Thursday, June 25, 2015

A Hop Across the Pond aka Brewthright 2015, Pt. 1

So, this has been a minute, but here we go. I will be retroactively updating this blog for trips long past, sorry i'm not sorry.

The Brewgrimage began on June 13 with a long crossing of the Atlantic to a magical, mystical place.

Stop One: Amsterdam (June 14 - 16)

I. The Vangeloff / Vangesterdam

The trip started off with meeting my fellow StX bomber Mark Vangeloff at the Amsterdam airport, a task that didn't prove to be easy. Apparently there are three Starbucks in the airport terminal, knowledge that would have helped us avoid our first argument of the trip — where the f*** are you?
too good to exclude
Anyways, soon enough we found him and got started. 

II. The Beer

Although not renowned for its beer culture on the same level as our next destination, we found plenty of opportunities to drink the local brews (non-Juplier category) and to get ready for Belgium. 

Brouwerij 'Tij 
So the first stop was Brouwerij 't IJ, a small brewery in Amsterdam based in a former bath house located beneath the "De Gooyer" windmill. The "IJ" of it all? Apparently it is named for the IJ waterbody positioned directly across the street from the windmill and brewery.


In an effort to count and record every beer consumed on the trip (a mission that soon went south really quickly -- almost like this blog), we tried the Plzen (a hoppy blond pilsener), the Zatte (a gold take on the tripel style), the Columbus (a hoppy amber), and the IPA (because thank god I didn't have to go a month without one). Vange's favourite (heh..) was the Pilsener although mine was probably the Columbus. However, the bottle for the 't IJ IPA (seen in the middle below) was without contest the best.
      

The Heineken Experience 
Originally we had tried to work some Heidelberg contacts to get a sneak peek at the actual Heineken brewery located about forty minutes outside of the city. However, for once that didn't work so we were "forced" to go on the Heineken Experience located in the heart of Amsterdam. In fact, I believe this past year marked 150 years of brewing in Amsterdam for the green-bottled giant.



Anyways, the facility was beautiful and I will admit it had some interactive features you will get at no other brewery tour. Besides taking you through the fermentation rooms, Heineken offers a live experience similar to the DNA-sequencing scene of Jurassic Park where you personally are turned into a beer from start to finish. It's complete with heat lamps, moving platforms, and bubbles.

Finally, most importantly, we were tested on our Heineken pouring abilities with another Virtual Reality machine. And of course I was proclaimed a "Beer Pouring Hero" within my first attempt, although it took our friend Mark 2-3 attempts to get his beer up to snuff.

De Bierkoning 
Next, we stopped at De Bierkoning ("the Beer king"), a top-notch bottle shop with 1500+ specialty brews from across the world. Now, as someone who went to a lot of bottle shops the last few weeks, I can verify that this place is pretty fantastic. They have almost everything from Belgium including the best sours, lambics, and trappist beers — even Westvleteren 12, a trappist quadruple (more on this in a future post) often regarded as one of the best and most scarcely found beers in the world.
 

In De Wildeman 
Our final notable beer location is In De Wildeman, a bottle shop and cafe that was host to the first of many shared cheese plates between Mark and myself over the next few cities. It was here that I sampled two beers that we would eventually get to try on-location at their main breweries: Cantillon's Lambic Gueze and Rodenbach's Grand Cru. If you aren't acquainted with sour, spontaneously fermenting, and mixed fermentation beers, just take it from us that you can't go wrong starting off with these two. Ps, the cheese was great.

  


III. The Coffee

Finally, there are apparently a lot of coffee shops in Amsterdam. Now, I don't personally drink coffee besides when I need Starbucks' wifi, but apparently there are other appetizers and activities to do at these locales that you can't do (everywhere) in the states. At first we started at some places close to our hostel like Babaa Coffeshop, but we then trekked to a proclaimed favorite of Nathaniel Winter (someone who was supposed to join the trip) at the Dampkring. Now, don't get me wrong, the place had a great atmosphere, good music, fair prices, and a wide selection of coffees and the like. However, there is one and only one reason why Nate likes this place and he knows it: Ocean's 12.



For those of you who remember the movie, this is the location of the fantastic scene where Matt Damon quotes Kazmir while trying to fit in with his fellow crew.


