Fa la la la la la la la lawsuit! Ring in the new year by keeping employment liability at bay - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Fa la la la la la la la lawsuit! Ring in the new year by keeping employment liability at bay - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

NLRB again postpones posting requirement - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

NLRB again postpones posting requirement - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Hard lessons in the importance of due diligence in hotel, timeshare, and resort property acquisitions - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Hard lessons in the importance of due diligence in hotel, timeshare, and resort property acquisitions - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Stealth Mountain

So, yesterday I learned that there is a "bot" on Twitter called @stealthmountain which is devoted entirely to correcting folks who tweet "sneek peak" instead of "sneek peek."  Typically, the offending reference is in relation to an early preview of a film or television program, although said offending term can be presented in a different context.  Some folks have reacted to this unsolicited correction in a negative manner.

While the Stealth Mountain concept is funny and it's drawing some (undoubted sought) attention, I would have to posit that it can be extremely annoying to have one's spelling or grammar corrected by strangers.  Stealth Mountain, however, seems to have a sense of humor about it (in addition to the name see the avatar- it's hilarious) and thus a humorous or witty response would be appropriate (as opposed to rage).  

What I'm curious about are the plans the creator of Stealth Mountain has once the Twitter feed and the linked blogspot site have attracted enough attention and enough of a following.  Right now, Stealth Mountain has over 4,000 followers on Twitter.  

Note: I was once given some unsolicited advice from the purveyors of mechanical bulls to not tweet about a rival's brand.  I was tempted to write back "grow a sense of humor, assholes" or something like that, but in the end decided it was wise not to get into an argument with people who sell mechanical bulls for a living.  

Food: Steak at Austin Land and Cattle

If there is one thing that you should know about me, it's that I love steak even more than I love pork products.  And, of all steak places in Austin, Austin Land & Cattle is my favorite.  It's an excellent nexus of price and overall quality, in addition to the fact that the steaks alone are excellent.

Last time I ate at ALC was for the Prism Risk Management Christmas dinner.  At that event, I had the 16oz rib-eye (my usual stand-by) along with the appetizer sampler.  The stand-out item on the sampler was the buffalo lamb chops.  The goat cheese stuffed green chilies were popular as well.  On other occasions, ALC's seared Ahi has been very popular as a pre-steak warm-up.  The only item I could suggest adding to the appetizer menu is bacon-wrapped shrimp (esp. something with a pepper, like El Arroyo's "shrimp diablos").

I met some friends at ALC on Friday night, this time deviating from the rib-eye and ordering the 12oz fillet.  That turned out to be an excellent decision, as the fillet was incredibly tender and virtually melted as I ate it.  I don't recall eating a fillet that tasty since my last trip to the Ft. Griffin General Merchandise Restaurant in Albany, Texas.

Looping back to the value aspect: not only are the steak prices reasonable, but each steak dish comes with a selection of included sides.  You can add on shrimp or lobster tail, but the prices are too steep.  Contrast this with Ruth's Chris and Sullivan's, which charge more for the individual steak and then provide sides on an a la carte basis.

I'm not the only person who's fond of ALC.  Their 2008 Zagat rating lists them as "very good to excellent" while highlighting the value that comes with the high quality food at moderate prices.

Risk: Fat Raccoons

What a fat raccoon does to a VW Passat

So.... before last month I never considered raccoons much of a risk while driving on the highway.  Deer?  Yes.  Elk? Yes.  But an animal the Wikipedia claims weighs between 6-20 lbs never seemed like a reason for concern.

Well, the incident which resulted in the pictured damage happened kind of fast and I didn't have a chance to weigh the raccoon which chose to intersect with my moving vehicle.  What I do know is that the raccoon at issue appeared to be enormous of not morbidly obese.  I probably wouldn't have hit it had I not been driving down a relatively dark stretch of US Highway 87 near Victoria.  The obese animal at issue waddled out of a darkened median at a surprisingly rapid pace.  I attempted to swerve, but hitting a fat raccoon seemed like a better plan than flying into a ditch at 70 MPH.  Moreover, he actually ran toward my car as I started to swerve.  Despite evasion maneuvers, there was no way to miss said raccoon.

End result: $2,500 worth of damage.

