Martian Colors

I've been intrigued by synesthesia since I read The Man Who Tasted Shapes sometime in the second half of the 90s. It seems so bizarrely wonderful: numbers might have colors, musical notes might also have distinct hues - or perhaps shapes... It's just freaky to imagine, and more significantly, it illustrates how seemingly arbitrary the brain's powers can be.Now Kottke points us to this post, which in turn quotes a Scientific American article about a wonderful phenomenon:

We also observed one case in which we believe cross activation enables a colorblind synesthete to see numbers tinged with hues he otherwise cannot perceive; charmingly, he refers to these as “Martian colors.� Although his retinal color receptors cannot process certain wavelengths, we suggest that his brain color area is working just fine and being cross-activated when he sees numbers…

Martian colors! That rules.

Is it wrong to be jealous of an "abnormality"?

---

Track o' the Post: Bright As Yellow from Glow by The Innocence Mission, because I'm a little girl sometimes.

Back on the Mac

So after successfully waiting for the release of Leopard (the latest version of OS X), I ran out the other day and plopped down my rewards-earning MasterCard to purchase a 24" glass and brushed aluminum sculpture known as the iMac. It's the 2.8GHz CPU with 2GB of RAM, and the 500GB hard drive, and it's the tits. I even dig on Apple's new waffer thin keyboard, somewhat to my surprise.

As I type this, I'm in the middle of the 2+ day operation of shifting my ~145GB iTunes library around on my decrepit PC in preparation for the big copy to the iMac. This is what I get for not opting for the default storage location. (I'm actually not sure all this is even necessary, but I'm doing it anyway.)

Once I do that and decide whether or not I can live without Quicken (I only use it for bill scheduling and the forward-looking calendar/bar chart widget -- There's nothing online that offers that feature. For anything else, Mint and the online banking offered by my bank does the job.), I'll be able to format the drives on my PC and burn the thing. Or research whether there's a convenient drop-off for computer/computer component recycling, I guess...

This is a homecoming for me, as I was a Mac user back in my college days. Having been convinced that computers were evil by my Pascal programming classes, I opted for a PowerBook Duo - one of the coolest units to come out of the House of Jobs in the 90s. After that, I switched to a Gateway PC almost completely based on price. Then I was always using PCs for work (as I, ironically, moved into my career as a web "programmer"), so I always stuck with PCs at home, too. The advent of OS X was a big deal to me, and I'm been lusting for a new generation Mac since then.

I've always kept The Wife running on Apple hardware, though. She finished her Masters degree with a G3 iBook and got upgraded to a Mac Mini not too long ago. (Her brother is rocking a Mini these days, too.) The iBook is still limping along as our living room computer.

Since the beginning of this year, I've been lucky enough to work on a Mac Pro five days a week, so the transition back to a dying PC at home was hurting me more and more. All this adds up to me spending a chunk of change for a big white box that was heavy enough to wind me by the time I lugged from the Apple store to my car outside the mall.

I'm almost free!

Trip Report and Other Junk

Well, really there's not much to report. The drive to Vegas went quickly and easily. We literally did nothing in Vegas -- In fact, we we most excited by the fact that the Luxor has two Starbucks. Party animals we are not.

The second leg of the drive into Los Feliz also went without a hitch. From then on it was just the usual sort of "hang out with Chris, Kate, and Chowda" sort of scene. Highlights as I remember them:

• Best of all, we got lots of quality time with Scot & Matt. We love those kids. You might recognize Scot. Thanks to both him and Kate, I have a Bacon Number of 3!
• Casa Bianca has the best sausage pizza I have ever consumed. I am curious as to whether it's the sausage or the pizza. I cheese pie trial needs to happen someday.
• The Museum of Jurassic Technology is supremely weird. A must see if you're in LA (and like weirdness).
• Friday poker: In spite of playing like an idiot (and in doing so, pissing Scot off a bit when I rivered and ace to beat his pocket kings), I managed to finish in second place. I had a chance to do better than that, but Matt's crazy enough that I shouldn't have tried to scare him out of a pot by going all-in with ace-high.
• Saturday was Chris' birthday cookout/party in which Chris ended up doing all the cooking... *shrug* Staggering amounts of Guinness were consumed, and I got to see some of my favorite people.
• The Wife and I hiked up to Griffith Observatory a couple times. It's a steep little hill, let me tell you!
• Lots of dining out, but not as disastrous as usual. Though, we totally had to hit Tito's Tacos.

