VIR First Impressions

Made my first ever visit to VIR yesterday to see a test session for the ALMS cars prior to their race weekend in September. Small turnout of cars (just 10) and spectators (maybe 200), but my primary goal was to get a feel for the facility. I wanted to find my way around, evaluate the spectating views, and plan for race weekend. My only other experience with a road course is from Mid-Ohio so all my opinions will be based on that as a comparison.

I’ll come right out with the big item… I couldn’t find even one spectator location that I think will give a good view of overtaking. The combination of track layout, trees, and elevation changes take away viewing of the major braking zones. I have to say I’m basing this on some extrapolation. There were never more than six cars on the track and since it was just a test they weren’t in a competitive environment. In other words, there wasn’t any actual overtaking to be seen. I went to every viewing area and the best case seems to be at the Oak Tree. Even then, the cars go into a small dip at the top of the hill just before the turn. I think the Mid-Ohio esses, carousel, and keyhole all provide better viewing of overtaking than any spot at VIR will.

There’s more infrastructure at Mid-Ohio, but the facilities at VIR are better. Newer, cleaner, and in better condition. Both venues have walkways across the top level of the garages, but Mid-Ohio gives you visibility into the garage from there. The garages at VIR are located at pit in, so they don’t block viewing of the pits themselves. This is one aspect of the spectating experience that is preferable at VIR. Those who are in the paddock but without pit access are only three feet and a chain link fence away from the pits. In comparison, most of the pits at Mid-Ohio are blocked by the garages or behind the 50 feet of Winner’s Circle grass. The pit wall at VIR is also shorter, so more of the car is visible when it is in it’s pit box. Aesthetically, VIR wins easily. It’s like you’re in a well maintained state park. Mid-Ohio has more of a pasture or farm feel to it.

One other minor item that could be a logistical challenge. What is probably my preferred viewing location, the Oak Tree, isn’t accessible from the other viewing areas. If you’re anywhere near the paddock, you have to pack up and drive to get to the Oak Tree. Plus it is quite small, so you probably have to get there early and stay if you want a spot.

Bruised Gin

Note: this is a first draft and I may or may not take the time to clean it up later.

WTF is bruised gin? Exactly. What indeed. A twitter friend is training to be a bartender and mentioned that if you shake a martini, you will bruise the gin. That sent me on a quest for knowledge. What I found was a lot of anecdotes, myth, and misinformation.

Depending on who you ask, bruised gin has a different flavor, or texture, or appearance and is caused by shaking the martini mixture instead of stirring it. I had to wade through a lot of James Bond references and his preference for a shaken cocktail. Here’s a quick guide to what I found in about an hour’s worth of research.

The only scientific research I found on the subject is a paper in the 18 December 1999 issue of the British Medical Journal titled “Shaken, not stirred: bioanalytical study of the antioxidant activities of martinis” which found that shaken martinis had more antioxidants than those that were stirred. However the paper did not explore whether or not this had any effect on the taste, appearance, or texture of the drink.

All of the other readily Googled information was strictly an opinion of its author. As might be expected, they were prone to draw conclusions without controlling for all the relevant variables. I may make the same mistake, but I’m at least attempting to approach this from a technical standpoint. Keep in mind that’s it’s been 25+ years since I studied chemistry, physics, and thermodynamics. With that caveat, onward we go.

In mixing a martini, the general process is to add the gin, vermouth, and ice to a mixing vessel. Shake or stir to combine the ingredients, then strain the liquid into a chilled glass. So, how does the choice of shaking versus stirring affect the outcome?

Taste could be affected by the addition of water from the melted ice, temperature of the final product, and potentially the difference in antioxidants. Many commenters stressed that the shaken martini would be colder than the stirred version. That may be true, but it is dependent on the mixing time (assuming all other variables are constant). The temperature of the drink is determined by how much energy is transferred from the warmer gin and vermouth to the colder ice. Shaking the mixture will allow more of the liquid to come in direct contact with the surface of the ice than will storing. If the mixing time is held constant, then the shaken drink will be colder. The key point is the serving temperature of the drink, not how the temperature was achieved. Also, this colder drink will include more water. To make the liquid colder, more energy was transferred to the ice, which melts it to water. One poster insisted that a stainless steel (or even better, silver) shaker would make the drink colder that would a glass shaker. That’s just completely wrong.

