iOS5 Wireless Sync Issue: Resolved!

Wi-Fi sync button was grayed out on iPhone 4 after updating to iOS5. Much like in this discussion on apple.com. I was bummed. The discussion helped me figure it out.

So just in case you are having a similarly frustrating issues here's how I got it working on my phone:

Note: When I started I had the "Sync with this IPhone over Wi-Fi" box already checked from prior attempts. Running Windows 7, iTunes 10.5.

Combination:
Turned off Windows Firewall
Reset cable modem & wireless router

While iPhone connected by cable, unchecked "Sync with this...Wi-Fi" box.
Cable Sync
Checked "Sync with this...Wi-Fi
Cable Sync

Unplugged & worked!

BUT Then I turned on the firewall...killed the connection.
Turned off firewall
Went in to Inbound Rules
Deleted Bonjour Service Rules
Delteted iTunes Service Rules
Closed iTunes
Turned on firewall
Restarted iTunes
The Windows Security Alert popped up for iTunes.exe
Allowed access Private Network

Yahtzee.

Feel fairly certain it was the firewall all along, but resetting the modem & router probably didn't hurt.

Freebie Alert: Firehouse Subs + Coke Freestyle® = free drinks

While Moe's in Brandon (see Taco Stack review) had first Freestyle in the area, it looks like Firehouse subs has made a deal with Coke to use them in 21 locations in Tampa Bay area.

They're offering free drinks 4 - 6 p.m. Friday, 10/7/11 to celebrate the arrival of Coca-Cola Freestyle® .

Download Fall 2011 TV Premier Dates Calendar

I took the information from the metacritic.com Calendar of Premier Dates and made a Google calendar of the whole thing! Did you know Sanctuary is still on SyFy?! Wow.

Fast Food Review: Moe's Taco Stack

Moe's Southwest Grill unleashed a new limited-time menu item this week called the Taco Stack. Billed as a "worthy adversary" to the Homewrecker, the Taco Stack weighs in just over one pound and comes in steak, pork, or chicken variations. Each includes your choice of meat, with respective toppings, stacked between two hard corn shells and wrapped in a flour tortilla. Yes, it is a classy Crunchwrap Supreme®.

Dan Barash, executive chef of Moe’s Southwest Grill stated, "...this particular product is aimed to satisfy our fans with the biggest appetites", while the items are also billed as "...Offering a Serious Bang for Your Buck". The target of the new Taco Stacks seems to be the income-challenged, hungry every-person. The same group  for which the KFC's Double Down was created. So how did Moe's stack up to my famished, deal-seeking standards?

I chose the Pork Stack - pulled pork, grilled onions, pinto beans, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and queso. The whole thing was then grilled to firm it up and seal it together. The final step awkwardly removed it from the steady assembly line rhythm, but it was worth the extra minute. Presumably once the crew becomes accustomed to prepping it the production hiccup will cease.

The Stack had a nice dense heft upon lifting it out of the basket. Peace of Mind by Boston was playing as I peeled back the foil cover and took the first bite. The Stack's cheesy goodness coupled with the chewiness of the marinated meat made this dish a satisfying winner. It landed with a satisfying ker-plunk in my stomach. Guitar solo.

Cost Breakdown:
A Steak/Pork Homewrecker retails at $7.49. A side of queso is about $.99. All three Stacks are sans-rice and guacamole, with the Steak Stack using sour cream. There seems to be an extra scoop of meat on a Stack (compared to burrito) along with queso. So taking into account the fluctuating market, the threat of a double dip recession and a general lack of food for the day, the price was within acceptable levels for this frugal layman.

Nutritional Info:
The crew at the local Moe's took a guess of around 700 calories. Using Moe's Nutrition Calculator I looked up the Funk Meister Taco & Joey Bag of Donuts Burrito due to their similar basic ingredients to the Pork Taco Stack. I chose pork as the meat and added queso to both. Results: Funk Meister: 820 calories. Joey: 780. Best personal guess: 800-ish calories.

