When Motorola moved out of the city of Chicago proper they built their new plant on 300 acres on the edge of nowhere. The same thing you describe above happened. Farmland turned into a bustling Chicago suburb in half a dozen years and Motorola seemed to be in the forefront of it all. They got the same kind of tax break then but I don't recall all the numbers associated with that one.
My guess is that the people planning on the cell phone facility had great expectations, but the crowds simply did not follow the company this time. It was a sixty mile drive from my house and they did offer me 10% bonus to cover travel expenses. But, that was only for the first year. About 50 of those 60 miles was open farmland which is pretty nice to drive through in the summer. During a winter blizzard with all the blowing snow would mean I'd need to take a long a survival pack each day of winter and plan on not getting back home for a few days. Thank you, but no thanks. The local people were all farmers and didn't want to work in a factory. And, the only large population center was happy staying where they were. Everybody was surprised when the plans were announced and few people outside of the executive management thought it would be a success. Nobody figured it would be the end of the cell phone business for Motorola.
Parrot Linux and Btrfs
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
The big company who owns Home Depot spends a ton of money researching an area, sometimes for years before deciding on the right locations. They often buy a LOT of land, and lease half of it to WalMart. Then they build their Home Depot store and the customers come. In some cases WalMart will close a store and move further out to the Home Depot property, usually with a much larger and fancier store.
Then usually within a year or two, a Lowe's will pop-up very close to Home Depot.
This never made much sense to me either. But Home Depot is used to them doing that, so they never build in an area unless they feel it can sustain two big box hardware stores.
Some say they are even in cahoots with each other as well, both companies investing in each other. But I've never found any evidence of that in my own meager searches.
What kills me is an area may not have a single fast food chain, maybe a mom n pop diner that is always swamped, but that's about it. The when a major chain does finally build, within a couple of years ALL of the fast food places suddenly pup up, often all of them right next to each other to.
None of that has ever made any sense to me at all.
Then usually within a year or two, a Lowe's will pop-up very close to Home Depot.
This never made much sense to me either. But Home Depot is used to them doing that, so they never build in an area unless they feel it can sustain two big box hardware stores.
Some say they are even in cahoots with each other as well, both companies investing in each other. But I've never found any evidence of that in my own meager searches.
What kills me is an area may not have a single fast food chain, maybe a mom n pop diner that is always swamped, but that's about it. The when a major chain does finally build, within a couple of years ALL of the fast food places suddenly pup up, often all of them right next to each other to.
None of that has ever made any sense to me at all.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
It's simple. By far the majority of Big Box Store shoppers are swayed by the same marketing used by the fast food joints. It's one of those "birds of a feather..." phenomena that everybody takes for granted until they stand back and try to understand why it's all happening. Class and culture rule the day.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
It always surprises me, especially restaurants which are so hard to make it in the first place.
I studied the population densities of several areas, and what types of restaurants were already there, long before I decided on the Cebo Pizza Franchise, of which I was adding an Italian Restaurant as a separate adjunct to, but using the same kitchen for both.
It was 6 miles to the nearest pizza parlor, and 8 miles to the nearest dine in Italian restaurant.
I know, Ironic a Kraut opening an Italian restaurant, hi hi.
But there were already several German style restaurants, the closest only a little over 2 miles away.
I was next to a busy shopping district and on a busy road off the main road. Far from my home too, hi hi.
Within a year of my opening, two other pizza places popped up about a mile down the same road on either side of me.
Both of them went defunct and their chains are no more either.
The one that was six miles from us when I opened was a mom n pop place, not a chain or franchise.
Different type of clients so I technically never stole any of their business away from them.
Do you remember the little Photo-Mat's that popped up in the parking lots of larger shopping centers?
It may not have looked like it, but that was the business to get into during the end of the film era.
The parent company found which parking lots had independent wiring to the parking lot lamps to save from having to have an underground power brought to the small building. In some cases the electric came from the street if the building was close to the street. Plus they set up the leases as well.
My cousin gave this a shot and looked at one of their maps showing all the shopping centers they have a possible location for, all ready to go, but no building put up yet. What it basically boiled down to was $5,000.00 for the building to be erected, the power brought in, and all the equipment used inside the building, right down to the stool and small AC/Heater unit. In other words, totally turn-key. Your lease with the shopping center started on the day you signed the contract, and the building would be ready to occupy three weeks later. All you had to pay for was the lease and the electric. There was no plumbing in those little boxes, so keep a few empty jars for you know what, hi hi. Most of the leases were between 450 and 750 per month, depending on location.
The parent company would pick up film to be developed twice a day, and drop off the prints at the same time. What they picked up at 10 am you got back by 3:30 to 4 pm, and what they picked up in the evening was back before 10 am.
There were no pick-up and delivery charges per se because that was in the cost of developing.
The entire start-up cost for my cousin was closer to 7 thousand bucks due to the lease, electric deposit, and the payment to the parent company for the building and contents. Contents meant equipment, not inventory of things for sale. Which accounted for about 750 dollars which he increased to around a grand after he was open and saw what he sold the most of. But would you believe those little Photo-Mat's raked in about 15 hundred bucks per day, on average.
He actually did better than most, because he added low end camera's to his offerings, and a few other things.
