Doraldo’s
http://www.doraldosrestaurant.com/

Maurizio’s
http://mauriziositalianrestaurant.com/

Carrabba’s
http://www.carrabbas.com/restaurant/locations/VA/Williamsburg/Williamsburg/

The Library Tavern
http://www.allmenus.com/va/williamsburg/55512-the-library-tavern/menu/

Buon Amici
http://www.buonamiciwilliamsburg.com/

Green Leafe
http://www.greenleafe.com
If you love cheese sticks, then you have to go to Green Leafe. They have the best (and largest) cheese sticks I’ve ever had.

Black Angus Grille
http://www.blackangusgrille.com/

Pierce’s BBQ
http://www.pierces.com/

I’ll be updating this post as I find new ones to list.

Shot Show has come and gone (technically today is the last day) and as usual, there were a lot of interesting products announced. The most exciting product to me however, is the new Springfield XDs single stack pistol series. It will be available in .45ACP at launch with 9mm and 40cal following soon after. After reviewing the specs, it appears as though I may have a new CCW to get. The dimensions are great, it carries 6 rounds (5+1) of .45ACP and weighs in at 29oz (which is pretty heavy, but that should reduce the recoil felt when shooting). I already see people are complaining about the capacity. Do you really need more than 5+1 of .45ACP in a concealed weapon? If you do, then maybe you should reconsider your surroundings.

Specs:

Caliber – .45 ACP
Capacity – 5 + 1 Rds
Weight – 29 oz.
Barrel – Melonite ® with a Fully Supported Ramp
Sights – Steel Dovetail Rear, Fiber Optic Front
Slide – Forged Steel
Frame – Black Polymer
Magazines -  2 Stainless Steel Single Stack
Overall Height  with Magazine – 4.4″
Overall Length – 6.3″
Overall Width – 1″

A Shot Show video with Rob Leatham stated the price should be in the same ballpark as the XD and XDm. I would certainly hope that it falls in less than the XDm but a little more than the XD. Ideally, I think it should be around the $550-575 mark. I assume that the 9mm and 40cal versions will be slightly smaller in their dimensions as .45ACP counterparts are always slightly larger.

It’s supposed to hit dealers sometime in March. Looks like March will be an expensive month, XDs and an iPad 3.

For more info and a photo gallery, check out the XDs site at http://www.xdspistol.com/.

Looking at the data above and considering that this gun is for pocket carry, lets tally up the numbers.

Overall Length Winner: Kahr CM9
Overall Height Winner: Kahr CM9
Overall Width Winner: Tie between Nano and CM9
Barrel Length Winner: Kahr CM9 (shortest barrel)
Sight Radius Winner: No real winner here since the Kahr is unknown.
Capacity Winner: Glock 26
Weight Winner: Kahr CM9
MSRP Winner: Beretta Nano

Keep in mind the following, the Glock 26 isn’t technically a pocket gun, but it’s a popular option. Shorter sizes also don’t necessarily mean a better gun, in fact shorter barrels lead to less accuracy. All that said, if you look at the numbers the winner is clearly the Kahr CM9, however the differences are slight for the most part. I own a Kahr CM9 and love the size, so in my mind the Beretta Nano will also be a great addition for my pocket carry gun collection.

The market has seen a lot of pistols in this category lately to include the Keltec PF9, Ruger LC9, Kahr PM/CM 9, Sig Sauer P290 to name a few. Beretta’s decision to get into the pocket 9mm is great news as it gives us another option and helps keep the competition strong. If you’re familiar with the Sig Sauer P250 series pistols, then you’ll understand how the Nano works. The gun is made modular which allows the owner to swap out the frame to varying sizes. The serialized component is the sub-frame (chassis) which allows you to use different barrels, slides and frames without changing the serial number of the gun. This is great as they’ll most likely have different size grips for it to accommodate various shooters hand sizes.

The frame is made of a fiberglass reinforced polymer frame which should hold up well to use. One of my biggest pet peeves with polymer guns is that some polymers scratch if you look at them wrong so hopefully their polymer will be resilient to wear.

Here are the tech specs for the gun:

Caliber: 9mm
Model No: JMN9S15
Overall Length: 5.63”
Overall Height: 4.17”
Overall Width: .90”
Barrel Length: 3.07”
Sight Radius: 4.92”
Sights: 3-Dot Low Profile
Frame Chassis: Stainless Steel Insert
Grip Frame: Technopolymer
Slide Material: 4140
Slide Finish: Pronox
Capacity: 6 + 1 Rounds
Weight Unloaded: 17.67 oz
MSRP: $475

Some additional info courtesy of Guns & Ammo regarding the Nano:

- No pulling trigger for disassembly
- Completely snag free design
- Totally ambidextrous
- No external slide lock
- Different frame sizes
- Sub-chassis .40 cal capable
- Frame employs modern thermoplastic technology through the use of fiberglass reinforced technopolymer

With the MSRP at $475, hopefully we’ll see them under $400 on the market. I can’t wait to get mine.

For more info, click here.

I was hoping Windows 8 was even more visual than Windows 7 while staying within the boundaries we’re accustomed to in the OS. As a designer, I need an OS that’s easy to use and Windows 8 doesn’t appear to be it. I’m also a Mac user and I love what they’ve done with OS X Lion. If future versions of Windows is going down the path of Windows 8, I’ll be switching exclusively to OS X.

