My new grill arrived on Friday. Previously I was cooking on a TEC grill that could reach temperatures of greater than 1500^oF. Impressive but after 13 years of pretty heavy usage, it was time to replace it. I bought the new grill on eBay to save big bucks but was a little concerned about putting the grill together. That proved to be the minor point. When I saw two pallets each four feet wide and three feet high, I realized that the weight of the grill might prove to be the bigger problem. I put together the base and then stood there realizing that I could not lift the grill and place it on the base. The grill weighted more than two hundred pounds. I took everything out of the grill, grates, stones, rotisserie, warming shelf, etc. And I discovered I could move the grill but lifting was still out of the question. As I stood there wondering what to do, I heard someone walking down the alley. I waited hoping it was someone I knew, but, alas it was not. However, the stranger stopped and asked me how things were going. An opening! I told him things were not going well as I need another pair of hands for just a couple of minutes. He smiled, tied up his dogs and helped me place the grill on the cart. I thanked him profusely and even offered to have him over for a meal. He refused and was off. I don’t even know his name. Anyway, I broke in the grill by cooking steak Friday night and cubed steaks for sandwiches on Saturday. Nothing special as the recipe of the week was on Sunday. One of my favorite restaurant meals growing up in Virginia was Stuffed Flounder. My version is much better than just about any restaurant as it has very little filler or binder and uses two kinds of crab and shrimp. Also, I decided to make a pancetta cream sauce for it instead of the more traditional lemon butter sauce. It was delicious. Stuffed Flounder with Pancetta Cream Sauce is the recipe of the week. Enjoy!

NPRM has begun on USF and ICC

For more than a decade the FCC has wanted to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Universal Service Fund (USF) and InterCarrier Compensation (ICC) reform. They finally did so in February. The NPRM is 289 pages long and deserves a better review than I ready to do today. What is important about the NPRM is that the FCC unanimously agreed to its release. For the first time in months it would seem the Democrats and Republicans on the FCC concur about the importance of something. It seems that the floundering over whether to modernize the USF and ICC system is over.

Reform is needed but now comes the uncertainty. How will it be reformed? There will be winners and losers as the rules are changed. Broadvox and all carriers with an IP infrastructure will be affected. Therefore, I will be tracking this going forward. It will take time though. Given the schedule for comments, replies, and the political interest (politicians and major carriers), it will be late this year or early next year before a final plan is voted upon by the FCC.

I’ll do a review of the NPRM Wednesday.