The Red Sox won ANOTHER World Series! Twice in my lifetime. As a life-long, die-hard Sox fan, it's pretty sweet. Not quite as good as 2004, but not much compares to coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees. :-D
Boston's gonna be a nightmare tonight. But we deserve it.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
New Beer trend?
Now, I don't drink, so I might not be up on the latest and greatest beer trends. I was shopping at the local Albertson's last night and I needed some beer to boil my brauts in. When I was looking for some beer to get, I noticed these two items.
Now, it might just be me, that looks disgusting. The fact that the idea went through the complete product development cycle at a major company, was greenlighted, and TWO flavors were produced, just makes me weep for our future. Exactly who thought "Gee, Clamato and beer would taste GREAT together!" and why aren't they in a 12-step program?
Now, it might just be me, that looks disgusting. The fact that the idea went through the complete product development cycle at a major company, was greenlighted, and TWO flavors were produced, just makes me weep for our future. Exactly who thought "Gee, Clamato and beer would taste GREAT together!" and why aren't they in a 12-step program?
Monday, October 22, 2007
When sushi is too fresh...
No idea what anything says on this Dutch site, but the video says it all. Tara, if you read this, don't click the link.
http://www.jaggle.nl/index.php/site/comments/levende_sushi/
http://www.jaggle.nl/index.php/site/comments/levende_sushi/
Sunday, October 21, 2007
All Sync'ed up
After giving it some thought, Tara and I decided to see about consolidating our cell phones under one carrier. I've had AT&T since they were last AT&T, and she was on Verizon. She bought one of her former coworker's phones back in '05 and since it was Verizon-only, she switched. We stopped into the nearby AT&T store to see what we could do. After about 20 minutes waiting in line, we talked to Mike there. We explained what we wanted. I was eligible for an upgrade from my mostly reliable V3 RAZR which I've had since Jan '06. It was starting to have some odd issues and a lot of dust has gotten under the screen via the vents, so it's hard to read.
We'd seen the Samsung Sync on the AT&T web site and it seemed like it would work. Bluetooth, 3G compatible, music, camera, and all the other goodies. We asked about pricing and Mike went in the back. He came back with a pair of blue Syncs (Tara had wanted a blue one but hadn't mentioned that yet) and said we could get the pair for no cost with a new 2-year contract. That was more than a good price for us. Not sure how we'll tell the phones apart, but we are now paying about the same for two phones as both of us paid before for our single phones. It's always nice when everyone's happy. :)
As far as the no-cost phones, I've seen some pricing charts for the various costs that phone companies pay for devices vs the cost of what they charge you in a year vs their cost to have your phone on their network. "Raking it in" and "Hand over fist" don't begin to cover the profits. Giving you a free phone is peanuts compared to what they make over the course of a contract. I'm in the wrong racket.
We'd seen the Samsung Sync on the AT&T web site and it seemed like it would work. Bluetooth, 3G compatible, music, camera, and all the other goodies. We asked about pricing and Mike went in the back. He came back with a pair of blue Syncs (Tara had wanted a blue one but hadn't mentioned that yet) and said we could get the pair for no cost with a new 2-year contract. That was more than a good price for us. Not sure how we'll tell the phones apart, but we are now paying about the same for two phones as both of us paid before for our single phones. It's always nice when everyone's happy. :)
As far as the no-cost phones, I've seen some pricing charts for the various costs that phone companies pay for devices vs the cost of what they charge you in a year vs their cost to have your phone on their network. "Raking it in" and "Hand over fist" don't begin to cover the profits. Giving you a free phone is peanuts compared to what they make over the course of a contract. I'm in the wrong racket.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Susan G Komen Drive for the Cure, Finale
Today was the final day of the 2007 drive. Both fleets were the BMW North Scottsdale dealer. Of course, I forgot my camera. That didn't matter when it came to the food. It was a joke compared to the S. Scottsdale event. I went upstairs at 11:30 to where the food was. The lunch consisted of sandwiches (ham, turkey, roast beef) cut in half. The top pieces of bread were already dried out at 11:3o. It's nice to see that a lot of effort went into the big finish. I ended up taking two halves, discarding the dry pieces, and putting them back together for a double-decker half. The meats weren't bad, but compared to the freshly grilled meats on Wednesday, it was a joke. Oh well. Pretty much what I expected.
The cars were the stars for me anyways. I drove the 550 sedan, 535 wagon, 335i sedan, X5 4.8, X3 3.0, 328i convertible, 335i coupe, 650i convertible (twice) and the Z4 3.0si. The 335i sedan surprised me by being nearly as much fun as the 335i coupe. With the traction control off, it would swing it's tail out more easily than the coupe. It was a blast. The 550 was fun, too. I couldn't adjust the seat to my liking, but I made do. I kinda killed one of the 335i coupes. Apparently they don't handle the heat very well. One went out of service earlier in the day (not my doing) and the second one's check engine light came on as I was merging onto the 101 at 56th Street. I got off at Scottsdale and let them look at it. BMW does an outstanding job at making it's wagons feel like sedans, and the 535i was an excellent example of that. While not quite as rocket-like as the 335i or 550, the twin-turbo 3.0 six still made for a fun ride. The SUVs drove nice, but I'm more of a car person. The 328i convertible was also capable, but not quite as fun without the twin-turbo. I drove it mostly to get a feeling of how the hard-top worked up on the highway. It was certainly livable. The last car I drove was the Z4 3.0si. It's a great car to toss around. I can't imagine what a screamer it would be with the twin-turbo engine. One can only dream... :)
Hopefully by the time it comes around next year, the new 1-series cars will be in the mix. Smaller than the 3-series, they will have the same engines, including the sweet twin-turbo. I can't wait.
