Monday, August 1, 2011
Next in Line (continued)
After publishing yesterday's post on the "Next Blog" link that lives at the top of most Blogger sites, I have continued to play with the "Next Blog" link from my site. I found that several sites continued to be repeated, but I also found some new sites which mostly followed the beer theme as discussed in the previous post. There was another blog on home brewing and also a couple's site where the guy brews and bottle his own beer. There were several more sites by guys that like beer including this guy who muses about beer and whatnot. In the far-flung category, there was a site for a beer store in San Francisco and a site that sells beer-themed tours of Europe which sounds like great vacations.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Next in Line
Since I started this site last year, I have occasionally played with the "Next Blog" link located in the Navbar at the top of the page. The "Next Blog" link specifically and the Navbar in general seem to be more of the hotly debated features of Blogger. According to the Blogger help page, the "Next Blog" link "takes you to a random, recently-updated Blogger blog." According to other sites, pages linked by "Next Blog" are grouped by common topics. Still others say that the list of other sites linked as "Next Blog" from a specific site is limited and the same sites repeatedly cycle. I have found that to be the case with the "Next Blog" sites linked from my site.
When there was less content on this site, the "Next Blog" pages seemed to be more random. Recently, my site seems to be grouped with mostly beer-related sites, particularly sites of bars of the brewpub-variety and a long list of guys (and a surprising number of ladies) that enjoy beer. (Although I am not religious myself, I am happy to see the Catholic folk are enjoying their beer.) Home brewing is another frequent topic, and more recently, the sites of people who enjoy coffee have been appearing.
As one would expect from the Internet, links can be from far-flung locations. I know a west coast-style brewpub in Brooklyn which I assume is quite similar to these two pubs in the Seattle area. I also know where to find beer in Baltimore. There is a brewpub in Flossmoor, Illinois (it's just south of Chicago), that has its own Mug Club. A few times, the "Next Blog" has been the Local Taphouse Blog which is blog site for two bars in Australia. One of the pubs is in St. Kilda, Victoria, which is a suburb Melbourne. The other is in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, which is a suburb of Sydney. I have never been to Australia, but when I get around to visiting that fine country, at least I will know a couple of places where I can stop for a beer.
Some unrelated sites do appear as the "Next Blog". There is one repeated site that would seem to be either about beer or coffee based on the word "brew" in its title but actually seems to only focus on electronics. Another site is by a guy who enjoys tattoos and cycling. The only thing that he and I seem to have in common is that we have both visited Oregon and Colorado, although for completely different reasons (outdoor sports for him, friends, family and beer for me). This guy also like bicycles, but he is also into beer.
I will end my little tour of "Next Blog" sites with a visit to this site by a Gonzo journalist.
When there was less content on this site, the "Next Blog" pages seemed to be more random. Recently, my site seems to be grouped with mostly beer-related sites, particularly sites of bars of the brewpub-variety and a long list of guys (and a surprising number of ladies) that enjoy beer. (Although I am not religious myself, I am happy to see the Catholic folk are enjoying their beer.) Home brewing is another frequent topic, and more recently, the sites of people who enjoy coffee have been appearing.
As one would expect from the Internet, links can be from far-flung locations. I know a west coast-style brewpub in Brooklyn which I assume is quite similar to these two pubs in the Seattle area. I also know where to find beer in Baltimore. There is a brewpub in Flossmoor, Illinois (it's just south of Chicago), that has its own Mug Club. A few times, the "Next Blog" has been the Local Taphouse Blog which is blog site for two bars in Australia. One of the pubs is in St. Kilda, Victoria, which is a suburb Melbourne. The other is in Darlinghurst, New South Wales, which is a suburb of Sydney. I have never been to Australia, but when I get around to visiting that fine country, at least I will know a couple of places where I can stop for a beer.
Some unrelated sites do appear as the "Next Blog". There is one repeated site that would seem to be either about beer or coffee based on the word "brew" in its title but actually seems to only focus on electronics. Another site is by a guy who enjoys tattoos and cycling. The only thing that he and I seem to have in common is that we have both visited Oregon and Colorado, although for completely different reasons (outdoor sports for him, friends, family and beer for me). This guy also like bicycles, but he is also into beer.
I will end my little tour of "Next Blog" sites with a visit to this site by a Gonzo journalist.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Random Coffee Post
I have been running low on K-Cups. Yesterday, I ventured to the store, and I bought some Kahlúa-flavored coffee from Timothy's Coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee is non-alcoholic, or fortunate since I do have to go to work this morning.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Proposals for Baseball
While my proposal for renovating the NFL is currently up to four parts with a few more thoughts in the pipeline, I also have a few ideas about reorganizing Major League Baseball. This is appropriate because MLB is currently considering some form of realignment. That change would most likely be small with only one National League team, possibly the Houston Astros or Florida (soon to be Miami) Marlins, moving to the American League.
There is one major difference that separates baseball from the three other major professional team sports, and that is the salary structure of the players. The NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps and floors which place limits around how much teams pay their players. MLB teams, however, have no such restrictions and are free to spend as much or as little on player salaries as they feel appropriate. Instead of a salary cap, Major League Baseball has a luxury tax which affects the decisions of teams in regards to salary but does not include firm upper or lower limits.
Here is a ranking of the thirty MLB teams in terms of average salary over the last three years. I pulled these numbers from the sports section of USA Today (2010, 2009, and 2008). My primary thought is to divide the teams into two tiers based on average total salaries. Of course, there could be some exceptions to factor in team performance and avoid breaking up longstanding rivalries. Please note that because teams are not required to funnel a fixed percentage of revenue into player salaries, my proposals focus on total player salary and ignores actual revenues for the teams.
In regards to the number of teams in each tier and the number of divisions in each tier, the most obvious solution is to have fifteen teams in each tier with each tier being split into three five-team divisions. I will leave the fleshing out of that proposal as an exercise for the reader. Instead, I will focus on two even more radical configurations, each including five six-team divisions. I will refer to these two proposals as the bottom-heavy configuration which has two upper-tier and three lower-tier divisions and the top-heavy configuration which has three upper-tier and two lower-tier divisions. In both cases, eight teams would make the playoffs.
My first proposal is a configuration that has more teams in the lower tier. The top tier would contain the twelve teams with the highest average salaries. Those teams would be assigned to eastern and western divisions. The remaining 18 teams would be in the lower tier and be split into three divisions, West, Central and East. Here are how the divisions would look based on the salaries listed in the chart above.
Four teams from each tier would make the playoffs. For the upper tier, the regular season-winner of each division would play the second-place team from the opposite division with the first-place team having home-field advantage. The winners of the two first-round series would play in the upper tier championship series. If the two teams are both first-place or second-place teams, the team with the best regular-season record would have home-field advantage. The lower tier would follow the current playoff format with the team finishing second in its division and having the best regular-season record making the playoffs as the wild card along with the three division winners. Here is an example of a playoff format.
In the top-heavy configuration, the 18 teams with the average highest salaries would be in the upper tier and be divided into three six-team divisions, East, Central and West. The 12 teams with the lowest salaries would be in the two lower-tier divisions, East and West.
Six teams from the upper tier and two teams from the lower tier would make the playoffs. In the first round, the winners of the two lower-tier divisions would meet in the lower-tier championship series. The team with the best regular-season record would have home-field advantage. The top two teams from each of the upper-tier divisions would make the playoffs. The division winners would be the top seeds and have home-field advantage. After the first round, teams would be reseeded to give preference to division winners and teams with better records. Here is an example of a playoff format.
It is interesting to note that in this format, there would normally not be a separate upper-tier championship series. When two upper-tier teams meet in the World Series, that series would also double as the upper-tier championship. When a lower-tier team makes the World Series, their opponent would be the remaining upper-tier team which would be the upper-tier champion by default. The only time there would be a separate upper-series championship series is when a lower-tier team defeats their upper-tier opponent in the second-round before the other second-round series is completed. In that case, the other series would then become the upper-tier championship series.
It should be easy to anticipate criticism against these two proposals. I think the primary criticism will be that teams with higher player payrolls are clearly favored in regards to available playoffs spots. For the top-heavy configuration, six out of the 18 upper-tier teams make the playoffs which is one third (33.3%). Two of the 12 lower-tier teams go to the postseason which is only one sixth (16.7%). The bottom-heavy proposal is slightly better with four of the 12 upper-tier teams (33.3%) and four of the 18 lower-tier teams (22.2%) making the playoffs. However, the current alignment is already unbalanced with four of the 14 American League teams (28.6%) and four of the 16 National League teams (25.0%) making the postseason. Since the American League has fewer teams, those teams have a better chance of making the playoffs. The inequality is magnified when comparing the National League Central Division with six teams to the American League West Division with only four.
I feel the uneven nature of my proposals would serve as motivation to teams. In a future post, I will discuss the process by which teams could transition between tiers. This will be similar to the process of promotion and relegation used by soccer leagues. Teams in the lower tier would be motivated to move into upper tier while teams in the upper tier would be motivated to maintain their advantage by remaining in their current spot.
Another criticism will be that traditional rivalries, such as Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals, and Dodgers-Giants, could be affected by these proposals. In a future post, I will discuss tweaking my proposal to protect existing rivalries and possibly promote new geography-based rivalries such as Orioles-Nationals, Rays-Marlins, and Astros-Rangers.
I will also try to outline how the regular-season schedule would be laid out in a future post. By the way, I personally prefer the bottom-heavy configuration primarily due to its simpler playoff format. I will be focusing on that proposal going forward.
There is one major difference that separates baseball from the three other major professional team sports, and that is the salary structure of the players. The NFL, NBA and NHL all have salary caps and floors which place limits around how much teams pay their players. MLB teams, however, have no such restrictions and are free to spend as much or as little on player salaries as they feel appropriate. Instead of a salary cap, Major League Baseball has a luxury tax which affects the decisions of teams in regards to salary but does not include firm upper or lower limits.
