Without further ado, 23 21 Restaurants I'd Like To See Come To The Montgomery/Prattville, Alabama Area:

1. Copelands: After a failed attempt on south East Boulevard, perhaps they could be convinced to try again, perhaps on the east side this time. It appears that Copeland's has now pulled of Alabama altogether (Montgomery, Birmingham, and Mobile) and has also left Pensacola. Nearest Copelands is now in Atlanta. Oh yeah, and bring back the Pork LaBoucherie. A guy can wish, right?
2. P.F. Chang's: Excellent, affordable American-Chinese cuisine, nice decor. Good quality Chinese food.
3. Red Robin: This might actually happen as a new RR recently opened in Newnan, GA. Excellent hamburgers and sandwiches, endless fries. We're now have a Red Robin at Eastchase! Note: In my experiences (I've been 10 times sinece they opened) the Montgomery Red Robin has serious problems with consistency of service, food quality and dining experience. You may get lucky, but don't expect your usual Red Robin experience at this location.
4. Bennigan's: Traditional American fare, sandwiches, soups with an Irish flavor. Good neighborhood bar and restaurant. Bankrupt 2008
5. El Chico: American-Mex, but better than any of the flavor-deprived Mexican being served in this town today, nearest ones are in Mobile and Nashville.
6. Other Raving Brands franchises: We already got multiple Moe's (now run by a different company) and (supposedly) a Doc Green's on the way (what happened there?). How about Mama Fu's Noodles, Planet Smoothie, and Shane's Rib Shack, maybe a Boneheads, or a Flying Biscuit?
7. In-And-Out Burger: Excellent West Coast burger chain, always smiling, gracious staff and prompt service of great food. Imagine!
8. Old Chicago: Great pizza and well over 110 beer choices.
9. Baja Fresh: The franchise recently entered and exited the Atlanta market, so Montgomery luring this consistently flavorful and fresh Mex star is probably a long shot.
10. Mimi's Cafe: French-inspired american food. (coming to EastChase in Winter 2008)
11. Noodles & Co.: Various noodle entrees, from Mac and Cheese to Asian noodle dishes. Same idea as Mama Fu's, a noodle house.
12. Houlihan's: Several locations in Atlanta
13. Cozymel's Mexican Restaurant:: Great chicken and carnitas fajitas. Steak fajitas were so-so. Nearest one might be Memphis
14. Bahama Breeze: Island food and drink. Long lines/wait, get there early. Birmingham or Atlanta
15. Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy: Great Mexican food, all around. Memphis/KC/OKC are the closest ones.
16. Houston's: Up-scale sit-down American dining in a beautiful decor. Several locations in Atlanta.
17. Uno Chicago Grill: Chicagoland dining with new creative twists. Formerly Pizzeria Uno.
18. On the Border: Good chain Mexican. Recently closed in Birmingham.
19. Buca di Beppo: Southern Italian food served family-style in large, delicious portions. So clean they take you on a tour through the kitchen on your way to your seat.
20. Qdoba Mexican Grill: Similar to Moe's and Chipotle, San Francisco-style burritos with tons of flavor and spice.
21. First Watch: A small chain of health-conscious and delicious breakfast treats in a relaxing environment
22. Marie Callendar's: Home-cooked comfort food and great pies.
23. Cheesecake Factory: Great cheesecake (50 different varieties and a highly diverse menu including Asian, Mexican, Italian, American, Cajun, and Spanish choices to meet everyone's needs. Their menu is a small book. The nearest ones are in Birmingham and Atlanta.

Yeah, they are mostly chains. Some people seem to get hung up about that. These are the good chains, not the ones that make you roll your eyes when you see them. If any 4 of these came to town, I'd be much happier about the dining scene in Montgomery.

I figure we could afford to lose some T.G.I.Friday's, Ruby Tuesday, Chili's, Applebee's, and O'Charley's, we'd have room for some new, good restaurants.

