Vodka – The multifaceted wonder drink!

May 26, 2008 by Dan Taylor    2 Comments    Posted under: News

Ah yes, Vodka. Na zdorovya comrades! While I’ve written about the beauties of beer making you smarter, Let’s delve into the other drink you’ve probably got around the house: Vodka. Personally, I’ll take a bottle of bourbon any day over the clear, odorless, tasteless stuff, but that doesn’t mean that I can\’t appreciate the beauties of Vodka. As a matter of fact, If I’m going out for cocktails, I always make sure that the ladies have at least one round of French Martinis (or…as I call it, the LadyKiller; in so much as, they’re sweet, tasty, and if you’re not careful, they’ll f(*)& you up REAL fast).

But enough with the drink, there are in fact a number of other uses for our favorite flavor from Russia with love:

1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves adhesive
2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.
3. Clean jewelry. Soak the jewelry in vodka for five minutes, then rinse, and dry.
4. Clean lipstick from clothing. Rub the stain with vodka, then throw into your regular wash.
5. Remove the glue left behind by a bumper sticker. Rub the glue with a soft, clean cloth soaked with vodka
6. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.
7. Spray vodka on vomit stains, scrub with a brush, then blot dry.
8. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.
9. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.
10. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle and spray bees or wasps to kill them.
11. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshable ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.
12. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.
13. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.
14. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.
15. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.
16. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.
17. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.
18. Soothe a sore throat. Add a tablespoon of vodka to glass of warm water and gargle. The alcohol helps numb the sore throat.
19. Eliminate swimmer’s ear. If you don’t have rubbing alcohol, fill an eardropper with vodka, and squeeze it into the affected ear, then let it drain out.
20. Forget about a crappy day. After a long and crappy day, fill one tumbler half full with ice. Remove bottle of Vodka from freezer and fill the rest of the glass. A number of mixers can be added to this base, but remember: Candy is dandy, but (Pure) Liquor is quicker.

Not bad eh? Ok, you got me, I slipped #20 in there just because it hadn’t already been mentioned. I actually just did #9 this morning, so lets see if these recently shaved locks can grow back any healthier than the last time.

Enjoy, and oh….order me a double next time, eh?

Richie Hawtin at Pyramide, Vösendorf, Austria

May 19, 2008 by Dan Taylor    3 Comments    Posted under: Music

The short version: This party sucked. It was ruined by bad people, a bad vibe, a production company that clearly has no idea how to run timings, and a bad location. FU Pyramide, FU Hypnotic, but I still love you Richie.

I don’t even really know how to talk about this party. Maybe the best place to start is in the beginning.

When I was in university in Rochester, NY, I spent many weekends making the ritual drive around the lake, and heading up to Toronto to hear some world class DJ’s and experience some excellent clubs. Amongst some of these best DJ’s, one of the best parties I’ve ever been to had Richie Hawtin as the headliner. I’m dating myself here, but this was sometime around 1997-98. Richie had already achieved a star status, but was still playing for a 400-500 person crowd. Big, but not too big, small enough, but not too small, just all in all, incredible music, good people, a good vibe, and an all around awesome party.

Richie played Saturday night at the Pyramide in Vösendorf, a suburb of Vienna. At least, I think he played. I didn’t make it that far. There are so many things that went wrong with this party it’s hard to even list them. This might possibly have been the worst party I’ve ever been too, which is really saying something, as I thought I’d been to some pretty crappy parties before. To be fair, the Pyramide soundsystem was outstanding, but that’s about the only thing that impressed me.

Within about an hour it became all too apparent what I’d just stepped into: a pure commercial event. I don’t blame Richie. He’s truly obtained superstar status. In order for a production company to book Richie, they MUST book a massive venue, as I’m sure Mr. Hawtin took home anywhere between 10 and 15k for playing for 2 hours. Don’t take this as gospel, as I truly have no idea, but I do know that Parov Stelar, who has a fairly decent name commands around 5k to play an evening, Richie’s rate must be financially reflected by his popularity and world known name.

