“we as a nation have got to ask ourselves, what the hell is going on? what is oozing out of our ground?”
Author Archives: JustinLL
Dot's Dog, Stockton's Red Hot Chicago Hot Dog
I’m in Stockton two to three days a week for work and, while I will usually pack a sack lunch, occasionally I’m lazy or running behind schedule in the morning and I leave the house with no lunch or snacks. So I have reason on these occasions to leave the safety and comfort of my office to find a lunchtime meal. Keeping with the spirit of my love for a tasty hot dog, I found Dot’s Dog in Stockton.
Dot’s, located at the corner of Pacific and Adams, prepares a mighty fine Chicago Dog, boasting that all their ingredients are flown in from Chicago. (Except for a few of the fresh vegetables.) Let me tell you, I’ve eaten a hot dog in Chicago, where you don’t even think about asking for ketchup, and Dot’s does a darn good job of bringing that authenticity to the West Coast. From the neon green relish to a poppy seed bun, you’d never know you weren’t eating at Super Dog in Chicago.
There are a few other hot dog choices, as well as a meatball sandwich, and a french dip authentically drenched with au jus. (Probably the only thing I haven’t had yet, and I’m looking forward to it. I just have to be in the right frame of mind to eat wet bread.) Dot’s Dogs offers chips as a side, which I’d like to see replaced with fries. I don’t know what it is, but something about cheesy Doritos just doesn’t sit well next to an awesome Chicago dog. (Sometime I order two dogs and skip the side orders. They’re that good!)
As per the usual, I’m not that concerned with the interior decor, which they’ve done up in classic rock paraphernalia. It’s nice. The strange thing here is that they’ve fenced off a portion of the inside of the building for potential lease to a tenant. I don’t know who would open up shop inside a hot dog stand, but hopefully it works out and Dot’s stays in business. And there’s plenty of sidewalk seating along Pacific and along Adams, which also sports a walk-up window for ordering.
Another solid eatery offering quick and delicious food that I recommend whole-heartedly. Make sure when ordering, you tell them to “drag it through the garden.” They’ll know what it means. You won’t be sorry.
Dot’s Dog, Stockton’s Red Hot Chicago Hot Dog
I’m in Stockton two to three days a week for work and, while I will usually pack a sack lunch, occasionally I’m lazy or running behind schedule in the morning and I leave the house with no lunch or snacks. So I have reason on these occasions to leave the safety and comfort of my office to find a lunchtime meal. Keeping with the spirit of my love for a tasty hot dog, I found Dot’s Dog in Stockton.
Dot’s, located at the corner of Pacific and Adams, prepares a mighty fine Chicago Dog, boasting that all their ingredients are flown in from Chicago. (Except for a few of the fresh vegetables.) Let me tell you, I’ve eaten a hot dog in Chicago, where you don’t even think about asking for ketchup, and Dot’s does a darn good job of bringing that authenticity to the West Coast. From the neon green relish to a poppy seed bun, you’d never know you weren’t eating at Super Dog in Chicago.
There are a few other hot dog choices, as well as a meatball sandwich, and a french dip authentically drenched with au jus. (Probably the only thing I haven’t had yet, and I’m looking forward to it. I just have to be in the right frame of mind to eat wet bread.) Dot’s Dogs offers chips as a side, which I’d like to see replaced with fries. I don’t know what it is, but something about cheesy Doritos just doesn’t sit well next to an awesome Chicago dog. (Sometime I order two dogs and skip the side orders. They’re that good!)
As per the usual, I’m not that concerned with the interior decor, which they’ve done up in classic rock paraphernalia. It’s nice. The strange thing here is that they’ve fenced off a portion of the inside of the building for potential lease to a tenant. I don’t know who would open up shop inside a hot dog stand, but hopefully it works out and Dot’s stays in business. And there’s plenty of sidewalk seating along Pacific and along Adams, which also sports a walk-up window for ordering.
Another solid eatery offering quick and delicious food that I recommend whole-heartedly. Make sure when ordering, you tell them to “drag it through the garden.” They’ll know what it means. You won’t be sorry.
Search Engines See What
Say it fast. “Search engines see what?” I don’t know.
