Ebay

I was bidding on a book on Ebay, and somebody sniped and outbid me in the last few seconds of the auction. I just learned the word "snipe", although the tactical benefits of bidding on an item at the last second had already occurred to me on my own. Now, I'm not a veteran ebayer, but even I know not to bid the price of a book beyond what the book can be had for at Amazon. D'OH!

Looking for a new dry cleaner

In Cuba, they have this saying: "Hay que estar con cuatro ojos." You have to go around with four eyes, meaning you have to keep an extremely careful eye on everybody because everyone is trying to pull one over on you.

The dry cleaner in the lobby of my building recently raised his prices, so the last time I went to pick up my cleaning, it was a lot more than I was expecting it to be. Once I had gotten home, I realized that the extra charge was a lot more than could be accounted for simply by the higher prices. Unfortunately, by that time I had discarded my receipt as well as taken all the clothes out of the plastic so I wasn't even sure how many items I had picked up.

So this time, I made a conscious effort to double check everything when I went to pick it up. I was expecting it to come out to $16.95. The owner tells me $17.95. I told him, "I'm sorry. I was expecting $16.95. Are you sure?" I was taken aback by his reaction; he actually raised his voice to me, "Not $16.95; $17.95." Perhaps he thought if he was "adamant" enough, I would drop my objection. "Well, please check. I get $16.95." He pulls out two receipts, "There. Seven shirts, $7.70. And five shirts and one pair of trousers, $10.25." He pulls out a calculator and adds the two numbers, "$17.95." He was practically shouting at me by this point. I was a bit confused for a moment and was wondering if maybe I had in fact mis-added. Then I realized that if five shirts were $5.50 and the pants were $3.75 that only added up to $9.25. I pointed this out, so again he pulls out the calculator and FINALLY reluctantly hands me another dollar in change and apologizes for the error.

I don't believe for one micro-second that this was an error. But even if I'm wrong and it actually was an innocent error, the rude way he decided to approach it guarantees that I will never be back. Idiot. I dropped $440 at his establishment over the last year. Now I'm going to spend it somewhere else.

DON'T PANIC!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy coming to a theater near you April 29.

Sal Grosso

My wife and I went to Churrascaria Sal Grosso for lunch. This is one of those Brazilian steak places that have become so popular in the last few years. Dinner is prohibitively expensive ($39), but lunch is slightly more manageable. The format is all you can eat, with the waiters coming to your table with skewers of meat. We had

• Picanha (Rump Roast)
• Filet Mignon
• Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon
• Alcatra (Top Sirloin)
• Fraldinha (Flap Steak)
• Costela de Boi (Beef Ribs)
• Chicken Breast wrapped in bacon
• Marinated chicken wings
• Lamb Chops
• Leg of Lamb
• Pork Loin
• Pork Ribs

To round out our meal, we had a nice Brazilian wine (Miolo Cabernet Sauvignon) and carolinas (a dessert made consisting of puff pastries filled with vanilla ice cream and covered in chocolate sauce) for dessert. An excellent experience. Everyone should do this once in a while.

Greenhouse Grill

My wife and I went out to dinner at the Greenhouse Grill (in the Hyatt Regency in Marietta). We were not impressed.

• Ambiance was adequate but hardly outstanding. The view was non-existent. Noise from the bar and (even more so) from the ballrooms was overwhelming at times.
• Service was downright poor. It was slow (particularly when you consider that only four tables were occupied), and they made a $6 error on our bill.
• The menu on their website boasted sizzling sea bass and orange beef tenderloin medallions, neither of which existed on the menu when we got there.
• The food was the only redeeming quality, and even in that regard, all I can say is that the food was prepared well. It was hardly memorable, and the portions were not particularly generous.

My wife had salmon with tomato lemon jelly ($22), and I had chicken ($17). Neither plate really warranted the price.

Saigon Cafe

Had lunch there with some co-workers. I was thoroughly unimpressed. I order the pho (noodle soup) with shrimp. It was passable, but not great. I've had better. A friend ordered the pad thai (despite the name, the restaurant had a number of Thai dishes in addition to Vietnamese), and that looked like it would have been a much better than the pho.

However, what really got to me was the bad service. It was slow, really slow. And they forgot one of our entrees altogether. After bringing out the missing entree, they had still not brought out our appetizers. When we asked about them, the waitress got snotty, really snotty. "You didn't have any appetizers. I asked you if you wanted rolls, and you said no." And the tone with which she said it, as if she were lecturing to unruly children. Yeah, the seven of us are all mis-remembering. Thanks for setting us straight.

More pictures of Cuba

This picture looks like it was taken in a war zone. I've seen pictures of buildings in the middle of post-DDay fighting in France that looked better.

Cuba

La Habana, 1958 (the year before Castro took power)





La Habana, 2004


This is not a rural road; this is Calle 35 between A and B in Vedado, La Habana. (In the very heart of the city, this was once one of its poshest neighborhoods.)


Melba Gordue cleans up debris after a building collapsed in front of her house in Havana on June 26, 2003. (And, YES, she will continue living there afterwards.)


A hotel for foreigners


A hotel for Cubans


National Factory of Mirrors (insert punchline here)


"The revolution marches well. To fight, to work, to advance. Go forward!"


La Habana's transportation system


The ration book. (Sugar is rationed.)

William Safire's Last Column

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/opinion/24safire2.html?ex=1107493200&en=f4c74710a0c4c97e&ei=5070&incamp=article_popular_2