Hi everyone, I'm Ben.
- Class of 2013, Mech Engineering.
- I hated engineering so much I went straight into software consulting after graduating without knowing anything about it (literally, I didn't know I was going to be doing anything related to software). It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I did that for a bit, got my MBA, now I'm a Product Manager bouncing around mid-stage tech startups. I also had a side hustle doing interview coaching/career advising, but that got dropped when my first kiddo joined the fam.
- I moved to Atlanta for work after graduating (without having any prior connection to the city). It immediately felt like home; I love all things Atlanta - music, food scene, brewery scene, bar scene, neighborhood culture, etc - except for Atlanta sports, which I'm mostly indifferent to (except for Atlanta United, of which I'm a fair weather fan).
- I am married to a yellow jacket, we have a ~1.5 year old, a second coming in the next few weeks, and 2 dogs (both labs).
- Hobbies/interests/things that I'm somewhat knowledgeable about include tennis, cooking, eating, drinking, my dogs, my kid, listening to podcasts, doing Atlanta things, free travel/credit card rewards, hip hop music from 1995ish-2010ish, and tech/product management.
Forums:
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Comments
Which donut flavoring/style is the best?
Follow-up: where are you buying your donuts?
Great question. My wife is passionate about donuts, and I don't hate that at all.
My favorite donut spot is probably Revolution - their donuts are very dense, and I like that. My wife's favorite spot is Sublime; their donuts are a lot more fluffy. I don't love Sublime, but I'm not going to say no.
I love coconut. In April, Revolution was making an almond joy doughnut and it was incredible.
that almond joy donut looks sexy. That is not a variant i would have thought of, but now that I have heard it, I want it
Yeah. I need that Almond Joy donut in my life too. I might be going to Duck Donuts sooner than I anticipated now...
Favorite hip hop/rapper from back in the day? Top 5?
Favorite you've been able to see in person?
Eminem has been the one artist who I've listened to at every phase of my life, so I'd probably say him. But there's sooo many others too.
In no order... Eminem, Tupac, Biggie, Outkast, NWA. I know it's a bit of a cop out naming groups in my top 5, but there's no rules so I do
As far as hip hop artist go... I went to Outkasts last show ever, in Atlanta. I saw Eminem. I've seen Kendrick 3 times; twice he was straight trash, but once he was absolutely amazing.
Soundtrack to your life?
Favorite food?
Probably Eminem Albums 1-3 (SSLP, MMLP, TES) or Kanye albums 1-3 (College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation). Both 'trilogies' have this arc where the character/artists goes from (1) not being able to find their place in the world, to (2) finding their place in the world but struggling to deal with unforeseen aspects of it, to (3) coming terms with who/where they are.
I love having variety, but I can't say no to any type of fried potatoes with salt and ketchup
I miss the old Kanye
Same, man. I haven't really liked his music since MBDTF. Beyond that, it's upsetting that he's such an asshat.
Eminem Show fucking ruled.
Yea man, that was the first hip hop album I listened to beginning to end. So good.
What are your favorite Atlanta things?
What is your favorite part of Atlanta you've lived in?
What is your favorite Atlanta bar (ba dum tssss)?
What is your favorite Atlanta music venue?
Finding new restaurants. My first 6 months here I ate out multiple times every weekend but never when to the same restaurant twice. I think Atlanta is a highly underrated food city. Lots of James Beard award winners, a lot that started their career at hole-in-the-wall places in Atlanta. I've eaten a lot of good 'ugly delicious' food since being here.
For 5 years I had a small 1 BR right across the street from Piedmont Park. It was great, I could walk/bike to everything. It was smack in the middle of the most popular gayborhood in the south east, which made for some excellent people watching too. Now I'm in Kirkwood, which I also love. If we were to win the lottery or otherwise become obscenely wealthy, I think we'd move to downtown Decatur. We spend a lot of time there these days.
Oof tough question because it's always changing. Right now it's probably Scepter Brewery in Oakhurst. Really good beer, really cool food trucks come every week, and every Friday night parents go and just let their kids run wild, which is nice in my current phase of life.
Cypress was my go to spot when I was in Midtown. I have had some amazing times at the Clermont Lounge as well (before Lady Gaga ruined it for everyone)
I don't have a strong opinion, but probably Variety Playhouse? It's a smaller venue.