Once he saw how well his little box was doing, he hired three girls to work in three shifts, and bought another box in another shopping center. He planned on doing more, but found the problem of keeping reliable help more of a headache than he wanted. He almost had the problem licked when he hired a few retired folks, but the had so many times they had to take off either for doctors appointments or having bad days. He decided to sell out both of his locations.
I don't know how he did it, but he sold them for like 50 grand each, after making about 600 grand from the new one, and an undisclosed amount from the oldest or first one he had. I think that is because he didn't keep good records at first, hi hi. Lucky Dude!
I studied the population densities of several areas, and what types of restaurants were already there, long before I decided on the Cebo Pizza Franchise, of which I was adding an Italian Restaurant as a separate adjunct to, but using the same kitchen for both.
It was 6 miles to the nearest pizza parlor, and 8 miles to the nearest dine in Italian restaurant.
I know, Ironic a Kraut opening an Italian restaurant, hi hi.
But there were already several German style restaurants, the closest only a little over 2 miles away.
I was next to a busy shopping district and on a busy road off the main road. Far from my home too, hi hi.
Within a year of my opening, two other pizza places popped up about a mile down the same road on either side of me.
Both of them went defunct and their chains are no more either.
The one that was six miles from us when I opened was a mom n pop place, not a chain or franchise.
Different type of clients so I technically never stole any of their business away from them.
Do you remember the little Photo-Mat's that popped up in the parking lots of larger shopping centers?
It may not have looked like it, but that was the business to get into during the end of the film era.
The parent company found which parking lots had independent wiring to the parking lot lamps to save from having to have an underground power brought to the small building. In some cases the electric came from the street if the building was close to the street. Plus they set up the leases as well.
My cousin gave this a shot and looked at one of their maps showing all the shopping centers they have a possible location for, all ready to go, but no building put up yet. What it basically boiled down to was $5,000.00 for the building to be erected, the power brought in, and all the equipment used inside the building, right down to the stool and small AC/Heater unit. In other words, totally turn-key. Your lease with the shopping center started on the day you signed the contract, and the building would be ready to occupy three weeks later. All you had to pay for was the lease and the electric. There was no plumbing in those little boxes, so keep a few empty jars for you know what, hi hi. Most of the leases were between 450 and 750 per month, depending on location.
The parent company would pick up film to be developed twice a day, and drop off the prints at the same time. What they picked up at 10 am you got back by 3:30 to 4 pm, and what they picked up in the evening was back before 10 am.
There were no pick-up and delivery charges per se because that was in the cost of developing.
The entire start-up cost for my cousin was closer to 7 thousand bucks due to the lease, electric deposit, and the payment to the parent company for the building and contents. Contents meant equipment, not inventory of things for sale. Which accounted for about 750 dollars which he increased to around a grand after he was open and saw what he sold the most of. But would you believe those little Photo-Mat's raked in about 15 hundred bucks per day, on average.
He actually did better than most, because he added low end camera's to his offerings, and a few other things.
Once he saw how well his little box was doing, he hired three girls to work in three shifts, and bought another box in another shopping center. He planned on doing more, but found the problem of keeping reliable help more of a headache than he wanted. He almost had the problem licked when he hired a few retired folks, but the had so many times they had to take off either for doctors appointments or having bad days. He decided to sell out both of his locations.
I don't know how he did it, but he sold them for like 50 grand each, after making about 600 grand from the new one, and an undisclosed amount from the oldest or first one he had. I think that is because he didn't keep good records at first, hi hi. Lucky Dude!
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
O'Fallon is about as Irish Catholic as it gets. There are more red haired people walking the streets here than I've seen during my entire 70 years in the Chicago area. While Irish blood dominates the demographics, they are not overwhelmingly visible. They are everywhere, but there is a fair mix of other ethnicity too. The thing I liked best about Chicago area was the variety of ethnic stores and restaurants that were readily available. Some were franchises, but there were enough family owned restaurants to make it worth searching them out. Real Italian food made by real Italians has no match. I can say the same for other cultures too, and we did have a favorite German style restaurant. At first we thought it was a family business, but we discovered that it was a franchise. They were very close to authentic European as far as my taste buds were concerned. I've never had tacos or tamales like the ones at the Mexican owned and operated pub near our house. They claimed it was authentic Mexican cooking and I could not dispute that. They had ingredients in their foods that I've yet to see elsewhere.
There are Irish pubs in O'Fallon; a couple. But, you know, outside those pubs there is no Irish restaurant to be found. There are places I can get decent Italian food too, but they look like the ordinary strip mall variety eatery. Polish or Indian or Kosher cuisine is unheard of here. But, there are five (5) McDonalds' on that 8 mile strip of Main street. Burger King, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Dairy Queen, and just about every other junk food store dominate the businesses here. All these fast food places are within 5 minutes of the WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Target complex of big boxers. Yes, THAT is O'Fallon. I never was very concerned or aware of social class until I came down here and tried to eat a proper diet or buy quality merchandise. On the positive side, the cost of living is less . And, unfortunately, you still get what you pay for.
I do know of those Photo-Mat telephone booths. LOL And no, I'd never guess they generate $1,500 of revenue in a single day, much less consistently. I also recall being encouraged to invest in them way back when. Sorry, but I need a potty anywhere I work.
