Drinking Meet-ups go High Tech

Since THI was dark yesterday in observance of Day of Silence, we're making it up today!

So let's say you're meeting up for drinks with five friends from different parts of the city.  You pick the time and the first spot to meet up, but one friend has a commitment and does not know when they'll be free, another has some stops to make but will catch up to you when those are done and yet another doesn't like the first stop and asks you to call them when you all go to the next bar.  How is this going to work out?

I hate trying to make a call in a noisy bar, I have to find a quiet spot or leave the bar entirely - which could be a long, crowded walk.  If you try to call me chances are I'll never hear the phone (I've lost too may phones left on bars to do that again!) and you'll just have to leave a voicemail.

Enter the app Glympse.  With Glympse you "Share your where" so that friends (with your permission for a set period of time) can use your phone's GPS to see your location or vice versa.  Send a friend a Glympse as a text message, an email, a twitter post or via facebook.  Your friend will click on the link and a map will come up showing your location, if you're moving it will show the direction and speed.

No need to try and call or text just to ask where the group is, just check their location on your phone, real time.  Less time communicating...more time drinking!

There is no software to download to receive a Glympse, but you do have to visit the app store to send one.

One word of caution though, it is a battery drainer!  Other than that, a great app!

Don't just take my word for it:

http://www.appbrain.com/app/glympse/com.glympse.android.glympse

http://droidapplications.org/glympse


Check out the videos here, and make sure you include me in your next meet-up!

Day of Silence - April 20th 2012

http://dayofsilence.org/

A quick shout out to g/r/a/n/d

Last Saturday night I met friends at g/r/a/n/d, which I admit, I had not been to in a while.  When our group  sat down and the "What shall we drink?" discussions started,  I decided to ask if they could mix one of the drinks from the blog that I had been unable to get anywhere else.  With no hesitation the bartender said "Let me take a look at the ingredients" so I handed him my phone.

The staff was unbelievably patient, considering it was Saturday, and very soon Carlos presented me with one excellent Brandy Milk Punch (4/9/12 post).  It's a great starter drink (milk coats your stomach) if you plan on going all out later in the evening!

We wound up staying and having a late dinner (they serve till 10pm) of Hamburgers and Grilled Chicken dinners that were perfect.  I didn't get the name of the DJ but everyone loved the music and were just getting into the groove when we had to leave.

Thank you g/r/a/n/d, thank you Carlos!

Brandy Milk Punch

Some people are just born lucky...

On this day in 1713,  Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, thus far having no male heirs,  issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to guarantee the Austrian throne could be inherited by a yet to be born daughter.   Maria Theresa, his daughter,  not born until 1717, inherited the throne.  (Don't even ask me what I inherited)

On this day in 1919, Leslie Irvin completes the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using the  new self-contained parachute. (If that were me, you would be able to see the video on YouTube, until my surviving relatives sued to have it removed)

On this day in 1956, Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco. (Ok, you're a young, beautiful actress and you get to marry a prince, a real prince, of a beautiful country)

On this day in 1987, The Simpsons premieres as a short cartoon on the popular Tracey Ullman Show.  It went onto become the longest-running American prime time television series.  The Simpsons Movie, grossed over $527 million.  (I write a small blog on drinking that nobody reads.  D'oh!)

As we all know today is Dutch-American Friendship Day

http://www.dutchinamerica.com/dutch-american-friendship-day

To honor these years of friendship and shared cultures....

The Historical Inebriant:  The Dutch Punch
http://www.bolsgenever.com/index2.asp


Ingredients: (1 shot = 30ml)

• 1 1/2 Shots Bols Genever
• 1 Shot Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Raw Sugar
• 2 Dashes Maraschino Liqueur
• 1/2 Shot Sparkling Soda

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir. Pour into a large wine glass with ice and garnish with Nutmeg.

For the love of the game, or, Get Your Ice Cold Beer Heere!

On this day in 1775, Paul Revere makes his famous midnight ride, alerting the countryside that the British troops were coming.

On this day in 1923, the old Yankee Stadium, more famously known as "The House that Ruth Built", opens its doors.

On this date in 1981 the longest game ever played by a professional baseball game featuring the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester NY Red Wings is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Triple A International League game featured players such as Wade Boggs and Sam Bowen.