The drive back was fairly ordinary except for a crazy huge moon we saw rising over the Utah desert.

Today, when I came back into work, I found a strange Japanese swan phallus thingy on my desk. Thanks to Miracle Ed, I now get the reference, but nobody here has owned up to actually putting it on my desk...

Random, unrelated crap follows ...

In sporting news, the Red Sox managed to hold off the Yankees and will face the Angels in the ALDS, the Rockies are actually trying to get in the playoffs, the Broncos finally got the trouncing they've deserved after stealing their first two wins, and hockey season is about to get fired up.

...

On the booze-review tip: If you enjoy a good shiraz (I like to say "shih-RAZZ" because it's Australian, after all.) you should give the 2006 Mollydooker "The Boxer" a go. It's one of those uber-hip Stelvin cap jobbies, so no cork-screw needed. Also, it seems mollydooker is Aussie for left-handed, though as of yet, I've been unable to confirm it...

...

Weeds and Californication might be my favorite hour of television right now. Though, I already miss John from Cincinnati. (I might be alone on that one, though.)

Climbing Pics

I've been scanning and posting a few rock climbing pictures from my days in Massachusetts (and a few from here in Colorado). There are some great shots of me and my friends from those days (most notably Miracle Ed and Hanh). Makes me wistful.

And a bit depressed... As Ed put it to me "You should get skinny again. You were pretty."

As of right now, the notions of getting skinny and getting back into climbing are almost a chicken and egg proposition... Nothing to it but to do it, right?

(Did I mention rock climbing is how I seduced my wife? It's somewhat true.)

The Two Year Kettlebell Cycle

Actually, it was more like two and a half years ago that I first noticed kettlebells, thanks to (the now humbled and retired) Kostya Tszyu. Since then, I've actually seen kettlebells on TV a few times. One show was totally unrelated to fitness (it was probably a home renovation show or something), but the featured "real person" was a kettlebell trainer, and they showed him doing his thing.

Now BuzzFeed says it's the latest craze. (They do have some good, recent links, it should be noted.)

Go figure. ;)

Climbing Plastic Rocks

(See what I did there? Double meaning. I'm clever!) After at least 7 years of not climbing anything harder than a ladder, I went to the Boulder Rock Club last night with Peter, my former co-worker and now neighbor, and his fiance Ann. I wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was certainly mildly depressing motivational.

The first hit to my ego was just digging up my old gear and trying on my old harness. I got excited when I realized it was a size large, but then I realized that's "large for climber types" and not "large for fat American types". And so I had to wander over to the world-famous Neptune Mountaineering shop and (*sigh*) get myself an extra-large climbing harness.

At the gym, I climbed a few "ladders" (nothing past vertical, thanks) in the 5.7 and 5.8 range, and it was plenty tough for me. I'm only mildly sore today, but I was embarrassingly exhausted after my four climbs. My one attempt at playing in a bouldering cave convinced me that being overweight and understrong are a bad mix. Hauling my 200+ pounds around by my now-sissified fingertips just wasn't going to happen. Meanwhile, Ann, who is a tiny pixie of a person, was flinging herself up 5.9s and a 5.10 or two. Why do I always choose to climb with these annoying Asians? ;) (That's an inside joke, y'all.)

It was cool though. I suppose I'll try to keep going (I bought a new harness, after all.), and hopefully this will add an extra kick to me current "get the hell back in shape" regime.

It's (more or less) Official

Bear Grylls is a big faker. This video rocks.

This in no way means I'll stop watching the show. If anything, it adds a new dimension: Spot Bear's safety equipment!