There are Irish pubs in O'Fallon; a couple. But, you know, outside those pubs there is no Irish restaurant to be found. There are places I can get decent Italian food too, but they look like the ordinary strip mall variety eatery. Polish or Indian or Kosher cuisine is unheard of here. But, there are five (5) McDonalds' on that 8 mile strip of Main street. Burger King, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Dairy Queen, and just about every other junk food store dominate the businesses here. All these fast food places are within 5 minutes of the WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes, and Target complex of big boxers. Yes, THAT is O'Fallon. I never was very concerned or aware of social class until I came down here and tried to eat a proper diet or buy quality merchandise. On the positive side, the cost of living is less . And, unfortunately, you still get what you pay for.
I do know of those Photo-Mat telephone booths. LOL And no, I'd never guess they generate $1,500 of revenue in a single day, much less consistently. I also recall being encouraged to invest in them way back when. Sorry, but I need a potty anywhere I work.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
Well, what we sold at our Italian Restaurant was nothing at all like Italian, hi hi.
I think it is more American actually, and just called Italian because we had Parmesan cheese for those who wanted it.
If you like German Foods, head out to Herman one day. I used to take a drive out that way about once a month.
October is really the best for the Octoberfest. But since I don't drink beer, or any alcohol for that matter, after going to a couple of the Octoberfests, although we had great phun, I steered clear after that during the season. Also it was too crowded with the frau in a wheelchair.
My mind is going Yogi, hi hi. I had said Hannabal first when I meant Herman, hi hi.
Do you ever go down to the Olde Towne area of St. Charles? There used to be some fantastic eating place down there, more expensive than other areas, but it's nice for a quarterly or annual visit. Or used to be 20 years ago. I've lived down south now for going on 20 years, so a lot of places I used to love to go to either no longer exist or have turned into bad areas to go to.
You still have a Jack in the Box out there? WOW?
We used to have several in St. Louis County and then they all closed down.
We also had a place called Jack's or Better that was an indoor dining restaurant that was awesome, and reasonably priced. They offered a more upscale menu like Schneithorsts or Danielle Hotel, but at half the price of those places.
The one we went to got torn down and a motel put there instead.
Some of the Photo-Mat's had bathrooms, but they were the kind that had to be pumped out, and usually did not have water unless you opted for a stainless storage tank which you had to pay to have filled also.
Now both of mine did have a free-standing water cooler which sat right under the AC unit in the back wall, and too the right of that was a nook where you could use a jar. If you had to use the other end, we had a sign Back in 15 Minutes and we would make a mad dash down to the big box store. However, most folks could work a 4 hour shift without taking a break. I had tried 3 hour shifts in the beginning, but had trouble keeping help. 4 hour shifts had less turnover. And I guess like most places, our biggest problem was inventory deliveries and occasional pilfering.
I think it is more American actually, and just called Italian because we had Parmesan cheese for those who wanted it.
If you like German Foods, head out to Herman one day. I used to take a drive out that way about once a month.
October is really the best for the Octoberfest. But since I don't drink beer, or any alcohol for that matter, after going to a couple of the Octoberfests, although we had great phun, I steered clear after that during the season. Also it was too crowded with the frau in a wheelchair.
My mind is going Yogi, hi hi. I had said Hannabal first when I meant Herman, hi hi.
Do you ever go down to the Olde Towne area of St. Charles? There used to be some fantastic eating place down there, more expensive than other areas, but it's nice for a quarterly or annual visit. Or used to be 20 years ago. I've lived down south now for going on 20 years, so a lot of places I used to love to go to either no longer exist or have turned into bad areas to go to.
You still have a Jack in the Box out there? WOW?
We used to have several in St. Louis County and then they all closed down.
We also had a place called Jack's or Better that was an indoor dining restaurant that was awesome, and reasonably priced. They offered a more upscale menu like Schneithorsts or Danielle Hotel, but at half the price of those places.
The one we went to got torn down and a motel put there instead.
Some of the Photo-Mat's had bathrooms, but they were the kind that had to be pumped out, and usually did not have water unless you opted for a stainless storage tank which you had to pay to have filled also.
Now both of mine did have a free-standing water cooler which sat right under the AC unit in the back wall, and too the right of that was a nook where you could use a jar. If you had to use the other end, we had a sign Back in 15 Minutes and we would make a mad dash down to the big box store. However, most folks could work a 4 hour shift without taking a break. I had tried 3 hour shifts in the beginning, but had trouble keeping help. 4 hour shifts had less turnover. And I guess like most places, our biggest problem was inventory deliveries and occasional pilfering.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
A lot of the Italian restaurants I've been to are what is politely called Italian-American. That probably was the type of place you managed. The food in those places isn't bad, usually, but it's canned tomato sauce instead of home made, for example. There were only a couple true to the name Italian restaurants back in my Chicago neighborhood, and the food they served was obviously not Italian-American. They offered Romano as well as Parmesan cheese. LOL One of the best Italian restaurants I ever ate at was, of all places, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mama Mia had a place with roof top dining and pasta that was out of this world. Never had ravioli like that anywhere else.
Been to Hanabal a couple years ago. We stopped into Becky's Ice Cream Parlor to cool off on our way home from Dubuque, Iowa. And, of course, when in Hannabal's ice cream parlor you must sample the huckleberry sundae. It was the one and only time in my life that I had the pleasure of eating huckleberries.
