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	<title>DrewVogel.COM &#187; A Front Page Item</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.drewvogel.com/category/drewvogelcom/blog/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.drewvogel.com</link>
	<description>Relentless Self-Promotion -- Done RIGHT!</description>
	<pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:12:24 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
			<item>
		<title>QuickLinks: Articles You&#8217;re Here For</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/quicklinks</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/quicklinks#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:56:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Asides]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=862</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class="announcement_post"><p>There are loads of interesting articles and several thousand pictures on this site. Navigate by category on the side menu on the front page, or explore the articles in reverse-chronological order (newest first) by clicking the &#8220;<strong><em>older posts</em></strong>&#8221; link at the bottom right of each page. Check out <a href="/index.php/archives-heatmap-tag-cloud/" target="_blank"><strong>Archives, Heatmap, and Tag Cloud</strong></a> for different useful ways of displaying articles on this site.</p>
<p>For your convenience, here are some of our most popular categories, topics, and articles&#8230;</p>
<p align="center"><a href="/?page_id=809" target="_blank">About</a> &#8212; who is this Drew, anyway? | The list of <a href="/the-list-of-good-band-names"><strong>good band names</strong></a> | <a href="/index.php?tag=travel">Travel</a> | <a href="/?submit=Search&amp;s=punta+cana"><strong>Punta Cana</strong></a><strong> - </strong><a href="/gallery2/v/Vacations/">Pics</a> | <strong><a href="/?p=1014">Las Vegas</a></strong> - <a href="/gallery2/v/Vacations/album/" target="_blank">Pics</a> | <a href="/?submit=Search&amp;s=puerto+rico">Puerto Rico</a> - <a href="/gallery2/v/Vacations/05PuertoRico/">Pics</a> | <a href="/?submit=Search&amp;s=mexico">Mexico</a> - <a href="/gallery2/v/Vacations/Mexico/">Pics</a> | <a href="/?p=609">Bell Training your Dog</a> | <a href="/gallery2/"><strong>Photo Gallery</strong></a> | <a href="/?submit=Search&amp;s=pigall">Jean-Robert at Pigall&#8217;s Restaurant</a> | <a href="/?p=432">Philadelphia</a> | <a href="/index.php?tag=scuba">Scuba Diving</a> - <a href="/gallery2/v/Vacations/">Pics</a> | <a href="/?cat=16">Happy Mouth Supper Club</a> | <a href="#bottom">Search</a> | <a href="/?p=8">Using This System</a> | <a href="?cat=56"><strong>2007: Recipe of the Week</strong></a> | <a href="/?cat=51">2006: What We Ate</a> |</p>
<p><strong>Please explore and enjoy the site!</strong></p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Fedora Core 5 to Fedora Core 9!</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/fedora-core-5-to-fedora-core-9</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/fedora-core-5-to-fedora-core-9#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2008 06:19:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[System Information]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[apache]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[computer]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[fedora]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[linux]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[software]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[webserver]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1905</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/computer-2190.jpeg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1804 alignright" title="computer-2190" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/computer-2190-270x300.jpg" alt="" width="270" height="300" /></a>Wow! That was&#8230; unexpected!</p>
<p>After a LONG time of not upgrading my site&#8217;s operating system, various initiatives I am undertaking required me to update from <a href="http://fedoraproject.org/" target="_blank">Fedora</a> Core 5 (released March 20, 2006) to <a href="http://fedoraproject.org/" target="_blank">Fedora</a> Core 9 (released May 13, 2008).</p>
<p>I was very nervous about this upgrade since it spanned so many versions of the operating system, but I started out with high hopes. I backed up my system to DVD using <a href="http://www.mondorescue.org" target="_blank">MondoArchive</a>, an excellent bare-metal backup solution. Then, I inserted the Fedora Core 9 DVD, rebooted, and started the upgrade proceedure only to be told that one of my drives was a bit short of space (249 megs, to be exact).</p>
<p>The solution ended up being repartioning-in-place using a great product from <a href="http://www.acronis.com" target="_blank">Acronis</a> which handled all the heavy lifting of the non-destructive repartition for me. I repartitioned the particular drive to a size large enough to make sure this particular problem will never surface again.</p>
<p>Launching the Fedora Core 9 DVD&#8217;s upgrade procedure a second time worked, using the newly-widened partition&#8230; The installer updated 890 files and rebooted successfully (I was worried about it rebooting successfully!)</p>
<p>However, that&#8217;s when I ran into two things&#8230; First, the webserver failed to launch because of a configuration error. Secondly, I ran into a time limit and we had to leave for dinner with friends. So, the site was down for a few hours while we enjoyed a very nice meal and evening with Brian, Milan, and Erin.</p>
<p>We came home, went to bed, and I was lying awake thinking of how to address the issues on the server. Next thing I knew, my feet carried me in to the server room and I started tinkering. An hour later (and about 10 minutes ago), I got the site online at last. But there is still more tweaking and testing to do&#8230; I need to ensure that the changes I made manually that got the site online will &#8220;stick&#8221; after the server is rebooted, which I will attempt to do after posting this article.</p>
<p>It was immediately apparent that the new operating system is considerably faster than the old one. Cold-booting takes less than 40 seconds on Fedora Core 9. I&#8217;m not sure how long it took on Fedora Core 5, but I know it was longer.</p>
