Archives for category: Because I care

Great Wines For Under $12

September 26, 10 //

I’ve recently adopted Plumpjack Wines as my favorite wine store. The guys at the Noe Valley location are incredibly knowledgeable and generous, and they handpick every bottle that’s on their shelves. No matter what, you’re going home with a great bottle.

Here’s a list they’ve put together of Great Wines Under $12. (I re-typed this, so any misspellings are mine)

Sobella Chardonnay, North Coast, California 2009

Butterfield Station Chardonnay, California, 2008

Tessa’a Cuvee Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California, 2007

Black Box Chardonnay, Monterey, 2008 (3 liter box = 4 bottles)

Moody Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Calaveras County, California, 2007

Speare Merlot, Sonoma County, 2007

Babcock “Under the Radar” Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley, California, 2006

Shenandoah Vineyards “Special Reserve” Zinfandel, Amador County, California, 2008

Balletto Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley, California, 2007

Line 39 Petite Sirah, North Coast, California, 2008

Underwood Cellars Pinot Noir, Oregon, 2009

La Bourgeoisie Merlot, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2008

Alta Vista Torrontes, Salta, Argentina, 2008

Martin Fierro Malbec, Valle de Tulum, Argentina, 2007

Finca El Portillo Pinot Noir, Valle de Uco, Mendoza Argentina, 2008

Secreto Viognier, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2008

Calcu Rosé (Malbec/Syrah), Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2010

Calcu “Super Chilean” Red (Cab/Carmenere/etc.), Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2007

Falernia Carmenere-Syrah, Elqui Valley, Chile, 2006

Apaltagua Carmenere Reserva, Colchagua Valley, Chile, 2008

Famega Vinho Verde, Amarante, Portugal, 2008

Porcupine Ridge, Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa, 2009

Spice Route Sauvignon Blanc, Darling, South Africa, 2008

Man Vintners Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region, South Africa, 2009

Man Vintners Shiraz, Costal Region, South Africa, 2007

Ca’Donini Pinot Grigio, delle Venezia IGT, Veneto, Italy, 2009

Colosi Nero d’Avola, Sicilia, Italy, 2007

Umani Ronchi, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo, Italy, 2008

French Rabbit Chardonnay, VdP d’Oc, France, 2007 (1 liter box)

Chateau Moulin de Ferrand, Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France 2009

Abel Clement Grenache Rosé, VdP de Vaucluse, Rhone, France, 2009

Ferraton “Samorens” Rouge, Cotes du Rhone, France, 2006

French Rabbit Pinot Noir, VdP d’Oc, France, 2007 (1 liter box)

Claude Val Rouge (Gernache-Merlot-Carignan-Cinsault), VdP d’Oc, France, 2007

Laboure-Roi Pinot Noir Reserve ‘les Sangliers’, VdP d’Oc, France, 2007

Chateau la Rose Tour Blanche, Bordeaux, 2008

Chateau de Gaudou, Cahors, France, 2007

Bodegas Montecillo ‘Verdemar’ Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain, 2008

Gran Familia Rioja, Spain, 2007

Valcantara Old Vine Garnacha, Carinena, Spain, 2008

Los Zorros Tempranillo Roble, Castilla y Leon, Spain, 2004

St. Urbans-Hof ‘Urban’ Riesling QbA, Mosel, Germany, 2009

Manu Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2009

Zeepaard Shiraz, West Cape Howe, Western Australia, 2007

Interesting to see only one Malbec made the list. Perhaps a reflection of the enormous price increase in the last couple of years and/or I’m not crazy when I say that most Malbecs I’ve had lately haven’t been very good.

The Secrets of MacGyver… Revealed

April 10, 10 //

Met a lovely older gentleman this afternoon who was a writer for, amongst other shows, MacGyver.

And the answer to your question is: the writers cribbed all of MacGyver’s paper clip + chewing gum = C4 solutions from Boy Scout handbooks from around the world.

In Case You Weren’t Sure…

December 12, 09 //

Karma – visually explained.

karmavisual

Via my lovely friend Tanja, who found it from Mac. (the person, not the laptop)

The Antidote To Bad Client Calls

September 8, 09 //

Click on the link.

Keep your eye on the kid in red.

Let it all melt away.

You’re welcome.

They Understand Me

August 5, 09 //

You work in an industry of creative endeavor – and you’ve pretty much signed away any idea of personal space and personal time. Unless you have kids. Having kids can possibly mean that you’re nurturing the next generation’s leaders of humanity – but to me it means you have a free pass to get out of the office at a reasonable time. You have the unassailable right to go to a soccer game rather than put in another 11 hours on a Saturday. I’m not saying its wrong. I’m just saying – my empty womb means that I’m sometime holding an empty bag. My need to get a haircut, will never hold up in the court of “I need to go home now.”

