Saturday at the Hut - 4/27/13

Saturday at The Tobacco Hut saw quite a few people folks hanging around for a cigar or pipe. Let's start with the roll call, in no particular order: Rob, Lou, Joe K, Don, Peter, Scott, Ed F, and Tom L. It was nice to see the Hut included in a lot of people's Saturday plans. I had to give Joe some crap regarding not calling me when he and James were at the shop a couple weeks ago. He responded with some sort of finger display which I shan't duplicate here, since impressionable young children may be reading this.

Tom arrived and promptly began making fun of us pipe smokers. He poked fun at Peterson's trademarked P-Lip and it's somewhat phallic-shaped profile. As Ed pointed out though, this coming from a man who was smoking a cigar. But, as Freud once said supposedly, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." I do think though that as much as Tom is a pipe-a-phobe, he actually secretly wants to come out of the closet and embrace the pipe. Tom, it's OK, at the Hut you're in a safe environment. Break out the pipe, become one with it.

Earlier, Rob and Don and Joe and I were talking computers and airplanes and other subjects. Don is a pilot so we - or at least I - were grilling him on various aspects of flying. How fast he can fly, how high, etc. All fascinating stuff to us "civilians." Speaking of pilots, when are we going to see you again, Arnie? It's been awhile.

Later Scott came in and delivered an old Magnavox transistor radio to Peter. Peter collects old radios and immediately set about trying to get it to work. He was confident he could get it working properly with a little cleaning. Scott, being the resident "Knife Guy", also brought me a pocket knife, pictured below. It's a Scout knife (not an official Boy Scout, that's just the name of the knife) from Seneca Cutlery Co. in Utica, NY. Thank you Scott!

My newest knife from the "Knife Guy" (click to enlarge).

This one has special meaning to me, not only because it's from upstate NY, but because it's a Seneca, like me. Well, I'm at least partially a Seneca. Indian, that is. My great, great grandmother was a Seneca and her name was...Steptoe. That part of the family tree has some really kind of odd names - at least by modern standards - and I'm glad those names weren't passed down through the generations.

According to Scott, the knife itself was manufactured between 1930-1940, and is in pretty good condition considering its age. After numerous discussions, Scott is well aware of my love for all things vintage, and all things New York. I recently scored this Genesee Beer Tray on eBay and will be receiving it shortly.

This Genesee Beer Tray from the 1950s will soon be
hanging in my office (click to enlarge).

Don't forget that this Friday, May 3rd is Pipe Night! From 6-8:00 pm, come in - whether you're a pipe smoker or not - and hang out! You could also win a $50 store gift card in the raffle. If you are a pipe smoker, there are going to be some great discounts on pipes and tobacco as well, plus food and beverages.

Saturday, May 18th is the official Grand Re-Opening, so make plans to attend.

See you next time!

Saturday at the Hut - 4/20/13

Saturday at The Tobacco Hut was marked by my new pipe's inaugural smoke. I purchased a monster of a pipe from David Jones, a master carver and true artist located in Texas. He's noted for shaping large chunks of wood and for aging his briar more than 15 years. His craftsmanship is evident and the smoking quality of his pipes are outstanding. I owned two of his already and when I saw this one his eBay shop, I just had to have it.

My new David Jones pipe (click to enlarge).

I filled the bowl with some of McClelland's Wilderness tobacco, and kept filling! It's a gigantic bowl surrounded by so much briar that I barely felt the heat. The pipe measures 6-1/2" long and the bowl stands a full 2" high and about the same in diameter. For all the wood, it's surprisingly light, although I definitely won't be clenching it between my teeth.

The pipe provided an excellent, cool, dry smoke. It's definitely an all-day pipe: I fired it up around 9:15 and dumped the last bit of ash out around 2:30. But what a smoke! It's definitely in the rotation. Of course, Paula objected just a bit when I announced that I needed a new pipe. "You have so many, plus they all look the same!" I explained that she had so many shoes and they all looked the same too. Then I ducked.

Apparently last week, Joe's son James made a rare appearance at The Hut. From what the other guys told me, I pulled in about thirty seconds after they had left. Thank you Joe and James for letting me know you were going to be there. I guess I'll have to wait another several years before I see James again. I think the last time I saw him he was still drying vodka out of his ear after swimming across a retention pond. This week Joe was attending some family function out of town, but hopefully he'll be at the shop this coming Saturday.

Today's attendance included Pete and myself, of course, and Rob, Paul, Lou, Ed F, and Aaron. Something interesting came to light as one of the aforementioned regulars came in and stocked up on cigars. I won't mention names, but while another regular has been away this particular person has been raiding his neighbor's humidor. Now I don't know any details, and far be it from me to engage in gossip or throw anyone under the proverbial bus, but I just thought it shouldn't go unmentioned.

There have been quite a few entries in the Name The New Tobacco Contest. Whoever wins gets a free pound of their favorite tobacco (or the equivalent value in other merchandise - $62 worth). The winner will be announced at, appropriately enough...Pipe Night! That's right, as mentioned in this space in the last blog post, The Tobacco Hut introduces its first Pipe Night.

Pipe Night will be held Friday, May 3rd, from 6-8 PM at the store. Pete will provide food and beverage, and there will be discounts on selected pipes, plus buy one/get one on tobacco up to 4 ounces. And, as always, you can fill up your pipe with a new tobacco to give it a try. And the best part, everyone who walks in receives a raffle ticket for a chance to win a $50 store gift card! Even if you're not a pipe smoker, you can still show up and have fun!

And if you're reading this Tom L, I've converted another one! That's right, Rob has gone from cigars to pipes! And they keep coming! Jimmy is a newcomer who has been in a couple times now. Pete and I helped him pick out his first pipe last week and he came back to try some other tobaccos this week. Hopefully we'll see more of him in the future. See, it's my diabolical plan to convert everyone to pipes. You're next Tom!

Speaking of upcoming events, Pete is looking at holding the official Grand Re-Opening the third week in May, so probably Saturday, May 18th. More details to come on that, but hold that date and plan to attend. It promises to be quite the blow-out!

If you haven't already, please surf on over to The Tobacco Hut's Facebook page and click "Like". The community of Tobacco Hut fans is growing and there's always something brewing there, like exclusive weekly Facebook specials.

See you next time!

Saturday at the Hut - 3/30/13

Although everyone wasn't there at once, we had a nice crowd at The Tobacco Hut on Saturday. The first batch of Hutters were there first thing in the morning: Lou, Joe K, Rob, Don, Pete (of course), and myself. Later Steve B, Ed F, and Laurie arrived in the afternoon. It's not like there's a time clock or anything, but there was definitely a morning shift and an afternoon shift. And, naturally, if you listened to Joe, we  have no idea what time it is in the store anyway since I spirited the clock away several months ago.

The humidors are growing. Well, not the humidors themselves, but what's inside. Pete has been actively increasing the inventory and it shows! It's not quite to the level where he wants, but there's plenty of selection and depth now - enough to please most everyone.

We pipe smokers have reason to be happy as well. There's a full rack of Peterson pipes and then some, and four new tobaccos. More pipes are on the way and Pete and I are working on putting together a "Pipe Night" event. More info to come on that.

Maybe Kramer will show up at our upcoming Pipe Night!
(more info to come).

Pete kindly gave me free range to "invent" one of the new tobaccos. I took the existing Baker Street tobacco, which consists of Virginia and Latakia and I messed around with the ratios a bit and added a bit of Perique. The new blend borders on being a Balkan-type tobacco and is quite tasty. The best part, I think, is its name. In honor of our friend, Lou, we named it Searchlight. I think he approved.

