CAO cigars are well known brand when about non cuban cigars. They are making lots of cigars in different blends. I’ve tried 4 of them and some I liked and some I didn’t really paid any attention to it later on and this what happens when there is a brand and tens of blends. The CAO usually comes in a digitized humidor box and I think this is the reason these cigars high priced. Making the long story short I’ve sampled 2 cigars were given to me by one of my friend came from london and here what I found about it:

Size: 6 1/4 X 52

Wrapper: Dominican Rep.

Binder: Dominican Rep.

Filler: Dominican Rep. Nicaragua, Brazil

Initial thoughts:

Well made cigar with no soft spots on the body. The wrapper is dark brown oily with some veins here and there. The prelight draw brought some cocoa and earth. The draw it self was very good with some resistance. The burn was good and th ash was light gray.

1st third:

Straight medium body smoke with sweet spicy earthy profile. An inch down the cigar shows some cocoa notes and some tobacco taste. It then gets spicier and sweeter but no real change in the other flavors.

2nd third:

Here found a pepper kick and a leathery back ground with hint of sweet cocoa. The smoke is smooth and creamy with no harshness. More aged tobacco, earthiness and spiciness here to get the attention by the half way point. The aroma is very nice with sweet cocoa bean and Roasted nuts.

Final third:

Hint of caramel here complement the earth and spices. With shots of leather this cigar reach the final lap. The body is in the upper side of medium or the lower of full but still smooth on the palate. Nothing more to report in here.

Final thoughts:

I liked the cigar but I would appreciate it more if there were more complexity. This is a straight medium body earthy spicy leathery smoke good for afternoon tea break of even breakfast. For sure I’m not going to add it to my humidor very soon.

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Politiets rapport viser en voldsom økning i antall ran i Oslo første halvdel av 2009

Oslo politidistrikt har lagt fram rapporten over ran i 2008 og rapporten over kriminalitet i Oslo første halvdel av 2009. Tallene viser at en ransbølge skyller over hovedstaden.

Antall registrerte anmeldelser av ran og utpressing i Oslo første halvdel av 2009 økte med 30,5 prosent i forhold til samme tid i fjor.

Les hele rapporten over kriminalitet i Oslo første halvdel av 2009 her

Kraftig økning grove ran

I alt er det registrert 594 anmeldelser av ran og utpressing i Oslo politidistrikt så langt i år. Økningen av grove ran av person var på hele 67,5 prosent.

For at et ran skal betegnes som grovt, blir det foretatt en helhetsvurdering av hendelsesforløpet. Eksempler på grove ran kan være ran hvor skytevåpen eller kniv blir brukt, om ranet var nøye planlagt, om det var foretatt overfor en forsvarsløs person eller om det er frastjålet gjenstander av en betydelig verdi.

Politiet øker innsatsen

– Vi ser at en del unge menn begår en lang rekke med ran, og spesielt her i Grønlands krets. Vi ser at det er mange med annen landbakgrunn. 55 prosent av gjerningspersonene er fra utenfor Vest-Europa. De kommer fra Asia, Midtøsten og Afrika, sier politimester Anstein Gjengedal ved Oslo politidistrikt til TV 2 Nyhetene.

Gjengedal understreker at Grønland politistasjon har satt i gang en innsatsgruppe mot utviklingen i området.

– De har pågrepet i alt 55 personer den siste tiden, og mange av disse står bak flere ran. I mai hadde vi en nedgang, men vi ser at vi har hatt en økning i juni igjen, så dette er et område vi kommer til å følge opp til høsten, sier Gjengedal.

(Video ikke tilgjengelig på mobil)

Tar lærdom etter ransbølgen i 2004

Gjennomsnittsalderen på ransmennene er 22 år. Gjengedal sier å rane privatpersoner på åpen gate er en måte for disse å enkelt skaffe seg midler på.

– Det er vanligvis ikke store verdier det er snakk om. Ofte er det snakk om mobiltelefoner, minibankkort og lignende. Men for personen som blir utsatt for ran er det en integritetskrenkelse som er alvorlig, sier han.

Politimesteren tror ikke økningen har noe å gjøre med at det har vært mindre politi i gatene.

– Jeg tror ikke det har så mye å si. De fleste ranene blir begått på nattestid, og uansett klarer ikke vi å dekke opp hele byen. Det er spesielt på nedre del av Karl Johan og bortover Grünerløkka ranene skjer. Der har vi hatt økt aktivitet med patruljering rundt narkotikamiljøene. Og det kommer vi til å følge opp utover høsten, sier Gjengedal.

Gjengedal håper ransstatistikken skal gå ned utover høsten. I 2004 opplevde Oslo også en ransbølge med over tusen ran i løpet av et år. Nå ønsker politiet å ta lærdom av grepene som ble gjort den gangen.

– Den gang satt vi inn en egen gruppe og klarte å få statistikken ned med over 25 prosent. Det vi ser nytter er å pågripe gjerningspersonen, sier han.

Forutså utviklingen

Allerede i september i fjor forutså TV 2s krimekspert Johnny Brenna at det ville bli en kraftig utvikling i forhold til ran av enkeltpersoner i det offentlige rom.

I blogginnlegget «Hvorfor tenke personlig sikkerhet» skrev han: «Morgendagens kriminalitet ligner derfor mer og mer på det man kan finne på det amerikanske kontinent. Mye rus og psykiatri og kriminalitet som rammer enkeltmennesket ute i det offentlige rom. Vi ser også et svakere og svakere politi i Norge hvor hverdagskriminaliteten får stort spillerom.»

