Two weeks / months & brownies

Two weeks and still no word from out beloved olive oil guy. So it goes.

There is one post that I'm dreading to write. Fat Witch Brownie Mix. The box comes with everything you'd need to create your own famous at-home brownies save for the two sticks of butter you need to slap all of the ingredients together in a way that makes it seem like a cohesive eatable jumble of garbage. Some may praise Fat Witch for their delightfully 'moist' and 'heavenly' brownies created in the island of Manhattan - I mean in scene of seclusion from the outside world and that it is an island - where it seems that they love their desert to sit and meld at the bottom of a pan. Now, I may have made them wrong, though I'm pretty sure I know how to add room temp butter to a mound of mixture. I'd skip these if you enjoy the fully light and not throat clogging thickness that are these.

When we were in NYC for the show, we came across these hip, modern, and styled cocktail starters: Modern Cocktail. They were shoved into the back of the showroom floor, a new company that could soar under the ever growing market that is specialty food items. Two months we tired to call, leave a message, e-mailed, faxed. No response. Sure they might be super busy because of the overwhelming response to their pithy product - but let the small businesses know. I know it seems rife with holes, picking up the phone or responding to a fax, but is it that much a struggle. What happened was they got a 10k order from whole foods and shoved everyone else to the side to fill their HUGE order. Whole foods reorders, and pushes everyone else back, they can't keep up demand, they try to expand but don't have enough time/money. We get stuck not getting their kick ass product. Oh well.

Day off because of sickness. Here is to it.

Banging it out

Yesterday I wrote a few blogs, just pounding them out. I'm finding more and more interesting ways of describing food which is fun. I created a tumblr page for some reason. We'll see how well that goes. Yeah, sure I struggle to get stuff on this blog alone day to day, but I think b/c of the phone plug in, I'll be able to post small snippets there (longer than twitter & photos etc) instead of feeling the need to shove out something that isn't long enough to constitute a post.

I've been milling over the Google/Verizon paper for a couple of weeks and I think it's a mistake on Google's behalf. They were always seen a kind of 'underdog' gone pro. This way they kept their head on straight about being total fuck offs about net neutrality and brought out cool products us nerds love (see gmail, google reader, voice, etc). We can't make the distinction between wired and wireless internet. Talk about a slippery slope into disaster, where no one wins but the companies. Where I see a problem is in commercial. We have a shitty internet connection at work as it stands now. Lets say in five years wired internet is gone b/c of leaps in 4G and LTE etc, but this paper pushed legislation to make it "easier" for us to get "certain" data. We try and check people out at work, but cannot get through to the POS servers because we are a small company and cannot pay the big fat bill to pay for a quick POS connection. So we lose customers because our wait time at check out is longer, and spiral down. Cut to Target, Lowes, big stores. They don't have a problem because they pay the big bucks to get their POS data pushed through before ours. Tis but a single example, but one that some might understand better and hit closer than "you can't load youtube as fast."

Folded up paper, wasted time and money

So the other day I had a flier sent to me. A person had cold called the store (which I can't image to be very fun) and asked if we would carry their stuff. I told them the same thing I tell every single company, vendor, or joe/sara schmoe that tries to get their stuff on our shelf - "Bring in a sample, we'll try it out and we'll let you know." I guess I don't say those exact words but that is a rough outline of what I tell them. I learned this from my boss, who has delt with this for seven years, so I assume she knows what she is doing. I proceed to tell this person our normal deal. Of course they soft-of listened. Sure, they'll bring in a sample, but they wanted to send me this near worthless sheet of paper (what a waste) and asked when a good time to show up for a tasting would be. This is where I try to nail people down to a time, because of a couple of reasons; I can and like to work from home, as well as when samples are left for more than a day it can either be eaten or taken home within a day or less. So to try to set something up where they can come in and talk to me about their wonderful olive oil, but for some strange reason this person cannot be tied down. I even tried to give a general time when it would be best and that didn't work for them either. I just had to breath heavy, roll my eyes and say what amounted to "whatever." Not the best way to start off with someone that will be one of two votes on getting your product on the shelf.