<p>I apologize for the downtime, but it was necessary, and moving forward should be considerably smoother from now on. There is still a fair amount to do &#8212; applying non-critical patches &amp; upgrades to the system and then another comprehensive backup, but being back online is enough for tonight.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: Rebooting works&#8230; <em>mostly</em>. After rebooting, I need to enter &#8220;dhclient eth0&#8243;, &#8220;tzoupdate&#8221; and &#8220;service httpd start&#8221; to get things rolling properly. I need to determine how to automate those steps so the system reboots to an online state.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE 2</strong>: I&#8217;ve got the system configured properly now, so it boots into an online state.</p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>My Brother: The King</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/my-brother-the-king</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/my-brother-the-king#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:38:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Stuff About Drew &#038; his Life...]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1900</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><div id="attachment_1901" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/theking.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1901" title="theking" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/theking-300x231.jpg" alt="My Brother, the King" width="300" height="231" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">My Brother, the King</p></div>
<p>He shoots beer from his fingertips.</p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>How I use EverNote &#8212; it&#8217;s del.icio.us for my life!</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/how-i-use-evernote-its-delicious-for-my-life</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/how-i-use-evernote-its-delicious-for-my-life#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:42:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Stuff About Drew &#038; his Life...]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1895</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p>In this article, I present a brief overview of how I use <a href="http://www.evernote.com" target="_blank">EverNote</a> 2.2.1 to manage the stuff in my life.</p>
<p>I have two main EverNote databases (&#8221;ENbases&#8221;) &#8212; one for my <span style="font-weight: bold;">office</span> and one for <span style="font-weight: bold;">everything else</span> &#8212; and I keep them completely separate&#8230; Due to <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FERPA">FERPA</a> restrictions on student data leaving my office (I work in a college at a local university), I do not intermingle <span style="font-weight: bold;">office</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">everything else</span> at all.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">OFFICE:</span><br />
For my office, we decided that it would be useful to maintain a list of CONTACTS (phone, email, or in-person) so that we formally document our relationship with individuals. We wanted to record notes, comments, impressions, etc about individuals in a non-official, secure, private way (ie: not associated with the student&#8217;s official application packet, etc). This contact list also enables gathering of statistics about the workload (as a side note, during a typical three-month period, I recorded nearly 1500 contacts).</p>
<p>I started to develop a database for our office, but decided to see what was already available out there so I didn&#8217;t have to re-invent the wheel. I searched for &#8220;phone log&#8221; and various other terms and stumbled upon the <a class="postlink" href="http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/01/evernote_a_data.html">Wired article</a> that says that EverNote is &#8220;del.icio.us for your life&#8221;. Since I am an avid del.icio.us user, I understood this statement, and I started to explore EverNote. Within a few hours of playing with the free version, I purchased the PLUS version. I am so glad I did.</p>
<p>The ENbase for my <span style="font-weight: bold;">office</span> uses a slightly customized template (thanks Crane!) to record notes about conversations I have with prospective students and their families. If I receive a voicemail message, I record the name, telephone number, and brief notes from the caller&#8217;s message. Adding a template to the note list automatically assigns the &#8220;To Do&#8221; and &#8220;Phone Message&#8221; category. This way, I can quickly glance at my To Do category to see what&#8217;s on my plate, and using the category intersection panel, see only phone messages. Once I return the call, I check the Done box and add a &#8220;status&#8221; category (such as &#8220;Talked with caller&#8221;, &#8220;Left message&#8221;, &#8220;No answer&#8221;, or &#8220;Bad number&#8221;, etc) so I know the outcome of the call. The template also features a text box where I can make notes about our conversation for later reference. I can search EverNote by name, email, and phone number and have, at a glance, the most current information about the student&#8217;s relationship with the college. Additionally, I use my <span style="font-weight: bold;">office</span> ENbase to record policy changes, directives, things my boss said, and other work-related materials, and more.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">EVERYTHING ELSE:</span><br />
My <span style="font-weight: bold;">everything else</span> ENbase is the more interesting, and certainly the more varied, of these two databases. It contains aspects of my personal life organized into categories and sub-categories (and sub-sub-categories, etc, as necessary).</p>
<p>I like to keep the top-level as clear as possible, so I have a category called &#8220;Personal&#8221; (a throwback to the time before I split office &amp; personal ENbases, though if I were to do it all again, I would probably keep the Personal category because it keeps things tidy) under which I keep the bulk of my sub-categories.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<div class="inline-attachment">
<dl class="file">