By all accounts it was a pretty exciting game with the Red Sox tying the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning to send it into extra innings.  The problem was the crowd may not have been as excited when the Red Sox would again tie it up in the bottom of the 22nd.

Apparently, the rule book being used by the umpire did not contain the curfew rule that would have kicked in at 12:50 am, so in the bottom of the 22nd, when the Red Sox tied up the game the teams continued to play.  The game was finally suspended at 4:00 am the next morning (bottom of the 32nd) after the very last of the beer was sold and a call to the president of the league was made.

It's truly a great story and if you aren't familiar with it, have a read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_professional_baseball_game

The game was finally completed in one inning on June 23 with the Red Sox winning 3-2.

The Historical Inebriant:  A Flight of Beers

• Sam Adams Boston Lager
• Reingold Extra Dry Lager
• Narragansett Summer Ale
• Genesee Cream Ale

How not to handle alien remains...

Ok, on Wiki, there appears this very simple yet understated entry for today, April 17th:

1897 – The Aurora, Texas UFO incident

The skinny:

About 6am on the morning of April 17th 1897, a UFO crash-landed in the small Texas town of Aurora.  The craft hit a windmill on the property of a judge before crashing into the ground.  Townsfolk who saw the light in the sky and heard the crash came to investigate.

They found the UFO in pieces and a martian pilot -  who unfortunately did not survive the crash. He was buried with Christian rites at a local cemetery.

Pieces of the damaged craft were tossed down the well which now lay exposed underneath the destroyed windmill.  If you would like to visit the grave, there is marker from the Texas Historical Commission at the site.

Word.

The Historical Inebriant:  Alien Brain Hemorrhage
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/01/28/cocktail-alien-brain-hemorrhage/



Ingredients:

• Peach Schnapps
• Bailey's Irish Cream
• Blue Curacao
• Grenadine

Fill the shot glass halfway with peach schnapps. Gently pour Bailey’s Irish Cream on top. After the shot is almost full, carefully add a small amount of  the Blue Curacao. After it settles, add a few drops of Grenadine.

How not to handle alien remains.

To View The History Channel Video:
http://www.history.com/videos/ufo-files-texas-roswell-the-aurora-crash#ufo-files-texas-roswell-the-aurora-crash

FYI

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2063486/Alien-skull-Peru-Mystery-giant-headed-mummy-city-Andahuaylillas.html

___________________________________________________

Have you ever fought so badly with a friend that you literally stop talking to each other.  Then months, or years later you run into them and laugh when neither of you can remember what started the fight?

On this day in 1986, – The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends.

Scilly rabbit.

A diet of worms...

Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms

On this day in 1521,  Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms to be questioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and leaders of other states of the empire.  I assume a light
lunch was served afterwards.

The term Diet used in this instance refers to a formal deliberative assembly, but similar to today's use, it was generally not a good thing to be asked to participate in.  Worms, is simply the location of the proceeding; Worms, Germany.

Before there was a Diet of Worms, there was the Edict of Worms.  Much like a warrant for arrest issued to insure appearance in court, the Edict of Worms laid out the charges that Martin Luther would be facing at the Diet.

Martin Luther had published his 95 Theses, (a condemnation of the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church - including the sale of indulgences, misuse of church funds and a rather zealous guarding of the interpretations of the bible) he was, of course, charged with being a heretic.

On this day, Martin Luther will stand and hear the charges against him, his thoughts and his writings...and will have the opportunity to recant all of those and be released of the charges...or not, and be punished for the crimes.

Consider this THI's first serial post.  Tune in tomorrow to see what Martin Luther does.

In the meantime, let's drink. I don't usually include beers, but this week's events simply cry out for beer.

The Historical Inebriant:  Einbecker Ur Bock Bier
http://www.impactlab.net/2008/08/15/the-beers-of-martin-luther/

The Untold 411:
Booze, Babes and Fish Barrels - What you didn't know about Martin Luther
http://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/cheats.html

The rock n roll Luther

For Michael:

On this day in 1941 – Bob Feller pitches for the Cleveland Indians and throws the only opening day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball. Cleveland would beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0.  I say we lift a cold one!