I would indeed be interested in some good German schnitzel with spaetzel and some pickled beets on the side. And, hard as it is to believe, I have been to that Restaurant at the Stone Hill Winery. I don't recall eating German food there, but yes indeed that is my kind of place. My daughter was visiting from out of town a couple summers ago and we made the trip out to Herman. That was the year most of Missouri had more rain than Niagra has falls and a good percentage of the farmland we saw on the way was under water. We took some back roads on the way home and it was totally awesome, except for the flooding. None of the roads were closed when we were there, but some of that water was pretty close.
And, the first year we were here we went to St Charles Old Town. In fact it might have been our first excursion out of O'Fallon after we got settled from the move. We found a pub, what else, that was about as European as you can get. I loved it. I recall telling you a story once about eating there across the aisle of a uniformed trooper. Some of the customers randomly stopped by his table to thank him for being what he is. I was totally impressed with the entire scene.
Been to Hanabal a couple years ago. We stopped into Becky's Ice Cream Parlor to cool off on our way home from Dubuque, Iowa. And, of course, when in Hannabal's ice cream parlor you must sample the huckleberry sundae. It was the one and only time in my life that I had the pleasure of eating huckleberries.
I would indeed be interested in some good German schnitzel with spaetzel and some pickled beets on the side. And, hard as it is to believe, I have been to that Restaurant at the Stone Hill Winery. I don't recall eating German food there, but yes indeed that is my kind of place. My daughter was visiting from out of town a couple summers ago and we made the trip out to Herman. That was the year most of Missouri had more rain than Niagra has falls and a good percentage of the farmland we saw on the way was under water. We took some back roads on the way home and it was totally awesome, except for the flooding. None of the roads were closed when we were there, but some of that water was pretty close.
And, the first year we were here we went to St Charles Old Town. In fact it might have been our first excursion out of O'Fallon after we got settled from the move. We found a pub, what else, that was about as European as you can get. I loved it. I recall telling you a story once about eating there across the aisle of a uniformed trooper. Some of the customers randomly stopped by his table to thank him for being what he is. I was totally impressed with the entire scene.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
My late wife Ruth (the Jewish gal) had many Old Style German friends who loved to eat like she did, hi hi.
So at least twice a month, from the time we were first married, we doubled up with her friends and went to new place to dine each time. All but one of her friends had conversion vans, and made a healthy amount of money, and they knew we didn't have much, so they usually treated. In exchange I usually paid for them to get a fill-up at the gas station, and left the tip for our host. Both combined were usually not as much as they paid on Ruth's meal. I've always been a light eater and more often than not took the cheapest thing on the menu. Something I knew the name of and could recognize, hi hi.
Sorta sad, but after her open heart five-bypass surgery, we rarely saw them anymore, if they did call, she would just tell them she was unable to go, which was true. Even so, her and I would go to small out of the way lake resorts to spend the weekend, but it was a job to do with the wheelchair and borrowing portable liquid oxygen carriers for a whole weekend. They had a rack that held six of those cylinders which closed sorta and had a vent to outside the car. They would also give us a couple of compressed oxygen tanks just in case the liquid ran out on its own before we got home. This was not free to rent those tanks and special car carrier either, plus I had to fill all of them from our big tanks at home right before we left. But at least the place we used always had them available when we wanted them.
You can laugh, but some of the best places I ever ate were out of the way little mom n pop places. A few were original log cabins too. Others were designed to look older than God's dawg, but were fairly new.
For the record, the tomato sauces we used at my restaurant came in three gallon glass wide mouth jugs inside a wooden frame. Looked almost like Vertilox bottles for swimming pools except for having a wide mouth and lid. Supposedly the product was recently made at the companies commissary. It was great until they changed the formula.
It was good we kept the restaurant separate from the pizza shop, although they were in the same building, because then I could buy Hunt's for the restaurant side, hi hi. I'm just glad we were able to sell the place before the chain went under.
So at least twice a month, from the time we were first married, we doubled up with her friends and went to new place to dine each time. All but one of her friends had conversion vans, and made a healthy amount of money, and they knew we didn't have much, so they usually treated. In exchange I usually paid for them to get a fill-up at the gas station, and left the tip for our host. Both combined were usually not as much as they paid on Ruth's meal. I've always been a light eater and more often than not took the cheapest thing on the menu. Something I knew the name of and could recognize, hi hi.
Sorta sad, but after her open heart five-bypass surgery, we rarely saw them anymore, if they did call, she would just tell them she was unable to go, which was true. Even so, her and I would go to small out of the way lake resorts to spend the weekend, but it was a job to do with the wheelchair and borrowing portable liquid oxygen carriers for a whole weekend. They had a rack that held six of those cylinders which closed sorta and had a vent to outside the car. They would also give us a couple of compressed oxygen tanks just in case the liquid ran out on its own before we got home. This was not free to rent those tanks and special car carrier either, plus I had to fill all of them from our big tanks at home right before we left. But at least the place we used always had them available when we wanted them.
You can laugh, but some of the best places I ever ate were out of the way little mom n pop places. A few were original log cabins too. Others were designed to look older than God's dawg, but were fairly new.
For the record, the tomato sauces we used at my restaurant came in three gallon glass wide mouth jugs inside a wooden frame. Looked almost like Vertilox bottles for swimming pools except for having a wide mouth and lid. Supposedly the product was recently made at the companies commissary. It was great until they changed the formula.
