Diane Neal aka A.D.A. Casey Novak from L&O:SVU

I did not know that this woman



is the same as this woman



In case you didn't know, this is Diane Neal. She plays A.D.A. Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I always thought she was attractive in a simple, natural beauty kind of way.

I came across her name today because I was watching the movie Dracula III: Legacy. I haven't actually seen her in the movie...yet...at least I don't think so but I was trying to find out who another woman in the movie was and then saw the 1st picture and then the name Diane Neal and then I found out who she was and where I'd recognize her from.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that little tidbit.

Carry on...

Fall 2012 semester has started.

After years and years of taking classes, it is finally nice to not have to worry about scheduling. No scheduling of the classes. No scheduling of my work hours to make up the time I miss for being in class. No scheduling around classes to make sure I make my kids' events.

I know I graduated in May but it really didn't seem official until I didn't have to register and attend class this week. In fact, I still can't believe I am done.

I don't feel any different. I thought it would be like having my cherry popped and I'd feel different. I don't though. I just feel like I have more time to do absolutely nothing of worth now.

Weird!

Dining at 5 Star Burgers in Taos, New Mexico

Took my kids to 5 Star Burgers in Taos, New Mexico. We went for lunch on the recommendation from another person we know that just happened to be in Taos and already dined here.

After squeezing into our parking place because some dipshit moron doesn't know how to park into one space, we entered the doors to 5 Star Burgers. An older waitress approached us and sat us at a table/booth near the door. It wasn't a bad seat until the weather started getting rainy-like outside and then everytime someone opened the door to come in or go out, it was windy at our table! Luckily, this was few and far between so it was tolerable.

The woman took our drink orders as soon as we were seated and said that so-so (I didn't get the name she said) will be with you in a little bit. "In a little bit" must mean something different in Taos than in my head.

It was about 10-15 minutes and we still had our menus on our table and no one had come to take our order. The father of the family on the table/booth next to ours said something to me that I didn't catch at first. He repeated, saying, "Hey bro, it looks like they've forgotten about you. Nobody has taken your order, yet?" I said, "Yes, luckily we're not in a hurry but it would be nice if someone came by." He said, "Where you guys from? We are from Las Vegas." I said, "We drove through Las Vegas on the way to Taos. We are from Dallas." He said, "That's the problem with these places. You go somewhere that has good service but terrible food. And then other places have good food and terrible service." I said, "It's been the latter for us."

About five minutes later, the gentleman waves over a waitress and says, "Excuse me. I've already paid out my ticket but this nice man and his two kids have been sitting here for some time and haven't had their order taken!" She looked at me and said, "So, are you saying you'd like to place your order now?" I said, "Well, yes that would be a good thing!" She took our order and walked away. I thanked the man from Las Vegas as he rose to leave the restaurant. He told me to "have a great day and enjoy our vacation."

After the Las Vegas man leaves, the three of us see our waitress (her name was Monica) speak to one of her coworkers while pointing in our direction. I don't know what was said but we assumed it wasn't good. Once again, we already hadn't started well with dining in a restaurant in Taos.

We got our food about ten minutes after ordering. I ordered the Bison Burger medium rare with Swiss cheese, recommended by the Las Vegas man, while my kids decided to split the Taos Burger and a side of fries. The waitress was very nice and cordial and all so I guess the initial "lack of attention problem" was behind us. This was further cemented as the case as she was very attentive to ask about needing condiments as well as her quick response to have a Diet Pepsi ready to replace my almost-done Diet Pepsi.

The fries were very good. I'm not a connoisseur but I've had me many a fry and these were at least in the top five. The kids thought they were pretty good as well. They also said the Taos burger was pretty good. It was juicy, tasty and big enough for them to share. It did come with fried green chili peppers that they didn't particularly like but did like the burger overall! I thought the Bison Burger was pretty good. It was juicy, cooked like I asked and pretty tasty. I can't say it's better than any other bison burger that I've had but I wasn't disappointed.

Checking out was quick and painless unlike my vist to Applebee's. I think I left Monica a 20% tip even though initially we had to wait to order. She did make up for it with her attentiveness after the fact.

I guess I would recommend 5 Star Burgers for their fairly tasty burgers but I would definitely enter the Taos location knowing that you should not be in a rush to eat and run.