I was particularly curious about your favorite place to live. I have friends/family who have lived in a bunch of different spots and I'm always keeping my ear to the ground in case I ever decide for a career change and move to Atlanta, which would be high on my "relocation" list of places.
Aside: for those unfamiliar with Atlanta, if you and a friend both live in "Atlanta" and you live in the wrong parts of it, you might as well not be living in the same city at all with how much of a pain in the ass it can be to get from certain parts of Atlanta to others.
Yeah... the surrounding neighborhoods of the best spots to hang in Atlanta (and most places, tbh) are getting that way.
It depends what your vibe (and paycheck) is. Do you want a house or a condo? Do you want a (relatively) big yard? Do you want to be walking distance to things? If so what things? Do you like a clean pristine neighborhood, or do you want it to feel like a city? Do you care about diversity in your neighborhood or not?
I'd be pretty happy anywhere on the east side - Decatur, EAV, Grant Park, etc is my general stomping ground
Spot on... When I moved here, people would call Atlanta 'The NYC of the south', but to me it always felt a lot more like LA than NYC.
Parenting philosophy, please!
My kid is just over a year and half old, so I'm not sure I have a 'philosphy' yet. I think everyone has an idea of the the parent they want to be, but the 'everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face' quote definitely applies.
Anyways, there's three quotes I've heard/read that think about a lot:
I'm happy to give more specific advise around the first year or so with a kid, but I understand if you don't want to hear that. There's no shortage of people giving parenting advice.
there is certainly a lot of unsolicited parenting advice out there. We've had our fair share. My kid is about 2 weeks away from 16 months so I'm in a similar boat to you. It's been really interesting asking others about their philosophies rather than just asking general advice. There have been some gems so far which I have appreciated. Some of it makes me feel validated in the approach I'm trying to take, so that's nice. Otherwise, I'm trying to be more of a sponge than anything. Everyone has something to teach and as long as I keep reminding myself to be flexible and open to new ideas I'll feel good about it. I don't want to be the guy people say is "set in his ways"
The quote piece hit for me.
"The work will wait while you show a child a rainbow. The Rainbow won't wait while you do the work"
True- but only to a point. Yes when they're in the first 5-10 years, you provide everything. As they get older you provide the basics- shelter, food, school supplies, and clothes...but NOT "designer labels" or EVERY game system, or such. If you want Levis instead of store bran jeans , earn the moony to pay the difference.(Provide opportunities beyond chores e.g. dishes, laundry, trash, etc.) which every child above age 3-4 should have) to earn money-e.g. allowing them yo use the mower to cut neighbors yards, pay them for doing a special gardening project you want done but don't have the time for. This teaches delayed gratification and that you have to work to get nicer things - they aren't just handed to you. I remember when I bought my first bike(a single speed 26" one that I could barely reach the ground with my feet) at age 7; it cost $50 and I had to save allowance and do extra work in the yard to earn the money to pay half of that. Sound harsh? Perhaps....but I kept that bike 'til i was 22 and took care of it; didn't leave it out in the weather or be careless ith it.
Same for getting my driver's license. I couldn't get it until I could afford to pay my parents the increase in their insurance of $100/month. And the habits they developed by raising me that way allowed me to have my first year at VT paid for with scholarships, the second from savings, 3rd and 4th from student loans and last year borrowing from parents (cause even though they weren't paying for me to go, the student loan people assume they are and I didn't qualify). After college I lived at home for a few years where I paid (much below market but not negligible(rent). Paid off the "outside" loans before the six month grace period was up and the money my parents had loaned me within 18 months.
Kinda goes with your third bullet-
You can't be your kids' "friend" while they're kids; you need to be the parent. Being friends can wait 'til they are adults. Teach by example; live within your means; say "no" when you need to(or SHOULD ) instead of taking the easy way out and giving in. As the 6th of 7 kids in my family, I know my parents could have thrown their hands up and let us run wild, but they did the hard work instead. Was it all perfect, and roses and sunshine? No, not at all. But did they raise seven kids who (almost) all became productive citizens and could think for themselves and support themselves? Yes!
"You owe your kids everything" doesn't mean you give them everything; it means you love them unconditionally (which, by definition, does not mean you give them everything).
The "we're not raising kids; we're raising adults" quote means that your goal as a parent is not to teach your kid to be the best 5 year old; rather, it's to raise them to be the best adult/person. We're playing the long game.
Literally on the face punching sometimes. Two and a half is a wild ride.