There is an English-aromatic crossover tobacco called Spitfire which contains Virginia, Burley, Oriental and a bit of Cavendish. There is also a whiskey-flavored tobacco which is called 19th Hole.

For the fourth new tobacco, Pete needs your help in naming it. It's a fruity, tropical tobacco, very aromatic with a very nice room note. We thought it would be fun to have a contest to name the tobacco. Take a sniff of the new blend, light up a bowl of it if you're a pipe smoker, and come up with a fun name for the tobacco. If your suggestion is used, you'll win a pound of tobacco or the equivalent value ($62) in a new pipe, or cigars! So even if you're not a pipe smoker, you can still have fun with it and have a chance to win some cigars! There are entry forms at the store and the contest is good through April 30. If you're not able to make it into the store before the end of the month and still want to participate, leave a comment on this blog post with your email address (so we can add you to the mailing list) and you could still win!

I think Saturday actually had more pipe smokers in than cigar smokers, especially if you count Rob who is considering switching over to a pipe in the next week or so. Also, a shout out to my friend Alex from the Times who came in a few weeks ago and smoked his pipe. Nice to see the ranks of the pipe smokers growing.

I have developed and am managing the new Facebook page for the Hut. So if you're on FB, head on over to the page by clicking here and "Like" the page. Why should you like the page? Besides continuing the conversation at the Hut and connecting with friends and making new ones, you'll receive weekly, exclusive, Facebook offers available to no one else. Every Monday morning look for a post on the store's page that outlines a special of the week.

Finally, I'm helping Pete develop a monthly newsletter to be emailed out. It will be emailed on our around the first of each month and if you'd like to get on the mailing list you can sign up at the store or shoot me an email - bob.harrison@tampabay.rr.com - indicating you want to be on the list. All the usual privacy policies exist: your information won't be shared with anyone, etc., etc. We won't fill your inbox with crap, just a monthly newsletter and the occasional email if there's an event coming up or something. The first newsletter goes out tomorrow!

There are lots of things happening at The Tobacco Hut. Look for a grand opening party in the next month or so. Hopefully we can plan on a date when Don is available to cater the whole affair with his mouthwatering BBQ.

See you next week!

Saturday at the Hut - 2/23/13

This blog post will actually cover both Friday and Saturday at The Tobacco Hut, since the shop re-opened on Friday and I was there as well. I knew that Pete was planning a little remodeling and sprucing up before he opened the shop, and when I walked in on Friday it looked like he and Laurie had been hard at work.

The front half of the store had been painted and new flooring had been at least partially installed. Things were in a bit of disarray with tools scattered about, the TV on the floor, racks and furniture out of place, etc. But, and this is important...the store was open for business!

Tom L had come in earlier but by the time I got there he had already left. Joe was there when I arrived and Peter came in later. Don also came in but I had already left, and I guess Aaron was there as well.

The infamous clock, now on my office
wall, along with a couple other
artifacts from the Hut.
(Click to enlarge)

I had informed Joe in an email that I would be there between 12-1:00 that day as I was taking the afternoon off from work. When I walked in around 12:30, Joe demanded to know where I'd been, implying that I was late. I protested, saying that I was on time. I whirled around to point at the clock above where the TV normally sits and, of course, no clock. Ah, damn, I shouldn't have bought that clock from Lou which now sits on the wall in my office. Okay, Joe, you got me!

I delivered Pete & Laurie's new business cards, as well as Joe's. I felt I needed to get Joe back, so I told him that the printer printed his business cards upside down. I did get him for a second, as a momentary flash of confusion crossed his face.

Sorry, Joe, your business cards
got printed upside down.

With mutual "gotchas" out of the way, Joe was kind enough to buy me a cigar. I had brought my pipe with me, but with Joe's kind offer, I decided to delay the pipe until Saturday. I headed off to the humidor and grabbed a Fuente 8-5-8. By the way, the humidor is getting back to its normal inventory levels. Pete is actively ordering new supplies and it will take a few weeks to be bursting at the seams, but its well on its way now.

Joe left and Pete, Laurie, and I talked about some marketing and advertising plans for the store. Pete and Laurie both see enormous potential for the Hut and I think we'll all be pleased with what's to come.  They're looking at holding an official grand re-opening in a few weeks and we might even have Don prepare some of his world-famous barbeque for it. If you were fortunate to be here several months ago and sampled some, you know how good it is. You won't want to miss it. More to come when the dates get firmed up.

New hardwood floors really spruce
up the place. (Click to enlarge)

When I walked in Saturday morning, it was like night and day. Everything was put back in place, no tools scattered about, and the place actually looked bigger. The new wood floors really make a difference. The chairs were where they should be, and guess who was in his old chair? That's right, Lou was sitting in the "king's chair", like nothing had changed!

Well, a couple things had changed. He was speaking a little more deferentially to us and didn't kick anybody out of "his" store! Joe was there as well and, before long, Vic arrived, then Rob, and Don showed up too. I gotta tell you, now that Lou's no longer the owner, we can bust his chops a lot more! But he took it in stride, and dished it out just as much as he ever did. Lou said he's going to try and stop in on Saturdays, but of course taking care of Dotty is his first priority.

Just like old times!
(Click to enlarge)

Laurie provided some tasty baked goods, including some wonderful chocolate chip cookies. I lit up a Crown Viking freehand with some equally tasty Baker Street tobacco, and we all concluded that it is a very good thing that the Hut continues.

See you next Saturday!

Saturday at the Hut - 1/12/13

It's been awhile since I've posted - remember, I'm on a bit of a hiatus - but I have some exciting news to share. The Tobacco Hut lives! As most of you know, Lou has had the business up for sale for some time now but with no buyers, he had started the process of shutting the store down. Dotty is slated to come home soon and he wanted to spend his time with her. So every week the inventory would diminish and the shelves looked more and more bare. I steeled myself for the inevitable - no more Saturdays at the Hut. My wife wasn't too happy about the prospect either, as she practically pushes me out of the house on Saturdays.

Mike G (left), explains to the Hut's new owner, Pete (right),
that he gets free shipping to Tennessee when he places an
order. Lou quickly disavows even knowing Mike.
(Click to enlarge)

But, at the eleventh hour, a sale has been announced! Pete Yates and his wife Lori (hope I spelled her name correctly), from Clearwater, have stepped forward and purchased the store. It was a whirlwind romance - Pete came in two Fridays ago, and inked the deal with Lou this past Tuesday. Today was Lou's last Saturday as owner of The Tobacco Hut as Pete and Lori take over this Tuesday.

Lou reminiscing before the gang
arrived. (Click to enlarge).

It was bittersweet for us, most of all Lou, as it's been a great ride for the last 28 years. I've been coming to the shop since 1996, and hanging out on Saturdays since 1998. Others have a longer history, such as Mike G who I think was coming even before there was a Tobacco Hut, or even a shopping center there. I think Mike would just stand in the field at the corner of 54 and Madison and smoke a cigar.

So a tip of the pipe to Pete and Lori for keeping the legacy of the Hut going. And my wife sends her heartfelt thanks to you as well.

So besides the announcement that today brought, what else happened at the Hut? Well, let me start with who was in attendance today. We had a full crowd: Lou, Paul O, Don W, Peter G, Joe K, Vic T, Mike G, Scott R, Corey, Jeff D, Tom L, Ross, Pete & Lori, some kid who came in to buy It's a Girl Cigars and stayed to smoke a cigar, and me. The smoke was pretty thick at times, but it was a beautiful day so Lou had the door open which did a good job of keeping the room clear.

Vic (right) showing off his meat
to an eager Joe. (Click to enlarge).

