NBA Finals
Well the San Antonio Spurs are the NBA champions for the fourth time in the last decade.
Top 10 Guitar Campfire Songs
My friends and I like to sit around the fire and play some guitar
Simple songs such as the Gambler or Cats in the Cradle will get everyone singing along because they know the lyrics and the tune. BTW I took the above picture after a long night in Algonquin Park involving quite a few Mooseheads. Word of advice, keep your friends away from the lighter fluid!
- Learning To Fly – Tom Petty
- Wheat Kings – The Tragically Hip
- Hasn’t Hit Me Yet – Blue Rodeo
- Brian Wilson – The Bare Naked Ladies
- The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
- Cats in the Cradle – Cat Stevens
- Glycerine – Bush
- Redemption Song – Bob Marley
- The Sweater Song – Weezer
- Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
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Beer Snob or Drunk? Test Results!
Following my post Beer Snob or Drunk, I decided to take the test. Originally we intended on doing a taste test of Red beers, but we couldn’t find enough red beers worth the test so we went with Pilsners.
Here’s what we selected:
Pilsner Urquell – Czech Republic
Labatt’s Blue – Canada
President’s Choice Pilsner – Canada
Konig Pilsner – Germany
Creemore Pilsner – Canada
Grlosch – Holland (This is actually a lager, but close enough)
Expectations
I fully expected to be able to identify Blue and PC because these would be traditional North American beers lacking in flavour and character. I figured Pilsner Urquell would be my favourite, followed by Grolsch, Creemore, Konig, Blue, and PC.
Results
A friend of mine who also took the test and is an avid drinker of Pilsner Urquell poured the beers into solid unidentifiable cups so that I would have to rely on taste rather then the look and colour of the beer. The cups were labelled A-F and only my friend knew which beers were in each of my cups.
I proceeded to taste each one of them and make some notes along the way. Once tasting each beer I went back and ranked them and then guessed at the name.
My Score: 2/6
I was only able to identify Creemore and Blue. My top ranked beer amazingly was PC Pilsner! My lowest ranked beer was Grolsch. Based on these results I would have to say that as much as I would like to think I’m a well rounded beer drinker who enjoys a variety of beers from around the world, it appears that my palate can only identify Canadian beers and my favourite is the cheapest of the 6.
That makes me a Drunk! Oh well, if the shoe fits…
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Fettuccine with Spicy Vodka Shrimp and Vegetables
This past weekend, I met up with a couple of friends for dinner at their place. My friend asked “what are we going to make now that we’ve tried the Cedar Plank Salmon there are no more dinner recipes on your blog. “ So I found this one at the LCBO. I’m a huge fan of fettuccine alfredo and shrimp so I figured this would be perfect as well as exciting! I’ve never flambéed anything before.
My true cooking skills really showed with this recipe. I totally panicked when I set the pan on fire and put it out way too early. By then I was frazzled and ended up burning the sauce. Needless to say we ordered in Thai and had a few Singha’s
This looks like a great and sounds like a great recipe so I urge those of you that have the courage and skills to pull this off to write in and let me know how it is.
Thanks
Fettuccine with Spicy Vodka Shrimp and Vegetables
By: Johanna Burkhard
Infusing shrimp with pungent chillies and garlic, and then flambéeing with vodka gives the shrimp an incredible boost of fresh flavour – as if they were just plucked from the ocean.
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
1 1/2 lbs (750 g) large deveined raw shrimp, peeled but with tails left on
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp (2 to 5 mL) chilli pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup (75 mL) vodka
2 small red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1 cup (250 mL) fish or chicken stock
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
1 tbsp (15 mL) grated orange zest
3/4 lb (375 g) fettuccine
1/3 cup (75 mL) chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Place half of the oil in a large nonstick heavy skillet and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add shrimp, garlic, chilli pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for about one minute or until shrimp are pink and almost cooked through. Add vodka and ignite with a match. Cook, shaking pan, until flames subside. Transfer shrimp and juices to a bowl.
- Add remaining oil to skillet and heat until hot. Add red pepper and fennel strips and cook, stirring, for two minutes or until tender-crisp. Transfer to bowl with shrimp.