Wait until 3 and a half....
And 11 and a half.....
Yea man, earlier this week our kiddo decided to have a melt down in the middle of the street (because I made her hold my hand on a cross walk), at which point I attempted to pick her up and she kicked my right in the eye. Not ideal.
How has your family found a routine that works for yall with regards to children, careers, dogs?
My fiancé and I only have a dog, but we've started talking about what our routines might look like once a child was introduced with career, kid, and dog (not to mention working out, hobbies, etc.). So curious how (if?) you've found something that works for you.
Great question - it's a never ending challenge, and you're always tweaking it. It's not just children/careers/dogs, but it also personal interests, health, friendships, your marriage, your extended family, maintaining your house, etc. I am far from a pro at this, and I'm struggling to write a concise answer, but here's a stream of consciousness list of thoughts:
One of my fears about become a parent is that I would cease to be as an individual, and my entire existence would be about being a parent. That fear has pushed me to be much more thoughtful about what I want out of life.
I'm sure I'll come back and edit this as I think of other things.
Appreciate the insight!
I'm definitely guilty of letting the motivation "come to me" when it comes to working out.
Yep, it really worked well for me for 15+ years. I stayed strong and healthy. Now, if I wait around to make a decision, it will get made for me.
i am a very strong proponent of the idea that in a near-ideal situation, your job should be working for you more than you work for it. they pay you so they can annoy you, but on the balance you'll be coming out ahead. and there's so much that rolls into it -- commuting costs, commuting time, "after hours" expectations, management style and efficacy, engaging projects or day-to-day, coworkers who are nice to be around and are competent (a rare combo), etc.
This is an interesting take. And it kinda sums up where I am. My job is fine. I don't hate the work but I'm also not particularly passionate about it. I really like my boss and the folks I work with. The job is remote so I can work from home (which is great in this stage of life) and it is very flexible. It's not an overly taxing job but they pay me really well. It's definitely doing more for me than I am for it right now.
Note-some of this overlaps with parenting philosophy...
Biggest thing about balance is remembering you and your partner are the center of the family, the nucleus, NOT the kids. They are the satellites that revolve round the core. Yes they need (and demand) attention and love, but if you or your partner say "we will have time for US later after the kids are grown", you will find that when the kids are grown, there is no relationship left to nurture.
Tangentially to that- don't overschedule the kids' time (or yours). I can't tell you how many people I knw who are running from one practice to another recital to a third class with no "down time" and little time for each other.. And that's with only one child. Have multiple kids and that chaos grows exponentially. Let each kid pick ONE thing they want to focus on (and don't choose it for them). Let them have plenty of non-structured play time. I know I'm not the only one who heard the following phrases growing up: "If you're bored and have nothing to do, I'll FIND you something to do"; "Go outside and don't come back 'til supper (or 'til the streetlight comes on").
It's this non-structured times that let kids work out own interpersonal relationships, resolve conflicts, and actually use their imagination.
True example- my sister had a birthday party on back deck and yard for her 5-9 year old kids. They had some party games (pin the tail on the donkey, egg on spoon races etc.) but after that my sis told the kids to go play- and her kids did....but many of the kids said "play what"? How sad is it that some if not many kids have no idea how to "play" if they don't have a "screen" of some sort (phone/tablet/video game)?
TL:DR Yes do things as a family , but never forget that one day the kids will grow up (hopefully /s sorta) and leave (eventually /s sorta).. And if you haven't kept up the marital side of the relationship, you will be sadly disappointed and lonely at that point.
+1 to all of this.
I like a lot of this very much. I'm taking a screenshot and sharing with my wife. Thanks
where is the coolest place you have traveled to?
Where have you traveled that you would absolutely recommend?
Have you travelled anywhere multiple times? If yes, where and why?
which credit card are you using for the bennys?
Where are you from, originally?
Japan. Total culture shock in the best way. You can live there for months and never run out of things to do.
Hawaii - another place you can stay for months and not get bored
Hong Kong - only place I can think of that has super urban city, mountains, and a beach all in the same place.
There's a bunch of small cities in the south that are cool - Athens, Chattanooga, Greenville, Asheville, etc. They're close to Atlanta and have fun stuff to do.
Not really churning these days, just been sticking to my Amex Platinum. The delta lounge access, clear, uber giftcards, etc all make the annual fee worth it.
