Also, Texas is nice.

—
Uptown / Garden district:

Jacque-Imo’s – One of my favorite restaurants anywhere.

Right next door is the Maple Leaf, a great live music bar. I have no idea what time the music starts but you can check while you’re waiting for a table at Jacque-Imo’s. If at all possible, go to both on a Tuesday night, as the Rebirth Brass Band that plays every week is amazing. This combo possibly the most fun a person can have in a single night.

Make sure you drink an Abita Purple Haze at least once. I prefer the Amber but the PH is more interesting, as it is nonsweet raspberry wheat beer.

Camellia Grill – Above average diner with feisty cooks. Great for breakfast.

All this stuff is in what’s called “uptown”, which can be easily reached by car (or more funly) by the cablecar that runs all the way down St. Charles. This is a good way to see a lot of stuff outside the French Quarter because you can just look out the window as it goes by.

Both good reads:

St. Charles Streetcar Line

St. Charles Avenue

A good daytime thing is to start in the garden district and walk around for a while, then down Tchoupitoulas (CHOP-A-TWO-LUS) & Magazine streets during the day; there are tons of interesting bars & shops. If you like a lot of walking, you can make a big U out of it. One thing I love about New Orleans is getting lost in all kinds of weird funky neighborhoods, especially around there.

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French Quarter:

Walk around the French Quarter for half a day, there are lots of fun discoveries in the little side streets. It’s really touristy though.

I found the walking tours to be quite good; you see things you wouldn’t normally notice and the tour guides are usually professional-level entertainers.

Cafe du Monde is probably the most famous place in NOLA. It is cool but sometimes so crowded you won’t want to sit down. They serve 3 things, hot coffee, cold coffee, and beignets. Beignets are fresh donuts that are good but they taste like donuts so don’t stand in line or anything. :) I like them better without the mountain of powdered sugar on top.

There are lots of kewl street performers and grifters around that area (Jackson Square). Standard rules for pickpockets and be-wary-of-scams apply. If you stop and talk to anyone, keep in mind they are going to want a tip at the end (which is perfectly fine and I don’t mind, just know they will ask, they’re not just being friendly for no reason.) If you’re like me it just takes a few days to recalibrate to the avoiding eye contact and saying no a lot. :)

Walk down Bourbon street for an hour at night to get the flavor, then search for actual fun elsewhere. The crazy frozen drinks they sell everywhere are full of sugar & shitty alcohol; don’t buy them unless you enjoy hangovers. If you want a daquiri or whatever, find a nice bar somewhere where you pay the same price and get a decent drink.

This is an interesting place: Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. It’s supposedly the oldest bar in the country and is a bit of a tourist trap, but Anne & I had a *great* quiet evening there once where it was fairly empty and this old surly french guy just played piano the whole night. It’s at the northeast end of Bourbon street.

If you keep walking northeast on Bourbon past Lafitte’s you’ll get to Esplanade St and and area called Faubourg Marigny. That is a great area to wander around at night because it has some of the energy, music, and food but not the Bourbon street kiddie madness.

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Misc & Food:

Please stop to eat and drink frequently. New Orleans is all about that. :) Try weird stuff.

It is perfectly legal to walk around with booze as long as it’s in a plastic container. Most bars have a stack of cups at the door; if you don’t want to finish your drink before you leave, take it with you.

The Rock N Bowlis supposed to be super fun but I have never been there. It is likely a bowling alley with live music.

BBQ shrimp is not shrimp with bbq sauce on it; it’s more like a hearty stew with giant shrimp in it. Very good.

Jambalaya: yay

Gumbo: super yay

Muffaletta: I’ve never had one worth getting excited about

Oysters: There are various oysters bars in the french quarter. Note that the general wisdom is not to eat oysters in months without an ‘R’ in them but I would probably do it anyway because I like them. Oyster bars with lots of traffic and they should be OK.

Crawfish: I love them, but the steamed ones that you have to crack open can be more trouble than they’re worth. Better to let the chef open them and use them in some dish.

—

I made a Google map with some of the stuff on it. The blue line is the St. Charles streetcar.

The question was “How do you temporarily disable web access on a mac?”. The answer was:

ipfw add 2005 deny tcp from any to any 80 out xmit en0

Replace en0 with whatever network interface is active. Someone else asked how to undo it. I would have responded but the thread is closed. Here is what i would have said:

ipfw delete 2005

Logorama

First question asked after I put my mouth back on was, “Did they have to get permission to use all those logos?”

From http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/03/french-graphic-design-firm-h5-eyes-oscar-glory-with-logorama.html:

“Of course not! The film would’ve been impossible to make if we had waited for permission…. The film speaks about our current time, and uses the the graphic language of our time. It’s a kind of time-sensitive snapshot, because in 20 to 30 years, when all of these logos will have been redesigned, the film will be obsolete. So we at H5 said to ourselves that we didn’t have to ask permission since this isn’t a commercial movie but rather one whose goal is to show the freedom of expression.”

The movie’s page is here: http://www.logorama-themovie.com/

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stovokor_(band), “the band insist they are Klingons, refuse to make appearances out of costume, and sing in Klingon.”

haha “NOT pregnant, do NOT congratulate”

<Rant about class-action lawsuits>

Do these really help anybody?  I get 4 bucks back out of probably 10 bucks that I let expire.  Is that fair?  What if I only had 30 cents left?  What if I had $200 that I lost?  Do I still get 4 bucks?  Then I would be pissed; but then I probably would not have let them expire.

