Ambivalent Ambition

Fort Power Wine Tasting Reviews Forthcoming

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:52:00 +0000

We had quite a wine tasting on Friday night and a cheese tasting as well. The wine featured I believe all wines from West Lakeview Liquors and the cheese all came from The Cheese Stands Alone. Wine reviews are coming just as soon as I decipher my notes but I will comment on the cheeses to say they were fantastic. We had a bleu cheese, a smoked Gouda, some sort of semi-soft and a soft cheese sorta like a mild brie. The Gouda came out on top for me and the blue was intense and enjoyable. All were pretty much a hit.

Here are some photos of the happenings.Spoiler: This one was the all around favorite.
Jacob clutching the favorite.
Stinky tasty cheeses.

Two Up Shiraz 2005

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 29 May 2007 02:18:00 +0000

I really enjoyed this one. Black cherry, bit of earthiness and chalk to it. A little too sweet a finish but forgivable. Smooth and rich in color and aroma. Paired with a Mexican Lasagna but I'd love this one with a stew or chowder.
Rating:8/10
Price: $15-20

More reviews

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:00:00 +0000

See right ->

That's right, I rated Din(n)er grill higher than Uncommon Ground.

Wine Cube 2004 Cabernet/Shiraz

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:55:00 +0000

Umm, this is a Target brand wine which comes in a box for 10 bones. That's a tremendous deal for a "physics-defying" (TJK, 2007) box which holds two bottles worth of wine. Kristim (Tim and Kristen) brought this for a casual night at my place last weekend and the gesture wasn't lost although I don't think anyone was expecting much. A nail-polish remover bouquet with a rancid pear but fresh peach taste. This one's a pass for all but the most budget conscious.
Price: 10ish
Rating: 6/10

NQN 2005 Picada 15 Cab Blend

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:51:00 +0000

This wine makes quite a few Friday and Saturday night appearances in my home due to mostly its high alcohol content and it's sale at the classy liquor store across the street. I never had this wine without a heavy dose of beer in me first until last time and I'll probably keep it that way in the future. There is some complexity to its flavor and it doesn't have too acetone a bouquet though there is enough to be noticeable. I don't hate it but wouldn't touch it if not for it's low 10 dollar price tag.
Price: $10
Rating: 6.5/10

Yangarra 2003 McLaren Vale Grenach Shiraz Mourvedre

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:44:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of this vineyard. It always rewards me with an earthy taste and texture, rich flavors and heavy feel. This one didn't disappoint in that regard but added a saccharine sweet flavor I abhor. I'm sorry I didn't review this one sooner because I can't come up with anything more to say about this one. It surprised me in how much I disliked it. Paired with a (too fatty) steak and baked potato.
Price: Sub 20
Rating: 7/10

Kanga Reserve Shiraz Grenache 2004

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:40:00 +0000

I outgrew Yellow Tail a long time ago and don't miss it but do miss the 6 dollar grocery store red. This one didn't make me change my mind. Light color, texture and flavor. High acidity and lacking any sweetness. Pass on this one unless you're really looking for a bargain and don't care about quality. I honestly can't remember what I had this with but I'm sure a Big Mac would have given me more pleasure.
Price: $7
Rating: 5/10

Boulder Creek Syrah 2004

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 15 May 2007 01:14:00 +0000

Wow, I've really fallen behind on my reviews. I'll be slowly catching up over the next day or so and maybe cleaning up the order since I'll be reviewing the ones I've had more recently first. So, stay with me and maybe scroll down every now and then to see if I added any more.
On to Boulder Creek Syrah (2004) given as a gift from my family after their trip to Colorado for little sister's graduation which I unfortunately did not attend but will make up for by visiting her when she moves to New Jersey for her new job. Congratulations! Onto the review: Silky smooth in texture with very low acidity. A chocolate taste with a cherry finish. Unfortunately this wine is light in color and much lighter in flavor. Polished but lacking in that thing that makes Syrah fun to drink, this wine is like an 'ok' second date with someone you like spending some time with but never brings the fire that makes you want to take it exclusive. A Syrah for those who prefer Merlot. Paired with beef tacos.
Price: Low twenty-something
Rating: 7/10

