Shpeftopolis

Christmas Thoughts

2011-12-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

One item worth sharing tonight... Not sure what made me think of it, but after listening to it again, hit me like a ton of bricks, just like the first time.

A Soldier's Silent Night (warning - auto-plays some audio)

I've probably not heard this reading in a good four years or so... but man it's so powerful. As I try to write this entry after listening again, I'm a hot mess.

Merry Christmas to all... and to all a good night.

We still miss ya' Billy.

2010-06-28T07:55:00.006-04:00

Well, I do, at least. Today is the one-year anniversary of the death of Billy Mays, possibly the world's greatest pitchman.

Hooray for Creative Commons!

2010-06-27T19:26:00.004-04:00

Without BoingBoing's link to Rudy Rucker & The Ware Tetralogy this past week, I probably never would have read the whole series of books.

I downloaded the free PDF of the whole series (866 pages!) and couldn't stop reading once I started. It's a trippy journey - found the first two books to be the 'better' of the set, for my enjoyment.

It slightly reminds me of another e-book I read a few years back - The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect. Another one of those that I couldn't stop reading until I was done.

Guess I'm a sci-fi nerd at heart.

Double-E BBQ Sauce - homemade!

2010-02-07T18:27:00.003-05:00

The wife slow-cooked some boneless pork ribs all afternoon today - only to discover that we were out of Cattlemens sauce! The horror!

Not wanting to venture out in the cold just for sauce, we decided to do a little research to see if we can make our own sauce.

After combining parts of two different sauces - we settled on the following recipe, which has a sweet & tangy flavor. The kid loves it!

Double-E BBQ Sauce
1 C catsup
1/3 C vinegar
1/2 C water
2 T butter
1/2 C brown sugar
1 T liquid smoke
2 T Worchestershire sauce
Dash onion powder
1 tsp Cayenne - optional
Salt/Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil, lower heat to fast simmer, then simmer for about 15 minutes.

We're calling it Double-E since myself (Eric) and my daughter (Ellie) created the final product.

Welcome to the 90's!

2010-01-29T06:49:00.004-05:00

Yours truly has discovered audio books! Nothing like staying current, eh? Anyways, I'm currently listening to "A Brief History Of Time" by Stephen Hawking. I loaded it up onto my iPod, and plugged it into the car on the way to work this morning.

As I exited my vehicle to walk into the building, I started laughing out loud as I had a realization... I felt a bit like Kal-El - hurling down the freeway, listening to a kind & gentle voice explain special relativity and general relativity, Newton, and so on. Just like he did as he hurtled toward Earth. His crystal of knowledge is my iPod shuffle.

Hilarious.

LOLQuote

2010-01-29T06:48:00.003-05:00

Said to me this morning in the office: "If {man's name} was a girl, he'd be pregnant all the time. Sheesh."

Will anyone notice?

2009-11-18T07:14:00.003-05:00

Abruptly and without much fanfare, I've abandoned Twitter. The honeymoon is over... And as a friend once said "I don't need another stale social-networking presence." Only, in my case, replace "another" with "a".

For me, Twitter was fun and novel for a time... longer than I was expecting, actually. Made a few friends - really enjoyed reading many updates. But... I found it hard to maintain in the face of everything else going on my life at present.

I think it boils down to what I want in life - and as I get older my preference is to organize and simplify. Do more with less. Unfortunately, less means cutting out things that aren't productive for me. The return on my time investment in Twitter was in rapid decline.

On to The Next Big Thing...

"Fools Gold Loaf Sandwich" - no foolin'!

2009-08-18T06:41:00.005-04:00

Years ago, I used to have a daily ritual of checking all my favorite websites (the wife calls them my Nerd Journals) at least once a day for all the latest "stuff" that interested me. That required a rather large set of bookmarks in my browser. And if I switched PCs, most of the time I forgot to bring my bookmarks with me. Oops.

Along came the RSS reader! If my sites published an RSS feed, then I would no longer have to GO and visit each site - one program would collect all my nerd journals for me in one easy-to-use application. Sweet! Again, if I switched PCs or had to rebuild, I was usually dorked in some fashion.

Then Google announces Google Reader... Huzzah! Once again I've found my solution, and it seems to be a long-term one, at that. Because without it, I would NEVER have found this: Fools' Gold Loaf Sandwich. Holy crap! That's pure genius! Kind of.

Anyway - I tweeted about that yesterday, and of course, followed up last night with actual construction and consumption!

