Gets an RBI.  I’m pumped up doood!

Starts it off with a home run over the Green Monster. And its just one hit after another, Youk, Papi sac. fly, Manny, JD, and so on. Not to mention Becket’s 1, 2, 3. I’m feeling good.

When I first saw Bizzare Foods on the Travel Channel my back went up a bit. Was this guy serious? Anyone who was anyone knew that the first guy filming his travels around the world while eating bizzare food, at least in recent memory, was Anthony Bourdain in A Cook’s Tour.

This short lived series featured Tony, mostly drunk, always smoking, chomping his way from plate to plate and place to place while keeping his audience entertained with witty commentary and vignettes of his work in the kitchen. Bourdain has gone from strength to the strength, building on the sucess of A Cook’s Tour with his new show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

And then came Zimmern, looking like an unemployed cherub blatently riping off Bourdain’s concept. How dare he!

Look Zimmern, you can’t just shove every piece of fetid pigs ass and grasshopper nipple into your face and pretent you like it. No, you can’t even pretend like you’re the first guy to do it either! Damn you Fat Man!

I was angry.

And on top of it all, he just seemed so damn disingenuous, with his constant “Mmmmm”, and “Wow, this is good!” as he’d motion his head slowly and erotically up and down with approving eyes fixed at the three week old road kill marinaded in motor oil and crab penis. You can’t be serious!

His girth attests to his love of food but were the cameras editing out his retching after the chicken testicle soup? Did they cut out his desperate all out sprint through the grimy back alleys of Hanoi screaming “I WANT MY BABY BACK, BABY BACK, BABY BACK RIBS!”? Wouldn’t a broken and shaking Zimmern loosing it after learning from his producers that there isn’t a Chilis within 8000 miles have made for richer TV, higher ratings, a better show?

Maybe I kept watching in hopes of seeing this sort of break down. Maybe I wanted to see a man, so desperate for his 15 minutes of fame, snap under the pressure of forcing one last bite of pickled worm trotter.

But I kept watching. And I started to detect a bit of sincerity in the “Mmmms” and “Wows”. Again, the man has some size, he obviously loves food but could it be possible that he loves all food. Plus, even if Bourdain isn’t in the show, the concept combines two of my passions, travel and food.

Having backpacked the Pacific Rim for 4+ months with my lovely wife the show helped me relive the scents and smells of those street vendors, the din of a busy market place, the late night hustle and bustle of an outdoor food court, crowded with young people enjoying the only part of the day that isn’t stiflingly hot and settling in for some good old fashioned comfort food. On my world tour I saw roasted bat, pickled snake, skewered frogs, duck eggs (no no the ones with the cute fully developed hatchling inside), all manner of sea food, worms, and the list goes so I’m kinda familiar with the places he goes.

And then it happen.

In stunned amazement I watched Andrew Zimmern gag on a piece of stinky tofu last night. Quicker than Senator Craig can say “I did nothing inappropriate!” Zimmern shoved a fistful of napkins at his mouth to catch the eruption.

“Holy shit Kate I just saw him GAG. Wait, I think he’s going to throw up COME HERE QUICK!” I hollered to my wife from the kitchen. She didn’t know what the crap I was talking about but rushed to the kitchen to see it. “Uh, I can’t believe you watch that…He’s so wierd.” she said.

Who knew an over weight, middle aged bald guy throwing up in Taiwanese stinky tofu joint would “win me over” but he did.

Ok, I will admit, he’d already started to grow on me bit and in the end he’s doing good work. Its travel, its food, its different, I almost had to like it. Plus I think this country could use some sauteed ants and grub. And when you contrast that with the filth that McDonalds peddles, is the chicken ovary and bull testicles really that bad? They guy eating the Big Mac is suffering from syndrome X while the guy eating the ants and termites looks to be in fine health. You be the judge.

What Zimmern gets and what Bourdain gets is that you will never truly understand another culture unless you’re prepared to sit down to dinner with them. The passions, history, memory, culture and the life of a people is embodied in the meals they prepare and eat. Sharing food is the quickest way to break down barriers. Sharing food is the fastest way to friendship. It is intimate and it is human and each episode, Andrew Zimmern reveals this to his audience.

Andrew, you weren’t the first, and undoubtedly you won’t be the last, but keep up the good work. You can now count me as one of your newest fans.

Oh, and apparently, he is the real deal.

And this is just plain hilarious.

Despite being a 10 out of 10 fall week I’ve been inside pouring over manuals, codes, text books, notes and problem sets preparing, once again, to take the Structural Profession Engineering exam.