Yes, that is the correct amount.  When I picked up the car from the body shop, I was handed a laundry list of damage caused by reckless wildlife.  Not only did he cause the body damage pictured about, he also dislodged the radiator and the turbo's intercooler.  Fortunately for me, I carry the full package of insurance on my car and I was able to drive a company vehicle for a week while mine was repaired.

Take-aways from this experience:

• Raccoons can seriously mess up your car.  Be alert for them.
• A reminder that no repair is cheap for a Volkswagen Passat (I've had prior experiences with body damage to this car: all expensive)
• State Farm was cool about paying for it.  I've gotten my money's worth from their collision coverage.
• Ellis & Salazar again did great work at a fast pace.
• It's really annoying for people to chastise you about hitting a sweet, innocent raccoon when you're looking at serious body damage to your car.  
• It might be time for me to buy a Tahoe.  

Do you have your umbrella? (Disaster recovery and business continuity planning) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Do you have your umbrella? (Disaster recovery and business continuity planning) - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Additional protections for individuals with disabilities - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Additional protections for individuals with disabilities - Corporate Counsel Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Events: HYP Happy Hour Next Week

For more information about HYP and what we do, check out the Austin Habitat Young Professionals website.

Events: HYP Build the Love

I'm pleased to post that the Austin Habitat Young Professionals will be holding our annual Build the Love fundraiser on February 1st at Moonshine Bar & Grill.  As President of HYP, I'm looking forward to kicking off our 2012 fundraising efforts with this event.   I'd go into more detail, but the text on the HYP site sums things up pretty well:

Whatever your plans are this Valentine's day season, we'll give you a reason to celebrate. Come help HYP Build the Love!

Join us Wednesday, February 1st from 5 to 8 pm at Moonshine to sample their delicious food & wine tastings and Thirsty Planet's fabulous brews all while raising funds to benefit Austin's Habitat! Plus we'll have a House of Sweets with delectable desserts and a photo booth courtesy of Beth McKinney Photography. No matter your tastes, savoury, bitter or sweet, we'll have something for you! Click here to buy your tickets.

I am especially pleased by the support of Moonshine.  They are providing space for the event as well as food. I've been involved with HYP since 2007, and Moonshine has consistently been a great friend to our organization.

Food: Shoal Creek Saloon Pork Chop

Pork Chop Dinner @ Shoal Creek Saloon

If there is anything you can deduce from this blog, it's that I like pork products.  I also love beef, although I don't think I've been as outspoken about my love of steak, beef ribs, and brisket in any online fora.

After putting up posts about the pork chop at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille and at The Texas Chili Parlor, I was informed that no survey of pork in downtown Austin is complete without a sampling of said dish at the Shoal Creek Saloon.

I'm already a fan of the Saloon.  I like their étouffée, boiled shrimp, and gumbo.  I especially like to enjoy these items while on the Saloon's back porch (which, appropriately, overlooks Shoal Creek).  And, of course, when crawfish are in season one should make a b-line for the Saloon in order to partake of their delicious boils.

The pork chop at Shoal Creek Saloon is good.  It's juicy and nicely seasoned.  It is one of their signature items (I know this from the mural painted on the side of the building).  I had never eaten one before the chop pictured above as I generally go to the Saloon for the Louisiana-style seafood.  Shoal Creek's pork chop isn't a challenge to one's manliness, like Perry's.  And, it isn't thin sliced for pan-frying, like the Chili Parlor's.  However, as a standard pork chop goes it's pretty damn tasty.

If you decide to get the pork chop at Shoal Creek Saloon, I recommend starting your meal with a cup or bowl of the étouffée.  You really shouldn't eat there without having some.

Note: Apparently, the National Pork Board's new consumer oriented motto for pork is "Pork: Be Inspired."  Pork's former motto, the famous "Pork: The Other White Meat" has been relegated to "heritage brand" status.  If they'd asked me, I would have offered up "Pork: It's Damn Delicious!" along with a "We Make Bacon... You're Welcome" companion website.  

Software: What Fusion Wants

Back in March, I decided to buy a 2011 model 15" MacBook Pro to use for business.  Prism Risk Management provides insurance related and general consulting services, as well as provide management and operational services for the Texas Schools Property & Casualty Cooperative and Oklahoma Schools Property & Casualty Cooperative risk pool programs.  We run the computer systems for the pooled programs, and most of our systems are Microsoft based.

