The Original Ninfa's

Ninfa's Restaurant, like many other places, has a story. It's a story about a family and about food. Not to bore you with the sordid details, suffice it to say that not every Ninfa's in Houston is owned by the same people. But I digress.

At the original Ninfa's on Navigation Blvd. is where I had the opportunity to dine today. And here's what I experienced.

Firstly, the parking lot at lunch time is full. Valet parking is available if don't want to bother with finding a space for yourself.

As with the parking lot, the tables were packed with yuppies and baby boomers, socializing and enjoying themselves.

The waitress I was allotted, Nelly was at my table within seconds of my being seated, but that was the extent of her diligence. More on that later.

The atmosphere was nice; casual and relaxed. People were talking, laughing and eating all around me. The tables were so close I could hear the conversation at the table next to me though.

I asked Nelly for a glass of water, a frozen margarita and an order of queso. She asked if I would like jalapenos with it and I said yes. I later found out that they were an additional charge. She also neglected to ask if I preferred a small or a large margarita and what type of margarita I would like. Ninfa's serves four varieties.

As with every other tex-mex restaurant, corn chips and salsa were brought to the table next. The corn chips were nothing special and aside from a slight tinge of grilled peppers in the red salsa, neither were the salsas.

My margarita was brought next, served in a small goblet, approximately 10 ounces. I was to learn later that this was the "large." The small is served in a smaller glass, but judging by the level of fill, there isn't much difference in the quantity, if at all. I also learned later that the margarita I was served was the "Ninfarita," their special blend; very tasty and as strong as I needed it to be, considering it was the middle of the day.

The queso was brought to the table next (no water yet). This was probably the best part of the meal for me. I like my queso to be chunky and it was. There was the perfect mixture of cheese, onions and peppers. Along with the queso I was served a handful of flour tortilla chips, another favorite of mine, making this very enjoyable so far.

Now, keeping in mind that it was lunch time and the place was busy, I didn't mind waiting a while for my meal. Besides, I did have the queso. But when the table across from me received their meals before I did, considering they came in about 5 minutes after I did and there were two of them, I was slightly put out.

Once my meal did arrive it was served hot and fresh and by someone other than Nelly, my waitress. I'm accustomed to chimichangas being round and long, like a burrito, but Ninfa's makes there's more like an empinada, folded over and crimped around the outer edge. Along with being unique in appearance it was slightly smaller than most, but not too small. The flavor more than made up the difference. The spanish rice was better than most restaurants serve and the refried beans had just the right consistency and flavor. All in all, the meal was very good.

That is the extent of my pleasure with this lunch I'm afraid. Remember the water I asked for originally? Once Nelly decided to come back to my table (after I had finished eating) I asked her for it again. She did come back with it, but she put it down on the table across from me, instead of in front of me and never even looked at me when she did. She was busy talking to someone at another table. Now, personal, courteous service is a real pet-peeve of mine, especially if you're in the service industry. So I was, from thereafter, completely disappointed in Nelly.

All-in-all The Original Ninfa's is a place I would take friends to enjoy good Tex-Mex food, but if Nelly's there I'll ask for someone else.

The Bird Feeder

I bought a bird feeder.

I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed.

What a beauty of a bird feeder it is, as I filled it lovingly with seed.

Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio roof, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere; on the patio tile, the chairs, the table ... everywhere!

Then some of the birds turned mean.

They would dive bomb me and try to peck me, even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore.

So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be .. quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.


Now let's see ..

Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then people began to illegally enter the country by the millions.

Slowly our taxes went up to pay for free services.

Traffic accidents increased exponentially because of so many drivers without a legal driver's license.

Criminals are turned loose on the public because foreign consulates are demanding it and the jails have no more room for them anyway.

We have to wait for hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor.

Our children's 2nd grade classes are behind because some of the students don't speak English.

Official voter poling locations are marked with, and handouts are printed in languages other than English.

We have to 'press one' to hear our bank talk to us in English.

And people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and more free liberties.

Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

Consumer Report; eCost.com

I will never use eCost.com again.

