Category: Review

My Kindle no longer has library cooties.

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Finally! Amazon has followed through with their promise and I can now check out books from the library on my Kindle! Oh, the cash I will now save… I have been longing for this to happen since the day I chose the Kindle over the Nook (and spent the next month worrying that i had made the wrong decision) and mostly-patiently waiting since Amazon’s initial announcement that this was in the works back in June. I have a shelf full of books that are in line waiting for my attention, but I am planning to surf over to the SPL site tomorrow at lunch and upload a book just because I can.

On a side note – though still kindle related – I recently turned 103 and for my birthday, my lovely wife presented my with an iPad2, on which I immediately loaded the Kindle app. It doesn’t have the battery life that I am now used to and my head would feel like it were clamped in a vise if I spent an 8 hour flight reading a book on it, as I prefer reading on the eInk of my Kindle2, but it will do in a pinch.

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Hipsters on a plane

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

I was fortunate enough to share a seat row on a flight from Chicago to Seattle with a young female member of the hipster mafia.  She had all the proper accessories: skinny-jeans, a Mac book, plaid, roughed up messenger bag, an ironic tattoo, bed-hair and of course big goofy Steve Urkel glasses that had no lenses in the frames.  There were affirmative grunts to the flight attendant and 4 tiny (under 3oz for the TSA – thank you very much asshole London liquid bombers for making us all know what 3oz looks like…) bottles of hooch in Listerine containers to mix with her tomato juice.  The aroma of sweat, cheap booze, and stale pot smoke lingered faintly in the background – all while the aforementioned macbook placed a cheesy 1970’s horror flick – after which she cracked open “Dont Hassel the Hoff” and read with gusto – Not making any of this up!

There was no sharing of the seat arm.  No ‘excuse me’ for repeatedly bumping into me while arranging the contents of her bag or when reaching across my face and over my book for another clandestined drink mixer.  Nope, I was sitting next to a late 20 something 15 year old.  It was not awesome.

So this is what we have wrought?  All our blog posts about nerd culture, bikes, beer snobbery, bluegrass, how amazing old vinyl is, and laments for the way things were back in the days when Kevin Bacon’s Footloose was cool and before we got real jobs working for the man.  We caused this – you and I with our own smugness.  Our own blathering on and on about bike polo and hot nerdy girls.  Our fault.

This girl and maybe millions like her are the worker bees that will fund the twilight of SSI and try to figure out how to clean up the mess we, our parents, and our grand parents have made of things here on terra firma.  We’re fucked.  How in the bejesus is all that going to happen when The League of Hipster Youth is trying, this very minute, to figure out how to extend their stay in mom’s basement indefinantly so they can use “their” money for music, handmade bikes, Apple products, PBR, and primo hindukush?!  Again, we’re fucked.

Good laws

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

Sometimes I get reminded that my job really isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things and that I am a dumb-ass.  Such was the case when I got pulled over for talking on my cell on the way to work.  The police officer asked me why I was talking on said phone and I told him, “because I’m and idiot.”  He nodded in agreement and handed me a ticket for $240.  I am not the least bit butt-hurt about this ticket.  I fully deserved it.  I will not be talking on the phone while driving again and I hope the funds go to schools or the library.

Speaking of good laws: the City of Seattle now says it is a crime (fine included) to not scoop up after your dog.  I couldn’t be happier.  I hate to find a big steaming pile of dog deuce on my fresh mowed grass (it happens a lot) and I curse both the dropper and their owner.  No, like a real curse, not just dirty words, but I do throw a couple of those in for good measure.  It usually sounds something like: “May your kibble forever taste like the poop you dropped on my lawn, may fleas torment you, and my your dog snack on your warm corpse after you have a painful demise alone at home…” I do what I can for the cause…

Spring in Belfast, Northern Ireland

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One of the reasons my J-O-B pays me the medium bucks is because I will travel anywhere in the world with little to zero notice.  I again proved that last week when, with two hours notice, I hopped on a plane from Seattle to Northern Ireland two days before the Memorial Day weekend.  Stamps-With-Foot was none too happy.  I bought her shiny objects while there to quell the violence in her heart.  Man, she really likes shinny stuff because I haven’t heard one more cross word from her about my trip and I am starting to wonder if she relishes when I travel so that she can display annoyance and mock anger to receive sparkly bobbles and guilt-heavy jewelry.

Some rough initial, unedited opinions of Belfast:

  1. Strong northern winds blowing when I arrived brought in the smell of cattle and pastures – the sweet decay of manure and decomposing grass.
  2. Road right-of-way here is on the left side of the road.  This makes me a hazard to curbs, rental cars and living beings.  I also noticed after repeatedly walking against the flow of foot traffic on the street that people here walk on the left of sidewalk and escalators are left-flow as well.  It’s the little things one notices.
  3. There exists a weird pocket version of adolescence rebellion Northern Ireland: lily-white 12-18 year old boys who are overly groomed, cell phone to ear with hip-hop blaring, trying to look tough – Impossible when one is wearing his collar popped and has his feet shod in white leather slip-ons.
  4. I went on a hop-on hop-off city tour that included drives down the Falls Road and Shankill Road areas of town were 40’ high barriers, blast walls, bullet scarred bricks, and where victims’ and martyrs’ murals take up the entire sides of buildings and.  There is not an inch of street in those neighborhoods that doesn’t hold some palpable sad memory for some.  It was spooky and sad and made me say a prayer of thanks for my lower-middle class childhood.  Growing up in Belfast during The Troubles, in a constant state of fear and vengeance would have probably led me to a very angry and short life.
  5. This land is a sea of red hair. Most of it real, some from a bottle, one 20-something lass walked into view with natural ginger roots and pink/red tips. An Asian teen and a black girl with red dos also strolled by my people-watching perch – Were they red-headed just to blend…?
  6. I happened to stop in at a mass at St. Mary’s (walked out of Kelly’s Bar and there was a church, what do you do?) and police had to be called because of drunk/high/ crazy lady (maybe she was all three) interrupted mass and tried to take over the microphone at the pulpit.  – High drama.
  7. Traveling without my wife is lonely and sucky.  The sharing of things and people seen, food eaten, and the smell of the flower and grocery markets is a thing not to be trivialized.
  8. Every third word I here is “fock” or “focking.”  Spoken with gusto by men, women, teens and kids (one lad with spiky hair, maybe ten, at an international food market said today: “Ah fock this ma, I wanta go home”). It seems that the Northern Irish have such a great affinity for this word and use it as much as possible in an apparent attempt to claim it as their own.
  9. I went to Madden’s Bar to drink a pint and listen to the advertised Irish trad music. Walked in for the last 30 minutes of the Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United. As I sat down, Barcelona scored (final was 3-1 Barcelona) and the crowd cheered.  Apparently, I was in a Nationalist/Republican Pub…  I kept my United love to my focking self and drank my focking Guinness as focking quietly as focking possible. Music was great though.
  10. For some reason biking in Belfast is not wide spread. It can’t be due to a northern Irish aversion to 2 wheels:  I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and the roadways between villages were packed with road bikers all kitted up in multi-colored spandex.  Really, hundreds of them, but in the city it seems like almost no one rides.  I went out walking on a mostly sunny afternoon in the central part of downtown and saw maybe 15 people riding all day.  There was only one fixed speed wonder and only 1 guy on a trials bike (Danny MacAskill fan I would bet) out hopping on to park benches, walls, and planters.  It is not the weather – London and Hamburg are full of bikes. The Belfast streets are broad and flat.  It must be something left over from The Troubles, I don’t know and didn’t get a chance to ask.
  11. As discovered when Stamps-With-Foot and I were in Dublin – Guinness is better in Ireland!

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Tiny woman, sweet voice, totes a .45…

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I have 5 aunts over 70 years old and 4 of them legally carry a concealed pistol.  These are sweet little old ladies who bake and teach Sunday school.  Woe is the individual that kicks in their doors…  The most common misconception that the general public has concerning those who own or carry a firearm is that they are all cheap-beer swilling, grizzled, right-wing, gun nuts with itchy trigger fingers.  While those people do exist, it is not an accurate picture of an entire group of people.  It would be like judging all Baptists by the actions of the small groups in Kentucky that handle snakes and drink poison…

I recently stumbled on to a YouTube video done by a tiny, well spoken mother, and firearms instructor that is terrific in showing a softer side to the discussion.  Take a look at and stop by her website for further information.

Abu Dhabi is not exacty a vacation destination.

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I spent almost 5 days in Abu Dhabi and I wouldn’t exactly call it a vacation destination…  Did I mention that is is 22 hours of flight time?  It is a very expensive city ($100 dinner for one) that is full of heat, sand, and construction.  No old souks, lots of strip malls, Rolex watches on wrists as far as the eye can see, construction workers wearing flip-flops while wielding in the high steel…  I find that the place has very little soul compared to places like Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon.   My magazines were censored with a black marker (really, really!) and I found that even some Wikipedia entries were censored.  Not a huge fan.

On a positive note, I will say that the architecture in the UAE is fantastic.  Serious aesthetic lessons could be learned by western students taking a semester to look at the body of work there – Office and apartment buildings with color, striking lines, curving details.  Really beautiful buildings!

So, I got there and the sun was pouring down and it was 90 degrees out.  I had no sunscreen and I stopped by the hotel store to pick up a bottle.  The small Asian clerk had her back to me when I asked and she started telling me that they had 5,7,10, 15 SPF and turns to look at me.  She gave me the once over and reached all the way left and grabs the 50SPF for babies and says, “you chubby and very white.  You burn easy.  Better you have this one.”  Son of a…  I know I am pale, but did she have to throw chubby in there?!?  I find that middle aged ladies of the Asian persuasion are brutally honest.  The next night I am eating Thai food and my waitress asks if I want some sort of pudding for desert and as I am saying ‘no thank you’, she smiles and says, “Better you don’t have it anyway.”  I guess I gave her a puzzled look and the shoots back with, “You have desert a lot, missing this one will be good for you.”  I am 5’8″ tall and weigh 173 pounds!!  I wear a size 43/44 coat and 32 pants.  It is not like they rolled me into the place on a cart.  I do have 10 pounds of cookie weigh from the holidays that I still cannot shake – 10 pounds!!  Man, run away from any tiny Thai/Viet/Chinese/etc… women in Abu Dhabi if your ego is teetering on fragile. 

Seattle Bike Expo 2011 – Sights

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Sunday before last, my Father-in-Law, the Chatty Buddha, and I trekked over to the 2011 Seattle Bicycle Expo.  We got a late start, make later still by the whole Spring Forward thing.  We arrived at the show a little after 3:00 (show ended at 4:00), snagged free parking, and talked the two young ladies at the door into letting us in for free!  We spent some time looking at the classic bikes (Where I drooled some and my pants got a little tight), made a quick walk of the show floor, and the circled back to the booths that were most interesting: the $70 cycling Jerseys going for an end-of-show-special for $30 were particularly attractive.  We picked up a couple and a conned the vendor into giving us two caps that matched the jerseys for the price of one. J

I walked through the Bamboo Getto and took a few shots, talked to the gents at Co-Motion cycles, Eben Oliver Weiss, AKA Bike Snob, gave a talk that I wanted to see, but my packed weekend schedule prevented it.  He Blogged about his trip here.

Throwing Vonnegut Quotes About.

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

On a trip to the UK just before Christmas, I had an early morning bid’ness meeting near Cardiff, Wales and stopped on the way back to London in the pedestrian town of Castle Combs – pronounced “Cwms” – for lunch.  A co-worker suggested the stop and once a again, “Peculiar travel suggestions are like dancing lessons from God”

I ate a fantastic meat pie and had a ½ pint of local cider at The White Hart.  The place, staff, and food were all top-notch!  It was a nice little lull in the midst of a hectic, pressure-filled trip.

