New Thing #25: Fibble

This post could have easily been "Going To Starbucks And Ordering Something Other Than What I Usually Do". I kind of thought that's what it was going to be when I walked into Starbucks.

See, I'm a Dunkin' Donuts guy. And if I go to Starbucks, it's usually to get a Grande Cafe Mocha and then get the heck out of there. (Maybe an iced one. Or a frappuccino in the spring or summer.)

But I stopped for a pick-me-up drink on Thursday and last-minute the words "Caramel Macchiato" came out of my mouth.

I thought I'd try it as a "New Thing", but I know I've had one of those before (maybe my wife ordered it for me), and I didn't feel good about it.

Then I saw that instead of a free music iTunes pick of the week, they had an "App" pick of the week at the counter.

And we had "New Thing #25".

It's called "Fibble". (Well, "Fibble HD", but I don't know if the high-def makes a difference.)

It's a $0.99 App, and I got it for free (thanks, Starbucks...and I do feel that if I'm spending $4.45 for a coffee I'm grabbing whatever free stuff is being offered).

Its card bills it as "A visually breathtaking puzzler". I'm not so sure about that. Maybe, as my 6-year-old daughter said, "It's like 'Angry Birds' just with aliens instead of birds." That's more accurate.

The puzzle aspect is coming through the further into the game I get, though - you do have to strategize and each level is progressively harder than the last.

My video game days are far behind me. My friend Kevin, I think, introduced many of my friends - my wife and I at least - to 'Angry Birds'. I feel kind of old admitting what struck me the most about the game, but I was surprised that you can lose lives and pick up right where you left off. And then without saving anything you can stop playing and then pick up where you left off the next time you play. I guess I was just used to always needing to save your progress on video games, like when I was growing up. All of these app games seem to be the same - you can just come and go as you please.

What I haven't liked about Fibble so far is that every time I open it (twice, that is) it goes through the iTunes GameCenter, which I haven't really been interested in signing up for. I am able to play bypassing all that though. What I like is that it's fun to pass a few minutes, but it's not terribly addicting. The last thing I need right now is an addictive video game. I get a kick out of how my daughters like watching the game.

I usually come late to these game trends, like with 'Angry Birds'. I don't know that Fibble is going to become as trendy and popular as 'Angry Birds'. But I kind of like that I discovered something on my own (OK, assist to Starbucks) while it's relatively new.

New Thing #24: Readers Choice Awards

This little experiment is a chance for me to try many of those things that I always think I'd enjoy but I haven't gotten around to trying yet. One such thing is the "Readers Choice Awards" in the local newspaper - in my case, the Framingham Tab.

Every year I see the ballot and, I have to admit, it's tempting. There's something about a blank sheet in a newspaper, waiting to be filled in ink - kind of like a blank NCAA Tournament bracket, or a crossword - that I find irresistible.

But then I let time go by, and the blank ballot sits unfilled until I finally put it in the recycling pile.

And then the results come out, and I enjoy reading through them, but I think it's a shame that I didn't have my say.

Well, not this year.

This year I put down my choice for the best local pediatrician, the best gift shop, and of course, our favorite furniture store. I even played the good employee and wrote in my school for "Best Summer Camp".

There were 79 blanks, and we filled out 42 of them - so we're not just throwing kudos around to fill a blank slot here. We're only voting for the best of the best, which is what the Readers Choice Awards are all about. (You need to fill in at least 10 for your ballot to qualify.)

(For what it's worth, I don't love that they don't have an apostrophe after 'Readers'...but I guess they're going for more than one reader making a choice rather than the choice belonging to the reader. I don't agree with it...but they're entitled to their logo.)

So I filled out my ballot. Now I just have to make sure I get it in the mail before the February 13th deadline.

New Thing #23: New Dining Room Set

I wrote last week about how much I enjoyed our visit to Bob's Discount Furniture a little more than a week ago. Part of what made it such a great shopping experience was some cool furniture...including what would become our new dining room table.

But the table isn't the whole story - there's the chairs, of course.

And the bench.

The bench?

Yes, the bench.

How cool is this?

We really liked two tables - one your more traditional table and chairs, and the other a table and chairs and bench.

We ended up going with the one with the bench. Six chairs and a bench, to be exact. (We still have a kid in a high chair, so right now five chairs, a bench, a high chair, and an extra chair in the living room.)

