The Big Beer Burger at Karl Strauss

For a long while I've been keeping a "things to try" list. Every time I see a meal that looks appetizing, beach that looks relaxing or location I'd like to visit it gets added to the list and when I'm in a new place I check the list to see if I can check anything off. This weekend I'm in San Diego helping my mom move so I dutifully checked the list. I shared my San Diego items with the group and the consensus was Karl Strauss Brewery. This is a chain all over Southern California but I read a good review over on Serious Eats that mentioned they had one of the best burgers in North County so we gave it a shot.

In the review Erin Jackson raved about the Big Beer Burger so that is what I ordered, along with a Woodie Gold pint (think hoppy Stella Artois) because who goes to a brewery and doesn't sample the goods? Four beers are used in the preparation of this beast, some of it apparent, others not so much. IPA onions and Red Alley Ale mushrooms topped the burger patty which had been basted in their Amber Lager and in-between was the best part; Woodie Gold brined thick cut bacon. The bacon was easily the best part of this burger, which says a lot because the basting of the patty made it one of the best I have had in a long while. The onions and mushrooms left room for improvement as they were room temperature at best, I might even describe them as cold. On top of being cold, the onions and mushrooms didn't really have any added flavor from the bear they were cooked in. The burger is supposed to be joined by an IPA steak sauce but mine lacked this addition so I cannot comment on it's quality.

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate this burger a 7.5. Based on the review I read I was expecting a 9 so there was a bit of let down, but still quality was had. The biggest cons were the cold toppings and the fact that the bun was un-toasted and lacked any kind of sauce or mayo/aioli. Every burger needs something between the bun and burger, whether it is a little char from toasting or some kind of sauce but there has to be something.

With just a couple improvements this could be damn near a perfect burger.

Former Coke Executive Slams 'Share of Stomach' Marketing Campaign

N.C. Aizenman, Washington Post

We weren’t trying to get share of market. We weren’t about trying to beat Pepsi or Mountain Dew. We were about trying to beat everything.

That quote from Todd Putman is mindboggling.  They know more people want Coke than any other drink.  Now they're competing against any other food you might fill your stomach with instead of their sugar water.

This article is what Don Draper's letter to Lucky Strike looks like in real life.

 [Via Aaron Cohen]

Entrée: Two ice cubes. Main Course: Oxygen.

Daniel Rutter

Exercise is not really a great way of burning calories. Run ten kilometres, burn 700 kcal. As a general rule, if you're not some sort of athlete or heavy manual labourer, exercise will make you fitter and stronger, but not thinner.

Well that's disconcerting.  Never really thought about it on a numbers level before.

Sh*& People Say About Money

Will Rogers -

Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.

Couldn't agree more sir. I might edit the middle part, "to buy things they think they want," instead though. Then again if this statement weren't true I probably wouldn't have a job right now.

[Via Consumerist]

Clear for iPhone

Realmac Software has a teaser video up for their newest app Clear.  It looks like a pretty cool todos manager.  I just hope there are multiple ways to input data.  Many times I like making lists on my Mac and have them pushed to my phone.

[Via 52 Tiger]

Kill Hollywood

Y Combinator

Hollywood appears to have peaked. If it were an ordinary industry (film cameras, say, or typewriters), it could look forward to a couple decades of peaceful decline. But this is not an ordinary industry. The people who run it are so mean and so politically connected that they could do a lot of damage to civil liberties and the world economy on the way down. It would therefore be a good thing if competitors hastened their demise.

I have been wondering about this for a little while now.  The tech industry is almost completely powered by VC investments.  Someone has a good idea, some rich guy/girl or group agrees and throws their money in for a percentage of ownership.  When Color received $41 million in VC funding the tech industry was in uproar.  That would be enough to make "Good Will Hunting" 4 times over or a little more than the budget for 2010's "Kick Ass".

This industry is in the prime position to be disrupted.  The funding is around. Customers are unhappy with the current industry.  Not to mention the incumbents are trying to ruin the internet.  The MPAA needs to go, and the ability to make that happen is within our grasp.

If the horse and buggy industry had the ability to lobby Congress and make internal combustion engines illegal they would have.  We cannot let dying industries ruin the future we intend to build.

[Via SplatF]

The Next SOPA

Marco Arment

Such ridiculous, destructive bills should never even pass committee review, but we’re not addressing the real problem: the MPAA’s buying power in Congress. This is a campaign finance problem.

Couldn't agree more with Marco here.  Money might not buy elections, but it sure as hell can buy laws. Just look at the copywright law and how everytime Mickey Mouse is up to be public domained Disney pays millions, maybe even billions to extend the copywright.

Finance reform needs to happen and big business is going to use their large coffers to fight.  The only advantage we have is the numbers.  As the OWS protests have shown, people are fed up.