Castle Combs is a time capsule of 15th century buildings, streets & houses and seems to be a popular place for filming.  It was used a location for the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, the 2010 version of The Wolfman, and for the coming Steven Spielberg production War Horse. Who would have thunk it?

BOOK SALE P0RN

/ Matt Talley / 3 Comments

Some people collect books out of compulsion: odds and ends, with no order to their accumulation.  We have our issues, but to call it a compulsion is a stretch.  Unlike many of our bibliophilic brethren, we can actually sell a book from time to time and are somewhat choosy where and on what we spend our money on.  I think that our current library sits at about 1,200 volumes, equally split between history and fiction.  With the purchase of our home and my subsequent attempt to return all the period architectural details and furnish the living room as the original owners might have done, I have started to gather a few editions that could have been found in our home that first Fall.  I have 1928 editions of:

Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle,
Hermann Hesse – Steppenwolf  (German edition)
Erich Maria Remarque – All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)
Virginia Woolf – Orlando: A Biography
Margaret Mead – Coming of Age in Samoa
Agatha Christie – The Mystery of the Blue Train
The Common Book of Prayer
Felix Salten – Bambi: a Life in the Woods (Bambi. Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde)
Herbert Asbury  – The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld
André Maurois  – Disraeli
T. E. Lawrence  – Revolt in the Desert

To add weight to the our pre-stock market crash collection, I been on the search for a complete set of 1909 Harvard Classics, the 1917 Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction, and a set of the 1910 11th edition set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, as this is THE edition to have (for the Über-booky folk).  All taken together, this will give our parlor a true sense of period nerdiness.  None of the above volumes are particularly pricey ~ $6 each in decent condition and ALL of them are available for download since enough time has passed that the works are in the public domain.  The wealth of information contained in them isn’t the sole point for wanting them; it is also their tangible quality – the faded bindings, the smell of their paper, the care taken with the block-printed illustrations…  These are all books that have witnessed the same history as our little home and deserve a safe and revered place there.

This past weekend we attended the bi-annual Friends of the Seattle Public Sale, where we usually pick up some Travel Lit, a few mountain climbing related tomes and the odd cookbook.  Well, on this trip I hit the motherload!  I found 14 mountaineering books that are on my “List” and in the Sets and Rare Book Room I happened upon a complete set of 1910 of the EB.  I may have swooned.  I snapped up those bad-boys faster than a lawyer cashes a check.  The set is of Ex-library stock and there is some serious shelf wear on a couple pieces, but nothing that would keep them from being used for another 80 years.  For a grand total of $33, I walked out a very happy little hobbit.  I will work on the rest of the list as further opportunity presents and as time and money are available.

A few notable biblio-quotes:

“Anyone who has got a book collection and a garden wants for nothing.” & “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero

“The book can produce an addiction as fierce as heroin or nicotine, forcing us to spend much of our lives, like junkies, in book shops and libraries, those literary counterparts to the opium den”
-Phillip Adams

“I cannot live without books.”
– Thomas Jefferson (in a letter to John Adams in 1815)

“With thought, patience, and discrimination, book passion becomes the signature of a person’s character. “
— Nicholas A. Basbanes

Dog walker review

/ Matt Talley

Apparently we are now effete bourgeoisie snobs: we have a house cleaner and a someone who walks our puppy when we are not home.  Well, we are between house cleaners right now (message me and I will tell you who NOT to use), but we have found the greatest dog walker in Seattle: David the Dog Walker

Stamps-With-Foot, my lovely bride, loves her puppy more than me: He eats better, gets constant scratching and cuddling, is offered the premier seat on the couch during TV time, and gets snuggled like a baby all night.  I have accepted it, moved on, and I am better now.  Anyway, we both work and while Brodie is the most chill dog you will ever meet, sleeping 20 hours a day, we (especially Stamps-With-Foot) feel bad about leaving him in his kennel when we are away at the J-O-B.

Right after moving to La Maison Du Talley, we got a recommendation for a walker from the West Seattle Blog and while the service was fine at first, she went downhill fast: forgot to walk him sometimes, would come just before 5:00pm, took off with no notice and we would have to scramble to find an alternative.  We happen upon David and his wife, Angela, also through  WSB and we clicked immediately.  They run a real business:  certifications, a website, insurance, everything.  They are both incredibly consciousness about what they do, have a back-up when they go on vacation, they let us know right away if there was anything out of the ordinary, AND Brodie loves them.  David and Angela have worked with Brodie for almost six months and I cannot give them or their service high enough praise.

The Sweetener Formerly Known as HFCS

/ Matt Talley / 7 Comments

Forgive me, but I am going to rant a little here…  Yesterday, the  New York Times reported (also picked up by CNN) that the Corn Refiners Association petitioned the United States FDA to “officially” re-label high-fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar.”  Thinking that the name change will improve the image of the “much maligned sweetener.”  Yeah, and Stalin was a cute teddy bear with a heart of gold…  Oh! Corn Sugar, well that is a different story, pour some more of that on my snowcone!  Mmmm, coffee with Corn Sugar is just like coffee with REAL sugar…  Fvck that.

What I really like is the new TV commercial ad campaign (Laurel told me about it this morning and I spent lunch watching the ads and parodies on YouTube) promoting HFCS as a “natural ingredient” made from corn.  HFCS is NOT a natural substance.  It does not occur in nature.  That is like saying Einsteinium or Americium are natural substances.  Fvcking lobbyists.  Apparently, according to the ads, it is fine to consume in moderation.  Hell, I can ingest Arsenic in moderation as long as I know what that quantity is.  What is the correct daily consumption amount for corn syrup?  How do you calculate it?