We were actually worried it was going to be too big for our dining room, but it had a leaf so we thought we'd only use the leaf if necessary.

Turns out with the leaf it's perfect.

It's nice to have a meal without the table wobbling, sitting in chairs that you're confident will support you.

And I like that my daughters are going to grow up with the coolest dining room table on the block.

New Thing #22: Ben and Kate

"Ben and Kate" is a wonderful show. Yes, I said wonderful.

It's probably my favorite new show on TV. Or my new favorite show. Or both.

It's part situation comedy...part situation drama. But not too dramatic. And it's not the funniest show you'll watch.

It's just a really, really good TV show.

I'm stretching the meaning of "new" for this "New Thing", by the way.

I started watching "Ben and Kate" very late in 2012, and then caught up on all the episodes either even later in 2012 or early 2013. But it's still new enough that it qualifies as one of my "New Things In 2013"...and I'm telling you about it on a Tuesday so you can watch it tonight.

When I started watching "Ben and Kate", at the indirect suggestion of my friend Kevin (he tweeted about it), I expected it to be a drop-dead funny show. I don't know why - I guess I figured as a lead-in to "New Girl" (also one of my favorite new shows, though I feel like it's a well-established veteran at this point) it had to be funny. I expected to be laughing non-stop. What I did not expect was that I'd be brought to the verge of tears. It's quite touching. (For what it's worth, I went in expecting "Ben" and "Kate" were romantically involved. But they're brother and sister. Which is the root of much of the touchiness. The emotional touchiness. That other thing would be sick.)

That's not to say it's not funny at all. It is. It has everything. I guess that means it's extremely well-written...but not to the point where I'm sitting there analyzing everything that goes on. It's just a solid half-hour of TV. (My friend Justin was the one who pointed out to me that Nat Faxon, who plays Ben, won an Oscar as one of the writers of 'The Descendants", which could be why I seemed to recognize him when I first started watching the show.)

I enjoy the show. And it's so good I'm sure I would enjoy the show whether or not what I'm about to say was true...but it's true, and it's part of why I quickly became enamored with the show: I have a crush on Kate Fox.

To be clear: I do not have a crush on Dakota Johnson, though she is an attractive woman and all. (She's the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith...I think it goes without saying she's attractive.) I have a crush on Kate Fox. The TV character. She might be my favorite TV character going right now - she's smart, funny, goofy, somewhat socially awkward, but in an adorable way, and she'd do anything for her daughter. "Ben and Kate" is a good show...I'd watch "Just Kate" if that existed.

The other characters on the show - Ben, Tommy, BJ - they're all strong too. It's worth your time to check it out. 8:30 on Fox.

New Thing #21: The Lumineers

I think lately I have a "type" when it comes to musical taste. I like something really upbeat, something happy.

I didn't know what to expect from The Lumineers album other than the fact that I liked "Ho Hey" a lot.

But as it turned out, it wasn't all that different from Mumford & Sons, which I wrote about a week ago.

Which is a long way of saying: I like the album.

I have a few things to say about The Lumineers' eponymous album. (I'm so glad I got to use the word 'eponymous'!) One is that other than the catchiness, Mumford & Sons was not the first band that comes to mind when I heard the album - there are more direct parallels than that. The closest comparison, I think, that I can make is David Gray. Very similar singing voices there. Musically, they remind me a lot of my brother, actually, and it reinforced my belief that his music is better than good and would be enjoyed by a wider audience than currently exists. (But it's growing. He'll be fine. And while we're at it - click here, watch his video, and click "Support Now" to help get him a wider audience. Maybe you'll have more success than I did trying to support him - the 'support' link wasn't working for me. Thank you for helping out.)

Back to The Lumineers: Besides "Ho Hey" there are a number of good songs on the album - I particularly like "Submarines", "Stubborn Love", "Big Parade", and "Dead Sea". (I didn't even realize the timeliness of The Lumineers for this "Music Monday". They performed on 'Saturday Night Live' this week, and in addition to "Ho Hey" they played "Stubborn Love". They were good live too.)

There's a really raw feeling to the album. It's definitely not over-produced, but it seems like they went out of their way to make it sound simple. You can kind of hear that when you hear "Ho Hey" on the radio - there's background noise. There are a few of those instances on the album. It works. It makes you feel like you're listening to the band at some music hall.