Brenna mener noe av problemet er at det proaktive og patruljerende politiets oppgaver i større grad har blitt erstattet av private sikkerhetsaktører.

At kiosker og bensinstasjoner blir stadig bedre sikret, er også en grunn til utviklingen. En beruset ung mann på vei hjem fra en fuktig natt på byen er et mye lettere offer enn en godt sikret bensinstasjon.

Videre skriver Brenna: «Enkeltmennesket blir derfor mer utsatt og føler mer utrygghet. Enkeltmenneske vil bli mer utsatt for personran, grove tyverier fra offentlig plass og umotivert vold.»

LES HELE BLOGGINNLEGGET FRA 23.09.2008 HER

Høy konsentrasjon i sentrum

Politiets årsrapport om ran fra 2008 viser at de aller fleste ranene i Oslo skjer på offentlig sted i sentrum av byen. Den viser også at antall ran økte i forhold til året før.

Tallene fra første halvdel av 2009 som er nevnt ovenfor antyder at også i år vil tallene øke kraftig.

I hele 2008 ble det registrert 966 anmeldelser av ran og utpressing, noe som er en økning på 17,1 prosent i forhold til 2007.

Til tross for at det forekommer ran over hele byen, er det enkelte områder som peker seg ut. Den største konsentrasjonen er i sentrum, samt bydelene Gamle Oslo, Grünerløkka, Sagene, St. Hanshaugen og Frogner. I disse bydelene har ranene hovedsakelig forekommet i deler som grenser inn mot sentrum.

Les politiets ransrapport for hele 2008 her

Over halvparten i Grønland stasjonskrets

Det er i bydelene som dekkes av Grønland stasjonskrets hvor det forekommer klart flest ran. Hele 56,3 prosent de anmeldte ranene i 2008 forekom her. Deretter fulgte Sentrum stasjonskrets med 19,6 prosent.

Grønland stasjonskrets dekker store deler av Oslo. Områder som Aker Brygge, Jernbanetorget, Grønland, Grünerløkka, Tøyen og Gamle Oslo faller inn under denne stasjonskretsen.

Ransanmeldelsene viser at hele 60,5 prosent av ranene skjedde på offentlig sted. Men også steder tilknyttet offentlige transportmidler er sterkt utsatt. 12,5 prosent av ranene skjedde enten på selve transportmiddelet, eller på stasjoner og holdeplasser.

Rapporten viser også at menn er størst utsatt for ran. Hele 85 prosent av personofrene for ran i 2008 var menn.

Publisert av: AIS Privat Etterforskning Norge

The tobacconist I usually go to is an “Oliva Lounge”, this being said they have a lot of Oliva product.  It was wandering aimlessly through the humidor one day and I stumbled upon this beauty of a cigar.  It is 6 1/2 x 52 torpedo with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and a Nicaraguan binder and filler.

I cannot emphasis how great this cigar looks.  It is a beautiful light brown with minimal veins.  I clipped the cap a little more generously than I normally do, it is a torpedo after all.

Prelight draw was a little loose for my taste, but it was still within my acceptable firm bandwidth.  I couldn’t really note any distinct smells at either end of the cigar outside of the smell of quality tobacco.

The first draw was very smooth and very mild/medium.  There were notes of sweet burnt toast (buttery toast?) and caramel.  The burn was slightly off straight, but it didn’t affect the flavors.

1 inch in and in addition to the aforementioned tastes there was a slight nuttiness coming through.  There was a slight burn issue at 1 1/2 inches, but it self corrected at 2 inches.  It should be noted that I smoked this cigar on a Saturday at around noon.  Which is the perfect time to have this very mild/medium smooth cigar.

2 inches in and the cigar was still keeping its ash.  I was admiring and pondering this construction feat when the ash relieved itself…..on my lap.  Yes, I ashed myself.  After the cigar ashed I thought I would retro-hale and see what additional flavors I could pick up.  There was a slight blast of spice which hadn’t been present before.  Ok, now this cigar has my attention.

I noted after the first ash that the cigar was having burn issues and the flavor had changed to more leathery notes.  Which struck me as very strange as the flavors up to then had been very mild nutty sweetness.  I smoked it through 1/8 of an ash and the flavors of mild nutty sweetness where back.  Perfect.  While smoking it to the 1/8 ash place I noted there was some burning issues.  So, in summary, after the cigar ashed it had flavor and burn issues.  This was very frustrating and unusual given my previous Oliva experiences, which have been superb.

This trend continued through the rest of the smoke.  Moments of sublime smoothness quickly replaced by laborious smoking and then back again.

I would recommend this cigar for a relatively new cigar smoker and at $5 a stick (depending on location) it can be gotten without too much monetary committment.

I would say overall while I like this cigar for an afternoon smoke, Oliva has better cigars to fit my particular tastes, i.e. V & G.  So take the suggestion for what it is worth.  That said I would give this cigar a rating of 7.

der Baron

Sepeda Fixed Wheel atau sering akrab disebut Fixie merupakan style bagi para kaum urban. Biasanya sepeda ini dipakai oleh Messenger atau Kurir jasa ekspedisi. Sepeda ini tidak menggunakan freewheel dan rem (brake). Perputaran crank akan seiring dengan perputaran roda. Weits bentar! nggak pake rem, trus cara berhentinya? ya sebenarnya pakai cuma tidak menggunakan brake lever atau wire. Cara berhenti atau mengurangi gerak lajunya dengan cara memutar crank berlawanan arah dengan perputaran. Hmm, mungkin kalo disekitar kita disebut rem Torpedo.