So please let me introduce to you a product that will buy you a little space. A little time to breathe. A chance for a mani/pedi and some time to do laundry so you don’t have to show up to work in a bridesmaid’s dress. (I’m two days away myself.)

The Office Kid. Evidence of a fake kid in a kit. Your a la carte kit can include a framed photo, artwork, a doctor’s note (perfect for emergency “me” time in the middle of the week, middle of the day) and a few other options.

It’s working for me. If I keep up with the M&Ms, I can convincingly pull off the pregnancy part too.

And yes, as you would suspect, the heroes behind this idea are, as they put it, “advertising drones.”

picture-4

Stick it to Internet Censorship

July 9, 09 //

The Australian government is looking to put a kink in the hose of the Internet. Apparently they want to install a nationwide filter to reduce – god only knows. Well I do know, actually. The free flow of information. F that!

GetUp! has created a campaign to raise awareness, get people riled up, and stop the current administration from succeeding. In addition to this commercial, they’ve created a website and a modified search engine to illustrate the effects of censorship. They’re trying to raise money to run the spot on the airwaves to reach the masses. So check it out, get mad, and help them spread the word.

Sweet Jaysus – save us from the hand-wringing, squeamish moral police state, already. And by the way – I thought Australians (except for the Aboriginals) were descendants of criminals. Hey Australia – I had greater hopes for you than this.

And now, a very special word from a non-sponsor

July 2, 09 //

I’m a big fan of the internet and the free exchange of ideas it fosters. And so I’m a supporter of net neutrality. Free Press is a passionate fighter for protecting the democratic rights of the internet and spends its time bullying politicians to do the right thing, rather than simply signing whatever legislation distribution giants like Time Warner and Comcast put in front of them.

Here’s a little something from their latest email detailing their outlook on mobile internet connectivity. Everyone who uses the Internet, or who works with making their brand more engaging on the Internet, or pursues the potential of the Internet, should care about this.

Free Press believes that everyone should be able to create an Internet radio or television station, an online newspaper or blog, or launch some other new form of popular media not yet known to us.

The potential for free expression over new media appears limitless. Soon, many people will be carrying their connection with them via pocket Internet devices that can gather and share content from the outside world, whether it’s coming from the streets of Tehran or the coffee shop around the corner.

If we’re successful, people around the world will be able to connect in ways and on a scale we’ve never imagined before. Our mission is to make certain that every one of these Internet connections is open, neutral, affordable and accessible — regardless of the device or network. If you agree, work with us to build a movement for open wireless media that’s free from the control of powerful companies and politicians.

Mobile phones are now in the hands of more than 270 million Americans. Each user cares about his or her freedom to communicate. And each of us has an important part to play in this fight.

We’re just at the beginning.

Thank you for spreading the word,

Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press Action Fund

You can visit their webpage and sign up to get updates about what they’re doing. And if you want to drop them a dollar or two to help them out, they won’t mind.

Laziness + Ingenuity =

June 30, 09 //

this amazing blog called There, I Fixed It.

This would be an excellent Facebook Quiz: which half-assed solution are you?

the windshield defroster?
tifi-windshielddefroster

the spare tire?
tifi-sparetire1

the hot water heater?
tifi-hotwater

the headlight?
tifi-macgyverheadlight

the ass crack patch?
tifi-plumberscrack

via Boing Boing

Yeah….great

June 29, 09 //

So yay for Obama signing legislation that kicked the banks in the crotch for charging crazy fees and upping the interest rates on our credit cards due to impossible legalese buried in the small print. But the banks were making $17 billion a year on these fees, and it wasn’t like they were going to say, “Well…I guess we had a good run while we reamed them. But now that’s over.” Hella no. They got hooked on those big bucks and they’re looking to replace those profits.

PRI’s Marketplace reports that the banks are going to sideswipe us with fees attached to our DEBIT CARDS now. Used to be that if we didn’t have enough money in the account the debit card was drawing from, the transaction didn’t go through. Now they’re going to let it go through and charge $35 in overdraft penalty. And Bank of America just announced they’re going to double the fee if you don’t rectify the situation in 5 days.

Plus, overall, they’re going to increase foreign currency conversion fees. (means if you’re using your debit cards at ATMs abroad.) And they’re going to increase their fees if you use another bank’s ATM domestically. (That $2.50 the ATM charges you, plus the $2.50 your own bank charges you – that’s going to go up on both ends.)

Putting it out there, just so you’re in the know.

If anyone has clever ideas on how to use your money abroad, with the least amount of penalty charges – please enter them in the comments section.

Here’s a link to the full story.

March Mega- conglomerate Madness

May 3, 09 //

Over at Consumerist.com they’ve brought back their bracket series for the Worst Company in America. I believe AIG beat Comcast in the final round…but c’mon guys….year in and year out….isn’t Ticketmaster the most galling? “Convenience charge?” Paying to print your tickets at home? The monopoly-state? The additional 30% to your ticket cost for no discernible reason why?

wciabracket