This is exactly what I was hoping would happen with '365 New Things In 2013' and  the "Music Monday" aspect of that venture - I think I have a new favorite band. I'm bummed I didn't get this album in time to go to their show in Boston in early February, but at least now I know to keep an eye out for the next time they're in town. I definitely want to see them live.

**Side note: I think the first time I heard "Ho Hey" might have been in the commercials for 'Silver Linings Playbook' back when that movie first came out. (Then I think I started hearing it on the radio.) But I bet the song has nothing to do with the movie, and isn't even on the soundtrack. (Do they still make soundtracks?) I remember this happening a lot in the past 20 years or so...and weirdly, I feel like 'Twister' used a really good song in its commercials that had nothing to do with the movie. I wonder what the deal is there where a company decides to use a song to help promote a movie but then they part ways and have nothing to do with one another. It's mutually beneficial I'm sure. Of course, I haven't seen 'Silver Linings Playbook' yet, so it may be in there and this whole point is moot. But I hope you get my point and I'm not the only one noticing this. Anyway. I also like The Lumineers' website. Check it out - I endorse this band.

New Thing #20: Stuff You Should Know (The TV Show)

I can't remember the first podcast I listened to. I do know that "Stuff You Should Know" was among the first.

I went to iTunes with the express purpose of finding a podcast that would help me learn something new.

I saw "Stuff You Should Know", from a website called HowStuffWorks.com, on the Top 10 list and tried it out.

I quickly got hooked, and like I do with all things that hook me, I had to go back and listen to all of it.

Luckily there wasn't much that I had missed and it didn't take me all that long to catch up (although I probably spent more time on it than I should admit), and I've listened as it grew from a podcast to, now, also a television show.

Saturday night "Stuff You Should Know", the TV show, debuted on the Science Channel.

Here's a quick rundown of the podcast - Josh (pictured, left) and Chuck (pictured, right) tackle a question that was researched on their site, and banter as they talk about the research.

The podcast went from 4-5 minute tidbits with Josh and a couple of other different people before Chuck became the permanent co-host and the show extended to 18 minutes to 40 minutes per episode.

It's all so simple, but it's very, very good. A lesser man might get jealous because of how simple the formula is and how successful that formula has been...but Josh and Chuck are so likeable  that you root for them to succeed with whatever venture they're involved in.

And now it's a TV show.

My biggest fear going into the show was how the podcast would translate - in other words, there's a loyal following of the podcast, but I'm sure for a TV show like this to succeed it needs to develop a larger following. So does the TV show cater only to the existing fans, or is it universal enough so that anyone can watch and be entertained?

After two episodes, I'm leaning towards the latter. (Although I think that remains to be seen, because I'm looking at it through biased lenses.) I hate to admit it, but I wasn't expecting the show to be great - I thought it would be cringe-worthy at times. It wasn't.

The theme song was somewhat cringe-worthy. At the very least it may be a verse too long. But everything else was pretty good - the shows were funny, the plots were well-written - true to the podcast and drawn out into a half-hour episode, and Chuck and Josh were really good actors. Surprisingly good. That was my biggest takeaway.

If I've sold you on it, "Stuff You Should Know" now has its own website, with all kinds of extra information. The Science Channel airs "Stuff You Should Know" Saturday nights at 10pm. The episodes will also be available the next day on-line...and the first show, a funny one about Alien Hand Syndrome, is being offered now for free.

New Thing #19: Joshua Tree

Went to a new place last Saturday night. It's a restaurant in Somerville called "Joshua Tree".

I think I had heard of it, but I'd never been there.

But I had been in that area.

Here's the thing about Somerville - it's confusing. Really confusing.

There are all these squares: Davis Square, Central Square, Inman Square, Porter Square, and then Cambridge is there too with Harvard Square and others. (It's quite possible the other squares I mentioned are in Cambridge and not Somerville. Is Somerville part of Cambridge? It's difficult.)

After about 8 or 9 years of experience with Somerville (For my first 5 or 6 years in the area I rarely ventured across the river from the area around Boston University. And if I did, it was underground on the train and I think I had no idea where I was geographically.) I think I'm finally figuring it out - and Saturday was a big turning point for me. For the first time I got that Davis Square is slightly north of Porter Square, and I found my way home easily, which is not the norm for me coming from Somerville.

As for Joshua Tree (sorry about the fuzzy picture), even though it's the first new bar/restaurant on the list, I didn't really try anything new there. I'd like to tell you I at least tried a new beer, but they had Allagash White on tap, and "New Things" or not, I just couldn't pass that up.

