Refenestration Daily.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been thinking about going to Braum’s to celebrate my new employment. I’ve decided on Thursday, and you’re welcome to join me at 9pm (on Thursday) at the Braum’s on Greenville :).
Mmm, now I just need to decide between the Brownie Fudge Sundae and the Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sundae...
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.
I stopped by Ana’s today, and then a Sonic caught my eye on the way home. I pulled in and looked over the menu. By this point, it was almost 3:00, so I decided on a dessert.
Those Sonic Blasts from their commercials always looked tasty, so I decided to get a Butterfinger Sonic Blast. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t very good — I was expecting a Blizzard clone, but it turned out to be a weak replica, like a cross between a milkshake and a slurpee. It wasn’t thick enough, and it was almost watery in texture :(.
And, that really disappointed me because, at 26g fat, I may as well have bought their “hot fudge sundae” instead (which only has 15g fat).
Still, I enjoyed the in-car service and I’m not completely soured on my Sonic experience. Perhaps I’ll give them another try sometime.
I had a great time at the DFWBLogs Anniversary Party this weekend! You might not think that a meta-vacation would be much fun, but I actually found it to be very refreshing (that is, if my current situation could be considered a vacation at all, harrumph).
I left Dallas around 1:30pm, after having attended the North Texas Linux Users’ Group meeting in the morning. And, the directions that Tina gave to the Winslow’s house were very good — up until the end. One of the last turns was onto Clear Creek Rd. However, that road turned out to not be labeled at all. So, I ended up just taking a guess after having driving back and forth a few times.
In the end, I found it. And, by almost-4:00, when I arrived, I was quite hungry for lunch (I hadn’t anticipate it taking so long to get there). Luckily, the fridge was stocked with meat, so I made myself a chicken sandwich on the grill outside on the deck.
The bread that I found was Milton’s “Healthy Multi-Grain Bread”. Though it’s 99% fat-free, I don’t know if I agree with that “healthy” claim — it has 28g Carbs and 130 Cals/slice, which is about twice that of normal wheat bread. But, you know what? Early on, I had decided that I’d ignore any attempts at healthy eating for the weekend (I wasn't sure if it would even be possible, in any case).
Healthy or not, that is some fine bread. Dense and full of wheat flavor, it was one of the best breads I had ever tasted. And, it’s apparently available at Sam’s Club (which is convenient).
To let you know how much I love it, I have to drive an hour and a half just to find a place close enough to purchase it. I eat it plain, toasted with peanut butter, or on sandwiches. There is such a distance in order to purchase the wonderful bread, that by the time my daughter and I get back in the car to head home, we’ve already got the bag opened and are eating it right out of the package. […]
(just one of Milton’s bread fans)
As the house was right down on the lake, we made full use of that as well. I didn’t go swimming on the first day, but I did enjoy a boat ride. The Winslow’s have a smallish motorboat that can hold maybe eight people (with padded benches along each side of the boat). Anyhow, that first boat ride was in the evening, and we were able to enjoy the moonlight glistening across the waves in the lake. It was very pretty to look at, and I sure yearned for a camera at that moment (damn this lack-of-a-paycheck).
I went to bed around 12:30, I think, which was earlier than some but later than others. With about ten people in total (maybe more?), there weren’t enough beds to go around. So, I found a fold-out foam bed upstairs and made use of that (you know, one of those foam beds that folds back into a chair, and actually isn’t very suitable in either function).
I woke up with some back pain, but a few ibuprofens took care of that. For breakfast, there was bacon and Pillsbury Grands (along with scrambled eggs, and perhaps a few other breakfast foods that I don’t remember).
Now, being that they were Pillsbury, I would never buy Grands on my own. However, since the purchase was already made, I had some (I can be pragmatic at times). The Grands were fluffy and almost creamy in texture (full of fat, I&rquo;m sure, but recall that I was ignoring healthy foods for the weekend). To my surprise, though, the Grands were perceptively sweet as well. Now, they weren’t cake-sweet, but a level above what bread would normally be. I wasn’t turned off by the sweetness, and actually it was rather nice.
I had a turkey sandwich for lunch (again with Milton’s bread), and a couple hot dogs in the afternoon with Connie. I used the grill, once again. I hadn’t cooked hot dogs on a grill ever before (previously, other people were the chefs for hot dog grilling). I happened to align the hot dogs perpendicularly to the slats in the grill, but I wasn’t sure whether parallel alignment would have made for different cooking times (of note: the propane spouts were in a line running from left-to-right along the width-center of the grill).
As a post-lunch treat, I made some s’mores over the grill. I just placed a couple marshmallows on the two-pronged grill fork and roasted away. And, for some reason, Connie was surprised that I wanted to make s’mores in the summer (?). In any case, they were still tasty.
With dinner, Tina made a salad with avocado. I really liked that, as I’m a big avocado fan to begin with. After my first helping of salad, I went looking for some more. There was more salad but no further avocado present. At that point, Leia offered that there was a spare avocado left over (apparently, just one avocado went into the salad). I thought to myself “Why use a middle-man?” and proceeded to just eat the whole avocado plain (with a touch of salt, of course). Ooh, so delicious.
Lest I forget, throughout the weekend there were also Nestle Drumsticks. Drumsticks, of course, are those ice cream cones that come dipped in chocolate and peanuts. Over the course of the weekend, I probably had two or three drumsticks. The only downfall to Drumsticks is that the ice cream (and chocolate) aren’t the type that are very flavorful when fully frozen. After having learned this (after eating the first one), I made sure to let each Drumstick “ripen” on the counter for a few minutes before eating.
Other than getting lost a little on the way there, I had a great time all weekend, from start to finish.
As a marketing tie-in that must have“sounded like a good idea at the time”, NBC is joining forces with Baskin-Robbins:
In an unusual deal to help its fall-season premiere, NBC has struck a multimillion-dollar integrated-marketing deal with ice cream restaurant chain Baskin-Robbins, which will develop ice cream flavors for NBC shows — such as Fear Factor Sundae, Will & Grace’s Rocky Road of Romance, Good Morning Miami Mint, Stuckey Bowled-Over Brownie (for Ed), and Pralines ’n American Dreams. […]
Ehh, I think I’ll just stick with Braum’s for my ice cream needs :).
(Link from MediaBistro)