Here is a ranking of the thirty MLB teams in terms of average salary over the last three years. I pulled these numbers from the sports section of USA Today (2010, 2009, and 2008). My primary thought is to divide the teams into two tiers based on average total salaries. Of course, there could be some exceptions to factor in team performance and avoid breaking up longstanding rivalries. Please note that because teams are not required to funnel a fixed percentage of revenue into player salaries, my proposals focus on total player salary and ignores actual revenues for the teams.
In regards to the number of teams in each tier and the number of divisions in each tier, the most obvious solution is to have fifteen teams in each tier with each tier being split into three five-team divisions. I will leave the fleshing out of that proposal as an exercise for the reader. Instead, I will focus on two even more radical configurations, each including five six-team divisions. I will refer to these two proposals as the bottom-heavy configuration which has two upper-tier and three lower-tier divisions and the top-heavy configuration which has three upper-tier and two lower-tier divisions. In both cases, eight teams would make the playoffs.
Bottom Heavy Configuration
My first proposal is a configuration that has more teams in the lower tier. The top tier would contain the twelve teams with the highest average salaries. Those teams would be assigned to eastern and western divisions. The remaining 18 teams would be in the lower tier and be split into three divisions, West, Central and East. Here are how the divisions would look based on the salaries listed in the chart above.
Four teams from each tier would make the playoffs. For the upper tier, the regular season-winner of each division would play the second-place team from the opposite division with the first-place team having home-field advantage. The winners of the two first-round series would play in the upper tier championship series. If the two teams are both first-place or second-place teams, the team with the best regular-season record would have home-field advantage. The lower tier would follow the current playoff format with the team finishing second in its division and having the best regular-season record making the playoffs as the wild card along with the three division winners. Here is an example of a playoff format.
Top Heavy Configuration
In the top-heavy configuration, the 18 teams with the average highest salaries would be in the upper tier and be divided into three six-team divisions, East, Central and West. The 12 teams with the lowest salaries would be in the two lower-tier divisions, East and West.
Six teams from the upper tier and two teams from the lower tier would make the playoffs. In the first round, the winners of the two lower-tier divisions would meet in the lower-tier championship series. The team with the best regular-season record would have home-field advantage. The top two teams from each of the upper-tier divisions would make the playoffs. The division winners would be the top seeds and have home-field advantage. After the first round, teams would be reseeded to give preference to division winners and teams with better records. Here is an example of a playoff format.
It is interesting to note that in this format, there would normally not be a separate upper-tier championship series. When two upper-tier teams meet in the World Series, that series would also double as the upper-tier championship. When a lower-tier team makes the World Series, their opponent would be the remaining upper-tier team which would be the upper-tier champion by default. The only time there would be a separate upper-series championship series is when a lower-tier team defeats their upper-tier opponent in the second-round before the other second-round series is completed. In that case, the other series would then become the upper-tier championship series.
Anticipating Criticism
It should be easy to anticipate criticism against these two proposals. I think the primary criticism will be that teams with higher player payrolls are clearly favored in regards to available playoffs spots. For the top-heavy configuration, six out of the 18 upper-tier teams make the playoffs which is one third (33.3%). Two of the 12 lower-tier teams go to the postseason which is only one sixth (16.7%). The bottom-heavy proposal is slightly better with four of the 12 upper-tier teams (33.3%) and four of the 18 lower-tier teams (22.2%) making the playoffs. However, the current alignment is already unbalanced with four of the 14 American League teams (28.6%) and four of the 16 National League teams (25.0%) making the postseason. Since the American League has fewer teams, those teams have a better chance of making the playoffs. The inequality is magnified when comparing the National League Central Division with six teams to the American League West Division with only four.
I feel the uneven nature of my proposals would serve as motivation to teams. In a future post, I will discuss the process by which teams could transition between tiers. This will be similar to the process of promotion and relegation used by soccer leagues. Teams in the lower tier would be motivated to move into upper tier while teams in the upper tier would be motivated to maintain their advantage by remaining in their current spot.
Another criticism will be that traditional rivalries, such as Yankees-Red Sox, Cubs-Cardinals, and Dodgers-Giants, could be affected by these proposals. In a future post, I will discuss tweaking my proposal to protect existing rivalries and possibly promote new geography-based rivalries such as Orioles-Nationals, Rays-Marlins, and Astros-Rangers.
I will also try to outline how the regular-season schedule would be laid out in a future post. By the way, I personally prefer the bottom-heavy configuration primarily due to its simpler playoff format. I will be focusing on that proposal going forward.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Review: Jump Gate Twist
Jump Gate Twist by Mark L. Van Name
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Full disclosure, I have met the author, Mark Van Name, in a professional setting. The company with which I am employed has a working relationship with his company, Principled Technologies. I received a copy of Jump Gate Twist as a gift after meeting with him and the company's other founder, Bill Catchings. Prior to our meeting, I had no knowledge of Mr. Van Name, and prior to receiving this book, I was not aware that he was a published science-fiction author. My copy of the book is signed by the author and has a nice sticker on the inside front cover with my name. I would like to thank Mark and Principled Technologies for the gift. That being stated, I had no expectations for the book. I was a huge fan of science fiction when I was younger, but as I have grown older, my tastes have ventured into other areas, currently spy fiction, particularly James Bond novels, and hardboiled crime fiction.
The book is compilation of two novels and two short stories plus additional tidbits from the author. The main protagonist is Jon Moore who was mentally challenged as child due to some unique properties of his home planet. Jon's first change is the subject of the first short story, "My Sister, My Self." His enhancement was done by his sister with healing powers that were the result of the same properties of their world. At some later point, Jon's body is further enhanced with nanotechnology as part of a corporate experiment which eventually goes awry and possibly makes his home world uninhabitable. That topic is only covered piecemeal in various flashbacks throughout the two novels. Returning to his home planet and finding his lost sister are Jon's overall goals in the series which currently includes four novels.
In the first novel, One Jump Ahead, Jon finds an intelligent attack vehicle named Lobo which has been left as a monument in a city square on a far outpost world. Lobo has its (or "his" since Jon comes to refer to Lobo in the masculine) own back-story in which he was damaged in battle. Through some negotiation, Jon is able to acquire Lobo from the head of the planet for services rendered. He is later able to have the damaged ship repaired. The main plot of the novel is the rescue of a kidnapped girl that comes to involve a couple of competing megacorporations and a less-than-forthright arms dealer.
The second novel, Slanted Jack, has even more twists and turns than the first. The Jack from the title is an accomplished con man who reappears from Jon's past. Jon agrees to help with protecting a gifted boy whose family originated from Jon's lost home world. After the initial plan falls apart, Jon has to run an intricate triple con that involves a mobster, a group of religious fanatics with a stash of weapons, and the local government who wants to catch both. The boy and Jon's not-quite-friend Jack serve as bait in the scheme.
Finally, the second short story, "Lobo, Actually," focuses only on Lobo and takes place during his period of downtime in the city square. It is a Christmas story that explores some interesting thoughts on religion and deity. The story is also interesting in that it is told from Lobo's point of view and not that of a human.
Overall, I found Jump Gate Twist to be a solid example of space opera, and I mean that in a positive sense. With tons of action and continually unfolding plot twists, Jon Moore very much reminds me of a futuristic James Bond.
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
Review: Goldfinger
Goldfinger by Ian FlemingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have found a third book that runs counter to the conventional wisdom that books are always better than their movie versions. The first two entries on my list are Forrest Gump and Shoeless Joe which was the basis for the movie Field of Dreams. While I enjoyed both of those books, the two movies are classics. The movie version of Forrest Gump won six Oscars among its myriad of other awards, and Field of Dreams is constantly ranked as one of the best sports movies of all time.
Goldfinger follows the same pattern. I truly enjoyed the book, as I have the previous six James Bond novels that I have read so far. However, the movie version is one of my favorite movies. Of course, the Bond books and movies are really completely different animals. Sean Connery in particular portrays Bond with super-human cool. The Bond from the novels, on the other hand, is fallible and occasionally shows a bit of emotion. In three of the first seven novels, including Goldfinger, CIA agent Felix Leiter appears at the last minute to save Bond's hide. In the movies, Leiter is usually just tagging along as a sidekick.
Similar to Shoeless Joe missing James Earl Jones' epic monologue on baseball from Field of Dreams, the book version of Goldfinger misses the great quotes from movie. ("No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.", "I must be dreaming.")
The plot of the novel and film are basically the same, but there are some differences. In the book, the main villain, Auric Goldfinger, threatens Bond with a giant saw. The movie replaces the saw with an even more intimidating laser in one of most memorable scenes ever. Also, the role of Pussy Galore is quite different. In the novel, Miss Galore is one of the crime lords involved in Goldfinger's plan to break into Fort Knox. In the movie, she is a pilot and leads a flying circus. In both versions, Bond is able to persuade Miss Galore to change sides. The ultimate goal of Goldfinger's nefarious plan is also slightly different between the novel and the book.
Appropriately enough, USA Network was showing Goldfinger as I typed this.
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Monday, May 30, 2011
A Different Type of Brew
Today is Memorial Day which is a great day to kick back and relax with a nice cold beer. However, today's post is about a brew of a different type. I drink a good bit of coffee. I enjoy both the regular stuff and the coffee-based drinks that were invented in the cafés of Europe and made famous here in America by Starbucks and the like. My particular guilty coffee pleasure is the café mocha, but I have tried many of the other crazy drinks flavored with caramel, white chocolate, peppermint, and even pumpkin. I also enjoy hanging out in the local coffee shop and taking advantage of their free wireless Internet connection.
