Poor Oversight at Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant

Asbury Park Press reported yesterday that the leaks of radioactive tritium at Oyster Creek could have been prevented and appears to have been covered up by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In case you are unfamiliar with the NRC, here is a description of what they do from their website...

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1974 to enable the nation to safely use radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while ensuring that people and the environment are protected. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, such as in nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements.

That all sounds great. I think government, and our tax dollars, should protect the public from corporate interests in massive public utilities like a nuclear power plant. But is sounds like the NRC released their initial report redacted because it contained "proprietary information". Since I would hope the NRC isnt making decisions about what a private company finds "proprietary", then I can only reason that the private company (Exelon, the multi-billion dollar energy conglomerate with close ties to the Obama white house Rahm Emanual and David Axelrod) asked that the NRC redact the information. And what information was that?

Oyster Creek had 23 significant, documented underground pipe leaks from 1980 to the present time. An 8-inch pipe that leaked in April 2009 also had leaked in July 1991, but the repair was only a temporary plug

sounds "proprietary" to me. So instead of doing their stated job and protecting the "people and the environment" the NRC is protecting the corporation they are supposed to be regulating. This is the same type of bulls--t that led to the gulf coast filling up with oil and the SEC dropping the ball on Madoff and the housing bubble.

Excellent article in The New Yorker about government regulation, why it sucks, and how to make it better.

Atlantic City hosts World Beer Pong Tour...rest of New Jersey cringes

Just when Jersey Shore residents thought they had heard enough of Snooki and The Situation, The Resorts Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City decided our cultural stew needed a touch more seasoning. Instead of just embracing the caricature of the Jersey Shore, they did a keg stand, poured a beer on their head and gave it a flying chest bump.

Yes, the World Beer Pong Tour just wrapped up in AC. In case you missed, you can see some pictures here. Ill save you the jump, its a bunch of dudes in t-shirts with no sleeves, baseball caps turned backwards (helps with the rotation of the ball) and a lot of drunken hugging. By the way, its called the "World" Beer Pong Tour because it includes Canada, or maybe some Canadians which I am sure makes the other 95% of the "World" dizzy with the association.

I'm not trying to come down hard on the "sport",

"No one is here to get drunk or act like fools,'' said Sam Pines, commissioner of the tour and a beer pong fanatic who picked up the game at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in 2006. "It's a little rowdy, but it's like any other sporting event. It's all about competition and skill.'' Asbury Park Press

but I have to call bulls**t. I played my share of beer pong in college (the appropriate venue) and I can assure you, everyone was playing to get drunk and act like fools. Maybe that's why it feels like there has been a violation of some natural order. Beer pong at its purest, its most honest, is an act of rebellion. Its taking a very safe game played in suburban family rooms under the approving eye of parents; then breaking the paddles, drawing on the table and throwing up on the rug. Postmodern freedom! Don't tell me its about competition and skill.

And this weeks sign of the apocalypse, companies are now selling beer pong paraphernalia. Kids, don't fall into this trap. If you are going to play pong, at least make your own equipment.

In case anyone missed this, and i realize its a stale internet meme, but here is some live action beer pong footage played by one of the greats...Betty White vs Jimmy Fallon about 1:00 in




cheers,

Belmar Seafood Festival

This past weekend was the Belmar Seafood Festival.  It was a great feast of sea food.  I don't even know how many vendors there where.  But if I had to guess I would say about 70 food vendors and maybe another 30 non-food related vendors, but who cares about them.  I went to eat food and lots of it. Luckily for me, I went with my dad.  I owe all of my mass eating skills to him.  If I see people eating it makes me want to eat, and the same goes for him.  This means when we eat together, it's pretty much an eating fest.

And now the time you all have been waiting for... the food.

The first item on the menu was a lobster roll.  I'm not really a big lobster fan.  It doesn't have much taste to me, so it just tastes like whatever it's coated in.  It has a lot of  hype and is expensive for not having its own taste.  My dad was the one who wanted it, but I of course had to have a bite or three.  It wasn't bead because of the dressing it had, but I could take it or leave it.

Up next, from the local restaurant Matisse, comes some spiced teriyaki mussels and fried calamari.  I would have liked the mussels better if they didn't have the extra spices.  They didn't dissolve enough in the teriyaki sauce so it had a gritty taste to it.  The calamari didn't have much hope.  They were very white and we got them as soon as we ordered them which lead us to believe they were already cooked and sitting there.  However, they were really good.  The calamari was really tender and there was a nice crunch to them.  They were one of my favorite items we got at the festival.

We were fortunate enough to find a table with four seats.  We ended up staying there for a bit, with us going one at a time to get food.  The next restaurant we got food from was Pepper Jack Grille.  I'm not really sure where this is located or even if it's a restaurant.  We got an Avocado and Crab Taco and a Crab Melt Pita.

The taco wasn't really a taco at all.  I'm not even sure why they call it a taco because it was more like a wrap.  I liked the inside because it was creamy and the crispy wrap made it a nice contrast.  The pita was similar that the filling, but really topping, was creamy and the wrap (pita) was crunchy.  However the pita was really really crunchy.  Crunchy as in rock crunchy.  And rock crunchy is not good crunchy.

