cookies and code

So it’s Friday and that means seafood until Lent is over. I’m in Milton, FL which is located near Pensacola and after driving up and down through town, I found a pretty cool little seafood restaurant called the Shrimp Basket. There are only a few of these in Florida and Alabama, so I’m going to qualify it as a local joint so I can post about it. Let me start out by saying, holy fried food. A quick look at the menu and it’s obvious what I’m talking about.

We ordered the Corn Fritters (~$5), a couple draft beers (~$2 each), one fried combo basket with clam strips and large shrimp (~$13), and one fried combo basket with crawfish tails and fish (~$13). Each meal comes with shrimp coleslaw, hushpuppies, and an option of red potatoes, fries, or potato salad. All of the food came out fast, freshly fried, and in gigantic portions. The corn fritters weren’t as hot as I’d like, but they tasted good and were stuffed with corn nibblets. The shrimp coleslaw was tasty, the hushpuppies were a little mushy inside, and the potatoes were pretty standard issue. The batter for the seafood was good; the fish was grouper-like, the clam strips were pretty normal, and the shrimp and crawfish tasted fresh.

Overall, I was in the mood for some fried seafood and, not surprisingly, it wasn’t hard to find a place in the Florida panhandle to satisfy. The staff was extremely courteous and we got our food so fast, I had to assume a marathon pace to keep up. The Shrimp Basket was a great stop for the first day of my trip although the prices did seem a little high. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to shower so my skin doesn’t feel like it did when I was a teenager.

The Shrimp Basket in Milton is located at 6389 Highway 90, Milton, FL 32570.

As most of you that read my blog already know, I have decided to resign from my position at CFi in favor working closer to home. The drive from Orlando to Melbourne was working its way up to 4 hours daily (on bad days) and, although I was able to listen to quite a few podcasts, I have a weak constitution for daily travel and had to find something closer. In leaving CFi, I will say this: CFi has one of the best technical teams with which I have had the privilege to work. Max has lead the department in a great direction in terms of architecture and I know they are going to have some amazing success. If you consider yourself a talented software developer, you should be seeking out CFi for employment and consider yourself fortunate if you’re given an opportunity to work with this great team. I’ve always thought that it’s a bit crass to say to an employer when you leave, “Thanks for everything; I’ve learned a lot.” My usual response is, “No problem, good luck with the new employer that doesn’t have to invest that time into you.” With that being said, I have learned a lot and hope I was able to contribute enough back to the organization so that I don’t sound like as much of a jerk.

As a special thank you to the web team, I would like to leave you each with a few words:

• Mike – Thanks for hiring me when I needed help and always reminding me, “More typing, less talking”.
• Jason – Keep the PC alive and make the fan-boys say “Wayh”.
• Chris H – Now that I’m gone, whenever SVN doesn’t work correctly, you may seek retribution as you see fit.
• Michele – Ok, I give in, you’re not evil. Seriously though, protect your Disney memorabilia, I think a member of the Nougat Room has been eye’ing it.
• David S – Hide the clock in the light room and charge a toll to look at it. For all those who won’t pay, remove the padding on their timelines or punch them in the face.
• Chris E – You ARE a freagin’ highlander and I hope when the time comes for “only one” you give me an 50+ year head start.
• Pam – HI PAM! Thanks for showing me people can actually do a good job in QA.
• Brian – Thanks for all of the books but please stop offering me a copy of “Tropical Mucho Macho”.
• Bucky – You have shown me dozens of uses for the phrase “Shut your stupid, smelly face”. I hope to use it well.
• Adam – As I promised, whenever we work together you get the first i18n project I can find that involves only externalizing strings. You’re welcome (BTW – I’m an ass).
• Vincent – Accept the roast beef cheese-steak and reduce your Disney intake, specifically mermaids.
• Russ – Thanks for taking time to explain half of the stuff I was supposed to know already. I look forward to bumming more homemade beer off of you with the promise of delivering empty bottles.
• Dan – Thanks for humoring my crazy ideas and being the only one who will listen to SER. If the JRoR (pronounced -jroar) dies you have my permission to rewrite all DNS records to point to Tallyhoh.
• Max – Ok you’re not on the web team, but always remember it’s not good unless it’s got a nutty texture.

So that’s it. It’s been a pleasure working with everyone and best of luck to you all and much success in your careers. It’s been a privilege.