The Ds Almost Full Feed

Brian » Review: Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:17:53 +0000

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This could have been a snoozer, but Joshua Foer actually takes an interesting historical look at memory, doesn't delve into too much silliness about Google replacing our memory, and even makes memory competitions sound more interesting than they deserve to be. Fun read for non-fiction.

Brian » Review: The Leopard

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:17:52 +0000

The Leopard by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another fine thriller by Nesbo. Poor Harry Hole is probably wishing he would stop writing about him by now, and this one definitely takes him to his limit and beyond.

Brian » Review: The Night Eternal

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:17:51 +0000

The Night Eternal by Guillermo del Toro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A fitting end to this series. Sure, it was kind of predictable to see where it was going, but I thought it was pretty well executed, all in all.

Brian » Review: 1Q84

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:17:50 +0000

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It took me a while to get through this one, it's just long. And yet, it's still Murakami at his most simple and spare. Some people might complain about the lack of resolution for the supernatural elements of the story, or the sometimes clunky language, but the most important thing was to resolve Tengo and Aomame's stories, which I ultimately thought he did quite well.

Brian » Review: Zone One

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:47:07 +0000

Zone One by Colson Whitehead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's so human for a zombie book. I can't find the words to describe it well enough. Whitehead is one of my favorite authors, and he wrote a zombie book. You should probably just go read it.

Brian » Review: The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:43:28 +0000

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It amuses me that this book reads as if Richard Dawkins has given up talking to his foes as adults, and instead decided to talk to them as children. And somehow, it totally works and is probably far more effective than any of his recent books.

Brian » Review: Ready Player One

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:12:34 +0000

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ernest Cline took my childhood, threw it into a blender, turned it on high, and spit out the most awesomest book ever written. Video games, quoting Monty Python word for word, pop culture trivia: these are all important PLOT POINTS. And it works too! The whole thing is just amazing, and if you are any kind of child of the 80s, you will go read this book right now. I mean, I get all my books from the library, so I don't buy hardly any books ever. But this book is getting purchased and is going on the shelf in a place of honor.

Brian » Megabus review

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:01:59 +0000

With airfares getting really high lately, and the only good fares in this area belonging to the remote outpost of BWI, I decided to try out the Megabus to get myself home from Michigan.
My father-in-law dropped me off at the Rosa Parks Transit Center in downtown Detroit around 11:30pm on Saturday night. The crowd there was about what you would expect: mostly minority, some clearly homeless, and a few hipster types. They were all well behaved, and there was a security guy there trying to make sure that people were actually waiting for buses and not just loitering. On the other side of the building was the Megabus stop, not the most clearly marked, but the map inside the building did show where it was. After a short wait, the bus arrived, my ticket was checked, and I hopped on with 4 other people for the trip to Pittsburgh. The ride was uneventful, though interestingly there were two drivers on the bus. I guess they staff with two during the red eye runs? It was somewhat annoying that the guy got on the loudspeaker and turned on the overhead lights when we stopped at a rest area, but otherwise it was a quick trip, even for me and my utter inability to sleep on buses/planes/etc.
Once in Pittsburgh, I had a little over an hour to kill before the next bus, so I set off in search of food. FYI, not much open at 6am on Sunday in downtown Pittsburgh! But, I did eventually find a McDonald's that had just opened and grabbed breakfast.
The Megabus reps were helping out at the Pittsburgh bus stop, getting people in the correct line for their destination. Once the bus arrived, it was smooth loading, and fairly full this time, with only one or two empty seats for the trip to DC. The actual ride was fine as well, except that the rest stops seemed excessively long, especially the 25 minute one in Frederick, a mere hour from our final destination anyway!
In DC, the Megabus lot had clearly marked signs for each line, and they even had tents up to shield waiting patrons from the hot sun. I hopped off the bus and took a quick walk to the Metro, and got home 45 minutes later.
Overall, it was a long trip (I left Detroit at 12:15am and got to DC at 12:30pm, and got home at 1:30pm), but for about $30 one way, it may have been worth the money (and security hassle) I saved over flying. The one glitch so far is that the return trip may be even longer due to a schedule change that leaves me with a four hour layover in Pittsburgh. At least this time it will be on a Friday morning, so there should be more things actually open.

