Binkomonster!

Ah, I See You Have the Holiday that goes Bing!

Well, maybe not 'Bing!' exactly. Perhaps more like 'Fa La La La... Ka-Ching!' or, 'Merry Christmas!' Put more plainly, the Winter holidays are now upon us. The break for the executive staff of Binkomonster starts officially today, and boy are we excited. Especially the VeePee (can you tell from his picture?) Hee hee. What's on tap? Plenty. We have a visit from a board member today and tomorrow. One we haven't seen in a year. (Hi Lizzie!) Monday, we board another tin dragon to catapult ourselves over to the right coast and have some meetings with other board members (hi Grandma and Grandpa!). Tuesday sees the CTO and CEO finally getting to try some molecular gastronomy (ahem, Mr. Wylie Dufresne? It had better be good. No, not just good, it had better knock our socks off! We have no patience for disappointment.) Wednesday and Thursday are those little things known as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Friday finds us at another foodie retreat with more board members. Saturday and Sunday will probably be recovery or crawling around various museums in the Big Apple, and Monday after? We come back to the warm comforts of the Binkomonster castle. So for the VeePee, it has been a month of firsts. First local vacation. First ride on a big tin can in the sky (oh how we are hoping this goes well!). First contact with some executive board members. First big holiday. It's no wonder he cannot sit still. We are sharing the same good 'ants in the pants' feeling. Though to be honest, as much as we are finding joy in the anticipation of 'old home week', there is also a sense of confusion and some sadness given the general conditions out there. Implosion of the economy. Bailouts around every corner. New Wall Street Trader scandals cropping up like weeds through the pavement. More poverty and struggle to make ends meet. More desperation. We've always been extremely thankful for our little ecosystem. Now, more so than ever, that thankfulness is felt more keenly. A roof over our collective heads. Food to put on the table. The health of family and friends. The simple pleasures like spending time with ourselves and enjoying nature, intellectual pursuits.... that's really all we need. Happy Holidays Intarwebs!

The List

So besides being completely besotted with our VP, what have we been busy doing?
Taking a gander at Chihuly (@ the DeYoung)
Strolling through a packed Frida Kahlo (@ SFMOMA)
Observing the Impressionists (@ the Legion of Honor)
Mulling over the Ming Dynasty (@ the Asian Art Museum)
Rekindling a friendship, and getting some exercise and fresh air (@ Crissy Field!)
Rediscovering the soothing nature of the beach (@ Baker)
Walking (@ the Marina)
Cooking (thanks Mom)
Eating (courtesy of Trader Joe's, the Ferry Building, and Whole Foods)
[a side note to TJ's, please please PLEASE don't ever discontinue the Choctal dessert, I might just implode!]
Swimming (@ the Pacific Club)
Thinking (about a million things)
Drinking (First Martini since Lucian arrived, first Negroni, and Vino.. we're finally making a dent)
Bottling (Pyewacket Chardonnay is officially in the bottle, now just some labels and time to call it a day)
Working (well monitoring email anyway, the count is manageable at 1300 currently)
Surfing (the usual suspects)

Staffing Changes (Musical Chairs?)

Another November, full of Thanksgiving, work, friends and family, has come and gone. And we're now into the heart of the holiday season. The castle is most thankfully, in a period of quiet before the coming remodeling storms of the new year. But lest you get the wrong idea, we are very much looking forward to the new projects. New couches arrive in January. The entry-way will finally be organized and completed. We've settled on a choice of hardwood/color for the study, and once that's done, we start on the last leg. The bathroom remodel. Everything goes out. New plumbing, toilet, sink, shower and glass partition go in. New tiles on every surface. New lighting and well, in short, new everything. Are we scared? You bet. But looking forward to the end product. The study will be high on the priority list because as the title of this post intimates, there are some staff changes afoot. The Binkomonster board has been on a search for a VP for the past two years, and it appears that we finally have a candidate in the offing. We're very excited for this new member to join our staff, but the VP won't be making an appearance until probably June or July. Which gives us just enough time to get the castle and our offices all organized. There is of course the slight issue of ramp up time (we're looking at about 10-12 years before full productivity for our new VP, because after all, there is a large amount of training to do). But in the meantime, organizational charts have been redone, and we've been patiently trying to explain the re-org to the staff here (the staff that all have 4 paws that is). The reaction we are being met with currently is one of indifference. That will change. And we *think* we are ready (at least, we are trying to fool ourselves into thinking we are). Perhaps this begs the question: is anyone every truly 'ready' to embark on the new fork in the road of life's great adventure?

Here's hoping the Binkomonster readership is enjoying the holiday season, and getting ready for all the goods things that 2008 will bring.

The sorting. The punchdown. The crush.