HFCS is in everything from bread to lunch meat, coke, the honey at KFC, and something like 9 out of 10 prepackaged foods found on your grocer’s shelves.  Americans are fat.  HFCS is in everything…  Brits and Germans are getting fat and HFCS is quickly gaining ground in their packaged food.  This is not differential calculus – it is simple math:   HFCS+you=lard ass.   Changing the name will not make us any less fat.  I quote from an industry source:

“The ingredient is a favorite of food makers for practical reasons. Compared with sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup doesn’t mask flavors, has a lower freezing point and retains moisture better, which is useful in making foods like chewy granola bars. And because the corn crop in the United States is heavily subsidized, high-fructose corn syrup is also cheap. As a result, it’s now used in so many foods, from crackers to soft drinks, that it has become one of the biggest sources of calories in the American diet.”

Cheap, easy to use, & government subsidized…  There is a lot more wrong here than just a product with a bad image in need of a name change!

wine tasting

/ Matt Talley

We spent last night testing the three reds and one rose (the white, a fresh little German Riesling from the Mosel River Valley, is already picked and ordered) for our wedding reception. In hindsight, the night before I was to fly out on a business trip might not have been the evening to take on such an endeavor, though I didn’t realize it until I was running for my gate at 6:00 this morning hoping to catch the one available flight after hitting the snooze button no less than six times…

The rosé is Portuguese and the white is German. We wanted a local red that would work with the chicken pasta and stuffed mushrooms that we are serving. After much swirling, sniffing, drinking, and repeat, we settled on the Wood Bridge 2007 Two Vines.  It is a Merlot and Cab Sav blend aged in oak that will go well with the food and desert for those guests that don’t like beer or white wine.  Good booze is a key element to any successful party and while people forget bad music, the drunken aunt, weird venue, and ugly bridesmaid dresses, no one EVER forgets bad food or booze at weddings! Serve lil’ smokies with a side of mac and cheese on paper plates and PBR at your nuptial do and you & your partner will forever be saddled with the shame of being poor hosts. There will be whispers behind you back, you will be used as an example of what NOT to do when friends gather and your can forget brisk attendance at any birthday or anniversary party you will ever have.

post written on and uploaded from my iPhone

Stranger and weekly indie-paper love

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

I love me some of The Stranger.  While I will always open it directly to the Savage Love column, I happened upon a new column in the July 8-14 issue that made me roll with laughter – The Incredible Hulk.  The premier rant was “Hulk Not Racist But…” It was a diatribe about German’s inability to queue.  A topic that I ranted about the whole time we lived in Deutschland.   Laurel heard my opinion so many times that she developed Spidy-Sense and would stop me even as I opened my mouth to launch into my well-rehearsed, and well-thought out if I must say, argument about the genetic inability of a German to stand in an orderly line and take their proper turn.  Holy CRAP!! it used to piss me off: getting on the subway train, at the movies, at Starbucks, in stores, while BUYING GROCERIES!!!  Man, I am all worked up just thinking about it!

Needless to say, I hope to be turning there after finishing Dan Savage’s musings each week.  The New Column section in The Stranger seems to be more of a test piece and they come and go.  I will be sending fan mail asking that this one stays.

I have been into indi weeklies since the day I lived in Little Rock, AR when the weekly there, The Night Flyer, was my lone source of of local left leaning news and local color. My appreciation only grew after moving to Orange County and reading the OC Weekly every Saturday morning at Wahoo’s while choing on a Maui Bowl.  The OC Weekly ranted about the Sheriff, Mike Corona, for years complaining about his corruption, mob ties, kickbacks, etc…   Then one day it all proved true and the rest of the news establishment jumped on the bandwagon.   The paper has rightfully won a number of Pulitzers for their hard work and is where I also found Savage Love for the first time.  Laurel and I would read the reader letters with equal mix of fascination, horror, disgust, and glee – good old fashion American fun!

hulkVgermans

Note: This post was written completely on my iPhone, with  the WordPress App, while I was in the air somewhere above Idaho.  I heart my iPhone!

Trader Joe’s got it right

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

We spend way too much cash every time we darken the door at Trader Joe’s.  They have some really good stuff, most of it I didn’t know that I wanted or needed it until I saw it on the shelf and then I lust after it.

We were there Saturday night and I noticed a display for TJ’s branded “Bavarian Style Hefeweizen” and while I am real skeptical of some store-brand products, especially beer, I decided to give it a try if no no other reason than to make fun of it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the beer drinkable and super tasty, it was also unfiltered and had lots of lovely yeast in the bottle.  My initial reaction was that the beer had a clean taste of banana and wheat, with a little clove spice.  It poured a dark amber color, was murky, and formed a creamy off-white head with a limited amount of foam lacing.  I might go so far as to say that it is one of my top 10 of American Wheat beers – especially for the price.  I know, who woulda thunk it??

Although TJ’s is owned by a German grocery store chain, ALDI, and one would think that they would import the good stuff from the Spaten Brewery, the beer is actually  brewed by the Gordon Beirsch Brewery in San Jose, CA., which is a brewery started by a guy who went to beer college (yes, it actually exists and is rigorous in its depth of craft and science) in Weihenstephan Germany.  I have a feeling that we will be serving this beer to company all summer long.  Again, both surprised and impressed by Trader Joe’s.


Comics for Cycling Geeks

/ Matt Talley

There is a special place in my heart for the daily comic strip.  I have a tool that feeds my three favorites to me in an e-mail each day so that I start my morning off with a little laughter.  One of my favorites, Yehuda Moon, is for bike geeks, but has been on hiatus for a couple of months. Rick Smith, the cartoonist behind the strip took some time off to recharge his batteries and I have missed my daily dose.

Yehuda is an old-school Luddite cyclist that commutes everywhere – in all types of weather, rides a heavy-weight steel framed steed, sports a wool sweater and cycling cap pulled low, is a militant cycling advocate, and owns a bike shop with a guy named Joe who loves carbon bikes, technology, and speed.  Joe serves Hardy to Yehuda’s Laurel.  I see a little of myself in Joe and a lot of me in Yehuda.  He pulls shenanigans that the evil inside me sing with glee – painting cycling lanes on main street in the middle of the night, relieving @sshat drivers of their keys, giving bike thieves a u-lock beat down, etc…

2008-03-11yehuda-red-light

On May 2nd, new panels will be available, but this week there have been a couple spin-off funnies available if you check at the main site.