Brian » Decoded

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:45:30 +0000

Decoded by Jay-Z
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Truly fascinating and beautifully presented book. It's worth the read if only to remind yourself that rap and hip-hop songs, while often reality-based, do not necessarily reflect real life, and the performers do not necessarily share the views of their subjects. Jay-Z writes about his life coming up in the projects, escaping the doomed life of the hustler, and becoming a recording star and mogul. And the best part is the way he breaks down the lyrics of a number of his songs to explain why they aren't what they appear to be on the surface. I read to learn, and this book definitely taught me a lot.

Brian » Review: Sapphique

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:47:47 +0000

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finally a sequel that lives up to the original. Sapphique takes us back into the worlds of Incarceron and the Realm, to find out what happens to our friends Finn and Claudia, Keiro and Attia. Poor Attia gets neglected a bit near the end, but the other characters all find some sense of closure, at least. Lots of magical fantasy went in to this book, and it was a lot of fun finding out how it ended.

Brian » The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness and Obsession

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:29:51 +0000

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness and Obsession by David Grann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed David Grann's The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, so when I heard he had a new book out, I went and found it at the library. This one features several interesting stories, some of which I am fairly certain I had read before in magazine form. Did I mention they are mostly pieces he wrote for the New Yorker?
So, that was the only disappointing part. The stories aren't really tied together in any particular way, but they are all intriguing in their own way, and I enjoyed reading them. If you're in to long form journalism, this is right up your alley.

Brian » Mockingbird

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:31:02 +0000

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another book that is a bit predictable, partially because it's a YA title, but it deals with its rather mature topics rather well even with the flaws. Death and autism/Asperger's are going to be tough topics to tackle in and of themselves, but put them together and it's really hard. It seemed to me that the author kind of compressed the timeline and forced some of the characters to get to their resolutions more quickly than they might in "real life," and that bugged me a bit. Still, I would recommend it for the category, as it does well in addressing the topics it tackles.

Brian » How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:32:48 +0000

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This one seemed a bit scattershot at times, but I suppose it's hard to write a good story about time travel without things getting a little scattered. But of course, a good sci-fi story isn't about the gadgets and the time travel, it's about the characters and the story, and that is where this book manages to get it done just well enough. And of course, the fun spin on time travel doesn't hurt.

Brian » Room

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:23:09 +0000

Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A tremendously moving book that will have you squirming and hoping and rooting and crying, and that's just in the first half of the book. The surprise comes about halfway through, as a punch in the gut, and the second half is probably even better than the first. Amazing.

Brian » 2010 Favorites

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:04:09 +0000

It's time once again for my yearly favorites!
First, in the book category, for non-fiction we have Blind Descent and The Big Short. For fiction, Let the Great World Spin and A Visit From The Goon Squad. Overall I finished 45 books, just a few short of my goal of 52, but not bad.
In the ever-present beer category, I didn't review nearly as many as usual, but I most enjoyed Founders Nemesis and Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek.
And as always, we relive the rest of the year's events:

Snowmageddon!
A North Carolina road trip to buy a Madsen bike
Run Amuck and the Warrior Dash
Movember
Geocaching
Evan ice skates
Ellie gets glasses and Irish dances

Looking forward to 2011!

Brian » Super Sad True Love Story

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 13:33:38 +0000

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A lot of authors have tried to write near-future fiction that ends up falling into sci-fi too much (hint: we still don't have flying cars and jet packs, get over it!). Gary Shteyngart writes near-future fiction that is downright scary, because it seems so close to coming true. He totally nails what could be the downfall of the US, and does it without delving too much into techno-babble. It's entirely possible that this book will actually hold up over the coming years, and wind up being far too prescient as well.

