Pluckers - 3rd visit

Went to Pluckers this afternoon for lunch with my kids. We decided to try the all-you-can-eat option which is only available on Mondays and after looking at the website is only every other Monday. Anyway, I decided the all-eat may end up being a better deal. I may have mentioned the "buffet" in my previous post but now the price of 20 wings is like $19.99 and the "buffet" is $18.00 for a many as you can eat which could be ten wings or fifty wings.

After receiving our food and me diving right in (I was starving as I anticipated eating here all morning), I kept a count of all the wings I put away. Turns out that the starting tray for the buffet starts with twenty wings. I ate all twenty and the waitress asked if I wanted her to start on my second flavor tray of wings. I told her that I was going to wait a little bit — I was going to quit like the wimp I was because I figured that I already got my monies worth.

About ten minutes passed and my kids were dying out on their own progress. They had such high hopes at doing some serious damage. However, they didn't do too badly and ended up with putting away like ten wings.

The waitress came by again and asked if I was ready but I said that's I'd probably just pick off their plates instead of wasting the wings. The waitress said that she could get my kids some to-go boxes for their leftover wings. I was like, "WTF!?" If I would've known that I could take them home (which is perfectly logical versing wasting ANY of the wings), I would have put in my second tray order of wings! So my kids got their leftover wings to-go but maybe this bit of knowledge will come in handy if I decide to try the all-you-can-eat wings again. This may be a while since after eating so many wings that even just the thought of a wing made all of our stomachs curdle.

Funny thing is that I just reread my previous Pluckers post and I mentioned something about our odd waiter we had at the time. This guy was still there, still weird and still somewhat clueless. Our table was close to the front near the hostess table so I heard him ask the hostess, "How long has table [so and so] been there because they really need to go?"

Oh and also, the wait was about fifteen minutes. We went around 2 p.m. on a Monday before New Year's Eve/Day and it was busier than I expected and thought it would be.

Just in case you needed all this information.

Lunch at The Banh Shop - Dallas (SMU Blvd)

Had lunch at Banh Shop today with a close friend. It recently opened and he texted me last week to see if I wanted to try it out. After I got home from work that day, I received the restaurant flyer in the mail which made me think that was why he suggested it. The flyer contained a coupon for a free side or dessert with my sandwich or wok'd bowl purchase.

So, today was our lunch date. I mentioned the flyer and coupon to him and he said that he doesn't remember seeing a flyer but probably got it. He mentioned eating at this place because he had driven by it once or twice and realized it was new and wanted to try it out.

That's what we did. I was looking at the menu inside the restaurant and was thinking about getting a wok'd bowl. He was sure he was getting a banh mi and decided on the grilled steak. I figured I'd try the sandwich too to compare it to Rollngo since I've had three different sandwiches there.

What you see above is menu item #1 Grilled Steak Banh Mi and a side of summer rolls which were free with a coupon.

I believe I've said this before but I'm not a food tasting expert. I like what I like and that's all that I know. That being said...

The grilled steak banh mi was good. Was it better than Rollngo? I can't really say yay or nay since it's been sometime between the sandwiches I had at Rollngo and this one. What I do recall is that the bread on the Rollngo sandwiches was harder than this one from Banh Shop. Does that make one sandwich taste better than the other? I don't think so. Again, the Banh Shop sandwich was good. Was it goo enough to make me want to come back and try it again or another one? Probably not.

The summer rolls were good. I haven't had any summer rolls from Rollngo and I don't even know if they make/sell them. So, I compare them to the summer rolls at Pho Is For Lovers. I feel like the Pho summer rolls were better and the family really likes the pho at Pho so we may not ever need to go to Banh Shop as a family.

So do I recommend this place? Sure...to try especially with the free side or dessert coupon. I more than likely will visit Banh Shop again just to try one of their wok'd bowls as they looked/sounded good.

Jake's Burgers and Beer - Dallas (Skillman & NW Hwy)

A coworker and I went to eat at Jake's Hamburgers. It's not the first time we've been but it was the first time for me to order #14 The Works — described by their menu like this:

"warning" this is not a diet aid! everything in the kitchen. double meat, double cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, mayo, mustard, and ketchup.

Funny thing is when I ordered The Works, the cashier asked me if I wanted any fries or onion rings. I laughed and said that I think the burger may be more than enough to fill my belly.

The photo doesn't properly show the size of this burger but it was fairly stacked! I have had a couple of different burger styles from Jake's and they all pretty much are the same taste but with some slight variation in sauces or condiments that tweaks the flavor. The Works is basically the same as the others I've had taste-wise but for the price and the size, it was worth the try.

It may just be me but I still don't like those places that don't have a really good combo price for a burger, fries and drink. Unfortunately, I think that's the new way of doing things. My first experience with this type of a-la-carte pricing was when they opened a Twisted Root near my work. The price of the burger looks good but then you add a side of fries and a drink, then the costs becomes like $15 for ONE person to eat. That's too much damn money in my opinion especially when the burger was like $6.95.

Sorry for the tangent, back to The Works...

As mentioned, I didn't order any sides. However, my coworker had ordered some onion rings which I was allowed to partake in eating. I didn't eat many onion rings as for the first time after eating my burger, I felt very comfortably satiated and didn't want to overdo it.

So if you have the opportunity, try The Works from Jake's Hamburgers. Again, their burgers don't vary too much from one to the other: It's typically meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup. They change it up by adding Thousand Island Sauce, hickory sauce, or the like. This is just a pretty good-sized burger, tasty and priced well.

Kicker HP402B CUSH Full-Size Headphones, Black

I got an email deal alert from Rakuten.com. It had the Kicker HP402B CUSH full-size headphones (black or white, I purchased black) on sale for $29.99 with free shipping. I don't need another damn pair of headphones but I just couldn't resist. I did some Googling and a lot of the reviews were positive. They all essentially said that they are pretty damn good for the price. The prices I've seen them for and others have quoted in their reviews are around $80-$100. Amazon had them for $79.95 at the time I purchased. In the Rakuten deal, they had them for $30 off with the free shipping making them $29.99. I figured it was a good deal to try them out like the many others I've done for a lot less (see here, here and here).

The free shipping made delivery on these about a week——I ordered in the late evening on a Wednesday and got them at my door via USPS a week later on Thursday. I think that's pretty good for free, standard shipping. Plus, I wasn't in any hurry to receive them so I didn't need to pay for any faster shipping.

I didn't know what to expect. I know of the Kicker brand for like boom boxes and shit like that for car audio but didn't know if it was the same brand. After receiving the headphones, it looks like the Kicker logo on them is the same that I've seen on the car audio products. Here nor there, I really didn't care what brand they are just as long as they performed well.

So, first some photos:

So far I've listened to music and watched movies on my iPad as well as watched movies on my desktop PC. I've found the sound to be pretty darn good! The bass is pretty good and sounds fairly deep. The treble isn't bad either and it doesn't effect my ears like some ear buds do — sometimes I get a static, scratchy sound in my inner ear which I think comes from too much treble.

The ear muffs are pretty comfy. They're soft and create a good seal. I tested the sound leakage with my youngest. I was listening to music fairly loud on my iPad and my youngest was up on the stairs about twenty feet away and six feet up. My youngest said the music could not be heard but coming down the stairs and closer to me, the music could start to barely be heard. When my youngest was right upon me, the music was a little louder but still pretty muffled. When I took the muffs off my head, the music could be heard pretty loud and clear. That was pretty cool.

