 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| July - September 2008 |
The Kitchen Counter Archives
| July 3, 2008 |
This Camel marketing piece for a new "it's not really snuff (but it is)" product came
in the mail today, compliments of a very unusual (and cold) night in Minneapolis
last January. It began as a business trip with an unassuming British co-worker who
just happened to have deep ties to the Minneapolis club scene (yes, there is
actually a club scene in Minneapolis). His local connections included bar owners,
club promoters, DJ's, and Tucker Max wannabe's. After the day's business was
completed, we met up with his odd assortment of friends, and thus set in motion
one of those nights which require a good deal of mental reconstruction to figure out
how a few drinks at an '80s themed bar eventually led to being asked to leave the
VIP section of a downtown club.
Somewhere in between was a stop at a huge loft/apartment hosting a Camel
marketing event. To get in, I had to provide my name and address in exchange
for coupons for free cigarettes. Oddly enough, smoking was not permitted inside
the loft, but we were welcome to sit down with a group of artsy-types and use the
supplied paint and brushes to modify various pieces of artwork into our own styles.
It was that kind of place. The loft was huge, with two levels, a DJ spinning relaxed
tunes upstairs and free food on the main level.
Fast forward to today, and my name on the Camel mailing list generated the
above piece of mail. I may now enjoy the tasty tingle of a free tin of SNUS, in
either the Frost, Spice, or original flavor. All this because I know people who know
other people who can get me into private events in downtown Minneapolis, in the
dead of winter. I am so very special.
in the mail today, compliments of a very unusual (and cold) night in Minneapolis
last January. It began as a business trip with an unassuming British co-worker who
just happened to have deep ties to the Minneapolis club scene (yes, there is
actually a club scene in Minneapolis). His local connections included bar owners,
club promoters, DJ's, and Tucker Max wannabe's. After the day's business was
completed, we met up with his odd assortment of friends, and thus set in motion
one of those nights which require a good deal of mental reconstruction to figure out
how a few drinks at an '80s themed bar eventually led to being asked to leave the
VIP section of a downtown club.
Somewhere in between was a stop at a huge loft/apartment hosting a Camel
marketing event. To get in, I had to provide my name and address in exchange
for coupons for free cigarettes. Oddly enough, smoking was not permitted inside
the loft, but we were welcome to sit down with a group of artsy-types and use the
supplied paint and brushes to modify various pieces of artwork into our own styles.
It was that kind of place. The loft was huge, with two levels, a DJ spinning relaxed
tunes upstairs and free food on the main level.
Fast forward to today, and my name on the Camel mailing list generated the
above piece of mail. I may now enjoy the tasty tingle of a free tin of SNUS, in
either the Frost, Spice, or original flavor. All this because I know people who know
other people who can get me into private events in downtown Minneapolis, in the
dead of winter. I am so very special.
| July 13, 2008 |
Just got back from a dirt bike trip in Michigan with Matt Sellers, in which I proved
that 4 days is not enough time to recover from an over-the-bars crash at a hare
scramble where the unpleasant symptoms are remarkably similar to whiplash (the
crash scared me enough to peruse the Leatt Brace website). In what little riding I
was able to endure in Michigan, I also proved that if your motorcycle hits a tree in
just the right position, the tree will shear off your Scotts steering damper. And if you
don't realize said tree chopped off your steering damper until you're 5 miles down
the trail, you'll most likely be shelling out some serious cash for a new one. The
pain of losing this expensive device was tempered somewhat by the nearly 9 years
it has protected me on 4 different motorcycles, but it still sucks.
I was in better spirits when I came home and found the above jersey in my stack of
mail. This was courtesy of my parents, who seem as excited about RAGBRAI as I
am. It's the official jersey for the ride, which begins exactly one week from today.