Fixie Oleh Frederico Salvalaio

Dalam perkembangannya, fixie tidak hanya dipakai oleh para kurir di perkotaan namun sudah menjadi tren  tersendiri oleh para pesepeda perkotaan bahkan menyaingi folding bike (sepeda lipat). desainnya yang simpel dan perawatannya mudah menjadi alasan mereka memilih fixie. Bahkan di Jogja mulai marak dan terbentuk komunitasnya.

Fixed Gear Hub

Mengendarai fixie tidak asal naik, perlu penyesuaian karena dengan sistem pengereman yang berbeda ini membuat agak bingung bahkan tak jarang terjadi slide/ngepot. Selain slide, pengendara juga bisa cedera karena tekanan yang keras saat melakukan pengereman. Melawan arah perputaran crank apalagi saat melaju kencang mengakibatkatkan tekanan/stress yang tinggi pada lutut dan pergelangan kaki. Maka dari itu sebenarnya ada kiat-kiat/teknik mengendarai fixie secara aman dan nyaman bahkan di beberapa negara memiliki regulasinya demi kesehatan dan keamanan. Untukkeamanan, beberapa negara mewajibkan pemakaian rem depan namun negara lain ada yang tidak.

Tertantang pakai fixie?

Sumber: en.wikipedia.org, www.fixedgeargallery.com, fixiefreaks.wordpress.com

So, I fired off two more emails…  One to Subway, and one to my new friend Mr. Jones at Quiznos.  No response from Mr. Jones yet, but we do have one from Subway.  I’ll share it all below!

OK, so email one, to Subway:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
To: “Bridenbaker, Mack” m.bridenbaker@sfaft.org
Cc: Paula Gomez gomez_p@subway.com; Kevin Kane kane_k@subway.com; Anna Marie Seeley seeley_a@subway.com
Sent: Mon, November 23, 2009 10:24:20 AM
Subject: Re: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]

Hello Mr. Bridenbaker,

It’s been over a week since your email to me saying that Ms. Gomez would address my concerns and I’ve yet to see any sort of response.  I still haven’t had a reply to my initial message to Ms. Seely, or  from anyone on your team.  I’m disappointed in the lack of comment overall, my first message which was sent on Oct. 28th has still gone unanswered.

I now understand why the employees in your stores have an “I don’t care” attitude.  It trickles down from the top, and certainly must be passed on in franchise owners, hiring, & training.

I’m amazed at your total lack of concern for the decline of your once championing establishment.  I should perhaps pass on my shellfish allergen and cross-contamination concerns to some allergy awareness groups.  Perhaps allergy awareness lobbyists will warrant some attention.  Everyone I know already hates Jared and the $5 footlong commercials, so I don’t need to push the issue on that one.  The concept of cheese tessellation will obviously elude the average sandwich artist from now until the end of time, so we have no hope there.

Perhaps in copying Quiznos’ idea of toasting subs, you should also adopt their business model in using better quality ingredients and customer service policies.  I have had a continued dialog with them regarding your lack of customer service and their seemingly misleading Toasty Torpedo ads with the very tiny hands.  They proudly stand behind their ads (however creepy), their innovation, and their customer service.

Not signed.  On purpose.  Notice all the Cc’s, everyone hates that… I don’t care who you are.   I tried to poke at every issue and make empty useless claims about allergy awareness groups, and I brought up that Quiznos is the trend-setter while noting that they’re also not perfect.

And, on a friendlier note to Quiznos, I decided to reveal my intentions to an amicable Mr. Jones:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: The Quiznos Toasty TorpedoT ads?
To: “Jones, Tony” TJones2@quiznos.com

Thanks Tony,

I must confess, I do have a blog and I have been chronicling my email escapades there.  I like to play them as part consumer advocacy, part humor and all goofy.  I used to write snail mail letters, but email has made it so much easier & faster.  Some friends have encouraged me to keep writing, so I have.  I really enjoy the open & honest dialogue that we have going on, and appreciate that you stand behind the product & integrity of your company… and take the time to respond to emails such as mine.  Also, you obviously have a sense of humor, which has to be a “must” for any kind of customer interaction.  I’m sure you get goofier emails and phone calls from actual crazy people.

I’m intrigued at your suggestion that I get into consulting or franchise journalism.  Do you know how I would even go about this?  Would I need to obtain a degree in something?  I hope to grab followers to my blog just for amusement, but am unaware as to how to make it a profitable venture, ha ha ha.

Thank you once again for your time, I’m actually waiting to hear from some of your Quiznos colleagues, and Subway has still not given me a response beyond “someone will respond”… not that I’m at all surprised by that at this point.

Rock on!
-Eric

Hopefully he writes back in a positive light, and still finds all of this amusing.  Still waiting for further comment from his other colleagues, none of which have really delivered so far.

And, now, the fun part… Subway’s response (or lack thereof):

From: asksubway@subway.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Subject: Subway
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Monday, November 23, 2009

Dear Mr Aixelsyd:

First, allow me to apologize. Secondly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us and share your comments.

At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.

Our customers provide us with valuable input, which we use to improve our operations. Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.

I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.

Again, I appreciate you taking the time to contact us. SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits.

Sincerely,

Paula Gomez

Heh.  “First, allow me to apologize” not followed by an apology is extremely profound, and hopefully intentional.  Then, she thanks me for writing, probably through gritted teeth.

