Personal Made Public

Okay, the title of this entry is actually an old slogan from DuPont, but the idea is still true today. Why should any of us settle for a quality of life that is less than what we want, no: DESERVE?

That's why I thought I should take a minute to give a little testimonial here for Panexa. While my endorcement in no way takes the place of the advice of your doctor, I would stongly encourage you to ask your doctor if Panexa might not be what you need in your life. Life is too short to feel less than your best!

Check it out (and ask your doctor): Panexa.

Posted by Kevin at 05:21 PM | Permalink

By now, just about about everyone knows that red wine gives significant benefits to your heart's health. Most people don't know, however, that the beneficial component (resveratrol) is found in even much higher concentrations in our native American muscadine grape.

Unfortunately, most muscadine wines are overwhelmingly "grapey" and cloyingly sweet. They have the character of fortified fruit juice rather than true wine.

A little (3000 cases/year) winery in NC is changing that and may just put muscadine wines of the map as true wines: Old Stone Vineyard and Winery in Salisbury. The winemaker, Mark Brown, is a North Carolina native that spent 17 years in California before returning to apply his accumulated skills to the making of wines using our native grapes.

Mark's wine are NOT what you expect from those based on muscadine grapes. They have the complexity of any European varietal with a touch of native grape flavor. These are muscadine wines for wine lovers. He covers the range from dry to dessert, so there is something for everyone. Better yet, Mark also pours in his tasting room, so it's a great opportunity to talk with someone who is passionate about his work.

If you find yourself near Salisbury, make sure you check out Old Stone for muscadine wines that will really surprise you!

Posted by Kevin at 07:58 AM | Permalink

Elizabeth and I are trying (slowly) to work through the many wineries that are now in operation in North Carolina (you can see just how many there are now and learn more about them from NCWine.org). We've managed almost two dozen to date, but as wine production takes off in NC, we are actually losing ground with new wineries opening right and left!

This afternoon we returned from "Early Christmas" with Elizabeth's family in Boone. Along the way back we stopped by Hanover Park Winery just off US-421 near Yadkinville, NC. This wasn't our first stop there and won't be our last. I just realized I should add an entry here mentioning that Hanover Park is our absolute favorite winery in North Carolina.

First, the owners are wonderful. One or both are usually pouring samples in the old farmhouse they have lovingly restored as a tasting room. I much prefer buying wines there than at local retailers (such as A Southern Season in Chapel Hill) if for no other reason than the atmosphere and friendly conversation.

Of course, no matter how nice the winery or the owners, it isn't going to be a favorite of mine unless the wines are really good. Hanover Park has a micro-climate that allows them to produce what I believe are some of the best wines not only in NC, but in the United States. They make one of the few Chardonnays that I really like (nice oak, but not too tannic thanks to French oak barrels that aren't brand new). Among their reds they make a great Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Mourvèdre.

In any case, I just wanted to take a moment to sing their praises. Hanover Park is destined to be the winery that someday establishes North Carolina as a great wine-producing region nationally and internationally.

Posted by Kevin at 09:03 PM | Permalink

Now that Thanksgiving has given way to Black Friday, I feel the holidays are upon us: enough so that we started decorating today. Besides hanging the first 900 or so of the bulbs that go on the outside of the house, I put up the tree. Since we have a bit of asthma in this household we use an artificial tree with integrated lights.

Unfortunately, two strands of lights were out. These strands are supposed to stay lit when a bulb goes out, but that didn't happen. Making matters worse is the fact that integrated lights can't be strung out in a straight line across the floor for orderly testing.

The first thing I did was go online to learn how these "stay-lit" strands work in the hopes of learning how best to troubleshoot my problem lights. I found a site that gives a good explanation of the shunts used in the bulbs to keep the strands lit (learn for yourself here). One page I found put me on to a device called Lightkeeper Pro which has the ability to kickstart inactive shunts into service on dead strands. $17 or so at Lowes Home Improvement. Worth it? Well, if it works it could save me hours of bulb-swapping. The Lowes website claimed they were in stock here in Chapel Hill, so off I went (convertible top down, of course -- it's just barely below freezing here in NC at the moment).

Once I got home, I plugged it into the burned out strands and BANG: it worked like a charm on both strands. The burned-out bulb was then a cinch to find and replace. I figure I saved several hours of stress and frustration, so I'd say YES, definitely worth $17!

Kevin says: THUMBS UP for Lightkeeper Pro.

Posted by Kevin at 10:08 PM | Permalink