Saturday, the wife and I had tickets to the Rangers game here in Philly. Due to a ticket office mixup, we got seats in the club box section for the cost of corner upper level tickets. This section includes a much nicer bathroom, waitress service, a bar in the club and a wider food selection. The liquor selection at the bar was decent, but I was more in a beer mood and their beer selection was quite poor (Not even Yuengling). The food options were definitely better than on the normal concourse levels, including a dessert bar and a coffee stand (with optional addons such as amaretto). Overall, it was a step up from our typical seats, but not so much better as to warrant the face value price. Also, it helps when the Rangers win 2-0.
Since it was an afternoon game, we decided to hop the subway back to center city and commence a pub crawl. I had made a list of place to hit, some old favorites plus some new places we have been meaning to try.
We started off at Tria (18th St location). I had the Victory Baltic Thunder which was excellent. I've had it before in bottles, but this is the first time on tap. I also got a little appetizer, some goat cheese and pesto on some toasted bread, which was tasty. The place was quite full, but we were able to get a table.
From there we moved on to Nodding Head. The main reason for heading there was to try their Chocolate Stout which I'd read about. They brew it with actual chocolate. Its a more subdued chocolate flavor than say the Southern Tier Chokolat, but still good.
After Nodding Head, we stepped it up a notch and went to Mahogany. Although I've never been there, I've been interested in checking the place out for a while. It is a cigar bar, but my main interest was in the extensive scotch collection. The inside really is set up like a smoking lounge, with couches and a fire place. I had the Aberlour A'bunadh, which was very good. Since none of our stops were intended to be too long, I skipped the cigar.
Next we went to Jose Pistola's, another new place for us. The beers here were very good, I had a Oaked Stone Arrogant Bastard and the Schlenkerla Rauchbier. On a side note, more brewers need to make rauchbiers, I know their not incredibly popular, but I love them. The food menu was not extensive, but I did get some tasty empanadas and the wife had a meatloaf special that was also good. We sat at the bar upstairs and I have to say I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot. The bartenders and people at the bar were all friendly and they were showing some crazy Japanese tv shows.
We next took a bit of walk, in the rain, to South St, where we hit Chick's Cafe & Wine bar. They have a limited, but decent beer selection, focusing on Belgian styles. Their wine selection looked good, even if it was a bit pricy.
After Chick's we headed down south st and stopped in at Blarney South. We didn't spend much time there, partially because I wasn't overly impressed with the atmosphere and it was also an unintended stop.
We finished up the night at Beneluxx tasting room. Again, this was a new place for us and I like the concept. They allow you to order smaller "tasting" sizes of differnt beers. I also had some Manchego cheese which was ok.
By the time we finished up there it was fairly late and we needed to catch a bus, so we left. The pub crawl was a lot of fun, although I did feel it the next morning when I woke up hungover at 6:30 ...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Eli Manning won a super bowl MVP?
And yet hell did not freeze over.
I'm still somewhat in shock and very happy (as a Giants fan) over the result of the super bowl last night. So here are my thoughts on the outcome.
1) In the regular season, the Giants lost to Dallas twice, Green Bay and New England. They proceded to beat each of those teams in the playoffs. I don't feel like figuring it out, but I suspect no team has ever beaten 3 teams in the playoffs that they lost to earlier in the season.
2) The Giants regular season was about as mediocre as you can get. They lost 6 games, 4 to very good teams (see #1 above), and to Minnesota and Washington, which were average teams. They beat every bad team they played, but their best win was probably the other game against Washington. This is about as perfectly as you define an ok team, lose to those better than you, beat those worse than you.
3) And my last point about the Giants regular season is that they lost 6 games, tied for the most of any super bowl winner. The 49ers lost 6 in XXIII (1988 season). Also, the Raiders lost 5 games when they won in XV, but that was a year of freakish parity as 3 teams finished 12-4, and 6 finished 11-5 (5 from the AFC). And the Patriots lost 5 when they beat the Rams in their first super bowl win. And the Steelers lost 5 when they won 2 years ago.
4) I really hate sports fans/sports media members who love to proclaim championship success as the first and last measure of a player's greatness. Before Peyton won the super bowl last year, all we heard was how he was a decent QB incapable of winning in the playoffs. Then he wins and he's a champion, able to handle the pressure. Excuse me, but as a player he is the same before and after that game. He did not suddenly learn how to play football. Similarly, people who were ready to crown the Patriots the greatest team of all time are now saying that the teams will go down as good, but nothing great. As much as I hate to say it, this Patriots team is still great, one of the best I've seen in my time as a football fan (which admitedly only stretches to the late 80s). I guarantee that if we had some magical power to switch the 2 Giants-Pats games (Giants win the regular season by 3, Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3) then people would continue to argue that the Patriots may be the best ever. The real result (18-1 with a 3 point loss to the Giants) and the imagionary results (18-1 with a 3 points loss to the Giants) are not really that different, but the perception is huge.
Now on to more frivolous things ...
5) I was very impressed with crowd at the game, many more fans of one of the competing teams than we usually see at the super bowl.
6) Very few of the commercials were memorable. And even those were not too funny. Are companies trying to be more conservative or are they hiring less creative people?
7) I attribute at least part of the Giants victory yesterday to my conscious effort to drink beer from NY (Brooklyn brewery to be exact).
8) David Tyree went from a nobody to one of the most popular people in NY in the span of 1 quarter.
9) Plaxico Burress got ripped for his prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory. First by the media for prediction a Giants win, and if the media doesn't want players making these kinds of predictions, stop sticking microphones in their faces for 2 weeks. And secondly from Tom Brady who sounded shocked and amused at the notion of his fantastic offense only scoring 17. I doubt he's as amused after scoring 14.
10) Now that football is over (the Pro Bowl is not football), I can better concentrate my efforts on hockey, college basketball and baseball (2 weeks until pitchers and catchers).
11) All 4 super bowls that the Belichek era Patriots have been to were decided by exactly 3 points.
I'm still somewhat in shock and very happy (as a Giants fan) over the result of the super bowl last night. So here are my thoughts on the outcome.
1) In the regular season, the Giants lost to Dallas twice, Green Bay and New England. They proceded to beat each of those teams in the playoffs. I don't feel like figuring it out, but I suspect no team has ever beaten 3 teams in the playoffs that they lost to earlier in the season.
2) The Giants regular season was about as mediocre as you can get. They lost 6 games, 4 to very good teams (see #1 above), and to Minnesota and Washington, which were average teams. They beat every bad team they played, but their best win was probably the other game against Washington. This is about as perfectly as you define an ok team, lose to those better than you, beat those worse than you.
3) And my last point about the Giants regular season is that they lost 6 games, tied for the most of any super bowl winner. The 49ers lost 6 in XXIII (1988 season). Also, the Raiders lost 5 games when they won in XV, but that was a year of freakish parity as 3 teams finished 12-4, and 6 finished 11-5 (5 from the AFC). And the Patriots lost 5 when they beat the Rams in their first super bowl win. And the Steelers lost 5 when they won 2 years ago.
4) I really hate sports fans/sports media members who love to proclaim championship success as the first and last measure of a player's greatness. Before Peyton won the super bowl last year, all we heard was how he was a decent QB incapable of winning in the playoffs. Then he wins and he's a champion, able to handle the pressure. Excuse me, but as a player he is the same before and after that game. He did not suddenly learn how to play football. Similarly, people who were ready to crown the Patriots the greatest team of all time are now saying that the teams will go down as good, but nothing great. As much as I hate to say it, this Patriots team is still great, one of the best I've seen in my time as a football fan (which admitedly only stretches to the late 80s). I guarantee that if we had some magical power to switch the 2 Giants-Pats games (Giants win the regular season by 3, Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3) then people would continue to argue that the Patriots may be the best ever. The real result (18-1 with a 3 point loss to the Giants) and the imagionary results (18-1 with a 3 points loss to the Giants) are not really that different, but the perception is huge.
