SAUCE from lazy me.

I like smoky barbecue. But I don't own a smoker. Nor do I always have the wherewithal to drag the hibachi grill out and charcoal cook stuff. So I fake stuff up, to be lazy.

rice vinegar
tomato paste
fresh garlic
chipotle tabasco
molasses

This set of ingredients in vague quantities to taste makes goop to put on stuff before roasting or broiling it in the oven. It is in no way barbecue but it's dangerously good. A person could eat a whole tri-tip in these circumstances if the person was big enough, which thank Heaven I'm not.

CHRIST, WHAT AN ASSHOLE

Someone decided to get really, really high and shoot at people in an alley over off Baker & Fairview in Costa Mesa the other day. Killed one guy, hurt a few others. The victims appear to be nice local boys without any known criminal connections. Everyone involved was of Mexican ancestry. Everyone who knew the victims is shocked and saddened; there are little memorials on the street and the people at the surf shop where the dead guy worked are really down. It's a bad day for the city and for my city, too; we're so close. But here's what Costa Mesa's crypto-Nazi Mayor had to say:

"When you have job centers, soup kitchens and a high concentration of downscale rental units, it drives the city down," Mayor Allan Mansoor said. "I favor a multi-faceted approach including stronger gang enforcement and overlay zone revitalization, and I also think a social worker holding the hand of a hardened gang member has not worked in other cities."

Allan, it's time to go. Maybe rural Arizona would be good for you, or that Pennsylvania town that just passed the "no Mexicans allowed" law. Running the Mexicans and the poor out of town is a solution to a problem no one has but you. What we wanted to hear was "Murder is the most serious of crimes and we're lucky it's rare here in Costa Mesa. We will bring these guys to justice and we will all work together for a safer city." Just in case you have a pen handy, you might want to write that down.

And while we're at it, I've been looking over the manifest for the Mayflower here and I see Smith and Standish and Johnson and Grey... Mansoor? No, no Mansoor. How odd. I was just reading the other day about how people with names like "Mansoor" are involved in all sorts of terroristical activities. Maybe we need to overlay zone revitalize about that.

http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2006/08/04/publicsafety/dpt-shooting04.txt

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1233749.php

The banality of evil: It's an R.N. now

Email from HR: Never, ever good news. In this case the exciting update that our "deny your health care" company is being upgraded.

Dear VixenCo Health Plan Participant:

Effective September 1, 2006, Nationwide Better Health ("NBH") will replace SHPS Healthcare Services as the disease management and medical management vendor for the VixenCo Health Plan.

NBH will be an important part of your health coverage. Youl call NBH to get your hospital stay or surgical procedure pre-certified. NBH will also provide access to other valuable services.

Over the next few weeks, you'll get to know NBH. Watch your mailbox at home and your work e-mail for more information coming soon.

This message is being sent to you by the VixenCo Employee Benefits Department from an e-mail address that does not accept return messages. If you have any questions, please call the Benefits Hotline at (888) 555-1212 or send an e-mail to employee.benefits@VixenCo.com

I especially like "Over the next few weeks, you'll get to know NBH."

I have a special deep burning anger in my heart for Utilization Review "nurses." They're the Good Germans of the healthcare world, reducing cost by using their medical expertise to choose the cheapest option every time, deny anything they can, and talk people out of seeking care. Nowadays they don't just keep you from getting surgery or tests, they also send out colorful brochures urging you to call them when you feel unwell so they can keep you from going to the doctor.

The new chain restaurant is here! The new chain restaurant is here!

The huge restaurant chain that owns Outback, Fleming's, and various other Tchotchke's/Flingers type places has brought their expensive seafood joint here, ""Blue Coral." Best quote from the Register article is:

That was evident Tuesday night, as diners such as Stafford – clad in khaki shorts, an Oxford shirt and a Crevier BMW cap – admired Blue Coral's high-back booth seats, iridescent-blue mosaic tiles and teak floors. The Fleming's regular said he plans to cruise among Roy's, Fleming's and Blue Coral on a weekly basis.

"This is what Newport Beach is all about," Stafford said.

Um. No. Newport beach is all about the Crab Cooker, the Villa Nova, Dad's Donuts, the Blue Beet, and Original Pizza. Among others. There's an actual town here and we don't need any more chain restaurants for the guys in polo shirts and pressed khaki shorts and pressed executive hair.

I bet he has a Duffy electric boat, too. Snark. :D

The full article is interesting, especially in the detail that America's shitty chain restaurants are getting their profits ground to bits by high energy costs.

ballistic behavior! reverse planning! predator variable! MOTH POPULATION!

I just ordered The Logic Of Failure ( at amazon ) ( at isbn.nu )

I like Amazon's SIPs, and I particularly like the ones for this book:

Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
storeroom experiment, bad participants, predator variable, reductive hypothesis, reverse planning, elaboration index, ballistic behavior, experiment director, good participants, moth population, problem sector, partial goals, regulator settings, watch factory, temporal configurations, experiment participants, planning game

THIS IS THE BEST URL EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB

http://www.cuddleparty.com/about/faq.cfm#erections

The whole FAQ is great.

Cuddle Lifeguard On Duty? What's that?

Cuddle Lifeguards are a select group of amazing individuals who are specially trained and certified in how to facilitate Cuddle Parties. They are responsible for ensuring the integrity of the room, meaning that no sex happens, that everyone feels safe, and that the sexual energy, when it shows up, is dispersed safely. They, along with the Cuddle Caddy, facilitate the Welcome Circle and make sure everyone gets taken care of.

SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS EVELYN WAUGH NOVEL