- Add stock, cream and orange zest to skillet. Bring to a gentle boil (take care that it doesn’t boil over) until sauce has reduced by about half in volume. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return shrimp and vegetable mixture to skillet and heat through.
- Meanwhile cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but firm. Drain well. Return to pot. Toss with shrimp and vegetable mixture and sprinkle with parsley. Divide among warm pasta bowls or plates and serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a main course; 6 as an appetizer
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Poker Sunday: Week 5 – The Dream Ends
Well after just over a month of being staked $200 from 4 investors I have a balance of $0. It was fun playing even with the added pressure of knowing there are four other people counting on me to win. The final hand that knocked me out was another bad beat story. Seems like I’ve got a lot of them. I was dealt a pair of 9’s and raised from the button, pre flop. Three other players called. The flop was J, K, 9. Exactly what I wanted! I figured there was a good chance one of the callers would either have a J or K and felt it would be an outside chance that they held 10, Q to flop a straight. The first player bet, the next two called, I raised. The first player reraised, the second called after a hesitation, the next player folded and I called. The turn was a 6, a nothing card. The first player bet out again, the second called, and I raised. The first player reraised and the second player once again called. I reraised again and the betting was capped. The last card was a J. I figured even if the other players had a J in their hand I still had them beat with a full house 9’s over J’s which also beat the straight possibility. My stack was low so I figured I would raise any bets that were made. The first player continued to bet and I continued to raise, while the middle player called all the way. We flipped over our cards when I was out of money and the first player showed J, 9. He was losing the whole hand until the J showed up on the turn taking down the pot with a full house J’s over 9’s.
So what have I learned from this experience? Not much. I played the same style of cards when I was winning as when I was losing. Statistics say that in the long run playing good cards, as I do, and betting when you have the best hand will produce a winning result. My question now is how long is the “long run”? I played 3 weeks of losing poker with good cards and getting beat on the river. I don’t believe that the website is rigged because it doesn’t benefit from me losing and not playing anymore. I don’t think that I was part of a scam between two players on the phone at the same table trying to “sandwich” me into raised pots. That’s pretty easy to spot and I’ve seen players kicked off casino sites before when they try that.
What I think I can take away from this is that I’m a half decent poker player for an amateur, but to get past these disastrous losing streaks I think I really need the advice of a professional Poker books are too general for my problems so I don’t think I’ll be able to solve them by looking it up. I’ll take a break from poker for a while and next time I play I’ll take my money out when I get some initial winnings. Although I don’t like that style because the big bucks come when you have big stacks playing on high roller tables. Regardless I think it is safe to say that being a professional poker player just isn’t in the cards for me.
Thanks for following along.
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This Weekend in Sports (08-June-2007)
NBA Finals
As expected the San Antonio Spurs have taken a 1-0 lead in the finals that started last night. They were able to hold Lebron James to only 20 points on 4 for 16 shooting. The Spurs double and triple teamed James forcing him to pass the ball or hoist up a jump shot. Bruce Bowen, one of the best man-on-man defenders, shadowed James all night and forced James towards the help defence. Tim Duncan once again had an all star performance with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 big blocks. The Spurs lead by as much as 20 points at one point in the second half, but Lebron and the Cavs made a run of their own to bring the deficit within 8 points with about 5 minutes left in the game. San Antonio held on for the 14 point win. It will be interesting to see what happens in the rest of the series when the Cavaliers make some adjustments and start hitting their shots. The double and triple team defence won’t be as quick on James if the rest of the team makes the shots they are supposed to. Then that will open up the floor for King James. Keep watching this series it should be a good one!
NHL
The Anaheim Ducks are the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions. Anaheim completely dominated Ottawa, which was a huge surprise to me. By the final game it looked like all the Senators except for Daniel Alfredsson had given up. Anaheim deserved to win and the state of California will be the home of Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time. There have been talks of expansion to Las Vegas and Kansas City over the last few days. If this comes to fruition then it might be a long long time before the cup comes back home to Canada with only 6 teams. However the Jim Balsillie the Co-CEO of Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry, has purchased the Nashville Predators. Rumour has it that Jim would like to move the team to Canada and specifically Hamilton, Ontario or Waterloo, Ontario. This will be a story that we will be following with great anticipation.
