Don't Back Down

There are so many times where I try and enter my ZIP+4 - not just the ZIP code, but those extra little digits to be helpful. And at times, I am stymied by a field that only accepts a strange number of characters - like 7. I think it could be better, and just not allow me to enter more than 5 if I've selected the US and they aren't going to support the ZIP+4 format, but it's better than nothing.

Others don't even go that far. They appear to have a field with no data entry limit at all - I could go on and on with that data, so I'm perfectly able to enter all 10 digits of the ZIP+4 - including the dash separating the parts. But then we I submit it, I get an error like Invalid ZIP Code, or Unknown ZIP Code or something.

Then there are the folks who store the ZIP+4 in the account - so if you go looking, that's what you'll see in the field. Then when you save it, it doesn't work. That's just ridiculous.

So come on, people - it's not that hard. A little Javascript is all it takes to restrict the field to a particular length for a particular country. And if you can't accept that data, don't store it in your user records!

Now that's just wrong. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, in their infinite wisdom, keeps "evidence" - in other words, fighting dogs - at animal control. Now I'm the first to say that those dogs deserve as much a chance at life as the next one, so before you get going, let me finish.

These dogs must be kept until the end of the trial. The city gets the bill. And perfectly adoptable animals get put to death because these can't be euthanized because they are evidence. What's even worse is that, at the end of the trial, these fighting dogs are typically euthanized because they are considered unfit for adoption.

Read "Killing Two Dogs with One Stone" »

Yesterday after church, we found ourselves looking for a place to eat. And for whatever reason, I was in the mood for Sunday brunch. Now I don't mean a Shoney's brunch. I mean a real brunch, with cook-to-order omelettes, sliced roast beef, the whole shebang - not just a series of warming trays.

After driving around for about an hour and trying to find something, when we didn't even know if it existed in Charlotte, Denise stumbled on an ad in Creative Loafing for the Waldhorn Restaurant.

As you might be able to divine from the name, this is a German restaurant. Even better, they have Sunday brunch. With breakfast foods (the omelettes, cheese grits and home fries were excellent) and German specialities. My personal favorites were the Spaetzle (noodles like Grandma used to make) and the beef and pork goulash. Especially with the latter over the top of the former. And the heath-bar cookies were awesome, with just the right consistency.

I highly recommend the place for Sunday brunch. I'm sure the food is good at other times, but you probably won't get quite the sampling as you do at brunch.