Maryland. Yes I'm a bad driver and yes I like old bay. No I don't like Lacrosse.
The real question is how many Maryland flag-themed pieces of apparel do you own?
Not any actually. I love the flag, I think it's beautiful, but in the last decade the University of MD started using it as their team colors/jersey. Great idea, but I don't want to confuse others by wearing VT gear and UMD gear (🤮). I've considered finding MD flags that are Maroon and Orange, but it just doesn't work unfortunately.
The only way the flag works with VT colors is to toss white in there. Maroon and white for the stripes, then orange and white for the crosses. Otherwise you cross pollinate, and it looks weird. (On the link you sent, I feel like it's rotated 180* as well. I know it's not real, but it's wrong.
it's pretty rare to find anyone willing to admit this. I'm a fantastic driver, FTR
But are you an excellent driver?
yes....
in my fantasies
"Slow on the driveway?" /s
follow up on travel -- where did you honeymoon?
Goldeneye in Jamaica. Unreal. It was like a living on private beach.
I need to see a pin-map of all the places you've been - you sound pretty well traveled
I've been to:
And that's it. I'd like travel abroad much more, buttt we decided to have kids so that's on hold for a bit lol. I also want to travel to more college football destinations.
I've only been one of the places on your list but I'd love to hit most of the others
Totally get travel being put on hold with small children - my wife and I are planning to do an international trip at the end of this year, right before the little one turns 2 so he still flies free
We travel a fair amount with our first, but not internationally. She wouldn't be able to appreciate it (obviously) so it wouldn't be worth the money.
Definitely worth the annual fee, especially if you fly Delta. It pays for itself and then some.
Which island(s) did you visit? Favorite? Any particular experience that sticks out as a "must do"?
Oahu and Maui. The latter was for a wedding, we just spent the whole time at the resort. In Oahu, we stayed in Waikiki. We went surfing, snorkling, kayaking, rented a car and drove around the island, went hiking, went to watch people surf the pipeline waves, went to pearl harbor, and just wandered around drinking. The Kayaking in Kaneohe Bay to the sandbar was really fun.
There's probably better hiking and outdoorsy things to do on the other islands, but (my understanding is that) the other islands are more suited for romantic getaways. We were on a boys trip and chose to stay on Oahu.
Fellow Consultant here! How do you feel about the state of Agile jobs? I believe Product jobs are necessary, but have seen a lot of companies lay off Product roles as companies don't want them staffed. Would love your insight on this!
Depends on (a) what are you considering an 'Agile job' and (b) if you're talking about SaaS companies, or companies that need technology to support the business (eg; retailers need a variety of tech solutions to manage all of their processes, but their core business is retail, not technology).
But, at a high level, I think product managers are essential (otherwise your product becomes bastardized), and I think scrum managers worthless. If you find that a scrum master is necessary, it's because either (a) your organization is poorly structured, (b) you have a culture where communication is discouraged, or (c) your devs/product people are poor communicators (side note, when I'm interviewing developers, I hammer them on communication skills - if you can't work with other devs to unblock yourself, I will stop you from being hired. A mediocre developer who is a great communicator will be far more effective than a super talented dev who can't communicate their ideas).
Happy to elaborate/discuss further if you have a specific challenge/thought.
What's the dumbest thing you have ever done?
Whats the nicest thing you have ever done?
What's your favorite sound?
What's your guilty pleasure?
Whats the oddest/strangest thing you have ever seen happen, where you literally said to yourself: 'I cant believe that just happened right in front of me?
If you could remove one thing from existence in the world, what would be? It could be a person past or present, a thing, an emotion, .....anything.
In my youth, I ghosted someone instead of just having a candid conversation and ending the situationship. Immature, inconsiderate, and mean. I would call that dumb.
My brother in-law is a teenager going through teenager things and not getting along with his parents and stuff. I try to do stuff for him - help him with homework, listen to him complain about his parents, take him out for dinner occasionally. He's the youngest of 5, and both of his parents and all of his siblings have opinions on everything. I think he really appreciates having someone who will just listen.
Hmm... If you've been placed on hold by customer service recently, you might have gotten some hold music that sounds like very relaxing house music. I like that I suppose.
TKP and Reddit
Beating OSU in the shoe? I was convinced we were going to find a way to lose.
Maybe I'll think of something better and come back to update this.
UVA. Fuck em.
