Big Bad Wolf

Last night after band practice Jesse and I went to try Big Bad Wolf out for size. Located on Harford Road only about 15 minutes from my house, they were offering a special during the Halloween week: their signature "Big Bad Wolf" sandwich for $5. Advertised as "An enormous sandwich with slow smoked beef brisket, Carolina pulled pork, hickory smoked bacon all topped with your favorite BBQ sauce."

No foolin'.

As we were already aware, this place is tiny. Only 5 seats for the counter service with two picnic tables out front. Our sandwiches were served up quick in to-go containers and we dug right in. It was exactly as advertised. Huge. Meaty. Delicious.

Regretfully, I had mine served with the Kansas City Spicy BBQ sauce. I was going to go with the Carolina vinegar but noticed the word "HOT" was involved so I opted for spicy instead. Still a mistake because apparently "spicy" is interchangeable with "HOT". In hind sight I should have done either the Kansas City Sweet (Jesse's choice) or the Texas style (sweet as well).

Otherwise, the sandwich was fantastic. The bun was perfectly toasted, that is, not too much, not too little. It didn't scrape your mouth when you bit in, but you were aware of the light toasting. The first thing that hit your mouth (besides the hot sauce) was the brisket. It was thick and juicy and definitely stood out the most in the sandwich.

Second was the pulled pork which was loose enough to be light and delicious but held itself together so that it didn't fall out all over the place. If you ate carefully, you could probably keep the whole thing perfectly intact, but that would leave you with no extra treats left over once you're done.

Also, that's no fun.

Lastly was the bacon. I actually hardly noticed the bacon while eating, but even so, I'm a huge fan of thickly sliced bacon. I also have to comment on the skill that was involved, as despite the thick bacon, it was also very tender. Usually when eating thick bacon you pull out a whole strip with a bite. This stuff just let you bite right on through without even noticing. The key is that it was crispy but not so crispy that it was brittle and dry.

I finished everything off with some of their sweet tea (free refills, which I used to my advantage with that hot sauce) which was pretty good. Very sweet. Bordering TOO sweet, but still good. I must also note that the last two times I was at Andy Nelson's BBQ their sweet tea had a bad burnt taste to it. Tsk tsk. I also noticed that Big Bad Wolf's full rack of ribs are a few bucks cheaper than Andy Nelson's. Not competition yet, just a thought.

Overall, I was very satisfied with Big Bad Wolf. I really look forward to eating there again and trying their ribs. I hear good things.

Gene therapy allows the blind to see.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/uops-oso102209.php

In short, a single injection of light-sensitive pigments into the eyes of ten people born legally blind (and two with retinal degeneration) has allowed them to see, six of which are now declassified as legally blind.

Simply amazing. This discovery is an amazing advocate for stem cell research, especially for those who are scared of technology. No implants needed!

This is pretty incredible.

This doesn't necessarily have to do with cyborgs, but this is pretty insane regardless.

It's a regular ol' piano that is digitally controlled so when played, it mimics the human voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muCPjK4nGY4

The Tender Rib BBQ

A new BBQ place opened up a few blocks from work and I had lunch there today. I thought I’d share the results in a quick note. It’s called The Tender Rib, so naturally I tried their namesake: 4 ribs, two sides, sweet tea.

I’ll work my way backwards. The sweet tea was very good, not too sweet but not lacking either. My sides were baked beans and potato salad, both of which were excellent. The beans were cooked well in a sweet sauce that was just the right amount of spicy. The potato salad featured potato chunks of just the right size and, thankfully, avoided large pieces of onion or celery.

Seeing that the restaurant was called ‘The Tender Rib’, I had opposing feelings with what to expect. It could work both ways. Either the cook is so confident in his smoking abilities that he names his restaurant to exemplify that, or, they’re trying their best but luring people in with a false promise. Sadly, it’s the latter. It was obvious the pork wasn’t cooked long enough and it was kind of a hassle to get the meat from the bone. To note on the positive, you could tell the pork itself was of good quality and there was ample meat on all three sides of the bone. It was served with a dry rub and the sauce on the side (big plus for following the rules) was a nice balance between sweet and vinegar.

The biggest disappointment of all would have to be the high prices. To compare, a full rack of amazing ribs with two sides, cornbread and a drink at Andy Nelson’s is $21; while a HALF rack of ribs with two sides and a drink (no cornbread) at The Tender Rib will run you $19. Ribs are the exception though, as sandwich combo options are more equal to those I’m used to.

One could assume that this was simply an off day for ribs. This is no excuse as you must cook to impress every day, regardless. I probably won't order the ribs again for quite some time, if ever. For the price, it's not really worth the gamble. But, I will definitely eat here again, instead ordering something a little less demanding, probably the brisket.

