Wrigley Gem

So, I'm watching the bottom of the 3rd inning of Cubs-Astros game today on WGN and the Cubs color guy Steve Stone was going on (and on) about pitcher Roy Oswalt, who just came off the D/L today. And that the Astros would be lucky/glad to get 6 innings out of him and then turn it over to their bullpen which has a very good ERA. Then, lead announcer Chip Caray says " so, what your saying is, that Oswalt will not act alone."

I don't think Stone got it...

Well, duh...

Avi Greengart, "Wireless and Consumer Technologies" analyst from JupiterResearch, blogs on this story about the introduction of a new 1-megapixel mobile phone camera in Japan, and breaks down the differences between the US and Japanese markets, including this gem...

Japanese consumers have enthusiastically embraced sending each other Hello Kitty animation, making any comparison to expected U.S. consumer behavior completely speculative.

Cuiver Reserve Château Bottled Nuit St. Wogga Wogga

Spent yesterday at another Wine tasting -- this time for Southcorp's line of Australian wines (Penfolds, Wynn, Lindemans, Rosemount Estate). The highlight was of course, the opportunity to try the '97 and '98 Grange (I like the '97 -- but that's me, the '98 has been fetching $300+ in auctions already). The trend seems to be that the industry is trying to fill the gap in their product line between the introductory wines that are fruit forward and inexpensive (read: Lindemans, Jacob's Creek, Yellowtail, Black Swan) and the high end stuff (Grange, Rosemount, etc) that would fall into the $15+ range.

My favorite of the day (besides the '97 Grange) was the Rosemount Estate Orange Shiraz -- great nose, and real sense of terrior (rather than the attempted predictability of the blends from year to year), and long finish. My opinion of it held up even at the very end of the tasting when I went back and tried it again. very unique -- and that's a plus in my book. Also modestly priced...

Other favorites included the St. Henri (Shiraz) and Penfold Bin series of wines -- 389 (Cab/Shiraz), 407(Cab), and 707(Cab, with a massive back end you could eat off of) and a little tidbit that we picked up from one of the reps -- the fruit that used to make the Bin 389 are the grapes that don't quite make into the Grange -- in other words, really really good fruit on it own. Apparently it will cellar alongside it's big brother very nicely, at a fraction of the cost.

"Cuz I'm An Adult Now...

Yesterday was spent going to the store and buying "work" clothes.

Those of you who know me personally can now pick yourself up off the ground and wipe the spittle from your mouth.

Having been a "work at home" kinda guy for the last, -- oh, who am I kidding. all of my life -- I haven't had the need to actually own a pair of pants (or shirts) that would be considered "casual work" The truth is I've worn either (black) sweatpants or shorts every day of my adult life. And I have no complaints -- they're comfortable, I don't spend time wondering what I'm going to wear, and I keep my clothing overhead down.

So what changed?

Tomorrow I'll be attending a Wine trade show with my friend Bob where there will be 50+ Napa winemakers and reps. We'd like them to come to Bob's store and do a wine tasting (with food, which is where I come in) sometime in the near future. Black sweatpants and Einsturzende Neubauten T-Shirts aren't going to cut it.

So off we went looking for pants. Surprisingly we found them quickly, and --bonus-- they're black. Now do we hedge our bets and buy a second pair that's a litlle bigger, just in case (it's been so long that I'm guessing on the waist -- no, I'm not trying them on in the store, thank you). We decide to go to store number two, where there's a similar pair, a little bigger and on sale. Next up: dress shirt. Rapidly dispatched with two short sleeve shirts: dark blue and black. Then we wander by the shoes -- what the hell, the one pair of dress shoes I own (suitable for weddings and funerals) are 15 years old. Sure enough, there's an all man-made pair that (while clunky looking) will fit. I decide at this point that we best leave before the negative ions in the air of the large store start making me want to buy the hawaiian shirts in the next section....

Industrial Strength Soap Opera

While flipping through the channels waiting for the Weather Channel to show the radar (btw, shouldn't there be a "radar only" channel?), I stumble across "One Life To Live" on ABC. And what's that song in the background -- Nine Inch Nails "Hurt"?!?!

wtf?

Then, as the scene changed to a bar, the song changed to -- Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt"

The mind boggles.