First there was “Lazy Sunday” then there was “Lazy Monday“… now there’s “Lazy Muncie“. Undoubtedly, this is funnier to me–having grown up a Hoosier… but it’s still got some good stuff.
Archives for February 2006
Tessiner Geisskase
Tessiner Geisskase (couldn’t find an active link!) is a pretty outstanding goat cheese. It’s made from raw goat’s milk and has a crumbly, (i.e. curdy) texture with a really outstanding mouth feel. It makes for a very nice, flavorful snack cheese. It’s definitely on the salty side (which I like) with a definite “goat” flavor, but not overpowering. It has a great smell and a very nice, lingering finish. Don’t eat it cold, let it warm up to room temperature to really get the most out of this one.
I couldn’t really find much more information about this one on the web, one reseller link, which wasn’t active, but Google cached, indicated the cheese was imported from Switzerland by Rolf Beeler (a noted importer) and that it was a “rare find”. Well, if you find some, buy some. You will not be disappointed.
Cornish Blue
Cornish Blue is a pasteurized cow’s milk blue, which is a nice, strong blue. Their website claims it’s “Gorgonzola like” but I didn’t find that to quite be the case. The tasting I had lacked much of the sweetness of most Gogonzolas and had a much firmer texture, not as creamy.
Perhaps the bit I had was aged a little longer, I found it to be very sharp and a little earthy and raw tasting. The texture was firmer and a bit more chalky, slightly reminiscent of an English cheddar. I’d say it’s a nice blue that could hold it’s own on a cheese board, but it’s definitely not one of my favorite blues–I do tend to lean towards the sweeter and creamier styles.
Florida: The Nation’s Wang
Some disturbing video on how not to manage a relationship with the citizens police “serve and protect.”
So what do you think should happen to the officer who touches his gun and says, “One more step forward, and you’ll see what happens. Take one more step forward,” or the officer that threatens to give the citizen a ticket? Personally, I think they should lose their jobs. Period. There’s a follow-up in Part II which results in a whole lotta, “no comment.”
[Via Boing Boing]
Coming This Summer…
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a film fan and a huge fan of Richard Linklater. Here’s the trailer for A Scanner Darkly which has been pushed back (again!) to this summer… I will be there opening day.
At Least I Got One Thing Right in College
You scored as Theater. You should be a Theater major! Like a bohemian actress, you are seasoned and confident and not afraid to express yourself!
Theatre |
|
100% | |
Journalism |
|
100% | |
Philosophy |
|
75% | |
Dance |
|
67% | |
Mathematics |
|
67% | |
English |
|
58% | |
Psychology |
|
58% | |
Engineering |
|
58% | |
Anthropology |
|
58% | |
Art |
|
58% | |
Linguistics |
|
50% | |
Sociology |
|
33% | |
Chemistry |
|
33% | |
Biology |
|
33% |
Olympics
Don’t ask me why, but I’ve spent far too much time this past week watching the Olympics. In between the Luge and the Snowboard Cross, I noticed a few things:
- I am all for pride in your heritage and homeland, but you know what? If you’ve lived in the United States for over a decade and you train in the United States, you shouldn’t be competing for Bulgrussistan. I mean, c’mon: America is a nation of immigrants, if we’ve accepted you as a citizen here, compete for your new country.
- I don’t care how popular it is, ice dancing is stupid. If this is an Olympic sport, why isn’t ballroom dancing? What’s next, Olympic Ice Dancing With the Stars?
- Twenty-year olds sometimes do stupid things which they’ll probably regret later. I know I did many stupid things in my 20s. The bad news is that it doesn’t stop in your 30s.
- Michelle Kwan should train harder than ever, come back in four years, win a gold, and on the medal stand, flip off the camera and say, “Run, Runner! No one has to die at 30, you can live!”