So I now own a "real" roadie jersey and, along with stretchy "hot pants", may just
fool a few fellow riders into believing I'm hardcore...until they notice my mountain
bike shoes and pedals. Oh well.
that 4 days is not enough time to recover from an over-the-bars crash at a hare
scramble where the unpleasant symptoms are remarkably similar to whiplash (the
crash scared me enough to peruse the Leatt Brace website). In what little riding I
was able to endure in Michigan, I also proved that if your motorcycle hits a tree in
just the right position, the tree will shear off your Scotts steering damper. And if you
don't realize said tree chopped off your steering damper until you're 5 miles down
the trail, you'll most likely be shelling out some serious cash for a new one. The
pain of losing this expensive device was tempered somewhat by the nearly 9 years
it has protected me on 4 different motorcycles, but it still sucks.
I was in better spirits when I came home and found the above jersey in my stack of
mail. This was courtesy of my parents, who seem as excited about RAGBRAI as I
am. It's the official jersey for the ride, which begins exactly one week from today.
So I now own a "real" roadie jersey and, along with stretchy "hot pants", may just
fool a few fellow riders into believing I'm hardcore...until they notice my mountain
bike shoes and pedals. Oh well.
| July 26, 2008 |
A word of advice: if you're ever in Le Grand, Iowa, go slow over the railroad tracks.
Or, don't try to ride a skinny-tired road bicycle over the Union Pacific main line. This
destruction was a result of my 470-mile tour through Iowa, which otherwise went off
with no major mishaps. RAGBRAI is an experience like no other, a rolling party
through Iowa towns that remind me of where I came from. It's one of the hardest
things I've ever done, and also one of the most enjoyable.
Or, don't try to ride a skinny-tired road bicycle over the Union Pacific main line. This
destruction was a result of my 470-mile tour through Iowa, which otherwise went off
with no major mishaps. RAGBRAI is an experience like no other, a rolling party
through Iowa towns that remind me of where I came from. It's one of the hardest
things I've ever done, and also one of the most enjoyable.
| August 13, 2008 |
Ever wanted to see the inside of a graphic equalizer from the early 1990's? Of course
you did. This was my beloved Kenwood GE-7030 graphic equalizer, which finally went
to equalizer heaven recently. Fully electronic (no sliders/levers) with 14 channels of
equalization and spectrum analysis, the GE-7030 was a nice little toy for a college kid
when it showed up under the Christmas tree in 1991.
So what does one do with an audio component which no longer functions? Most
[normal] people would pitch the thing in the trash and be done with it. Me, I take'em
apart and salvage anything that might be useful. Since there's no moving parts
inside a graphic equalizer, a few metal screws and a handful of other random stuff
was all I could harvest. All the internals, minus a metal screw that rolled under the
dishwasher, are seen in the photo above. Circuitboards, anyone?
you did. This was my beloved Kenwood GE-7030 graphic equalizer, which finally went
to equalizer heaven recently. Fully electronic (no sliders/levers) with 14 channels of
equalization and spectrum analysis, the GE-7030 was a nice little toy for a college kid
when it showed up under the Christmas tree in 1991.
So what does one do with an audio component which no longer functions? Most
[normal] people would pitch the thing in the trash and be done with it. Me, I take'em
apart and salvage anything that might be useful. Since there's no moving parts
inside a graphic equalizer, a few metal screws and a handful of other random stuff
was all I could harvest. All the internals, minus a metal screw that rolled under the
dishwasher, are seen in the photo above. Circuitboards, anyone?
| August 23, 2008 |
If you thought the good folks at Kellogg's couldn't possible improve on the world's
greatest breakfast treat, think again. I give you the Mexican version of Pop Tarts, a
side benefit of living in a neighborhood full of south-of-the-border culture. In case
your last schooling in the Spanish language came more than 20 years ago (like
me), I'll help you out. These are in the flavor of Toasted Caramel.
Wonderful.
greatest breakfast treat, think again. I give you the Mexican version of Pop Tarts, a
side benefit of living in a neighborhood full of south-of-the-border culture. In case
your last schooling in the Spanish language came more than 20 years ago (like
me), I'll help you out. These are in the flavor of Toasted Caramel.