Anyways, just wanted to let you know I am on to you Nate.


IV The NBA Finals

Okay, so now we are getting into the wild stuff. Watching games 5 and 6 of the NBA Finals in Amsterdam was essentially a fool's errand — bars only stay open until 2 or 3 a.m. and the games all started around 3 A.M. out here. Well, for Game 5 had heard a rumor that a small bar called Satellite Sports Cafe would typically play US Sports so we went that way around 2AM only to discover that the bar was closed. BUT WAIT. 

And we couldnt even order a burger...
As we rounded the corner, we found that there was an unthinkably tiny television with no sound still turned on outside of the bar. BUT IT HAD THE GAME. Anyways, we proceeded to watch Game 5 with no sound in the middle of an Amsterdam alley until 5 AM as more and more Americans started to gather outside. By the fourth quarter, it was actually split 50-50 between Cleveland and Golden State fans, although I will admit that a strange Cleveland-native who stopped by to watch was by far the most annoying member of our new crew. 

Anyways, we proceeded to go back for Game 6, although I swear I can't remember much of that at all for some reason.

V. The Nail Clippers 

Finally, for anyone who knows me too well, they are usually aware that I will forget at least one thing anytime I leave a place. Well, when I left the United States, I forgot a nail clipper. For some people, this may be a small inconvenience. For me, it was tragic as my priorities in traveling go Wallet->iPhone->nail clippers->underwear->earplugs (more on those in a later post), in that order.

Once I arrived in Amsterdam, I looked everywhere...EVERYWHERE... for a set of clippers but found nothing even suitable. I honestly must have done like 3 individual scouting trips where I left our hostel with a number of possible outlets, only to come up short.

VI. Next, on Brewthright 2015

Does Albert ever find the nail clippers? What is the best beer in Belgium? Are there more funny pictures of Vangeloff standing next to things? What is actually sold at coffee shops in Amsterdam?

Tune in tomorrow...
Oh, we also found adorable meerkats at the zoo 




Saturday, January 11, 2014

NFL Playoff Picks..Bengals..Depression

NFL Divisional Round Playoff Picks

So last week I went 0-2-2 against-the-spread and 0-4 on my Wild Card winners. Amongst all of that, the Bengals lost by 17 points to the Chargers, the Colts rallied from 21-points down to defeat the Chiefs, and the 49ers/Saints advanced on late field goals.


There are now 4 playoff games down, and 7 to go. Here are my picks for the weekend, but apparently my picks should be followed with caution.

SATURDAY:

New Orleans Saints (+9.5) over Seattle Seahawks

What my brain is telling me:
By the numbers, this seems like the weekend's biggest mismatch, especially given that the game will be played at Seattle's raucous QuestField. Everyone has been comparing this weekend to Seattle's 34-7 victory over the Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Although that was a dominating Seattle performance, I am wary to give up 9.5 points to any team with Sean Payton and Drew Brees on it. Here are the DVOA rankings for each team coming into this weekend's matchup.

DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) Rankings
New Orleans: Offense (5th); Passing (3rd); Rushing (19th)
Defense (10th); Passing D (6th); Rushing D (20th)
Special Teams (24th); Red Zone D (20th); Red Zone Offense (9th)

Seattle: Offense (7th); Passing (8th); Rushing (7th)
Defense (1st); Passing D (1st); Rushing D (8th)
Special Teams (5th); Red Zone D (1st); Red Zone Offense (20th)

The key battles of the week concern the NO passing game against the Seattle secondary (3rd v. 1st), the Seattle rushing attack against the NO defense (8th v. 20th), and the NO red zone offense against the Seattle red zone defense (9th v. 1st). On paper, the Seahawks seem to have almost every advantage in this matchup. The one possible chance for the Saints to win is for them to take advantage of Seattle's 20th-ranked red zone offense and to force Seattle to kick field goals.


What my beer belly is telling me:
In a pick-em game, I would certainly take the Seahawks but I think there is a strong chance for the Saints to cover in a 17-10 or 21-13 game. The Seahawks can have issues scoring the ball at times, and if the Saints are going to win it will likely be a low-scoring game (even though that seems counter-intuitive to Nola's offensive reputation).