This line reeks of copy & paste:  “At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.”

And, I love the long winded “it wasn’t me”/”it’s not my fault”/”it’s not my problem”:  “Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.”  Basically, she’s telling me that I’m being ignored by a lower level.

“I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.”  With what?  Cross-contamination?  Cleanliness?  Cheese tessellation? How to reply to customer emails?

“SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits” …so we can spit in your food?  Did she read my emails?  Perhaps this whole thing is just a reading comprehension issue.  I find it amusing that the e Subway spokesperson declined to comment.  Perhaps now is the time to move into old-school W(aL)D mode, and reply that Subway will not be allowed on the moon when I’m emperor.

Are there any psychologists or psychiatrists out there reading this?  I’d love to get your take (…if you can tell me without telling me what my own problems are, ha ha ha).

If you haven’t been following,you may want to check out the back-story rundown here:  If we’re keeping score, that’s Subway 1 and Quiznos 3½. That should explain the last email, and at the bottom there’s a rundown of all the ones that came before it (with links) if you’re interested.

Also… lots of people have been telling me they’re following… by word of mouth, or Facebook, or Twitter, and even via text message… but I beg you, if you’re reading… post a comment here, and others may have a comment about your comment.  I see by the stats that people are reading.  Don’t be shy.  We’re all friends here.  Except for you, people at Subway… Except for you.

¿Algo sobre la marihuana que Fumado no tiene? O no lo vi en el blog o es un milagro

Click en la foto para agrandar

During WWII my dad was in the Australian army.  He caught a military boat from the Eastern side of Australia to Fremantle, Western Australia. He was in Fremantle for about three days and was supposed to catch another military boat which was going to sail up towards Japan. My dad and some other soldiers missed the boat by about half an hour. They were put into the local jail for about two weeks until the next military boat was due. (The jailing was a punishment given to my dad and the other soldiers by the Australian army for missing the boat.)  Missing the boat was actually providential for my dad and the other soldiers.  The boat that he was supposed to have sailed in, was torpedoed by the Japanese and sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Many things in life look as though, they are bad for us, when in truth they are actually good  for us, however it might not be as apparent as it was in my father’s case.

So, Mr. Jones writes back!  Apparently, he’s a fan.  Ha ha ha.

Writes back to what, you ask?  Well, a response to an email about the Toasty Torpedo ads… which stemmed from earlier emails about Subway’s lack of customer respect.

from Jones, Tony <tjones2@quiznos.com>
to ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
date Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 9:53 PM
subject RE: The Quiznos Toasty TorpedoT ads?

 

Eric,

I enjoy your observations and yes, the Torpedo ads vs. the reality can seem diverse. Of course, with the type of bread that is used in this offering, heavier than most, I have found to be very filling and I speak from experience… I love the tuna torpedo, if properly made, and have a difficult time trying to eat more than one in one sitting. I have tried to order two and ended up about 1 ½ till being way-too-full; The heaviness of the bread, even though it looks like a breadstick, serves to be quite filling; Also, yes, the various forms of our past ads have been quite innovative and sometimes just plain ‘rebellious’. Our image has historically kind of gone down that road… with ‘baby bob’, etc. In fact, we have even had past campaigns of ‘being pioneers’…which is somewhat accurate…. First to toast, first with select breads, and first with gourmet sauces…etc… the Subways, and others competitors of the world, have graciously copied some of these endeavors. Etc…

On a side note though…. You are gifted and creative with the pen… with an edgy insight into ‘areas in need of improvement’ for various businesses; Have you ever thought of getting into an independent consulting capacity… or maybe franchise news journaling? Your giftedness at using humor along with wit, and poking fun at the various misuses, and abuses by brands could end up with a great following; Franchising and branding is such a HUGE industry, I’m sure there would be an equally HUGE following for this kind of venue. Just a thought man,

Have a great week,

Tony

Ah ha! Flattery will get you everywhere, I guess. Consulting? Me? So, people will pay me to do this stuff?  I wonder that the hell franchise news journaling is?  I may have to get to Googling that, or at least asking Mr. Jones where to start.  I still don’t think I can call him “Indiana”, though.

At any rate, I look forward to any comments.  I know you’re out there reading, and I’m getting feedback via Facebook & Twitter… but you can comment here too.  It’s all good, and it helps out my WordPress stats.  Ha ha ha.  You can even get your avatar to show up here if you use Gravatar or (I think) OpenID, or if you’re already logged into your own WordPress account.

So, I recently wrote back to Quiznos at the suggestion of Jon on Twitter, and with the editing help of Dave once again. Jon has apparently been following the Subway saga along with a handful of other people… and thought that it may be an appropriate next step. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I’ve had this thought myself, and if I remember correctly Jon had posted about it previously on Facebook or MySpace or Twitter or some social media site. Memory and my Googling skills fail me in finding that now, though.

I have high hopes on getting a well thought out response or two. I sent the message below to Mr. Jones, the same message to Mr. Bordeaux, and a slightly modified one to a few other email addresses that I managed to dig up. I enjoyed the candid reply from Mr. Jones before, although I was unable to get any further comment from Mr. Bordeaux or his team with whom he was going to share my email.