But in general, I’ve received a few of these kinds of things before.  Does each of 1,000,000 people getting something back really help anyone?  Or is it just all about punishing the bad company and hoping they don’t do it again?  Or does it just teach them to screw people more effectively next time, so no lawsuit can happen?  It all just seems dumb.  You can bet the lawyers make a mint, regardless.

<Rant about Skype>

Speaking of dumb: Skype, you are.  Your Android app doesn’t do the 1 thing that made your service cool: allow free calls over the existing internet connection.  I’m not saying you have to use the wireless internet service (3G or ??)–though I do believe that should be possible, but theoretically that could be considered a net neutrality thing–WHY CAN’T I CALL FOR FREE OVER WIFI?? THAT IS WHAT SKYPE IS FUCKING FOR.

—

Here is the full text of the lawsuit email I received.  If someone wants my 4 bucks let me know.

—

NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

If you are a United States resident who purchased Skype Credit that, on at least one occasion prior to December 31, 2009, expired after 180 days of inactivity, a proposed class action settlement may affect your rights. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

Plaintiffs Holly Barker and Brian Carness have filed lawsuits against defendants Skype Communications, S.a.r.l. (“Skype Communications”), Skype Technologies S.A., Skype, Inc. and eBay Inc., on its own behalf and as successor by merger to Skype Delaware Holdings, Inc. (collectively, the “Defendants”) challenging the Skype Credit expiration policy. Plaintiffs allege that Skype User Accounts and Skype Credit constitute “gift certificates” that cannot expire or be subject to inactivity fees under various states’ laws and that Defendants unlawfully applied the Skype Credit expiration policy against their Skype Credit balances after 180 days of inactivity in supposed violation of these various states’ laws, including applicable “gift certificate,” consumer protection and/or unfair and deceptive practices laws.
Defendants deny that they did anything wrong whatsoever, and contend that plaintiffs’ claims are meritless. No court has decided which side is right, and both sides have agreed to resolve the cases and provide relief to the Settlement Class instead of litigation. There is a proposed settlement on behalf of a nationwide class of current and former United States resident purchasers of Skype Credit from Skype Communications, which, if approved, will provide that Skype Communications shall discontinue its Skype Credit expiration policy and implement a Reactivation Policy whereby Skype Credit will no longer expire after 180 days of inactivity, but rather be deemed “inactive” and subject to reactivation. In addition, Skype Communications, on behalf of itself and the other Defendants, has agreed to pay a Settlement Amount of $1,850,000 in full and complete settlement of the Released Claims, which shall include: (i) attorneys’ fees and costs and named plaintiffs’ incentive awards not to exceed $1,000 each, which collectively shall not exceed 25% of the Settlement Amount subject to Court approval; and (ii) availability, on a claims made basis, of an electronic voucher for $4.00 of Skype Credit per claimant from the Net Settlement Amount.
If you are a member of the Settlement Class, your legal rights are affected and you have a choice to make right now:
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS
SUBMIT CLAIM FOR VOUCHER Participate in settlement and receive voucher for $4.00 of Skype Credit. Go to the Administrative Site at www.creditexpirationclassaction.com and complete an Internet claim form.
OBJECT TO SETTLEMENT Object to the settlement or any of its terms, and ask the District Court not to approve the settlement. Appear at a Final Fairness Hearing on March 12, 2010. To object to the settlement, to plaintiffs’ counsels’ request for attorneys’ fees and costs or to plaintiffs’ request for incentive awards, you must file with the District Court (700 Stewart St., Seattle, WA 98101), by no later than February 16, 2010, written objections setting forth: (i) your name, address and telephone number; (ii) your Skype ID or User Name(s); (iii) a sentence confirming, under penalty of perjury, that you are a person in the Settlement Class; (iv) the factual basis and legal grounds for your objection; (v) the identity of witnesses you intend to call to testify; and (vi) copies of exhibits you intend to offer into evidence at the Final Fairness Hearing. Copies of all objections also must be mailed to each of the following, postmarked by the last day to file the objection: Plaintiffs’ Counsel: Roger Townsend, Esq., Breskin, Johnson & Townsend, PLLC, 1111 Third Avenue, Suite 2230, Seattle, Washington 98101; and counsel for Defendants: Julia B. Strickland, Esq., Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 2029 Century Park East, Los Angeles, CA 90067.
ASK TO BE EXCLUDED Get out of this action. Get no benefits from the settlement. Keep your rights to sue. If you ask to be excluded or “opt out,” you will not share in the settlement benefits and you will not be permitted to object to the terms of the proposed settlement. But, you will keep any rights you have to sue Defendants separately for the same legal claims asserted in the actions. To be excluded, you must mail a written “opt out” request to the Settlement Administrator at P.O. Box 2277, Faribault, MN 55021-2400, with a postmark of no later than February 16, 2010, setting forth the following: (i) your name, address, telephone number; (ii) your Skype ID or User Name(s); (iii) a sentence confirming, under penalty of perjury, that you are a person in the Settlement Class; and (iv) the following statement: “I request to be excluded from the class settlement in Barker v. Skype, Inc., et al, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Case No. 2:09-cv-01364-RSM.”
This is a Summary Notice. For further information about the proposed Settlement, including copies of the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement and other court documents, visit www.creditexpirationclassaction.com or contact Plaintiffs’ Counsel. DO NOT CONTACT DEFENDANTS, DEFENDANTS’ COUNSEL OR THE DISTRICT COURT.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.