2010-04-242010-04-262010-04-27

New Clutch for the Scooby

/ Matt Talley

Last week I had to have my clutch replaced on the Subaru at 24K.  I took it in to a yet-to–be-named dealership after it started slipping on the way home from work and was told that the clutch was gone and that they “might” cover it under warranty.  The typical OEM replacement cost is 1200-1500 bucks!  The first service guy I dealt with – not my usual representative – stated that “normally” the clutch is only covered by the 12month/12,000 mile portion of the warranty, that “abuse” lessens clutch life, and that he would have to get back to me with an estimate.  By abuse he meant launch starts and power shifting. The only racing I do is to Starbucks on the way to work, so the premature failure and his accusing demeanor pissed me off.

I went home and dug into my warranty and looked in the Subaru Forums online for similar premature failures.   Apparently, this short clutch life is an issue with the WRX that is well known and documented on the inter-webs. Additionally, my warranty categorically states that the clutch is a 3year/36K covered item.  I called the service rep the next morning to check on status and he continued with the “maybe” covered line so I faxed him a copy of my warranty on letterhead from the attorney we used for something last year with the section covering the clutch highlighted and 20+ pages of forum posts about the very same issue.  The service guy that I have dealt with for the one recall (minor tube replacement on the turbo) and all my oil changes called me right back, said he would be my point of contact from now on and told me that the car would be ready by noon and that ALL work would be 100% covered.  When I showed to pick up the car the first guy wouldn’t look at me and left the counter as soon as he could.  I get trying to save your company money, but being shady to do so is a sh!tty thing to do.

All that said, the dealership has been terrific every other time I have been there, so I am not ready to throw them under the bus just yet.  Currently, I have issue with that one employee and don’t think I should spew web-hate for the entire business because of one ass-monkey.  Also, even though the WRX is hard on clutches, it is not enough to make me want to get rid of mine or talk smack about it, but enough of an issue that I won’t let neophytes/relatives drive it. I still love and am thoroughly impressed with the car and the Subaru brand.

A Great Wisconsin Beer – Who Whoulda Thunk It??

/ Matt Talley / 2 Comments

While at the grocery store this weekend, I found a bottle of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company Sunset Wheat.  It had an odd label and it is brewed in Wisconsin of all places so I wasn’t expecting much – no slight meant against Wisconsin, it is just that one doesn’t say the  name and automatically thing ‘great beer.’  I have a co-worker from the Badger State and bought the beer solely so that I could have a sip, pronounce it crap, and make fun of him/his home state in a long witty e-mail diatribe.   I poured it into a chilled pint glass Sunday evening, sniffed, swirled, sniffed again, took a precautionary taste, and then said dirty words!  I hate it when I plan to be funny and am shot down in flames.  This beer was actually good – really good.  The color is perfect for a summer beer and there are hints of citrus and cherry on the tongue.  It formed a respectable head in the glass, it was crisp and subtly dry in the mouth and the aftertaste was light and refreshing.  Shock Top Wheat WISHES it was this good!

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company was founded and is still based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  It began beer production in 1867 and their beer is colloquially known as Leinies. The Sunset Wheat was introduced in 2006 and the next year they introduced Summer Shandy (wheat beer mixed with lemonade – also called an Alster Wasser or Radler in DE) as a seasonal brew – perfect on a hot summer day when you have to either go back to work of have plans that evening.  Leinenkugel also produces Leinenkugel’s Auburn Ale, Creamy Dark, Hefeweissen, Honey Weiss, their Original Pale Lager, and a 1888 recipe seasonal Bock.  Not a fan of the lager beer, but I am raring to try the Hefe, Shandy, and Honey Weiβ.

I am both very impressed by my find and somewhat sad:  I found a great beer that I will drink all summer long, BUT I don’t get to make snide, yet work appropriate remarks to the resident Cheesehead…   I will comfort my loss with multiple doses of Sunset Wheat and reapply as necessary.

The “Bavarian Herodotus”

/ Matt Talley

I sat down last night with a ½ liter glass of Schneider Brewery’s Aventinus Dopplebock – there was TV and snacks involved as well.  I can’t say enough good things about this beer.  It goes amazingly well with dinner (veg or carnivore style), it is a fine brew to enjoy after a stressful day, and is nice on a warn summer day curled up in the hammock mit mein frau und kleine welpe.

I actually found this premium brew the first time at 99Bottles in Federal way.  I have had regular weight Schneider Weiss on a number of occasions and our local pub serves it in a Schneider-branded Weissenglas, but somehow the Dopplebock escaped my attention while living in the cold Prussian north.  It is named for Johannes Aventinus (1477 –1534) who was a Bavarian historian and philologist. He wrote Annals of Bavaria, a valuable record of the early history of Germany and was/is called the “Bavarian Herodotus,”

Schneider is advertised as “Bavaria’s oldest wheat beer brewery” though what that truly means is not 100% clear – oldest family owned, oldest in one place, oldest just brewing wheat, oldest with a charter, ect…?  They do strictly follow the Reinheitsgebot – german beer purity law – and the current owner/brewer, Georg Schneider VI, is a direct father to son descendent of Georg Schneider I, who acquired the rights to boil wheat beer from King Ludwig II. in 1872.

The beer itself is a murky brown with a ruby tint.  It pours smoothly and finishes with a fine thick foam head.  The taste is amazing: velvet smooth with hints of clove, banana, bread, cinnamon, vanilla, milk chocolate & cherry aromas present. Those Bavarian yeasts make my heart beat so…  It is like a proper dunkelweizen crossed with a beer float.

One pint is great! and it would be easy to have a second with the right buddy and I might be talked into a third, but with the high alcohol content I would need help home after #3.  Normally a beer with 8.2 abv doesn’t really spin my wheels, but you truly can’t taste the booze unless you are careless and let your glass get too warm.  I give this brew my heartiest recommendation.

