buh…
…bye.
See y’all in a little while. I may try and update on the road if it’s possible, but I’m keeping a journal as I go. Have a great Easter, and I’ll be back in a week and a bit.
I hope I wrecked some pools.
no more sleeps
So, I’m scrambling to finish my test cases before I depart on my excellent adventure tonight. I’m reasonably prepared, and only have to track down some BBQ sauce before I leave. No, really. BBQ Sauce. For McNuggets. I’m pretty sure when I go in and ask for 15-20 packets, they’re going to look at me funny/funnier. Anyone have any theories on whether introducing the BBQ sauce containers to a low-pressure environment is good or bad?
Wow. I’m actually leaving in 13.5 hours.
top five beers
This one’s a little easier for me, as I have a very good understanding of what I like, and what I don’t. I’ve tried a number of the low-carb and light beers lately, and while I drink ’em, they’re definitely not in the list of faves. As a rule, I like the darker beers, and I think my selection shows that.
That said, I’ll drink pretty much anything.
In high school, it was all about the Molson Canadian, although we did tend to drink Toby at public parties, because no one else did, and it never got stolen. In university, I switched to Labatt’s Blue, because our house was sponsored by the local Labatt rep where we could get 4 cases for the price of 3 (and a bunch of swag). Then Molson’s Dry was released, and it was back to Molson product for a few years while working at the bar.
My tastes took a fairly substantial turn while working for Ingenia. We frequented the Barley Mow on Bank when it opened, and they had a decent selection of drafts. We also had this shelf in our kitchen that was ideal for putting beer bottles on, and we managed to start a project where the goal was to get as many different bottles as possible up there. That’s where the palatte started to expand, and about the only domestic beers which make it past the door now are Sleeman’s, Moose Pale, and Keith’s.
All right, enough digression. Here’s the five:
Kilkenny Cream Ale, Ireland: There’s something about the nitrogen-induced bubble cascade that completes the package of this very fine beer. I was introduced to Kilkenny at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in 1997, and have been drinking it ever since. For the record, Caffrey’s is not a substitute, and I’m glad most bar owners who switched from Kilkenny have switched back. And no, I am not trying to mimic Coop.
Pyramid Apricot Ale, United States: Some fruit beers taste like those soda-pop flavour wines they make, with sugar contents that rival Coke. Pyramid is a left-coast brewer who makes some exceptional beer, and their Apricot Ale is my definition of a perfect summer brew. It’s reminiscent of a Belgian fruit beer, but a little lighter taste that doesn’t linger. Served ice cold on a 30-degree day, it really has no match.
Earl’s Winter Pudding, Canada: Earl’s is a Western chain of restaurants that you either love or hate. The quality of food varies from place to place, but all of their patios I’ve ever been too have been a tonne of fun, and it’s the place Axe and I both travelled 2,500 miles to meet up for a beverage; something we couldn’t accomplish despite living in the same city at the time. Winter Pudding is a seasonal draft that is best described as a stout with a hint of cherries. They cherry taste is not overwhelming, and it is an excellent beer on a chilly night. Pete’s Winter Brew is similar, but with a raspberry taste that doesn’t quite measure up.
Creemore Cream Ale, Canada: This is my beer of choice when I want a draft with a light, clean finish. Creemore makes two types of beer, the Cream Ale and a Bock. Both are excellent choices, but I prefer the Cream Ale for it’s colour, and a taste that can stand alone or go with pretty much any occasion and/or food. Good stuff.
Newcastle, United Kingdom: Another brown beer with a relatively clean, nutty taste. I drank way too much of this stuff in Minne-fircking-appolis in an attempt to save my mind (and we all know how that worked out). The domestic bottles in the U.K. have a cool little star sticker that tells you if it’s cold enough to drink by turning blue.
Guinness (Ireland, no duh) could be on this list, as I do drink it a fair bit. If I had a fridge full of the six beers, though, the Guinness would be the last to go, so it gets the honorable mention.
top five songs
update 15-nov-2006: way too many sites are referencing/linking to these tracks, so all the mp3’s have been removed.
Axe posted his top five songs a while ago, and I’ve been pondering my top five for quite some time. Like anything else that’s subjective, they’re bound to change over time. Here’s what’s on my brain as my all time faves currently.