A few months ago, I had VMware Fusion 4 installed on my Mac.  I wanted to be able run the Windows versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook on my Mac.  Most of my research indicated that Office 2010 programs work better with Sharepoint collaboration tools than their Office 2011 for Mac counterparts.  Also, I wanted to be able to use OneNote and Access (neither of which are available for OS X).   Mac OS X offers a lot of advantages, MacBooks are great pieces of hardware, and there were several Mac only programs I wanted to use along with Windows programs, thus a virtual machine system which allowed for the the operation of Windows along with Mac OS X seemed like a best-of-both-worlds solution.  VMware Fusion 4 came highly recommended as the best virtual machine for the concurrent operation of Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

The requirements for Fusion said that 4GB of RAM would be sufficient to run Windows on a virtual environment in OS X.  Unfortunately, when I tried to run Windows in Fusion my MacBook would become  slow and unresponsive to the point of being unusable.  Furthermore, running Windows based applications in Fusion's "Unity" view mode was impossible.

If you aren't familiar with VMware Fusion, Unity is the view mode in which Windows based applications are run in individual windows which look as though they are running natively in the Mac OS X environment.  I.e., you open a program like Access and it looks as though its running in Mac OS X.  It can be launched out of the dock, and it can be minimized to the dock as well.  This is a great feature if you want to multitask with Windows and OS X based applications at the same time on the same screen.  Not being able to use Unity was an impediment to my planned business use for the MacBook.

I consulted with my IT guru, who suggested that 4GB of RAM was not enough for running both Windows 7-64 bit and Mac OS X Lion.  At his suggestion, I ordered two 4GB RAM modules from Other World Computing.  The price for doubling my RAM to 8GB: $50.

Apparently, the lack of RAM was the problem.  With 8GB of RAM, Windows 7 boots up quickly within VMware Fusion 4.  Once Fusion is running, Windows programs open in Unity (from icons on the dock) about as quickly as Mac programs open in OS X.  The system is quite cool, as now I can multitask with the full array of programs I use at Prism Risk Management all on one computer.

Senators propose bill to encourage small company capital formation - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Senators propose bill to encourage small company capital formation - ACC Newsstand - Powered by Lexology

Sponsorships: AYLA

I was very pleased to have my company, Prism Risk Management LLC, be included as one of the sponsors for the Austin Young Lawyers' Association holiday party.  This year's event was held at Malverde in downtown Austin.  Malverde is always a good venue for this type of event, and the food from La Condesa was quite popular with the AYLA members.

In addition to enjoying some holiday related good times, AYLA was able to raise a substantial amount of cash to support the annual Holiday Baskets project.  Fundraising was supported in part from a generous matching donation made by The Rubin Law Firm.

Outdoor: Cat Crap Anti-Fog Lens Cleaner

I don't have much to say about EK Eksessories' Cat Crap Anti-Fog Lens Cleaner other than it works and it works well.

I was having frequent problems with my clear Tifosi glasses fogging up during night bike rides.  The good folks at REI suggested that I try Cat Crap to both clean the lenses and to prevent future problems with fogging.  I bought the product and applied it to my glasses.  Fogging problems: solved.

Photography: Nikon fEE Error

Nikon D90 with Nikkor f1.8 50mm Lens

Earlier this evening, I was over in West Lake shooting some photos for the Christmas card of some friends.  I decided to try my Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 AF Nikkor lens for a couple of shots.  Unfortunately, when I attached the lens to my Nikon D90 the error message "fEE" popped up where the f-stop setting usually appears.  Not sure what this meant, and not in the mood to stop shooting in order to look it up, I put the 50mm away and went on with a different lens.  The message didn't reappear, and thus I figured that the problem lay with the lens and not with the camera body.

fEE Error Message

Needless to say, once I finished shooting the photos I wanted to know what the ominous "fEE" message meant.  It turns out that the message wasn't serious in my case.  The "fEE" means that the camera can't control the f-stop setting on the attached lens.  My 50mm lens has a manual f-stop setting which must be turned to 22 in order for the camera to be able to operate the aperture automatically.  I had accidentally twisted the setting ring to 18.  As soon as I put the setting back to 22, everything was fine.  This was a relief, as I was concerned that a more serious problem might have occurred.  Therefore, if you have seen this error message pop up on your Nikon, try the simple steps of checking to see if your lens has a manual f-stop setting ring and then placing it on the top setting.  If this doesn't help,  the Nikon support page recommends removing and reattaching the lens.  If that doesn't help, or your lens is only automatic and you see the fEE message, then you may have some larger and more expensive problems on your hands.

