Category: blogging

Katie’s Party

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

I went to Katie’s party on Saturday night and I had a good time — it was just what I needed after moving things all day (I helped Leia move in the morning and my new roommate Mike move in the afternoon).

Katie lives in a large house in Highland Park — she doesn’t own the house, but she’s staying there to fulfill some insurance requirements for one of her friends (somone had to stay in the house, apparently).

Each room was decorated in a theme based on a country. For instance, the foryer had a Japanese theme (complete with a giant kimono encased in glass hanging on the wall). That room scared me a bit, but some of the other rooms were more tasteful. As I headed out for the evening, Katie suggested that I blog about the food. Sure, I can accommodate that :).

I first had some mini double-chocolate Oreos. Yeah, both the cookie and the creme-filling were chocolate. Don’t get me wrong — I’m a a chocolate nut, but chocolate-filled Oreos didn’t quite have the same creamy essence as the original vanilla creme. Perhaps if the filling was dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate, they might be even better.

There were also some iced sugar cookies. Yeah these were the regular sugar cookies with thick pink icing that you can find at any grocery store. But, they were very tasty (as always). I think I had two of these.

In the freezer were some Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches (the small kind). These were obviously fresh from the creamery, as the cookie was still crisp. I didn’t mind that, though I suppose I’m more used to having ice cream sandwiches with more of a soggy cookie. Fresh ice cream sandwiches have more of a crisp cookie because the cookie is completely dry and crisp when ice cream sandwiches are made (like a graham cracker). But, over time, it absorbs some of the moisture from the ice cream and softens. (I learned all this from Unwrapped on the Food Network.)

This party was well-stocked with snacks. It’s not often that you’re offered iced sugar cookies, and you can’t go wrong with ice cream sandwiches either. It seems that the major snack-categories were all covered. Snackarific.

Migrating Movable Type?

Ashley Bischoff3 Comments

So, I’ve been thinking about web hosting since my current host doesn’t offer me quite enough space on my current plan (100 MB but just $5/month). There were several suggestions in the comments and my choice is becoming harder (or even whether I should switch at all).

Supposing that I choose to go with a new web host, I’d have to move my data over. Moving the static bits (such as my portfolio) is easy and even moving Gallery shouldn't be that hard (since their FAQ specifically addresses how to migrate Gallery).

However, I’m having some trouble finding solid information on migrating Movable Type to another host. Sure, I could just export & import the entries, but I think I’d lose my comments that way. The Movable Type documentation addresses some troubleshooting issues when moving servers, but doesn’t seem to describe the move itself :-/. And their support forum has a few posts about moving servers but they’re hardly the definitive answers that I was hoping for.

In any case, if you’ve moved Movable Type from one server to another (entries, comments, and all), please let me know.

DFWBlogs Cocktail Event – June

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

The DFWBlogs Cocktail Event was held at The Meridian Room this month. And, though The Meridian Room’s source code is slightly atrocious (generated by Dreamweaver), I like their site design — the photographs scattered throughout are better than I would expect for this type of site.

Of course, their full menu and drinks list are online. Earlier in the day, I selected the Bleu Cheese Burger along with Spaten Franziskener (on draught!). Unfortunately, upon arriving, I realized that their website was out of date since I couldn’t find the Spaten on the paper menu. So, I ordered my burger and went with a Newcastle instead.

The burger arrived shortly, along with a heaping portion of fries. All of it was steaming and very hot (a good sign, for sure). I added a dab of ketchup to the burger (as usual) but, after tasting the fries, decided that they only needed a dash of salt & pepper.

The burger itself was above par and very good. It’s likely among the top five burgers I’ve had here in Dallas. The blue cheese wasn’t just sprinked on top, but melted — so, it must have been added while still on the grill. Melted or otherwise, they probably could have fit more blue cheese on there. I would have preferred just a touch more (that is to say, as much blue cheese could be crammed on there).

The only letdown with the burger was the bun. The menu listed it as a honey-wheat bun and I could taste the honey and the wheat (no surprise there). But, the bun was not only a bit tall — the top bun may have even been a little taller than the 1/2 lb patty — but the honey flavor was too intense such that the bun resembled a distant cousin of a Cinnabon. The bun wasn’t super-sweet, but it was more sweet than it should have been.

The shoestring fries — presented in a heaping pile next to the burger — were great. Too often, other restaurants overcook their fries into hard sticks; but these were pleasantly pliable. They were steaming and still moist with oil, so they absorbed the salt & pepper easily. Fries don’t get much better than this, and they were probably the best fries I’ve had in Dallas.

The service at The Meridian Room was also very good. Not a moment after finishing a glass, a server appeared and asked whether I would like another beverage. With such attentive service, I had three beers there (I more often go through two beers at other Cocktail Events). Rest assused, I tipped them well for such service.

From when I first saw their quaint website, I had a good feeling about The Meridian Room. And, it didn’t let me down. I had a good time, and I would look forward to going there again.

DFWBlogs Cocktail Event – February

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

The DFWBlogs Cocktail Event was held this evening at The Cavern down on Lower Greenville. Their namesake is apt — it’s just like a dungeon cavern in there.

It was dark, but pleasantly so. They had scattered accent-lighting made up of colored (but shade-less) light bulbs. I saw their intention, but they ended up being a bit bright at times (in the same way that car headlights in your eyes can be bright without illuminating the general area). It would have made a great level for Doom (really).

Interestingly enough, they had no beers on tap (just by-the-bottle). Of the dozen-or-so beers on display behind the bar, I recognized many of them and it was a bit hard to decide. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with Newcastle, but Boddingtons also caught my eye. I recalled seeing it on RateBeer.com’s Top Accessible Beers list (and a quick tap-tap to the mirrored version in my Palm confirmed that it was on the list).

For a moment, I was leaning towards ordering the Boddingtons, but I hesitated and went with the Newcastle instead. When trying new beers, especially ones that might be more expensive than average, I prefer to buy some at a store for drinking at home — that way, I get much better value (even an $8 six-pack is still better value than paying $4/each for two beers).