Last year, my mother gave me a Keurig coffee machine (a.k.a. K-cup machine) as a Christmas present. My sister and her husband have had a K-cup machine for awhile. They enjoy it, so they gave my mother and stepfather one as a present a couple of years ago. My mother and stepfather have found their machine to be convenient. I also learned to appreciate the machines during my visits to my sister's and mother's houses, so I was glad to receive a machine myself for Christmas. My machine is a Keurig Elite Brewer. Despite being "Elite", it is one of the simpler brewers that the company offers.
As much as I am not an expert on the different types of beer, I am even more of a neophyte in regards to the different varieties of coffee. I am working on my knowledge of beer, and the K-cup machine will help in regards to my coffee education. There are quite a few different brands of coffee available in K-cups with the list continuing to expand. Of course, each brand offers multiple different varieties. It seems that everybody has their particular favorite variety. My stepfather likes the Green Mountain Nantucket Blend. He and my mother also had most of a box of Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend K-cups. Since neither of them care for that brew, they gave the rest of the box to me along with my brewer. I liked both the Nantucket and Daybreak brews. My sister and brother-in-law prefer Newman's Special Blend Extra Bold which they buy in bulk from their local Costco.
The K-cup brewer came with a sampler pack of K-cups. I do not remember all of the varieties included in the sampler pack, but it included decaffeinated coffee, Half Caff, and even some tea. After finishing off the sampler pack and the leftover box of Caribou Daybreak, I bought a box of Green Mountain Breakfast Blend K-cups at the grocery store. I later decided to buy a few K-cup boxes from Green Mountain's webpage (Keurig is subsidiary of Green Mountain Coffee). My first purchase included Caribou Colombia, Diedrich Coffee Sumatra, Timothy's Coffee Kona Blend, and Millstone Breakfast Blend. I just noticed that Millstone and Diedrich Coffee products are no longer offered on Green Mountain's site. Also, the Sumatra is not offered on Diedrich Coffee's webpage, and the Timothy's Kona is no longer being produced.
I recently ordered a second round of K-cups from Green Mountain. This order included Timothy's Coffee Breakfast Blend, Tully's Coffee Breakfast Blend, Donut House, and a flavored variety pack from Gloria Jean's Coffees. The variety pack included French Vanilla Supreme, Swiss Chocolate Almond, Butter Toffee, and Mudslide flavors. Surprisingly, my favorite of the four is the vanilla with the chocolate almond being a strong second. I think vanilla is a great flavor complement (as opposed to compliment) to coffee. I do not care for the butter toffee which has a really buttery taste. I do not find that buttery taste goes well with coffee. For me, it is just not a pleasant combination. I also do not find the mudslide flavor to have a very good taste.
I have a friend who puts cinnamon in her coffee which I have also found to be interesting. Perhaps with my next order, I should try Donut House Cinnamon Roll or Timothy's Coffee Cinnamon Pastry.
Last year, my mother gave me a Keurig coffee machine (a.k.a. K-cup machine) as a Christmas present. My sister and her husband have had a K-cup machine for awhile. They enjoy it, so they gave my mother and stepfather one as a present a couple of years ago. My mother and stepfather have found their machine to be convenient. I also learned to appreciate the machines during my visits to my sister's and mother's houses, so I was glad to receive a machine myself for Christmas. My machine is a Keurig Elite Brewer. Despite being "Elite", it is one of the simpler brewers that the company offers.
As much as I am not an expert on the different types of beer, I am even more of a neophyte in regards to the different varieties of coffee. I am working on my knowledge of beer, and the K-cup machine will help in regards to my coffee education. There are quite a few different brands of coffee available in K-cups with the list continuing to expand. Of course, each brand offers multiple different varieties. It seems that everybody has their particular favorite variety. My stepfather likes the Green Mountain Nantucket Blend. He and my mother also had most of a box of Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend K-cups. Since neither of them care for that brew, they gave the rest of the box to me along with my brewer. I liked both the Nantucket and Daybreak brews. My sister and brother-in-law prefer Newman's Special Blend Extra Bold which they buy in bulk from their local Costco.
The K-cup brewer came with a sampler pack of K-cups. I do not remember all of the varieties included in the sampler pack, but it included decaffeinated coffee, Half Caff, and even some tea. After finishing off the sampler pack and the leftover box of Caribou Daybreak, I bought a box of Green Mountain Breakfast Blend K-cups at the grocery store. I later decided to buy a few K-cup boxes from Green Mountain's webpage (Keurig is subsidiary of Green Mountain Coffee). My first purchase included Caribou Colombia, Diedrich Coffee Sumatra, Timothy's Coffee Kona Blend, and Millstone Breakfast Blend. I just noticed that Millstone and Diedrich Coffee products are no longer offered on Green Mountain's site. Also, the Sumatra is not offered on Diedrich Coffee's webpage, and the Timothy's Kona is no longer being produced.
I recently ordered a second round of K-cups from Green Mountain. This order included Timothy's Coffee Breakfast Blend, Tully's Coffee Breakfast Blend, Donut House, and a flavored variety pack from Gloria Jean's Coffees. The variety pack included French Vanilla Supreme, Swiss Chocolate Almond, Butter Toffee, and Mudslide flavors. Surprisingly, my favorite of the four is the vanilla with the chocolate almond being a strong second. I think vanilla is a great flavor complement (as opposed to compliment) to coffee. I do not care for the butter toffee which has a really buttery taste. I do not find that buttery taste goes well with coffee. For me, it is just not a pleasant combination. I also do not find the mudslide flavor to have a very good taste.
I have a friend who puts cinnamon in her coffee which I have also found to be interesting. Perhaps with my next order, I should try Donut House Cinnamon Roll or Timothy's Coffee Cinnamon Pastry.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Review: Myra Breckinridge
Myra Breckinridge by Gore VidalMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have read many of Gore Vidal's historical fiction novels including Creation, Julian, and most of his Narratives of Empire series. I am aware of his sexual orientation, and while many of his historical fiction novels include sexual, particularly homosexual, themes and undertones, it is usually not an overt focus. I do not find the subject distasteful. In fact, I find that the sexual undertones add an additional layer of complexity to his novels.
However, I have avoided Vidal's books where the topic is more blatantly sexual such as The City and the Pillar: A Novel, one of his first novels. The previews that I read about Myra Breckinridge indicated that the theme was somewhat sexual in nature without being homosexual. I suppose that is sort of the case. The story has a few big twists. I did not find the biggest twist particularly surprising, but I am not sure it was suppose to be surprising. I found the book to be quite bizarre which I think was intended. There is one chapter that is very distributing and particularly painful to read. Even with the predictable twist and the painful section, I found the book to be interesting and even mildly entertaining.
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Tweetness
When I am at a bar or restaurant or otherwise out and about, I find myself sending text messages to my email account. Usually, these texts are about an interesting new beer that I am drinking and that needs to be added to my Beer List. I have also sent myself messages with books or authors that I think might be interesting or a perhaps a movie that somebody recommended to me. I have also sent myself and friends texts with lines that I said or overheard somebody else say that I thought was humorous or otherwise interesting ("I've got a WMD in my BVDs"). I have also sent myself texts with ideas for post on this site. My new phone makes sending texts much easier, so a couple of times I have send myself most of the wording for a post. I typed a good portion of this post from last week on my phone.
Along this vein, I have decided to take the plunge and start a Twitter account. You can see the Twitter gadget that is linked to my account in the right-hand column. In keeping with my super interesting personality, my first tweet was simply "<null>." Similar to the legion of imaginary reader of this site, I do not expect my Twitter account to have very many, if any, followers. I also do not plan on following the Twitter feeds of anybody else. Like this site, my Twitter account is solely for my own purposes. Follow at your own risk (or boredom). You have been duly warned.
Along this vein, I have decided to take the plunge and start a Twitter account. You can see the Twitter gadget that is linked to my account in the right-hand column. In keeping with my super interesting personality, my first tweet was simply "<null>." Similar to the legion of imaginary reader of this site, I do not expect my Twitter account to have very many, if any, followers. I also do not plan on following the Twitter feeds of anybody else. Like this site, my Twitter account is solely for my own purposes. Follow at your own risk (or boredom). You have been duly warned.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Review: The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence by Carl SaganMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Being 30-some odd years behind the times, I recently finished reading The Dragons of Eden which was written by the famous author and scientist, Carl Sagan, and was originally published in 1977. As the full title attests, the topic is the evolutionary development of the human brain. As is to be expected, the technological references in the book are hopelessly dated, and I can safely assume that the scientific information is dated as well. I would have been very interested in a new edition with updated information, but unfortunately, Sagan died in 1996. Perhaps I will find a newer book on the topic of human intelligence.
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Gone But Not Forgotten
This is one of those posts where I came up with the title before writing anything. The title seems to be a little morbid to me now. It reminds me of those stickers that you see nowadays in the rear windows of cars that say "in memory of" so-and-so. I find those window stickers to be annoying, but not as annoying as the decals of family members in stick figure form. Except that I do not find the stick figure stickers to be annoying when they are on minivans. I find the ones on minivans to be sad because they are on minivans which are just sad in general.
This post is kind of like those "in memory" window stickers. However, this is not in memory of a person but of a website that has left us to move on to that old bit-recycler in the sky. I found out the other day that El taken down her personal blog site. For this site, it means that all of the links to her site are now broken. It seems that most of those links were for posts about various bits of conversations between her and me that she thought were moderately entertaining at the time. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I am able to resurrect one of those conversations below. (FYI, "Me" is El, and "Jim" is me.)
This post is kind of like those "in memory" window stickers. However, this is not in memory of a person but of a website that has left us to move on to that old bit-recycler in the sky. I found out the other day that El taken down her personal blog site. For this site, it means that all of the links to her site are now broken. It seems that most of those links were for posts about various bits of conversations between her and me that she thought were moderately entertaining at the time. Thanks to the Wayback Machine, I am able to resurrect one of those conversations below. (FYI, "Me" is El, and "Jim" is me.)
