Last week at my job, we had one of our clients in town.  Looking for a nice place in town to take them, we decided on the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, a beautiful seafood restaurant that sits up on the top of Mount Washington overlooking downtown Pittsburgh.

First of all, the view is simply amazing.  From our table, we had a direct view of all of downtown, the two stadiums (Heinz Field and PNC Park), and could see for miles in the distance.

Secondly, they have some of the best seafood in town.  To make a point of it, I say that and I don't even like seafood.  However, everything I've tried there has been excellent.  That includes tuna, swordfish, Maryland crab cakes, shrimp and calamari.  Seeing as I avoid seafood almost everywhere else, that is quite the ringing endorsement.

And yes, while it is definitely among the more expensive restaurants I've had the pleasure of dining in, it is well worth the price.  Whether you're out to enjoy a special evening, impress a client, or simply indulge yourself, the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto is one of the premier places in Pittsburgh to consider.

Yea, I wish I could say "Hardly Workin'". Instead, it's been a crazy week with lots of time critical projects, meetings, and face-to-face time with clients. Between Monday and Wednesday, I put in over 32 hours of work!

Thankfully things are calming back down now, but I really don't have many urges to go near my computer this weekend.

I normally love NFL Draft Weekend, but this year's draft has just been odd.  While I love the idea of cutting the first round picks down from 15 to 10 minutes (cuts the first round down from around 8 hours to 5 1/2), starting the draft at 3 P.M. ET (instead of Noon ET) and only completing two rounds on the first day just seem awkward.  This means they have five more rounds to complete tomorrow, which I usually find more interesting because that's where teams are built for the long-haul of the NFL season.

As for my take on the first day of the 2008 draft:

• Atlanta got a good deal getting QB Matt Ryan at #3 overall.  The guy accomplished a whole lot with almost nothing around him at the skill positions while playing at BC, and he definitely should have more to work with at the pro level.
• Jacksonville clearly seemed to reach for Florida DE Derrick Harvey.  I really don't think he's going to be worth the two third rounders and the fifth rounder he cost them.
• I was surprised to see Carolina pick Oregon RB Jonathan Stewart at #13.  I know they needed a RB after losing Foster, but they also had other needs that could have been addressed at this spot.
• Baltimore played the yo-yo team this year, moving down 18 spots in their trade with Jacksonville, and them back up 8 spots to #18 to pick QB Joe Flacco of Deleware (and formerly Pitt).  Looking at how things played out, he probably would have been there for them at #26.  However, they have a record of moving up for mediocre QBs (say hello to Kyle Boller, Joe).
• The Steelers selected a solid RB in Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois with their first round pick, and then followed that up with big WR Limas Sweed of Texas in the second round.  They're good picks, but seem out of character for the team, especially when their most pressing need appears to be the offensive line.
• Five teams (Cleveland, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Washington and Indianapolis) traded out of the first round altogether.  I'm not sure if that's indicative of the quality of the draft class, the depth of the draft class, or the needs of each team.  We won't know that answer for a few more years, but I'm pretty sure that number has to be some kind of record.
• The "experts" and the teams didn't seem to see eye-to-eye much beyond the first ten picks in the draft this year.  There's a lot of predicted first rounders who fell into the second round or are still on the board.  For example, Limas Sweed was predicted to be the first or second wide reciever picked on the day, when he ended up being the ninth wideout picked at #53 overall.

There's still a lot of draft to go, and the remaining five rounds will likely have as much or more impact on their teams as the picks of these first two rounds.

The Sesame Inn has the best Chinese food in Pittsburgh, hands down.  And that's not just one man's opinion, as they have a series of awards to prove it.  Their General Tso's Chicken is simply amazing, and I've enjoyed everything else I've tried there.  The boiled dumpling appetizers are also extremely good, and a favorite of my wife.  That's no small task as we regularly frequent the restaurant because one of their four locations is within walking distance of my home.  And the quality is consistent, as I've eaten at three of the four locations.

It may not be the cheapest Chinese food in the area, but the prices are still reasonable with most of the meals coming in under $15.

The Sesame Inn also has some sentimental value for my wife and I as well, as it's the place that we had our first date a little over 5 years ago.

