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Spoosner

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by Spoosner

  1. I just did as well. Thanks for posting your statements from last year. Was able to compare to mine, which made it pretty clear I would've saved $10-30 per month using griddy. Really liked that they handle cancellation/switch over from Reliant. This is my first ever electricity provider switch, so I don't know if that's normal.
  2. This is part of the reason I was targeting the dates. Read that it's decent Fall type weather, less crowded from a tourist standpoint, and cheaper. That being said, I would not want the negatives to outweigh those positives. Could probably move a month earlier, will have to look at flights.
  3. I'm looking to book a trip for the wife and I. Preliminarily looking at something like May 22 - June 2, so we would likely have 10-11 nights. Things I'm interested in: Buenos Aires Cordoba Food and Wine Patagonia Iguazu Falls We typically aim for 2-3 nights in each location, which means we can't really do it all. What itinerary would you suggest with the time we have? I could maybe stretch the trip another day or so, but not more than that.
  4. Damn. Ladies can be annoying, but multiple blows to their faces? 😦 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRNylT-c3c&feature=youtu.be
  5. Don't know if this is too late. I took the train from Sydney to Katoomba. You can take a train from the airport to the central rail station, and then catch the train to Blue Mountains. I stayed in Katoomba at the Blue Mountains Backpacker Hostel because as I was by myself and figured I'd socialize. It was nothing fancy, but the location was perfect. I walked directly into the park the next day, and the Three Sisters is pretty much the first thing you see. I hiked all throughout the park and into Leura, and then actually played 9 holes at Leura Golf Club. Brings back fond memories of a fantastic day. Went to an Irish pub with live music one of the nights. Harp and Fiddle I believe. Good times. That's all I've got as I think my meals were pretty plain. If you get out there early enough, you can certainly have a full day of hiking and still get back to Sydney in time for dinner.
  6. Thirded. Got a 12" pan for our wedding 3.5 years ago. Non-stick is still perfect, cleans super easy, can go in oven, great heat distribution, etc.
  7. If you're going by bus, Vonlane is badass. In addition to what you mentioned, they have decent snacks, noise cancelling headphones you can borrow, laptop "desks" that attach to your chair, and easily the best mobile bathroom you've ever seen. There's a stewardess that serves you all these things, and you can also purchase beer/wine/mixed drinks for $5 a pop. That being said, the price is obviously quite a bit higher than the next best alternative, which is Megabus. When Megabus was new (10 years ago), the clientele was much better than a Greyhound for the simple fact that you have to purchase your ticket ahead of time via the interwebs. As the word has spread, it is now more of the crowd you'd expect to be riding the bus, but definitely still WAY better than Greyhound.
  8. We stayed at the La Quinta right outside of Zion. Was actually pretty nice, and we enjoyed the pool/hot tub. Walking distance to restaurants and super close to the park entrance. I wasn't paying, but I'm pretty sure it was quite reasonable. Did the Angel's Landing hike. It was awesome, but certainly not for the faint of heart or anybody scared of heights. Sheer cliff drop-offs. Luckily (I guess) it was a little rainy and cold the day we did it, so it wasn't crowded. I couldn't imagine having to hike/climb around a ton of people on a busy day, which I've heard can be the case. We couldn't do "the narrows" or "subway" hikes because the rivers were too high. We were only there a couple days and that was the only Utah park we went to, so that's all I've got. Antelope Canyon is worth the stop if you do decide to go to the Grand Canyon. You need a reservation. The hike through the canyon only takes about an hour.
  9. Only saw some quick mentions in the ski thread. We are going in early March. Staying at the Marriott Grand Residences, chosen by my FIL who is the footing the bill for lodging. Access to the gondola and being in the middle of town were most important to him. We are still able to cancel if somebody has a great rec with the same qualifications. All that to say, recs on best apres ski (drinks and food) and dinner spots? That's pretty much all I'm looking for since we'll be skiing the rest of the time. Thanks
  10. Spoosner

    Dallas | Italian

    Booked Fachini for the wife's bday on the 28th. We've been to Sprezza and really liked it. Excited to try its New York counterpart.
  11. Spoosner

    Dallas | Italian

    I think you interpreted his post incorrectly. That or I'm missing your sarcasm.
  12. Anybody looking to sell 2 for Saturday?
  13. Anybody smoked a turkey on theirs? (I have the exact same vision setup as above) Recipes? Lessons learned?
  14. Spoosner

