Megawatt

Yay!   On March 13, after 94 days in service, our solar array passed the one Megawatt milestone!  Our best days were just last week at 18 kwh.  More on the data page.

Fetzer Gewurztraminer 2006

Tropical flowers, lychee, honey suckle, perfumed.  Much like muscat, but not as sweet.  To put it in riesling terms, muscat tends towards auslese whereas this is more kabinett.  Anyway, slightly on the sweet side.
Light in body, wonderfully fresh, with decent acidity — not racy like a sauvignon blanc.  Apricot and honey, fresh melons on the [...]

Aloha Airlines shuts down March 31, 2008

Wow.  Story here.  And here. 

Just got back from Whistler

DCP_0032

Originally uploaded by slee.3155

The skiing was great! As you can see, we had just a wee bit of snow — perhaps 10 inches — during the 4 days we were there. I’ll post more as I get photos on line…

Conundrum 2005

Ah yes, Conundrum. Immediately upon opening, this has the floral perfume of Muscat and viognier.  Then the deeper notes from (presumably) chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.  The riddle of this wine is the exact composition.  From their website:
  The “puzzle” of Conundrum—we never reveal its exact composition—comes in part from the range of grape varieties we [...]

Traffic study from UH

Finally read the UH study: Transportation Alternatives Analysis for Mitigating Traffic Congestion between Leeward Oahu and Honolulu (122 pages).  My take: if this study is anything close to correct, going with any form of rail will be a bad idea.  The points that stick out to me are the ridership numbers from San Juan, Puerto [...]

Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage unknown, I got this “by the glass.”   
This is a classic Marlborough region New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  It has got the lemon/grapefruit note that I associate only with NZ Sauvignon Blanc.  Intense ripe citrus fruit.  Steely.  Fresh and herbacious.  Good acid levels that really cuts thru cream sauces.  Had it with scallop/lobster dish in [...]

Solar water heating - why is this news?

From the Pacific Business News.
OK.  I’ve added a “why is this news” category.  So… here it is:
Solar water heating is cost effective in all parts of Hawaii, according to a recent study. …  The report said simple payback periods of solar water heating range from 8.5 years to 4.3 years, depending on utility and customer [...]

Quail’s Gate Old Vines Foch 2004

Ok.  First, what the heck is Foch?  According to wikipedia (yes, this grape is unusual enough that it was NOT on the Wine Info site) : It was named after the French marshal named Foch and my have been a cross between Goldriesling (itself a cross of riesling and courtiller musque) and a non-wine grape [...]

Quick pea salad

Get some good frozen peas.  Not the canned stuff.  Defrost and drain.  Use caution if you defrost in the nuker…we’re looking for cool peas, not hot.  Toss in some mayonnaise to taste.  Add some sweet curry (from Penzys), maybe start with a couple teaspoons and work your way up.  A touch of salt and pepper.  [...]