This isn’t a post about Google Webmaster Tools or Google Analytics. Although, it’s because of those two services that I’m here at all to write. Ya dig? I mean it’s because of them that I know how many visitors arrive because they’ve entered the search terms “stolen bike seat.” Who knew that was such a popular topic? When I wrote the post back in March, originally as an email entry to my mailing list, I had no idea it would be one of the more popular entries on the site. I wrote it out of frustration for my then recently missing seat and posted it. Whoa.
The point being, since I’m not going to get around to it unless I state it specifically, you’re not always going to know what site visitors are looking for, so write everything that interests you, or me. Someone, somewhere may find it entertaining, interesting, or useful. You may want to do a little better job than I do most entries, and try to relate your post to its headline. For almost as long as I’ve been emailing, the subject line has always been of very little importance to my writing, and so I’d just shove in there whatever nonsense came to mind at the time. Not so useful when writing searchable material.
Essentially, I’m ranking high for keywords I’m not targeting. Taking into consideration I don’t have any specific targeting goals for this particular blog, I guess that’s to be expected. Or at least it’s some kind of side effect of just writing whatever comes to mind. That’s the point, though. And I’m getting a better idea of how all this SEO stuff works. The next step is conversion — making long time readers out of folks who show up accidentally.
Vacationing Or Working, I'll Decide
So I’ve been out and about, away and such, for a almost eight days, and I’m just now returning to the home where I lay my head to rest peacefully most nights. I probably should have given some advanced notice, but I didn’t make time before venturing off to Portland for a bit of birthday bashing and celebrating, then making my way to a family camping trip in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area of Northern California, and rounding it all out with a four-day, out-of-town seminar for work. You could try to imagine the fatigue, and whatever else, I’m experiencing at the moment, but I’d suggest not worrying about that. (I’ll do that for all of us.) Do know, though, that I have returned and I’m fully committed to getting this writing stuff back on schedule. So let us be to rest, and we’ll meet again Wednesday.
###
Vacationing Or Working, I’ll Decide
So I’ve been out and about, away and such, for a almost eight days, and I’m just now returning to the home where I lay my head to rest peacefully most nights. I probably should have given some advanced notice, but I didn’t make time before venturing off to Portland for a bit of birthday bashing and celebrating, then making my way to a family camping trip in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area of Northern California, and rounding it all out with a four-day, out-of-town seminar for work. You could try to imagine the fatigue, and whatever else, I’m experiencing at the moment, but I’d suggest not worrying about that. (I’ll do that for all of us.) Do know, though, that I have returned and I’m fully committed to getting this writing stuff back on schedule. So let us be to rest, and we’ll meet again Wednesday.
###
Monday Mashup – Olympics, Guest Author, TV, Twitter…
- Olympics 2008 – It’s going full speed now in Beijing, and there just isn’t enough time in the day to keep up with watching all the events and happenings, so Google will undoubtedly play a large role in my staying up to date and not up to late. Google has even included a handy summary box of the Top Three Medaling Countries in search results for “Beijing 2008 Olympic Games”. They obviously know what’s important to those of us in a hurry.
- Guest Authors – I’ve spent some time considering whether or not to allow guest authors to share in my blag space, and finally settled on the idea that it would be okay. Or at least that it would be worth trying out. So that guy Josh will take the first shot at it, writing as JoshGZ a column he calls “America, This is You”. Look for his posts on Tuesdays at irregular intervals with the first one running tomorrow. Be sure to let him know what you think in the comments.
- Watching TV – I’ve been following HBO’s latest miniseries Generation Kill, which tells the true story about a group of US marines through the first 40 days of the Iraq war. It’s based upon Evan Wright’s book that he wrote after joining this particular group of marines to write a collection of articles for Rolling Stone magazine as they invaded Iraq. I’m half way through the seven-part series, and so far I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen.
- Twittering – I’m still a fan of Twitter, even if it has reduced the feature set in an effort to keep the service up and running. However, I’m not nearly as active as I originally was, and I have to wonder if that’s because I’m spending more time blogging and emailing or because I’m just not as excited about the service. It’s tough to cram everything into 140 characters, but it’s fun trying to share clear and concise messages that other people may find useful or interesting. So keep an eye on my Twitter stream, and we’ll see about improving use.
