Bacon: Paggi House Brunch

The brunch at Paggi House features "all-natural" Niman Ranch Bacon.  It is a delicious, thick cut, and juicy.  It's closer on the bacon spectrum to pork belly than it is to crispy bacon, although it has a pleasing meaty consistency complemented by rich marbling and buffers of pork fat.  Paggi House cooks it to a savory medium consistency, as opposed to frying it to a crispy.

I loved it.  I will be back for it.  Bacon is The Candy of Meats, and Niman Ranch Bacon served at Paggi House reveals itself as an outstanding product in a field of tasty competitors.

Software: Switching from PC to Mac

MacBook Pro 15"

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the details of software licenses for a couple of applications I wanted to use on both a Mac and a PC.  I had just purchased an Apple MacBook Pro (with 15" screen) for use at Prism Risk Management and for use on some other projects.

My original intention was to replace the Dell system with an Apple system, and thus I decided to transfer some of my files and applications over to the MacBook.  One particular issue I had was with Adobe, which will let a user have two licenses for Acrobat Pro; however, both licenses have to be used on the same operating system platform.  Ergo, I could not split my Adobe Acrobat X Pro between my Dell Latitude and my MacBook Pro (I won't get into details about VM Fusion, which is worth another post entirely).

From what I've experienced, you wouldn't need Acrobat Standard on a MacBook.  Mac OS X appears to handle a lot of basic PDF reading and publishing.  This is moot, though, since Adobe only makes Acrobat Pro for Mac OS.   I wanted some of the more advanced Acrobat features on the MacBook though, including Acrobat's OCR functions.   Thus, I decided to see if I could switch my package of two Acrobat X Pro licenses over to the Mac version (then, if necessary, put the cheaper Standard version on a Windows platform).

This is possible, if you are willing to be persistent with Adobe.  I didn't realize this up front, as I was initially told that my request wouldn't be very complicated.  In reality,  it took me several phone calls over two weeks to accomplish the license switch.  Furthermore, even though I had bought three editions of Acrobat online (first a full version, then two upgrades), Adobe decided to ship a CD to me which contained the Mac upgrade version of Acrobat X Pro.  Because I there was no prior version of Acrobat on my MacBook, I had to call Adobe back for an override code.  In my situation, Adobe seemed to approach Acrobat for Mac and Acrobat for PC almost like different products, as opposed to variations of the same product.  I'm assuming this, and that said approach accounts for why switching from PC to Mac version was a lengthier process than I had anticipated.

In hindsight, it probably would have been more efficient just to pay the $450 for a full version of Adobe Acrobat X Pro for Mac OS.  Moreover, Windows 7 Ultimate does not include all of the PDF conversion functions of Mac OS (MS Office, though, will save/publish documents into PDF form).   Thus, if you continue to use Windows and Mac computers (a subject for another post) then you will eventually need to get another version of Acrobat for the Windows computer.

Viejo Pescador: Fishing Blog

Viejo Pescador: Fishing Blog: This blog has been created for people who like to fish, particularly those who enjoy inshore coastal fishing. It is for anyone who has ques...

Software: Things for iPad Update

About an hour ago, I downloaded the most recent update of Things for iPad.  Still no syncing.  I went back to the Cultured Code site for more information about this issue, but still haven't found a solution.  I haven't found one on a third party site yet either.

Travel: iFly for iPhone

(photos by Dave Floyd) 

I like the convenience of flying enough to overcome the fact that I don't like riding on airplanes or being in airports.  I fly multiple times per year for business and personal travel.  I've found that good food and plentiful cocktails make these trips much more pleasant experiences. 

I sometimes fly on American (it is the gf's favorite airline); however, most of the time I fly on Southwest. I'm not sure why... maybe it's out of admiration for successful lawyers-turned-entrepreneurs.  The unfortunate side effect of my loyalty to Southwest Airlines is that most of my trips include a lot of pit stops at airports around the country.

Enter the iFly app for iPhone.  At first I hated this app, but only out of jealousy.  I had actually written down an idea for a remarkably similar product only to find out a week later that it actually existed.  I downloaded it to check out the interface.  I then left it ruefully alone on my iPhone, where it remained untouched until I ended up in the Denver airport with my friends Andy and Bobby.

We were engaged in a spirited debate about whether to eat at one of the restaurants in the food court, or to venture through the security checkpoint towards Concourse C.  I wanted a steak or a buffalo burger along with a cocktail, and nowhere in the food court appeared to be able to satisfy said craving.  The airport map named eateries, but offered no explanation.  It was at this point I decided to shelve my angst about iFly and actually use it.

iFly is actually very cool, and very useful.  Not only did I get a map of the Denver airport, I also was able to check out restaurants in our destination concourse and to get information about the food.  Furthermore, I was able to quickly locate a bar near the departure gate.  My problem was solved, and soon I was enjoying a buffalo burger along with a cocktail.  Now I like iFly too much to ignore it from jealously, and I recommend it to friends. 