It's a long (read agonizing, wasted hours on the telephone) story, but suffice it to say that the purchasing part of the process went without incident. But when the item arrived damaged and I needed a replacement... AARRRGGHH!

I recommend that if you're in the need of an inexpensive, online electronics distributor you try buy.com or geeks.com, but stay away from eCost.com

Big Government Debacle

The GAO published a report on the misuse of Federal Credit Cards. The Washington Post did a story on it. You should probably read the report before reading this post any further: Washington Post Story

I fear that this will be the last we hear of this report.

A bureaucracy as large as the United States government is crippled by its massive existence. The reason these things go on undeterred is that the deterring forces are logistically disconnected from the transgressors. It is almost impossible for anyone or any office to effectually administer rules and regulations without being circumvented by the very machine that encompasses them all.

This is the epitome of what is termed "red tape." This report will most likely be passed on from the OMB and GSA offices to another office, then another, ad infinitum, until it is lost in the machine itself. And nothing will be done.

This is why we MUST reduce the overall size of our government, giving them less and less power, instead of more and more.

Not to throw stones at any one or any group, but this is just another point of reason why we should avoid any new intervention of government into our personal lives, like government sponsored health care. If you think health care is suffering now, just let it be regulated by government offices. Do we really want to hand over the millions of dollars currently spent each year on health care to an entity that allows this type of waste and abuse?

I say we not only cut government spending, but we cut government. Our founding fathers never envisioned a government machine that was too big to be controlled. This is not "government by the people and for the people."


In Response to:
This Article

And:
This Report

Self Promotion

Buddy is a connoisseur of the finer things of life. He loves rich foods, fine wines and great multimedia.

When he’s not enjoying a meal at a 5 star restaurant with his lovely wife he’s busy creating a video and audio experience that can only be described as an enchanting masterpiece that tantalizes the senses and draws its viewers into another realm. Buddy believes that a project is never really finished. But that there comes a time when everything must be served up so that others may enjoy it and so that it can stand on its own to reach its destiny.

With experience in commercial and non-profit videos and presentations, Buddy has run the gamut in styles and techniques. He has produced a television show that reached number two in the Nielsen Ratings half way through its first season and created compelling productions that have seen demand around the globe.

Buddy will take your project and make it his own, because he believes that wherever one of his productions may go, a part of him goes with it.

Cassette Tapes or CDs?

An article today about cassette tape production in the US: Cassettes linger long after expected demise. This article purports certain "advantages" that cassettes have, justifying their "enduring" existence. Here are a few quotes from the article:

• National Audio president Steve Stepp said the audio cassette "is still the most versatile, durable, economic recording material ever invented."


• 
  Cassettes are still generally popular for audio books because of a basic advantage they hold over CDs: When someone moves a tape from one player to another, the recording resumes from exactly where it stopped.


• 
  Cassettes are also a popular medium for some religious groups, he said. Tapes are well-suited to recordings of the Bible or small batches of sermons because it's more cost-effective to record small batches of recordings on tape than on compact disc.


• A CD holds about 80 minutes of material while tapes are available in a number of different lengths, up to 120 minutes
  The durability of tapes is a key selling point for groups doing missionary work because tapes won't scratch and aren't as heat sensitive as CDs


• Plus, cassette cases cost less than half what CD cases cost, and tapes can be re-recorded.

Note that all of the arguments compare cassettes to CDs. Now, note that this article was posted on the 5th of August, 2007. With that in mind why are we still stuck on physical media as a distribution model? This is the 21st Century, isn't it?

Using iTunes I can click a button, download an audio track (whether it's a song, podcast or audiobook) and stop it and continue playing at the same point. This has only cost me 99 cents.

I can record my own audio file and make it as long as I want it to be.

I can edit it or record over it if I want to.

With an iPod I can take my audio anywhere I want it.

Oh, and they last forever.

So, again, why are we stuck in the 1990's?

New Media Survey

Podcasters and others with interest in "New Media" are banding together to form a coalition concerning podcasting and media production and distribution in 21st century. If this concerns you at all visit this site and complete the survey.