<dt class="attach-image"><img onclick="viewableArea(this);" src="http://forum.evernote.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=286" alt="EN-TopLevelCategories.jpg" /></dt>
<dd><em>Top-level categories</em></dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>This image shows my Category panel in EverNote as I like to keep it when I&#8217;m not actively working in EverNote &#8212; a tidy, compact list of categories. As you can see, the Personal category contains a lot (763) of notes. While I have LOTS of different topics (175 categories at last count) in my <span style="font-weight: bold;">everything else</span> ENbase, I mainly focus on a few things&#8230; Culinary arts including recipes &amp; menus, entertainment in varied forms (magazines, books, games, television, etc), EverNote, travel, and Getting Things Done/productivity. Here&#8217;s what part of that category looks like if it&#8217;s expanded&#8230;</p>
<div class="inline-attachment">
<dl class="file">
<dt class="attach-image"><img onclick="viewableArea(this);" src="http://forum.evernote.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=287" alt="EN-PersonalCategories.jpg" /></dt>
<dd><em>Personal categories</em></dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Culinary</span> &#8212; I am passionate about cooking and I cook professionally at a 4-star French restaurant in town. I host elaborate multi-course dinner parties at my home. I have recently completed my first professional culinary certification and am a culinary instructor at the culinary college I attended. The Culinary category in my ENbase contains culinary-related materials, with a few noteworthy features. This category contains my transcripts from culinary school, lists of equivalent measures, Mobil restaurant star definitions, and other general culinary information.</p>
<p>- Certification &#8212; all of my research, notes, practice tests, recipes, and plate designs from my preparation for professional certification are stored in this sub-category. The first note in this sub-category was marked as a TO-DO item &#8212; I felt a great deal of satisfaction in marking it DONE when I completed my certification!</p>
<p>- Menus &#8212; this sub-category contains menus (in individual notes) that I have planned for dinner parties (from which I print the menus presented at the table), the date/time/location of the event, the people who attended, and any special notes (what wines paired well, which table-set we used, etc). This way, I can scan this category to see what dishes I&#8217;ve prepared for whom and when. The names of the dishes are internally linked to the recipe contained in EverNote. The menu is also added to the Event Date category so I can see, for example, what menu I prepared on July 28, 2007. The menu is also tagged as a TO-DO item, because I get great satisfaction from marking it DONE upon completion.</p>
<div class="inline-attachment">
<dl class="file">
<dt class="attach-image"><img onclick="viewableArea(this);" src="http://forum.evernote.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=288" alt="EN-Menus.jpg" /></dt>
<dd><em>Menus</em></dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>- Event Date (for example, a category called &#8220;July 28, 2007&#8243; contains information about an event that night) &#8212; this sub-category contains specific information about the event on that date. A copy of the invitation email is saved in this category, as is the menu (which is also assigned to the Menus category), the shopping list, <span style="font-style: italic;">mise en place</span> list, and recipes. If a recipe is used in multiple events, it will be assigned to multiple Event Date categories (as well as the Recipes category). This allows me to track the recipes I use most frequently.</p>
<p>- Recipes &#8212; if I am surfing the internet and come across a recipe I want to capture, I clip it into EverNote and add &#8220;#bigoven#&#8221; to the note, which triggers an auto-category that reminds me to add the recipe to <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/">BigOven</a>, my recipe manager. Because it is so fast to clip recipes into EverNote, I&#8217;ll collect a bunch of recipes from the internet and input them in batches into BigOven. When I add the recipes to BigOven, I either delete the recipe from EverNote or remove the &#8220;#bigoven#&#8221; text from the note if I want to keep the recipe in EverNote.</p>
<div class="inline-attachment">
<dl class="file">
<dt class="attach-image"><img onclick="viewableArea(this);" src="http://forum.evernote.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=289" alt="EN-RecipeHeader.jpg" /></dt>
<dd><em>Recipe header</em></dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>If I decide to use a specific recipe stored in EverNote for an event, I add the Event Date category (see above) to the recipe to associate it with the event. If I decide to use a recipe that is <span style="font-weight: bold;">not</span> in EverNote for an event, I add it to EverNote.</p>
<p>* <span style="font-weight: bold;">EverNote</span> &#8212; my EverNote categories contain tips and tricks on using EverNote, records of conversations with MarcClarke (in a sub-category), a list of feature requests and bug reports I&#8217;ve submitted, and other related stuff I don&#8217;t want to lose.</p>
<p>* <span style="font-weight: bold;">Travel</span> &#8212; general travel tips (how to turn off email while on vacation, how to sleep on a plane, tips for selecting seats on a plane, directions from my house to the local airports, etc) are placed in this category.</p>
<p>Specific travel plans, research, restaurant info, etc, are placed into sub-categories named for the destination. For example&#8230;<br />
- Florida &#8212; general Florida travel tips are assigned to this category.<br />
- Bradenton &#8212; specifics about traveling to Bradenton, Florida are assigned to this sub-category of Florida. This includes flight itineraries and directions that I&#8217;ll use again (to the condo from the airport, for example). Generally, I will delete the flight itineraries after travel is completed. In my culinary pursuits, if I locate a recipe that I want to take with me when I travel there, I will tag it with the destination name. For example, I can get really good, fresh seafood from a fish house near Bradenton (go figure), so I cook lots of seafood while down there. If I locate a good seafood recipe in my wanderings around the internet and want to prepare it while vacationing in Bradenton, I assign it to the following categories: Recipes and Bradenton.</p>