Now on to more frivolous things ...
5) I was very impressed with crowd at the game, many more fans of one of the competing teams than we usually see at the super bowl.
6) Very few of the commercials were memorable. And even those were not too funny. Are companies trying to be more conservative or are they hiring less creative people?
7) I attribute at least part of the Giants victory yesterday to my conscious effort to drink beer from NY (Brooklyn brewery to be exact).
8) David Tyree went from a nobody to one of the most popular people in NY in the span of 1 quarter.
9) Plaxico Burress got ripped for his prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory. First by the media for prediction a Giants win, and if the media doesn't want players making these kinds of predictions, stop sticking microphones in their faces for 2 weeks. And secondly from Tom Brady who sounded shocked and amused at the notion of his fantastic offense only scoring 17. I doubt he's as amused after scoring 14.
10) Now that football is over (the Pro Bowl is not football), I can better concentrate my efforts on hockey, college basketball and baseball (2 weeks until pitchers and catchers).
11) All 4 super bowls that the Belichek era Patriots have been to were decided by exactly 3 points.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Big moves down under
The Australian Open wrapped up and people may finally realize just how well Djokovic can play. He was his first (but certainly not last) grand slam title. The results, with Federer losing points and Nadal gaining points, leave the top 3 players closer than they've been in a long time (I'd guess at least 3 years). As of now we have:
Federer 6630
Nadal 5980
Djokovic 5165
Everyone else below 2800.
So, with the players so close in points, what does the winter/spring tennis season offer?
Well, there are a couple of international events in February that these guys will play, and Federer has the most points to defend with 300, but thats not enough to cause any shift in rankings. The real potential lies in the Masters series starting with Indian Wells in March. After that we have Miami in March, Monte Carlo in April, and Rome and Hamburg in May. Nadal will have a very tough time gaining ground, as he's defending 1975 points in those 5 events, Djokovic earned 1175, and Federer 1005. So barring some injury, I can't see Nadal catching Federer, but I can see Djokovic catching Nadal. A big key will lie in the draws, whether Djokovic gets placed in the half with Federer or Nadal (especially for the 3 clay Masters events).
Federer 6630
Nadal 5980
Djokovic 5165
Everyone else below 2800.
So, with the players so close in points, what does the winter/spring tennis season offer?
Well, there are a couple of international events in February that these guys will play, and Federer has the most points to defend with 300, but thats not enough to cause any shift in rankings. The real potential lies in the Masters series starting with Indian Wells in March. After that we have Miami in March, Monte Carlo in April, and Rome and Hamburg in May. Nadal will have a very tough time gaining ground, as he's defending 1975 points in those 5 events, Djokovic earned 1175, and Federer 1005. So barring some injury, I can't see Nadal catching Federer, but I can see Djokovic catching Nadal. A big key will lie in the draws, whether Djokovic gets placed in the half with Federer or Nadal (especially for the 3 clay Masters events).
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Random thoughts of the week
Our Netflix queue has 497 "movies". I put movies in quotes because I'd guess 1/4 to 1/3 of the items are TV show discs. The strange part is that the queue has consistently grown since we signed up, it never really goes down. I watch plenty of stuff, but add at a faster pace. How long can that continue? Keep in mind that I almost never put something on the queue that I've already watched.
UPDATE: I think the queue has a maximum of 500, so I now know where the growth will stop.
Why are people incapable of putting food in the microwave at my office and waiting for it? Almost every single time I use the microwave (maybe twice a week) I need to remove the food from the person before me. On Monday, I walked into the kitchen a split second after someone else, who grabbed the microwave before me, which is fine. The person realized I also wanted the microwave and apoligized profusely. Then this person left. Her food finished, I removed it, microwaved mine and only after mine was done did she return.
I received a jury duty notification yesterday. The form has a questionaire that must be filled out and returned. The first question says "Can you read, write and understand the English language?". It then repeats the question in Spanish. Thats the only Spanish on the entire form.
UPDATE: I think the queue has a maximum of 500, so I now know where the growth will stop.
Why are people incapable of putting food in the microwave at my office and waiting for it? Almost every single time I use the microwave (maybe twice a week) I need to remove the food from the person before me. On Monday, I walked into the kitchen a split second after someone else, who grabbed the microwave before me, which is fine. The person realized I also wanted the microwave and apoligized profusely. Then this person left. Her food finished, I removed it, microwaved mine and only after mine was done did she return.
I received a jury duty notification yesterday. The form has a questionaire that must be filled out and returned. The first question says "Can you read, write and understand the English language?". It then repeats the question in Spanish. Thats the only Spanish on the entire form.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
2 new restaurants
I figured I'd get myself ready for lunch by talking about 2 new restaurants I've recently tried.
First is the Belgian Cafe at 21st & Green. This place is owned by the people who own Monk's, so the Belgian theme is fitting. The decor of the place was simple, lots of wood giving the bar area an old feel to it, even though the place opened this year. I got a mussel dish that was very tasty, lots of spices and a little bit of some (garlic?) sausage. The mussels were served with bread which was not great, but was perfect to soak up the juices from the mussels, and frites, which were good, but thicker and not as good as the ones served at Monks. To drink I had the De Ranke Pere Noel, which was tasty but a bit more subtle that I was looking for in a holiday ale.
The second place I tried was the Roadhouse Grille in Skippack Village. I went there for a holiday dinner with work and the place impressed me. I started out with a crab bisque that was excellent. It had large chunks of crab and was also a very large amount of soup. For my entree I had the rack of lamb with gnocchi. The lamb was also excellent, perfectly cooked and seasoned. The gnocchi were a little heavy, but not bad. For dessert I had a white chocolate cheesecake that was very good. I also had an espresso that was not good. It was very light, and only warm, not hot. Overall, the place had good food, and good service. Just don't get the coffee.
First is the Belgian Cafe at 21st & Green. This place is owned by the people who own Monk's, so the Belgian theme is fitting. The decor of the place was simple, lots of wood giving the bar area an old feel to it, even though the place opened this year. I got a mussel dish that was very tasty, lots of spices and a little bit of some (garlic?) sausage. The mussels were served with bread which was not great, but was perfect to soak up the juices from the mussels, and frites, which were good, but thicker and not as good as the ones served at Monks. To drink I had the De Ranke Pere Noel, which was tasty but a bit more subtle that I was looking for in a holiday ale.
The second place I tried was the Roadhouse Grille in Skippack Village. I went there for a holiday dinner with work and the place impressed me. I started out with a crab bisque that was excellent. It had large chunks of crab and was also a very large amount of soup. For my entree I had the rack of lamb with gnocchi. The lamb was also excellent, perfectly cooked and seasoned. The gnocchi were a little heavy, but not bad. For dessert I had a white chocolate cheesecake that was very good. I also had an espresso that was not good. It was very light, and only warm, not hot. Overall, the place had good food, and good service. Just don't get the coffee.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Best of Craigslist
Every so often I love to peruse through the Best of Craigslist. Here are some interesting posts:
M&Ms
SEPTA
Car for sale
M&Ms
SEPTA
Car for sale
Friday, November 30, 2007
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?
If a football game is on the NFL network and no one sees it, did it really happen?
The answer in both cases is obviously yes. But there has been a lot of complaining lately about games being shown only on the NFL network which some cable companies do not carry and some (like Comcast in Philly) carry, but on a special sports tier that most people do not have.
So is this such a bad thing?
Well from the NFL's perspective I think its brilliant. It gets people to subscribe to their channel who otherwise would never subscribe. But the publicity is not great. In the long run though, I see it as a positive for them. In 10 years if lots of people have the channel and can watch the exclusive games, who will remember the games from 2006 and 2007 that they missed?
From a diehard fan's perspective it depends on if your cable company offers the channel. A diehard will not care about the $3 or $5 a month for the network. They will care a lot if its not available.