Leavenworth Whistling Pig Review

/ Matt Talley

My Weiβ bier love affair leads me down odds paths now and again.  I look for new beers that may be worthy to consume, even better if they are somewhat local, to sample.  I picked up a Fish Brewing Leavenworth Whistling Pig Hefeweissen Alpine-style Wheat Ale at our local grocer and it looked promising:  Locally brewed, cool label (karabiner, bikers, mountains, climber, etc…) there was some sediment in the bottom, and the liquid in the bottle was the right amount of cloudy.

At dinner last night, my lovely personal beer-wench brought me a proper Weiβen glass and I poured a 12oz. sample.  At first I thought “Yeah…” as it had a really nice cloudy golden unfiltered appearance, and looked as if it was going to form a nice thick foamy head.  Nope, the head was thin and there were no real aromas that wafted from the glass.  The beer was pretty weak in taste as well: slightly doughy, almost NO fruit phenols and somewhat malty, like the brewer had decided to add a little IPA to the barrel. I was disappointed. It is an OK American Wheat, but definitely not “Alpine-style” or Bavarian.  I was hopeful seeing the unfiltered appearance, but was left wanting by the actual product.  Overall, not great, not terrible, definitely drinkable compared to a Bud Light, but not something that we will be stocking in the beer fridge downstairs.  I am going to try out their Dunkleweiβ this weekend and hope to have a better experience.

New Running Partner

/ Matt Talley

The Nike+ App came with my iPhone and I just started playing with it last week.  So far, it has been fairly accurate (after I calibrated the sensor on a local running track) and I have used it on road runs and on a recent trail/hill climb outing and so far the difference between the accelerometer and the GPS distance in minimal.  The Nike+ uses so little battery compared to the GPS function that I have tuned the location server off on the phone to conserve battery for important things like phone calls and work e-mail.

I love to run and I find that if I have a partner I get faster and faster until I finally plateau around the 7 minute mile mark for 5+ mile runs.  I think that I have the potential to be faster, but since I suffer from Multiple Activity Disorder, I don’t commit the time to train appropriately and I have never invested in a coach to help.  My lovely bride hates to run, so I do not have a live-in training companion and so far have not found a neighbor with a similar schedule that is a runner.  Nike+ is filling a gap.  It is giving me some positive feedback, documents distance and pace, and I can virtually race with people across the country on the inter-webs.  I have a couple of buddies in Missouri, Colorado, Germany, California, and Arkansas that run and am hoping to get them set up with Nike+ as well so that we can run as a “group” from time to time.

World’s Greatest Employee!

/ Matt Talley

Someday, when I am “Tha Man” I want a shop full of employees EXACTLY like this woman:

work harder

She poured me some great coffee the other day, was smart, happy, flirted the right amount, pronounced words correctly when discussing 1950 Parisian fashion/lingerie (odd topic I know, another customer was some sort of antique clothes dealer), dealt with a shithead customer – not once losing her smile.  The tattoo should have told me all I needed to know.  If this woman applies for work in your office/shop/business/pub/store/whatever, hire her and give her more than she asks for.

C&P Coffee is where they will find me

/ Matt Talley

C&P on California Ave. is now my coffee shop. I have never had one before, just this or that shop that I would stop into IF I happened by.  Well, the courting is over and while some may rave about Tea for Two and Hotwire, I now have a one true coffee home.  When a certain Ex decides to put that hit out on me, I have a feeling that an overly muscular and black-suited gent with a thick accent will find me hunched over a book, in the faded high-backed chair, coffee in hand and ¾ eaten cookie on the table.

Not only does C&P serve great coffee, they are also purveyors of fine wine and good beer.  There is live music 3+ nights a week, Mexican Coke bottles sit snugly in their fridge, the Wi-Fi is free, their croissants are both flaky and buttery, and our badass dog is always welcome.  In the summer, one can sit outside on the large patio area that is raised above the sidewalk and has views of the Olympic Range and Puget Sound.  Who can say ‘NO’ to setting outside on a calm sunny PacNW day, enjoying a great cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie?  There is a sign on the door saying that C&P is a place reserved for “Service Animals Only” and apparently the fact that our puppy makes my wife so happy and is so damn cute, means he provides a service, so….

We stopped in today after a walk at the beach was aborted by a downpour and Peter (who is the “P” and his wife Cam is the “C” in the business name) poured us a great cup of Joe, BS’ed a bit, and hooked us up with a wonderful bread. He had an extra loaf because “…the local bakery guy has a thing for my wife…”

Mexican Coke is just better.

/ Matt Talley

My grandfather once said that only Philistines drink from an aluminum can.  He said this while trying to find the best location to mount a bottle opener on the dash of his new truck.  He REALLY liked RC Cola and Grape Nehi.  In support of his thesis, I have realized that great beer doesn’t come in cans and there is no finer soft drink than Coke sipped from a frosty cold bottle. Though not all coke, even when it comes in a glass bottle, is made equal. Most of what is found here in the US is made with high fructose corn syrup, but every now and they at a out of the way mom & pop shop one can find Coke in a bottle imported from Mexico that is made with pure cane sugar. There IS a difference! If you don’t believe me have your girlfriend/boyfriend/mom/life-partner/buddy or whoever set up a little blind taste test: you will be able to tell immediately which is sweetened with corn and which is sweetened with good old fashioned tooth-rotting sugar.

I am not the only one who has caught on to this: There are numerous websites devoted to finding the import and mapping locations where it can be had. There is a hugely popular Facebook page, and there have been articles run by the AP and the NY Times. Even Coca Cola in Atlanta is aware to the growing consumer base. Though according to a couple of reports, Coke in Atlanta gives it’s bottling partners a lot of leeway with the sweetener and they maintain that most people can’t tell the difference anyway. Wrong…

22nd Annual Seattle Old Bike Swap

/ Matt Talley

I will attend most any type of gathering with “bike” in the tittle.  Throw in “old”, “classic”, or “retro” and I will be there to see the doors open.  When my wife brought home a flyer for the 22nd Annual Seattle Old Bike Swap, with a drawing of a Penny-Farthing right at the top, it was decided then and there that Palm Sunday would go on with out me at our local center of worship since the meet was scheduled for 7:00AM till noon on that particular feast day.