I listened for a few hours before my ears started to get a little hot and irritated. I think that's probably because a few times I laid on my side to listen and one ear muff could push up from the pillow to be tighter on my ear. I think if I was just wearing them while walking around or something that the comfort would be much longer.

Overall, I really like these Kicker CUSH headphones so far. They sound good. They feel good. And I got them for a heck of a deal. I think they have some newer versions but you really can't go wrong with this model.

Enemy (2013), Hours (2013)

Enemy (2013). This movie was kind of weird and kind of slow. It gave me this eerie Donnie Darko vibe in the sense like it was a meaningless, pointless movie that just dragged on but the viewer hoped there would be a time when the light bulb went off and they'd be like, "AHA! That's what it's about!" That shit never happened with this movie either.

I don't know why Jake Gyllenhall picks to do movies like this. Does he think they're artsy or something? Who knows. I can only think that other watchers, viewers and fans of Jake were constantly saying, "WTF! This movie is confusing the shit out of me!"

Really the movie made me feel like I was sick. You know like that feeling that you want to get up and do something but the flu, fever or whatever has you so jacked up that you just want to sit because you get dizzy and decide to just vegetate? I don't know I just can't explain it well enough.

Melanie Laurent plays Gyllenhall's character's girlfriend. They have some kind of weird relationship like she wants more but he doesn't or he wants more but she doesn't. They screw and she doesn't like to stay over. I don't know the premise or reasoning behind any of it and I don't think it's explained. She's kind of hot but their sex is boring...maybe that's where the story lies. I very well could have just not paid close enough attention. Again, who knows.

Sarah Gadon plays the other Gyllenhall's wife. She's kind of hot too. She's pregnant. They show her naked. I don't think their relationship is good.

I think the movie may be about having a doppelganger and thinking that their life is better than yours for everyone involved. The men switch lives and the women both know or eventually find out that their man is not their man but he looks like their man but he treats her different and that's the telling factor.

Anyway, I guess I could re-watch it pay closer attention but it just wasn't that intriguing to begin with so it may never happen.

Overall verdict: I would say rent something else. I just wasn't feeling this movie but again, I watch movies somewhat distracted because I'm doing usually doing something else while watching.

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Hours (2013). This movie was somewhat intense. It's pretty much a one-character movie—Paul Walker's. There are some filler characters to help maintain interest or to help build the story but if the movie was 100 minutes long, I'd say that 90 minutes was just Paul Walker's character and his newborn daughter.

My first thought was that there was no way that the hospital's policy would be to basically say, "Oh well, sorry your baby's in an incubator and it's an archaic one at that but your newborn's probably going to die." Isn't that anti-Hippocratic oath? Also, surely there would have been some nurse or doctor who had the huevos to stay and make sure the newborn baby had every chance it could to live.

Anyway, it wasn't a bad movie. It had a lot of 'oh shit' moments where one thing gets 'fixed' and another thing goes wrong. This added to the intenseness and sort of teetered the line between 'that could happen' and 'that's bullshit'.

Overall verdict: I would say rent it from Redbox for $1.50 or stream for free. It has some good parts.

The Amazing Spiderman 2, Transcendence, Rage, Noah, Bad Words, Sabotage, Divergent, Bad Johnson

The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014). I saw this back in May at the Galaxy Drive-in. I didn't write anything back then because the post was about the drive-in. So, the movie finally came out on DVD and I rented it from Redbox.

So, the movie is pretty good. It's full of action, excitement, laughs, cries (crying) and quite a few how-the-hell-does-that-happen/work moments. Let's start off with the crying. Spiderman cries more than ANYONE else in the movie. If we break the movie into eight equal parts of say fifteen minutes each, you can say that Spiderman cries at least two to three minutes in each of those parts. Andrew Garfield should win (if he didn't already) best on-screen male crier.

I remember them making a big deal about how many villians would be in the movie. What they didn't explain is that just because they have three minutes of screen time doesn't mean they are actually "in the movie." For instance, Rhino isn't actually Rhino or in Rhino uniform until the last few minutes of the movie. Green Goblin is in the movie for about two to three times the length of Rhino.

I also have the usual gripes like: How did Harry learn to use the Goblin's sled/glider with such expertise without "training?" How did Harry know the Goblin suit would keep him from dying and how the heck DID it keep him from dying? How did Harry's family disease attack him so quickly at a young age but his father was old and wrinkly before it happened? Why can't Gwen stay out of the way like Peter told her to...I mean he's getting his ass kicked so what the hell does she really think she can do besides die? Why doesn't Peter Parker know about electric current or almost everything scientific since he's supposed to be a nerdy guy anyway...like why did he have to look up YouTube videos on electricity? Where's Spidey's spider sense? I could go on and on but I won't.

It's a good movie to watch if for just the pure entertainment value.

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Transcendence (2014). This movie had an interesting concept but with poor execution. The interpretation or OVER-interpretation led it astray. Johnny Depp's character is dying. His mind is miraculously digitized to where he's basically the same person but he's inside a computer. He's able repair people's organs dying from cancer or whatever. He's also able to 'grow' appendages that people have lost. He does this by "infecting" them which allows him to also control them if need be...which he does. I guess there are all these nanobots/bytes/things which he can control. I guess wirelessly since they aren't connected to him directly.

Where it gets really dicey and dumb is when he's able to destroy matter such as land and people. It doesn't matter how much control he has of the digital world. Sand, dirt, brick, and whatever else is not digital so it cannot be destroyed.

Anyway, I watched the movie some time ago and I don't recall all the specifics. I would not recommend this movie as you could probably just watch Tron or Virtuosity to get the same gist of this move.

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Rage (2014). Reading the synopsis of this movie made me think this could be a story about the way I feel sometimes: to be a part of the world, I have to keep my rage in check.

It wasn't one of Cage's best movies but I didn't think it was one of his worst. It's kind of low key. He's still kind of the hidden bad ass and still has that funky hairdo (but what else can he do with a receding hairline and thinning hair?).

It didn't end like I thought it would because most of these types of story lines don't end the way this one did. Hopefully that makes sense.

If someone you know already has the movie rented/bought, it would be okay to watch it. It may even be worth a $1-something from Redbox.

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Noah (2014). So, if you think about this movie being about the biblical story of Noah, then you'd be wrong but also partly right. There is a character named Noah and he builds an ark. Animals board. A flood comes. The waters recede and land is found. The End. There is some other extraneous bullshit that happens in between and during those scenes but they're pretty much needless. Probably to make the movie more interesting but it didn't do it for me. It just pissed me off.

One reason for my pissedness: Noah and his family are supposed to be pretty God-fearing. His youngest son is a disobedient little horny fucker and should have been left to be washed away in the flood. All he's thinking about is how he needs a woman/mate—I mean what man wouldn't need a vagina of his own if stuck on a boat for 40 days and 40 nights?! Noah goes to look for one for his son but they are all already whores or damaged goods because of their stupid family. Son ventures out on his own when he's told not to. Son causes all kinds of trouble before the death flood comes.

