Tag Archives: The Less Desirables Network

Piggyback or: Kelly Bone

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

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Salutations™!!

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The “Gang” at Willows (picture ©Travis Myers)

 

On The Man Who Ate the Town today, I had a wonderful special guest in the studio to talk about food, drink and life. Only part of that made the podcast but Kelly Bone, of Willows Bistro, is a fantastic guest and she’s a sharp one, too. She is quite knowledgeable about her craft, even though she’s not been doing it too awfully long. She did, however, jump feet first into the fray of craft cocktails, wine selections and beer selections and is the main-most-lady in that regards at Willows. They have a brand new drink list that is rolling out right now. Listen to her interview as it’s really great.

Also, I talk about other restaurants and even a grocery store. Hear all of that on the podcast by listening HERE. Thanks for reading and thanks for listening!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“It’s like a fine dance that you do. We all love/hate each other, but the end of the day we all love each other.” – Kelly Bone

Dot Dot Dot or: Alexa, Good Morning

09 Friday Jun 2017

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I got one of the new Amazon Echo Dot things this week and I think The BCPF is worried about me. I think they made a movie about this kind of thing (Her (2013))? Anyway, from Alexa I get my “good morning” briefing, listen to whatever albums or songs that I want, I can play games, ask questions, access Wikipedia and have Alexa pull up podcasts.

That’s what I’m going to talk about right now, I suppose. Being as that’s what I do for a living, I check to see if my podcasts are available to people on any platform I can find. Alexa has internal apps that are called “skills” that dictate what she knows, how she interacts and so on. So, there’s a skill she has called AnyPod (there’s also TryPod and PodBuddy) that I emailed the developer to check the shows from The Less Desirables Network‘s availability. The Beer Dads and Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking both showed up but she was having trouble with The Less Desirables, The Man Who Ate the Town and Fan Interference podcasts.

Apparently, Alexa (and her “skills”) wanted to look for Les Diserables (as in Les Miserables) and Fan Interference went to a dozen other places when I asked for it. After getting AnyPod to check into it for me, the skill then picked up the right podcasts. Now, I have to play with it a bit and just say “less desirables” and “ate the town” to get it to work right, but they’re at least recognized.

So, if you have an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, you can now find all your favorite The Less Desirables Network podcasts to listen there. So, if you enable the AnyPod skill, use some of the following phrases: “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Less Desirables,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Fan Interference,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Beer Dads,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play The Man Who Ate the Town,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Sipping NC: The Art of  Drinking.”

You may have to modify some of those phrases. Instead, ask “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Less Desirables,” “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play Ate the Town,” and so on. You can play around with different ways to ask for it. Also, the AnyPod skill is great for playing other podcasts, as well. If you don’t have an Echo or Echo Dot, well, you need to have one. Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“The device is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic [sic] and other real time [sic] information. It can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation hub.” – Wikipedia page Amazon Echo Dot

Piggybackin’ or: Dogwood You?

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Beer, Blogging, Food, Podcasting, Spirits, Wine

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Salutations™!!

The Man Who Ate the Town Podcast is up for this week. There’s a cool new bottle shop/whiskey bar that’s opening up downtown and I have the manager and two bartenders in the studio to talk about it. You’ll have to listen to learn more. Listen to that episode HERE.

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©Dogwood Hops & Crops

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Your downtown craft beer & wine bottle shop. Opening Soon!!! CHEERS!”  – Dogwood Hops and Crops

Sidecar Pale Ale or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

31 Wednesday May 2017

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City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents Sidecar Orange Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week.

I’ve been digging the orange-flavored stuff that I’ve had lately and other than their regular Pale Ale, which I think lacks any real substance, I like Sierra Nevada’s stuff. So, I’m hoping the orange in this is noticeable. Spencer said it was good stuff, so I’m going to go on that. It’s 5.3%, so it’s just above sessionable.

BeerAdvocate has it at 84 (Good) with no Bros. Score. Untappd has it at 3.5 caps out of 5. RateBeer has it at 74, both Overall and in Style. Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it, or you just have a hankering for more, head to City Beverage and pick up your sixer. Tell them we sent you and that this is the beer of the week, and you’ll get 5% off your order. Tune in later tonight or early tomorrow and see what Caitlin, Danielle, Bethany and I think of it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Pale Ale has always been our passion, and its legendary citrus-heavy hop flavors inspired us to go down a different path.” – Sidecar Orange Pale Ale carton.

Picklebacking or: Losing a Fave

30 Tuesday May 2017

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I’m piggybacking, or pickle-backing, on The Man Who Ate the Town food blog today. Miss Jenny’s Pickles is closing as of tomorrow, May 31, 2017. We had Miss Jenny on The Less Desirables a year or two back and we actually got Eugene to eat a pickle (several actually). I really don’t know why she closed but I think it was just hard to compete with the big name pickle brands. Whatever it is she is doing or wherever she’s heading, she’ll “pickle up!”

