Thanks to all my readers who are "Putting Up With" me.

I had a great time at Balticon, but still seem a bit tired from all the fun. It was my first time attending this Science Fiction Con and I look forward to returning in future years. The panels I spoke on were the Parsec Awards and Copyright and Social Media.

The Parsec panel was great for explaining the awards process and answering questions. The face to face interaction made me realize I have only started to do the outreach to educate people on the Parsecs and it's a segment that has been neglected in the past because most of our efforts were directed at working on the program itself. Through the conversations I had in Baltimore there are a number improvements for the 2010 awards I want to see implemented, that's right, we haven't had this year's awards and I have a To Do list for next year.

The Copyright and Social Media panel turned out very informative for attendees. Thomas Gideon did a great job leading the panel, while I tried to check the assumptions and make sure that while we used terms we that were commonplace to us, the audience understood their meaning. I have to agree with Thomas post that it could have been a much longer panel and we wouldn't have probably answered all the questions. More material next year I suppose.

It was a great practice for public speaking which frankly I have not done enough of lately and so the next time I have an opportunity to participate in such discussions I won't hesitate to jump onboard.

Last and most important was the side conversations, frankly that is usually the best part of such events. The chance to connect online names with faces and hangout with old friends. A few times I stopped myself looked around the room and just amazed at the people I was able to hangout with, it's a new age of digital storytelling and these are the first generation of this movement, an exciting and unique time. I can't wait until next year.

Another year, another Parsec Awards a lot of hard work to recognize all the hard work the Speculative Fiction podcasting authors put into their craft. So stop in if you have a favorite podcast and help them get the recognition they deserve.

Alan's post on Beer Advocate magazine reminds me that David was kind enough to send me some copies of it. I never saw the magazine in Arizona and frankly was unwilling to subscribe to any magazine that doesn't offer me a trial copy for free before subscription. Because of the Big Move(TM) but I really didn't have the time to write what I thought at the time. Now seems the time.

Labeling
First off the number system is confusing includes no publish date so you can only vaguely know from the content what time of year the magazine was issued. Also with no year is this a copy from Spring or a year ago Spring that has been kept in great condition, I don't know.

Content
I liked the content within the magazine but as Alan noted it's a bit heavy on food. But as a bit of a foodie I didn't really mind. One would think that for a magazine with such a strong online presence they could highlight a best of the web those sites with great information who have a unique angle on beer. This would have two benefits, educate their readership and participate in the larger web community. I like there Innovation column but it doesn't quite always cover the same turf.

Tastings
They are very meticulous in telling you how they judge the beer except who actually does the work. Zymergy who does similar tastings each issue does that right. By telling us who each judge and what their experience level it provides background on the ratings. I know beer geeks who actually very closely watch specific judges recommendations because they have noticed they have similar tastes. The other problem I was the Black Demon Stout reviewed in Volume II Issue II. The BA Overall scored the beer a B they scored the beer F. It was obviously a bad bottle based on reading the review they wrote, why didn't they get another bottle from another source? I have also noticed beers miscategorized from what there brewers consider them as a still occasionally. So while I am glad to have the reviews I am left to wonder about their quality.

So overall while I'd be happy to pick up a free copy from a local brewpub, I don't think I would be willing to buy a subscription at this time.

(I read Volume II Issues II and III I got from David and Volume II Issue V I found on a trip.)

Saturday's great beer day didn't actually start at the Dogfish Head Off-Centered Experience it started at Draco Vista studios for Wingin It. One of the many reasons I enjoy going and participating at the studio is the great beers. Some of them I bring and then there is the Magic beer frig always filled with variety brews from around the country and the globe. This last weekend was no exception.

Two beers stood out to me this visit. The first was Skärgaards Porter from Nørrebro Bryghus. This Porter impressive with a sweet honey character that is balanced by it's roasted character. It was an interesting take on the modern Porter and one I hope to see more their beers here in the United States. I hadn't been planning to visit Copenhagen next time I get over to Europe, but now I am wondering if I shouldn't add Denmark to my plans and check out their beer scene.

The second was a vary random grab we were in the middle of the episode and we ran out of beer. I ran to the Magic beer frig and grabbed a couple of Le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout. As soon as I popped the cap and discovered a cork inside I knew I had picked something special. A cabernet-like character was first evident in the cork and in the inital aroma. As the ale warmed though it transformed to more of a soy sauce character. It was only then that I looked to the bottle and realized it was 2001 Vintage, so this beer definitely ages well. If you want to find a classic example of the Russian Imperial Stout you'll be hard pressed to find a better example than this beer.