It was good we kept the restaurant separate from the pizza shop, although they were in the same building, because then I could buy Hunt's for the restaurant side, hi hi. I'm just glad we were able to sell the place before the chain went under.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
Judging by the way I talk about food you might get the impression that I"m some kind of connoisseur. My tastes are not that well refined but I do know good food when I taste it. There is a small Italian restaurant at the south end of town buried in one of those common looking strip malls. It's barely more than a storefront attached to other storefronts and the furnishings are just your average family style restaurant type. The menu looked good but nothing out of the ordinary struck my eye. My first meal there was simple stuffed pasta, Cannelloni. It was all what I consider Italian-American until I tasted the tomato sauce. It was different than most. I inquired, and sure enough the chef makes his own sauce from scratch. I have a suspicion that it's the particular type of tomato that makes it taste great, but I never talked to the chef to find out. My point is that really well prepared food clearly stands out from the rest.
We did all we could do when mom was around. In our case we were fortunate to have hospice care provide all the oxygen and accessories mom needed. We didn't go with liquid oxygen, but we could have. It was truly amazing to see how helpful people are when you're pushing around an old lady in a wheel chair. Restaurants would go out of their way to accommodate us, and we always got to park in those reserved spots right by the door. I don't think mom particularly enjoyed all the paraphernalia and attention she got, but there was nothing we could not do when she really wanted to do it. The fact that she could not breathe unassisted was just a nuisance to her.
We did all we could do when mom was around. In our case we were fortunate to have hospice care provide all the oxygen and accessories mom needed. We didn't go with liquid oxygen, but we could have. It was truly amazing to see how helpful people are when you're pushing around an old lady in a wheel chair. Restaurants would go out of their way to accommodate us, and we always got to park in those reserved spots right by the door. I don't think mom particularly enjoyed all the paraphernalia and attention she got, but there was nothing we could not do when she really wanted to do it. The fact that she could not breathe unassisted was just a nuisance to her.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I don't like a lot of foods they mix together these days. I want them separate on my plate, unless they belong together.
I forget the exact number now, but I do know Campbell's Tomato Juice used a specific number of tomato varieties to come up with there great and consistent flavor.
My wife makes her own tomato sauce and cans it. She buys two or three cases of tomatoes from Grainger County, normally of four different varieties of tomatoes, then she adds in the few we raised ourselves. It always tastes great too. She uses it in several of her recipes. I can always tell is she used a canned brand instead of her own canned.
In my later years, while married to Ruth, when I was chief cook and bottle washer, laundromat, chauffeur, etc.
Any time I had to make something that used a tomato sauce, I would blend certain ones together, for simplicity is one reason, the other was to make it taste like it was home-made, hi hi. The base was usually Hunts, with some Catalina, and something like a Ragu blend but from the food supplier we bought from packaged under their label. We like it because it had larger chunks in it. Too strong to use by itself though.
After Ruth was wheelchair bound, we usually ate at places where we were well known, and in all cases, they bent over backwards to accommodate us. One restaurant we ate at had a nice table in a corner next to a fireplace. They normally kept this table open unless they were packed. It's where the wait staff would roll silverware and other things when they were not busy, simply because of how it sat. It had a large window so they could see the whole parking lot too. We considered it the best seat in the house too. You didn't have people walking back and forth past your table.
I forget the exact number now, but I do know Campbell's Tomato Juice used a specific number of tomato varieties to come up with there great and consistent flavor.
My wife makes her own tomato sauce and cans it. She buys two or three cases of tomatoes from Grainger County, normally of four different varieties of tomatoes, then she adds in the few we raised ourselves. It always tastes great too. She uses it in several of her recipes. I can always tell is she used a canned brand instead of her own canned.
In my later years, while married to Ruth, when I was chief cook and bottle washer, laundromat, chauffeur, etc.
Any time I had to make something that used a tomato sauce, I would blend certain ones together, for simplicity is one reason, the other was to make it taste like it was home-made, hi hi. The base was usually Hunts, with some Catalina, and something like a Ragu blend but from the food supplier we bought from packaged under their label. We like it because it had larger chunks in it. Too strong to use by itself though.
After Ruth was wheelchair bound, we usually ate at places where we were well known, and in all cases, they bent over backwards to accommodate us. One restaurant we ate at had a nice table in a corner next to a fireplace. They normally kept this table open unless they were packed. It's where the wait staff would roll silverware and other things when they were not busy, simply because of how it sat. It had a large window so they could see the whole parking lot too. We considered it the best seat in the house too. You didn't have people walking back and forth past your table.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
Now you are getting into the difference between a cook and a chef. I consider myself to be a cook. A chef is more theoretical, if you will, while the cook just knows now to cook. He doesn't necessarily know why something tastes good, but he does know how to concoct it the same way every time. I've seen cooking competitions where a group of chefs were each given a dozen random ingredients and told to make something with them, usually within a time frame. The list of ingredients was different for each chef and they never knew in advance what they would have to work with. Of course they all produced materpieces because, well, because it was on television. LOL The take away from this type of event is that a chef can take random ingredients and make something edible and most likely beautiful. A cook would need a recipe. That's me. I'd go hungry without recipes.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I'm chuckling because you hit the nail on the head again.
But what type of cook is below a cook?