The 50mm is a great lens for shooting in low light and it can be good for portraiture (when used with a Nikon DX format sensor).  My 50mm f/1.8 is the cheapest lens in my kit (I paid $150 for it at Precision Camera in Austin) but it has proven itself as a great choice for my needs when I want to use a prime lens.  You can use the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF lens on auto-focus as long as your Nikon dSLR has its own auto-focus motor.  If your dSLR body lacks this feature (e.g., a Nikon D40 or D60) then you will need to buy the internal auto-focus motor equipped Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-S Nikkor lens or a third party lens with this feature.

 

Food: Scallop Taco @ Tacodeli

Scallop Taco @ Tacodeli

Just when I thought Tacodeli couldn't get any better, I rolled in for an early lunch while on my way to the office earlier today.  I had heard rumors of a scallop taco available on Thursdays (at the Barton Skyway location), and the rumor was indeed true.  Here's what's involved:

• pan seared scallops
• red and poblano peppers
• corn
• Mojo Sauce
• a corn tortilla

I can't really say anything else about this taco except that it is exceptionally delicious and that you should buy one next Thursday.  

Also, as a bonus, I found out that I have been accepted into the Austin Bar/AYLA 2012 Leadership Academy while waiting in line at Tacodeli.  Moreover, I was informed by the gf, who is also going to be a member of the 2012 Leadership Academy Class.  

Vacation

The gf and I had a great time on our road trip to New Mexico.  We went to Roswell, Riudoso, Santa Fe, Taos, and Chaco Canyon.  I'm working on the photos and video clips from the trip, as well as some food and destination recommendations.  

Music: Mad Men Theme

So, I didn't watch Mad Men until getting ready for my part as Don Draper in Bar & Grill: Double Feature.  I'm working late in my office, and I just hear the Mad Men theme song coming out of my desk speakers.  It turns out that the show's theme music is from a song called "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2 (which I downloaded along with some other songs recommended by iTunes).  I'm sure I've heard this song many times before, but I didn't make the connection as I wasn't a fan of Mad Men until a few weeks ago.

Software: OmniFocus for Mac, iPad, and iPhone

I wrote in a post a few weeks ago that my Things for Mac had decided to stop syncing with Things for iPad and Things for iPhone.  I rely on productivity software for my business (Prism Risk Management), as well as for non-profit service and personal use.

For reference, here's my Apple set-up:

• 2011 15" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X Lion 
• iPad 2 running the latest update of iOS5
• iPhone 3GS running the last update of iOS4 before the debut of iOS5
• The copies of Things productivity software (by Cultured Code) are the lastest available for all of the devices listed above.  

Between the devices and software listed above,  I cannot make Things sync.  [note: maybe a more technically inclined person can, but as a tech enthusiast business/lawyer user I cannot]   This is bad for me, as I relied on Things for iPhone to enter in tasks which came up while I was out at happy hours, events, informal meetings, lunches with friends, and while riding my bike.   Instead of emailing a task to myself, I would enter it into things and it would pop up across all devices after syncing.  I use the iPad during meetings and working lunches, thus Things came in handy there for entering lists of action items; however, since I usually have a legal pad with me at meetings, it is easy to work around a faulty iPad app.   It is the iPhone/Mac link which has been most critical.  

I'm done with Things.  I have switched over to OmniFocus for personal and non-profit items in addition to business tasks, and I have started to use it for everything (as opposed to just for longer project oriented lists).  

I like OmniFocus better all the way around.  With syncing, it's main advantage over Things is that it syncs to a cloud server which controls the master file for all of your devices running OmniFocus (just like Evernote).  There is no need, as with Things, to get all devices connected to the same WiFi network and then open the application on all devices.  With OmniFocus, you press a button and your updates are sent to the OmniGroup's central server.  If you then drop your phone in the lake, your updates are still going to show up across devices.  

Besides the cloud aspect of OmniFocus, it is generally a more powerful program than Things.  You can make voice notes to attach to tasks on the iPhone app.  You can also attach files, documents, etc. to individual tasks, set up tasks as sequential or parallel, make hierarchies of tasks, and set up start as well as due dates.  Tasks will pop up on your iPhone screen at an assigned time in order to actively remind you to do them.  Across Mac, iPhone, and iPad you can assign tasks to projects to a project and to a "context" (i.e., category.  One advantage Things has is that you can add multiple tags to a task, and thus cross reference it through multiple categories.  That was nice, but my need for syncing takes priority.  

