Summer red wine recommendations from SFGate...

I like wine. I like wine year-round. I like chewy reds and crisp whites. I like pairing wine with food, I like wine alone. I like the smell and the taste and...

I also like this line,

 Americans have some peculiar beliefs about red wine, not the least of which is that bigger is better. In a world of linebackers, lighter red wines are the misfits in the hallway, the ones getting all emo and wearing black nail polish.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/20/FDVP1E05RQ.DTL&type=wine#ixzz0rbEw4Z5k

Words of wisdom for today...

1. I ran through the park today. It's great on Sundays - there's a fairly long stretch that's closed to cars. Also means it's a great spot to take kids out who are learning to ride their bikes. However, if you put a bicycle helmet on your child (and, despite the fact that I'm mostly fine and rode around helmetless until age 22, they should wear a helmet), the front should be parallel to the ground and the chinstrap should be fairly snug. After seeing so many kids with their helmets on wrong... backwards, unsnapped at the bottom, far back on their head - fully exposing their entire forehead... I'm convinced that those safety stats that say that helmets are useless should go back and look at how the helmet was worn, prior to the accident.

And yeah, I see it on adults - the helmet really far back, mostly. I kind of feel like they're just being idiots and the kids don't have a choice in the matter.

2. DO NOT do this:

1. Go for a sweaty 10 mile run 
2. Come home and juice ALL remaining fruits and vegetables in your fridge, so that you don't "waste" anything while you're on vacation for the next week
3. Chug said concoction because you're thirsty 

Because...You WILL throw up (a little) in the shower

Ok, maybe that would have worked if I didn't have a bunch of kale, two stalks of broccoli, a little spinach, two apples, one lemon, one beet, two carrots, 0.5 cucumber, half a bunch of radishes. Yeah. Totally gross. That's not to say that juicing is always gross, mind you. The beet, carrot, apple and spinach would have worked just fine. Or some kale and broccoli and other things.

Anyway... vacation awaits...taking my mom on an Alaskan cruise to see the glaciers! (Yes, it's pretty much the best birthday present EVER.)

Apparently, I *do* come with an operating manual

http://howtodateatriathlete.com/

BYWH

Two weeks ago it was Hot Guys Reading Books. Today, I bring you Before You Were Hot. It's entertaining in that "OMG Make-o-ver!" sort of way, a little bit of ugly duckling -> swan transformation, and then there's the reminiscing about old fashion trends.

Also, today's post features a triathlete. Dayumn.

Have we met before?

The latest (not a direct quote, but pretty close to it):
You look really familiar. Maybe we know each other from somewhere, or I've just seen you around town. You sound interesting. Want to go get a drink.

My response (also not exact, since this *is* the NOW WITH MORE SNARK edition of the Online Man Safari):
Yes, dumbass. We went out once. A few years ago, when we were both on Match. You said you were 5'8" and you're actually about 5'4". Since I know that shorter guys do tend to inflate their height a little bit, I gave you the benefit of the doubt and purposely wore flats. Height aside, you're also not that bright. I know this because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy and you didn't get my jokes.

Oh, and your band sucks.

dating snob

Yay! Comments...

M-dub said...

I love More Snark!

And agreed that "wassup" + wifebeater = meh, at best. (Was that the tattooed bicycle racer?)

---------------------

Nope. Of course, the (cute) tattooed bicycle racer hasn't written me back yet. Not even to say "wassup"... and even though *he* initiated it.

The wifebeater'd wassup guy. Hmm... Well, as it turns out, his *only* picture is the one where he's rocking the wifebeater. And it just so happens to be a Diesel wifebeater. Yeah. 

Otherwise, it's been pretty quiet. A few randoms here and there that say hello and then I say hello, thanks... but no thanks because xyz (usually due to geography, age, interest, something aside from "I don't find you remotely attractive.") Gotten enough emails from guys who live far away, so I've added a line in my profile that says that I find it enough of a challenge seeing my friends that I can't get to via BART/MUNI/bike ride (xoxo San Jose ladies!) and that I'm not interested in seeing someone who lives far away. Still got a guy from San Jose who wrote back AGAIN saying that he's in SF "all the time." Crap. Just say "I don't have a car and don't want to go out with someone who lives in SJ," or ignore? 

