In re: Aerogels the next home insulation?

Dr. Peter Tsou of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory once said, “you could take a two- or three-bedroom house, insulate it with aerogel, and you could heat the house with a candle. But eventually the house would become too hot.” So why haven’t we all been spraying our building’s with the stuff? Unfortunately, for the past 75 years the stuff’s been way too expensive, but that’s all about to change.

via Aerogel Becomes Affordable as a Home Insulator | Apartment Therapy Unplggd.

Forget global warming or environmentalism there are some simpler reasons to conserve energy in our houses, simply saving money.  If you check out the video in the above post on Aerogels from Aspen Aerogels I think you’ll be impressed.  Now I know not everyone gets excited about R values, but this stuff is crazy cool hopefully it continues to drop in price .

In re: Hello This American Life.app

Just saw on Ars Technica that This American Life has come out with an iPhone app.  I for one being a huge fan couldn’t be happier – why you ask?  Well the current podcasts are great, but often times when driving on a road trip I’d love to catch up on some older episodes, can’t do that (without buying them that is) without Flash – that pesky Adobe platform Apple seems to hate (apprently some of it is with good reason).  Anyway this app is a way around that, essentially giving you access to the complete streaming library.  Of course that means you need internet, don’t yet know how well it works over Edge (I’ve had good luck streaming podcasts while hitting the Edge pocket between Columbus and Cleveland on I-71 so heres hoping this does as well).  Either way, gonna go buy this now for $2.99 and I’ll let you know if its not all its cracked up to be.  (Oh and this is just ONE MORE example of why background audio apps at least would be a welcome addition to iPhone/iPad world).

“The most obvious appeal of the app is exactly what we just mentioned: you can access any episode, all the way back to 1995, for free at any time. That is, assuming you have some sort of wireless connection; you can stream the shows over 3G or WiFi all you want, but you cant download them for offline use like, say, when youre about to board a plane or go underground in the subway unless you buy the individual shows from iTunes.”

via Ars Technica: This American Life iPhone app gives fans unlimited content.

Update: So far loving the app, well designed, remembers where you left off when you restart, easy to search for shows, contributors, scroll by year etc.  Very nice (remember I am a TAL addict so take with grain of salt).

In re: Immigration could be path for Cleveland.

“The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the chief planning and fundraising agency for the region’s 80,000 Jews, is committing resources to a center designed to attract international talent and investment. It’s offering expertise, start-up funding and the prospect of an enticing location — its headquarters building on Playhouse Square.

When federation leaders decided in fall 2008 to move their staff and operations to Beachwood, they vowed to make a visible re-commitment to the city. That may be by saying “Welcome” to the world.” “

via Cleveland’s Jewish community wants to welcome the world | Metro – cleveland.com – cleveland.com.

Thought this was an interesting idea that the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland is working towards in the wake of moving their headquarters out to the suburbs.  While these days immigration is a touchy subject, but in my mind it is mostly a good things and one of the reasons our country has thrived.  Cities like Ohio that have struggled could use very well new people with drive and ambition – this is both the highly qualified visa applicants for highly skilled positions but also others who are just looking for a better life.  Read about the plan to create a welcome center in the article above.

In re: Clever Crow Pizza

Hadn’t really heard anything about the place, but had seen it walking past with my dog a few weeks back so when given a chance to go jumped on it.  If you don’t know Clever Crow Pizza is inside the Circus bar on High St. just north of 5th Ave in Columbus.  The pizza seems like an afterthought to the bar, but it was the reason we went.  The crust is definitely different, and what people talk about, its cornbread – chemical leavened I assume rather than a yeast pizza dough, which adds a whole different flavor dimension as well as the different texture.  The crust I think is pre or par baked allowing them to dish up half pizzas as well as slices which is a great option.  The crust definitely gets well done with some char on the bottom that I thought worked well.  The toppings are interesting and they have many combinations listed that feature some nice options including house made sausage, as well as some other house cured options like canadian bacon that seem to change frequently along with these  you can get ‘non-traditional’ additions that round out something like the sausage with some veggies like marinated green peppers and caramelized onions.  Definitely a different vibe in the place and I thought good pizza, that and some good draft beers round it out.

