Sean Henderson Dot Com

A huge fire burned up a bunch of recycled junk at Homewood Disposal in East Hazel Crest yesterday.  The smoke was seen for miles and some say they had ashes land in their yard.  No one seems to know what caused the blaze.

(5/20/2009 11:45:09 AM) thatdud3: FUCK REGSRV32!

…sometime later…

(2:06:09 PM) seanh420: shit is whack, I keep getting these checks for 200-300 every month from this one company and I can't figure out wtf ad is generating it
(2:06:17 PM) seanh420: on someshit i posted mad long ago somewhere
(2:06:20 PM) seanh420: and don't even know
(2:06:22 PM) seanh420: pissing me off
(2:06:28 PM) thatdud3: more than anything, fuck http://www.experts-exchange.com/ :-@
(2:06:32 PM) thatdud3: that site needs to fucking die
(2:06:33 PM) seanh420: yeah
(2:06:40 PM) seanh420: you find something that describes what you need
(2:06:49 PM) seanh420: then its like "must sign up and pay money" for an answer that might not even work
(2:07:06 PM) thatdud3: google should just expunge their shit
(2:07:08 PM) thatdud3: from the index
(2:07:13 PM) seanh420: I agree
(2:07:18 PM) thatdud3: it’s really useless
(2:07:20 PM) thatdud3: no value
(2:07:27 PM) seanh420: just a teaser
(2:07:48 PM) seanh420: its like calling 411 and getting 7 of the 8 digits you need for the place you want to contact
(2:07:57 PM) thatdud3: yeh
(2:08:38 PM) thatdud3: if I had skills, I'd take that shit down
(2:08:41 PM) thatdud3: ddos style
(2:08:46 PM) seanh420: dddos style
(2:08:52 PM) seanh420: squared
(2:09:07 PM) seanh420: I should blog this
(2:09:11 PM) seanh420: everyone will probably agree
(2:09:24 PM) thatdud3: yeah
(2:09:57 PM) thatdud3: it’s one of those things that bugs everyone, but no one really talks about it
(2:10:21 PM) seanh420: phone…
(2:10:29 PM) thatdud3: fuck phone games
(2:13:01 PM) seanh420: ok back, so yeah anyways, I concur. Fuck experts exchange, they should be expunged from google listings
(2:14:57 PM) thatdud3: arby’s

…sometime later…

(3:58:08 PM) thatdud3: nachos
(4:00:35 PM) seanh420: cloaking ass motherfuckers
(4:00:37 PM) seanh420: http://www.rustyrazorblade.com/2007/07/30/experts-exchange-should-be-removed-from-google-search-results/
(4:00:54 PM) seanh420: i guess people been saying this for awhile
(4:00:59 PM) thatdud3: shit
(4:01:23 PM) thatdud3: with elaborate explanation
(4:01:27 PM) seanh420: yeah
(4:02:18 PM) thatdud3: fuck the experts man
 

NoMI is one of the finest upscale contemporary French dining experiences to grace the Magnificent Mile.  Located on the seventh floor of Park Hyatt Chicago,  NoMI overlooks the Old Chicago Water Tower and provides a stunning view at night.  I took Robin here after her graduation from Dominican University.  I informed the staff in advance of the occasion and they did an outstanding job of accommodating our needs and exceeding our expectations.  Valet Parking is available for $14 for four hours.  After entering, you ride an elevator up to the seventh floor and enter through the lounge to the dining area.  The lounge area is more casual place to sit and enjoy cocktails or choose from an extensive wine list.  We were seated in the lounge briefly before the dining area opened at 6pm.  I must stress the importance of making a 6pm dinner reservation if you want a table by the window.  We were the first to arrive, but the dining area filled up quickly and window seating is limited.  The dining area is a bit more formal than the lounge; most people wear suits.  Above our table were a series of blown-glass Chihuly chandeliers.  I was delighted by how soft the seats were, they felt like velvet.  Each table had a spice holder in the shape of a six petal flower holding three salts and three spices.  We put butter on bread and dipped it in each of the black, pink, and white salts to taste them.  My most memorable experience here was the Creme Brulee;  I am fascinated by this idea of caramelizing the top with a blowtorch.  I liked the newly added absinthe section of the lounge menu.  They make tasty drinks with Lucid that even those who don’t like absinthe would enjoy.  The pastries and desserts were incredible. 

