Montecristo Mini

 

A nice, mellow, and quick smoke. Spicy but in a good way.

 

The most famous of the many famous Havana brands started only in 1935 as a new brand from Menendez, Garcia y Cia., then the owners of the H. Upmann brand. This is the best selling Cuban cigar in the world, accounting for approximately half of Cuba's total production. The name is reported to have been inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 1844 novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo. With a strong marketing effort from Alfred Dunhill of London, this brand became the most popular of all Havana exports and is the standard by which all other Havanas are now judged. Montecristo's are rich medium-bodied cigars with aromatic flavour and a distinctive peppery finish. There are no machine-made shapes in this range. 

http://www.cubanbest.com/montecristo.html

New Role @ Work

After a year of hell, I've been given a reprieve. I've spent the last year dealing with contracts, negotiation, budgeting, and conflict resolution -- and learned a hell of a lot; spending your day with directors and VPs teaches you more about the inner workings of corporations than almost anything can. But simply put, our agreement with IBM simply has not lived up to either side's expectations... and spending your days arguing is no way to live.

But now I'm done. We're taking projects back in-house and I am rebuilding a soup to nuts application team. Solution design all the way to handover. SAP, non-SAP, anything with code.

And I can't wait. This is what I do well. Plan, see through bullshit, deploy resources, and execute. I know what needs to be done and how to do it. I know who needs to help. 

And for the first time in my career there's no one standing in my way.

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

 

Must watch if a fan. If you're not, you won't get it.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1054487/

Outlander

Very good action/scifi movie. Well worth a watch.

During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (Caviezel), a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462465/

Star Trek Movie Memories

Got this book from my Sister & Brother in law... and it was a lot of fun!

Who knew Gene Roddenberry was an asshole and recluse? Who knew that Scotty and Kirk didn't get along? Lots of fun stuff for a trekkie to be found here -- especially the first chapter on the long and drawn out concept piece that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Movie-Memories-William-Shatner/dp/0061093297/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234461242&sr=8-1

Balblair 1989

 

Balblair 1989: absolutely amazing wiskey. Very, very smooth with honey notes and a hint of citrus. Excelent nose. Never heard of it before but it's great.

Mid-amber in appearance with honey-gold highlights, this Balblair 1989 is a full-bodied malt with rich aromas of raisin, green apple and hints of banana and lemon. The American oak barrels, used in the distillate's maturation, lend a memorable warm toffee, vanilla fragrance.

On the palate the typical Balblair characteristics are abundant. Ripe fruits fuse with a hint of sherry-drenched raisins. Together with a rich spiciness there is a distinctive long, complex and ultimately smooth finish.

Appearance: Mid-amber with honey-gold highlights.
Aroma: Full-bodied with raisin, green apple and hints of banana and lemon.
Palate: Raisins and fruits with a rich spiciness.
Finish: Long, complex and ultimately smooth finish.

http://www.balblair.com/whisky_vintage_1989.php

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

 

 

A very rough adaptation of the stunningly brilliant 1951 movie . The first half is OK -- gives a decent vision of a post-singularity alien species that is essentially beyond material want through the use of nanotechnology.

But, I'm sorry. Keanu does a terrible job as Klatuu. And the government/military response is simply unbelievable. Why was Klatuu shot? How did Spaceguard find and track an object moving at 1/10 the speed of light? Why were the scientists called together hovering in helicopters around what they thought would be a devastating meteoric impact? Etc, etc...

Does have a good line though... "Your planet?"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/