Short Ribs and Random Thoughts, Dec 6 2017

As of this writing the GOP is forcing through a ‘Tax cut” of which none of them understand the consequences. This is government?  Our Fake President is on TV gloating about destroying two national monuments while playing to his ignorant base who APPLAUD  him. His hatred for Obama is more than irrational, but what else is new.

FOR THE RECORD: Number of times I have watched Matt Lauer on TV: 0

SPEAKING of TV: Is Brian Williams the only man on TV who has not been accused of harassing someone?  I really resented him when he first started on MSNBC but now I’m used to him.  It’s time for someone to put up a website with the names of  men who HAVEN’T been accused of harassment. Be easier to keep track of.

WEDNESDAY DEC 13 from 330pm to 630pm at Eureka Safeway,  drop off your donations for Food For People and say hi to State Sen Mike McGuire.  A toofer!

Dontcha love the ads for KFC in Sunday’s Parade? It must be cheaper  to deluge us with useless ads than to target their advertising.  Looks like Brookings is the closest. Another Christmas without KFC!

IRRITATION AT THE SZECHUAN-  My out-of-town guest and I were both tired of turkey by Saturday so we went to the Szechuan Garden in Arcata to fortify ourselves with soup dumplings ( “juicy pork dumplings” on the menu). The restaurant appeared to be empty except for us, but the layout is such that  you can’t really tell who’s there. The only other thing I order there is the Black Pepper Beef, ($10.50) which is a lot better than it sounds. My friend ordered the Human Beef, (also $10.50) which involved broccoli.  Everything was fine until they brought the check. At the bottom of the check they’re now printing a “Tips Suggestion” with tips at 15%, 20% and 25% all figured out for you. That’s kind of pushy for a restaurant that delivers all your food at once and never checks back with you. Plus their “suggested tips” is calculated on the TOTAL of the order, part of which was takeout.  I’m still a fan, but a grumpy one.

GOLDEN HARVEST- hadn’t been in a while and was devastated to find that my favorite, the Blue Scramble, had disappeared from the menu. Not to fear, however. The kitchen is still making it and it’s just as delicious as ever. Love their biscuits!.

NEED A CALENDAR?  Visit Jacoby’s Storehouse, check out their beautiful tree and visit the offices of the Mad River Union whose 2017 calendar is both beautiful and useful, not to mention free. If you don’t subscribe to the MRU, you should! It’s a good paper.  Support your local journalism! Also in  the Jacoby is Pasta Luego, where you can buy fresh bucatini, that tubular pasta you can never find. I cooked mine last night. Screwed up the sauce but the pasta was fine.  They close at four and they run out of things, especially the  sandwiches, so don’t wait till 230 like I did.

JERRY COLIVAS  passed recently.  Among his many accomplishments,  he was  principal  at Eureka High School. I heard him at a Historical Society meeting explain how his  father came from Greece to Eureka. He had arrived in New York, penniless,  and somehow made it to the Ferry Building in San Francisco.  Speaking not a word of English,  he looked at the posted  steamship schedules and the only word he could recognize was “EUREKA”.  He pointed at the sign, and the rest is history.  Talk about a life well lived! Godspeed, Dr Colivas.

Sorry to hear that AutoDesk, the CAD makers, are laying off 1200 tech workers in San Rafael and SF. That’s 13% of the workforce. When I worked in HR,  Autodesk was considered a model employer, not the least because they let the employees bring their dogs to work.  

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