Another reason is the "king" of the scabby people is able to hang on to the outside of the ark when the huge ass waves of flash flooding came. I mean these waves tore down deep-rooted trees with ease but this wounded old man was able to hang on to the ark with no problem. In fact, he was able to chop through the side of the ark in record time to create a hole big enough for him to fit through and enter the ark unbeknownst to Noah and his family. Also, this hole was big enough to fit this guy through but not a bit of water got into the ark during the flood or while the ark floated adrift. This hole was not a the top of the ark either. It had to have been at least halfway or lower.

Once again, we return to the unruly son. He finds the king of the scabbies and does not report his findings to Noah. In fact, he feeds and nourishes this man. The man also kills some of the animals to nourish himself...which If I'm not mistaken, messes up the whole two of every animal story. If he ate at least one, then there is no longer an even number of two!

Anyway, the movie really has no sustenance. It has nothing to capture the viewers attention other than maybe wanting to see that little fucking son of Noah's get shit on by every freaking animal on the ark! I only watched the movie to say that I completed it, which I've done with many movies before this one. A friend of mine tried to watch this movie 4-5 different times and never could finish it.

So to summarize, pass on this movie. It's slow, boring, meaningless, unbelievable and...and...just any other negative word you want to use. Save your time and money and watch something else.

But positives of the movie, Jennifer Connelly still looked hot no matter what drab clothing she's wearing. Oh yeah, and Emma Watson didn't look too shabby either.

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Bad Words (2013). This movie was pretty hilarious in a very simplistic way. The plot twist was actually pretty good too. You think it's about one thing and then you realize that it's about another. The interactions between Jason Bateman's character and Rohan Chand's (the India boy) are pretty funny. I laughed a lot. The dialogue was also funny between Bateman and Kathryn Hahn's character.

I went in to this movie thinking it might suck. For me, it turned out to be worth my $1+ at Redbox.

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Sabotage (2014). I know. I know. I was thinking the same thing, "Another Schwarzenegger is a bad ass movie?" But you know, it really wasn't that terrible.

The plot was very similar to many of his (or other's movies). Bad ass military unit does things that others can't or won't and Arnold is the leader. They do a job. Something goes wrong. The close-knit group has doubts about each other and each member points the finger at who may be to blame. Near the end you could sort of figure out the plot/ending.

It has the same problems as other shooting movies like unlimited ammo or near-perfect marksman all of sudden become shitty shooters but it was still a decent action-thriller.

The movie had some fairly known actors like Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard, Max Martini, and Mireille Enos but their acting occasionally seemed amateurish.

Overall, for a buck and change, it's tolerable enough to watch.

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Divergent (2014). I knew nothing about this movie other than what I briefly read when I Google it some months ago. I thought about getting the books on my Kindle but knew I'd probably never get around to reading one much less all of them. Maybe someday. Okay, probably not.

Anyway, this movie seems very Hunger Games mixed with Harry Potter. There are different factions and a test decides which "house" each kid/teenager can join. Each house/faction has a specific role and kids are trained in those roles. If they suck at it, they can't go back home...they can't go to another faction...so they are pretty much dirt fodder and must fend for themselves basically in exile.

Occasionally there are those people who are different and they're called Divergent...and that's Shailene Woodley which I recall seeing her in The Spectacular Now. Anyway, Shailene's character is this movie's Harry or Katniss.

I guess the movie was interesting enough. I guess it has a pretty good following since there seems to be a second book/movie and then a part 1 & 2 of a third book? Seems just like Hunger Games and Twilight, huh?

I wasn't disappointed in watching this movie but I also wasn't wowed by it. Maybe the books are better and so you can pass on the movie. Let me know as I'll probably just watch the movies.

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Bad Johnson (2014). Can a movie find success or even just survive on a pretty face and good physique? This is a good example of "hell to the no!" This movie 'stars' Cam Gigandet who I remember from playing James in Twilight and just barely remember he was in Burlesque. Which again shows you that this movie really didn't have a chance if little-known Cam was the headliner.

I never even heard of this movie and I saw it on the movie list at Redbox.com. I clicked on it to watch the trailer and it sort of captured my interest. I waited a few days as other movies seemed more interesting at the time. I got an email/text from Redbox with a free rental code. I had already seen the movies I actually wanted to see so I thought, "What the hey, I'll get Bad Johnson."

The movie started out alright enough. It had it's moments of funny to very funny but it began to taper off fairly quickly and I almost felt like I couldn't watch anymore around the midpoint. I endured and it ended just as I expected/predicted. Which isn't a huge deal with comedies but when the comedic value dwindles, it tends to be tedious and boring and I can no longer overlook the predictable.

If you want to see Cam's naked abs and occasional bare ass, you can do it cheaper and quicker by searching on the Internet. If you still want to see this movie, I'd recommend you watch the trailer, read the synopsis and you would have basically watched the movie.

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Jerry's Wood-Fired Dogs - Dallas (Gaston Ave)

Chicago Dog w/side of onion rings

As the image label says, this is the Chicago Dog with a side of onion rings from Jerry's Dogs. It's their "signature dog" (which I found no place on their site which describes their dogs' taste, flavoring, ingredients, etc.) garnished with mustard, bright green relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle spear, sport peppers, celery salt, poppy seed bun.

My receipt itemized like this:

• $4.00 —— Chicago Dog
• $3.75 —— Make it a Jerry's combo
• $1.00 —— Add onion rings
• $2.00 —— Subtract a coupon
• $0.58 —— Tax
• -------------------------------
• $7.31 —— Total cost

Here is my take: The hot dog was nothing memorable. It lacked any kind of long-lasting flavor. You may get some flavor in the initial bite, just barely, but then nothing big enough to sustain and make someone go, "Hm, that's a good hot dog!"

I tasted the fillings/toppings more than the dog. I could taste the relish, onions, tomatoes and mustard. In fact, it could be a mustard, onion, relish dog because that's almost all that I tasted.

I did take a bite of just the dog to see if it had any kind of flavor. I guess it did, just barely. Truth be told I've had more flavor grilling my own Oscar Mayer or Hebrew National hot dog than what this dog gave me. And even a store-bought Johnsonville Beer Bratwursts tastes way better than this Chicago Dog and a pack of five only costs me around $5.99

So, that's it. I won't be returning to get any more dogs from Jerry's Dogs. I did see that they also had burgers and may return to try one of those if the many other closer places to me are closed for business or something.

Bar Ashwood Kitchen or Ashwood Bar Kitchen - Dallas (Greenville Ave)

I can't tell for sure how the name of this restaurant, bar, and/or kitchen should be said from the logo. I guess the biggest word is the official name but I don't want to presume.

Anyway, I read an article (here while it lasts) today and it reminded me that I actually ate there. So, here's my take...

A friend and I went to Ashwood on Friday August 15. She mentioned that it used to be Bonchon. I never ate at Bonchon but we decided to try Ashwood. It was around 12:30 on a Friday. The place was empty except for the 6 or 7 waitstaff standing around, a buslady, a bartender, 1-2 managers (couldn't tell for sure) and a hostess. The inside reminded me a lot like The Nodding Donkey. I asked our waiter how long they've been open and he said a week. I guess he meant for training as well since the article says it opened on Thursday August 14.