It's stuff like this that makes me realize that pictures and a profile are super important. Oh, and that I'm a total dating snob. If I thought that he was super attractive or hilarious or we had a ton in common, I'd probably suggest we get together sometime when he's in SF. But, based off four pictures and a few lines (his profile is really short and vague and uninteresting) of text, I'm saying that there's no chance that it would work out and just saying no. Oh well. There are plenty of dudes out there that aren't knocking down my (online) door....

snarkfest 2010

Oh, right. So I'm single again. Shocking to all, I know. Clearly, I'm devastated.

And again considering (that's what happens when you write a post, then save it) online dating. At least just having a profile up somewhere. Of course, that went so well last time.... Yeah. Why am I considering doing this again? Because it *is* kind of fun. And it's tough to meet single, straight guys. And I just read some stat - like 20% of all relationships start online now! Crazy, huh?

Anyway, if there's anything you think I should definitely put in my profile, let me know. Lines you'd use if you were making yourself a page, a story or topic I should touch on, a type of picture I should use...

Some of the questions include filling in the blanks: I am __________, ____________ and ___________.

What people first notice about me...

......
So far, the best thing is that there's an iPhone app for the site. Which means that on my Sunday evening train ride back home from a bike ride, I could respond to the tattooed, cute former bicycle "I've been slacking on the miles lately, perhaps I just need to find someone to motivate me" racer, that I was just returning from a sweet ride up near Sacramento.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to turn OFF the chat option on my phone. Chat transcript:
bud: hi
me: hello there, you surprised me. i didn't realize that chat was on.
bud: wassup

Really? This is not a beer commercial. You can do better than that. Also, I'm a sucker for nice arms, but your initial profile pic is not the time for a wife-beater.

That's right folks, online dating with Kirby, part II (?), this time with More Snark.

Make sure you celebrate...

Alert! This week is American Craft Beer Week!

Luckily it started on May 17th, not on May 16th. At Bay to Breakers (May 16) I consumed Coors Light, Bud Light Lime, Jello shots and Maker's Mark. None of those scream "craft beer." Though someone crafted the Jello shots. And Z was crafty in putting the Maker's into a more portable container for me (A cooking sherry bottle. Classy.).

Anyway, back to American Craft Beer Week. Check here to find out about events in your area. At the very least, celebrate with a delicious local brew sometime soon. 

Ouch.

I'm taking this way too personally. But still...

What if Elena Kagan is not married and childless because she is a closeted lesbian or because she has chosen her career over her personal/love/family life...
what if she just happens to be single because she never met the right person (be it a man or a woman)?

I know plenty of people who fit into that category. Or what, you can't make those assumptions until someone hits some certain level in their career (man, it'd be pitiful if I claimed that one) or age (what, 45? 50?)?

Gulf Oil Spill

I've been avoiding learning too much about the Gulf oil spill, just because it is so incredibly depressing. I finally did some research for a work newsletter. Here's some info and a few sources about the basics...

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico saddens and enrages me. The oil rig explosion was responsible for 11 deaths. Now the oil spill is damaging wildlife, ecosystems, and local economies and fishing industries – with no end in sight. Participants are blaming each other for the failure. Let’s take a look at some of the key players and facts surrounding this tragedy.

Companies:

BP Oil – Leases the oil well

Transocean Ltd. – Built and operated the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, that was leased to BP

Halliburton Co – Poured the cement at the wellhead

Cameron International Corporation – Supplied blowout preventers that allegedly failed

Brief timeline:

4/20 – Explosion and fire on the oil rig

4/22 – The oil rig sinks, oil slick is visible

4/23 – Search for 11 missing workers ends

4/25 – Coast Guard estimates that the sunken well is leaking 1,000 barrels of crude oil a day

4/28 – Controlled burn on the oil slick to remove it from the Gulf. New estimated flow of oil is 5,000 barrels per day (210,000 gallons per day)

5/5-8 – BP tries to use a use a containment chamber to cap the oil leaks. Containment dome fails.

5/6 – Oil from spill makes it to shore at New Harbor Island, LA

5/7 – Fishing ban is expanded and extended to 5/17/10, efforts made to contain spill circumference

5/17 – BP reports that they are now capturing 20% of the 210,000 GPD flow and funneling it into a tanker ship

Sources:

NOLA, NOLA, Reuters, Newsweek, NPR

ADD... Click for link & to embiggen.