Things is a cool program across its Mac, iPhone, and iPad permutations.  It is elegantly simple and easy to use.  But for the syncing failures, I would still get some use out of it.  However, as a person who comes up with a lot of ideas and gets a lot of requests (which need to be given to myself as reminders) while in informal and social settings (where I'm only carrying an iPhone), the syncing function is critical.  For me: OmniFocus delivers, Things does not.

Disclaimer:  As I mentioned above, I am a business owner/lawyer and not a particularly technically inclined person.  This post is about my personal experiences and is not reflective of Things for Mac, iPhone, or iPad or Cultured Code products in general.  You should investigate these products for yourself and follow the advice of IT professionals or knowledgeable software reviewers.  If I figure out how to sync Things, I'll let you know.  

Events: AYLA Docket Call

August AYLA Docket Call

If you are a young lawyer in Austin, then you should join us for the Austin Young Lawyers' Association "Docket Call" Happy Hour on Thursday from 5:30-7:30p at Manuel's downtown.  Docket Call is a great way for Austin's young lawyers to engage in professional and social networking, as well as enjoy refreshing cocktails and delicious food from Manuel's.  Entry into Docket Call is free for AYLA members and $10 for lawyers who are not yet AYLA members (although we can fix that at the door by signing you up to be an AYLA member).



Note: I am on the AYLA Board of Directors.

Food: Pork and Bacon

Last evening, we had some friends from Towers Watson in town to discuss the Texas Schools Property & Casualty Cooperative and Oklahoma Schools Property & Casualty Coopertative programs which Prism Risk Management operates.   I decided that a post meeting trip to the Roaring Fork was in order.

I went to the Roaring Fork expecting to order a steak.  Thus, while I was tempted by several menu items, I stayed on mission and went with a 22oz cowboy cut ribeye (with shrimp and smashed yukon potatoes on the side).  While a little tough in the center, the outside portion of the ribeye was tender, well marbled, and very flavorful.  The potatoes were tasty as well.

What temped me, and what will draw me back to the Roaring Fork, was the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.  Talk about an awesome marriage of pork products.  The gf ordered this, and her report was that the pork and bacon combo was exceptionally good.  I would hope so, as the thought of delicious bacon infusing it's goodness into a cut of port tenderloin is making me exceptionally hungry as I write this post.  Furthermore, just last week I was imagining the combination of pork chops and bacon as I ate at the Texas Chili Parlor.  The gf isn't as bacon obsessed as I am, so if she raved about the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, then it has to be quite good.

I'll be making a return trip to the Roaring Fork, as well as a trip to the Shoal Creek Saloon for what is rumored to be an excellent pork chop.

Texas Tribune Article: TX Comptroller To Stop Spending Money on Austin Formula 1

Texas Official Taps the Brakes on Formula 1 Racing

by Ross Ramsey

The state won't spend any economic development money on Formula 1 races in Texas in advance of those races, Comptroller Susan Combs announced this morning. 

Combs, who's been way out in front promoting Formula 1 racing as an economic draw for Austin and Central Texas, says she's concerned about plans to hold races in New Jersey. More events in other states could diminish the economic advantages of holding races in Texas. And she said, via written statement, that the state will do more economic analysis before it spends any money on the races. 

The Legislature already authorized spending $25 million annually for up to 10 years to subsidize Formula 1 in Texas. None of that has been spent, according to Combs, and none will be spent in advance of a race. Promoters are building a track between Austin and Bastrop and hope to hold races starting next year. 

The United States Grand Prix could be held in Texas a year from now, and then in New Jersey in 2013. Formula 1 officials cast doubt last week on whether the Texas race will take place. 

Combs' announcement means the state won't spend taxpayer money on the track here until that's sorted out. How her position will affect plans for the track isn't clear. But it could get her out of a political mess; opponents have been critical of her willingness to invest state money in the private venture in a period of tight budgets and a down economy. 

Here's her full statement: 

It’s no secret that I’ve supported Texas hosting a Formula 1 race since 2008. I believe a well-organized event of this magnitude can be a tremendous benefit to Texas if done right. Investors, businesses and event organizers want to come to Texas because we’ve developed an economic climate that is attractive, our state is a great location for events, and we’ve got space and potential to grow. 

