Seven more things I recommend

1. Clipping out recipes and putting them into a book. It makes you think you really MIGHT make them someday.
   
2. Waiting one moment before yelling out someone's name in a public place to recognize who they really are. That one second to mentally process might actually save you some embarrassment.
3. Heroes -- have you heard of this little indie show? I would have continued to have watching it last fall -- if someone had not feed into the problems I already had with it. If I had ignored them and just gave it a few more episodes -- those issues would have gone away. Instead... I listened like a bloody fool, and I am so behind. Curse you.
4. If you are a guy, wear a black sweater, red tie and white collared shirt. It looks frickin' sharp.
5. A really good spatula. It makes scraping the batter out of the bowl a very precise operation. Though it does not leave much for people who love to scrape the tasty stuff out of the rest of the bowl.
6. Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain. Usually, I hate cocky people. They remind me of being way to insecure in high school and its makes me uncomfortable. Though I have a weakness for Bourdain. I hear he is talented in the kitchen -- never having eaten his food, I can not attest for it. But this book is pretty damn close. I enjoy the way he does not dumb down the way he talks about food and techniques. He is honest and explains them as if you were at the table with him and telling you matter of factly with a wry twist. It is an interesting insight into the life of a chef.
7. Never order seafood on Mondays. Anthony told me so.