Me: It’s <not sure what we were talking about prior> typical that we feel that way, I am usually a glass half full type and you’re a glass half empty type. Maybe that’s why we get along so well, the balance. Although I wouldn’t define us exactly like that…
Jim: Yes, I’m an engineer– the glass was spec’ed twice as big as it needs to be.
Me: And I’m me… if you hold the glass up to a sunbeam it’s full of rainbows!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A Chinese Joke American Style
I thought I would submit a quick post before I head out of town for the weekend for Mother's Day. This week I had lunch with a bunch of guys including a couple of men from China. The discussion turned to how the country of China is incredibly large. There are many different types of terrains and climates. The Chinese people also vary between the different areas of the country with each group having its own distinct culture. Cuisines vary across the country, and instead of a single Chinese language, Chinese is actually several dialects which are not necessary mutually intelligible.
One of the two Chinese men told us a joke to illustrate the differences among Chinese people. I think it is a great joke, but since repeating a joke about Chinese people seems a bit inappropriate, I figure I could modify the joke to apply it to American people. To decode my Americanize version back to the original Chinese version, simply change the American from Washington to a politician from northern China, perhaps around the national capital of Beijing. The New Yorker would instead be from eastern China such as from Shanghai. The Cajun from Louisiana would be from southern China perhaps from Hong Kong. The western area of China does not factor into the joke. Western China is most rural and is not as densely populated as the other areas. Anyway, here is my version of the joke.
Three guys are driving down the road. The first man is a politician from Washington, DC, the second is a businessman from New York City, and the third is a Cajun from Louisiana. As they're driving along, a strange flying object crashes into a field next to the road. They stop to check out the accident, and they discover a dead alien which had been flung from the wreckage. They look at each other and try to decide what to do with their amazing find. The politician from DC wants to put the body in a museum and invite everybody to come and see what the three of them found. The businessman from New York thinks the alien would be worth millions. He suggests they sell the body and split the profits. The Cajun says "I wonder how it tastes. Let's eat it!"
One of the two Chinese men told us a joke to illustrate the differences among Chinese people. I think it is a great joke, but since repeating a joke about Chinese people seems a bit inappropriate, I figure I could modify the joke to apply it to American people. To decode my Americanize version back to the original Chinese version, simply change the American from Washington to a politician from northern China, perhaps around the national capital of Beijing. The New Yorker would instead be from eastern China such as from Shanghai. The Cajun from Louisiana would be from southern China perhaps from Hong Kong. The western area of China does not factor into the joke. Western China is most rural and is not as densely populated as the other areas. Anyway, here is my version of the joke.
Three guys are driving down the road. The first man is a politician from Washington, DC, the second is a businessman from New York City, and the third is a Cajun from Louisiana. As they're driving along, a strange flying object crashes into a field next to the road. They stop to check out the accident, and they discover a dead alien which had been flung from the wreckage. They look at each other and try to decide what to do with their amazing find. The politician from DC wants to put the body in a museum and invite everybody to come and see what the three of them found. The businessman from New York thinks the alien would be worth millions. He suggests they sell the body and split the profits. The Cajun says "I wonder how it tastes. Let's eat it!"
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Like Bruce Willis
This little anecdote can be filed under old habits. I went to the store today. Because I needed to pick up some toilet paper, I headed down the aisle for paper products. I passed the plastic bags of various sizes and rolls of aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Out of the corner of my eye, I see cupcake wrappers. For those of my imaginary readers who may not know, my ex-girlfriend, El, bakes gourmet cupcakes in her spare time. (I see that she has now expanded her empire to facebook and twitter.) As I passed by those shelves, I had the fleeting thought that El is probably running low on cupcake wrappers, so I should pick some up for her. It was a eerie déjà vu-like feeling.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
More Bond
Back in March, I posted about a bunch basically random topics. One of the topics was about visiting the Reader's Corner, a local used book store, and picking up some books. As an aside, the Reader's Corner also sells books via an Amazon.com site and a site at Abebooks.com. Included in my purchases back in March were the first two books in the James Bond series. Today, I paid another visit to the shop and purchased the next five books in the series. The third book is Moonraker which became the eleventh of the Bond films in 1979. The movie starred Roger Moore instead of Sean Connery who starred in six of the first seven Bond films. Moore's first Bond movie was Live and Let Die which was released in 1973. It was the eighth film but was adapted from the second book. The fourth book in the Bond series is Diamonds Are Forever which became the seventh Bond film in 1971. That film was Connery's last time in the role of James Bond for the official series of films, although in 1983, he starred in Never Say Never Again which is not considered part of the official series.
Moving right along, I mentioned the fifth (From Russia with Love) and sixth (Doctor No) books in my previous post along with the fact that they became the second and first films. Those films were released in 1963 and 1962 respectively. The seventh book in the series is Goldfinger. The film version of that book was released in 1964 and was the third in the series. The movie version of Goldfinger is my personal favorite of the film series. There is the best of the Bond girls, although Entertainment Weekly disagrees. (Their number one isn't bad either.) The title character, Auric Goldfinger, is one of the best of the Bond villains. Of course, the word "auric" means relating to gold. There are also all the great quotes, and the first appearance of the most famous of Bond's cars, an Aston Martin DB5 which had been tweaked a bit by Q.
During my visit to the bookstore, I also bought three other books. Smart-Aleck Kill is a small collection of stories by Raymond Chandler. All four of the stories are also included in The Simple Art of Murder which I have previously read, but this will be a good excuse to read them again. The Turk is about a famous chess-playing machine from the 18th century, all of which can be deduced by the book's full long title. Finally, Zeno's Paradox is about a series of paradoxes postulated by the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno, the most famous of which concerns a race between the Greek hero Achilles and a tortoise.
Moving right along, I mentioned the fifth (From Russia with Love) and sixth (Doctor No) books in my previous post along with the fact that they became the second and first films. Those films were released in 1963 and 1962 respectively. The seventh book in the series is Goldfinger. The film version of that book was released in 1964 and was the third in the series. The movie version of Goldfinger is my personal favorite of the film series. There is the best of the Bond girls, although Entertainment Weekly disagrees. (Their number one isn't bad either.) The title character, Auric Goldfinger, is one of the best of the Bond villains. Of course, the word "auric" means relating to gold. There are also all the great quotes, and the first appearance of the most famous of Bond's cars, an Aston Martin DB5 which had been tweaked a bit by Q.
During my visit to the bookstore, I also bought three other books. Smart-Aleck Kill is a small collection of stories by Raymond Chandler. All four of the stories are also included in The Simple Art of Murder which I have previously read, but this will be a good excuse to read them again. The Turk is about a famous chess-playing machine from the 18th century, all of which can be deduced by the book's full long title. Finally, Zeno's Paradox is about a series of paradoxes postulated by the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno, the most famous of which concerns a race between the Greek hero Achilles and a tortoise.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Review: The Fourth K
The Fourth K by Mario PuzoMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
Mario Puzo is of course best known as the author of The Godfather which was turned into two very successful movies. Unfortunately, the Fourth K is nowhere near the quality of the Godfather and other books by Puzo. Basically, this book is like the screenplay for a really bad miniseries.
View all my reviews
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Close Encounters
I am lucky if I get around to publishing a post once a week, so it is no surprise that this will be first time that I post twice in the same day. Right after publishing the my previous post, I ran over to Blinco's for a bite of dinner and a couple of tasty beverages. I grabbed a seat at the bar and did not pay any attention to the group of guys around the corner of the bar. That is until one of them started talking, and then it was hard not to notice them. The voice is one of the most recognizable in this area if not the whole state of North Carolina. The voice belonged to Chuck Kaiton who is the radio announcer for the Carolina Hurricanes. Below is a YouTube clip of Kaiton's call during the final moments of game seven of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.
It turns out that Kaiton is a friend of Jim Blinco who is one of the owners of the bar. One of Kaiton's pals called Blinco. He lives in Holly Springs which was one of the local towns that were the hardest hit by the tornadoes and thunderstorms that ripped through Raleigh and the surrounding area yesterday. In the voicemail that he left, Kaiton's friend said something about the tornadoes being over and Blinco should not be a Toto and to come on over to the bar. One of the bartenders thought it was a bit soon for Wizard of Oz references and told the guy so. I piped up and told the guy I thought his comment was funny. I also do not think preaching to your customers is the best way for a bartender to get a good tip.
It turns out that Kaiton is a friend of Jim Blinco who is one of the owners of the bar. One of Kaiton's pals called Blinco. He lives in Holly Springs which was one of the local towns that were the hardest hit by the tornadoes and thunderstorms that ripped through Raleigh and the surrounding area yesterday. In the voicemail that he left, Kaiton's friend said something about the tornadoes being over and Blinco should not be a Toto and to come on over to the bar. One of the bartenders thought it was a bit soon for Wizard of Oz references and told the guy so. I piped up and told the guy I thought his comment was funny. I also do not think preaching to your customers is the best way for a bartender to get a good tip.
Last Night I Had a Dream
OK, so it was not exactly last night that I had this dream because there is no way that I would be that on top of a post. The dream actually occurred a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, this dream has me thinking that perhaps I read the Uni Watch blog a bit too much. While I do follow sports, I would not consider myself an über-fanatic. However, there might be some people who would not agree with that personal assessment. I also do not consider myself to be particularly creative. Nor do I think that I am overly concerned with appearances. I live in a modest townhouse which is in desperate need of new siding. My car has huge spots of oxidation including most of the roof. I am sure my personal appearance could also use an upgrade. Combining all of those facts, it is interesting that one of my favorite Internet sites is Uni Watch where the primary focus is the physical appearance of sports including uniforms, logos, and team colors.