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Subject: The Quiznos Toasty Torpedo™ ads?
To: “Jones, Tony” <TJones2@quiznos.com>

Hello Mr. Jones,

I would like to thank you again for the response to my email last week regarding Subway’s lack of allergy awareness, cheese tessellation, appropriate responses to customer feedback, and poor decisions in general. I understand and have learned first hand that good communication is a key component to the Quiznos way of doing business. I also appreciate your expedited replies, and hope that you can gain something knowing how cavalier your competitor’s attitude is toward genuine customer concerns. I am glad to be a gauge of what you do at Quiznos, and I would like to hope that my feedback is valuable.

In sharing my recent adventures in email with some friends, I have noticed a theme that has come up in suggested queries for your fine establishment… and I must say that I have indeed wondered the same thing myself.

Are you using “little people” models for the toasty torpedoes ads, perhaps children or pygmies? I did get a turkey torpedo a while ago, and I did make a mental note that it seemed to be nothing more than a bread stick made into a sandwich. I thought that the toasty torpedo looked bigger in the ads… but I didn’t quite connect why until recently.

A quick Google image search led me to this photo, perfect for a reference for our purposes…

I’m sure you can also see it now that I’ve pointed it out. I, my friend, cannot un-see it. There is no way that the hand in the above graphic is correctly proportioned to the Toasty TORPEDO™. I’m actually tempted to go get another one in an attempt to re-create this photo to see how accurate it may be. I can guarantee though, that if I did in fact hold a toasty torpedo like that, that it would most certainly fall apart. Mine lasted for about a bite and a half before it fell apart.

In Googling, I found multiple odd references to this ad campaign. Does Quiznos make any official statements to counter these goofy bloggers? I found one guy that thinks it looks like a cigarette ad. One guy seems to have a Freudian problem and these people seem to think that one commercial purposely compares your torpedos to a cup of human excrement. Okay, I have to give them that one. I mean… you did hear of 2 Girls, 1 Cup right? I’d find it and link to it, but some may find that offensive/distasteful and I’m sure you know how to use search engines. These people even seem to come to the same conclusion as I have toward the end of their blog… as well as a commenter on this blog.

I understand that all advertising is not one hundred percent factual, and that things tend to be exaggerated, but I really find this image rather misleading. While I understand that I’m not going to walk into a Quiznos any time soon and find a HAL 9000’s creepy sexually suggestive oven cousin, two gorgeous scantily clad women eating a sub rather suggestively, two naked rednecks in a tub of water over a campfire, a baby with the voice of a grown man, anyone suckling on any wolf teats, or even genetic mutations with Latino accents and tiny guitars floating in the air singing praise of your sandwiches… I feel that you owe some level of honesty to the customer.

While the other ads are easily discernible as attention grabbing goofiness, this one seems rather straight forward at first — yet dishonest upon further inspection.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter as well as the thoughts of any other marketing people or regional managers in the Quiznos family.

If I didn’t feel that I was already taking up too much of your time, I wouldn’t mind getting into a discussion on the violent phallic imagery that the shape and name of these subs not-so-subliminally suggest. I mean, really? Torpedo? Bullet? How many feminists have already written to discuss this? I feel that this topic is a less pressing issue though, to be saved for another day.

Torpedoes away!
-Eric

If you feel the need for a background to any of this, this is where it all started, and how it played out:

• Five. Five dollar. Five dollar… foot up your ass.
• Subway Customer ID: 1918316
• Quiznos writes back before Subway!
• So, we have a response from Subway!

That’s my initial message, Subway’s official non-response response, me sending it to Quiznos for comment and getting one, and finally a response from Subway telling me that someone else will respond… which as of yet, has not happened.

…All of which leads us to this posting.

Last Thursday, researchers annoucned that they have found two Japanese subs which were sunk over 63 years ago. The subs were destined to attack the US and the Panama Canal, with one even capable of carrying and launching airplanes. From the NYTimes:

The submarines, among five that were captured by American forces at the end of the war and taken to Pearl Harbor for study, were found off Oahu at a depth of about 2,600 feet using submersibles from the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, which is financed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and located at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The five were towed to sea in 1946 and torpedoed, and the researchers said one probable reason for that was to avoid having to share any of the technology with the Russian military.

One of the Japanese craft, the I-201, was capable of speeds of about 20 knots while submerged, making it among the fastest diesel submarines ever made. Like other Japanese subs, it had a rubberized coating on the hull, an innovation intended to make it less apparent to sonar or radar.

The other, the I-14, was much larger and slower and designed to carry two small planes, Aichi M6A Seirans. The aircraft, which had folding wings and tails and could carry a torpedo or 1,800-pound bomb, were housed in watertight hangars inside the submarine. They could be brought onto the deck and launched by a catapult. (The only existing Seiran is in the hands of the Smithsonian.)

2 Japanese Subs From World War II Era Are Found Off Hawaii [NYTimes]

Online Battleship Torpedo Attack
Online Battleship Torpedo Attack

Online Battleship Torpedo Attack Game
Battleship Torpedo Attack Game Description : Hide your ships perfectly and find your enemy’s ships and destroy them.
How to Play Battleship Torpedo Attack Game? Use mouse to interact.
Space bar to shoot.

El Baton, a classic blend of the J.C. Newman Co.; reintroduced in 2009 offers smokers a much refined taste at a very flavorful Nicaraguan cigar. Encased in a corojo wrapper, the El Baton Double Toro (6×60) can’t help but swoon you with its vein covered, lush appearance and tantalizing aroma.