The cars were the stars for me anyways. I drove the 550 sedan, 535 wagon, 335i sedan, X5 4.8, X3 3.0, 328i convertible, 335i coupe, 650i convertible (twice) and the Z4 3.0si. The 335i sedan surprised me by being nearly as much fun as the 335i coupe. With the traction control off, it would swing it's tail out more easily than the coupe. It was a blast. The 550 was fun, too. I couldn't adjust the seat to my liking, but I made do. I kinda killed one of the 335i coupes. Apparently they don't handle the heat very well. One went out of service earlier in the day (not my doing) and the second one's check engine light came on as I was merging onto the 101 at 56th Street. I got off at Scottsdale and let them look at it. BMW does an outstanding job at making it's wagons feel like sedans, and the 535i was an excellent example of that. While not quite as rocket-like as the 335i or 550, the twin-turbo 3.0 six still made for a fun ride. The SUVs drove nice, but I'm more of a car person. The 328i convertible was also capable, but not quite as fun without the twin-turbo. I drove it mostly to get a feeling of how the hard-top worked up on the highway. It was certainly livable. The last car I drove was the Z4 3.0si. It's a great car to toss around. I can't imagine what a screamer it would be with the twin-turbo engine. One can only dream... :)
Hopefully by the time it comes around next year, the new 1-series cars will be in the mix. Smaller than the 3-series, they will have the same engines, including the sweet twin-turbo. I can't wait.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Practice Run
So we're brined a couple chickens for dinner tonight. A couple because the first one I got at Hobe Meats was only 3lbs and Tara's comment was "I could eat that myself." So I grabbed a second, 7lb one at Albertsons. I go to cook it tonight, it's in the oven for a while and the temperature alarm on the thermometer tells us it's done. I let it rest, go to carve, and keep hitting bone. Finally we realize what I'd done. Genius me cooked the damn thing upside-down. We flip it over, put in the probe, and it's a whopping 141 degrees and just doesn't look cooked. So I turned the oven back on, wrapped foil back over it, and shoved it back in. It's currently still cooking.
The sad thing is we're pretty sure I did the same thing the last time I cooked a chicken...
The sad thing is we're pretty sure I did the same thing the last time I cooked a chicken...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Pizzeria Bianco
After weeks of planning, first to find enough people to be able to make reservation to bypass the famous "2-hour wait" and then to set a day, we finally made it to Pizzeria Bianco last night. Tara an I met up with our Chowhound friends Winedubar, AZHotdish, and Seth. AZHotdish brought his girlfriend A and Seth apparently brought two of the Seth-clones he keeps in the basement, Seth-D and Seth-N. Tara and I arrived about 7 minutes past our 6:30 reservation time, but the others had checked-in, so all was well. We made the introductions for those who didn't know each other yet and after about 5 or 10 minutes of chatting, a hostess called our group in to eat. Sure beat waiting two hours.
We were seated in the very back of the restaurant at three two-tops with eight place settings. Given that at least four of us equaled the space of six people, it was a tight fit. We made do though. A party of nine was seated just behind us. I sat on the outside end, Seth, N, and D took the left side, Tara, AZHd, A took the right, with Winedubar in the inside end.
Our waiter came over and verbally harassed Seth. Apparently on all three of Seth's visits, he's had this same waiter. He took our drink orders, several iced teas, a Coke, a Bubble-Up, and iced water rounding it out. A few minutes later, the drinks arrived and somehow we ended up with nine glasses of water in addition to the drinks.
Our waiter explained the menu to us. He pointed out the pizzas that didn't have any red sauce, gave us the rundown on the Farmer's Market salad of the night (fennel, pomegranate, candied walnuts, and apples) and said that the antipastos were enough for two to share. We ordered, in no order, three Wiseguys, two Rosa, one Biancoverde, one Margherita, and possibly a Sonny Boy. Two antipastos, and two Farmer's Market salads rounded out the order.
Tara and I split one of the Farmer's Market salads. We really enjoyed it. Everything was very fresh and the dressing wasn't overly sweet. Seth had the other one and liked it as well. He said it was slightly different than the last one he'd had there, but like it better because it wasn't as sweet.
A while later the pizzas started arriving. I got one of the Wiseguys (Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage) and Tara got a Rosa (Red Onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary, AZ Pistachios). I loved the sausage. It reminded me of the house-made sausage at the restaurant my sister works at back home in Maine. The mozzarella was heavenly as well. I liked the crust, but it seemed to be a bit more charred than the other pizza I tried, Tara's Rosa. It still was good, but Tara's crust was better. The thin crust was also a bit overwhelmed by the relatively substantial weight of the sausage slices. They are very generous with it and it's not really a complaint. I took about half of the pizza home and the crust had firmed up so it held the sausage without collapsing.
