Saturday at the Hut - 1/29/11

This is me, completely paralyzed by
Adrian's masterful chess strategy
Photo courtesy of Kevin Rosseel
at Morguefile.com

Saturday at The Tobacco Hut was happy and sad for me at the same time. Happy because we had a fun bunch of guys in attendance and sad because I lost the chess game that Adrian and I were playing from last week. More on that later.


We had a long-lost visitor from Tennessee join us - Mike G! The Hut hasn't been the same since he moved away a few years ago and it's always a treat when he pays a visit. Joe K and Tom L were also there - Joe was sporting his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" shirt in my honor (thank you very much!) and Tom had his Sarcasm Engine at full throttle. 


Mike recounted how his recent flight from Maine to Florida was interrupted with an emergency landing in Norfolk for an unruly passenger. The official word was that he was upset that he couldn't smoke an electronic cigarette, but the word amongst the passengers was that the guy was brandishing a razor blade. In any case, the plane landed safely in Norfolk and was immediately boarded by all manner of law enforcement personnel who promptly handcuffed the man and dragged him off the plane. Mike was in the back of the plane and didn't see too much but his seatmate was a retired Canadian police officer who, when they were landed and the police cars surrounded the plane, looked at Mike and asked, "Anything I should know?" Mike must have that "look" about him!


Joe surprised me with a gift when he came in - a wireless keyboard and mouse for the iMac I bought from him last September! It was one he used but now doesn't have a need for. Thanks Mr. Joe! I'm using it right now and you can see by the words and letters I'm typing that it works perfectly! 


New pipe smoker Ed F came in and brought a friend, Dan. Dan's trying to quit cigarettes and was looking at one of Lou's electronic cigarettes, plus he's also thinking of taking up a pipe. I think Ed might have some influence there as he is certainly enjoying his new hobby. It's always good to welcome an enthusiastic new pipe smoker to the "Brotherhood of the Briar." 


I explained to Ed the perils of PAD and TAD - Pipe Acquisition Disorder and Tobacco Acquisition Disorder respectively. Each disorder is recognized by the American Psychiatric Association and can be quite serious (okay, I made up the part of being recognized by the APA). PAD is when you just have to add another pipe to your collection and TAD is, of course, when you have this pathological desire to keep trying new tobaccos. 


Ed has been in the throes of TAD, working his way through Lou's various tobacco blends, finally settling on a couple favorites, one of which is my personal favorite, Baker Street. As you can imagine, PAD can become a rather costly affliction (as my wife well knows). In fact, a couple years ago for Christmas, Paula surprised me with a new pipe (a Cavicchi volcano that I took on our recent cruise) and I gave myself a Christmas gift as well that year - another new pipe (an Ascorti Peppino). Paula was not pleased. 


Anyway, a friend of mine who works for banks cleaning out abandoned houses came across an old pipe and gave it to me. I brought it in last week and asked Lou if he would clean it up and sanitize it. Lou had it ready this week and it turned out to be a decent-looking meerschaum with acrylic bit. Not sure if it's carved or molded, but it was well used - the patina was an almost-uniform deep brown. As soon as I saw Ed in the shop on Saturday, and knowing that he was probably struggling with his own PAD demons, I thought I would just give him the meerschaum my friend gave me. Ed was very appreciative and I'm sure he's enjoying the new addition to his budding collection.


I wrote an article in this space a year or two ago about the value in estate pipes and though they can be found all the time on sites such as eBay, as long as you keep your eyes open at garage sales, flea markets, antique shops, etc., you can pick up some great pipes. A shout out to Lou for cleaning up the meerschaum so nicely - it turned out very nicely and certainly looks 100% better than when I brought it in.


As I said, Saturday was a bit sad for me, because my unbeaten streak of chess games with Adrian came to an end. Actually, I'm not sad at all - it was a great game and Adrian came away with a well-played and well-deserved victory. The game actually had to be suspended from the week before because we ran out of time (I didn't think Lou wanted to stay open 'til we finished). Adrian took a picture of the board with his cell phone, we set up the board when he came in this Saturday and we resumed the battle. 