In re: Vermouth?

Vermouth’s commercial origins date to 1786, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano began marketing the aromatized wine he produced in Turin, but the consumption of vermouth and its precursors stretches back centuries. Typically made from neutral-character dry white wines that have been flavored with herbs, roots and barks – typically including cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram and chamomile – and then fortified with a neutral grape spirit, vermouth is classically made – and named – for another botanical: wormwood (the plant’s name in Old High German is Wermud). ‘The Truth About Vermouth’ (below)

Vermouth is kinda an afterthought in the world of drinks – at least I thought it was.  Even as I got back into drinking Manhattans a drink that features as a large amount of the drink the sweet variety of vermouth I still hadn’t given it its due.  Hell, I didn’t even really know too much about it and how it was made.  I knew it was a fortified wine of some sort (wine spiked with alcohol) but that was it.  As I became more interested in improving my Manhattans I learned a few very interesting things, including that my multi-year old bottle sitting on the shelf was not good.  It’s not that affordable vermouth isn’t good and there are many affordable brands, all with their own tastes due to a variety of added herbs/spices as well as grapes, but I learned it goes bad and isn’t shelf stable the way liquor is.

So I set out to get some fresh stuff (currently using Boissiere – although I am interested in trying some of the more exotic ones now) but the big thing is that I now keep it in the fridge.  Thats right, in the fridge, I myself was dubious at first but after reading taste test after taste test it became clear that vermouth oxidizes and starts to go bad, pretty quickly on the shelf.  In the fridge you can get 6 months out of sweet (less for dry) and thats still shorter than the stuff I had been using a while back.

Now theres still more to making a Manhattan the just the vermouth, but having improved my work on that one front alone my Manhattans are quite nice (usually made with Maker’s Mark bourbon – although I am interested in dabbling in rye at some point).  Still not up to the standards of the Velvet Tango Room in Cleveland that has probably the best one I have had (they use their own bitters and a wine reduction instead of the vermouth as well as having a nice cherry that isn’t a Maraschino).

Makers's Mark, boissiere vermouth, bitters, and a wine soaked sour cherry on the rocks

For what I thought was a great article on Vermouth see “The Truth About Vermouth” at SFGate — hey that rhymes!

In re: Bar Symon

Bar Symon (Avon Lake, OH)

Bar Symon sits in a strip wall west of Cleveland in Avon Lake, honestly I can’t say I have a great sense where it is since I wasn’t driving and wasn’t paying too close attention to it, but its definitely a ways out there for a former east sider who when visiting Cleveland stays on the east side, so that said I don’t think I will be regularly getting out to this place but I was still excited to try it.

First impression, wow this isn’t the location I would have picked, but they do a nice job of taking the strip mall setting and making the rectangular shaped room have some vibe, including hanging some tin ceiling tiles dropped down from the tall industrial ceiling way up high. No reservations for less than 6 people so spent about 40 minutes grabbing a beer at the bar up front, nice selection of beers on tap, didn’t look at their drinks or wine.

To eat:
mint & lamb spicy sausage
duck confit slider
double cooked chicken wings
symon fried chicken
polenta (side dish)

the lamb & mint sausage was good, not phenomenal, probably would have chosen a different sausage myself, my friends choice and I think the reason I would have gone w another was the accompaniments were 3 mustards (including stadium mustard I think) and pickled veggies & toast rounds. I think this sausage would have worked well w/ some more greek or turkish type accompaniments, some yogurt sauce or something, it was fine but didn’t stand out to me. Nice presentation similar to the way they handle cured meats at his other places.

the duck confit slider was a favorite, small, good simple flavors, a bit of spiced mayo, cilantro and shredded carrot gave a nice asian angle, still nice duck flavor. I probably wouldn’t want more than one so its nice to order by the each as its rich.

the chicken wings sounded nice, but the top portion didn’t have the citrus & peppers on them as it seems to have settled, and overall these didn’t live up to my possibly unreasonably high expectations. I wish I hadn’t done two chicken dishes, I knew what I was getting into and did it anyway.

