I’ve been using a pair of Oakley gloves that have been threatening to unravel themselves after suffering a slash on palm seam from a tumble on volcanic rubble. To its credit my hand suffered no cut in that incident. But that seam is bit by bit coming apart, so I finally picked up these new Giro gloves to try. Only used on one grueling hot crosscountry ride so far, but my opinion is positive. Continue reading ‘Giro Xen mountain gloves’
Archive for the 'Review' Category
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I am the camera slut. The digicam manufacturers dream customer. I’ve bought so many digital cameras that I would have to sit and give it serious thought to count them, and most of them still work fine. Maybe later I’ll gather them all together for a group photo. The latest in the lineup is this Canon Powershot D10. The outstanding feature that prompted it’s purchase was it’s waterproof and ruggedized construction. That category seems to be the new growth category for the manufacturers, almost every one is comming out with a model now. The Canon is 10m (33ft) depth rated, just over 1m (4ft) drop rated, and “freezproof” rated to -10c (14f).
Well, the PC was quite dead. A RAM and P/S swap borrowed from D could not revive it. So I procured a replacement. A refurb Dell monster. Decent price for a basic core 2 w/2G RAM, 500G HD, DVD drives and a video card. Housed in a monstrous XPS series case with 700W power supply. This monolith has 1/8″ thick aluminum exterior panels and weighs a ton. BTX format, space inside for 4 SATA HDs with its own fan, 4 external accessible 5.25 bays, 2 external 3.5 bays. I harvested the hard drives, DVD burner, card reader from the old machine and installed into the new machine. Powered up, everything pops up fast, and the floor of my room is bathed in a blue glow. There are eights LEDs on the front of the PC, and some on the back that all they do is glow. You can even go into BIOS and configure the color. Sure, it’s cool for dramatic effect, but I can see it being annoying if I leave the machine running at night. Thankfully one of the options is off.
Anyway, so far the machine looks good. Going through the pains of reinstalling software and shuffling files around.
Two weekends ago, I stripped out the handle on the front RWS thru-bolt on my DT-Swiss 240 front hub. Everything was tight enough for the ride, but I had to switch the good rear handle over to the front in order to remove the front wheel so the bike would fit in the FJ80. I emailed DT on Saturday night, they passed my message along to DT-USA, and by Monday morning Hawaii-time, I had a response! After confirmation as to which skewer it was, David over at DT-USA’s Colorado office put a new handle in the mail for me. It arrived on Thursday morning and I was good to go for the weekend ride! Now that’s great after-purchase service! Jeff has had extremely good results from DT-Swiss service-wise on previous occasions also. Not only do they make exceptionally good products, they back them up with great follow-up service.
Four out of four customer service monkeys
This Stout from Hokkaido Beer Pirkawakka brewery in Chitose, South of Sapporo, is a thickly rich example of the variety. The aroma is mildly hoppy, and the flavor malty, with an almost chewy mouthfeel. Since Guinness is the base standard by which other stouts are often judged, let me compare the two. Being in a non-widgeted can, this stout is slightly carbonated so it can form a head, not unlike the Guinness Original Extra Stout. Similarly, there is the associated bitter, dryness from the carbonation, and less of the creaminess of the nitrogen enriched Guinness Draught. When poured, it forms a 15mm head, but beyond that, there is no “bubbling†from the light carbonation. The color is almost opaque dark chocolate. The chosen hops are more bitter than flowery, so like Guinness, the dark roasted malt flavor takes the forefront. The initial taste is smoky, with a malty middle with a bitter back-throat undertone, with a unbelievably smooth, sweeter malty finish. The taste is generally more bitter when cold, and more sweet as the temperature rises. Insofar as Japanese Stouts go, this is the best I’ve experienced, although this is a more uncommon variety amongst Japanese brewers. Compared to the most recent example that I tried, Kirin Stout, this one is significantly better. I would rank this one closer to the Irish Beamish, Guinness, or Murphy’s counterparts. This is a delicious, well-balanced stout. After this and the Pirkawakka Pilsner, I have become thoroughly impressed by Pirkawakka brewery! Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Hokkaido Beer Pirkawakka Stout’
