The Time is Now

The Redundant Clock designed by Jai Lee. He works for google. He appears to be smart. I want to make my own since they aren't for sale.

LA 27

On Sunday Ariel and I met up with my friend Dan who writes about food. His blog, DanEats, is an entertaining look at all the restaurants and dining experiences he gets himself into. Now that he is slowly moving from New York to Los Angeles we have been getting lunch and dinner together about once a week. Since he is writing about food I figured we should try to go to different places. So far we have gone to Baby Blues BBQ, Mario's Peruvian, and a few other spots spread around town.
Having an amateur food critic in my life has compelled me to try new things. For Valentine's day Ariel got me Counter Intelligence by Jonathan Gold, the Pulitzer Prize winning food critic. For the last few years I have searched out Gold's recommendations. For the most part his tastes are a little too spicy for me but sometimes we find ourselves in complete agreement. The Donut Man is the best example of this. Gold and I have come to the mutual conclusion that the strawberry donut from here is the best in LA (my coworkers now agree as well). But lunch on Sunday wasn't going to be donuts so I had to find somewhere new between Santa Monica and Los Feliz.
After 20 minutes of research I settled on El Izalqueno and its El Salvadorian Food. It was suitably exciting and foreign and was located just north of downtown. Ariel and I arrived at the listed address first and were disappointed to find that the restaurant was either never there or had been replaced. In its place was LA27, a Nicaraugan restaurant with a live band and tables filled with families. Had it been Ariel and I the loud music probably would have turned us away; but when Dan sauntered up we determined it was worth a shot. We were quickly sat at a 4 top by the only waiter who spoke english. We asked about specialties and all of the drinks which had names we did not recognize. The waiter helped us out bigtime by bringing us samples (in little salsa cups) of ten different drinks. These ranged from rice based drinks (some with pineapple, chocoloate, and other spices) to fruit drinks (lemonade with sesame seeds, coconut). All of them were different from anything we had ever drank.
Following the drink sampling we ordered a starter of Baho, a meat stew served with perfectly sticky white rice. The stew had some potatoes, plantains, some very fatty meat, carrots and tomatoes. There was very little meat but what was there was delicious. The plantains were too hearty for me and lacked the sweetness of their fried bretheren. The potatoes were very good. Dan and I both ordered the fritanga a la 27 which had chorizo (delicious, but we hardly had any on our plates), carne asada (excellent, thick cut seasoned perfectly) and pork (great marinade but a little dry). The sides were rice mixed with pinto beans, lettuce and tomato, fried plantains, fried cheese, and tons of a vinegar based salsa consisting of baby corn, onions and carrots. The salso went with/on everything and we went through about half a container. Ariel got the shredded beef plate which was like Ropa Vieja from Cha Cha Chicken but not quite as good.
This is probably the most authentic foreign food experience I have had; meaning that I basically felt like I was in Nicaruaga while eating there. No one spoke english, the food was delicious, and the music was inappropriately loud and invasive. Flower vendors and pirated DVD sellers walked the floor looking for buyers. This was an amazing experience, not to be missed.

I Heart Meatballs

So I love me some meatballs; not as much as some people I know (wink wink), but I do love them. More generally, I love Italian food. I grew up eating the stuff basically every night but as the California culinary scene so did my tastes. I now have a much more broad palet and rarely seek out Italian restaurants.
In Ariel's and my search for a wedding caterer I must admit I was surprised when A.G. Ferrari was an option. Our venue the Brazilian Room has a list of 8 or so caterers you have to choose from and the Italian deli was one of them. I remember eating there occasionally in Corte Madera when growing up and enjoying the food, but I never imagined that they might cater the most important event of my life.
On our last trip to the Bay Ariel and I tried five different caterers. Many were good, but they lacked the oomph that we were looking for. Each caterer had as many weak dishes as good ones. The only one that really stood out was AGF. All of the appetizers were delicious, as were the entrees and desserts, and the only menu items where they came up short were the easiest to fix: the salad and the grilled veggies. We tweaked the veggie selection to our liking and added some items to the salad to make it more in line with the food we love. The salmon (with a crispy bottom) and the bruschetta appetizers were particularly excellent.
We haven't booked AGF yet (we have booked our photog, florist, and DJ) because we still want to perfect the menu, but once we get them dialed in we will be that much closer to the big day.