I ordered the fried chicken that comes with a honey drizzle of some sort was recommended by the waitress over some other things, since it was cheaper than the other options I suggested I was impressed she wasn’t up selling, it was without a doubt very good fried chicken, I could have gone for more of the honey drizzle or whatever it was, perfect texture, but still its fried chicken and I probably would go for other things in the future.
The side of polenta was good, maybe it stood out as the only non-meat dish, was simple, rich and had a nice flavor and texture.

Way too much food, the chicken serving is half a chicken. Overall the place is really affordable which is nice, and I may be the first to complain that they could use smaller servings (I know I could use some restraint) and that the place is trying to have homestyle food for what its worth.

I really like Lolita probably the most of Symon’s restaurants and visiting Bar Symon didn’t change that, still it was good, I just worry if Symon will follow Wolfgang Puck type expansion and lose control of his operations, that said if he can continue to do good places its good for Cleveland and Ohio to have him creating high quality options, even in strip malls.

In re: Photo (Umbrella Girl in Red)

My favorite spot in Schiller park (German Village in Columbus, OH)- Dressed for cold weather.

In re: Cuban coming to Columbus

The Plaintain cafe put up a sign in it’s Gay St. window a long time ago when it was still a gutted space. Over the passing months I’ve been waiting excitedly for this Cuban restaurant. While I love El Arepazo and it’s many Latin options aside from their core Venezuelan menu there can never be too many lunch options and especially too many ethnic food options. So today when I passed by and saw they added their menu to the door (they had put up their Nov. opening date recently as well). The menu of course features a Cuban sandwich but has a nice selection of sandwiches and entrees – and while it may be a bit small on their items compared to some places I am a big fan of places that don’t overreach and do what they do well. Hopefully the Plaintain Cafe will be just such a place.

In re: Passionately defending a made up history

“Spurred by an administration he believes to be guilty of numerous transgressions, self-described American patriot Kyle Mortensen, 47, is a vehement defender of ideas he seems to think are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and principles that brave men have fought and died for solely in his head…

Right there in the preamble, the authors make their priorities clear: ‘one nation under God’ said Mortensen, attributing to the Constitution a line from the Pledge of Allegiance, which itself did not include any reference to a deity until 1954. “Well, there’s a reason they put that right at the top.”

“Men like Madison and Jefferson were moved by the ideals of Christianity, and wanted the United States to reflect those values as a Christian nation,” continued Mortensen, referring to the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, considered by many historians to be an atheist, and Thomas Jefferson, an Enlightenment-era thinker who rejected the divinity of Christ and was in France at the time the document was written. “The words on the page speak for themselves.”

via Area Man Passionate Defender Of What He Imagines Constitution To Be | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

Story from the Onion (so of course its made up, but the underlying concept is so common today it amazes me.) That hits the nail on the head about a man defending his fictional version of the constitution, that sets out the religious origins of the country.  Of course his history and knowledge of the document are probably coming from a single source of ‘news’ so what would you expect.  Like the made up war on Christmas that has been thrown around in recent years (without the effort to do any research on Christmas) the arguments about the religous nature of our country and its founders could well do with a little fact checking themselves.  The part I always think is interesting is that in countries with state religions and that are now wealthy religion is dying, but here where we separated the two it has thrived.  Despite that fact, it seems some folks want a theocracy, which I would warn them might start the slow march towards their demise.

In re: So long… Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN (finally)

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, said Wednesday that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.

via Update: Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com.

 

I’ve got to admit I’ve given up on almost any TV news, probably the best reporting on the air depending on what your looking for is PBS, the BBC or the Daily Show.  Anyway, CNN has long been in decline and I’ve long since given up on it, for a while their international channel wasn’t bad, but then it got filled with most of the same crap in America.  I can’t really judge it anymore because it has been so long since I’ve seen CNN aside from those airport TVs, but Lou Dobbs was definitely a low point for the channel as his show morphed into his platform to spout his idiotic ideas (CNN should have stuck to a pure news format and at least had their credibility, but alas I am guessing that doesn’t sell advertising).