Over the past few days I’ve received a few messages stating that some readers could not view the actual post content on this site.  It took a bit, but it boiled down to an error in Internet Explorer that caused that section of the pages to load improperly. (We’re not getting in to how stupid a parse-error this was, mind you.)

While browsers such as Firefox and Safari simply ignored the issue and displayed the pages properly, Internet Explorer, for some obtuse reason known only to the engineers at Microsoft, decided to render the glitch as a comment instead.  Why it happened is not relevant.  What IS relevant is that it has been repaired and everyone should be able to view posts normally now.

If you’re having an issue, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can fix the issue.

Thanks!

Peace.  I’m out.

Popularity: 2% [?]

It doesn’t matter that your cell phone, PDA, or toaster can keep the time.  Regardless of the ability of these multitasking machines that today’s technology provides us, everyone still loves a humble and simple uni-tasker; the simple yet invaluable watch

Your watch may not be able to collect your email, surf the web or balance your checkbook, but what they do they do with an unfailing and sometimes comforting degree of accuracy.  They tell the time and keep your day on track.

I’ve been thinking hard about what to get the women in my life as gifts this year.  All are savvy in the ways of their modern toys.  Each one carries at least three different devices that can give them the time in several different timezones to within a millisecond of precision.  Regardless of that, each one still wears or carries a watch, so what better way to say I was thinking of you than to get them a new, trendy watch.

Michele Watches capture a stunning design philosophy fusing timeless elegance with contemporary art. The designs are whimsical, classic and to be honest, just a little funky.  They are perfectfor the more eclectic women in my life.  Not because they are currently the most sought after “must have” by celebs and the well-to-do, but because a gift that helps to make your life predictable is worth the additional cost. After all, a watch shouldn’t just look good.  It should be expected to work perfectly at all times….

Well, it should look good, too.

Popularity: 2% [?]

As a kid I was, as are most children, a huge fan of October 31st.  I find that as I got older, I don’t care for the holiday as much, but I was wondering…  What are your Halloween traditions?

Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, is it trick-or-treating or just watching a bunch of scary movies throughout the month?  do you look forward to costume parties and get-togethers or are you more the sit-home and pass out candy type? Are you involved at all, or do you just turn off the porch light and pray you don’t get T-P’ed or, like my sister, do you deck the yard with everything you can imagine to frighten the youn-ones that will invariably be passing your way on October 31st?

Just wondering.  Leave a comment and share in the discussion.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Winter is fast approaching, with some parts of the country already deep into cold weather.  With rising heating costs and even higher expectations of what the Holidays should be for most families this time of year can put a lot of pressure on parents.  Not only do you have to keep the house warm, the bills paid and food on the table, but you’ve got to save money away for the gifts of the season, if that’s your tradition.

How do you save money for the Holidays?  Do you start off on the lookout for cheap presents or do you start saving earlier in the year so that the money for gifts will be there when you need it?  do you make meal plans or skimp on finer foods before the large holiday dinners to help cut costs? Perhaps you eat out less to save money on take out meals. Are you considering getting a few payday loans to help ease the burden of the season?  If so, have you factored in the interest you’ll have to py on those loans?

Whatever it is that you and your family does to help get ready for the Holidays, I’m sure the readers here would love for you to share your experiences.  Leave a comment telling us how you save for gifts, get through the rough times or make sure that everyone has their day-to-day needs while still having a memorable day with the Fat Guy in the Red Suit.

You never know.  Your advice might just help someone else have a wonderful Holiday season this year.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was completely disenchanted with the new theme I designed for Cooking, by the seat of my Pants!  After just a few weeks of looking at This:

I had determined that it simply wasn’t going to work for this blog, no matter what I did.  I couldn’t stand it.  So yesterday I unveiled the New-New cbsop.  The current design (which, if you’re reading this blog a few years down the line and thigs have changed, looks like this:)

Hearkens back to the original design of Cooking by the seat of my Pants!, which unfortunately I do not have an image for.

I think this layout works perfectly to show off what this blog is all about.  The food.  The theme is designed specifically to always show a the latest recipe posted at the top of the page, with all other posts following, which makes certain that there is no strange content at the top of the lo when someone visits. (Paid posts, contests, personal ramblings like this one, etc.)

I hope Y’All enjoy the new look and remember: You can access Cooking by the seat of my Pants! via www.cbsop.com as well!

Have a great day everyone!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Have you ever worked your tail off on something for weeks, really pouring your heart, soul and creative juices into a project just to come back to it a few weeks later and say:

What the hell was I thinking?