A tool for recruiting large events to the state is the Major Events Trust Fund (METF), which was created by the Texas Legislature in 2003. In the past two years, eligible METF recipients have included the NFL Super Bowl XLV, the NBA All-Star Game and the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four tournaments. The support provided by the METF comes from sales, hotel, beverage and other tax revenue generated by out-of-state visitors who attend the event. 

When the United States Grand Prix was formally announced, it was the only Formula 1 race scheduled in the U.S. During the past 18 months, organizers have taken many steps to bring high-profile motor racing to Central Texas, including the development of the Circuit of the Americas, and the announcement of the global MotoGP and V8 Supercar race series starting in 2013. 

The recent announcement of an annual Formula 1 race in New Jersey is a concern, as additional races have the potential to reduce the number of attendees to a Texas race, thereby decreasing the economic impact.  Additionally, the reports of a slowdown in construction at the Circuit of the Americas, and recently publicized disagreements between the race rights-holder and the circuit developers have prompted speculation about whether the Austin race will even occur. The ongoing controversies are a concern and we will continue to monitor them.  

“Let me state clearly: We have not paid out any money for the Formula 1 event. The only dollars that can be spent on the United States Grand Prix are tax revenues attributable to the successful running of a race.  The state of Texas will not be paying any funds in advance of the event. Further, as is the case with all METF events, each application will be reviewed and analyzed for its likely economic impact and only after the race occurs would any funds be disbursed.  

If an METF application is submitted, it will be thoroughly vetted and economic impact data scrutinized based on the actual circumstances for that event. Ultimately, I am responsible for protecting the interests of Texas taxpayers, first and foremost. I will not allow taxpayer dollars to be placed at risk. My position on that has not changed. 

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://trib.it/w5jDVZ.

Food: Brunch and Bacon

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about the rapturous experience that is eating Niman Ranch bacon. This morning, I had a post Bar & Grill brunch at Paggi House.  My experience on October 30th was no fluke.  The Niman Ranch bacon is indeed as awesome as I experienced last time.  Also, Paggi House serves up some tasty pork loin in the brunch line.  The only item I've had at the Paggi House brunch which proved to be disappointing has been the chicken and waffles.  While the waffles were good, the chicken was a section of dark meat which contained too much bone.  Not good for me, but good for someone who's in to that sort of thing.  The chicken and waffles served at Lucky J's are more my speed.

Lately, I've been sampling bacon at a few different restaurants.  Friday night, I tried the bacon at Roaring Fork on Congress Ave.  It was thin sliced, wide, and apparently low in fat content.  The outside edge was coated with pepper which kind of overwhelmed the bacon flavor, and the meat was tougher than I expected  Also, I found there to be an aftertaste which reminded me of beef jerky.

Bar & Grill: Double Feature

Scene From Dress Rehearsal of Act II, Bar & Grill: Double Feature

(Photo by Dave Floyd)


Thanks to our sponsors and our audience for supporting the Austin Young Lawyers' Association production of Bar & Grill: Double Feature.  It's done and it was fun.  I especially enjoyed performing in The State Theatre.  In previous shows, I have been in The Paramount Theatre and in The Long Center's Rollins Theatre.  Thus far, The State Theatre has been my favorite venue in which to appear (good size for the production along with the historic aspect and location).

This year, I appeared as three different characters: (1) Don Draper, (2) Sonny Crockett, and (3) Ron Paul.  This is a departure from last year, when I was a parody of Finn from Glee throughout the entire show (our parody version was called "Plea" and ironically I can't stand the actual TV show Glee).   The year before I essentially played myself (if I were a partner at a large Austin firm and not the CEO of Prism Risk Management).

I was able to get in a fair amount of  photography during act II of the show.  I'll be posting photos as soon as I get a few selected and edited.   I attempted to shoot some behind the scenes video, but my camera set-up was not conducive to the low light backstage.  My friend and fellow cast member David Wells, however, got a lot of footage on one of his video cameras.

I had a great time doing the show.  I'm already making plans for writing for next year's production.

Bar & Grill is a fundraiser for the AYLA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Austin Young Lawyer's Association.

