Month: January 2003

Dallas Bans Smoking in Restaurants

Ashley Bischoff17 Comments

Dallas city council members have voted 10-3 to ban smoking in restaurants, effective March 1:

City leaders snuffed out smoking in restaurants today, passing an ordinance that exempts stand-alone bars, pool halls and tobacco shops that have separate areas for smoking.

The ban approved 10-3 by city council members also bans smoking in various public places, including hotel bars and lobbies, country clubs, bingo halls, hospitals, libraries, schools and transit system vehicles. Many of those places already ban smoking or had areas restricted by the city. […]

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I think it’s pleasant that I might be able to better enjoy restaurants without smoke, but I don’t think it was the right decision for the government to dictate that.

SS American Star – Ghost Ship

Ashley Bischoff29 Comments

The SS American Star was grounded off the west coast of Fuerteventura in 1994, and has been rotting there since. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the site, but it’s a surreal view of a deteriorating corpse of a ship.

The pictures fascinate me, but I just don’t know why. Perhaps it’s the nature of destruction that wouldn’t normally be seen with a ship that size (somewhat like the curiosity in seeing the Enterprise crash-landed into a planet, I suppose).

(Link from MetaFilter)

Rapper’s Delight

Ashley Bischoff4 Comments

I was listening to the Classic Rap channel on Sirius Radio (live audio feed here) yesterday. Somewhat with the same idea as “classic rock”, the classic rap channel plays tracks from rap of years past.

They play artists such as Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, and old-skool Beastie Boys. So, I was listening on my way downtown, and on comes the Sugerhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”. I was rather amused by the innocence and yet genuine humor of the lyrics:

Have you ever went over a friends house to eat
and the food just ain’t no good?
I mean, the macaroni’s soggy the peas are mushed
and the chicken tastes like wood.
So you try to play it off like you think you can
by sayin that you’re full.
And then your friend says “Momma, he’s just being polite
He ain’t finished. Uh uh, that’s bull”.
So your heart starts pumpin and you think of a lie
and you say that you already ate
and your friend says “Man, there’s plenty of food
so you pile some more on your plate”.
While the stinky food’s steamin’, your mind starts to dreamin’
of the moment that it’s time to leave.
And then you look at your plate and your chickens slowly rottin’
into something that looks like cheese.
Oh, so you say “That’s it, I got to leave this place.
I don’t care what these people think.
I’m just sittin here makin myself nauseous
with this ugly food that stinks.”
So you bust out the door while it’s still closed
still sick from the food you ate
and then you run to the store for quick relief
from a bottle of Kaopectate […]

I had heard parts of the song before from movies, but never before in full (what a treat). And, I’m even more amused just trying to imagine someone like Puff Daddy signing lyrics like those today ;).

Eight Minute Dating

Ashley Bischoff10 Comments

I went to 8 Minute Dating last night, which was held at the Cape Buffalo Grill (a couple exits up the Tollway North). The idea is that eight guys and eight girls each have eight 8-minute dates (four dates, an intermission, and four more dates). At the end of the night, each person writes down who he/she would like to see again and, if there’s a match, they’re e-mailed each other’s contact info.

I first heard about 8 Minute Dating from a segment on Fox News. I was at the gym and I just happened to see it one one of the overhead tvs. I thought it sounded like fun, so I decided to give it a try (I had heard about speed dating before, but I wasn’t aware of any in Dallas until now). A few clicks and $28 later, I had a spot.

I didn’t really know what to expect, going into it. This group was for people 25-35 (with me falling at the bottom end of that). Most of the dates were very pleasant, though a couple girls were around 30 (a bit old for me) and there was this one crazy girl that couldn’t stop talking about NASCAR ;).

The site guarantees that each person will find someone that he/she would like to see again. As it turns out, there was someone that interested me, though I haven’t heard if she has picked me as well.

Update: Nope, no matches. Maybe next time.