There Goes My $1 Million iPhone App

Bad news first: my latest million dollar iphone application scheme has come to an end (not that it ever got past the initial dreaming stages, but lets not dwell on that). The good news: the reason my app idea is defunct is because Google beat me to the punch, and they most certainly did a better job with it than I ever could have hoped to do. The idea: to add a new layer to Google maps specifically for cyclists.

Google has added two new functions for bikers. First, it has uploaded an incredibly extensive array of bike trails and bike lanes in major cities all around the country. This information is easily accessed by selecting "Bicycling" from the maps layer button labeled "More..." in the top right corner of Google Maps. Making this selection will cause several new symbols to overlay on the Google map: a dark green line indicating a bike path with no motor vehicles, a light green line showing regular streets with MARKED bike lanes, and dotted green lines showing streets specifically for cyclists -- usually streets with low traffic. How they got that last bit of information I can't even begin to guess.

Second, you can now get biking directions the same way you used to be able to get walking, driving or public transit directions (by selecting "Bicycling" from the drop down menu). This is the aspect of this new technology I find the most useful (and that made up my million dollar app idea).

Clearly, this program still has bugs. I tried mapping out several different routes I take on a regular basis and Google keeps telling me to go ways that I know are not the best ways to go. In one case it even told me to go the wrong way down a one way street because that street had a designated bike path (it does, but it too is one way). My guess is that over the next few months cyclists from all over the country will be filing thousands of bugs and Google will use their feedback to get this new feature up to par. In the meantime, I need to come up with a new million dollar app idea.

Review of 5 Hour Energy

Since I have a bladder the size of a pine nut, I usually try to avoid caffeine, but there are times when it is the only way to get the job done. Back in college, my go-to source of high octane energy was Red Bull: it powered me through more late night study sessions and all night drives than I care to remember. However, those caffeine binges usually left me shaky and anxious. So when a friend told me how awesome these new 5 hour energy drinks were, I decided to give it a shot (no pun intended).

5 hour energy is a much more natural way to get that same energy kick when you need it. It does have about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but it's really the b12, taurine, b6, niacin and other herbal supplements that give you the lasting energy you need without the crash (yes I sound like the commercial, but it is true). And in terms of avoiding that crash, I found this stuff is the real deal: no more of that shaky aftereffect where you finished your work or your drive but still have another 2 hours of mind racing before you can go to sleep.

Also, it has no sugar or carbs -- not that at 25 I am super concerned about my daily carb intake -- but that's the deal anyway.

I do however have one disclaimer for this product. I recently had an intense weekend involving driving up to the mountains, snowboarding all day, partying all night, and then doing it all over again. As can be expected, I had more than a few of these to keep myself going. By the time Sunday night rolled around however, my heart was doing some pretty gnarly racing and I couldn't sit still or think clearly at all -- the effect was MUCH worse then having too much coffee. So, my personal recommendation is to keep your intake of these to one a day.

Other than that one disclaimer, I must say this product rocks!

Image provided by 5-Hour Energy

I Support Des Nutz

Review of Maggie's Soap Nuts

Ever since I first heard of soap nuts, I knew I had to give them a try. What are soap nuts you ask? Some quick (paraphrased) info courtesy of Wikipedia:

Soap Nuts are a product of the Sapindus genus, a group of five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the soapberry family. Soap nuts contain saponins, a natural surfactant, which are released when the nuts get wet. They have been used for washing for thousands of year by various peoples including Native Americans, and are a staple in Ayurveda medicine where they are used for everything from washing clothing and hair to reducing excessive salivation.

In summation, soap nuts are a completely natural product (a nut) which produce a naturally occurring soap and which can be composted when your done with it. Sounds almost too good to be true right?

So on to the review. A friend of mine recently bought a bag of soap nuts from Maggies Pure Land company and gave me a few to try. She told me to add them to my laundry by taking 4 or 5 nuts, wrapping them in a mesh bag or handkerchief, and just putting them in with the rest of my stuff in the machine.

The first thing I noticed when I opened my sample bag was that the nuts themselves smell kind of bad. The thought of using something which smells bad to make my clothes smell good seems counterintuitive, so as a test, I decided to try them out on a load full of dish rags. Surprisingly enough, I thought they worked great! Now to be fair, I don't have any scientific data telling me how clean all my rags actually got. However, after a quick smell test and visual inspection, they smelt clean to me and they didn't have any gunked up food on them anymore.

Final words: My girlfriend still won't let me use them on our clothes, but after my initial test, I fully support des nutz.