Long John Performance: Smartwool versus Patagonia

For my first snowshoeing trip I decided I needed more than one pair of long johns. I bought a pair of Smartwool Midweight Bottoms for general backpacking use a few years ago. I typically would throw them on at night when the sun started to go down and wear them under my pants until climbing into sleeping bag. Since they are merino wool they are soft, odorless, and warm while also wicking sweat away. Since I would be snowshoeing and sweating I wanted a pair to wear each day. I love testing new clothing and building up my gear box so I wanted to try something new. I went with the Patagonia Capilene 3 Bottoms which are basically synthetic versions of the Smartwools. Here is a breakdown of the performance:




Smartwool ($75) - For warmth, softness and cut these can't be beat. The merino wool insulates in the cold and transports sweat when working hard. The fabric is soft enough that these are the perfect cold weather sleep wear. And there is something about the fit around the ankles that is perfect (although the seat is a little dumpy). I wore these after the first day's climb and to bed, and the all day the second day (downhill). For warmth underneath a windshell layer these really can't be beat.







Patagonia Capilene 3 ($45) -I wore these the entire first day underneath my snowshell pants. They were warm enough that I ended up opening my knee zips after a few hours of climbing but they kept my legs dry and I was never uncomfortable. Even while shoveling snow to make base camp the sweat never clung to these longjohns. The elastic waist band and elastic at the ankles were a little too tight but the overall performance was impressive.

Bottom Line - If I was looking to buy one pair of longjohns to last me forever I would go with the Smartwools. They are soft enough to wear at home and perform well enough to wear while doing intense physical activity. If you need to buy multiple pairs for a trip and are on a budget the Patagonia Capilene is a great economical choice. They performed as well as the Smartwools while sweating (the polyester wicks better than the merino) but the Smartwools were warmer while standing around at camp. It depends on the situation but both of these longjohns perform well.

Top 10 Hikes and Dive Spots

The website Gadling has a list of what they consider the "World's best Hikes." One of the hikes is the Mt. Whitney climb which I did in one day in 2008. Maybe it was the trauma of the 22 miles that day, but I would not consider it one of the "world's best." Either way, the ten hikes listed are all trips I want to do.
They also listed the top 10 dive sites.

http://www.gadling.com/2010/01/26/10-great-destinations-for-scuba-diving-adventure-videos/

I now have 20 trips to do in the near future.

Empowered by Gaiters

There is something empowering about wearing gaiters. When combined with durable snow pants and hearty winter boots you feel like you could be walking through knee high lava flows and be fine.
Mine are the Outdoor Research Verglass Gaiters. They are affordable ($45), durable, waterproof, and not vomit inducing ugly. Over two days of snowshoeing and potholing up to my knee my feet remained dry and these remained in place. The calf strap is sturdy and never came loose. The leather straps were easy to adjust (before they were frozen over). The velcro front made putting them on easy even after the spent the night getting coated in ice.
They are not without their problems though. Maybe I have skinny legs for my shoe size but the calf strap had to be cinched almost all the way down to stay up on my leg. While the strap never came undone I did end up with an annoying bunching at the top of the gaiters and the actual strap sticking out to the side. This could theoretically get snagged on something. My second complaint may happen with all gaiters. The lace clip at the toe always came unhooked. This never impacted the performance of the gaiters but had circumstances been different I would want these more firmly locked onto my shoe. I may add a little ring onto my boots so that I have something more secure than crossed laces to hook my clip around.

