cogent life

An Extraordinarily Scary Article

This article is running in the UK Guardian paper and describes parallels between America today and states which have descended into fascism in the distant and not-so-distant past. Fascinating and scary. You should read it.

Fascism In 10 Easy Steps

The Neverending Search for Jeans

I love jeans. They are pretty much the only pants I wear on a daily basis. For the last few years, I have been relying on Banana Republic for my jeans fix because of the quality and fit of their jeans. But more and more often I find I just can't bring myself to buy them because I don't want jeans that are partially worn out by someone before I even slip them on.

So I have a more and more difficult time finding jeans I like. I also struggle with the environmental and labor implications of the (rather) overpriced clothing I buy there. Thus I was delighted to recently hear that Levi's was releasing a new line of jeans made with 100% organic cotton.

I ordered some "Levi's® eco Vintage Straight 539™ Jeans" in the vintage rinse from their website, hoping that they would fit me well. Well, they arrived today, and I'm very happy. They are comfy and fit well. The quality also appears to be quite high. I only wish the denim was a bit heavier weight.

If you like jeans, and you want to do your bit to help save the environment for future generations, I would encourage you to check out the Levi's eco line of jeans.

In the vein of AT:HT's smallest coolest office contest...

I missed seeing the apartment therapy: home tech smallest, coolest tech contest until this evening, so I can't submit (and besides, the rest of the room is a work in progress. But my space has come along nicely, modulo some still-pending cable management, so here are a couple of photos for all you small home office geeks out there.

You're looking at a tower PC on the left, along with an amp/receiver. Then a 20" Dell LCD mounted on a Neo-Flex arm. To the right are my Macbook, which drives the display, keyboard, and mouse, and on top of it, my work laptop, and Lenovo/IBM T60 that I control via Synergy.

Spring Break Vacation: Day 1

Today started pretty late, after yesterday's 6:45 wakeup call so that we could start Cali's easter egg hunt. We got up around 8:30, 9, and began to make preparations to get going. We intended to head up to Napa and perhaps stay up around Calistoga and visit the geyser, etc. This didn't end up working out as planned.

I went to get coffee at Peet's around 10:15, and didn't get back until maybe 11:30, because I stopped at B&N for some mags and then got gas and a carwash. When I got home, I expected that Kathy and Cali would be waiting on me, but they were still in wake up-mode and getting packed, etc. Kathy also hadn't yet found a hotel for tonight, so we spent some time trying to figure that out and also waiting for her to finish her property taxes. I think we finally left the house around 1, 1:30.

Long story short, after an hour or so pause in Emeryville for coffee, lunch, and a stop in Borders, we were finally on our way to Napa, headed for the Meritage Resort, Napa, which had the best rate we could find at the last minute on Expedia: $140. Not too bad for a 2-queen room at a supposed 4-star hotel. Unfortunately, due to my poor navigation skills, we missed our initial turnoff for the hotel and then decided to proceed up Silverado Trail toward misc. and sundry wineries.

We ended up stopping in at Rombauer, where we had a pleasant tasting and Kathy decided to join the wine club, and then at Casa Nuestra, where I am a member. I was not too impressed by Rombauer, but when we stopped at CN, I was reminded again of why I joined their club.

Not only does CN have good wines, but they have great grounds, with picnic tables and such, but they also have a fabulous staff. We slipped in just under the wire at like 4:55 (where they close at 5pm normally), but they were kind enough to pour for us both and to entertain Cali by helping her out tossing a ball with their dog. Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia was absolutely fabulous, giving us the scoop on the wines and the vineyard, but also hooking us up with info about various other good spots around the valley. She also gave us a further discount on some sale wine and then gave us a little lesson in glassware.

One of the reasons that CN is generally open only to members except on a by-appointment basis is that they prefer not to be inundated with tasters so that they can use good glassware. Stephanie demonstrated this for us by pouring us some of the '05 Tinto Classico in Riedel glassware - first in the white wine glass, then in the appropriate red glass. The difference in the nose and the taste was immediately apparent. It's truly amazing what that difference in glass shape and size can do to open up and enhance the qualities of a given wine.

CN is probably my favorite winery in the Napa valley. Their wines may not be the very best - I prefer Peju in many ways - but they are quite good. Their people, property, and attitude, on the other hand, are unmatchable. The owners and their staff love what they do, they treat their customers well, and they want to do well by the populace at large. Check them out, you won't regret it.

Now, about the "Meritage Resort"... I don't find it very impressive. We have stayed in nice hotels before, both on business and for pleasure, and I would put a standard Kimpton (which sure as hell doesn't claim $599/night as their normal rate)hotel up against this place any day. The room is perfectly fine, they have a reasonable pool, etc. but from the outside this place looks like low-income HUD apartments. I wouldn't pay any more than $140 a night to stay here, and I wouldn't encourage anyone else to, either.

Tomorrow night we're off to Safari West for what is apparently a safari-style adventure and overnight stay. This is Kathy's idea of fun (I guess I have to admit I find it fairly interesting as well). I hope I don't get eaten by any hungry cheetahs. Stay tuned for a review.

Night of the Generals

What happened when those six generals spoke out against Rumsfeld in 2006? Why and how did it happen, and would they do it again? Vanity Fair gets us the scoop.

Sometimes Design Really Does Make Sense

Yes, once again, it's been forever since I posted. But at some point you just have to skip the catch-up and launch right in.

I have had a hankering for some Eames chairs for quite some time. I am particularly fond of the LCM, the lounge & ottoman, and the aluminum group management chair. Well, today I ran across a craigslist posting by a company named "All World Furniture", a wholesale-to-the-public operation down in San Jose that specializes in selling reproductions and knockoffs of famous designs at low prices.

On their site I found a few chairs that looked much like the group chair, so I decided to head down to their warehouse and take a look. In the end, I ended up buying their Aluminum Management Chair which, while not a true reproduction of the HM/Eames chair, does come pretty close. The most unfortunate thing about it, from my perspective, is that the frame and arms are chromed aluminum, instead of brushed, and the arms are sort of a funky, higher curve than the Eames design.

But it is a reasonable quality chair, with actual leather, rather than PU. So I picked one up, in black. When I assembled it, I left the arms off, because to my eye, the line of the actual Eames arms is one of the most attractive features. So I ended up with something that looks almost exactly like the group side chair, but with casters. And after sitting in it all day, all I can say is: my god, it's amazingly comfortable. I'm not sure it's quite to the same level as my Mirra at work (for which I paid quite a good amount more), but it is great. The way the leather suspends your body and cradles you, and the way the chair leans back and just the right angle is fantastic.

If you can afford the real thing, by all means, buy it. But if you can't, you just might want to take a look at this knockoff, as it seems to get quite close, for a fraction of the price.