WordPress iPad App

So I just barely posted the last entry from the WordPress iPad app. Why, you ask? Because I couldn’t exactly figure out how to post it after I wrote it. This is a nota bene for future bloggers. Oh, sure, I eventually found it on the FAQs section of WordPress, but posting from within the app is _not_ intuitive.

Basically, writing a blog post in the app looks like composing an e-mail message. There are a few lines up at the top for Title, Tags, Categories, and Status, plus a big blue Save button in the upper right-hand corner. Once you hit Save, you get a “Local Draft.” And then . . . . well the teeth gnashing begins.

The solution is to go back into Edit mode for your post, and touch the “Local Draft” entry on the Status line. Then a menu will unintuitively pop up with a “Published” entry. To post your entry, select Published and again hit Save.

Really, WordPress?! You couldn’t manage a big green Post or Publish button next to the Save button? Figuring how to post one’s blog entry, which is the whole stinking point of your app, is very analogous to touching the subject line of an e-mail message to send it. I know we’re supposed to be all touchy with this new device, but how exactly do you expect us to find this particular easter egg? Spend an hour or two randomly touching all possible points on all possible screens like some sort of handsy idiot savant?

Bad show. You win a big user interface ppphbbbbbfffht! Please consider this a request for some user interface — any user interface — that improves posing within your app.

Blogging On My iPad

So yeah, I got an iPad. Even though I bought an Apple Bluetooth keyboard in anticipation of my iPad purchase, this is the first time I have broken it out. This is so totally the future of computing. My iPad has not left my hands much since I got it, and finding/loading new games and apps has been great fun. But the as-needed, on-demand addition of a real keyboard somehow changes the device. Or my perception of it.

My wife wants me to point out to the Internet that I just wrote an e-mail on the iPad about 5 feet from our perfectly usable iMac. Noted. But I _wanted_ to write it on this device, and I guess that’s the point. If a device makes it somehow funner to do what you need to do, that’s a fair definition of a “good tool.” The iPad has not only gotten out of my way, it has drawn me in while doing so.

I’ll probably blog more now, too. You have been warned.

My Brother Makes Beautiful Things

See?

Hop Hop Hoppin Along

Did you know hops are antibacterial?  Well they are.  Based on the two beers I had today, I should be bacteria-free in and around my upper digestive tract for a couple of weeks.  No lie.

The first in time was Hop Knot IPA by Four Peaks brewery in Tempe, AZ.  The bad news for non-locals is that they do not yet bottle this one. The good news is that they plan on starting after Thanksgiving.  It may not be widely available, but say if you happen to be at ASU and of a certain age, go get thee a six pack.  This wonderfully citrusy brew clocks in at about 6% ABV, and it has a lighter color for an IPA.  Hop Knot has a wonderful nose, and finishes like a grapefruitty bitter bell — pure, ringing, and lingering.  This beer, which I am told uses Cascade, Simcoe, Liberty, and Glacier hops (not necessarily in that order) is the best beer Four Peaks makes according to the bartender who served us lunch (salmon fish & chips!) today.  I wholeheartedly agree.

The second was Hopsickle Imperial Ale by Moylan’s brewing in Novato, CA.  This stunning Imperial IPA weighs in at a whopping 9.2% ABV, not that you could tell what with ALL.  THE.  HOPS.  There is a nice citrusy/piney aroma, and a darker, tending toward amber color typical of IPAs.  My darling wife bought me this one at AJ’s a few weeks ago, and it comes in a deliciously ample 22 oz bomber.  The label helpfully lists the hops used:  Cascade, Simcoe, Columbus (my fave American hop FWIW), Ahtanum (whozzit?  I had to look it up:  similar to Cascade), and Chinook.  This beer starts and finishes bitter, with some citrus, and some other note that I really couldn’t pick out from all the other bitter.  Hopsickle (loving the name) could be used as a litmus test on whether you are, in fact, a hop-head.  If this beer is the best thing you ever tasted, congrats & welcome to the club.  If you think this beer might possibly be ever so slightly on the bitter side, well sorry, son . . .

Both of these beers, the Hop Knot and the Hopsickle, are definitely, and for different reasons, my bag, baby!

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You

Unapologetically, I cart out the inner fanboi.  HBO’s new series True Blood is the bomb-diggety.  Though this is not technically a movie (at least until Season 1 is available on DVD about 4.3 days after the end of season 1), it deserves to be reviewed like one.  And I have a soft spot for vampire movies.

