Nothing like a half-pound of pork to get you energized

I am ashamed to say this was my lunch today:

I was in such disbelief when the waitress delivered all this meat, that I had to take a picture. Co-worker Wayne Sutton thought this was funny, so he took a picture of me taking a picture of my pork:

So then I had to take a picture of him because I thought it was funny that he was playing with his iPhone while his pork was right in front of him:

We’re in Charlotte, and this BBQ was OK. But I’m always interested in good BBQ. Any suggestions of places I should go when I get back to the Triangle?

Ever wonder what happens when a bunch of gnomes play poker?

This is just the beginning. Blogger and co-worker Jeremy Baker spent a little too much time photographic his beloved gnomes, resulting in a pretty funny sequence of gnome photos. You can see how this scene played out on his “Gnomadic Gnome” blog.

In case you missed it and are confused about Jeremy’s love of all things gnomes … check out this video I made last month. It explains it all:

Fashion Blogging: A summer trip to the city leads to a man to some shoes

When David Millsaps bought these Diesel shoes in New York this summer, he took a little ribbing: “I got made fun of real bad by my friends for picking them up,” he said. I’m glad he decided to buy them anyway. Millsaps is one of the folks behind the New Raleigh blog. When I first met him last week, I couldn’t stop staring at his shoes. The pointed gray, leather-toed shoes jutting out from his jeans were so unusual. I don’t care what anyone says, there’s something to be said for men who sport stylish shoes.

And is wasn’t just Millsaps shoes that were stylish, his entire business casual look was well done. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but that Forsyth of Canada shirt is a woven combination of pinks and lavender. He said the thicker fabric makes the shirt versatile, allowing him to wear the designer shirts with just jeans or a full suit. The look was pulled together with a blue and red pinstriped navy blazer. The jacket is part of a Yves Saint Laurent suit he found at the Salvation Army.

Join me for lunch Friday

If you don’t have a lunch date Friday, consider being mine. I’ll be appearing along with some other Raleigh bloggers on a live stream “video snacking” event, and you can watch it all from the comfort of your desk while munching on your sandwich.

Here’s the deal. My co-worker/social media guru Wayne Sutton has invited four Raleigh bloggers to come to the NBC17 studio and appear in a live stream online starting at 12:15 p.m. Friday Feb. 15. Other bloggers appearing on the 30 to 45 minute show are:

* David Millsaps from the New Raleigh Blog
* Jason Peck from North Hills Buzz
* Teri Saylor from Miss Congeniality
* Doug Sutton (no relation to Wayne, but he does work at the station) from Raleigh Native Review

The best part is, if all goes well, you’ll be able to chat with us live. We’ll have our laptops on hand, so if you post some questions in the chat room, we’ll try to ask them on camera. This is the first time our station has done anything like this, so I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but I think it’s an awesome way to bring some attention to hard working local bloggers.

So if you want to watch, log on tomorrow at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mync

In the meantime, feel free to check out the blogs belonging to our guest bloggers and see if you come up with any questions!

50 Places You Might Not Expect to Find a Gnome

When I’m online and feel the need for a smile, there are a few places I turn to. One of them is the “Gnomadic Gnome” blog, which my co-worker introduced me to a few weeks ago. The photo blog features pictures of Gilbert — a garden gnome sporting an Ohio State outfit — in various places you wouldn’t expect to find a lawn ornament, such as Bourbon Street or a men’s restroom.

Since I work with the photographer behind the gnome-themed blog, I thought I’d let him tell you in his own words how it all got started.

As for the other entertaining things I turn to on the Internet to make me smile … three words: Charlie the Unicorn. What do you turn to on the Web to make you smile?