Upon my pre-light inspections I found the El Baton to be quite solid, but was surprised to notice only a double cap as opposed to the quite typical triple cap of most premium cigars now a days. Nonetheless, this didn’t seem to hinder the cut or draw in any way shape or form. Speaking of the draw, it was wide open; almost too wide open. Personally, I prefer a slightly tighter draw.

I think maybe the wider draw lead to the cigar burning a bit faster than I would have liked; I would have anticipated spending the better part of two hours with this cigar. Rather I found myself at the nub in just under ninety minutes. Not a bad thing however, just surprising. Also interesting, giving the quicker, hotter burn, the cigar never become harsh nor did it become overpowering.

While J.C. Newman suggests the El Baton to be a “bold,” “fuller-bodied” cigar; I found it to maintain a rather medium strength throughout. Here too, I would not list this as a negative quality of this cigar, just interesting.

I will say however, the jack pot of the El Baton is it’s flavor profile. Complex, yet balanced describes perfectly the flavor of this quality cigar. Never one to notice what manufactures suggest one should taste; I picked up hints of a rosemary-like woodiness pre-light. Then once lit, I began to be introduced to a vast array of flavors; including heavy black pepper, and a very natural woodiness. The spice produced by the black pepper eventually faded, leaving the typical earthy, raw flavor I typically note in most Nicaraguan cigars. Noticeable too, intermixed with the various flavors was a slight hint of something sweet.  Unfortunately, I was never quite able to put my finger on what taste specifically it reminded me of.

Producing heavy clouds of smoke and a stark grey ash, the El Baton is certainly a cigar worth trying; especially considering its modest price of $5.50 (depending on location of purchase). While not quite as flavorful and therefore enjoyable as the El Baton Double Torpedo, I would certainly not hesitate to recommend, nor smoke again the Double Toro.

Personal rating: 7 (10 pt. scale)

Happy Smoking,
~R. Harrison Malone

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero (Jalapa, Esteli, Condega)
Size: Torpedo 6.0″ x 54 ring

My previous review was of the Cain Habano Robusto.  In that review I detailed a bit about the makeup and story of the this straight Ligero cigar so click on over and check that out as well.  Today I am smoking the Maduro Torpedo.  I was trying to find some more information about this wrapper and was unable to find anything definitive about it.  I have seen it referred to as a Nicaraguan Maduro, a Mexican Maduro, and even a Brazilian Maduro wrapper.  I am not sure which it is at this point.  I am not inclined to agree with the Brazilian label though.  As Maduro wrappers go this one doesn’t have much tooth to it, and in my experience, the Brazilian maduro is on of the toothiest maduro wrappers I have seen.  That is just an opinion and a guess though.  It could very well be Brazilian, I just don’t know right now.

The wrapper on the Cain Maduro  is dark and mottled with a few prominent veins running across its surface.  It has a slight tooth and oily appearance.  This cigar starts off very similar to the Habano.  I ti s smooth and creamy, medium bodied without much power.  It has a very nondescript, sweet maduro flavor to it .  I began to wonder if this one would pick up in the last third like the Habano did, but it did not.   It was very one dimensional.  The flavors never changed and it never developed any power.  It was surprisingly light for an all ligero cigar and flavor wise it was pretty boring.  The Habano version was much better.  This cigar just never did anything for me.  I’ll be smoking the Habano again, but I don’t have any interest in revisiting the maduro.

Rating – C

What cigars to take to a redneck wedding reception you really don’t want to attend?

The ambiance:

• a paneled basement with a bar complete with beermeister
• multiple refrigerators and chest freezers
• deer heads on the wall
• girly calendars
• one was over-dressed if not wearing denim of some sort
• smoking allowed in the garage (think auto repair garage)
• both kinds of music playing, country and western!

Since we missed the shower, we included a baby gift along with our wedding gift.

So, as a cigar guy, I felt obligated to bring something.  It’s been my pleasure over the past few years to host (harbor?  not sure what the word I want here is…) a sealed box of Papayo cigars from the late 90s.  Papayos were sold by JR Cigars for somewhere around $15-$20 a box, and are widely recognized as the benchmark for bad cigars.  This seemed like the perfect occasion to present the groom with a gift of vintage (ahem) Dominican cigars to celebrate the day.  I know…I’m mean.  Age really hadn’t done much good for these cigars, which were passed out and smoked in the garage.  After the fine dinner of sloppy joe and a selection of covered dishes the guests were asked to bring, the gentlemen (ahem) adjourned to the garage to smoke the rare and well aged cigars.  I didn’t hear any complaints, although I believe all of the half smoked cigars in the ashtrays were because the mother of the bride was herding everyone in for the traditional dances…father/daughter, mother/son…etc…if the cigars hadn’t been tighter than a bullfrogs…oops, sorry, I must have picked up some of the colorful mountain folk slang…they had a tight draw, which only detracted slightly from the abysmal flavor.  Yes, dear readers, I took one for the team, in the interest of science, and because I lacked the foresight to bring something better…yes, even with as much contempt I had for the situation, I still couldn’t let others smoke what I wouldn’t smoke myself.  With a hoot and a holler, and some spinning of tires, we departed this surreal place to return to the normal world in time for trick-or treating in our neighborhood accompanied by an enormous Flor de Gonzales torpedo, which was delicious compared to the Papayo, and not a bad cigar at all.  I’m sure the groom will be handing out what was left of the box when their baby is born next month.