Image provided by Maggies Pure Land

Review of Wild Fermentation

I have been a fan of fermentation every since tasting my first beer at what was certainly an inappropriate age. What really got me going however, was the time I spent in Belgium after graduating high school. The beers I experienced there (yes, I said experienced) were like nothing I ever tasted before -- truly wholesome brews crafted over long periods of time and filled with healthful, beneficial microbes (in addition to plain old deliciousness). I knew then that I would forever be a fan of the fermented beverage. What I didn't know is just how far down the rabbit hole this newfound love of fermentation would take me.

Later on in that same trip, I experienced real German sauerkraut. Growing up, I had always been a fan of sauerkraut (Rubens are without question my favorite sandwich). What I was unaware of however was that the sauerkraut in these sandwiches was dead -- all the healthful organisms in it were killed by pasteurization before this corporate product was shipped all over the country. Not in Germany. I still remember sitting down at my first pub there and ordering a bratwurst with sauerkraut (sauerkraut which, unbeknownst to me, was actually fermented in the back of the pub). I couldn't believe my taste buds! This sauerkraut was to the sauerkraut I loved at home what a grilled ground sirloin burger is to a happy meal. Unbelievable!

That's it - I was hooked. I still didn't trust myself to mess around with my own ferments, but as soon as I got home I sought out micro brews and home fermented krauts and yogurts wherever I could. I even had a short love affair with a Mr Beer home brew kit while in college (the kind you buy from SkyMall magazine and where you never have to deal with truly raw ingredients). My roommate and I turned out a couple good beers to be sure, but we weren't quite craft ready. So when I graduated and moved to San Francisco, I decided it was finally time. I bought myself a copy of Wild Fermentation and got brewing:

When I first started reading this book, I was amazed at how many times I stopped and just stared off into the distance, imagining all the things I was going to ferment when I was done reading. There is almost not a page of this book that I haven't marked with a post-it or a dog ear. The author provides great insight based on both science and on his own experience, and his excitement is literally contagious. He loves fermented foods, and by the time you finish reading his book, I guarantee you will too.

Since buying this book, I have made my own saurkraut (several different variations), kimchi, and dill pickles. I am working on my first batch of Kombucha right now. The beer is on hold until I can find space in my apartment to set up a simple brew station, but I feel more comfortable going into it than I ever could have without this book.

Wild Fermentions is very informative, with great recipes and very easy to follow step by step instructions. If I had to point to any negatives in the book, it would be a little too much information about the author himself and his communal living situation (not that I mind the author's hippy dippy ways, it's just that the many exploits of his house mates with single, nature-based names are besides the point).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in fermented foods, and even to people who aren't. There is some form of ferment in this book for just about anyone.

Proust!

Image provided by Wild Fermentation

Review of Gunner Jeans from Volcom

I've been rocking Volcom jeans since before I can remember, and even though they are pretty big and mainstream now I still appreciate their clothes.

I bought a pair of these jeans a few months ago and they are awesome. They are made from reclaimed denim mixed with denim made from white oak during the "reclaiming process" (I have no idea what that entails).

Anyway, they are reclaimed, which is cool, and they are made the way denim was originally made, so that it changes color depending on where it is "stressed." Basically, that means that your jeans will start to have marks from where you use them most - so if you always keep your cell phone in your left pocket, an outline of your cell phone will begin to show up there. Pretty cool concept. Mine have a nice square patch in my back right pocket where I keep my wallet, and the bottom of the right pant leg is faded from where I roll them up to bike around town. Pretty sweet theory -- my jeans, in time, have become a reflection of me. I like that.

Image provided by Volcom

Review of Cline Organic Cool Climate Syrah

I had this wine at one of my favorite restaurants a few weeks ago and I have to say I was very impressed with it. I am not (repeat - NOT) one of those unfortunate individuals who thinks that organic wine is inherently inferior. These poor saps are holding over their prejudices from a time when the only people making organic wine were people who knew a lot more about growing an organic grape than they did about making a good wine. This is no longer true, and I hope more winos like myself will try wines such as this Syrah and wake up to the incredible new world of good, organic wine.

I should probably make a clarification here - this is not the first good organic wine I have tasted. I find that, nowadays, it is pretty easy to find a good organic wine. This is however the first GREAT organic wine I have tasted. This wine would be fabulous organic or not, and the fact that it is organic just makes it that much cooler.

Some quick tasting notes - Very powerful, full on the pallate, but soft enough to go with spicy fish (I had a thai shrimp curry). Definite note of bacon fat (I love typing that) and smooth after-taste.

Go get this wine yo! Cline Cool Climate Syrah

Image provided by Cline Cellars