Settling into the Embassy Suites on New Years Eve, we decided that we needed a bite to eat - but just about everything around had already closed. Luckily, Moe's was still open, and we managed to get inside just before they locked the doors. If you've never been to Moe's, it's something like a Subway, but instead of a sandwich, you order a burrito or quesadilla. It's a lot like a Qdoba, too, but Moe's gives you chips!
Even though our New Years celebration culminated with the Mt. Olive Pickle Drop, meaning that we were done by a few minutes past 7pm local time, there was little chance that we would make it home Sunday night. That's one of the problems with going somewhere that's 3 hours away. If we had started there we might have made it home, but that was a lot of driving to get where we were going. So we decided to stop on the way home and have a (somewhat) relaxing evening. That turned out to be the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham-Research Triangle East - about an hour from Mt. Olive, but still a ways from home.
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These days I'm just as likely to look in a strip mall for someplace to eat as anyplace else. It seems that I'm about as likely to find a good place to sit down and find something decent to eat as if I stop somewhere that's not in a strip mall. While in Mt. Olive for the New Years Pickle Drop, we decided to do just that when we came upon Andy's.
Nestled alongside the main road through Wadesboro you'll find this building that is pleasant looking enough. It's right next to a motel composed of cabins that isn't particularly nice looking. I'm not particularly familiar with this part of the world, so there may be other places to eat, but since we were in a bit of a rush through town, we wanted to find someplace, and since this popped up along the road and fit the bill of "not fast food", we stopped.
Tomorrow night there will be a whole bunch of people gathered in Times Square to watch a fancy lighted ball drop from a tall tower. It will be cramped. It will be cold. It will be late. I can attest to these things because I've been there. It's been a few years, but I'm sure if anything, it's just going to be more cramped and perhaps even more cold. It probably will happen at pretty close to the same time, but since I'm even older, it might seem to be later.
Because of these reasons, and because I have made no plans to go to New York - and it's unlikely that I'll do so in the next 24 hours or so - it's not likely that I'll be there. It is very likely, however, that I will be elsewhere, watching another tradition unfold. This one is a bit closer to home, but that doesn't mean that it is any less interesting.
Ever since installing Firefox version 2, I've noticed a steady deterioration in my computer's performance, but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. Since installing the 2.0.0.1 update, it's been even worse. For some reason, I decided to try and figure it out yesterday, and I think I've managed to stumble on the reason. Please note that isn't to say that I've fixed the problem - only that I know the cause.
I typically keep 10-12 tabs open in Firefox. Perhaps I shouldn't, but I do. It's just the way that I use it. I almost constantly keep Firefox running. I just have little reason to close it, and with 1GB of memory, it's usually not a problem. Even when Firefox gets up to a couple hundred MB of memory, it's rarely an issue. If it is, I simply close the window and restart it with the tabs intact. I maybe do this every week or so and life goes on. But still, the performance was getting worse.
I have updated the Bloglines Toolkit to version 1.6.8 and posted an updated archive. There are no new features available in this version, but there are some localization announcements to be made. This version includes a brand new localization for Catalan (ca-AD), and updated localizations for French (fr-FR) and Chinese (Simplified) (zh-CN). Those of you who use the automatic updating feature of your browser may have already seen an update announcement. This is for the same version.
There are plenty of places where you can go to eat barbecue, but I have to say that I'm not sure that you'll be able to find as many where you can eat quite as many varieties of barbecue. You can get just about any type you want here, from beef (brisket) to pork to ribs to chicken. You get sauces on the dishes of course, and you get more on the table, so you should be set no matter what you like.
At Mac's they serve things other than barbecue, but the barbecue is definitely the special. They also serve burgers, and you can "create your own" by adding not just cheese, but all sorts of fixings to satisfy whatever craving you might have. They serve salads at Mac's, but let's face it - you're not here for a salad.
Frequently busy due to their great food, but the wait moves fast - as does the time at your table. If you go at a peak time, know that you aren't going to have a long wait, but you aren't going to have time to sit around and be coddled by the wait staff either. They're going to get you in and out as quickly as possible, because there are likely other people waiting for your seat.
For an area that is somewhat rundown, this place is in surprisingly good shape. The area around it is a bit rough, perhaps, and the parking lot isn't the best. The inside is friendly enough and the staff is okay, but they probably won't win too many prizes for making you feel welcome, but they aren't outright rude or anything like that.
I stopped in here one morning on the way back from dropping the kids at school, and while it isn't much to look at (on the outside or the inside), I'm glad that I did. The service is top-notch. Everyone greets you with a doll baby or a honey or a sweetie every time they see you - whether it's the first time, whether they are filling your glass or whether you are on your way out the door.
