Pay day for Pei Wei

First off, I have to express my disappointment with Roger Federer for losing to Djokovic. My prediction of that game; and in fact, the entire open couldn't have been further off-base.

with that out of the way, I proceed to describe my experience at Pei Wei Asian Cafe today. This is the first time I have been to a counter service restaurant that was on a false wait. The wait wasn't that long, but there were plenty of tables open. Evidently there was some sort of issue with the gas line that had resulted in one station being shut down. The managers really managed the situation pretty well, but it was odds nonetheless. Those things tend to pop up during the first week a restaurant is open.

Other than that operational problem, the food was really good. Sarah and I ordered:
• Crab wontons -- better than PF Chang's
• Thai dynamite -- a spicy orangey mix -- very good
• Asian coconut curry -- I measure all curry against Earl's in Denver, and this had a similar flavor profile, but was missing something.

All in all a good experience. We will be back.

Another idea for a science experiment

I was watching MythBusters tonight on Discovery and had a great idea, well, I should say saw a great idea for a science experiment for when Sydney is in school. Evidently there is this myth about some tribe that build a cannon overnight out of a tree and a block of granite. They ground the granite into a circular cannon ball and drilled a hole into the tree trunk to create the cannon barrel.

Now it might not be acceptable to actually fire a cannonball, but building a cannon out of a tree trunk would be a pretty fun project to do when Sydney gets older. Marked for reference.

Disappointed

Although it looks like James Blake did a good job of holding Federer close in each set, he lost to the Swiss champion in straight sets. At this point I am guessing that Federer will take the open.

Djokovic vs Ferrer

So I am sitting here tonight working on expanding the data warehouse for the Company we just purchased and have been enjoying myself watching a little Aussie tennis. Last weekend I saw James Blake fight his way back against Sebastien Grosjean down two sets to none and in a 4-1 deficit in the third set. It was a remarkable victory.

Tonight I don't have as much emotional involvement in the game, but have been somewhat hoping that Ferrer is able to fight his way back in the same way. Down 0-6 3-6 5-6, at Match Point #5 it looks like its not going to happen.

In fact as I wrote that last sentence, Djokovic took the match. The serbian has made it to the semifinals. Although the first set was a bit of weak tennis, the final two sets were extremely dynamic. Later this morning we will find out who he plays in the semis. Blake will play against Roger Federer in what he hopes to break Federer's streak of 40 consecutive wins against American players.

An ad-hoc science experiment

A few days ago when Sarah and I had some friends over, we decided to break out the Champagne and celebrate.  For no reason whatsoever.  Sarah wanted to make some of her gourmet treats and have several drinks centered around a Champagne theme.

Our friend Mario, anytime he drinks even a single drink, requires an antacid.  As a result, I always have a full supply of Tums and Pepcid on-hand.  Keep in mind, though, that the Pepcid I have in my medicine cabinet is not Pepcid AC, which is mostly a non-hydrogenated compound, but is Pepcid Complete, which is basically Tums with some Pepcid and Magnesium Hydroxide added to it.  

So I decide, hey, let's put a Pepcid in Mario's champagne so he won't have to take it separately.  Anybody who has ever built a volcano as a class project (either for themselves or for their child) will know that adding calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide to an already "bubbly" liquid, is bound to cause an eruption.  It made a total mess all over my granite-topped bar.  

The good news?  I now know a cheap and easy way to build a volcano when Sydney goes to school.  Buy a bottle of Andre Spumanté, add a touch of orange and red food coloring, and maybe a bit of Jell-o for texture, and then drop in a Pepcid.  All to create a violent lava-looking explosion.  I might be able to add a little nitrogen tube at the bottom and time it so that I get some liquid projecting upward instead of just bubbling out of the volcano.