So maybe I'll go back and try the food or something before the end of the year.

The good news is I'll have an easier time finding the place.

New Thing #18: Taking My Daughter To The Doctor

As mentioned previously, my wife is back to working from an office. As such, for the first time with 3 kids, I'm fair game to miss work for a child "emergency" (nothing terrible, but for lack of a better term here I'll go with emergency qualified by quotation marks).

For 4 years my wife was home to take one of the girls to the doctor at the drop of a hat if need be.

On Thursday, though, my number came up.

First of all, understand I'm not complaining. I did it, and I was happy to do it. (Well, not happy, because one of my girls is sick...but you know, I'm not whining about it. That kind of happy.) It's just that, in the dividing up of adult tasks between me and my wife, she is the better option when it comes to taking the kids to the doctor. I'll go along if need be, but when it comes to medications and medical terms and insurance and all of the things that go along with a trip to the doctor, we both know she's our better bet.

Second of all, it's not like our girls are sickly. Thank goodness, this is a rare instance where we've kind of had to drop everything to get one of our girls to the doctor. We're lucky.

OK, so on with the "New Thing". My wife called shortly before dismissal at school to tell me that day care had called to say our youngest should probably go home. She was coughing a lot. My wife thought I should take her to the doctor's too. So as soon as school was over I took our oldest, picked up the sick child, and made it in time for the appointment.

It all went smoothly. I think I kept straight all the info the doctor dumped on me. Then we went back to daycare, picked up my middle child, and got home and had our dinner.

Verdict: Ear Infection.

And life once again proves to be somewhat idiot-proof: Apparently I can handle a trip to the pediatrician's by myself.

New Thing #17: Bob's Discount Furniture

I hate the commercials for Bob's Discount Furniture. I never saw them until I moved to Massachusetts.

I don't know if that's because they started here or not, but I do know that now they're on in New York as well. I'm sure that before the year 2000 or so they were not.

Regardless, they're annoying commercials.

But I discovered this past week that the store is fantastic.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the need for a new dining room set became urgent this week.

On Saturday we went to Bob's to see what they had.

We ended up with a great new dining room set. (Stay tuned - when it arrives it'll certainly be a "New Thing".)

But we also ended up with a great new experience. First of all, the store has some pretty great furniture and compared to other local furniture stores the prices are great. (I'm always amazed at how expensive things are at Jordan's Furniture, which prides itself on its 'underprices'. "If those are underprices I'd hate to see their overprices," I like to say. No one likes me saying it.) But even better, there's a little fish pond inside the store, which the girls loved, and there's also a cafe with what I believe are free snacks and beverages.

I don't know exactly what's in the cafe - I didn't venture there yet. I didn't want to take the girls back there and have them wanting all the snacks.

But I figure I can just do it next time. Because I'll most certainly be back.

New Thing #16: Farro

I suppose I see a difference between white rice and brown rice. And I understand different preparations of rice, like mixing in peas or something like that.

But I'm not sure I see the need for different kinds of grains.

As far as I'm concerned, you've had one kind of grain, you've had them all.

Last week my wife made farro with dinner.

It was OK.

It was a new food, so I'm glad we tried it.

But I looked it up further - though it can be eaten by itself it's usually used as an ingredient in salads and soups, which makes sense. I think I've seen it before...and I've probably eaten it somewhere else before in some form.

But that's the thing with grains - who knows? They're so similar.

I'm pretty open to trying anything new the rest of 2013...except, I think, more grains.

New Thing #15: Back To The Office (For My Wife)

For the past four years, I think, my wife has worked from home. We've been lucky that she's had steady work since she's stopped working full-time...but also because there are certain conveniences that come for a family of five when one of the parents is working from home.

But now she's back to work - three days a week in an office, anyway.

And I think we're all prepared for those to be three pretty hectic days a week.

Monday was our first run-through. It went OK.

For me, it was a Monday that wasn't as busy as most. So the jury is still out...Mondays are usually my busiest day and we'll see how the end of the day feels when I'm tired and dinner has to be made and the kids have to get to bed and we have to start all over on Tuesday.

(I realize that this new quandary for us is a five-day-a-week issue for some people. More power to them. I'm simply pointing out it's new to us.)

In an ideal world, I'll be able to leave work early enough on Mondays that I'll have dinner waiting for everyone else when they get home. That's the goal...we'll see if it happens.