I ordered the Black & Bleu with a side of onion rings. My friend ordered the Cowboy Burger with a side of fries. She thought the Cowboy Burger was good enough but wasn't wowed by it. The Black & Bleu was okay as well but the bleu was way too runny. I felt like it came out of a bottle like a salad dressing. I bit into the burger and it all squirted out on my plate so then it became just The Black. I guess that's why they called it bleu SAUCE. It tasted good enough but dipping my burger into the runny cheese to have it with my burger was not ideal. The onion rings were large, well deep fried and crispy without the spicy or peppery flavoring other places use which was a plus as I do not prefer the peppery flavoring. The fries were laughable, bigger than Smashburger's but less tasty and overall less appealing. If it were my restaurant, I'd be embarrassed to serve those. Visually, they kind of looked like boiled and browned earth worms. HONESTLY!

My total bill with a soda was $12.99 and I tipped $3.01 even though our waiter really didn't do much...think of Genghis Grill "waitstaff." And it's an OCD thing to have to end in $.00. It makes the checking register easier to balance.

All in all, the burger and rings weren't bad but Digg's Taco Shop makes a pretty tasty Hamburguesa for $5.50 and it's much closer to my work. Add a side of okay-but-better-than-Ashwood fries for around $2.00 more.

Funny thing is the tab cleared my bank as Bonchon. They probably will want to change that if they last longer than a few months.

Soundlogic DJ Headphones with Mic (DJM 8/5894)

A couple of weeks or so ago, I purchased the Soundlogic DJ Headphones w/mic (DJM 8/5984) from PulseTV via Rakuten.com (formerly known as Buy.com). They were regularly $79.99 but were on sale for $15.99 with free shipping.

I already have a couple over-the-ear headphones from different companies. One is noise-cancelling from Amp'd Mobile and the other is Skull Candy's 2XL. I like the Amp'd over the Skull Candy strictly because of the "basicness" of the Skull Candy headphones but that's really why I bought them. I'm complaining about the Skull Candys because I thought I'd try them out since they were on major sale at like $7.99 versus $59.99. I wanted a kind of "throw away" headphone for rough and tough use at a low, low cost.

Anyway, back to these Soundlogic headphones...

Just looking at the headphones, they look pretty good. I liked the black and red combination. The cord is connected to one earphone (like my Amp'd but not Skull Candy). The cord does have an in-line microphone but I don't use it as that's not the reason I purchased. I just wanted it for audio.

Upon closer inspection, they feel pretty cheaply made. They are a light-weight plastic. I've used them about ten times for about two hours each and they seem sturdy enough. I haven't really thrown them around or anything but I have dropped them from about three feet and they didn't break.

I guess these are call over-the-ear but they feel more like on-the-ear. I don't have a big head at all but they feel like they are maybe outlining my ears. The pads aren't huge and I asked my wife if she could hear what I was listening to. She said a little yes. They muffs aren't the softest but that are comfortable enough for maybe two hours or so — I haven't really used them longer than that. They aren't as cushioned and they are more of a vinyl material. I do know that I felt like my Amp'd Mobiles are more comfortable than these Soundlogics.

I'm not an audiophile and I'm not sure audiophiles are really as "expert" as they say when it comes to headphones. You can only get so much sound from headphones and it really becomes the personal preference of the individual listener versus an overall general experience for everyone. I didn't find any problems with the sound from these headphones. There was enough bass and treble for my preference while watching a movie. I haven't really used for long periods of time just to listen to music other than the day I opened them. At that time, they sounded just fine but again I didn't pay too much attention than just to see how they initially sounded. I was just testing for suck or don't suck and they didn't suck. Maybe I'll try them again for music and pay more attention for updating this review.

They work. They sound good for my tastes. So, for $7.99 I can't really complain.

Need for Speed (2014)

Need for Speed (2014). Saw this movie today. I went into it with low expectations as when I saw the previews, it really just looked like a different version of The Fast & The Furious. I'm not a huge fan of ALL of the movies of TF&TF but I figured if the movie was anywhere close to one of them or above Tokyo Drift then it wasn't too bad of a movie.

The storyline wasn't necessarily weak as much as it was been-there-done-that. Taking into consideration that the movie is based on a game that is completely about driving and no FMV or character building, I didn't expect a grand storyline. That being said, the start of the movie was predictable to me. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I predicted that a particular character was going to die or at least get seriously injured. I was right.

Another thing that bothered me was the lack of continuity and making things as real-to-life as possible. Granted I know that many, if none, of the things in this movie would ever happened but if they did, I'd appreciate the movie makers making it as realistic as possible. Without giving too much away, the second race in the movie has three very, very fast cars that are exactly the same make, model...everything. There's a part where one of the racer cars has to slow down A LOT to avoid an accident or road hazard while one of the other racer cars just keeps on going full throttle. However, seconds later, the car that had to slow down has somehow caught back up to the car that just kept on going. Not likely!

Then there is some cross-country driving done in a one-of-a-kind Shelby Mustang which they show near the beginning of the movie was able to hit a top speed just over 230 MPH. In case you don't know, that's really fast! I guess you could look at it as that's driving half as fast as some passenger airliners fly. There's a part where they are in the canyons and the token cutie girl is driving. She's driving pretty fast but some guys are able to catch up to her in a couple of 4x4 vehicles. Yes, they are 4x4s and the other is a Shelby Mustang but on the straight-aways the Mustang would leave them in the dust. There were quite a bit of straight-aways during this chase scene but the 4x4s were ALWAYS on the tail of the Mustang. [Spoiler alert] There is a point where they are nearing a cliff. All vehicles are hauling extreme ass towards it. The Mustang is lifted to safety by straps attached to a helicopter at the last moment but the 4x4 vehicles were somehow able to not drive off the cliff.

Anyway, it was the (little) things like this which irritated me most about the movie.

The race driving is just like TF&TF. It's fast, non-stop, hair-pin turns and near death or death stunts. It seemed like it would have been an entertaining and enjoyable movie to make for the actors. I mean who wouldn't love driving fast as shit in all kinds of make and model sports cars?

The acting if you could call it that was laughable and predictable. Again, I don't think the movie took itself seriously too much but I'd imagine they spent a lot of money and would like to make it back and then some. However, this is the same I felt about some of TF&TF movies — somewhat entertaining but such a huge waste of money!

I've seen a few episodes of Breaking Bad and I think Aaron paul did a good job in those that I saw but I'm not sure why someone thought he or Imogen Poots were big enough draws to 'solo' this movie. Many of the supporting cast and their interactions were funny and many times better than the main characters'.

FINAL VERDICT: It's watchable. The driving is pretty cool to an extent but nothing not already seen a bazillion times before. The story line lacks but if you just go into it as an action rip-off of The Fast & The Furious or even closer to Cannonball Run then you should be okay. I wouldn't have paid ANY movie theater price but $1.30 at Redbox was probably a fair price.

Has Rollngo increased their prices?

I was craving me some Asian food and stopped by Rollngo on Greenville Ave last night. I wasn't really hungry but my kids would be after band camp, so I just picked up one order of the pork egg rolls (3 to an order) and two orders of their steamed dumplings (10 to an order).

I got home and took the food out of the bag and saw the itemized receipt. It showed the dumplings at $5.99. I believe I paid $4.99 when I previously wrote about visiting Rollngo. I think that was back in June.

So, just like I expected, they have already begun to increase their prices. Granted it's only a dollar but a dollar is a dollar! I also happened to notice an advertisement while standing in line to order that mentioned their banh mi sandwiches (I think) are buy-one-get-one. I didn't see the three-for-$10 advertisement but I also wasn't looking at the sandwiches to order this time around. So, it could still be offered but I just wasn't paying that much attention.