I'm not flaunting my power over a vendor, but it's kind of a waste of their time and money to send me info I could and would much rather get from them personally. Which I would like to set up a good time for the two of us to talk about the ins and outs of their olive oil. Sure it's nice to crack open a letter mailed to me at work, something I rarely get, but come on.

Today I'm board at work without my boss here. I wrote a blog. I posted on facebook. I know I could be doing more, something a bit more productive than posting here on my blog but I'd really rather avoid work. Just one of those days I guess.

Tonight I'll take photos of the Sweetwater Bath stuff. It was pretty damn good and am looking forward to writing that post. That'll be tomorrow though.

Notes on a Saturday

I took a couple notes for future references at work on Saturday.

• Girls with ugly guys & vice versa
• Full beard with bald head
• "This is what it's like downstairs"
• Guys who "stand too close"

Pickles

shot_1282230043880, originally uploaded by Jacob D.

I'm supposed to put out pickles for people to try today 'at lunch.' I made menus this morning, and posted  to facebook and twitter about our surprisingly successful Cupcake contest. I'm trying to find more work, and make sure I keep this job.

Cookies

IMG_4712, originally uploaded by Jacob D.

Wheatfingers

Whole wheat flower, sea salt, butter, egg, sugar, sugar in the raw, butterfinger, vanilla, baking soda. Heavy modified Martha Stuart recipe.

Home office

Today I'll be working from home (hopefully) banging out a handful of new food blogs for SPG. I've got a couple things to do around the house but, it shouldn't stop me from getting work done. I brought home a couple items from work yesterday. Tasting and writing about the BBQ bath should prove interesting - I know the Peach vin rules, but I want to make sure to get the taste down on paper as well as try a few recipes.

A change of pace

I've been thinking of ways of making this something with a bit more substance than just my scrawls terribly thrown together in a mess of incoherence (which is okay), and lack of direction, meaning, or theme (not okay). So here is the deal. I'll detail all of the shit I do in a day, maybe even throughout the day. Examples: If I'm at work and I have a crappy product, I'll write about it - unabashed; if I'm on the phone with a magazine that sells 'editorial spots' I'll log my experience; if I have to host the restaurant, I'll tell of the horrible people by taking notes of their shitty-ness.

I'm kind of tired of having this be a wasteland of slowly dieing posts about my "life" and over arching themes that I couldn't give a shit about going back to. Most of the time I have no idea why the fuck I wrote something here, or why I think it matters.

So look forward to my real self: the crabby old man who lives inside of me and my crappy sentence composition.

Oh god my ____ is melting! A Summery of Ports

That's right. It's fucking hot. We all know. Repeating it over and over to each person you see in passing isn't going to make it better. I feel the same way about people walking their dogs. Don't ask me to explain it.

What I really want to talk about is the mini-dvi port on my Macbook - or really all the god damn proprietary plugs on my macbook. I want to start with the mini-display port.

Yes, I have an extra monitor hooked up at work. No, your right - I don't need it. But this is getting past the heart of the matter. First and obvious point is that the plug is proprietary. Yeah, big pain. Apple loves to make a buck off of extras (see: Apple Store, Apps). It's easily a two buck plug from any shady website that sells wires and plugs to connect every device into your house to each other, but at Apple it's a thirty dollar hunk of "California Designed" Chinese-made plastic. This again isn't my point. So what is my point? The connection is weak at best. Now, let me preface that I've got a 2008 black macbook. So you may not know my pains if you have another model. The connection: it feels cheap, barely in, and worst? Just kinda hangs in there. No clip or snap, just resting in there like a pair of overalls lay over the obese - sure they are on but they are just waiting for a strap to fall. A sleeping dragon of interrupted social media toolkiting.

(Author's Note: I'm just going to publish this b/c I've been sitting on it for a while.

Tanks and the days of summer

I'm at this point in life, like a handful of points previously, I have to make a leap. Do I go to college? What is my Major again? Do I stay in grad school? What is my career?

The other day Liz asked me if 'this was what I wanted to do, for a career'? Was it? Fuck if I know. I know it comes easy and it uses a tiny bit of my degree. Sure. I can do this. Can't I? We'll find out.

