Technology & MSG

Gourmet Shish Kebab is a quiet, unassuming place in Laurel, Maryland that serves up some outstanding food. It sits a few minutes off the Baltimore Washington Parkway on the eastbound side of Fort Meade Road. The shape of the building suggests that it was once a McDonald’s, but there’s nothing remotely franchise-like about it now. [...]

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There’s something undeniably cool about a MacGuffin in a case, like in Ronin or Pulp Fiction. It’s not just about the plot device itself, though. My fascination extends to case-mounted hardware too, including all manner of tactical weapons — HK’s MP5-in-a-suitcase being a choice and rarely found example — and communications gear. Needless to say [...]

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After a long wait the director, writer, and star of The Family That Preys informed us in person — after a lot of applause, as if he were a local boy — that we were the first group to see the film. Very unexpected, but cool.
“I like to start things on time,” he said, explaining [...]

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I had a package of seven Philly Gourmet Steaks in the freezer, so I decided to make some open faced steak sandwiches. Enough for dinner and a lunch or two, it’s pretty basic.
Here’s what you need:

philly-style steaks
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 slices of bread
2 slices of cheese
olive oil

The steaks may have been branded “gourmet” but that [...]

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On Saturday I helped some friends with their latest backyard project. It’s a big one and they’re doing it themselves: an in-ground 30′ by 15′ liner-based pool with surrounding deck. So a few of us went over on a wonderfully mild Maryland afternoon to assist. The hole had been excavated and after a few minutes [...]

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I went to Don’t Know Tavern on Friday night. It’s owned by the same people as No Idea Tavern, apparently both named as if to answer the question “so where are/were you?” I don’t know if I’d call it “in celebration,” but it was for ACW’s final fling happy hour before he quits blogging forever. [...]

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I like books. I like reading. My grandmother would be proud of me. She owned a lot of books. Tens of thousands of them. They filled an entire room, spilling over onto the stairs in her New Jersey home. She would routinely give books as presents as I was growing up. For decades she bought [...]

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