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Walk-on-Water Ball
Ever wonder what it would feel like to walk on water? Ever wonder what it would be like to be trapped in a hamster ball? Odd questions right? Seemingly unrelated eh? Not now! You can buy a 6-Foot Walk-on-Water Ball.
This 6ft inflatable ball lets you walk across water as you walk/crawl inside. Each coloured dot is a cup that allows the ball to ‘grip’ the water and propel you one direction or another. A speed valve allows the ball to be inflated in 5 minutes. Fully inflated the ball weighs approximately 50lbs. There are two holes for entrance and exit and includes a rope for securing the ball to a dock. The walk on water ball is intended for ages 10 and up and will support weight up to 170lbs.
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Vacation Property Estate Planning
I know how hard it is to find decent waterfront properties so I figure when my children grow up the only chance of them having a cottage is if it is transferred to them through an inheritance. I hope that my kids will have enough interest in cottaging that they will keep the family cottage and pass it on to their children.
For those of you who are lucky enough to already have a cottage that has been passed down through the generations or for those getting ready to pass it on to your children you must have a lot of questions about how exactly it is done.
I spoke to my Investment advisor, Mark Wilson, to see if he had any information. He directed me to an estate planning article provided by BMO Nesbitt Burns.
The article identifies a number of areas that are crucial to planning for the transfer of your vacation property including family interest, tax related issues, and finding the appropriate method of transferring property to your heirs.
If you would like to read more or contact Mark with your questions please go to www.MarkWWilson.com
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Poker Sunday: Week 4 – Breaking Even
Well this week not a whole lot happened. From my last post I went up and then down and ended up around the same amount I started with. So instead of writing about mediocrity I thought I would direct you to some interesting stories that have occurred in the world as you sit back and enjoy your Sunday. Let the Weekender do the work for you.
Previous Balance: $58
Current Balance: $100
Profit/Loss: $42
The Loch Ness Monster
Once again the Loch Ness Monster has been seen and this time the best footage ever has been captured! I have to warn you though I was very disappointed after seeing the footage. I’m as open minded as anyone about myths and monsters, but this just proves that people see what they want to see. You decide for yourself from this footage from the BBC.
The Giant Pig
Here’s an article that’s been all over the world this week. An 11 year old boy has shot and killed a wild pig weighing 467Kg reports the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. They say they are going to make 500 -700 pounds of sausage from the beast. Hope they have enough buns.
Old Fruit
Archaeoligists have found a 2100 year old piece of fruit in Japan. I’m not entirely sure the importance of this find, but it does confirm that people liked fruit 2100 years ago. See what else the article from AOL News has to say about this ancient find.
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Beer Snob or Drunk? Take the Test!
Based on my Top 10 Beers article I have come across some criticism that I am a beer snob.
However some of my friends feel that I’m just full of BS and can’t really taste all that I say I can in each beer.
So we are going to have a taste test challenge to see if I’m really a beer snob, or just a drunk who likes to drink different beers.
Step 1
Agree upon a type of beer. The beers have to be similar so that comparisons can be made. Red beers, Light Lagers, Honey beers, ect.
Step 2
Select 6 beers of the agreed type. Make sure to have a favourite beer and a most hated beer in the group.
Step 3
Pour the beers into opaque cups so that there is no visual difference in the beers. Remember this is a taste test.
Step 5
Number the cups and provide the tasters with a sheet of paper and pen or pencil
Step 6
Each taster must write down how they would rank the beer from 1-6, 1 being their favourite, and then name the beer.
I must admit I’ve done this once before and was completely shocked. I only got 2 out of 6, but did recognize my favourite beer of the group. We are going to do another taste test shortly with Red beers. I’ve been shooting my mouth off again and I intend on backing up my words this time!
Invite some beer drinking friends over this weekend and give the Beer Snob taste test a try. It’s a lot of fun and the best part is you get to drink beer!
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