Beer Review

I tried a new kind of Budweiser. It's called Brew Masters Private Reserve (no apostrophe on the bottle although it seems like it ought to have one). It is apparently a Christmas thing. I found it after Christmas on deep discount so decided to try it. It comes in a big 1 quart bottle with a Grolsch Ale style stopper top. Here is Budweiser's description:

Decades ago, Budweiser brewmasters started a holiday tradition carried on to this day. Once each year, the brewmasters collect the richest first part of the brew as it is tapped to the brew kettles. This richer, more flavorful reserve - prized for its unusual smoothness despite its robust alcohol content - is then shared exclusively with their family and close friends. Until now. Introducing Brew Masters Private Reserve. A remarkable beer created to be shared with your family and friends.

The alcohol content is 8.5% ALC./VOL. I found it a bit strong, but tasty enough. Almost like concentrated beer, which I guess is pretty much what it is.

Candy Review

Two new candy bars out are worth a mention as they both very good.

The first is this limited edition Triple Chocolate Twix. This bar features a chocolate cookie at its center, followed by a layer of chocolate caramel. Then the whole thing is coated in milk chocolate. Very tasty.

The next bar is the new Reeses Crispy Crunchy Bar. It features chocolate, crisp peanut butter, creamy peanut butter and chopped peanuts. Think Butterfinger with a tunnel of Reeses Peanut Butter Cup peanut butter covered in melted Mr. Goodbar. It's a good combination.

Cat trap

What the heck!?!? Wal-Mart is apparently selling cat traps.

Yuki Wears Socks

In the bitter cold we've had recently, as low as -13 degrees, Yuki has had a bit of trouble. The extreme temperatures along with the snow that sticks in his paws make it difficult for the animal to walk. I decided to buy some socks for him at Wal-Mart. I chose ones designed for a newborn infant. Of course, Yuki needed two pairs. Here is a video of him trying the socks out.



Outside in the snow, the socks lasted briefly then basically fell off. The experiment was deemed a failure. Luckily it has warmed up. If it gets that cold again, I may buy some booties designed for dogs.

1st Nano Repair

The battery in one of our iPod Nanos has never been very good. It would only last for a few hours and once that started shrinking we were faced with trying to replace the battery or simply buying a new pod altogether. I ordered a battery from somewhere in Hong Kong for about $20.

The battery came with two little plastic prying devices to help with separating the pod - I wonder if you can change the battery at all with the new Gen. 2 Nanos that feature an aluminum case???? Anyone know?

Anyway - I needed to go buy a soldering iron too because there are three connectors where the battery attaches directly to the circuit board.

I was a little nervous when prying apart the nano at first but it went fairly quickly with patience and once I was confident I wouldn't destroy the pod. Then, with the use of the soldering iron, I removed the old battery (shown below)



And finally, managed to solder the connectors of the new battery into place. I bought a standard 30W soldering iron and for this job a smaller iron would have been easier but I managed to get the connections in place after some work.

I then charged the pod and for the first time in a long time it showed a full charge graphic. We'll see how long it holds the charge.

Chocolate

I have taken heat on these pages before, for posting reviews of movies I had not seen. In the same vein, I now offer truncated reviews of chocolates, some of which I have never tasted. Then as now, my sources were reliable. The source here is Money Magazine, February '07. (Boxed chocolates.)

Harry and David Grand Collection: Wow! High-quality in a stunning variety of well-rendered flavors. A-

Vosges Haut-Choclat Exotic Truffle Collection: Great Chocolate. B+

Godiva 36-piece Gold Ballotin: Decent, a tad sweet. B

Whitman's Sampler: Commercial-grade bon-bons more reminiscent of candy bars than fine chocolate. C+

Target Choxie Signature Collection: Waxy chocolate with weirdly inedible fillings. It's hard to imagine anyone eating this stuff. D

23 degrees

23 degrees is cold, though nothing like the extreme conditions in Nebraska at the moment.

