People attend Drinking Liberally — and live to tell about it

Heck, Capper ever said he enjoyed the last one. Though I must have really drunk liberally that night, as I don’t remember anything at all about me appearing as a giant elf. (Or if it wasn’t me, then maybe Capper did…)

Normally, is on the third Wednesday of the month. However, this January, we will be having the very special “End of an Error!” party at Sugar Maple on Tuesday, January 20, in celebration of Barack Obama’s inauguration, and to say good riddance to the buffoon who’s lied, cheated, and stolen his way through the past eight years.

That said, the next Eating Liberally will be at 6:00 on Wednesday, January 7 at Stone Fly Brewery, which is at 735 East Center Street in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. You can take a look at their food menu before hand if you wish, too.

(Conveniently for me, Stone Fly is a direct stop on the #11 city bus line, which goes past my house. That’s something to consider if I wish to make that night another round of “Eating AND Drinking Liberally.”)

See you there!

NY Times: 2009 VW Jetta TDI Clean Diesel is “A High-Mileage Masterpiece”

Now I thought my ‘06 TDi was all that and a ball of wax, but these new Clean Diesels seem to be everything I wanted and then some. The New York Times is arguably not renowned for its car reviews, but they, along with what seems like everyone who’s test-driven the new ‘09 Clean Diesel model, loves it. Okay, so the last linked review was (unfortunately) objective in its view, but sufficient time riding in a TDi — either a new one or an older one that’s been tricked out with a RocketChip upgrade such as mine — should erase any concerns one may have. Cleaner emissions with Prius-crushing highway mileage. It doesn’t get much better than this. But wait! It does: the new Clean Diesels are eligible for a federal tax credit. That should help with the long-term cost breakdown.

A great experience at the Apple Store

After making two previous trips to the Apple Store at Bayshore Mall, I’d had enough. I was even ready to be assertive with my demands for service. (How un-liberal, pshaw!) But they went above and beyond my expectations. At first, it didn’t look that good. When the words “replace the hard drive” passed the store Genius’ lips, I was preparing myself to days, if not a week, without a working computer. But then he said, “let me check to see if we have one in stock.” They did, so he went in back to find the service technician. A moment later he came back and said “We can have it done in a few hours.” 

I can find a way to deal with that!

So he’s typing stuff in, and then he asks, “You’re Jason Haas… of LinuxPPC?”

Astonished — dare I say delighted? — he shook my hand.

For the first time in history, I was recognized in an Apple Store for my old school tech cred and previous Slashdot fame. That feels pretty good on the ol’ ego.

And my MacBook® will be ready in a short time. That’s not too shabby!

Howdy from the megachurch Apple Store on Fifth Avenue

Yup, we descended down the glassy stairs of the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan just so I could make this post.

 

Mayfair + Bayshore Apple Store: “church”

Chicago Magnificent Mile Apple Store: “cathedral”

The glass cube Manhattan Apple Store: “megachurch”

 

which would make 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino the Vatican?

 

hmm. If you add the above to the fact that The Church and Ministry are my two favorite bands in the world, what does that tell you?

You know what’s awesome? A Dalek cake for your birthday!

As today was my birthday, we celebrated it at the at the free Chill on the Hill concert in Humboldt Park with a homemade Dalek cake. As in, a cake that looks like a Dalek. And yes, we has pictures:

The view from the front and the side…

…And this is quite possibly the only time that I’ve ever cowered in terror.

The best part was taking it around at the Chill on the Hill tonight and asking people if they wanted some. Many people recognized it! It was a great way to make new friends. Just offer them cake — one that can EX-TERM-IN-ATE!

Also: If you’re wanting to know how it was made, look over here.