New Lappy

I've been wanting one of the tiny little netbooks for a while now. I enjoy my Nokia n800 but without a regular keyboard and pointing device it just doesn't replace a full hands-on computer.

I gave in this weekend:



Meet the Acer Aspire One. I'd been looking at the the Acer and the ASUS eee, while waiting for Dell to get their new machine out. Dell's new Inspirion Mini 9 was very tempting (and probably more upgradeable) but for the price right now, the Aspire One seems like a good entry point into the world of tiny netbooks.



It has 1G of RAM, 120G HD, Windows XP and built-in WiFi. It runs Firefox just fine and handles streaming video with SlingPlayer without and issues (Yes, I can now watch NASCAR in the kitchen while preparing a compound butter.) It's also fully WeeWar compatible.

It's small, light and easy to throw in my bag with my work laptop or throw in another bag to drag around without the poundage of the work laptop. The battery life is pretty limited but I usually don't stray too far from power sources. I wish the power adapter was a bit smaller though.

My Chicken

Paws off!

This Week in Tikiland

Today I didn't go out looking for tiki mugs, I let them come to me. Here's the latest batch from TikiFarm:



On the left is Tangata. One the right is Hano'aki. Both are designed by Marcus Pizzuti and have really cool multi-color glazes. In the center is the Oceanic Arts 50th Anniversary Mug. It's big, green, and really pretty. Oceanic Arts is the place that brought us all the tiki decor for tiki bars, hotels etc. during the heyday of tikidom. They even did a lot of the tiki stuff in most of Disney's Adventurelands. (Here are a few pics of Oceanic Arts from SpageAgeCity.com.)

Speaking of Disney...



Here's my first Disney pin. I got him off eBay last weekend for $0.99 + some shipping. Margo (not her real name) will be pleased.

Progress

I guess... We need more billboards.

Elvis needs boats!

Tiki Count

Scrappy has been wondering how many tiki mugs and stuff I have now. I did a really quick count this afternoon. It's a bit low as there is stuff stashed in drawers here and there and there is also some junk at work. Here are the approximate results:

• Drinking Vessels (mugs, cups, shots, bowls): 125
• Salt & Pepper Sets: 5
• Misc. (statues, plates, picture frames, giant wooden spoons etc.): 62
• Books, Magazines & Publications: 40+

I've also got a couple of new ones from Tiki Farm on the way. Maybe I have a problem.

I've been planning on making an online catalog at some point. I'll be taking a picture of each item and recording as much as I can remember about it before I forget where/how I got it. After this quick count, the thought of such a process scares me.

Saturday Tiki Find

Today I stopped by another antique/flea market in Lilburn after a trip to Stone Mountain for a haircut. Nothing new there. So I stopped by my local Goodwill on the way home just to make sure my bases were covered. I found a Cheeky Tiki souvenir shot from St. Simons Island, GA.



Yep, a misunderstood and unwanted gift from someone returning from St. Simons. It's not rare. It's not old. It's relatively local. It's a new one for me though so I've added it to the lineup of similar touristy items from afar (I'll have to stage a group photo later.)

Pneumatic People Tubes

They need to edit this to make the change to "dried plums" and re-air it:



I bet pneumatic people tubes could work through the interweb too.

Weekend Tiki Finds

After fighting with my air conditioner for the better part of Saturday morning I eventually made it out of the house. I was hoping to hit some garage sales early but it was already a bit after noon so I figured I was best off hitting the local Goodwill stores and the "antique" stores that surround them.

I found this nice ceramic Ku salt & pepper set at the Flea-Antique Market next to my local Goodwill:



I haven't figured out who made them yet. They're from Japan so it's definitely not some recent casting.



Then within a few feet I found this hand-carved tiki napkin holder. This will hold my bar napkins quite nicely some day. It was really dirty but cleaned up well looks good with a nice coat of Formby's Almond Lustre.



Other than that I didn't find much. The Larryville Goodwill had 4 plastic tiki cups that I passed on (I already have a few of them and they were not a nice as a different model that Bear found me some more of last weekend.) The same store also had a coconut monkey. It wasn't in great shape but even if it was I would have passed. I already have a coconut monkey. While no collection of tiki junk should be considered complete without one, I believe one coconut monkey is enough for anyone.

As long as the camera was out I figured I'd grab a few shots of a toothpick holder I found at Walgreens a few weeks ago. I think I paid 67 cents or something for it... with toothpicks even.



I have him tucked in the kitchen cabinet next to some of the standard bar tender's guides. Next time I need to put a cherry in a Manhattan I'm ready.

Hot Sauce!

I'm still recovering from a battle with my sinuses. My new Hot Sauce Delivery System is working quite well though:



Finally a use for those little rice cakes that are supposed to be healthy. I think the Frank's Red Hot does the best job but the Rooster Sauce does offer more control of artistic expression.

Rum Ramsey

Today got dark 'n' stormy at work and then it cleared up and the sun came out.

I went home.

It was a fairly long day so why not try a new drink. I got out my 1946 copy of Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink to look for new adventure.



I picked the Rum Ramsey.

Why?

I had everything... and it used some Peychaud's bitters so why not?



Not bad. I really like the touch of bourbon and the spice from the bitters. It has just enough sweetness to round it out without being "sweet." I think mine had just a bit too much lime. I guess "juice of 1/4 lime" can vary a bit depending on the lime (not the best way to measure I guess). I found this version that calls for 1/4 ounce of lime juice. Maybe I'll try that next time.

Evidently the drink was made by Albert Martin at the Bon Ton bar in New Orleans. It still exists today and they tout the drink as a family secret but don't mention Albert. What a shame. :( (See comment below.)