Meaning a cook who does not work from a recipe and is given portion controlled foods to cook for specific times to achieve the proper level of done as in meats, hi hi.
Don't say prep-cooks, because that is a different job entirely, hi hi.
OK, they are still called cooks, or more commonly Short-Order Cooks!
There, I gave away the answer, hi hi.
A Chef develops recipes.
A Cook can cook from those recipes.
But a Short-Order Cook only knows to watch the clock, and follow the cooking time charts.
And many of them can't even do that properly, hi hi.
But what type of cook is below a cook?
Meaning a cook who does not work from a recipe and is given portion controlled foods to cook for specific times to achieve the proper level of done as in meats, hi hi.
Don't say prep-cooks, because that is a different job entirely, hi hi.
OK, they are still called cooks, or more commonly Short-Order Cooks!
There, I gave away the answer, hi hi.
A Chef develops recipes.
A Cook can cook from those recipes.
But a Short-Order Cook only knows to watch the clock, and follow the cooking time charts.
And many of them can't even do that properly, hi hi.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
Then there are line chefs, or chefs in training. That's where the prep cooks work; chopping onions all day long. Not that chopping onions, as opposed to dicing, slicing, or mincing them, correctly is easy, but it is just cutting onions all day long. I've heard the term short order cook and always figured they were the type of people who worked at McDonalds. There is a very limited menu and a prescribed and scripted way to prepare it. The Sous-chef (not that there is a real one at McDonalds) is in charge of all those short order dudes and he is the one who determines the menu of the day. I'm thinking that role is played by the mom of all those mom and pop restaurants.
Well, I can actually concoct a meal without a recipe, but there is only a 50/50 chance it will taste right. I have a whole collection of recipes in a loose leaf binder that I use to feed my wife and myself, or any stray company that might happen by. The real purpose for that binder is as an augmentation to my bad memory. You know, was it sweet, Hungarian, or smoked paprika I should use in that goulash? I can kind of ad lib the rest of the recipe because I've made it so many times. There is also a lot of variation that can be applied to a standard formula. I'm pretty good at judging where I can skip something or double up on it. But toss me a leg of lamb and tell me to prepare it for dinner, and we will be eating out that night. LOL
Well, I can actually concoct a meal without a recipe, but there is only a 50/50 chance it will taste right. I have a whole collection of recipes in a loose leaf binder that I use to feed my wife and myself, or any stray company that might happen by. The real purpose for that binder is as an augmentation to my bad memory. You know, was it sweet, Hungarian, or smoked paprika I should use in that goulash? I can kind of ad lib the rest of the recipe because I've made it so many times. There is also a lot of variation that can be applied to a standard formula. I'm pretty good at judging where I can skip something or double up on it. But toss me a leg of lamb and tell me to prepare it for dinner, and we will be eating out that night. LOL
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I only had two prep-cooks and one cook for the restaurant side, but one of the prep-cooks also worked the pizza side on a different shift. Most of the pizza stuff came pre-prepared and bagged. That being said, for restaurant diners who did order pizza, we used fresh grated cheese, and fresh cut pepperoni, so it was a bit better than the pizza side. Although we did only have one kitchen. Technically there were only two pizza side employee's, and they basically did everything. We did have a third girl during lunch and dinner shifts and if she wasn't working the register, or answering the phone, she was folding boxes. For franchise and tax purposes, we kept the two businesses separate, but shared some of the bills, like gas, utilities, etc. But inventory for each side was totally separate from each other.
I used to be a really good cook at home during the years the wife was ill, but then we bought mostly commercial packaged products and I had a real char-broiler in my kitchen too. Basically I did everything a mom would do!
I used to be a really good cook at home during the years the wife was ill, but then we bought mostly commercial packaged products and I had a real char-broiler in my kitchen too. Basically I did everything a mom would do!
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
There are a few reasons we don't own a propane fired grill here in Missouri. It could be done if I really didn't mind the inconveniences, but for the time being at least I've foregone char broil anything. The kitchen stove we have is barely more than a toy, but I can say the electric cook top is slightly easier to clean than a gas stove top. Otherwise I detest cooking electric. I miss the taste of the food that can be char broiled as well as the variety. No more kabobs, for example. I used to make a killer fish kabob on the grill and corn on the cob is best when it's charred to death. LOL Hamburger cooked in olive oil is ok, but smoked over a flaming grill cannot be reproduced in my kitchen. Perhaps if we had a commercial quality venting system it may be possible to find an appropriate stove with open broiling capabilities. I don't see that vent coming to this house however. So, I'll just lament and moan about what I used to be able to do. 
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
You would never believe the venting system I had in my kitchen in Creve Coeur. But then I did build the kitchen myself in what used to be the dining room.
Under the cooktop was a 24 inch diameter 6 inch wide blower that powered the downdraft vent. Then over the cooktop was a range hood with a single motor but two 10 inch diameter by 8 inch wide blowers. Plus it had a fire prevention and fire extinguishing system, not much different than over a commercial kitchen. Plus I had a steam cleaning port on each of the two vents so we could more easily clean the inside of the ductwork.
FWIW: Just the range hood alone cost over 900 dollars and that was back in the early 1980s.
You have no idea just how much I miss that kitchen and the appliances I had in it.
I put a large outdoor vented ductwork in the kitchen down here when I redid it. You may have seen some of the pictures of that ductwork in my newsletter, which I made extra big because my son wanted to see all of what I did.