Food: Pork Chops in Austin

Pork Chop Plate @ Texas Chili Parlor

Reading this blog, you may think that bacon is the only pork product that I love.  This belief could not be farther from the truth.  I love ham, Canadian bacon, pork ribs,  and pork chops as well.  Last week, I made the excellent decision of meeting a friend at Perry's Steakhouse in order to enjoy the Pork Chop Friday lunch special for which the restaurant is known amongst circles of pork fans.  For about $12, you get a massive pork chop cut into three distinct parts: the "eyelash," several ribs, and the loin.  The eyelash is the most tender and flavorful cut, the ribs are a close second, and the loin is less tender and fat infused but is still succulent (add applesauce, of course, for extra flavor).   The lunch sized serving is huge, and I've heard that the dinner portion is even larger.  I don't know yet... I'm a little intimidated by any serving of pork which is larger than the pork chop lunch special.  I can only imagine that if I consumed the entire alleged pork chop dinner, then I'd need to stumble over to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel to sleep off the inevitable meat coma.  Not that this sounds like a bad way to spend an evening; I just haven't yet risen to the challenge 

Pork is on my mind because last night I enjoyed The Texas Chili Parlor's delicious pork chop dinner.  Famished after tech rehearsal for Bar & Grill: Double Feature, I stopped by the TCP before heading to Dogwood to meet the gf.  The TCP serves a sweet, tender, and juice grilled pork chop for about $9.  You get two thin cuts of pork (this lets the flavor get seared in nicely) which are tasty enough to not need any sauce.  The plate comes with rice and beans, but I decided to swap the fancy sides for a more appropriate serving of potato chips.  It turns out that Ruffles and pork chops complement each other quite well.  Potato chips benefit by soaking up some pork juices, and the salt from the chips adds a little zest to the meat.  Plus, the disturbed looks from witnesses to this meal only enhance the experience.  Most people don't expect to see this sort of combination outside of a truck stop in the Deep South.

Now that I'm on a roll with pork, the pork chop special at Shoal Creek Saloon is next on the list.

Events: YMBL Fall Fling and Bar & Grill

Official Bar & Grill: Double Feature Poster

Looking for a good time in Austin?

Tonight, while I'm at dress rehearsal for Bar & Grill: Double Feature, the Austin Young Men's Business League is having its annual Fall Fling.  But for the rehearsal conflict, I would be there.  I have been to multiple Fall Flings and all were a lot of fun.  Spring Fling, held this year at Laguna Gloria, was awesome as well.

Fall Fling is tonight at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden.  Tickets are $30, with proceeds going to benefit the Austin Sunshine Camps.

Tomorrow and/or Saturday night, there is no better way to spend the evening than at Bar & Grill: Double Feature, Austin's finest value in lawyer themed musical comedy.  The show is at 8p both nights, at the historic State Theatre downtown (located conviently near the Roaring Fork and the hotel bar at the Stephen F. Austin).  Tickets for Bar & Grill: Double Feature are available online.

Bar & Grill, in addition to being highly entertaining, is a fundraiser for the Austin Young Lawyers' Foundation, the charitable arm of the Austin Young Lawyers' Association.  I am on the board of directors of AYLA, and I have acted in, written for, and been a story contributor for Bar & Grill in 2009, 2010, 2011.  My first appearance in Bar & Grill was in 2006.

Mobile: Location Based Services

Whrrl Graffiti on the Lance Armstrong Bikeway

In the spring of 2009, I decided to try out three location based service ("LBS") applications for my iPhone and determine, through trial and error, the merits of each.  The LBS apps I decided to try were: Foursquare, Gowalla, and Whrrl.  It has been a while, but I've drawn a few conclusions.  In this post, I'll focus on Whrrl.

I stopped using Whrrl last January.  Why?  Well, it wasn't simply a lack of interest in the service.  My main problem with Whrrl was the Whrrl logo I found spray painted onto entrance of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway on Shoal Creek in downtown Austin.  I don't know if this was authorized by Whrrl or the work of a rogue guerilla marketer, but the instant effect of finding the Whrrl graffiti was for me to no longer want to be associated with the product.  [Note: guerrilla marketing can be fun and clever; Whrrl's attempt at it happened to be just lame]

In addition to my problem with the graffiti, I had some negative opinions of Whrrl which had already lowered my opinion of the service.  To start, here's a pro and con list:

Pros:

• allowed you to leave recommendations
• suggested places for you to try
• supposedly took information from other users, similar to you, into consideration for recommendations

Cons:

• the content of the user generated recs
• the result of the system's automated recommendations
• lack of friends using the system
• problems redeeming coupons for food specials awarded on Whrrl
• the ultimate "con" is that Whrrl no longer exists in the form which I used.  Pelago, the maker of Whrrl, was acquired by Groupon in April 2011. Groupon does not appear to be using the former shell of Whrrl for anything resembling a LBS at this time.  