Edit: might need to change my last answer here to throw pillows. I fucking hate them, maybe more than UVA. Our bedroom (which other than me, my wife, dogs, child, and our cleaners, no one goes into) has 5 enormous throw pillows. Our bed is made once per week, and each time the bed is made, the pillows are taken off as soon as someone lays in it. They are *purely* decorative pillows for a room in which no one goes in. I don't get it and I hate it.
You mean this?
YES
This is quite possibly the best edit ever made in the history of TKP.
Throw pillows are the absolute fucking worst. For all the reasons listed above. Maybe less stupid on a couch, but I got 2 dogs and a kid. Our couch pillows are in the floor more than they are on the couch.
I feel the same way even though I use them.
I have to sleep sitting up and It's more comfortable with one tucked under my right arm.
So, I use the dam things but actually have a use for them.
That's totally different than using them as decoration...when your bed is only in fully made up status <10% of the time.
Yea, to further complicate our situation, my wife and I both have body pillows (which are amazing). So when our bed is made (again, this happens but once each week), the pillows live on more than half the bed. Then we take them off, and they continue to serve no purpose.
It's why they're called "throw" pillows and not "gently remove when it's time for bed" pillows. /s
My wife had to have a reading chair in the bedroom when we built our new house for a quiet place. The bed throw pillows stay on that chair more than the bed. Don't think the wife has sat in that chair in the 6 years we have owned it.
We have the exact same situation, except the chair is not restricted to throw pillows, and can be used to house any clutter without a home.
i mean this as a compliment -- when did you become such a nerd?
Sometime in adulthood. I've just become a lot more curious about a lot of different things over the last 10 years (especially cause/effect relationships), and I found out that I can actually figure (some of) those things out. Also, I'm too opinionated to just lurk, so here I am?
I remember the exact moment when I got comfortable enough in my career to realize the whole point of engineering is that anything I run into can be figured out with the right math/model. Then I got into management and realized that people can't be. BUT until that point it was pretty sweet. So I got the hell out of management and went back to pure design. Even now, if my coworkers are stumped I take great pride in digging and finding the right equations to come up with the right answer without having to guess (just design it by gut feeling) and check (debug and tweak design endlessly until it does what you want).
Most interesting products/tech from the start-ups you've worked with?
Least interesting?
The funny thing is, some of the more interesting products were pretty boring to work on (and vice versa).
The coolest idea was an AI tool that businesses would use to scan their databases, and based on a bunch of context clues, the tool could tell if a record contained some sort of PII, then flag it to the business so they can take proper action (encrypt it, delete it, etc so they could comply with GDPR, or whatever other regulation). But then we just acquired another company, and basically rebuilt their code on our code base. It was a really boring project because we were just following instructions from the CEO. No creative decisions or anything.
That same company did a shit ton of acquisitions, and while the strategy worked great for sales (we're a one stop shop, we can sell you all of your compliance needs at a discounted price!), none of the products talked to each other, so it made for a disjointed user experience. My plan was to essentially to take this group of products and get them working together as a single related platform. That probably sounds boring, but it was a really interesting challenge.
nice. I work on a lot of diagnostics with AI components. AI is really taking off, definitely the next technology that will reshape this world. I imagine all of our jobs will be radically different in about a decade.
Oh cool!
Related: when I was in b-school, I linked up with a PhD student who built an ML model that could predict the severity of breast cancer based on a digital image of a pathology slide. One of the challenges with breast cancer treatment is that there is a lot of over and under treatment (eg; women getting mastectomies when they are unnecessary). I ran the GTM side of things and some law students did the IP and regulatory stuff. Overall, it fell flat - the PhD student was having issues getting the IP from his advisor, navigating FDA stuff was a nightmare, and (5 years ago) the market didn't really trust (the accuracy) of AI.
Wild how ChatGPT has changed people's perception of AI.
That's pretty close to many of the diagnostics I have written patents on. ML models from looking at sequence data to looking at imaging to scavenging health records. A lot of it is really just being able to find signals in data that humans can't find themselves.
Market is ever evolving but getting a diagnostic into the clinic is pretty difficult. Lots of hoops to jump through like you mentioned, FDA along with changing current practice being one of the most difficult. The best diagnostic that will likely make it through isn't even AI-based (but can be AI-supplemented) can detect cancer in blood 100-fold better the best current method. So, AI isn't everything, but it's been a long time coming that AI will be assisting a lot of tasks for us.