<div class="inline-attachment">
<dl class="file">
<dt class="attach-image"><img onclick="viewableArea(this);" src="http://forum.evernote.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=290" alt="EN-Bradenton.jpg" /></dt>
<dd><em>Recipe heading to Bradenton</em></dd>
</dl>
</div>
<p>- Las Vegas &#8212; general Las Vegas travel tips are assigned to this category. Under this category are names of restaurants in Vegas with reviews, research, and tips. If there is a new restaurant I&#8217;d like to try on an upcoming trip, it is tagged with &#8220;#dine#&#8221; which triggers an auto-category to remind me.</p>
<p>This is a brief overview with a few drill-downs into how I use EverNote. Please let me know of any questions!</p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Didn&#8217;t Like About School</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/ten-on-tuesday-10-things-you-didnt-like-about-school</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/ten-on-tuesday-10-things-you-didnt-like-about-school#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:08:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[10-on-tuesday]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1892</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/broken_pencil.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1893 alignright" title="broken_pencil" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/broken_pencil.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="210" /></a>From <a href="http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/?p=220" target="_blank">this site</a> comes this week&#8217;s Ten on Tuesday: <strong>10 Things You Didn&#8217;t Like About School</strong>. In no particular order, mine are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Homework</li>
<li>Having to wear socks (part of the uniform for my Catholic high school. One day in my junior year, I got HALF a detention once because I forgot to put on one sock!). Never have liked to wear socks since</li>
<li>Math classes. Never liked &#8216;em, never will</li>
<li>The cliques &#8212; all the different groups in the school. I was one who tried to cross the boundaries, and did so with some success</li>
<li>Having acne (this isn&#8217;t strictly school-related) and having acne at school (school-related!)</li>
<li>Getting erections every day (in Sister Roberta&#8217;s Geometry class) while going through puberty. You could set a clock by &#8216;em</li>
<li>I joined the Catholic education system (from public schools) in the 9th grade, so I had to work very hard to integrate myself into the long-standing relationships that kids who had always gone to school together already had</li>
<li>The mandatory masses held every so often (once a month, maybe?). As a non-Catholic, I would have preferred to sit in study hall but was not permitted to do so. As a result, I learned to perfectly parrot the mass, even the Latin parts, without any significance or meaning to me (I guess that made me a little more Catholic than I thought!)</li>
<li>From college (pre-computer days!), having to walk back and forth across campus to get the &#8220;required signatures&#8221; on various forms. I quickly learned to carry a red, blue, and black pen so I could sign the forms myself and save the steps.</li>
<li>That I didn&#8217;t appreciate those years <em>then</em> as much as I do <em>now</em>. Despite the seeming complexity, the angst, the drama, and everything else, those years were among the most enjoyable years of my life. It is a rare treat to have knowledge poured into your brain; now, as a professional, we have to fight for any learning. Back then, it was just there for the taking. Would I go back? Not on your life. But I, now, appreciate those years a lot.</li>
</ol>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>Are the weight-loss concerns of white, overweight, male bloggers taken seriously?</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/are-the-weight-loss-concerns-of-white-overweight-male-bloggers-taken-seriously</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/are-the-weight-loss-concerns-of-white-overweight-male-bloggers-taken-seriously#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:12:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Stuff About Drew &#038; his Life...]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[diet]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1885</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><div id="attachment_1886" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 273px"><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/fat-man.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1886" title="fat-man" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/fat-man-263x300.jpg" alt="Fattie, fat, fat..." width="263" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Fattie, fat, fat, fat, fattie...</p></div>
<p>Inspired by <a href="http://winemedinemecinci.blogspot.com/2008/07/female-bloggers-are-we-taken-seriously.html" target="_blank">this post</a> at <a href="http://winemedinemecinci.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Wine Me, Dine Me Cincinnati</a> (and my reply <a href="are-bloggers-taken-seriously" target="_blank">here</a>), followed by the creation of <a href="http://cincinnatilosers.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Cincinnati Losers</a>, which focuses entirely on white female bloggers, I must ask the following question:</p>
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Are the weight-loss concerns of white, overweight, male bloggers taken seriously?</strong></em></span></p>
<p><strong>And my response</strong>&#8230;</p>
