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I’ve been sucked into the void known as myspace. Let me clarify…I’m not an addict…. mainly bored. My accounts at work have been rearranged, so I no longer have the work load I used to. I enjoy having a lot to do, so I really don’t know what to do with all my newly found free time, other than myspace.

As I sit and update our gallery with photos of our yard *wow… exciting* I can’t help but have scenes from Edward Scissorhands (removed by remote site) and The Burbs flash in my head.

I try to time it so Ryan and I aren’t leaving the house for work at the same time. Otherwise I have a very weird day.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

It’s no surprise that our response to the situation is to take away toothpaste and shampoo. Business travelers now have to check their bag verses carrying it on. This will create more work for baggage handlers and there will be delays. People have to allow more time for travel. Anything that slows us down and takes away our mobility is not going to be good for the economy.

Here’s my proposal for lifting all “security” restrictions and allowing shampoo on the plane again:
You load police up with bulletproof vests, machine guns, knives, mace, side arms, and whatever else they might need to take someone down at the airport. Then the “evil doers” would see that we’re finished messing around and we’re just going to eliminate them instead of eliminating our own freedoms.

Blow ‘em up! Ask questions later.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWW!

*shoots her pistols in the air*

[Ryan] Then of course we would be like Germany or the UK. Oh no!

2000 Longoria Syrah
Syrah
Score: 88

Very deep ruby color, as expected from a Syrah, nice dense cork, intoxicating nose, and yet, a little flat on the after taste. Not fruity, so a good example of a well made Syrah, yet a little light and airy on the after taste, something a little odd for one of the deep reds like Syrah or Zinfandel. Overall, a good purchase at the $30 price, and ready to drink now. Proof the Central Coast is worth looking into.

I have had questions and emails about the rating I use on this website when discussing wine. I go by the Robert Parker 100 point scale, which is actually just a 50 point scale since the wine pretty much gets 50 points just for fermenting grapes. The scale “offically” breaks down like this:

Extraordinary ’95-100 points’
Outstanding ’90-94′
Very Good to Excellent ’85-89′
Good ’80-84′
Average ’75-79′
Below average ’70-74′
Avoid ’50-70′

Now, that does still leave a lot of room for wines to rate and still be worth drinking. But you need to also look at the price and then decide if it is a good value for you. So from now on, I will be putting prices on the wines I review. These will be retail prices here in Texas, or the price I paid for it when it was shipped to me. Either way, it is the price I paid, or would have paid if I had purchased at a retailer.

If you would like more information on the Robert Parker scale, check out the offical Robert Parker Scale Legend.

1996 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva
Tempranillo
Score: 88

A very nice, yet a little disappointing Tempranillo. Good color with an extremely floral nose, but the structure was a bit light. We let it sit for about an hour and warm up a bit, but still didnt really open. Three days later, it was quite a bit smoother, so perhaps it just needs a couple more years in the bottle. I would consider purchasing again, but below the $25 price point.

2004 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Private Selection
Pinot Noir
Score: 70

Unimpressed! Fruit forward and unstructured, I think this tasted more like Welch’s that went north rather than wine. This is a mass produced wine and should really be avoided unless you are just getting into reds and like a fruity sweet type of taste that KJ Chardonnay made you think was the point of wine. Otherwise, just open and pour…down the drain. Do not even give it away unless you really dislike the person.

I will get another song stuck in your head:

The other day I mentioned a homemade battlemech as a testament to freetime. Just to prove my point here is a movie of said battlemech:

Still, this would be an awesome Halloween costume.