The series, which is well, well ( “Well well fell in a well” as my grandmother used to say) worth the monthly cost of HBO, deals with vampires having revealed themselves (come “out of the closet”) to humans, and a town in Louisiana where the story and some related friction happens.  The series title is a reference to a fictitious bottled drink, developed “in Japan” that enables vampires to live without the real red stuff from peoples’ necks, but is nonetheless “boring.”  Kudos to whomever chose to call humans who consort with vampires for excitement and/or sex “fang-bangers.”  The characters are written well enough to be real, and are wonderfully and transparently acted.  The hallmark of good fiction (and particularly science fiction) is the ease at which you are swept away into their world.  For True Blood it took me about a minute, and there I’ve been ever since.

I really appreciate the themes of a (fictional) persecuted minority, vampires, and the associated prejudice and intra-minority culture.  This simultaneously allows social commentary on bigotry, and it arouses some measure of empathy.  I mean, vampires are bloodsucking monsters.  (And then the writers introduce humans preying on vampires to extract their blood (the drug “V”) by the expedient of imprisoning them with silver (of course!) to unarouse the empathy.)  All of which reminds me of a joke:

What’s the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?  One is a scum-sucking bottom feeder.  The other one is a fish.

Imagined readers, please tip the imagined wait staff.  For completeness, the title of this post is a reference to the theme song of the series, “Bad Things” by Jace Everett.  So says the WikiVampia.  If you have not, give True Blood a watch.  Vampire reality series!

Full Sail Doppelbock: Not My Bag, Baby

Here is a quick review of the 21st anniversary Doppelbock by Full Sail brewery.  It’s not my bag, baby.  I like Full Sail beers generally, though I admit I am not a huge fan of lagers.  As you undoubtedly know, and feel free to roll your eyes, a bock is one type of lager.

I believe that a “doppelbock” is a “double” bock, referring to double the alcohol (I think the Full Sail Doppelbock is around 8% ABV).  And, I am sad to say, this beer tastes like it.  It has a nice color and flavor, at least initially — caramelly, somewhat sweet.  BUT, and this is a big one, the beer tastes “hot.”  Hot as in, you can literally taste the alchohol in the beer.  Now I have no problem with higher alcohol beers, but the alcohol should not be a dominating flavor.  Perhaps this is a characteristic (or frequent shortfalling) of the “doppelbock” style.  Whatever.  Best of luck on the next 21 years, Full Sail.  This anniversary beer is not balanced, and it is simply not . . . my . . . bag.

I Thought It Was Called A Herd

Brief aside:  sucks to be up late working.  On the upside I just created a kick-ass PowerPoint presentation that will get me noticed and revered for my mad explainin’ skills. As far as I know at 1:30 AM.  Natch.  Onward, my fellow early morning warriors, whatever it is you are striving for.

One thing (maybe the one thing) that makes or breaks a band for me is the vocals.  I am not into lyrics, really.  On the contrary, the lyrics can go for a walk around the block so long as the vocals are pure, melodic, and sound more or less like another instrument.  This explains why I really dig certain Icelandic bands to be named later.  Eg tala ekki islensku.

Which brings me to a new-ish discovery and one of my current favorite groups:  Band of Horses.  This band has been described as My Morning Jacket’s emotional younger brother.  They are certainly emotive and dramatic, but so what?  Subdued music makes me sleepy.  I think BoH could also be fairly characterized as progressive or art rockers, except . . . the lead singer has this wonderful twang in his voice.  And maybe there’s that hint of a little country swing.  Not that I am a big fan of country music, mind you.  Or reggae either, while I’m at it.  Ptui.  I am a sucker for a good melody, which these guys produce with amazing regularity.  Call me a name like Nancy, but every so often BoH’s combination of melody, emotion and musicianship causes a sharp intake of breath followed by an extended sigh at the sheer beauty of the moment.

Check them out.

Music, Movies, Microcode & High Speed Pizza Delivery

These are the four things at which America still excels in the not too distant future of Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.  I am on my fourth or fifth time through this book (reading and audiobook), and it continues to sweep me away.  Snow Crash is a representative example of the cyberpunk genre, that Wikipedia says:

Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and megacorporations. They tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than . . . far-future settings or galactic vistas . . . The settings are usually post-industrial dystopias but tend to be marked by extraordinary cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its creators

Other cyberpunk books include Neuromancer and Count Zero by William Gibson.  Notable cyberpunk films include Blade Runner and the Japanese anime film Akira. 

In Snow Crash, Hiro Protagonist (kid you not), a sword fighter and freelance hacker, and YT (stands for Yours Truly), a teenage skateboard courier, become entangled in a stuggle for world control among the future powers that be:  the Mafia (in the form of Cosa Nostra Pizza, Inc.), Mr. Lee’s Greater Hong Kong, a bandwidth baron, and a religious franchise operation (Reverend Wayne’s Pearly Gates).  In an ironic twist, an ancient clay tablet from Sumeria holds a linguistic virus that enables hacking/controlling the very brains of the techno-elite computer hackers.  The struggle spans both reality and the virtual world, the metaverse.