A request for official nutritional information was tweeted to "Moe's PR chick" @LBarash. There was no reply at time of completion of this post, but it is the weekend and I'll post an update once I hear back from her.

UPDATE: No official nutritional information available per @LBarash

Random Observation: 

• The corn shells were less noticeable, having mushed up a bit from the meat juice and queso. 

Suggested pop-culture referencing name for this new item:

• You're pitting it against the Homewrecker, so maybe a Cheaters reference? Perhaps "The Greco". 
• Is there any reference to Harry Potter that's not copyrighted? Hmm. "Dark Arts Defense"
• Agent of S.T.A.C.K.
• Greendale Study Group

R.E.M. & Everybody Else: 10 Songs For Doomsday

Foolish interwebbers, The End is nigh! Doomsday comes but every so often and tomorrow our time is up yet again. What form it will take is not totally understood, so here's a playlist to help save your some precious moments while preparing your futile survival kits, parties and/or U.S. Secret Service 5k strategies (4 AM setup for me, woohoo!)

1. "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," R.E.M., Document

It's the go to song, but take time to learn all the lyrics. Your friends will be mesmerized as you breath deep and effortlessly rattle off the verses. While they sit gaped mouthed waiting to join in on the chorus, kill them. It's about survival.

2. "Cold Brains," Beck, Mutations

They tried to warn us, but we didn't listen. The CDC has all but admitted the zombie virus will sweep across North America by this time tomorrow. Nothing left of humanity but rotted, mushy leftover brain bits on the ground. The few survivors will teach this song to their children as a warning, passing it down through the generations until it becomes a nursery rhyme. Future experts will scoff at those whom subscribe to the baseless zombie plague interpretation.

3.  "Come Sail Away," Styx, The Grant Illusion

Like children lured into a stranger's car with promises of puppies and candy, "we climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the skies". Then the raping began. Of the planet; we were food. Dr. Peter Venkman said it best, "Occasionally you meet a nice one; Starman, E.T., but usually they turn out to be some kind of big lizard!" 

4. "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Aerosmith, Armageddon Soundtrack

Really you could just use the whole soundtrack, but that's even more lyrics you would have to memorize and you don't have that kind of time. Nuclear winter will soon be here. This time you're the dinosaur. So pop in this song and get you some end of days nookie. You don't want to die a virgin, do you?

5. "Princes of the Universe," Queen, A Kind of Magic

Not all end of days have to be negative. Maybe we'll shed our bodies, becoming non-corporeal, immortal beings! What better song to celebrate our leveling up than the theme to Highlander? Maybe we'll hitch a ride on a starship hidden in a comets tail...hey, wait a minute. Shit; soul eating aliens.

6.  "Starting All Over Again," Mel and Tim

Per my quick Wikipedia research, many Native American mythologies believe in a cyclical interpretation of time. We're currently in the "4th World" and will progress to the "5th World". Think Mayans. Of course, we got till December 2012 by their calendar. So if tomorrow doesn't pan out, just keep this song handy for the end of next year. 

7. 'C' is for Cookie," Cookie Monster, Sesame Street: Platinum All-Time Favorites

It's good enough for furry, blue monsters, it's good enough for me. Don't panic. Stockpile milk and cookies, sit back and just ride out the coming end of days.

8. "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," Queens of the Stone Age, Rated R

C is also for Cristal and Cocaine. If cookies won't do it for you, hit the hard stuff. One final chance to get blitzed out of your mind before the world comes crashing down. Don't die regretting you never snorted coke off a whore's ass. Crank it to eleven and carpe diem. 

9. "Party Til You Puke," Andrew W.K., I Get Wet

For a full-out drunken orgy of denial. Combines the angst of 8 with the immortality of 5. They can have this world when they pry it from our dead, cold brains. Which the zombie aliens will then eat after they're done with the raping.

10. "Adagio for Strings," New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Schenck, The 50 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music

When the inevitable does occur, this beautiful piece by Samuel Barber is perfect as you are overwhelmed with images beyond your imagination. When real life happens in slow motion, this orchestral number will put Oliver Stone's direction to shame (piece was used in Platoon).