From my perspective (as a casual fan), I just don't care. Over the course of the season, the NFL network may show 10 games, of which 2 or 3 will be of interest. For those I can head over to a friend's house or to a bar (which I did last night).
The NFL network is also a great lead in to my next topic, ala carte cable. My cable package includes a lot of channels, probably close to 300, even without counting the 100 music stations. Of all these channels I would say 95% of my TV viewing comprises:
ESPN & ESPN2
Network channels (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC)
Comedy Central
Turner Classic Movies
TNT
TBS
Comcast SportsNet & CN8
Versus
The Encore suite of movie channels
MOJO
G4
Other movie channels (IFC, Fox Movies, Flix, etc)
I will also occasionally watch A&E, Bravo, USA, Travel Channel, AMC, FX, Spike,
Food Network.
This totals roughly 35, maybe 40 channels. The rest I completely ignore. So why should I need to pay for them? The real reason is that Comcast and other cable providers say so. Well what is stopping a new cable company from offering channels ala carte?
I suspect that the networks are part of the problem. If one company owns 10 different channels, they may require that all 10 be included together.
The advantages to ala carte are that the consumers will likely save money, choosing only the channels they are likely to watch. In addition this forces networks to put out better products. Right now a lot of channels know they're included in all cable packages, so there is less incentive to improve.
The one disadvantage I see is the possibility that start up channels will have more difficulty breaking through. I started watching MOJO and G4 because we had them and now I enjoy a few shows on the channels, but I'd never have seen them if they weren't automatically included. Of course, if a channel promotes itself correctly, this may not be an issue (example: if the major league baseball network ever gets off the ground I would order even without seeing it because I know what the product would be.)
Overall, I'd like to see ala carte choices. However, I someone doubt this will be happening any time soon.
The answer in both cases is obviously yes. But there has been a lot of complaining lately about games being shown only on the NFL network which some cable companies do not carry and some (like Comcast in Philly) carry, but on a special sports tier that most people do not have.
So is this such a bad thing?
Well from the NFL's perspective I think its brilliant. It gets people to subscribe to their channel who otherwise would never subscribe. But the publicity is not great. In the long run though, I see it as a positive for them. In 10 years if lots of people have the channel and can watch the exclusive games, who will remember the games from 2006 and 2007 that they missed?
From a diehard fan's perspective it depends on if your cable company offers the channel. A diehard will not care about the $3 or $5 a month for the network. They will care a lot if its not available.
From my perspective (as a casual fan), I just don't care. Over the course of the season, the NFL network may show 10 games, of which 2 or 3 will be of interest. For those I can head over to a friend's house or to a bar (which I did last night).
The NFL network is also a great lead in to my next topic, ala carte cable. My cable package includes a lot of channels, probably close to 300, even without counting the 100 music stations. Of all these channels I would say 95% of my TV viewing comprises:
ESPN & ESPN2
Network channels (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC)
Comedy Central
Turner Classic Movies
TNT
TBS
Comcast SportsNet & CN8
Versus
The Encore suite of movie channels
MOJO
G4
Other movie channels (IFC, Fox Movies, Flix, etc)
I will also occasionally watch A&E, Bravo, USA, Travel Channel, AMC, FX, Spike,
Food Network.
This totals roughly 35, maybe 40 channels. The rest I completely ignore. So why should I need to pay for them? The real reason is that Comcast and other cable providers say so. Well what is stopping a new cable company from offering channels ala carte?
I suspect that the networks are part of the problem. If one company owns 10 different channels, they may require that all 10 be included together.
The advantages to ala carte are that the consumers will likely save money, choosing only the channels they are likely to watch. In addition this forces networks to put out better products. Right now a lot of channels know they're included in all cable packages, so there is less incentive to improve.
The one disadvantage I see is the possibility that start up channels will have more difficulty breaking through. I started watching MOJO and G4 because we had them and now I enjoy a few shows on the channels, but I'd never have seen them if they weren't automatically included. Of course, if a channel promotes itself correctly, this may not be an issue (example: if the major league baseball network ever gets off the ground I would order even without seeing it because I know what the product would be.)
Overall, I'd like to see ala carte choices. However, I someone doubt this will be happening any time soon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
And the award goes to ...
The baseball awards have been handed out so now its time for some fun facts. I'm not going to delve into whether or not voters made correct choices, there are enough people doing that already.
Rollins won the MVP a year after Ryan Howard pocketed the award. How many times have different teammates won the award in consecutive years? Well its happened way more than I orginally expected, 20 times including this year. But then I realized with only 8 teams in a league, this would happen more often. 4 times, we had 3 different teammates win in consecutive years. A full list is here:
Walter Johnson and Roger Peckinpaugh for the Senators in 1924-25 (although AL MVP rules at the time allowed a player to only win the award once, so Johnson was ineligible in 1925)
Rogers Hornsby and Bob O'Farrell for the Cardinals in 1925-26
Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx for the A's in 1931-32 (Foxx won again in 1933)
Mickey Cochrange and Hank Greenburg for the Tigers in 1934-35
Ernie Lombardi and Bucky Walters and Frank McCormick !!! for the Red in 1938-40
Joe DiMaggio and Joe Gordon and Spud Chandler !!! for the Yankees in 1941-43
Mort Cooper and Stan Musial and Marty Marion !!! for the Cardinals in 1942-44
Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra for the Yankees in 1950-51
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for the Yankees in 1955-56 (Berra also won in 54, Mantle also won in 57)
Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe in 1955-56
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard !!! in 1961-63 (Maris also won in 60)
Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax in 1962-63
Orlando Cepeda and Bob Gibson in 1967-68
Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in 1972-73
Joe Morgan and George Foster in 1976-77 (Morgan also won in 75)
Dave Parker and Willie Stargell in 1978-79 (Stargell tied for the award)
Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount in 1981-82
Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez in 1998-99
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000-01 (Bonds also won from 02-04)
Chase Utley will have a lot of pressure on him next year to get the three-peat.
Also note that this has happened 7 times with the Cy Young.
And lastly on this topic, the Dodgers once had 5 consecutive rookies of the year. I did not confirm, but I assume this is a record
For an award that voters seem to just vote for last years winners, the gold glove had 10 first time winners, by my count. It doesn't mean much, but I thought it was interesting.
Rollins won the MVP a year after Ryan Howard pocketed the award. How many times have different teammates won the award in consecutive years? Well its happened way more than I orginally expected, 20 times including this year. But then I realized with only 8 teams in a league, this would happen more often. 4 times, we had 3 different teammates win in consecutive years. A full list is here:
Walter Johnson and Roger Peckinpaugh for the Senators in 1924-25 (although AL MVP rules at the time allowed a player to only win the award once, so Johnson was ineligible in 1925)
Rogers Hornsby and Bob O'Farrell for the Cardinals in 1925-26
Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx for the A's in 1931-32 (Foxx won again in 1933)
Mickey Cochrange and Hank Greenburg for the Tigers in 1934-35
Ernie Lombardi and Bucky Walters and Frank McCormick !!! for the Red in 1938-40
Joe DiMaggio and Joe Gordon and Spud Chandler !!! for the Yankees in 1941-43
Mort Cooper and Stan Musial and Marty Marion !!! for the Cardinals in 1942-44
Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra for the Yankees in 1950-51
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for the Yankees in 1955-56 (Berra also won in 54, Mantle also won in 57)
Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe in 1955-56
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard !!! in 1961-63 (Maris also won in 60)
Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax in 1962-63
Orlando Cepeda and Bob Gibson in 1967-68
Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in 1972-73
Joe Morgan and George Foster in 1976-77 (Morgan also won in 75)
Dave Parker and Willie Stargell in 1978-79 (Stargell tied for the award)
Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount in 1981-82
Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez in 1998-99
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000-01 (Bonds also won from 02-04)
Chase Utley will have a lot of pressure on him next year to get the three-peat.
Also note that this has happened 7 times with the Cy Young.
