New Wine Label

I'm trying a new look to our wine label for this one:



I'm calling it De Rei Vini.... which translates from the Itlaian as "The King of Wines" as Barolo is known to many. The image is a photo I took of a wall fresco in the Capodemonte Museum in Naples, Italy.

The Smithsonian

I just began a subscription (a free one) to the Smithsonian and must say it's an interesting magazine. It has articles about Carnival Week in Brazil, Darwin, Lincoln and excavating Thailand's culture.

On another note, we're all getting revved up for the Super Bowl tomorrow night. It seems the entire football world is picking the Steelers to stomp the Cardinals by a huge score. I'm thinking that if Arizona's defense can hold down Pittsburgh's run game, then the Cardinals can win this thing. I'm pulling for the underdog... Arizona 24 Pittsburgh 16.

What I learned today

I went to a CE seminar today in Escondido called "DentalFest 2009". It was a great way to pick up 7 CE units to maintain my license. I took three classes. One on resorption and cracked tooth syndrome, one on dental implants and I renewed my CPR card. Toss in a continental breakfast, a light lunch and an hour with some dental product reps and I'd call that a great day.

Wine bottling 101

It's a rather simple procedure as I mentioned in a previous post below. Here are a few photos to show how it's done.

Do You Know Me?

Who Am I:

- I was born in San Francisco, CA on February 25, 1955
- I dropped out of Reed College.
- In 1976 along with a friend I we founded Apple Computer.
- In 1984 I introduced the first MacIntosh.
- I founded NeXT Computers but came back to Apple in 1996.
- You may use some of my products: I-pods, I-phones, MacBooks, etc.
- I once named a computer after my daughter "Lisa".
- In 2007 I was named by Fortune as "Most Powerful Businessman".
- Today I am in the news because I am suffering from a hormonal imbalance.
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-Answer: Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers.

A Bottle Washer... Me?

Yes.

In preparation to bottling six gallons of wine, I need to come up with about 30 wine bottles. Asking family and friends to save old bottles is fine... until ti comes time to cleaning off the gummed labels and cleaning the insides. I have come to appreciate the great extent some wineries go to to make sure their wine labels D-O-N-T come off easily.. or at all. So far 27 bottles have given up the glue, so to speak. Six others will need to be goo-goned to become useful.

So after that all gets done it will be time to bottle brush and sterilize the insides before siphoning the wine from the fermentation jugs into the bottles. Usually this results in some spillage.

After all that's done the fun of corking begins. I'll soak the corks for ten minutes in warm water and then use the Portuguese floor corker to plunge the softened corks into the bottle to seal the neck. I'll try to take some photos to show the process. Cleanliness has been important throughout the wine making, but it is even more critical in the bottling phase.

The wine I will be bottling will be five gallons (25 bottles) of Barolo wine from the piedmont region of Italy. The other gallon (five bottles) is a white wine made from table grapes and Niagra grape juice. It was an experiment so we'll see how it goes.

Do You Know Me?

Who Am I?

- I was born in Malaga, Spain on October 25, 1881
- I attended the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, Spain in 1897.
- My father was an artist and stopped painting when I became better than he.
- I stayed neutral during WWI, The Spanish Civil War and WWII.
- My most famous painting is the German's bombing of Guernica, Spain (1937).
- In 1944 I joined the French Communist Party.
- They say I am the father of Cubism.
- A collection of my earliest works in on display in Barcelona, Spain.
- On April 8, 1973, (the day I died) my last words were: “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink any more.”
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-Answer: Pablo Picasso

The Godfather

I just finished re-reading Mario Puzo's "The Godfather". So I figured I'd make a post and show off a picture Erin made of me as "Don Matthew".

1963 San Diego Chargers

The 1963 Chargers were 11-3 and beat the Boston Patriots on Jan.3, 1964 51-10 to win the AFL championship. The team had Tobin Rote at QB who passed for over 2,500 yards and 20 TDs. They had two fine running backs, Paul Lowe (HB) and Keith Lincoln (FB), who rushed for 1,010 and 826 yards respectively. Lance Alworth led the recievers with a 19.8 yards per catch, 1,205 yards and 11 TD receptions.

The defense was anchored by two monster linemen: DE Earl Faison and DT Ernie "the Cat" Ladd. CB Dick Harris had eight interceptions. They had the top ranked offense and the top defense in the league.

The team was coached by Sid Gillman, considered by many as the offensive genius of the day. It has been argued today that a game between the 1963 Chicago bears (NFL champs) and the Chargers would have been very close. It was Gillman who suggested it to then NFL commissioner Peter Rozell but was rebuffed in his effrots to set up a 1963 "Super Bowl".

Do You Know Me?

Who Am I?

- I was born in Hall, Indiana on October 14, 1910.
- I graduated with an education degree from Purdue University in 1932.
- I recieved a Master's Degree from Indiana State University.
- In 1932 I played on a National Champion baseketball team at Purdue.
- I never coached a losing team.
- I coached ten National basketball titles at ULCA from 1964-1975.
- I am nicknamed "The Wizard of Westwood" and I hate it.
- The highest salary I ever recieved was $35,000 per year.
- I am honored on the UCLA campus every February 29th.
- I was inducted in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
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-Answer: John Wooden

Do You Know Me?