RIP

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 01 May 2007 00:38:00 +0000

The family dog died today. It's sad, it sucks. My mom sounded pretty broken up, I haven't had a chance to talk to my dad yet. He was a fun, hyper and cuddly dog. He had some health problems for quite awhile now, but rarely seemed sick or in pain. It's really too bad. I've never lost a family pet before save a goldfish or two. I'm sad about it.

Justin Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:25:00 +0000

Vintage label unavailable, I think they recycled the same graphics from this 2002. Got this as a gift from Zamelia for some web work I did for them. Fruity, thin, refreshing. It's thinness comes across as an asset rather than a shortcoming, it's full of flavor but not overpowering. It'll be a good Cab for when you absolutely must have a Cabernet on a hot summer night. Had this with spaghetti and chicken.
Price $23.99 (2004) (winelibrary.com)
Rating: 8/10.

Introducing: Wine Reviews

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 14:22:00 +0000

See above. I've been wanting to start a wine journal for some time then stumbled across somewhere where I can hyperlink the labels rather than going to the effort of removing them... so I've decided to start my journal here. I don't really know shit about wine tasting but I do at least want to start recording what I've liked and didn't like so here it is.

Addiction

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:08:00 +0000

I think I am addicted to Hot Dougs. Seriously. Since I made that post not even a month ago I've been there 4 times. I keep coming up with excuses and getting out of work to stop there. It's the first place in a long time I've heard much talk about that really turned out to be all that. I can't stop, please help.

Introducing

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:16:00 +0000

Ambvlnt Ambtn

Ambivalent Ambition and the Geek Clothing

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 16:45:00 +0000

I totally forgot the Scottevest I ordered arrives today! Makes Monday totally more awesome.
In other news I finally ate at Hot Doug's on Friday and I can't stop thinking about it. I need to figure out how to make that happen more often.
This weekend was fun but I totally abused my body. I think I'm gonna take a break from everything for a little while and give my liver and lungs a much needed vacation.

Ambivalent Ambition and the Lair of the Flying Machines

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:06:00 +0000

That means I picked my friend up at the airport last night.

Other than the explanation for the title the rest of this post will have nothing to do with airports or with picking up friends at them.

I had another super laid back weekend. I'm beginning to question the wisdom of not partying myself stupid on the last few weekends since the temperatures this weekend make me likely to be a shut-in for sure.

I'm going to make a list of things I need to do before I start law school. Actually, there will be several lists including things I must do to prepare for school and a list of things I just want to do before I start splitting my days equally between work and class. The latter may include things like staying out all night on a work night or spending more time by the lake. So far here's my list:

1) Make lists of things to do before starting school.

Ambivalent Ambition and the School of Law

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 17:50:00 +0000

My ambitions became slightly less ambivalent last fall when I finally decided to start in any one of the many directions I consider taking my life. I applied to Law School, took the LSATs, all that. I received my acceptance letter on Tuesday and I'll start in August. Exciting times. It's a program uniquely suited to my experience and goals so it should be pretty good.
I heard a story on the radio last year about how people who make impulsive decisions are usually happier with their decisions than those you debate, and weight decisions to death in order to make the right one. I've been trying to apply this philosophy to my life a little more and going to school was one of those things. I'm not certain I want to be a lawyer but it's time to start moving in some direction.
Happiness is all the rage.
At some point I became the responsible, maybe a little boring, guy. I went out with co-workers last night and didn't really intend to be the sober one but found myself less drunk than anyone else and realizing I was going to need to start taking keys so I stopped drinking. Two hours and no beers later I was driving co-workers to hotels and buying them rooms for the night. I was called a "good guy" from the girl at work I'd rather have calling me an irresistible guy. "Good guy" is only slightly better than being called a "nice guy" or told, "I'm glad we're friends." The price I pay for stepping up and watching out for people.
Sometimes I worry I'm growing up too fast. There are certainly people more grown up than me at 27 and people alot less. I wonder if Law School will put the final nail in my young-adulthood coffin. I'll be 32 when I'm finished, that's probably pretty definitively adulthood.