While I am a fan of the music, I’m also a fan of an ‘experience’. I am a DJ, and therefor for me, the music has to be good, but let’s face it, the music is only one of the possible senses that can be addressed in an evening. One of my most impressed memories about the Toronto party scene is/was the attitude…the atmosphere. Call me old school (’cause I am an OG now), but I still believe in PLUR. I know it’s a term that’s been played out, and plenty of party scene folks become jaded and disinterested over time, I still believe in the spirit of the term. There was simply no PLUR present in Vösendorf on Saturday night. It was cold. It was bare, it was commercial, and it had absolutely no vibe whatsoever.

Another big factor for me is attention to details. There are a few clubs/events that really stick out in my mind as having a pure “WOW!” factor. Lighting can make a huge difference in setting overall mood. One that sticks out to me was a club slightly outside of Toronto. In hindsight, there’s nothing incredibly special about this, but it simply set the mood. You walked in the entrance, all walls are painted black with dark carpeting. The tickets are on the right, and the coat room on the left. The entrance way is bathed in a soft red light, and the top of the first staircase is illuminated with one red spotlight. You walked up that staircase into this red light, turned the corner, and walked up another set of stairs blanketed in aqua light. One more turn, and the stairs are washed with blacklights. All the while the volume of the dancefloor above you increases at each turn. Dramatic. Tension building. Until you finally arrive at the main entrance to the dancefloor with it’s massive light show whirling above your head.

Sounds like a great entrance eh? Let’s fast forward to Saturday night. We entered through 2 glass doors, into a lobby brightly lit with fluorescent lights blasted from above. Let me say that again, ALL THE LIGHTS WERE ON. As if we were there for a business convention (which, incidentally, the Pyramide is normally used for).

To top it all off, we didn’t even make it to see Richie perform. We were all simply exhausted. I don’t know if it was Hypnotic (the production company) or Richie’s personal choice, but he didn’t come on until at least 5am. We bagged it and called it a night around 4:30. Richie was floating around the DJ booth, indicating that he was getting ready, but really: 5am? That’s simply ridiculous. Let’s face it, but 5am, the people that are there and are drinking are way to drunk to know what’s going on. The people that are there that are on pills are completely f(*&ed out of their mind, and would think that my dog was the best DJ they’d ever heard. And the people that are there that are relatively (I had 4 beers, i think) sober, and have been there most of the evening are simply exhausted. I have absolutely no problem with staying out until 6 in the morning dancing my ass off, but that means I have to be entertained between 2-4/5 am. To bring the headliner on at 5am is simply ridiculous.

So sadly, while I dropped a decent amount of coinage (25 Euro) on this party out in the middle of nowhere, and was surrounded by cold, party posers, and didn’t even get to hear Richie, I did learn a lot. I learned how NOT to throw a party. I learned HOW to be prepared for a party. I learned NOT to ever expect much from Hypnotic’s parties. I learned that it will take AN ACT OF GOD to get me out to the Pyramide again. And all in all, I learned WHAT a commercial party is, and will NEVER throw one myself. If our parties get beyond an underground feeling (as I still believe a big party CAN still have PLUR present), that’s the day I throw in the towel and start something new.

If you’ve made it this far in the post, thanks for reading. I’m not mad. I’m not sad. It might even been my own damn fault, as I had such high expectations for this world class DJ, and it was just simply ruined by a bad location, a bad crowd, and a bad production company.

Vienna, I’m disappointed. Show me you can do better than this.

I shot Rudolf’s Home!

May 9, 2008 by Dan Taylor    2 Comments    Posted under: Photography

The Wacom Tablet has really got me enjoying photoshop a LOT more these days. I went for an hour long walk through my neighborhood yesterday, camera in hand, and shot a few images. And while it’s yet another sunny day here in Vienna, I’m off to the farm this weekend, so I ix nay’d the walk down to Schönbrunn this morning to grab some images of the Royal Castle.

I live in the 15th district of Vienna, otherwise known as Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. It’s really a combination of two small districts, and while I’ve never found the official border between the two, something tells me it’s the train tracks the head west from the Westbahnhof. It’s literally the case of depending on which side of the tracks you live on, you either live in Rudolfsheim or Funfhouse.

