Dawn of the Superbug

Strange but True: Antibacterial Products May Do More Harm Than Good

Unlike these traditional cleaners, antibacterial products leave surface residues, creating conditions that may foster the development of resistant bacteria, Levy notes. For example, after spraying and wiping an antibacterial cleaner over a kitchen counter, active chemicals linger behind and continue to kill bacteria, but not necessarily all of them.

I friggin' told you so!

(via Garret)

4-Hour Workweek: How to Be a Huckster in 4 Easy Steps

Anyone else reading The 4-Hour Workweek? I'm listening to the audiobook on my commute. It strikes me as incredibly meta. There's a definite undertone of

"Here's how you can make yourself and expert and sell information to other people -- just like I did with this book! (Sucker.)"

He also explains everything he's doing ("tricks of the trade"-wise) on the book's companion web site.

That said, it's also quite interesting, plenty entertaining, and disturbingly inspirational. (Lord help us...) It's really not as slimy as I'm making it sound, but it's in there.

Let me know your thoughts if you have read it, are reading it, or plan to read it. I actually think I might pick up the dead-tree version in order to cement my own feelings about it.

So... I guess it's recommended...?

Pili Me Ka'u Manu

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

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

Uke Night at the Pickin' Parlor

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

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

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

We'll see where that gets me.

Got Plague?

We sure do! Here in the Colorado Front Range, the bubonic plague has long been known to fester amongst the prairie dog colonies that litter the landscape. Lately, though, it's been encroaching on the suburban bliss of our "little boxes" by way of the squirrels that run our fences and the bunnies that ruin our lawns.

And now it's in our monkeys.

Of course, how did the monkey catch the disease? BY EATING A DEAD SQUIRREL! Stupid monkey.

What baffles me is I have yet to see a single flea since moving to Colorado, but it seems they're out there. Guess they grow 'em invisible 'round these parts. Oh, and check this part out:

Although the plague, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is the same disease that killed 25 million Europeans in the 1300s, it now can be treated with antibiotics if caught early enough. Still, it is fatal about half the time, according to health experts.

Well, which is it, young feller? Treatable with antibiotics or 50% fatal?

Denver. Gorgeous!

It's worth noting that, thus far, this year has featured one of the most fantastic Springs I've seen in the Denver area since 2000. The weather has been alternatingly warm and cool. We've had near-regular afternoon showers and/or thunder storms, which are never enough to disturb any grilling plans you might have, but always drop the approaching-hot temperatures down by a solid ten degrees just when you need it. The foothills are a shade of green not witnessed in these parts for at least half a decade. Heck, my lawn is even doing relatively OK. (I still despise it, though. Stupid grass with it's stupid weeds and stupid need for stupid water.) I gave my sprinkler system its first test run on Saturday. The pop-ups in the front yard are a bit suspect - not sure if the pressure was low at the time or if they just don't pop like they used to. Bitches. Carry on.

Update: A little green... Verdant

Plans

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

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

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

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

Stop, now... What's that sound?

So, the DOW is going nuts, and yet things don't feel like they did back in the 90's when it first crossed the 10,000 mark. The housing market sucks rocks (at least that's the perception) and generally things "just aren't the same" as the first time around. I wondered why that was.

I am no student of the economy, so I found this post from last October fairly enlightening.

I would like to see more current (preferably light-weight and understandable) analysis, though.

Lucid Absinthe

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

According to the NY Times:

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

...

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

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

Fantastic!

A Burning Ring of Fire

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of taking in the Ring of Fire 29: Aftershock mixed martial arts fighting event at the Broomfield Events Center. As I mentioned before, this followed after taking my company founder (I'm not supposed to treat him like "the boss"...) out to roller derby last month. As it turns out, his wife is friends with the wife of the local fighter who was the main event of the night. This fact would turn out add both interest and stress to the night for her. I don't have the wherewithal to run down all of my observations from the night, but the fights leading up to the two big fights were enjoyable. The results are available for those who care. A few highlights:

  • There was one premature stoppage. Dude got clocked but was defending himself "intelligently" by the time he landed on his back.
  • One of the referees looked like The Wife's brother in a couple decades. No worries, he was a handsome devil.
  • The crowd was... Wow. Now that I think about it, it should have been what I expected.