<p>Apparently not, if <a href="http://cincinnatilosers.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Cincinnati Losers</a> is to be believed. <a href="http://cincinnatilosers.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Cincinnati Losers</a> contains stories about a bunch of overweight (by their definition &#8212; I am not labeling anyone!) female bloggers. All the photos of them on the site (not all profiles have photos) indicate that the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">majority</span> of them are in the <em>majority</em> (if you get my meaning&#8230; (If you don&#8217;t, the photos are of <em>white females</em>)). Or is the subtle suggestion from <a href="http://cincinnatilosers.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Cincinnati Losers</a> that only women &#8212; white women &#8212; are overweight? This type of exclusionary thinking is what leads to travesties like all-you-can-eat, women&#8217;s-only buffets, dogs &amp; cats living together, increased cell phone charges, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000219/" target="_blank">Steven Seagal</a> movies, and global warming. Please, ladies of <a href="http://cincinnatilosers.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Cincinnati Losers</a>&#8230; Consider the fat males in the world. The fat white males in the world. The fat white male bloggers in the world&#8230; And reach out a grease-covered, chubby hand in friendship and brotherhood. In a spirit of inclusion &lt;<em>makes the interlocking finger gesture</em>&gt; and not exclusion.</p>
<p>What about the weight-loss-support concerns of white, overweight, male bloggers, ladies? Not to mention the non-white, non-overweight, gender-indeterminant bloggers?</p>
<p>Where is the equality?</p>
<p>Where is the love?</p>
<p>Where is the support?</p>
<p><strong>Where is the nearest cheeseburger?!</strong></p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>08/12/2008 Wine Dinner at Midwest Culinary Institute</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:34:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[MCI Wine Dinners]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Culinary School]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[wine-dinner]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1872</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p>On Wednesday, August 12, 2008, the Midwest Culinary Institute hosted another Wine Dinner, this time prepared by <strong>Chef Kyle Goebel</strong> with wines by <strong>Chad Johnson</strong>, owner of Dusted Valley Vintner Winery. Sadly, we were in <a href="/our-trip-to-houston-texas" target="_blank">Houston, Texas</a> and missed the dinner. But here&#8217;s the menu and photos&#8230; It sounded great!</p>

<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/06-white-donut-peach-raisin-compote4' title='06-white-donut-peach-raisin-compote4'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/06-white-donut-peach-raisin-compote4-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>
<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/05-smoked-lamb-t-bone3' title='05-smoked-lamb-t-bone3'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/05-smoked-lamb-t-bone3-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>
<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/04-seared-duck-breast-confit2' title='04-seared-duck-breast-confit2'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/04-seared-duck-breast-confit2-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>
<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/03-poached-lobster2' title='03-poached-lobster2'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/03-poached-lobster2-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>
<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/02-watermelon-consomme' title='02-watermelon-consomme'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/02-watermelon-consomme-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>
<a href='http://www.drewvogel.com/08122008-wine-dinner-at-midwest-culinary-institute/01-yellowfin-tuna-tataki1' title='01-yellowfin-tuna-tataki1'><img src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/01-yellowfin-tuna-tataki1-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" class="attachment-thumbnail" alt="" /></a>

<p>Amuse Bouche<br />
<strong>Yellowfin Tuna Tataki, Yuzu, Wakame, and Microgreens</strong><br />
<em>La Sera Malvasia 2007</em></p>
<p>First Course<br />
<strong>Watermelon Consomme, Pickled Cucumber Granite, and Lavendar Dust</strong><br />
<em>Boomtown Pinot Gris 2006</em></p>
<p>Second Course<br />
<strong>Sliced, Butter-Poached Lobster, Hearts of Palm, Avocado, Valencia Orange Supreme, and Mango Beurre Blanc</strong><br />
<em>Boomtown Unoaked Chardonnay 2006</em><br />
or<br />
<em>Dusted Valley Vintner Viognier 2006</em></p>
<p>Third Course<strong><br />
Duck Confit, Sweet Potato Crepe, Chantrelle Mushrooms with Seared Duck Breast, Bing Cherries, Arugula, and Micro Cilantro</strong><br />
<em>Boomtown Merlot 2004</em></p>
<p>Fourth Course<br />
<strong>Cinnamon-Smoked Lamb T-Bone, Herb Risotto, and Blueberry Gastrique</strong><br />
<em>Boomtown Syrah 2006</em><br />
or<br />
<em>Dusted Valley Vintner Cabernet Sauvignon 2006</em></p>
<p>Fifth Course<br />
<strong>White Donut Peach, Dark Chocolate, and Raisin Compote</strong><br />
<em>Red Head Ranch Late Harvest Zinfandel 2004</em></p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>Welcome &#8220;ATTACK OF THE SHOW&#8221; TV viewers!</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/welcome-attack-of-the-show-tv-viewers</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/welcome-attack-of-the-show-tv-viewers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:17:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[evernote]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[software]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[television]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1863</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p>I noticed that my pageviews have <em>skyrocketed</em> over the last few days.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.g4tv.com" target="_blank"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1865 alignright" title="g4" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/g4.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="87" /></a>A bit of investigation reveals that <a href="http://www.g4tv.com" target="_blank">G4 tv</a>&#8217;s popular technology news-and-reviews show, <a href="http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/index.html" target="_blank">ATTACK OF THE SHOW</a> did a piece on <a href="http://www.evernote.com" target="_blank">Evernote</a>, an information management tool that I use and advocate. My website (and photo) appears in Evernote&#8217;s promotional video which shows features of their software. This promotional video was used to generate content for the short segment that appeared on ATTACK OF THE SHOW.</p>