Ambitious Boring Weekend

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:03:00 +0000

So I'm taking a cue from my buddy at Leftover Chinese and theming my post titles in a too-lazy-to-think-up-a-unique title fashion. Not that I'm implying he's lazy at anything, even his blog posts, but this does just seem easier. I'm going with all my posts as being Ambitious-this or Ambivalent-that. I'm also kicking around a them similar to his "Leftover Chinese does-this" fashion only a Harry Potter-esque Ambivalent Ambition and the blah blah blah. Don't mistake this for Harry Potter fan-boydom, it's just another easy way to title blog posts. Don't get me wrong I like the Harry [*]er just fine, just not enough to purposely theme a blog around him.

This weekend was probably the most laid back I've had in months. After attending a hockey game with my brother I met some people for drinks but cut it off at first bar time and not 4am bar time.

I awoke at a semi-respectable-for-a-Saturday 11:30 AM and began by tackling a sweeping and mopping of my living area that had been nagging me. Little did I know this would turn into a 5 hour cleaning festival and soon my apartment would be as clean as is actually possible considering I've still got stacks of books craving a shelf to put them on.

Saturday night I met aforementioned LC and hot-teacher Andy at a neighborhood haunt and again called an evening before getting too crazy. I awoke at 10:30 on Sunday with little to do since I'd done all my cleaning the day before. So I watched some James Bond movies, some football, worked out, did some reading and watched more television (read Battlestar Gallactica) with the usual crew.

After a highly active, though boring weekend I went to sleep at 11:00 on Sunday and awoke at 5:00 this morning feeling wonderful. I think quiet weekends are just what I need to keep my weeks from being unbearable.

I'm suddenly thinking this title thing won't work out since I luckily have plenty of emotional states besides ambition and ambivalence.

Update Schedule 2007

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:38:00 +0000

Just kidding, there isn't one. I probably haven't updated this blog in awhile, although I didn't check to see when and what I posted last.
2006... no comment.
2007... bring it, I will kick your ass so freaking hard.
My new apartment is finally starting to take shape, 6 months after I moved in. I now have places to put all my kitchen things, stuff to sit on and a bed to sleep on. Sleeping in a bed was one of the best things I've experienced in years.
Umm... I'm trying to work out more this year.
I'm also trying to read more, sleep more, eat healthier and meditate more.
Hmm, pretty generic.

Thats all.

Screw edits

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 16:22:00 +0000

I was gonna change that hours to a miles below, then I decided it really doesn't matter.
Summer has kicked into full effect and weekends are booking fast. I've completely stopped keeping my apartment clean, now favoring putting things directly into boxes preparing for a move instead of putting them on the shelf or in the drawer they belong.

Obsession

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:36:00 +0000

I've logged about 60 hours on my bicycle this week. 75 by the time I get home tonight. The more I ride the more obsessed I get. I'm not totally sure this is a good thing. I heard from over my right shoulder the other night, "Hey I need... directions," trailing off from some guy at the side of the road. I was going pretty fast and it didn't really register until I'd completely passed him. Still I could have stopped and gone back to help the guy out. I think I was just concentrating too much on my technique and blocking everything else out. I feel bad about it now, I should have helped the guy out and be a little less obsessed with keeping my pace.

