Apples and Oranges

Everything is just apples and oranges, or is it?

Apples have a varying shape, with a white flesh and a thin edible skin which is usually consumed as part of the fruit and are usually red or green.

Oranges are round, have an orange flesh that is sectioned, a think outer layer, while edible is not very tasty and needs to be removed prior to eating.

Both are used as juice producing fruits, but the apple is more versatile as it is used as the bases for other juices and is fermented into vinegar for a plethora of other uses.

Apples grow in a temperate climate, while oranges prefer a more tropical setting.

An apple a day will keep the doctor away, or so they say. Oranges are high in vitamin C, which is said to fight the common cold, but so does a spoon full of vinegar, so I guess that is a push.

So there I have done it, I have compared the incomparable, the idiom is wrong.

I got to thinking....(I know, right!?!)

It is beautiful out today, so I spent some time on the deck this morning with the laptop, and I saw a plane far off on the horizon. I figured it had to be five miles up in the air or so, and the sun was rising in the east, and I just sort of let my mind wander and was wondering how far away the plane must have been. How far could I see? 

Bonus rambling thoughts about the speed of light and how even if the speed of light is 186,000 mps, I was basically seeing the light reflecting off the plane instantaneously, even though it was probably several hundred miles away, because at 186k per second, this thing could be no more than a few hundred miles away, that basically means that the light from the reflection on the plane was there in a fraction of a fraction of a second. 

Plus, I know planes fly along the curve of the earth, so I just generally confused myself wondering just how far away the plane is. Then I started to wonder about how long it takes the light reflecting off all the things in my yard must take a billionth of a second or less to reach my eyes from ten feet away.

So this led to other factoids about light and how fast everything is...

• The speed of light is generally rounded down to 186,000 mps. In exact terms it is 299,792,458 m/s, (that is equal to 186,287.49 mps.)
• It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the sun's surface to the Earth.
• The Earth spins at 1,000 mph, but travels through space at 67,000 mph.

Advice that I picked up along the way and now will share.....

I did not always follow all of it, but then again who does.

1. Never fill up on bread, no matter how good.
2. All guns are loaded.
3. Never lie to your doctor.
4. Never get a haircut the day of a special event.
5. Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth, always buy good shoes, tires and sheets.
6. Eat lunch with the new kids.
7. It's never too late to apologize.
8. If you have the right of way, take it.
9. You don't get to choose your own nickname.
10. Know when to ignore the camera.
11. Give credit, take blame.
12. Suck it up every now and then.
13. Don't make a scene.
14. Look people in the eye when you thank them.
15. Know at least one good joke.
16. Keep your word.
17. Learn to change a tire.
18. Don't litter.
19. Make little things count.
20. You are never too old to need your mom.
21. Smile at strangers.
22. Make goals.
23. Real gentlemen carry a small pocket knife.
24. If you have to fight, punch first and punch hard.
25. Be Kind, everyone has a hard road ahead of them.

Libations

One of the hazards of working in a fine tobacco shop is that cigars are quite often paired with alcohol. Those drinks are usually high-end due to the clientele the shop attracts. In order to suggest a proper pairing of cigars and libations, you have to know both products. This has exposed me to some quality liqueurs.

Because of that, my personal tastes have gotten exclusive. Long gone are the days of a six pack of Budweiser or a bottle of Jim Beam or Jose Cuervo. Well, to be honest, I was over the Bud for a while anyway, but now even a nice premium beer like a Stella or Sam Adams can seem maudlin. I now like and enjoy limited reserve, small batch, and/or rare stuff, the problem with this is the cost. We are starting to get into ales that are $9 a bottle, yes you read that right; $9 a bottle. I know what you are thinking, that is expensive for a 12 oz. bottle, but in my defense, at least I am past the days of having to drink to get drunk or even buzzed. I now drink just for the pleasure and to enjoy the taste.

I was at a friend's party a few months ago, and his guests were all hard working and make more then enough to pay the bills. I was offered a pour of Johnny Walker Black, before I could think, out of mouth comes, "You don't have any Double Black or Gold?" Sounding like a complete pretentious asshole, which I most likely am not, I just like what I like.

Not everything I drink is expensive, I have discovered a few, that are cost effective for most budgets.

So with all that said, I have developed two short lists of the libations I like, and with a milestone birth anniversary coming up......

First the hard stuff....

• Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
• Glenlevit Nadurra
• Johnny Walker Blue
• Ron Zacapa Solera Rum
• Belvenie Caribbean Cask
• The Glenrothes Select Reserve
• Elmer T. Lee Bourbon
• Blanton's Kentucky Bourbon
• Paddy's Devil's Apple
• Jameson Black Reserve
• Powers Irish
• Espolon Blanc

Next onto the ales....