Dining at Applebee's in Taos, New Mexico

Took my two kids to Applebee's in Taos. We were promptly seated but took a little bit to get waited on just for our drink order. We were 1 of 3 tables...1 person at 1 tbl, 2 at another, and 3 at our table...Dalena was working at the time. I heard her tell a coworker she was swamped. The 1 person was almost done with his meal. The 2 people had already ordered and we only had our drinks. I've worked as a waiter and that in no way is called SWAMPED! Dalena was very nice and apologetic though. I just don't think waiting is for her as it requires multitasking and she didn't seem to have that skill.

Anyway, we ordered a full rack of baby back ribs with fries, the grilled garlic sirloin (medium rare) with a cream spinach filled portabello(sp?) mushroom cap topped with parmesan cheese, and the classic wings with honey bbq flavor. She read back our order correctly as well.

About 5-10 minutes later, a "chef" (I assume) came to me and said that they are out of the cream spinach. I was actually looking forward to it and joked with him about leaving. I asked if he had or recommended anything else to fill the mushroom cap. He um-ed and uh-ed and said "Well...?" I finally said how about creamy mashed potatoes. He said, "Ok."

About 10 minutes later, we get our food. The ribs looked fine but how can you mess them up? My sirloin looked good but the portabello cap was nowhere to be seen. I did have a huge portion of mashed potatoes and it seems that the meal already came with potato chunks which I must have missed. The classic wings looked good too. We started to dig in.

My youngest loved the ribs and fries. Again, how can you mess these up?

I found the portabello cap under the generous serving of mashed potatoes. I ate it and the mashed potatoes but not the potato chunks...not because they were bad but because I just wanted the mashed potatoes. The sirloin was cooked half right. Somehow they were able to cook half the sirloin at medium rare and the other half at medium. That's new for me as I've only experienced the entire steak under or over cooked. It was still flavorful so I did not complain.

My oldest bit into the classic wings to find that 1) they were boneless and 2) they were original/classic flavor. I waived over Dalena and told her the order was for the classic bone-in wing with honey bbq flavoring. She proceeded to tell me that I ordered it wrong. She said she heard boneless classic wing and classic meant the typical buffalo spice flavor. I told her that boneless or bone-in is not the problem but we wanted honey bbq. I said she even read back our order stating bone-in with honey bbq. So, this time I clearly stated AGAIN we wanted bone-in with honey bbq flavoring. She was prompt with putting in the correct order and we got it within 10 minutes.

I judge a waitperson's tip partly on how effective they are with refilling my drink. I drink soda like some people chug beer. If I have to wait for my next sip too long, the tip goes down. Dalena was very good with all our refills...especially mine.

Finally, it came time to pay the check. When she brought the check, she explained how she had to add then remove the wings to get it to the kitchen and blah, blah, blah. All I cared is that I wasn't double-charge because we would have had major issues if it was.

By this time the two other tables had left (-3 ppl) and she gained two other tables (a family of 3 on each of the two). She had barely taken the drink order of the table behind us. Again, she felt overwhelmed. She passed our table and grabbed our payment so quickly that I didn't get a chance to ask her for a to-go box BUT she also never asked even though half a rack of ribs were left as well as half the wings. So, I get up and walk toward the men's room which happens to be right next to the register where she's putting in the order for the table behind us. As I approach, I hear her tell a coworker that the guy (at table behind us) wants a Miller Lite but "there isn't even a Miller Lite choice on the register." I reach the register and I ask her for one to-go box while I think to myself that the restaurant probably wouln't sell a beer that isn't in the register/computer. I don't know that for a fact but it was just curious how frazzled she was.

I returned to the table and write out my check with the tip. The tab was $51.21. I almost always start out the tip percentage at 20% for true waitstaff—not those buffet restaurants where someone clears your used plate and refills your cup like at Golden Corral or China Super Buffet. Because Dalena messed up the wings and tried to blame it on me, I had to go below the 20%. I almost just did 15% which I typically don't go below because I've been there as a waitperson and know how it sucks. However, I decided she did make it right and after fixing the order, she apologized for the error. I decided to go with 17%.

My overall experience with this Applebee's is that I will not be stopping in again when I'm in Taos nor will I be recommending it to anyone I know who may be visiting Taos. With the lack of having the actual food items to serve that are listed in the menu and the just-acceptable service, I cannot say it was a good experience for us. I have been to Applebee's in Dallas, Texas without any issues quite a few times so maybe it's just a Taos thing.

Buckyballs

I saw an article today on Gizmodo about Buckyballs being banned by the Feds (linked to story while it lasts). I've never purchased or used Buckyballs. I've seen the little cubes holding them and thought, "Cool, I'd like to buy those just because," and then I'd see the price and think, "I'm not paying that much for a whimsical item."

