The Homeless are Suing!

November 13th, 2009

Homeless Idaho residents sue over camping law

According to this article it says that there are up to 4,500 homeless people in Boise. That seems like alot. According to Wikipedia the population of Boise in 2008 was 205,314. That means that about 2.2% of Boise’s population is homeless. That seems like a lot of people who are homeless.

They say that the reason for the lawsuit is that the law amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. How so? Sounds reasonable to me. If there were no “no camping laws” I really believe the parks and other common areas would quickly become the less than desirable places for residents to go. Lets not forget that the people who pay for the parks and common areas are the tax payers and deserve to frequent those places without fear of harassment.

Just a thought.

Merritt’s Country Cafe

November 7th, 2009

I’ve enjoyed Merritt’s on several occasions. Late nights have seen me entering Merritt’s looking for an omelet to top off an already great night. They’ve never let me down in that sense.

My most recent visit to Merritt’s however was not all that memorable. Well, it was memorable but not for the right reasons.

I was down on State street at about 1:00 P.M. and feeling hungry. I decided it was a good idea to hit Merritt’s and get a hamburger. I’m a sucker for a good burger. So, I go in and sit down. The waitress gives me a menu. After perusing the burger section I decided on a Western Burger. It comes with 2 patties, 2 slices of cheese, bacon, and barbecue sauce in addition to the normal fillers… onions, lettuce, etc.

When my burger came the first thing I noticed was that the patties were small. I mean really small. They were about 4″ in diameter. A hamburger patty should be bigger in diameter than the bun. Even if by just a hair. However, in this case the patty was a good 1″ in diameter smaller than the bun. I am not kidding. The cheese was simply processed cheese. Processed cheese melts easily. My cheese was soft but not melted. The patties were the same size as the cheese slices, only round. One more thing to add. If you cook a hamburger patty too long it gets that dark brown look with the crisp texture. This was just that patty. It was cooked too long. That may account for the small size. When a patty is cooked too long it also loses the juiciness. This burger was a bit on the dry side. The only thing that saved it was the fresh bun and the fresh condiments. The bacon was thicker than I expected. Another save.

The fries were good. I asked for some Au Jus sauce on the side for my fries. I got plenty. The fries were done perfectly.

Now for the part that hurts. I got a Western burger, fries, a side of au jus, and a Dr. Pepper. The cost of the whole meal was $11.22. That price includes a $2.00 tip. I didn’t notice on the menu that the fries came with the burger. Most places include that in the price of the burger. A combo they call it. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the breakdown cost of the lunch. All I know is I walked out after paying $11.22 and felt like I didn’t get what I paid for.

I will still go back to Merritt’s. Their omelets are good. I just won’t be ordering the western burger any time soon.

The Election.

November 5th, 2009

The recent election in Boise only brought out 18% of the voters. Pretty dismal I would say. I voted by the way.

Why was the turnout so low? I have a guess. If you read the Guardian they open with this line:

Tuesday’s local election results sent a strong message from voters: NOBODY REALLY CARES!

I personally think people do care. But this time around I think people are tired of politics. The fighting in Washington over Healthcare, the economy being as bad as it is, and unemployment at a ridiculous high. I would say that this time around the people are just tired of all the fighting and bickering.

Hopefully, come November 2010 the people will be re-energized and anxious to vote.

I don’t want BoiseBlogger.com to be a political site so I will just leave it at that.

Boobies and David Foldesi UPDATE

November 3rd, 2009

Here is a more recent article concerning the subject. An interesting point made in the article is that Dave Foldesi paid the property taxes in 2007 to, in his mind I guess, take possession of the house but he has failed to pay them since. Why would that be?

Dispute over ownership of home in Boise’s North End may be resolved

I drive by Boobies restaurant everyday and rarely see more than one car in the parking lot. I wonder if the community is standing behind their fellow boiseans and staying away from those who would take advantage of their fellow boisean?

I feel sorry for the co-owners of Boobies Restaurant. I hope they had no knowledge of Foldesi’s actions.

Boobies… Yea or Nay?