Brian » The Cheapskate Next Door

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:32:12 +0000

The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means by Jeff Yeager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Vaguely similar to the last financial book I read, but less ADD affected. There are money-saving "tips" sprinkled throughout, but far less frequently than the other one. I guess this one bugged me just as much though, because it was largely pasted together interviews with "cheapskates" around the country, and, while some of the interviews were interesting, I felt like as a whole, it was kind of repetitive and not all that interesting.

Brian » Movember Thanks!

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:46:09 +0000

Thanks to everyone who donated to my Movember campaign. I passed my goal and raised over $500! You can still donate for the next week or so right here. Now, it's time to go shave this thing off!

Brian » Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Bac

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:09:06 +0000

Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back by Kimberly Palmer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I didn't really think too much of this book, honestly. There may be some stuff in there that people unlike myself would find useful, but I really felt like I had read most of it elsewhere. And all the "quick tips" scattered throughout every single page really got to me. So ADD! I guess I'm just barely too old to be in this book's target demographic.

Evan » Evan Turns 4!

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:03:29 +0000

Way better than last year, when I forgot to post pictures for, oh, 5 months or so. Here we go.

The birthday boy wears the crown at school. And waits patiently to eat that awesome alien cupcake.

Mmm, cupcake.

We opened presents before the party. Evan was happy to get more Thomas trains.

Of course, Evan wanted a Toy Story party, so he was quite pleased to get Buzz Lightyear as a present.

And don't forget Woody!

Thankfully, the kids took turns playing with each of the new toys. Well loved by all. Then, it was on with the party.

What could those kids be waiting for so patiently?

The baking soda and vinegar rocket launch!

Somehow I managed to only get a little bit wet.

Then it was time for the piñata. Oh, that awful piñata.

Evan took some good whacks, but that bat wasn't working. We moved on to a heftier stick, but it took a long time to finally crack it.

Another fine Lisa cake creation. The cupcakes are pretty awesome, eh?

And of course, we had to position the candles so they looked like the engines firing. Pretty awesome cake for a pretty awesome kid. Happy birthday Evan!

The D's » Halloween 2010

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 03:01:53 +0000

Hey, it's not even a month late, give me a break! Anyway, on with the pictures!

As usual, we headed to the zoo the week before Halloween for "Boo at the Zoo." Even Lisa got into the act.

The kids tried out what it was like to sleep like the gorillas.

The next week, Evan had his Halloween parade at school.

Everyone's favorite, scooping pumpkin guts!

The finished product. Gotta love the Potato Head pumpkins.

Time for trick-or-treating with Evan's buddy Bridger.

Candy, mmmm....

Ditto.

Tough guys. Bridger was actually shaking, he was flexing so hard.

And our little Irish dancer.
That's another Halloween. Look for pictures from Evan's birthday coming soon!

Brian » The Fall

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:18:13 +0000

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Can't wait for the final book to come out. This one catches you up quickly on what you forgot, then builds up to the Master taking another hit, but still surviving. The resistance group loses one of its most important members, and things look especially bleak for poor Zack. Really good story, can't wait to see how it ends.

Brian » The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:52:14 +0000

The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays by Ron Jaworski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Are you a geek? Do you also love football? Then boy, oh boy, is this the book for you. If you've ever seen Ron Jaworski breaking down film on NFL Matchup or one of his other many ESPN shows, you know there's no one better. In this book, he takes a look at seven games featuring seven groundbreaking approaches to coaching in the NFL. There's no understating how much fun it is to read about how innovation rules in the NFL even though most of us can't see it on a game-by-game basis. Jaws has a good one here. It's accessible to the average fan, but gets deep into the game for the real football geek too.

Brian » The Thousand

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:45:01 +0000

The Thousand by Kevin Guilfoile
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very entertaining read. Kinda like a grown up Dan Brown novel. Fast paced, but not choppy like DaVinci Code. Interesting and intriguing, if not convoluted plot. About my only complaint is that it is a little bit clunky at times (a bit *too* reminiscent of Dan Brown). Still, a quick read that actually uses more than a fifth grade vocabulary, nice.