If you're going to watch a hokie football game at home on the TV, what's your preferred time slot and why?
These days it's the night game. This will be the the toddler's 3rd football season, and her first being fully mobile. She hasn't been too interested in watching the French Open with me, so I'm guessing that she won't care to watch college football with me (yet). But we'll try.
Head to head against anybody, who will you always pull for in a tennis match (men and women's)?
I'll root for whoever is playing Djokovic.
Andre Agassi was always my favorite growing up. Other then him, I like players who use the whole court and/or do something unique. It's cliche, but I love Roger/Rafa, for all the reasons everyone else does. From that era, I really liked Tsonga (who I consider to be one of the biggest underachievers in the last 20 years of the sport) and Andy Murray (some people say he's boring but they're wrong, he has soooo much variety in his game).
In the current era (which I admittedly have not watched much of), I find myself rooting for Kyrios, Tsitsipas, and Alcaraz. Over the weekend I finally got the chance to watch (almost) a full set of Alcaraz, and it was just awesome to watch. His strategy (at least in the set I watched) is fascinatingly simple - He was hitting the shit out of the ball, aiming for pretty safe targets (he's not aiming for the lines, playing pretty strict warlaw directionals), and then sneaking into the net when his opponent is off balance (which I love to see).
I catch even less of the women's game, but I typically just root for Americans. I caught a few games of Coco this French open - she was a fun watch, made an effort to close on the net which I appreciated.
are we to assume BAR are your initials?
Who are you going to name for the next AMA?
LittleBoobyTablesLittleBobbyTables is going tomorrow. He got nominated in my thread after Soup and bar and responded after they did.LittleBoobyTables
not sure if typo
Oops. Thanks for catching that. I fixed it.
is it tables or tales? Have I been reading it wrong this whole time?
OMG I'm such a bad reader....smh
it was funny while it lasted imagining people out here reading "little bobby tables" as "little booby tales"
Don't Google that .gif
Or VPIhokieME's "little booby tales" they fall flat.
Straight to jail
I'm pretty pumped gobble chumps just spun one up
Since you mentioned other college football destinations above: what's your favorite away game venue and why? And what sites are on your bucket list (doesn't have to be a VT opponent, obviously).
Georgia Tech because it's easy for me to get to? Clemson was pretty cool to. The Horseshoe was fun, but not as loud as I expected. Southbend was cold and a bit underwhelming.
Do you play ALTA? Ranking?
What part of Atlanta, and why that part....
What cuisines do you typically cook?
You have one day in Maui, what do you do? (4 adults, no kids)
Great questions!
I was playing line 2/3/4 on an AA3 team, but now I'm playing line 1 on A5 (I think?). Solid 4.5, I think I could play at a 5.0 level if I played/practice more often. Right now most of the people I play with are on the other side of town (Buckhead/Smyrna/Cobb) so I'm only hitting once or twice a month since it's so far out of the way.
Kirkwood - good variety of restaurants nearby, conveniently located to stuff we do. It's a place where you can have kids but still walk to bars/breweries.
Typically American, some sort of asian, or Mexican. Right now I'm trying to get better at developing favors and getting the most out of cheaper meats. The two cooking books I've read recently are David Chang's Cooking at Home and Samin Nosrat's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
So, inspired by the David Chang book, last week I boiled a chicken, cut the meat off, then put the skin and carcus back in and made a real hearty broth. I froze half of the broth for some yet to be determined project, and made Pho with the remaining broth (it came out pretty decent for a white guy). I had pho ga one night, then next night I used the Pho broth to make rice and threw chicken/veggies on top. Then the following day I used left over rice to make fried rice. So I spent one day trying to make something real flavorful, then transformed it into 3 or so completely different meals (with very little effort) over the next few days. That's the stuff I'm trying to get good at. It's... a work in progress.
Wake up, drink coffee, have a yummy breakfast, hike through Haleakalā National Park (I've never been but pics look dope), eat a big lunch, then spend the rest of the day drinking by a body of water.
My little brother got bumped to 5.0 when they finished second at USTA nationals a few years back. Now he has trouble finding teams/places to play as a borderline 5.0. I work with a young 4.5 near Buckhead named Nat you might play against sometime. I am not that good.....
Parents in Conyers, brother in Alpharetta, cousin teaches at Georgia State, but not that familiar with Kirkwood.