So check these beers out and if you enjoy geek humor and good beer give Wingin It a try.

The Best Sci-Fi movie I have seen in years, maybe this decade. Premise simple, a group of PhDs have a goodbye party for a departing Professor that turns into an interrogation as he reveals he is an immortal. One who has walked the earth for 14,000 years. But it is so much more than that and that tells you so little, so all I can say is go see it. Go see it soon, you'll thank me.

According to this article is losing one of it's biggest stars Mario Batali. While they have made him, frankly I don't think he needs them as much they do him. Anthony Bourdain has proven you can have a food related TV career without the network. But I think there is a real possibility here for something more interesting. Mario has to be on the go, between his restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. So I think an interesting and innovate idea is a weekly or perhaps daily video podcast. Part cooking show, part travel show, all Mario, the podcast network that signs him should give him total creative control and respectable share of the profits. A savy group would pick up the cost of the camera and handle the web-side of distribution as part of their buy-in. Even a couple years ago I am not sure a video podcast would work, but due to the success of TikibarTV, Ask A Ninja, and most recently the Webb Alert there is an opportunity here. As a regular podcast listener/viewer I think the success of online video tells me the time may be right.

Is the Podcasting world up to the challenge?

I realized I listen to too many podcasts. It's not an issue of being able to catch up with all the content, but rather I find myself with live television and audio streaming wanting to click back and catch little segments I might have missed. Something I do with podcasts all the time. I want to control the horizontal and vertical. Control over my listening and viewing content it's not an option to me anymore it's something I want always...and I suspect I am not alone.

PS - Never got around to getting a Tivo or some form of DVR, but I suspect it's only a matter of time now...

US public sees news media as biased, inaccurate, uncaring

I must confess, I love reading a Kevin Marks' Smackdown. Always amusing, always worth the read.

Dear Food Network,

Huge fan of network, if you walk into my house and the TV set is one chances are your channel is on, but you got some problems as a fan and friend.

Next Food Network Star, just turned it off, like Alton said in last weeks show can we get rid of them all, just don't care if any of them get a show. Previous shows this far in I had a favorite chef, not this time. I blame the way you structured the show. In the past you had them do cooking demos early and you started to get, according to what the job is what is, to see what they will be actually doing. This time you have eliminated half the field and still hadn't had them do an alone demo, more team based than cook based. That was your mistake, this isn't a team game, at the end of the day you have lost people who weren't the best team players, but probably had the cook chops, now we will never know. So I turned off your show tonight and started to watch DVDs.

Bring back the old favorites, even if rerun. Original Iron Chef, Jamie Oliver, heck loved Anthony Bourdain's work, even if he didn't like you and it's mutual.

Expand the base, you need to get into new regions. The channel needs an Indian Emeril or Jiada they have over a billion people according to wikipedia and many immigrants here, plus a popular style of restaurants. Exploring their style of cooking and the rest of Southeast Asia would be a great topic.

Likewise taking a Food Network host and let them spend 6-8 weeks teaching a regional cuisine. Start simple maybe Polish or Nicarguan. But cover the globe, find the best local chefs and have them work with the host to show their best regional foods. Cuban, South African, heck even a month in depth of Minnesota local traditions might make a good segment. It's a wide world of food and who better to show us.

Travel and eating, sucks. But travel and teaching? I tune in to learn more cooking methods and ideas. If I just want a travel show there is a whole network for it.

A Concerned Fan

Flagstaff's local Channel 2 always covers national news after the first break, but frankly why? Lately they have cut back local coverage, giving up on weekend and morning broadcasts. The last thing they have currently is waste time in the 22 or so minutes they broadcast. It is rather doubtful that anyone in this small town tunes into their programming to catch the latest national news headlines. When you tune into Channel 2 you want local news, weather and sports roundup. NBC offers a seperate national news show for those interested and even those without cable can get it. For those with cable or satellite there is even more choices, so why would they tune in to a local news channel? I don't know either.

The only advantage Channel 2 has over all of these other programs is they cover this local market, so why waste our valuable time and attention.

It just boggles my mind.