And lastly on this topic, the Dodgers once had 5 consecutive rookies of the year. I did not confirm, but I assume this is a record
For an award that voters seem to just vote for last years winners, the gold glove had 10 first time winners, by my count. It doesn't mean much, but I thought it was interesting.
Eating in Philly
We spent a lot of time in center city over the weekend, so I thought I'd review some new places we visited.
On Friday night we went to Marathon Grill on 16th & Sansom. The place was not too large, but we had no trouble getting a table. The service was a little slow, but it was a Friday night. The menu sounded really good and I had a tough time deciding. The seafood bisque did not impress me, it was really just some shreded fish, almost like what you'd get out of a can of tuna. I had a turkey BLT with guacamole for dinner. Unfortunately, you couldn't really taste the guacamole, so it was just a BLT. The meal came with a side of potato salad that was good. The beer selection was nothing impressive, I believe a Flying Fish, Yuengling, and one other decent tap I can;t remember. Overall, an ok place, but not one that I'm in a hurry to get back to.
After dinner we went to Lucky Strike to bowl. Again I'd never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was fairly posh for my normal drinking nights. I drank Sam Adams Octoberfest, which isn't my favorite octoberfest, but is still good. The bowling was of course fun, albiet a bit pricy.
On Saturday we started our night with a pre-dinner drink at Zot on Lombard between 2nd and Front Sts. The place is a beer bar, specializing in Belgians. They had 4 beers on tap, Karmeliet Triple, Blanche de Bruxelles, Delirium Tremens and I can't remember the other one. I had the Karmeliet which was very tasty. The wife had some wine, their wine selection didn't look too bad. After dinner we returned here and I had a few other Belgian beers, Gouden, Brugse Zot and of course more Karmeliet. Interesting fact, they run a happy hour with 1/2 priced drafts from 10-midnight. We of course took advantage of this. Overall, the place had a good Belgian beer selection, mostly in bottles, and was not nearly as crowded as a place like Monks or Eulogy (possibly because it is much newer). The food menu looked good, including about 20 kinds of mussels, but we did not eat there.
Between Zot visits, we eat next door at Bistro Romano. The restaurant runs some dinner theaters, although we didn't participate. We were seated downstairs at a booth. We had a bottle of Nero D'Alova which was good, and priced around $30. The wife and I split a smoked mozzarella appetizer which was very good, even though there wasn't much to it besides the cheese. I had a glazed duck for my entree. The portions were very large, and my duck was tasty, although maybe a touch overdone. The only thing I didn't like were the peppercorns. I like when things are flavored with peppercorns, but I hate actually biting into them. The wife had a fusilli pasta dish with chicken and peppers. The toppings were good, but the pasta was way past al dente. Overall it was a good place and other things on the menu looking interesting to try as well.
And to close out the new restaurants post, we got take out from Alex's pizza last night. They are a little hole in the wall pizza place on the corner of Pechin and Leverington. The pizzas are smaller than some, a large fed 2 people well, but not too pricy ($9.50 with 1 topping). The pizza is fairly thin crust, a bit too crispy for my taste. The sauce was ok, could have used some more spices and the cheese was ok, but slightly lacking in quantity. Not a great pizza, but better than most of what you'll find around Manayunk.
On Friday night we went to Marathon Grill on 16th & Sansom. The place was not too large, but we had no trouble getting a table. The service was a little slow, but it was a Friday night. The menu sounded really good and I had a tough time deciding. The seafood bisque did not impress me, it was really just some shreded fish, almost like what you'd get out of a can of tuna. I had a turkey BLT with guacamole for dinner. Unfortunately, you couldn't really taste the guacamole, so it was just a BLT. The meal came with a side of potato salad that was good. The beer selection was nothing impressive, I believe a Flying Fish, Yuengling, and one other decent tap I can;t remember. Overall, an ok place, but not one that I'm in a hurry to get back to.
After dinner we went to Lucky Strike to bowl. Again I'd never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was fairly posh for my normal drinking nights. I drank Sam Adams Octoberfest, which isn't my favorite octoberfest, but is still good. The bowling was of course fun, albiet a bit pricy.
On Saturday we started our night with a pre-dinner drink at Zot on Lombard between 2nd and Front Sts. The place is a beer bar, specializing in Belgians. They had 4 beers on tap, Karmeliet Triple, Blanche de Bruxelles, Delirium Tremens and I can't remember the other one. I had the Karmeliet which was very tasty. The wife had some wine, their wine selection didn't look too bad. After dinner we returned here and I had a few other Belgian beers, Gouden, Brugse Zot and of course more Karmeliet. Interesting fact, they run a happy hour with 1/2 priced drafts from 10-midnight. We of course took advantage of this. Overall, the place had a good Belgian beer selection, mostly in bottles, and was not nearly as crowded as a place like Monks or Eulogy (possibly because it is much newer). The food menu looked good, including about 20 kinds of mussels, but we did not eat there.
Between Zot visits, we eat next door at Bistro Romano. The restaurant runs some dinner theaters, although we didn't participate. We were seated downstairs at a booth. We had a bottle of Nero D'Alova which was good, and priced around $30. The wife and I split a smoked mozzarella appetizer which was very good, even though there wasn't much to it besides the cheese. I had a glazed duck for my entree. The portions were very large, and my duck was tasty, although maybe a touch overdone. The only thing I didn't like were the peppercorns. I like when things are flavored with peppercorns, but I hate actually biting into them. The wife had a fusilli pasta dish with chicken and peppers. The toppings were good, but the pasta was way past al dente. Overall it was a good place and other things on the menu looking interesting to try as well.
And to close out the new restaurants post, we got take out from Alex's pizza last night. They are a little hole in the wall pizza place on the corner of Pechin and Leverington. The pizzas are smaller than some, a large fed 2 people well, but not too pricy ($9.50 with 1 topping). The pizza is fairly thin crust, a bit too crispy for my taste. The sauce was ok, could have used some more spices and the cheese was ok, but slightly lacking in quantity. Not a great pizza, but better than most of what you'll find around Manayunk.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
hockey stats
The NHL has gone through several somewhat major rule changes over the years, which makes it somewhat difficult to compare players and teams across eras. So here's my attempt at rectifying this.
From the beginning of the NHL up to and including the 1998-99 season, points were awarded as follows:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 0 points
Tie - 1 point
This meant that for every game, 2 points were awarded. So the number of points in the standings was (# of teams) * (# of games in the season)
From the 1999-00 season until 2003-04 season, points were awarded as:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Tie - 1 point
The difference is the point for an overtime loss. The idea was that teams were playing for a tie in overtime rather than risk earning nothing, so they gave both teams a point going into overtime, then if someone scored they got another point. What this did was increase the number of points in the standings, making it (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games won in overtime). More than adding points, this also added variation to the number of points each season, leading to different playoff qualifying situtaions each year.
Since 2005-06, the scoring is:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Win in shootout - 2 points
Loss in shootout - 1 points
Ties are eliminated, so every overtime game will yield 3 points. Since shootout wins and overtime wins are identical from a points perspective, I'll just refer to both of these as OT wins. So the number of points in the system is (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games going to overtime). We still have variation and an even larger number of points than the other two settings.
So who was better, the 05-06 Red Wings with 124 points, 01-02 Red Wings with 116 points, or 97-98 Stars with 109 points?? (These are arbitrary comparisons)
One option is to look at the ratio of points earned to the average # of points a team earned in those 3 years.
97-98 teams averaged 82, ratio is 1.33
01-02 teams averaged 86.03, ratio is 1.35
05-06 teams averaged 91.47, ratio is 1.36
We can alternatively look at the number of standard deviations each is away from the mean:
97-98 Stars - 1.71
01-02 Red Wings - 1.995
05-06 Red Wings - 1.976
The 109 points is clearly not quite as impressive, but the 116 and 124 look very close. The ratios are nearly identical, with the 116 being more SDs away from the mean, largely due to the increase in variance in points under the current system. Of course, the evidence is really telling us that 116 in 01-02 is roughly equivalent to 124 in 05-06 (or any year in today's system). So always be weary of comparing team points without acknowledging the system under which it was obtained.