Indianapolis Colts (+7) over New England Patriots

What my brain is telling me:
Besides Carolina-San Francisco this is the week's toughest ATS decision for me. For weeks I have been criticizing Indianapolis as a mediocre team, but they somehow find ways to keep games close at the end. New England clearly has superior numbers on offense and special teams but their injury-ravaged defense will face a big challenge with Andrew Luck coming to town.

DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) Rankings
Indianapolis: Offense (13th); Passing (17th); Rushing (11th)
Defense (16th); Passing D (13th); Rushing D (22nd)
Special Teams (17th); Red Zone D (20th); Red Zone Offense (11th)

New England: Offense (4th); Passing (7th); Rushing (6th)
Defense (21st); Passing D (14th); Rushing D (27th)
Special Teams (2nd); Red Zone D (15th); Red Zone Offense (7th)

The Colts have to be hoping for a very sloppy weekend from the New England defense, which rates in the bottom half of the league. On defense, the Colts must prevent the Patriots from making big plays like they allowed against the Chiefs last week. If Indy limits New England to a short-passing offense, there is a chance that they can prevent Brady and Belichick from putting up 35+ points.

To be fair, Dalton never had someone that open...
What my beer belly is telling me:
New England could win this game by 24 or lose by 2. The Colts have been getting destroyed in the first half of games this year but if they can keep it within a one-score game at halftime, they certainly have a shot at beating this Pats team.

SUNDAY:

Carolina Panthers (+1.5) over San Francisco 49ers

What my brain is telling me:
This is the weekend's most difficult matchup, with Carolina actually getting points at home against a hot 49ers squad. I'm all in on this Carolina team, but it is really hard to count out Jim Harbaugh in a playoff game.
DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) Rankings
San Francisco: Offense (8th); Passing (4th); Rushing (14th)
Defense (13th); Passing D (10th); Rushing D (14th)
Special Teams (7th); Red Zone D (20th); Red Zone Offense (8th)

Carolina: Offense (10th); Passing (14th); Rushing (4th)
Defense (3rd); Passing D (3rd); Rushing D (6th)
Special Teams (13th); Red Zone D (2nd); Red Zone Offense (14th)

All the talking heads have been saying that Carolina does not have the offense to put up points at the same pace as San Francisco. Honestly, I haven't seen that much this season. San Francisco's X-factor is receiver Michael Crabtree but that may only help out so much against the 3rd-ranked passing defense. Carolina's 2nd-ranked red zone defense may also be crucial in stopping Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore from reaching the endzone. Look out for Carolina to rush four and put a linebacker (quite possibly DPOY Luke Kuechly) on Kaep for most of the game in order to prevent the speedy QB from finding open space with his legs.


What my beer belly is telling me:
Carolina has actually been great at home this past season and if Cam Newton's offense can produce 20+ points I think they win this game. San Francisco should try and score early to put some stress on the Carolina offense, hopefully forcing Newton to make some dangerous throws. In the end, I'm riding with the Panthers.

Denver Broncos (-8.5) over San Diego Chargers

What my brain is telling me:

My brain tells me this should be a close football game. Yes, Denver is the highest-scoring offense of all time, playing against 2013's worst defense. Yes, Denver has the #1 red zone offense, playing against the 31st-ranked Chargers. But...

DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) Rankings
San Diego: Offense (3rd); Passing (2nd); Rushing (12th)
Defense (32nd); Passing D (31st); Rushing D (31st)
Special Teams (15th); Red Zone D (31st); Red Zone Offense (13th)

Denver: Offense (1st); Passing (1st); Rushing (10th)
Defense (15th); Passing D (21st); Rushing D (9th)
Special Teams (21st); Red Zone D (25th); Red Zone Offense (1st)

The numbers suggest that San Diego (despite their sloppy entrance into the playoffs) is actually a top-tier team, with a defense that has actually improved greatly over the past few weeks. Oh, and these two division rivals played each other twice this season, splitting the series. Denver won the first matchup in San Diego 28-20, and then lost at home 27-20 just five weeks ago at home. Now with star pass rusher Von Miller on IR, it seems foolish to give up 8.5 points to the Chargers.



