The Adventures of Pete

Before I begin, I would like to point out that the story you are about to read is fiction.  There are experiences from my life that I've used but they are greatly, greatly exaggerated.  The narrator is a fictional character, not me.  If you need a mental picture of the guy, use Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Berg from Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place, The Proposal).

I should also note that I've opted to use this story to satisfy the requirements of a challenge I recently made with my cousin Molly.  Originally I had stated that I would be writing solely on the topic of history.  This will no longer be a blog about history, at least for the time being.  I am going to be using this space on the interwebs to write a book.

This a book that I've been organizing in my head for a couple months now and all of the pieces have finally been sorted out.  Keep in mind that you are seeing a first draft of everything I write so please ignore all typos, grammatical errors, and other editing mistakes.  My main goal here is to put words on paper (or would that be words on screen?).  I hope you enjoy what follows.  I certainly enjoy writing it.

Read more after the jump

A challenge has been made (still waiting for it to be accepted) that pits my writing skills and tenacity against that of my cousin, Molly.  She has stated on her blog - http://bulbousboufant.blogspot.com - that she is going to write every day from now until the new year.  This is a daunting task to say the least, but I've made statements like this in the past so I understand her ambitions.  Here's the challenge:

I can write more posts than Molly (limit 1 per day) from now until January 1, 2010.  I can also get more people to comment on my blog than her.  The winner receives a small prize and bragging rights.

I think it is important to note that fluff posts and dear diary entries (unless something newsworthy happened to you) will not count toward the final post tally.

Anyone out there that thinks they are worthy of this challenge should leave a comment or a link to their blog.

Cheers!

I just have to say how proud I am of the people of Kalamazoo for voting to end discrimination!  While there is still much work to be done, this is a big step in the right direction.  It saddens me that so many voted against the ordinance but the majority has spoken!

I haven't written in a while and those of you that know me know why (amazing how busy you get when you have another person living with you).  I promise you though, big things are coming =)

Everyone who reads this has played Mike Tyson's Punch Out for the original Nintendo.  Well Nintendo has finally realized the true awesomeness of the game and have revamped it for the Wii.  I have no idea when it comes out, and I don't have a Wii so I probably won't play the game anytime soon, but I think it is way cool that they are revamping this game.  Oh, the video below is a mockumentary created by Nintendo that will hopefully get you excited for the game.

In my never ending quest for the next big thing I came across something that is certainly NOT the next big thing, but still the dogs bullocks - Iron Horse's bluegrass tribute to Metallica, Fade to Bluegrass.  With a track listing as cool as the track listing of Metallica's Guitar Hero any fan of bluegrass or Metallica will enjoy this humorous and entertaining album.

Unforgiven
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Hero Of The Day
Fade To Black
One
Ride The Lightning
Wherever I May Roam
Fuel

The Four Horsemen

To top it off, this isn't the only album Iron Horse has recorded.  They've also made bluegrass tributes to Van Halen, Guns n Roses, Led Zepplin, Black Label Society, Black Sabbath, The Shins, and Modest Mouse.

Try It

Listen to It

Buy It

Cheers!

There are no words to describe the awesomeness that ensues.  As a bonus (as if you really needed one) you get to listen to Band of Horses.  If you haven't heard of them I suggest getting their album.

Cheers!

Instead of posting a link dump every sunday I've created a links page that pulls directly from my recently created Digg account.  Anything that I "digg" will appear on that list.  I will employ the same level of scrutiny for all links being "dugg" that I've used in my sunday link dump selections.  Only the best of the best will appear on that list.

Cheers!

You'd have to be crazy or lactose intolerant not to like cheese.  Even those that are lactose intolerant probably like cheese, they just suffer the consequences or find a have a medical solution to limit the effects.  For the rest of us, cheese is an essential part of a large majority of meals.  Americans put cheese on EVERYTHING - cheesy eggs, cheesy grits, cheese omelette, cheeseburger, cheese sandwich, philly cheesesteak, cheesy potatoes, cheesy vegetables, cheese and crackers, cheesy popcorn, cheese puffs, nachos, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc.  I'm sure you get the picture.

