Author Archive
Posted on October 18, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 18, 2008
Posted on October 17, 2008 - by deCadmus
Joe the Speed-Bump
“Do you believe in the American Dream?”
That’s what Sam “Joe” Wurzelbacher — Joe the Plumber, to his legion of fans — asked Barack Obama on the campaign trail in Ohio. The story goes that Joe, an uncommitted voter, quizzed Obama on his tax plans, adding that, he wanted to buy the plumbing business he was working for, but… “I’m being taxed more and more for fulfilling the American dream.”
Meh. Not so much.
Turns out that Joe the Plumber… isn’t. He’s not a plumber: he has no plumbing license, never finished his plumbing courses, and hasn’t apprenticed as a plumber. His income of about $40,000 today is unlikely to put him in a position to buy that $280,000 plumbing business, and certainly today’s tight credit markets — largely the result of Republican political and regulatory malfeasance — won’t find him getting a loan any time soon. More, it seems that Joe already has a tax lien against him for about $1200 bucks.
Oh, and he’s actually a registered Republican, who voted in this spring’s primary. You betcha.
Despite the fact that in one day he talked to more folks in the press than Sarah Palin has since her VP nomination, Joe will soon be just another speed-bump under McCain’s Straight Talk Express, ’cause when pressed by CBS news, he admitted that, yeah, Obama’s tax plan would probably save him money after all.
So, Joe — now that your fifteen minutes of fame are tick-tick-ticking down, now that your bank account and your tax status and your failings as a wannabe plumber have been… well, thoroughly plumbed, and now that you’ve been tossed aside by your candidate, having served your purpose as a ready and willing stage prop in a debate — I have only one question.
Do you believe in the American Dream?
Oh! And also…
Last night, Sarah Palin said she didn’t want to talk about Wurzelbacher. “I begged our speechwriters, ‘Don’t make me say Joe the Plumber, please, in any speeches,” she said. After failing to properly vet Wurzelbacher’s situation, the McCain campaign is apparently now throwing him overboard and moving on.
Posted on October 17, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 17, 2008
Posted on October 16, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 16, 2008
Posted on October 14, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 14, 2008
Posted on October 14, 2008 - by deCadmus
Sweet Potato Pie
I like pie. I do.
I like pie as much as the next guy. Probably more. Matter of fact, my birthday cake today was not cake at all. It was pie. Pumpkin pie. It’s the season, after all. On a scale of one to, well… pi1, I think I like pumpkin the best.
Much as I like pie, I think this guy might like pie still more. Anybody likes pie this much, well… he’s got my vote. And of you think that’s a silly reason to vote for somebody, well then, you should hear some of the *amazing* stories folks have thunk up to vote against him.
I mean… wow.
Meanwhile, have some pie.
And if you’re really wondering just what in the world Barack Obama is getting at… well try this link.
Notes and Links
- Get it? It’s a math joke… all it needs is some more funny. ↩
Posted on October 13, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 13, 2008
The “Happy Birthday to Me” Edition… *
- So you wanna be a barista?
- Things To Do with Google
- Photos: Dogs vs. Alligator
- A Tale of Two Ground Games
*42. Yes… forty-two.
Posted on October 13, 2008 - by deCadmus
Scripta Est Fabula, Plaudite
As someone who *also* translated Ceaser’s Battle for Gaul1 in high school2 I’m rather smitten with Maureen Dowd’s Lipstick-on-a-Pig-Latin send-up — The Battle of Gall — in Saturday’s NYTimes.
A sampler:
Cum Quirites Americani ad rallias Republicanas audiunt nomen Baraci Husseini Obamae, clamant “Mortem!” “Amator terroris!” “Socialiste!” “Bomba Obamam!” “Obama est Arabus!” “Caput excidi!” tempus sit rabble-rouseribus desistere “Smear Talk Express,” ut Stephanus Colbertus dixit. Obama demonatus est tamquam Musulmanus-Manchurianus candidatus — civis “collo-cerviciliaris” ad ralliam Floridianam Palinae exhabet mascum Obamae ut Luciferis.
Obama non queretur high-tech lynching. Sed secreto-serventes agentes nervosissmi sunt.
Vix quisque audivit nomen “Palinae” ante lunibus paucis. Surgivit ex suo tanning bed ad silvas in Terram Eskimorum, rogans quis sit traitorosus, ominosus, scurrilosus, periculosus amator LXs terroris criminalisque Chicagoani? Tu betchus!
Don’t miss a moment of the adventures of Sara Palina, barracuda borealis.
Notes and Links
- Yes… all of it, books 1-8 ↩
- St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary ↩
Posted on October 12, 2008 - by deCadmus
Tasting Square Mile Coffees
Let’s face it. Right now the folks at Square Mile — Stephen Morrissey, James Hoffmann and Annette Moldvaer1 — could phone it in. They could source dubious coffees, call them edgy, describe them cryptically while lavishing them with praise… and they would sell. A lot. At least until the hype subsided.
Happily, our world champion baristas and coffee tasters are doing no such thing. They’re sourcing coffees of great character — juried award winners and coffees from small, family-run farms — roasting them light to remain faithful to the beans’ origins, and letting the coffee speak for itself. Well done.
Costa Rica El Portillo C.O.E.
I admit to having a love / hate affair with Costa Rican coffee the last year or two. From where I sit, Costas have lurched in one of two directions, each at opposite ends of my bell curve of happiness: at the one end, bright, shrill, efferfrickinvescant acidity at the expense of all other character; at the other extreme, big, beefy and dumb-as-a-cow bullion flavors with no dynamic to the cup at all. The exceptions to these extremes can be found far from the big coffee estates on small, family farms… and — happily enough — the Square Mile El Portillo is just such an exception.
Balanced and round, with flavors of honeysuckle and buttery caramel. I find a burst of citrus on the front, and a dark cocoa surprise as the cup cools, and that honeyed sweetness and syrupy body throughout. This is a complex, many-layered cup, and immensely rewarding.
Rating: 
Kenya Muchoki Peaberry
Tremendously bright, crisp, and dry with flavors of tart cherry, and strawberries with fresh-ground black pepper. Its finish is dry, somewhat distilled and yet — somehow — suggests a candied sweetness. I’m reminded of a top-quality Muscato D’Asti.
The very light roast on this coffee makes for a cup that’s faithful to its origins, but the roaster in me can’t help but wonder if a bit more fire wouldn’t further develop the sweetness that dwells in this bean.
Rating:
Both of these coffees are highly recommended, and available now, at Square Mile Coffee Roasters.
P.S. It’s worth noting… this is two coffees down, and two to go. More soon.
P.P.S. Sorry about the marginal photography. It was a bit of a rush job.
Notes and Links
- Note that each name is described by double double letters… Coincidence? Or conspiracy? ↩
Posted on October 12, 2008 - by deCadmus
October 12, 2008
Still more from the Republican Hall of Shame…
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Hello.
Bloggle is the online playground of Doug Cadmus, a usability guy, writer, photographer and sometime dramatist who moved to Vermont for the coffee. When not writing, reading or walking his old, blind golden retriever, he roasts coffee in his garage and is the Web Guy for Green Mountain Coffee in Waterbury, VT. Flickr Photos