Getting back to my crazy dream, my favorite NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes, were playing a basketball game against the Tampa Bay Lightening. I assume it would have been for charity or some such. The Canes were wearing white jerseys with red and black trim. In the NHL, white jerseys are worn on the road, but NBA teams were white at home. The Bolts were in gray uniforms with blue and black trim that were similar to Georgetown basketball. I know Tampa Bay does not have gray uniforms, but I did mention this was a dream. Also, Georgetown wears their gray uniforms at home, so this game would have featured two "home" uniforms. The uniforms were simple affairs with "Carolina" and "Tampa Bay" above basic numbers fonts on the front. Their team logos were on the right shoulder. Alas, the Canes were using their infamous toilet-flush logo which some considered to be the worst team logo in sports. The back of the jerseys were also simple with the player's name above standard numbers.
Uniforms that cross between sports are not completely unheard of. Some people in the Uni Watch community enjoy designing their own crossover uniforms. Actual physical crossover jerseys are also available. Baseball jerseys seem to be the most popular. I found baseball jerseys for the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL. I also found a NFL basketball jersey for sale on ebay. I did not, however, find any NHL basketball jerseys.
This is completely unrelated to anything, but I have decided that I will be renaming one of my fantasy teams the Montoya Rapiers.
Getting back to my crazy dream, my favorite NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes, were playing a basketball game against the Tampa Bay Lightening. I assume it would have been for charity or some such. The Canes were wearing white jerseys with red and black trim. In the NHL, white jerseys are worn on the road, but NBA teams were white at home. The Bolts were in gray uniforms with blue and black trim that were similar to Georgetown basketball. I know Tampa Bay does not have gray uniforms, but I did mention this was a dream. Also, Georgetown wears their gray uniforms at home, so this game would have featured two "home" uniforms. The uniforms were simple affairs with "Carolina" and "Tampa Bay" above basic numbers fonts on the front. Their team logos were on the right shoulder. Alas, the Canes were using their infamous toilet-flush logo which some considered to be the worst team logo in sports. The back of the jerseys were also simple with the player's name above standard numbers.
Uniforms that cross between sports are not completely unheard of. Some people in the Uni Watch community enjoy designing their own crossover uniforms. Actual physical crossover jerseys are also available. Baseball jerseys seem to be the most popular. I found baseball jerseys for the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL. I also found a NFL basketball jersey for sale on ebay. I did not, however, find any NHL basketball jerseys.
This is completely unrelated to anything, but I have decided that I will be renaming one of my fantasy teams the Montoya Rapiers.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Colorado Brews
I recently returned from a week trip to Colorado to visit my sister and her family. My sister has been a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years now. This was my first chance to meet my new 11-week-old niece. She is a beautiful baby. Of course, what else would a loving uncle say? I have previously had a couple of opportunities to visit my nephew who turned two years old back in December, but it was good to see him again. As expected, he is growing like a weed.
My sister's family live in a small town outside of Boulder. I flew into Denver International Airport. I spent most of my time just hanging out with my sister and the kids. We went to Denver Zoo and a local children's museum. I played trucks and trains with my nephew. I flew him around like an airplane, and my back is still hurting. We went for walks around the neighborhood and spent lots of time at the two playgrounds in the area. We also just spent one morning out shopping for groceries.
Colorado is one of the great states for beer. In addition to being home to Coors, one of beer's Goliaths, Colorado just might be the best craft brew state. According to this page, breweries from the state have won the most medals awarded by the Brewers Association per capita. Not surprising, Oregon was a strong second. The post is from 2009, so the rankings could have changed.
While grocery shopping, my sister picked up a 12-bottle sample pack from Breckenridge Brewery which contained three bottles each of four different brews. I tried each of the styles. The first one that I drank was the Vanilla Porter. I thought it was a solid porter, but I did not taste any vanilla flavor. Perhaps, the vanilla flavor was very subtle and just helped with the overall taste. The second bottle that I tried was the Agave Wheat. Including agave nectar in a beer is an interesting touch. The beer was a very good wheat beer, but like the vanilla in the porter, the wheat did not taste like agave. Of course, I really do not know the true taste of agave. I am just familiar with the taste of various tequilas and that does not seem to be the taste of the Agave Wheat brew.
Next, I tried the Avalanche Ale which is an amber ale. I generally like amber ales, and the Avalanche was no different. Conversely, I am generally not a fan of IPAs, and the final beer that I tried in the pack was an IPA. I know that as I continue to try IPAs and double IPAs, I have learned to enjoy those styles. I found Breckenridge Brewery's Lucky U IPA to be very drinkable.
During my stay in Colorado, I did get one opportunity to visit Boulder. I met up with one of my former managers and his fiancée for dinner and a few beers. We started out with burgers at Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery which is right on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. I tried the Lil' Willy which is a Scottish-style ale and the Blackberry Wheat. I thought the Lil' Willy was very good and the Blackberry Wheat was...well, interesting. The burger was good as well. We finished with a drink at BJ's Pizza, Grill & Brewery which is also on Pearl Street. I tried the Harvest Hefeweizen which was a good example of the style. I was tempted by their Nutty Brewnette or at least the logo. I think they should expand the pin-up girl theme for their Brewhouse Blonde (which is a Kölsch-style ale), Jeremiah Red (an Irish-style ale), Oasis Amber, and either the porter or stout (think Bettie Page).
My sister's family live in a small town outside of Boulder. I flew into Denver International Airport. I spent most of my time just hanging out with my sister and the kids. We went to Denver Zoo and a local children's museum. I played trucks and trains with my nephew. I flew him around like an airplane, and my back is still hurting. We went for walks around the neighborhood and spent lots of time at the two playgrounds in the area. We also just spent one morning out shopping for groceries.
Colorado is one of the great states for beer. In addition to being home to Coors, one of beer's Goliaths, Colorado just might be the best craft brew state. According to this page, breweries from the state have won the most medals awarded by the Brewers Association per capita. Not surprising, Oregon was a strong second. The post is from 2009, so the rankings could have changed.
While grocery shopping, my sister picked up a 12-bottle sample pack from Breckenridge Brewery which contained three bottles each of four different brews. I tried each of the styles. The first one that I drank was the Vanilla Porter. I thought it was a solid porter, but I did not taste any vanilla flavor. Perhaps, the vanilla flavor was very subtle and just helped with the overall taste. The second bottle that I tried was the Agave Wheat. Including agave nectar in a beer is an interesting touch. The beer was a very good wheat beer, but like the vanilla in the porter, the wheat did not taste like agave. Of course, I really do not know the true taste of agave. I am just familiar with the taste of various tequilas and that does not seem to be the taste of the Agave Wheat brew.
Next, I tried the Avalanche Ale which is an amber ale. I generally like amber ales, and the Avalanche was no different. Conversely, I am generally not a fan of IPAs, and the final beer that I tried in the pack was an IPA. I know that as I continue to try IPAs and double IPAs, I have learned to enjoy those styles. I found Breckenridge Brewery's Lucky U IPA to be very drinkable.
During my stay in Colorado, I did get one opportunity to visit Boulder. I met up with one of my former managers and his fiancée for dinner and a few beers. We started out with burgers at Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery which is right on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. I tried the Lil' Willy which is a Scottish-style ale and the Blackberry Wheat. I thought the Lil' Willy was very good and the Blackberry Wheat was...well, interesting. The burger was good as well. We finished with a drink at BJ's Pizza, Grill & Brewery which is also on Pearl Street. I tried the Harvest Hefeweizen which was a good example of the style. I was tempted by their Nutty Brewnette or at least the logo. I think they should expand the pin-up girl theme for their Brewhouse Blonde (which is a Kölsch-style ale), Jeremiah Red (an Irish-style ale), Oasis Amber, and either the porter or stout (think Bettie Page).
Saturday, April 2, 2011
3-2-1 Contacts
As I mentioned in my previous post, I finally got around to getting a new cellphone on Monday. My new LG Rumor Touch was delivered on Wednesday. I was easily able to activate it online. The LG is only my third cellphone with the aged Sanyo RL-4920 being the second. The first was the truly ancient Sanyo SCP-4700 from way back in 2002. That phone was still in my possession until I disposed of it today.
Getting back to a bit more modern technology, I was able activate my new phone on my own online, but I also wanted to transfer my contact list over to the new phone. I needed some outside assistance with that process. This morning, I took both my phones over to the local Sprint shop on Creedmoor Road. After a short wait, I was called up to the counter. While the clerk was intrigued by my vintage phone, that particular location unfortunately did not have the necessary connector to make the data transfer. The guy suggested that I try the location at the corner of Millbrook Road and Atlantic Avenue. I drove over that shop, and after an even shorter wait, the lady at the counter called my name. Again, the clerks were amused by the prehistoric technology. Fortunately though, they had the right connector. However, the first few tries at exporting my contact list were not successful. The lady took my phone in the back and gave the connector on the bottom a few shots of compressed air to clean it out. That must have done the trick because the next try was successful. Importing the list to my new phone was uneventful. Now I am a happy camper with my new phone.
Moving on to another topic, I have just cracked open the bottle of home brew marked with the number 14, and I am pouring the contents into a frosted mug. I have high hopes for this bottle with the highest number, but I am afraid this one will be another disappointment. There is very little discernible head which dissipates quickly. There are a few white specks floating on the top, but that is not unexpected for the bottles which contain more of the carbonation tablets. The taste is about the same slight sourness as the previous bottles. I do not think it is particularly successful. I still have three bottles remaining. Those bottles are numbered 10, 11.5 (which contains a piece of a broken tablet), and 12. The bottles marked 10 and 11.5 have been in the fridge for a while now. The bottle marked 12 was still in the closet until I just moved it to the fridge. Perhaps 12 will be the magic number.