La Botte

My parents were in town after a desert valley road trip and requested we go to La Botte for dinner. We had eaten there on my last birthday and had an amazing culinary experience.
We went on a Tuesday night and the restaurant was mostly full. I am not sure if they expected this because we ended up with one thoroughly overworked waiter. He looked a little like Christiano Ronaldo and had the accent of an Italian characterture. After dropping off our menus we didn't see him for about 30 minutes. Our wine took an additional 30 minutes to arrive. If it wasn't for very stimulating conversation this meal would have been miserable.
For food we tried to order the Scallop salad but the waiter informed us they were out of scallops. We ended up starting with the cured duck (duck prosciutto) which was tasty and the red beet ravioli. The ravioli was absolutely amazing. The flavors burst out of the homemade shell, the presentation was perfect, and the dish tasted earthy (the beets), cheesy and a little sweet.
My entree was the pork shoulder served on chard with a kobucha squash mustard. The meat was a little undercooked (it didn't fall apart completely, just mostly, I almost had to use a knife) but the mustard was perfect. It had the consistency of sweet mashed potatoes but the spiciness of a hot ground mustard. And I love mustard.
My dad ordered the filet mignon medium rare. It came out cold so he sent it back to be reheated. When it came back it was closer to medium than medium rare. He said it was delicious but overcooking your cold meat is not acceptable.
Ariel ordered the lamb ragou which was pretty good. The homemade pasta was smooth and floury (just right). I thought the lamb flavor was overpowered by the cheese, but the dish was still quite good.
So in summary, the service was deplorable but the food was delicious. The two bottles of wine we drank were also top notch (the first was a reasonably priced Montepulciano, my dad ordered the second but it was also smooth). I still recommend this place even with the bad service.
http://www.labottesantamonica.com/

USA! USA!

I am much more of a Daily Show fan than a Colbert Report fan, but this sticker is awesome. I wish I had a giant eagle to ride and a flaming flag. Thank you Shepard Fairey

Scoops

Full disclosure: I love Baskin Robbins. I grew up eating it and have many fond childhood memories. Uncannily consistent, you can go into any BR on the planet and find staples like Gold Medal Ribbon and Mint Chip that never disappoint. They are always creamy, sweet, and delicious.

But the advent of designer ice cream has taken the frozen sweet in a totally different direction. After a friend's show at the Fake Gallery we hit up Scoops, the Hollywood hipster version of Baskin Robbins. Scoops is known for exciting flavors like Lavender, Goat Cheese, Brown Bread, and Oolong Tea. They are all amazing and made with fresh ingredients that really bring out the intricacies of the taste. The ice cream is made that morning and the flavors are served until they run out. The past few times we have been there they have run out of a few items (Banana Oreo, which is right in my wheelhouse, is frequently gone).

Ariel and I decided to split one cup (which is two scoops) for $2.75. The price is right. We ordered Blueberry Black Tea and Black Sesame. The BBT tasted like, well, tea infused with blueberries. It had the perfect balance of sweet cut with the bitterness of black tea. The Black Sesame was amazing. The ice cream was basically sesame seeds and ground sesame with a creamy base. It is hard to describe the flavor but imagine if sesame seeds tasted so good you didn't want to stop eating them - that is basically how this ice cream tasted. I don't think I would pair these two flavors again, I would pass on the BBT, but the Black Sesame was delicious.
Other Scoops thoughts - The Honey Lavender is the best flavor I have had there. It may be the best flavor of ice cream I have ever eaten (sorry BR). The flavor is complex, delicate, sweet...it is like eating heaven and potpurri all at once.
The Berkeley version of Scoops is Ici. Simply put, Scoops DESTROYS Ici. The consistency of the ice cream, the variety of flavors, and the complexity of the tastes at Scoops surpass the four flavors we tried at Ici.

Umami Burger

Ariel and I went to Umami Burger last night. I will go ahead and say it was delicious, but here is an item by item breakdown with my final opinion at the bottom:

Pickled Plate - We started with this appetizer that consisted of all things pickled: peaches (which the waitress identified as pears), cucumber (obviously), hearts of palm, fennel, and one other thing that I cannot recall. The pears stood out for their texture which was soft but interesting; the pickles were not good at all and far too sweet; and the fennel was the only thing that I would say was good.