To read the article, go HERE. There will be a mention on TMWATT podcast later today.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“I don’t do regrets and YOU shouldn’t either.” – Jenny Fulton (Miss Jenny)

Beer to Drink Music to ’17 or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

10 Wednesday May 2017

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City Beverage, the Official Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents Beer to Drink Music to ’17 Tropical Blonde from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week.

I don’t think you can really go wrong with Dogfish Head. Even the IPA stuff, the beers I’m not the biggest fan of, they do those well. This is something that changes up every year. Last year their “Beer to Drink Music to” was a tripel, this year it’s a tropical blonde. So, they went lighter and brighter this year. The carton says it’s brewed with kiwi and hibiscus. This should be interesting. It’s 6.8%ABV so not too heavy but still packs a punch.

BeerAdvocate rates this beer at 85 (Very Good). Untappd rates it at 3.69 caps out of 5. RateBeer has it at 75 Overall and 97 in Style. Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it or just have a hankering for more, head over to City Beverage and grab your sixer. Tell Spencer that it’s the TLD beer of the week and get 5% off your order. Tune in tonight to hear what Caitlin, Danielle, Kerri and I think of it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“A liquid soundtrack for welcoming warmer weather, our blonde ale is a music-inspired tropical mashup brewed with kiwi juice & hibiscus flowers.” – Beer to Drink Music to 17 carton.

Piggybackin’ or: TMWATT Podcast

09 Tuesday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

In the latest podcast from The Man Who Ate the Town, I talk about the Fresh Starts and Full Plates gala from Providence Restaurant. I’d appreciate a listen, which you can read and hear HERE.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Serving Something Beautiful” – Providence Restaurant

 

Monday After or: The Cleaning that Was

08 Monday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

Last Friday I spent all my morning and early afternoon straightening up the studio. I had an ant problem and couldn’t figure out what it was that lured them. Upon cleaning I downloadfound some limoncello that has been there since we started Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking. It had been knocked over and had spilled onto a shelf. They were literally coming out of the wall, through a very small hole. I cleaned up the sticky liquid and sprayed some ant killer into the hole. That immediately stopped the ants; there were none there in that afternoon and there was still none today.

I removed everything from the shelves and rearranged our treasure of libations that Jordan and I have accumulated from the 24 or so shows we’ve recorded. I also moved everything from the mic table and washed it. It gets nasty and sticky from three of the five The Less Desirables Network shows that feature alcohol. I moved things around to get that cleaner. I was proud. It was nice to go in this morning to a clean studio.

Well, TC was going to Skype in today to do Fan Interference. I could hear him perfectly fine but he couldn’t hear me. I hadn’t changed any settings and he hadn’t so everything should have worked. We worked on that for an hour and couldn’t figure it out. Then after some elimination processing, I realized that when I was cleaning on Friday, I had dislodged a cable from my junction and the return signal was interrupted. I plugged it back in and it worked fine. But, that hour could have and should have been saved had I paid more attention on Friday. The moral of this story is watch what you’re doing. Don’t waste your time (and the equal money) on your equipment, pay attention.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“What the &$*% is wrong with my computer!?” – TC

Piggybackin’ or: TMWATT

02 Tuesday May 2017

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Salutations™!!

It was podcast day for The Man Who Ate the Town. It was Hope du Jour today and I had to announce another sad passing. Listen to the episode HERE.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“It is an opportunity to bring attention to the problem of hunger in our community.” – Hope du Jour

Paradise City or: The Less Desirables Beer of the Week

05 Wednesday Apr 2017

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Salutations™!!

City Beverage, the Official Beer Sponsor of The Less Desirables, presents Paradise City Session IPA from Birdsong Brewing Company, The Less Desirables Beer of the Week. unnamed (2)

Take me down to Paradise City where the… c’mon, you know you totally sang along with that when you saw it was called Paradise City. So, Spencer tells me that this is available for the first time in tallboy cans. Previously, it was only available on tap. It’s so new, I guess, that it’s not even on the Birdsong website. It’s only 4.8%ABV so, it’s certainly sessionable.

It’s so new that only Untappd has any rating on it. That’s 3.74 caps out of 5. BeerAdvocate and RateBeer neither have enough rating to give it a score. One thing of note, the brewmaster for Birdsong (who are in Charlotte) grew up in Clemmons and went to West Forsyth High School. So, yay for the local boy done good. April is NC Beer Month, so I wanted the first one of April to be from NC and since it’s new… Here we are.

Have you had it? What did you think? If you’ve not had it or just have a hankering for more, head on down to City Beverage and grab you quad of cans. Tell them that The Less Desirables said this was the beer of the week and get 5% off your order. Then, later tonight or early tomorrow, tune in and see what Caitlin, Danielle, Geralyn and I thought of it.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

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“Chris thought Charlotte was missing a small neighborhood brewery where folks could stop in for a pint or take home a growler of super-fresh, unfiltered, American-style ale.” – Birdsong Brewing Website