The pork egg rolls were still pretty good although they didn't put in any dipping sauce (and I forgot to check to make sure). The dumplings were pretty good too. My youngest got home from band camp that evening and ate four of them in about three minutes or less.

$5.99 for steamed dumplings puts them closer to the likes of Pei Wei or Royal Thai pricing but I think Pei Wei and Royal Thai dumplings taste much better although there are usually only four or five dumplings. I think Rollngo may have just gone-n-rolled off my lists of Asian restaurants at which to regularly dine.

Rollngo - Dallas (Greenville Ave) 3rd visit

Today I went to lunch at Rollngo again. I thought I'd try a little something different...again...this time around. I did order a couple of staple items like the pork egg rolls and the steame dumplings.

 

These are the steamed dumplings, #3 on the menu, or potstickers as called in some other parts. They taste pretty good and you get ten of them for $4.99. I actually could probably order two sets of these and consider it a full lunch item. I'm just not sure how filling even twenty of these would be for me: satisfying but maybe not satiating.

 

This is one of my banh mi sandwiches. They have a deal on sandwiches: 3 for $10. Otherwise one to two sandwiches costs $4.25 each. Once made and put in a wrapper (think of a Subway sub wrapper) the three sandwiches I got all looked the same. They wrap the sandwiches and put a sticker on the outside with a list of all the sandwich names. On this sticker, they use a sharpie to mark which sandwich it is. That's the quickest way to identify them. The other way is to open them up so you can see which meat is underneath all the veggies: primarily carrots and onions with a few slivers of cucumber and jalapeno and some pinches of cilantro. I don't like jalapenos so I removed the few slivers from each sandwich before taste testing.

 

 

I believe the three photos above represent the chicken, beef and pork sandwiches, respectively. I only ate about 1/4 to 1/2 of the sandwiches to properly taste test each one without over stuffing myself. So, on to the comments...

For all three, there is a bit of bread to bite thru/eat mainly at the ends. The fillings don't quite make it filled at the ends so the first bite or two is essentially bread. Once you get past that, it's a pretty even mix of meat, veggies and bread. The bread crust isn't too crunchy other than maybe the ends which is to be expected since there's more of a concentration of the crust there (scientific, eh?). I don't know how to properly describe the taste of the bread roll other than it's not really tasteless nor is it tasteful. I mean it's like toasting a piece of Mrs. Baird's white bread and eating it plain. It has a taste but it's not tasty. Make sense?

The veggies are just that veggies. The cucumber tastes like a raw cucumber. The carrots taste like sour (vinegar) carrots. The parsley is just garnish and doesn't really add to any of the flavoring in my opinion. I did bite some of the jalapeno in my second sandwich taste-tested because I wasn't paying attention——it was a tangy hot and I didn't like it but others might. The onions added an extra crispness and flavor. However, they aren't as abundant as the third photo above shows——my youngest had the pho and doesn't eat onions so I added them to my sandwich.

As far as the meats go,

• First, I tried the chicken banh mi or #77 banh mi ga nuong. The chicken was more tender than I expected. I don't know why I expected it to be tough or textured differently. I guess it might be because I didn't pay attention to the menu. It clearly says 'grilled' but I expected fried or battered chicken. I'm a dummy. It was pretty flavorful and I was already starving that I almost just ate the entire thing. I restrained myself and I'd definitely recommend trying it.
• I then took a few bites of the beef banh mi or #79 banh mi bo nuong. I liked it a lot. It was very flavorful. I could once again eat the whole thing but had to hold off for the last sandwich. I would recommend this one too.
• For last, I saved the pork or #78 banh mi thit nuong. I've had Vietnamese pork before in a taco and vermicelli form and typically if you've had it one place it'll taste the same/similar at another. I wasn't wrong. It was pretty tasty and it was probably the best of the three although I felt like the beef was very, very close. Like the other two, I would recommend the pork banh mi.

Now, with my very basic review, I do recommend the 3 for $10.00 deal because you get more bite for your buck. Although all the sandwiches were good and flavorful, they weren't huge sandwiches. I guess the best size comparison I could give is to a Jimmy John's sub...if you've ever seen/had one.

I originally wanted the Asian Burger but they didn't have it available this day. I was kind of bummed as it sounded like a tasty burger/sandwich. I will probably go back and try three new ones just to get it out of my system. If you want to get some that you know are good and tasty, you can go wrong with #77, #78 or #79.

East Hampton Sandwich Co. (Park Cities/Dallas, TX)

Yes, I have been to East Hampton Sandwich Co many times in the past few months. I'd have to say at least ten visits by now. It's close. It's convenient. I have a few staples that I get there with the occasional veering off to try something new like the previously posted about Lobster Roll.

This is the Fried Chicken & Jack Sandwich. I ordered this along with my wife's staple of the Cheeseburger as well as my youngest's Balsamic Tenderloin Sandwich and my oldest's Roast Chicken & Ranch Sandwich. I didn't take photos of the kids' orders because they had already dove in and chowed before I thought to take a photo.

I've had the Roast Chicken & Ranch before. I got it with the Cheeseburger on my very first visit. It was fairly tasty and the price was acceptable. My oldest tasted it at that time as well which is why it was requested for this visit. They say it's pulled chicken but it looked more shredded to me. It was moist and tasty though. I prefer beef to chicken but I wouldn't hesitate to order this if they ran out of beef.

My youngest requested the Balsamic Tenderloin because price matters not when Dad is buying although it's "only" a few more dollars than the burger. This sandwich was pretty good. It comes with a sauce, for dipping I guess, but the youngest did not use it. Overall the tenderloin was flavorful. It was moist, tender and easily bitten into for consuming. I would order again but not often since it's like $12.

The Fried Chicken was pretty darn good. It had a pretty tasty fried chicken flavor. The chicken was thick, juicy and good-sized although I was still slightly hungry after eating the entire sandwich. The cheese and bacon helped with flavoring as well as holding it together. The lettuce was okay but it was more of a distraction for me. It stuck out of the bun and I had to nibble pieces of it off before I could bite into the sandwich. I think I would prefer more of a crunchy lettuce like Iceberg to add some refreshing cool crunch but that's just me. Overall, it was a good sandwich and I will order again if the craving for it happens on my next visit.

I'd have to say that East Hampton redeemed itself with this visit after the disappointing Lobster Roll. Being that I've been there quite a few times now, I'm starting to think I'd like a side other than the chips. I could see some thick mashed potatoes in a cup that I could spread on a part of the sandwich I'm about to bite or maybe even chase the bite with a fork full of the mashed potatoes. Ummm....

East Hampton Sandwich Co. (Park Cities/Dallas, TX)

This is a photo of the Lobster Roll from East Hampton Sandwich Co. I didn't want to spend $17 on a sandwich but I figured it was time to take a chance and go for the ever-bragged about Lobster Roll since it's been my third or fourth visit. Again, I heard it was very good but the $16+ price tag was already causing me buyer's remorse without me even having it yet.

The picture I took does not look anywhere close to the picture the EHSC website has of the same entree. That's to be expected of most restaurant food photos done by the restaurant or their marketers.