Other than the good news of the Tobacco Hut's continuation, it was also Celebrate Vic's Meat Day. It's only natural that Vic bring us his meat since some of us have sampled his nuts. I guess technically it's not Vic's meat, but some friend of his in New York who makes liverwurst and capicola (also spelt capicollo, capicolla, or the Italian spelling, capocollo. Capicola is a traditional Italian cold cut made from dry-cured whole pork shoulder or neck). He also brought in some New York maple syrup. Some of the guys had put in an order with Vic a couple weeks ago and today he unveiled his meat for all to see. He even sliced some of his meat to try on crackers that Joe had brought.

Scott brought some knives with him, and Vic showed him one of his. We kidded Vic about how useful the knife would be since he keeps it in a sheath, in a box, locked in the trunk of his car. Hope he's not mugged - he'd have to ask the thug to wait five minutes while he gets to the knife.

Joe's paper towel carelessly left on
floor. Vic had nothing to do with it.
(Click to enlarge).

As the new owners take over, let's hope that Joe is more mindful of the paper towel that he constantly leaves on the floor. The photo at left was taken shortly after he left for home. We all noticed it and just shook our head. Maybe Joe was still feeling the effects of the Lido Gomez cigar that kicked his butt today.

Not sure who mentioned it, but someone said that they want a picture taken of Lou actually paying for a cigar. Lou took a lot of good natured ribbing today from all of us. And he was in such a good mood that he didn't mind a bit. I think someone could have lit a fire under his chair and he wouldn't have minded. Oh wait, Joe did that.

The new owners, Pete and Lori, have pledged to keep things at the Hut pretty much the same, although they will restore the store hours at least back to Monday through Saturday. We tried to convince them that Lou bought us all pizza and wings on Saturdays but they weren't buying it. Lori did bring in a container full of homemade cookies. Mike polished them off fairly quickly so was pleased when Lori said she'd bring in a fresh batch every week.

I didn't find out if Lou negotiated the use of the "king's chair" when he visits. Guess we'll find out. Lou will be at the Hut during a transition period while Pete and Lori get up to speed, and plans on making an appearance on Saturdays from time to time. Of course, his first priority is getting Dotty settled in, but I'm sure he won't be able to stay away for too long.

Joe (left) and Lou (right) look on eagerly as Vic
unveils his meat. (Click to enlarge).

Left to right: Joe, Vic, Mike, Don. (Click to enlarge).

Left to right: Scott, Joe, Corey, Mike, Vic. (Click to enlarge).

Lou, I think I speak for everyone when I say congratulations to you in this new chapter of your life. A lot of friendships have been forged at the Hut through the years and we have you to thank. We can also thank you for emptying our wallets. And even some abuse along the way...but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Good luck my friend and enjoy your retirement.

Saturday at the Hut - 7/14/12

We had a full house at The Tobacco Hut today, so let's jump right in with the roll call. In addition to Lou and myself, we had Joe K, Don W, Arnie, Vic and his cousin Russ, Bryan, and Aaron. The jokes were as thick as the smoke and we all got a lesson in grammar too. More on that later.

This will be Don's last Saturday for awhile as he begins training for his new job (congrats and good luck to Don). Fellow pilot Arnie was in town as well, so to celebrate he and Don both tried an Opus X for the first time. Vic and I and others warned them that it can be a strong smoke, but they both threw caution to the wind and lit up. Within about ten minutes Don had to let his go out as he was feeling a bit light-headed. He decided to smoke it at a much slower pace. Arnie was fine with it until the last third or so when little beads of sweat started to break out on his forehead. They both agreed that the Opus does not live up to its reputation as a top shelf cigar and that they would never smoke another. We did tell them that Tom L occasionally brings some aged Opus cigars that he's stored for the last dozen years or so and that they are completely different from a fresh, out-of-the-box specimen.

Russ T wins the award for traveling the farthest for a cigar. He's down visiting from Rochester, NY although he had some difficulties in departing from the airport a week ago. Russ was evidently under the impression that he could just arrive at the airport without a ticket or boarding pass and get right on the plane. The ticket agent had different ideas, so he had to delay his trip by a day. Seriously, Russ had purchased the ticket six weeks ago but when he got to the airport they had no record of him in their system. Russ, maybe you were supposed to fly out of Buffalo...

Readers of this space will recall the last blog posting from June 16 where Aaron recounted his romantic tale of him and his friend attending the critically acclaimed movie, "Brokeback Mountain" when it came out a few years ago. Speaking of "coming out", Aaron announced that he - no, no. I'm only kidding. Anyway, since there were some folks in attendance today that didn't hear the original story, we persuaded Aaron to give us his impressions of the movie, with full animation, of course. I passed around the Photoshop image I had prepared of Aaron living his dream of actually being in the movie, to everyone's enjoyment.

It was around that time that the typically sophisticated level of discourse took a downward turn. Russ ingratiated himself to us by telling some extremely distasteful jokes. I, for one, was deeply offended. Of course, you couldn't tell that because I was howling with laughter. There was one about three missionaries being faced with Yanye or Death, but since this blog's wide readership(!) reaches many women and children, I won't go into the full joke here.

So what's this about a grammar lesson? Oh yes, let me explain. One of the regulars at the Hut, Paul O (not to be confused with Scott R's brother-in-law, Paul V), had a very public hissy-fit on Facebook over a comment I left on one of his posts. Rather than explain it all, I submit the evidence from this past Monday and let my gentle readers come to their own conclusions:

Paul O wins the "I Can Dish It Out But Can't Take It" Award for 2012
(Click to enlarge)

Yes, you read that correctly, Mr. O gave me a thorough thrashing (and his wife even got in the act) over six words that I left for him. Not only did he "unfriend" me on Facebook (oh, the horrors), he even removed himself from The Tobacco Hutters. One can only hope that this means he has removed himself from the Tobacco Hut as well. I am quite sure that his "wit" will not be missed. Moving on...

Had a great day at the Hut with so many folks in attendance. 'Til next time!

Saturday at the Hut - 6/16/12

We had a nice crowd at The Tobacco Hut today - I'm glad I got there when I did, as there was only one good chair left. Peter G and Don W were already there, but I sat in my usual chair so all was right with the world. Later Bob B came in, as well as Aaron C, Joe K, and Paul O.

I was smoking my Neerup pipe, one of two that I own, and a bowl of Erik Nording's Hunter's Blend, a very nice combination. Aaron showed Lou his collection of cigar bands and, get this, Lou gave him a book specifically for saving cigar bands and making notes in. That's right, Lou gave away something. Now, he admitted that at the height of the cigar craze back in the 90s he sold dozens of them and that was the last one and he had marked it down several times, but still! Um Lou, there's probably a pipe or two that you've had in stock for a long time...just sayin'.

Snack alert! We are officially out of the peanut butter pretzels. I'll try and get my mother to buy some more for us, but don't know how soon she's going to Sam's Club. So if someone is headed there, feel free to buy a bag.

Congratulations to
Scott R on the publication
of his book!
(Click to enlarge)

Hey, a shout out to our own Scott R, who published his latest book on Amazon this week! I'm a little proud of it myself as he asked me to edit and proofread it, and design the cover. He's written a small volume aimed at would-be writers who are having trouble overcoming the inertia of not writing. Scott outlines some good tips on how to get started on writing. Highly recommended if you have that budding author inside of you! Check it out on Amazon here! And once you get that book written, let me know if you need any editing services or a cover designed!

By the way, a welcome to The Tobacco Hutters' newest member, Bob B! When I got home his application for membership was waiting in my inbox. That makes 26 members which I think is pretty good for a forum that isn't open to the public. I'd like to keep it that way - making it by invitation only - but I would like to see a bit more participation from folks. I pledge to be more active on it, especially as I curtail my blog postings, but I don't want to be talking in a vacuum.

Good luck to Don W as he was telling us about an interview he had with an airline company in Houston this past week. Hope you get good news soon, Don!

