Scotch Night II

We have started an official Scotch Club here where people are paying dues and everything. About 20 members all pitched in and Ben went shopping on his way home from recruiting in Boston. He brought back a great assortment of the four Scotches seen below:

From left to right: Jura 16 year, Glenrothes 1985, Dalwhinnie 15, Balblair 1990

Robb was kind enough to host the first night and everybody came through with some yummy bits. After researching scotch pairings I stumbled apon mention of black pepper ice cream... Oh and look I just happened to bring my ice cream maker! The hardest part was finding some rock salt. Here it is post crank, and man was it tasty with some scotch!

There was no clear favorite and there was even a last minute addition from Leon of some of his home made scotch. The amazing thing is that it did pretty well and its claim to fame was that no one poured it out! (unlike one of its more costly brothers). It was pretty low key blind tasting with everyone tasting to find their personal fave and then savoring a glass with great company. My fave was the Glenrothes but I was pouring so I might have been brain washed by the hefty price tag. 

We did another tasting a week later to try to get the guys that missed the first one. This time Leon and Elaine hosted and we were a bit more organized and had a totaling of points to pick a winner... which I can't even remember but I think it was the Balblair. This time my picks were completely different than the second tasting which brought up a discussion about the order of tasting affecting the outcome. To be honest, I don't think there was a scotch that compared with the first night but we still had fun and I can say I tasted a scotch bottled in 1985. The surprise was Leon's new batch of scotch. He let it spend some time on charcoal to mellow and it got third! Ahead of the $150 bottle of Glenrothes. Either we suck a tasting scotch or there is some serious hype about the age of scotch. Maybe I just need more practice! Who cares, nice work Leon!

 

You've come a long way baby!

This one goes out to my Pops, who has shown some amazing work ethic, architectural design sense, and follow through since this picture was taken (1994)! The place is down right beautiful and I am looking forward to a few weeks enjoying you and your house! Here is a before and after:

Before: The original house was built in the 1950's. This is early summer of 1994. You can see the first column being built in the foreground that will support the second story patio. The cement mixer on the left is still rolling!

Photo Courtesy of KL Johnson

After: This is June 27th 2008 (I know because we are setting up for our wedding!). This was half way through the stuccoing process but it is already looking good. What a transformation! Since I have moved to Dhaka, there have been changes that I have yet to see with my own eyes.

Photo Courtesy of George Gibbs Photography

Sweet Cargo Bike!

This is a very strong looking hauler seen at the last North American Handmade Bike Show. Though it is very strong looking I would have liked to see passenger capabilities... The best part? The bike was made in SF and ridden 90 miles to the show in Sacramento! Check out the original article at the longest link ever:
http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/03/03/rolling-keg-party-my-dutch-bikes-90-mile-ride-to-nahbs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BikeRumor+%28Bike+Rumor+RSS%29

Not sure about photo props but I think it was taken by: Nick Burklow

Car of the Week

For those keeping track I have renamed my car posts to keep the pressure off. Car of the week seems a bit more realistic! I don't know much about this car (note to self; talk to car owners at car shows). This car was at the 2007 Early Iron car show in Ukiah, CA. There are so many things about this car that are impressive. I love people that think differently and there are some different details on this car. The logistics of fitting the engine in that small space... the unique interior... that stance... Well Done whoever you are! Here are the pics that I took:

Car of the Day

1953 Moretti 750 Gran Sport Berlinetta

The first time I ever saw a Moretti was when I was 15-16 years old. I was tagging along with the Bahtens (family of my friends that were twin boys) on their way to buy a small sail boat that they found in the classifieds of the paper. We saw the boat and the twin's dad, Jim, started talking about cars with the boat owner. So the owner says, "Well you have to see this then." and takes us into his garage. And that is where I first saw the Moretti. I had never heard of the Italian brand before but I was just amazed that someone could make a car so small, look so good. The proportions of this car are amazing to give you an idea of the size; this car has a 750cc engine that produces 75 hp (this is the same size used in street bikes) and has a 78 inch wheelbase. Tiny! There are probably only one or two of these in the US so I felt pretty darn lucky to see it. A little something changed in me that day...

Photos courtesy of: RM Auctions; photo credit, Pieter E Kamp © 2010 Courtesy of RM Auctions

Cabin Study

I have been working on designs for a cabin up at my dad's place. It has been good for me to get ideas down and really work with SketchUp from a production standpoint. I have been through a few design changes and this is number five... and likely not to be the last! This would be somewhere for our growing family to stay for the summer months when we return to the states. The idea is a small one room cabin with kitchen that really takes advantage of great views and the outdoors. Small efficient space wise and able to be built in sections. Pour the slab and upright ones summer, then the roof, then frame in and add the finished touches. Here is a quick video of a fly around of the cabin. Let me know what you think and if you have questions ask away!

Security Check

Some things that happen in our daily life seem normal and I forget to share them. I was just on the phone with my mom, retelling a hilarious story that I really had not though to share until today. So the US embassy in Dhaka has a thing called the commissary. The commissary is a store that imports food that you can't really get here. It is a great place to find a lot of processed food that people can't live without but don't really need. There are freezers full of TV dinners (Pretty sure it is more expensive to by 30 TV dinners than to pay cook for a month...) All the good stuff like crappy syrup, skippy, oreos, etc. They do have some good stuff once in a while and they will special order stuff which is cool.

To get into the commissary you have to go through security which is a pretty involved process. You have to show your badge and they let you through one gate. Next is a huge metal gate that you go through they close behind you and then you have to stop your car, turn the engine off, open your trunk and hood and show your badge again. Then three guards walk around your car. One uses little sticky paper to check for bomb residue, one walks around with a mirror on the end of a stick to look for bombs under your car, and another walks around and makes sure the other two are doing their jobs. Once all is clear they wave to another guard in the bulletproof glass control box and he opens the final inner gate to let you in.

So going in with a car is funny enough but I have been taking the cargo bike to shop there... So I pull my bike into the security check and they make me get off, put the bike on the kick stand and step away. The guard takes his sticky paper and brushes the brake lever, the seat and the cargo box. And the best part... yeah the guy with the mirror comes around and checks under my bike for bombs. It is like one of those naked gun movies where the people are serious but the actions are hilarious. I try not to laugh and they don't even notice that it is funny. They wave me in a and I do my shopping all the while some guy is analyzing the sticky paper for traces of bomb material...