<p>Apparently, lots of G4 viewers have Personal Video Recorders and single-framed through the video to see my URL, and then came visiting. Welcome! I hope you enjoy the site.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.evernote.com" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1869" title="evernote" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/evernote.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="62" /></a></p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>HAPPY MOUTH &#8212; August, 2008</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/happy-mouth-august-2008</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/happy-mouth-august-2008#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:57:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Happy Mouth Supper Club]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[cincinnati]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[happy-mouth]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[ohio]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[restaurants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1857</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p>A few days ago, the members of Happy Mouth (and guests Julie &amp; Terry) met to dine at Holly&#8217;s pick, Apsara, an Asian-fusion restaurant. We found that they had very nice sushi and a lobster soup that Wendy loved, and a nice curry. The rest of the food was very good as well (despite strong rumors to the contrary &#8212; inside joke).</p>
<p>There were a couple missteps, though. First, in a large (mostly-empty) restaurant, the management seated our large party (12-14) next to another large party in an otherwise-empty dining room. The noise was staggering, but even worse was that one lone server (with a lovely mullet) was serving both of our tables, which meant that service was slow and uneven.</p>
<p>But worst of all was when I noticed that my sushi order was a bit light &#8212; I hadn&#8217;t received everything I&#8217;d ordered. The server realized that he&#8217;d set my sushi plate down at the end of the table, and their sushi order was set before me. Both of us had started eating, but the server simply grabbed the plates and swapped them. Now, I&#8217;m no prude, and the folks that had their fingers in my food are friends, but that still counted as a giant mistake in my book. &lt;sarcasm&gt;Fortunately, the server went deaf just before I started complaining.&lt;/sarcasm&gt; Otherwise, the food and experience was fun.</p>
<p>Another successful Happy Mouth!</p>
</div>
]]></description>
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		<title>Our Trip to Houston, Texas</title>
		<link>http://www.drewvogel.com/our-trip-to-houston-texas</link>
		<comments>http://www.drewvogel.com/our-trip-to-houston-texas#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:49:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Drew</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[A Front Page Item]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Travel Reports]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[drewvogel]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[friends]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[houston]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[restaurants]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[texas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.drewvogel.com/?p=1841</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<div class=""><p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/houstonhobbyairport.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1842 alignright" title="Houston Hobby Airport" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/houstonhobbyairport-300x237.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="237" /></a>From August 8-12, 2008, Wendy &amp; I were in lovely <a href="http://www.houston-guide.com/" target="_blank">Houston</a> <a href="http://www.state.tx.us/" target="_blank">Texas</a> to attend the wedding of a friend of mine. Why they chose to get married in TEXAS in AUGUST is beyond me, but we had a great time despite the oppressive heat and humdity!</p>
<p>Our flights were short and uneventful and we landed in Houston&#8217;s <a href="http://houstonhobbyairport.net" target="_blank">Hobby Airport</a> with the entire day stretching out ahead of us. We got our rental car and headed to the hotel, the <a href="http://www.lq.com" target="_blank">La Quinta Inn</a> on West Loop South, in the city&#8217;s swanky Galleria district. We didn&#8217;t expect to be able to get into our room since we were several hours early for their 3:00pm check-in. We were pleasantly suprised that Paul, the front desk clerk, allowed us to go right up. The La Quinta Inn was much nicer than we expected. It had a nice pool and hot tub, and the room was clean, interestingly laid-out (not just a box), and included a mini-fridge and a microwave. We got settled into our room and then went out to find some lunch.</p>
<p><!--more-->I&#8217;d done some research on dining options in Houston (<strong><a href="http://b4-u-eat.com" target="_blank">B4-U-EAT</a></strong> was very helpful) and we had made some dinner reservations (<strong><a href="http://www.noerestaurant.com/" target="_blank">NOÉ</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://feasthouston.googlepages.com/" target="_blank">Feast</a></strong>) and decided against various restaurants (<strong><a href="http://www.cafe-annie.com/" target="_blank">Cafe Annie</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=79984" target="_blank">Mark&#8217;s American</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.thegrovehouston.com/" target="_blank">The Grove</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.damarcohouston.com/" target="_blank">DaMarco</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.b4-u-eat.com/houston/restaurants/reviews/rsv3976.asp" target="_blank">Dolce Vita</a></strong>, etc) for various reasons. However, as we were driving toward our original lunch destination that day, I spotted Cafe Annie. We pulled in to get some lunch only to be informed that they weren&#8217;t open yet that day. Wendy &amp; I went and did a little shopping for stuff we&#8217;d forgotten and then headed back to Cafe Annie for a really enjoyable lunch and a nice culinary introduction to Houston.