Getting back to a bit more modern technology, I was able activate my new phone on my own online, but I also wanted to transfer my contact list over to the new phone. I needed some outside assistance with that process. This morning, I took both my phones over to the local Sprint shop on Creedmoor Road. After a short wait, I was called up to the counter. While the clerk was intrigued by my vintage phone, that particular location unfortunately did not have the necessary connector to make the data transfer. The guy suggested that I try the location at the corner of Millbrook Road and Atlantic Avenue. I drove over that shop, and after an even shorter wait, the lady at the counter called my name. Again, the clerks were amused by the prehistoric technology. Fortunately though, they had the right connector. However, the first few tries at exporting my contact list were not successful. The lady took my phone in the back and gave the connector on the bottom a few shots of compressed air to clean it out. That must have done the trick because the next try was successful. Importing the list to my new phone was uneventful. Now I am a happy camper with my new phone.
Moving on to another topic, I have just cracked open the bottle of home brew marked with the number 14, and I am pouring the contents into a frosted mug. I have high hopes for this bottle with the highest number, but I am afraid this one will be another disappointment. There is very little discernible head which dissipates quickly. There are a few white specks floating on the top, but that is not unexpected for the bottles which contain more of the carbonation tablets. The taste is about the same slight sourness as the previous bottles. I do not think it is particularly successful. I still have three bottles remaining. Those bottles are numbered 10, 11.5 (which contains a piece of a broken tablet), and 12. The bottles marked 10 and 11.5 have been in the fridge for a while now. The bottle marked 12 was still in the closet until I just moved it to the fridge. Perhaps 12 will be the magic number.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Number Nine
Today, I cracked open the bottle of home brew which I had labeled with the number 9 ("Number Nine, Number Nine") to indicate that I had added nine carbonation tablets. Nine was the least number of tablets that I used in a bottle. As expected, the result is a very flat beer. The taste is also a bit sour, but I believe that would be relieved with more carbonation. The white specks which are remnants of the Munton's CarbTabs were not an issue with this bottle.
Looking back over some previous posts, I noticed that two recent posts had an interesting and not immediately apparent connection. In a post from March 6, I mentioned that I saw the new Tron movie at the local $1.50 theater. Then on March 12, I posted about the bottle of home brew that contained thirteen carbonation tablets. So what, or more precisely who, is the common connection? That would be the lovely Olivia Wilde, of course. Yeah, yeah, it is a bit of a stretch, but it seemed much more interesting before I started typing this. Anyway, she plays the character Quorra in Tron: Legacy. She is probably most well known from the television show House M.D. where she plays Dr. Remy 'Thirteen' Hadley. OK, enough of that silliness, although I did I get through all that without mentioning that her character is bisexual or linking to her photos in GQ, Maxim and others (oh well).
In other news, I have finally gotten around to ordering myself a new cellphone. I have been with Sprint since I bought my first cellphone quite a few years ago. My current phone is a Sanyo RL-4920 which was originally introduced back in 2004 or so. My current contract with Sprint expired way back in 2007, but I have just never bothered to get a new phone by signing up for a new contract. I recently changed my mind, and today, I ordered the LG Rumor Touch and agreed to a two-year contract. By the way, I got the blue one and not the purple one.
Looking back over some previous posts, I noticed that two recent posts had an interesting and not immediately apparent connection. In a post from March 6, I mentioned that I saw the new Tron movie at the local $1.50 theater. Then on March 12, I posted about the bottle of home brew that contained thirteen carbonation tablets. So what, or more precisely who, is the common connection? That would be the lovely Olivia Wilde, of course. Yeah, yeah, it is a bit of a stretch, but it seemed much more interesting before I started typing this. Anyway, she plays the character Quorra in Tron: Legacy. She is probably most well known from the television show House M.D. where she plays Dr. Remy 'Thirteen' Hadley. OK, enough of that silliness, although I did I get through all that without mentioning that her character is bisexual or linking to her photos in GQ, Maxim and others (oh well).
In other news, I have finally gotten around to ordering myself a new cellphone. I have been with Sprint since I bought my first cellphone quite a few years ago. My current phone is a Sanyo RL-4920 which was originally introduced back in 2004 or so. My current contract with Sprint expired way back in 2007, but I have just never bothered to get a new phone by signing up for a new contract. I recently changed my mind, and today, I ordered the LG Rumor Touch and agreed to a two-year contract. By the way, I got the blue one and not the purple one.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
For the Love of the Bar
I live in the northwestern region of Raleigh. The primary artery in this area is Glenwood Avenue, and my neighborhood is about halfway between the south end of Glenwood in the Glenwood South area of Raleigh and the Brier Creek neighborhood which has exploded over the last few years. It is also halfway between Crabtree Valley Mall and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. While my neighborhood has experienced some growth recently, it is a mainly a middle-aged neighborhood relative to other areas. Similar to its geographical location, it is squeezed in between the fresh-faced Brier Creek and the older downtown area. However, I would argue downtown Raleigh, particularly Glenwood South, experiences much less turnover than the more northern end of the avenue.
The Glenwood South area of Raleigh is known for its restaurants, bars and clubs. Some, like Hibernian and Sullivan's, have been in the their locations for years. Others, like Cashmere and Natty Greene's are newer and replaced previous establishments. I have spent more than a few nights out and about in Glenwood South. For a few years, El had an apartment that was only a short distance from the main strip of Glenwood South. She and I and many of our friends could walk from her place to the various establishments in the area. Nowadays however, I seldom make it downtown.
While the nightlight in my area of Raleigh is not quite so well known as Glenwood South and other areas of downtown, there are plenty of places to have a drink in the north and west areas of Raleigh. I occasionally venture out to Sawmill Tap Room, Edwards Mill, and the new Buffalo Brothers location. Back before they closed, I payed visits to Crowley's and Ben's Place which is soon to be reborn as The Luxury Box. However, I usually just frequent three places that are found along Glenwood Avenue.
Switching gears slightly, a problem that I have with people in general, but particularly with people that hang out in bars, is the gross overuse of the word "love". At least in the bars that I frequent, people are always saying how much they love each other. They also love the bartenders and servers, and of course, the bar staff always loves their patrons. To me, it all seems a bit unseemly. I understand the problem is really with the limitations resulting from the English language having a single word for love. That single word is used to cover love in all of its various forms. The ancient Greeks were much smarter about the subject than us. In fact, they were intelligent enough to have four different words for the different types of love. It just so happens that the three establishments that I most frequent can be mapped to three of the four type of love as defined by the Greeks.
First is O'Malley's which represents familial love (or storge). O'Malley's is an Irish pub that is located in the nondescript Oak Park shopping center where it is sandwiched between a hair salon and a framing store. The parking lot is populated with motorcycles and muscle cars as well as SUVs and minivans. On warm days, people of all shapes and sizes are out front with tasty beverages in their hands. For better or worse, the regular patrons of O'Malley's seem to be like a large family to me. Most of the folks seems to be particularly close and have come to be dependent on each other. However, there is also that peculiar aspect of everybody knowing the business of everybody else and all that goes along with that.
If O'Malley's is familial love, then Blinco's represents fraternal love (or philia which incidentally, is what makes Philadelphia the "City of Brotherly Love"). Blinco's is obviously a sports bar. While there are four televisions in all of O'Malley's, Blinco's has more than twenty. Blinco's is in a free-standing building that faces Glenwood Avenue. It is located in front of a shopping center whose major tenant is a Havertys furniture store. The patrons of Blinco's are generally a friendly lot. The same folks are regularly saddled up to the bar playing Buzztime trivia or poker on some of the televisions. In the fall, Blinco's is the place to be on Saturdays and Sundays to watch some football.
Finally, there is Lynnwood Grill which would be eros or what most people think when the term "love" is used. However, I do not mean that Lynnwood is love in a romantic sense but in the sense of pure lust. Lynnwood will soon be moving into a brand new building that is currently under construction across the street from its current location. The new building will have with a rooftop bar which will offer a great view of the nearby Lowe's and Target stores. At the moment, Lynnwood is holding down one end of a small strip mall. (Drinking establishments that are located in shopping centers is a common theme here in North Raleigh.) This strip mall is located between a movie theater and a Goodwill store. Most of the time, Lynnwood Grill (or "LG" as the regulars say) masquerades as a pizza joint and also serves as a watering hole for the local neighborhood. In reality though, Lynnwood is something much else. To put it simply, on weekend nights, Lynnwood becomes a prototypical meat market.
As I mentioned above, there are actually four different types of love as defined by the Greeks. As I also mentioned above, I really only frequent three local bars which map to three of those four types. I tried searching my mind to find a fourth bar which could represent the fourth type of love which is agape. To me, agape seems only slightly different from storge or familial love. Agape is suppose to be the highest form which is unconditional love, sacrificial love or charity. I guess love progresses up from eros to philia to storge and finally to agape. Anyway, I could not come up with a place that for me fit the agape type of love. Perhaps that place in on my couch with a cold glass of the home brew in my hand. Or this could mean I have not yet found a bar that I truly love.
The Glenwood South area of Raleigh is known for its restaurants, bars and clubs. Some, like Hibernian and Sullivan's, have been in the their locations for years. Others, like Cashmere and Natty Greene's are newer and replaced previous establishments. I have spent more than a few nights out and about in Glenwood South. For a few years, El had an apartment that was only a short distance from the main strip of Glenwood South. She and I and many of our friends could walk from her place to the various establishments in the area. Nowadays however, I seldom make it downtown.
While the nightlight in my area of Raleigh is not quite so well known as Glenwood South and other areas of downtown, there are plenty of places to have a drink in the north and west areas of Raleigh. I occasionally venture out to Sawmill Tap Room, Edwards Mill, and the new Buffalo Brothers location. Back before they closed, I payed visits to Crowley's and Ben's Place which is soon to be reborn as The Luxury Box. However, I usually just frequent three places that are found along Glenwood Avenue.