Brian » Movember

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:30:09 +0000

Last month, you may have noticed baseball and football players wearing pink to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. This month, I have decided to join the Movember movement to raise awareness about prostate cancer and men's health. Here's how it works: I start out November clean shaven, then all month I grow a moustache and you all donate money to support me in my efforts. I will post occasional blog updates with pictures on my progress, and you all donate money to support me in my efforts. Did I mention the part where you all donate money to support me in my efforts? I'm trying to raise $1000, but I'd settle for $500. Every little bit helps. If everybody gives just $25 or $50, we'll hit my goal and then some. Click the link there to view my MoSpace page and donate today. Here are some pictures to get your imagination going.

Day one.

Day two.

Day three.

Now, how about some badly Photoshopped previews of what style moustache I should grow?

The trucker goes nicely with a wife-beater t-shirt.

The pencil thin is a classic, and Jimmy Buffett did a song about it!

Ooh, don't I look dastardly???

So come on, folks, click the link and donate today!

Brian » I Am Number Four

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:50:53 +0000

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'd really like to give this a higher rating. The action was fast and furious, and the culmination of the action was pretty awesome too. But I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the two main teen characters falling in love bordered on "Twilight" territory. So lame, but unfortunately a bit necessary to driving the plot line. I did still enjoy it though.

Brian » Style and the Man: How and Where to Buy Fine Mens’ Clothes

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:47:05 +0000

Style and the Man: How and Where to Buy Fine Mens' Clothes by Alan Flusser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm trying, slowly but surely, to incorporate some of the many, many tips I gleaned from reading this essential treatise on style into my wardrobe. But let's just say that I have a long way to go. I may not be able to afford to shop at the places he recommends, but I can at least take into account some of the good advice he provides on making sure things fit properly. Starting with: you don't wear a large, dummy!

Brian » The Elephant Vanishes: Stories

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:45:16 +0000

The Elephant Vanishes: Stories by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This collection of Murakami short stories seemed somewhat more... out there than usual, I thought. Still, I love pretty much everything the guy writes, so I definitely recommend this compilation as well.

Evan » Evan Skates!

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:19:16 +0000

We've been looking for something for Evan to do lately. He missed out on soccer sign up and another class, but then we saw that he was just old enough to take his first ice skating class! He's a hockey nut, as you may know. He loves going to watch hockey while Dad has curling, and is just obsessed with it.
He did a great job too! He fell a lot, but he marched and skated all the way from one side of the ice to the other without any help from the teacher. So, without further ado, here are two videos of his first ice skating lesson. (He's the one with the blue helmet and green sweatshirt.)

Brian » Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight, Volumes 2-6

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:11:33 +0000

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Future For You by Joss Whedon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Burning through the Buffy Season Eight graphic novels, now that I realized that my library carries them. Volumes 2-6 brought me right back into the world I'd forgotten when the show went off the air, and each one gets up closer to Twilight. Must reads for Buffy fans, of course.

Brian » Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:07:30 +0000

Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth by James M. Tabor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Those who know me know I sometimes have trouble with the non-fiction side of reading. Not so with James Tabor's fascinating chronicle of the race to discover the deepest cave on Earth. Tabor spends more time on Bill Stone, the American, and understandably so, since the information and interviewees were likely easier to come by than those of his counterpart, Alexander Klimchouk. But ultimately, it doesn't much matter. Stone is quite the character on his own, and his part of the story could have stood on its own. Tabor does a great job of instilling the fear and danger of such large caves, and gives the brave explorers their due. These are some amazing folks who really deserve more attention than they've gotten.

Brian » Bite Me

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:58:55 +0000

Bite Me by Christopher Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
So, apparently this is part of a series of books by Christopher Moore, all paralleling the same basic story line. Huh, who knew?
At any rate, this particular edition focuses mainly on Abby Normal, whose particular use of teenage slang gets a little annoying at times, but puts you right in the character for sure. I thought this was a fun, light-hearted alternative to the usual dark vampire stories, which made it an enjoyable one to read.

Brian » Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:54:54 +0000

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The final installment of the Scott Pilgrim saga brings the series to a fitting conclusion. I especially liked the fine treatment O'Malley gave to Ramona (as well as many of the supporting cast) by not ignoring her in favor of all Scott, all the time. I still haven't seen the movie, but the books are well worth picking up.