Which brings me to the two big fights of the night, both in the 205lb weight class.

First we had Big Mike Nickels the Denver-based tattoo shop owner who had a short stint on the Spike "reality" show, The Ultimate Fighter. He was fighting a guy named Carpaccio (yeah, that's what we thought) who is Army Airborne. Seven second knockout by Big Mike. Wow. Afterwards, they gave the mic to Carpaccio, who is a great guy, obviously. He apologized for not putting on a better show and then proceeded to tell us that he's shipping out to Iraq, like immediately and asked that "even if you don't support the war, please support your troops". This generated a lot of "Awww, bummer." and even more patriotic applause.

Then Nickels got on the mic... He started off well, letting us know that his next fight may be against Stefan Bonner in the UFC. Then he went completely off track. He was trying to say something nice about his opponent, but it came out as something like "I don't believe in murdering women and babies" at which point the ring announcer snatched the microphone and said "LET'S HEAR IT FOR OUR TROOPS!"

Odd.

Then of course, he got accosted by the two supposed Marines sitting in front of us. (I say "supposed" because they looked like overweight frat boys, not the type of Marine I know.) It was good drama, if you're into that sort of thing. I just hope Dana White doesn't pull the plug on his big fight because he decides he doesn't want any anti-war hippies in his league...

Then we had the main even, featuring the afore-mentioned friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, Eliot "Fire" Marshall. His opposition had such a classic "heel" entrance I had to laugh. Hailing from Las Vegas, Marcus Sursa came out strutting and posing and tossing autographed play money and photos into the crowd. Fantastic. Everyone hated him instantly. The fight itself was good. Marcus made a strong go at it at first, applying good pressure with his striking game, but he just couldn't hang with Eliot on the ground. Eliot finished him off with one of many chokes in the second round of what I would consider a fun fight. Eliot's wife and the boss's wife didn't seem to have a whole lot of fun, however.

Fighting sports might not be the best thing for family participation...

Bill & Tom

I've been a big, big fan of a Boston area rock band from the 90's called Buffalo Tom since my college years. Even before I saw them live and had one of my best concert experiences ever. They got some national exposure, but never really hit it huge, so I've always felt like I've known something other people didn't. After B-Tom kind of dwindled and fell apart, lead singer/guitarist Bill Janovitz released a couple of folky solo discs. They were enjoyable but nothing super exciting in my estimation.

Just recently, though, I grabbed his new album with his new band, the Crown Victorias, and I am happy to say Bill is back to his old rockin' ways. In fact, several songs had me so nostalgic for Buffalo Tom that I looked them up and lo-and-behold they have gotten back together and have a new disc coming out! I have yet to hear the new B-Tom, but you should check them out, kids. (Bonus: There's a clip from the Daily Show on the B-Tom site in which Jon Stewart name-drops Buffalo Tom. I wonder if that's why they are back together...)

(Sidenote: The new Tori Amos is also quite good, if you're into the angry chicks - and you know I am.)

Dr. Sketchy, I Love You

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

Fantastic, I say.

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

WTF Was That?

God I love me some Prince. Check this clip. James Brown calls up Michael Jackson, who does a standard little song and dance. MJ tells James to call up Prince. Prince rides a giant white man to stage and proceeds to get freaky. "Check the crazy guitar solo... No wait, I'm gonna take off my shirt instead. Oh! And microphone stand tricks! I can do some of those!" Effin' awesome.

Best part? JB carrying Prince's shirt over to him after he's done.

...

Speaking of surprisingly (but not unpleasantly) unmatched expectations, the April snowstorm I mentioned that was supposed to bring the Denver metro area up to a foot of the white stuff missed us entirely. Don't worry, though, it's fucking shit up on the East Coast, big time.

Prairie Doggin'

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

Spring Boozin'

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

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

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

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

Here's my progress so far:

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

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