As you can see, the current temperature is -8. And I'm about to go outside with poor shivering Yuki.

New Discs

Picked up a few discs this past week-end including:

Sister Hazel's new one from earlier this fall that we missed. Absolutely. Good sound that is similar to their past stuff.


and the new live EP by Gomez recorded in SF:

Brrrr!

23 degrees this morning in Cameron Park.

Old coat, new coat (red coat, blue coat)

The year was 1996. I was living in Dallas, TX. I bought a new Columbia coat on deep discount. Little did I realize I would use the coat for the next 10 years as my primary winter warmth. Well tonight the party ended when the main front zipper broke off. The metal just snapped. Erin took me to Kohls where I got a brand new Columbia coat.

Here's the new coat. Hope you like it. If not, just wait. I'm due to get a new one in the year 2017.

Let's Hoop It Up!!!

Kansas blasts 10th ranked Oklahoma State. Georgia Tech knocks off 11th ranked Duke!

Apple's iPhone coolest gizmo ever!

Umm, when does the contract on my current phone end again? Not soon enough.

Guessing Game

The image you see is a tiny red LED light that was once a part of a Budweiser promotion. With the beer sticker removed, we are left with an LED light powered by what appear to be two ordinary watch batteries. The light was turned on at approximately 8:00 PM on Thursday January 4th, 2007. The light has been on continually since that time. The light continues to blaze, by my estimation, as brightly as when it was first turned on. What will be the date on which I wake up in the morning to find the light completely dead (not just dimmed). I will judge this by looking at the light in complete darkness each morning to see if it is still visible. Please record your guess in the comments. Winner will be recorded in a post on this blog for the world to see.

Crazy New Guacamole

The high end Guacamole dip that Dad discovered at Sam's Club was a big hit at Christmas. On a recent trip to Sam's a new kind of Guac was discovered. It's a mash it yourself in a bag style of Guac. The product comes frozen. It has avocados cut in half with spices in the middle of each half. You thaw, mash to your desired texture in the sealed bag, dump into a bowl and enjoy. I haven't tried this yet but plan to. Perhaps for the Super Bowl party...

Wii Boxing

My friend Jerod boxes on the Wii using Robert's Mii. Can he prevail? Watch and see.

Bad Football Day

It was a lousy day of football what with Nebraska, Arkansas, Georgia Tech and Michigan all losing.
There was some redemption in the Fiesta Bowl, which was probably the most entertaining game I've ever seen.
Boise State wins with crazy trick play after crazy trick play.

iTunes Top Played Songs of 2006 (California Edition)

Here are the top played songs via our iTunes. Everything was reset in late summer as we got a new computer.

Song Artist Plays Album
See The World Gomez 22 How We Operate
The River Live 22 Songs From Black Mountain
Aftermath R.E.M. 21 Around the Sun
Warehouse Dave Matthews 18 Under The Table And Dreaming
Love Shines Live 17 Songs From Black Mountain
I Can't Hold Back Survivor 16 Vital Signs
How to Save a Life The Fray 15 How to Save a Life
Learning The Hard Way Gin Blossoms 15 Major Lodge Victory
Over My Head The Fray 14 How to Save a Life
In the Morning Junior Boys 14 In the Morning
Blinded Third Eye Blind 14 Out of the Vein Post
Living Proof Cat Power 12 The Greatest
Precious Depeche Mode 12 Playing The Angel
Jet Black Sunrise Gin Blossoms 12 Major Lodge Victory
Notice Gomez 12 How We Operate
Coming Back To Life Pink Floyd 12 Pulse [Live]
I Don't Feel Like Dancin' Scissor Sisters 12 Ta-Dah!
Let Your Love Flow The Bellamy Brothers 11 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
She's My Man Scissor Sisters 11 Ta-Dah!

Cousin Jenny?

Robert discovered this at youtube by searching "tangeman". Is this cousin Jenny? I think it is. She's a better dancer than I am!!!

New Years Fun

Yuki wears hat!

Stove top popcorn made!