I certainly wasn't going to recreate that EXACT sandwich - not before bedtime, at least! I opted for a 'sampler size' of regular sandwich bread (lightly toasted), creamy peanut butter, grape jelly, and some of my hickory-smoked, thin-sliced pre-cooked bacon. PRE-COOKED!?? you say? Well I chose convenience rather than dirty the stove. Plus it only took 45 seconds to cook. I didn't want to wait any longer than necessary.

The picture above isn't 100% accurate - I added two more slices to the sandwich after the first bite; it was a little lean in the bacon category.

But let me tell you - I was totally hooked after that first bite. Slight smokey flavor and saltiness goes GREAT with the sweetness of the jelly and slightly-melty peanut butter. The crunch is awesome. Let me stress this - you WANT crispy bacon. If you put bacon on there that's still soft at all, you will likely NOT have a good sandwich experience.

Even the Dear Wife took a few bites and said it was good! The Child, while enthusiastic about my effort, opted for just a strip of plain bacon instead of the sandwich. Ha!

Two thumbs up!

Can't read the fine print in a radio commercial!

2009-08-06T06:49:00.005-04:00

Much to the dismay of my peers, I've already turned into one of those 'old men' who listen to nothing but talk radio. I guess the demographic of which much talk radio is aimed consists of "middle-aged adults with over $10K in credit card debt", if the commercials are any indication. John Commuta and his "transforming debt into wealth system" as well as the "you have the right to settle your debt for a fraction of what you owe"-people permeate the airwaves, it seems.

Well if you have an ounce of common sense, most of these ads just go in one ear and out the other. Debt will always be debt, and the only way to 'transform' it into wealth is by paying it off and investing smartly. And yes, in some cases your creditors will accept a less than 100% payoff and call the deal 'done', but there's always a catch; usually in the form of a "account settled" mark on your credit report(s) in lieu of "paid as agreed".

Anyway - I was watching some early AM cable TV the other day (which is often nothing but informercials), and came across a TV spot for the same company I'd heard on the radio, claiming to "settle your debt" for pennies on the dollar. What caught my attention is the legalese at the end, in the form of a nearly 4pt font at the bottom of the screen. Being the Curious George, I paused the DVR and actually read it (the radio spots don't have this verbiage).

AH HA! It appears this company doesn't really do anything at all except collect your personal information and sell it to other "credit management" agencies, which may or may not be able to help you settle your debt. Oh and another thing they don't mention, most of the "settle your debt" firms will have you just STOP paying on your credit cards completely! They instruct you to save up the money you would have paid them, until you have enough to make a lump-sum payment needed to 'settle' your debt; but only after the creditor reaches the point of accepting whatever they can get out of you.

See, the credit card companies will likely NOT to accept an offer to settle if you've been making regular payments - but once your account falls into arrears (usually for many months, if not years!) they *may* accept a lump-sum payment for less than the full amount and call it even. Oh by the way, during that time you're not making payments, you'll be hounded by the creditor, and usually a 3rd party collection agency or two. If you owe enough, they may even sue (and win) and garnish your wages.

Having said that - there are probably a few companies out there that can help you out, if you're in need of such services. Caveat emptor! Do your own research.

But enough of those messy details - my whole point was - when you hear the radio spot, heck, it may sound like a good deal! Apparently the disclosure of what they ACTUALLY do is only required for the TV advertisements? Something doesn't seem right to me if that's the case. In these trying economic times, consumers are more vulnerable to possible rip-offs. Be smart!

Goober Burger - The Verdict

2009-04-15T18:25:00.004-04:00

WOW. I mentioned in this post that I intended on making my very own Goober Burger (seen recently on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern). Well. My mouth was in for a surprise!

I didn't quite follow the recipe exactly - I did press my own patty, seasoned only with salt and pepper. I did cook to medium, and after the flip I added approximately 2 Tbs of creamy peanut butter (Jif was available in my pantry), and let it melt on top.

The TV version had a dollop of mayo on top too, but I opted for a heavy coating of mayo on the bun instead. One, to ensure my bun doesn't go soggy, and two, to make up for the lack of dollop during cooking. They also indicated a pickle was on the burger as well - so I put on a wide but thin sammich pickle before plating.

I didn't take any pictures unfortunately...

But OH THE TASTE. I didn't know what to expect - but MAN was it good!!! I'm thinking the pickle would probably be best left off, but it wasn't an unpleasant addition. The flavor of the peanut butter doesn't overwhelm the beef - melds quite well. Were I a professional foodie, I might be able to articulate what's happening in my mouth - but since I'm not, all I can say is ME LIKEY VERY MUCH. KTHXBAI.

