Celebrate Responsibly

Normally I post something on the last day of the year which is topical or interesting. Today I feel inclined to put our a reminder to celebrate the coming of the new year responsibly. That doesn’t mean you cannot overindulge and hate yourself in the morning, it just means if you do have a bit too much to leave the driving to someone else. Allow a friend, Uber, or a cab to get you back home after a wild night on the town.

New Trigger Thoughts

I just came across an article discussing the new trigger available for the Ruger Mark IV pistol. In fact many inexpensive firearms have affordable yet expensive trigger replacements. This new one from Volquartsen is $105 according to the article, but the firearm it is for retails for about $500. I’m sure the trigger is tits, but putting out 20% of the price of the firearm designed for plinking seems a little steep to me. People like to customize their firearms, but I’ve found my old 22/45 to be just fine the way it came although I did make some minor modifications. The Ruger 10/22 has a trigger set for it from Ruger which runs about $70. I purchased a 10/22 a few years back for $180 so I would be hard pressed to put 40% of the gun value in a new trigger. In the end all that matters is what you actually want for your firearms. If you want to customize with a semi-expensive or expensive part I say go for it, but I’m probably not going to spend the money when the firearm is solid out of the box.

Orbitz – 10 International Drinking Rules

Orbitz put out an Infographic with 10 International Drinking Rules. I suspect if you’re buying many of your drinking rule blunders will be forgiven! 😉

Chicago = Gangland

Shootings in Chicago are at an all time high as I write this, 4,336 YTD. A news report recently mentioned 1,700 known gang members and something about that number just doesn’t add up. It was a blurb on the nightly news, but we know much of the Chicago crime is gang on gang with plenty of collateral damage, but if there were only 1,700 gang members then there should be less. Perhaps the news estimate was misstated, but a 2013 report put the gang number in Chicago at 70,000. That makes more sense to me. I also don’t think we can blame Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the violence, but we can question his leadership in stopping the carnage and solving the crimes. With less than 20% of the homicides being solved that leaves 642 unsolved homicides on the books YTD. The solution is staring you in the face Chicago, you must crack down on gangs. Gangs are the root of the problem and the only real solution is to pull the weed. I doubt anything changes in Chicago in 2017, the leadership will blame inanimate objects and people will continue to be subjected to violence at the hand of gang members. I hope I am wrong.

Suntory Toki – Inevitable Price Increase?

NC has been enjoying Suntory Toki for $29.99 a fifth ever since it was introduced to the market. When I found it in California it was $50. As I’ve traveled lately I’ve been on the lookout and have come to believe the NCABC fat fingered the keyboard and the price should have been $39.99. The next price list doesn’t roll out until February 1, but I see a dramatic increase in price in our future. Most articles point to a suggested retail price of $39.99 and with prices running from $38 to $55 on the web I don’t believe $30 Toki will last very long so get it while it’s a bargain!

Port – Should I Break The Bank?

I started trying port after a Mad About You episode way back in the day where they saved a bottle of port and had some every year. From there we stated to buy a bottle here and there and determined our preference was to tawny ports. We have also tried some of the specialty, late bottled vintage, and aged and in general you cannot go wrong with just a simple tawny port which is often less than $20 and can be found on sale. World Market is a great place to find a bottle of port on sale. Once they put on a sale for reds or multiple bottles just pick up a tawny and give it a try. Our favorites are Fonseca and Ramos Pinto. Ramos Pinto can be difficult to find, but everything they have is fantastic. Fonseca Bin 27 is available almost everywhere, but finding their Tawny, 10-year, or 20-year can take some vigilance. We recently did a side by side of the four and found our preference was Bin 27 and 10-year, but Tawny and 20-year were very tasty. What was interesting is how as the port aged the color became lighter. Buying a late bottle vintage is not something I would suggest unless you know a particular year was a great one. Typically they are more expensive and often they won’t blow your socks off. So go get some port and don’t break the bank to do so when a great bottle is under twenty beans!

Merry Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16 Unfiltered IPA

I was excited to pick up Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16 Unfiltered IPA from the Virginia Brewery Prototype. It was clear from the get go this was going to be a cloudy and chunky brew. I get that it was unfiltered, but it was borderline disgusting in appearance. Perhaps a suggestion to swirl the yeast back into suspension would have been good. The aroma and flavor were more restrained than I would have preferred, but were still very nice. If this is what we can expect out of Virginia, then I am excited to have their beers in our market. As a first stab at the Enjoy By IPA I found it very good, but if this is the best they can do it will be a bit of a let down. I’ve come to expect quite a bit from the Enjoy By series so when one come out that just barely trips the trigger I become hyper critical. Keep up the good work RVA and work on getting better in the future!

I Hate Ruger More Every Day!

Ruger just rolled out a few new wheel guns and it makes me hate them even more. One was a reworked GP-100 chambered in 44 Special. I gotta admit I don’t get all weak in the knees about a five shot 44 Special when I can get the same gun in a six shot 357 Magnum. Perhaps someone will be all giddy about it, but for me it is a pass. What I do get giggly about is an eight shot Redhawk 357 Magnum. Wowser is that a fantastic look and combination. With a 2.75″ barrel it could easily be carried while out and about, but is not really designed for concealment. I’d prefer a longer barrel and I assume eventually they will roll out more options in terms of barrel length.

HB2 Just Won’t Die

I posted several times this year about HB2 including the election for Governor. As it turns out the Charlotte ordinance was a bargaining chip designed to cast a shadow over Governor McCrory so Roy Cooper could win the election. Not long after the election was decided Charlotte finally rescinded their ordinance, but did so with caveats and with a promise to enact a more carefully worded palatable ordinance as soon as HB2 was repealed. So when Governor McCrory, as promised, called a special session of the General Assembly several were disillusioned by the move by Charlotte to include caveats and to be promising new ordinances. When the bill came forward it was not only a full repeal, it included a moratorium on ordinances such as the one Charlotte passed which started this whole mess for six months. So the session ended with nothing happening. I’m not sure if HB2 will be repealed after the end move by Charlotte. So in a nutshell Charlotte, and others, used their ordinance to help Roy Cooper win the election, then when they could have eliminated HB2 they chose to continue to play politics. That decision led to the General Assembly concluding their session without repealing HB2. I blame everyone for this, Charlotte and the General Assembly. Both are playing politics and they are not helping anyone. The ordinance was ill conceived as was HB2. Quit playing politics and agree that we need neither in NC.