Your travel priorities may not be the same as mine.  Thus, here's a comprehensive list of features for iFly (basic):

-Restaurants, Cafes, Stores, Lounges, Restrooms
-Terminal Maps with GPS location (as available)
-Airline details (numbers, route maps, baggage fees, etc)
-Layover ideas
-Wifi coverage
-Ground transportation options
-Parking rates and locations
-Terminal services (banks/ATMs, business centers, currency exchange, etc) Plus: tons of traveler help tips, like carry-on/checked baggage allowance rules, airport security ID requirements, traveling with kids or pets, and help on everything from packing to parking to checking bags.

iFly Pro is ($6.99 at the iTunes app store) is available with additional features.  With comprehensive information about over 700 airports, it's a handy mobile app to have available.

Software: Things Isn't Syncing

A few months ago, I decided to try a couple of productivity programs.  I picked Things for Mac and OmniFocus, as they both seemed very appealing for slightly different reasons (they are both based on the Getting Things Done, "GTD", system).   I put a each program on my MacBook Pro, and then downloaded the corresponding apps to my iPhone 3GS and iPad2.   After a few months of use, I found that Things was great for single task entries (business, personal, and volunteer related) while OmniFocus was better suited to business related task lists related to larger projects.   This wasn't surprising, as the descriptions of the products indicated that this would be the case.  OmniFocus is cool, and I'll post about it another time.  Today I'd like to air my issue with Things.

What really got me hooked on Things was the ability to whip out my iPhone and write a note to myself.  E.g., I'd be at a happy hour and someone would ask me for something, so I'd put an entry in Things.  Furthermore, I often have my iPad out during meetings, and if a task I wanted to assign myself came up I'd enter it into Things for iPad.  I would then sync Things between the iPhone and iPad and MacBook (to do this, you have to open things on your Mac and then open the Things app on the device you want to sync).  What I found was that while I would enter tasks into Things on the mobile devices, I would actually sit down with the Mac to execute the list.  I got used to this system.  My productivity spiked.  And then, the damn thing stopped syncing.

I don't know what has happened, but for the past few weeks every time I have opened Things for the iPhone it reports a failed sync and then crashes.  The iPad is just as uncooperative, and after the iOS5 update (which erased all of my apps) Things is empty and it won't sync.   I have looked into the problem, and I can't tell if it's an upgrade issue with iOS5.  I have Lion on my MacBook and iOS5 on the iPad.  I'm going to buy an iPhone 4S instead of putting iOS5 on my current phone.  But, regardless of the lack of iOS5 on the phone, I have installed all of the current upgrades across devices and checked settings.  Things still isn't working.

So, all I can tell you is that Things for Mac rocks in conjunction with Things for iPhone and iPad.   If you are distracted by constantly having to deal with business issues, Things is like a trusted personal assistant. But, Things as a stand alone on each platform doesn't do much for me.  I'm putting tasks I think of while out of the office onto OmniFocus sometimes, but more often than not I'm just writing myself reminders in Evernote.  Once Things sorts out the syncing or I figure out the solution, I'll post about it.  In the mean time, I'd recommend OmniFocus or Evernote for personal productivity over Things.

Law School: Washington & Lee's Third Year Program

5 Year Reunion of my W&L 03L Class

Law school: now there's a place I don't miss.  I say that with love, as I think my experience at the Washington & Lee University School of Law was quite good.   We had great professors and as a class we were rather laid-back for a group of prospective attorneys. While I've pursued a very non-traditional route (as has a very good friend from my class who now works for the State Department), most of my class went on to good gigs at impressive law firms on the east coast and in the South or to nice clerkships in Federal District, Appellate, Magistrate, and Bankruptcy courts around the country.  While I have finally made the transition over to being mostly involvement with Prism Risk Management as an owner and CEO, my law degree does come in handy several times every day.  Also, being a lawyer does help me work on Bar & Grill.

The reason I'm thinking of the magical three years I spent in Lexington, VA, (a charming place, BTW) is that I recently watched a video about the redesign of W&L's third year program.  Not unlike Baylor Law School, which has for years differentiated itself from other Texas law schools by offering an excellent third year practice court program, W&L has instituted a program for 3Ls which has practical litigation simulations as well as practical transactional simulations as the curriculum for the entire third year.  It's an interesting concept for a top tier law school to engage in such a departure from the norm.  It seems as though a strong set of clinical programs would have been a prudent alternative.  However, W&L must be doing something that resonates as I recently saw it on a list of top schools preferred by hiring partners and I've there is enough positive buzz about the program that I've heard about it through a few mentees the Austin Bar's mentorship program.

Changes in the economy have led to changes in the traditional patterns of law student recruitment and practical legal education obtained by entry level attorneys at firms.   It seems as though the W&L third year program would be especially desirable to mid-sized firms which want quality law school grads but make not have the resources in place to provide much in the way of formal training in the practice of law.   Personally, I benefited from several of my traditional 3L classes such as Federal Energy Regulation and Securities Regulation.  While not on point with what I do know, the collateral knowledge has been useful.  Also, the general sloth of the 3L is a welcome break from the intensity of the 2L year and the much more intense period which follows law school.   I haven't spent an entire week in Vegas since my 3L year, and it's only been in the past couple of years that I've been able to spend an entire week off anywhere.

Note: a week in Vegas is not a good idea for anyone at any age.  Vegas is best enjoyed in 2-3 segments.