The good news? Next Monday's a holiday.

So we won't have to worry about it for two more weeks.

New Thing #14: Mumford & Sons (Babel)

I think it's safe to say at this point that I'll like anything by Mumford & Sons that makes it onto the radio. I'd bet most people do - it's catchy stuff.

Makes you want to get up and dance or tap your foot or something like that.

I suppose a whole album can't be that good.

But I'd still recommend their latest.

Before we talk about 'Babel', the new Mumford & Sons album (well, it's been out for a while, but I just listened to it, hence "New Thing #14"), let's talk about 'Sigh No More', the last Mumford & Sons album. It's a pretty high bar they've set for themselves. That's a pretty good first 4-5 songs, and I absolutely love the first 4, followed by "Little Lion Man", which I think was their first hit, at Track #7.

'Babel' has almost more of an up-tempo feel throughout the album (the title track is, like the last album, the first song on the album. I wonder how often that happens. And, like the song 'Sigh No More', 'Babel' the song is pretty good.), and it also has a strong first 7 or so songs.

Among those first 7 is "I Will Wait", easily my favorite Mumford & Songs song. (I've heard it countless times and I still can't figure out all the words. I wonder if that's due to their style or me getting older?) I think "I Will Wait" sounds even better in the context of the album than by itself. There's an interesting thing about 'Babel' - many of the songs are linked. There's a hum (I'm sure there's a better musical term here, but I'll use 'hum'...or 'undertone'. Is that a thing?) that builds up at the end of one song and blends right into the next. It's not constant, but there's definitely a strong flow to the album. If you're just listening without looking at the switching of tracks you can't really tell when one song ends and another one begins. Sometimes I think that's a bad thing...but on this album it's great.

"Lover of the Light" is also a good one - that's the new single. At least, I'm pretty sure I heard it on the radio before I heard it here.

And an unexpected surprise - a cover (which the description says features Paul Simon, though I couldn't pick him out on the song) of Simon's "The Boxer" - one of three bonus tracks.

I like Mumford & Sons. I like this album. Take it for what it's worth.

New Thing #13: Turkey Sausage Sandwich

Sundays tend to be Dunkin' Donuts days around here. I'll usually partake in a breakfast sandwich and a donut.

I have a few "go-to"'s that I rotate through, but I'll usually try one of their new sandwiches when those come out.

Hence, the turkey sausage sandwich.

The default bread for the turkey sausage sandwich is an English muffin. I might try it out on a bagel or something in the future.

It's fine.

But I don't know why it's any different from a regular sausage sandwich. It might be a little spicier. Is turkey sausage healthier?

I don't really know what sets it apart.

But I'll tell you what I do know: a few years ago Dunkin' Donuts had a maple sausage sandwich on a bagel that might very well have been the greatest sandwich to ever grace this earth. I feel like it's a fall sandwich...but it hasn't been seen since.

I hope they bring that back.

It's better than the turkey sausage sandwich.

New Thing #12: Cleaning The Christmas Tree Stand

This either goes in the category of "You've never done that before, John? That's stupid." OR "Well, there's something I also hadn't thought of." Are you supposed to clean the Christmas tree stand?

Because I did this year, for the first time ever.

Here's what's weird about this, though: I got the idea from a comic strip. I read that line about scrubbing "the gunk out of the tree stand" and I thought to myself, "Do people scrub the gunk out of the tree stand? I've never done that."

So as part of my de-Christmas-ing the house this year, I ran some soapy water through the Christmas tree stand. (Truth be told, I didn't really scrub the gunk.)

I don't know how I feel about it though. True, the tree stand looks as nice as it has since I bought it. And true, it does get awfully gunky. But it has no other use than to get gunky. It's not like from January through November we drink from the thing and then in December decide to prop up a tree in it. It has one use: get gunky from propping up a tree. (Unless 'sit in the garage for 11 months' is a use.)

At the very least, I've washed the tree stand for the first time in six years. Maybe I'll do it again in 2019.

New Thing #11: A Beard

I have a beard. It's the third time in my life I've grown a beard, so it's not exactly new.

But I would argue any time I grow a beard it's something new.

First of all, each time it comes in, it's a little grayer than it was before.

But if you know me, I'm sure that if you close your eyes and picture what I look like, it's a clean-shaven face.

A beard for me is somewhat new.

The beard won't be permanent. At some point I'll get tired of it and I'll shave.