And a quick bon voyage to Peter. He's heading to the wild northwest for an Alaskan cruise next week. Have fun, Peter! Post pics to the Hutters!

OK, now to the highlight of the day. Don persuaded his friend Aaron to tell the "Brokeback Mountain" story and, with great reluctance, he did. Apparently when the film first came out several years ago a friend of his - Adam, I think - asked if he wanted to go to the movies. Sure, Aaron replied, what do you want to see. Adam answered that he'd like to see the new film, "Brokeback Mountain". Aaron hadn't heard anything about it, so Adam described it in very general terms: Two guys, the great outdoors, etc. without going into the plot at all.

Once in the theater, Aaron noticed that all the moviegoers were men; not a woman to be seen. Hmm, that's strange, he thought, but no matter. He and Adam sat down, observing the "Man Rule" in theaters: an empty seat between them. He then noticed that nobody else was observing said rule and were sitting next to each other. Aaron still didn't think too much of it and was just looking forward to seeing a rugged, outdoorsy kind of movie.

So he settled in with his popcorn and soda (Aaron, did you share a tub of popcorn with Adam or did you each have your own?) and began watching. About halfway into the movie the two lead characters, played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, take a little walk in the woods and, as Aaron tells it, they spend an inordinate amount of time in the woods.

Later, in the penultimate scene of the movie, one of the characters decides to share a tent with the other and Aaron witnesses an apparently very graphic scene of man love. As this is a family blog, I won't repeat some of the more lurid descriptions that Aaron used in describing the carnal proceedings.

We, of course, were in stitches hearing him tell the story, especially when he finally realized what his friend had talked him into seeing. In describing his climax - I mean, in describing the climax of the movie - Aaron proved himself a master pantomimist, displaying every grind and thrust he had witnessed. Again, we were falling over ourselves laughing. When we had calmed down, I began thinking how I can best memorialize Aaron's tale. When I got home, I fired up Photoshop and found a picture I had of Aaron taken a few months ago.

It's been said that pictures are worth a thousand words, so after I've now wasted a couple hundred, I present to you the never-before-seen movie poster of "Brokeback Mountain" starring none other than Aaron C:

With just a little Photoshop magic, Aaron isn't
just watching his favorite movie, he's starring in it!
(Click to enlarge)

Thanks for being a good sport about the "revised" movie poster, Aaron!

I had planned on skipping this week's blog to work on some of the other writing projects I have in the hopper, but I couldn't let this go!

See everyone on the Hutters!

Saturday at the Hut - 6/9/12

It's been a few weeks since I've made a blog posting, and I'll explain at the end why I've been AWOL from the blog and what my plans are. In the meantime, today at The Tobacco Hut we had a decent assemblage of the regulars: Peter G, Aaron C, Paul O, Joe K, Tom L, Lou and myself. Not everyone at once though - attendance was spread over several hours.

Aaron told us about his recent trip to Key West and the cigars he picked up there. He's got a great picture of the Ashton VSG, his go-to cigar, with blue skies and palm trees in the background. Hopefully he'll post it to the Tobacco Hutters site. You are a member of the Tobacco Hutters, right? If not, just click on the link and join up! I'll explain why it's important to do so at the end of the blog today.

I announced some bad news about NPR today. Joe and Tom immediately thought that they were going off the air or merging with Fox News or something equally calamitous. No, the Car Talk guys are retiring. Tom and Ray, aka Click & Clack, are hanging up the microphone after 25 years on the air. Someone asked why, and Tom immediately responded with, "Low ratings?". Sorry Tom, Car Talk is the most popular program on NPR, and can be heard locally on Saturdays at 10am on WUSF 89.7 FM.

Joe said that he made a donation to NPR. I got excited that he'd finally seen the light, but I should have known better. He said he sent them a check made out for $0 and he didn't sign it. Thanks Joe - your support is much appreciated. See how quickly I order those business cards for you!

Shortly after Tom arrived, he made a TV programming request. After three hours of watching the endless loop of Bay News 9 news, I was ready for any change. Tom wanted to see the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying which was coming on at either 12:30 or 1:00 on the Speed Channel. Unfortunately, Lou's cable package doesn't include the Speed Channel, at least he didn't think so.

Tom made it his mission to re-program the TV to try and tune in Speed. First he consulted the 2004 channel guide under the TV, then tried to just scan for all available channels. For awhile the TV was locked on a Christian broadcasting station, then all we could get was Telemundo or Jewelry Television. Finally, I consulted the Brighthouse website and determined that although the Speed Channel was included in Lou's package, a converter box was required to tune in.

Lou then tuned to the Golf Channel and Paul and I promptly fell asleep. Even Lou was bored with what was being proffered as entertainment; it was some sort of Golf Channel series that made no sense whatsoever. So back to channel surfing we went. We finally settled on Olympic men's gymnastic preliminary trials, which actually wasn't half bad.

Paul kept rooting for someone to fall on their face and he finally got his wish when the lead gymnast missed his grip in his high bar routine. All of us were actually quite impressed with their athleticism and muscles. Tom especially seemed drawn to a couple of them. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I left a little early as I had a couple stops to make and then it was off to Carrabba's for dinner with Paula. When I left it was just Peter and Lou, so not sure if anyone else made it in late.

So, what's up with my absence from the blog? Well, I started this blog in late 2008 - my first post was December 21, 2008. And after three and a half years of writing almost-weekly blog posts, I'm feeling a little burnt out. This is my 130th blog post and, although it may not show it, it takes time to put these together each week. I'm simply not feeling the passion for reporting the goings-on at the Hut week in and week out.

I still love spending my Saturdays at the Hut each week (as much as Paula loves having me out of the house for the afternoon) and I've made some great friendships over the years, and have no plans to quit going. I just can't continue to write a regular recap of what happened each week.

I do have a passion for writing and I'm actually exploring some other writing projects. For instance, I write a marketing blog focused on small businesses called Bullseye Marketing Tips. It's gotten decent traffic but, unfortunately, I've neglected it and want to build it back up again. In fact, I've started writing a book that is based on the blog. It expands greatly the marketing principles and tips that I've begun to explore in the blog.

There are a couple other book ideas floating around in my head that I'm anxious to get started on. I've already got a title for one of them: Saturdays with Lou. I envision it as kind of a memoir of Hut happenings over the years. I've got a lot of the material already written, on this very blog. In my mind, it just needs to be expanded to a narrative form. I'll probably have to fictionalize everything, from names and location to the type of shop, just to avoid a lawsuit from you guys or a demand for a cut of the royalties. Yeah, maybe I'll just rethink that whole idea.

Anyway, that's why it's important to join - and participate in - the Tobacco Hutters. I won't be writing in this space as much as I have been and the way to keep up with what's going on is to visit the Hutters group regularly. It's also vitally important, if it's to succeed, for folks to participate.

I want to sincerely thank the people who have contributed status updates, photos, forum and blog posts to the Hutters. I need to get better about participating myself, and pledge to be more active on it. My hope is that rather than writing this blog, which is a "top down" form of you reading my endless drivel, that we can have full, "round-table" types of discussions on the Hutters.

I'm not abandoning this blog - in fact I have some ideas for how it should evolve in the future. But instead, let's move over to the Hutters and have some great back-and-forths and debates. Talk about whatever you want to. See you there!

Saturday at the Hut - 5/12/12

We had quite a full house at The Tobacco Hut today. I thought I was getting there early enough to get a chair but alas, no. Fortunately Aaron was kind enough to give up his comfy club chair for the fold-up one he brought with him. Thank you, Aaron, for respecting your elders.

