Blizzard-quality is tough to match and, McFlurries don’t quite hold up to that standard (though they’re a good treat in their own right).

Incidentally, you may be wondering why I chose Oreo this time, as “wouldn’t a Butterfinger McFlurry provide for a better head-to-head comparison with the Sonic Blast?” Well, I considered getting a Butterfinger McFlurry — for a moment — but I just couldn’t bear the thought of having two failed Butterfinger-based desserts in succession. So, I hedged my bets and decided on Oreo.

So: McFlurry Not Quite As Good As Blizzard. But, what about McFlurry vs Hot Fudge Sundae? That’s a more difficult one. Hot fudge sundaes have the advantage that they’ve been proven over time. And, in some ways, they hold the lead in texture-variation. I’m big on food texture — if a food has normal taste but bad texture, then it’s just not for me (for instance, shrimp that has gone soggy and soft). So, in regard to texture, Sundae Wins (its combination of smooth ice cream, thick fudge and crunchy nuts is a real treat, so to speak).

Then there’s the nutrition aspect. Sure, desserts aren’t usually known for being healthy, and that’s generally not the case ;). However, some desserts are less-bad than others. And, much to my dismay, I see that the McFlurry doesn’t win there either: an Oreo McFlurry has 20g fat vs 12g for a hot fudge sundae (and 12g saturated fat vs 3g for the sundae).

So, bummer there — it looks like I made a bad choice dessert-wise last night. I should have gone with the hot fudge sundae. Well, now I know for next time.

Dallas Morning News

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

Some guy from the Dallas Morning News called just now to offer a free trial of their newspaper. As part of the sales-pitch, the guy mentioned that the Sunday paper is full of coupons — and those could be handy, though the coupons usually seem to be for newfangled products (instead of useful things like bread and milk coupons).

So, I’ll be getting the Dallas Morning News free for a couple weeks. Part of me is hoping that I’ll find more use for it than just the coupons ;). Of course, once the subscription becomes non-free, I’ll be sure to cancel it (sorry, Josh).

DART: Mostly Harmless

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

After my adventures with Airtran yesterday, I still needed to get home from the airport. Of course, Amanda had offered to give me a ride. But when I heard that I had missed my connecting flight to Dallas, I didn’t want to burden her any further with picking me up the next morning.

So, I figured I’d just make use of DART, specifically the “Trinity Railway Express” — a rail line from the airport to downtown (where I could catch an ordinary transit train). I wasn’t concerned about this, as I had previously used the Trinity Railway Express when I went to visit my parents over the winter solstice. And, I knew that there was a DART bus that would take me right to the Trinity Railway Express station, just a short ride away.

So, I followed the signs in the airport for the “Ground Transportation”, and from there to the specific Trinity Railway Express bus-stop. My flight landed just after 2:00pm, so it was probably about 2:30pm at this point. I waited about half an hour, and a yellow DART bus came along. I checked its window-sign, but it turned out to be just an ordinary DART bus (not one that would take me to the Trinity Railway Express station). However, as 3:30pm rolled around, I became concered — “Are the Trinity Railway Express buses really that infrequent?&rdquo, I thought.

So, I used my mobile phone to call the DART number that was listed on the bus stop. After pressing just a few buttons to navigate through the voice-menu, I was able to speak with a real human. And, she sheepishly informed me that the bus from the airport to the Trinity Railway Express station doesn’t run on Sundays (bah!).

However, the DART-lady was happy to calculate a route — using other DART transportation — that could get me home. It would only cost me $4 for an all-day pass, so I figured I’d give that a try. And, as it turned out, the first segment of my journey was at 3:46pm (which was only a few minutes away at the time). For those curious, here’s how the route I took on DART:

  • At 3:46pm, catch the 202 bus going downtown. At 4:55pm, get off at the West End station.
  • At 5:07pm at West End, catch the Red Line train towards Galatyn Park Station. Then, at 5:27pm, get off at the Park Lane stop.
  • Lastly, at 5:34pm, get on the “501 Mockingbird” bus, and that should take me where I need to go.

I received the complete directions, including arrival and destination times, right over the phone. And, DART was on-time as well — I could just about get-on or get-off based on the current-time alone. I ended up getting back to my apartment at about 5:45pm, which wasn’t that bad for $4.

My take is that DART may have some knuckleheads in the planning department (no Trinity Railway Express one-seventh of the week?!), but their “ground troops” can be rather helpful.