- Apparently, you can’t ski hung over very well after all. This is a shame, because in spite of the controversy that seems to follow him, I think Bode Miller is a pretty accurate representation of the average American: he plays hard and he works hard, but sometimes his quality suffers for it. For all of the sports writers calling for his head on a platter because he doesn’t represent the “Olympic” ideal: he’s not doping with the ‘roids he’s not cheating on his wife, and last I heard, he hadn’t sexually assaulted or raped anyone.
- Bryant Gumbel is a first class asshole.
- Joey Cheek is first class.
- Zhang Dan earned her medal more than any other Olympian I’ve seen in the games so far.
And finally, would Bob Costas and NBC announcers just shut up already? I mean, really. The inane play-by-play and statements of the obvious in the wrap up really don’t ad anything to the coverage. I know NBC paid 600 Million for the broadcast rights, but sometimes, less is more.
Quote of the Evening
The quote tonight comes from Constitutional Law:
“Stupid is not unconstitutional. Stupid is stupid.”
Chocolate!
This VD my wife decided to indulge my chocolate tastes and surprised me with a box of truffles from Vosges. Vosges is a Chicago based “haut-chocolat” boutique with a definite gourmet bent. Some of the flavors of truffles include the “Black Perl” which is a dark chocolate truffle with an infusion of ginger and wasabi, topped with black sesame seeds and the “Budapest” which is dark chocolate with sweet Hungarian paprika.
Last night, I had the pleasure of trying the “Poivre” which is dark chocolate with Telicherry peppercorns (white and black). Oh. My. God. It was really fantastic. The pepper was not overpowering, it just added a hint of peppery spice to the chocolate and made it that much richer. I only wish I had a nice spicy Zinfandel to go with it, it would have been perfect.
I also sampled the “Naga” which I think is possibly the most perfect chocolate I’ve ever had. It’s a milk chocolate with coconut and sweet Indian curry. Normally, I’m a dark chocolate fan, but this combination was just out of this world. The coconut (which I normally don’t like) was subtle and matched perfectly with the curry. I was simply blown away.
So, if you’re an adventurous eater and in the mood for some amazing chocolate, I’d recommend checking out Vosges. They have stores in Chicago, New York and Vegas (?!) but I’m sure they also do mail order. It’s pricey stuff, but wow, is it worth it.
How to Get Business (Not)
Today at work I got a call from a vendor. This vendor sells a particular product we use a lot of, so I’m willing to listen. I always check the prices against our current vendor to make sure we’re getting the best price. This was one of the most disastrous discussions I’ve ever had with a potential vendor. Here’s some tips for those of you who have the unfortunate job of selling products to people like me:
Tip Number One
Make your sales pitch obnoxious, fast, and loud. When the customer asks you to give them some of the specifications on your products, tell them something like, “I could give you any specs! But I’m not going to do that because we both know specs are useless. You need to try our product to see how great it is.”
Tip Number Two
Don’t listen to what the customer says. When they tell you that they don’t want to purchase an evaluation unit unless you can give them specs, tell them again about how the specs they’ve asked you for twice now don’t really mean anything.
Tip Number Three
When you quote the fantastic, price saving cost of your product, which happens to be over twice the customer’s current reputable local vendor, laugh and tell them that your product will still save them money because your product will double their efficiency. If they point out that your claim is based on specs, stall for a bit and then relaunch your sales pitch.
Tip Number Four
If you agree to send them an evaluation product so they can independently test your claims, fax them an order for your product instead. They won’t notice the difference.
Tip Number Five
If they do notice that you sent them an order confirmation and they fax it back with a note saying this order was never placed and will not be honored, call them right away and say, “C’mon man! I thought we were doing business!!”
Tip Number Six
If the customer puts you on “hold” to look something up, like specs on the product they currently use (even though you know specs don’t mean anything) you should always assume that you are actually on hold, not just mute, and talk loudly to your other sales associates about them and whether or not this stuff is all worth the potential sale.
These steps are a sure-fire way to increase your sales and gain new customers. And if they don’t work, well, those customers just didn’t want to “save money!”