Neal Stephenson coins some vividly descriptive terms to describe his world, such as burbclaves — the sovereign fortified suburban developments of the future that have their own security forces, treaties, corporate branding, etc.  The mini-vans that occupy the future streets are bimbo boxes.  And most everything else is corporatised and franchised, such as the future jails of differing levels of service, the Hoosegow and the Clink where you may be put after a trial at Judge Bob’s Judicial System.  

Snow Crash is original in content and presentation.  Over a decade and a half after publication, it holds up well.  Do yourself a favor and check this one out.  Bonus recommendation:  Cryptonomicon also by Neal Stephenson.

Celebrating The Hop Harvest At Papago

I had the distinct pleasure of attending a celebration of Sierra Nevada’s Hop Harvest beers at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, AZ last night.  The atmosphere was cool — the Sierra Nevada guy(s) had put out bowls of malt grains and hops on all the tables to experience.  I and the other representatives of ASH (Arizona Society of Homebrewers) that were present munched on the grains, both to add some little food to the beer and because toasty, slightly sweet grains taste good.  Of the two Harvest beers I tried (was driving, and could not make it to the Southern Hemisphere one — sorry New Zealand), the Chico Estate was superior to the original Harvest Ale.

Hop harvest, or “wet hop” ales use fresh-picked hops (sometimes the day before!) that have not been dried out and processed for storage, as most hops are.  Beers made this way have a big, fresh hop taste that may even tend toward a “green” flavor.  Now you know.  If you have not, try a representative of this style.

The other beer I had, with some wings don’t ya know, was a Papago creation:  Elsie’s Irish Cream.  This is described on their website as an “Irish Coffee Milk Stout.”  This wonderful creation is the most coffee-like beer I have ever had the pleasure of imbibing.  Think of a strong, cleanly brewed espresso shot blended with a sweet stout.  Extraordinary, and in its own way just as impressive as the Chico Estate from Sierra Nevada.  Elsie’s Irish Cream may just be the best coffee stout I have ever had.  It is well worth trying if you like that sort of thing.

And I Feel Fine

It is not the end of the world as we know it, but you couldn’t tell by reading the financial press lately.  Which is why you should avoid it.  If it bleeds it leads, and I have seen enough blood in my life.  Rather than add to all that tonight, let’s talk movies instead.

Some people like romances or comedies or dramas or horror films — I prefer science fiction films or escpaist action, preferably with vampires, werewolves and a lot of gunplay.  Most movies I consume once, but there are several that I can, and have thanks to cable TV, watch over and over again.  Here are some of my faves, and an attempt to explain why.

The Matrix because everybody wears black and speaks in low voices.  This movie drew attention for its groundbreaking effects, but the story overshadows these.  There are a lot of scenes that stand on their own — it is almost like the directors tried to make each and every one the best it could possibly be — best pursuit by amorphous evil, best rescue in gritty ship, best virtual training fight, best sneering banter by bad guys, et cetera.  There are a lot of gems here, and the cast delivers in drawing us yet again into this quest for the One to deliver humanity from the machines.

The Fifth Element because, well, Milla Jovovich.  This future good versus evil romp has just enough dystopia to rate as good sci-fi, but also enough realism to be plausible.  Bruce Willis is just exceptional as the wise-cracking former military, turned cabbie, turned lovestruck savior of the world.  This is another film where the details take you away, from the uniform stewardesses to the circles in which your hands go when assuming the position.  And the music is superb — bordering at times on music video, but without detracting from the show.  Gary Oldman and Chris Tucker also deliver great performances and add their own distinct notes to the song.

Serenity because it is a near canonical example of a Space Western.  A rag-tag band of mercenaries with their own code of the space-west, increasingly at odds with and out of place in the regimented Alliance of planets.  The action sequences are sublime, the characters are wonderfully acted, and the dialogue . . .  Oh the dialogue.  This is one movie that you about need to watch again, because you surely missed a good zinger or two delivered in rapid-fire deadpan.  And the visuals and effects are gorgeous.  For being a dusty, getting-by type of universe, it is certainly a good looking one.  A slack-jawed nod to Nathan Fillion for holding it all together as Mal and to Summer Glau as the dangerously elven River.

The Fight Club because it is a violent, life-questioning, revolution mystery.  Edward Norton is the impossibly tough anti-hero seemingly along for the ride.  Brad Pitt plays the too-cool fighting buddy Tyler Durden to a tee.  Helena Bonham Carter as the hot(!) and slightly crazy girlfriend. Don’t get me started on Meat Loaf and his man-breasts.  This movie is great the first time through, and wild enough for multiple watches after you know the twist.

Matrix is on, and Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne are fighting.  Gotta go.