However, banning this product because it poses a hazard to children is over-the-top freaking ridiculous! I fully understand the hazards, somewhat severe, these could pose to children, hell even some adults, but that's not a valid enough reason to just ban Buckyballs.

If they ban shit on the potential hazards it poses to stupid, uneducated, ill-raised, irresponsible children, then they should ban other products that are "adult only" like:

• Spray paint—18 or older to purchase but it doesn't stop children from using, playing with, spraying in own eyes or inhaling. BAN IT!
• Super glue—Most places require you to be 18 or over purchase because of the inhalant factor kids like to use it for. I've seen stories and have had similar incidents myself with super gluing fingers, hands, lips and clothing as a kid. BAN IT!
• Guns—Purchased by "responsible" adults based on background checks and how many accidental deaths have occurred with children finding the guns and shooting themselves, their sibling or their friends? BAN IT!

I think you get the ridiculousness I'm trying to share.

My final thoughts are it's Nature's way of thinning the herd and survival of the fittest. The kids will either die from their stupidity or learn from it. Either way, we are all better off with either outcome! Some would say I'd think different if it were my kids. Maybe or maybe not. I'd be worried and hope they lived to learn from it. I would think that my kid was a dumb ass for doing it but every kid does something stupid more than once throughout their childhood. It'd also be kind of funny. But in the end, they lived; they learned; and we could laugh about it after the fact.

Again, I know doing stupid things way more than the average male growing up and I've survived. I don't look back and think it was a product's fault. I knew better and just didn't listen to my parents or the label warnings (after being able to read). It's human nature to be a dumb ass every now and then. It's not the manufacturer's, company's, or product's fault. But we get no money when we, ourselves, accept the blame.

Groupon advertising

I'd have to say this is a pretty good advertisement for boob enhancements...err...skydiving.

It doesn't make me want to purchase the Groupon or go skydiving but it does make me think the boobs!

Texas is running out of death penalty drugs

There are many things we do have an abundance of to replace the drugs:

• The rope
• The firing squad
• The guillotine
• A grenade—duct taped to the head
• Bullet(s)—in general
• Push off a tall building
• Push in front of a high-speed moving train
• Push out of an airplane without a parachute

I think we can improvise with just about anything these days. Of course, critics would be crying about some methods (even the one-drug dose they are planning to use) as cruel and unusual punishment.

Seriously!? These fuckers are on death row for a reason. They caused cruel and unusual punishment to their victims and the victims' families. Who gives a shit if we cut off one appendage at a time until they are dead?

I would sleep just fine if I had to pull the switch, the trigger, the pin, or do the push. In time they too would call me "Executioner" (say that in the voice of The Emperor from Return of the Jedi).

Should WTA players make equal prize money as ATP players?

I started typing this about a week ago but was on vacation and didn't have time to complete my thought. It's still pertinent. It's just posted late.

For starters, in case you didn't know:

• WTA = Women's Tennis Association = female professional tennis players
• ATP = Association of Tennis Players = male professional tennis players

There was a recent article (linked while it lasts) on Tennis.com where Gilles Simon, a good-but-with-spotty-success male tennis player says he's against equal prize money for men and women tennis players in tournaments.

Of course, this received a lot of feedback from the women's players calling Simon an idiot, a sexist, and one very good female player said, "Do people go to see his matches or mine?" She's got a valid point but the other comments are just ignorant.

There are many people, especially women, that feel the women's players should get equal pay. I get their plight and I know women's tennis has come a long way with the prize money thanks to the efforts of Billie Jean King and other professional women tennis players. I'm glad women are getting paid what they are due but I don't think they should get equal pay...always.

Let me put it into perspective with a simple example:

A man and a woman start work at a company at the same time, doing the same exact job, having the same exact skills and level of work experience...basically ALL things being equal! The man puts in a 40-hr week and gets paid $1,000. The woman puts in a 30-hr week and gets paid $1,000.

Is this fair?

Now again, all things being equal. If the man and woman both work a 40-hr week and get paid $1,000, then that's equal pay for equal work.

Relate this to tennis and we get the following: men play 3-out-of-5 sets while the women play 2-out-of-3 sets. Should the women get equal pay? I don't think so! That's not equal pay for equal work.

One ignorant comment from a top-ten female player (I forget who) was something to the extent of, "If the men have to play four or five sets, well that's their problem. They should have won three sets in a row." So then it could be said that if females play 3 sets, too bad, they should have won two sets in a row.

For those tournaments that have 2-out-of-3 sets for both the men and women draws, I could see maybe equal pay for equal play. I guess maybe these tournaments' prize money could come down to which gender pulls in the most money but that's up to the promoters and such.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my 2¢.