There is this something about the summer air in Chicago. It's hot and wet, it sticks to you like long wet ooze from slug, the city kips up dirt and the wind carries the find street particles - you'll be nice and gross before dusk. Chicago summers are two-showers-a-day summers.

My only friend is moving away to South Dakota. He's lived far away for some time - but we saw each other a couple times a year. I have 'friends' at work, but I guess I considered this one a real 'friend.' We'll stay in touch.

My clumsy emotions, a censure

I'm not sure what is wrong with me. In the empty spaces between being happy and sad, for me, there is this wallowing ever waining feeling of not being good enough and being kinda okay. Clear you plate child, desert is almost ready.

Eh, I'd write more but I'd rather not complain more than I already have.

Book on Lemonade and A/C

Chicago summers and a single air con to our apartment. I picked up a book called 'lemonade' by Fred Thompson in which nearly 100 pages are devoted to different lemonades. See, this is what is great about my job is that I am exposed to new things every single day, and when I say things I mean many many things. For example today we had hand made and bottled syrups that were all natural and damn good. Two for Italian sodas, two were coffee - I can't even remember what all they had in them, one was ginger passion fruit maybe? I dunno, but it was interesting. That is what this job lends it self to be - interesting.

I leave for New York on Saturday. Two e-mail newsletters, 5 posts to facebook about the weather, and 6 about new stuff were canning and I'll be ready to go. I've got three days to finish the above.

Five - six days till I land in Spain. The second (third kinda) country I've ever been to. There will be pictures.

Screaming boys

Thought I'd share the song that makes me smile a bit


bonus:

Honey Bears and Olive Oil

Friday, mid June. It's Chicago so it's hot and sticky. Listening to Devo's new album, which is quite good. It's struggle every day to focus. With the marketing at SPG I find it incredibly difficult to settle and just bang out a couple blog posts, or e-mails. I could only muster 2 today, though I did leave by 1:30. My sister's wedding next week, and NYC > Spain the following week. I'm not sure what is more daunting, the Fancy Food Show or traveling. I'm sure others can sympathize, but I feel the need to get things right. I'm way out of my league just visiting New York with a foodie, let alone going head first into a Fancy Food Show.

I've been stressing more each week as I've got to get a bunch of shit done before I leave - because my lovely job allows me to schedule 80% of my work. In reality, it's next to nothing and I spend more time worrying than doing the work it self.

For a long time I've had this layer of dread on top of me like a blanket, I'm not sure what its all about - maybe seeing my dad? Who knows.

A Racecar Sounds Like a Cat

In the light breezes in beds of summer I lay reading, keeping my eyes fixed on letters and words. Skipping back and re-reading, my mild dyslexia and adhd becoming less of an excuse and more of a reason. I only feel the wind form the spinning fan above me on the parts of my body that are covered in the longer hairs - those that seem to be the first to shake in the wind. I try and think and write and ignore and imagine all wrapped into one complicated blanket of self-worth and identity. I flash ahead 10 years and try to imagine who I am, it's fuzzy and try for five and I still can only make out my awkward haircuts and thick glasses with a bend forward hunch and gimped ankle. The only time I see myself in my imagination I'm standing awkwardly in different hallways either lost or strangely misplaced, like a dream that has yet to happen. I'm never doing anything. My occupation is a faint outline of what I'm doing right now - which isn't much other than pretending that I'm not a waiter.

So I'm trying to write again right? Would I consider what I do at work, writing nearly meaningless blogs that 10 people actually take the time to read writing? I'm not sure I would. It's more like the internet or blog or web version of verbal vomiting. I just cram a bunch of shit people tell me or that I read about the product or that I make up while eating it or just plain pull it out of my ass and move some words around, adding verbosity and simplicity like a kid swinging a stick he/she found in a park. And yes, there are times I let loose and someone gets a stick tossed at their backside, luckily they just scowl and I furrow my brow and walk away.