Photo Gallery >> Barber Vintage Motorsports Musuem
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Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum (and, in fact, the entire Barber Motorsports Park) is a jewel in the crown of Birmingham, Alabama. It should be on the top of any motorized sports enthusiast's to-do list when visiting Birmingham. They have an excellent collection of motorcycles from all eras and all manufacturers. There are approximately 750+ motorcycles and a approximately 40 or 50 sports and racing cars on display at any given point. They are beautifully restored and displayed open-air in the spacious facility. Northeast Birmingham, approximately 2 miles east of the junction of I-20 and I-459. Follow I-20 past I-459, take the first exit past the junction (Leeds), turn right and the facility is on your right about 1 mile down the road. Admission is $15 for adults, and well worth it.

I've gone to the museum the past two weekends and had a great time. The basement "paddock" area is usually closed to the public, but was open this past weekend, so I got to stroll and shoot some angles you can't normally get.

More photos from Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

A satellite shot of the facility from Google Maps

<pander>Now, if I can just get someone from Barber to take me behind-the-scenes, or to the warehouse my journey will be complete...</pander>

]]> http://blog.transmit.net/2008/11/barber-vintage-1.html http://blog.transmit.net/2008/11/barber-vintage-1.html 2000s Alabama Birmingham, AL Check it out! Motorcycles The South Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:11:11 -0600 You cannot  further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot  help the poor man by destroying the rich.

You cannot  lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot  help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot  keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

You cannot  bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot  strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot  establish security on borrowed money.

You cannot  build character and courage by taking away one's initiative and independence.

You cannot  help someone permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

-- Rev. William John Henry Boetcker (1873-1962)

Hard drive storage: $0.10/GB
(Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB (1500GB ) 7200RPM/32MB for $149.99 via TigerDirect on November 4, 2008)

Solid-state hard drive storage: $3.63/GB
(OCZ 128GB SATA II MLC Solid State Drive for $464.99 via ZipZoomFly on November 4, 2008)

Flash memory: $2.62/GB
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Highest interest rate savings with minimal deposit requirements: 4.00%
(CNB Bank Directvia money-rates.com on November 4, 2008)

Gallon of gas: $2.358
(US National Average, pulled from Gas Buddy on November 4, 2008)

Now the nagging question: Canon, why limit us to only 3 exposures in AEB? There doesn't seem to be a reason we could have 5 or 7 or some other configurable number of exposures? Also, why not allow us to select a wider AEB range? When shooting for HDR, I need to take consecutive shots without moving the camera. I'm already using a tripod and wireless remote, but if I want more than -2/+2EV, I have to stop, change the settings (thus moving the camera) then continue, hoping I didn't move the camera too much and complicating post-processing. Why not allow -3/+3EV or -4/+4EV spreads on the AEB range (keep in mind my earlier suggestion of more AEB exposures in a given range.)

The Alabama Nature Center at Lanark is a 350-acre wildlife preserve that serves as the headquarters of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. It is located between Millbrook, AL and Prattville, AL, just north and east of exit 179 (Cobbs Ford Road) on I-65. The facility is currently only open to the public one weekend a month (the third weekend.)

If you are a nature buff, a photographer, or just like to catch some fresh air, you should take some time out of your weekend to visit and explore the facility. They've got over 5 miles of beautifully-built walking trails organized in 3 loops around the property. They are all marked with interpretive signs about the flora and fauna you'll see around you.

Price is currently $4/adult/day and $2/child (3-9)/day. Kids under 3 are free. They also have season pass pricing.

(Every third weekend of the month)
Saturday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Directions and more information can be found at the following link.

Alabama Nature Center @ Lanark

Photo Gallery >> Lanark
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]]> http://blog.transmit.net/2008/10/lanark-openings-through-the-en.html http://blog.transmit.net/2008/10/lanark-openings-through-the-en.html Alabama Check it out! Digital Photography Obsessions Online Photo Galleries Photography Prattville, AL alabama alabama wildlife federation awf lanark millbrook nature photography prattville trails wildlife Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:44:01 -0600