What my beer belly is telling me:
Denver wins this game by 10+ points. I think it the Chargers run ends this week in a game that is close up until halftime. With Wes Welker back on the field, Peyton Manning should be able to tear apart the secondary as long as he doesn't face too much pressure. The Broncos will likely give up a good chuck of yards to the Chargers, but a few mistakes could turn it into a 2-3 score game quickly.

And most likely I'll go 1-3 with the picks this week.

*Sigh...*




Saturday, January 4, 2014

NFL Playoff Preview: Bracket Challenge

Okay, this has been a bit. Here are my Playoff Wildcard picks, I've already called my bookie and I couldn't be more excited (well, yes I could, but more on that later)...

SATURDAY:

Kansas City Chiefs (+1) over Indianapolis Colts 
--Indianapolis won the previous matchup between these teams, but to be honest, KC has not had much to play for in the second half of the season since their playoff fate has been certain for quite some time. I think the Chiefs manage to defeat the Colts and control the ball within the confines of Lucas Oil Stadium. If KC gets behind, however, Indy may be able to win the game, likely sending them to face Peyton Manning's Broncos team in Denver next week.

**We have to be concerned that the Broncos players are going to smoke too much legal marijuana within the next two weeks, right??**

Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5) over New Orleans Saints
--The whole narrative entering this game regards the alleged inability of Drew Brees and the Saints to put up points in cold weather stadiums. I think the success of Chip Kelly (who deserves Coach of the Year ahead of Andy Reid) is understated so far and I expect the Eagles to win the time of possession battle with a number of running and short-passing schemes that will gash a suspect Saints defense.

**Editor Update: After my former roommate Mike Thomas ripped me for saying Chip has a better case than Reid this year, I want to clarify: Kelly deserves the award ahead of Reid, but that does not mean he has done a better job than Bill Belichick or Ron Rivera, who should be the frontrunners. Reid's year has been successful in wins, but the Chiefs went 1-5 against playoff teams this year while winning with an easy AFC schedule.**


SUNDAY:

Cincinnati Bengals (+7) over San Diego Chargers
--The Bengals have had a very successful season so far and doubters can offer few reasons for a Chargers victory besides continuing doubts on Andy Dalton's ability to avoid mistakes on the football field. In their 17-10 victory in San Diego, Cincinnati was able to dominate the line of scrimmage and expect OC Jay Gruden to draw up a run-heavy gameplan behind Gio Bernard and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. In addition, temperatures are expected to dip even lower this Sunday, hopefully taking away the potency of the San Diego passing attack. As for the 7 points, Cincinnati has managed to cover almost every home spread this year and I'm willing to give up the points.

Green Bay Packers (+3) over San Francisco 49ers
--I honestly think the 49ers are the better pick here, but I love Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay. This pick may come back to bite me the most but it is just too hard for me to pick against the Packers at home in sub-freezing temperatures. As someone who now lives within the cozy confines of Northern California, trust me when I say that it is incredibly unpleasant to go back to the cold and snow (cough, cough, Cincinnati).

Grammy's 2013 Playoff Bracket Challenge
No Fucks will be given this weekend
Quick Backstory: My grandmother (on Marge's side) Mary Lou formerly worked for the IRS and ended up marrying a WWII hero who was on the USS Indianapolis. After a life of Italian-family nonsense and seeing her lovely grandson growing up, she now pretty much acts as the gambling czar of the Vontz-Kurlich-Sweeney families. For years she has singlehandedly run our week-by-week NFL Survival pool and has threatened to break some knees if needed on multiple occasions, especially when my Danny DeVito-esque Uncle Mike tries to cheat everyone out of their money. I filled out brackets for myself and Papa Burgundy so here they are in all their Bengal-biased glory (I like his the best). 

