Words On Wednesday

Hard Seltzer is the hot thing lately, and Costco finally got in on the game. Say hello to Kirkland Signature Hard Seltzer Name: Hard Seltzer Source: Kirkland Signature (Costco) Style: Seltzer ABV: 5.0% Price: $19.99 per 24 pack Volume: 12 oz Price per oz: $0.83 per can Everybody has tried a hard seltzer at this point, and every company that makes alcohol is selling their own version. Truly was the first one that I can recall. Soon after, we started seeing hard seltzer from White Claw . Then, household names like Budweizer and Jose Cuervo started making hard seltzer. It’s everywhere. It only makes sense that Costco would eventually throw their lot in. At my local warehouse, you can get a 24 pack for $19.99 plus tax. The distribution is 6 cans of each flavor: Mango, Grapefruit, Black Cherry, and Lime. Let me just point out how much I love the even distribution. I hate it when companies do more of one flavor than others. Those flavors seem to be pretty standard for hard seltzers, especial...

I was recently considering my rate of success with job interviews, and how I tend to get an offer for jobs that I get a chance to interview for. After some thought, though, I realized that it’s still probably a 50/50 gamble. I’ve often heard that I have a Lawson tongue. My family is known for being charismatic. We don’t really try, it just comes naturally. Sometimes that’s a benefit, other times less so. When we need to convince someone of something, it comes in handy. The problem arises in situations when we’re perceived as flirting, when we really don’t intend anything of the sort. My wife understands the gift/curse thank goodness, but that is a downside to be aware of nonetheless. One situation in which this ability is beneficial is job interviews. Especially when computer science people are normally so quirky and socially inept (sorry guys), having the gift of gab allows me to stand out from the crowd rather easily. I think my skills with software are moderate, but being able to ta...

The “Artemis Fowl” series is one of my favorite book intellectual properties, and I was devastated to have that come to an end with “The Last Guardian.” However, author Eoin Colfer continued writing about that fictional universe with spin-off series “The Fowl Twins.” There are now two books available in that series, with a third scheduled for release this month entitled “The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve.” To quote The Dark Knight, “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” I hate to pre-emptively apply that concept to this book series, but I have a hard time saying that the spin-off lives up to the reputation of the original. I read the first “The Fowl Twins” book, and it was pretty good. Not quite “Artemis Fowl” level, but it’s also hard to introduce completely new characters after experiencing 8 books with the same group of people. After I learned of “Deny All Charges” coming out, I was hopeful that it would fall into that comfortable routine...

In the context of rating systems, I’ve recently been pondering the difference between thumbs up and thumbs down versus five star styles. When I discussed my use case for Plex a little while back, I mentioned how the star rating system for songs and dynamic playlists allowed me to have effectively the same functionality as Google Play Music and its thumbs up playlist. I tell the system that I like a song, and I can shuffle the collection of all songs that I like. Pretty simple, and they both do that job very well. However, that doesn’t really tell the full story. The part where I tell the system what songs I like? That’s actually an enormous undertaking. My music library has a ton of tracks. Currently, it sits at 34340 items, and that continues to grow week after week. I can’t guarantee that I’ve even listened to all of those tracks (confession: I definitely haven’t), let alone considered each of them long enough to give it an informed rating. There are a couple ways that I could go ab...

I love a good bock, and I am always super excited to find a new one. Name: Andygator Source: Abita Style: Helles Doppelbock ABV: 8.0% IBU: 25 Price: $12 per pack ($2 per bottle) My wife and I went to The Lost Cajun for a date night a few months ago. Our dates usually consist of going to a restaurant that our kids would never consider eating from, and maybe having a few drinks while we’re there. I didn’t plan on drinking that evening, but I saw that they had a doppelbock on the beer menu. Given how uncommon of a brew that is, and how much I tend to like them, I had to try it. The waitress brought out a bottle, and the first sip was just as good as I hoped. I didn’t plan on getting more there, because I hate paying restaurant prices, but I had to have some for home. I looked up where it was available in stores, and the only place around me seemed to be The Lost Cajun. Unfortunate that it wasn’t in a grocery store somewhere, but hey, at least I was in the place where I could get more. One...

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic  is a mobile port of the old amusement park  simulation game released on PC back in 1999. The original had an undeniable charm, despite dated graphics and some gameplay restrictions. Does Classic manage to capture the same experience of the original, or does translation to mobile leave something to be desired? Story - ?/10 There isn’t any story to a simulation game. You own a theme park. You need to make it profitable and satisfy some scenario criteria. That’s all we needed before, and it’s all we need now in my opinion. General Gameplay - 9/10 Gameplay is the core element here. The problem is that the quality or goal for a port is different depending on who you ask. Some people want the exact same experience on a new platform. Others want more of a remake, keeping the spirit of the original, but revamping and updating where possible. Personally, I like something in between that. If there are obvious opportunities for quality of life improvements,...

You might remember that I started a master’s degree at SNHU a few years back. I never actually finished that. For all intents and purposes, I am a college dropout right now. I didn’t really mean to  stop taking classes , at least not for an extended period of time. I was taking advantage of tuition reimbursement from QS/1 to cover half the cost of classes. Things started looking a little rocky for the company, and I was afraid I would get caught mid-class and the company suddenly stop the tuition reimbursement policy. After taking 5 classes, I stopped until the future of the policy was a little more certain. Unfortunately, that future never came. I was terminated from QS/1 before I started classes again. I planned on starting again during my time at System Logistics, but the HR department never actually gave me any information about the tuition reimbursement program despite multiple requests. I left System Logistics and started at Michelin, but only as a contract employee. The con...