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/cafeannie.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1843 alignright" title="Cafe Annie" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/cafeannie.jpg" alt="" width="156" height="72" /></a><strong><a href="http://www.cafe-annie.com/" target="_blank">Cafe Annie</a></strong> is an elegant place, once you&#8217;re inside. From the outside, where it sits at the end of a strip mall, it looks a little dilapidated. Walking up to the doors, we were a little nervous. But once inside, there are comfortable banquettes surrounded by rich wood and brass trimmings, and padded tables set with table linens and nice silver. Professionally attired servers and bussers move silently through the room.</p>
<p>We were seated in a corner table on the raised perimeter of the room, overlooking the entire dining room. Shortly, we were served an amuse bouche of salmon salad with a spicy sauce on a small thin square of fresh jicama. We ordered soups &#8212; Wendy had tortilla soup and I had roasted corn soup. Both were very tasty. For my entree, I had the Wood Grilled Salmon with BBQ Guajillo Chile Sauce, which was absolutely delicious. The salmon was perfectly prepared &#8212; just a touch translucent on the inside &#8212; and the Guajillo Chile sauce was piquant without overpowering the flavor of the fish. The entree was served with a very fresh roasted corn salad. Wendy enjoyed her Redfish Roasted in Banana Leaf with Artisan White Grits very much &#8212; the fish was tender and delicious, and the white grits were outstanding. The entire experience at Cafe Annie was very pleasant. I&#8217;m glad we were able to eat there!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/noe.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1846 alignright" title="Noe" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/noe.jpg" alt="" width="164" height="94" /></a>That evening, we dined at <strong><a href="http://www.noerestaurant.com" target="_blank">NOÉ</a></strong> (pronounced &#8220;<em>no-weh</em>&#8220;, shockingly (and inappropriately) close to &#8220;<em>no way</em>&#8220;) at the <a href="http://www.omnihotels.com" target="_blank">Omni Houston Hotel</a>, again surprisingly close to our hotel. Finding the restaurant makes you forget that you&#8217;re in the middle of a giant city. The huge red sign outside the hotel is easy enough to spot, but you wind your way back quite a distance down their long driveway before coming upon the lobby entrance. You feel like you&#8217;ve driven well out of the city and are miles away. Inside the lobby, the Omni is very impressive. The entrance to NOÉ is off to the left side of the lobby, and walking through their doors transports you again from the bustling lobby (which was hosting a noisy wedding reception) into a quiet, calm, and welcoming restaurant with modern touches.</p>
<p>As I recount our courses, please excuse any name errors &#8212; I am reading from the scribbled shorthand notes provided to us by the waiter. (It is another opportunity for the restaurant to impress customers with the level of service when the request to &#8220;keep track of what we eat and drink&#8221; is taken seriously! The shorthand notes are acceptable to me, but a &#8220;civilian&#8221; diner might not like them. There is nothing like a beautifully printed, dated menu of food &amp; wine to send with the guests.)</p>
<ul>
<li>Amuse Bouche: Gazpacho shooter</li>
<li>Tuna Tartare with Pineapple, Avocado, Cilantro, and Soya,  paired with a Jenna Reisling</li>
<li>Roasted Sea Scallops with Forest Mushrooms, Vidalia Onions, and Crispy Parsley paired with Sterling Sauvignon Blanc</li>
<li>Pan Roasted Salmon with Pasta Pearls, Baby Spinach, Grape Tomatoes, and Basil Broth paried with Bargo Macredo Pinot Nero (this wine was a real standout)</li>
<li>Braised Beef Short Rib with Baby Leeks, Horseradish Soubise, Carrots, and the delicious Braising Jus paired with an Edna Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Gosh, do I love short ribs. I know they&#8217;re the trendy food right now, but goshdarnit, they deserve to be.</li>
<li>a fairly pedestrian cheese course with three selections paired with a nice 20-year old Floodgate Tawny Port</li>
<li>Creme Brulee with Ellio Perron Rose Moscato di&#8217;Uva.</li>
</ul>
<p>It was a wonderful meal! Chef Steven Musolf came out and chatted with us for a while after dinner. It was nice to meet him &#8212; he&#8217;s a young guy, very passionate about food (he recently &#8212; and controversially &#8212; took foie gras off his menu), and quite talented.</p>
<p>Our chief complaint (one of only a few &#8212; for example, I wish they had foie gras on the menu though Chef Steven was able to articulate their reasons for not having it in a convincing way) was that the place was essentially <em>empty</em> the entire time we were there on a Friday evening. We saw just a few other diners during our meal, and were significantly outnumbered by the number of staff running around trying to look busy. I don&#8217;t understand that&#8230; The restaurant is very good, the prices are reasonably within fine-dining standards, the hotel is posh, &amp; parking is easy (valet). Plus, the chef is new (he arrived in May). I think the place should be packed with local foodies checking it out. And it&#8217;s worth it. After a tremendously enjoyable and relaxing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and to bed after a busy day.</p>
<p>The next day was the wedding of Tucker and Patience. We woke up in the morning, went for a dip in the hotel&#8217;s pool, and then went to the church (which wasn&#8217;t far from our hotel) a bit early. We were the first guests there, followed shortly by Nora, the next-door-neighbor of Tuck &amp; Patience. After chatting with her for a few minutes, a long-haired guy in a tuxedo came out. I thought he was Tucker (we&#8217;ve been email friends for over 6 years but had never met in person), so I jokingly asked him for a kiss. The guy&#8217;s eyes went really wide, and he looked very confused, at which point I said, &#8220;You&#8217;re not Tucker.&#8221; He quickly agreed, informing me that he was, in fact, NOT Tucker and was the best man. Embarassed, I asked him to take me to Tucker. I went back to the groom&#8217;s ready-room to find Tucker standing, nervous. I talked to him for a few minutes before assessing that he was far too focused on the upcoming nuptials to be a sparkling conversationalist, so I excused myself and went out to the sanctuary.</p>
