12 May 2016

A glass apart :-)

Manajit’s comment the other day about the collins glass got me wondering how many different kind and style of glasses do I have? Missed a few but took pictures of most of them. This has just about any variety of alcohol glasses you can think of – shot glass, aperitif glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, collins glass, Moscow Mule glass, martini glass (cocktail glass), snifter glass, bourbon glass, scotch glass, coupe glass, highball glass, low ball glass, champagne flute, stemless glass, hurricane glass, margarita glass, rocks glass (old fashioned glass), grappa glass and so on.

The one thing missing – a beer glass! Which is a category unto itself. But I don’t do beer. So, no specialty beer glasses.

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Category: Cocktails | 15 Comments on A glass apart :-)
9 May 2016

How a stranger pushed me hard

“So, how much did you put in today?”, I asked the young guy who pulled out of the trail into the parking lot sweating from head to toe early in the morning.
“Seven miles, sir”, said he as he tried catching his breath.
I gave him a quick look over. He looked like a very athletic guy. Tall and with a runner’s figure. I was quite sure he was a regular runner.

“Are you in high school?”
“Yes, sir. South Forsyth”.
“Cool! Are you in the track team?”
“Yes, sir!”
“How long did it take you?”
“Fifty minutes, sir.” he said, after consulting his Garmin.
“That is outstanding – 7 minute miles. I can only dream of that!”
“Oh! I got very young legs”, he said, after he had looked me over and decided I must be at least three times his age. Which, I was.

For ten minutes this young guy – a rising senior in high school – and I chatted about what he wanted to do in life (engineer, as it turns out) and how I thought very well of his dream school – Georgia Tech. He then left, saying he needed to get to school.

And I started slowly walking to the head of the trail. I was doing the mental math..
“Wow! 7 miles in 50 minutes. My average speed – if I push myself over 7 miles – would be 10 min/miles. That is a clear 20 minute difference”… I kept thinking.

Then there was something he said that came back to my mind … “I have very young legs”. That is true, I admitted to myself. I am probably getting to the last few years of running if my legs hold up. I already have serious IT Band issue that I can’t seem to kick and that in its turn is affecting my knee already.
But then I also argued with myself – “Why give up till the legs actually give up?”

I forgot to ask the kid his name. But if he was around, I would have said “Jonas” – assuming Jonas was his name – “Today I am going to split our difference in half”. I will try and put a seven miler in an hour. The worst would be that I would walk back if the legs gave up.

The first mile, I warmed up at a 9:06 pace. Obviously that is faster than my warm up pace but I was already getting OCD – “Can I make it?”, “Can I make it?”, “How do I subtract 9 min 6 seconds from 60 minutes and then divide by 6?” That is the average I need for the rest of the run.

Moment the Garmin beeped for first mile completion, I took off. I was going to make it in 60 mins or accept that I have gotten old. That was scary enough. Kept pacing faster. Finished the next mile in 7:50. Third mile was a defining stretch. Kept telling myself – “Pace yourself, pace yourself” and then tried doing the subtraction and division thing again, got completely confused with numbers (getting, old? haha ) and just blindly ran.

7 min 43 seconds for the third mile.

Fourth mile kept at a slower 8 min 11 secs. Had to pull over at the end of the trail and have a drink of water and turn around. Stretched a little – and back to trail. Half way done. I might just have a chance…

7 min 50 seconds for the fifth mile.

Now the calculations had changed. The subtraction and division (by 2) had become considerably easier. Now, it was about how many seconds am I “banking”. If I keep at this pace, how many seconds can I slow down by?

8 min 7 seconds for the sixth mile.

Seventh mile has a slight uphill. Gave my everything to run up. Was counting on the traffic light at the top to give me a few seconds to catch my breath. Wouldn’t you know it? Today was the day where everybody had stopped because the sign was on for pedestrians to pass. Sucked it up and finished up the last part without passing out.

I was pretty much ready to pass out at the end though. I would have had too, had I not finally taken in the stats on my Garmin and realized that I had managed to beat myself in my own game… 56 minutes 50 seconds. Not that I needed anything else to boost me up but Garmin telling me that my 5K was at 24:24 and 10K at 49:17 certainly did not hurt. Running is not about beating others so much as beating your own self. Without hurting.

Speaking of hurting, here is a funny thing that happened. 12 hours after the run and I am writing this. Not a single pain in my legs. The knees, the calves, the hamstrings and the gluteals – not a boo from them. I suddenly remembered what Shelly had told me once – “speed up if you want to reduce your injuries”. I never believed her. Till today.

Okay, old age. Your move, next.

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Category: Running | 13 Comments on How a stranger pushed me hard
8 May 2016

From the bartender’s corner – Cucumber Mint Gimlet

Gimlet is a generic name for any cocktail based on gin and lime juice. It originated in the early 20th century. The most commonly accepted source of the name is the reference to the drilling tool with the same name – perhaps due to the piercing effect of the sharply acidic lime juice and the gin. There is another story of an English naval Doctor concocting this to make the sailors drink lime juice to avoid scurvy but that story is mostly discredited today.