The history of cheese is actually older than recorded history itself.  Estimates range from 8000 BCE to 3000 BCE, around the time that sheep were domesticated in the Middle East.  Because animal skins and stomachs were the preferred containment vessels it was just a matter of leaving sheep's milk in one of these vessels a little too long and presto - they had cheese.  Cheese made in the Middle East and Egypt were quite salty and sour, similar to feta cheese, because of the need to preserve the cheese in the warm climate.  As cheese making made it's way north into Europe less salt was needed which allowed beneficial microbes to invade cheese and create some wonderfully complex textures and flavors.

Cheese is fairly simple to make.  Make sour milk by adding vinegar or a starter bacteria to convert milk sugars into lactic acid, then add rennet to curdle the milk.  Rennet is a natural complex of enzymes produced the stomachs of mammals in order to digest their mother's milk.  Rennet coagulates the milk leaving the curd and whey.  For soft cheese, this is the end of the process.  The whey is usually poured off and the cheese is salted and packaged.  For harder cheeses he whey is poured off and the curd is formed and pressed.  Varying the pressure or applying heat changes the final product.  The addition of salt or microorganisms such as bacteria or mold also alter the end result.  One of the most important parts of cheese making is the aging process.  This adds an incredibly complex element to the process and creates some of the most amazing cheeses.  The possibilities are endless which is the most exciting thing in my book.  There are literally thousands of different kinds of cheese ranging from soft and spreadable cheese like goat cheese and brie to hard and rocks parmesan and romano.  So without further ado, I give you my top five favorite cheeses (in no particular order, of course):

1.  Camembert - this soft, creamy french cheese is possibly my favorite cheese of all time.  Enjoy this with a full bodied Cabernet or Merlot and I promise your taste-buds will thank you.

2.  Sharp White Cheddar - The sharper, the better in my opinion.  I love that strong flavor of an aged white cheddar.  Vermont is well known for this style of cheese but there are also excellent white cheddars made in England, where cheddaring was invented (in the town of Cheddar).  Cracker Barrel White Cheddar is a great, cheap, version of this cheese that you can find at most mega marts.  I like to eat this with a hearty cracker like a wheat thin.

3.  Feta Cheese - this sour, salty Greek cheese is incredible on salads but it is even better as a chicken stuffing.  I've eaten this cheese plain as well, but your breath may not be suitable for the public if you take this route.

4.  Gruyére - This swiss made cheese is another phenomenal cheese that I could not live without.  It has a very strong smell but a slightly sweet, nutty, earthy taste.  It is a great melting cheese that goes great with French Onion soup and fondu but it is also great all by itself.

5.  Cottage Cheese - Ok, some of you may not consider this to be a cheese in the traditional sense (you can't slice it and put it on a cracker) but it is still cheese to me.  I've eaten tub and tub of this delicious stuff.  Occasionally I'll add onions or pineapple but by and large this is a dish best served plain.  Michigan Small curd Cottage Cheese is some of the best I've ever had and the large curd is also quite good.

There are so many different types of cheese that this top 5 barely even scratches the surface of cheese.  Post your favorites in the comments or critique my choices if you must.

Cheers!

http://www.heptune.com/farts.html - Everything you could possibly want to know (and some things you didn't want to know) about crepitation.  I found the part on igniting one's flatulence particularly interesting.

http://www.fandome.com/video/111111/Vijay-Singh-Hits-Hole-In-One-Off-The-Water/?q=c - Those of you who golf know that a hole in one is the ultimate achievement for any golfer.  To accomplish that feat in this manner is miraculous.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/04/08/must-watch-teaser-trailer-for-mike-judges-extract/ - Mike Judge (Beavis and Butthead, Office Space, Idiocracy) is set to release it next comic masterpiece in September of this year.  J.K. Simmons may be my new favorite "that guy."

http://i.gizmodo.com/5204650/scarpar-powerboard-is-the-closest-alternative-to-the-hoverboard - Really?!  I want one right now!  This thing looks AWESOME!

http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/04/08/21-fantastic-examples-of-brilliant-photography-with-humor.html - I love photo sets like this.  There are some very creative people with cameras out there.

http://www.holytaco.com/how-deal-shitting-your-pants-powerpoint-presentation - I certainly hope none of my readers have to use this presentation but should this horrific situation rear it's ugly head you will be prepared.

Cheers!