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Random weekend bits
Nov. 24th, 2008 10:17 amHaving a (newly functioning) gas fireplace is very nice. It's not as interesting to watch as a wood fire, of course, but you get pretty warmth with much much less hassle. And dogs that have been lying in front of the fire come over and fling their warmth unto you, which is also pretty keen.
Just barely related, I learned something great from our plumbers: the industry way to find a gas leak seems to be to fill a spray bottle with soap and water, and cover the suspect region (in our case a closet pipe). Where it bubbles is where the leak is. I hadn't really considered what sort of advanced techniques they might use, but this took about 4 seconds. I'm reminded of the immortal words of wisdom Ibrahim gave me when I asked about using overly-complicated methods in a different (medical) context: soap and water work darn good.
We saw Quantum of Solace. It was enjoyable, but it couldn't touch Casino Royale. That was in no small part due to the frenetic, overly close-camera'd action sequences. We read later that the director wanted to emphasize each of the classical elements in an action sequence, which explains why in one all the action is obscured by ocean spray, in another by roaring flames, etc. Oh, and the main girl's backstory is sort of clichéd, but otherwise the movie's alright. I thought Miss Fields was cute (her first name only appears in the closing credits).
Last night we went out with a bunch of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cat9's charming friends to Deep Ellum in Allston, in spite of Google Maps' persistence in directing us to Cambridge. It's a nice little place, with decent food, but the drinks are phenomenal. They are the best cocktail makers I have come across, with a strong focus on classics. Their drinks menu includes 8 kinds of Manhattan. They are masters of the egg drink. Every cocktail is a perfect balance of flavors, never wildly sweet nor overpoweringly liquory. They'd probably make an appletini if someone asked for one, but it's about the furthest thing from their menu. xiphias, in particular, you probably already know of them, but if not you should check them out.
Just barely related, I learned something great from our plumbers: the industry way to find a gas leak seems to be to fill a spray bottle with soap and water, and cover the suspect region (in our case a closet pipe). Where it bubbles is where the leak is. I hadn't really considered what sort of advanced techniques they might use, but this took about 4 seconds. I'm reminded of the immortal words of wisdom Ibrahim gave me when I asked about using overly-complicated methods in a different (medical) context: soap and water work darn good.
We saw Quantum of Solace. It was enjoyable, but it couldn't touch Casino Royale. That was in no small part due to the frenetic, overly close-camera'd action sequences. We read later that the director wanted to emphasize each of the classical elements in an action sequence, which explains why in one all the action is obscured by ocean spray, in another by roaring flames, etc. Oh, and the main girl's backstory is sort of clichéd, but otherwise the movie's alright. I thought Miss Fields was cute (her first name only appears in the closing credits).
Last night we went out with a bunch of
cat9's charming friends to Deep Ellum in Allston, in spite of Google Maps' persistence in directing us to Cambridge. It's a nice little place, with decent food, but the drinks are phenomenal. They are the best cocktail makers I have come across, with a strong focus on classics. Their drinks menu includes 8 kinds of Manhattan. They are masters of the egg drink. Every cocktail is a perfect balance of flavors, never wildly sweet nor overpoweringly liquory. They'd probably make an appletini if someone asked for one, but it's about the furthest thing from their menu. xiphias, in particular, you probably already know of them, but if not you should check them out.