I got there a little after 07:00 to quickly have my hopes for finding hi-wheel brethren and secret troves of Bone Shaker accouterments dashed.  There were a couple of 19th and early 20th century 2-wheelers, but the swap was mostly dedicated Schwinn Stingrays from the ’60s and ’70’s as well as classic BMX bikes from the ’80’s.  If only I would have kept that PK RIPPER with the Mag wheels and the tiny Uni seat…  Now, I wouldn’t say “NO” to a 1967 green Stingray 3-speed with a chrome spring bat holder if I just happened to be presented with one, but they just aren’t the thing that make my chest thump with longing and desire.

Anyhow, while there was some decent stuff here and there, most of the show was taken up by bike junk vendors and used-car salesman-esq “amateur” bike dealers who wanted a way too much for their wares.  I found a 1982 Raleigh Super Course Carlton frame (both the brand and bike model dear to my heart) that had a goodwill sticker still attached.   I thought about building it up with some spare parts as a Coffee Shop/Errand bike.  The incredibly obese vendor laying claim to it quoted me $250 for the pleasure of taking it home.  As it was MAYBE worth $40, I slowly put it back in the bed of his rusted El Camino and backed away form the obviously deranged former ward of the state.

The Fixie is Officially dead… Long live derailleurs!

/ Matt Talley

The fixed gear craze, like disco before it, is now dead – see link below.  I will observe a moment of silence at 7:00 PM this evening with beer in hand – pouring one out for all the hipster hommies who will need a new trend to follow.  I will then forever remove the 16t track cog from my flip-flop hub and place it lovingly on a lonesome nail in my garage.  Maybe my son won’t make a “ninja star” out of it and it will be there waiting, much like polyester and bell bottoms, for the day when it is once again socially acceptable.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/700C-Men-s-Mongoose-Cachet-Fixed-Speed-Bike/13398142

I will continue to spin my Single-Speed to and from the grocery store/coffee shop and will occasionally ride my one-geared beauty to work.  She has made me a better, stronger cyclist and I DO love to ride that bike.  I can’t and won’t give her up just because of the semi-share pedigree with the now passe wanna-be track bikes sold by the likes of Bentonville.

My multispeed, derailleur equipped, steeds are at this very moment spinning their wheels with glee.  No more dismissive looks and snide velo comments from the day-glow orange rimmed and narrow barred bikes locked up at East Street.  Yes, it is now their turn to snicker as my bike chain goes click, click, click – moving down the rear cassette, propelling my 9-speed racer ever faster away from soon to be re-purposed and repainted frames and into the reclaimed future of cycling.

My iPhone is the SH!T

/ Matt Talley

If iPhone lovin’ is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!  I was SLOW to jump on the iPhone bus for all sorts of what, at the time, were goods reasons:  It was expensive, promised upgrades were just around the corner, and the data plan was an additional monthly expense that it pained me to even think about dolling out.  I am already hemorrhaging funds every month $40 at a time for phones, security systems, insurance, internet, cable, trash collection, etc…  I just didn’t need another expense.

My lovely wife got the iPhone bug after playing with her best friend’s for a weekend and badgered me about it for a while, but I stayed strong and resisted – even in the face of threats concerning sleeping on the couch.  Well, my employer recently signed a deal with AT&T that gave DEEP discounts which meant I could convert and pay the same amount, so I made the leap.  I am now in love, not the old tired version of love reserved for a cat, no, no this is new hot freaky girlfriend lust!  It is like my hand was incomplete until just now.  I feel like Schmeigel with that pesky golden band….  my precious…

In addition to the normal bells and whistles on the unit, I have loaded Peak.AR, NPR, a unit converter, Distant Suns, and Stanza e-book reader Apps to the home screen.  This thing is now a proper tool to help me navigated the complexities of always-on 21st century Engi-nerd professional life and is almost as handy as a three-armed man in a titty bar.  While I have researched what I have installed thus far thoroughly and I am not App crazy and I am not looking to install every semi-cool/useful App that I come across.  If I will only use it once a month, then it can stay at the App store.  I am currently deciding between iTrails and RunKeeper Pro for a running/cycling companion.

The only real issue I am currently experiencing is iPhone envy.  Laurel looks at me with daggers in her eyes when I pull it out of my pocket.  I am going to have to concede defeat and see that she gets one of her own if I want to keep peace in Casa D’ Talley.  So, in the end I get to spend the money I was trying so hard to save…

Seattle Bike Show 2010

/ Matt Talley

Since I have this bicycle fetish, I rode my Single Speed to the 2010 Seattle Bike Show on Saturday and got to take a look at some great new bikes as well as some killer classic race bikes.  The show was on the small side – held in one of the cruise ship terminals, but there was maybe 500 Sq. feet of space on the mezzanine for a show of CLASSIC Jack Taylor and various other old track and racing bikes.  It made my heart pitter-patter.  Some of the steel steeds had derailleurs that only a machinist could dream up, there were oil headlights and canvas bags strapped on here and there, but my favorite jewel of a find on the classic bikes was what appeared to be the first cycling computer – a stopwatch strapped to the handle bar of a velodrome bike – VERY cool.  My Penny Farthing is SO getting one of these.  I have already started the CAD work on it and will try to sweet talk/bribe our machinist at work to hook me up.

Some of the new bikes were outstanding as well.  There was less of an aura of “the fixie” than I have seen at other shows, and more bikes geared toward commuting in the PacNW and work bikes.  I saw a couple of ideas that I am going to incorporate into my own shop and cycle fleet: single digit break levers for the Single Speed, a wall clock for the shop made from an old chainring, the aforementioned “cycling computer”, a crate and light for Laurels bike, etc…  There were also some unique wooden bikes.  They were gorgeous! and the engineering that went into them was impressive, but I am not ready to swap my steel or aluminum frames out just yet.

