When: August 11, 2013
Where: Wolftrap, Vienna Virginia
BB King has been on my "bucket list" for years and though the man seems indestructible, at 87 (soon to be 88), he won't be here forever. So King opened up the show and to be honest, he really didn't play all that much music. His top notch backing band took up quite a bit of time and King himself spent about a quarter of the time vamping and talking to the crowd. He's still an accomplish guitarist, but don't expect to hear anything nearly as polished as some of his past work. That said, the man still have a wonderful voice - instantly recognizable. Rough, roaring, ragged ... a true treasure. Beside, how can you not love a guy who takes the time to introduce every member of the band and his bus driver !!!
I saw Frampton about two years ago in a small local club (The Birchmere). The last time I'd seen him was 1976 when he was touring in support of "Frampton Comes Alive". Regardless, that small club show was great so I figured I'd give him a shot in a bigger arena (plus he recently got back the famed Gibson guitar). While I missed the small show intimacy (this time around I was sitting on the lawn), Frampton and company was pretty good. I wish he would have played a wider array of material, including some of his more recent material, but I guess you can't please all of us.
The concert's biggest surprise/mystery was the appearance of Roger McGuinn. Mind you, I'm a big Byrds fan, but McGunn just seemed totally out of place here. Judging by the number of people who started packing up, I'm guessing 75% of the crowd didn't have a clue who McGuinn was, even when he played a couple of Byrds hits. Just a real strange guest to have brought along ...
Monday, August 12, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
MY WORST DINING OUT EXPERIENCE - MELLOW MUSHROOM HERNDON
24 hours later and I'm still steaming about this experience so I decided to put it on my blog.
So I'll admit this place has only been open for 10 days ... clearly it'll take a little time to get into a groove and these guys clearly haven't gotten there (I have some doubts they ever will). Even with that in mind, this was the worst dining experience I've had in years. You'll have to judge if the 40 - 60 minute wait to get a table is going to be worth it.
- First be aware that parking is extremely limited. We saw folks trolling the area for 5 to ten minutes.
- Great beer menu. Unfortunately nothing on the menu is apparently available, Seriously. The first ten (yes 10) selections we made were not available. I finally walked over to the bar to see what they actually had and then relayed the order to our server. We literally spent 20 minutes on this part of the meal.
- Waiter was nice and friendly, but totally clueless, The two 10 year olds with us had better insight into the menu than the waiter.
- It took 40 minutes for the pizzas to actually show up. People that had come in after us got their orders before we did. One of the managers noticed something was up and brought over garlic bread as a "peace offering". We were also told that it was taking them about 30 minutes to cook a pizza. interestingly at that point in time we'd been waiting 40 minutes,
- The first pizzas showed up (the one the kids ordered). We were then told that there would be a delay on the second pizza because they'd made a mistake on the order - we ordered it without onions and it showed up with onions. They re-did the order, but it took another 20 minutes,
- With two young kids with us, we basically gave up at this point asking that the pizzas be put in a box to go. The manager offered us a 25% discount on the kids pizza which we politely declined.
- Even better, the bill included a beverage we hadn't ordered, but at this point we only had one goal - get out of this place without wasting any more of our time.
- By the way; after all of that, the food was just okay. One of the 10 year olds told us he'd rather have Papa Johns. I won't go that far, but it was just okay - not something I would spend two hours waiting for.
Here's the really sad part. We've been to three other Mellow Mushrooms and each was great. We were actually excited to hear that one was opening up in Herndon. Maybe because those prior experiences were so good, this was a complete and thorough disappointment. The only reason I gave it a star is that's the minimum requirement to upload a review. My suggestion - maybe wait another six months and try them, or hold out for the one in Savannah, or the one in Charlottesville.
- First be aware that parking is extremely limited. We saw folks trolling the area for 5 to ten minutes.
- Great beer menu. Unfortunately nothing on the menu is apparently available, Seriously. The first ten (yes 10) selections we made were not available. I finally walked over to the bar to see what they actually had and then relayed the order to our server. We literally spent 20 minutes on this part of the meal.
- Waiter was nice and friendly, but totally clueless, The two 10 year olds with us had better insight into the menu than the waiter.
- It took 40 minutes for the pizzas to actually show up. People that had come in after us got their orders before we did. One of the managers noticed something was up and brought over garlic bread as a "peace offering". We were also told that it was taking them about 30 minutes to cook a pizza. interestingly at that point in time we'd been waiting 40 minutes,
- The first pizzas showed up (the one the kids ordered). We were then told that there would be a delay on the second pizza because they'd made a mistake on the order - we ordered it without onions and it showed up with onions. They re-did the order, but it took another 20 minutes,
- With two young kids with us, we basically gave up at this point asking that the pizzas be put in a box to go. The manager offered us a 25% discount on the kids pizza which we politely declined.
