Jumpin’ Joe Lieberman?

Looks like Joe has floated the idea he might jump over to the GOP if the Democrats continue with their foolhardy plan of cut and run.

Illegals killing more Americans than the war in Iraq?

Looks like that is the case.  That’s just one cause of death that outnumbers fatalities in Iraq.  But that’s not really a fair comparison.  A more fair question is, what is the ratio of fatalities over time to troops deploy to Somalia?  I don’t remember a lot of fuss from the left over that debacle.  Then again, I don’t remember a lot of fuss over our cut and run either.

Vilsack is done

I always have to wonder if guys like this ever really think they have a chance.  Did he, in the first place, expect the money to start rolling in?  “I came up against something for the first time in my life that hard
work and effort couldn’t overcome,” he said, his wife, Christie, and
two grown sons at his side. “I just couldn’t work any harder, couldn’t
give it enough.” He’s refused to endorse another nominee.  Why?  I don’t think anyone has asked him what is wrong with the current crop.

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It’s weird looking at these pictures. For whatever reason, I always think of everything in black and white from those earlier periods in history - I guess because the majority of the photos you find are in black and white.

My parents were around this age at that time. I’ve seen them in old photos and recognize the style of clothes and such. My mom used to talk about how cold her legs would get walking to school in the winter.

This week I’ve been having a new roof added to my house. Before it was wood shakes which were probably as old as the house, now its composite tile - meneer? (sp?) What I’m really looking forward to tho is the addition of a couple sun lights above our dining room area which has no windows and kitchen. It’s going to brighten up the place considerably. To deal with the heat, we’ve had two solar fans installed. These are obviously powered by the sunlight and draw the hot air out.

When I left for work this morning, they were still humping the tiles on the roof - I couldn’t see how they’d finish that and lay them in two days. To my surprise, the roof was mostly covered when I got home. I’m pretty impressed.

This is not a review, and I didn’t flag it as one. I received my first tin of this yesterday - I’ve heard about it forever, and finally got around to trying it.

I’ll attempt a full-on review at some point, but the thing that struck me about this tobac right from the start is how easily it smokes. I can picture someone buying a tin of this way back when, popping the lid, and dumping the contents into the pouch they carry around or the humidor they kept at their desk that already contained the 1/4 of the last tin they bought. I guess that’s a fancy way of saying it’s an all day blend. But is that giving it enough credit?

Rattray’s 7 Reserve is an all-day blend. And a damn good one. Note: When I say all-day blend, I mean an all-natural English or American blend, as opposed to an all black Cavendish souped up aromatic. Not that I don’t cherish a bowl of BCA or Butternut Burly when the mood strikes, nor would I hesitate to smoke said blends all day or fear the result if I wanted, but those blends are sorta automatic all day blends if you know what I mean. Presbyterian Mixture meets the criteria 7 Reserve does, but isn’t as predictable. 7 Reserve is good stuff! Presby is too, but it goes off in a new direction - a direction that was new 100 years ago, and still is new today.

For the history, start with the front of the tin, check out tobaccoreviews.com, and let me know what you find out after that, because that is as far as I went. It’s supposedly a very old recipe - created long before the experts of ASP declared all quality blends shall contain latakia and/or be created by a regular poster to said forum.

The recipe has changed hands from one blending company to the next. I haven’t tried any samples from the company that made it 60 years ago, and I’m not really interested in trying because I don’t smoke blends that were available decades ago, I smoke blends available now. Yet you’ll see so many pompous reviews at tobaccoreviews.com where the anointed will moan about how it was so good before but lost something since.

Whatever.

People usually read reviews to determine the likelihood they’ll be interested in purchasing a particular product, not to learn the smoking history of the reviewer.

When I review the blend proper, I’ll expand on the smoking qualities - the way it burns so well, the unique, yet exotic taste, the way it refuses to bite, the naturally sweet background looming in the….

Oh wait, this is starting to sound like a review. This is not a review.

Pipe Lore

Good solid info - hopefully more brothers and sisters of the briar will start blogging.

My Valentines day gift is a LJ Heart pipe - my first one from Lannes Johnson.

I ended up sending LJ an email, and in response he mentioned that the pipe could be smoked as much as I wanted to, in contradiction to the “conventional wisdom” of the majority of the online pipe smoking community that pipes must be rested for at least a day if not a week between smokes.