I think the key here is to get at least half of the peanut butter melted and running down the side of the burger.

I TOTALLY recommend trying this yourself. Heck, I may even attempt to ORDER one at my next trip to the local greasy spoon. I expect the waitress will look at me like I'm from outer space.

Two thumbs up!!!

Goober Burgers - Bizarre Foods

2009-04-09T05:21:00.005-04:00

Confession time. I enjoy a contemplating wacky foods. Odd combinations of ingredients pique my interest, usually to the point of trying them at least once (see the Whop-Bang post for an example). A couple of years ago a co-worker mentioned that her husband puts peanut butter on hot dogs. I was all - WTF?!?! Of course, I had to try it. As did my 6 year old daughter. I kinda liked it! Who knew.

While flipping through the channels this week I saw Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel, and he was about to eat a "Goober Burger", which consists of a standard hamburger, topped with peanut butter and mayo. Note the PB dollop goes on the burger while still on the grill, for maximum melty goodness, then the mayo dollop right before plating.

After mulling over this concoction for the past couple of days, I've determined that I MUST try this. Soon. No, you may not have a bite.

Xtreme Food: Whop-Bang

2009-04-03T12:05:00.009-04:00

After reading a number of blogs about the McGangBang that people are ordering from McDonalds, on a whim I decided to try it's cousin the Whop-Bang from Burger King... in the name of food science, of course!

Some of you will ask - what the heck is a McGangBang? Go click the link! It's a McChicken sandwich inside of a Double-Cheeseburger. Doesn't that sound delish? Well, it kinda does, at least.

Surprisingly, the cashier took my order in stride! She was initially stymied as to how to ring it up, but quickly got past that. She did turn around to address the sandwich maker in the back, and gave her some specific instructions where to place the chicken patty that was on the order. From where I stood, the confused look on the sandwich-maker's face was pretty priceless.

As expected, once the other employees overheard what was being ordered, there was a great deal of interest in both the sandwich and the big goofball that ordered it. Even the guy in line behind me said "man, that sounds like a good sandwich!"

My first reaction was HOLY CRAP that thing is huge! Quite tall in stature. It was one of those sandwiches that once you pick it up, you can't let it out of your paw or it'll fall apart.

The chicken certainly added a new degree of flavor as well as texture - not at all unpleasant. It's not something I'll ever order again, mind you, but it wasn't bad at all. The lettuce/tomato/onion/pickle pretty much got squeezed out during the necessary man-handling of the sandwich, but that was expected.

I will now proceed to look for a suitable place to nap at the office.

TasteCasting: Crimson Cup Coffee

2009-04-01T18:37:00.012-04:00

Now this TasteCasting event was a bit different - we were not in a restaurant, but at the HQ of Crimson Cup - where the actual development, roasting and packaging of their products takes place! COOL.

They make a bold statement early on - World's Best Coffee. Now I'm not a big coffee drinker, at least in the 'pure coffee' sense. I do happen to like the espresso-based drinks that you can get at That Other Place That Has A Location On Every Corner, but this tasting has totally won me over to be an A-Blend Disciple. Srsly. It's that good.

Our event began with order taking, courtesy of Anna, who maintains their very cool blog. We all got to order any drink off of their menu! How cool was that? I opted for the Mocha, their signature beverage. OMG it was totally delicious. What was even more awesome was we got to see their CEO (Chief Espresso Officer) Armando make all of our drinks, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

I correctly and quickly discerned that Armando is clearly one of the lynch pins of this whole operation. This guy knows coffee, and can probably grow, harvest, sort, roast and brew coffee in his sleep - with one arm tied behind his back. I mean, come on! Their main product is NAMED after him. He's as humble as the day is long, and willing to share what he knows - spent a good deal of time answering our questions. Great guy!

Greg Ubert (founder), gave us the Crimson Cup story, and his thoughts on coffee and the business. Also humble and very approachable - he totally believes in what he's doing, which is making good coffee. Sure he wants to make a buck, but he's totally into quality over quantity. You really should go click the link and read his bio.

We all finish our selected drinks (well, some of us, at least! I powered that Mocha right down!) and we then started the tour of the facility. We got to see all the fresh beans, the roasting machines, and Roastmaster Dave even roasted a batch for us! Incredible smells permeated the whole warehouse.

Next up was "cupping". I was all... huh?? Cupping is basically the coffee equivalent to a wine tasting. It was right about now that I realized I could stream video from my Blackberry - so I did!

Here we were just getting started.

Roastmaster Dave giving us a BOATLOAD of info in these coffees we were about to "cup".

