strange spirits

At the fancy grocery store they had a vodka of Armenian origin, and the label listed the following additives:

acetic acid
sodium bicarbonate
dried skim milk
honey

What's this all about? Anyone know?

I found another vodka with similar recipe:

http://www.topliquor.com/Russian-Style-Emerald-Castle-Marani-Vodka-750-ml-p-67089.html

turbans at the annex: serious business

Our local lame bar, Pierce Street Annex, has revised their policies to allow turbans in the bar, after a Sikh complained and asked for an apology.

The article says: "Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, 24, accompanied friends to the Pierce Street Annex bar last year, only to be turned away because his turban was deemed to conflict with a rule prohibiting hats."

Good, he can enter with his turban now.

What's not mentioned is why bars ban hats: it's to keep out black guys. American black guys almost always wear a hat going out at night. It's an old, known technique for keeping their presence to a minimum. It's similar to gay bars banning open-toed shoes "for safety" to keep down the number of women who show up to dance with gay guys.

For some time now, Pierce Street has been a destination for black guys from Riverside County who drive out here to be in Newport/Mesa instead of Riverside. I guess the management decided there were too many of them.

Bars are just a disaster in Southern California. Everyone drives home, and a bar can't make money unless you have at least two drinks, so the entire business relies on drunk driving. And then they make desperate attempts to keep a money-making "demographic" in the bar, which they can only achieve by violating discrimination laws and acting like assholes.

I liked the bars in SF and NY, where you could walk home if you wanted. I bet they have similar issues with the "mix of the crowd" though.

WHAT REALLY KILLED HEATH LEDGER

Be sure to keep watching, because at around 3:20 the real party starts.

You have to imagine being in the apartment next to this guy while he practices, too. High-quality outsider religion.

Thanks to 33mhz!

ELECTRICITY SPIRITS ARE ANGRY: ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS?

Car: battery needs replacing, possible mysterious damage to electrical leads

Computers: home server blew up for no discernible reason. Big networking hardware at job is behaving erratically and goes off the air if it's bumped or insulted.

Light bulbs: 8 blew out this week.

Toaster: died suddenly this week

Phone: my third (!) Cingular 8525/HTC Tytn died, and I'm out of warranty. Do not buy this phone. It has awesome features and runs great and then breaks. Now I have to buy a phone cash and I need a pretty good one because job and $$$.

New lamps my mom got: won't use 3-way bulbs although they have 3-way switch.

My own nerves: conducting oddly on one side.