The Kindle2

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

At first glance the Kindle2 is much more sleek and iPhone-esque than its predecessor. The appearance of the actual screen is the same as the previous model. It has 3g connectivity for fast download of what is a growing amount of books at the Amazon store. One thing I didn’t like about the Kindle is actually not related to the device itself but more Amazon’s business models. The downloadable books are not as reasonably priced as I was expecting for something in electronic format. Also blogs and things on the internet that are normally free have a subscription fee when viewed from the Kindle.

Features like page annotations, text to speech mode, and a while-reading dictionary make the Kindle an overall worthwhile purchase for me.

Labels: Reviews, Technology

Aventinus and Bernardus Belgium Beers

Sunday, March 01, 2009

I tried two new beers yesterday. Since one of the next of my many ventures is to create a beer company with a group of my buddies, I though it was only fitting that I go out and try a few in true fashion.

St. Bernardus Abt 12
The website for Saint Bernardus can be view here. This beer is darker in color like stained oak wood. It is full bodied. It has mild sweetness like most of the beers from belgium I have tasted. From Saint Bernardus' website I gather this due to the second fermentation they create in the bottle for carbonation. The Abt 12 has root beer and egg nog undertones. I recently learned that belgium beers brewed with coriander seed instead of hops which accounts for this spicy flavor on the palette.


Aventinus Weizen Starkbier
The Aventinus is burnt amber in color. It is full bodied with mild sweetness for the reasons I named above. This beer has brown sugar, sweet potato and iced tea flavors on the palette. Overall I loved this beer from start to finish. I really started tasting the flavors above at the end of the glass when the beer was warmed up and lost most of its carbonation.