K7AKM

For the record, I’m relatively new to alcohol. I drink Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and other relatively mundane things. My 21st birthday was a vodka-fueled disaster and I’ve been putting off the whole drinking thing for several years now on account of that. That being said, I’ve recently had reason to take up social drinking (the glass with dinner at a friend’s house sort of drinking, not “I just drank 6 beers and now I’m gonna play beer pong!” drinking), and I figured I’d share my thoughts here. We promise to also discuss amateur radio, but we figure that any person should be well-rounded enough in their endeavors to be confident in all domains. That being said, my reviews will probably not fit any sort of useful rubric so much as a “I liked it” or “I hated it” classification and a brief discussion.

I was introduced to this rum by the courtesy of a store clerk when I wandered into the local liquor store and proclaimed my ignorance, then asked for assistance with picking out a bottle that was owed to a friend. The clerk pointed me to Pyrat Rum XO Reserve, arguably one of the more expensive bottles on the shelf, I thanked her for her assistance, paid for my purchase and left. Gift delivered, I thought nothing of it until another friend chided me for my relative boringness and proclaimed that I needed to live a little. So, I bought another bottle, this time for my own personal enjoyment.

Warm, I am not a fan, straight or mixed. As mentioned on The Drunk Pirate, it tastes a little like gargling a pine tree if you drink it straight. Not that I have any direct experience, but it’s the closest I could come to describing it. We gave up after most of a warm rum and coke (aka Cuba Libre), and decided to stick the bottle in the freezer. I’m a firm believer in chilled alcohol, as warm alcohol tastes/smells like paint thinner to me. Not sure why, but it’s the truth.

Just finished a rum and coke with cold Pyrat (and cold Coke), and let me tell you, good stuff. Gives a slight hint of vanilla to the drink, but not enough to be overpowering, and goes down pretty smoothly. Definitely worth the $30 for the bottle. Not sure what other potential is out there (although I am sure there is an app for that), so we’ll come back to this as we figure out more.

Amateur radio suffers from an image problem. While the ARRL has recently updated its website to feel more “high tech”, we still find ourselves surrounded by technology that’s out of the 90s: packet BBSs running on DOS and scrounged together machines, the “old fat guy” image that comes to mind when you mention amateur radio, “affinity wear” like this “police-style badge”, and frugality to the point of cheapness. It’s unfortunate that I find myself surrounded by this, and I haven’t quite worked out what to do about it.

I suppose my first thought would be to fix the “affinity wear” problem: if you’re going to wear a shirt that labels you as an amateur radio operator (ARES, RACES, or otherwise), make sure it looks professional. Wear some clean looking slacks and a nice pair of shoes. Dress like a professional, even though you’re not. It’s unfortunate that the ARRL has not provided the ARES logos on anything besides a t-shirt and a baseball cap. The dress code in the environments I work in is a collared shirt and clean jeans, if not slacks.

Next, remain physically active–I’m not saying amateur radio operators need to dedicate themselves to looking like a bodybuilder, but there’s a reason I used the term “old fat guy” above…some of my fellow hobbyists definitely need to reconsider their diet and exercise plan. I work out on a regular basis, usually a 20-30 minute run/walk on the treadmill and some weightlifting. Not going to turn me into Mr. Universe, but it helps me feel better, more relaxed, and more energetic.

We’ll come back to this later…for now, I’m off to a BBQ…and to drink some bourbon and rum (not together)…perhaps a review on those is forthcoming. Maybe like a “Cigar Aficionado” for amateur radio? Tell me what you think this website should do.