Sweet Potato Fries - I love me some sweet potato fries. When they are on a menu I order them. This craze started a few years ago and so far the best ones are at The Counter with a close runner up at Father's Office. Umami probably delivered the best ones yet. They were perfectly fried and had a sprinkling of sugar (maybe brown sugar, not sure) that made these more sweet than they need to be. With the added garlic aioli these were excellent.

Socal Burger - This is a very basic burger with lettuce, tomato, some other spreads and carmelized onions. I did not notice the onions at all. The burger was good but a little too salty. There should have been more onions to cut the salt and balance out the flavor. The actual patty was delicious though and charred to perfection.

The Umami Burger - The eponymous menu option really brings it. Toppings include a little piece of portabello mushroom, a baked parmesan lattitce, a baked tomato, and some type of aioli. The center of this burger, where all of the toppings were located, really tasted like nothing else (Umami means "the fifth taste"). Those few bites were transcendent. The edges of the burger, like the Socal, were charred perfectly but were over seasoned and too salty.

Bottom Line - I would go back for the fries and Umami burger but mainly to try some of the other options. I like that they use creative combinations of items on their burgers. I do not like that they have no other items beyond a turkey burger. And never order the pickled plate.

A Sweet Jacket for a Friend

My friend Tommy and I do not always see eye to eye when it comes to politics. He is from the more rural Inland Empire in San Bernadino and I from white collar blue voting Marin County. He watches 24, I watch the Daily Show. He listens to Tom Licus, I listen to NPR. But one thing we CAN agree on is how ironically tasteful this jacket is. I think I am going to surprise him and send it to him. It is available here for the irrationally low price of $20.95 USD.

My Snow Boots - Keen Summit County

I began shopping for snow boots in anticipation of a winter backpacking trip in the fall. While the trip didn't materialize until mid-January I had these boots under the bed for a few months. One thing I have learned about Keen boots is you can pull them right out of the box, slip in your Superfeet, and hit the trail. Before my snowshoe trip (with the broken snowshoes documented here) I had worn these boots for all of an hour inside my apartment. I then wore them for an additional 30 minutes the night before our departure. But when I threw them on the next morning they performed beautifully.
I have never owned a pair of snow boots so this was virigin territory for me. Based on reviews at the REI website and the fact Keens just fit my feet I figured these would be a solid option for snowshoeing. These boots were very comfortable right out of the box and I didn't have any blisters or soreness after our first day of hiking that covered 4 miles and 2000 ft of altitude gain. At night, as temperatures dipped into the 20's and we were stuck milling about in our snow surrounded camp, my toes did start to go numb. These boots could use more than the 350 gram KEEN.WARM insulation, especially in the toes. The toes did stay completely dry at all times, which is the most important thing, and the comfort can't be beat.
I now have three pairs of Keens - these winter boots, the Targhee II Mids, and the Arroyo IIs for water wear. The Targhees are my go to boots for all hiking. They are the most comfortable shoes I own, have the wide toebox I need, and lace up just right. They have been up Mt. Whitney (no blisters after 22 miles in one day) and have also been on a hike where I was basically walking through a river for 4 miles. They can do everything. The rubber knobbies have started to come off the shoe but they have yet to fully detach. This is a very common occurrence with Keen and from what I have read the only real problem with any of their shoes. I still recommend these to everyone with a foot shaped similar to mine.
And full disclosure, I have yet to wear the Arroyo IIs after buying them on sale. Hopefully I can find a wet hike or a warm rafting trip to wear them on in the near future.

Snow in LA!?

Driving on the 10 West to work this morning it looked like it was snowing. Turns out I was following a garbage truck full of styrofoam...oh well, it still looked kind of neat.

