Monthly Archive for December, 2007

My New TomTom GO 720

Published on December 31, 2007 in Gadgets, Review and Technology. Closed

I got a TomTom GO 720 GPS for Christmas.  After using it a few times, I love it, though it does have it’s quirks.  It was the highest rated TomTom on CNet (both editors and readers), and since I trust them (though they seem to like Apple a little too much) I figured I’d ask for that one specifically.  I decided on the TomTom since I couldn’t find anything about Magellan or Garmin products that said whether or not the maps could be updated.  It seemed as if the pre-loaded maps were all you got.  The TomTom can be updated through the TomTom community and perhaps even through updates from TomTom.  The other thing I liked about it is that the price is a lot less than most others for the features it has.  While I haven’t tried everything out (and I can’t try certain features out, like TomTom PLUS, which requires a wireless data plan that I don’t have), so far I really like it.

It sends you what it calculates as the fastest route, but you can easily make changes to routes if you want to avoid certain roads.  It warns you about toll roads, HOV lanes, and unpaved roads (I have a little story about that one) when it calculates the route to give.  It will also send feedback about the actual time certain sections of a route take versus the time they say it’ll take when you connect it to your computer.  It’s very easy to use while on the road and very quick to re-calculate routes when you go off-course (well under a minute, within 10 seconds in most cases).

My little story about unpaved roads… I took it to find Mount Snow in West Dover, VT last week.  The device asked if I wanted to avoid unpaved roads.  Stupidly, I said no.  My thinking was that some ski mountains have dirt roads to their parking lots and I didn’t want it to not get me there, not having been to Mount Snow before.  It ended up taking us down this back road that turned into a dirt road and then told us to turn onto an even smaller back road with a sign that said “Road Closed for Season”.  So we had to turn around and told it to avoid unpaved roads this time.  We eventually got there following major roads and signs for the ski areas, but it still wanted us to take smaller back roads, which, in the snow, just weren’t appealing to us, so we stuck to major roads.  For the most part, we follow it.  It’s interesting to see how it takes us to various places we always go (like home).  It’s not our usual routes, though those don’t take much longer, they’re just easier.

Anyway, unless it really starts screwing up on me, I have to say that I absolutely love it and am really glad with my choice for my first GPS.  If you’re in the market for one, this is a good one.  The hands free feature easily connected to my cell phone via Bluetooth.

Happy Holidays (a little late)

Published on December 30, 2007 in Meta. 2 Comments

So if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been away for a bit.  I’ve got a bunch of stuff (at least beer and technology wise) to write about.  I’ll hopefully get a post or 2 up tomorrow.  I just spent a week in CT and got back this afternoon and had to unpack and now I need some sleep.  Stay tuned… but until then, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus, Happy (?) Kwanzaa, Happy Yule, and Happy New Year!  (that should cover all the major ones)

As a little teaser, I’ll be writing about my new GPS (it’s a TomTom), two Wii games, beer (a Saison and Newport Storm’s yearly releases from this year and last year and a very brief mention of a few others I had), and a little bit about small towns in New England.

Saranac Winter Wassail and Scotch Ale

Published on December 16, 2007 in Ale and Beer. Closed

Susan and I went to a holiday party last night and picked up a mix-a-six pack at a Stop and Shop in Manchester, NH (I was impressed that they actually did that). The two beers I tried that were new to me were Saranac’s Winter Wassail and Scotch Ale. While I can’t give a full review of them (drank them out of the bottle), I will say this. The Winter Wassail is a good winter beer. Lots of spice flavor mixed in without taking away from the fact that it is a beer. It was brewed in an English style, meaning nothing really over the top, but that was perfect. Great blend of cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in. The Scotch Ale was decent, but nothing spectacular. I will try to pick up a Winter Wassail sometime in the near future and give it the review it deserves, drinking it out of a glass.

Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine-Style Ale

Published on December 14, 2007 in Ale, Beer and Review. Closed

Yet another strong beer (both in alcohol content and quality) from Great Divide. They are becoming my “go to” brewery when I just want something that’s just plain good. I have yet to have something from them that wasn’t all around great. While they might not be the best of the best, their beers are some of the best of each style I’ve had. The Old Ruffian is no different. Thus far, it’s my favorite barleywine (out of 2 which I’ve had entire bottles, the other being Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot, which is just way too hoppy, and I like hops, but it wasn’t balanced at all).

