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Archive for December, 2006
December 31, 2006 at 9:01 pm · Filed under On the Radar
Tagged with:
bored,
comic,
fun,
survey Blame TechCrunch and my biding time for the New Year.
Superheros
Look I have some super-girl in me. Kick ass.
Your results:
You are Superman
| Superman |
| 60% |
| Iron Man |
| 55% |
| The Flash |
| 55% |
| Supergirl |
| 50% |
| Green Lantern |
| 45% |
| Hulk |
| 45% |
| Batman |
| 45% |
| Robin |
| 39% |
| Spider-Man |
| 35% |
| Wonder Woman |
| 30% |
| Catwoman |
| 25% |
|
You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.
 |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test
Super Villians
A near three way tie. Makes you wonder… Not to mention, I’m my own nemesis hehe!
(forgot to fill it all out the first time, woops)
Your results:
You are Lex Luthor
| Lex Luthor |
| 64% |
| Dr. Doom |
| 62% |
| The Joker |
| 58% |
| Mr. Freeze |
| 57% |
| Green Goblin |
| 57% |
| Apocalypse |
| 57% |
| Kingpin |
| 52% |
| Venom |
| 52% |
| Magneto |
| 51% |
| Riddler |
| 47% |
| Dark Phoenix |
| 45% |
| Juggernaut |
| 41% |
| Poison Ivy |
| 37% |
| Catwoman |
| 35% |
| Mystique |
| 21% |
| Two-Face |
| 21% |
|
A brilliant businessman on a quest for world domination and the self-proclaimed greatest criminal mind of our time!
 |
Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz
December 31, 2006 at 5:43 pm · Filed under Culinary, Reviews
Tagged with:
caffefresco,
charitable,
coffee,
espresso,
review 
Caffe Fresco has brought out a nice blend that can function in any role from espresso to press. Tony has done this by making a fairly bold blend that teeters into the french roast arena. This lets it stand up and not get lost on any of the levels. After touring some Yirgs this coffee had some gravity I had to adjust to. Since we ordered a few bags I’ve got some voluminous descriptors. In our first set I’m going through initial opening and three seperate cuppings. Then how it was as an espresso to cappuccinos.
This blend was created to support the Young Survival Coalition through their Tour de Pink.
Flossie’s Blend is a creation from deep within Fresco’s soul. A place where Vision is fueledby a promise to Flossie. Vision, along with patience and gumption, makes Fresco a viableentity. Fresco is ready to bring forward a message and cause, that’s been a long time coming!
— Caffe Fresco
Cupping / Vac Pot / French Press Notes
Bag Opening
Fragrance
- Cigar
- Pipe Tobacco
- Dry Soil
- Old Earth
- Leaves
- Raisins
- M&M(tm) Shell/Coating
- Brownies
- Pie Crust
Aroma
- Outgassing (day 3)
- Cigar—burning
- Chocolate Souffle
- Steaming Brownie
Fragrance
- Dark Chocolate x3
- Chocolate Cherries
- Vegetal
- Sea / Ocean
Body
Aftertaste
Espresso
Aroma
Flavor
- Tart
- Apples
- Crisp / Snappy
- Easter Bunny Chocolate
- Raspberries
Aftertaste
- Clean
- Smooth
- Hint of Grain
- Cider
Cappuccino / Dessert (+sugar)
Flavor
- Chocolate
- Marshmallows
- Rich and Creamy
- Velvety
- Full bodied, robust
- Hint of Cherry
Afterthoughts; this blend in the vac/press realm kept toggling between a Kenya french roast or a full city+ Sumatra. It had enough boldness that I always wanted some milk to cut it. As an espresso it really had that classico Italian experience that really smoothed out with milk and softened with sugar. Venture here for something you can tour around your kitchen and feel good about supporting a good cause.
technorati tags:coffee, espresso, caffefresco, charitable, review
December 20, 2006 at 8:31 am · Filed under On the Radar
Tagged with:
blogathon,
carl-sagan,
memorial,
sagan,
video Today is a day for remembering a great man who pushed the scientific community and at root was very much a humanist, Carl Sagan.
Who that remembers, doesn’t have a chill of thinking about the Voyager golden record? Or as a child was privy to watch and maybe read Cosmos? For me Sagan spurred my imagination and gave me hope for futures yet untold. He knew how to communicate and how to draw out those passions in those around him. Participating in fields from genetics to astronomy he connected it all. I found, and still find his work to be fascinating.
So here’s to you Carl! May the enthusiasm you held find root in everyone who searches.
Life Beyond Earth & the Mind of Man, 1975 Symposium
December 18, 2006 at 11:34 am · Filed under Life Happens, Points In Time, Skydiving
Tagged with:
achievement,
graduation,
skydive
Over the past few months everyone around me knows I’ve taken up sky diving. It has been an honor and privilege to work with the people at Skydive Carolina. As well as have a wife that has been beside me the whole way supporting my actions. This year has been full of rare moments and the guys and gals down in Chester have included Robin and I deep into their family and it gives me warm tinglies every time I think about them.