The Lounge

A View From Above

view of the Old Chicago Water Tower from our table

River Seine

Lucid, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, Mint, Pineapple Juice, Yuzu, Lemon Lime soda
 

Acai Margarita

VeeV Acai Spirit, Patron Silver, Pomegranate Juice, Grand Marnier, Lime Juice, Lavender Salt Rim

Spices

 

Complimentary Bread & Scallop

Choice of two breads & complimentary Scallop with watermelon radish

The scallop sampler changes daily.  Tomorrow it could be something completely different.

Choice between raisin bread and sourdough. The raisin bread pairs well with the fresh butter they bring out and the sourdough is great with the three different salts they have for you to try on the table. Each salt parts an extremely different flavor and each of them should be tasted!
     -Robin

Burgundy Truffle and Foie Gras Creme Brulee

Caramelized Hazelnuts, Petite Herbs

This appetizer was sweet and had the consistency of peanut butter almost or a spread like butter.  The top was crispy and the under part was gooey.  I was surprised that this was a meat dish because it tasted nothing like meat.  The waiter recommended this delicacy and for a good reason. 

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Baby Arugula, Parmigiano, Mushroom Gastrique

I ordered the petite pea and mushroom risotto (they made the dish vegetarian for me) which was creamy and delicious and not overpowering with a high-fat content. Around the edges of the risotto was a light petite green pea sauce. Four thick slices of parmigiano covered the top and tasted as smooth as butter. The presentation was beautiful with a red design on the plate which complemented the green pea sauce and peas throughout the risotto.
     -Robin

Pan Roasted Brittany Turbot

Cockles, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Black Trumpets

Rhubarb Creme Brulee

Vanilla, Spice Sable, Mirabell Lavender Ice Cream, Cassis

St. Lucia

White Chocolate, Caramelized Puff, Passion Fruit, Banana, Ginger

thin White chocolate cake base with a caramelized puff on top. The puff was thin and flaky which complemented the soft cake very well. Next to the puff was a scoop of fresh banana ice cream which had a perfect flavor not overpowering. On top of all of that was a passion fruit layer of thin gel. the white chocolate paired well with these light fruit flavors to make a perfect ending at  a wonderful restaurant.
     -Robin

Congratulations Surprise

NoMI’s gift to Robin

Macaroons

assorted French macaroons as seen on TV

You can order macaroons to go and they are $12 for 6 of them and so worth it! The pastry chef makes a very large selection of flavors everyday including grape, strawberry, olive oil, and chocolate, to name a few. They have a thin, crunchy outside with a creamy and soft inside. It all just melts into your mouth! Although the olive oil may sound scary, it is light and delicious and well worth the courage.
     -Robin

The Bill

$210 with tip.

A three course dinner for two at NoMI should run between $200 and $300 unless you add on exotic wines and champagnes, in which case it would be more.  We felt very relaxed as they did not rush us in any way.  Our dinner concluded at 9pm, three hours after our arrival.  When we left, we took with us some awesome French Macaroons. 

The staff was extremely helpful and knew how to explain everything very well. They sent me away with a congratulations gift of sweets. A sweet fruit jelly (this is what all jelly candies should taste like!), two lavender marshmallows, two small brownies, one caramel, and a white chocolate disc that read "congratulations." NoMI truly cares about every single customer and they made my night extremely special.
     -Robin Grutzius

NoMI
800 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 335-1234
Google Map

The Red Avocado is an outstanding vegetarian restaurant in Iowa City featuring locally grown, organic ingredients.  Robin and I dined here Friday night before going on the Iowa Wine Trail.  The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating.  The interior reminded me of a cozy stone basement with unique decorations and Himalayan salt candles on each table.  We shared the Appetizer Deluxe which consisted of three spreads, freshly baked pita triangles, and veggies to dip.  The yellow hummus was a little runny but had excellent flavor of middle-eastern paste of chick-peas, tahini, and other seasonings.  The orange carrot-chipotle pate had a perfect balance of sweetness and spicy flavor; this was our favorite.  The green white bean pate had smooth flavors of cilantro, lime juice, beans and spices.  Robin had the Vegetable Peanut Satay entree.  It was served with quinoa, the grain of the day. The waitress recommended that Robin order Tempeh because it pairs well with peanut sauce.  The peanut sauce had a nice consistency; not too heavy.  The Tempeh was extremely good.  I had the College Green Sunset entree.  The polenta was very smooth and creamy. Flavors inside filo purse blended perfectly with a light and delicate flavor.  I especially enjoyed the red pepper sauce and red pepper mix.  This dish was beautiful and tasteful; I could eat it every day!  We split a slice of gluten free chocolate cake for dessert.

Appetizer Deluxe

All three delicious spreads with homemade pita & fresh crisp vegetables. 