All of these images were taken in Rudolfsheim, as I didn’t have the time to cross the bridge and get some shots from Fünfhaus. I’ve had the idea of magazine layouts in my head for the past few days, and as you look at these images, try to imagine text filling in the blank blue areas.

Favorite image from the shoot:

with a close second:

Schloss Belvedere

May 7, 2008 by Dan Taylor    4 Comments    Posted under: Photography

I woke up this morning a bit usual than normal (and after a few Jack and Cokes last night, that in itself should have been and accomplishment) and couldn’t help but notice the crystal blue sky. Not a cloud in sight. For our readers from California, this might not seem like such a bit deal, but living in Vienna, a cloudless morning is something to celebrate. My mind immediately thought of my camera, and so it was…today I was going to shoot…shoot something…anything.

I’d been meaning to go back to the Schloss Belvedere for quite a while now, and today seemed as good a day as any. Loaded up with my trusty Nikon D100, 17-55mm and 70-200mm, I subway’d/streetcar’d/hoof’d my way up to one of Vienna’s outstanding examples of Baroque architecture.

Getting there early was the key to most of these shots having relatively few people in them. I spent approximately an hour up at the castle taking about 65 shots.

This was also my first photo project done on my beloved mac. When I ordered a bunch of software from the states for the mac, I also came across the Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet. I’d worked with a designer in the past who absolutely swore by his tablet, and I figured, hey, for the price, why the heck not?

After using the tablet for only a few minutes, I quickly became accustomed to the features and even started using a few of the buttons at the top (a nifty circular scroll wheel zooms in and out for example). All I can say is…why have I been using photoshop for so long with a mouse? Let me put it this way…compared to the Wacom Bamboo Fun, using a mouse for graphics is like drawing with a rock.

All in all, I think there are a few good shots in there, and I even got a ‘dude…these are good’ from Brent over at abouttheimage.com. Although, he’s also got an eagle eye, and suggested that I needed a faster shutter speed on some of the fountain images. Jerk.  But if there’s a guy who knows his f-stops, and who’s opinion I vaue greaty when it comes to imagery, it’s Brent. You can find more of the photos over in the Photo section of TurntheScrew, or visit my flickr page for some larger resolutions.

My favorite photo of the day:

Ballmer to Yang: WTF Mate?

May 5, 2008 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Technology

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few days (or on one heckuva drinking binge) Microsoft withdrew it’s offer to purchase Yahoo! on Satuday.

Not surprising, as this merger had red tape written all over it, but what really gets me is even as he’s trying to be polite in his letter to Yang, Ballmer still manages to end up sounding like a douchebag. In his official letter to Yang, Ballmer slams Yahoo!/Yang for considering outsourcing search advertising to Google (which is a whole other can o’ worms in itself), sighting that it would cause Yahoo! engineers to run for the hills, ultimately raising prices for advertisers (douchebag).

While I’m no huge Yahoo! fan, Jerry’s gotta be thinking; Hey Steve, “Go F#( yoruself!”

The whole letter:

May 3, 2008

Mr. Jerry Yang
CEO and Chief Yahoo
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Dear Jerry:
After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.

I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!’s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially appreciate the time that you have invested personally. I feel that our discussions this week have been particularly useful, providing me for the first time with real clarity on what is and is not possible.

I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions.

In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer.

Also, after giving this week’s conversations further thought, it is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest and eventually an exchange offer. Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo! undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.

We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a “hostile” bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons:

•    First, it would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!’s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system. This would also fragment your search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem surrounding them. This would undermine the reliance on your display advertising business to fuel future growth.
•    Given this, it would impair Yahoo’s ability to retain the talented engineers working on advertising systems that are important to our interest in a combination of our companies.
•    In addition, it would raise a host of regulatory and legal problems that no acquirer, including Microsoft, would want to inherit. Among other things, this would consolidate market share with the already-dominant paid search provider in a manner that would reduce competition and choice in the marketplace.
•    This would also effectively enable Google to set the prices for key search terms on both their and your search platforms and, in the process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo. In addition to whatever resulting legal problems, this seems unwise from a business perspective unless in fact one simply wishes to use this as a vehicle to exit the paid search business in favor of Google.
•    It could foreclose any chance of a combination with any other search provider that is not already relying on Google’s search services.
Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft’s proposal to acquire Yahoo!.