Saturday, Dec. 16th, I finished my first phase of the Advanced Free Fall course with Joey Freeman at my graduation E-2 jump. I then followed it up a few hours later with my first solo jump. Under my own plan and guidance I launched from the Twin Otter at 13,540ft above ground and had the time of my life. With no coach or external testing source by me I unleashed all that I had been taught. Flipping fore and back, twisting, spinning, and all the while aware of where I was, even who was around me. Until the time came to fatefully pull my chute and guide myself into the dropzone without assistance. You want to talk about empowering? This was it. My friend and instructor Pete said at the Skydive Christmas party that in this world where globally a lot of our choice is out of our control when you exit that aircraft it’s all about you. No one else is going to take care of you except you. Can you imagine the strength one can garner from taking challenges like this? Are you up to the challenge?
What does one get from this type of challenge? What do you take home at the end of the day?
* The power of self.
* The definitive knowledge that you can tackle any obstacles in your path.
* Absolutely understanding that no one can have power over you.
You learn and experience these things through a good plan, smiling, deep laughter, discipline, execution, and repeating to do things the right way.
In a world surrounded by mediocrity it’s not hard to put the right foot forward and excel. It’s a learned behavior. The trick is most people have a lot of learned negative or limiting beliefs which they get trapped in. What’s worse is a large percentage of those people then overlay those beliefs on those around them thus trapping good souls and in time corrupting them.
If you’ve been looking for a way to start something new. To break free of the quicksand of life, I highly suggest taking a tandem sky dive or enrolling in your local AFF program. Learn to take back control, to stop feeding those emotional vampires in your world through the power of trust in yourself.
I’ve got a long road ahead of me and I know not where it is going. However, I will continue my trek through new goals finding myself surrounded by the remarkable.
Next stop in sky diving is my class ‘A’ license which requires 25 jumps and another 3 categories of skill tests then on to my ‘B’ license which will allow for beach dives.
Thanks to all those who follow and send good cheer. You all are awesome!
-a
December 8, 2006 at 12:41 pm · Filed under Culinary, Interests
Tagged with:
aida,
ccc,
coffee,
grandreserve,
raisethebar
Counter Culture Coffee has stepped up to the plate again with their new limited offering, El Salvador Grand Reserve Peaberry aka Aida’s Grand Reserve. This coffee was hotly debated in our cupping room and has since spread across vines; Phil, & Jon are on board, as well it looks like Murky, 3 Cups, Pheasant Creek and a few others might actually have this darling on tap. That is if you’re ready for the new price ceiling of $45 a bag, that would break down to relatively 5.60 for a cup of coffee.
There are a lot of questions when you start delving into coffee. Most people don’t understand the sacrifice to the land and to the people for that .59c cup of joe at the gas station. Then again most people don’t understand their own local food chain
, getting them to understand a foreign one is an even greater challenge. I asked PeterG to help me understand what is going on here. I can be sold on ideas, I love new ideas! Here are a few choice selections from our conversation:
Aida sorted peaberries from her three farms, which happen to be the three most desirable farms in El Salvador, from the coffee buyer’s perspective. Because she has a direct and very open relationship with her buyers, she approached us for input on what she should do with this coffee: i.e. submit it to the cup of excellence, offer it at private auction, etc.
[…] Remember, the last time Aida’s farms saw auction they set records for the most ever paid for coffee (Kilimanjaro in 2003) and was the first-ever time a coffee producer had two coffees finish in the finals of a Cup of Excellence (also 2003). In contrast to the Petersons’ Esmeralda, Aida has shied away from the flashy auctions, and instead opted for direct, transparent, and committed transactions. Putting this coffee out to bid just was not consistent with that philosophy.
[…] coffees at this level are about nuance rather than flash.
Peter and I agree on a lot. We want the coffee growers to feel like they can grow, can flourish, evolve without the bastardizing megaconglomerates taking whatever they want from the land and paying the individual less than sustainable. We also know that coffee in it’s next form is in it’s infancy. We are just now coming to terms with genetic impacts beyond anything our forefathers ever knew. It’s an exciting time to be in coffee as long as the world holds together.
What does this cup offer us beyond my notes below? It’s exactly what you want in a cup, just enough brightness, a smoothness paralleled only by other fantastic coffees, a stability that you’d expect from an award winning coffee. There are a myriad of little subtle notes that require a little inversion to meditate on. It really is a beautiful assembly roasted by artisans.
To me it’s a great step in the continued growth of the specialty community. To my father who drinks Folgers pods I doubt I will be able to get him to consider this a viable alternative. However the continued exposure I and others bring to these gems in an ocean of mediocrity it is my hope that we can continue to strive for that higher bar as humanists and nurturing better products out of the environment.
Cupping Notes
Fragrance
- Dried Fruit
- Lavender
- Peach Fuzz
- Milk Chocolate
Aroma
- Leather
- Tea like
- Green Grape Skin
- Cashew
On Break
Brightness
Flavor
- Cashew / Macadamia
- Caramel Sauce
- Pear or Grape Skin
- Cardamom
Body
- Nice Coating
- Expected
- Round
Aftertaste
- Clean Finish
- Light Cling
- Very Stable
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