The art of being a part time vinter is most definitely a pleasing one. Recently, the denizens of Binkomonster have embarked on the quest to make a barrel of Syrah with the help of the lovely folks over at 'Crushpad wine'. We got the chance to get our hands dirty with the process of wine-making. So what did this entail? Sorting (getting rid of rocks, branches, moldy grapes, and 'raisiny' grapes). Punchdowns (taking a modified steel shovel type tool, and mixing up big vats of grapes that have been sorted and are in the process of initial ferment). Of course, we also got the chance to stick our hands into the grape mix and feel the heat being generated from all that wonderful yeast, as well the general gooey goodness of the grapes. And last but not least, press. Not much to actually do here except observe (and if lucky, sample). Basic process goes something like this:
a. forklift lifts big box o' grapes
b. forklift dumps big box o' grapes into big machine
c. big machine goes whoooosh
d. fruit goes in, juice comes out (goes into big silver bin on bottom)
Our own lovely Syrah has been sorted, punched down, pressed and now sits in a neutral French Oak barrel (we've memorized the exact location in the stacks) starting on its process of aging. We were lucky enough yesterday to be able to sample it too. And the good news is... our wine is making a good start in life. Of course the overriding taste is one of tannins (you know, that 'bite') as this wine has aged only about 3 weeks. But the fruit flavor is there. We can see the potential down the road (and though we still have to months to pass through, and things like the malolactic fermentation, at least there is a good base). The fingernails of the CTO are completely dark purple as a result of all the activity yesterday, but this is a good thing. Now, where are those overalls, and a straw hat?

Back to the Land of the PreProgrammed

It has been one long perpetual summer. Of course, up until 2 weeks ago, it didn't feel so much like it. Too much of being ground up by the machine (you know, that 'working for the MAN' stuff). Not enough being outside and getting the recommended daily dosage of Vitamin D and fresh air. But we have been lucky. A small respite was had. That window joyfully known as 'vacation' was opened if only for a brief 14 days. And where, what, how, might you ask? Italia. Yep. A huge swath through the land of cheese, wine, cured meats, great furniture and car design.

Cool hangs in the Bay

We interrupt our normal pattern of navel-gazing to bring you some interesting tidbits on places we've been and food we've tried around the Bay Area of late. Consider this a 'recommendations' list as we have been busy exploring and not everything ended up firmly implanted in our collective memory.

We Keep it Raw on the Set

As you may/may not be able to ascertain from the post header, we've been listening to some Beastie Boys lately. And as much as I understand that phrase within the context of the wonderful tune from whence it came, in less sane moments, it does make one ponder. Keep what raw? Oysters? Hamburger meat? Vegetables?  Maybe it's one of those solution-left-to-the-discretion/imagination-of-user things.

It has been a busy few weeks.

Elvis Costello. Here. Live in Oakland.

Ah yes. And what a ROCKING performance it was.  In Oakland, at the Paramount last night.
Yow.
I thought I had outgrown the concert-going phase long ago in my late-late teens, but if all concerts were as wonderful as the one last night, it might see a resurgence.  A concert on a Tuesday. Novel.
And it was cold and rainy. But after a quick and tasty dinner of Pauline's pizza and some greens, off we went. As a venue, I don't think one could pick a better atmosphere than the Paramount.
So art deco. So fabulous. So, interesting.
Thanks to Keely for the comfortable ride.
And certainly thanks to the Angus man for inviting us out.
Now my only disappointment today was to find that the single review I've seen was much less than positive.  Ahem. I'm here to rectify that and offer an alternative point of view.

Flying Over on the Big Tin Dragon

Chinese New Year has stealthily approached, and now makes its arrival known. The officers of Binkomonster, as is the usual habit, are making the big trek over to the right coast for some family, festivities, and frigid weather. I sit in an enormously oversized metal bullet, speeding along the skies at 37000 feet, comfortably burrowed and blogging away. Just like last year.
Well, the slight difference being that last year it was a first class seat instead of coach. But the flight isn’t full, and the seats are roomy, so who am I to complain?
Affairs at the lair of ‘the man’ have been left reasonably in order (or so one hopes). And the tribe is in the good hands of the close family friend.
So it seems appropriate to start moving the mental mindset to that of the explorer. Ready for adventure, for something new.

A post, finally another post!

So before the snarking begins (what are you on a montly schedule now?) Let us repudiate all claims of laziness and begin by stating that July was a very busy month. Where June seemed to whizz by, July, well, it was packed with all manner of things. There was a holiday in there somewhere (something about being patriotic and looking at exploding substances in the sky), along with one of those things called a business trip, which then required recuperation, and some sailing, and some trips to Napa (and oh, maybe a vintner's dinner or something like that). So as you can see, it has been veddy, veddy busy people.
But hey, we aim to please and so we're back (hopefully with the post frequency increasing, all for the benefit of the flies and crickets out there who are faithfully reading this blog).