Either photo doesn't properly relay the size, or rather amount of the lobster 'stuffing' inside the roll. It's not as much as it looks. You would think that the stuffing is indeed stuffed into the roll. Your thinking, as mine was, would be mistaken. I've seen this item be delivered a few times while waiting for my usual cheeseburger to-go order. I'd take a good gander as it passed to see how it looked and try to assess the amount of stuffing there was. I obviously didn't do a very good job in my assessment because I expected more. Truthfully, I expected about double of what was actually received...especially for the price. I know different 'meats' have different costs but the cheeseburger comes with two patties for about $10 and they aren't the smashed Steak-n-Shake or Smashburger patties. Even the salmon special I wrote about had more salmon in it than the lobster roll had lobster.

So, I'll try to give it a proper visual: take the roll and split it down the middle. Spread it a very little bit just enough to put a few spoonful scoops of the lobster stuffing in the roll from almost end to end. Ah! It's like a baked potato. Where the toppings are almost all piled high on top of the potato to make it look like the potato is stuffed with the toppings when in actuality it's all sitting on top of the potato. Then when you mix the toppings into the potato, it looks pretty small compared to the initial presentation. That's the lobster roll. Pushing the toppings into the roll makes the filling look pretty light.

That being said. The lobster stuffing was good. It was flavored but not overly so. I personally would have preferred it to be closer to overly so. It came with a side of butter, or butter drizzle as they list it on the menu. In my opinion, the butter drizzle added nothing to the meal. I just didn't get any kind of butter taste from it not even a hint of butter. I don't know why, maybe I'm weird and others have a different experience but that's how it was for me.

The bread roll by itself tasted good, like an actual dinner roll that you would eat by itself.

The chips are just chips. They added some crunch and texture to an otherwise soft meal.

Overall assessment of the lobster roll at EHSC: Truthfully, I still felt hungry after eating the lobster roll so I'd have to say skip it unless you don't mind paying a premium price for an unfilling amount of food. Was it good? Fairly, yes. Was it worth the cost? Definitely, no. I did not feel like I got my monies worth.

The Legend of Hercules (2014)

The Legend of Hercules (2014). I can see why this didn't do well in the theaters. I wouldn't say it was a bad movie overall. It could have been done better sure but for $1.20 from RedBox it wasn't too painful to watch. The acting could have used some more directing, inflecting or something but it wasn't unwatchable. It was the occasional horrendous digital imaging that made it laughable and would make me question spending the movie theater admission price.

Kellan Lutz shouldn't try to "act" or "speak" too much in his movies. He's got a decent face, a muscular body and that's what he should go with. Again, I think with some professional guidance, his acting could have been better. The action/fight scenes were interesting but often predictable. No fault to his acting but more of the storyline. What has Kellan really been in? There was the 3 or 4 Twilight movies where he hardly spoke. There was Immortals where he barely spoke and when he did it was laughable--although I did like the movie overall.

Scott Adkins should follow the same advice I shared for Kellan but times three. Scott's freaking ripped and looks like Supermofo! But he's purely a hardcore action actor. Have you seen Undisputed 2 & 3, Ninja I & II, Assassination Games, and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. The dude is one bad ass. His character wasn't hugely conversational in this movie but he's best speaking with his fists and feet.

I have no idea who Gaia Weiss is but I know that there was not any nudity of her in this movie! It's a freaking gladiator, Roman soldier-type movie and we know that the Romans were sexual beings! I mean not even a boob shot. I was thoroughly disappointed. [my inner 12-yr-old boy yells] 'SHOW ME THE BOOBS! SHOW ME THE BOOBS!'

It was interesting to see that Liam McIntyre was the sidekick to Hercules. Is he type cast because of his Spartacus role? I really haven't seen him in ANYTHING else but what do I know. He wasn't quite the warrior Spartacus in this movie but he did okay.

FINAL VERDICT: My overall assessment of this movie is rent it from Redbox or borrow from a friend. If you go into the movie knowing that it's kind of cheesy, you won't have too high of expectations but you will more than likely overall enjoy seeing it.

Rollngo - Dallas (Greenville Ave) 2nd visit

Had a 2^nd visit this evening to Rollngo. This time with my youngest. I liked what I had before but thought I'd try something different this time. I ordered #40—Grilled Combo Rice Platter (photo below). My youngest got #57—Beef Ball & Brisket Flank Pho Soup and #132—Hawaiian Passion Smoothie. We also shared a #1—Egg Rolls Pork and #3—Steamed Dumplings.

#40 Grilled Combo Rice Platter (Beef ribs, Chicken & Pork)

All that food for the low price of around $22. I'm not a pho snob but I thought it was pretty good. It was very similar to Pho is for Lovers so I don't know why anyone is being negative on Yelp about it. In fact, I don't think I've had any kind of pho from anywhere that has made me say, "Damn that shit is da' bomb!" However, Rollngo charged $5.99 whereas Pho is for Lovers charges $8.99. I do think the one difference is that 'Roll' has two meats while 'Pho' has three meats. Is that 3rd meat worth $3 more? Maybe, maybe not.

The Grilled Combo Rice Platter was very good. I liked it a lot. The portions were good (I could always eat more) and it was quite tasty. I wasn't too please with the veggies. I don't know if they were supposed to be cold or if they weren't heated up properly. It did seem that one or two broccoli were warm but the asparagus and carrots were cold. Maybe the veggies that were warm were so because they were by the meat and/or rice but I didn't pay too much attention as I just dove in since I was starving. I'll pay better attention next time.

The Egg Rolls Pork aren't like what most people are used to and expect...especially most White people. Yep, I'm calling them out specifically. Most people think of egg rolls as having more veggie fillings like carrots and cabbage with some meat sprinkles but if you know Vietnamese food, you'd know that Vietnamese egg rolls are mainly filled with meat. I thought they were pretty good and so did my youngest. They do have other choices for the egg rolls but we tried the pork.

The Steamed Dumplings were pretty good too. They come with a dipping sauce but they are fairly tasty without it as well.

Overall I'd say this place is pretty good for me so far especially seeing that this is my second visit. I'm sure I'll visit more times to try other dishes and the sandwiches. I heard the sandwiches were pretty good sized portions and they sell for $4.25 each or 3 for $10. I figured that I'd better get my feel of this place before they decide to increase the prices.

So, go and try it. I think you'll like it. Just don't try to be some food snobby. I can't stand people like that.

Ali Baba Mediterranean Grill Restaurant - Dallas (Lakewood)

Went to Ali Baba Mediterranean Grill Restaurant with a couple of coworkers today. It's an all-u-can-eat restaurant. I think it also has entrees but we did the buffet.

We got there around noon. It wasn't too busy. About ten minutes after we were seated then got our food and then sat again to eat, the place started to get filled. There seemed to be more large "family-type" parties showing than like business luncheons or even just two people.

Overall, the food was pretty good. I've had tasted most of the food choices before with being friends with a Greek family so I kind of knew what to expect. However, part of the problem I had was that there were no labels to describe the many different dishes available. I could kind of tell what some foods were but there were many that I just couldn't tell.

This was a nice change of foods and some good dishes to eat. I'd much rather go back more often to a BBQ or Chinese buffet restaurant. Will I go back to Ali Baba? Maybe, sure, if someone I know suggests it and it's been a while since my last visit.

Pappas BBQ - Dallas (NW Hwy near I35 )

This was my lunch today from Pappas BBQ on NW Hwy in Dallas near I35.