Stupid Web 2.0

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 18 May 2006 20:39:00 +0000

Netflix's new Ajaxed out interface is driving me nuts. It slows down the whole process and doesn't seem intuitive to me at all. I had this flow to using their website, queue... read... rate... go back... rate... read... queue. Now I practically can't use it. I click on a rating and expect to go to the next thing and I get this stupid window that pops up over everything. I probably have no right to complain since I personally despise web development but it really seems that designers are designing sites more about what they'd like the users to do instead of actually adding badly needed functionality.
This is a prime example of poorly thought out flow and its persisted across a couple of designs: I go through my recommended movies and start rating to get better recommendations and to show off what I've though about stuff. Often Netflix will recommend many movies I've already seen so this seems like a good way of cruising through all those and documenting them. Sometimes I'll queue up a movie I want to see while I'm at it but instead of returning me to the page I was just reading it used to take me to a new page with "Other people who rented this..." kind of crap. I'd just hit the back button a couple times and wind up where I started, not efficient but not crippling. Now I have to actually locate a stupid little [x] on the screen to get these recommendations to go away. They seem so intent on showing these to me I wonder if there is a financial incentive.

E3

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Mon, 15 May 2006 14:39:00 +0000

So I had this post with my E3 analysis in it but it looks like blogger ate it, probably because of my impatience with blogger publishing. Screw it.
Blogger spellcheck doesn't understand 'blogger.'

Spelling = Not Required, Punctuation = Optional

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:59:00 +0000

Wow. I used to consider myself half decent at communication, especially writing. Looking over some old posts, and emails including business emails I sound like english is not my first or best language. Sometimes I start sentences without finish.

Things I've Learned/Need to Learn

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:27:00 +0000

I need to learn how to end a phone conversation without saying goodbye, I feel like I would seem more commanding that way.

Things I've learned since going to the YMCA to work out
1) It's well worth the extra money to rent a locker
2) It's far less ackward to introduce yourself to the men you walk around with naked everyday than to just go on ignoring them
3) It's not any cheaper than a health club
4) It's probably less intimidating than a health club
5) There is a reason why all the treadmills tell you to cut your workout off at 30 minutes when people are waiting. Most people want to workout for longer than 30 minutes. You can't fit a decent workout into a 15 minute timeframe.
6) Jogging and taking a shower in the middle of the day instead of eating lunch out make you feel great.

Acronyms, Buzzwords and Discontent

No, I got the internet goin' nutz — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:55:00 +0000

Words/Acronyms I can't go more than a week without hearing

1) Enterprise software
2) ROI (Return on Investment)
3) Business process

Words/Acronyms I haven't heard in years
1) RAD (Rapid Application Development - I probably haven't heard this one because all enterprise app development is rapid now)
2) Project Specification (My employers seem to like to wing it more than not these days in fact sometimes introducing errors to force me to work on something immediately instead of planning it)

Q> What is my point?
A> I'm tired of writing software that just makes peoples businesses run better. I'm tired of writing software to replace an employee or take more orders faster. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of solving a unique problem but I don't get any sense of advancing human achievement. I want to write software that touches the everyday person's life, or even makes it a little better or easier. I want to write something unique and fun that some guy on the street might say, "Hey that's cool." I want to do this with people and not just on my own. I want to feel part of a team, I want camaraderie.

I've been interviewing for a lot of jobs lately and a lot of friends have tried to set me up and I've found quite a few on my own. I've really appreciated that but at the same time every interview I go to I feel like I'm just in for more of the same. There are little things that seem to make it a little better, like a team to be part of or a more comfortable work environment, but its still writing software for business and that's just no fun. Not that I've gotten any offers anyway. Its a little frustrating to interview for jobs you don't think you really want, and you know your qualified for and ultimately be brushed off like you weren't even considered. Maybe its the fact that I don't think I want them that shows through in my interview, because I'm really fucking good at what I do, I just don't seem to get that across to people. Anyway, ultimately I'd like to find a job that I'm proud of, one that I tell people about who may have no interest in listening. Any idea how I can find that?

On the upside a software I planned, architected and developed last year was recently written up as a case study in a trade journal. Hit me up if you want to read a copy.