I Have Tracked Him Down
Monday, August 19, 2013
I know that things have been pretty slow around here. I have started a new job and managed to track down a real, honest to good superhero. He is hiding out in the Far East. Here is his ID:
Showing posts with label general dorkery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general dorkery. Show all posts
I Love that the President is a Nerd.
Friday, January 11, 2013
As Smitty knows, the White House has a policy that says that any policy proposal placed on the White House website that receives the support of 25,000 people, will receive consideration and a response from the White House. This summer the White House released the recipe for its Honey Porter and Honey Ale after beer brewers petitioned the White House for its release.
Recently a bunch of nerds gathered the support of over 34,000 people in asking the federal government to begin the construction of our very own Death Star.
The White House did not disappoint. Well, they might have disappointed people by shooting down the death star concept, but at least the denial was a very creative Star Wars-laden response.
Read it here.
Friday Beer Pepto Review
Friday, July 18, 2008
Considering the rough times at the Smitty household, and the great pressure Smitty is under to not only care for his loving family of five, but also deal with the pressure of supplying ATK’s 1.6 Million readers with a weekly beer review, I have decided to step up to the plate.
Nope, I will not offer a beer review. I cannot do that justice. Instead, in honor of the current condition of Smitty’s stomach, I offer you a review for every person who has drank a little too much, or had some nasty bug fly through their family like wildfire.
Today's review is common enough in Michigan that you can consistently buy it at Meijers. I recommend that you do. Today, we're looking at the cleverly-named Pepto-Bismol. Pepto, from the Greek word referring to the digestive system and Bismol, named after the active ingredient, which contains bismuth.
I tried the 16 oz, original flavor Pepto, which poured into the handy (included) plastic shot glass as a bright pink color with a fluffy, yet thin, milky head that stuck like thick lace down the side of the plastic cup. The foamy top was accentuated when properly shaken.
Huge aromatic, sugary scents and bubblegum assault my nose. Underneath it all, hidden but there when you pay attention, are some more earthy scents.
The taste is a notch-up from the more common Milk of Magnesia or generic versions. Cotton candy was the overwhelming flavor, with a surprising amount of natural cane sugar and a touch of corn-syrup popping through. This elixir would be completely out of control if it weren't for the judicious use of bismuth, which faded into a chalky finish under all that sweetness. It has a creamy and smooth mouth feel on the tongue, that coated, soothed and relieved.
This Pepto is pretty tame, but for those who want a slightly heavier body and prefer a higher bismuth content (BBV) there is also maximum strength. For those who prefer a more fruity taste, Cherry is also available.
This original Pepto though could be quaffed one after another as the trips to the bathroom build or for really rough stomachs. (Use as directed.)
Well done, Procter and Gamble.
Read more...
Nope, I will not offer a beer review. I cannot do that justice. Instead, in honor of the current condition of Smitty’s stomach, I offer you a review for every person who has drank a little too much, or had some nasty bug fly through their family like wildfire.
Today's review is common enough in Michigan that you can consistently buy it at Meijers. I recommend that you do. Today, we're looking at the cleverly-named Pepto-Bismol. Pepto, from the Greek word referring to the digestive system and Bismol, named after the active ingredient, which contains bismuth.
I tried the 16 oz, original flavor Pepto, which poured into the handy (included) plastic shot glass as a bright pink color with a fluffy, yet thin, milky head that stuck like thick lace down the side of the plastic cup. The foamy top was accentuated when properly shaken.
Huge aromatic, sugary scents and bubblegum assault my nose. Underneath it all, hidden but there when you pay attention, are some more earthy scents.
The taste is a notch-up from the more common Milk of Magnesia or generic versions. Cotton candy was the overwhelming flavor, with a surprising amount of natural cane sugar and a touch of corn-syrup popping through. This elixir would be completely out of control if it weren't for the judicious use of bismuth, which faded into a chalky finish under all that sweetness. It has a creamy and smooth mouth feel on the tongue, that coated, soothed and relieved.
This Pepto is pretty tame, but for those who want a slightly heavier body and prefer a higher bismuth content (BBV) there is also maximum strength. For those who prefer a more fruity taste, Cherry is also available.
This original Pepto though could be quaffed one after another as the trips to the bathroom build or for really rough stomachs. (Use as directed.)
Well done, Procter and Gamble.
Name that... car?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Okay, so enough politics for now... my wife and I were driving the other day when some song mentioned a Chevy in it and it got me to thinking, which soon became a contest between her and I as to how many songs mention cars in them. We came up with a few and, for the most part concluded that Chevy's and Chevrolet's are the most mentioned cars in popular music. I've been pondering this ever since and thought I would put it to you, the ATK community, to list any other song you can think of that mentions a car of some type. Obviously, we'll get plenty from the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean, stuff like that, and that's fine, but I was hoping for some more obscure stuff as well. Thought this would be a fun exercise.
Read more...Gen Con '07
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A friend (Greg) and I attended Gen Con '07 this past weekend in Indianapolis. For those of you that have never heard of this, it is a gaming convention that started off being held at Gary Gygax's house in 1968 and eveolved into the largest event of it's type in the world. I played D & D, starrting in 6th grade, and had wanted to go this since the early 1980's. It is kind of a Mecca for Dorks. Like most conventions, there are companies promoting their goods, but the biggest component is the games. From the early morning, to late into the night, people are playing any kind of game. RPG's, boardgames, miniature games, card games, and LARP's.
If I had to guess, I'd say that at any given time during the day, there were at least 3000 to 4000 games going on. There were tournaments for cash prizes sponsored by the major companies and there were also small pick-up games. I got to try out several games I had never played. Since most are fairly expensive, it was nice to be able to play something without having to buy it first. I found myself liking some games that looked really lame and not liking games that were hugely popular. I noticed that there are dozens of rail themed games where the players develop rail lines that span every time frame and geographic location. It tried one and discovered that rail games seem as boring as I thought they would.
As many would expect, there were a large number of really odd people at this event. Most gamers tend to be male and we saw every kind of stereotypical gamer you could imagine. One thing that I hadn't expected was the stench. The people I have gamed with over the years had decent hygiene, so I didn't expect to run into so many people that had never heard of bathing or deodorant. Someone said that if you placed a $100 bill in the middle of the convention center with a bar of soap on top, it would still be there after 4 days. The male to female ratio was probably 30 or 40 to 1, with most of them being a scary looking as the males. I did find one decent looking woman, but I suspected she may have been hired by the company to sell their stuff.
The weekend wasn't a complete Dorkfest. Greg and I managed to find several brewpubs within a couple blocks of the convention center. I wish I could include a Smitty-like review, but I am afraid that I don't remember the names of the beers we tried. All-in-all, it was a good trip and I would do it again. 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)