biodork

Had two new ones this week: Friday evening we stopped in to Bacchus before the game, and I had their Manhattan with Bulleit Rye. Very good, and even cooler because it came in a short glass with one giant square ice cube. (What can I say; I'm a sucker for presentation.) I'd definitely have that one again. Tonight it's Monkey Shoulder Triple Malt Scotch Whisky (http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5016.aspx). Not overly complicated, but easy-drinking, nice sweet aroma, and for the price ($33) I'd say it's well-worth it.

Nice meet you!

303 row 12 -- feel free to say hi if you see us! No jersey for me tonight (this year's team isn't worthy). Good luck, weave!!

Uh, Kaleta plays D? Only on the PK!

Awesome! We'll wave to you from the 300s, haha.

I've been happy with AT&T's coverage in the past, but that was before I had a smartphone. I really don't need a ton of minutes or data, but I text a LOT and it irks me that unlimited texting isn't included in their plans. That alone would make them more expensive than Sprint for me. And thanks, Miller30, for the detailed post! I do have wifi at home so I don't expect to have problems here with calling and data... more concerned about work and other areas. I don't expect any carrier will have a strong signal in the mountains going up 15 through NY, but as long as they have voice coverage in places not directly in a city or near the highway, I think it'd be fine for me.

No work, beautiful day for driving to Buffalo, and great suggestion from weave on how to salvage tomorrow's plans (thank you!). Here's hoping the Sabres will make things fun tonight, even though the game doesn't mean a thing.

Lol PA Late entry: I was thinking of detouring on the way home Sat. to visit Watkins Glen, but I just saw the Gorge Trail (the best one) isn't open for a few more weeks. :(

Yeah that's bad on her for not reading... it says right on the front page that 500M is included and you add $10/month to go up to 2G or $20/month for unlimited: http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans Edit: besides, I'd much rather they drop my data speeds than automatically charge me for more!

True, and even though 4G sounds nice, Sprint's 4G availability is so limited right now it wouldn't matter if my phone were 4G capable. Good call; I think I saw something about a Google conference in mid-May where they might reveal a new phone, the next OS (Key Lime Pie), or both. Ugh that means waiting another 3 weeks, lol.

I saw the Nexus 4 and have read some good things about it, but I was leery of the no-LTE part... it sounds like it's a non-issue (with T-mobile, anyhow) for now, but I wonder if I plan to keep the phone a long time, will I regret that decision in the long run? http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57546043-94/lg-nexus-4-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-does-lte-really-matter/ The phone is cheaper than the GS 3, though.

I did see that, but my current phone is incompatible. Part of why I'm even looking is because I really need a new phone... mine was good for a while, but the processor is crazy slow compared to the newer models and I'm really short on internal phone storage. But again, I think as long as I cancelled inside 30 days I could return the phone with no charge... it's only if Ieft between months 1 and 24 that I'd have to pony up for the difference.

That's kind of what I'm hoping, JJ... I'm not under contract now, so if I tried T-mobile and they suck, I think I can cancel within 30 days. Heck, I'd probably get an even better deal going back to Sprint as a new customer, lol... they have all kinds of offers for the new folks but show their existing customers no love. The Galaxy GS III is $99.99 + $36 activation fee up front and then $75-80/month, and with T-mobile it'd be $69.99 up front (no activation fee) and $70-ish/month for two years, then less after. I typically keep my phones a long time unless they go bad, so right now Sprint has made back far more than the original phone subsidy on my service. SFINS :wub: And thanks for the info, CSB! Good to hear.

:thumbsup: That's a great attitude, man. I hope everything works out for you.

Sorry to hear that, Chris. :(

I saw that T-mobile and AT&T use the same spectrum, which would suggest the coverage is good... just not sure if the poor coverage rumors are outdated or current. Yeah Liger I currently pay $70/month (less with an employer discount) for unlimited data, text, etc with Sprint, which is really good. Only downside is I'm currently grandfathered into this price, so as soon as I upgrade my phone and renew my contract it goes up $10/month. I'd pay about the same with T-mobile initially, but after 2 years it'd drop $20/month when the phone is paid off.

Sorry to start a new thread for this, but didn't want to derail an existing one. I've had Sprint for a long time and they're okay, but I'm seriously considering a switch to T-mobile with their new no-contract plans. Does anyone use them now, and if so, how has the coverage been in your experience? I can see the coverage maps for myself online, but we all know that's not always accurate and sometimes depends on inside vs. outside structures, etc. The major cities and places like Buffalo and Harrisburg seem to be in good shape, but the Corning area doesn't look so hot. Thoughts? FWIW, I've had AT&T in the past and liked their service, but they're probably more expensive than I'm willing to go since I'd need a data plan.

I've long fantasized about the anonymous letter I'd like to send when I'm ready to leave this place. If there were any other game in town, I'd have left a while ago.

That sucks, weave... I really hope you find something soon. Can you sell some of your food wares (sauces and the like) on the side for extra cash in the interim? We all know you're talented in that area, so maybe you can put it to good use while you're searching. And it makes me feel like a jerk for my complaint, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyhow: In my line of work, the graduate students and post-docs are expected to work long hours, whereas the staff technicians (such as myself) are generally only expected to do a normal 40-45 hour work week. I am an exception to this rule, as I frequently work long hours and come in on the weekend not because I have to, but because I genuinely enjoy what I do and want to help advance our research. And I'm salaried, so the extra hours do not benefit me personally in any way other than the respect I've earned from others for being a hard worker. The last two weekends I was here both days for a total of about 36 hours over those four days. On Tuesday, I get my annual staff review from my boss, and although the comments sections are pretty complimentary, the overall rating on the last page was "performance meets expectations" out of the 5-point does not meet / partially meets / meets / exceeds / significantly exceeds scale. I get this via email so didn't comment right away, but yesterday I asked him about it, concerned he is somehow unhappy with some aspect of my work. As it turns out, the only reason he selected "meets" rather than "exceeds" expectations is that last year the HR folks (whom I have never met and know nothing about biomedical research) gave him a hard time about it. According to them, unless he could say I exceeded expectations for every one of a long list of generic job tasks, many of which do not apply to my specific position, he needs to say that I only met expectations. And here's the best part: they reassured him that whether I met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations, the salary increase is the same. :wallbash: You know, I don't work this hard for external kudos and I don't really give a sh!t what some a$$hole in HR thinks, but I'm so demotivated right now. I love my job and my boss, but this institution sucks big time. Also, I found out the moronic grad student's committee gave him until July 31st and not May 31st to finish up (boo). And I hate that I'm not even excited to attend tomorrow night's game. :(

That's amazing (both the painting and Ott's reply)... well done, Josie!!

:thumbsup:

Does that mean the date went well? ;)

So after looking around online, apparently it's not uncommon for US Cachaca to be pretty rough and better suited to mixing than sipping. The vast majority of drink recipes are either the obvious (caipirinha) or some blended coconut milkshake ridiculousness. I tried adding a few drops of bitters, a splash of triple sec, and two ice cubes, and that was infinitely more drinkable than it was neat. The More You Know

Thanks; I'll keep an eye out!

Hmm. Well this stuff is supposed to be single-sourced and small batch, but not having consumed much cane rum I don't have a good basis for comparison. It smells similar to the bottle of Leblon Cachaca I bought a while back, but I think the bf will have to be the judge since he's the one who normally drinks it. I hope it grows on me... cane rum is a lot pricier than plain old Bacardi or Captain! :/