Sounds like we have very similar interests in cooking. I do overnight stock in the croc-pot whenever I buy chicken, even if just with the bones after I grill it. You know it's good when it gels in the fridge. I cook several hours on the weekend to have everything you need to cook quickly during the week, always trying at least one thing I've never done before. Lot of Foodnetwork or travel inspired stuff, with a little internet research.
You are cooking for 6-10 adults - what is your go to?
Hmm great question. Assuming we're talking dinner, I'd probably do my version of a Passover Seder - Jewish style Brisket, roasted chickpeas marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and za'atar, and a kale salad with a lemon vinaigrette. Maybe throw in Matzo ball soup as a starter depending on the occasion.
This is an easy way to cook a lot of yummy food with no timing challenges.
I'm not good at timing different dishes. Can't tell you how many times I've made a burger and potatoes, but the potatoes are always ready either right when I'm about to put the burgers on, or 10 min after I take the burgers off. I just can't seem to get that stuff right lol
Does your bro live in Atl?
Alpharetta (Windward).
I usually do brisket on the BGE, but it's a long commitment, or just do corned beef and cabbage in the croc-pot (easy food for a week). I should try one in the oven. Do you need to use those sold fresh, like for smoking, or do the packaged ones for corned beef work? How much does the grade of the beef matter if the former?
Here's my recipe - hopefully you can read my hand written notes (deglazing will add a ton of flavor).
I would stay away from cured/preprocessed cuts beef, but for this dish, I think you can use choice or select and be fine. It's essentially a braise, so the meat will be cooking in a lot of liquid, so you don't need the perfect marbling or anything. When I eat it, I typically smother the meat in a caramelized onion gravy/slurry; it's not like good bbq where you really want the meat to shine. Honestly, you could probably use a chuck and it would be just as good. It's supposed to be poor people food. This is what my brokeass polish great grandmother would cook. It's not meant to be perfect, just flavorful AF, ya know?
Your handwriting is better than mine. That is longer cook at a higher temp than I would have thought. I think Costco has whole brisket on sale now - they did last time I went. They are a bit big for the BGE, and a lot of food, but seems likes would work for previously froze just fine if I pick a whole prime and split between the grill and trying this roast later.
Definitely!
Planning to try this tomorrow. The amounts for the liquids are cut off..... Guessing about a tbs each of vinegar and a cup of stock?
.4 TO 5 LB [1.8 KG TO 2.3 KG] BRISKET
KOSHER SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
3 TBSP VEGETABLE OIL
3 LARGE RED ONIONS,
HALVED THROUGH THE ROOT AND THINLY SLICED
8 GARLIC CLOVES, THINLY SLICED
2 BAY LEAVES
1.5 CUPS (6O ML) BEEF OR CHICKEN STOCK (I recommend Beef Bone broth)
⅓ CUP [80 ML] BALSAMIC VINEGAR
1 TBSP RED WINE VINEGAR
(Copy/paste using the Apple Photos OCR feature - sorry for yelling)
How'd it go?
Made way too much food for the five of us, but it was a hit. I think I like smoked a little better, but I don't always have 30 hours to smoke it, and it came out better than making corned beef. I'll likely make it again at some point. Trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers. The vinegar onion sauce really balanced it well, though I used the yellow onions I had on hand.
How dare you?
You say you're married to a Yellow Jacket. What's the Good Word?
To hell with Georgia!
Seriously, their fans are the fucking worst. They bark at children.
If you could have lunch with 5 people from tkp, but it has to be all at once, who would it be?
Oof what a tough question. I suppose I would aim for maximum entertainment value, so definitely APrimus and TJB. Let's throw Alum and DC in. Give me all the fireworks, then bring in Joe, and consistently remind him that he's responsible for bring all of these people together.
Lol what an epic answer
Coming to Atlanta/Marietta this weekend for the Nats-Braves games...haven't been to a game in the stadium (and don't know if you have or not), but any suggestions of where to sit?
I'm not a baseball fan, I usually just go to the chop house, get hammered, wind up talking to my friends about stuff other than baseball. But definitely get to the battery early and wonder around. As much as I hate that they put it OTP, they did do a pretty good job of surrounding it with bars/restaurants.
Also, if you have time Friday or Saturday, go to Heirloom BBQ. It's around the corner from the stadium, and, in my opinion, it's the best barbecue in the greater Atlanta area. It's classic American bbq with Korean seasoning and spices. I used to work around the corner from there, and I'd go almost weekly. Now I'm never up that way so I rarely go.