At the very least, Microsoft should give users the option of turning off the new “experience” and be able to use Windows traditionally. If that function doesn’t exist, I’ll be skipping Windows 8.

Cupcake Vineyards

Best Buy didn’t have any cases I liked so I bought one sight unseen from Amazon. It’s silicon-based and it’s perfect. It gives the iPad nice grip, protects the back and the edges and simply works.

On a last note, playing Infinity Blade on the iPad 2 is quite nice (not to mention fun). I wholeheartedly can say it was worth the purchase.

1. HTC Inspire 4G – Being an Apple purist(?) I’ve been using the iPhone since it came out and every model in between. I love my iPhone 4 but I got this wild hair to try out an Android-based device. AT&T allowed me to use my upgrade early so I got an HTC Inspire 4G. The phone itself is overall, excellent. There are some drawbacks to it but they’re few and far between. The screen size is one of the best features — at 4.3″ it seems like a big screen compared to the 3.5″ iPhone 4. The downsize is the resolution is 480×800 which shows obvious pixelization in some graphics/movies. The build quality is overall quite good except for the battery cover and sim/micro SD cover. They’re plastic and are quite easy to scratch/break/bend etc. The Android OS is also awesome as it is much more open source unlike iOS which is very limited in the modding community. The phone was delivered on a Thursday so I used it over the weekend. I decided to return the phone in the end as it was simply too difficult using my vast iTunes library on the Droid. Another thing to mention is that the Android market is not policed nearly as much as iTunes, so you get some real crap in there. The whole time I was using the Droid I was longing for my iPhone 4 again. I’m happy to say that my iPhone 4 is back and working and it’s great!

For more information on the HTC Inspire 4G, check it out at AT&T’s website here
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2. Nook Color – My experience with the HTC Inspire 4G and the Android OS got me longing for a 2nd device to use as a companion to my iPhone. I could buy a contract-free Inspire 4G but I found a much better alternative… the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. It’s $250, has a nice sized screen and can be modded as it used Android as it’s base operating system. I have one on order from B&N and it should be here Friday. I bought the Nook Color, a silicon case and the 2 year protection plan. My intent is to run the Nook stock for a while to see what it has to offer. Once I decide to mod it, I’ll be going with the Cyanogen 7 mod. The installation seems to be a pain in the ass, but in the end, it’ll be worth it to give all the additional functionality. I downloaded Firefox 4 for the Droid when I had my HTC and I liked it, so I plan on loading it onto the Nook. I’ve played with the Nook before and I think it’s a great device. Being an Apple user, I actually prefer the size of the Nook Color’s screen over the iPad purely because to me, it’s just more portable. I love the iPad, but if I’m leaving the house, I’d most likely take the Nook over the iPad. Sorry Apple, but if you make a 7″ iPad, I’ll be all over it.

For more information on the Nook Color, visit Barnes & Noble’s Nook page here.

3. Firearm stuff – I have 2 interesting things to note on the firearms side of the house. 1 — I sent my Glock 26 slide to Glock so they can refinish it. They say it takes 6-8 weeks and so far, it seems like that time frame is accurate. The total cost for the refinish is around $68, $45 for the slide refinish and another $26 or so for a new night site. I hope it looks like it came from the factory when I get it back. The other thing to note is I’ve sent my recently purchased M&P 9C to Smith & Wesson for a defect in the polymer on the frame. I was starting to give up on S&W because it was almost a month before I sent the gun back, but the guns in the mail and we’ll see what S&W does to resolve the problem. This will be the decider as to whether or not I ever buy another S&W product again. I really hope it’s resolved because I truly want to get some more M&P models. They’re great guns.

4. Wine – I haven’t been drinking much wine lately. I’ve been so busy with everything I never get a change to open a new bottle. I’ve decided it’s time to start trying more varieties out so I’ll report back on that later on once I’ve had the opportunity to try some new wines.

5. Apple/Mac – I’ve recently purchase a new 11″ Macbook Air and have to say, for the size and specs, it’s a really quite fast considering. I love it. In most cases, I’d choose to use that over the iPad as it gives you a real keyboard and a full operating system. They’ve released the new Intel Sandy Bridge based iMacs however I’m in no need for an upgrade. Since I’m using Windows 7 64 Ultimate and a beefy PC along with my Mac stuff, I don’t feel the need to upgrade the iMac as often. In fact, I will most likely upgrade my iMac every 4-5 years or as long as it’s serviceable.

6. Photography – Last but not least is my interests in photography. I haven’t bought any new camera gear lately, however there’s quite a bit coming out I’m interested in purchasing. Some of those items include the 7D Mark II, the 16-35mm, 8-15mm fisheye, 24-70mm II, 70-200mm f2.8 II, and a few other lenses and items. My last photo trip was was back in March in Williamsburg. I take a lot of photos there as it’s close and normally there’s always something to take pictures of. My latest gallery can be seen here. Since the Tsunami has affected Japan, Canon has taken a bit of a hit on their product releases (understandably). Additionally, camera gear costs full MSRP or even more at this point due to shortages.