Yeah.  That’s me right now.

When I decided to update the look and feel of Cooking, by the seat of my Pants! last month, I was awestruck by the theme I built for my wife and determined that it would be a perfect for this site.  I wanted to simplify things, to make a cleaner presentation for my readers and to take the blog back to it’s roots as a linear experience.

One month in, I’m wondering exactly what I was thinking.  Sure, I love the sliding menu, but aside from that the new look is anything but elegant when compared to other food blogs that I admire.  The new look not only falls short, but feels nearly amateurish.

Worse, it doesn’t really capture what cbsop is about. The design of any online publication should serve several purposes. The design has to consider  ad placements, content, layout ease of use and accessibility, but at the same time the design as a whole should say something about what the blog or website is all about and help to share that concept with its readers.  In this I have failed with the current design.

Consider such notables as Simply Recipes, Steamy Kitchen, Chez Pim and Meathenge.  Each of these sites is elegant and simple to navigate of course, but the key to each is that they define the feel of the blog.  They are an extension of their writers’ personalities.  They just fit in the context they are supposed to.

My current design doesn’t do that at all.  It has no identity.  It’s just… There.

In fact, the more I look at it, the more I hate it.

So I’m asking you guys.  Where do you think I went wrong?  What could be done differently?  What could be done better?  I really need to know what you would like to see, not just what I’m thinking of changing.

This has to be a pretty quick process though.  The Holidays are upon us and it’s about to get seriously busy here in the CbsoP kitchens.  If I don’t act now, I’m not going to have time until mid December and to be honest I can’t stare at this thing for that long.

Popularity: 2% [?]

OK, this isn’t at all involved with food, but it’s interesting enough that I felt it had to be shared, so please allow a short digression.  I promise it will make you think for a minute, if nothing else.

Watch the video before reading on, if you please.  You won’t understand the rest of the post if you don’t…

Makes you think, doesn’t it?  But what does it make you think? I mean, I knew it probably wasn’t about what it sounded like, but did the end catch you by surprise, too?

Talbot’s is working hard to change their image and their clientele to a more trendy and modern crowd, the video is proof of that. It’s fun, it’s slightly naughty and it definitely made me do a double-take.  My wife shot straight over to their site and picked out a slew of things that she wanted form their inventory. (most notably in the shoe department.)

Is Talbot’s right for you?  Why not visit the Talbots site and take a look around.  If there’s something there that you love, leave a comment and share what it was and what you liked about it. It’ll be fun!

If you like, I’ll post my wife’s list as well, but be warned, it’s long!

You may also want to run over to Red Chair Confessions and watch more of these videos, including the progression that led up to this one. I have to admit that I found it interesting as well, though I’m not in their target audience. (I do hang at woman’s fashion sites though. It helps me pick the right gift for my wife!)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Grapes.  Specifically the grapes growing on a vine that’s overtaken a manzanita tree in my back yard.  These are just one of the surprises that our new home has given us.  This one is a California foodie’s dream, considering that the leaves can be used for so many wonderful things as well as the fruit that this lovely vine will gift us with for years to come.

The plant is technically my neighbors, but I’ll be encouraging it to grow and spread its vines along a trellis I’ll be building soon.  I’m sure he won’t mind if I foot some of the bill for watering this gorgeous plant either, so I think we’ll be O.K.

This year’s yield was two small bunches, but I’m hoping I can coax a bit more out of it next year if plenty of attention is given and the vines are laid out in a manner that appeals more to the plant.  This is a task I accept gladly, and an endeavor I’ll be sharing with all of you as time goes by.

I’ll let you know if we stumble across anything else really cool in the next few weeks!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Let me apologize at the outset.  This post is a bit rambling.  It covers a lot in as short a space as I can fit it into.

Many of you know that we’ll be moving to California in the near future.  As of today that move is scheduled for 28 days from today, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things we want to get done before we leave, nor does it mean we’ve been sitting around playing video games while we wait for the movers. (Though there are days that I wish that’s what we were doing.)

My wife went to school just outside Houston Texas and before we left we thought we should go see a few of her old friends and see some of the places she hung out while in high school. I was all for it not only for her sake, but for the sake of trying out a few new paces to eat along the way.

Texas Best Smokehouse

The trip started well enough.  We shot past Fort Worth on our way south to Houston.  At about three hours it was time to grab a bite, so we stopped at a chain BBQ place called Texas Best Smokehouse. While I’m not sure that I would call them the best I’ve had in Texas by any stretch of the imagination, I will say that their sausage was good and that the experience did not leave me feeling uninspired. (Yes, smoked jalapeno sausage.  I usually don’t try brisket from a chain.)