ALBERT IV BRACKET:
I refuse to imagine any scenario where the Bengals lose to the Patriots (let's not think ahead here, Albert). Not to say that the Patriots can't (or won't win), but I refuse to imagine it...let's all just thank Allah that the Steelers are not in the playoffs.
ALBERT III BRACKET:
This is my favorite bracket ever. The Bengals take out Tom Brady and Peyton, then meet San Francisco in the Super Bowl. Luke Kuechly's Panthers make it to the Conference Championship. The Bengals have lost to the 49ers twice in the Super Bowl, but this time they have no Joe Montana, so Burgundy is predicting a huge redemption for the Bengals in New Jersey (NOT New York) this year. 
Have a great week, 
Happy Football to all, 
And most importantly...
Who Dey

Albert

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Audible Tuesdays: Midterm Rush

Today's a quick post on No Blues, the fourth studio album from the Walesian (Walesish?/Walesites??) alternative rock group Los Campesinos!. The album comes out next week on October 29, but you can stream it today on Pitchfork Advance

Through one listen, the album definitely is a slight departure from their past works that have a much more unbridled and distorted sound. To the dismay of Nate Winter, the xylophone is not as much of an integral feature of most tracks, but there is still a strong synth background throughout the album. Their debut album, "Hold On Now, Youngster" was a blur of energetic vocals, raucous choruses, and pop extravagance

Here is their video for "Romance is Boring" from their second album. 


Something You Should Already Know by Now

I recently was directed to this gem. It is from an old Pearl Jam concert in which they played a medley of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" and Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" with great success. It made my day at least...Enjoy






Monday, October 21, 2013

The Bengals are the AFC's #2 Seed!...Wait What?

Bengals defeat Lions at the buzzer 27-24:

It seems that Marvin Lewis and Co. are trying their best to make Cincinnati fans forget about the messy demise of their beloved Reds. At this rate, it might actually work.

Throughout Sunday's game, the Bengals battled with a team that many pundits called a "mirror image" of their own makeup: a young team built through the draft; a strong, violent defensive line; a rising QB-WR duo; and two tormented teams trying to rise to the top against their traditionally successful rivals (for the Lions, the Packers and the Bears; for the Bengals, the Steelers and Ravens).

What followed was truly a great football game that featured a bit of everything, and showed why each of these fanbases should be excited for the future. The Bengals struck first on an 82-yard play action touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to AJ Green. They would eventually take a 21-10 lead in the third quarter following two more beautiful Dalton touchdowns to Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert.

But, as every Bengals fan knows, no win comes easy. Detroit responded with two touchdown passes to superstar Calvin Johnson, including a 50-yard bomb that Johnson caught over three Cincinnati defenders. Just like that, it was tied up 24-24 with 12:00 to go in the final quarter.

Sweep the leg Mikey 
After each team traded possessions, Andy Dalton and the offense got the ball at their own 49-yard line with 26 seconds left and one timeout left (because God forbid the Bengals ever save their timeouts for the end of the game). Dalton made two quick passes to Dane Sanzenbacher and Gio Bernard (GIO!!) and set up Mike Nugent's game-winning 54-yard field goal as time expired. It was Nugent's second game-winning kick in as many weeks.

Things of Note: 

1. Andy Dalton: 24-of-34, 372 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 92.8 QBR
To be quite honest, my opinion of this guy wavers almost every week. When he looks good, the Bengals can beat any team in the NFL, but when he looks bad it really is a struggle to find ways to score. Dalton was divine this week, and his willingness to throw into tight windows and to trust his receivers has allowed for a suddenly diverse offensive array to develop. His toss to Marvin Jones was of the highest caliber, and the offensive line gave him enough time to read through his progressions, resulting in only one sack against Detroit's tough line. If there was anything to pick apart, it would be that he threw short of AJ Green on a few routes that could have resulted in big gains.

Marvin's beautiful catch on Andy's second TD pass

Regardless, by the end of Sunday, Andy had defeated Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Matt Stafford en route to leading the Bengals to a 5-2 record. Dalton connected with seven different Bengals receivers on the day.

2. The Tragedy of Leon Hall/ The NFL:
Although the term is often bandied around, Leon Hall has been the consummate professional in his seven NFL seasons. Following the departure of former CB Jonathan Joseph, Hall has mentored an absurdly young array of NFL castoffs, busts, and rookies in the secondary. In 2011, Hall injured his left Achilles tendon and missed most of the season. On Sunday, Hall seemed to be keeping step for step with Calvin Johnson until he fell while defending Johnson on an endzone fade route. He immediately grabbed his ankle, and it didn't take long for fans and teammates to assume the worst. As confirmed today, Hall will miss the rest of the 2013 season with a tear to his right Achilles. It will now be up for Adam Jones, Terrance Newman, Dre Kirkpatrick, and Taylor Mays to somehow make up for his absence. The secondary will need to step up after allowing Detroit to convert on 13 of 19 third downs. 


