Author Archives: Will

You’re Dead. Stop Kicking Me.

Interactive Television has always failed, and will always fail. A lesson from the early days of telephony is significant. Early on it was thought that telephony would provide a subscriber with a way to listen to opera in the convenience … Continue reading

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Third-Party Content Removed

I have removed all advertising from my website. I’ve had a website online since 1996 or so, and since then I’ve made perhaps $3.00 from affiliate advertising. I have no idea how anyone makes money from this. Because this advertising … Continue reading

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Grenadine

Many cocktails call for grenadine, which, it seems, is much more than Red No. 40 and high-fructose corn syrup. It’s pomegranates! Who knew? (The FDA seems not to care.) But more importantly, can we make it at home? Once one … Continue reading

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Daylight Saving Tricks

Now that we’ve returned to Standard Time, let us pause for my annual rant on Daylight Saving Time (DST). Calling the boiling point of water 100 instead of 212 does not mean the water boils when it is colder. We’re … Continue reading

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The Mexican Eagle

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. That’s not quite exact. Limits are. When one is out of one’s preferred spirits, has no citrus stocked, and is looking around for a cocktail to mix, one turns to what one … Continue reading

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Grandmother’s Lemonade

The hot days of Summer call for a cool drink, shade, and a lazy breeze through the apple trees. If my taste memory serves, this is Grandmother’s Lemonade. 3/4 c. sugar 1 c. lemon juice 2 qt. minus 1 c. … Continue reading

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Negative Feedback Loop?

I’m a little puzzled by one of the statements in David Hackett Fischer‘s conclusion to his The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History. On p. 249, he writes, In a free market, individual responses to inflation commonly … Continue reading

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Margarita, Won’t You Come to My Party?

For those interested in the recipe for the gallon of Margaritas which was consumed at my party yesterday, I used Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s recipe from A Gallon of Margaritas by the Gallon. Below are the details on which tequila and triple … Continue reading

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Hasta la Vista, Baby

We’re cancelling DirecTV service. It’s been about a year since purchasing the HDTV and the associated DirecTV package. Meanwhile, our viewing of “normal” television fare has been steadily declining. We hardly ever watch anything live: we have other things to … Continue reading

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How Stupid is the Mass Media?

Check out the headline on this article: CNN Poll: Still no front-runner in the battle for the GOP nomination. Of course not, you stupid shit. They just started campaigning. It’s a [expletive and a half] horse race. Did you see … Continue reading

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On the Julep

A dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning. The Mint Julep is rumored to have led to as many arguments over the nature of the drink as the Martini, if not … Continue reading

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Dear Amtrak: Learn How to Price Your Service

Apparently you neglected to read my last letter, but with the fast approach of National Train Day and the increase in oil prices making your services slightly more competitive, I thought it might be helpful to bring up the topic … Continue reading

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Dark and Stormy

First you should know that I am not from Bermuda. And while I once visited on a cruise, I drank only beer while I was there, so have no first-hand confirmation that the Dark and Stormy is, in fact, Bermuda‘s … Continue reading

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Naval Stores

Until Firefox gets the hang of tracking paths through the browser history, I can’t quite say exactly who started this idea in motion, but I can say what did: an article on using one’s discarded Christmas tree in various dishes, … Continue reading

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Uisge-beatha

To make Irish Usquebaugh; from Lord Capell‘s Receipt, when he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. To every Gallon of French-Brandy, put one Ounce of Liquorice sliced, one Ounce of sweet Fennel-Seeds, one Ounce of Anniseeds, one Pound of Raisins of … Continue reading

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On the Matter of the National Popular Vote

I’m on Mrs. Clinton’s e-mail list because I haven’t unsubscribed yet. Today, the list sent me an e-mail about bills currently in the New York legislature to change how the State allocates its Electors. The bills under consideration in New … Continue reading

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Whose Benefit?

The medical benefit plan I have requires payment of a certain sum before it begins paying a high percentage of the cost of prescriptions. This sum is called the deductible; it’s a sum uncovered by the insurance, deducted from the … Continue reading

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Bloody Mary is the … Girl I Love

Happy 3rd Birthday, No. 2 Son! Soon we’ll have the family over for a party in your honor, and they’ll be drinking some stuff you can’t, yet. It must be my upbringing, but when I think of the Bloody Mary, … Continue reading

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Spirits of Any Kind

Now that I have more than two bitters in the house, let us try something. A cocktail is spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters. How about an Old-Fashioned with gin? Gin, the Old-Fashioned Way cube of sugar splash … Continue reading

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What Fashion of Gimlet Might This Be?

Having acquired an essential ingredient in the Deadrise, I find myself without another: the cucumber. Well, there’s nothing to it then but to make the necessary sacrifice and drink the result anyway. Oh, this is good. This is very good. … Continue reading

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