See, it's not just Americans...even England has money chasers

So quick back story. David Nalbandian was in the Queen's Club final. He lost his temper after losing his serve. He kicked a barrier around a line judge's chair which I'm sure he thought was much more sturdy than it turned out to be. The barrier gave way and hit the line judge in the shin. The line judge was genuinely injured although it looks from the video to be something as simple as a minor cut and I'm assuming he'll show a bruise later. (I noticed) He was very animated with his reaction which my first thought was "Oh shit, this dude's gonna sue." I don't know if that's what they do in England but that's what he'd do in America. Nalbandian's actions violated an ATP rule and he was disqualified and therefore lost the match. Subsequently, he was fined and then someone filed an assault complaint against him. That someone turned out to be the linesman.

While the links last, you can see the first (maybe the first) story here, a follow-up here and then the most recent one naming the linesman as the whiner complaint filer here).

Now while I don't condone his actions, I don't think Nalbandian is a bad guy. We all let our emotions get the better of us at times. No, that doesn't excuse our actions. I'm just saying that there was a time that something as simple and accidental albeit totally avoidable as this could be moved on from with a simple apology and maybe taking someone out to dinner or such to show there is true remorse and sincerity.

Again, the way the linesman acted up the injury was kind of comical and movie-like. I just knew something more was going to come of it. I don't know what the laws are like in England but in America, the fucked up court system would award this guy a couple of million for his physical AND mental anguish.

Polaroid is still making instant print cameras?

This is an ad I saw for the Polaroid 14MP Instant Print Digital Camera. You can Google it and probably find it on Amazon or something. It's currently on sale at a daily deal website for $179.99 which they say is a savings of $119.96. So, retail on this is somewhere in the area of $300 give or take a few dollars.

I would buy this thing 1) if it was cheaper like around $100 and 2) if I knew I wouldn't be screwed in the near or distant future with Polaroid no longer able to support this product.

I love the Polaroid instamatics of old. It was the one that spit the photo out the front and there was no tearing off the cover like the other Polaroids that you pulled a tab from the side. I guess that's not an instamatic though, huh.

I remember going on a high school trip for a week in the late 80s and took one with me along with several packs of film cartridge refills. I also had my, well my brother's, trusty old Minolta 35mm film camera. The cost of the replacement cartridges for the Polaroid was much greater than the 24-36 exposures of 35mm film. So, using them in tandem was much more cost effective for a high schooler.

There's just something about instant gratification of seeing a developed picture...okay, it was more like three minutes because you had to shake the photo to help dry the developing chemicals and to make sure the photo didn't get smeared. I had that happen a few times on accident. Anyway, it's not like digital cameras these days because yes, digital gives you instant gratification of seeing what you took but it doesn't automatically give you a printed, archival copy that you can give away or share. Digital images are great but there is always a chance they could get deleted, damaged or whatever before you get a chance to get them printed. Yes, yes, not everyone cares about printing them but for me, I like to print for physical archival purposes the images I want or like most and would like to have two versions of: digital and physical.

I think my office had a few Polaroids that I willingly took off their hands. I figured if they still worked maybe I could find film for them and have some cheap or expensive fun. Also, if I can't find film, maybe I could eBay or Craigslist them and get some dough since I didn't spend anything on getting them. If I can remember where they are, there are like six of them, I'll see about finding film or selling them.

I just thought it was interesting to see something that most see as archaic finding a way back into the world. The real things is way better than Instagram.

My other thought about this one is: how does it print without ink? And if there is no ink, which along with paper is usually considered when saying something is archival for so many years, is this an archival photograph and for how long? If it's not long enough, then digital and "professional" printing is still a better choice.

Andy Roddick should just hang up his racquet!

Just to back me up, here is an image from an article on Tennis.com.

click image for link to article while it lasts

I think I've typed about his decline before but Andy Roddick should just end his misery now. He's losing to people he probably really shouldn't lose to. Yeah, yeah. He's had some injuries and shit but dude, the body can only take damage and recover so often. It's different if you had a pretty stellar game to begin with but when it was becoming average for years now, you've got nothing to rely on when you aren't 100%.

Look at Federer. He's still a great player but even his game doesn't seem to be able to lift him over those final hurdles. I don't know if it's age, injury, focus, or what but there use to be another gear or two that Federer could tap into and defeat his opponents even in the past few years. I'm not saying Federer needs to retire. I just think he needs to change his game a little...more net play, more attacking side-to-side, something...like Agassi did in the 2nd and better leg of his career. I don't think he's gone like Roddick because he's still taking the sets to scores such as 7-6, 7-5, or 6-4. Those are close sets and come down to one loss of serve.