The Old Ruffian pours a nice ruby amber color with a thick creamy white head. It smells of a light floral hops mixed in with some malty scents and a little fruit quality. There is also a noticeable alcohol scent, but it actually adds rather than detracts from the quality. The beer has a nice warming quality to it. It’s thick, mildly hoppy without the hops aftertaste of IPA’s, and all around great. There’s a nice balance of malt sweetness to it and a slight fruity/sugary quality to it. This is a perfect beer for a cold night with snow on the ground. You can taste a bit of the alcohol, but this it to be drunk more like a liqueur rather than a beer. And at 10.2% ABV, it’s not overly surprising to get a little alcohol burn to it, but it’s more of a warming feeling than a harsh burn.

If you want something stronger with a nice flavor and nice warming quality for a cold night, this is the beer for you. The only reason it’s not drinkable is because of the alcohol content, but that doesn’t bother me. I love it!

Snow and Scorpion Bowls

Published on December 13, 2007 in Food, Providence and Review. Closed

So today Providence got hit with the first major snow storm of the season.  We have about 7 or 8 inches of snow right now and it’s still coming down pretty hard.  Earlier this afternoon when I was driving home the 1.5 miles from work (I drive because the bus would add an extra 30 min to my commute), the city was at a standstill.  It took me two and a half (2.5) hours to get home.  The major roads throughout the city couldn’t be plowed because of all the cars, including the highways.

Once I got home, we picked up Susan’s car from the shop down the street and got that into our little lot and then decided to get dinner.  We went to MuMu, the best Chinese restaurant in the area.  We ordered the drunken chicken, xiao long bao, Singapore noodle dish, and the pork fried rice.  We also decided to get a medium scorpion bowl (32 oz.).  The food was excellent.  I was very impressed by the Singapore noodle dish.  The drunken chicken was different (cold, still on the bone with skin), but very good.  I had never had a scorpion bowl before, so I didn’t know what to expect.  It was strong to say the least.  Anyway, if you like Chinese food and live in the Providence area, you MUST try MuMu.  It really is the best in the area (not just the city).  It’s also very authentic.  I give them two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the service and being open tonight (after trying to get pizza at Sicilia’s and Bob and Timmy’s who were both closed).

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Published on December 10, 2007 in Ale, Beer and Review. Closed

Tonight’s beer was Rogue’s Chocolate Stout.  Finally, a beer in a bomber that I could share with Susan (she loved it by the way).  The beer pours a thick opaque black with a thick tan head that hangs around for a while and leaves some nice lacing on the glass.  It smells of chocolate and roasted malts with perhaps a slight hint of caramel malt and hops for balance.  The flavor is big on the chocolate and roasted malts but has a nice balance to it with the hops, though they’re very understated and used just for the balance.  The beer is much better than any other chocolate stouts I’ve had (specifically Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, which is more of a dessert beer with its chocolate sweetness).  I think I found one of my favorite stouts tonight.  I’ll definitely be buying this one again (as I’m sure Susan will want me to).  According to the bottle, it’s best paired with beef or dessert.  I had it with pork, but I’m not really big on making sure I pair my beer and food properly.  The beer was still excellent and gets two thumbs up from me.  This was another fine beer from Rogue.

Rogue Chocolate Stout brochure (PDF)

