I’m going to try to be better next year so I’m going to get one last post in here. 2 pm today...wife is on the phone with MiL. Wife: “FiL wants to take us to Longhorn steakhouse tonight for dinner” Me: what time? Her: maybe leave here at 4:30 (it’s about 45 minutes away) Me: Does he have reservations? Her: (Pause) No Me: No thank you. they went without us. Least spontaneous guy plays the wrong hands all the time. Im sure it won’t be that busy on New Years Eve.
I’m not trying to go to Longhorn in NYE, but you could do a lot worse than longhorn in the chain steakhouse category imo. I’m also not trying to drive 45 minutes either for it though.
To be fair this is an overcompensation to the years of frustration of never considering my daughter when making dinner plans. Many times we would be eating dinner past her bedtime. She’s still only 6 and we prefer eating earlier. Still not good enough for a NYE dinner though.
(Deep breathe). wow. Deja vu and this was only a few months ago. My wife hit me with this yesterday again for a Valentine’s Day dinner. I stopped to pick up my daughter and he asked about Saturday and I again asked if he had reservations. He replied “I’m sure most people will be celebrating on Friday and it shouldn’t be too busy at 5:30”. I just laugh every time. Told him we will drive separate.
If the comparison is among the Longhorn, Outback, and Roadhouses of the world, then I guess the post makes sense. Then again, I haven't been to any of the three in at least a decade so I don' know for sure how they stack up.
I think places like this do call ahead seating at most. Sometimes for large groups on special holidays they will. It’s at the very least my way of saying this is a shitty time to go out to eat and have to stand in a cramped waiting area for an hour.
i had outback delivered to myself one hungover sunday like a month ago bc i was craving a blooming onion that shit was straight ass would eat again tho
Outback was excellent for a long time. Not sure what corporate leadership change caused them to fall off a cliff
Didn't realize a buyout had happened, but that would make sense. Was around that time ago where I noticed the quality of the steak went down big time and the portions got a lot smaller. Gave it two chances and haven't been back since. Miss the fuck out of the bloomin onion but the rest of the food is just too mediocre to go back.
If you are just comparing it to the longhorn, roadhouse, outback, etc group, it was the best of that class imo. It obviously doesn't hold a candle to the premier chains.
Are you familiar with large chain steakhouses that aren’t Ruth’s Chris, basically all of those. I’m not arguing it’s fucking Berns or anything but for a $20 steak you can do a lot fucking worse.
caesar salad, mash, and a steak shouldn't be too difficult for any restaurant, but many do royally fuck it up. I wouldn't say outback does. There is a bread/sauce combo I love when being extra fat - can't recall what it is.
found it..... it is the sauce from the quesadilla mixed with the bread (can't defend the quesadilla though).
I mean unless you are getting your steak cooked well done and lathering it with A1, the quality of the meat is what matters most when it comes to steak. The outback select steak isn't going to match up to the place serving a USDA Prime steak.
Used to sit with my father in law and listen to his tales about civil war in Nicaragua. Nearly every word was Spanish so I was lost in the conversation most of the time. I would have to ask for someone to translate quite often. My wife and other in-laws had heard these stories for years and basically ignored him when he began on these topics. At a very young age, he was forced to flee the country in fear of his life because he had served in the military for the previous regime. I really enjoyed listening to the emotion in his voice when he told these stories. I wish that I had recorded them. This is what I remember most about him along with him singing to the birds. Spoiler: Nicaragua Civil War United States occupation (1909–1933)Edit Main article: United States occupation of Nicaragua U.S. Marines leaving New York City in 1909 for deployment in Nicaragua. Then-Colonel William P. Biddle, in charge of the detachment, is in civilian clothes at right. In 1909, the United States provided political support to conservative-led forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over the proposed Nicaragua Canal, Nicaragua's potential as a destabilizing influence in the region, and Zelaya's attempts to regulate foreign access to Nicaraguan natural resources. On November 17, 1909, two Americans were executed by order of Zelaya after the two men confessed to having laid a mine in the San Juan River with the intention of blowing up the Diamante. The U.S. justified the intervention by claiming to protect U.S. lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year. In August 1912, the President of Nicaragua, Adolfo Díaz, requested the resignation of the Secretary of War, General Luis Mena, concerned that Díaz was leading an insurrection, fled Managua with his brother, the Chief of Police of Managua, and the insurrection escalated. When the U.S. Legation asked President Adolfo Díaz to ensure the safety of American citizens and property during the insurrection, Díaz replied that he could not and that... In consequence my Government desires that the Government of the United States guarantee with its forces security for the property of American Citizens in Nicaragua and that it extend its protection to all the inhabitants of the Republic.[7] United States Marines were stationed in Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, except for a nine-month period beginning in 1925.