Articles
Spoiler Alert: This review is a discussion of No Time To Die, 2021’s James Bond Film. I’ll be talking about substantial parts of the plot. If you want to see it, but haven’t, here is my one-paragraph, spoiler-free version:
No Time To Die is, in my view, the best Bond film to date. It has all of the usual components: exotic locales, awesome style, and fast-paced action with gorgeous cars. More importantly, though, it’s a Bond film for today’s complicated world, and Daniel Craig’s last...
With at least parts of the world getting back to normal as COVID19 gets more under control, a lot of us are going back to the office. I recently did so, teaching on campus for the first time in over a year, and it’s been a bit of an adjustment. Here, I want to share some of my experiences as some tools and tips that I think will make the transition a little easier for you.
With the weather finally cooling down a bit, it’s a great time to start considering heartier spirits. This week at my local liquor store, the guys behind the counter recommend Einstock’s Toasted porter. As usual for my reviews, I’ll go over the maker of the spirit first. From there, I get into my tasting notes on the drink, and, finally, conclude with some notes on how I plan to enjoy it.
Porters are a generally dark beer that comes in at a little higher alcohol content than, say, a Lager...
As an academic who teaches both political science and computer science, this is has been an interesting week as my two academic fields have collided in real life. So, I thought this would be a good chance to examine what, exactly, Bitcoin is, and why China has recently banned trading it and other cryptocurrencies.
Let’s get the technical definitions out of the way first. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, are currencies, or coins, that are based on technologies that cross-verify...
In 1930, the Indiana Bell Building was rotated a full 90 degrees in order to allow for construction of a second building. Even more impressive? The building was rotated without disturbing the people working inside, allowing normal business to continue throughout the course of the rotation. The move took an entire month, and the building moved at a breakneck pace of 15 inches per hour. Since the crews didn’t have access to the technologies we have today, most of the moving power came from...
Taking this series in a somewhat new direction, I’m taking a look at a beer this week. Specifically, I want to consider craft beers that you can still find in your local stores without too much effort. That way, this isn’t just some academic exercise, and you can try these out for yourself.
As usual, I’ll start with some information about the drink. From there, I’ll jump into tasting procedures, which are a little different between beer and spirits. After that, I’ll offer some of my...
As a home chef, I’ll maintain that it’s way more about skills and effort than it is about spending money. But, as you develop your skills, you will begin to outgrow the gear you have and might find yourself looking for some new stuff to upgrade in the kitchen.
Here, I’ll offer ten things that have helped me improve my culinary results, and why I’ve made the leap on each of them to get better meals consistently.
Today, I’m doing something new and reviewing a Tequila. In particular, Tequila Mi Campo’s Reposado. Despite this being a new kind of spirit for these reviews, the format will be essentially the same. I’m excited to branch out this review series: you can read it as a kind of guide to building your at-home-bar
I’ll start the review with a little bit about the brand and the drink, followed by my procedure for tasting to try and be consistent across spirits. From there, I’ll offer my tasting...
As an academic in addition to being a writer, one of my greatest pleasures is sharing books that I’ve found interesting with others. Here, I want to share ten of those with you. I don’t follow any one theme or genre, but here are some works that have been influential in how I see the world today.
I was supposed to do a tequila review this week. That was the plan until I walked into my local liquor store (try to support small businesses when you can) and was presented with a truly phenomenal deal on Kraken rum, which was being offered one a buy-one, get-one deal. Not being one to turn up my nose at a free bottle of rum, here we are. Tequila will come next week, I promise!
As always, with these, I start off with what knowledge I can find out about the spirit. From there, I walk...
An astronaut team of 4 civilians successfully touched back down in the Atlantic ocean Saturday (9/19) evening after orbiting Earth for three days. The mission, known as Inspiration 4, consisted of a data engineer, a community college professor, a physician assistant, and a billionaire that financed the operation. None of the crew members are professional astronauts, making it the first ever mission to go to orbit without a professional astronaut on board.
The Crew Dragon capsule carrying...
Throughout my life, I’ve been fortunate to get to travel a fair bit. I’ve seen a dozen countries and about half of the US, and will finally see the Pacific Ocean in a few weeks with a trip to Seattle for a work conference. In those travels, I’ve experienced a lot of things I wish that I’d have known sooner. Today, I want to share ten of those with you.