The Lucid Challenge

I finally got my order of Lucid Absinthe a week or two ago. The time has come for me to do a side-by-side face off with the other absinthe I had in house. (Yes, by "time has come" I mean "The Wife is out of the house".) Fair warning: The challenge involves me consuming two glasses of absinthe. Expect this first draft to be fine-tuned when I'm in a more sober state.

And so we go...

First an introduction:

1. Brand A: La Fée Absinthe Parisian -- My brother-in-law, Chris, gave me a bottle of this last year when we went out to visit him in LA. While we were there we also helped him consume some other brand that he'd had delivered along with this one. (Perhaps he'll remind of of the brand?) My usual mode of consuming this one is the so-called "French method" with sugar and cold water.
2. Brand B: Lucid, of course. So far I've been having this one with only the cold water. I read that absinthe geeks don't go for the sugar, so I thought I'd try it.

Now, let's get to the good stuff tasting notes:

How is it straight up?

1. La Fée Smell: Hmmmm.... Nyquil? Taste: Black jellybeans. Very strong. Like fire in the back of the mouth.
2. Lucid Smell: Much softer. Sort of herbal. Taste: Herbal again. Still a twinge at the back of the mouth, but not as strong. Tart, almost citrus, finish.

What about with the water?

I decided to continue abstaining from the sugar. I put ice in a martini shake, poured Brita-filtered water over the ice and gave it a good shake. I added water to the absinthe only until the louche was achieved.

1. La Fée Taste: Oh, yum! Sweet liquorice! Who needs sugar?
2. Lucid Taste: Much more subtle, almost weak. Super easy to drink.

Who wins?!

Well, I like them both, really.

I can easily imagine the Lucid as being a more authentic experience; the La Fée is much more artificial-tasting. That said, I really do enjoy the sweetness of the louched La Fée. Is the Lucid worth the extra cost (the trouble to get it is pretty much the same, since I had to order it from New York)? I'd say sure, if only for the experience. Once it's actually stocked at my local package store, it will definitely be a regular buy for me.

So yeah... Try it. You might like it. Just do us both a favor and don't bother if you know you don't actually enjoy liquorice flavored booze, OK? ;) Seriously -- I was the kid who made himself sick by eating a whole bag of black jelly beans. I'm made for absinthe. If you aren't, don't bother. You're not going to want to drink enough to see green fairies anyway.

Vote for my boys

Hey, you've got a spare couple minutes, right? Good! Go to vote for Th'Ink Tank at the Denver Channel's A-List thingy, OK? Thanks.

You can vote on other stuff while you're there, but I need my boys to move up in the standings. They are currently trailing one shop I know (Twisted Sol - a perennial favorite in Denver) and another I don't. That just ain't right.

Leopold's Gin

My friends, allow me to introduce you to Leopold's Gin, a small batch distillation that will make any gin lover happy.

First, it is an American Gin. Master Distiller Todd Leopold handcrafts every batch in a small 40-gallon copper still, blending uniquely American botanicals like hand-zested Florida Oranges and California Pummelos. These components lend citrus notes to the gin, and help distinguish American gins from their English counterparts.

It truly is a bit different, but positively delicious. One friend said, upon tasting a sample: "It tastes like Christmas!" My response was that The Wife said that about all gins, but he rejoindered that it was more than that and that he detected hints of candy canes and mistletoe (or some such nonsense -- I was blootered at the time, to own the truth). It's nowhere near as "different" as Hendricks with it's cucumber-infused flavor, which is how I found Leopold's in the first place -- they were side by each on the shelf at my local Total Beverage.

Last night, I put the gin through its paces by sampling a G&T and a martini and both were remarkably tasty. We followed that with a Hendricks & tonic and were slightly disturbed by the fact that we actually craved more afterwards. We abstained, however, as it was bedtime on a school night. I'm happy to report no ill effects this morning (aside from the usual case of the Mondays).

Treat yourself sometime. You will be pleased, I guarantee.