Vegetable Peanut Satay

Seasonal vegetables steamed in a peanut sauce flavored with onion, garlic, spices & sorghum. Sweet & delicious! Served with whole oats & the grain of the day. With your choice of tofu, tempeh, chickpeas or black beans.

College Green Sunset

Layered herbed white bean pate, tempeh sausage, tofu ricotta, and caramelized onions wrapped in a flaky filo pastry purse on spinach polenta with horseradish-root vegetable-sweet-corn relish, roasted red pepper sauce & a fine drizzle of sweet balsamic reduction.

Dessert

gluten free chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Moist and perfect sweetness.

As a meat eater, I was pleasantly surprised at how well prepared, artistic, and tasty this food was.  I only wished that the portions were a tad more filling.  The prices are fair; most entrees are $10-20.  The food is so healthy, fresh, and full of flavor!  The atmosphere is relaxed and casual.  I am likely to dine here again if I am in Iowa City.

The Red Avocado
521 E Washington St
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 351-6088
Google Map

Naha is an upscale Mediterranean-American restaurant in Chicago with a hint of California and French. Chris Ohara and I ate here the night before New Years Eve. We were the last to enter.  One of the waiters told us we had VIP access to an empty room.  The interior was very simply decorated with a series of tree branches, neutral colored walls, and a few pieces of vibrant artwork.  Large windows gave a nice view of the city outside.  Everything was very clean and professional. A waiter neatly ironed the crisp white table cloth to perfection. I couldn’t help but notice a respectable bar upon entering the venue. I felt inspired and refreshed as our waiter Phil introduced to us the St-Germain Cocktail. St-Germain is a French liqueur made from fresh handpicked elderflower blossoms. It was mixed with equal parts of brut champagne and Fever-Tree Club Soda served with ice and spoon straw bearing a logo of a man riding a bicycle. He brought the bottle to the table so I could get a good look. Chris had a drink made from Citrus Vodka, Rose Champagne and housemade cranberry with pomegranate seeds. Phil made both drinks at our table. Dinner started with complimentary bread. The darker of the two breads was made from cumin and had a distinct Mediterranean taste; it was incredible! Chris had a Yellowfin Tuna appetizer. It had an interesting French “mosaic of Nicoise Garnishes” in the shape of a right triangle on a square plate. I started with an Egg Benedict appetizer and I have to say it had the best English muffin and egg I’ve ever had—a five-star mini breakfast reincarnated as an appetizer. Entrees were priced around $35 and modest in size. Chris had a duck entree. I had Braised Short ribs. This was the first time I had ever tried duck and the short ribs were exceptionally tender. I especially liked the cauliflower and the sauce for the braised ribs. Chris had The Naha desert. He felt that the caramel was a little too rich and over powering. I ordered a Grand Marnier ice cream dessert. I was intrigued by the idea of orange flavor ice cream made from Grand Marnier. The chef assured me that Grand Marnier doesn’t actually make ice cream but rather the ice cream was made with Grand Marnier in it with the alcohol cooked off of course. A series of hair-like thin strands of sugar garnished the Grand Marnier ice cream.

Naha Bar

St-Germain Cocktail

St-Germain, Fever-Tree Club Soda, Brut Champagne with lemon peel garnish and stainless steel spoon straw

Ket/Citro

Housemade Cranberry with Pomegranate Seeds, Citrus Vodka, Rose Champagne

Complimentary Bread

Tartare of Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna Appetizer

Tartare of Hawaiian "Yellowfin" Tuna, Cured Tasmanian Red Trout and Hard-Cooked Quail Egg with a Mosaic of Nicoise Garnishes, Aigrelette Sauce and Toasted Brioche

Coddled Organic Farm Egg Benedict Appetizer

"Coddled" Organic Farm Egg "Benedict", "Kurobuta" Pork Belly and Housemade English Muffin with Smoked Homegrown Wisconsin "Red Thumb" Potatoes, Itailian Frisee, "Green Tipped" Radish and Herbs

Duck Entree

Blossom Honey "Laquered" Aged Moulard Duck Breast and a Cannelloni of Delicata Squash with Caramelized Quince, Huckleberries and Port

Braised Short Ribs Entree

Braised Short Ribs of Beef, Roasted Root Vegetables, Winter Cauliflower and Wild Boar Bacon, Celery Root Puree, Cremini Mushrooms and Smoked Brittany "Fleur de Sel"

The Naha Turtle Sundae

The Naha "Turtle" Sundae of Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream, Candied Pecans and Rich Caramel

Mont Blanc Chestnut Meringue Torte

"Mont Blanc" Chestnut Meringue "Torte" with Grand Marnier Ice Cream, Chestnut Creme, Vanilla and Orange

The Bill

Dining at Naha was a great experience.  Dinner can cost as low as $25 a person to around $100 a person for a full experience.  The menu was a bit meaty with lots of meats and fishes, but they assured me that they cater to the vegetarian crowd as well.  Most ingredients are locally farmed.  I am likely to dine here again and I recommend Naha to anyone looking for an upscale spot to dine in River North.

