Have you ever gone to a restaurant, ordered fish and had the waitperson ask you how would you like it cooked? I understand it with Tuna or Swordfish (I eat neither) and I really doubt that you’ll ever hear it with any kind of whitefish like Haddock, Cod, Halibut or Sea Bass but it seems like the trendy thing to do lately is ask how you’d like your salmon cooked.

I had a business lunch at the local Macaroni Grill today (not my choice) and ordered the grilled salmon with spinach and orzo salad (below).

When the waiter asked me how I would like my fish cooked, I cringed and said, “cooked”.

He responded, “cooked all the way through?”

To which I replied, “Please. Don’t bring me raw fish unless it’s sushi.”

I understand that you can cook salmon “throughout” meaning you take it off the heat when it’s done in the center of the thickest part or, because fish continues to cook even after you take it off the heat, you can take it off a few minutes before it’s done and by the time you get it on the table, it’s cooked all the way through. The second option tends to result in a fish that is slightly translucent in the center as opposed to a fish that may be overcooked by the time you get it to the table but really, we’re still talking about cooked fish. At no point do I expect that Macaroni Grill or anyone else is going to accommodate my request if I ask them for a “salmon fillet, medium rare, slightly bloody in the center”. They would be stupid to serve me undercooked fish and I would be stupid to eat it.

So really, we’re not talking about how I want my fish but rather, how would I like them to serve it to me: in a timely fashion while it’s cooked correctly or would I like them to overcook my fish to ensure I don’t get sick and then bring me a dry piece of cardboard? Well, my opinion is that if you have to ask how I would like my salmon prepared then I probably shouldn’t be ordering fish from your restaurant at all.

The Frog and Turtle is right down the street from me and Michelle and I go there quite frequently. They have fantastic service and great food but if you only go once, check out their brunch on Sunday. Have a bloody and some fresh home made doughnuts. The doughnuts are truly amazing. Check it out.

Nothing to say.

At least, that’s what you would think of me for the last six months or so. In reality I’ve had plenty to say, I’ve simply had far too little time to say it. So, while I’ve got some free time right now, I think I’ll pour my mind out in somewhat of a free thought exercise and just see what comes of it.

Lets see…what have I been up to lately? Well, working my ass off for one. I’ve taken over as project manager for a large company implementation and it’s a real bear. I just came back from a trip to Omaha (see: Shithole) a little less than two weeks ago and since then I’ve managed to successfully dodge two separate attempts to get me to travel to Oklahoma City (see: South of Shithole) and two trips for clients to come visit me in South Portland. This client takes up roughly 50% of my time and sadly, I already needed the 110% of my time that I was putting into my job. However, it’s starting to pay off. True to his word it would appear that my boss is giving me some serious consideration in the financial arena and my aspirations for future advancement are looking pretty good as well.

Is it just me or am I the only one that suspects that the major news outlets may have been purchased by Entertainment Tonight?

So now we’re down to three serious candidates for President. Too bad none of them are candidates that I would have chosen and I will once again be forced to choose the lesser of two evils. I really do hope that Obama is one of the choices though. People say that the devil you know is better than the devil that you don’t know but I’m so utterly fed up with everything that can be summed up with the term “Washington Politics” that I’d vote for anyone not already firmly ensconced in Washington bullshit at this point.

Did you know that I’m a vegetarian now? Not really (I eat fish) but I haven’t eaten red meat in about a year and a half and I haven’t eaten chicken or other commonly thought of meat (like pork) in a little over a year. It’s really not that bad and you should try it. I feel healthier and better about myself than I ever have and with exercise I think I look better too!

Hey Bill O’Reilly, don’t be such a douchebag. Tool.

Things I’ve been reading lately: Confessions of an Economic Hitman and 1421 The Year China Discovered America.

Watching: The Tudors and Sci-Fi’s Battlestar Galactica. Holy effing crap are those shows good! I also watched 30 Days of Night recently as well because I always love a good vampire flick but I can suggest that you skip this one; It was pretty disappointing.

Random: OS X kicks ass and the iPod Touch is really fracking cool. Everyone should have one. More on that later on.

Did you see the new update for Firefox to FF3 beta 4? No? Go check it out. They are kicking ass and taking names. Speaking of browsers. Did you also see that Internet Explorer is ready to go to IE8? “But they just released IE7 not that long ago!” you say. I agree but apparently Microsoft has decided to created a browser that works with existing web standards instead of telling web developers to go screw and have to design their pages to conform to IE (this is why you see so many pages that say they only work with IE6 et al). It’s about time but after so long of creating the worst browser on the market they are going to effectively break the web when enough users upgrade and most web developers have to recode to remove the IE<6.0 specific broken code.

Gotta run. I’ll write more later (I hope)!

You will be sorely missed Denis.

This is my favorite photo of Denis (from left to right: Mark Mullis, Denis, me and Mike.) It was taken at Mark Pellerin’s camp during the MasterCard department’s offsite party and we had a great time. Denis went up a few days before we did and just relaxed. By the time we got there he was in great spirits and stress-free. He died this past Wednesday of a massive heart attack while at his desk. Nearly the entire team was there at the time and watching a good friend of ours leave this world at such a young age has placed a terrible scar on the team psyche.

His obituary is below.

Denis Norman Prudhomme

Denis Norman
Prudhomme, 44
PORTLAND — Denis Norman Prudhomme, 44, of Clearwater Drive in Portland, died Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, at the Maine Medical Center in Portland of an apparent heart attack.
He was born in Claremont, N.H. on Feb. 23, 1963, the son of Norman and Carolyn (McKenzie) Prudhomme and had resided in Portland for the past 15 years.
Denis was a graduate of Stevens High School in the Class of 1981 and from the University of New Hampshire in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. In his younger years, he was very much involved with Troup 38 Boy Scouts of America and was an Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout Project was that he re-tiled the ceramic floor in the opera house. He was in the order of the Arrow serving two years as head of the NH order while at UNH. He attended two national Boy Scout Conventions. He was also active in the winter time in Troop 38 winter camps. He loved to snowmobile in the winter and camp in the summer. His hobbies included attending opening day movies and collecting hundreds of movies and DVD’s, as well as loving to read.
After college he moved to Portland, where he became an employee for the past 15 years and recently appointed Senior Account Manager of financial services for the Wright Express Company.
The surviving family includes his parents of Claremont; one sister, Andrea J. Prudhomme of Dover; two aunts and cousins.
Friends may call at the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad St., in Claremont on Sunday evening from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday morning, Oct. 22, at 11 a.m., in St. Mary’s Church with the Rev. Father Shawn M. Therrien, Pastor, officiating. Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. To view an online memorial, send a message of condolence or for more information visit, www.stringerfh.com.
The family suggest that donations may be made in his memory to:
St. Mary’s Church Renovation Fund
32 Pearl St.
Claremont, New Hampshire 03743

Press Herald Obituary