###
Capitol Dawg's Midtown Hot Dog
I’ve been here a few times now, most recently because of a coupon for a free dawg sent out via snail mail, and I’m a fan. I should start by saying I’m an all around fan of hot dogs. From the late night corner street-vendor to the big box Costco brand — the Costco Polish dog being one of my favorites, just because you get so much for your dollar fifty. It’s a deal and a half! You can’t go wrong with a hot dog.
Located on 20th between “L” and Capitol streets, it’s sitting in prime walking space for most of midtown’s daytime busy bodies looking for a deliciously quick meal. Service is fast, and seating is aplenty with a large outdoor patio that has just enough shade and sun to keep comfortable. Setting and atmosphere aside, I’m not sitting down to eat because of the decorative memorabilia on the wall. No. I want a hot dog, and that’s what you get. Keep it simple, and give me some spicy mustard and sour kraut. I’m hooked and sold.
The menu offers more than twenty ways to prepare a dog, so it can take a minute to read through the list and figure out what you’re craving. The real problem being that once you decide, you might keep reading and find that you fancy another type, and now you have a real choice to make. I’ve so far enjoyed the self named Capitol Dawg, the Midtown Dawg, and the Hotlink. I still have a bunch more to try. I’m very curious about the Sacramento Dawg which sports guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. (On a hot dog?! I know. But you have to be adventurous when it comes to food.)
I have to say it’s a solid 3.75 out of 4. Good times.
###
Capitol Dawg’s Midtown Hot Dog
I’ve been here a few times now, most recently because of a coupon for a free dawg sent out via snail mail, and I’m a fan. I should start by saying I’m an all around fan of hot dogs. From the late night corner street-vendor to the big box Costco brand — the Costco Polish dog being one of my favorites, just because you get so much for your dollar fifty. It’s a deal and a half! You can’t go wrong with a hot dog.
Located on 20th between “L” and Capitol streets, it’s sitting in prime walking space for most of midtown’s daytime busy bodies looking for a deliciously quick meal. Service is fast, and seating is aplenty with a large outdoor patio that has just enough shade and sun to keep comfortable. Setting and atmosphere aside, I’m not sitting down to eat because of the decorative memorabilia on the wall. No. I want a hot dog, and that’s what you get. Keep it simple, and give me some spicy mustard and sour kraut. I’m hooked and sold.
The menu offers more than twenty ways to prepare a dog, so it can take a minute to read through the list and figure out what you’re craving. The real problem being that once you decide, you might keep reading and find that you fancy another type, and now you have a real choice to make. I’ve so far enjoyed the self named Capitol Dawg, the Midtown Dawg, and the Hotlink. I still have a bunch more to try. I’m very curious about the Sacramento Dawg which sports guacamole, sour cream, and salsa. (On a hot dog?! I know. But you have to be adventurous when it comes to food.)
I have to say it’s a solid 3.75 out of 4. Good times.
###
Monitor Web Text With ChangeDetection.com
In a continually changing and growing web world, you’re undoubtedly going to encounter web sites with information useful to you, but that are not regularly updated. In these instances, you don’t want to spend a load of time remembering to check in periodically, or risk missing something great because you forgot to check in. Even if you do remember to make the site visit, not all web site’s provide handy aggregation the way sites like Facebook or Myspace do for allowing a follower to keep up on what changes are being made to which pages. Still, there are times when you want to know about a change and being late could cost you a bunch of money. That’s where ChangeDetection.com comes in.
Not too dissimilar from Google Alerts, ChangeDetection.com (CD) monitors specific web pages (not to be confused with entire web sites), rather than specific terms. Once a day it makes a visit to each site you provide in a list along with specific change-monitoring criteria, compares the latest view with the previously cached view, and sends you an email if anything new has appeared or disappeared. A major time saver. Especially if you have more than two handfuls of pages you’re monitoring.
A couple of potential drawbacks, but by no means deal breakers: 1) CD does not monitor changes to images or flash, only text; and 2) You have to enter each frame of a frameset to be monitored, even if it’s all one page. So you can see where you might need to do a bit of tweaking to get things working in a way that will prove useful.
I’m typically monitoring government agency sites for updates to program regulations, application announcements, and changes to lists of events. ChangeDetection is awesome for this type of activity, and has again proved that there are time-saving uses for the Interweb.
Read the CD FAQ for more information.