- Even better, the bill included a beverage we hadn't ordered, but at this point we only had one goal - get out of this place without wasting any more of our time.
- By the way; after all of that, the food was just okay. One of the 10 year olds told us he'd rather have Papa Johns. I won't go that far, but it was just okay - not something I would spend two hours waiting for.
Here's the really sad part. We've been to three other Mellow Mushrooms and each was great. We were actually excited to hear that one was opening up in Herndon. Maybe because those prior experiences were so good, this was a complete and thorough disappointment. The only reason I gave it a star is that's the minimum requirement to upload a review. My suggestion - maybe wait another six months and try them, or hold out for the one in Savannah, or the one in Charlottesville.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
WHY CAN'T CAR REPAIR PLACES TELL YOU THE TRUTH ?
I drive a 202 Jeep Cherokee and recently had to take it in to get a Virginia state inspection. I knew I was going to have to get the brakes fixed, but I didn't bargain on having to get $2,500 of work done, including replacing a rear axle (which I'm still a little fuzzy on with respect to why I needed this done - I was told it was a common defect on older Jeeps ...).
So in the interests of discretion, I'm going to keep the service provider private. I will say that I've been going there since I've owned the car and I've been happy with them up till this point.
And here's where it goes wrong. I took the car in on a Thursday and was told it would be ready that day. When they discovered they needed to fix the axle I was told the vehicle would be ready Friday. When they had to find a replacement axle I was told it would be ready Saturday. Waited all day Saturday and finally called them after they had officially closed for the day only to be told that it would be Tuesday before the car was ready. Let me underscore I had to call them - they didn't bother to contact me. I eventually got the car back Wednesday. Thursday to Wednesday - you can do the math.
I realize this was a big job and it took time to track down the parts. Fine. On the other hand be honest and give me a realistic timeframe for the repair. I can deal with six days if you tell me upfront so that I can plan for it. Giving me a rolling estimate and then going out of your way to ignore me simply pisses me off.
One last piece of advice - the note you sent me thanking me for allowing you to service my car ... don't send it next time unless it includes a rebate or a steep discount on future service. You may have meant well, but you merely succeeded in pissing me off again.
Yes, I'm probably taking my business to one of your competitors next time. Do you want your card back ?
So in the interests of discretion, I'm going to keep the service provider private. I will say that I've been going there since I've owned the car and I've been happy with them up till this point.
And here's where it goes wrong. I took the car in on a Thursday and was told it would be ready that day. When they discovered they needed to fix the axle I was told the vehicle would be ready Friday. When they had to find a replacement axle I was told it would be ready Saturday. Waited all day Saturday and finally called them after they had officially closed for the day only to be told that it would be Tuesday before the car was ready. Let me underscore I had to call them - they didn't bother to contact me. I eventually got the car back Wednesday. Thursday to Wednesday - you can do the math.
I realize this was a big job and it took time to track down the parts. Fine. On the other hand be honest and give me a realistic timeframe for the repair. I can deal with six days if you tell me upfront so that I can plan for it. Giving me a rolling estimate and then going out of your way to ignore me simply pisses me off.
One last piece of advice - the note you sent me thanking me for allowing you to service my car ... don't send it next time unless it includes a rebate or a steep discount on future service. You may have meant well, but you merely succeeded in pissing me off again.
Yes, I'm probably taking my business to one of your competitors next time. Do you want your card back ?
Sunday, July 14, 2013
CHASE SAPPHIRE - IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A CREDIT CARD COMPANY?
I've had the same credit card for a decade. I use it for everyday purchases and simply don't care about mileage points; a pretty "diamond" card; first dibs at concert seats, etc. I just want a decent rate on my card and convenience.
So with that in mind, my family was at the beach last week and one evening we went into a small local gallery. They had some cool art glass and my wife mentioned she really liked a piece they had on display. Since her birthday was coming up, I snuck back to the store and bought it for her. As it was late in the evening, the gallery said they'd pack the piece and I could pick it up the following day.
And that's what happened. Fast forward a week. We give the package to my wife for her birthday. She opens it and discovers the piece is cracked. The crack isn't obvious, but if you look you can clearly see this thing is damaged. Given it cost $500, I contacted the gallery; sent them an email with a picture of the damage and asked what my options are. Remember, they packed the item and I was very careful with the package. Anyhow, the gallery said they'd get back to me which didn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling so I decided to contact my credit card company to see what my options were.