While I puffed on my Ascorti Peppino pipe filled with Tinder Box Reserve 1928 I tallied up the roll call (see how I slipped in what I was smoking today?): Lou, Joe K, Don W, Paul O, Aaron C, Peter G, Tom L, Vic, Blake, Tony, and myself.

Nice to see Vic making the trip up from Bradenton. It looks like we might see some more of him as he's squirreled his nuts away for the summer. Vic also recounted a story from a recent conversation with Mike G. Many of us probably remember Mike's old pick up truck...well, he's had it for sale in Tennessee for awhile and finally sold it to a young lady up there. Well, apparently, the night she actually took possession of the vehicle, just several hours later, it broke down on her.

If yer in need of a good car or truck that'll git
ya a mile or two down the road, call Mike!

Mike had to go and push it off to the side of the road, I guess, but rather than declaring simply, "Let the buyer beware", Mike went the extra mile and offered to refund the woman's money. Good on you Mike for doing the right thing! In honor of your integrity, I've created the logo above for your next company if you should decide to open a car dealership...

Today the topics revolved, strangely enough, around birds. Aaron told a story, complete with pantomime, of two seagulls engaged in coitus on a street light. Aaron's hip gyrations, arm flapping and gull-like squawking presented quite the entertaining vision.

Joe remarked that in his younger days he often went to the beach with his parrot on his shoulder and attracted flocks of ladies (pun intended). After bragging about his exploits for a time, Vic commented to me quietly that I should inform Joe that that wasn't exactly Christian behavior. So I started to say something, but before I did, Joe reminded me that he had just fixed my mother's computer which I had taken delivery of not an hour before. He also implied that the wizardry he employs to repair the computers can also be used to disable them, so I kept my mouth shut. Vic said I wussed out, but I prefer to think that I merely took the high road and adopted the very Christian principle of "judge not, lest ye be judged."

Vic helping Don ease his big rig
safely out of the parking spot
(click to enlarge)

Don cashed out and said goodbye, and we were then all treated to his driving prowess as he backed out of his spot, pulled forward a little, backed up, came forward again, backed up again, pulled up, back and forth, back and forth. It was all quite dizzying, but he finally managed to clear his parking spot, with a little help from Vic. For some unknown reason, he did a U-turn behind the building and drove past giving us all the "one-finger salute". I think some bikers in the barber shop noticed and we may not be seeing Don for awhile.

Blake made a rare Saturday appearance and met some of the guys for the first time. Tom was especially glad to meet a fellow pipe smoker. Paul feigned boredom with the whole topic of pipe smoking, but sure asked a lot of questions about it, as did Tom. I think they are both considering coming over to the right side of tobacco, but for some reason want to keep it on the DL. As Blake was leaving, Vic offered him a cigar from his recent purchases, in a last ditch effort to switch teams. As magnanimous as the gesture was, I don't think Blake will abandon his true calling as a pipe smoker. And, Vic, where was my cigar? Don't you want me on your team?

Other topics included some sports talk between Peter and Tom, and some politics/current events, but nothing too intense. I do like having Vic around as he and I are on the same page on a lot of issues, so I don't have to hold the Progressive flag by myself. Finally, Vic regaled us with tales from his days as a correctional officer in the New York State Prison system.

Have a good week everyone!

Saturday at the Hut - 5/5/12

Aaron digging into Don's delicious BBQ
(click to enlarge). For other photos,
see The Tobacco Hutters.

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style on Saturday at The Tobacco Hut. Well, we didn't really celebrate Cinco de Mayo per se, but we did have some fantastic BBQ and other fixins from Don W. He announced on Thursday on The Tobacco Hutters that he was bringing his world famous BBQ on Saturday and it was well worth it! Don urged folks to bring Coronas for the minor Mexican holiday, but nobody obliged. But no matter, his BBQ'd pork butt and shoulder was out of this world! He supplied buns and his secret sauce, as well as boiled peanuts (yechh!) and I brought some potato salad. It was all very well received and we had a full house enjoying the feast. A big thank you to Don for supplying this and all his preparation - 12 hours to smoke it properly!

So who was there chowing down? Peter G, Joe K, Scott R, Jeff D, Bob (not me, and not Bobby M, but another Bob), Aaron C, Don of course, Tony, Lou, and myself. Paul O probably would have been there but he's in Vegas on some company junket.

Paula and I enjoying the Rays game
from the Times suite Friday night
(click to enlarge)

Allow me to back up a little...Paula and I hosted the Times suite at Tropicana Field on Friday night and watched the Rays beat up the Oakland A's, 7-2. David Price was on fire with 12 strikeouts, striking out every batter in the lineup at least once. Looks like they're playing okay without Evan Longoria who's out for several weeks with an injury. I would have strolled over to the Cuesta-Rey Cigar Bar to enjoy a smoke but, as host, I had to stay in the suite for the duration of the game. In any case, we had a great time, even though the food and beer tab was outrageous. A thousand dollars to feed 15 people wings, hotdogs, peanuts, and beer.

A little discussion came up on The Tobacco Hutters recently about attendance at the Trop and the reasons why it's so low. There are a lot of factors involved, ranging from the lousy economy to every game being televised to a short tradition of the game in the area. All I know is that right now the Rays have the best record in baseball and are playing exciting ball and to be ranked 28th out of 30 teams in terms of attendance is pretty crappy. They deserve better from the Tampa Bay area.

So if you're not a member of The Tobacco Hutters and have missed the e-mails I've sent out about it, you might be thinking, "What is this 'Tobacco Hutters' he keeps mentioning?" Well, it's our own social network, just for customers and friends of The Tobacco Hut. As of this writing, we're up to 22 members after just a week and participation and content is growing steadily.

It's a virtual space that is intended to be an extension of the real Tobacco Hut, a place that friends can come together, talk to one another through forums, write their own blogs on topics important to them, post status updates, upload photos and more.

How is it different from the blog you're reading right now? Well, The Sweetest Smoke is my blog where I write seemingly endless drivel and a handful of people read it. But there's very little room for discussion and the commenting mechanism is clunky and problematic. The Tobacco Hutters, however, is easy to participate in and is not meant to be just me creating content. It's your space, your community. Use it in whatever way you want.

It's free to join, but is not open to the public. To become a member, simply click on the highlighted links above, or right here: http://bit.ly/TobaccoHutters. I'll get notified that you've clicked on the link and approve your membership. Feel free to invite your friends if you like what you see. I encourage everyone to sign up though, if you haven't already - the more the merrier!

(The group is limited to 150 members - after that I have to go up to the next level which is quite a bit more of an investment. But that's a good problem to have and I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If it comes to that, I'll probably lay out the cash for it and then accept advertising on the site to defray the cost. No worries about that now, however.)

Toward the end of the afternoon, most of the folks had split for the day and who remained were Don, Peter, Scott, Lou and myself. We started talking about the "good old days" in radio and music, got into a debate about who the greatest guitarist ever was (Scott's vote was for Eddie Van Halen, Lou voted for Les Paul, and I topped them all with Jimi Hendrix), and finished with an informal game of "Name That Tune". We all tried stumping each other by naming a song and the others trying to guess the artist.

Scott stumped us a couple times with some April Wine songs (didn't know Scott was such a fan of the Halifax band), Peter tried to stump us with the song "96 Tears" but I immediately shouted out the answer - ? and the Mysterians. A little aside, there was a customer that wandered in during the quiz show segment of the afternoon and he said that Todd Rundgren wrote the song "96 Tears", but I can find no evidence of that, no connection whatsoever between him and ? and the Mysterians. The group formed in 1962 and the song was written by band member and lead vocalist Rudy Martinez. The only connection I could find between Todd Rundgren was that he covered the song in 1998 with his band Utopia.