Who Am I?

- I was born in East Derry, NH on November 18, 1923.
- I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944.
- I deployed aboard the USS Cogswell, a destroyer, in WWII.
- I was the first American in space on May 5, 1961.
- I was grounded from the space program because of Ménière's disease.
- I had corrective ear surgery and returned to flight status in May 1969.
- I was the fifth man to walk on the moon, February 3, 1971.
- I am the only man to golf on the moon during Apollo 14 in 1971.
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- Answer: Alan B. Shepard

1980: The Miracle On Ice

Who remembers the Miracle On Ice in 1980? The USA Olympic hockey team beat the highly favored USSR and went on to capture the Olympic Gold Medal in Ice Hockey. Those who weren't around then might say... well that's no big deal. Well it actually was a big deal. The Soviets entire team was considered "amateurs"... since they technically had no professional sports. Even though their full time occupation in the Soviet Army was to train to play hockey.

In the USA they had the professional NHL. Most really good players were playing professionally back then and could not compete in the Olympics. It was not like today when athletes making $12 million per year compete in the Olympic games. The Russians had 25-30 year old players who had been serving in "The Soviet Army" and did nothing but play hockey... like professional athletes of today. It was sort of like a AAA minor league baseball team taking on the New York Yankees.

So when Team USA beat them the USSR 4-3 in the medal round and then topped Finland 4-2 to win the Gold it really was a BIG DEAL. . Herb Brooks was the coach. Walt Disney Pictures made a movie in 2004 named "Miracle" starring Kurt Russell as Brooks. Pictured atop this blogspot is Team USA goalie Jim Craig.

New President

Barack Obama will be sworn in this morning on the Capitol steps as America's 44th President. He takes over at a time of deep financial crisis in the USA and the world. Time will tell if he will be successful in leading our country. Good Luck Mr. Obama.

Do You Know Me?

Who Am I?

- I was born in Los Angeles, CA on February 5, 1900.
- I killed a friend in a gun mishap in 1912.
- I graduated from Princeton with a history degree in 1922.
- I dropped out of Harvard Law School in 1923.
- I graduated from Northwestern School of Law in 1926.
- I was the Governor of Illinois from 1949-1953.
- I unsuccessfully ran for President in both 1952 and 1956.
- I was the U.S. Ambassador to the UN from 1961- 1965.
- I have High Schools named after me in Sterling Heights and Livonia, Michigan. Also in Lincolnshire, IL and Bronx, NY.
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Answer: Adlai Stevenson.

The Truth is out there...

I knew it!

Do you know me?

Who am I?

- I was born on March 15, 1926 in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.
- I served in the United States Navy from 1943-45.
- I was drafted from the University of Oregon by the L.A. Rams in 1949.
- In 1958 I joined the Philadelphia Eagles.
- I was both a quarterback and a punter.
- I was a four time All-Pro (52, 54, 55, 60)
- I quarterbacked two championship teams (52 Rams and 60 Eagles)
- After my playing days I coached the Vikings (61-67) and Falcons (68-74)
- I was inducted into the football hall of fame in 1971.
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Answer: Norm Van Brocklin

What's With This Weather?

How about this cold weather? I mean it's cold out East and in most of the Midwest- but it has been in the 70s and 80s here in San Diego. Being out in shirtsleeves and shorts when all our families back home are freezing is pretty weird.

The governor and mayor are talking about water rationing as early as this spring. We are usually getting a fair amount of rain in January by now- yet none so far this year. It seems like the rest of the country although it's been cold, is doing fine in regards to water (rain and snow). Its been cold- low teens to below zero for most of the week. I wouldn't make such a big deal about it- but with all the talk of global warming... it makes you think- is this an aberration or real climate change?

First Class Postage

The most issued U.S. stamp in 1949

Costs to mail a first class letter:

1949 3 cents
1959 4 cents
1969 6 cents
1979 15 cents
1989 25 cents
1999 33 cents
2009 42 cents

"The times they are a changing"--- Bob Dylan

And I Thought I Knew About... Planets

I've been listening to podcasts from Ohio State University's Astronomy 161 course. I learned that we now officially only have eight planets in our solar system... Pluto got banished to the "dwarf planets" category along with Eris and Ceres.

The outer four planets called the gas giants all have rings which I didn't know. From top top bottom are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all showing their rings.

Original Six- Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins played in the Boston Gardens. A unique arena that was much narrower than other hockey rinks. A young defenseman named Bobby Orr came along and helped transform the doormat Bruins into Stanley Cup winners in the 1970s. Gary Cheevers was a goaltender who switched to wearing a mask. His famous "stich marks" art work decorated it.

Original Six- Chicago Black Hawks

The Chicago Black Hawks played in Chicago Stadium and had some really high scoring teams in the 1960s. Led by Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, other hockey names include: Chico Maki, Eric Nesterenko, Pat Stapleton, Dennis Hull and Pierre Pilot among others. Glenn Hall was stellar between the pipes.

