antipaucity

Thanks to Tarus and the OpenNMS crew for hosting the InterNetWorkers bash in Pittsboro last night.

I went down with one of my coworkers, and we had a blast.

It would’ve been fun even without the free beer and appetizers, but they were certainly appreciated!

My goal is to retire by the end of the year. To make sure I reach that goal, I’m requesting donations from friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, and outright strangers.

If you’d like to contribute to my retirement fund, please send me an email: retire@warrenmyers.com. Donations of any size are accepted, but I don’t give tax receipts.

My goal: $1,570,796.33 by the end of the year. I have $3.14 as of today.

Thanks to my friend Cheryl, and fellow TriLUG‘er Greg, I will be taking a motorcycle safety course at Wake Tech in a couple months.

I’m pretty psyched, and am eagerly awaiting the 22 hours of instruction and practice.

Last night I drove a quick 10 minutes from Vinings to Sandy Springs GA to meet-up with a couple friends for dinner. Skimming opentable’s restaurant listings, I had discovered 5 Seasons Brewing earlier in the day, and we decided to give it a try. 5 Seasons’ beers are all made in-house (I think), in small batches, so they change seasonally.

From their website, “We’re passionate about serving local produce, all-natural meats, and artisanal cheeses. We bake each of our breads and make everything else - all of our demi-glace, salad dressings, pommes frites, ice creams and sorbets. As part of a sustainable, natural cycle, we add our brewer’s spent grain to our home-baked bread and share the rest with a local organic farm, where it is composted to grow our vegetables.”

I’m a fan of the “buy local” campaigns not because I’m some whacky hippy nut, but because it makes good economic sense: the food travels shorter distances, and is therefore fresher; the money spent stays in the local community rather than some chunk of it going to the corporate center; and the businesses involved tend to want you as a [repeat] customer.

The restaurant in Sandy Springs is dark - but not in an imposing or formal way: the interior is bare dark wood, and very attractive - it reminded me of a mountain lodge; it’s open and airy, but rugged at the same time.

I ordered their Rib Eye with fingerling potatoes, and a delectable mushroom sauce. Chris order the Duck Both Ways, which looked mighty tasty, and his girlfriend ordered the Lamb Tenderloin.

5 Seasons also has an extensive Scotch list (>20), including a couple Islays (my favorite).

The dress code is to arrive dressed: the waitstaff all wear slacks or jeans and T-shirts. Main dishes are all under $30, and they rotate their menu based on locally-available ingredients.

After dinner we all tried different desserts: bread pudding, creme brulee, and peach cinnamon ice cream. If you’re in the area, 5 Seasons is definitely worth a visit.

…but a goody:

HDTV explained!

I’ve been working for one of our larger customers near Atlanta recently. When I arrived last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find out there’s a Mellow Mushroom a mile from their office in Vinings.

I was first introduced to the Mellow Mushroom in Durham a couple years ago. I’ve since started enjoying the one in Raleigh, too.

Tonight I’m trying one of their ginormous salads for dinner. Typically I’d go for one of their specialty pizzas or calzones, but it’s hot: and I’m in the mood for something light.

I don’t usually write-up chains or quasi-chains, but the Mushroom is one worth going to.