The rest of the trip, while long, was uneventful.  we were in more of a hurry to make our final destination than we were to stop at the more interesting places on the way. (At least one of which I will be visiting this weekend.) With a Hotel finally located and a very filling dinner at Joes Crab Shack under our belts we turned in from a very long day of driving.

As is only fitting on a Memorial day weekend, we visited my Brother-In-Law’s grave to pay our respects. My wife has not been to visit in years and the experience for her was was bittersweet. I never had the opportunity to know K.C., but I’ve heard enough about him to feel like I know him and it was a bit wrenching for me as well. the memory of this visit is now on of far too many I’ll hold with me on Memorial Day weekend.

From there we toured my wife’s old high school, a few small towns she used to pop into in her youth and I sat along for the tour.  It’s always interesting to see how coming home affects people, since “home” has a way of growing up without you.  when they say you can never go home again, they are right.  it will never be what you left no matter how badly you want it to be.  Both you and the town have changed.

A nice country day in TX

After the tour we headed into the deep countryside of Texas to visit with my wife’s best friend from high school. My wife and her friend dissapeared for hours of catching up and I spent the day playing with Lil B. and getting to know her husband, a genuinely nice man that I admire.  Lil’ B. had a blast exploring the garden and playing with the dogs while the adults talked about everything from the state of the economy to the best place to get a good dinner in the area; which leads us to:

The Little Burro. A great Tex-Mex meal by any estimation.

The El Burrito (Or Little Burro). I’ll tell you right now that there are gems out there if you look hard enough.  This is one of them.  Portions were huge, the food was fresh. The flavors were amazing, but avoided the North Texas habit of adding enough spice to make a veteran Thai food lover wince. I wish I could have stayed in the area long enough to eat there again.  If I ever find myself in this part of TX again, I’ll be stopping here.

For anyone that’s going to be in Cleveland TX, or just in the Houston Area you can find this reataurant here.

BFFL

At the end of the evening we bid our farewells and made ready for the last day of the trip, a picnic in my wife’s honor.  The picnic was nice, but short.  We had to head back by two if we wanted any sleep at all. Of course we were so tied up in the bevy of people there that we both forgot to snap a single photo. I’ve really got to hone my on location skills!

We picked up a few interesting goodies on the way that I’ll be writing about in the next few days, so stay tuned for that.

The following week was spent dealing with issues for the impending move and the weekend on another road trip with friends to Oklahoma.

Next week will be spent with family visiting.  following that we plan to play tourist in our own town before we leave.  It’s very doubtful we’ll ever see Wichita Falls Texas again.  It’s been an interesting experience but I have to say that I’m ready to be back in California and done with the whirlwind that we’re riding now.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Believe it or not, I haven’t gone anywhere.  I’m still cooking, reading and voraciosly watching food related TV.  unfortunately there are other things in my little sphere of existance that have been keeping me from sharing these things with all of you.

Firstly, my wife and I have been busily house hunting. If that wasn’t a daunting enough task, we’re doing it from 1,700+ miles away from where we’ll be buying.  We’ve already bid and lost a few, but our Realtor has been amazing and we’re loking at several prospects as I write this.  It’s slow going and exhausting.  (I’ll be honest.  It’s stressful enough that at times it turns my brain to mush and I think the guys from the hulu.com commercials are going to pop in and finish me off.)

Secondly, Our son has been progressing at a frightening rate.  This is a two sided coin though, because even though his communication skills are improving wildly, his frustration when he can’t get something across has gotten more pronounced.  This means far more of my day is spent making sure that his wellfare is met. (I’m a dad, it’s my job.  I’m not complaining, just explaining.)

Lastly, I’ve been in the process on writing an eBook on the subject of blogging.  It was an inspiration fueled by my frustration with the information available.  Too many people are publishing utter chaff with the promise of riches and charging an arm-and-a-leg for it.  I intend to put one out that can give both new and experienced bloggers asome valuable hints, tips and directions to follow.

The last has been taking the bulk of my time.  It’s ironic that writing a book on the subject of blogging is keeping me from doing the very thing that I’m writing about, but when your time is limited you have to set priorities and I need to get that prject finished if I want to get back to the full-time business of actually being a blogger.

So if you’ve been worried, don’t be.  If you think I’ve just lost the urge to write about food, cooking and recipes, don’t be silly!  I live for this, I’ve just been diverted for a bit.

Peace, Y’All.  I’m out

Popularity: 1% [?]