The Drinking Song, Moxy Früvous – One night Axe and I were sitting around, and he told me that he associated this song with me. I had never heard it before, and when I listened to it, I wasn’t sure if being associated with it is good or bad. It’s confusing, multi-directional, fun, sad, fuzzy, cold, and warm… all at the same time. I think I understand why he felt it was not a bad choice as a theme song for me. Since listening to it then, it has become my favourite song. It’s in my e-mail sig, which got me a Turf Squid’s shirt from Jack because the lyrics were right on. Can’t argue with that.
I Won’t Back Down, Tom Petty – Tom Petty is one of my favourite artists of all time. His albums came awfully close to the top 5, but managed to hang on the fringe. I have put up with a lot of crap over the years, and still remain the eternal optimist. Some folks think I’m naiive or out-and-out stupid for expecting people to do the right thing, but I know everything’ll work out in the end. This song captures my mindset pretty nicely.
Revolution, The Beatles – Please note, the asshats’ commercial never, ever used the original version of this track to shlep shoes. The Beatles Double White probably should have been on my list, because it is an incredible collection of music (some folks hate it, I love it). Revolution was probably the first “rock” tune I listened to that I really, really liked, at about age 6. My parents had a collection including Herman’s Hermits, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jefferson Starship, The Doors, and others. Double White was my favourite. I remember turning the stereo up when I wasn’t supposed to, playing “Back in the U.S.S.R.”, but really cranking it up for Revolution, which had angst, screaming, and raw power. Woof.
Halcyon+On+On+On (Hacker Remix), Orbital – At the start of Hackers, the opening credits roll as a camera flies over water in the pre-dawn hours. The studio track of this song plays, and there’s something mind-expanding about it, without any need for drugs. In 1987, Bon Jovi took Belinda Carlisle to task for having a hit whose chorus had a tempo that sounded a lot like one of his. The hacker remix is performed live, and does a phenomenal job at the end of showing that Jon just might have been right. It gives all the goodness of the studio version, with a cool bonus that’s even played backward (live!). It’s probably my favourite “electronica/tech” song of all time.
Where the Streets Have No Name (live), U2 – U2 is probably the best band of all time. When you listen to their discs, they maintain a core sound through the years, but re-invent themselves every album. I didn’t list the Joshua Tree in my top five, but it’s up there. I love the live versions of this track. The studio version is all right, but it lacks the punch of it being performed live. There’s something about the opening thirty seconds which prepares you for something special, it builds and builds, and when Bono hits “I want to run”, you just feel free. To me, this song is all about personal freedom and the power that comes from doing what you want. Awesome.
one week to go
So, at this time next week, I should be landing in Glasgow for a week and a half of enjoying Scotland. Karen has generously offered to put up with me for a while, and make sure I don’t kill myself by looking the wrong way when I cross the street.
The itinerary has been pretty much finalised, and the plan is to spend a few days in Glasgow, head over to Edinburgh to check out the castle, Royal Mile and, if there’s time, check out Arthur’s Seat. After that, it’s a train ride up to the Granite City where the mode of transportation will be switched to a rental car on the wrong side of the road.
The next few days will be spent touring around Aberdeenshire, with a focus on castles and the Whisky Trail. The intent is to visit a number of distilleries, castles, walking trails, abbeys, and maybe a village or two along the North Sea, while staying at a variety of cool places. After touring around Speyside for a while, it’ll be West to Inverness to check out a fort, a castle, the town, and maybe Nessie.
The car will be returned in Inverness, and then it’s a train ride back to Glasgow for a day, followed by a travel day back to Ottawa.
A real vaction; I’m just a wee bit excited.
keep the frequency clear
So I worked in a bar for seven years doing a combination of bouncing, bartending, and managing (more like assistant managing, but whatever). It was actually a couple bars, because I worked for CUSA Liquor Ops, working at Oliver’s and Roosters. Back then Roosters served booze, and Ollie’s looked something like an elementary school gym with beer taps.
World Famous Wednesdays was our big night, as everyone went to real bars Thursday through Saturday. Our legal limit was 749 in the winter, and around 1,100 with the patio in the summer. We’d typically pack the place with around 1,500-2,000, and would pull in $35,000 in sales. This was when beers were $2.75, and drafts were $2.25. For those doing the math, it was an incredible amount of booze: 250-odd cases of bottles, 15 kegs, a case of long island mix, and a case of rye.
It was a lot of fun, and we had Steve from Canadian DJs in every Wed to spin tunes. The sound system, while not a sonic showcase, was loud. The place would shake from the bass, and we had four immense towers with a large bass box and 8 x 15″ woofers (in each tower). They were driven by about 2500W worth of Pyramid amps. Loud, loud, loud.
The tunes were decent, and there was one mix I really enjoyed, but could never remember what it was or who performed it. Today I was listening to one of the Radio Soulwax shows, and the song turned up in the mix. After hearing a few of the samples, I Googled and discovered said song was “Beat Dis” by Bomb the Bass. A little searching later, and I have the track.
It’s surprising how happy it makes me. I’ve wanted to pick it up for the better part of 10 years, I just didn’t know what it was called.
Tonight, I managed to shake the house with it a little.
arf arf
Sometimes slashdot can make me laugh out loud.
technology on wheels
For some reason, I can see coop driving one of these.
two beers and a fruit cup
Ok, that was an interesting day.
I went to bed way too late last night considering I had to be up at 3:45 to catch a 6am flight. I woke up to what I thought were snowplows early in the morning, but it turns out it was some tectonic shakin’ and bakin’. In any event, not a lot of sleep was had.
The cab showed up right on time, and I got to the airport to an empty US Airways kiosk, leading to a painless check-in. Ottawa still has the worst security screening layout for US flights, with this crazy merge lane for passengers with carry on and checked baggage. It’s irritating, but I cleared it very quickly.
It was in the security line that the first weirdness (well, unpleasantness) started. Ladies, some of you are just not built to wear low-riding jeans. I don’t care what people say about it being great that you’re proud of your body, if the rolls ooze over the sides and give you that Michelin Man look, it’s time to size up. Bending over every 30 seconds to pick up and move your bags along only compounds the problem. That said, you saved me from the uneccesary calories of an airport breakfast after I lost my appetite.
US Airways uses RJ’s to fly from Ottawa to Philadelphia. They’re kind of cramped, but tolerable for sub-sixty-minute flights. Because they’re cramped, you’re pretty much in your neighbours lap if you try and move around. My neighbour was oblivious to this fact, and insisted on trying to turn around in her seat to talk to the folks behind us, who were her travel mates. Irritating at 5:30, but not so bad.
The conversation is what killed any appetite I may have had left. Ladies, point two, please don’t discuss your last trip to the gynecologist in front of me at 5:30. I don’t wanna know, and my right brain really, really hurt me. I understand you may need to talk about it amongst yourselves, but please know you need not admit me to the club if I don’t know you very well.
I’m scarred now, and will probably never look at the Ottawa airport the same way again. Oh well.
Arriving in Philly was a trip. We flew over the naval yards, and there’s some pretty impressive hunks of grey metal their. The cab ride to my office was entertaining, with a big-pimping, dressed-like-a-gangster Russian who had nary a clue where we were going. I did get to see where the Eagles play – it’s right by the 95.
After driving around NJ aimlessly (yeah, yeah, the same can be said even if you know where you’re going there) for about a half hour I gave up on my driver, and he dropped me off at a local landmark (the mall), and my boss came to get me. Eventually, I did make it to the office.
The day was filled with calls, orientation, and shooting the breeze. I also had the best cheap chinese food ever. $4.00 for an egg roll, rice, a huge portion of spicy crispy chicken and peanuts on broccolli, and tea. Yum!
So now I’m back at the hotel after finishing a run, and there’s no restaurant inside, and I’m not feeling adventurous. They do have this thing called “The Market”, where they sell various junk and some real food. So, I got a fruit cup (very good), and a couple Michelob Ultras.
My closing thought of the eve is those couples you see battling intensely at the end of the night are not smiling because Michelob Ultra tatses good, they’re smiling because they successfully gagged it down and will now get their paycheque.
Ok, that’s unkind, it’s not that bad, but it’s not that good, either. Tomorrow I’ll stick with Corona, as the other beers are quite “industrial”.
Welcome to NJ, the state that was built in the seventies, and hasn’t really been renovated since.