But it's a fun novelty for a while.

The first time I grew a beard was two years ago. I grew it in the spring, and when the weather got too warm it became too itchy and uncomfortable. So I shaved it, but vowed to grow it back the following year in the winter.

I did. I started it around Christmastime when I was off from school, and it lasted a little into February, I think. It had a shorter duration than I expected.

How long will this one last? I'm not sure. I know I will definitely lose it by April, when I have an event that I do not want to have a beard for. Right now, though, we're in a great place. It's reached a good length - it looks grown-in enough that I don't have to qualify it as a 'work-in-progress', and it's not long enough to need any maintenance yet.

One of the prime benefits of the beard for me is the time it saves me in the morning. I no longer have to shave every morning before work. (A once-or-twice-a-week clean-up around the beard is much less of a morning time commitment.) The family (my wife and daughters) doesn't love it, but I think the fact that everyone knows it isn't permanent is a mark in my favor.

But...how can a non-permanent beard remain permanent? Well, that's another "New Thing" that's coming up much sooner than I expected. Stay tuned for an update.

New Thing #10: Breaking A Chair By Sitting In It

Spoiler Alert: One of the upcoming "New Things" was going to be a trip to a furniture store to buy new dining room furniture. That's going to have to happen sooner rather than later.

During dinner Wednesday night, the chair I was sitting in went right out from under me.

And it was kind of hilarious.

A couple of things you need to know:

1) I have been thinking an awful lot about my weight lately. This incident did me no favors.

2) The dining room table and chairs are hand-me-downs. My wife and I have had them for almost ten years now...and they go back in her family much farther than that.

So they were definitely on the way out. We'd have to pop the dowels connecting the legs to the seat back in every once in a while to make sure the chairs weren't getting too flimsy.

That's kind of what made this so hilarious. As I was eating Wednesday, I felt the chair shift when one of the dowels popped out. I bent to look to my right, to see if it was something I could quickly fix. And when I shifted my weight, the chair totally gave.

My daughters (and, to a slightly lesser extent, my wife) were quite concerned, so that was a nice side result. But I was fine. (Other than my hurt pride. Seriously, no matter what your weight situation - I'm definitely not too overweight - a chair breaking under you is going to do some ego damage.)

This could have been a funny "New Thing" even if I had staged it, allowing it to break below me, cartoon-style, knowing the chair was going to break someday.

The fact that it happened organically makes it even better.

New Thing #9: The Scottish Word 'Tartle'

One of my favorite times of the week is Sunday late morning/early afternoon, when I sit down to do my crossword. Crosswords, actually.

I love doing the New York Times one, so I save that for last, and I start with the Boston Globe crossword.

But I hate when the puzzle's theme is a quote.

I feel like, if I don't know what the quote is, I have no shot at 4 or 5 of the long "across" answers. And then I'm relying heavily on getting many of the "downs", and that just doesn't go well with my crossword strategy.

Anyway, this past Sunday's Globe crossword was similar to the quote ones, though it wasn't a quote - it involved 5 across lines leading up to the big clue: "The Scottish Word 'Tartle'":

And this was the rare instance when I was able to figure out the definition (i.e. the "quote") and solve most of the puzzle, rather than giving up halfway through.

Turns out, the definition of 'tartle' is "to hesitate while you are introducing someone because you have forgotten their name."

I was not only pleased that I figured out the puzzle, but also so intrigued by this word that I looked it up, and indeed it was true. I just think "Pardon my tartle" is such a charming expression.

So this was a new crossword experience for me.

Consider yourself warned, though - there's an Irish definition of the same word from the north of Ireland that carries a significantly different meaning.

New Thing #8: El Diablo Shrimp

Here we go - my first time writing about food. Last Friday night we went to one of the restaurants the girls love - Margarita's, a Mexican restaurant with a number of locations in New England.

I planned on getting something new to me...but along with the menu was a list of "additions" which the restaurant was trying out for future inclusion on the menu.

Jackpot.

I ordered the "El Diablo Shrimp".

Now, time was, all I needed to see was the word "shrimp" to be sold on a menu item. Over the years, I've become less crazy about shrimp - I'm more inclined to be automatically sold on something if it has the word "avocado" in there - but I still love shrimp. So this was kind of a no-brainer decision...it stood out among the other "additions" items. (I imagine this is a dish that exists elsewhere, by the way...for the record, I've never had it before.)  The shrimp was sauteed, covered with cheese, and served on a bed of sauteed spinach. It also came with two tortillas, which I used like bread but also like a wrap, putting some shrimp, spinach, and tortilla together a couple of times to mix things up.