No Caption Needed
Newman said after the game, "It's just tough. He's one of the best in the league, you know? So to have one of the best corners in the league go down? It's tough. Especially when he's your brother. We all spend a lot of time together. It just sucks." 

Hall was not the only sad story of the NFL this week. Several teams may be missing key players for the rest of the season including Reggie Wayne, Brian Cushing, Doug Martin, Sam Bradford, Jay Cutler, and Jermichael Finley, among others. 

3. Super Special Teams: 
Typically the history of the Bungles have left Cincinnati fans to expect a different type of "special" out of their kicking and punting teams (sorry, I had to). However, Nugent's kick wasn't the only highlight of the week. Late in the second quarter, Carlos Dunlap leaped to block a David Akers field goal attempt and gave the ball back to Cincinnati. Those three points would obviously prove to be key to the win. Kevin Huber also made some great punts to help the Bengals win the late battle for field position.

4. Other things
--Jermaine Gresham had a really rough day out there, with a few offensive penalties and some really dumb decisions on the field.
Yo dude, you're pretty good...You too dude..

--The defense kept quick RB Reggie Bush from finding huge holes in the field and making any big plays. Bush still managed 94 yards of total offense but he was far from being the explosive playmaker that he had been leading into Sunday.

--Matt Stafford also missed a few open receivers throughout the game, but unlike Dalton, Stafford overthrew his. Lesson: Just throw the ball to Megatron

--With losses by Baltimore (3-4) and Cleveland (3-4), the Bengals (5-2) currently lead the AFC North by two games. Because of their tiebreakers against New England (5-2) and Indianapolis (5-2), Cincinnati would be the #2 Seed in the AFC Playoffs if the season ended today...so there's that.

--Green finished with 6 receptions for 155 yards and one touchdown while Johnson caught 9 balls for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Pretty outstanding performances by the two best receivers in football.

Coming Up Next: 
The Bengals now come home to face the New York Jets (4-3). The Jets have had Cincinnati's number in the past, but hopefully the defense feasts on rookie QB Geno Smith.

Lets put baseball season behind us (I heard the World Series was being cancelled this year, right?) and put some hope behind the Bengals. Fear the tiger.

WhoDey,

Albert

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Science Saturday: The Future is Near

Is Elon Musk Bruce Wayne? 
No, he doesn't sacrifice himself every night to rid the streets of scum and villainy, but he's pretty damn close. If you don't already know who Elon Musk is then fasten your seatbelt and prepare for this knowledge drop. Do you think Isaac Newton was the most badass scientist of the 1700's (if not all-time)? Do you think Bill Gates was badass in the 90's? Steve Jobs in the 2000's?


Well Elon Musk is the guy for the 2010's. So what has he done so far? Well he started off with founding PayPal, which he ended up selling for $1.5 billion to Ebay. Now he heads multiple projects, including involvement in R&D and engineering of Tesla Motor, SolarCity, Hyperloop, and most important for this feature SpaceX, but more on that later.

Been waiting real long to get that batman reference in. 

Breakthrough of the Week
Elon Musk's futuristic Grasshopper space rocket makes its highest jump. 



What's the Purpose?
Since the space shuttle program was shut down in 2011 the duty of transporting goods and astronauts into space has been delegated to the private sector. Elon Musk's answer? SpaceX and the Falcon9/Dragon spacecraft as well as the rocket in the video above, the Grasshopper. The Falcon9/Dragon are really just modern improvements on the classic rocket design so what makes the Grasshopper so special? Well if you watched the video you noticed that the rocket took off, stopped in mid air, and landed safely back on the platform - and no the video is not fake, ask anyone who lives near the launch base in Waco, TX. 