[8] From 1910 to 1926, the conservative party ruled Nicaragua. The Chamorro family, which had long dominated the party, effectively controlled the government during that period. In 1914, the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed, giving the U.S. control over the proposed canal, as well as leases for potential canal defenses. Nicaraguan civil war (1926–1927)Edit Main article: Nicaraguan civil war (1926–27) Following the evacuation of U.S. Immigrants in 1925, another violent conflict between liberals and conservatives known as the Constitutionalist War took place in 1926, when Liberal soldiers in the Caribbean port of Puerto Cabezas revolted against Conservative President Adolfo Díaz, recently installed as a result of United States pressure following a coup. The leader of this revolt, Gen. José María Moncada, declared that he supported the claim of exiled Liberal vice-president Juan Bautista Sacasa, who arrived in Puerto Cabezas in December, declaring himself president of a "constitutional" government. The U.S., using the threat of military intervention, forced the Liberal generals to agree to a cease-fire. On May 4, 1927, representatives from the two warring factions signed the Pact of Espino Negro, negotiated by Henry Stimson, appointed by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge as a special envoy to Nicaragua. Under the terms of the accord, both sides agreed to disarm, Díaz would be allowed to finish his term and a new national army would be established, the Guardia Nacional (National Guard), with U.S. soldiers remaining in the country to supervise the upcoming November presidential election.[9] Later, a battalion of the U.S army under the command of Gen. Logan Feland arrived to enforce the agreement. 1927–1933Edit The only Nicaraguan general to refuse to sign this pact (el tratado del Espino Negro) was Augusto César Sandino. He took refuge in the northern mountains of Las Segovias.[10] He led a sustained guerrilla war, first against the Conservative regime and subsequently against the U.S. Marines, who withdrew upon the establishment of a new Liberal government. When the Americans left in 1933 as a result of Sandino's guerrilla war and the Great Depression, they set up the Guardia Nacional (National Guard), a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans, designed to be loyal to U.S. interests. Anastasio Somoza García, a close friend of the American government, was put in charge. He was one of the three rulers of the country, the others being Sandino and the mostly figurehead President Juan Bautista Sacasa. Sandino and the newly elected Sacasa government reached an agreement by which he would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a grant of land for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year.[11] The Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, a decoration of the United States Navy, was later issued for those American service members who had performed military duty in Nicaragua during the early years of the 20th century. There followed a growing hostility between Sandino and Anastasio Somoza Garcia, chief of the national guard, which prompted Somoza to order the assassination of Sandino.[12][13] Fearing future armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza invited him to a meeting in Managua, where Sandino was assassinated on February 21 of 1934 by the National Guard. Following the death of Sandino was the execution of hundreds of men, women, and children.[14] Somoza Dynasty (1936–1979)Edit Learn more This section needs additional citations for verification. Anastasio Somoza García's ruleEdit With Sandino's death and using his troops, the National Guard, to force Sacasa to resign, Somoza had taken control of the country in 1937 and destroyed any potential armed resistance.[15] The Somoza family would rule until 1979.
I know people really look forward to this as I get tagged in random threads about Myrtle Beach...but the annual Myrtle Beach National Lampoons family vacation is not officially cancelled yet. FiL brought it up over the weekend and after being in every high risk category, not even Covid19 can cancel this. I thought it was a money thing at first and heard him out and then finally asked about the cancellation policy. Luckily he’s one of those guys that buys trip insurance so he would be out all of $25. In his words he’s holding out and has up to the week before in July to cancel and wants the condo place to honor his rate for next year. I’m not sure what miracle he’s expecting but I don’t even know what to say anymore.
There will be no Myrtle Beach trip this year. In other news, my buddy has a condo there and just went down. He was there two days and tells me they both have a cough and he has the chills.
Forgot about all this. Update: Gramps kicked the bucket, FIL is single. Not exciting but thought story could use some closure.
I just reread the last 10 pages. What family vacation/get together can you give us to look forward to?
Myrtle Beach summer 2021. They all got Covid and now antibodies. Only my daughter and I tested Negative. I’m sure we are back on. No one will care that I could still get infected.
One of our cars has a battery on the fritz or an electrical issue. It can maintain a charge over the day, but by morning, it’s dead and needs a jump. The old guy is convinced it’s not the battery because every time he looks at it, is in the afternoon after I’ve already started it and drove it around, so it has no issue turning on. One might think the logical next step would be for him to come over in the morning before I’ve jumped it and take a look, but instead we apparently settled on rapid-fire mashing the start/stop button through about 50 ignition cycles while it was running fine. So now it looks like I’ve got a bum battery AND a broken starter to replace. At least he offered me a ride to the shop.
He’s also convinced himself (at 80 yrs old) to haul around a jerrycan full of gas after LadyPokes forgot to check her tank and almost left them stranded on the roadside. Except he won’t take any of the extra gallon cans I have—“That’s too big, I only need a quart!”—so he’s repurposed a bottle of orange juice—“The one with the green top, not the orange!”—which, unsurprisingly, spilled almost immediately. But maybe I’ll get high on the fumes on our ride, at least I’ll have that going for me.
My FIL has built an intricate and moderately large train set and village of the movie Polar Express around his Christmas tree and living room. GoodForAnother
How intricate and how long do you think it took him to set up? Is he “beaming” with pride over it? Are there any animals at play that could ruin it?
the village has like 5 or so houses, some people, one of the houses lights up when the polar express passes by, there is fake snow everywhere, and some fake reindeer. not sure how long it took to set up, it has a couple different tracks which he controls via remote.