The Consumer’s Corner

I really enjoy a good barley wine, so I was undeniably excited to pick up the 25th Anniversary Expedition Edition of the 2008 Bigfoot Barley Wine by Sierra Nevada. It was served in a pint glass at cellar temperature and is a very interesting big brew.

‘Bigfoot’ pours revealing an amber hue with a head that dissipates quickly into a thick film. The smell is intoxicating and has hints of pine, citrus and dark malt. I could tell this beer was going to have some fruity esters. Taking a sip is intense. My initial impression is that the beer is very hops forward and the esters give it a fruity note like apricots. It is a heavier brew, light on the carbonation, no heavy alcohol fumes, and the lack of hops “brassiness” common in barley wines makes it very drinkable. The bitters in the finish linger making this an excellent one to sip on all night.

I paid $9 for a 6-pack. I highly recommend the 2008 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine.

Official Site

–Matt Scheerer (of Red-Icculus.com)

If you’ve been using some version of Microsoft Windows for nearly your entire life, it can be down right scary to boot up another operating system on your precious computer. Especially Linux. You’ve heard great things about it, but you’ve also heard it can be a geeks paradise, and you might need a computer science degree to operate it.

Then came Ubuntu. It’s a Linux distro that I’ve been paying attention to the past couple years, even going as far as to beta test their in-Windows installer, Wubi. Ubuntu is ‘Linux for human beings,’ meaning it was designed to be used by children and grandmothers alike, and Windows/Mac converters. The idea is to be able to be up and running without a mile long learning curve.

The latest version of the software has just recently been released, and I took it for a spin yesterday, using a LiveCD. A ‘LiveCD’ is a disk image of the Ubuntu operating system that you can run from your CD drive, so you can try before you ‘buy.’ I was really impressed, and I’m very tempted to attempt to turn my system into a dual-boot machine.

Everything loaded very quickly, as far as I could tell all my hardware was recognized, my wireless card worked(!), speakers, everything. And even despite the fact it was running off of a CD (well, I used a DVD), it had my computer just humming. Never has it ran so fast in a ‘Windows’ environment.

No one at this point could tell someone with a brand new computer that Linux is the way to go, and you’ll be just fine formatting your hard drive and doing a dedicated install. There are still limitations, and getting certain things to work in Linux will be infinitely more difficult than in Windows. That will continue to be the case until software and hardware manufacturers embrace Linux as a whole.

So who do I recommend this for? People who have a spare computer lying around in the garage, that became orphaned after an upgrade. Or disgruntled Windows users who either deliberately pirated XP, or were unfortunate enough that someone decided to upgrade them at a repair shop. Right out of the gate, without any tweaking, Ubuntu can make an unused machine productive again; it handles the basics of word processing and internet browsing with ease. As you get more comfortable, you can try some more complicated tasks, but there is zero need to open a command prompt to do your more common, remedial tasks.

The best thing, it’s completely free, completely legal. It is ‘open source’ software, so it experiences a constant flow of updates, as there are huge teams of people that do nothing but fish out bugs to squash. I look forward to dabbling in the future; I have a dusty XP system with decent specs that is going to get a face lift soon!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

I kind of miss country music. Real country. Not “Fat Rascals” country, or who ever that chick from Idol is. And not Lady Antebellum.

I’m in the minority there, as they sold a whole bunch of albums last week, but I’ve ran this album through the iPod a few times, and can’t figure out why. This album has been released about 17 times this year already; just with different names. It’s bad pop music, with zero soul, and a big black hole where ‘heart’ used to be.

So long as the record industry continues to release discs like this at $14 a pop, I refuse to have any sympathy for them in the piracy debate. In fact, this disc isn’t worth pirating; it’s a waste of bandwidth and hard disk space.

This may be your thing, I can’t see why but the numbers don’t lie. But I cannot recommend it. Should you decide to grab it, it has 11 tracks, the best of which is ‘just okay’ and the rest hang around ‘gag.’ I just cannot say enough bad things about this; which means I need to stop writing.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

My skin is oily. Each one of my pores is registered with OPEC; I’m not kidding. I expect the current administration to declare war on me for control of my natural resources at any moment. It’s hard to sleep at night.

