Friday, August 28, 2009

Top beers on the planet...

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers.php

It's not a coincidence that 7 out of the top 10 beers on the planet are russian imperial stouts (my fav). However, there are ALOT from Russian River and other US breweries on top of this list. Maybe this list was reviewed by people in the US primarily. Has anyone tried any of these?

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Classical Guitar Store experience

I recently had an interesting experience at the Classical Guitar Store in Philly that I wanted to share. It was there where I purchased my classical guitar (Giambattisa G6 Cedar model) in 2005. Since I have had it for 4 years now, I had convinced myself the action needed adjusted. Acoustic guitars can be damaged in low humidity over time. So I brought it in, and the owner of the store (who is notoriously precise about the setup on ALL the guitars he sells, this is why I went to trouble of bringing it into downtown Philly etc), puts it up on the table and measures it for me....

It was perfect!!?! He said not only is the action is exactly the same as it was in 2005, the guitar is in great shape and very well taken care of. Needless to say, he then moved on to ask me to play for him so he could hear how it sounded (ugh). This turned into a discussion about how great my guitar projects sound and how I wasn't playing it correctly, haha! So in a nutshell, I am the problem. Not my guitar (which as it turns out, humans are MUCH harder to adjust then guitars). I had been planning this visit for months and it was really amazing how convinced I was it needed fixed. This is just more testiment to the awesome power you have to BS yourself. What ELSE could I be BSing myself on you wonder? No idea! I will have to get back to you on this, because I still currently believe it all.

All in all, this was a great experience. It was very humbling and inspiring. I did more research on technique, sound, and also have gotten back into practicing. I am so glad that I went in there, albeit for all the wrong reasons :)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

You fell to your death...



In Halo 3, there are a lot of challenging new maps that are constantly being added. This is pretty cool, but it has the added consequence of occasionally jumping off a cliff when you are in unfamiliar territory...

In multiplayer mode, there is a penalty of waiting an extra 10 seconds before you respawn. So my question is, what do you do with this extra 10 seconds? Personally, I reflect on the black oblivion that is death...

Then next time, I hope to rejoin closer to a rocket launcher :)

This American Life



We just recently started watching this show on Netflix Watch Instantly. Andrea said that starting with the TV show was blasphemous and we should probably go back and listen to the original NPR program that the show was based on. This may be true, but either way it is a really great program. The show is almost like reality TV. Instead of the typical trash though you get a window into someone's actual life story. So far we have seen a band play to a staged audience unknowingly, a man get gored by a cloned version of a bull that he originally loved, and a guy in Utah that finds homeless bearded guys to pose for his paintings of Jesus. It's pretty much awesome.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fall beers available now

I recently went to my local distributor and found that there were several pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers available. It's never too early to get started with some fall beers. Respond with your favorite fall choices. Of the ones I have tried so far, I like Brooklyn Oktoberfest and Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin ale the best.

Sidney Harris science cartoon

Friday, August 14, 2009

Tori Amos in NYC


Last night we saw Tori Amos perform in Radio City Music Hall. It was excellent! She is still one of the best performers I have seen and is still writing really good music. We were on the first level balcony and had a good view. She played a great set. I really liked the sound in this venue too. Not to mention its right next to a Heartland Brewery...

We will be seeing her again this Saturday in Philly!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

Freakonomics


I have really been enjoying this audio book lately. There are many great examples of how 2 factors can be corelated. But then they will have a completely different 3rd cause you didn't expect when the data is examined. It originally reminded me of "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely, which is also really good. Thanks to Zack for the recommendation!