Monday, April 13, 2009
One ad NOT to click
Listen, I really appreciate when you click my ads on the site. It helps the sponsors, and it helps me make a little scratch, which I invariably spend on wine to drink and review.However, I don't choose the advertisers at this point. They're generated by Google to "match" the content of the site.
I saw one that said "How Rachael Ray lost 28 lbs" Frankly, I don't give a damn how Rachel Ray lost 28 lbs, and you shouldn't either. If you click on that ad, I will take the penny that I get for the click and drop it off the top of the Sears Tower, sure to- according to urban legend- cause certain death to a bystander. So, then maybe you'll think before you click that link. Or, maybe they'll change the link to say, "Wanna learn how Rachael Ray lost 28 lbs? Hope you don't mind having the blood of an innocent Windy City tourist on your hands..."
YUM-O! YUM-O! (actually, I better be careful. I will probably be dead soon at the hands of Rachael Ray's minions). The funny thing is, now that I've written a post about Rachael Ray (due to the ads being generated by content), all the ads will probably be about Rachael Ray, and then you won't click them, and the system will grind to a halt.
Rachael Ray - 1, Joe Herrig - 0. Curses!
The state of the site: I'm super, super cereal!
I'm feeling bad about not posting more often...I've decided that I will do my best to pump out good content on a (week)daily basis: like a meat grinder that is stuffed with bits and scraps of wholesale distribution marketing in the HVAC/R market, only to- on the other end- produce a delicate and delicious sausage of questionable knowledge, incriminating photographs, shameless linking to Wikipedia, and hopefully mild amusement to hasten your journey from the morning's bowl of Nintendo cereal to that sweet, sweet MGD at a participating happy hour near YOU!
"Cereal System"...awesome. Super Mario Brothers was way better than Zelda, but I prefered the citrus fruity goodness of Mario and the gang vs. Link's supposed "berry-flavored delight".
So anyways, I'm going to augment the site to facilitate comments, hopefully allow reader-driven postings, organize the posts into wine, food, travel, other, etc. I'M COMMITTED TO COMPETING FOR YOUR LACK-OF-PRODUCTIVITY HOURS AT WORK, so don't be surprised if some serious changes come sooner than later.
I hope you like what you see in the next few months! But more importantly, back to the Nintendo cereal:
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Booze College?
Made the decision to go for my CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine). Will be attending the Atlanta Wine School starting April 19th, hoping to "graduate" in July. From there, I'm interested in pursuing Certified Sommelier Status, then maybe (a big "maybe") Master Sommelier someday...even though there are only 171 in the world. Zounds! (I've been saying "zounds" a lot lately).Why? Because of you! I want the best content possible for my literally tens of loyal readers. I will dedicate myself to getting content out to you every weekday, and see if I can come up with some better feedback mechanisms, site organization, etc. And if you don't read it, then I at least get to put some letters after my name. I always wanted to refer to myself as an "esquire", but I'll take this.
Let's face it: this is the image of a the true wine expert you deserve for your education and entertainment:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Room for improvement
Just been kicking through the site a bit, and wanted to get some comments on what I can do to make it better. Any ideas welcome...more basic knowledge, educational stuff, things to try, etc.More recipes, pairings, pictures of Daryl Hall and John Oates, photos, videos, what-have-you.
Looking for a little feedback from the folks who read the blog, and too tired to write anything clever (Vegas report coming soon...)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Hornswaggled (or Hoodwinked) by Food Marketing
Reading an article in Saveur magazine the other day (I couldn't resist buying it; there were ribs on the cover. Anyway, I get to reading about the american catfish farming industry. Much like the shrimp industry, stiff competition from Asian aquaculture has raised awareness of product-quality. If you don't believe me, compare a wild american shrimp vs. a frozen shrimp imported from Thailand or the like...sure, the imported stuff can be significantly cheaper, but the taste......let's just say it's like eating filet mignon vs. getting kicked in the balls. For the ladies reading this, uh, it's good for the GNP to eat local.
Anyway, this article is saying that the good catfish folks are trying to improve their marketing on the product. What's one way they're considering? Renaming the ol' mudcat. The marketing goons (I can call them that; I'm one of them) thought the name "catfish" was not appealing to hoity-toity upper crust-- you know, those snobby fat cats, what with their Royal Crown Cola, Cutlass Supremes, and Preferred Stock cologne. So, the catfish braintrust is looking to name the fish delicata. So, if you're in a fancy Manhattan or San Francisco restaurant, and notice delicata on the menu, know that it's the same fish that you caught back in college with a case of Natural Light and a pack of rotten hot dogs or chicken livers. Indeed, there was nothing delicata about those nights.How dare the shameless boobs in the marketing department DECEIVE us so! But alas, it's been happening for a long time. Here are a few examples:
Everyone knows the prized, mighty-expensive Chilean Seabass. What a pretty name! Maybe that's because the original fish, the Patagonian Toothfish, was not very marketable. Look at that monster...I haven't seen smiles that bad since my cable package provided the BBC.How about this one: sweetbreads. Sounds harmless enough. Hell, sounds delicious. What you may not know is that sweetbreads are the thymus gland and pancreas of lamb, pork, or beef. A little grisley for most, but they're supposedly delicious. If you get a chance, man up and try them. Just let a French cook make them for you: a pound of butter makes most anything taste good.
And, finally, let's take a look at a recent staple: Canola Oil. Found everywhere these days, I feel like I didn't see canola oil when I was a kid in the local grocery purveyor. So, I did a little research. Turns out, the food marketers thought, for some crazy reason, they would sell many bottles of a product labeled "Rapeseed Oil". Really?! Rapeseed? I'm gonna have to say the marketers made the right call on this one.
So, when you sit down at that fancy seafood shoppe (the way more fancy spelling of "shop"), and the waiter starts pimping the exotic delicata, don't hesitate, and order with pride. Why? Because- call it what you will- catfish is damn delicious. Just make sure you pair it up with something good. And while a German Kabinett (basically dry to slightly off-dry) Riesling, California Sauvignon Blanc, or dry Rosé would be great with fried catfish, I'm going to have to say the best pairing, hands down, is an ice cold beer. Cheers!
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