In fact, I actually preferred Tara's pizza. The Parmigiano Reggiano was perfectly browned and had an amazing flavor. It was a much sharper flavor than the sausage on mine. Her crust seemed to be a bit more moist and fluffy since it seemed to have taken less heat. The flavor combination just hit the spot, and that pizza was finished in short order.
Seth was in love with his Biancoverde (Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Arugula), mostly due to what appears to be a very unhealthy love for arugula. I'm fairly certain counseling or at least an intervention is called for. He offered a slice, but I'm not an arugula fan, the disclosure of which almost cost me a limb.
It was hard to communicate the entire length of the table, but the general impression was that everyone loved their meals. D and N were both Bianco virgins like us, and from what I gathered, had no complaints. There was a lot of slice trading going on at that end as well.
Service was very attentive. Water and iced tea glasses were filled on a regular basis. Someone dropped a fork and before they'd picked it up, a waitress was on her way over with a new one before she knew who actually needed it. Given that the restaurant is always packed, such attentiveness is nothing short of amazing.
Is Pizzeria Bianco the end-all, be-all of pizza? Probably not. Worth a two-hour wait? I wouldn't. It's definitely some outstanding pizza, and I'll be back. The way to go is to get a group together and make reservations. We were in and out in under two hours.
A note on parking: If you park in the garage at Monroe and 5th Street, they will validate your parking slip so you'll only pay one dollar for parking. We parked on the first level and it was a two minute walk to the restaurant.
We were seated in the very back of the restaurant at three two-tops with eight place settings. Given that at least four of us equaled the space of six people, it was a tight fit. We made do though. A party of nine was seated just behind us. I sat on the outside end, Seth, N, and D took the left side, Tara, AZHd, A took the right, with Winedubar in the inside end.
Our waiter came over and verbally harassed Seth. Apparently on all three of Seth's visits, he's had this same waiter. He took our drink orders, several iced teas, a Coke, a Bubble-Up, and iced water rounding it out. A few minutes later, the drinks arrived and somehow we ended up with nine glasses of water in addition to the drinks.
Our waiter explained the menu to us. He pointed out the pizzas that didn't have any red sauce, gave us the rundown on the Farmer's Market salad of the night (fennel, pomegranate, candied walnuts, and apples) and said that the antipastos were enough for two to share. We ordered, in no order, three Wiseguys, two Rosa, one Biancoverde, one Margherita, and possibly a Sonny Boy. Two antipastos, and two Farmer's Market salads rounded out the order.
Tara and I split one of the Farmer's Market salads. We really enjoyed it. Everything was very fresh and the dressing wasn't overly sweet. Seth had the other one and liked it as well. He said it was slightly different than the last one he'd had there, but like it better because it wasn't as sweet.
A while later the pizzas started arriving. I got one of the Wiseguys (Wood Roasted Onion, House Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel Sausage) and Tara got a Rosa (Red Onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, Rosemary, AZ Pistachios). I loved the sausage. It reminded me of the house-made sausage at the restaurant my sister works at back home in Maine. The mozzarella was heavenly as well. I liked the crust, but it seemed to be a bit more charred than the other pizza I tried, Tara's Rosa. It still was good, but Tara's crust was better. The thin crust was also a bit overwhelmed by the relatively substantial weight of the sausage slices. They are very generous with it and it's not really a complaint. I took about half of the pizza home and the crust had firmed up so it held the sausage without collapsing.
In fact, I actually preferred Tara's pizza. The Parmigiano Reggiano was perfectly browned and had an amazing flavor. It was a much sharper flavor than the sausage on mine. Her crust seemed to be a bit more moist and fluffy since it seemed to have taken less heat. The flavor combination just hit the spot, and that pizza was finished in short order.
Seth was in love with his Biancoverde (Fresh Mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Ricotta, Arugula), mostly due to what appears to be a very unhealthy love for arugula. I'm fairly certain counseling or at least an intervention is called for. He offered a slice, but I'm not an arugula fan, the disclosure of which almost cost me a limb.
It was hard to communicate the entire length of the table, but the general impression was that everyone loved their meals. D and N were both Bianco virgins like us, and from what I gathered, had no complaints. There was a lot of slice trading going on at that end as well.
Service was very attentive. Water and iced tea glasses were filled on a regular basis. Someone dropped a fork and before they'd picked it up, a waitress was on her way over with a new one before she knew who actually needed it. Given that the restaurant is always packed, such attentiveness is nothing short of amazing.
Is Pizzeria Bianco the end-all, be-all of pizza? Probably not. Worth a two-hour wait? I wouldn't. It's definitely some outstanding pizza, and I'll be back. The way to go is to get a group together and make reservations. We were in and out in under two hours.
A note on parking: If you park in the garage at Monroe and 5th Street, they will validate your parking slip so you'll only pay one dollar for parking. We parked on the first level and it was a two minute walk to the restaurant.
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