I have always doubted this is the case and asked his opinion. His reply: “I am not a pipe rester but a pipe smoker. If a pipe will not perform to my smoking habits I get rid of the thing. No need to dance with ugly women.”

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how these silly misconceptions arise - misconceptions like resting pipes, 3 layer packing, the evils of PG, etc. My instincts are it’s an internet thing. Before the internet and ASP, no one seems to have heard they weren’t supposed to smoke the same pipe all day every day, so people did. The pipes didn’t hear they were supposed to go sour and stop being smokeable either, so I guess it all evened out in the end.

You’ll find the original version of this tobacco review here, where it first appeared on tobaccoreviews.com.

Tin description

Named for renowned pipemaker Rolando Negoita, this is a Virginia/Perique blend with Rolando’s artistry in mind. A mixture of lemon, red and stoved Virginias is enlivened with a moderate dose of wonderful Perique, for a sweet and flavorful all-day smoke.

Smooth, rich, tangy, sweet, and tart. This blend has a full, satisfying flavor from the stoved and reds, with brisk notes from what I consider a fairly generous amount of perique along with the lemon Virginias, but no rough edges. It is cut somewhat broad and course which makes the burn just right for the components.

There is just enough complexity to allow some observation of how the many different flavors relate - there is a lot going on, but you won’t miss a thing by not devoting all your attention to it in quiet contemplation. In fact, the big flavors might pull your attention away from whatever you’re doing, and back to this wonderful smoke.

All of the Hearth and Home Virginia Perique blends are very good in thier own way, and I’ve smoked them all. This recent addition is my favorite of the bunch. The masterful balance of a large range of bold flavors that each hold their own, superb burning characteristics, lack of bite, easy pack and smokeability, all contribute to my highest recomendation to fellow VA/Per lovers.

• This blend is avaiblabe bulk or tinned at pipesandcigars.com.

In the dictionary, next to the “all day smoke” entry should be a picture of a tin of Rattray’s 7 Reserve.

This blend arrives somewhat moist in the tin - too moist for my taste, but dries nicely and naturally with no trace of addives. I’d categorize it as an all natural English blend. Once dried properly, it has fantastic burning characteristics, and the ribbon cut packs fairly easily.

Once you get a bowl going, the blend produces generous volumes of smoke without too much heat. No special need for careful smoking cadence with this one. The flavor is rich Virginias - sweet and satisfying, and a perky, yet well rounded tang from the Orientals. Latakia plays a reserved role in this blend.

The effect is a smoke that does not toll your pallette, but doesn’t hold back on flavor and richness either. This is a mixture I’ll enjoy anytime I’m in the mood, first thing in the morning, before or after a meal, with a beverage of any kind, or the last smoke of the day.

Hat tip to feministing.com
Link to original story

Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush
Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Limbaugh, whose daily radio show is heard by more than 20 million
people on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the
world, was nominated for the prestigious award for his “nearly two decades
of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all
humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin.
These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout
the world,” said Landmark President Mark R. Levin.
“Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in
the world today,” explained Levin. “Everyday he gives voice to the values
of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal
application of the rule of law — and it is fitting that the Nobel
Committee recognize the power of these ideals to build a truly peaceful
world for future generations.”

Something tells me he won’t get it.

Gotta wonder what’s in the water in San Francisco. Now, I could care less about the mayor’s affair, but I did get a chuckle out of one of the “man on the street” remarks at the bottom of the story.

Tom Abbott, 36, an executive recruiter, said that having an affair with a loyal aide’s wife was “a total slimeball move.

“Any guy who puts that much mousse in his hair can’t be trusted,” Abbott said. “You don’t screw over your own boys.”

However, Abbott said that he would probably vote for Newsom in November.

“He’s a slimeball. I don’t trust him. He screwed over the people closest to him. (more ways than one) But I’ll vote for him!” I wonder what, other than being conservative, would cause your average Joe San Franciscan to not want to vote for someone?

Construction worker Geremy Curtis, 34, agreed that while the news out of Newsom’s office made for interesting gossip, “it will be laughed off,” he said.

“We put these people on a pedestal and think they are above all usual activities, and when they do something that is completely human, we are astonished,” he said.

Curtis predicted that San Francisco voters would forgive the mayor if he owned up to any lapses in judgment.

Usual activities? Having an affair with your secretary, who also is the wife of the guy who helped get you elected, is a “usual activity?” San Francisco.