Last week, about midway through the game, I left a bishop en prise and Adrian promptly captured it (en prise is a chess term of French origin meaning "in take": a piece is considered en prise if it is unprotected and vulnerable to capture). I think at that point I was only down a pawn or two, but losing the bishop hurt. Adrian changed up his strategy from the start; instead of being aggressive in the opening, he was more restrained and adopted a slower, more deliberate method of developing his pieces.


He tried to get me to exchange queens at one point toward the end, and though we were evenly matched on the other pieces, he had four more pawns than I did. Normally not one to shy away from exchanging queens, I declined and tried to go on the offensive. Alas, I checked his king a couple times, but just couldn't mount an effective attack. A knight sacrifice on my part gained nothing and soon it was all over. He promoted a pawn and then another, and what little defense I had withered in the face of two queens on the board. The game was over quickly at that point and good thing, for Lou was about ready to close up shop. I'm definitely looking forward to a rematch!


That's all for now. Until next week...
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/15/11

Carnival Inspiration (click to enlarge)

I think I've done more smoking in the last week than I have in a long time. Paula and I were on a 5-night Caribbean cruise from Monday through Saturday and I enjoyed either a cigar or pipe pretty much every day on board the ship. We sailed on the Carnival Inspiration out of Tampa with stops at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. The weather was kind of crappy on Monday, chilly with on again-off again rain. Tuesday at sea and Wednesday in Grand Cayman were picture-perfect. Highs in the 70s and sunny. Thursday in Cozumel was in the low 60s, rainy, and very windy. We caught breaks in the rain though and explored downtown Cozumel, bartering with shopkeepers and enjoying a fantastic lunch at Pancho's Backyard, a place Paula discovered on a cruise ten years ago.


I was pleased to find a decent-sized cigar lounge on the ship. When we cruised a few years ago on Royal Caribbean, when I finally found the cigar bar, it was closed. This time I smoked a couple pipefuls and a few cigars. Paula joined me for a couple cigars as well. Unfortunately, I was the only pipe smoker. But I did meet a very nice older gentleman from upstate New York. We chatted awhile and discovered quite a few things in common, including auto racing. Years ago I used to write for an auto racing newspaper, Gater Racing News, out of Syracuse, and he said he reads it every week. We knew a lot of the same drivers racing the short tracks in the area and his son and daughter run the dirt track circuit throughout central New York. Small world! On board, I smoked Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in my Cavicchi volcano and I brought along an Ashton, Oliva, and La Gloria Cubana Serie R to enjoy. There was nothing quite like relaxing with a good cigar or pipe and watching the water glide by.

La Casa del Habano (click to enlarge)

I ran across a couple cigar stores while in Grand Cayman. The one pictured here, La Casa del Habano, was the only one that actually looked nice and well-stocked. Unfortunately for me, they had nothing in the way of pipe tobacco, although they did sell estate Meerschaum pipes. In Cozumel on our way from the pier to lunch, we probably walked past a dozen or more cigar stands or shops, all advertising "Authentic Cuban Cigars." It struck me that if they have to emphasize that they sell "authentic" Cubans, they probably aren't. I ignored the barkers and pressed on to lunch.

Paula and I on the Inspiration's bridge
with the captain.

Probably the highlight of the cruise was the behind-the-scenes tour we took. It's not advertised at all - Paula found out about it reading the forums on Carnival's website - and very limited. There were only 18 people on the tour, which lasted three hours, but we got to see a lot of the inner workings of the ship. We toured the galley, backstage at the theater, crew mess halls, crew lounge, cargo holds, engine control room, and bridge. We got to meet the captain and had our picture taken with him on the bridge. When we arrived back in our cabin there was a plate of pastries and sweets from the head chef, who we also met in the tour. All in all, it was very impressive and interesting. 