All kidding aside, I’ve gone to extreme measures to keep my face from looking like an oil slick. Peroxide. Alcohol (the strong kind you’re not supposed to use for such purposes), witch hazel, dish detergent. Everything. These little salicylic acid pads are the only things to every really do much good.

Me, ever the bargain hunter, decided to try the store brand version, as they were a whole buck cheaper than the name brands. A buck is a buck, right? 1/5 of my web hosting fees! Did they work? Very well. The pad was a tad smaller than I’m used to, but it had plenty of ‘juice’ on it, and was more than willing to do the job.

This one gets a solid recommendation from me if you use this type of product; aside from the horrible razor fiasco, I’ve been quite pleased with CVS’s offerings. Add in their customer reward programs, you could end up saving a good bit of money over time.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Really enjoyed this brand thus far, they’ve been excellent products. All roses have their thorns though, and OWater Lemon Lime isn’t something that I would purchase again. The flavor is ‘bitter’ and not in a good way, either. I expected it to be a little tart, it’s lemon and lime flavored after all, but as I was drinking it, all I could think about was cleaning products. Not good. It was a nice effort, lemon and lime flavors can be hard to make tasty without adding sweeteners, and that’s against the line’s theology. Oh well.

Don’t hesitate to try one of the other varieties though, on the whole OWater produces a very refreshing product that I really look forward to consuming this summer. Just stay away from this particular variety.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

I’m not a huge salsa fan; always been a ‘nacho’ guy. I just don’t like a lot of the ingredients that go into salsa. But I found one that is really good, and has earned a place in my fridge as a regular snack.

Pace brand Tequila Lime Salsa is made from a base of yellow tomatoes, jalapeños, and onions. Add a few squirts of lime juice on top of that, and you’re left with a great tasting dip. Nothing is over powering, and the onions take a back seat, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to eat it. The yellow tomatoes offer a very unique flavor, and everything tastes better with lime!

It’s not an unhealthy snack either, just 15 calories per serving. That’s only two tablespoons though, so go ahead and triple that number, because this stuff is hard to put down. I enjoy it with Tostito’s Scoops, but any tortilla chip would work just as well, I’m sure.

Availability may be a bit spotty, but try Publix grocery stores if you have them in your area. I really recommend it, this will be a real crowd pleaser at your next get together!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Are you an internet junkie like me? Do you start having withdrawal symptoms if you have to go more than a few hours without being able to at least check your email? Like me, are you too cheap to buy a decent data plan for your phone, so you can accomplish this task quickly and easily? Are you looking for a simple service that allows you to stay connected for just pennies a day, or less? Well, I found it for you. Welcome to Flurry!

Funny story. I upgraded my phone around a year and a half ago (Walkman w600i, don’t buy it), and I proceeded to play around with it, like I do all my new gadgets. Just one of my favorite past times. Anyways, I came across the preloaded Yahoo! Mail application, and thought I’d give it a quick try. Anyone that knows me well knows I’m not completely ignorant (if you think I’m ignorant, what does that make you, you’re reading my blog?); I knew that there was going to be some data charges. But in my mind I thought ‘Hey, it’s just text files, it can’t possibly cost that much!’ By about the second time I checked my messages wirelessly, I had became addicted quicker than a crack head and started doing it all the time. Long story short, my Cingular (now the new ATT!) bill was damn near close to triple what I was used to, and that Yahoo! Mail appication got deleted so fast I made lightning look slow.

That did not cure my addiction though, so I started searching. ‘There has to be a better way,’ I thought. And of course there was. What I found was Flurry, an amazing little java application for java enabled cell phones. So easy to set up, all you have to do is register for an account, and they’ll text message you the installer in an attachment. You can also transfer it yourself if your phone can connect with your PC, and that is of course much cheaper (free) if you have no data plan.

As a warning, upon setting up your account, your eyebrows will be raised. They ask you for your email address(es) that you wish to keep tabs on, and the passwords to those precious accounts. Now here’s how desperate I was; despite my long standing policy of never giving anyone my password, and my anality when it comes to security, I simply caved like a house of cards and handed over my information just as quickly as I could type it.

They seem to have been true to their word though, since that time (a year or so ago) I have not once noticed anything fishy going on within my accounts. They say your passwords are encrypted, and even they cannot read them. I somewhat doubt the last part, but even if they can, they have not opened my stuff so far as I can tell.