October 26th, 2009

I’m a fan of the little Mom and Pop place. Whether it be a store, or hamburger shop, or whatever, I’m all for it. Its really the idea I’m behind. The freedom that comes with opening your own place. The challenge of putting it all on the line and then making it work or not. Well, that brings me to Boobies Restaurant on Ustick Road in good old Boise, Idaho.

I stopped in there a few months ago and had a burger. It was a chili burger with cheese on it. I think it was called a Boobie Burger. Not really sure about that. The burger was okay. The chili on it was kinda pasty. I like a spicy, runny, chili and this was not it. It was very obviously scooped directly out of a can. I can’t say it was for sure, but that is my impression. They didn’t have fries which kinda disappointed me. I’m a freak for fries. Instead I got some chips. The chips were very dry. They had very little taste. I didn’t get anything to go along with them either. No guacamole. No melted cheese. Nothing. I had to use the chili from my burger as a dip so the chips would go down easier. I haven’t been back since because the burger was just okay. It wasn’t really worth the money I spent for it. If they have improved since, I couldn’t tell ya.

And I really don’t care… and here is why:

Stranger rents out Boise woman’s home without her permission!

This is a story of a man who went down and paid the taxes on another persons home and then claims that he is the owner. Wow. You mean I can go find out if a home has unpaid taxes and then just pay them off and take possession? Is it really that easy? No. It isn’t that easy. David Foldesi is this person according to the Idahostatesmen story linked above.

On May 16, 2007, David Foldesi walked into the Ada County Courthouse and paid $8,875.62 in delinquent property taxes on Boylan’s house.

Who is David Foldesi and why does this involve Boobies Restaurant?

Foldesi spoke only briefly to the Statesman before hanging up. He has not returned subsequent calls, including requests to see a tax deed for the house or a certificate of sale from the county. Foldesi and his partner, Debbie Smith, own Boobies restaurant on Ustick Road.

I can’t really bring myself to support a person who tries to purchase property in such a way. If he did gain ownership of this house that would mean that the ‘old’ owners would be out $100,000 plus. I think that was his intent. Some states allow a person to purchase a tax deed and then gain ownership of the home as stated here

Foldesi thinks differently. When asked who gave him permission to rent out Boylan’s house, he said: “The owners. Who are the owners? The tax deed holder.” But neither Foldesi nor anyone else can hold a tax deed to the house, because there is no tax deed for this property, according to the county.(1) Only if the house had gone to auction could someone have bought the tax deed, which would have given that person ownership over the home. Some states do sell tax deeds or tax liens without an auction giving ownership to the person who pays off the tax bills. That may be part of the confusion.

You won’t see me at Boobies. I choose to NOT support this kind of person

Happy Fathers Day

June 21st, 2009

To all the men out there with kids, or who are the fatherly role models to kids, Happy Fathers Day.

Winco Carts

June 8th, 2009

The Winco on Fairview finally got new shopping carts. Thanks, Winco.

Idaho Fry Company Visited

June 8th, 2009

Okay, I couldn’t wait any longer. The thought of having a nice juicy hamburger was starting to get to me.

I had some errands to run which took me over to the east side of town. Coincidentally this is where the Idaho Fry Company is located. I found it up by the intersection of Warm Springs and Broadway in that little strip mall on the South West corner. I parked my car and walked on in. There were 2 people eating inside and 2 people eating outside. I walked up to the counter and the cashier asked if I had ever been in before. “No” of course, but she didn’t know that. I politely said no and she then explained the menu. I ended up getting the special which was a hamburger, small fries, and a drink. Doctor Pepper. The fries were country style Russets.

The place was a bit sterile. Meaning it lacked some character. There is a flat screen on the wall but I noticed very little else. I believe there was some art for sale. The prices were pretty steep. $200 and up.

I got my hamburger and fries (sorry, no picture) . The drink came before the meal which I don’t mind. The burger wasn’t Carl’s Junior big but it wasn’t White Castle small, either. It was about average size. The bun wasn’t your standard bun. It had some flavor to it. I think the hamburger patty was hand formed. It didn’t appear like it was delivered by a truck, frozen solid to the wax paper that separated it from a thousand other patties. The lettuce and onions were crisp and fresh. The fries were hot and served in a cone of all things. Kinda weird but, it worked. Who am I to complain. Food is food.