It's the pork trio special. It comes with two pork ribs, pork sausage and pulled pork for like $10.95. I comes with a choice of two sides which I picked the mac & cheese with large pasta shells and cole slaw.

Both sides were very good. The cole slaw was exactly like I like/prefer it. The mac & cheese was good too and my kids will love it!

As far as the meats...the sausage, pulled pork and ribs were tasty but nothing extraordinary that would put them above any other BBQ joints' offerings.

FINAL VERDICT: Would I recommend Pappas BBQ? Sure. The food wasn't bad and the price was on par with the likes of Peggy Sue's BBQ, Baker's Ribs and Sonny's BBQ.

The difference in my preference would be that my Pappa's meal was roughly $15.00. I've had the all-u-can-eat BBQ buffet at North Main BBQ in Euless for $15.00 (the price as of my last visit around a year ago).

East Hampton Sandwich Co. (Park Cities/Dallas, TX)

For Mother's Day, I thought I'd stop by a local sandwich shop that a few people have said, "It's pretty good but may be somewhat pricey." The wife is worth any expense on any day but especially Mother's Day!

The place is called East Hampton Sandwich Co. It's been around a little bit and it looks like they've got two locations. I'm closer to the one in Dallas at Snider Plaza.

As I was walking to the entrance, an elderly couple was walking to the entrance at the same time. Being the courteous man I am, I opened the door and told them to go ahead before me. I should have assessed them a little better. I saw that they were old...pretty old. I saw the lady had a cane. I did not realize HOW slow she was walking. I thought it was just because of the step up to the curb from the parking space but it was because she was SO FREAKING SLOW!! Luckily, I wasn't in any type of hurry because freshly-removed-from-freezer ice cubes would have melted by the time they got from three feet outside the door to the counter for ordering.

The entrees in the photo are half of the Cheeseburger with avocado, cured bacon ($9.58 sandwich + $1.00 for avocado & cured bacon) on the left and half of the Seasonal Salmon Sandwich Special of the day/week on the right. I don't recall the exact price of the salmon but my total bill came to like $24.00. So I'm assuming the salmon special was around $12 because adding 8.25% tax would make it almost $24.

Anyway, the cheeseburger was really good. It's two hamburger patties that were not too thick but also not too thin. The bun is tasty. The avocado was good and the three pieces of bacon were very good. It comes with a side of chips that aren't fantastic but the wife said she liked them and, for me, it adds a crunch to each bite.

The salmon sandwich was pretty good. I didn't expect the layers of salmon to be as plentiful as they were. If you look at the photo, you can see the onion between the salmon (on the bottom) and the tomato (on the top). That's a good portion of salmon and it looks just as thick as the burger patties. It came with the same chips.

Between the two, I think the burger was more flavorful. The salmon was juicy and tender but maybe not as well seasoned.

I will go back for more but next time I might try the lobster roll. I heard it's very, very good. My only hesitation is that it's like $16 and I like to make sure I get my monies worth when it comes to seafood...well, any food really. I have seen a few people in the restaurant order the lobster roll and it looks plentiful but I don't know if it was more filler or lobster. Eventually I'm sure I'll try it.

Rollngo - Dallas (Upper Greenville Ave)

A friend and neighbor of mine asked if I was available to go to lunch today. I said sure. He initially mentioned Chipotle but then asked if I'd ever been to Rollngo. I've never even heard of it. He said, "Man, we're going to Rollngo then!" I said, "I'm good for whatever" since I'm not a picky eater.

The prices at Rollngo are pretty reasonable — almost too low — which made me think the food portions must be related to price. My friend assured me that the food portions were generous. As long as they weren't really skimpy, I wouldn't mind so much for the cost around $5-$6. As I've never been, I entrusted my buddy to pick the dish to eat. He suggested #67 but with double pork versus pork and shrimp.

After we ordered, another neighbor/friend happened through the door. I went to give him a handshake and he wanted to fist bump. WTF!? We're not tweens, teens or even mid 20s. Fist bumping is not my first intuition. I'd high five you before I'd think about a fist bump...anyway, that's off topic sorry.

We waited about eight minutes to get our order even with how busy they had gotten. Seating inside is not abundant. They have these cool stainless steel bar stools that raise up and down like an office chair, if needed. However, there are only maybe a max of ten inside. They did have an outside patio but today it was too sunny, hot and humid to enjoy outside dining. My buddy said they used to have an awning but they probably lost during the crazy storm we had a week or so ago. There were two-tiered glass-top tables with chairs for outdoor seating but the thing that really was disconcerting was the little red ashtrays they had in between the tiers of glass.

TANGENT:
Why would you promote smoking at a restaurant-only in Dallas much less one that seems to have put some thought into a clean design and decor of the restaurant as well as halfway decent outdoor seating!?
END TANGENT

We got our food to go and ended up eating at the comfy, spacious dining table in his house.

Taking the food out of the to-go bag, I could see that the to-go containers had clear tops which allowed me to see the food...which looked plentiful. There was a pretty good amount of vermicelli and A LOT of pork...remember we basically got a double order of the pork. Opening the containers wafted a wonderful smell which made my mouth water. Now that could be because I was starving but it really did smell good and tasty! The meal came with what I call filler such as green onion, lettuce, bean sprout, cucumber, and carrot. I think it also included an egg roll, because we each had one, but I can't be sure since my buddy gave the order.

Overall, the food was very delicious and good portion at a pretty decent price. I will definitely go back to try other dishes or even the same. Two things that I will point out that I didn't like: (1) they didn't seem to have any fountain drinks. They had a cooler of drinks or smoothies you can buy but no dispenser for buying a cup and getting free refills and (2) the chopsticks were some of the cheapest quality I've ever eaten with. They seemed to come soft out of the package like moisture had gotten to them. They didn't stand up very well to my use of just grabbing particular foods to shovel into my mouth. It made it slightly frustrating to eat and I ended up using a fork!

Other than those two minor complaints, I think anyone would enjoy eating here or at least trying it for the price and size of the meal.

Galaxy Drive-In Theatre - Ennis, TX

I went to Galaxy Drive-In Theatre in Ennis, Texas last night with my youngest and her friend.

Galaxy Drive-In is about 37 miles, an approximate 30-45 minute drive from my place of residence in Dallas without traffic. It's right off Interstate 45. You can't miss it. Years ago, I would drive past this place to/from Palestine, Corsicana, Houston, or Galveston. I'd always think to myself, "I'm going to come see a movie here." How many years later and I can finally say that I "came here to see a movie."

Truth be told, I started looking at the Coyote Drive-In in downtown Fort Worth. It's about the same distance and time as Galaxy. It looked pretty cool on the website but the problem was that they paired two movies together that one wouldn't typically pair together (well, I wouldn't) or paired together movies people wouldn't WANT to see together. For instance, they put The Amazing Spiderman 2 with Draft Day and Rio 2 with Captain American: The Winter Soldier. How many kids, pre-teen and teen, want to see Spiderman 2 and then they have to watch a more mature movie like Draft Day...or they can leave before the second feature. Same with Rio 2. It's very pre-teen and then the follow-up is Captain America. I'm sure they'll say something like they don't choose the pairings and they are tied to what the movie people want.

However, you take a look at Galaxy Drive-In and they paired Spiderman 2 with The Winter Soldier, Spiderman 2 with Rio 2, The Quiet Ones and Oculus, etc. Their pairings match each other more. So, would they not have to follow the same rules as Coyote Drive-In? I would think so.