So what does it mean for this season?? Well last year 22.8% of games went to OT. So far a sixth of the way into this season, only 13.9% of games are going to OT. So instead of 2741 points last year, we're on pace for 2631 points, which is only slightly more than we saw in the previous points system. If this keeps up (I don't have game by game data to see if this is possibly a typical early season trend), expect teams to need fewer points to reach the playoffs. Instead of 93.75 (the average in the past 2 years), a team might need only 90.
Of course if Ottawa keeps hogging all the points, things could change.
The other implication of the new system is on goalie stats, but that will need to wait for another post.
From the beginning of the NHL up to and including the 1998-99 season, points were awarded as follows:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 0 points
Tie - 1 point
This meant that for every game, 2 points were awarded. So the number of points in the standings was (# of teams) * (# of games in the season)
From the 1999-00 season until 2003-04 season, points were awarded as:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Tie - 1 point
The difference is the point for an overtime loss. The idea was that teams were playing for a tie in overtime rather than risk earning nothing, so they gave both teams a point going into overtime, then if someone scored they got another point. What this did was increase the number of points in the standings, making it (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games won in overtime). More than adding points, this also added variation to the number of points each season, leading to different playoff qualifying situtaions each year.
Since 2005-06, the scoring is:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Win in shootout - 2 points
Loss in shootout - 1 points
Ties are eliminated, so every overtime game will yield 3 points. Since shootout wins and overtime wins are identical from a points perspective, I'll just refer to both of these as OT wins. So the number of points in the system is (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games going to overtime). We still have variation and an even larger number of points than the other two settings.
So who was better, the 05-06 Red Wings with 124 points, 01-02 Red Wings with 116 points, or 97-98 Stars with 109 points?? (These are arbitrary comparisons)
One option is to look at the ratio of points earned to the average # of points a team earned in those 3 years.
97-98 teams averaged 82, ratio is 1.33
01-02 teams averaged 86.03, ratio is 1.35
05-06 teams averaged 91.47, ratio is 1.36
We can alternatively look at the number of standard deviations each is away from the mean:
97-98 Stars - 1.71
01-02 Red Wings - 1.995
05-06 Red Wings - 1.976
The 109 points is clearly not quite as impressive, but the 116 and 124 look very close. The ratios are nearly identical, with the 116 being more SDs away from the mean, largely due to the increase in variance in points under the current system. Of course, the evidence is really telling us that 116 in 01-02 is roughly equivalent to 124 in 05-06 (or any year in today's system). So always be weary of comparing team points without acknowledging the system under which it was obtained.
So what does it mean for this season?? Well last year 22.8% of games went to OT. So far a sixth of the way into this season, only 13.9% of games are going to OT. So instead of 2741 points last year, we're on pace for 2631 points, which is only slightly more than we saw in the previous points system. If this keeps up (I don't have game by game data to see if this is possibly a typical early season trend), expect teams to need fewer points to reach the playoffs. Instead of 93.75 (the average in the past 2 years), a team might need only 90.
Of course if Ottawa keeps hogging all the points, things could change.
The other implication of the new system is on goalie stats, but that will need to wait for another post.
At a loss for words
As of yesterday, the writer's guild is officially on strike. While I'm not a person who will automatically side with unions, I am definitely on the writers' side here. The main reason for the strike as I understand it is the negotiations over newer forms of media including internet content. The studios (and probably most management) tends to try and create the rules or carry over old rules when new forms arise. Similar instances occurred when the home video market took off.
The last writers strike was in 1988 and lasted 5 months. I have no idea how long this will last, but hopefully it will be quick.
Supposedly reality shows will be unaffected by the strike, but I hate most reality shows, so this does not bode well for me. Two of my favorite shows, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are already on re-runs. I've read that the Office and Scrubs have a few episodes written that they can shoot, although it must be somewhat confusing for the office when half their stars are also writers. (See this site for more Office discussion). The other rumor is that Scrubs will not have a series finale.
I'm also curious how other shows with continuously running themes such as 24 will handle the strike. Ignoring the fact that the premise of 24 is that a season is 24 episodes, I would imagine that no more than a third of the season is written. If the strike could last until spring, then they might be better off delaying the start of the season (scheduled for January).
I'm guessing movies will be least effected since writing takes place far earlier in the production timeline. Plus if you watch TV and movies you get the impression that Hollywood has billions and billions of scripts floating around.
So I guess I'll be spending the next few months catching up on movies and shows I've missed over the past few years and watching more football and hockey. If anyone has heard info on other shows, please comment.
The last writers strike was in 1988 and lasted 5 months. I have no idea how long this will last, but hopefully it will be quick.
Supposedly reality shows will be unaffected by the strike, but I hate most reality shows, so this does not bode well for me. Two of my favorite shows, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are already on re-runs. I've read that the Office and Scrubs have a few episodes written that they can shoot, although it must be somewhat confusing for the office when half their stars are also writers. (See this site for more Office discussion). The other rumor is that Scrubs will not have a series finale.
I'm also curious how other shows with continuously running themes such as 24 will handle the strike. Ignoring the fact that the premise of 24 is that a season is 24 episodes, I would imagine that no more than a third of the season is written. If the strike could last until spring, then they might be better off delaying the start of the season (scheduled for January).
I'm guessing movies will be least effected since writing takes place far earlier in the production timeline. Plus if you watch TV and movies you get the impression that Hollywood has billions and billions of scripts floating around.
So I guess I'll be spending the next few months catching up on movies and shows I've missed over the past few years and watching more football and hockey. If anyone has heard info on other shows, please comment.
Mad Dog
One of my favorite pitchers of all time, Greg Maddux, re-signed with the Padres for another year. Obviously at 41 he's no longer the pitcher he was in the mid 90s, but he's still a slightly above average start who stays healthy. Since 1988, the fewest starts he's made in a non-strike shortened year was 33!! For comparison's sake, Pedro Martinez has started 33 games 3 times, but thats the most he's ever started.
In fact, as scary as this sounds, if Maddux pitches 3 more seasons and gets 100 starts (I know its a big if, but a pitcher of his style can last), he'll be only 8 starts shy of tying Cy Young.
Since we know he'll pitch in 2008, lets look at some numbers.
He's 7 wins shy of Clemens at 354, which he should get easily (assuming Clemens actually retires). He's 14 shy of Kid Nichols and 16 shy of Spahn. Last year he had 14 wins, so this range is possible.
If he stays healthy, he'll end the season in 4th for all time games started, passing Clemens (they are tied), Carlton and Niekro
He's currently 16th in innings pitched and could pass Clemens, Bobby Mathews (who??) and Blyleven.
He never was much of a strikeout guy, but still sits at 11th all time. He should pass Niekro.
I can't say how long he'll pitch, but I'll be rooting for him.
In fact, as scary as this sounds, if Maddux pitches 3 more seasons and gets 100 starts (I know its a big if, but a pitcher of his style can last), he'll be only 8 starts shy of tying Cy Young.
Since we know he'll pitch in 2008, lets look at some numbers.
He's 7 wins shy of Clemens at 354, which he should get easily (assuming Clemens actually retires). He's 14 shy of Kid Nichols and 16 shy of Spahn. Last year he had 14 wins, so this range is possible.
If he stays healthy, he'll end the season in 4th for all time games started, passing Clemens (they are tied), Carlton and Niekro
He's currently 16th in innings pitched and could pass Clemens, Bobby Mathews (who??) and Blyleven.
He never was much of a strikeout guy, but still sits at 11th all time. He should pass Niekro.
I can't say how long he'll pitch, but I'll be rooting for him.