    Tokyo

    Be aware that apparently the Tsukiji fish market has closed. I'm not sure what that means for all the food stalls around. Lots of good suggestions here. We loved Osaka as well (pretty much just for the food), but don't know if you have time or are interested in bouncing around. Unfortunately it's not baseball season, but maybe a sumo match? I wanted to check one out, but schedules didn't align.
  15. Having people over for dinner on Friday before the sooner bashing. Wife wants to serve an orange cocktail. Anybody have a recipe for a good one? Something not loaded with sugar would be best. Found this: 1 oz UV Orange Vodka 3/4 oz Curacao (NOT BLUE) 2 oz Orange Juice 2 oz lemon lime soda Orange Slice Combine all ingredients except the soda in a shaker, shake and strain. Top off with lemon lime soda and garnish with the orange slice. But if I'm buying UV Orange Vodka, why not just mix it with soda and be done? Not to mention the sugar adds up in that one. Not trying to wake up with a hangover Saturday. Regardless, ou still sucks
  16. I know it's a long shot. Together preferred. Smaller sets still interested.
  17. I'm here a lot for work and put this list together from various sources. I have not been to all of them yet. As you can tell, we typically stay downtown. I really dig "Southtown" where Maverick and Battalion are, which were both very enjoyable meals. Biga on the Banks (nice American): https://biga.com/ Bella on the River (Mediterranean): http://www.bellaontheriver.com/ Bohanan's (nice Steak): https://www.bohanans.com/ Maverick: http://mavericktexas.com/ Mi Tierra (the landmark Mexican place I talked about with live mariachis): https://www.mitierracafe.com/ Acenar (good Mexican with some seafood options): http://www.acenar.com/ El Mirador (Mexican a little out of downtown): http://www.elmiradorrestaurant.com/ The Pearl has lots of restaurants, but I haven't eaten at any of them: http://atpearl.com/ Battalion (Italian): http://battalionsa.com/ Rebelle (Seafood): http://www.rebellesa.com/ Bohanan's is the best meal I've had here, just expect high end steakhouse prices. I'd like to go to more places on this list: https://www.thrillist.com/eat/san-antonio/best-restaurants-san-antonio#
  18. Typical intro, my wife is usually super smart, yada yada yada. This is long and there are some things I plan do differently, but the details of her thought process are what bottle my mind. My wife flew solo with our 5 month old for the first time Wednesday morning. Flight was out of DFW pretty early in the morning (had to leave house by 7:15 AM), so definitely had to do all packing prior to Wednesday. Also important to note, I have to leave the house at 7 AM for a work trip out of Love. The weekend before: I take son away from the house multiple times for way longer than necessary, and make subtle suggestions that she could use the alone time to start getting ready for the trip. She did seem to make some headway on some laundry she would need for the trip, but for the most part I came home to her either watching Netflix or napping on the couch. No big deal. She watches the kid all week and deserves to do whatever she wants with her small amount of down time. Sunday evening her Mom arrives to help watch little Spoos Monday and Tuesday. Monday arrives and I chat with wife about her plans for the day before I head to work. She "needs" to go shopping for a new pair of jeans, and then start packing. They left the house around Noon (as near as I could tell from various texts). I have to work a little late, so it's about 7:30 PM when get home...to an empty house. Apparently they just have one more stop at Container Store so she can buy some packing pouch things she "needs" to organize all of little Spoos' shit. They get back around 8:30 PM, bedtime activities ensue, and needless to say there is zero prep for the trip. She did get her jeans and travel pouch things, so perhaps that counts as progress? I have zero clue or interest in how or why that took 8+ hours. Tuesday - her Mom has to leave around Noon to drive back to Houston. Perhaps pack while you've got somebody to watch the little guy? Pshhh, don't be silly. She decides she needs a new suitcase because the ones we are have are either too big or too small. I come home Tuesday evening and see that packing progress is limited to a new empty suitcase laying open in the living room. We will both be out of town for a week and have a bunch to do, so we agree to just eat what's in the fridge and avoid making a mess. I eat some leftover chicken and veggies directly out of the throw away tupperware thing it's stored in. There is plenty for 2, so I offer to her, but she says she'll make something else. I throw away the container and remaining leftovers, leaving the fork I used as the only dirty item to clean. I decide the most helpful thing I can do is take care of the child and try to organize some of his stuff upstairs. It's about 7 PM at this point. I start binging all the stuff I know little Spoos needs, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, etc, down