Barleywines are strong ales with origins tracing back to 19th century England. They have generally higher alcohol contents than standard ales. The convoluted rules of the US BATFE require that barleywines sold in the USDM be labeled as “barleywine-style ales†since consumers would be confused by the word “wine†and think grapes were somehow involved. The color of this example is a dark honey amber. To go with this appearance, the aroma is slightly smoky with a hint of passionfruit. The flavor also reflects these attributes. The initial taste is on the sweet, fruity side from the hopping. There is a thick, smoky, molasses quality that fills the mouth in the middle, fading to a bitter finish. If you’ve ever experienced a Sam Adams Triple Bock, this has a similar flavor, but it is nowhere near as syrupy. Continue reading ‘Beer Is Good – Sierra Nevada 2009 Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale’
After the Monday night ride, Ckucke, Kevyn, and I went by The Fat Greek at the bottom of St. Louis Drive for a bite to eat. Parking at this little strip mall is iffy at best, but oddly, a pair of tandem stalls were open, so Ckucke and I pulled in. Kevyn was dropping off his bike at home so came down a little later and also miraculously found parking! I ordered the gyros for $8.40 USD including tax. They have little pager things so when you meal is prepared, they hit the magic button and your unit goes off – a little better than yelling, since they have a small air-conditioned “inside†and a large “outside†patio. The prep time was longer than I would expect for the menu and venue. The food quality was very good. My entrée came with a moderately sized salad that included a cherry tomato, a Calamata olive, two cucumber slices, and crumbled feta cheese on a mix of romaine and baby greens (A-). The gyros pita (A) was well-filled with meat and was seasoned with that white yogurt-based sauce, and came with a tasty, spicy sauce on the side (sorry – I don’t recall the sauce names now, and I’m not going to look it up). As a means of comparison, it was a couple bucks more than something equivalent at Opa! In Vancouver, but the quality was a little better, and there was a little more meat filling. Continue reading ‘Edible Briefs – The Fat Greek’
I was a little apprehensive revisiting this place so soon after the mummifying experience last time, but this is where the office was picking up food, so the die was cast. I took a chance on the “Veal”, and was pleasantly surprised with two giant breaded ground veal patties, reminiscent of the ones that were available at the cafeterias in the UH system in the days before SoDexHo. The rice was good (B), the macaroni salad was a little runny (C) but tasted fine (especially after dumping some El Yucateco Habanero hot sauce on it!), and the entree and gravy was good (B-). The veal patties appear to be some pre-made third-party product that they deep fry. Mine (and actually everyone else’s food like chicken katsu) was a little on the dark/overcooked side as appearances go, but the flavor was fine – it just looked burnt. Maybe this is an oil issue.  I usually opt for brown rice and tossed salad on plate lunches, but I am not sure if these are offered at Queen Bee. The veal was placed over some chopped cabbage, mostly to catch any remaining frying oil, but that was like vegetables… Continue reading ‘Edible Briefs – Queen Bee Lounge Revisited’
Mmm… Mata natsukashii aji desu! This time it’s the pure “Throwback†version of Mountain Dew, complete with retro can graphics. Like the Pepsi Throwback, this one uses real sugar instead of HFCS, so the flavor is deeper and richer. The citrus flavor is in the forefront once more! Again, to be clear, it isn’t sweeter with real sugar: The flavor is simply better. Ckucke called me from Sam’s Club to ask me about it, and got me a case while he was at it. It’ll be pretty hard to go back to the regular HFCS stuff after this twelve-pack is gone!
Price varies – in this case around $4 USD for the 12-pack
Highly recommended!
Four out of four grinning monkeys