Texture and appearance can differ due to small bits of ice and micro bubbles that could be present in the shaken drink. The action of shaking the mixture can break of bits of ice and aerate the liquid. No big mystery here. Just like a fresh soda will taste different than a flat soda, the martini with the micro bubbles will have a different texture and taste. The ice bits and micro bubbles can also give the drink a cloudy appearance.

I can’t address the question of whether or not the difference in antioxidants has a perceptible effect on the drink. I may do more research on that point.

In writing this my focus shifted a bit from just gin to the martini in general. The martini includes vermouth as a key ingredient and I didn’t do any research on “bruised” vermouth.

Williamsburg – Day 4

After the long day and late night yesterday, everyone was a little slow getting started. We made a return visit to Astronomical Pancake House followed by a pit stop at Kmart to get water shoes for Maria. Finally arrived at Water Country about 12:30. After a thorough sunscreen application, we entered the park, rented a locker and set off.

The maps here were even worse with regards to scale, but if we ever go back we’ll know our way around. There was more of a crowd here with longer waits. Got half dry between rides. The only ride that we all really liked was the Wild Thang. Two people per raft with lots of twists and turns.

We all agreed that the water park was number three on the list of attractions. If there were no waits, the experience would be much better.

Left about 6:30, went back to hotel, got cleaned up, then out to dinner at Oceans and Ale. Good food, good beer selection, and friendly service.

Williamsburg – Day 3

Time for the main event, Busch Gardens. As with most tourist towns in the South, Williamsburg is littered with pancake houses. I think the kids tallied 11 once they started paying attention. The Astronomical Pancake House had caught their eye and it’s Urbanspoon ratings didn’t suck, so we gave it a shot. Okay, but no big whoop.

Made our way to the park without incident and had my first wish granted, the Bounce Pass includes parking. Found a spot and set off on foot to the tram stop. Once inside the park, it took us a little while to get our bearings. The maps are accurate enough that you won’t get lost, but they aren’t really to scale. I’m glad Kinnamon had some experience to help guide us.

No going over all the details, but here are the highlights.

If I were to ever ride the Griffon or the Alpengeist, you can be assured that the ride will have been preceded by whiskey. I honestly think that I’d prefer sky diving to riding the Griffon. All but Maewyn did ride the Loch Ness Monster and the adults rode Apollo’s Chariot. Oddly, the ride that made me the most uncomfortable was (I forget the name) the big swinging boat thing. Sat at the end and did not like it at all. No entertainment value to me. The most entertaining ride was the DarKastle. Video is a little cheesy for 2011, but the 3D effects were good. It was just fun. Didn’t have to way more than 10 minutes for anything.

We saw a couple of animal acts and the Irish Dance show. All worth the time, particularly the Irish Dance. The food in the park was a pleasant surprise. It’s not inexpensive, but it was much better than expected. Would happily eat it by choice in a non-park restaurant. Also quite happy with the beer selection, but it was heavily dependent on location.

Fireworks (and a couple of repeat rides) ended the evening. We stayed until they shut down and made us leave. We spent about 11 hours at the park, didn’t ride everything, and only went in one or two of the shops. We could easily spend two days at Busch Gardens.

Williamsburg – Day 2

Word of the day… HOT. Heat index at mid day was 104 degrees. Just keep that in mind.

I had picked The Spoon Cafe for breakfast based on favorable Urbanspoon reviews and it’s proximity to the hotel. We left about 8:45 for the two block walk. When we got close enough to see the building, it was obvious we needed a plan B. There was a sign saying that they had moved and Maria remembered seeing on the way into town.

We walked back to the hotel and got in the car for the short drive down the street. Upon arrival in another empty parking lot we find an Opening Soon sign. Shit. We give up on local hot spots, drive back to the hotel and settle for the breakfast buffet.