We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Microsoft with the talented team we have in place and potentially through strategic transactions with other business partners.

I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table.

But clearly a deal is not to be.

Thank you again for the time we have spent together discussing this.

Sincerely yours,
Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

Douchebag.

New Balance: Made in the USA

May 2, 2008 by Dan Taylor    5 Comments    Posted under: Technology

I recently purchased and received two new pairs of New Balance kicks. The 570 for everyday city crossings, and the 8508 for some serious street pounding running. I’ve been a fan of NB for a long time now, and while it’s possible to get New Balance in Austria, finding them in a size 38 48 (US 13) can be quite a problem. I’m convinced that there are only a select number of men living in Vienna that have feet larger than a size 12. 12 is usually the max I can find. Maybe I should form the große Fußgemeinschaft (big feet community) and lobby for bigger shoes.

In any case, why I’m writing about them is not to tell you about how great they feel on my feets, and to be honest, how cool they look, but rather about the tag attached to the shoes. I had heard through the wind at one point that NB was made in America, and that they used as many American based materials as possible, and employed Americans to make said shoes. And while I’m not a supranationalist, and lord knows there’s things happening everyday in the US that I find extremely f*()#ed up (oh wait….heard about that Amstetten case in Austria?…Hmm…ok, so the world is f@&ed), I do find it quite cool to buy shoes made in the US, by Americans. I figure with so many jobs going everywhere else in the world (uhh…including myself actually), it might be nice to support a company based in the US, that makes shoes IN the US. However, I must admit, that both pairs that I purchased we NOT made in the USA but rather China. Regardless of this fact, the company is still US based, and they DO produce a number of models made in either Massachusetts or Maine, in stark contrast to Nike, Reebok and Adidas.

Without permission from New Balance, I’d like to reprint the copy of the tag attached to both pairs of my new shoes. Hopefully I’m not going to hear from any lawyer, as if you read between the lines here, I’m actually trying to encourage you to buy a pair of New Balance sneakers they next time you need a pair.

Many of our shoes are produced in one of six United States factories. While most of the footwear industry has moved its production overseas to take advantage of low labor costs and generally cheaper production costs, we continue to have many of our shoes made in the United States and have expanded production substantially. Since 1995, we have increased our manufacturing jobs by 65%. We at New Balance are proud to provide jobs to the U.S. workforce, and proud of our well educated, high quality associates who can compete with anyone in the world. Through their hard work, we are able to make many of our models of shoes in the United States despite the competition from lower cost imports.

Unfortunately, we are not able to obtain all materials and components that are needed for these shoes in the United States. In some cases, they are simply not available. In other situations, economic and quality considerations dictate foreign sourcing. however, New Balance remains committed to providing jobs for American workers. and to supporting domestic manyfacturers and suppliers where possible.

The Federal Trade Commission has attempted to determine what it means to say a product is “made in” the United States. While it seems like a simple questions, the answer is not always obvious given the global nature of the economy. We believe most consumers think “Made in USA” means that real manufacturing jobs were provided to U.S. workers in order to make that product. The shoes produced in our U.S. factories are made by U.S. workers using both U.S. and imported materials. Where the level of domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe “Made in USA.” Where it falls below that level, we have qualified it as containing both domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on a survey of consumers conducted by the FTC. The Federal Trade Commission’s analysis of the Made in USA issue can be found on the internet at FTC’s website www.ftc.gov, or for a copy write to New Balance Athletic Shoes, Inc., Brighton Landing, 20 Guest Street, Boston, MA 02135-2088, Attention: Communications.

Given that there are a number of models made exclusively in America, I’ll forgo the assembled in China bit on my shoes, and keep on buying New Balance for the foreseeable future.