Peter stumped us with "Come On Down to My Boat" by Every Mother's Son, which frustrated me because I have the song on my iTunes collection.

Scott maintains that Kansas was a one-hit wonder with "Dust in the Wind". Peter and I vehemently objected to the notion that they were a one-hit wonder but when Scott challenged us to name another song of his, we had to quietly agree with his assertion.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun shouting out song names and artists, especially the one-hit wonders, and even employed my iPhone to play samples of the songs. Lou was feeling a little left out so I played the opening couple notes of Glen Miller's "In The Mood" and he nailed it right away.

We were having so much fun playing Name That Tune that something happened for the first time ever, I think, at the Hut. I failed to finish my pipe. When it was closing time, I had about a third of the bowl left. I was so busy looking up songs on my iPhone and racking my brain trying not to be stumped by what Peter and Scott were throwing at me that I simply neglected my Ser Jacopo filled with G.L. Pease's Westminster tobacco. It was a fine smoke but, alas, I got too wrapped up in the fun to finish it.

And that brings me to the finish of this week's blog. See everyone next week, and see you around The Tobacco Hutters!

Saturday at the Hut - 4/28/12

We had a full house today at The Tobacco Hut and let me start off by stating, for the record, the official record, that Coast Guard Don was in attendance. He was there in the morning and couldn't stay long as he was flying a client to Atlanta (what a job!). Anyway, hope to see you next week, Don!

Also in attendance were Joe K, Paul O, Peter G, Tom L, and - all the way from Bradenton - Vic. Now Vic didn't bring his nuts along but he did not arrive empty handed. He surprised us with wings and apple fritters.

Peter enjoying some of Vic's wings
(Click to enlarge)

Lou devoured one of the fritters straightaway and Joe was trying to be good so just cut a piece off. But it was so good that he returned and cut another piece off, vowing that that would be it for him. But the temptation was too great for Joe, and Joe was weak and he finally returned for the whole thing. I didn't have one of my own, but I did have a bite of Joe's fritter and it was delicious. Um, that didn't sound too good. Let's just say that I liked the fritter that Vic brought more than I liked the taste of his nuts that Tom delivered a few weeks ago. That didn't sound good either - just forget the whole thing.

Peter announced that he was going to return to the theater to see the Three Stooges movie for a second time. The rest of the gang kind of pounced on him. Evidently they're Stooges purists and cheap Hollywood remakes are like a eye jab to the memory of Larry, Curly and Moe. Peter tried to gamely argue that the Stooges heirs had given their blessing to the movie but Tom and company were having none of it.

My favorite comedy team, Laurel & Hardy
(Click to enlarge)

I tried to argue that while I was neutral on the subject of a modern Three Stooges movie, I would view a modern version of my beloved Laurel & Hardy as sacrilege. As Tom and his minions heaped derision on me for favoring Stan and the Babe over the Stooges, Peter was able to take a breath from defending his preferred movie comedy team.

Peter's favorite comedy team, The Three Stooges
(Click to enlarge)

There was some discussion over who got their start first, the Stooges or Laurel & Hardy, and then it just got silly as Charlie Chaplin, Abbott & Costello and the Marx Brothers were brought into the mix. Annie Oakley was mentioned in the frenzy of famous names being tossed out, which made not sense at all. I argued that without Laurel & Hardy there would be no Three Stooges and Peter maintained that the Stooges were around in the 20s. That was news to me and I consulted that bastion of Internet wisdom, Wikipedia, and learned that, in fact, the Stooges got their start in 1925. Laurel & Hardy did predate them by four years, but I wouldn't say that they were responsible for the likes of the Stooges. Peter knows his Stooge history - well done sir!

Vic was lamenting his challenges with selling his nuts at the flea market, and their draconian restrictions, so we were all tossing out ideas for additional items he could sell. Someone mentioned that there were lots of Germans in the area around Bradenton and maybe Vic should market something to them, like bratwurst. It's kind of a blur, but at some point Tom and Paul and I were spitballing some marketing ideas like the SS Dog, or an experimental sandwich - the "Mengele Burger". Unfortunately, we just kept going down that road (use your imagination) and didn't return until we offended whole swaths of the population. Sorry we weren't much help with your business, Vic.

Tom helping Vic with how to best market his business and
offend German customers at the same time.
(Click to enlarge)

Finally, this very blog was brought up and I, your humble narrator, had all guns trained on him. Hell, I didn't think anyone read the damned thing but evidently passions run deep when the few readers I do have attempt to leave a comment. Paul and Tom were the most vocal about it, accusing me of censorship because their comments never make it to the page.

I explained that it is very easy to leave a comment, just follow the directions on the left rail toward the bottom of the page. So they tried on their phones and their test comments didn't appear. I explained that I moderate the comments because I was being inundated with spam but, I pledged, when I got home I would publish their comments.

Tom insisted that the comment function was completely, well, non-functional and issued me a challenge. He wanted me to ask Paula to comment on a blog post unassisted. I forgot about that or ignored it and Paula's asleep now so it's too late anyway but, I must confess that none of their test comments appeared in the queue awaiting my approval.

I know Mike G has had problems posting comments in the past and he has since merely e-mailed me his comments and I post them as they come in. I erroneously assumed it was simply operator error on his part because I do get other comments (Ed B and Aaron C, for example) through the normal channels.

To answer Tom, the absence of comments is not some vast liberal conspiracy of the mainstream media, but some sort of technical glitch and I pledge, as the administrator of this apparently wildly popular blog, that I will get to the bottom of it and allow for the free and robust exchange of ideas.

That being said, I think I am going to create a Facebook Group ("People of the Hut"?) where we can all gather and discuss things of great import. I realize that not all of us are on Facebook, but I think more of us are on Facebook than Google+, the only other really viable alternative. I looked into other social network sites like Ning and they cost money and don't get good reviews, so unless there are any big objections, I'll probably set something up on FB soon.

Oh, one more thing (and I feel like a disc jockey)...a shout out to Russ T, Vic's brother in Rochester. He is a faithful blog reader and hopefully will make it down soon for another visit.

I lied, one more item before I close. I have to tell everyone what I was smoking in my pipe today and which one I was smoking. Oh, who am I kidding, no one cares. Hell, I've even forgotten.

Until next week...

================

ADDENDUM!

For the first time ever, in the interests of a transparent, "fair and balanced" blog, I am adding something to an existing post. I am adding the photo that Tom sent with his comment (see below).

Here is Tom's quote: "It is official, photos don't lie, all pipe smokers are evil." Tom sent the photo of Josef Stalin smoking a pipe. Thereby, all pipe smokers are evil. 


My rebuttal? Tom, Mark Twain, the great American humorist, was a famous pipe smoker. Are you saying that Mark Twain, beloved American writer, was evil? Sounds a little unpatriotic to me. Why, you might just be a closet Communist, what with pictures of Stalin at the ready. If only Senator McCarthy was still around - you would be found out. Names would be named!

Saturday at the Hut - 4/21/12

Hey, look at me - two weeks in a posting to the blog! I should win some sort of award or something. Today was a fun day at The Tobacco Hut. In attendance were Joe K, Paul O, Tom L, Don W, Peter G, Lou, and myself.

It didn't take long for the talk to turn political - not that I had anything to do with that. I was simply the lone liberal taking potshots from the posse of conservatives surrounding me. We had to invoke Joe's "Kitty" rule once or twice when it got too heated. It actually wasn't too contentious - what was more intense was when Don asked for a good local restaurant for his wife and him to go to tonight.

Many of us recommended Rusty Bellies in Tarpon Springs, but Don's not fond of seafood. Peter and Tom suggested Currents, also in Tarpon, and I concurred, only after having Tom shoot down completely my recommendation of Casa Tina's in Dunedin.