But you can't get the kind of char-broiler I had in St. Loo anymore. Loved that thing!
Speaking of oddities. When my uncle Andy lived in a house at the corner of Bopp Road and Manchester Road. He installed a charcoal fired grill, built-in like a cooktop, and it had a cooktop right next to it. And he didn't miss a single thing in how he designed it either. No hauling ash out of the house by hand. He had an ash waste tube that led to outside the house, and a water sprayer to put out the charcoal and wash the ashes on out the tube. Above the charcoal grate in the center of the back, was another steel tube with an auger inside. This is how he fed the charcoal into the grill, but he did not leave charcoal inside the tube. The mud room was behind the wall, and that is where he kept his bin of charcoal and a scoop. He would add two scoop of charcoal to the hopper, or less if there was a lot left in the grill. Once the charcoal was in the hopper, he just turned the crank to spin the auger to push the charcoal into the grill area.
Then he would from the grill move the charcoal around after it was burning to get an even cooking bed of coals.
He used natural gas to get it lit, via an old cast iron burner he cobbed from a small BBQ grill, hi hi.
I think this, plus all the other things my uncle Andy did is why he became my favorite uncle, hi hi.
Under the cooktop was a 24 inch diameter 6 inch wide blower that powered the downdraft vent. Then over the cooktop was a range hood with a single motor but two 10 inch diameter by 8 inch wide blowers. Plus it had a fire prevention and fire extinguishing system, not much different than over a commercial kitchen. Plus I had a steam cleaning port on each of the two vents so we could more easily clean the inside of the ductwork.
FWIW: Just the range hood alone cost over 900 dollars and that was back in the early 1980s.
You have no idea just how much I miss that kitchen and the appliances I had in it.
I put a large outdoor vented ductwork in the kitchen down here when I redid it. You may have seen some of the pictures of that ductwork in my newsletter, which I made extra big because my son wanted to see all of what I did.
But you can't get the kind of char-broiler I had in St. Loo anymore. Loved that thing!
Speaking of oddities. When my uncle Andy lived in a house at the corner of Bopp Road and Manchester Road. He installed a charcoal fired grill, built-in like a cooktop, and it had a cooktop right next to it. And he didn't miss a single thing in how he designed it either. No hauling ash out of the house by hand. He had an ash waste tube that led to outside the house, and a water sprayer to put out the charcoal and wash the ashes on out the tube. Above the charcoal grate in the center of the back, was another steel tube with an auger inside. This is how he fed the charcoal into the grill, but he did not leave charcoal inside the tube. The mud room was behind the wall, and that is where he kept his bin of charcoal and a scoop. He would add two scoop of charcoal to the hopper, or less if there was a lot left in the grill. Once the charcoal was in the hopper, he just turned the crank to spin the auger to push the charcoal into the grill area.
Then he would from the grill move the charcoal around after it was burning to get an even cooking bed of coals.
He used natural gas to get it lit, via an old cast iron burner he cobbed from a small BBQ grill, hi hi.
I think this, plus all the other things my uncle Andy did is why he became my favorite uncle, hi hi.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I think I could like your uncle Andy too. LOL I'm certain he thought the venting over very carefully because I understand charcoal fumes could be lethal if allowed to accumulate in a closed area. It would be the ultimate luxury to be able to charcoal grill something in my kitchen.
You have indeed previously described your masterpiece of a kitchen and I am jealous that you have the talent to create such a thing. I know what I don't like about my current situation but I'd be hard pressed to design an ideal kitchen. Grilling would be part of it but a lot of attention to ovens would be required as well. Then storage space and coolers for the food would be required. It could easily be a million dollar kitchen and I would think more seriously about it if I had not stopped buying lotto tickets. LOL I try to limit my exposure to foreign surfaces when I go shopping now.
You have indeed previously described your masterpiece of a kitchen and I am jealous that you have the talent to create such a thing. I know what I don't like about my current situation but I'd be hard pressed to design an ideal kitchen. Grilling would be part of it but a lot of attention to ovens would be required as well. Then storage space and coolers for the food would be required. It could easily be a million dollar kitchen and I would think more seriously about it if I had not stopped buying lotto tickets. LOL I try to limit my exposure to foreign surfaces when I go shopping now.
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I spent more money on my kitchen here than I did on whole house renovations back home.
But then Debi wanted the best of everything, or close to it, hi hi.
Although we got burned on the appliances really bad.
I was talking to a guy who is basically a drywall installer, and he said the work I did with those alcoves alone would have added over 5 grand to the price of a drywall job. They just don't do those kinds of things anymore, hi hi. 4 walls as a box and that's it. Anything extra like I did in this kitchen would cost the customer big time.
I had enough venting in my Creve Coeur house I could have used charcoal, but I don't like the mess.
A char-broiler does burn the grease drippings so you get the smoke flavor that way too.
I cringed a couple of times when I had both vents running, and some pork steaks decided to flare up and I saw the flames being sucked into the downdraft vent. Turned that down real quick and let the top vent handle it.
What I liked most about that downdraft vent behind the cooktop, it was powerful enough to suck grease spatters when using the grill so there was none on the wall behind the cooktop.
I guess I got lazy in my old age, I let Debi do all the cooking now!