The fries were good. They were your standard fries. Not like Wendys or McDonalds, Crisp little potato nails you dipped in the secret sauce. These were thick and pliable and hot. You actually thought you were eating something that came from a potato. I got the Chipotle fry sauce. YUMMY.

I will complain about the platter upon which the burger was served. It was a small 4″ x 8″ (or so it seemed) cutting board. No lip on this thing and no paper either. Just a flat piece of plastic… with a hole on one side. Yeah. That didn’t work for me. But hey, it didn’t affect the taste of the burger which was good.

I bit into the burger and it was good as far as burgers go. It wasn’t VERY good. But, it was good. There was something missing to the burger though. I didn’t really figure it out until earlier today. The burger was too… clean. Too neat. The pieces and parts didn’t fit together if that makes any sense. If you go to a barbecue and you get a burger there it always seems like the best burger. The buns are big, the patty is thick and juicy and hot. When the bun, patty, and condiments are all combined, it seems like they were made for each other. The bun is soaking up the meats juices. And with every bite it seems to get juicier and messier. The cheese starts to slide around giving the onion a chance to escape. That is a burger. The burger I got behaved itself. If that is what you like. Go for it. The taste was good. I would go back for another meal. The cost was about $8.00.

Idaho Fry Company

June 7th, 2009

I ran across the name of a new local eatery, the Idaho Fry Company, and wanted to find out where it was located since I had never heard of it and I really like going to new places. So, I did a search on Google and found an article at the Idaho Statesman that discussed the Idaho Potato Commissions insistence that the Idaho Fry Company change its name.

This piqued my curiosity. I’m an “armchair lawyer” and enjoy inserting my legal opinion on most things. This means I have no formal education in the law. Quite frankly, I have NO education in the law.

I am gathering from the article I read that there is some sort of trademark violation concerning the term “Idaho Fry”. Or, actually, there is a possible trademark violation. The article wasn’t very clear on the matter so I went to the “the Idaho Fry Company” website and found out exactly what the problem is. Apparently the Idaho Potato Commission has a trademark on the word “Idaho”.

“Blake – This name is a problem. Idaho™ is our trade name.”

How can you trademark the name of a state? In addition how can you ask a business in Idaho not to use the word Idaho in the name of their business? Has the IPC contacted the State and asked them to change their name to maybe… “An Idaho” and not “The Idaho” as is implied simply by calling itself Idaho?

I think the IPC should only have a problem if the Idaho Fry Company advertised that they were the sole distributor of fried Idaho potatoes since it seems to me the IPC is more centered around the potato and not Idaho specifically. If I started a business called “the Idaho T-Shirt Company” would this be a problem? I doubt it.

If they do change their name I have two suggestions… “the Boise Fry Company”, or “the Northwest Fry Company”.

I just hope nobody has claim to “Boise” or “Northwest”.

I’m gonna find my way over to the Idaho Fry Company sometime this week and try a hamburger. I’m a big fan of the burger.

Is blogging dead?

March 30th, 2009

Seriously. Is Blogging dead? There are countless blogs out there so the answer is obviously no. But that isn’t really the answer I was looking for. There are millions of blogs. Some blogs were started to give a voice to the author. Some were started to convey information to the reader. Some were started to make money. Of all those started how many no longer do it? How many blogs are sitting there gathering dust. Nobody has posted to it in months or even a year or more?

Sure, blogs are started everyday. how many more of them are abandoned everyday.

This blog will sometimes go for a month without a post. That my friends is a no-no in the blogging world. But, hey, so what. I’m still typing the words now and then. I have nobody relying on this to get them through the day. so, no biggie.

Back to the question. Is Blogging DEAD? I’m gonna stick my neck out and say that if it isn’t dead. It is dying.

If that is the truth. Then what is coming along to replace it? Twitter? I hope not.

Just a thought that crossed my mind. I thought I would throw it out there for some conversation. Let me know what you think.