Brian » Night Fall

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:31:57 +0000

Night Fall by Nelson DeMille
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'm not sure how I ended up with this book on my list, but there it was. A nice easy read for the plane ride to Miami and back. Except it's mostly about a plane blowing up (TWA 800) and ends (spoiler!) with the planes crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11.

For a book that was somewhat based on real events but entirely fictional, it wasn't bad. There's the element that I guess DeMille felt he had to put in that the TWA case may never be resolved to anyone's satisfaction, and they have to come to terms with that. But I still felt like I knew right where the story was going, just based on the time frame of the book. And sure enough, there it went, right smack into the buildings.

Brian » The Passage

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:59:02 +0000

The Passage by Justin Cronin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
At a glance, you might think this book is doomed. It's a vampire book, but the vampires are essentially infected with a virus. In other words, it's been done before (in my most recent memory with Guillermo Del Toro's The Strain). But man, does Justin Cronin pull it off and then some. It's not a short book by any measure, but the reason is what makes the book so good: the details. There's no mystery Patient Zero, we know where the virus came from and why. That sort of back story takes up the first 300 pages or so. And then we jump about 100 years forward to see what happens after the infected start to run out of victims, and that's where it gets really fascinating. You kind of have an idea of how things are going to go, all the way up to the end. But then there's a prologue. And yeah, you just have to read the last page. Love it.

Brian » Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:36:18 +0000

Bottled March 31, 2009. Watch your eyes! Nearly forgot to point away from my face while unscrewing the cage. Glanced off my forehead on the last twist. On to the beer...
Pours a great red color. Hazy looking through, big time. Actually got plenty of head and lacing in my tulip glass. Nice looking beer.
My first whiff while pouring I thought, "Uh oh. Smells like cough drops." Didn't get that after the initial surprise. More of a kind of funky aroma really.
But the taste, wow. Bang! Right on your tongue comes the tartness of those cherries. It's so sour you forget it's beer, and the cherriness has to fight to get through. I found if I held the beer in the middle of my tongue avoiding the sides where the sour taste buds reside helped a lot to get more out of the beer.
It might just be that I'm really into the sours right now, but yeah, I might have to go back and grab some more since I know they are in short supply.
Overall rating: 4.45 out of 5

Brian » Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:02:08 +0000

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Not exactly a conventional novel, but not so far out there to be a turn off either. It ends up being a really interesting look at the ways all our lives intersect with one another. And yet, it also has a lot on traditional themes like redemption and longing. It even has a little sci-fi thrown in at the end. In short, it pretty much has a little bit for everyone. Go read it.

Brian » Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:47:32 +0000

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Medium Raw ends up being more like a compilation of loosely related essays, but that's not really a surprise. What is a tad bit more surprising is Anthony Bourdain's slightly more conciliatory tone. He still criticizes plenty of people (pity the villains in the Heroes and Villains chapter), but also makes clear that he was angry while writing Kitchen Confidential, and that he's mellowed out a bit now.
Really though, you need to read this book for chapter 8: Lust. That would be the food porn chapter. I'm still drooling over that one.

Brian » Breaking out of a slump

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:00:32 +0000

I have been in a bit of a slump lately. A couple of things not quite going right, unexpected expenses, stuff like that. But this weekend was pretty darned good, I have to say.
On Saturday, the kids and I went to a local park to go geocaching with some friends of mine. The kids were great the whole time, and didn't complain. They actually had a lot of fun, and were very good when we got home and discovered that we were covered in some sort of tiny bugs (ticks or chiggers, not sure which) that required laborious tweezer removal.
On Saturday night, Lisa and I went to the Eddie From Ohio concert at Wolf Trap. It was a fun date night away from the kids, even if it was still pretty dang hot. Did you know that they let you bring ANYTHING in to the show? Alcohol, coolers, food, whatever, they don't care. Somehow, I managed to scam samples of Fin du Monde (wonderful all around) and Ommegang Abbey Ale (I think the guy has had this for a while, so it's "aged" well: reminded me of these Vosges chocolates with goji berries we've had before).
And yesterday, the kids and I made our first ever FTF geocache! You can read all about it here.
I think it's safe to say I'm out of the slump now. It was a good weekend.