Naha
500 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 321-6242
Google Map

"this was observed and worthy of mentioning"

The Adventures of Chuck and Don S01E01

* Now talking in #poker
* Topic is ‘Welcome to #poker… we know things. <@RedMagic> yall making me nervous with all this knowledge’
* Set by vale!vale@censored.com on Sat Dec 27 03:38:05
<DoN> fuck headaches
<CHuCK> fuck the jail
<DoN> they should have some shit
<DoN> that you can just do online
<DoN> and it unlocks the cell
<DoN> e-bail
<DoN> ebail.com
<CHuCK> you know, thats an idea
<CHuCK> fuck
<CHuCK> lets build, patent, and market that shit. noone wants to drive to the jail to deliver cash. especially when its located in a ghetto ass neighborhood where the probability of getting robbed is high
<DoN> it’s flawed by design though
<DoN> niggas don’t use credit cards
<CHuCK> well today, we here, are bailing out a white boy
<DoN> yeah
<DoN> but your primary population
<DoN> just like the prison system
<DoN> would be blacks
<CHuCK> true kid
* theOB sets mode: +b *!*@censored.com
* DoN was kicked by theOB (racist fucker)

* You were kicked from #poker by SNguyen (Banned)

<B|RDMAN> haha
<B|RDMAN> niggas dont use credit cards
<B|RDMAN> well not their own

The most exquisite seafood and Italian dining isn’t in the heart of Italy or in the Mediterranean. It’s in the middle of the desert! Look no further than the Wynn.  Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas,
winner of the 2008 Ivy Awards, features a whole galaxy of rare upscale Mediterranean seafood and authentic Italian cuisine prepared by Chef Paul Bartolotta.  I was most impressed by the scenery.  The entrance invites a prospective diner right down a winding staircase with crystal chandeliers hovering above and a lower level with a dark carpet with a vast array of colored shapes and patterns.  From there, the restaurant extends out to an outdoor patio with a series of cabanas surrounding a decent size pond complete with fish and chrome spheres.  I chose to dine out by the cabanas.  The sun was at such an angle so as to provide me with a unique view of the pond.  My waiter Chris was very professional.  First he brought out a tray and explained the fish in severe detail.  Since I am not privy to seafood, I cannot recall most of what he told me.  What surprised me though was that the fish are flown in daily from the Mediterranean sea.  So all that lay on the plate before me swam in the sea half a world a way just hours earlier!  The idea is that Bartolotta wanted to recreate authentic Italian food, but could not do so with American fish.  This was the first time I had experienced such fish.  I had no idea what to do, so I ordered the tasting menu.  The octopus salad had a chewy rubbery texture with a very nice lemon flavor.  A certain cheese slice graced the top of seared sea scallops; I nibbled on the cheese slowly as it was cut extra fine, extra thin, and it was extra tasty.  SweetSicilian langoustines were added to the tasting menu for $20 extra.  My favorite, by far, was the sheep’s milk ricotta ravioli with Tuscan pecorino cheese and Marsala wine-reduction glaze.  I wished that Todd Wilbur would create a clone of this secret recipe.  I would and probably will drive all the way back to Las Vegas just to have this ravioli again!  The desert featured a chocolate cake and three servings of gelato.  One of the servings tasted as if it were made from a fine champagne.  Another serving tasted like a sour passion fruit puree.  The bill tasted like two Ben Franklins for one person.  The dinner overall was a great experience that left a bittersweet taste in my mouth.  I loved the scenery and the pasta.  I was a little afraid of the fish because I’m not too big on seafood.  Overall I was very impressed.

