Monthly Archives: January 2008

Site News, Technology

Midnight Excitement had a Wrench in the Works

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Well, in child-like excitement, I decided to spin a copy of the KDE 4 Live CD on Suzaku to play before buckling down for a full review… but there was a bit of a problem. I was hoping to directly play with things that involved internet connectivity, but the CD did not bundle in any wireless network apps. From first impression, it’s a clean looking environment. I am really looking forward to seeing it in real action on a production level operating suite such as Kubuntu, openSUSE, PClinuxOS, etc. Maybe tomorrow when I am more awake, I can sit down and play with what all I can that doesn’t require an internet connection… Unless anyone doesn’t mind me coming over to jack into a LAN port to play around with some serious eye candy. Hell, the Live CD recognized my native resolution to boot!

I will leave a bit of humor to close this short post… Nothing more embarrassing than having the KDE 4 log-in and log out sounds just blasting out of your laptop speakers at 2am in the morning and completely waking your family, all because openSUSE doesn’t recognize my onboard volume controls and refused to mute.

Site News, Technology

Tech Review Teaser: openSUSE Powered KDE 4 Live CD

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I am currently downloading the KDE 4 Live CD in hopes of giving it a test drive and review. I have been more of a Gnome user, but I am no stranger to KDE’s interface. I will assure readers that I will leave my Gnome mindset in a vault and try to focus on the mindset of a KDE 3.5.7 user as that was what my family’s former Kubuntu machine was. This build is apparently a “final” build that should be shipping with distros like openSUSE and Mandriva, so I am definitely looking forward to the experience. With things like the Oxygen artwork and Plasma powering KDE 4, it should prove to be a fun trip. I have been looking forward to what KDE 4 has to offer for the user experience and all the concept stuff has impressed me a good deal.

Now, if the download for the KDE 4 Live CD could finish… we’d be in business.

Reviews

Flight of Cabernet Sauvignons from The Parlour Wine Bar

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I went to The Parlour Wine Bar with a dear friend to savor life and try to relax from all the bad luck my office has had. I had opted out of any appetizers or things to add to my night, but on the flight listings the cabernet sauvignon listing really piqued my interest. I had fallen in love with the Stevenot estates cabernet sauvignon, so I kept with that to experiment and try to get a better appreciation for cabernets.

The wines were as follows from the menu:

  • Joel Gott 815 (California)
  • Craneford Ally Parson’s (Barossa)
  • Montes Alpha (Alpata Vineyard, Colchagua)

The first wine was the lightest of them all. There were very strong floral notes from smelling the wine from the glass after a light swirl. The floral scent was also a bit savory and made my mouth water a bit, but also there was a light hint of the alcohols from the wine blossoming. On tasting the Joel Gott 815, I could taste a touch of sweetness with in a fusion of mixed berries and smoke. It settled very nicely on my palette and was far from drowning me in flavors. The taste was simple, but also elegant to my inexperienced tongue. The finish was a very bold one and had a tinge of a linger. The linger was one that almost like a parting kiss. This is a wine I would love to share with many and have a few cases on hand.

The Craneford Ally Parson’s was one I was not much of a fan of. It was the middle of the flight. This wine had more of a berry note with a splash of citrus and alcohol notes after a swirl in the glass. On taking a taste, the wine seemed to have a bitter attack on first sip… but then slowly opening up with notes of citrus and berries. The finish was a little bitter with just a touch of spices when it lingered. This one just gave me a mood of parting ways with a good friend from how the wine finishes off.

The Montes Alpha was a wine I was impressed by greatly. This one had the most time to blossom and mix with the air, so I knew that the scent would have much to offer. After giving the glass a swirl, I would take a good deep sniff to try to absorb the scents. I was hit by a wave of berries with just a touch of floral and spice notes. The scent had very little alcohol backing the the wonderful bouquet of smells. The taste was actually easier than the wine before it, though it had more of a focus on flavors of leather (I think) and spices rather the fruits and flowers I sniffed before. The finish was one that fused both the smell and taste into a powerful linger that was very savory at the end. This one was a wine I would love to pair with a nice filet mignon or some dark chocolate covered strawberries for a very special occasion.

I would like to thank The Parlour for their great staff assisting me that night and I will definitely be returning for another flight of wines or spirits to explore my horizons.

Personal, Site News

Wine Review Teaser

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From Wednesday night, I had the flight of Cabernet Sauvignons from The Parlour Wine Bar when I went to drink with my friend and cheer them up. It was a unique test in flavors and had quite a bold finish towards the end. I’ll throw it online tonight when I get a chance after work. The ambiance and mood of the site was quaint enough to provide me just the concentration to focus on savoring the flavors from the wine and it was well worth the time that I had spent there.

Site News

Trial: U3-K2 Theme

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Found this little gem of a theme from browsing around the web and I will leave it up for now. It’s pretty slick and allows for backtracking to entries without having to reload the entire blog. The green and white create a serene color set and look pretty nice. If the theme ends up being annoying to you, let me know and I can revert back.