Switching gears slightly, a problem that I have with people in general, but particularly with people that hang out in bars, is the gross overuse of the word "love". At least in the bars that I frequent, people are always saying how much they love each other. They also love the bartenders and servers, and of course, the bar staff always loves their patrons. To me, it all seems a bit unseemly. I understand the problem is really with the limitations resulting from the English language having a single word for love. That single word is used to cover love in all of its various forms. The ancient Greeks were much smarter about the subject than us. In fact, they were intelligent enough to have four different words for the different types of love. It just so happens that the three establishments that I most frequent can be mapped to three of the four type of love as defined by the Greeks.
First is O'Malley's which represents familial love (or storge). O'Malley's is an Irish pub that is located in the nondescript Oak Park shopping center where it is sandwiched between a hair salon and a framing store. The parking lot is populated with motorcycles and muscle cars as well as SUVs and minivans. On warm days, people of all shapes and sizes are out front with tasty beverages in their hands. For better or worse, the regular patrons of O'Malley's seem to be like a large family to me. Most of the folks seems to be particularly close and have come to be dependent on each other. However, there is also that peculiar aspect of everybody knowing the business of everybody else and all that goes along with that.
If O'Malley's is familial love, then Blinco's represents fraternal love (or philia which incidentally, is what makes Philadelphia the "City of Brotherly Love"). Blinco's is obviously a sports bar. While there are four televisions in all of O'Malley's, Blinco's has more than twenty. Blinco's is in a free-standing building that faces Glenwood Avenue. It is located in front of a shopping center whose major tenant is a Havertys furniture store. The patrons of Blinco's are generally a friendly lot. The same folks are regularly saddled up to the bar playing Buzztime trivia or poker on some of the televisions. In the fall, Blinco's is the place to be on Saturdays and Sundays to watch some football.
Finally, there is Lynnwood Grill which would be eros or what most people think when the term "love" is used. However, I do not mean that Lynnwood is love in a romantic sense but in the sense of pure lust. Lynnwood will soon be moving into a brand new building that is currently under construction across the street from its current location. The new building will have with a rooftop bar which will offer a great view of the nearby Lowe's and Target stores. At the moment, Lynnwood is holding down one end of a small strip mall. (Drinking establishments that are located in shopping centers is a common theme here in North Raleigh.) This strip mall is located between a movie theater and a Goodwill store. Most of the time, Lynnwood Grill (or "LG" as the regulars say) masquerades as a pizza joint and also serves as a watering hole for the local neighborhood. In reality though, Lynnwood is something much else. To put it simply, on weekend nights, Lynnwood becomes a prototypical meat market.
As I mentioned above, there are actually four different types of love as defined by the Greeks. As I also mentioned above, I really only frequent three local bars which map to three of those four types. I tried searching my mind to find a fourth bar which could represent the fourth type of love which is agape. To me, agape seems only slightly different from storge or familial love. Agape is suppose to be the highest form which is unconditional love, sacrificial love or charity. I guess love progresses up from eros to philia to storge and finally to agape. Anyway, I could not come up with a place that for me fit the agape type of love. Perhaps that place in on my couch with a cold glass of the home brew in my hand. Or this could mean I have not yet found a bar that I truly love.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Another Home Brew Update
As a reminder, I currently have one-liter bottles of Mr. Beer's Octoberfest Vienna Lager which I mixed up back in January and bottled two weeks later using Munton's CarbTabs to create carbonation. Today, I cracked open the unlucky bottle marked with the number 13. I trouble getting the thirteen carbonation tablets into this bottle and ended up dropping three on the counter. I poured the brew into a frozen glass mug. Even with the thirteen carbonation tablets, there was very little head. There were white specks floating at the top of the beer. The taste was sour but still drinkable.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Some New Kicks
The return of the friendly neighborhood gathering ended early tonight for yours truly. I figured I could use the extra free time on a post.
This post is for any of you out there who happen to have a shoe fetish, particularly for shoes of the athletic type. I have recently been shopping for a new pair of running shoes. I bought my most recent pair of shoes back in 2009. They were the pair that I wore when El and I ran (well, traveled) the Las Vegas Half Marathon that year. I see that the Las Vegas Marathon and 1/2 Marathon will now be held at night which sounds like fun, but they were held in the morning in 2009. If you are wondering, I finished the half in two hours, 55 minutes and 37 seconds which was only good for 13,632 place out of 17,920 overall entrants.
Back to my shoes, my most recent pair are the ASICS GT-2140 in the electric blue. I really like those shoes, but they are by now well-worn and needed to be replaced. The current version of those shoes is the GT-2160. I went to a few running and general athletic stores, and I checked out several pairs of the GT-2160. I particularly liked the look of the flame-colored ones. My pair of GT-2140 are size 12 and a half, and most stores do not stock half sizes over 12. The ones that did have my exact size did not have the flame-colored version in stock.
However, what I found during my various stops was that the stores still had stock of the previous version, the GT-2150. I spoke to one sales clerk, and she told me the GT-2150 was basically the same as the GT-2160. The GT-2150 was priced considerably cheaper. I went home and started searching the Internet for the GT-2150. I found an online store that had my size available, but I decided to skip the flame color and go with the brass. The shoes arrived about a week and a half ago which was only a couple of days after placed my order. I went for a run last weekend wearing the new shoes, and they felt really good. Now I just need to remember to buy new running shoes more often. Perhaps, my next pair will be the GT-2160 in the flame.
This post is for any of you out there who happen to have a shoe fetish, particularly for shoes of the athletic type. I have recently been shopping for a new pair of running shoes. I bought my most recent pair of shoes back in 2009. They were the pair that I wore when El and I ran (well, traveled) the Las Vegas Half Marathon that year. I see that the Las Vegas Marathon and 1/2 Marathon will now be held at night which sounds like fun, but they were held in the morning in 2009. If you are wondering, I finished the half in two hours, 55 minutes and 37 seconds which was only good for 13,632 place out of 17,920 overall entrants.
Back to my shoes, my most recent pair are the ASICS GT-2140 in the electric blue. I really like those shoes, but they are by now well-worn and needed to be replaced. The current version of those shoes is the GT-2160. I went to a few running and general athletic stores, and I checked out several pairs of the GT-2160. I particularly liked the look of the flame-colored ones. My pair of GT-2140 are size 12 and a half, and most stores do not stock half sizes over 12. The ones that did have my exact size did not have the flame-colored version in stock.
However, what I found during my various stops was that the stores still had stock of the previous version, the GT-2150. I spoke to one sales clerk, and she told me the GT-2150 was basically the same as the GT-2160. The GT-2150 was priced considerably cheaper. I went home and started searching the Internet for the GT-2150. I found an online store that had my size available, but I decided to skip the flame color and go with the brass. The shoes arrived about a week and a half ago which was only a couple of days after placed my order. I went for a run last weekend wearing the new shoes, and they felt really good. Now I just need to remember to buy new running shoes more often. Perhaps, my next pair will be the GT-2160 in the flame.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A Little Bit of This and That
Forewarning, this post has no particular rhyme or reason.
Today, I went to the local $1.50 movie theater and saw Tron: Legacy. While it was a decent movie, it seemed like a great movie to see in 3-D, particularity IMAX 3D. Speaking of IMAX 3D, I have a guy date (is that the proper term or it is man date or bro date?) with one of my coworkers to see Hubble 3D at the local IMAX theater. He said he bought one of those two-for-one deals from Groupon or LivingSocial, but his wife balked at going to the Hubble movie with him. He has not mentioned when he wants to go, but perhaps that will be something to do next week.
Speaking of next week, this Friday marks the return of the friendly neighborhood social gathering. It was previously held every other Friday night, but recently, it has disappeared from the schedule. The last gathering was back in November for the birthday of one of the guys. That event was actually on a Saturday. The last one that I attended prior to that was at the end of July. Now, I have even volunteered to help. I have been managing the invite list, and perhaps in a few weeks, I will even host an event at my place.
Back to today, I stopped by my favorite used bookstore, The Reader's Corner, over on Hillsborough Street. As usual, I picked up a handful of books. This time, my book purchases were in three pairs plus a single. There was a whole stack of Ian Fleming's James Bond paperbacks that were printed in the mid-60s. While I am a big fan of the Bond movies, I have never read any of the books. I was able to control myself and only purchase the first two in the series, Casino Royale and Live and Let Die. Interestingly, those are not the first two that are turned into movies. The first Bond movie was Dr. No which was released in 1962 and was based on the sixth book in the series. The second movie was 1963's From Russia with Love which was the fifth book.
In addition to the two Bond novels, I picked up two books by Gore Vidal, Julian from 1964, and Myra Breckinridge from 1968. I also bought two books on science. One was The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan (of "billions and billions" fame). I bought the other science-related book purely for the title, In Search of Schrödinger's Cat by John R. Gribbin. If you do not know about Erwin Schrödinger and his infamous cat, then you should ask somebody (like a physicist) or just look it up on Wikipedia. You might also want to read up on Werner Heisenberg and his uncertainty principle. Moving right along, my final unrelated purchase was The Fourth K by Mario Puzo which is not part of Puzo's Mafia series.
I think that is enough randomness for today.
Today, I went to the local $1.50 movie theater and saw Tron: Legacy. While it was a decent movie, it seemed like a great movie to see in 3-D, particularity IMAX 3D. Speaking of IMAX 3D, I have a guy date (is that the proper term or it is man date or bro date?) with one of my coworkers to see Hubble 3D at the local IMAX theater. He said he bought one of those two-for-one deals from Groupon or LivingSocial, but his wife balked at going to the Hubble movie with him. He has not mentioned when he wants to go, but perhaps that will be something to do next week.
Speaking of next week, this Friday marks the return of the friendly neighborhood social gathering. It was previously held every other Friday night, but recently, it has disappeared from the schedule. The last gathering was back in November for the birthday of one of the guys. That event was actually on a Saturday. The last one that I attended prior to that was at the end of July. Now, I have even volunteered to help. I have been managing the invite list, and perhaps in a few weeks, I will even host an event at my place.
