Pete Dudchenko

I have no idea why Discovery Channel started making these but some of them are good advice!

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Producer: Solitude
Region: Carneros of Sonoma California
Grape Varieites: Pinot Noir
Price: $18.00

Conclusion: Another good wine from the Carneros region. Reasonably priced and something I found in the store but had never heard of before,
Score: 4 out of 5

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Just heard on the news…

National Average Gas Price: $2.91
San Diego Average Gas Price: $3.12 (highest in the country)

I’d move to a new city but I can no longer afford the cost of the moving truck and the gas to fill it!

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Bought tickets to Pearl Jam today. I’ve never seen them before and was a big fan when they first came out with “Ten.”

Our seats are pretty good but I’m not sure how Ticketmaster offers seating. I’ve gone back a number of times just to see if they offered better seats and it seems that sometimes you get bench seats (way in the back) then the very next search you get the same class of seats I bought as soon as they went on sale. My guess was that the best seats go first but aside from the floor level this doesn’t appear to be the case.

One cool feature was in going to the venue’s website, it offered actual pictures of the view from your row or section.

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A few days ago I posted a comment about the recent release of Google Calendar which was the latest buzz. After spending a few days with it I must say it’s impressive but I understand the need for giving it the ever-popular Google tag of “beta.” Not for bugs but for features, or lack there of.

Adopting a new web-based calendar is not an easy thing to get people to do. Most, probably use Outlook, and a few of us older geeks out there still have our trusty Palm Pilots connected to sync with. So for me, aside from the ability to set up cell phone text message reminders, Google Calendar wasn’t enough yet to get me to move everything over (even though its pretty easy to import Outlook events).

For one thing, I can’t sync between Outlook and Google. I can import my Outlook events into Google but that’s a one-time manual process that I don’t want to have to remember to do every day/hour/minute. Also, if I did want to drop Outlook for good and make the plunge into a web-calendar, that would have to mean dumping my Palm Pilot which, call me stubborn, I’m not ready to do yet. Until some of these features are released (if they are released), it looks like those in the same boat as me are going to have to wait…but who wants to do that?

In searching for a 3rd party tool to possibly fast forward the wait on some much needed features, I came across AirSet. It one of many web-based calendars that are out there, and only one of a few I looked at, but it seems to have those features I’m looking for and more. For one, I can install a desktop app to auto-sync Outlook with AirSet on a time frame that I choose. Now I can add a new appointment on my laptop (using Outlook), through my browser (using AirSet) and even still on my Palm Pilot without having to re-enter it again and again. Through the syncing of my apps all three are up-to-date. Better yet, they’re offering a beta test that I recently signed up for to allow my events to be accessed and managed from my cell phone! It’s already available to Verizon users for a small monthly fee and as long as you have a java compatible phone, you’ll soon be able to install the app on your phone for on the go access and manipulation. And it still offers the mobile text reminders that I really love.

So what’s the catch? Well, so far it seems very promising although I must admit I’m a bit partial to Google’s UI over AirSets. Its a bit cleaner and easier to enter events, a real time saver. Plus the cell phone beta testing has brought up enough bugs to cause me not to be able to use it much yet but the response from the testing team has been phenomenal. I sent an email to be added to the test group and within two minutes I received my invitation. Plus in sending and receiving emails on the problems, I was still getting replies well into the late evening meaning some people are working late over there.

Like I said, I’ve only just started to use AirSet as a calendar but the possibilities seem amazing and I’m getting everything I asked for. Now if I were only popular enough to have events to add, I’d really be set!

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I’m trying to add a new section to the site specific to different wine tastings. This is my first attempt with a wine I tried a few months ago out at dinner. The thing that really stood out with me was the finish, which wasn’t overly strong at all like most wines.

Producer: Gloria Ferrer
Region: Carneros appellation of Sonoma California
Grape Varieites: Pinot Noir
Price: $22.00

Conclusion: Very nice, not overpowering. Hints of chocolate.
Score: 4 out of 5

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I did a small site re-design tonight. After waiting way too long, I finally brought over all of my vacation pictures from my old site to this one.

You can check on the new design by selecting “Pictures” from the tab above or by clicking here.

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