Anyway, we ended up seeing the pairing of Spiderman 2 and Winter Soldier. If I remember and get around to it, I'll do a brief review of those two movies in another post.

We got to the theatre a little more than 45 minutes before the first movie was listed to start. Their website recommended it and I think it was a wise recommendation. It wasn't really busy at that time. I drove right to the entry booth, paid $18 for three people, and drove to our screen.

The last time I'd been to a drive-in movie was in the very early 80s in Grapevine, Texas. I remember one showing was a horror movie called Deadly Blessing.

Galaxy Drive-In was a cool old-school way to watch a newly released movie. There was the occasional happening of some dumb asses turning on their headlights when they had to turn on their vehicle to make sure their battery didn't die. I was more thoughtful of my potential fellow movie watchers and Googled how to turn off my daytime running lights. There was also the nonfunctional speakers attached to the pole by my vehicle. We had to listen to the sound through my vehicle radio but that required me to have the vehicle running or at least in the "On" position and then occasionally turning it on to make sure the battery didn't die. I asked an employee about it and he basically said, "tough shit, you'll have to deal with it." That's not good for customer service. Granted there is an alternative way to listen but I shouldn't be required to use my vehicle when I paid for the experience of a drive-in movie.

Some people left after the first feature but we did not. Because of the change of seasons, the sun goes down later. The first feature didn't start until almost 9 p.m. when it was scheduled for 8 p.m. This in turn caused the second feature to start late and by the time it was over, we left for home around 2:00 a.m. Put that into perspective from start to finish, it was a long evening/night from 6:30 p.m. until 2:45 a.m.

Will I go back? Sure. In fact, I might do so around the end of May although this time around I may run my vehicle the entire time since the weather is getting warmer. It was actually pretty windy last night and it got cooler to the point that I'm glad I brought some fleece blankets for us all to use...especially me since I was sitting in my camping chair.

Coast HP17 13" LED Flashlight

I've typed about this before. I have an addiction. Who's kidding whom? I've got many addictions. So...

Hello, My name is Absent-Minded Jay and I am addicted to flashlights. Everyone knows about it and I'm not even ashamed of it. One never knows when you might need a good flashlight. And knowing you got a really good deal on a good flashlight, makes it even better.

I'm also addicted to getting a good...very good...deal on the stuff I buy. I'm a big fan of slickdeals.net. I believe this is where I saw my latest deal to feed my flashlight addiction.

I don't remember how much this flashlight cost (I probably hid the receipt so no one could find out that I bought ANOTHER flashlight!) but I do know that I got it for half the MSRP.

Without further adieu — please meet the

Coast HP17 13" LED Flashlight!
(tah dah!)

I took just a few pictures with my SIII camera. I tried to capture the brightness of the high and low settings but I don't think it worked very well. The first 'on' photo is high and the second is low. I think the different brightness affected the way the camera captured the light. The higher level made everything around the flashlight darker almost black. The lower level made the background show more. Neither image makes the levels look different so I'll have to try to describe.

High is pretty bright. I think the manual says it's 615 lumens. I have no way to measure. I just know that it looks pretty bright. Much, much brighter than my 100 lumens flashlight. The throw on it is pretty wide too. It can be narrowed/focused into a tighter beam but it still has a wide aura around the narrower beam. In other words, narrowing doesn't really make it a spot beam. It's more like the high beam is in the middle (smaller of course than when not narrowed) and the lower beam shines around it. Does that make sense?

Low is pretty low. It's really dimmer than I expected. I think the manual says 64 lumens. Again, I can't measure. I just know it's dim and in fact dimmer than many of my smaller pocket flashlights. I don't know why the huge difference in lumens. I would think that huge gap would be used more in a light that you can manually dim from 615 to 64 or vice versa. Not so much in a Hi/Lo switch. It's not an issue really. I truly don't know what the effect will be since I've only used this briefly in my house to look in the closet and on the small back patio. For those purposes, the high level was very bright and useful. The low level was, well, low but in that brief use, it made me think of when you are outside at night and a car's headlights drive by and you are trying to use the beam from the car headlights to see things. The headlight beam may have been useful but you may not have seen some things because the light wasn't bright enough. Does THAT make sense?

Although this probably doesn't affect one bit of the quality of their flashlights, one thing I have noticed about a few of my Coast flashlights is that they do a pretty good job with the boxing for the flashlights. The boxes are typically black and when you open them up to see the flashlight inside they are a red interior. I don't know. The box inside and out just looks pretty cool.

So, this really isn't a huge, in-depth review of the Coast HP17 13" LED Flashlight but so far it's been a good flashlight for the price. Can I recommend it for the MSRP of like $70 or more? Probably not. I wouldn't buy any flashlight for that price unless I could see shit at least a mile away with near absolute clarity. Yeah, that's asking a lot but that's me and my purchasing standards! Can you go wrong with this flashlight (especially at half off)? Probably not. It does exactly what it says although I have no way of knowing if the lumens are exact. It's a flashlight with high and low and a finger-sliding focus. It does that so where can the complaint be at this time?

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Man of Tai Chi (2013). So this movie apparently didn't get very good reviews. I can understand why. I wouldn't say it is a horrible movie. Although I don't know if this had any kind of theater release (aka not straight to DVD), I could see going to the dollar movie to see it. Or since it's now avaible via Redbox, maybe renting it from there for $1.20. However, if you already have Netflix, it's also available there but it would be a minimal charge since you already pay a flat fee for video streaming.

The movie was very Matrix-like for me. First off, Keanu Reeves looks almost the exact same as his character, Neo. He "acts" the same. Wears very similar clothes minus the sunglasses. Fights the same. However, he's the bad guy in this movie. He just wants to put on the best damn fight club he can but add in the world wide web and he can make millions off the fights.

The main character, "Tiger" Chen Lin-Hu (played by Tiger Chen is a pretty cool fighter. He's crafty, skilled and he only wants to make his teacher proud by showing how Tai Chi can be used for fighting even though his teach does not like fighting. Isn't this the typical premise of any martial arts movie? Learn a martial art, become a phenomenal master at the art, can't prove how awesome you are at it because it's not in the code, breaks the code, loses way, finds way, brings honor to their teacher (and sometimes self).

So, based on the two paragraphs above, you might be able to assess that this is basically Kickboxer, No Retreat, No Surrender, The Chinese Connection, or The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury).

Just like all the movies I watch, there are criticisms that bother me. Stuff like "that wouldn't happen" or "why not just do [whatever] instead of [whatever]." You know shit like that. Again, I know it's a movie but it doesn't mean the shit don't need to be a little more believable in the sense of how things happen.

I'm very surprised that with Keanu as the director that a little more wasn't put in to the quality of the movie. I guess maybe the budget wasn't big enough for it. Looking here, it seems there is an estimated budge of $25M which is pretty low for "good" movie standards these days but it's also interesting to note that the opening weekend only grossed around $61K. This website show the worldwide gross to date (I guess) is only $5.2M. Slightly off topic—it makes you wonder why Hollywood would even begin to blame piracy when they put out not-so-good quality movies such as this.

That being said. If you had some time to blow, this movie wouldn't be a bad one to watch. I just wouldn't go out of your way or pay too much, greater than $2, to see it.