This is 8 hour exam is much like the boards or bar. If passed, it bestows the title of PE on the engineer. This title/responsibility allows the engineer to “stamp” plans. Every bridge and building must have the structural plans stamped which certifies that it has been properly designed and checked and meets code. The plans consist of the neccessary information required by the contractor to build the structure.

From wikipedia.com

The earmark that distinguishes a licensed/registered Professional Engineer is the authority to sign and seal or “stamp” engineering documents (reports, drawings, and calculations) for a study, estimate, design or analysis, thus taking legal responsibility for it.

I attempted this test back in April but Bushed it due to poor time management skills and nerves. The diagnostic indicated that I was proficient in 6 out of 10 of the subjects. 2 of the 4 that I did not do well in were in subjects that I am confident in so I’m not sure what happened there.

Next Friday I will take the test again only this time I will pass.

Firstly, I’m a fan of Anthony Bourdain. Although this doesn’t really help you to understand me better, its something I’m ready to share with the world. Kitchen Confidential was a good book and I’d recommend it.

Secondly, during lunch, one of my coworkers asked the question, “What would you have done differently at College if you had it do over again?” This ultimately resolved itself into a discussion over what we don’t like about work. In general, I find it curious that almost all office workers spend almost all lunch talking about how much they dislike their jobs. The agreed upon summary of the discussion was this: If we ain’t gonna be rich, we might as well be happy.

Lastly, my librarian friend called to my attention the very exciting news that Northwest beers are back at Redbones.

Must you start the Christmas, sorry, Holiday advertising season so early? I’m still not sure what to wear for Halloween and you want me thinking about jingle bells, tinsel and hangovers?

Lets be clear about one thing, this guy is not happy about the Holiday Season starting in early October. Especially because, thanks to Global Warming, the leaves are still green and it was “July” hot on Saturday.

Visa, America has borrowed its way from Walmart to Bagdad to China and back 20 times in the past 7 years and were now fatter, breaking into three pieces and chock full of lead. Its time to return to a bit of reality: If I can’t afford it now, I won’t be able to afford it on the 30th of the month. Stop! Do us all a favor and just Stop! At least until the Red Sox win the big one and Joe Torre stops drinking.

By the way, why does the Emeril audience orgasm every time he says the word “garlic”? Did I miss something?

Its been a while and in that time I slipped and spilled the beans on my planned departure from Engineering. The End of December is the end of engineering. Luckly though, my boss said that there is enough work for me and any new hire if they can find one so don’t worry about being asked to leave prematurely. Fingers Crossed.

I sent a resume out to Essex Restoration but have yet to hear back from them. Similarly, I sent some email “feelers” out to several other local residential construction companies and have not heard back. I find this odd given that one of the biggest complaints these guys have is finding good help.

“Hey! Buddy! Good Help was just knocking on your door but he got sick of waiting and decided to leave to start his own company.”

I had a nice little boost of confidence this weekend having framed out a small patio at my brothers house. My Dad was a great help. We didn’t run into any major stumbling blocks and were never stopped for more than a minute or two thinking about problems.

Given that this was my first dance with carpentry after a long spell apart I knew there would be at least one mistake. I wasn’t sure when or where it would come but I was fully prepared. While cleaning up at the end of the day I notice it. As a result of existing conditions the west wall was built about an inch and a half shorter than the north wall. I cut the cripples for the west wall the same length as the north and as a result, the rough opening for the window was an inch and a half to short. An easy fix though and I was happy the mistake wasn’t bigger.

A former co-worker of mine who left the company sent this email this morning:

Here is an excerpt from a calss I am taking in quality management in construction. Check all that apply:

Barriers to quality workmanship
Lack of direction
Goals without the tools to achieve them, time, resources
Arbitrary decisions by supervisors
Lack of clear goals and objectives
Lack of clarity as to how contribution is valued
Lack of expectations setting up criteria
Insufficient information available
Different organizational goals within the company
Too much group management
Deadline anxiety
Lack of product definition: purpose and product arbitrarily changed by consumer and/or customer within company
Hierarchy tries to run a technology that it does not understand
Lack of communication
You work with a retard named Jeffy
Conflicting and unclear objectives
Lack of advance information
Inadequate information flow
Inadequate feedback
Lack of authority to do what needs to be done
Lack of resources, time, and proper tools and equipment
Short-term objectives conflict with long-term ones
Nonuniform application of policy
Poor training
Specifications constrain creativity and procurement and manufacturing
Red tape/bureaucracy
Unrealistic goals and objectivesIs it still ok for me to hate “The Man” if I don’t work there anymore? I just thought that a few of these were apllicable, I am still one of you.

I’d check most of those.