I still have a full box of La Nubia Senioritas from the 90s for the next bad event I’m invited to…let this be fair warning!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Last time I mentioned the 3×3 robusto had a metallic taste which I attributed to being naked in an aluminum tube.  This week I smoked a Maria Mancini Corona Classico and the “B” cigar from the Black Band Project, which was a Camacho Corojo Monarca.  Both of these cigars exhibited that same metallic twang.  Quite disturbing.  I need to find the cause of this affliction.

The Maria Mancini line has been a favorite of mine for the last  decade or so. I picked up my first box at JR Cigars in Burlington, NC on the Carolina Cigar Crawl back in 1999.  At that time they were packed in a box of 40 for about $60, which is really nice.  They’ve since changed to boxes of 20, and are still fairly well priced.  The following year on the same cigar crawl JRs had bundles of 20 of the same cigars for around $20 which I viewed as refills, however I have never seen this offered since.  Over the years I’ve had boxes of the DeGaulle (Robusto), Corona Classico (corona), Magic Mountain (torpedo) and the Palma Delgado (6½”x40 with a tapered foot).  I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad cigar from this line.  They always burn really well, and have a medium to full flavor that I find to be pleasing.  For a cigar that you’re never going to pay more than $3 (by the box) for, these can’t be beat.

I’ve mentioned the Black Band Project in a previous post, the “B” cigar was a Camacho Corojo Monarca (5″ x 50 robusto).  I’ve smoked plenty of Camacho cigars and always enjoyed them.  These always start out with a bite, then it settles into a powerful cigar, best smoked after a hearty meal.  This one was no different.  If my tasters had been fully functioning, I would certainly have appreciated the cigar more, but it still cut through my deficient taste buds with all the right flavors…really hit the spot and gave me a very relaxing smoking experience.  If you are a fan of stronger cigars and you haven’t tried the Camacho line, you owe it to yourself to check them out.  Camacho offers a dizzying array of lines.  I always had a fondness for the Havana blend, it may be a good starting point as I think it is closer to the medium end of the spectrum, strength-wise.

As you may have noted from previous posts, I am not a great cigar reviewer.  I am not particularly good at identifying specific flavors like some reviewers are.  I do, however, know a good cigar when I smoke one, so I hope that folks can take something away from my posts.  I am always interested in your comments, and would be especially interested in any feedback on this whole metallic taste thing…it’s gotta go!

Until next time,

CigarCraig

One of the best cigars that “Hecho En Cuba” now days and my favorite stick made by “Don Alejandro Robaina” the creator of the Vegas Robaina Cigar and alive cuban cigar legend. I first smoked this cigar when I was newbie and trying every thing and it didn’t let me down at that time. Yes its very good cigar however it some times not the right choice. I’ve smoke many of those guys and I like the ones that come with darker wrapper color. Want to know about it here we go:

YouTube – Klingon Propaganda.

Vote aqui e escolha a melhor apresentação da inesquecível Noite dos Talentos do RadaR!

Aqui estão concorrendo todos os participantes da Noite, então mesmo que o participante não seja um finalista do premio principal, todos concorrem ao premio internet de melhor da Noite dos Talentos.

Back in April i got a box of these from one of my friends who was visiting Dubai from the USA. I was pleased and confused at the same time because these cigar looks just amazing and  i haven’t had any Oliva before. By now I’ve smoked few and found here what i found:

Philippine Weather, Outer Space and renaming PAGASA

  

The Philippines has a long way to go in weather forecasting. For a long time, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or popularly known as PAGASA has been waiting for its order of at least ten S-band Doppler Radars. The first delivery being half of the lot. This has not happened. More about this post here. 

 Footnote to Archangel:

I used to be part of the DOST scientific network myself, but I saw how much room there is in the department and its network for expansion and growth. True, on many occasions it used to be the only place in the bureaucracy where talent is clearly rewarded (I used to get as many as eight to ten cheques on certain paydays because of my work in various projects in our division alone), still the accomplishments of the department leave so much to be desired. 

 Satellite Feature For February 2002

The Philippines has a long way to go in weather forecasting.  For a long time, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or popularly known as PAGASA has been waiting for its order of at least ten S-band Doppler Radars.  The first delivery being half of the lot.  This has not happened.

PAGASA has been relying in part on the steady stream of free inputs with its membership in the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).  Certain quarters suggested the creation of a Philippine space agency in 2007 and a data communications (satellite) based agency as early as 1988.  No one listened to the proposals.  If the former Sec. Emilia Boncodin of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) even singlehandedly torpedoed down the creation of the Congress-legislated National Transport Safety Board, much more a space agency. And because of Boncodin’s single act, the whole situation is so fucked up that tragic disasters and crises involving mishaps at sea have been happening left and right and can’t be stopped from happening in the future. There were those who unnecessarily criticized and lambasted the proponent of a Philippine space agency, a retiring engineer at PAGASA, as foolish.

The project proposed to create a functional data communication agency, the Philippine Satellite Communication Operation, Research and Development Council (PSCRDC) in 1988, at the diminishing level of euphoria over EDSA I was probably just thrown in the garbage can.  If real and pseudo scholars will check at the Records Office in Malacañang, there is heavy doubt if the document was even registered as received by the Office of the President, even under the heading of Classified matter.  The project paper had a stamp of SECRET all over it.

The PSCRDC was clearly envisioned to be a Philippine space agency and it preceded the idea submitted by Engr. Bernardo Soriano.  Soriano appears to be an admin man, although he should be equipped with a doctorate after serving more than 30 years in PAGASA.  Why he submitted the idea for PASA could be due to his years of experiencing faulty detection and forecasting at PAGASA.