The first credit card specialist I talked to listened to my story and told me there were two routes to consider - an item protection program and a consumer protection program option. Both of these were apparently options I had on my card (which I didn't know about and wonder what they're costing me). When I asked her for details on how to pursue those options she told me I would have to talk to a specialist. I was then forwarded to a different department. After providing all of my account information to the second account specialist I was told the program required me to mail the item to a company warehouse, but the item couldn't be damaged. When I pointed out this was a broken piece of art glass so it was damaged, I was told the item protection program wasn't an option, but I could try the consumer protection program. When I asked for the details I was told that wasn't her area, but she would be happy to forward me to another specialist. After providing the third specialist with my account information she told me to hang on while se read the consumer protection program materials to see whether I was covered - good up to $500; can't claim more than $50,000 over the life of the program; have 60 days to file a claim ... all good. Whoops, antiques and collectables are excluded from the program. Yes, art glass is a collectable.
I kind of saw that coming. To drag out this misery, I asked what other options I had. Could I simply file a dispute on the original purchase ? Yes, but that wasn't something she could help me with. I would have to work with a different specialist (I'm thinking I'll end up back with the first person I spoke to).
At this point I had already spent 30 minutes with my credit card company and decided I would give the gallery a chance to make good on the damaged item. They were nice enough to tell me they'd get back to me the following day.
I'm pissed at myself for not having checked the glass myself. I'm mad at the gallery for having sold me a damaged item; but above all I'm upset at the credit card company for their BS. In fact, I'm think I may take up the next offer I get from the Navy Federal Credit Union.
So with that in mind, my family was at the beach last week and one evening we went into a small local gallery. They had some cool art glass and my wife mentioned she really liked a piece they had on display. Since her birthday was coming up, I snuck back to the store and bought it for her. As it was late in the evening, the gallery said they'd pack the piece and I could pick it up the following day.
And that's what happened. Fast forward a week. We give the package to my wife for her birthday. She opens it and discovers the piece is cracked. The crack isn't obvious, but if you look you can clearly see this thing is damaged. Given it cost $500, I contacted the gallery; sent them an email with a picture of the damage and asked what my options are. Remember, they packed the item and I was very careful with the package. Anyhow, the gallery said they'd get back to me which didn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling so I decided to contact my credit card company to see what my options were.
The first credit card specialist I talked to listened to my story and told me there were two routes to consider - an item protection program and a consumer protection program option. Both of these were apparently options I had on my card (which I didn't know about and wonder what they're costing me). When I asked her for details on how to pursue those options she told me I would have to talk to a specialist. I was then forwarded to a different department. After providing all of my account information to the second account specialist I was told the program required me to mail the item to a company warehouse, but the item couldn't be damaged. When I pointed out this was a broken piece of art glass so it was damaged, I was told the item protection program wasn't an option, but I could try the consumer protection program. When I asked for the details I was told that wasn't her area, but she would be happy to forward me to another specialist. After providing the third specialist with my account information she told me to hang on while se read the consumer protection program materials to see whether I was covered - good up to $500; can't claim more than $50,000 over the life of the program; have 60 days to file a claim ... all good. Whoops, antiques and collectables are excluded from the program. Yes, art glass is a collectable.
I kind of saw that coming. To drag out this misery, I asked what other options I had. Could I simply file a dispute on the original purchase ? Yes, but that wasn't something she could help me with. I would have to work with a different specialist (I'm thinking I'll end up back with the first person I spoke to).
At this point I had already spent 30 minutes with my credit card company and decided I would give the gallery a chance to make good on the damaged item. They were nice enough to tell me they'd get back to me the following day.
I'm pissed at myself for not having checked the glass myself. I'm mad at the gallery for having sold me a damaged item; but above all I'm upset at the credit card company for their BS. In fact, I'm think I may take up the next offer I get from the Navy Federal Credit Union.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
RATE YOUR MUSIC "FAVORITES"
I've belonged to an online music review group (Review Your Music) for a couple of years. The site lets you upload information on bands; submit album reviews, and has a bunch of other functionality. Over the years I've dumped a bunch of the BadCatRecords record reviews on to the RYM site where I occasionally get comments from other users. Earlier in the week I hit the 100 "favorite" mark - 100 of my 2,200 reviews had been tagged as worth reading by other site users. Yeah, I know 2% isn't statistically significant, but there was something nice about hitting 100 (actually 101 as I type this.
END OF SOCCER SEASON
So soccer season ended for our ten year old and it ended on a high note. Playing his last game, Ryan spent half the game on defense and half the game as a fullback. Playing defense he was mega aggressive, repeatedly stopping the other teams offense. In the fullback position he took three shots on goal - one went just right of the goal; one went just left of the goal, and one went over the goal (even the coach was laughing). Luckily Ryan also made a perfect centering pass that resulted in a goal. Final score was eight to one which left The Gladiators with a five and one season.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
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