Monday, November 5, 2007
random thoughts
The Gmail inbox always has a link on top to some random website. The title of the website is related to whatever emails you've recently been reading. These are quite humorous to me, especially when the keywords in the email they read have multiple meanings.
Our neighborhood (Manayunk) has lots of college students and other young adults, so weekend parties are common. Walking around on a Saturday or Sunday morning will show you the evidence of the parties such as beer bottles sometimes with a little beer still in them. Usually the beer is crap, but yesterday I walked by an empty bottle of Flying Dog Dogtoberfest and I smiled.
Daylight savings time ended this past weekend, which gave us an extra hour!! This year the switch was made a week later than usual, but many people had calendars printed before the change was implemented and possibly got confused. My parents very nearly would have missed a flight if I didn't mention it to them. Is the change in DST worth the potential confusion? I say no.
My DVR is set to record a bunch of series, but it won't record them in HD. Even if I set the recording on the HD channel, it will resort to the regular version of that channel. Anybody else encounter this problem?
My office instant message program has a feature where you can select people and invite them to a meeting on the spot. However, if you don't select anybody it will invite everybody in your list, which can be quite long. I just got one of these invites. It doesn't bother me too much, I laugh at it, partially because I committed this error when I started working here.
The Sunday night football game yesterday consisted of the broadcast being "green". This does not mean people wore their Eagles jerseys, but rather that the broadcast was eco-friendly, including the studio being in darkness. Excuse me if I'm not impressed with an event that flies hundreds of people around the country and then turns the lights out. I hate these bullshit, purely symbolic acts.
Our neighborhood (Manayunk) has lots of college students and other young adults, so weekend parties are common. Walking around on a Saturday or Sunday morning will show you the evidence of the parties such as beer bottles sometimes with a little beer still in them. Usually the beer is crap, but yesterday I walked by an empty bottle of Flying Dog Dogtoberfest and I smiled.
Daylight savings time ended this past weekend, which gave us an extra hour!! This year the switch was made a week later than usual, but many people had calendars printed before the change was implemented and possibly got confused. My parents very nearly would have missed a flight if I didn't mention it to them. Is the change in DST worth the potential confusion? I say no.
My DVR is set to record a bunch of series, but it won't record them in HD. Even if I set the recording on the HD channel, it will resort to the regular version of that channel. Anybody else encounter this problem?
My office instant message program has a feature where you can select people and invite them to a meeting on the spot. However, if you don't select anybody it will invite everybody in your list, which can be quite long. I just got one of these invites. It doesn't bother me too much, I laugh at it, partially because I committed this error when I started working here.
The Sunday night football game yesterday consisted of the broadcast being "green". This does not mean people wore their Eagles jerseys, but rather that the broadcast was eco-friendly, including the studio being in darkness. Excuse me if I'm not impressed with an event that flies hundreds of people around the country and then turns the lights out. I hate these bullshit, purely symbolic acts.
When life gives you lemons ...
some people make lemonade.
I make limoncello.
For those unfamiliar, limoncello is an Italian liquor made from lemons (obviously) that is often served (chilled) as an after dinner drink.
I got a recipe from my parents and decided to make some. The process is fairly easy, although zesting lemons can be tiring. I finished it this weekend and had some last night. It was pretty good. I was very worried about the amount of sugar added. I didn't want an overly sweet or overly bitter drink, but it came out very nice. The good news is I have 5 1/4 liters (about 1.3 gallons), so it will last me a long time.
Stop by if you want to try.
I make limoncello.
For those unfamiliar, limoncello is an Italian liquor made from lemons (obviously) that is often served (chilled) as an after dinner drink.
I got a recipe from my parents and decided to make some. The process is fairly easy, although zesting lemons can be tiring. I finished it this weekend and had some last night. It was pretty good. I was very worried about the amount of sugar added. I didn't want an overly sweet or overly bitter drink, but it came out very nice. The good news is I have 5 1/4 liters (about 1.3 gallons), so it will last me a long time.
Stop by if you want to try.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tennis update
Federer lost to Nalbandian again.
Did I just write that?
Anyway, we're down to 6 as Berdych loses missing out on Nalbandian's gifts and the 8th place holder heading into Paris (Haas) also loses.
Gonzalez can't like Federer going out, but he'll still advance unless Youzhny beats the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final OR Robredo plays the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final.
Robredo is in ok shape. He must win against Baghdatis (who is up 5-3 in the first as I write this). That could be enough, but may not be, we'll see.
Gasquet/Murray - Again these two are paired because the winner will make the semis. If Robredo loses, that will likely be enough, if he wins, they'll need to win another match as well.
Youzhny - Beat Nadal, beat the Robredo/Baghdatis winner, win in the final and he's in.
Baghdatis - Still needs to win, and also needs the Nalbandian/Ferrer winner to advance to the final. Much better chances than yesterday, but not fantastic.
Did I just write that?
Anyway, we're down to 6 as Berdych loses missing out on Nalbandian's gifts and the 8th place holder heading into Paris (Haas) also loses.
Gonzalez can't like Federer going out, but he'll still advance unless Youzhny beats the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final OR Robredo plays the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final.
Robredo is in ok shape. He must win against Baghdatis (who is up 5-3 in the first as I write this). That could be enough, but may not be, we'll see.
Gasquet/Murray - Again these two are paired because the winner will make the semis. If Robredo loses, that will likely be enough, if he wins, they'll need to win another match as well.
Youzhny - Beat Nadal, beat the Robredo/Baghdatis winner, win in the final and he's in.
Baghdatis - Still needs to win, and also needs the Nalbandian/Ferrer winner to advance to the final. Much better chances than yesterday, but not fantastic.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Booking a flight from Paris to Shanghai
The tennis season is coming to a close. The final masters event in Paris is currently in the round of 16, and next week we have the masters cup for the top 8 players in Shanghai. 6 players (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, Roddick, and Ferrer) have locked up spots in the tourney. The results in Paris will determine who will get the final 2 spots.
Going into this tournament, an amazing 18 people still had a chance at one of the two spots. (Hewitt would have made 19 had he played in the tournament). Well at this point, several have lost, or in the case of Nalbandian other results have hurt him and we're down to 9 (as of 10:00am in Philly). So lets handicap the 9, in the order they were entering the tournament.
Gonzalez - lost in the 2nd round, but had a decent hold on 7th place entering Paris. Needs to be passed by 2 people, which will only happen if the finals are between 2 of the following players. So he's got a very good shot at Shanghai.
Haas - In 8th place entering Paris, but has the daunting task of Nadal in his quarter. Needs to make the semis at least, I'm not liking his chances.
Robredo - Won earlier today to make the quarters and will face Baghdatis tomorrow. A win there could be enough.
Blake, Murray, Gasquet - These 3 I'm grouping together because they're in the same quarter and have almost the same number of points. They lucked out when Djokovic lost, meaning one of the 3 will make the semifinals. Dependent upon Robredo and Haas, that could be enough to get the winner to Shanghai. Blake plays Gasquet today and the winner takes on Murray tomorrow.
Berdych - Will need to beat Ferrer and then Federer (or Nalbandian) and even that will most likely not be enough, chances very slim
Youzhny - If he wins the tournament, he'll get enough points, otherwise no chance.
Baghdatis - Very slim chance. He needs to win, plus he needs to play Nalbandian, Federer or Ferrer in the final.
So other than Gonzalez, Robredo is possibly in the best position, especially since he's already won today. I'll be cheering for Blake, but I rarely have much hope when I do that.
UPDATE: Blake holds to form and loses. He is out and tomorrow Murray and Gasquet will play. Nadal also won, meaning Haas (or Youzhny) would need to beat him.
Going into this tournament, an amazing 18 people still had a chance at one of the two spots. (Hewitt would have made 19 had he played in the tournament). Well at this point, several have lost, or in the case of Nalbandian other results have hurt him and we're down to 9 (as of 10:00am in Philly). So lets handicap the 9, in the order they were entering the tournament.
