So, I am, like most things in life, a little bit more than average than the rest of the people I meet.
Yes, I am a gamer, and XBOXer, a Trekkie, and all those other things that get you called a geek or nerd, but at least I embrace the fact!
Later!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
My Nerd Score
Granted I am taking a que from my buddy Chuck at Miri's Dad on Blogger.com, but I thought it would be fun to add my Nerd Score in my blog too.
So, I am, like most things in life, a little bit more than average than the rest of the people I meet.
Yes, I am a gamer, and XBOXer, a Trekkie, and all those other things that get you called a geek or nerd, but at least I embrace the fact!
Later!
So, I am, like most things in life, a little bit more than average than the rest of the people I meet.
Yes, I am a gamer, and XBOXer, a Trekkie, and all those other things that get you called a geek or nerd, but at least I embrace the fact!
Later!
Oh those sexy, tawdry Vikings.... Gudrun, you look so hot!
Check out this new article from Yahoo. I always refused to believe that our Western European ancestors only though that mud and dirt were the pinnacle of fashion!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080227/sc_nm/viking_dress_dc_1
LONDON (Reuters) - Vikings were much snappier dressers than thought, according to new evidence unearthed by a Swedish researcher.
The men were especially vain while the women dressed provocatively, adorning themselves in vivid colors, silk ribbons and glittering bits of mirrors, said Annika Larsson, a textile researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden.
"They combined oriental features with Nordic styles," she said in a statement. "Their clothing was designed to be shown off indoors around the fire."
The findings are based on the Swedish Vikings who traveled east into what is now Russia rather than the Danish or Norwegian Vikings who went west.
Until Larsson's discovery in the Russian region of Pskov near Novgorod -- in an area used as an Eastern trade route -- most people had believed Viking dress was conservative.
Her findings included a blue dress with a train fastened to the breasts with clasps to highlight the figure, she said.
These kind of ornate features in clothing, however, disappeared with the onset of medieval Christian fashion during a time the Swedish Vikings pushed into Western Europe, she said.
"It's easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way," Larsson said.
(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Myra MacDonald)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080227/sc_nm/viking_dress_dc_1
LONDON (Reuters) - Vikings were much snappier dressers than thought, according to new evidence unearthed by a Swedish researcher.
The men were especially vain while the women dressed provocatively, adorning themselves in vivid colors, silk ribbons and glittering bits of mirrors, said Annika Larsson, a textile researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden.
"They combined oriental features with Nordic styles," she said in a statement. "Their clothing was designed to be shown off indoors around the fire."
The findings are based on the Swedish Vikings who traveled east into what is now Russia rather than the Danish or Norwegian Vikings who went west.
Until Larsson's discovery in the Russian region of Pskov near Novgorod -- in an area used as an Eastern trade route -- most people had believed Viking dress was conservative.
Her findings included a blue dress with a train fastened to the breasts with clasps to highlight the figure, she said.
These kind of ornate features in clothing, however, disappeared with the onset of medieval Christian fashion during a time the Swedish Vikings pushed into Western Europe, she said.
"It's easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way," Larsson said.
(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Myra MacDonald)
Friday, February 08, 2008
It's Alive!
Well, after about 3 weeks of carefully treatment and monitoring, the first bottles of DeeJay Cellars wines have been bottled. We have bottled 28, 750
ml bottles of Merlot wine. This first batch of wine is name Red Shirt Merlot, giving honor to all those poor red shirted Star Trek guys that never made it back from a landing party or away team. The merlot, which still needs to age for at least three months has at this moment, a very buttery texture to it, with a good sense of oak and raspberry essence to it. It does seem to be a bit on the weaker side, but I think that is due to the relative newness of the wine. We figure the alcohol content is around 13%. I think the body and texture of the wine will definately improve with time. Plans are to open a bottle in one month, compare it to our first taste, and then compare another bottle at three months. For those who I have told I will share some wine, you can certainly expect a decent bottle of good table merlot, that will go with a nice sirloin and vegetables, and even go well with a pizza or pasta meal with tomato sauce.