Providence Brewpubs and Beer Bars

Published on December 9, 2007 in Beer and Providence. Closed

I can’t understand why Providence doesn’t have a great brewpub. We have 2 brewpubs downtown, Union Station, mentioned above, and Trinity Brewhouse, formerly one of my favorite hangouts. Union Station’s been has been weak in flavor in my experience. The body of it is usually pretty good, but the flavor could use a bit more “oompf”. Trinity’s beer is hit or miss. The Rhode Island IPA, Trinity’s flagship beer, is a good IPA and one of my “go to” beers when I’m out somewhere that serves it (sometimes in bottles as Trinity IPA, contract brewed elsewhere, I think it’s Cottrell Brewing in Pawcatuck, CT). That is usually the safest bet when drinking at Trinity. Their other beers tend to be hit or miss, and lately, it’s been mostly miss (including with the food). The beers I’ve had and really liked there include their Belgian Tripel, Russian Imperial Stout, Larkin’s Irish Stout, Dark-toberfest, and the Scotch Ale. Aside from those (and sometimes including those), the beers seem to feel watered down (though the flavor is usually pretty good). They also had a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (though I don’t remember the name, BA has one called Belgian Imperial Stout, but that wasn’t what I had, I think it was called Dark Lady). That one had a good flavor, but no body. Occasionally, their beers also end up with this soapy aftertaste. Trinity has all the workings to be a great brewpub with some pretty cool beers. I don’t have a lot of hope for Union Station being owned by John Harvards, which is what it basically is with a different name, but Trinity should be and could be 100x better than it is today. Their burgers are usually really good and the fries just awesome, but lately even all that has gone downhill. Perhaps, it’s because Josh Miller, the owner, has spread himself too thin with the Hot Club, Local 121, and his duties as a RI state senator. I don’t know what it is about Providence, but we have all the workings for a great brewpub and great beer bars, but we just aren’t there. The best beer bar in the state is a little dive bar on some dead end street across the Post Road from the airport in Warwick. It should be in downtown Providence. Someday if I ever get the know-how, time, and money, I wouldn’t mind opening up my own bar in Providence and serve only great craft beers and microbrews. However, I have none of that at the moment. In the meantime, I just wish Trinity Brewhouse would kick up their beers a notch and start brewing better beer. They have the know-how, they just need to actually do it. One idea I had is rather than try to always have 5 beers on tap and keep them on tap, they shouldn’t worry if they run out of something, even if it is their IPA, which they always have on tap. As a backup, they should keep a stock of their bottled beer and serve that if people ask for it. That way they can spend more energy on making the beer better. The one beer I have never had a problem with when drinking there (though they rarely make it) is the Decadedance IPA, their Double IPA. That always comes out perfect with a nice body and great flavor.

Now why Providence doesn’t have a better beer bar than the ones that exist also confuses me. First, the better ones are on the East Side (Wickenden Pub and the Ivy Tavern, at least according to BA). I’ve never been to either because I like to drink and enjoy myself without worrying about driving, so I walk downtown.  Downtown lacks a good beer bar, but has 2 brewpubs, one which is consistently mediocre and the other which is hit or miss.  There’s no reason that Providence can’t have a Track 84 (in Warwick) or Pitcher’s Pub (in Cumberland) downtown.  It would do just fine.  Downtown (or at least the Jewelry District) does have Jake’s, which is good, though it could be better and isn’t the best walk from anywhere.  Perhaps when 195 comes down and the JD is open to downtown, it’ll change, but for now, it’s not a fun walk.  So to anyone who likes beer and is thinking about opening a really good beer bar, do it in downtown Providence.  We need one.

Union Station and Stone IPA

Published on December 9, 2007 in Ale, Beer, Food, Providence and Review. Closed

Last night, Susan and I went to Union Station Brewery (owned by John Harvards) for dinner after an afternoon of ice skating, perusing Craftland, and watching the Christmas tree lighting at City Hall.  The food was decent, I had the Salmon Paella.  It wasn’t anything special, but it wasn’t terrible, though it did give me a bit of gas.  It was a piece of oven roasted salmon, which was a little on the dry side, on top of rice with peppers, onions, muscles, shrimp, and sausage mixed in.  Along with that, I had their cask conditioned Amber Ale.  The beer was a nice amber color with very little carbonation (due to the cask conditioning) and a nice thick creamy white head.  The beer smelled slightly of hops with some malt sweetness mixed in.  The scent wasn’t big.  The flavor was good, though a little weak.  It tasted of a slight hops bitterness, which was a little floral and overly balanced by a malt sweetness.  It was a really smooth beer and very drinkable, but not very flavorful.  Susan had their Black Lager, which was good and had more flavor than mine (roasted and chocolate malts dominated the flavor), but it was still a bit too weak in taste.  I’m not surprised as I’ve been there before and not been impressed by their beers.

At the end of last night, I went to the Wild Colonial in Providence after seeing Improv Jones at the Perishable Theatre (totally worth the $5, they play there every Saturday at 10pm, check it out).  The Wild Colonial is a great little dive bar on South Water Street.  To top it off, it’s also got a good selection of beer (though I wouldn’t go so far as calling it a great beer bar).  Not being able to read the labels on the bottles in the fridge, I ordered what I could see, a Stone IPA.  I had had this once before at Track 84 during their kick off party.  The beer is one of the better IPA’s I’ve had with a different flavor to it.  It’s a bit more floral in scent and flavor than citrusy or piney, though it’s both of those as well.  It has a nice body with lots of flavor and a nice balance of malt sweetness as well, though being an IPA, the hops are prominent.  It also lacks the hops aftertaste that most IPA’s have, which is kind of nice.  It’s a great refreshing IPA, something I’ll have to try in the summer when it’s hot.

Winter Beers Galore!

