Binkomonster!

Sadness Is...

Watching HGTV's 'I Want That' (ugh, blatant and conspicuous consumerism we admit!), and getting all excited about this. Getting so excited in fact, that one dreams about how it will look on the teeny-tiny patio if we remove all of the furniture, and how it won't matter because we'll be so happy with our swim trunks on and glass of wine in hand. And then reality sets in. We measure, we grok the specs. Sigh. Way. Too. Big. And more importantly in terms of architectural stress considerations, way, too, heavy. *Shakes fist at sky and pouts*.

The tribe increments by +3

The offices of Binkomonster are a little more crowded this week. We've added some new staff members to our team. Join us in giving a big welcome to Euler, Tesla, along with an invertebrate named Einstein (who is *really* cute). Yea, the fishtank is finally populated with little denizens. It has meant however that one of the new responsibilities for the CTO is to prevent the sushification of the new staff by terrorists (see previous posts).
See here as Osama tries to understand why a simple batting of one crooked paw does not fish patty make. Matters marine have kept us *bizzy*. There is the constant effort of keeping the H2O chemistry juuuuust right so that E.E. & T. are happy, and dealing with the case of 'Ich' affecting the fish (trying new medicine today). As for Einstein, well he just plods on his merry way, happily gorging on algae discs. On other fronts, we won't go into details on 'working for the man', suffice to say that things have been busy, nay, downright unruly. See, that's where E.E.&T. come in, you know, to lower the stress level. The mixology lab continues to crank out libations. We've successfully tried and replicated the sugar/basil martini here in the SF compound (wheee!), but apart from that and a Pina Colada, the steady diet has been Negronis, Gimlets, and of course, vino. We were lucky enough to enjoy the Tomato dinner at Oliveto with some friends, but otherwise, we've rather enjoyed staying in and preparing meals at the Binko-Bistro. September holds the promise of more renovations to the Binkomonster castle (well to one bathroom at least), and certainly more experimentation on the culinary and alcoholic front. But for now, our focus is on ensuring all staff are healthy, well-fed, happy (as much as is within our power), and content.

What the world needs, is more Pink Martini.

So hopefully you'll grant us a pardon for the long absence. Since the last tp terrorist attack here at headquarters, it has been a marvelous and interesting two weeks. Our loyal readers (all 2 of them, hee) may wonder what we've been up to, and we're happy to oblige with the quick and dirty.
We got all dressed up and went out to see these folks play with the San Francisco Symphony. In a word, *wow*. While sitting in box seats sipping on a dry martini, followed by a glass of champagne (hiccup! heh), certainly made the event that much more enjoyable, it was truly lovely to see such a diverse crowd (both in age and interest), take such joy in the music. Pink Martini produces such cheerful, giddy and wonderous melodic harmony. We've now anointed ourselves Pink Martini groupies and are considering a trek across the Corporate States of America, swilling spirits along the way, to catch as many performances as the kibble pile will allow.
We also had the chance to spend two lovely weekends at this hidden gem. Forget about what Robert Parker says, the wine these lovely folks produce needs not a number to describe the harmony that will greet your tongue upon the first sip, but instead, a very deep bowl of the most flattering adjectives will suffice. Although the first visit found us in the heat wave experienced by most of overly sunny California (the normally cool breezes replaced by what felt like blasts from an open furnace), keeping our toes firmly implanted in the lake helped. As did an end-of-day stop at this place to enjoy a lovely supper. And yes, some cocktails. Oh, the drinks. They were MIGHTY fine, and not only are we going back to have more of them, but the chocolate souffle too (which is now the absolute favorite of the Binkomonster CEO). Let it also not be forgotten that we continue to raise our glasses to the memory of Al Brounstein. Without this mighty pioneer, there would be no Diamond Creek, and the world would be much sadder for it.
Last but not least, our week is quickly coming to a close having enjoyed yet another SIGGRAPH (nerd heaven for those of us so completely addicted to the pixel, the vertex, the shader, the voxel, the teapot, the...um, you know, Universe known as Computer Graphics) and having sampled the delights of our Western New York satellite office. For those of you unfamiliar with the Binkomonster worldwide offices, we have a number of them (with board members residing at each). One of the key objectives for Binkomonster Inc. year to year is ensuring we spend time with our board members providing an update on corporate health, indulging in some great food/wine/cocktail tasting while putting together our nefarious plans for our next adventure in corporate domination, and just enjoying their respective wisdom, expertise, and company. We love our board members.