Blogmaxxing

I am the self-appointed language police and I'm tired of this crap.

https://www.wired.com/story/solomaxxing/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/opinion/children-parents-billionaires-wealth-fathers.html?eafs_enabled=false

https://billionthblog.blogspot.com/search?q=looksmaxxing

My computer just croaked so I am coming to you from my Chromebook. I hope it doesn't have any impact on the quality of my posts.  I did a few fantastic blog posts from France on it so there should be no worries.  My daughter got some old family videos off my PC just in time. I brought it in to a San Mateo firm so if it truly toast they can at least get the data off it.  I went to TCG the last time I had a problem but he has sold the business. The top three reasons he wanted to retire were 1) lower stress, 2) spend more time with friends, family and his money, and 3) not deal with DJ's lame-ass PC problems. SB1 will be spending a few weeks here at the end of the year so he can be my IT guy and set up whatever cheap box I decide to go with next.

The wife and I got to go to Heritage Fire yesterday. Since we are well connected with the Hotelier, we got the VIP parking and wristband, which allowed us to enter early and sit in the VIP section.  I did a lot of sitting since my hip is on the fritz again, but I'm hoping that is a temporary situation. I'm going to Tahoe tomorrow and the East Coast next week, so I need to be on my A game.  As I told my brother yesterday, my A game is the equivalent of everybody else's C game. But I'm getting off topic. Heritage Fire was a successful event and the chow was primo.  My fave was Macarena's ribeye paella. The wine was flowing as well. Some lady thought I might be the Hotelier's brother. I said "C'mon, I ain't that good looking".

https://www.thesanfranciscopeninsula.com/food-and-drink/heritage-fire/

As I said, I will be traveling quite a bit, so I may not be posting again until later in August.  I hate to tear the band-aid off like that, but I gotta be up front with my base.

Bulgogi

I sat down to write about my wonderful Napa weekend, so what is the deal with the title, you might rightly inquire. Well, I decided to try a new marinade for my BBQ chicken thighs, and I went with bulgogi. I made my own as opposed to buying a bottle. The test will be tonight.  If it is tasty, I’ll tell you it was fantastic. Otherwise, we will not speak of it again.

And before I delve in to Napa, I need to give a shout out to the Hoteliers for hosting us on July 4th, which I should have put in my last post. They grilled up some sausages and Wagyu hot dogs. This took place at their Burlingame property, not in San Mateo or Oakhurst.  They were in a good mood because they were able to get out of their foray into Manhattan real estate when the high-rise they bid on began to buckle.

This past Friday morning we loaded into #1’s Subaru and headed to Carneros to hang with the Banker and Tina. We had a Far Niente wine tasting on the grounds before our dinner in their courtyard.  That Mexican dish I referenced in my last post was actually Peruvian. The Mexican rice I bought paired well and I was also responsible for prepping the green beans #1 brought up. We also enjoyed a South African Pinotage they had brought back from their recent trip. My wife’s peach cake topped things off.

The big event on Saturday was a tasting at Aonair Winery & Caves. There is an interesting origin story for this place.  The owner started making wine in his basement when he was 17 and spent some years in the industry before buying the property from a Kona coffee magnate that got in trouble for building a tunnel under a county road. In a stroke of luck, the new owner discovered it was the county that built the road on the winery’s property, so the tunnel was legit.  We also learned that a lot of banks would not lend, but First Republic stepped up.  The Banker stated that he worked there and recalled the deal.  That got him a bottle of small batch reserve.

We had a great diner that evening at Don Giovanni. They turned the heaters up at one point, which allowed me to re-heat my dish of Ziti Amatriciana. The Banker recommended the house wine and it was a winner. Our Uber ride home was a highlight.  We were greeted in Spanish, so I took it as my cue to gab a little. He said my Spanish was good. He then threw us a curve ball and said he was from Afghanistan and had been an interpreter for a colonel in the U.S. Army. He said he spoke Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian.  His three kids born over there were “amateur Americans” and his three kids born here were “organic Americans”.  He was quite engaging, but we all thought he might be a Vivarin customer.

Alas, all good times must come to an end.  After breakfast Sunday morning, we hung by the pool for a few hours before heading back to the FC. It is my fervent hope that #1 did not ruin our chances for another invite.

Pressure

Is it internal or external? I’m trying to figure it out. Being an artiste, I do feel driven to write two or three paragraphs on occasion. But when I see midnight blog hits from friend and stalker muse #1, who has just returned from a month-long international jaunt, I feel compelled to not disappoint. Also, the bio prompts from my wife, which I mentioned in my last post, continue to appear.  The latest is “Describe your childhood home.” My first stab at that was “Well, first off, they were all hovels. A librarian’s kid does not live in palaces”. I’m still trying to figure out if I was a lazy librarian’s son or a librarian’s lazy son.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGM8fDzS5UQ&list=RDWGM8fDzS5UQ&start_radio=1

I’m happy to be launching this post today as it will be conversation fodder when #1 and I drive up with our better halves to Napa on Friday.  We’ve been invited up to The Banker and Tina’s home away from home.  They have had us there a few times, so they should know better, but they continue to invite us back.  #1 will prepare an amazing Mexican dish for one evening and we will go out the other. I’ve been tasked with making rice, which stretches the limits of my culinary ability. It looks like we are in for good weather, with temps topping out in the high 80s. We are lucky to be in this part of the country.

A Foster City restaurant has made the Chron for their family friendly policy. I sent it off to 4M and he agrees with it. I can understand that but perhaps they could be a little less in your face about it. However, that is not how the owner rolls, also evidenced by the sign below that appeared there a few years ago.

https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-policy-unruly-kids-22334581.php

Anyone heard from Mitch?