Tax and Spend

Here is an excerpt from TMQ. Everyone should read this weekly column.
Borrow-and-Spend Replaces Tax-and-Spent: The tea party crowd -- which calls itself a movement though perhaps one American in 10,000 actually has attended a tea party -- claims Barack Obama is a "tax and spend" president. Obama is a borrow-and-spend president, just as George W. Bush was. Federal tax rates have declined steadily for a generation, and declined sharply in the past decade. A declining federal tax burden for most people, rather than higher federal spending, is the core reason for skyrocketing deficits -- though spending surely is rising, too. Commentators who use the phrase "tax and spend" to describe Obama either don't understand recent political history or aren't being honest.
Federal income tax rates were cut by John Kennedy in the early 1960s, by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s; rose slightly under the elder George Bush; were cut twice under the younger Bush, and cut again by Obama last winter. Capital-gains tax rates have declined too; Social Security and Medicare taxes ("payroll taxes") were raised by Reagan and by Bill Clinton, although not enough to fully fund either program, meaning those taxes are lower than they need to be for fiscal discipline. This chart shows the decline of the federal top rate, to less than half of what it was under Dwight Eisenhower.
The younger Bush was hammered in the press because his two tax cuts reduced the rate paid by the rich: But the same cuts nearly eliminated federal income taxes on the working class and lower middle class. That is, George W. Bush's tax cuts were progressive. Last year, 43 percent of Americans paid no federal income taxes -- in 2009; this year, as many as half of Americans are expected to pay no federal income taxes. Yet public discourse is full of complaints about taxes, and many people claim to hate Washington because of taxes, while practically everyone demands more federal benefits and services.
As middle-class taxes are being eliminated, the top 20 percent of filers -- the well-off -- pay for a steadily higher share of federal government, last year paying 70 percent of total federal taxes. The well-off are financing most of the federal government, and that will intensify next year as taxes go up on household income above $250,000. Other than the spending paid for by the well-off, the rest is being billed to the young, via deficit spending and borrowing.
Keynesian point: It does make sense to increase federal spending when the economy is soft. But the flip side of Keynesian economics is that government should reduce spending when the economy is strong, using the breathing space to pay down debt. Congress loves to increase spending. Is there any chance that as the economy recovers, Congress will abide by the second prescription of Keynesian economics, and reduce spending? A few days ago the House quietly raised the federal debt ceiling to $14 trillion, allowing yet another round of undisciplined, unaccountable giveaways. That big number equates to $46,000 in debt for every American citizen. Since no one in the Boomer generation ever will repay a dime -- the Baby Boom's final sociological act-out may be to bankrupt the country -- the effective debt is more like $100,000 per American under the age of 30.
Fiscal policy point: Think I am exaggerating about bankrupting the country? Last week Moody's Investor Services warned that U.S. Treasury bonds may be downgraded from Triple-A status. Even if the extremely modest fiscal-discipline goals recently announced by President Obama are met, in five years the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio will be worse than it was in 1950, when America was paying off World War II borrowing.
Media point: Here are headlines from last week's budget proposal release. USA Today's main headline (underneath "What Happens to Avatar 3-D Glasses?") was "Obama Budget Proposal Draws Rapid Fire," the political-quarrel angle. The New York Times' main headline was "Huge Deficits May Alter U.S. Politics and Global Power," the public-policy angle. The Chicago Tribune's main headline was "Obama Budget Proposes $100 Billion for Jobs Subsidies," the blue-collar angle. The Washington Post's main headline was "Budget Calls for Increased Spending," the angle that pleases Post readers, many of whom work for or with the federal government. The Wall Street Journal cut to the chase for its demographic: "Wealthy Face Tax Increase."