The Philippine Government should review the PAGASA proposal now and not at any other later time.  S-band Radars are all right.  But is it state-of-the-art in storm detection radars (SDR)?  If the investment to buy 10 radars will not cover the entire archipelago, what is the use of having the Dopplers?

Will it not pay more to have a stronger space agency and to invest more inputs for a mechanism to generate more data from outer space than is available today for the country?  After all, how many end-users are there for satellite data?  Nearly everyone has a use for information from outer space, not the least of which are those in the field of environment management, business, civil and military aviation, shipping, land transport, logistics, defense, law enforcement and just about any Googler and ArcGIS map user out there that includes many students, teachers, professionals who know how to.  And if you count them all, the number runs to millions.

That in itself is already a huge market.  Considering that the Philippine business traffic overlaps with those of many other countries, there is also revenue potential in this area.

For this reason, Cyberpark Telecom, our company has extended its sights towards business that relies on outer space data and possibly to generate a positive relationship with Smart Communications in this regard.

While there is only one Philippine satellite, see data from SatNews below, there is also great good that will come about if the satellite were boosted and fully equipped with new components and gadgetry to increase its sensing capabilities and other functions.  And that is where we come in.  If the Agila II Satellite people will not accept our offer, we can go shopping for other partners.  There are hundreds of satellites, real and artificial orbiting in outer space. India alone has ten satellites.  Or we could opt to launch our own satellites in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology in the near future.

By then, government must have renamed the PAGASA into a Philippine Space Agency as Soriano dreamed of.  But today we urge the administration of HE  PGMA to start pushing its cluster of agencies to map out the strengthening of RP’s capacities for using outer space as a valuable resource in many of its concerns.

As we are advocating in Resource Recovery Movement, there is a need for policy regime change in the area of mapping as it relates to environment, to global warming, to its many applications in engineering, architectural township planning, urban development, agriculture, etc.

The link to information on the Agila II Satellite: SatNews

La morfología de la cavidad impide batir un nuevo récord al plusmarquista Martín Burgui.

El 16 de septiembre de 2007, Martín Burgui equipado con mezclas para alcanzar los -150 m, no ha conseguido rebatir su propio récord de -135 m, pues la orografía de la cavidad en vez de ganar profundidad, se resuelve en un tramo de galería ascendente de 45º, donde el buzo alcanzó los -123 m, un pozo de 8 m y un tramo horizontal. El conducto continúa dejando la punta a -132 m.

En total Martín ha tendido 100 m de hilo guía, dejando la punta a 350 m de distancia desde la entrada. La inmersión duró 315 minutos, de los cuales 24 los dedicó en la exploración.

Crónica de la inmersión:
Tiempo de la inmersión: 315 minutos.
Tiempo en llegar a la punta del 2006 (-135m): 13 minutos.
Tiempo dedicado a la exploración: 24 minutos.

Día, 16 de septiembre 2007.

Martín Burgui llega a la punta del año anterior ubicada a -135 m, en 13 minutos. A partir de este punto comienza la exploración. Martín propulsado con su torpedo tiende el hilo con la mano izquierda y fracciona en un gran piedra ubicada en el centro de la galería, pero el saliente de roca donde es atado el hilo se rompe y decide utilizar una de las barbillas que lleva en el torpedo para fraccionar.

A los 30 m de recorrido desde la punta anterior, el conducto con una inclinación de 45º asciende hasta llegar a los -123 m, desde este punto la galería se mantiene a la misma cota hasta conectar con un pozo de 8 m, que lleva al buceador al los 132 m de profundidad. En este punto Martín llega a los tercios de sus botellas de aire, corta el hilo y comienza el ascenso, encontrándose la galería bastante sucia, enganchándose el torpedo de seguridad con el hilo guía. Por lo demás la inmersión ha sido perfecta.
Martín tenia la ilusión de rebatir su récord de -135 m, pero haber recorrido 100 m más le ha dejado un buen sabor de boca.

En la inmersión que Martín Burgui realizó en el año 2006, su profundímetro DACOR, le marcó la cota de -135 m. Ahora, en la última incursión realizada por este mismo buceador en septiembre de 2007, utilizando los profundímetros VR3 y SUUNTO, ha obtenido una medida de -132 m, es decir, 3 m menos.

Según nos informa el espeleobuceador Josep Guarro, los SUUNTO están calibrados para agua salada, con lo que si se utilizan en agua dulce marcan un 3% menos de lo real, es decir que si en Fuente Azul un SUUNTO le marcó a Martín -132m, la profundidad real debería de ser en torno a -136m.

Por otro lado, hay que tener en cuenta que estos instrumentos (ordenadores de buceo, profundimetros digitales etc) no son instrumentos de precisión, y suelen tener un error entorno al +/-1%, es decir que a -100m su lectura puede oscilar metro arriba o abajo sobre la profundidad real.

Material empleado: a - 6m con 2 botellas de oxígeno, - 20m con 2 botellas de Nitrox, - 36m con 1 botella de Trimix, - 60m con 2 botellas de Trimix y dos torpedos, - 90m con 1 botella de Trimix , a -135m con 1 botella de Trimix y dos torpedos.

Pessoas, uma dica bacana para quem quer mandar SMS de graça para as operadoras: Vivo, Claro, Tim e Oi, de forma fácil rápida e muito segura, abaixo tem o link para o site, não precisa se registrar ou cadastrar nada e funciona, uso sempre!

http://www.torpedogratis.net/