Lunch With George!

June 17, 2003 - TexAZ Grill

Lunch With George! Restaurant Reviews. Click here for this week's review.

Agenda

• Great Chicken-fried Steaks
• Your Brain on Java
• Eating Healthy Food
• Naval Designations
• Puzzle Solution

Great Chicken-fried Steaks

George had always told me about the great chicken-fried steaks at Lonestar Steaks. It was sufficiently far away from work that I never got a chance to go. I thought they were long gone, but they still thrive at the corner of 16th street and Bethany Home, under the name of

When the state began construction of the interchange between State routes 101 and 51, I told George we'd have to meet at TexAz as soon as it was completed (it only took me 20 minutes one-way from 19th avenue and the 101).

It's a dark, old-feeling place. The walls are covered with photos, license plates, ballcaps, and Texas-related posters and print ads. The chicken-fried steaks? Well, they overflow the plate! I can honestly say they are the 2nd best chicken-fried steaks I've ever had.

Be sure to checkout our Food review.

Your Brain on Java

I was impressed! I flipped it over, saw the US $39.95 price tag, and decided I could wait for a sale.

Not two days later, a package arrived from O'Reilly, addressed to the LWG Java/C/C++ User Group. Amazingly, it was a FREE review copy of Head First Java! I could barely believe my eyes. I sat up in bed pretty late going through the first chapter, learning all over again what a class is in Java.

It is designed to really get you to learn. the authors, Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates, have a keen interest in cognitive learning processes, and Kathy currently trains trainers at Sun Microsystems. The book is fun, interesting, and hard to put down. There are lots of different kinds of exercises to try out your just-acquired knowledge, helping to turn it into understanding.

If you need to learn Java, then I can say without reservation that this book is a must. If you just want to memorize enough Java to pass the Sun Java Programmer Certification Exam, try another book.

Eating Healthy Food

George was lamenting that when he and Toni want to eat healthy meals during the week, the only takout food that fits the bill is either a burrito from

Wireless in the Valley Coffee Plantation I was hanging around the Biltmore, and had about an hour to kill. I walked down to the Coffee Plantation, which sells pre-paid cards for internet access via Boingo Wireless. $3.00 bought me an hour of access. I also had the option to create an account with Boingo. Once they have my credit card on file, I could use any Boingo location by just logging in, and my card would be billed. The signal was strong and the connection was fast. I'll go back. SOMA Cafe Internet acccess is available at the SOMA Cafe (Tatum and Shea), provided by hotZona. You can only use it by creating an account with hotZona, but their fees are quite reasonable-- only $2 per hour. Great signal, plenty fast. hotZona also provides access at The Library in Tempe, and at The News Cafe at Kierland Commons in North Scottsdale. Starbucks Yes, it seems the Starbucks Coffee locations in Phoenix are finally getting wireless access. And wouldn't you expect the place with most expensive cup of coffee to charge the most for its internet access? Then you'd be right! T-Mobile is the wireless provider, and their deceptively low-looking price of $0.10 per minute translates to $6 when you consider the one-hour minimum

Much to his suprise and delight, a flyer appeared on his driveway for the Soma Cafe. It recently opened less than a mile from his house! They are a health-minded cafe and energy drink bar. Their menu is pretty enticing, and every the listing for every dish includes the calories, and the grams of fat, protein, and carbs. George is working his way through the entire menu, one entree at a time.

A big bonus: they have wireless internet access through hotZona! I signed up for the service, and was surfing within a couple of minutes. HotZona has, by far, the best prices for hourly internet access. It cost me $2 to sign up, and only $2 per hour connect time (billed in 1-hour increments). I also have used the wireless connection at Starbucks, but they charge $0.10 per minute, and you must pay a minimum if one hour (that's $6).

Naval Designations

Triangle Puzzle Solution

You may remember the triangle puzzle from our lunch on April 8th. One of our readers, Corey, sent us a solution (which is, of course, correct!):

I didn't do a google search this time! When I first looked at the pictures, I noticed that the hypotenuse of each combination was not a straight line. Parts of the triangle that should have lined up on the grid at the same spot didn't match. On my monitor it could have just been an illusion. But, after printing it out and then overlaying the two pictures, it was pretty obvious.

--Corey