I

Have I mentioned my man-crush on Henry Rollins? I have, haven't I?

When you hear a Stooges track or a Buzzcocks track or a Ramones track or a track by the Fall, or what have you, in a car ad, some people, whenever that happens, I get a letter saying "What a sellout." And I say "no man, we've arrived." The person making that ad grew up on that music. You're no longer confined to interstitial, instrumental music, you're gonna get Iggy Pop and the Teddy Bears singing I'm a punk rocker to sell a car. What would you rather hear? Some wanky keyboard or Iggy and the Teddy Bears? I know which one I'd rather hear, and I just hope they get paid quickly and double scale, because it's about time.

Russell Simmons was pure gold on his show's last episode, too.

Survivor TV

Last year I got super obsessed with the Survivorman series, which features a somewhat whiny, absolutely Canadian, but ever-resourceful Les Stroud in the seemingly unlikely role of lone survivor. And he really seems to be alone, too. At least he makes a big deal about carrying his cameras and such. Good TV, I tell you. (Wikipedia) Then along came Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild with his somewhat curious good looks, British accent, and willingness to get buck naked on TV. Yep. I love that one, too. Lots. I don't care if he has a camera crew or even if it's partly fake. Nowhere else will you see someone jump into a Scottish peet bog over his head wearing nowt but a pair of blue boxers. He's also the only person I've ever seen drink pee on basic cable. (Wikipedia)

Now I've seen all of the reruns of both shows, and I'm wanting more. I wonder if this is one of those passing things like my FoodTV obsession.

...

Side note: Bear may be a faker, but the director of that This Is England skinhead movie mentioned here earlier may be more real than anyone anticipated.

It was a robin's egg, and it was blue.

Your Superchunk video for the week: Mower

Superchunk - Mower

Weekend Highlights

I get the feeling that this summer's going to be a scorcher. That lovely Spring weather I was gushing about has faded into something more akin to a preheating blast furnace. Saturday evening the Wife and I gathered with our mothers and various other posse members to take in a tooth-and-nail roller derby bout with our beloved Rocky Mountain Roller Girls handing a sound trashing to the visiting Angel City Derby Girls from LA. Apparently the ACDG are relatively new and they tried to compensate for the lack of experience by - as our Zoom Zoom Zetta put it to me - "playing sooo dirty". As a spectator, I was thrilled. I was really worried Pinky 500 was going to throw down at some point, though (something I've only seen happen once so far). The night ended on a bit of a down note as Penny Payne needed to be helped off after a crash in the last jam.

Sunday kind of fell into the "too hot to move" category, so we took in Knocked Up. I'll give it a B+. It's not as funny as 40 Year Old Virgin, and a couple of the scenes were so obviously pieced together from hours of improv that they actually threw off the rhythm of the movie. All-in-all it's a great chick flick that guys will enjoy.

And... Yeah... That's about it.

Pili Me Ka'u Manu

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for the ukulele. Yes. Really. From Jake, to Brudda Iz, to Martin Mull... I just can't get enough.

My dear mother knows this about me (nor does she judge), so when she heard about a night of ukulele music at her favorite guitar shop, the Pickin' Parlor in Olde Town Arvada, she pinged me. So it happened that The Wife and I were with our mothers last night taking in a quite enjoyable show centered around that diminutive stringed instrument of the Hawai'ian Islands featuring some local talent.

The thing about shows like this that happen at wonderful instrument shops like the Pickin' Parlor, is that they are often accompanied by lessons and workshops. Such was the case this time.

When Mom sent me the email about thee show, I saw the workshop and thought about it for a good ten seconds. The uke is one of a few musical instruments I've fleetingly tried to teach myself, you see. As it turns out, I'm just no good at teaching myself how to play much of anything, musically. When I let my mother know that I had considered it, she went running back to talk to "Uncle" Kit and sign us up for the beginner session.

Despite my musical shyness (based on my years of musical frustration), I had a great time, learned a few nifty things, and my interest in playing the ukulele has been rekindled.