In the photos you can see my son with the two fermenters. The merlot is to the back of the first photo and the liebfraumilch is still in the process of fermenting. The next two are the first couple of bottles of wine being corked with a very nice piece of machinery that makes bottleing very easy. Further along is the wine being racked from the carboy to the bottles. It really was about a three man operation and took about 20 minutes to get 28 bottles corked. The next is a shot of just some of our "babies" waiting to go to sleep for about three months. And finally, my vinting partner and I enjoy the very first glass of DeeJay Cellars Red Shirt Merlot.
The next bottling will tak place in late February or early march and if it is good, it will be the Kohlinar Liebfraumilch.
Yes, we are both Star Trek Geeks! (don't worry, not all the wines will be in homage to the greatest sci-fi televison series)
Prost!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Boobs and Wine....
Boobs and Wine?! What kind of blog post title do you call that? I call that, truth in writing. And truth be told, I like both items. A lot. A WHOLE lot! Okay, enough personal information. As you know I am currently trying to soak up as much as I can about wine. (both in the reading, creating and tasting of..) And one book I am at this point fascinated by is the Windows On The World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly. I am currently reading about Champagne. Not the champagne that is made in America or else where, but about real champagne from Champagne, France. It has quite an interesting history, but one of the most interesting bits of history is the story of how the vessel we drink champagne from was developed. (so to speak)
Most people drink champagne from the traditional shallow, wide rimmed plastic glass that comes in two parts. Ever wonder why we drink it from those shaped glasses? Well, I shall tell you. (I am paraphrasing from the Zraly book here...)
This coupe design apparently dates back to Greek mythology (or history, depending on your opinion). The footed glass that has a shallow cup that widens out towards the rim was said to be molded from ( I love this...) the breast of Helen of Troy. Apparently Greeks believed (much like I do) that the drinking of wine was a sensual experience, so it only fits that the most beautiful woman of their time take part in the design of the drinking vessel. Now say what you will about Helen of Troy, but I gather from this information that Helen was a card carrying member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.
Jump ahead a number of centuries and onto the stage of champagne drinking comes none other than Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France. She had it in mind that the time had come to "re-design" the traditonal shape of the champagne glass. And, yes, you guessed it, she had one molded to her own breast, and viola! We have much deeper glass that we sip our wine from. Apparently she was slightly more developed than the legendary Helen of Troy.
That being said, I shall look upon the drinking of wine with a new fondness and respect (and eagerness!) and say a word of thanks to those so dedicated to the enjoyment of drinking it that they used their own beauty to enhance the experience!
It must be said though, that the best glasses to drink champagne from are the tall flute or the tulip shaped glass. These shapes keep the champagne from losing the bubbles too quickly and enhance the smell and aroma of the drink.
A toast! To wine! And boobs!
Later!
Most people drink champagne from the traditional shallow, wide rimmed plastic glass that comes in two parts. Ever wonder why we drink it from those shaped glasses? Well, I shall tell you. (I am paraphrasing from the Zraly book here...)
This coupe design apparently dates back to Greek mythology (or history, depending on your opinion). The footed glass that has a shallow cup that widens out towards the rim was said to be molded from ( I love this...) the breast of Helen of Troy. Apparently Greeks believed (much like I do) that the drinking of wine was a sensual experience, so it only fits that the most beautiful woman of their time take part in the design of the drinking vessel. Now say what you will about Helen of Troy, but I gather from this information that Helen was a card carrying member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee.
Jump ahead a number of centuries and onto the stage of champagne drinking comes none other than Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France. She had it in mind that the time had come to "re-design" the traditonal shape of the champagne glass. And, yes, you guessed it, she had one molded to her own breast, and viola! We have much deeper glass that we sip our wine from. Apparently she was slightly more developed than the legendary Helen of Troy.
That being said, I shall look upon the drinking of wine with a new fondness and respect (and eagerness!) and say a word of thanks to those so dedicated to the enjoyment of drinking it that they used their own beauty to enhance the experience!
It must be said though, that the best glasses to drink champagne from are the tall flute or the tulip shaped glass. These shapes keep the champagne from losing the bubbles too quickly and enhance the smell and aroma of the drink.
A toast! To wine! And boobs!
Later!
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