Posted: January 30th, 2006 | Author: edward | Filed under: Better in Tennessee, out of doughnuts ramblings | No Comments »
One of the better bloggers I’ve come across recently is not some “web 2.0″ writer or some bullshit tech expert. It’s a woman named Tamara from my home town of Knoxville TN and I’m really enjoying her posts. On of my favorites is Boomsticks: The Once and Future Pistol where she eloquently discusses Springfield Armory’s Professional 1911. According to her this is the latest and greatest incarnation of the well known “forty-five”. I won’t go into more details since you should really just read her writing, it’s worth it even if you aren’t interested in guns.
Reading her description appeals to my interest in finely crafted mechanical devices. I’m naturally drawn to non-electronic devices that perform some “magic” through intricate combinations of gears, springs, dials, etc… (anyone who has seen my affection for chronometers is already aware of this). So when I read her praises of this hand made precision pistol, I can’t help but appreciate it. Just look at that cross-drilled trigger!! It reminds me of racing rotors on a car! And it’s coated in teflon, mmm… teflon…
Posted: March 27th, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Better in Tennessee | No Comments »
On my way back from Tahoe on Hwy 88 yesterday I stopped by an Albertson’s grocery out near Jackson. The area reminded me of East Tenn, it’s got rolling green hills and farmland. It doesn’t have those huge homes that Knoxville has now, rather it looks like the scenery driving from Knoxville to Kingsport.
Anyways, we swung into the grocery store to grab some Funyuns and Cheese Balls (I like to eat junk after a day in the snow). It was in the check out line that I noticed a couple of things.
1) The groceries were cheaper than in the SF Bay area. This is one of those things about CA that they never tell you about. Groceries are more expensive here than in TN. Just one of the things you’ll notice the first time you try to buy some Oreos.
2) The lady working the register was pleasant and we had a short nice chat the way folks do back in TN. That’s another thing you don’t get so much in the densely populated areas of CA. People for whatever reason just ain’t so pleasant. Whether it’s the bank teller or the mail man. They just don’t talk. They don’t even say ‘hello’.
I think perhaps some of it is the drawback of the incredibly diverse area. On the plus side, you get a lot of variety when it comes to restuarants. On the negative, folks just don’t always have a lot in common and there are just so many people that I think it just encourages people to keep to themselves and be guarded.
Yep, all it takes is a visit to a grocery store in a small California town to remind you a little of what you gave up in moving from good ol’ Tennessee.
ps – one thing that used to be on my list of things that was better in TN was the donuts. But in the past few years Krispy Kreme has really moved into Northern California, so I’m good there.
Posted: March 27th, 2005 | Author: | Filed under: Better in Tennessee | No Comments »
Back home, there’s a few mexican resturants called La Carreta all in the tri-cities region of the TN. They have this dish they call Chicken Nachos which is probably my favorite thing in the world to eat.
Seriously.
If you haven’t tried it, here’s what I recommend: Order it with a side of mexican rice. Then when you get pick at it for a while and then just dump the rice in and mix it all up. It’s phenomenal.
Man, I wish I could have some right now, but it’s about 2500 miles away. Nuts.
There are more mexican restuarants here than I can shake a stick at but I haven’t found one that makes something like it.