to the still empty suitcase. (Zero chance I'm wasting time picking out his clothes because she's showing him off to all her friends and undoubtedly has 2 perfect outfits a day already picked out in her mind). I check on her in the kitchen. She has 2 pots and a frying pan on the stove, and is chopping up all sorts of zucchini, tomatoes, basil, etc. that she "doesn't want to go to waste". I see one pot of boiling water... Me: What's the boiling water for? Her: I'm going to boil some peaches. Me: I've never seen her boil a peach in our 8 year relationship. Boil some peaches? Why? Her: So I can peel them. Me: Umm, are you making a cobbler? Her: No, just to eat. Me: Walks away before head explodes. It's 2 days later and I'm still so confused by this. 8:30 comes. Time for little Spoos' bath and bedtime. She takes him upstairs around 9 to put him down. I take status of the kitchen that we specifically talked about our aversion to get messy. Pots and pan (hand wash), paring and chef's knives (hand wash), veggie and peach massacred on 2 separate overflowing cutting boards, her plate, my fork, and then of course all the normal baby bottle/pump stuff from the day that has to be cleaned for the trip. My frustration meter steadily climbs as I tackle all this shit. I make detailed mental notes of all the stupid time wasting bullshit going on so that I can bring them up prior to her/our next trip so that they never happen again (HA!), but bitching about it now will only further delay me getting to bed for my early flight and full day of meetings. This is already long enough, but the real packing finally begins around 10 PM. I laugh when she says she hopes to be in bed by midnight so she can wake up at 6. I finally go upstairs at 1 AM and pack in 5 minutes for my week long trip that includes San Antonio, the weekend in NYC with them, and then back to San Antonio. Obviously I could've said sucks for you and gone to bed after I finished the dishes, but I'm not a dick and know she would've been up all night without my help. She climbs in bed around 1:30 I think. Little Spoos who has been sleeping through the night for multiple weeks decides he's hungry at 4 AM on this particular night. So we're both up at 6 going on 2-3 hours of sleep, but I will say she got out the door on time and did thank me for all my help. I called her exhausted from my hotel after work yesterday. She cheerfully says, "You don't sound like you're having as much fun as us." I simply replied that I was going to bed. Went to hotel bar, pondered life over a few scotches, and retired to the glorious peace and quiet of my hotel room. tl:dr Women can't prioritize/plan, and are oblivious to how it impacts others around them.
  19. You'll only get a taste, but it will be delicious. I'd do it.
  20. Dakota's has decent happy hour deals, but you've got to be in the mood for a dark steakhouse atmosphere. Corrientes 348 is actually a decent option as well. Happy Hour Menu. Nice open bar/restaurant and they have a patio, although I've never sat on it. Only issue I really have with it is it's usually pretty empty, so bring your own friends. Not sure how long it's going to hang on. And as mentioned above, Tortaco.
  21. Looking for the specifics on the Boulevardie deal brought me to this, which I figure is worth sharing for a few more oyster hh options: https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/craving-oysters-try-these-seven-half-shell-happy-hours-in-dfw-8185812
  22. The best meal we had was at Le Lapin Saute. We were there during winter so a very different (and cold) experience.
  23. Picked up 3 racks of baby backs from Costco yesterday. Planning to smoke them this weekend, and I must admit that I'm pretty much a n00b. I've watched the Franklin videos and some others. Seems easy enough, but I have some pretty basic questions. 1. When do you place/fill the water pan? I plan to start the fire, place the heat deflector, place and fill the water pan, place the grills, and then close and work on getting to correct temp. Any issues with that plan? 2. Is it important to keep the racks full size, or can I cut in half in order to fit them easier? I don't think this will be an issue after the small amount of trimming discussed in the Franklin video, but just in case. 3. Franklin does his spare ribs at 275, which seems higher than the 225 - 250 consensus. He also seems to do more of a 2-2 and doesn't put them back on "naked" after being in foil. Guess this isn't much of a question. My plan is to do the 3-2-1. 4. Nobody seems to care about the temperature of the ribs themselves as far as knowing when they're done. Just make sure they're progressing and feel nice when you think they're done? Any other first time pointers welcomed. I do plan to protect the ends with foil as suggested by solamonte73.
  24. Sadly had a last minute work trip come up. Anybody want a Purapecha reservation for 2 at 6 pm tomorrow, 7/12? I plan To call at 2 today to cancel if I don’t have a taker.
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