Dusty Chalk

Ah. Didn't think about that. Just like burn-in isn't always beneficial. Again, this place rocks. (takes a swig straight from the bottle)

Gascon Reserva malbec -- one glass thru the Nuance, one not -- if there's a difference, it's very subtle Oh and yes it's good. I like the purple and silver label, very regal. Sent from mah Droid

Got tickets to California. Hooray! I'm going to the concert!

2004 Ojai Roll Ranch syrah -- I don't think we decanted it long enough, it was still "hot", but I'm beginning to be able to taste something underneath all that alcohol burn, so maybe I can get used to it. I seem to think it was even better than the 2007 Ojai Santa Barbara syrah. Maybe I'll skip the Soiree and go straight to the individual decanters. Or maybe just hold onto the syrahses. shirazes. syrahs. Or maybe just stick with malbecses. Stuff I can drink straight from the bottle. Well not straight from the bottle, but ...you know what I mean. Why are we even arguing about this?

HDD technology is so...2000's. I was actually wishing I could trick out my older iPod with one of those solid state drives, but I was told that a lot of the iPod's actually check the drive and make sure it's something they have drivers for.

Yeah, me too. That's why I bought it the next day (and paid $5 more).

It was worth trying. I have a feeling it's that whole "letting it breathe" and "patience" thing again, because my biggest complaint with it is that it was that alcohol burn -- which, although I enjoy, is masking the flavors of the wine. Bought the Nuance -- didn't seem to make much of a difference. Still felt the burn/"hot". Going to try the Soirée, and possibly the individual decanters, but I really don't know how I'm going to get that to work. I don't really feel comfortable pouring myself a glass before work so that I can drink it after work. I might be able to get away with 2.5 hours on particular nights, but not with any regularity. Will probably stick with non-hot wines during the week, and only drink the ones that need decanting on the weekend. Or something.

Awesome. Particularly awesome.

The biggest advantage will be when they put it on an iPod, and syncing takes as long as thinking about it.

Actually, I think the person I emailed was one of the owners/managers, the name sounded vaguely familiar. The fact that they're willing to wait until Tuesday to deal with it is not a good sign in my eyes. No, "we'll take care of you" is being offered. And I do appreciate the insight -- forewarned is forearmed and all that. They're probably used to that sort of response in Potomac, but I can still write up a review on Tirerack (I think), Yahoo, Google, Yelp, etc. So it's not like I'm completely without leverage.

Tried the Norton Privada malbec last night -- I think that one needed to breathe a bit more. I actually preferred the Reserva. I'm wondering if other Reservas are going to be as good as that first bottle, so I bought another one for tomorrow...we'll see.

No. I always do it (every time I get new tires), and they always try to sell it to you (when you get new tires), but it's a separate service, and hardly a requirement. Balancing is, alignment is not. Their stance is that since they just did an alignment, it won't be necessary. And that may be, but I think they should pay for their screwup in sweat. And I agree, they owe me more than just an alignment right now. I don't even feel comfortable driving anywhere of any distance today, so they owe me for screwing up my weekend. I was going to go to Gainesville (VA) to get some Wegmans Dragonwell, but I'd hate to be stuck. It was raining cats and dogs yesterday, and my car was hydroplaning every time I cornered.

My hat is off to you sir.

I think "legal counsel" is at a Giants game right now, catching his breath and letting his pupils contract. Any other counsel, legal or otherwise, is welcome to pipe in as well.

Community -- Paradigms of Human Memory -- outstandingly executed fake flashback episode. Nice references to The Cape and Glee, as well as myriads of fake prior episodes (the St. Patty's Day adventure was the best) and fake scenes from extant prior episodes, as well as references to things they often do.

Well, they did give me an alignment, they just didn't do it after the tire change, which is what I asked for. The alignment is pretty good right now, I just wonder what it's going to be like after the tire change. But they should do it. And I won't say it was without issue -- I've been sliding around and hydroplaning a lot lately. I looked, and didn't see anything, but that doesn't mean they aren't about to blow. So: ...?

(makes a mental note to try Stillwater beer) Win!

I have yet to send this: Thoughts? Edits? Additions? Shovels? Scorpions?

How long did you let it breathe?

[archer]Do you not?[/archer]

I figured it was just like it sounds -- boys you can rent.

They were all bald the same amount of wear, but yeah, WTF? How did they know which tires to change? Why didn't they recommend changing the other two tires? Also, remember, this is from the guy who put 89,000 miles on 50,000 mile tires. They actually still have some tread left on 'em. I may have been able to put 100,000 miles on them. I think it bears repeating: I am not hard on my tires. You can say a lot of other things about my driving, but that's not one of them.

They tried to tell me that Tirerack screwed up and didn't deliver them all at the same time, but UPS tracking says they all showed up there and were signed for at the same time. I just hope I don't have a flat with one of the two remaining tires between now and then, because they're going to owe me a tow if I do. I'm trying to get a free alignment out of it -- I paid for all four wheels being aligned when I bought them, but the understanding was after the tires were installed. I don't have the receipt in front of me, but I'm curious how many thousand miles I put on them between now and then. I went to Pennsylvania twice since then. Fortunately, I don't put no as many miles as I did when I was beer-hunting more regularly, I think I'm going to be happy with it as it is, as long as they make it right. I know I've had at least one oil change and tire rotation (WTF?) since then, so it's been at least 3,000 miles.