My New Watch

As anyone who knows me can attest I thoroughly and painstakingly research anything that I plan on buying. From snowshoes to video games to cars, I read reviews, check Consumer Reports, ask people who own an item about its performance, and try on or test the item(s) multiple times. Normally this process only consumes my time with multiple trips to REI or lost man hours at work researching online. But recently Ariel offered to buy me a watch (and get sucked into my OCD reserch habits).
I am not sure when my love for all things horological began, but at some point I began desiring fine timepieces. It started with a few Swiss Army watches, evolved into any watch that looked nice, then became more technical. Of the watches I wear most I have an automatic (self-winding) Hamilton for fancy events, a Swiss Army with a black face for daily use, a Citizen Eco-Drive Chronograph for daily use, and a Seiko automatic dive watch for ocean use (the rubber band fits over wetsuits). I like all of these watches for the niches they fill but I really wanted to make a step up into the fine timepieces world.
So when Ariel offered to get me a nice watch I began the search by determining what criteria I wanted the watch to meet. It needed to be a certified chronometer, have a metal bracelet, be fashionable enough to wear daily, and preferably be a chronograph (stop watch). So I searched high and low and narrowed it down to six semi-finalists then to three finalists:


IWC Portuguese IW371401





Tag Heuer Carrera CV2A10.BA0796





















Omega Seamaster #2225.80

I decided the IWC was too fancy and not great for everyday wear (the crocodile bracelet is almost too nice), the Carrara just wasn't nice enough, and the Omega was just right.
My lovely fiance was kind enough to head over to the downtown LA jewelry district where her office is located and pick up the watch at wholesale prices. She surprised me with it on Friday after telling me that it would have to be shipped from New York. She almost died from having to keep the secret.
The watch is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is heavy enough that I am aware of it but not so heavy it is bothersome. It has a handsome face, nice bracelet, and is perfect for everyday use. It is a certified chronometer and has a chronograph functions. On top of that it is a dive watch to 300M which means I could take it into the ocean if need be. It has the sophisticated Omega 1164 movement which is based off of a famous ETA 2824-2 movement. It meets all of the technical and aesthetic requirements that I have been searching for. I just love having such an insane amount of handiwork and engineering go into such a small case on my wrist. Click on this link to see a video of an automatic watch.

Thank you Ariel for such an awesome present.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

With the Super Bowl upon us I figured now would be a good time to recommend my favorite football column: Tuesday Morning Quarterback. What sets this column apart from all the others is writer Gregg Easterbrook's insights, analysis, and willingness to depart from football and discuss other aspects of American culture and politics. Every column (published on Tuesday mornings following the last game of the week on Monday night) discusses the best/worst plays of the weekend, astronomy, the economy, Congressional pandering, and many other odd things you don't expect to find on espn.com. Easterbrook surprises me every week with the amount of news and preparation that goes into each column. If you have even a passing interest in football you should read TMQ every week.

Las Vegas

Just got back from a trip to Vegas for the World of Concrete. If you have never been to a trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center consider yourself lucky. The show I attended (with about 65,000 other people from around world) featured a front loader obstacle course (a front loader is like a bulldozer), a brickmason competition where they basically made brick firepits, tool demos, and a million other boothes ranging from tile to 5-hour energy to vacation packages. The 40 hour stay consisted of lots of walking, sitting in 3 hours of class, and eating a chicken sandwich from Nathans' hotdogs.
But, since this was a free trip to Vegas, it also featured a stay at the brand new Aria hotel at the City Center, beer pong with some friends and a coworker at Blondies, dinner at the always classy Hawaiian Tropic Zone, gambling at Aria, and getting way too little sleep. I would recommend that everyone do all of the above with the exception of eating at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. Not sure how that will look on the HDCCO expense report either.

Broken Embraces (Los abrazos rotos)

Ariel, Kristen and I went to see Broken Embraces at the Arclight Hollywood the other day. Since this is a Pedro Almodovar movie I was optomistic (I thoroughly enjoyed Volver) but as the movie progressed I realized the plot was dull and predictable. The story is told in series of flashbacks that are not very enthralling. You know exactly what is going to happen from the start and the twist at the end was so obvious I was insulted the writer (also Almodovar) considered it might catch people off guard. I was ready to walk out at the one and a half hour mark and the 127 minute runtime was way too long.
There were two things that did hold my interest though - the male lead Lluis Homar who was amazing and Penelope Cruz. It was not Penelope's best work, but she did fine and also managed to disrobe briefly. Homar stole every scene he was in and played both old and young Mateo Blanco convincingly. I will be on the lookout for more movies featuring him.