We finally depart for Colonial Williamsburg shortly after 10:00. Had no trouble finding the Visitor Center nor getting our vouchers converted to actuals tickets. I had chosen the Bounce Pass which gets us into all three attractions whenever we want all week.

We board the shuttle and ride to the Governor’s Palace to start the sight seeing. Hot, just a reminder. Walked and looked and toured and walked. Hot. I’ll mention that the costumed tour guides and shop keepers are all in character. Kind of annoying to me, bit not a big deal.

That gets us to 3:30 and the need to eat. Went to Berret’s Seafood Restaurant in market square. Food was really good. Service was a little spotty, but in fairness, we arrived between lunch and dinner. Had to sit in the small bar area, which was fine, but I think that was partially responsible for the minor service issues.

Did some shopping afterwards. Still hot. Shuttle back to the car and back to hotel by 7:30. Since our lunch was so late, we knew more food would be required. We decided to do drinks, appetizers, and cake at the Chili’s. Went off without a hitch and then the kids insisted on a swim. Long day. Tomorrow, Busch Gardens.

Williamsburg – Day 1

For the past few trips we had managed to get out the door at pretty much the desired time. This lulled us into unwarranted confidence. Maria had been shooting for a 10:00 AM departure. I was going to be happy with noon. The reality had us leaving Cary at 2:00. On the plus side, I was quite calm through it all.

The drive was pleasantly uneventful. One rest area stop and a very nice last leg through the Virginia countryside. Most of this stretch was paralleled by a paved bike path. I’d love to ride the full length of that sometime.

Found the Hilton without incident and was happy to see that one of the restaurants I had highlighted was right across the street. We checked in and unpacked, then walked to dinner at Food for Thought. Food was good, but draft beer selection was smaller than I’d expected. Had a Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA and a Tangerine Wheat (which produced orange burps).

Walked back to the hotel and the girls hit the pool, such as it is. There was actually a sign limited the number of swimmers to 10. Not exactly Olympic sized.

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TV update

It’s been about six months with our current home entertainment setup and things are going pretty well. I’ve made a few minor enhancements, but nothing major. The most significant is the addition of an external hard drive to each of the ViP 211k receivers in the bedroom and living room. Plug in the hard drive, quick call to Dish, a one-time $40 charge, and bada-bang, bada-bing, instant DVR. Found a great deal on refurbished WD 1TB drives for $40 each, so for $120 I have a DVR for every TV.

The other addition is in the bedroom. I added an Apple Component AV Cable which allows us to plug in one of the iPhones or the iPod Touch and stream Netflix. That gives us Netflix on every TV.

Unfortunately, it’s not all bunnies and rainbows. From the beginning of this whole exercise I knew that the big sacrifice was going to be live sports, specifically racing. I’m not talking about NASCAR. I’m interested in ALMS, Indycar, and F1. Those viewing options have actually gotten even worse than when I started.

F1 is broadcast in the US on Speed and I’m not willing to pay for the next Dish programming tier to get it. There’s no legal F1 streaming source. No real change since last year for F1.

Indycar used to stream all practices, qualifying, and races live, but the network overlords pulled the plug on that this year. I’d have to bump up two Dish programming tiers to get Versus. Not gonna happen.

The only improvement, and it is a mixed blessing, is that ALMS is streamed live on espn3.com with no live TV broadcast. I currently have access to espn3.com, but the video quality varies from okay to poor. Thanks for nothing.

If I am desperate for Indycar or F1, I can connect to a friend’s Slingbox and leech off of his cable subscription. That is assuming he isn’t watching his own TV and that I can tolerate the really poor picture quality. Really poor.

So, if you take live sports out of the equation then we’re really happy with the current setup. It’s significantly cheaper than our old full cable setup and we have more programming options. Except for my racing.

The effect of a single day

Today is the last day of tryouts for Kinnamon’s middle school softball team. She has a good chance to make the cut, but she wasn’t on team last year (didn’t even tryout) so it’s certainly not a lock.