I do have to give someone a plug:  I am apparently an idiot and left my camera on all night and I only noticed that the batteries were completely drained as I took my camera out of my bag to get a shot of an enormous 60+ tooth chainring.  I made a mad scramble for some AAs and struck out with the venue coordinator, the concierge, and at random booths.  I finally happened upon the Kenmore Camera photo booth.  I spoke with Dave Guinn and asked to buy any AAs that he had, even in a camera.  He didn’t have any models that used AA had he hadn’t brought any with him, but this guy picks up a display model and hands it to me to use, like I had known him for years.  I put my SM card in and was set to take pictures at the show (I will link a few below).  I left my battery-less camera with him – not that he asked me too, but I thought it would be a gesture of good faith, and walked around for a couple of hours snapping away.  With that kind of attitude, you can bet that I will be doing all my medium format and 35mm portrait film shopping with them and when it is time to upgrade my equipment; I will stop there first.  Again, Dave at Kenmore Camera really saved my day.

Archer on FX

/ Matt Talley

So…  I have cartoon issues.  I will still sit in front of the idiot-box and sped hours watching old Warner Bros. ‘toons, Dick Dastardly, Tom & Jerry, Tex Avery shorts, or Scooby Doo.  I also enjoy the new Batman from time to time and will stay up way too late from time to time watching Adult Swim.  I have found another animated feature worthy of my attention: Archer.  I laughed so hard last night that I got the hiccups.

The premise is that Sterling Archer is a suave super-spy working for a second rate NGO/spy agency where his mother happens to run the show.  Characters range from a Pam Greer/Pam Anderson/Jessica Rabbit spy named Lana, who happens flitter about in lingerie most of the time and is also Archer’s ex-girlfriend.  The HR lady who is the biggest gossip in the office, a slutty secretary with a choking fetish, a myriad group of heavily accented techies, lab coat wearers, fat bad guys, and almost-naked cartoon ladies.

Archer himself is selfish, a borderline sociopath, a misogynist, treats his co-workers like the help and the help like a mongrel dog in need of putting down.  The shit that comes out of his mouth is just so wrong, yet oh so right.  He has a ping-pong paddle fetish and absolutely no personal filter.  To say that the character is a bit of a prick is like saying the strippers sort of like cash.  The ‘toon is R-rated and not meant for the young-‘ins, but I look forward to every new episode.  The Season 1 finale is Thursday the 18th at 10:00 PST

Budweiser just doesn’t get it.

/ Matt Talley

The Anheuser Busch Companies have just released Bud Light Golden Wheat.  Really?!  Low calorie Wheat beer?  That is like telling the Pope that he has to give up funny hats.  It hurts my soul a little that it is possible that someone’s first taste of wheat beer will be this cloudy bath water.  The first time you kiss a girl, you want her to be a real girl not a cardboard cut out.  Your first car should have an engine and you shouldn’t have to use Flintstone-propulsion.  One’s first wheat should be glorious.  I recommend Franziskaner or Paulaner – you really can’t go wrong if there is a monk on the label.

Bud-Light-Golden-Wheat-6_pack

Evolution of the American Alpine Club

/ Matt Talley

Last week there was an American Alpine Club(AAC) survey e-mailed out asking members their opinions about the current state of the organization and how they would like to see the club evolve.  Being a member since 2004, I dutifully filled it out and sent it in, but it got me thinking about how I would really like to see the organization evolve. What are your thoughts? How would those of you who are members or past members do things differently if you were put in charge? My initial thoughts are below:

americanalpineclub

Rescue Insurance: I would like to see a much better insurance offering. It seems like the Club could take its member rolls and negotiate a similar deal with a national/international carrier as The Alpine Club (UK) has. I would gladly increase my dues if it meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about the uninsured cost of toting my carcass off a mountain and its affect on family finances (I get to keep living in that scenario).

American Alpine Journal: I would like to see quality writing and editing to kick it up a notch or three and include: fantastic trip reports, relevant historical climbing/mountaineering articles and bios of great climbers. In addition to the lower writing standards, I have also noticed the last few years that the binding has gotten cheaper and cheaper. My 2008 and 2007 editions both have cracked bindings after just one read through and ’08 let go of some pages as I was reading. I would pay more for quality and it would warm the cockles of my dark soul it a hard cover edition was offered.

Accidents in North Am. Mountaineering: Is a sad, sad little pamphlet. I 100% agree with its mission, but the execution of that goal is wanting. How many people took falls in Eldo or in J-Tree that were not documented last year? Seven accidents that required a hospital trip that I know of and I live in Seattle! Yes, I understand that they can’t go asking hospitals because of patient confidentiality, but how hard would it be to have an e-mail address for accident reporting and for a staffer to do a little follow up? What about pinging the climbing community on SummitPost, mountainproject, and super topo? If you are going to go through the trouble and expense (my dues!) to produce something, then make it the best possible book you can.

Local events: The AAC does a poor job of hosting local events and getting climbers in the same region together. Find a hall (or better rent a Pub’s back room) in Golden/Co Springs/New Paltz/Vegas/J-Tree/Bay Area/Seattle/Portland/Salt Lake City/Orange County/etc… give a talk by a local than a national or international climber, put up some posters, sell back copies of the AAJ, raffle something off for a climbing charity (Himalayan Trust, Central Asia Institute, et al…) have snacks, advertize well and charge at the door to cover costs. Again, the idea is to get local climbers together.  While $200 a plate dinners can be nice, I prefer to attend one only if I can deduct the evening as a charitable donation OR if it happens to be in Paris or Venice and my wife is there sipping wine in a flowing dress.  I only personally know two climbers that could afford such an event, well that and the airfare+ hotel to attend.  The others could stretch those funds into a 6-week long trip food budget.  Local events, for local climbers, less than $25 to get in.

mountian view