Original Six- New York Rangers

The New York Rangers played their games in Madison Square Garden. In fact there have been several versions of it over the years. Andy Bathgate was one of the finest players for the perennially bad Rangers. Eddie Giacomin was a fine goalie who played for them for many years. (Ironically, both ended up playing for the Red Wings near the end of their careers).

Original Six- Montreal Canadiens

Probably the most storied club in hockey history, the Montreal Canadiens played at "The Forum in Montreal". With over 3,000 wins, they are the winningest team in NHL hockey history. Maurice "The Rocket" Richard is their most famous player and Loren "Gump" Worsley was between the pipes when I was growing up.

Original Six- Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs play in Maple Leaf Garden. They surprised everyone in 1967 by upsetting the Chicago Black Hawks and taking the Stanly Cup. Johnny Bower was one of the best goalies in their team history.

Original Six- Detroit Red Wings

My hometown team. Old time hockey for me starts at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. For years it was the home of the Red Wings. The Production Line of Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel and Gordie Howe. The stellar goaltending of Terry Sawchuk.

8 uses for used plastic grocery bags

You get asked the paper or plastic question nearly every time you go shopping. Unless you bring your own reusable bags that is. So you bring home your groceries in a plastic bag. Of course you don't want to throw it away. You could recycle them the next time you go to the store or you could reuse them again around the house. Here are eight uses for these fossil fuel bags.

1- Use them to line your small trash cans.
2- Use them to pick up the poo of your dog twhen you are out for a walk (or clean out the cat litter box).
3- Use them to wrap and pad fragile items when shipping them in the mail.
4- When painting use it to store your brush or roller in overnight so you can use it again the next day.
5- Protect the cast on a broken arm or leg from getting wet by wrapping it in a plastic bag when showering.
6- Use as trash bags in your car.
7- Use them to store dirty clothes in your suitcase when on a trip.
8- Cover garden plants with them at night when there is danger of frost.

A year later...

Today I went out for a hike to the Blue Sky Preserve and up to see the Ramona Dam Pond. It proved to be an uneventful yet pleasant walk. The entire area was burned by the 2007 Witch Creek Fire. It is just now beginning to come back. Green vegetation is everywhere- but still the skeletons of burned trees remain. I took this photo and then changed it from color to sepia and I think it gives it a little better look.

Click on the picture to enlarge it and notice the details.

Hockey Night in Canada

I was watching the Red Wings shut out Columbus 3-0. It got me to thinking about how it used to be. I can remember watching what is now called "The Original Six". Back in the day there were only six teams:

Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
Chicago Black Hawks
Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins

Every Saturday night would be "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC. They would always have a game from either Toronto or Montreal. Hockey greats like Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Johnny Bower, Tony Horton, etc, etc.

Anyway it got me to thinking about how large the NHL had gotten and how the best players from around the globe now play professionally in North America.

It's not better or worse- just different.

How hard is it to quit coffee?

Coffee is it good for you bad for you or... what?

After reading the pros and cons of caffeine in coffee I 'm still a little confused.

Pro: Improves alertness, increase dopamine levels (feel good), improves exercise performance.

Con: addictive, increases inflammation, elevates blood pressure, increased adrenaline.

Withdrawal: Sleepiness, mental fogginess, inability to concentrate, headaches.

Is one cup of coffee a day too much? How about caffienated sodas? tea? or even decaf coffee? Lots of questions and few good answers.

To Do List

My five things to do tomorrow:

1- Put out the trash
2- take down the outside Christmas lights
3- Take down the Christmas tree
4- Put the Christmas stuff back up in the attic
5- If I have any energy left then get in a workout

Moving On... 23-17 (OT)

Wow what a game. The Bolts and the Colts fought it out and it took overtime to decide that the Chargers were the better team. Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Darren Sproles, Mike Scrifres, Nate Kaeding... and the whole stinking defense. Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera planned great game that kept MVP Peyton Manning in check for most of the game.

Wahoo...

Chargers move on into the next round of the playoffs.

Today's Hero was little Darren Sproles. Two TDs, over 100 yards rushing and over 300 all purpose yards.

One Hundred Years Ago

Some things will stand the test of time. Today's blog entry will discuss the items that will be around one hundred years later. Ten things that can be found 100 years later:

1- coins
2- buildings
3- people (George Burns type centurians)
4- books
5- grave stones
6- paintings and sculptures
7- trees (redwoods)
8- time capsules
9- pottery
10- city dumps (sadly)

Many of the things we use daily (cars, electronics, televisions, clothing, etc) will be gone in one hundred years. Eight track tapes from the 1970s have been replaced for nearly 30 years. When will today's computers, i-pods, radios, autos be replaced? Where will they go? What will transportation look like in 100 years?

The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan was begun by Henry Ford himself as a place for technology and machinery to be displayed in the hopes of inspiring generations of future inventors. He believed that innovation can be gleaned by looking into the tools and machinery of the past.

That's just my two cents.