The D's » Our New Family Pastime

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:40:10 +0000

Our new iPhones have opened up a new activity for our family: geocaching! From the official site description: Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. So far, I'm up just over 50 finds, and Ellie and Evan are right there with me with 26.
This past weekend, we all went out to Ellanor Lawrence Park for a little geocaching hunt. There were several caches hidden in the park within a reasonable hiking distance from each other. We ended up hiking a total of 4.3 miles over the course of about 4 hours, and we found 9 geocaches! The kids did great too, even during the "bushwhacking" through the deeper grass and tripping over fallen tree limbs.
One of the goals of every geocacher is to get an FTF: "first to find." When a new geocache is hidden, an alert goes out to users notifying them, and the race is on. Usually, in our area, new caches are found within a couple of hours. Sunday morning, I got the word that TWO new caches were hidden in McLean, not far from us. I was still tired from the previous day's hike, so I decided to have breakfast and wait a little while to see if anyone would stake a claim. Sure enough, one of the two was found fairly quickly. But the other one, a "multi" cache with more than one thing to find, was still out there at 10, 11, 12 o'clock! So the kids piled into the cars, and off we went.
When we got to the first part, we saw the standard brick wall sign welcoming us to a subdivision. We searched around that wall, knowing that the hider would not have intruded on the plants nearby, but still unable to find anything. Finally, we sat down in the shade of some nearby trees to cool off (it was getting up near 100 degrees, again!). We stared at the back of that wall for a while until Evan finally said, "Daddy, I think it's a magnet." Something clicked in my brain, and I flashed to something I had seen on the Spy Museum's geocaching page. Sure enough, the message was hidden in a rusty magnetic bolt, which perfectly matched the rusty electrical box it was stuck to.
We dashed over to the next stage, knowing we had a chance for a FTF, since no one had logged it yet. This part was much easier to find. One of the key things to look for in the woods when searching for a geocache is a UPS: "unnatural pile of sticks." We saw it immediately, and took the box out. The box held a reward for us as the first ones to find the cache, what a nice surprise!

We signed our names to the log book, posted our story online, and headed home for a celebratory Slurpee which was well earned on a searing hot July day!

Brian » The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:26:40 +0000

The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I starting reading Sandman way back when I actually read comics and was fascinated. Not too long ago, I saw that they had compiled the series into a nice set of graphic novel type volumes, and put them on my list. Seriously, Neil Gaiman just amazes me with his imagination, and the art in every issue is amazing. You can't NOT give this five stars. Hopefully I will get around to the ensuing volumes soon.

Brian » Pirate Latitudes

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A bit of a genre switch from Crichton, but the book ends up being something like what you'd expect (minus the bad science?). Entertaining page turner beach read.

Brian » Ommegang Biere de Mars

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:37:31 +0000

Bright amber color with nice head poured into my tulip glass.
Sour aroma reminiscent of green apple.
Not nearly as tart on the tongue. Some initial tartness with some sweeter malt. But a whole lot o' funk in there as expected from a Brett beer.
Super clean finish, and quite drinkable as well.
Overall rating: 4.4

Brian » American Gods

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:07:29 +0000

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm sure whatever I would say about this book has already been said in the multiple awards it has won, etc. I guess sometimes it takes a foreigner (in this case, a Brit) to see what America really is all about. And then to overlay a great bit of fantasy storytelling. Well, let's just say Neil Gaiman is a fantastic storyteller.

Brian » Father’s Day dinner

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:56:17 +0000

Yesterday, we went downtown for dinner at Jaleo, one of Jose Andres' restaurants (perhaps you heard Alex name drop him on Top Chef DC last week?). It was "Kids Restaurant Week" in DC, which meant that the kids paid their age for two tapas and a fruit dessert. It was a good thing too, because it was not a cheap meal! I took a few (bad) cell phone pictures of the food, so allow me to describe them to you.
First up was the sea urchin:

A spoonful of refreshing summer goodness. Next up were three Ibérico hams.