Gonzalez - lost in the 2nd round, but had a decent hold on 7th place entering Paris. Needs to be passed by 2 people, which will only happen if the finals are between 2 of the following players. So he's got a very good shot at Shanghai.
Haas - In 8th place entering Paris, but has the daunting task of Nadal in his quarter. Needs to make the semis at least, I'm not liking his chances.
Robredo - Won earlier today to make the quarters and will face Baghdatis tomorrow. A win there could be enough.
Blake, Murray, Gasquet - These 3 I'm grouping together because they're in the same quarter and have almost the same number of points. They lucked out when Djokovic lost, meaning one of the 3 will make the semifinals. Dependent upon Robredo and Haas, that could be enough to get the winner to Shanghai. Blake plays Gasquet today and the winner takes on Murray tomorrow.
Berdych - Will need to beat Ferrer and then Federer (or Nalbandian) and even that will most likely not be enough, chances very slim
Youzhny - If he wins the tournament, he'll get enough points, otherwise no chance.
Baghdatis - Very slim chance. He needs to win, plus he needs to play Nalbandian, Federer or Ferrer in the final.
So other than Gonzalez, Robredo is possibly in the best position, especially since he's already won today. I'll be cheering for Blake, but I rarely have much hope when I do that.
UPDATE: Blake holds to form and loses. He is out and tomorrow Murray and Gasquet will play. Nadal also won, meaning Haas (or Youzhny) would need to beat him.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Everybody must get Stoned!
I'm a big fan of the Stone Brewery from California. They continuously amaze me with their beers, the Russian Imperial Stout, Arrogant Bastard (regular and oaked), the Vertical Epic series, etc. All tremendous beers. Last night, for the first time, I tried the Double Arrogant Bastard. This may be my new favorite Stone beer. Its quite hoppy (would you expect anything else from Stone?) but with a great caramelly malt flavor. And it packs a punch at 10%. Its not an easy beer to find (especially living in PA), but I will definitely drink this again and again.
Cheesesteaks or Chowder?
The Philly metro had a fun article yesterday comparing Philly and Boston as sports towns.
Monday, October 29, 2007
2 ounces of heaven
I attended a beer festival this past Saturday in New York City. I've been to several beer festivals in the past including the World Beer Festival in Durham, NC (several times), the Brewer's Jam in Knoxville, TN, and the Philadelphia Craft Beer Festival. For those familiar with the movie Bull Durham, the World Beer Fest is held annually on the field from the movie, which is the former home of the Durham Bulls.
We had a great time at the Brewtopia this past weekend. Got to try several new beers and brewers. Some quick comments:
1) The best beer at the festival (at least of the ones I tried) was the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, a 10th anniversary specialty of the brewery.
2) There was a stand selling beer chips for $1. This was brilliant.
3) I know Halloween is around the corner, but I was still surprised by how many people dressed up in costumes.
Anyway, I starting thinking about what would be my guide to beer festivals. So here goes. (For those who have never been, beer festivals generally consist of unlimited small samples (2-4 ounces) of as many beers as you want.) We're going to break this down into 2 sections, tips for festival goers and tips for a well run festival.
Participant tips:
1) Eat. This is obviously key to any drinking experience, but its the most important. I also recommend eating before the festival, because the food lines can be long. Who wants to wait in line when they can drink beer instead. I saw people with pretzel necklaces last weekend, this is also a good idea.
2) Try as many new beers as possible. If Sam Adams has a stand, I'm not going to drink their Lager, I've had it many times. If they have the honey porter, then I'm interested. My point is, this is the perfect time to be adventurous, its a small sample and if you don't like it, don't finish it. If you are at a beer festival that doesn't have at least 20 beers you've never had, well then I'm impressed because I've tried a lot of different beers (my current list is over 700) and I always find lots of new and interesting beers.
3) Take notes. Ideally, the festival will give you a list of the beers, but not all of them are smart enough. I try to write down all the beers I try with at least a basic rating of how much I like it. By the end you'll get a little drunk and won't remember every single beer, so trust me, write it down. These notes tend to get very sloppy.
4) Arrive early. All beer festivals are required to check ID, so its sometimes a slow process getting in and you never want to waste precious drinking time. I've seen lines that take 1 1/2 hours to get every person inside.
5) Choose your session wisely. Beer festivals often have an afternoon and evening session. The evening sessions tend to get a younger, rowdier crowd. If you're into that, great. If not, the afternoon session may suit you better. Another plus is that afternoon sessions are less likely to run out of a particular beer.
6) Drink water. This will make the next day more pleasant.
7) Talk with the brewers. If the head brewer or another brewery employee is pouring (and not just a festival employee), talk to them. They will share info on their beers such as where to buy them, what other style they make, etc. Also, some will occasionally have some special beers under the table that are not listed. I met with one of the heads of Sprecher brewery who was very nice and told me all about their operation, even if they don't yet distribute to Philly, its nice to keep in mind since they brew a tasty black lager.
8) Pockets. If you like coasters, bottle openers, stickers or other beer paraphenalia, then wear cargo pants (or shorts), because lots of breweries have free stuff. Alternatively, you can find a girlfriend or wife with a large purse.
9) Scope out bathrooms early. Lines can be long.
10) Courtesy. If there is a line at a stand, after getting your beer, move to the side. Nobody likes lines, this makes them move faster.
11) Strategy. Your strategy may differ from mine, but here are some potential tips. If you can get your hands on a beer list beforehand, scope out any "must try" beers. If lines are long, get onto a line immediately after getting your beer, don't wait until your glass in empty.
Wish list for a beer festival:
(Note, good beer is the first thing I look for but thats kind of obvious, this list is more for faults I've found at some festivals)
1) Bathrooms. If you're organizing a festival with lots of beer, please have enough bathrooms, even if they are of the portable variety.
2) Food. Drunk people love food. Please set up enough stands selling food (and water).
3) Space. Please do not overcrowd a venue so that I can't even walk between stands. Get a larger location or sell less tickets.
4) Entrance. Every festival waits until the official start time, then begins letting people into the location, which can take a long time. Why not start letting people in earlier, but tell the vendors not to serve before the start time?
5) Beer list. I know the brewers will often change their line up at the last minute, but it really helps to have a list of the beers. Its much easier to check off the name of a beer than it is to write it down.
6) Water. I'm referring here not to drinking water, but to water at the stands to rinse out my glass. I don't like to have someone pouring a hefeweisen into a glass that just had a triple espresso stout. It just messes up the flavors too much.
7) Pouring sizes. This refers to the breweries, not the organizers, but I feel pour size is key. As the title of this post indicates, 2 ounces is just about right. Any less and you're getting only a single small sip. Any more and you're getting too drunk off a single beer. Like any person, I have a limit as to how much beer I can have and if I wanted to drink a lot of a couple of beers I'd just go to a bar, not a festival. If I really want more than 2 ounces, I'll just return to that stand later.
8) Designated drivers. Too many festivals do not offer DD tickets. I know enforcement is difficult (the bracelet method is only somewhat effective). But since Mrs. Hot Dogs & Beer does not drink beer it can be expensive. Plus it encourages responsibility, even if the DD has a couple of samples.
We had a great time at the Brewtopia this past weekend. Got to try several new beers and brewers. Some quick comments:
1) The best beer at the festival (at least of the ones I tried) was the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, a 10th anniversary specialty of the brewery.
2) There was a stand selling beer chips for $1. This was brilliant.
3) I know Halloween is around the corner, but I was still surprised by how many people dressed up in costumes.
Anyway, I starting thinking about what would be my guide to beer festivals. So here goes. (For those who have never been, beer festivals generally consist of unlimited small samples (2-4 ounces) of as many beers as you want.) We're going to break this down into 2 sections, tips for festival goers and tips for a well run festival.
Participant tips:
1) Eat. This is obviously key to any drinking experience, but its the most important. I also recommend eating before the festival, because the food lines can be long. Who wants to wait in line when they can drink beer instead. I saw people with pretzel necklaces last weekend, this is also a good idea.