It occurred to me that this could turn out to be a very significant day in her life. Not necessarily earth shattering in a way her wedding day or childbirth will change her, this is more subtle. The result is indirect and the ramifications are varied and neither clearly good nor clearly bad.

Her performance today will determine whether or not she makes the team. If she does, then she’s “in the system”. She won’t be just a rec league player anymore, now she’ll play for her school. That’s a big difference and I’m not really talking about the level of players’ skill.

Being on the middle school team will introduce her to new teammates and coaches. By having either practice or a game five days a week, her playing skills and game knowledge will improve. All this goes toward increasing her self-confidence. The result is that both the likelihood she will tryout for the team in high school and her chance of making the team are improved.

After playing four years in high school, then there’s college. We could optimistically hope for a scholarship, but even if we take a more conservative view, simply playing the game at any college level will expose her to people, places, and experiences that she would otherwise miss. That can lead anywhere.

Then there’s the other fork of the road. If she doesn’t make the middle school team, will she be interested in even trying out in high school? This is a very real possibility. If she doesn’t, then no high school softball. When it’s time for college, playing ball won’t even be a variable to be considered.

I don’t mean to suggest that either result is guaranteed to have any long term effect that is clearly positive or negative. The short term joy or disappointment we’ll have when the roster is posted tomorrow isn’t setting the tone for her adult future. But the result of this tryout may influence the scenery on her life’s road.

Note to Kinnamon: If you ever read this, take it as an example of one of the myriad things that parents think about. We always want the best for our children and it’s very frustrating not to know which route will lead there.

TV pendulum swings back

A lot has happened since my last post on our TV situation. The condensed version:

  • Got an Acer Revo 3610 as the main video source in the living room.
  • Added an ATI Theatre HD 750 USB TV tuner.
  • Added an HP USB TV tuner in an unsuccessful attempt to solve a problem.
  • Lost the Basic cable channels that we had been getting for free.
  • Signed up for Dish Network service.

The Revo has 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium installed and comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. The Windows MCE app works well and includes tv listings for free. Netflix and Hulu streaming are nearly perfect. This wasn’t a painless exercise, but I didn’t expect it to be. There was lots of driver updating and an OS reload or two and the usual Windows crap to deal with. The end result was really good, but there were still three issues.

First, the internal WiFi antenna on the Revo is crap. Trying to stream any internet video was hit-or-miss. I had an old Linksys WRT54GS laying around, so I configured it as a wireless bridge using the DD-WRT firmware and cabled it to the Revo. Network bandwidth problem solved.

The other two issues were not show stoppers, just annoying. When turning on the TV and waking the computer, an attempt to watch digital channels (QAM) would result in a MCE video error message which I found out could mean nearly anything. That’s why I bought the HP tuner; a fruitless attempt to solve this problem. After hours of googling I found that the key variable (would never have guessed it) was the HDMI connection to the TV. Simply unplug and replug the cable after every power cycle and all was well. A solution yes, but hardly a good one.

The third issue also involved broadcast cable. Every 15 to 60 seconds there would be a slight hiccup in both picture and sound. Annoying to say the least. This may have coincided with the loss of Basic cable channels, but I can’t say with any certainty. We rarely watched cable channels, so it wasn’t killing us.

In the meantime, while the wife and I were more than satisfied with the overall scheme of the living room system; the kids were becoming more and more upset. They had nearly exhausted anything of interest to their age group from the Netflix streaming pool and their setup didn’t have a good way to view anything from internet sources. They were missing Disney, HGTV, Food Network, and TLC.

Enter Dish Network. For less than $50 per month they get all the channels they care about plus a DVR. The other two TVs also get all the channels, just no DVR features for now. I can cancel Broadcast cable and reduce the Netflix DVD package to one at a time. That should recoup $15-20. The Revo and the DVD recorder are still in use so only the antenna and the two USB tuners are being wasted.

We went from one extreme to the other and I think we may have found a happy medium. I hope.