But then Debi wanted the best of everything, or close to it, hi hi.
Although we got burned on the appliances really bad.
I was talking to a guy who is basically a drywall installer, and he said the work I did with those alcoves alone would have added over 5 grand to the price of a drywall job. They just don't do those kinds of things anymore, hi hi. 4 walls as a box and that's it. Anything extra like I did in this kitchen would cost the customer big time.
I had enough venting in my Creve Coeur house I could have used charcoal, but I don't like the mess.
A char-broiler does burn the grease drippings so you get the smoke flavor that way too.
I cringed a couple of times when I had both vents running, and some pork steaks decided to flare up and I saw the flames being sucked into the downdraft vent. Turned that down real quick and let the top vent handle it.
What I liked most about that downdraft vent behind the cooktop, it was powerful enough to suck grease spatters when using the grill so there was none on the wall behind the cooktop.
I guess I got lazy in my old age, I let Debi do all the cooking now!
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I don't recall the exact date when I took over the cooking chores, but it was coincidental with my wife's arm requiring a cast and immobility for an extended period of time. That could be close to twenty years or as little as ten years back. My initial response was high energy and a lot of curiosity. I made things I haven't had in years and took a lot of recipes out of Bon Appétit magazine. Along the way I received the ultimate compliment any cook could ask for. My mother-in-law complimented me profusely on the meal I cooked for her when she visited one week. It was lamb chops and she never in her whole country life ate lamb. I was into fresh vegetables exclusively at the time and being the country girl she was, that made her very happy. Now and days cooking has become a task. It's still very enjoyable but not quite as novel as it used to be. Preparing meals has become a joint effort in that my wife does all the left over cooking. That's a good thing because it relieves me but also keeps her cooking skills up to date. You never know when she might take over the whole kitchen again.
I like to think I cook healthy too. I've had a bout of what the doctor ultimately called glucose intolerance (which he tried to tell me was diabetes), and had to see a nutritionist about it. I learned more about carbohydrates than I cared to know and took a serious look into The Zone diet regimen. Cooking my own meals made dieting a lot easier. Also, wife had a major cholesterol problem. Almost from the first day I started cooking I switched to olive oil and grape seed oil for cooking purposes. My reading told me these oils were actually good for you, but since I didn't have a cholesterol problem to begin with I did it mostly for the taste; or lack thereof with the grape seed oil. Well, over the years since I've been cooking my wife's cholesterol levels have dropped. It's nowhere near the problem it used to be and I like to think it's at least partly due to my cooking techniques. Even if it's not, I feel good that I'm feeding her as healthy as I can. Now, if I can only get her away from that Ben and Jerry's and that diet Coke ...
I like to think I cook healthy too. I've had a bout of what the doctor ultimately called glucose intolerance (which he tried to tell me was diabetes), and had to see a nutritionist about it. I learned more about carbohydrates than I cared to know and took a serious look into The Zone diet regimen. Cooking my own meals made dieting a lot easier. Also, wife had a major cholesterol problem. Almost from the first day I started cooking I switched to olive oil and grape seed oil for cooking purposes. My reading told me these oils were actually good for you, but since I didn't have a cholesterol problem to begin with I did it mostly for the taste; or lack thereof with the grape seed oil. Well, over the years since I've been cooking my wife's cholesterol levels have dropped. It's nowhere near the problem it used to be and I like to think it's at least partly due to my cooking techniques. Even if it's not, I feel good that I'm feeding her as healthy as I can. Now, if I can only get her away from that Ben and Jerry's and that diet Coke ...
Re: Parrot Linux and Btrfs
I used to feed about 2 to 6 missionaries about once a week. A couple of times we had as many as 12 come to dinner, pre-planned of course. Until the mission leader found out they were converging on our house for dinners and put a stop to it.
He said they were taking advantage of us, because everybody else just feeds them mac n cheese and a hot dog, hi hi.
I told him, I pay less for the pork chops, steaks, & burgers, than most pay for the hot dogs. And my kitchen is designed for cooking in quantity. The missionaries are only supposed to go 2 at a time and only once a month to any house. But after a long talk with the mission leader, he finally let 4 come to our house every other week. Heck, the mission leaders from each camp came to our house a couple of times and said, no wonder they want to come here. Excellent and food a plenty.
Although Debi is on Insulin big time, I've managed to keep mine under control enough using diet, that I only take a couple of metformin pills at dinner, and sometimes only one pill, depends what I'm having for dinner whether I take one or two.
I'm not big on treats or snack foods, and rarely touch ice cream. So I'm doing good in that regard.
He said they were taking advantage of us, because everybody else just feeds them mac n cheese and a hot dog, hi hi.
I told him, I pay less for the pork chops, steaks, & burgers, than most pay for the hot dogs. And my kitchen is designed for cooking in quantity. The missionaries are only supposed to go 2 at a time and only once a month to any house. But after a long talk with the mission leader, he finally let 4 come to our house every other week. Heck, the mission leaders from each camp came to our house a couple of times and said, no wonder they want to come here. Excellent and food a plenty.
Although Debi is on Insulin big time, I've managed to keep mine under control enough using diet, that I only take a couple of metformin pills at dinner, and sometimes only one pill, depends what I'm having for dinner whether I take one or two.
I'm not big on treats or snack foods, and rarely touch ice cream. So I'm doing good in that regard.