What a place! It's not your typical Tex-Mex taco joint with salsa from a jar and heavy sauces slathered over burritos. It's actually coastal Mexican, all fresh homemade recipes. It's a fun atmosphere and the service is outstanding (ask for Laura).

Tom was poo-pooing the place, but I don't think he's ever eaten there. I think he was just steering Don away from it because I liked it.

So Don, where did you end up going for dinner?

Toward the end of the day a regular customer came in and bought a couple cigars. While Lou appreciates the guy's money (naturally), he is less than enthusiastic when he sits down to talk. And what did Peter do? Started talking to the guy. Now, to be fair, Peter had no idea that Lou prefers this customer to pull an Adrian, i.e. dash in and dash out. Lou gave him the high sign though after 20 brutal minutes of banal conversation and Peter did his best to not engage the guy anymore. He finally left and, of course, we heaped all sorts of grief on poor Peter.

Don was dishing out lots of his own grief today. He gave me hell because I had brought in the replacement bag of peanut butter pretzels and they came from Sam's Club, part of the Wal-Mart empire. Knowing my disdain for all things Wal-Mart, Don was quick to point out my hypocrisy. I remarked that, actually, my mother bought them and I bought them from her. This did not appease my critics, especially when I admitted that I actually never paid my mother the $6. Note to self, pay Mom.

I asked Don about Arnie and Aaron. Arnie is supposed to be in town sometime soon, so hopefully he'll stop by for a visit. And Aaron is busy working all the time on Saturdays, so obviously he has his priorities screwed up.

After watching 3 hours of the Bay News 9 endless loop of stories, we finally convinced Lou to change the channel. He loved the idea so much, he switched it to the Golf Channel. Paul was already napping but this put the rest of us out like a light.

Don asked a question about race drivers - are they athletes? Don doesn't think just driving a car and turning left requires any sort of special athletic ability, but Tom and I disagreed. Tom is more familiar with Formula 1 racing, but the same holds true for NASCAR and, I would posit, every other type of racing. The amount of conditioning the professional drivers go through, and the punishment their bodies take, plus the mental acuity, skill, timing, reaction times, etc., all point to their being as much of an athlete as any football player, swimmer, basketball player, runner, or golfer. Well, scratch that, golfers aren't athletes. Neither are bowlers.

Today saw me smoking some Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in a Mauro Armellini, a pipe I purchased in Savannah years ago. I'm not sure what everyone else was smoking, but Joe only smoked one cigar. See last week's posting for why this is significant.

That's it for this week - see you next Saturday!

Saturday at the Hut - 3/24/12

Today at The Tobacco Hut the following folks were in attendance: Joe K, Peter G, Paul O, Bryan J, Lou, and myself. I was smoking a Crown Viking filled with Tinder Box Reserve 1928, a most excellent tobacco. I got the pipe from Lou several years and it's one of my favorite freehands.

There was a lot of tech talk throughout the day. Paul had some computer questions for Joe, Joe bragged about his latest iPad and Apple TV purchase. He sold his iPad 2 to his daughter (I thought initially he had sold it to Vic!). Later, after Joe had left, we talked about various TV viewing options, from streaming to Tivo to Hulu to Netflix and RedBox.

Bryan and I talked at length about e-readers such as his Nook and my Kindle, their advantages and disadvantages. A shout out to Bryan for his 25th wedding anniversary! One thing I pointed out regarding obsolete technologies such as floppy disks is that the regular ole' book, i.e. the printed word, will never die out. It can't be made obsolete by some new technology.

Bryan, I mentioned this to you today when we were talking about music. It's a link that I've mentioned in this space before and Paul O is happily listening in now. It's called Psychedelicized Radio and features songs from the latter half of the 1960s, some you've heard but mostly obscure bands. Give it a listen - I think you'll like it.

It's free but they do welcome donations to pay for the server space. It runs them about $90/month and I've donated since they began about two months ago. It kind of works like Joe's favorite broadcaster, NPR. Joe, if you tune to 89.7 FM this week, they're in the middle of their pledge drive. Would you like me to donate on your behalf like I've done before? Maybe you can add to your NPR coffee mug collection.

If you read the blog last week, you know that Lou has come to a decision regarding the store. If he is unable to sell it by April 30th when his lease is up, he will be forced to shut the doors. As sad as that will be, I think we all understand his reasoning and support him a hundred percent.

I've been thinking about how we can all stay in touch when the Tobacco Hut Era comes to a close. We've had some great discussions and forged good friendships throughout the years and I, for one, would like those to continue, even if it's just in a "virtual" sense online.

When I send the blog update announcement out everyone's e-mail address appears, so folks can obviously stay in touch that way, but I'd like to duplicate the lively discussions that take place every week at the Hut in some online form. I'm exploring a couple options: an online forum, a Facebook group page, or Twitter.

The Facebook group page is extremely easy to set up and use; the downside is that not everyone is on Facebook. Twitter is also easy to set up and use, but tweets are limited to a small number of characters so isn't really conducive to proper discussions. An online forum offers the most robust environment in which to converse (I'm thinking of the Smokers Forums, Puff.com forums, and others).

There are a couple challenges with creating an online forum. The first is financial. The most full-featured and reliable forum software is vBulletin, but it costs $195/year plus hosting costs. I would also have to get up to speed on the technical issues as I've never been on the "back end" of forums, only as the user.

There are free forum applications but they are chock full of unwanted advertisements, and I would still have to arrange for hosting.

Another alternative is Ning.com - it's a niche social media development application which is only $19.95/year for the Mini site. The Mini site is limited to 150 members, but is fairly robust with a lot of cool features. It would be kind of like a Facebook site just for us - you can make comments, add photos, etc.

I'm kind of leaning toward that option if there's an interest in it from the gang. Let me know your thoughts and have a great week!

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 3/17/12

Today at The Tobacco Hut saw me enjoying a bowlful of G.L. Pease's outstanding Chelsea Morning tobacco in the Stanwell that Paula surprised me with for Christmas. It smoked well all the way to the bottom of the bowl, providing a great taste and excellent room note. The rest of the gang was smoking cigars and there was a fair number of us so it was welcome relief when Lou decided to prop open the door to air it out a bit.

This is probably close to what
Jim's iPad looked like after
being run over.

In attendance today were Lou and myself, of course, Scott R, Jeff D, Paul O, Paul V and - toward the end of the day, Jim C. I'll open the blog with a tale that Jim recounted about his iPad. He received it as a gift from his wife but several days ago, whilst driving on US 19 near S.R. 52 with the windows open and the iPad on his dashboard, made a turn and promptly sent it flying out the window. Unfortunately, he didn't notice it until he got home and then retraced his path and discovered it in the middle of the road, having been run over multiple times. But, guess what? Apple replaced it! Jim is now a full believer in Apple. If it hadn't been replaced, I was going to suggest that he get in touch with Joe who is probably ready to sell his iPad 2 now that the latest version is on the market.

After Scott and Lou conducted a little business (the former had sold some of the latter's old lighters and other collectibles on eBay and was delivering the proceeds), Scott and I got down to our business. Specifically, the solution to the brain teaser I had posed in this space a couple weeks ago, regarding the 911 dispatcher's help to the man suffering from a heart attack. Probably the only people that cared were in attendance today, but I'll give the solution here in a moment. It actually didn't take Scott long, after a few carefully considered questions, to hit upon the answer. Although maybe it was a repeat from a couple weeks ago where Scott did all the "heavy lifting" and Paul O actually answered it...I can't remember. Okay, for those of you were wracking (or "racking", either is acceptable) your brain for the solution: The dispatcher had the man read off the license plate of the car parked in front of him, she ran the registration through the computer, and directed the ambulance to the address, saving the man's life.

