A Question for HB

Since Oden lives in your building, do you ever hear him singing in the shower? I'm quite sure you'd recognize it if you did.

Let Your Fingers Do the Talking

For years, I've been calling the phenomenon where my brain works faster than my mouth Progressive Dyslexia. The time delay that occurs between what I'm thinking, what's next and getting what I'd already thought to come out properly causes problems for me once in awhile. I'll transpose words, fumble syllables or flat out forget what I was going to say because my mind has already moved on.

I've noticed recently, that the same works for when I'm typing. I'm not sure whether I type too slow or think too fast, but I'll frequently type "me" when I meant "my" or, for instance, when I was typing something earlier today I said wrote "six months" when I distinctly heard my mind say "six weeks." But, I never catch those things unless I go back and proofread.

Strange. I'm a crazy grammar snob, so making these errors irks me to no end!

At least I don't mix up their/there, your/you're and its/it's. Maybe that's another thing that we should add a test for... you aren't allowed to participate online unless you know when to use the proper form of the word.

It took my years to learn how to spell commitment (committment) properly, but that's a whole different story. *wink*

LOOK, I just did that damn my/me thing in the last sentence! GRRRRRR.

The Logic of Cooking

I never cook for myself. But each time that I cook for others, self included, I absolutely love the experience and the activity. By myself, the buying, preparation, cooking, eating, cleaning and left-overs are just too much.

But when cooking for someone else, I absolutely swim in the opportunity to make something yummy.

Last night I went on an adventure to whip up some sauteed prawns and veggies. I think it turned out pretty darn alright. Sauteed the veggies a little bit long, but the prawns were delicious. Even more delicious was the satisfaction that the two of us received from the experience. Someone's day was made easier because we had to change our plans and I simply offered to cook, relieving the pressure from her schedule. I learned from the cooking experience while having great conversation present and putting a smile on someone's face.

My take from last night, because I'd never sauteed anything in my life, was that there is more logic to cooking than I ever before thought. Sure you can get creative with the ingredients, but the process of cooking just makes common sense to me. For whatever reason, I know what food should look like when it has reached done. Whether I get lucky is definitely debatable, but each time I try this or that I come up with a concoction that is more than just palatable.

I like to cook!

Sawed Off, Mate!

Those Brits, they sure get it. Iconoculture reports that:

"U.K. inventors have created a device that automatically screens out telemarketers, prank callers and phone scammers. TrueCall blocks telemarketers' numbers while letting trusted peeps through."

"If it doesn't recognize the dialer's number, TrueCall sends callers to a purgatory where they must identify themselves and wait for approval from the person they're trying to call."

Now, if you could direct the caller to a pre-recorded message specifically intended for those that call during the dinner hour (if you know what I mean), then we'd find the ringing of the phone to take on a brand new level of deviousness.

CSGK: Wild Coyote Wines

You, my reliable and wonderful readers, all know about the CSBK (Customer Service Bad Karma) that seems to follow me around everywhere that I go... no, no need to dig up the past. You can find a billion examples if you just scroll through the blog (no, Pizza Hut never delivered that pizza).

Today I come to you with a story about CSGK (Customer Service Good Karma) that an amazing family vintner, Gianni Manucci of Wild Coyote Estate Winery, gave to me today.

My friends and I take an annual wine trip back to Paso Robles, CA, an area that we know well because several of us studied at Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, which is right down the road. For the first few years of our trip, we had the same cool, fantastic, fun limo driver... a gentleman named D-U-G, Dug, yes Dug. Because he drove the area frequently, he always knew the up and coming wineries which is a huge plus because so many of them have sprouted up in the past 5-7 years.

Dug said, "You guys have got to go to Wild Coyote. Gianni is making some incredible wines in a beautiful winery."

"Lead the way!" was likely our response.

Well, I became a Wild Coyote wine club member from the first visit and have taken every opportunity to stop in to grab more or call Gianni & family to replace empty soldiers. Many of my wine group are members of this wonderful little winery that concocts wine for the spirit, literally, on this incredibly beautiful piece of land with a California vineyard view. The Manucci's put their heart and soul into every single bottle that they produce... they care that much.

So last week when @tessk, Steve and I opened a bottle of 2006 Zin, which I wouldn't typically be drinking so young--I had to leave a lot of bottles prior to my move to some very lucky friends--it was carbonated! Carbonated? Yes, carbonated!

Strange.

I decided to check to see if one of my other 2006 Zins from Wild Coyote was carbonated tonight and, sure enough, it was. Hmmmmm.

Here is where CSGK kicks in. I emailed Gianni and got a very quick reply where he offered to replace all 3 bottles that were sent in that shipment. Gianni is definitely the man.

But, instead of just replying to his email to say, "Send 'em on out!" I decided to give him a call and add to the order... heck, if you're going to ship me free replacement bottles, I might as well buy a few to fill up a box and then everyone feels good about it, eh?

Gianni explained to me that he knew that the timing on when to bottle the '06 Zin was questionable, but he took a chance because he thought it would be an out-of-this-world wine... which is what we members look for from him. He didn't want to filtrate it before bottling because he didn't want to take from the flavor--the high standard of work that he has created for himself--in hindsight he wishes he would have done just a bit of filtration.

A large winery would never take this chance. Never.

But, in a wonderful gesture, Gianni made up for it in spades. Here's to Gianni, his family and Wild Coyote Wine. I urge you to visit their site or give them a call and order a few bottles for he told me that they are nearly out of their '06 vintage!

Wild Coyote Estate Winery
805-610-1311

My Holiday List

Dear beloved family members,
The following list is being provided to you as a courtesy service for the things that I may want/need for the upcoming holidays:

1. I want nothing.*
People in this country are losing their jobs and they can't pay their own mortgages because the economy is mess. Yes, I realize that we are lucky to be able to do these things and that:

a. Makes me feel ridiculous for spending frivolous dollars.
b. Makes me prefer to help them put food on their own tables.

2. A $90+ dollar ham/turkey is not necessary.
Two of them, since we can't figure out how to eat at one house, is even more ridiculous. On the matter of having two simultaneous Thanksgiving dinners... well, that just speaks for itself, doesn't it? Instead of working together on one meal, let's split up forcing more people to cook and clean for two meals. Maybe I'll fast with my wine cooler. Speaking of...

3. Someone else to give the family toast this year.
Since I doubt you will like it if I choose to boycott the holidays and work on my book on either a warm beach or beside the fire in a snowy cabin, then someone else will have to do the family toast this year because I refuse.

*If you just can't get past the need to give, then I will provide you with a list of charities that I approve of and you may send money in my name to them.

Since a vacation would likely rub you the wrong way, I am hereby announcing my interest in local volunteer work on Thanksgiving and Christmas. My absence from festivities, should it become the plan, will be noted in advance.

Sincerely,
Uncle Bobby