Published on December 8, 2007 in Ale, Beer, Belgian and Review. Closed

I’ve been a bit lazy and haven’t posted these, so I’ll bunch them all together.  I went and bought a bunch of winter beers last week.  I drank most of them and here’s my thoughts.

I’ll start with the Belgians, which were quite different from the American beers.  First was Scaldis Noel, aka Bush De Noel.  The beer poured a dark amber color with a reasonable sized head.  Smelled of cloves and other spices and a bit of alcohol, along with some caramel and a slight fruit scent, some type of berry.  The flavor was of those spices with some caramel and fruitiness mixed in.  It wasn’t tart or sour, but wasn’t sweet either.  It was very malty with a slight bitterness and a slight alcohol burn at the swallow (12% ABV, so that wasn’t surprising).  It was drinkable, though not too many because of the alcohol.  I liked it and I’d have more, but not in the same sitting.

The other Belgian I had was Delirium Noel.  This one poured a bit lighter and had a more pronounced scent to it.  I didn’t expect cherries, but those were bit and it had a tart scent to it.  This was a nice tart and sweet malty beer with a slight caramel flavor and some spices mixed in.  At 10% ABV, I would only have one per sitting, but the alcohol was not at all noticeable in the taste.  This one was better than the other.  I’ll definitely be buying more of this.

Now on to the American beers… First was Brooklyn’s Winter Ale.  This is an amber ale with a smaller head.  It had a slight spiciness to it, but nothing overwhelming.  It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was still quite drinkable.  It had a nice malt/hops balance with some slight tastes of spices.  BA calls it a Scottish Ale, but I didn’t get that impression.  It tasted like an amber ale with a touch of spices.  I’m not sure I’d buy this again.

The last winter beer I had (well Susan had it this time, but I’ve had it before and I had some of hers) was Sam Adams’ Old Fezziwig Ale.  This is a true winter warmer.  The beer pours a dark ruby brown color, like a porter with scents of caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices.  The beer is like a very tasty Christmas cookie.  Not the fancy Italian things, but a good old down to earth cookie.  It would pair well with a good oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  The taste is of the scents.  The mix of spices with the caramel and chocolate malts is fantastic.  This is one of Sam Adams’ best beers.  Unfortunately, this beer is only available in the Winter 12 Pack, which also has the dreaded Cranberry Lambic (not a real lambic).  If you can find it in a place that sells singles, pick some up.  It’s well worth it.  Heck, the Sam Adams Winter 12 Pack is worth it even if you toss the lambic or give it to someone you don’t like.  The Old Fezziwig is one of my favorite winter beers.

How We Lost the War on Drugs and why it should end

Published on December 6, 2007 in Politics. 1 Comment

Every now and then Rolling Stone publishes an awesome article. The latest issue (Dec. 13) had an article titled “How America Lost the War on Drugs“, written by Ben Wallace-Wells. The article goes into great detail on how the so-called War on Drugs began and how it evolved to what it has become today. If you have any interest in politics and the economy of our country, this article is a must read. The War on Drugs has cost the country $500 billion and that is increasing at a rate of $50 billion a year. It puts non-violent criminals in overcrowded prisons and is racially biased in that it puts on average more African-Americans in prison than whites, yet there is no evidence that African-Americans use more.

The article goes on to show that the whole notion of marijuana as a “gateway” drug is completely false and anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. It explains how the War on Drugs has gone from attacking drugs at the source in Colombia to attacking medical marijuana users (key quote about just how ridiculous things have gotten follows):

In one particularly ludicrous incident, a forty-four-year-old post-polio sufferer named Suzanne Pfeil, who smoked prescription marijuana to relieve her pain, was hauled off to jail by DEA agents who pointed automatic rifles at her head and handcuffed her to her wheelchair. The rhetoric reached the level of crusade: Walters called citizens who plant and tend marijuana gardens “terrorists who wouldn’t hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties.”

People who use drugs are not terrorists. People who grow marijuana are not supporting terrorists. That notion shows just how out of touch with reality our current government truly is and what lengths they will go to and what scare tactics they will use to continue this War on Drugs that will never end and will never be won.

This War on Drugs needs to end. Support organizations like NORML. Contact your representatives and senators in Congress. This is your money being thrown out the window. Half a trillion dollars ($500,000,000,000 so you can see how big it is written out) could go a long way towards other things, like improving our education system, research into alternative fuels for automobiles, supporting public transportation system. Spending it on a losing battle is just wasting it.

I found it on Boing Boing. Slate has a great article on it as well.