So if you're in Pittsburgh and enjoy good Chinese food, definitely stop by the Sesame Inn.  You won't be disappointed.

I've now been living in Pittsburgh for nearly 6 years, and I'm constantly amazed by what can be found in this city.  While there are plenty of chain stores and restaurants, they are not nearly as abundant as I've seen in most other cities I've visited, and it's one of my favorite things about the city.  There's always new secrets to come across.

From time to time, I'll be highlighting some of my favorite restaurants and locations in and around the city.  With so much to discover, it's hard to find all the good stuff on your own.

So keep your eyes peeled for the occasional update about some the Pittsburgh's best features.

Nope, not because they've been playing games for over three weeks now.

It's because I finally found the time to watch Major League last night! Ah, how that makes me pine to have more announcers like Bob Uecker (as opposed to the likes of Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver, who announce the game with all the grace of Lennie from Of Mice And Men).

But one of the best lines came from the DVD extras, when Chelcie Ross (who played aging pitcher Eddie Harris), spoke to Uecker at one point during the filming, who asked "Was that you down there hurling? Absolutely inspirational! It made me want to hurl myself."

Play ball!

A few weeks ago I started trying out the ColdBox Framework for ColdFusion.  I have to admit that at first I found it confusing, because it's approach to development was so much different from the previous approaches I had taken on my own and at work.  It hasn't helped that I haven't had an overwhelming amount of development time at home to work with it, but so it goes. 

However, now that I'm getting my head around it's approaches, I'm beginning to figure out just how to work within it.  The use of events and views and their separation is becoming more familiar, and really make sense.  Instead of having code for events in the top part of each one of my pages, I can now keep it separated, which should help me to maintain easy to read and maintain code.

As I continue to work with ColdBox, I plan on writing here about my experiences.  So if you're interested, come on back and see how it's coming.

From the first time I heard Santa Monica, I have been a fan of Everclear.  Ever since then, I've followed the rock trio closely.  Through their careers, they've put together some great albums along with some hit songs.  And that's one of the things I've always liked about them.  They weren't just about creating great songs, but also creating great albums that were really worth your money.

I'm going to take a some time to rank these albums (leaving out the "Greatest Hits", of course) as I have enjoyed them over the years:

1. Sparkle and Fade - The album that introduce me and most of the world to Everclear.  Sparkle and Fade really showed off the storytelling abilities of lead singer and song writer Art Alexakis.  The entire album is filled with raw emotion and pain.  Even as a kid growing up in the comfy arms of suburbia, it gave a glimpse at life surrounded by dysfunction and despair.  While Santa Monica being the most popular track on the album, and Heartspark Dollarsign being the second-most-likely to have heard song, I was really more drawn to some of the other songs on the album, like The Twistinside and Strawberry.  All in all, the entire album is great, and really is a treat to listen to as a full album.
2. So Much For The Afterglow - If you had somehow managed to miss Everclear's Sparkle and Fade, their follow up So Much for the Afterglow was almost impossible to miss.  Their first three releases off the album, Everything to Everyone, I Will Buy You A New Life, and Father of Mine all shot up the charts and into public awareness.  It was definitely a strong follow up to Sparkle and Fade, keeping much of the same tone and attitude.  This album was a bit more polished, but managed to hold on to the essence of Everclear.  Again, the album is a gem as a whole, but in particular it contains some of my favorite Everclear songs, including Normal Like You, Amphetamine, Sunflowers, and the instrumental El Distorto De Melodica. 
3. Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time For A Bad Attitude - This album was the second in a pair of themed albums that the band put out in about six months in 2000 and 2001.  While the first album was a bit "happier", Bad Attitude brought back the Everclear attitude at a time I was afraid they were falling away from it.  Highlighted by When It All Goes Wrong Again, Overwhelming (originally an Art Alexakis solo project that he decided was a better fit for the band as a whole), and another instrumental piece in Halloween Americana, Bad Attitude kept the Everclear train chugging along.  Though it's focus changed from the dregs of life to commenting on the messed up things they saw around them on their rise to fame.  While not being as deep and hard-hitting, it was perfect fodder for my teenage and twentysomething angst.
4. Slow Motion Daydream - By the time 2003 had rolled around, I was pleased to discover that Everclear was releasing another album.  It had been rumored that the Songs From An American Movie compilation was going to be the band's last release together, so getting more new material was definitely a bonus.  Even more of a bonus is the fact that Slow Motion Daydream contains one of my favorite Everclear songs: Sunshine (The Acid Summer).  Sunshine breaks the mold of the majority of Everclear songs and reflects on "kids being kids" and is rife with nostalgia towards the freedom of youth.  While I'm now in my late 20's, Sunshine always brings a smile to my face (much like the Fresh Prince's Summertime).  Also included on this album is the smarmy and hilarious Volvo Driving Soccer Mom, How To Win Friends and Influence People, and New Blue Champion.  While some of the tracks are a little less distinctive, this album is actually very much in the mold of Everclear's first two major releases.  A few great songs, followed closely behind by a cavalcade of very good songs.  After nearly a decade, the band had stuck to its guns, creating as much good music as they could.
5. World of Noise - Let's jump back in time to the band's first release.  World of Noise can be summed up in a single word: raw.  While the both the lyrics and instruments can both be a little rough, songs like Fire Maple Song, Nervous and Weird, and The Laughing World showcased glimpses of what the band could/would become.  So while World of Noise is not Everclear's best work, it was a great start and was enough to take them to the next level.  While this albums is a little more rare, being released under the independent Tim/Kerr label, I did manage to snag myself a copy shortly after the release of So Much for the Afterglow.
6. Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile - By the time Learning How To Smile was released in late 2000, Everclear's popularity had peaked.  While the album's AM Radio and Wonderful were pop hits, the band appeared to be losing some of it's edge.  It could still be seen in Wonderful, Here We Go Again and Now That It's Over, but much of the album seemed to reflect the "good place" that Alexakis had found in his life at the time.  While I realize this was done intentionally (since Learning How To Smile was designed to be the "feel good" album of the two-part compilation), I just didn't enjoy it as much as their other efforts.  That's not to say that I didn't like it, but I was left with higher expectations after previous two efforts.  Oh yea, their cover of Brown Eyed Girl is something I still find embarrassing, since I wasn't a fan of the song in the first place, so that brings the album down a notch as well.
7. Welcome To The Drama Club - I'm not even sure where to start with this album, but it doesn't even compare with any of the band's earlier releases.  Following 2003's Slow Motion Daydream, the guys of Everclear decided that they had made a good run and to pursue other interests.  A year later, Alexakis, who had become a workaholic with his music after he had been able to kick his pervious drug adictions, decided to continue Everclear with the permission of former members Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund.  After adding four new members, the "new" Everclear released Welcome To The Drama Club in 2006.  While underneath the stylings of the new members you can still hear the basis of the melodies that I have associated with Everclear for the past decade and a half.  It's not awful, but it's just not the same.  Also, it unfortunately produced one of the singly most offensive music videos to go along with it's first single, Hater, which nearly prevented me from listening to any more of the album.  Thankfully, it appears to have been replaced by this less offensive video, even if it isn't any good.

Over the years, Everclear has produced a lot of excellent music, and Alexakis is striving to continue doing that into the future.  Next month, the new quintet is releasing an album of various cover songs dubbed The Vegas Years.  While I don't think cover songs have been the band's strength, maybe the new assembly can pull it off.  After all, the band may have sparkled and faded, but Alexakis is striving to make it a slow fade.

I forgot to write about this right away, but for Valentine's Day, I got my wife tickets to the one-man play Defending the Caveman, which we got to see a few weekends ago.  It was a hoot, and we were both laughing almost constantly.

To sum it up, it's basically a monologue about the differences between men and women, and will definitely strike a chord with most couples (as long as you can laugh at yourself, which has never been a problem for me).  Sure it's all told from a man's perspective, but he also serves up plenty of fodder for the women as well.

If you get the chance, I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

Well, we've come to the end of another curling season at the Pittsburgh Culring Club, and after 15 weeks of ladder play and two weeks of playoffs, I'm pleased to say that my team managed to come out as White Division Champions!

Thanks to everyone at the club for a great season, and I'm already looking forward to next year's season!