As you can see by the picture, this was one of our favorites, and I didn't get to take the picture before most of it was gone already! I really enjoyed the fancy shmancy acorn-fed Lomo Ibérico de bellota.

The fried artichoke was a mild disappointment, though the tapenade was very good.

Then came Lisa's new favorite dish: fried bacon wrapped dates. I have to say, this was definitely a standout.

The menu said you would want to eat them every day, and I think that's absolutely true. I miss them already.
The last dish I took a picture of was the rabbit confit.

It was a good dish, the apricot puree went nicely with the gamy rabbit, but the sauce was a little grainy for me.
Not pictured: the kids' chicken croquettes (not at all like chicken nuggets), salmon, Pan con tomate, and garlic shrimp. Also, Lisa's rice with duck confit and warm green bean salad. Also, the desserts: Chocolate and hazelnut mousse torte, and apple charlotte, both of which were delicious.
All told, we had a good time at our fancy dinner with the kids. The favorites were definitely the ham, the dates, and the desserts. Here's hoping your father's day went just as well.

Brian » Incarceron

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:34:59 +0000

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very good YA sci-fi here, though I knock it down just a touch because I still didn't really understand the prison being alive bit. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable read, trying to piece together the connection between the characters and the two worlds they live in. Very imaginative in its setting though, which made it fun to read.

Brian » Merry Strasmas!

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:25:52 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I took a flier on a long shot. No, not the Kentucky Derby. I took a reasonable guess that the date of Stephen Strasburg's Major League debut would be June 4. I turned out to be wrong, but we went to the game anyway and had a good time. The kids played on the playground, had ice cream, and we managed to escape without buying any souvenirs.
Last night was Strasburg's actual debut, and you'd have to say he lived up to the hype. 7 innings, 94 pitches, 2 runs, 4 hits, no walks, and 14 strikeouts. FOURTEEN! Including the last 7 batters IN A ROW! After giving up a homerun, he retired the next ten batters, including eight by strikeout. Phenomenal.
At least I will have a better idea of when he'll actually pitch from now on. Every five days, mark it down.

Brian » Logicomix

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:48:34 +0000

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Did you know I was a math major in college? I wasn't necessarily interested in math problems as much as I was just good at getting the answers right. Logicomix delves into some difficult questions at the very root of mathematics, that stuff that I wasn't interested in, and makes it really interesting. And it's not just the fact that it's in graphic novel form, but that it's in a nice narrative form that puts you into the story. This effectively puts Bertrand Russell's life and pursuit of answers into a fine perspective, accessible to a LOT more people than would have ever been interested in the topic, including geeks like me who should have been interested in it in the first place. Tremendous.

Brian » The Art of Racing in the Rain

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:03:35 +0000

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thought that the "dog as narrator" gimmick would end up bugging me after a while, but it actually did end up working well (even though it was strained for a big portion of the pivotal trial which did not allow dogs to be present of course). The thing that knocks it down a touch for me is the overwhelming sadness that pervaded the story and never let up. You are set up from the outset for the big sadness, but man, the sad moments just kept coming throughout the whole thing.
On the positive side, I now know that in Mongolia, they believe that dogs are reincarnated into men when their souls are ready, so that's uplifting anyway.
This book is the "All Fairfax Reads" selection for this summer, so if you're a neighbor, go get it!

Brian » Let the Great World Spin

Fri, 14 May 2010 12:33:57 +0000

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had my doubts a couple of chapters into this novel, wondering how Colum McCann would pull together what seemed to be a bunch of vaguely related short character stories. But as he masterfully gave voice to each new character, I was drawn in more and more, and began to see how they were all connected, and to appreciate McCann's brilliance. I can say without a doubt that he does manage to pull off a feat nearly as amazing as the tightrope walker who serves as the backdrop. This is definitely going to land on my favorite book list this year.
Next up is American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which I'm reading for the One Book, One Twitter book club.