• Anything by Lagunitas (Especially; Undercover and Lil'sumpin')
• Anything by Goose Island (Esp.; IPA and Bourbon County Porter)
• Guinness (of course)
• Smithwick's
• Anything by Saranac
• Local Brewpubs/Breweries (Willibrew, City Steam, Two Roads, Hooker)
• Three Floyds Alpha King
• Victory Hop Devil
• Farmington River Mahogany 
• Magic Hat Humble Patience
• Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter
• ...and of course stuff my friends or I brew.

Contact me for delivery....

My writing influences, simple as they may be...

I have a number of people that I have admired as writers. Not for their style, genre, or grammar, but for their approach and where they write from. The first is Mark Twain (Samuel Clemons), Twain wrote from exaggerations of his life experiences. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were the life he wanted as a boy growing up. Twain also wrote about the observations he saw wherever he went, and didn't hold back in speaking his mind. He spoke what he believed and I have been the same since as long as I can remember.

The second is Hunter S. Thompson, once again a writer that spoke his mind and what he believed. But unlike Twain, he lived the wild life he wrote about. Thompson's philosophy matches mine, along with a sharp wit and sarcastic tone. His antics are unmatched (I wish I could walk a mile in his shoes).

Carl Hiaason is another influence, his development of characters and their tics is beyond what other authors have and can achieve in my opinion. His story line is usually the same, corruption in south Florida, but it is diverse set of people in the stories that drag you in and keep you. Carl has also branched out into children's literature and has cultivated a new audience amongst young readers using the same formula as his adult fiction.

Now I have others I grew up with in the pulp fiction genre like Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague DeCamp, Robert Jordan (before he sold out). I have also read series by James Rollins and David Morrell.

(Note: Twain and Thompson both smoked cigars but had no influence on my liking them or my cigar habit, it just makes them cooler in my eyes)

Special Day

April 9th marks the 8th anniversary of the day we picked up Maeve. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Getting up and have a bowl of Pho, and hurrying to get in the van for the hour plus ride out to Ba Vi, northwest of Ha Noi. Driving through the farms and small villages, finally arriving at the orphanage.

The orphanage was a small compound that housed women and children, which included a school and social center. Children that are not adopted are taught skills, this center specialized in furniture. We were given a brief introduction and then taken to the building which housed the infants. The building was comprised of four or five small rooms, each room had accommodations for 4-5 infants with 1-2 nannies in each room.

We were with three other families, we all waited anxiously for the infants to brought out. We were called first, and escorted into the middle room. We were told to bring an outfit for her to be dressed in. As we entered my wife handed the outfit over and the nanny started to get her ready. As my wife leaned over to see our daughter, she looked up, saw my wife and screamed at the top of her lungs in shear panic. This panic continued as she was placed in my wife's arms and continued for the next few minutes. While this was going on, a nanny handed me a bottle. When it was my turn to hold her, she spotted the bottle in my hand, and her demeanor changed immediately. She was quickly pacified by the food. (She still is, btw)

After the other families had received their children, we were herded into a group for a photo, and then loaded back into the van. Maeve fell asleep on my chest (yes, no car seats in Viet Nam), waking once very hungry, and was sated with a banana (her first solid food as far as we know as the orphanage usually only does formula and bottles for infants).

We got back to our hotel and she was bathed in a tub, which she seemed to enjoy and to this day still loves to be in the water. That evening we meet up with the other families at an Irish pub in Ha Noi (yes, an Irishman like myself will always be able to find pub no matter where he is). While my daughter was given the name Nguyen Thi Hoa at the orphanage, she was given a strong Irish name. Her first night with us ended with her a sleep on the floor of the pub.

HBM Update

Okay, so it has been three (3) whole months since my New Year's Resolution and Great Experiment of the Handle Bar Mustache (HBM) started. It is progressing nicely and I have received positive feedback on it.

It is getting thicker and has good length, it maintains the shape I am desiring. I don't like the heavy slick look of using large amounts of 'stache wax, I like a fuller (fluffier) look with a nice balanced curl on the ends. The care and daily prep has become routine and takes less then a minute in the AM and only a few touch-ups during the day.

The feedback has been over-whelming, anything from "great mustache", "awesome look", to "you need to be the boss, because only the 'boss' could have that look." I even get more hellos and eye contact walking the streets, then I have ever gotten before...and here I thought the HBM was going to be intimidating....