Overall, the restaurant staff was friendly and the dining area was just fine. Most importantly, they seem to have a pretty good handle on their food but I would definitely suggest refining their ribs.

p.s. I have no idea why the text is so dark. Oh well.

More cyborgs!!!!

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/News/154640,augmented-contact-lenses-hit-significant-milestone.aspx

This is incredible. Not technically cyborg-worthy as it does no permanent augmenting to the body, but incredible none-the-less.

The article explains these prototype contact lenses that have integrated circuits and LEDs that are powered wirelessly in order to display digital information RIGHT INTO YOUR FUCKING EYE.

To use the articles example, instead of having to look down at your phone to follow directions, the correct path for you to take can be digitally shown right into your eye, practically like it was right in front of you.

Amazing.

To: My Winter Nerve

A few weeks ago I went to the Ottobar to see a band and while browsing the merch table I heard someone yelling. I noticed he was hollering at me in order to get my attention and when I approached him he spent the next 15 minutes telling me how much he enjoyed my band, how awesome we were and recalling minute details of shows that I couldn’t even remember. For clarification, this isn’t a band that I had recently; these details were from 5 years ago. Just yesterday an old acquaintance e-mailed me asking for a copy of this band’s CD because he lost his and really wanted to listen to it. We get e-mails of people overseas who somehow got our actual homemade CD and inquire about the band. I get these types of e-mails fairly often. To further press this point, writing this prompted me to check our MySpace page and I answered an e-mail from some dude in Spain asking to get a copy. Not bad for my first band that we started 8 years ago.

This got me to thinking about that single moment in life where everything changes. I would assume for most people these events come into your life in such ways as going to college, getting married, having kids, getting shot at in Iraq or being involved in a deadly car accident. Not necessarily all these things or in that order. When these moments occur, the person recognizes the weight of the situation and understands that their life won’t be the same from here on. Thus far I’ve assumed meeting Laura was this singular moment and things like getting married, starting a career and buying a house were all by-products. All this time I’ve been mistaken. All of the aforementioned moments are simply the result of something else. My own moment slipped in like a thief in the night and I never took a close enough look at exactly how important it was.

In 2002 (I believe that was the year) the four of us started playing music together. None of us had ever been in a band before and I hadn’t been playing guitar for very long. Yet we still managed to write music that made Hagerstown’s knees buckle. I often think about what it was like to show up to Clint’s parent’s house, load up our stuff, drive to the show, unload, meet people, sit at our merch table, goof off, setup, destroy ear drums, tear down, talk to fans, pack up and head home. It’s the best feeling in the world. Standing there playing, looking over a sea of kids, eyes closed, arms crossed, heads bobbing, and feeling totally connected to everyone in the room. To paraphrase, Iggy Pop said it best that when you’re in the grips of it (music) you don’t feel pleasure, you don’t feel pain, physically or emotionally. It’s very true. When I recall my mental state while playing, especially during a large, pivotal part of the song, is that of such ecstasy that my mind felt numb. I wasn’t thinking about anything at all, my mind was a blank slate, yet my body was racing with energy. The best way for me to express that ecstasy and energy was to just throw my guitar (and sometimes myself) around. Every moment mattered. Every song we listened to on the way to the show mattered. Every person we met who loved our band mattered. It used to bother me that we never went anywhere past the tri-state area. I knew then (and I still do) that we had the ability to do really well with our band and be successful, but when I look back on it now, I prefer it the way it was. I like that our band was something special just for our area. It was ours and we were theirs.

To continue though, it was through this band that I’ve achieved everything else in life. I can still remember the moment I met Laura. It was evening outside of Hagerstown Community College’s cafeteria building. I was there playing a show and she was there to see our band. She knew to come see our band because she was in school with Clint and Nevin, two of my band mates. My character, personality, interests, likes and dislikes were all shaped by spending so much of my time around these friends I was in a band with. The person I was then is more or less the same person I am now because being a part of that experience taught me to stick to who you are. Most people I knew looked and behaved a certain way because it was the current trend, and when that climate changed, they changed. They spent their teenage and young adult years morphing from one person to another. I’m proud that I’ve stayed true to myself and to my friends. Where would I be now without that band? Who would I be? Who knows what type of music I would enjoy, what type of people I would spend my time with and what I would do for fun. Who knows where I would be living, who I would be living with and what I would be doing with my life. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too awful but I can guarantee it wouldn’t be as awesome as life is now.

It was only yesterday that I truly realized that I owe everything I enjoy and love to being in a band with those dudes and for that, Clint, Jared and Nevin, I am eternally grateful.

Incredible robotic appendages and hands.

http://technology.todaysbigthing.com/2009/08/25

This is nothing less than amazing. Robot fingers doing shit that we could never dream of with amazing speed and accuracy.

Tell you what, I'll be the first in line to get my pair of robot arms.