Here we prepare for the second phase, where we actually soak the ground coffee in hot water to bring out additional aromas!

The last part of the cupping involves tasting the coffee (without cream? Sugar? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?)... but by SLURPING. Dave tells us the more violent the slurp from the spoon, the better aeration you get into your mouth, and by extension, better flavor transmission to your tastebuds. So yes, I got a HEAVY dose of raw, unadulterated coffee... surprisingly, it wasn't as offensive as I was expecting. Perhaps my prior experience with Those Other Coffees predisposed me to expect 'bad' flavor from unflavored coffee. Shame on me for not having a more open mind.

We then got to see the flavoring station, packaging and shipping departments. I love big machinery, and despite the smaller size of their operation, this place did not disappoint.

We also got to get up-close and personal with Armando, as he gave us a very close inspection of their beans. We had a little lesson on what makes a good bean, and how to spot defects.

It's amazing how many categories of "defects" there are for coffee beans.

Finally, we returned to the cafe, where we got to sample some of the frozen versions of their drinks... OMG here comes more sugar. Below Armando talks about the Frozen Hot Chocolate...

Man I can almost taste it again as I write this.

We spent a great deal of time tasting, learning and having a great time (almost 2.5 hours, actually). These folks know what they're doing, and they are certainly passionate about doing it. You should TOTALLY try some yourself. Go find one near you. Be sure to follow them on Twitter, too!

Catch my fellow TasteCasters' photos at the Crimson Cup Flickr Collection.

What's It Like 2B Mrs.Big E?

2009-03-30T18:14:00.005-04:00

Fun!! Just plain ole fun!! This pic speaks a thousand words as I FINALLY got the better of him by smushing cake in his face!! Wedding cake so at least it tasted great!! Hoo Hah!!I love ya babe!

TasteCasting: Katzingers - A Columbus Institution

2009-03-20T11:48:00.021-04:00

For my first-ever TasteCasting, I participated in the Katzingers event last night. What's that? Never heard of Katzingers? And you live in Columbus? Shame on you. It's been around since 1984, and Diane Warren's crew is fantastic! From the moment I met some of the staff, it's clear they're not just employees - but they do care about what they're doing, and really want you to eat something good!

If you've never been to Katzingers, it's a VERY busy deli, but so much more. Not only do they have a bajillion sandwiches, but they also have a wide assortment of cheeses & meats, plus wines, oils and who knows what else. With every turn I made there was something unexpected.

They held a Wine and Cheese tasting event for us - and boy did they ever! Clearly this was not their first rodeo. They had handouts, folders, paper on which to take notes... Heck, I halfway expected there to be a quiz before the end of the evening!

My first thought as I sat and prepared to begin the tasting was how ILL prepared I was for this. I know nothing about cheese, and even less about wine. Fortunately, the Specialty Foods Manager, Wendy, started off by giving an overview of the many different types of cheese (fresh, bloomy-rind, semi-soft, washed-rind, etc.). She likened our Tasting to a "Cheese 101" course - which worked out for me! She did present a wealth of information at the onset, as well as throughout the tasting.

Our Tasting consisted of 5 separate pairings of wine and cheese. We started off cleansing our collective palettes with a glass of Il Follo "Cuvee Rustot" Brut Prosecco. Here I found my first and biggest problem of the evening: how to articulate all the tastes and feelings I was going to experience. I mean, I know what I like when I taste it, but I've never tried to be a "foodie" and accurately describe a flavor to anyone. Nevertheless, onward I pressed!

But rather than try to be all "foodie-like" in my very first TasteCasting blog, I'll share my overall experience.

The first pairing was the Prosecco wine with "La Tur" cheese, from Italy. Very rich and creamy - good as a breakfast cheese, spread on some nice bread, topped with some fruit, perhaps? It was my flavorite cheese so far!

Second pairing was a Riesling with Cave Aged Gruyere - a good melting cheese, suitable for addition to your mac-n-cheese dishes and the like. It's a semi-hard cheese; firm but not crumbly. This was my new flavorite! (Detect any trends here?)

The next pairing ended up being my overall favorite - a Sauvignon Blanc and a cheese named Serena, from Three Sisters. The cheese reminds me a bit of Asiago... and the pairing with the wine was AWESOME.

A Pinot Noir and the washed-rind Grayson cheese was fourth on the list. The washed-rind cheeses are all bathed continually in a brine during creation. Wendy called it the "steak of cheese." My first reaction was "swiss-y" in flavor. Darn my uncultured palate.