The next place doesn't even have a name.  The reason I went here though, is to try something I have never tried before.  I got fried alligator. It was weird, but mostly because I kept thinking that I was eating alligator.  It tasted mostly like fried food.  The batter had a nice seasoning to it and of course since the gator was from Louisiana I had to have some Louisiana hot sauce.  The gator itself was kind of like chicken but softer.  To me it tasted like fatty chicken but not really fatty.  I don't know if I would order it again, but I wouldn't turn it down if it was given to me.

This is about the time we were on our way out of the festival. But we couldn't just leave the festival, that would be ridiculous.  So we walked very slowly and tried a couple of more placed on the way out.

The first thing we got on our home stretch was a crab cake sandwich.  It doesn't really look like much, just there with a crab cake and some bread.  But in fact it was amazing.  The crab cake had a nice crunchy (not rock crunchy, don't worry) outside and a really soft crab filled inside.  To be fair, last year we got a crab cake from the same place and loved it, so I knew what I was getting into.  The sign did not have a name on it, unfortunately, so I will have to wait until next year to get another one.

The last stop on the food train was ... ok so I don't have a name for this place either.  I wonder how many of these places are actually restaurants and how many are just food vendors with no names.  Anyway,  We got the Voodoo Shrimp and Pineapple Skewer.  The shrimp were nice and big and had a nice cajun seasoning.  The pineapple, on the other hand, was not nice and big.   But I don't think I was in the mood for the sweetness of the pineapple, so I didn't feel bad leaving them.

So that was the Belmar Seafood Festival from my perspective.  There was a ton of food and I didn't even break the surface. If any of you went to the seafood festival, tell me about your experience.

Sounds at Sunset

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had our first night out alone since the birth of our baby girl! We had such a wonderful time at none other than "Sounds at Sunset" on the Fair Haven docks! Yet another perk of the Jersey Shore at summertime...

The weather was perfect, there was a beautiful sunset, not a bug in sight, and a gorgeous view of the calm river. Kids were splashing in the water as their parents (while keeping a close eye on the kids, I HOPE!) listened to the upbeat sounds of River Road Band. The bass player of this band was particularly wonderful (Go Walt!)

We sat and ate our take-out from Rumson's own Murray MacGregors (YUM!) and bopped our heads to the music. Little girls danced with their daddies, and little boys ran around like maniacs. Neighbors were chatting, and new friendships were being formed. As the sun continued to set, the little ones were ushered home for bedtime, but the night was not over - darkness brought a dance party! It literally looked as though the dock was transformed into a wedding reception!

We left before it ended because I missed my teeny baby, even though she was sound asleep in her bed - so I'm not sure what time the band actually stopped playing. And off we drove, with windows down, fresh air rushing into the car, singing "Livin' on a Prayer"... back home to relieve the grandparents of their first (of many?) babysitting duties. It was a perfect evening out...well... maybe not perfect...I wanted to end it with an ice cream cone from Crazees, but from the looks of it, we would have been waiting in line for 3 and a half hours, so we passed on that part! Don't worry though, the hubs scooped me some from our freezer when we got home! ;)

If you have not attended one of these Sounds at Sunsets, I highly, highly, highly suggest it! It's a great date night, family activity, or a night out with friends - make it whatever you want it to be. There are two more left this summer - go, go, go!

Oh Jersey Shore, how I love thee....

Pizza Fusion

Pizza Fusion

There is a relatively new pizza place that opened up in Red Bank. This isn't your ordinary Anthony's or Brothers' pizzeria. This place is named Pizza Fusion and their motto is "Saving The Earth, One Pizza at a Time." They are saving the Earth by helping people be healthy by offering whole wheat and gluten free pizza in addition to their regular pizza, and organic mozzarella, soy cheese and hormone and preservative free meats. They also use hybrid cars, bio-degradable utensils and containers and 100% post consumer toilet paper.

So all of that is a nice bonus, but what I like about this place is the food. I ordered a personal size, regular crust Big Kahuna pizza, which comes with bacon, red onion and pineapple. It wasn't until the pizza came out that I found out it was thin crust. Our waitress was nice and the pizza was very good. Over all it was a good experience.

I give Pizza Fusion...

And the winner is...

A big Jersey Shore-style congrats to the "Name Our Blog" winner, Kim Conley! Among her dozens of brilliant ideas, we loved "Get the Drift!" It's simple, catchy, relevant, and captures the spirit of the shore perfectly! Thank you for your hard work of brainstorming the perfect title for us, Kim!

Here is a photo of the beauty with brains celebrating her big win, with an iced coffee from none other than The Java Stop:

Munchmobile Hot Dog Showdown & BeerFest

First off I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jason and I'm a foodie. I've been eating for about 25 years and I feel like I'm getting pretty good at it. I more recently started cooking food and that too I am pretty good at. I enjoy the food I make, so I guess I can say I am really good at it. I even started writing my own food blog, which I have to admit that I took a little break for a month or so but am back in action.

So I am here to talk about food. Whether it's a food festival, new restaurant or even recipes made with local ingredients, food is what I like, so that is what I will talk about.