Another way to look at this would be:

Pro:

• the potential

Con:

• the execution

Whrrl had a lot of potential.  I liked the ida of leaving tips which would be sent out to other users, regardless of geographic proximity to the place being recommended.  Moreover, I liked the idea that Whrrl would figure out my preferences for food as well as venues and thus render to me some suggestions for new places to try.  This latter concept seemed like a benefit beyond what Foursquare and Gowalla were offering.

Unfortunately, the execution of Whrrl's recommendation system wasn't as good as it could have been.  User submitted reviews were often useless (e.g., a recommendation to try "beer" at Little Woodrow's is not helpful).  The problem appeared to be exacerbated by a review posting system which rewarded users for merely posting a comment, regardless of it's content (or lack thereof).  Having other users try or validate your review would add additional points, but volume was clearly rewarded.  The result: lots of pointless packets of information floating around.   Furthermore, the recommendations provided automatically by Whrrl were usually pointless (e.g., recommending that I try a bar I already frequented).

Whrrl quickly bored most of my friends who tried it, thus it lost the social utility that Foursquare and Gowalla had for me.  I don't recall if Whrrl could post to Facebook, but I don't remember ever using it for such purposes (while I have used Gowalla and Foursquare for Facebook updates).

Ultimately, a free LBS service like Whrrl should be fun and easy to use, and should provide some sort of value as well.  Whrrl was kind of fun, but the value dropped off pretty fast.   Foursquare had badges and mayor awards, while Gowalla (until August) had certain perks (and would automatically check you into Foursquare).  And, if you have multiple social LBS options, it is unlikely that a lot of folks want to spend the time checking into multiple services if other options fulfill more needs and can be used quickly.  I know that when I check into Foursquare, it's something I want to do quickly while walking into an establishment.

My opinion on Whrrl: lots of good ideas, but they didn't get delivered to the user in a manner which made the service more compelling than the competition.  And, never spray paint your logo on a concrete surface in Austin if you want me to consider using your product or service.

Note:  I haven't used Whrrl in almost a year, and the service no longer exists in the form I once used, so much of this post if derived from my memory of the product.  I'm posting about it as a warm-up for discussing Foursquare, Gowalla, and Yelp.  Also, for some reason, Blogger will not allow me to change "GoWalla" to "Gowalla."

Tumblr

I have become much more active with my Tumblr site.  Tumblr appears to occupy a space between a traditional blog (like this one) and Twitter.  For me, it seems to be very useful for posting travel photos and other photos which I'd like to share along with a blurb and/or some links, but which don't merit an entire post on this site.  I have also used it to post video links, article links, as well as repost items of interest I've found on the Tumblr sites of others.

If you are interested in a more comprehensive collection of my photographs, please visit my Flickr account.

Events: Creative Fund Happy Hour

Creative Fund Event @ Malverde

(photo by Dave Floyd)

Next Tuesday, The Creative Fund will be hosting a happy hour at Contigo from 6-8p.  Here's the official invitation from The Creative Fund website:

It is about that time that we all got together to toast the falling temperatures and our most recent announcement – the artist application is now online! We are coming closer and closer to putting Creative Fund money back into the local artist community.  Come join us at Contigo to hear about the new Q Rental Subsidy Grant and be sure to tell your friends, colleagues and artists and let them know that now is the time to apply!

The mission of The Creative Fund is to fund new and innovative performing arts at any venue in Austin.  Come join us and learn more about membership in The Creative Fund, as well as interesting and fun ways to get involved with the organization.  Now is a great time to get involved with The Creative Fund as we introduce the Q Rental Subsidy Grant program.  It's our way of contributing to the cultural fabric of Austin.

Note: I am on the board of and a founding member of The Creative Fund.  My company,  Prism Risk Management, has been an enthusiastic supporter of this organization.  This blog post represents my opinions and is neither officially endorsed nor sanctioned by The Creative Fund as an organization.