2) Try as many new beers as possible. If Sam Adams has a stand, I'm not going to drink their Lager, I've had it many times. If they have the honey porter, then I'm interested. My point is, this is the perfect time to be adventurous, its a small sample and if you don't like it, don't finish it. If you are at a beer festival that doesn't have at least 20 beers you've never had, well then I'm impressed because I've tried a lot of different beers (my current list is over 700) and I always find lots of new and interesting beers.
3) Take notes. Ideally, the festival will give you a list of the beers, but not all of them are smart enough. I try to write down all the beers I try with at least a basic rating of how much I like it. By the end you'll get a little drunk and won't remember every single beer, so trust me, write it down. These notes tend to get very sloppy.
4) Arrive early. All beer festivals are required to check ID, so its sometimes a slow process getting in and you never want to waste precious drinking time. I've seen lines that take 1 1/2 hours to get every person inside.
5) Choose your session wisely. Beer festivals often have an afternoon and evening session. The evening sessions tend to get a younger, rowdier crowd. If you're into that, great. If not, the afternoon session may suit you better. Another plus is that afternoon sessions are less likely to run out of a particular beer.
6) Drink water. This will make the next day more pleasant.
7) Talk with the brewers. If the head brewer or another brewery employee is pouring (and not just a festival employee), talk to them. They will share info on their beers such as where to buy them, what other style they make, etc. Also, some will occasionally have some special beers under the table that are not listed. I met with one of the heads of Sprecher brewery who was very nice and told me all about their operation, even if they don't yet distribute to Philly, its nice to keep in mind since they brew a tasty black lager.
8) Pockets. If you like coasters, bottle openers, stickers or other beer paraphenalia, then wear cargo pants (or shorts), because lots of breweries have free stuff. Alternatively, you can find a girlfriend or wife with a large purse.
9) Scope out bathrooms early. Lines can be long.
10) Courtesy. If there is a line at a stand, after getting your beer, move to the side. Nobody likes lines, this makes them move faster.
11) Strategy. Your strategy may differ from mine, but here are some potential tips. If you can get your hands on a beer list beforehand, scope out any "must try" beers. If lines are long, get onto a line immediately after getting your beer, don't wait until your glass in empty.
Wish list for a beer festival:
(Note, good beer is the first thing I look for but thats kind of obvious, this list is more for faults I've found at some festivals)
1) Bathrooms. If you're organizing a festival with lots of beer, please have enough bathrooms, even if they are of the portable variety.
2) Food. Drunk people love food. Please set up enough stands selling food (and water).
3) Space. Please do not overcrowd a venue so that I can't even walk between stands. Get a larger location or sell less tickets.
4) Entrance. Every festival waits until the official start time, then begins letting people into the location, which can take a long time. Why not start letting people in earlier, but tell the vendors not to serve before the start time?
5) Beer list. I know the brewers will often change their line up at the last minute, but it really helps to have a list of the beers. Its much easier to check off the name of a beer than it is to write it down.
6) Water. I'm referring here not to drinking water, but to water at the stands to rinse out my glass. I don't like to have someone pouring a hefeweisen into a glass that just had a triple espresso stout. It just messes up the flavors too much.
7) Pouring sizes. This refers to the breweries, not the organizers, but I feel pour size is key. As the title of this post indicates, 2 ounces is just about right. Any less and you're getting only a single small sip. Any more and you're getting too drunk off a single beer. Like any person, I have a limit as to how much beer I can have and if I wanted to drink a lot of a couple of beers I'd just go to a bar, not a festival. If I really want more than 2 ounces, I'll just return to that stand later.
8) Designated drivers. Too many festivals do not offer DD tickets. I know enforcement is difficult (the bracelet method is only somewhat effective). But since Mrs. Hot Dogs & Beer does not drink beer it can be expensive. Plus it encourages responsibility, even if the DD has a couple of samples.
Friday, October 5, 2007
The return of hot dogs and beer
If I had to name 1 day of the year when I'm least likely to be focused on work, it would probably be either of the first 2 days of the ncaa tournament. But after that, the wonderful time of october playoff baseball is a close second.
Now, its 85 degrees in Philly today, so the crisp early fall weather that I love has been put on hold, but the desire to watch 3 meaningful baseball games a day has not. Some recent work travelling has prevented me from posting recently, but I'm back with some thoughts on the first 2 days of the playoffs.
Before we even get to the playoffs, I need to comment on the amazing game the rockies and padres played on Monday. The game kept you on the edge of your seat like few sporting events can. One such event is a playoff overtime hockey game, and as fewer baseball games are on tv I'll slowly transition myself into hockey season. Please see my follow up post on the top 10 baseball games I've watched. Here are some general comments on the playoffs.
MLB needs to do a better job of schedulling. First, no 5 game series should have 3 off days. Second, they need to ensure that all teams have at least 1 game in prime time spot. The Phillies played 2 afternoon weekday games, they next two are weekend, but start at 10pm and only if they get to a 5th game will they get a good slot. Also, its clear that playoff games don't last 3.5 hours, they need longer time slots.
If I hear another announcer ask if Joe Torre will get fired if the Yankees don't win a world series, I'm going to punch someone.
***Note: this is the first, and probably last nice thing I will ever say about Comcast***. Comcast just started carrying TBS in HD last week, making my baseball viewing much nicer. Thank you Comcast.
Its scary to think, that a team thats been outscored by 14 runs (including playoffs) is on the verge of hosting the NLCS.
Can someone tell the Rockies its ok to lose more than once in 3 weeks?
Jose Mesa is just terrible this year. Please don't let him pitch.
And now my (worthless) predictions:
Phillies take the next 2 games, then lose in 5
Diamondbacks complete the sweep leaving Cubs fans to plan for next year's "celebration" of the 100th anniversary of their last world series win.
Anaheim wins tonight and they trade wins until Boston takes the series in 5.
Yankees win tonight and game 3, lose game 4 and wang comes back to redeem himself as the yanks advance.
Now, its 85 degrees in Philly today, so the crisp early fall weather that I love has been put on hold, but the desire to watch 3 meaningful baseball games a day has not. Some recent work travelling has prevented me from posting recently, but I'm back with some thoughts on the first 2 days of the playoffs.
Before we even get to the playoffs, I need to comment on the amazing game the rockies and padres played on Monday. The game kept you on the edge of your seat like few sporting events can. One such event is a playoff overtime hockey game, and as fewer baseball games are on tv I'll slowly transition myself into hockey season. Please see my follow up post on the top 10 baseball games I've watched. Here are some general comments on the playoffs.
MLB needs to do a better job of schedulling. First, no 5 game series should have 3 off days. Second, they need to ensure that all teams have at least 1 game in prime time spot. The Phillies played 2 afternoon weekday games, they next two are weekend, but start at 10pm and only if they get to a 5th game will they get a good slot. Also, its clear that playoff games don't last 3.5 hours, they need longer time slots.
If I hear another announcer ask if Joe Torre will get fired if the Yankees don't win a world series, I'm going to punch someone.
***Note: this is the first, and probably last nice thing I will ever say about Comcast***. Comcast just started carrying TBS in HD last week, making my baseball viewing much nicer. Thank you Comcast.
Its scary to think, that a team thats been outscored by 14 runs (including playoffs) is on the verge of hosting the NLCS.
Can someone tell the Rockies its ok to lose more than once in 3 weeks?
Jose Mesa is just terrible this year. Please don't let him pitch.
And now my (worthless) predictions:
Phillies take the next 2 games, then lose in 5
Diamondbacks complete the sweep leaving Cubs fans to plan for next year's "celebration" of the 100th anniversary of their last world series win.
Anaheim wins tonight and they trade wins until Boston takes the series in 5.
Yankees win tonight and game 3, lose game 4 and wang comes back to redeem himself as the yanks advance.
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