Anyway, back to Roddick. Roddick had a two-shot game: killer serve and killer forehand. He's lost both. I don't think it's because people have figured the serve out. I see that it's different, maybe ever so slightly, but it is. Same with his forehand. It used to be much flatter and more powerful. He'd drive through that thing versus the more loopy stroke he has now. The loop allows players too much time to get to it now whereas before it was almost always a winner.

Roddick can take away from his career that he was a one-hit wonder: the 2003 U.S. Open. He's made it to some great finals like U.S. Open 2006 and Wimbledon 2009, both against Federer, which are perfect surfaces (fast) for his old serve and forehand.

A new coach in Larry Stefanki is no longer providing the resurgence it did back 2009. Put a fork in him. He's done. Andy should just enjoy retirement, play on the seniors tour, and live off his wife, actress/model Brooklyn Decker. Accept it and live with it. I would enjoy every moment with her too!

Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic in Men's 2012 French Open Final

The Men's finals are set for the 2012 French Open. In fact, it's currently in progress. I haven't had a chance to jump on and ramble about it before now because Saturday was a busy day for me. Anyway, the final is:

Rafael Nadal

— vs. —

Novak Djokovic

What does Nadal have to do to win? What every opponent of Djokovic should do...if they can...make his ass run! Before Djokovic's run of wins, he had a very bad stamina/conditioning issue. My thought is that he still has it obviously not as bad but his skills have improved so much that it's allowed him to do less running and such during his matches. I believe if his opponents would continue to run him back and forth as much as possible and as long as they can (obviously it is difficult but it's just a game plan) he will begin to falter earlier in the match. Again, I know it's difficult but at the skill levels of Nadal, Federer, Murray, Tsonga, Berdych and others it should be an attainable task. Nadal is currently up 6-4, 5-3 with Djokovic due to serve after the rain delay. I missed the first set but in the second, Nadal was making Djokovic work very hard for the points if the got them at all. Nadal was hitting through the ball, side to side with good angles and pace. He got up 2-0 and then for some reason he changed his strokes. He started looping the balls and Djokovic started pouncing on them and making Nadal work harder. Before you know it, it's 2-2, then 3-3. Finally, Nadal woke up and started hitting through the ball again without the loops which lead to a break of Djokovic's serve and a hold of his own to make it 5-3. Djokovic was about to serve before they called for a rain delay.

What does Djokovic have to do to win? He needs to continue the way he was hitting in games 3 and 4 of the second set. Again, I didn't see the first set. Even though Nadal is great on clay and his movement is pretty outstanding, even he can't run forever. I recommend the same side-to-side hitting with good angles and pace. When the moment comes, be at or near the net to get the easy put away volley because Nadal is so far behind the baseline and the good approach shot should put him off the court as well. That's some of what Djokovic did during the 3rd and 4th game of the set. He had some very good, deep approach shots and then followed with some very nice vollies.

Who do I want to win? I'm feeling my favor in the Nadal corner. Partly because I'm sick of hearing all the kiss-ass praise from the commentators. They always pick someone to back and blow so much smoke up their asses to make them seem so great. They elevate them to a level over the opponent of the time which they should not. The opponent obviously deserves to be there as much as any one else because they ARE THERE on the court as well! Now, don't think I don't believe Djokovic is a good, maybe even great, player but he's not the best returner in the game right now. He could share the title with a handful of people. He's not the best mover on the court. He moves better than a year and a half ago because he's worked on his conditioning but Federer still moves well for a 30-yr-old. Murray returns and moves well too. Nadal still has the best overall movement and conditioning no matter what. So why the overpraise of Djokovic over one year when these people have been moving and doing well (Murray somewhat inconsistently but still well)? Also, looking at the run to the finals for both Nadal and Djokovic, Nadal has been the more consistent. He has yet to drop a set while Djokovic had to play back-to-back five-setters before playing a fairly close three-set match with Federer. So, my overall vote is for Nadal especially since they always called him just a clay court player but he showed them by winning all the grand slams at least once and on run for a 7th win at Roland Garros.

Well, play has resumed and the commentators are still praising Djokovic even now that he is down two sets to none and losing 2-0 in the third. I really don't think he will but if Djokovic were to come back from this deficit and win the match, the tournament, the trophy, then there would be no shutting up these idiot bandwaggoner fuckers!

Taos Mountains