This has muddled cucumber, mint leaves, Hendricks (this gin has a hint of cucumber), lime juice and sugar syrup. Perfect for a warm afternoon lazing by the pool.

Category: Cocktails | 5 Comments on From the bartender’s corner – Cucumber Mint Gimlet
7 May 2016

From the bartender’s corner – Tom Collins

This summer drink has an interesting story behind its name. Legend has it that in the 1870s, there was a hoax that spread around where at bars in New York and Pennsylvania, a bar guest would incense up the next guest who was undoubtedly drunk by informing him of a Tom Collins who was speaking ill and making false accusation about the guest in a nearby place (often bar). As the agitated guest would leave (purportedly to take revenge in that drunken state), the original guest would have a laugh – and probably even finish off the drink. This is usually documented as the “Tom Collins Hoax of 1874”.

The real origin of the drink is not fully established with some claiming it came from Ireland in the late 1700s while some others pointing out the confusion with another drink called John Collins that existed before Tom Collins.

In any case, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Tom Collins did become very popular and then as quickly lost its popularity. While not very popular in US today, most of Tom Collins is still consumed in the North East.

Tom Collins comprises of gin (I used Hendricks here), lemon juice, granulated sugar and soda water. Different literature suggest different garnishes. All suggest a red cherry. Additionally some suggest an orange peel. I think a lemon slice or lemon twist (The 1986 version of Book of Cocktails agrees with me) would go better with the lemony taste in the drink. It is always served in a Collins glass.

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7 May 2016

Bengali poem for a change…

I believe the poet was K.G.Mustafa. Talat Mahmud was the original singer. Many others including Ferdous Ara popularized this song later… This is the first stanza.

“Tomarey legechhe eto je bhalo
Chand bujhi ta jaaney
Rater-o bashore, doshor hoye
Tai se amaarey taaney”

That I have liked you so much
Perhaps the moon has gotten to know
(That’s why) befriending me in tonight’s party,
It keeps tugging at me

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6 May 2016

From the bartender’s corner – Scottish Guard

Referred to as a Scottish Guard, this is made with Bourbon Whiskey (I used Four Roses Small Batch) with lemon juice, orange juice and grenadine. The origin of the name is commonly attributed to the fact that this was a very favorite drink in the Officers’ Mess in Scots Guard. This is supposed to be served in a martini glass but I decided to play against the rules.

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6 May 2016

Friday Evening – His and Hers

Office work over, came back home and made a beeline for the bar. She wanted a gin based drink but I was in the mood for some bourbon. So two cocktails tonite.

First, hers – on the right. This is a variation of standard gin and tonic. The Gin is Tanqueray Rangpur. Rangpur is a part of Bangladesh that is famous for a citrus fruit that looks something like a mix of lemon and mandarin orange. It is often refered to as a lime but the taste is distinctly different. The Tonic Water is Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water. The quinine is sourced from the Republic of Congo and Rwanda while the ginger comes from India and Cote d’Ivoire. A slice of cucumber slipped behind the ice brings out more freshness in the drink.

Then, his – on the left. Usually referred to as a Scottish Guard, this is made with Bourbon Whiskey (I used Four Roses Small Batch) with lemon juice, orange juice and grenadine. The origin of the name is commonly attributed to the fact that this was a very favorite drink in the Officers’ Mess in Scots Guard. This is supposed to be served in a martini glass but I decided to play against the rules.

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Category: Cocktails | 15 Comments on Friday Evening – His and Hers
5 May 2016

What was that plane doing in Atlanta airport?

Yesterday, our plane started rolling off the blast pad end of the live runway and from a distance I could see a plane that looked different from the other normal colors I see on a plane. As our plane speeded up past the maintenance facility of Delta, I could see this plane parked there far better.

That was obviously not a commercial plane. The tail number 80001 told a story right there. A commercial plane registered in the USA would have started with the letter N. Therefore that belonged to the military. Even within the military, that was an unique number. Most military planes start with two letters standing for their home base. Only exception would be the Air Mobility Command of the US Air Force.

For the AMC, tail number starting with “8” would mean this was delivered in 1998 for the military. And this was the first plane delivered that year. This plane is most surely used to transport VVIPs (or be backup). [Another interesting side note – for the longest time I wanted to know where do they put the “tail” number in a B-2 stealth bomber – it looks like a bat and does not have a tail like in conventional airplanes. A pilot from our office recently showed me that it is actually in the front near the nose]

So, back to the question – why was that plane sitting in Atlanta airport in front of Delta maintenance hangar?

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Category: Travelogs | 10 Comments on What was that plane doing in Atlanta airport?