As you would expect from any private sector venture, this projects main concern is the cost of sending goods, including people, into space. The most expensive part of this process? Rocket technology as it stands is one-and-done, in that they use it once and then it is ejected into the Atlantic Ocean lost forever. The Grasshopper allows for re-use, so the cost of launching stuff into orbit becomes  dramatically cheaper since they'll only need to refuel the rocket each launch as opposed to rebuilding a new rocket each time. Makes sense, right? Keep in mind that a rocket is just a controlled explosion - enough explosives to propel something into space. Just for reference the Grasshopper was able to reach a height taller than the Sears Building in Chicago and then reach the launching pad safely. 

What does this Imply?
Again, costs. Believe it or not "the space revolution" that we are supposedly in has actually stalled since the end of the Cold War. What this means is a potential boom in the space industry. With cheaper launch costs, companies could send probes to asteroids to collect data and samples for mining, some companies could open inflatable (or modular) space hotels, and perhaps even the cost of getting people into space would be cheaper (some optimists are saying $2000/trip?!?!?!). Although imagine if, instead of NASA sending up a group every 2-3 months, imagine a group of astronauts from some private group going up every week.... woah.

Other Reasons Elon Musk is a BAMF.
Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors in 2003. They design, manufacture, and sell all-electric vehicles and electrical vehicle parts including building an entire infrastructure for their brand. Tesla is all over the news, all the time. Tesla this. Tesla That . I want one for xmas (my mom reads this blog). On top of Tesla, Musk wants to build a James Bond submarine car. 



Musk plans to build a hyperloop that can get someone from LA to SanFran in 30 minutes, and it costs significantly less than the proposed bullet train to be built in California 



Long live Elon Musk,


Nate

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Audible Tuesdays:

So it's been a little while. Midterms, Cincinnati Reds, Crying, Bargaining, Depression, Dusty Baker, etc. Anyways, welcome to Audible Tuesdays and today I'll be reviewing four rock albums by some veteran performers. All are available on Spotify, or, you know, you could just find a way to own them without listening to commercials or paying...but I'd have no idea how to do that..

New Albums/Tracks Worth a Listen


--of Montreal, lousy With Sylvianbriar (8/10)
Kevin Barnes' 12th album with the of Montreal collective is one of the best listens of the fall. In recent years, Barnes has recorded and mixed most of his tracks alone, adding heavy vocal layering and trippy instrumentation. Instead, lousy features a number of prominent 60's rock influences, most notably Bob Dylan, to create a much more melodically organized album than previous released like Skeletal Lamping (although, I loved that album too).

Top Tracks: Fugitive Air ; Triumph of Disintegration ; Belle Glade Missionaries

--Albert Hammond Jr., AHJ (6/10)
The best named Stroke (no bias or anything) kicked a nasty heroin habit and put out a 4-song EP with Julian Casablancas' record label. If you've been waiting for something closer to This is It from the Strokes, this is likely the closest you are going to get.

Top Tracks: St. Justice (I swore it was Vampire Weekend on the first listen); Rude Customer

--Cage the Elephant, Melophobia (5.5/10)
I've been on this Kentucky-bred bandwagon for a long time and I'll be the first to admit this isn't their best work, but I think Cage is heading down the right path. Melophobia means "fear of music", no not the fear of Carmelo Anthony shooting 35-times a game (sorry, I'm just really excited for the NBA to start). With slight influences from Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, lead singer Matthew Schultz creates a darker album and expands the horizons of what just started as a hard-drinking rock band.

Top Tracks: Come a Little Closer ; Cigarette Daydreams ;
It's Just Forever (ft. Allison Mosshart of the Kills) ; Halo

--Kings of Leon, Mechanical Bull (6.5/10)
After the miserably arduous affair that was Come Around Sundown, numerous show cancellations, and on-and-off rumors of rehab from these southern rockers, there finally may be some hope for the Kings to put out albums in their older age. The angst, sex, and raw instrumentation of their early recordings isn't coming back, but that doesn't mean they cannot find a new groove in a semi-Tom Petty way. The lyrics don't make too much sense as usual (actually, as usual its mostly about sex), but that's not why you came to the party in the first place. Enjoy.

Top Tracks: Supersoaker ; Rock City ; Family Tree

Old Track You Should Know Already

Queen
All Dead, All Dead
News of the World (1977)

Let's see how often I can keep these going,

Peace

Albert