<p>Their wedding was very nice &#8212; understated and intimate. Patience appeared just a little petrified as she walked down the aisle, but still managed to look stunningly beautiful in her dress. Tucker did NOT lock his knees and, therefore, did NOT pass out (though he was sweating up a storm!).</p>
<p>At the end of the wedding, we followed the caravan of people to a lovely house for a reception with cake, champaigne, and all manner of snacks, including our first taste of true Tex-Mex fajitas. Delicious! While there, we learned that if you&#8217;re a young Texan, you stand outside in the heat &amp; humidity. If you&#8217;re an older Texan, you stay inside in air-conditioned comfort. Wendy &amp; I drifted back and forth from inside to outside, and that was reasonable. We also learned a new (drinking) game &#8212; <strong>The Name Game</strong>, the rules of which are as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Go around in a circle in one direction. One person starts with a name, for example, &#8220;Johnny Rotten&#8221;.</li>
<li>The next person says a name beginning with the first letter of the <strong>last</strong> name you said (&#8221;R&#8221;, in this case, resulting in &#8220;Robert Goulet&#8221;, followed by &#8220;George Thoroughgood&#8221;). You must be actively drinking while thinking of the name. Real, living, dead, fictional &#8212; it doesn&#8217;t matter as long as another person backs you up on the name.</li>
<li>If it&#8217;s a double-letter name (&#8221;Tommy Tune&#8221;) or a single name (&#8221;Zeus&#8221;), then the direction reverses, which allows for &#8220;battles&#8221; between two players.</li>
</ul>
<p>It&#8217;s really easy, a lot of fun, and FINALLY provides an outlet for all your esoteric band-member names or comic-book hero names.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/feast.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1855 alignright" title="Feast -- Houston" src="http://www.drewvogel.com/wp-content/uploads/feast-300x210.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="210" /></a>A day or so later (Wendy &amp; I somewhat holed-up and swam, watched Olympics, and were lazy, so time is a blur), Tucker &amp; Patience joined us for dinner at <strong><a href="http://feasthouston.googlepages.com/" target="_blank">FEAST</a></strong>, a 3-month-old restaurant in Houston for a delicious dinner celebrating their marriage. It was their first time expreriencing fine dining, so it was very exciting to watch them, and the fine folks at FEAST took outstanding care of us.</p>
<p>We started with <strong>Sweetbread and Pea Soup</strong> (though we didn&#8217;t tell Tucker or Patience what sweetbreads were until after they tried them (and loved them!) &#8212; don&#8217;t worry; we weren&#8217;t being deceptive&#8230; Tucker &amp; Patience told us to encourage them to try new things and they were real troopers about it!). The soup was pureed and finished with a handful of fresh peas thrown in for texture and color, and the sweetbreads were a delicious replacement for a crouton garnish. A second starter of <strong>Roast Pork Belly with Radish and Orange Salad</strong> was lovely. I am so happy pork belly is appearing on more menus&#8230; Two of my favorite things (pig and roasted meat) are involved! The weakest dish of the evening was the <strong>Duck Liver Pate</strong>, which had a too-soft texture and was overly liver-y. Throughout the evening, we enjoyed two wines&#8230; <em>Macon-Villages Old Vine Unoaked Chardonnay (2006)</em> and <em>Albert Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2006)</em>.</p>
<p>We moved on to our entrees&#8230; Wendy had the <strong>Lamb Shank with Kale and Roasted Potatoes</strong>, perfectly prepared and cooked. I had the <strong>Pork Cheeks, Duchess Potatoes, and Red Cabbage with Apples</strong>, which was delightfully fatty (perhaps too much so if you weren&#8217;t expecting it, but if you&#8217;re not expecting it, what are you doing ordering this dish?!) and extremely tasty. Tucker &amp; Patience both enjoyed their <strong>Smoked Salmon, Bacon and Scallop Pie, Topped with Mash and served with Braised Leeks</strong>. Tucker called it &#8220;a bowl full of awesome&#8221;, and I do believe he was correct. The braised leeks combined two of my other favorites &#8212; braising and leeks &#8212; (though I particularly adore fried leeks (take note, future culinary students of mine!)).</p>
<p>We were pleasantly surprised when the server brought out a lovely Summer Berry Pavlova to commemorate their wedding day (a pavlova! in Houston! in <strong>August</strong>! &#8212; check <strong>that</strong> out, Joanne!), and we added a scoop or two of the outstanding Treacle Toffee Ice Cream to round out the excellent meal. A visit from Chef Richard completed the evening, and we headed home, full but tired.</p>
<p>The next day, Wendy &amp; I explored <a href="http://www.rice.edu/" target="_blank">Rice University</a>, the <a href="http://www.houstonzoo.com/" target="_blank">Houston Zoo</a>, and the <a href="http://www.hmns.org" target="_blank">Houston Museum of Natural Science</a>. All were excellent (though the Zoo in August was a sweaty experience!). Lunch was at <strong>Mi Luna</strong> (against the protestations of one of my students, Rice alum Miguel, who encouraged us to RUN!). We bravely chose not to heed his warning and were rewarded with a very nice brunch.</p>
<p>For dinner that evening, we decided to lay low, near the hotel, and ended up at <strong><a href="http://californiapizzakitchen.com/" target="_blank">California Pizza Kitchen</a></strong>. After eating their frozen products for so long, it was nice to enjoy it fresh-from-the-oven. The next day, we had lunch with Tucker &amp; Patience at one of their favorite TexMex places (delicious brisket tacos!) before heading to the airport for the ride home.</p>
<p>It was a great trip. We really enjoyed the food, the company, and the wedding.</p>
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