Village Idiot

Cosmos blew up partly in thanks to a certain HBO series that I dread to even be in the same house as some one who's watching it. I noticed that a lot of females were really ordering the crap out of them for a good bit. Fortunately, it seems like that trend has died down.

Last time I made tuna, I just used Olive Oil, pepper, and salt. I had Mayo, sriracha, and a little bit of oil heated up to break the consistency down to something a little more "liquidy" and put a side of soy and wasabi to dip it in as well. I also made a side of sushi rice that went well with the dish. Sriracha and mayo are awesome together, imo. I didn't have a chance to cut the tuna and fan it as the dog was sniffing around. And don't mind the quality. It's like the 5th transfer of the .jpg. The link for the one at my Flickr site is posted below. Better quality. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cokronk/2763376339/

The only time I had the privilege of the tasting JW Blue was at whiskey festival. Unfortunately, it was at the very end of the festival. I couldn't even begin to say what it tasted like. I have to assume it was good! This year, I will make a point of hitting the JW station first. McClellans are rebottlings. Their stuff is usually very young whiskey, around 6 yrs, I believe. I was never fond of Glenlivet 12, but the 15 is very nice. There are loads of websites and books that guide one through how to become acquainted with single malts, so rather than try to do that here, I'll just list some others that I'd personally recommend. I already mentioned that I like Lagavulin, Talisker, Laphroaig 10, Highland Park 12, and Ardbeg 10. Others I recommend include: Balvenie Doublewood Balvenie Portwood Aberlour A'bunadh Dalmore (12 yr. and Cigar Malt) Macallan 12 Old Pultney Oban Glenfarclas 105 ← It's definitely not like anything else I've ever tasted. I forget the age that it's supposed to be, but it had a very spicy taste to it. I'm not sure how to describe it really. Even over ice and thinned out a bit, it's still kind of strong. I had some one buy me a bottle in the caribbean for fixing their computer. About $100 down there. It's not something I'd personally ever spend my money on, but as a gift it was a treat.

Ah ha! Bowmore. I think that was the other single malt I tried.

It's discussion time. As a man close to my heart once said, "Scotch scotch scotch. I like scotch." Mr. Burgundy never summed up my feelings for an object so well. I'm looking for new stuff to try and people's opinion on this particular liquor. My list of scotches that I can remember: JW Black JW Red JW Blue Glen Livet McClellans Some obscure named single malt I don't remember. I really like the blue, not because of the price, but because of the complexity and the amazing spicieness it had to it. I'm really a fan of single malts from the few I've tried though, so the more recommendations, the merrier.

You can't really place the blame on the bartender at certain establishments. There's bars that I go to that are regularly busy. Most of my friends are/were bartenders at one point. I always hear the complaint about people walking in and telling them "I don't know" or "Just make me something" when they ask what they want and the house is packed. But then again I like in a college town with few high end bars. But I do see the trend. I have friends that drink Hennesy, Belvedere, Gray Goose, Patron, and any other liquor that's considered high end that you always see a ton of advertising for. I'm not a fan of Vodka in the first place, but I don't think that more money = better spirits. I prefer Smirnoff over GG or Belvy. The only liquor that I really like where I see more $$ = better quality is in scotch. Buying a $20 bottle of scotch usually doesn't get you the flavors you can find in a $40 bottle, not to mention it's tough to find a single malt for under that price in my area. Same thing with tequila. Out of the limited selection I've tried, I prefer Reserve 1800, cuervo, and then Patron in that order. I'm just not a huge fan of the Patron I've tried, but I can drink 1800 on the rocks. I guess I'm not that big of a cocktail drinker though. Unless it's gin, I prefer most of my good liquor over a few ice cubes. I do like Gin Martinis though. This is really making me want to go to the store and find a good bottle of single malt tonight...

Going out for a bit tonight. The worst part about living in WV is they have some stupid law that says that you're not allowed to sell beer over 6.0% ABV unless it has malt liquor on the packaging (I know it's not over 6.0%, I'm just not sure if the malt liquor part is correct)? That really limits what you can get here. Fortunately I live in a small college town less than five minutes from Maryland and I can always run and pick up the good stuff. Unfortunately that leaves most bars lacking in selection here and I'd rather drink and walk than the other alternative... Anyways...My local bar that tries to stock some decent brews carries Boddingtons. I know it's not what I consider a great beer, but I don't mind knocking a few of these back as they're pretty smooth and better than the usual domestic selection. I'm also going to make it a point to get one of the Franzaskaner Heffewiesens(Yeah, I butchered that) while I'm out. They're pretty good and I enjoy a good heffe.

That's why friends of mine like it. They can take the box or just what's in the bag and go with it. Usually to parties and stuff like that. I'm not much of a wine drinker myself, but when I do, I tend to go for the good stuff and you generally don't find that in boxes afaik. Does the bag transfer taste at all? Kind of like trying to drink a good beer out of a plastic cup?

This sucks. I'm now really craving some good asian food. I haven't gotten sashimi in forever. Maybe that or some Udon.

Canon G9/G10. They have a hotshoe and full manual modes. But for the price you pay, you can get a used DSLR. Then again, P&S vs. DSLR kit. I've seen some photos taken by a professional photographer with his G9 and you couldn't tell the difference between the photos taken with that and the photos taken with his Nikon kit until he told you.

$75 would get you an external flash setup that might work wonders. The worst part is that I'm pretty sure your camera doesn't have a full manual mode. Keep in mind, that what I shot the below photos with was a lot of expensive gear, but it's just a comparison (a little unfair actually) of using one flash and using ambient. All I did was turn off the radio unit for the flash transmitter between these two and adjust the in camera settings. I could have made the ambient photo look better with a tripod and some more tweaking, but I wanted to shoot hand holding the camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cokronk/2610520858/ Edit: And if you can change the shutter speed and you're using a tripod, put the camera on the timer. If you shoot it on a tripod, you still might get a blurry picture from the camera shaking when you press the button in. If you put the timer on and take the picture, nothing should be interfering with the camera when it snaps the picture.

I'm in the beer can camp. It's got to be one of the easiest ways to fix a chicken and it tastes great. I accidently left one in the oven for almost 3 hours (it was a night involving a lot of alcohol) and it was still nice and moist and not burnt when I finally remembered it

My Monday night consisted of Natty Light, Miller Lite, then Bud Light Lime. The bar kept going up through out the night. Too bad it didn't go very high though...

What about making something with sushi vinegar? It's light and sweet and doesn't have as strong of a vinegar flavor as the other ones mentioned in the article. Hmmmm....I'll have to come up with something. I mean, I use it in my scrambled eggs, so I'm sure I can find a drink to pour it in.

I'm a sucker for a good rueben. Mine is at the Broad Axe in Hagerstown.