We arrived back in Tampa on Saturday and Joe K was kind enough to pick us up. We disembarked very quickly from the ship and were home by 11:00 or so. Joe went off to The Tobacco Hut and I joined him an hour later. We were joined by Peter G, Ed B, and Darryl G. Nothing too exciting happened at the Hut, although I promised I would include what Joe, Peter, and Lou thought was my "conversion" back to the Christian fold. 


I explained that our first day on the ship we had lunch at the buffet on the Lido deck. While waiting in line we saw this loud, bald redneck sporting probably a 60" waist, goatee, wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and covered with tattoos. Paula and I feared that he and his hillbilly family would be our dinner companions, since everyone shares a table with others at dinner each night. The story went something like this, "I looked at this disgusting guy and thought, 'If there is a God, please don't have him sit with us at dinner.'" Well, that brought the house down, because we ended up having quite normal dinner-mates. Well, sorry to disappoint you, guys, but it was just an expression. There was no momentary lapse or conversion. Just a figure of speech!


Nice to see Peter as he's been under the weather lately and seems to be on the mend now. Darryl has made it two visits in as many weeks and Ed has been stopping by pretty regularly. I was hoping to see Adrian so we could perhaps do battle over the chessboard again. I wanted to see Steve B as well to thank him for replacing another section of my back fence. Not sure how he did it since the back gate was locked, but thank you!


I had smoked quite a bit of the Tinder Box Reserve 1928 on our cruise, which is a nice cross between aromatic and English, but I was ready for a true English blend, so at the Hut I loaded up a Crown Winslow freehand with Lou's most-excellent Baker Street blend. I can't say enough about this tobacco. It's got just the right amount of Latakia and was really enjoyable.


That's all for now. Hope to see everyone next Saturday!


Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/8/11

Happy New Year everyone! Many of you attended the New Year's Eve gathering at The Tobacco Hut (sorry I didn't get a blog out that weekend). We had a good crowd on the 31st: Joe K, Peter G, Adrian R, Ed B, Steve B, and Tom L. Some even brought treats to share...Steve brought wings for everyone and Tom raided his own version of the Holy Grail humidor, bringing some aged Fuente cigars to pass out.

Tom enjoyed his role of cigar dispenser so much he even migrated to behind the counter when he gave Lou his special cigar. See photo at left. I think Tom enjoyed his new position so much he's considering buying the store. Just kidding, of course! If Tom owned the shop I think it would become the area's only "adult" cigar store if you know what I mean. 


Lou took his new role as customer to heart, even sitting in a chair other than the "throne." The photographic evidence doesn't lie (picture below - click to enlarge). That is the quintessential "Lou" pose, isn't it? Just sitting back, relaxing with a favorite cigar. 

By the way, if you look in the background, you'll see a wall calendar. We learned that someone in our midst is actually dating Miss December. Hubba hubba.

A much-anticipated event took place New Year's Eve at the Hut...Adrian and I finally met over the chessboard! I know you're all thrilled to know the outcome. Adrian admits that though he enjoys playing the game, he's a little rusty. I did beat him in the two games we played, but his second game was better than his first so I fear that with continued play, any rustiness will get shaken off and I will be playing a formidable opponent indeed. The picture at left (click to enlarge) was taken during our second game, shortly after we had exchanged queens. Lou has graciously agreed to let me keep the chess set at the store, so if anyone stops in during the week and wants to break it out, feel free.


Today at the Hut (Jan 8) saw another nice crowd. In attendance were Joe K, Adrian R, Steve B, Ed B, Darryl G and his son Greg, and Ed F. Ed F is a new member - a pipe smoker no less! - and will hopefully make the Hut a regular Saturday haunt. Of course, we have two Eds now and I'm reminded of the Monty Python episode featuring the "Bruces". The group of Australian philosophy professors are sitting around and they're all named Bruce. One of the Bruces walks in with a new professor, Michael Baldwin, and makes the introductions. Going around the room, he says, "Michael Baldwin, this is Bruce. Michael Baldwin, this is Bruce. And Michael Baldwin, this is Bruce." One of the Bruces asks, "Is your name not Bruce then?" To which he says, "No, it's Michael." Bruce replies, in perfect deadpan, "That's going to cause a little confusion." So it might be with the Eds, but I'm sure we can figure things out.

