Few random notes

Excellent oyster party LB and DP and special props to that bad mutha shucker DG! Running 1/2 marathon with a stomach full of raw oysters and champers is a true feat.

Why is it, lab techs cannot take blood?  That is their main job right?  I had blood drawn this morning and now I have a sore swollen arm.  Thanks.

Love LeBron James... anybody this side of Reggie Miller bitch and complain as much as the King? He has never committed a foul in his entire life, just ask him.

When you become a parent you become a moron. I have not had a car accident in over a decade pre kids.  Post kids?  2 in 6 months. I also am amazed by the dumbest shit.  My kids rolls over and I crap my pants.  A dog can roll over. That said, my son laughed for the first time the other day and I got a little misty.  They are truly weird and amazing creatures.

By the way, Obama getting a ton of shit for jamming in appointees while Congress out of session.  He has done this 29 times... GW pulled the same trick 171 times.  What is good for the goose...

Not a fan of the IRS scandal or anything that the Attorney General Holder is doing right now.  That guy is such a train wreck, just fire him already.  Just because he looks vaguely like Stedman does not mean Oprah will come after you!

2 thumbs up for the small Mobil Jolly station near Panera Bread on Rt 7 in Burlington, or is it SoBu? Fine cup of coffee and very reasonably priced!

***can't figure out how to turn that f*ing image!!!

Jay About the Mule Bar

My folks came up to visit the kids this weekend affording my special lady and I the opportunity to get out run some errands and get a quick bite to eat.  We chose to head to the culinary center of the greater Burlington universe, Winooski, and check out the new Mule Bar.  The Mule Bar is a collaboration of the minds behind The Tree Penny Taproom and The Mad Taco.  We were pretty excited being big fans of the 3 Penny.  The space which previously held a nondescript but tasty Pho Pasteur was totally redone and looks quite clean and modern. I was a little disappointed in what looked like an abbreviated (only 15!) beer list but my wife pointed out that it was well curated.  The menu is pretty high concept and heavy.  There are daily oysters, cheese and charceuterie features.  We were a little overwhelmed so we went simple w/ a sunchoke soup and a burger.  The soup was fantastic. It was creamy, well balanced, and had excellent flavor.  The burger was a nicely cooked medium-rare (actually more medium but that is ok w/ me), and was pretty good but very salty. I didn't mind as we were sharing.  The onions were a nice touch and the bun was good.  The fries were also excellent.  I think we got stiffed on aoli and they were pretty skimpy w/ the ketchup.  My lady had a Maine Beer co Peeper which is an excellent beer.  I had a Lawson's collaboration w/ some group.  It was a smoky maple lager and was like most Lawson's... overrated. I always get sucked in and then regret my choice.  The beers are fine but how they get their cult status is way beyond me, there are many better options out there. I opted for a dark and stormy made w/ Gosling's dark rum and Rookie's ginger beer and that was very appealing looking and an excellent cocktail. We then finished w/ a cinnamon creme caramel w/ maple syrup. It was excellent. Overall, the service was good, the food was good not great, the drinks were solid, the atmosphere was good.  1 2/3rds thumbs up.  I love the Noosk!

There is no Dana... only Drool!!!!

Get that reference? Clever right? Well, F*** you... my lady thought it was funny. My kids are in a huge drool faze. Like there is a constant stream of spit running down their chins. We had to change their clothes the other day because they had soaked their shirts. Pretty crazy these little animals. They are smiling more and much more animated which is great.  They even let us eat a whole lunch at San Sai the other day which was delicious. Not sure how that place stays in business, it is always empty, especially during the day.  It is odd, the setting is nice, the food is good.  There are always people down on the waterfront and I assume they get hungry?  Don't some people not want a disgusting burger or a crepe from time to time?  Well, I like the place.

So Foxnews.com has a great article about all of the controversies killing the Obama second term.  You know, how they misnamed a terrorist attack (naming as opposed to action is very important), or how the IRS targets rich people for audits (really not the guy making 20K selling falafel on the street?), or the Sebulis fundraising scandal (you don't know what that is either?).  At least one of those will kill him historically. Just look what that fake reason for going to war or crippling recession has done to the last president (nothing, really?).  Look, if you want to skewer the guy do it for real reasons... like taxing me for taking a dump!!!

Given real issues out there I am surprised how fired up people get about non issues. Media types are upset Bloomberg employees were checking up on Goldman employees and when they were in or out of the office. BTW, anyone w/ Bloomberg can do that. If they were looking at proprietary trade or portfolio info that is a big deal... checking on when Lloyd shows up to the office on Wednesdays?  Who gives a shit.

Jay About Feldman's Bagel

I have now gotten bagels from this place 3 times.  Here is the 7 Days article w/ a brief history so I don't need to go into that whole thing... http://www.7dvt.com/2013new-bagels-burlington.  So the space itself is fine but odd.  Seems like there should be much more room as the building used to be an old care car garage? That said it is pleasant enough w/ nice light. The first bagel I had was very good.  It was just out of the oven and nice and warm.  I had my go to sesame and it was a little crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside w/ a slightly salty flavor.  The cream cheese (I just went w/ plain) was almost whipped and had a great flavor and consistency.  The coffee was also reasonably priced and quite good. I was a big fan.  My next stop I picked up a 6 pack o bagels for the office.  Day one they were good again. The everything bagel was flavorful w/out being overly loaded w/ the fake overcooked garlic that can sometimes be the case.  Day 2 the bagels were pretty hard but w/ a quick reheat they were edible.  Day 3?  Not so much. They had to be tossed. My third trip was in the afternoon and this was a mistake. The service was very personable and friendly but the guy kept forgetting what he was doing because he was chatting too much. The bagels were already kind of hard.  I had a bialy that tasted ok but was so hard I could not really enjoy it as I wanted to.  I think that this place is pretty binary.  Go in the morning for a warm very solid bagel that is reasonably priced. After that you might as well buy frozen bagels at the grocery store because these do not hold up that well.  So, I guess like a confused vampire I have 1 2/3 thumbs up in the morning and 1 thumb sideways to down after the sun really comes up?

My coworker and I hit up Kwini yesterday for a business outing and we got stuck behind a foursome of absolute D-bags. These guys were fine golfers, not great, not terrible, but they played soooo slow.  We skipped back a few holes and still caught up to them again.  A pair of octogenarians walking the course had to skip around they assclowns. Of course they did not let anyone play through. So we are melting down and getting more and more frustrated as these guys putt out every 1 footer, spend 20 minutes cleaning off their balls (hehe), and take 30 minutes to line up 20 foot putts they never make.  So finally we are sitting around on the tee at 15 waiting for these tools to line up putts and go through the motions when one of the guys misses a 2 footer.  He goes ballistic and tosses his ball into the woods. We started laughing like hyenas... this guy had not hit a putt all day and probably shot a 150 but he gets so mad at his ball he tosses it?  Fantastic!