Rant

Editorial/Opinion: Telling Pre-Pubescent Girls that Pubes are BAD! What is wrong with this?

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Why 10 is too young for your first Brazilian – Opinion – theage.com.au

I found this article on Digg a few days back and for some reason, it gives me an unsavory feeling that society may need to think about why pedophile are a threat to their children. It’s one thing that modern pornography tries to highlight women who are well shaved or groomed on their good bits, but it is another when a commercial company (allied to a governmental girl-empowerment site) decides to paint a broad opinion that a body function is perceived as bad just to make a buck off the new generation. I know that this hasn’t quite hit stateside, but it almost freaks me out a bit that society in general seems to be in the mindset of “the younger the better!” The pedophile bit is probably the least of society’s concerns though… well, depending on your personal stances. (The argument seems null and void in some countries where pubic hair is a sign of natural fertility and that shaving it off is a mark of shame)

Now, don’t get me wrong… Grown women do have the right to groom their neither regions as they see fit. Be it trimmed, stylized into cheesy shapes (hearts, stars, horseshoes), or waxed bald, because they are adults. What also sickens me about the article that I linked from The Age (AU) is something that mass media is trying to push… girls need to be like supermodels from the start and maintain that image or a future prospective boyfriend/husband will never consider them. Girls don’t need petty issues like waxing their pubes and legs at the age of 10. At the age of 10, they should be concerned about living as children and having fun. If a parent has no idea that there are magazines teaching “tweens” (the definition by Trend Central is a child age 8 – 13) how to find a boyfriend/girlfriend and fashion faux pas, then they need to be a more positive impact and empower them to be children rather than impish emulations of adults. In an era where malnutrition, anorexia, bulimia, and laxative abuse are things that people turn to just to attain supermodel “perfection”, it is a shame when the impressionable minds of children become tainted to these methods to become “beautiful” in some grotesque manner.

The last thing this world needs are 10 – 15 year old children who have bald neither regions and are malnourished “knockoffs” of Lindsey Lohan or any other woman out there. Heaven forbid that everyone needs a million dollar baby with paparazzi trying to spy on your family every moment.

Personal

Decadence in a Night

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It is rare that I am called to arms as a friend who defends the integrity of others. I was called tonight to be a defender and it was quite the night. I had quite a lot to drink and the fun was irreplaceable. The line up was formidable and hell, it was a lot for me. I haven’t felt this sort of mellow in ages and I definitely don’t regret it. To see my friend smile and laugh let me know I did my duty as a friend. For those curious of what I had…

  • Flight of Cabernet Sauvignon wines
  • A round of Crown Royal on the rocks
  • A dry martini
  • 2 rounds of Tuaca Lemon Drop Shots

The last 3 were when I cut to the chase and wanted to really have some fun with my friend. After that all and returning them home, I would stop by Denny’s to eat and sober up. It was one hell of a night, but damn… I am gonna be one fucked up bitch.

Afterthoughts at 10:30am: After that hard drinking just to cheer my friend up, I actually have a tinge of a hangover. I hope I can survive work today, heh.  I will surely be glad when my daily vitamin kicks in and I’ll be watering up for sure. I may need a Gatorade or something to restore the lost electrolytes from last night just to ensure I don’t keel over from the remains. A Coke has been nice to ease the slight discomfort. Unfortunately, it does set me back a day from working out, so tomorrow, I will hit the gym hard.

Fitness, Site News

Seeking Feedback: Are the fitness posts inspiring?

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ExxonValdeez from #ubuntu-dallas mentioned that he’s been inspired from my posts on ZeroXR 13mg that it has almost made him want to workout again. I know my friend April has been one of the more vocal people on the site to vocalize her cheers. I am curious about the other people feel about them.

I will still continue to post my results from each work-out, no matter the results. If there is a way to make them more informative or entertaining, please feel free to comment and let me know.

Fitness, Personal

Back to Deathbeast Rituals

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Tomorrow, I begin hitting back hard on my workout again. Last week was more dietary control and trying to run right on the border of 2,000 calories or making deficits for high intake days. It was more myself trying to celebrate life and it was fun. There were good people I had a great time with, but I don’t regret my fun.

I look forward to tear fresh muscle and tweak the seeds of progress again. Nothing like a positively good sweat to let me know that I have done well. The strength of youth and a meditation of strength are things that I long for. Family has been fighting with me, so gym time is more time to myself so that I may become a “deathbeast” as my friend once called it. My friend referred to the term deathbeast as the state of a working out with a great state of intensity to help facilitate great development. The sort of development that turns a frail intellectual into a strong gentleman. Mind you, it’s nothing even close to “roiding up” and having superficial muscular development. Most of the torn muscle from before the holiday chaos has healed nicely, so I am once again apt to really push harder.

I have one month and one week left until my weigh-in… In the name of health and glory, I shall give it my all.