For the first time ever, Joe was actually hoping I would have worn my NPR t-shirt. I specifically did not wear it today for fear of upsetting my ride to the cruise port next week. So did Joe actually see the light and convert, and that's why he wanted me in my NPR attire? Au contraire, he's fought back with a shirt of his own. He ordered it special from CafePress and received it just yesterday. The photo on the right shows what he bought (click to enlarge). Joe made me promise not to alter the picture in Photoshop before I posted it! 


Coincidentally, note the illustration in the shirt I'm wearing. It's the exact same piece of clip art. The shirt I have on is one I designed and sell in my shop, The Erudite Outlet. I was a little offended at first that he didn't buy his shirt from my shop, but of course, I would never sell such a silly shirt as what he's wearing! I got a huge charge out of Joe's shirt and will naturally have to find a way to top it. 


Today found me smoking one of my favorite pipes, one of the Sherlock Holmes pipes from Peterson. I had Lou order it for me several years ago and like all the other Petersons I own (8 total), it smokes wonderfully. I was smoking Greg Pease's Westminster, a rich English blend, heavy on the Latakia. Ed F was smoking Lou's Black Cavendish and later a bowl of Alaskan Gold. To Ed, and any other pipe smokers, I would encourage you to check out Smokers Forums. It's a fun and welcoming online community of pipe smokers of all stripes, from beginners to long-time veterans of the briar. No question is too basic and everyone is willing to help out and make suggestions and recommendations.


Lou mentioned that Mike G was in town visiting family for the holidays. I tried calling him on the number that Lou had for him, but wasn't sure if that was a cell number or home. I guess he's sticking around for another month, so hopefully he'll stop in on a Saturday in the next few weeks.


Late in the day it was just Steve, Adrian, and myself. Lou was busy tallying up the day's business and the three of us had a pretty heady discussion ranging from aliens and UFOs to psychics to the Bible. It was fascinating stuff which I think was initiated by Steve when he mentioned "chemtrails". He pointed to one out the window in the sky. All I saw was the remnants of a jet contrail and he said that no, that was a chemtrail. I had never heard of such a thing and he explained that he only learned of it recently himself.


Apparently what we all take as contrails are actually chemicals sprayed by government planes for various nefarious reasons, from military efforts to control weather, attempts to mitigate climate change, and even population control. Naturally, I spent a little time on the Internet tonight researching this phenomenon and...I'm a little skeptical that it's anything more than innocent jet contrails. Now admittedly, I've only done a cursory search on the Internet but - at least to me - the evidence tips more in favor of jet contrails than "chemtrails." 


For those interested, a Wikipedia article on the subject is a good place to start. My next stop was a website called Educate Yourself. I hesitate to provide a link because I don't want to give this site any more "Google Juice" than it already has. This is the motherlode of conspiracy theories and the article on chemtrails seems to wrap them all into one. The author of the article first talks about how chemtrails are part of the New World Order's attempts at carrying out Henry Kissinger's depopulation order, and finally  ties it in with satanic worship. 


Now, chemtrails might indeed be government experiments in weather/climate control, and may be kept secret from us, but calling it a form of satanic genocide is stretching credulity, at least mine. The author even goes so far as to suggest that if the "orgone generators" (whatever those are) don't work to combat the chemtrails, certain "metaphysical" tactics may be used, if done in conjunction with others.


This skeptic will open his mind to the possibility that the government keeps certain things secret and often acts in its own self-interest, and I will admit that chemtrails may indeed be different than contrails, but without more proof (and research on my part), that's as far as I can go right now. But thank you, Steve, for bringing this to my attention. I always enjoy learning new things and I think the three of us had a great conversation as the day came to a close. 


Until next time...cheers!
 - Bob