It was a little spicier than I expected (the description said nothing about there being a bite to the meal, but maybe the "diablo" in the title was a hint), but it didn't matter. It was good.

As part of ordering from the "additions" menu, the restaurant also asked me to fill out a little survey, which I was happy to do.

As far as food experiences go, this one featured an item not yet on the menu and a survey after I ate.

I'd say that's about as new as a dining experience can get for me.

New Thing #7: The Modern Lovers

Each week on Monday I'm hoping to talk about some new music I've encountered along this journey of '365 New Things In 2013'. It may be brand-new music, or a brand-new band. It could be a single, it could be an entire album. It may be something that's been around forever that I've never heard before.

This week it's a band that I didn't know anything about, and it's perfect for a number of reasons as a kick-off for 'Music Monday'.

I'm going to be relying on some outside help for 52 weeks' worth of new music to write about.

One person I'll be turning to often will be my brother, a musician in his own right.

Another person whose judgment in music I trust is my friend Justin. Allow me to give you some background: Justin and I met as freshmen at Boston University. I think our first encounter happened at a meeting for the college radio station, and we paired up to do a sports show. Eventually that led to us also co-hosting a music show. My musical tastes were very narrow back then, and Justin exposed me to a lot of music then that it would be embarrassing for me not to know of now.

And now he'll do it again.

When I asked him for ideas his first suggestion was for me to go to YouTube and look up "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers. He calls it his favorite song to put on when he's leaving the house. "It's a great 'first song of a walk' song," he says.

So here's a little bit about the Modern Lovers, pieced together from a little research I've done and what Justin has told me:

They're a Boston band, and the great majority of their lyrics makes references to the greater Boston area. (And that's where I met Justin, so that's part of why it's perfect for this occasion!)

The lead singer and main songwriter is Jonathan Richman. Justin tells me he's also "the guy with the guitar who showed up from time to time in 'There's Something About Mary'." Wikipedia tells me he grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, which is the town that neighbors Framingham, where I now live. (Yet another reason this is a perfect starting point for Music Monday!)

The band recorded one album in their original time together from 1970-1974, the label didn't like it, dropped the band, and the band broke up. A couple of years later someone else at the label heard the album, loved it, and decided to release it. The record did OK, but the band no longer existed - one guy joined 'The Talking Heads', another co-founded 'The Cars'. "It's like this one perfect moment in time that was never recreated," describes Justin.

So that's The Modern Lovers. Justin also suggested I listen to a few of their other songs: 'Pablo Picasso', 'Government Center', and 'Modern World'.  ('Modern World' includes references to Boston University.) I don't love the songs (although a couple, after repeated listenings, definitely were growing on me), but I certainly don't hate them.

I learned something new about music, though, and that's the point. I wanted to share with you the video for 'Modern World' - it's from 1976, and it shows scenes from around Boston at the time. I'm a little obsessed with Boston before I lived up here. I was transfixed by it, and the song's not bad:

New Thing #6: Playoff Fantasy Football Part 2

Sorry for the back-to-back sports posts, but I went a little overboard with the post-season football pools. And that's kind of new.

But what's really new is the playoff pool I decided to join Saturday morning.

Unlike the one I wrote about yesterday, this one requires you to pick 12 players - one from each of the playoff teams - and it's one set team for the entire post-season:

2 QBs, 3 WRs, 3 RBs, 2 TEs, a kicker, and a defense.

You get pretty traditional fantasy points for those positions, and then participants also pick the playoff games for extra points. This one, unlike the one I wrote about yesterday, is for a little bit more than just pride. This, combined with the fantasy league I wrote about yesterday and the spread/over-under pool I'm in, gives me quite a rooting interest in the NFL playoffs. I was pretty excited to watch the Saturday games...and I'm already looking forward to Sunday (depending on when you read this). It's been a while since I've cared this much about the playoff games without the Jets involved. We'll see how long that lasts.

For your information, here's the team I picked, so you can root for me:

QB: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning

WR: Randall Cobb, Reggie Wayne, Julio Jones

RB: Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, Alfred Morris

TE: Kyle Rudolph, Jermane Gresham

K: Justin Tucker

DEF: Houston

Thanks for your support.