Heirloom was really damn good. And we got standing room only tickets yesterday and hung out just outside chop house...awesome ballpark.
So happy you tried it. I love that place, wish it was closer to me. What did you get?
The Battery is fun. I hated the idea of it, but it was executed beautifully.
Not a question, just stopping by to say Hi Ben!!
Hey man! Hope you're well!
Bar- you are my favorite TKPer and I appreciate all of the insights you add to discussion.
I lived in Atlanta for a few years before relocating for work- I think I'll find myself back there in a year or two. I'll be working in Locust Grove while my wife will probably be working in Chamblee...ish. Where's the best place to be if we're both commuting to those areas?
Wow, I'm flattered!
That is a tough one... I'm assuming you've looked at map and know how far those places are from each other? For any NoVA hokies, this is like one of you working in Fredericksburg and the other working in McClean.
So, questions are:
Potential Options
Not a direct reply but just a timely pot I saw on Facebook this morning re driving in Atlanta- from the half dozen or so times I've been to Atlanta,, I'd say fairly accurate! lol
HOW TO DRIVE IN ATLANTA:
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name, Atlana. Old-timers are still allowed to call it Alana.
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on I-285 is 80 mph. On I-75 and I-85, your speed is expected to at least match the highway number. Anything less is considered 'Wussy'.
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Atlanta has its own version of traffic rules. For example, Ferraris and Lamborghinis owned by sports stars go first at a four-way stop. Cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go second. The trucks with the biggest tires go third. The HOV lanes are really designed just for the slow Floridians passing through who are used to hogging the left lane everywhere.
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light or stop sign, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. Unless there is a police car nearby.
6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It's another offense that can get you shot.
7. Road construction is permanent and continuous. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting. Generally, city roads other than the main streets have more potholes and bumps (usually speed bumps) than most dirt roads in the countryside.
8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, ladders, possums, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, furniture, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits, and crows.
9. Be aware that spelling of street names may change from block to block, e.g., Clairmont, Claremont, Clairmonte.
10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been "accidentally activated".
11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 75 in a 55-65 mph zone, k, e.g., you are considered a road hazard and will be "flipped off" accordingly. If you return the flip, you'll be shot.
MOST IMPORTANT: If you get LOST, Look for a road named PEACHTREE... Then you are somewhere in Atlanta.
Man, I wish people drove fast in Atlanta. In my experience, drivers here are far more indecisive than they are in the DMV, which leads to worse traffic. If people just went 75 on the highway we'd be good.
The rest is quite accurate.
the concept of awful drivers with the horn also being culturally offlimits is mind blowing to me. horn usage in the NYC metro area is an art form
horns were put on cars for a reason. Just like turn signals. But most people don't use them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
People in the northeast are very abrasive and transparent. In the south, people are far more
passive aggressiveindirect(?) (for example, saying things like "bless your heart" or "I'll pray for you"). Being directly aggressive is considered quite offensive.Bless your heart has so many connotations....
the horn is not inherently aggressive. it can be anything from "watch out" to "your turn" to "wtf man" to "thanks"
To "Oh hey"
exactly. its an artform. It's not just a sign of aggression (though, it can be). The horn is an instrument that can convey various different messages. It's partly context and partly how you use it.
And like many things that can be utilized in many ways, a lot of people don't use the horn properly. Or abuse their power when optioning to use it.
In Atlanta, it's okay to use it as a 'watch out', but everything else is frowned upon.
Eliminate 1 breakfast, lunch, dinner. Explain
Are you asking me to go down to just 2 meals per day?
Not necessarily. I'm more asking which one is your least favorite.
I guess lunch? But I like all meals. Breakfast is my favorite. Eggs + meat + breakfast potatoes? Undefeated.
Lunch is typically leftovers from the previous night's dinner.
Dinner has the most variety.
So I thought gillies had the best breakfast ever...then I found a place in Charlottesville that did practically the same dishes...but with meat...heavenly. Unfortunately I believe they've since closed 😢
I never got the gillies hype. Why would I want breakfast without meat? I'm of the belief that breakfast should be a substantial, cohesive meal.
I dunno man. Scrambled eggs cheese, salsa, and perfectly seasoned breakfast potatoes? It is still pretty dang good breakfast. They do get mad when you bring your own bacon, though.