Back to today, I stopped by my favorite used bookstore, The Reader's Corner, over on Hillsborough Street. As usual, I picked up a handful of books. This time, my book purchases were in three pairs plus a single. There was a whole stack of Ian Fleming's James Bond paperbacks that were printed in the mid-60s. While I am a big fan of the Bond movies, I have never read any of the books. I was able to control myself and only purchase the first two in the series, Casino Royale and Live and Let Die. Interestingly, those are not the first two that are turned into movies. The first Bond movie was Dr. No which was released in 1962 and was based on the sixth book in the series. The second movie was 1963's From Russia with Love which was the fifth book.
In addition to the two Bond novels, I picked up two books by Gore Vidal, Julian from 1964, and Myra Breckinridge from 1968. I also bought two books on science. One was The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan (of "billions and billions" fame). I bought the other science-related book purely for the title, In Search of Schrödinger's Cat by John R. Gribbin. If you do not know about Erwin Schrödinger and his infamous cat, then you should ask somebody (like a physicist) or just look it up on Wikipedia. You might also want to read up on Werner Heisenberg and his uncertainty principle. Moving right along, my final unrelated purchase was The Fourth K by Mario Puzo which is not part of Puzo's Mafia series.
I think that is enough randomness for today.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Very Useful People at Merriam-Webster
I recently found the message below in my personal email archive. Unfortunately, I do not remember the exact question that I asked the fine folks at Merriam-Webster back in 2002, but it seems that I was concerned about the earliest usage of the word for the performer of a activity being dated earlier (1930) than the word for the activity itself (1932).
From: James ████████████ <█████████@merriam-webster.com>
Sent: Wed, March 13, 2002 11:55:16 AM
Subject: Re: striptease
Dear Jim,
As an historical research editor here at Merriam-Webster, I edit the
dates of first usage, and look for earlier examples of use. I
frequently deal with the troubling issue you bring up.
It seems like "stripteaser" implies "striptease." How could the name
for a doer of some action be formed, if that action hadn't been named?
The problem is that we are not dating when we surmise the word to have
come into use, but the first actual quote we can find of it in print or
manuscript. I can surmise "striptease" to have preceded "stripteaser,"
but the first citation of "stripteaser" we can find is from _Variety_
magazine (as are all the early citations for both words) from 1930,
while the first time "striptease" was used (in _Variety_) was 1936.
This may seem picky, but proof and specificity are absolutely necessary
in dating word usage, and for good reason. I have often found pairs of
words with similarly reversed-seeming dates, for which I have found
proof that the seemingly basic form was not formed first. This may (or
may not) even be the case with "striptease." _Variety_ used "the strip
and tease" as early as 1930. "Stripteaser" may have been formed directly
from "the strip and tease," and the latter only later compacted in
speech to "striptease."
Sincerely,
James ████████████
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102
█████████@Merriam-Webster.com
http://www.Merriam-Webster.com
From: James ████████████ <█████████@merriam-webster.com>
Sent: Wed, March 13, 2002 11:55:16 AM
Subject: Re: striptease
Dear Jim,
As an historical research editor here at Merriam-Webster, I edit the
dates of first usage, and look for earlier examples of use. I
frequently deal with the troubling issue you bring up.
It seems like "stripteaser" implies "striptease." How could the name
for a doer of some action be formed, if that action hadn't been named?
The problem is that we are not dating when we surmise the word to have
come into use, but the first actual quote we can find of it in print or
manuscript. I can surmise "striptease" to have preceded "stripteaser,"
but the first citation of "stripteaser" we can find is from _Variety_
magazine (as are all the early citations for both words) from 1930,
while the first time "striptease" was used (in _Variety_) was 1936.
This may seem picky, but proof and specificity are absolutely necessary
in dating word usage, and for good reason. I have often found pairs of
words with similarly reversed-seeming dates, for which I have found
proof that the seemingly basic form was not formed first. This may (or
may not) even be the case with "striptease." _Variety_ used "the strip
and tease" as early as 1930. "Stripteaser" may have been formed directly
from "the strip and tease," and the latter only later compacted in
speech to "striptease."
Sincerely,
James ████████████
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102
█████████@Merriam-Webster.com
http://www.Merriam-Webster.com
Monday, February 21, 2011
Errrrrr!
I am blatantly stealing this little tidbit from the News Ticker section of today's Uni Watch post, but errrrrr!
Friday, February 11, 2011
For Kush
(Yes, we're going to Hell)
- Candace
- Marymac
- Sarah
- Stephanie (Brownie Queen)
- Morgan
- Megan
- Tracy
- Care Bear
- Krista
- Jamie
- Heather
- Vickie
- Miss Fedora (the other Heather)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Another Bottle
I decided to try the second bottle from the latest home brew batch. Next in line was the bottle marked 11 plus a little dot. This bottle has me a bit worried. I added the little dot because I dropped one of the carbonation tabs on the counter. I then picked it up with my fingers and put it in the bottle. There is some concern around the Internet about handling carbonation tabs. Some people suggest using little tongs or perhaps tweezers (sanitized and sterilized, I assume) to get the tablets out of the package and inserted in the bottle. Having neither small tongs nor tweezers (clean or otherwise), I went with cutting a small opening in the corner of the package, placing that opening very near to the top of the bottle, and then sliding a tablet out of the package and into the bottle. I managed quite well with only a few drops. Some dropped tablets hit the floor. I discarded those. However, I decided to use the ones that hit the counter. There was one of those counter tablets in this bottle. As it so happens, the only other bottle that contains dropped tablets is the one with 13 tablets, three of which were dropped on the counter. I am not superstitious, but that 13 bottle might have some surprises in store.
Back to this bottle. The initial pour is completely flat. Again, I believe more time carbonating is required. Surprisingly, the taste does not seem as bad as the previous bottle. The sour taste is still there, but it is much subdued. Or perhaps I am just getting use to the taste with the second bottle. Sourness aside, I do like the Octoberfest Vienna Lager. It has a nice amber color and a malty taste.
While searching the Internet for information on the Vienna Lager, I found out something that I should have realized earlier. This brew can not be a true lager since it was fermented at room temperature. Lagers are brewed at lower temperatures than ales, and they use a special type of yeast. Wikipedia tells me lagers are brewed at around 50 °F as opposed to 64 °F for ales. Lager yeast are mutated bottom-feeding varieties, specifically Saccharomyces pastorianus. Now I know.
Back to this bottle. The initial pour is completely flat. Again, I believe more time carbonating is required. Surprisingly, the taste does not seem as bad as the previous bottle. The sour taste is still there, but it is much subdued. Or perhaps I am just getting use to the taste with the second bottle. Sourness aside, I do like the Octoberfest Vienna Lager. It has a nice amber color and a malty taste.
While searching the Internet for information on the Vienna Lager, I found out something that I should have realized earlier. This brew can not be a true lager since it was fermented at room temperature. Lagers are brewed at lower temperatures than ales, and they use a special type of yeast. Wikipedia tells me lagers are brewed at around 50 °F as opposed to 64 °F for ales. Lager yeast are mutated bottom-feeding varieties, specifically Saccharomyces pastorianus. Now I know.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Home Brew Update
Today, I got around to cracking open the first bottle of the latest batch of the home brew. I selected one of the two bottles that contained twelve of the Munton's CarbTabs. The amber-colored brew is a bit of a disappointment. It is flat which probably means that it needs to sit a bit longer while more carbonation is created. This is not unexpected with the Munton's CarbTabs which I have read take up to three weeks for the carbonation period. There are also white specks in the brew which is also not unexpected with the CarbTabs. The taste is sour which is more disconcerting. A search of the Internet shows several possible answers. Perhaps what I am tasting is just stale beer and additional carbonation will fix the problem. On the other hand, the yeast might have been dead in the packet or perhaps killed by me if the wort was too warm. Or the batch might have needed to ferment a little longer. I will try another bottle in a few days, but I think the odds are that I have myself a bad batch of brew.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Last Crusade
When I am in the gym, Glenn Beck's television show is usually on the one television tuned to Fox News. While I am on the elliptical machine, I watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, but occasionally during commercials, I switch over to see what Mr. Beck is all teared up about. As one would might expect, Mr. Beck's most recent concern is the forthcoming Armageddon ignited by the troubles in Egypt and somewhat related demonstrations in Tunisia, Jordan, and Yemen. Mr. Beck sees these uprisings as a beginning of an organized attempt by Islamic groups to take over the world.
I really have no opinion on Mr. Beck's concerns. However, as an example of Muslim aggressiveness, he goes all the way back to the Crusades. Now am I not an expert on those religious wars of the Middle Ages, but I am pretty sure all of the Crusades, except the last one, were due to Christian armies invading Muslim territory which in those times included Palestine. The point being that the Crusades were the result of aggressiveness by Christians and not Muslims.
Of course, the Last Crusade is not a war, but the third of the Indiana Jones movies. It's the one where Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford in one of his iconic roles, and his father, played by Sean Connery, are searching for the Holy Grail while being pursued by Nazis. The movie has that great line delivered by Connery, "We named the dog Indiana."
I really have no opinion on Mr. Beck's concerns. However, as an example of Muslim aggressiveness, he goes all the way back to the Crusades. Now am I not an expert on those religious wars of the Middle Ages, but I am pretty sure all of the Crusades, except the last one, were due to Christian armies invading Muslim territory which in those times included Palestine. The point being that the Crusades were the result of aggressiveness by Christians and not Muslims.
Of course, the Last Crusade is not a war, but the third of the Indiana Jones movies. It's the one where Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford in one of his iconic roles, and his father, played by Sean Connery, are searching for the Holy Grail while being pursued by Nazis. The movie has that great line delivered by Connery, "We named the dog Indiana."
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