We'll see where that gets me.

Plans

In case you were wondering what's up with the Jakester, I've got some stuff going on...

• Thursday, I'll be going to the CEO's house for drink, food, and cards (in order of likely importance).
• Friday, there's a poker game at Matty's house, which thankfully is within close proximity of my joint.
• Saturday, there's roller derby, to which I may be dragging the boss again.
• And I believe Sunday is Mother's Day, but there are no plans associated with that as of yet.

This is more activity than I usually have in a month, and I've already been a busy little bee lately. I'm not entirely sure I can keep up. I fear a backlash of hermitude.

Even that won't last long, though, as we already have a party planned for the end of the month. Oh, and I've got Dr. Sketchy's on the 21st, too. Goodness!

Lucid Absinthe

Remember when I posted the WIRED article about T.A. Breaux and his adventures in absinthe analysis and distilling? Well, he's since gone and produced an "authentic" absinthe that will be legal here in the states. It's called Lucid and has a silly bottle.

According to the NY Times:

Mr. Breaux also had to keep the American palate in mind while developing Lucid. "In the U.S., anise is a sort of a strange flavor" he said. "We don't get a lot of exposure to it." So Mr. Breaux made sure that Lucid had a slightly cleaner, crisper taste than its European peers.

...

Lucid will be available starting next month, priced at $59.95 for a 750-milliliter bottle. A Web site, DrinkLucid.com, will soon post information on liquor stores that will carry the product.

I sampled the 124-proof liqueur last week, while watching the National Basketball Association playoffs. When diluted with water and a pinch of sugar, the absinthe's taste is strong and pleasant. And the buzz has an odd way of focusing the mind I've rarely been so entranced by the swish of a basketball net.

Fantastic!

Dr. Sketchy, I Love You

When I read about this my first thought was "Hell yeah!" But that's just how I am. I get excited about the new alterna-burlesque and roller girls and stuff like that. Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School is right up that same alley. Then I read their "start your own" page and actually started to consider it. Of course, the truth is I would have ended up buying the coloring book and that would have been that. Lucky for me and everyone else of my ilk in and around Denver, someone beat me to it. It should be no surprise that RMRG's scariest roller girl, Pinky 500, is involved.

Fantastic, I say.

So, Matty... You free on the 3rd Monday next month? ;)

Prairie Doggin'

• Ruby and Rails are weird. I like it.
• Kurt Vonnegut is no more. I believe the thing to say here is "So it goes."
• We've got a doozy of a snow storm coming. It's April...
• I talked my boss into meeting me at the roller derby match last weekend. In return, he may be taking me to a mixed martial arts fight on the 28th. This is good.
• I'm completely done with WoW now. Be proud, people.
• Fish is back in town after traveling the world. I'm itching for a new tattoo.

There's plenty going on these days, but that's all I can think of to share at the moment.

Spring Boozin'

I'm not sure where this came from, but recently I got a sudden impetus to so some "spring cleaning"... of my bar. The Wife and I throw the occasional party. Also occasionally, I used to host a poker game now and then (others in my crew have taken over those duties lately on the rare poker night). Luckily for us, our friends are as much boozehounds as we are, so they tend to bring over bottles of liquor almost as often as they bring us bottle of wine or sixers of beer.

This tends to leave us with a densely populated bar, but often the citizens of that population are riding low. This is where I've recently gotten in trouble...

I was looking at the vast spread of booze on our counter about a week ago and decide that this would not do. Some of these bottles were years old! Time to cull the herd, I thought to myself, and I promptly poured myself a tumbler of Talisker (which I followed with another soon after, thus killing the bottle).

Since then I've been on a reasonable tear. Nothing too disturbing, mind you, but I have had doubles or triples on four of the last 7 or 8 nights...

Here's my progress so far:

(It's worth noting that the middle bottles will definitely be renewed soon.)

Sadly, I'm almost done with the low-riders. (OK, a check of the bar actually found some good candidates.) I guess I'll have to get more ambitious now... ;)