Standing at the Top of the Staircase

Looking Down from the Staircase

Outdoor Patio

Fresh Seafood Selection

risotto ai frutti di mare

risotto with clams, scallops, shrimp, lobster, calamari, mussels

piovra alla Ligure

warm Ligurian octopus salad, potatoes, lemon, olive oil

cappesante dorate con porcini

seared sea scallops, imported porcini mushrooms

scampi Siciliani

Sicilian langoustines

alici marinati

marinated Mediterranean anchovies

penne con scorfano e melanzane

penne with Mediterranean scorpion fish, eggplant, tomato, basil

ravioli di ricotta con caciotta Toscana

sheep’s milk ricotta ravioli, Tuscan pecorino cheese, Marsala wine glaze

risotto ai frutti di mare

risotto with clams, scallops, shrimp, lobster, calamari, mussels

pescato d’amo al forno

whole roasted line caught Mediterranean fish of the day

sinfonia di dolci

symphony of desserts

The Bill

about $155-200 for one Gran Menu di Mare (family style Grand Seafood Feast)

Dining at Bartolotta was the most memorable experience of the places I dined at in Las Vegas.  The cuisine is a bit pricey and a bit fishy.  I recommend it to anyone that enjoys seafood or great pasta and isn’t worried about price.  If the food doesn’t impress you, I guarantee that the scenery will.  So at the least, stop on in for a drink at the bar.

Bartolotta Ristorante Di Mare
3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 248-3463‎
Google Map

On our way out of Chicago Sunday morning, my cousin Errol and I stopped for breakfast at Chris’ Pancakes & Dining in St. Louis, Missouri.  Parking was difficult as the place was packed.  This can be expected from what might just be the best breakfast for under thirty bucks in St. Louis.  I ordered a Sicilian Omelette on the recommendation of one of the locals.  It was something more like a pizza with red sauce omelette.  Errol ordered the buckwheat pancakes.  Service was quick and friendly.  As we were leaving, the waitress ran out to the car with some books that she thought we left behind, but they were actually someone else’s.  That shows that they really care about their customers.

Sicilian Omelette

Italian sausage, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, topped with marinara sauce and Provel cheese

Cinnamon Roll

This shit is the shit!

Errol & his buckwheat pancakes

Does this look like the face of a happy man?

Errol said, "there isn’t an inch of uneatable bacon on this bacon!" (referring to that nasty white stuff typical of bacon at many places)

If you’re ever in St. Louis for breakfast, eat here.

Chris’ Pancakes & Dining
5980 Southwest Ave
St. Louis, MO 63139-2761
(314) 645-2088
Google Map

I burned my first Blu-ray disk the other day using Nero on a Sony VGN-FZ283BN laptop.  I wanted Fear & Loathing, but it’s only offered in HD-DVD at this time.  Fear & Loathing is owned by Universal which only supports HD-DVD.  Stupid format wars! Whatever.  I just tested the drive to see if it worked and it was slow as hell right out of the box!  What a great way to waste a $30 disc.

Special thanks to A.J. Pietraszewski for sponsoring this useless blog post.

I was asked the other day to write a program to scrub some 50,000 Microsoft Word 2003 documents of hidden data.  I was surprised at first because I had no idea that Word secretly tracked changes in documents and who changed what.  Apparently this problem is dangerous to companies in particular.  Imagine writing in a Word document something that says, "Mike is an asshole."  Then later you realize Mike might see this document so you delete it.  If Mike finds this document and he knows what he is doing and you don’t know about this, Mike can see that you wrote this and deleted it.  It’s logged, but hidden.  I looked on google for about an hour but came up with a lot of crap I didn’t like.  I thought I had a winner when I landed on Doc Scrubber, but all that did was remove document properties.  Then I landed on Kim Komando’s page which suggested downloading something called the RHD tool from Microsoft (Validation Required).  Upon further inspection of this tool, I found it to be a pain in the ass for the purpose of scrubbing multiple documents.  I kept getting the error, "Protected Document failed. Reason: This document contains protected information. If you are not the author of this document, contact the author to obtain permissions." whenever I ran the OFFRHD.EXE program located in the RHD thing.  I grew impatient with these weak methods and decided to write my own program.  The concept is simple: open a document, select all, copy, close the document, create a new document, paste, save the new document in a different folder.  I noticed that by doing this, some documents decreased quite a bit in size.  On one test of a document that was edited by dozens of people, this method shrunk it from 3.03 MB to 2.01 MB.  They seemed happy with it, so I just used VB6 and Word 2003 to automate this on a lot of documents.  Mind you, I had to spend some time learning how to automate office because I never did this before.  Why the hell does Word put all this bullshit in documents anyway?  My program is called, "Word 2003 Document Bullshit removal."  I welcome any and all comments or suggestions.  This is not meant to be a commercial end all solution but rather something for other programmers to look at.  Use at your own risk.

Example Document before scrubbing

I had to sensor the screenshot because too much data was exposed.

Example Document after scrubbing with my code

 

My Code:

Private Sub cmdRemove_Click()
Me.MousePointer = 11

MsgBox "Finished removing bullshit from all Word 2003 documents!"
End Sub

Let me know what you think.  It’s Friday and I’m going home.

Download the source code and program here