A little later when Paul V arrived Scott had me pose the same question to him and, with some more heavy lifting from Scott, he worked out the solution.

We had some good sports discussions...who the Bucs had picked up and their prospects for the coming season, how the Rays were looking, the ongoing NCAA March Madness tournament, and the "good ole' days" of sports television when you basically had on option for watching sports - ABC's Wide World of Sports which showed the highlights from various games from the previous week. Now, as Scott pointed out, you can watch practically every game live, start to finish, but there still doesn't seem to be anything good on.

I was feeling lucky so I sprang another puzzler on Scott and the boys. I produced a deck of cards and asked Scott if he could cut the deck exactly in half. He didn't think so, but he actually did pretty well, cutting 28 cards. I then had him shuffle the two halves together and deal some piles of cards face down. There were several piles consisting of just two cards, a few piles of four cards and two piles of thirteen cards each. As he dealt each pile, I bet him what each pile would consist of: the pairs of cards would contain one red and one black card, the piles of four would consist of one card from each suit, and the two piles of thirteen cards would each contain ace through king. As the odds of each of these bets got longer and longer, Scott had no problem betting against me, especially since we were using "hypothetical" money, not the real thing. But, sure enough, after he had dealt through the deck, the cards were turned over and I was correct on each pile.

I emphasized that Scott had cut and shuffled the cards and done the dealing, so there could be no pre-arrangement or sleight of hand since he had shuffled and handled the cards. I've always enjoyed legerdemain, especially when it comes to playing cards. Next time, Scott, we'll see how well you do separating the reds from the blacks, sight unseen. And if you want to invite me to your next poker game...

Lou made a sad, but not entirely unexpected, announcement. The lease for the store is up at the end of April and he has decided that without a buyer, he will be forced to close the doors so he can devote more of his time and energy in taking care of Dotty. He would prefer to sell the store and keep it open - and has lowered his asking price considerably - but will have to close down if he is unable to sell it. Now is the time to spread the word if you know of anyone who would like to take over the shop. After almost 28 years it's an institution in Pasco County and I think we all share Lou's desire to see the store continue, even under different ownership.

 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 3/3/12

Today was "Brain Teaser Day" at The Tobacco Hut! First, the attendees included Joe K, Scott R, Peter G, Paul O, Lou, and myself. And, as everyone likes to know what I was smoking in my pipe, it was Lou's own Baker Street in a David Jones sandblasted billiard. Pure delight!

Like I said, it was a day for brain teasers at the Hut. It actually started with my drive to the shop. I was listening to NPR's "Car Talk" program with Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers. Each week they have a "puzzler" to solve. This week's had to do with splitting wood, which is a passion of Scott's. Scott also likes, funnily enough, brain teasers. So as soon as he arrived, I sprang it on him.

I won't go into the whole thing here as it is rather lengthy, but it has to do with a man helping his farmer neighbor cut some wood. The farmer was running a leather strap from the power takeoff of his Jeep to a circular saw and he asked the neighbor to fetch a large crowbar from the barn. The neighbor retrieved the crowbar and leaned it up against the Jeep's tailgate, and they commenced with the woodcutting.

After all the wood was cut and they were gathering everything up, the neighbor commented that they hadn't needed the crowbar after all. The farmer countered that indeed they had used the crowbar and, without it, they wouldn't have even started the job. What was the crowbar's purpose?

Joe and Lou immediately proclaimed that they didn't like brain teasers. Joe said that they made his head hurt. No worries, it was more for Scott anyway, and he immediately set to asking various questions to about the Jeep and how the crowbar was positioned. I gave him a clue that it was a crisp, autumn day. He asked some more questions about the weather. All the while, Joe and Lou were conversing about other things while Scott tried to figure it out.

Joe and Lou were showing mild interest, but not really trying to solve the problem as Scott was slowly closing in on the answer. All of a sudden, as if hit by lightning, Joe exclaimed, "Static electricity!" and solved the problem. Indeed, the crowbar acted as a ground to discharge the static electricity built up by the spinning leather band, since the Jeep itself was insulated by the rubber tires.

Very impressive, Joe! Your deductive powers are amazing!

Okay, before Scott reaches through the computer and hits me with a crowbar, it was actually he who did all the "heavy lifting" with the puzzle, asking the right questions and narrowing down the possibilities. Scott was the one who really solved the problem, but we had a good laugh as Joe claimed victory.

Scott presented us with a brain teaser of his own, involving a man who, like any other typical day, got up in the morning, got dressed, had breakfast, and headed off to work. However, halfway to work, he turned around and went home and killed his wife. What made him kill his wife? For not being interested in brain teasers, both Joe and Lou were peppering Scott with questions just as I was to try and figure it out. The questioning went for probably 45 minutes until we finally figured it out. I won't reveal the answer here. If you're really interested in solving it, you can ask Scott or me.

We talked briefly about the difference between brain teasers and riddles. Brain teasers are like what you just read and riddles are more like this: I have two coins that equal 50 cents, but one of them is not a nickel. How can that be? The answer: The other one is the nickel.

Finally, Scott posed another brain teaser: In an old west town a shot rang out and 53 bicycles fell. How did it happen? Paul, Lou and I asked some questions of Scott to try and figure it out. We asked if they were standing next to each other, domino style. Not necessarily. We asked if they had riders on them. No. I asked if they were standard, rideable bicycles and he said that they were not. Hmm...a tantalizing clue. "Did it have to be exactly 53?" "Yes." I asked if they were toy, or miniature bikes. No came the answer. Lou immediately piped up, "They were playing cards!" We fell silent and it hit us. My gosh, the man was right! Bicycle playing cards - the standard deck consisted of 52 cards. Someone was cheating with an extra ace and he got shot.

Outstanding Lou! Well done, sir!

Time out, I said. I don't think Bicycle playing cards have been around that long. Ever the stickler for these sorts of things, I don't think they were in use back in the Old West days. Well, it's still a good brain teaser. As talk moved to other things, I grabbed my iPhone and Googled it. Well, what do you know, Bicycle playing cards were introduced by the United States Playing Card Company in 1885. They were around back then!

Astute readers of this space will remember that last week Scott brought in a Beattie Jet Lighter for me to look at. He brought it in again today and I made him an offer on it. It's quite unique and even though it doesn't work, I still wanted to have it. Maybe I'll get it fixed somehow. Anyway, thank you Scott!

Finally, a parting brain teaser for Scott or anyone else who wants to try their hand at solving it. Here goes:

An old guy is driving home. It's late at night. He's motoring down the highway and he's some considerable distance from home. Suddenly, he feels himself having a heart attack.

He says, "Oh my God. It's the big one." Thinking quickly, he takes the first available exit.

As luck would have it, he winds up in a residential neighborhood. It's very late at night. He pulls over to the side of the road behind some parked cars. He's fading fast, but he has the presence of mind to pull out his cell phone and call 911.

He says to the dispatcher, "I need help. I'm having a heart attack."

She says, "Where are you?"

"I don't know where I am."

"What exit did you take?"

"I don't remember."

"Were you going north or south or east or west?"

"I don't remember."

"Can you tell me what street you're on?"

"I'm in the middle of the block. I'm parked. I didn't see any street signs."

She says, "Start blowing your horn. Someone will come out of their house."

No one comes out. She then asks him to do one more thing. Minutes later, an ambulance is on its way there and saves his life.

What did she ask him to do?

This was "borrowed" from a previous "Car Talk" show and since I know Joe never listens to NPR, he won't remember hearing it. Not sure about Scott or the rest of you, but have fun! A quick hint, it has nothing to do with triangulating his location from his cell phone. The dispatcher specifically asks him to do something, and it saves his life.

Until next week!