Wonderful.
| August 28, 2008 |
Five years ago I bought a compact flash card for my digital camera with what
seemed like a ridiculous 256MB of data storage. At the time, I believe the flash card
cost something north of $50 and was about the size of a lunch portion at the
vegetarian restaurant down the street.
Fast forward to today, and we now have 2GB of storage on a microSD card smaller
than a penny. Best Buy sold it to me for about $20. It goes inside the cell phone I
bought to replace the one I destroyed at RAGBRAI, storing such important things as
Dukes of Hazzard ring tones, photos of lunch at Beefaroos, and Carrie Underwood
videos. The microSD card is so small, I am sure I will be buying many of these as
replacements whenever one falls into the carpet.
seemed like a ridiculous 256MB of data storage. At the time, I believe the flash card
cost something north of $50 and was about the size of a lunch portion at the
vegetarian restaurant down the street.
Fast forward to today, and we now have 2GB of storage on a microSD card smaller
than a penny. Best Buy sold it to me for about $20. It goes inside the cell phone I
bought to replace the one I destroyed at RAGBRAI, storing such important things as
Dukes of Hazzard ring tones, photos of lunch at Beefaroos, and Carrie Underwood
videos. The microSD card is so small, I am sure I will be buying many of these as
replacements whenever one falls into the carpet.
| September 10, 2008 |
I'll give you three reasons why voter registration is so low in the United States: 1)
we're lazy; 2) we don't think our votes make a difference; and 3) we greatly increase
our odds of being summoned for jury duty. I finally got myself registered just in time
to vote for the presidential primary elections earlier this year, and for that I was
rewarded with an opportunity to serve the Cook County judicial system.
we're lazy; 2) we don't think our votes make a difference; and 3) we greatly increase
our odds of being summoned for jury duty. I finally got myself registered just in time
to vote for the presidential primary elections earlier this year, and for that I was
rewarded with an opportunity to serve the Cook County judicial system.
| September 18, 2008 |
This month I made a significant investment in my safety while riding off-road
motorcycles. In July, I took a nasty over-the-handlebars crash at a race near Morrison,
Illinois. The resulting neck pain was uncomfortable and downright scary (I can still
feel the effects today). The above device is a neck brace manufactured by Leatt
Corporation. After last year's impassioned plea by David Bailey for riders to use
protective neck devices, many more of these have shown up on racers at all types of
off-road motorcycling events (Bailey is the most decorated American motocross racer to
suffer a paralyzing motorcycle injury). The brace is designed to limit the helmet's
range of motion, in a somewhat similar manner as the HANS device used by NASCAR
drivers. The Leatt isn't cheap, but neither is paralysis.
motorcycles. In July, I took a nasty over-the-handlebars crash at a race near Morrison,
Illinois. The resulting neck pain was uncomfortable and downright scary (I can still
feel the effects today). The above device is a neck brace manufactured by Leatt
Corporation. After last year's impassioned plea by David Bailey for riders to use
protective neck devices, many more of these have shown up on racers at all types of
off-road motorcycling events (Bailey is the most decorated American motocross racer to
suffer a paralyzing motorcycle injury). The brace is designed to limit the helmet's
range of motion, in a somewhat similar manner as the HANS device used by NASCAR
drivers. The Leatt isn't cheap, but neither is paralysis.
| September 24, 2008 |
| Yesterday I rode my bicycle to my home away from home, to bring back my pickup truck for my upcoming move to Rockford, Illinois. To do this requires a healthy dose of Chicago's West Side, which is not quite as scary as the South Side and even less so at 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. I saw it as a cultural experience. The truck, with 182,000 miles, a leaky rear main seal and a transmission set for catastrophic failure at any time, had been parked on the street in front of my building for barely 24 hours when I found the above business card stuck to the window. Those guys are good. |