But then again, maybe it's good I started doing this work. It's forcing me to put words to 'print' and even having a real audience helps focus my writing a ton. I do have to admit that the 'voice' I've created for Southport is leeching into my normal writing and I've been lucky enough to catch myself doing so (see smile faces & exclamation points) - on the opposite, I think my voice is slowly creeping into the "Southport" voice. As an example, I put up a sign in the store with my smarmy attitude that said to buy a group of prodcuts for people "who are nice enough to feed you."

So, again am I writing? Well all of this other blogging is leading to the wiener blog is leading to this blog which may or may not lead to me eventually working on something. Only time will tell I guess, I'm going to go ahead and it here by saying that if you try and push it out, you'll only end up wearing it.

Down Day

Not sure what my deal is at times, but eh. Quiet and fed up I guess.

On the 'being productive' front: I've set up Garage Band on my laptop to function with the wii remote, but I'd like to be able to change pitch depending with the accelerometer. I'm not super happy on how it all works and I'm going to keep looking for gameboy or nes setups - but this is my trail after all. I'm fucking awful at making music, but it'll take time. It's kinda fun to sit in bed and mash some buttons remotely to play tones.

Found this bad ass stenograph program (one pictured left), that is pretty fun. HTML5 only: http://www.benjoffe.com/code/toys/spirograph/

Work is getting a bit monotonous and I'm getting board with hot dogs. Maybe it's just my mood.

Colon blow

Well it's the day after my colonosopy and I feel fine. I didn't have a BM this morning, which I feel kinda weird about. This is beyond the point - 2 removed polyps - which the doctor didn't seem worried about. I'll be hearing back from the biopsy later this week. I'm not worried.

I'm looking for my next bike trip, and for a way to mount my phone. I've looked online, and I know I've seen where a guy mounts his with a two buck light fixture and a silicone case. Mounting the phone would allow me to both see the live tracking on MyTracks as well as see maps when I'm lost (which is often). My only concern is water damage, but I guess I'd just not use it in the rain. I think my next long ride will be the North Branch Trial (http://www.traillink.com/viewtrail.aspx?AcctID=6032266). Forest Glen to Glencoe, with an around-the-pond ride turn around. It's a longer ride than the lake front ride (which was 18m), and is a bit longer of a ride to the start - meaning an all around slightly longer ride. I'm okay with it, after the last ride I thought I could have gone longer - so this will be a good run. Biggest difference is this path is a covered path (trees) and I'm not sure if it is concrete or 'prairie path' style dirt. I am starting to also think and consider the Grand Illinois Trail. Before that I'll try and do the 61 mile Illinois Prairie Path. Although I'm not sure how they measure the path (length vs entire run), because the path spider webs out west. Either way, I'd like to make it to sycamore on my bike this summer.

I'm working often, splitting a seedbox, and looking ahead to the summer - sister's weeding, fancy food show, and Spain.

New saddle

IMG_3743, originally uploaded by Jacob D.

Got a few weeks ago, but decided I should add it to here. The more I ride this thing the more I love it. Pro-tip: be prepared for your ass to hurt after getting a new saddle - change can hurt.

I rode my bike the entire length of the Chicago shore yesterday and back up again. I'm not in any pain which is surprising. I found things on the path though that were really quite interesting.  I never knew there was a huge water feature behind the McCormick building. That fat girls always walk with a skinny girl (didn't grab a photo). For future rides I'd like to mount my phone on my bike so I can either a) track my speed/etc with Google's 'my tracks' or b) be able to capture a time lapse of the ride. Lots of great views and fields south of the loop. What is nice about my phone now is that I can track my rides with the gps (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216429673862229320600.000485c7889ff7c0a9726). I was going to try and do 'every' time I was on my bike, but that much info is kinda wasted on someone as lazy as me. I do think though that I'd like to capture the longer biking trips - this is just my first one. I also want to look into a solar charger that I can attach somewhere on my bike. Not sure how well it would work though, but still worth looking into.

More updates 'soon'.

New Bike

IMG_3702, originally uploaded by Jacob D.

Hells yeah, first road bike. I love this thing. I ordered a new saddle though - this one is a bit chewed up. And got some mini lights for night time city rides. There is enough light that I don't need my own.