To finish, a Regianto "Celestina" was served alongside of a bit of Cashel Blue cheese, which seemed to be the most popular in the group, by show of hands. I really liked the dessert-style wine! It has a good bite and pleasant aftertaste.

The Katzingers Tasting was a wonderful event! Diane, Wendy and our server Nova were all very knowledgeable and very helpful when we had questions. Thanks for a fun experience! Be sure to check out the other TasteCaster impressions on our website. I can't wait to go back and try some of their other offerings - the deli meats and an impressive array of dessert items too!

UPDATE! Things that hack me off...

2009-03-10T06:39:00.002-04:00

Small victory last week... As posted here, I could not find the charger to my shiny new electric-start mower. Drove me nuts.

Whilst rummaging through stuff in the garage looking for an unrelated item, I found it! Right where I left it, of course.

Having said that, it's been several days since I found it and placed it somewhere else for safekeeping. Will I be able to find it again before springtime? Heaven only knows.

TasteCasting! Nom nom nom

2009-03-10T06:32:00.004-04:00

If you're reading this, you likely came here via my Twitter profile link. Cool! You MAY have also found me via the hashtag #CbusTasters, or keyword TasteCasting.

What's TasteCasting? Hopefully a venue to spread the word about great food in Columbus... and beyond!

Go register at the TasteCasting site (opening soon!) and all will be revealed. Or, go search Twitter for the hashtag and get caught up on all the latest tweets.

Sense of Accomplishment

2009-02-27T21:17:00.003-05:00

I was trying to explain to my daughter the difference between creating something intellectual vs. creating something tangible. I told her that while all day Daddy works on a computer, fixing things and creating things, the reward from doing that is very different from when Daddy puts new brakes on the car, or builds a workbench with his hands.

I'm fortunate to have a full-time job that pays very nicely, but there are times, such as tonight... I took a few hours and replaced brake shoes and rotors on the car... that the sense of accomplishment is like, 10X greater than anything I had done at work today.

There's just something about doing things with your hands... the sweat, the physical effort, and usually the sore back the next morning... it's all worth it.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I had a more blue-collar type job - auto mechanic, handy-man, etc.. Would I be happier?

Batter Blaster Results

2008-11-22T07:44:00.003-05:00

Not one to procrastinate when it comes to matters concerning food - I wasted no time in making up a batch of the pancakes:

and now for the flip... I didn't trust myself to hold the phone and flip at the same time...

I'll spare you the fotos of us actually eating them. :-) But here's one photo of the 2nd batch:

Flavor is surprisingly good! They're a bit sweeter than say, your standard Aunt Jamima mix. Watch your griddle temp - can says to go 400 but I'd stay near 375 and don't turn your back on 'em. Two thumbs up!

Whispering In Silence: Ease is everything..

2008-11-22T06:41:00.001-05:00

Whispering In Silence: Ease is everything..

Oh dear. My Tweep @KarrieLyne has put me on the spot after a comment I made about my plan to make pancakes this morning using Batter Blaster. The pressure is on now to report findings. Yikes! Should be interesting! She has a video clip posted in her blog of how it works... seems easy.

If you're feelin' down...

2008-11-18T19:58:00.003-05:00

Then THIS vid should make it all go away. Best with audio enabled.

Yep - that's a hamster on a piano. Eating popcorn.

Things that hack me off #1

2008-11-15T20:38:00.004-05:00

It's every squirrel's lament... putting something away, in a place that SHOULD have made perfect sense, only to NOT be able to find it sometime later. Tonight's episode - unable to find battery charger for the lawn mower. I last recall using it in mid-summer, but then tucked it away during a garage cleanup... haven't seen it since. Augh!!

This is try #383

2008-11-15T16:31:00.003-05:00

Over the years blogging was a novelty to me - it was something that others did. I tried keeping a blog or two, but I usually lost interest about an hour into it and now all that's left are some lame pages festering in the Internet Archives.

Well in this day and age of Web 2.0, social media, ubiquitous interweb access and the like, it's almost expected that you DO have a blog or website of some sort.

When you're out at a meet-n-greet and someone says "Hey - send me a link to your blog", how embarrassing is it to have to explain that, even though you're one of the biggest nerds in the world, and have worked in IT for over 10 years, you do NOT have a blog?

Perhaps it's the company I keep - or am trying to keep! This whole social-media thing is new to me, so I'm just trying to keep up with the Joneses. Nearly all of my new friends are bloggers (some making a living from it, some do it just for kicks); I suppose I need to try to get with the program.

So I'm diving back into blogging, kicking and screaming the whole way. Look out, interweb.