Flurry works by their servers opening, copying, and compressing your emails (only text, no html). That compression part is the big secret, it cuts way down on the amount of raw data that has to be transfered to your phone. By ‘way down,’ I mean that $50 data charge turned into a mere 75 CENTS! I’ve been able to read a whole day’s worth of email for around $0.02, at $0.01 per kilobyte on my ‘pay per use’ plan. Those numbers just speak for themselves, so there is nothing else I need to say about that.

The software itself is very simple to use, and should work on just about every phone still in operation. Flurry is able to check mail from nearly all of the big email services, and works with all the major cell phone operators. Other options they provide are things like texting you when you have a new message, but I just prefer to check manually. Those text thingies cost money, too (just ask Jill and her bff)! There are other toys to play around with like RSS feeds (hey, you can read this on your phone! Subscribe now!), and more. You’ll have to check them all out and get back to me, because I’m happy sticking with the basics for now. Oh, yeah, Flurry is ad-free freeware; the only money you’ll be paying is to your cell service provider. Now where’s my phone?

UPDATE: Flurry has updated it’s software, and it now has a much ’slicker’ and more attractive interface. Lot’s of other ‘goodies’ that I haven’t played around with yet, as well. Still provides the same excellent compression service, costing me next to nothing to check my mail. I still recommend this amazing service!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

cell phones, software, java, electronics, freeware

This will be my last energy drink review for awhile, I need to detoxify myself from all these stimulants. Likewise, this will also be the last coffee beverge I drink; two birds with one stone. I’m nothing if not efficient! Did I pick a good beverage to go out on? Yeah, I think so.

The chocolate tones in Rockstar Roasted Mocha added a bit of the richness that I felt had been missing from the other two Rockstar coffee/energy hybrids. This actually tasted eerily similar to the coffee that I order at my neighborhood coffee shop; my favorite baristas may be seeing less of me when I fall back off the ‘wagon’ and need a boost.

The energy blend worked really well, especially considering I consumed the 2 serving can in about five minutes. 200 calories, 2 grams of fat, 200% of Vitamins B3, B5, B6, and B12. 16% calcium and potassium. The actual energy blend consists of: 2,000 mg of taurine, 300 mg of ginkgo biloba, 240 mg of caffeine, and 50 mgs each of guarana, inositol, L-Camitine, ginseng, and milk thistle. Those numbers are per can, cut them in half if you want it by the serving.

I recommend it, it tastes good, picked me up, and didn’t break the bank. Anyone want to take a bet on how long I can make it without caffeine?

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

rockstar, rockstar roasted, energy drinks, coffee

No calories, no heavy flavors, just water with a splash of fruit. I like to make my reviews informative, and try to add some personality to them, but it’s difficult when dealing with a product this simple in design.

Simple is not synonymous with ‘bad.’ I really enjoyed drinking it! Just what I needed after a nice tanning session; I was hot, thirsty, and wanted something as light as possible. Owater provided that, with just the slightest touch of strawberry flavor. Real strawberry flavor, not some syrupy artificial flavor.

Owater is not only a product I’ll buy again, but as the weather warms up, I’ll probably be buying it by the case. Great stuff; easily recommended!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Mountain Dew has been expanding their Amp Energy Drink lineup, and so far I’ve really enjoyed the offerings. ‘Relaunch’ is fairly simple; just an orange soda with energy enhancers added. The flavor is very similar to that of Mountain Dew Livewire.

Relaunch adds in a blend of electrolytes to help the body rehydrate, but all in all, I think that is more gimmick than anything else. If you’re suffering from dehydration, an energy drink will probably be one of the last things you’ll reach for in the refrigerator.  Go for an ‘ade’ or some type of water.

I can’t say that Amp Relaunch does a whole lot in the energy boosting category either; I found it significantly less potent than many of the other 16 ounce energy beverages. That could be a positive for some of you who don’t want a big boost, but need something a little ’stiffer’ than a regular caffeinated soft drink can provide. This is almost like a ‘tweener.’ 220 calories, 58 grams of sugar, 160 mg caffeine, and 296 mg taurine. Those last two numbers are kind of weak.

Mildly recommended; I enjoyed drinking it, but not more so than a Mountain Dew Livewire. For a ‘true’ energy drink, I’d look elsewhere. This is perfect if you’re looking for something in the middle though. Tastes great!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs