Saturday at the Hut - 3/19/11

Bob on the Left, Joe on the Right
(in more ways than one).
Click to enlarge.

As many of you know, Joe K and I are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. In point of fact, I think I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum from most of the regulars at The Tobacco Hut. But Joe and I have the most fun with our rivalry. It all started several months ago when I purchased an National Public Radio shirt and wore it proudly to the shop one Saturday. Joe countered with a shirt of his own several weeks later that said "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal". Actually, he wore a homemade shirt a little earlier, one that sported a circle with a line drawn through it over the initials "NPR". Well, I finally came up with a counter to his counter, and I wore it today. I forewarned Joe, so he made sure to wear his "Silly Liberal" shirt. Thanks to Adrian for taking this picture (with Joe's camera, and thanks to Joe for actually sending me the picture!) of the two of us. Your turn Joe!


Peter G was at the store when I arrived. It was great to see him, as it's been a few weeks. He spent a week sailing around the Caribbean on a Norwegian cruise a week ago. He confirmed what my wife and I suspected after our last cruise, that a balcony room is well worth the price. We had a window only and kind of wish we had sprung for the balcony. 


Barry C and his son Chris came in. I had never met Chris before and, other than some pretty towering height, he looks a lot like Barry (poor guy!). Apparently Barry's work schedule has changed, so hopefully we'll see more of him on Saturdays now. Barry didn't have a lot of time so he got a new cigar that Lou started carrying, the Ashton Half Corona. It smelled good and Barry reported that it was a nice smoke, so by the end of the day I bought a 5-pack of them. Looking forward to trying it.


Today I enjoyed a bowlful of Dunhill 965, a rich English blend characterized by Macedonian tobacco, Latakia, and Brown Cavendish. It was my go-to blend when I first began smoking an English and I actually found this tin this past week, shoved to the back of a closet. I had feared that it had been opened and was now completely dry, but it was still vacuum sealed and tasted wonderful in the Ascorti Peppino sandblast. 


Ed B pulled up in his uncovered Jeep, obviously enjoying the beautiful weather. Besides discussing the announced retirement of Ed's boss, Sheriff Bob White, a lot of the talk was about the NCAA March Madness tournament that was on TV. Fortunately Lou kept it tuned to that instead of the golf tournament that was being held down the street at Innisbrook. 


Adrian came in and I have to say I was looking forward to his arrival as much as I had been anxious to show Joe my new shirt. See, Adrian and I had a chess game to finish from last week. We had adjourned it and Lou graciously allowed us to - rent free - keep the chessboard set up in one of his display cases. Pleasantries were exchanged and we quickly set up the table and resumed the game. I was a little concerned at first because I had a gaping hole in my king's defenses, but I found that I was able to go a piece up and finally whittled my way down to a victory.


In that game, I was playing the white pieces and Adrian the black. And it just so happened that our respective pieces matched our own, ahem, skin color. As Adrian congratulated me on my victory, Joe commented that perhaps he should change his color to white for the next game. Adrian responded quickly by rubbing his arm and saying, "I don't think it's going to come off!" We all burst out laughing and I think "race relations" are just fine at the Hut!


That next game was a bit of a nail biter, but I eventually prevailed. And so we played another game. And again I prevailed. It was now 4:30 and Adrian was eager for a final rematch. I begged off at first, not wanting to have to adjourn a game like we did last week. He insisted, saying we could get in a quick match. I finally agreed and the game was afoot.


Adrian was playing white and opened with 1.e4 (advancing the king's pawn two squares). I responded with 1... e6, the French Defense. I made an early positional misstep, but thought I was doing pretty well because I was soon up by two pawns. We were moving along at a pretty good pace and I was soon bearing down on his castled king. What I neglected were his two rooks that he had along the e-file. I went in for the kill, aiming for a back rank mate, but out of seemingly nowhere, he advanced the first rook, checking my king. I had only one move available and with no hesitation Adrian advanced the second rook, bringing the sword of checkmate upon me. I was speechless and I'm sure my jaw dropped two inches. Adrian, having suffered through a number of straight losses, jumped up and let out a victorious howl. 


Slowly shaking my head, I extended my hand to congratulate my most formidable opponent. Well played, my friend, well played.


I can't wait 'til next week!


 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 3/12/11

I walked into The Tobacco Hut this afternoon eager to fire up a bowl of a tobacco that I haven't had in years, Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe. The Dunhill collection of tobaccos have been off the market for a number of years. From my understanding, it was a marketing decision by Dunhill to retreat from the U.S. market, while maintaining their brand presence overseas. Some pipe smokers have publicly announced a boycott when the Dunhill tobaccos returned in November of last years, but I was excited they were back. Dunhill has always produced a premium pipe tobacco and I couldn't wait to light up a pipe full of one of their blends.


I've tried many of the Dunhill blends over the years and settled on two favorites: Early Morning Pipe and My Mixture 965. The latter is one of the first English blends I tried while working for the Tinder Box over twenty years ago and it opened up a whole new world for me as a pipe smoker. The intricacies and nuances of a fine English blend of tobacco are sometimes an acquired taste but, once obtained, bring a new appreciation to pipe smoking.


Last week I ordered a tin of Early Morning Pipe from my old manager, Mike, at the Tinder Box in Dublin, Ohio and today was its inaugural smoke. Early Morning is a light tobacco, in taste and body, with sweet Oriental tobacco blended with Bright and Red Virginias and just a hint of Latakia. I haven't smoked EMP in probably eight years but the aroma and flavor came rushing back. The vessel I was enjoying it in was a Crown Viking pipe I had bought from Lou several years ago and the combination was a winner! The tobacco burned beautifully all the way to the bottom. When I was done I tapped the underside of the bowl a couple times and out came pure white ash. No dottle or unburned bits of tobacco. A perfect smoke!


Alas, there were no hard core pipe smokers in attendance today at the Hut with which to share my revelry. The smoking pleasure was mine alone. However, my arrival was greeted with the smiling faces of Vic and Joe, and Lou, of course. The two retirees compared notes but the talk soon turned to Apple's new iPad. One of the last times Vic was in the store, Joe showed him his and I think Vic has been keen to purchase one. We talked at length about the merits of the iPad 2 versus the original one and then suddenly the two aforementioned retirees were in the middle of negotiations. I wasn't sure who started it, but by the end hands were shaken and Joe's iPad became Vic's. No money or merchandise actually exchanged hands, but the official transfer will take place in two weeks. Harkening back to September of last year when Joe sold me his iMac, it was like deja vu all over again.


In addition to being anxious to light up some Early Morning, I was also eager to peruse the new freehand pipes I knew Lou had gotten in. He said he had ordered three Crown Viking pipes and after the initial pleasantries were exchanged, I quickly glanced over to the pipe showcase. I didn't really notice anything new and then Lou informed me that, in fact, he had received three Crowns during the week and almost immediately sold two of them. 


I was incredulous! It couldn't be! I had my heart set on buying a new pipe and I just couldn't believe that two of the three would have moved that quickly. The remaining Crown, although a beautiful specimen, wasn't exactly what I had in mind, so I will have to wait until Lou orders some more. It is my fervent belief that, because of the celerity that the first two sold, he will order replacements forthwith. 


Box Ed made a brief appearance. He was looking forward to settling in for a smoke, but got called to a job. Duty calls, I'm afraid, so hopefully he'll have time next week. And apparently we have to change his nom de guerre to Pouch Ed because he no longer transports his pipe and assorted accoutrements in a cigar box, but rather a newly purchased pipe pouch. I don't know...I kind of like Box Ed. Pouch Ed doesn't have the same ring.


I was kind of thinking that I would see Adrian when I arrived at the shop, considering that last week he didn't make it in time to do battle over the chessboard. He had pledged to come early today so we could play and I must say I was disappointed to not see him. Fearful that perhaps he had turned, well, "yellow" as it were, I was heartened to see him bustling in at around 3:30. His first words were, "Set up the board!" Yes - the game was afoot!

I quickly set up the pieces while my opponent selected a cigar and lit up. Adrian began with the white pieces and chose a king's pawn opening. We both moved deliberately and thoughtfully, and we soon progressed to the point where I was employing only my long-range weapons, the bishops, Adrian had only the short-range pieces, the knights, at his disposal. It was an interesting conflict and while I was preparing an attack on his queenside, he was coming dangerously close to mounting an attack on my own queenside. Unfortunately for Adrian, he wasn't able to get his knights in to position as I had at least one of them pinned, and I finally prevailed.


Barry made a surprise visit and sat down to enjoy a cigar. It was good to see Barry after an absence of several weeks (months?) and he provided rich commentary on our chess game. Don't be a stranger, Barry!


Adrian and I began another game with about a half hour left in the day and our initial moves were made rather quickly. I played as white and opened with a Queen's Gambit, which was immediately accepted. The benefit of a Queen's Gambit Accepted is that white, while down a pawn initially, has superior position in the middle, and I did enjoy that advantage for a time. However, I soon found myself with a gaping hole in my kingside defense, after castling kingside. We had to adjourn the game as it was closing time, so the board has been safely placed - intact - in an empty spot of the front showcase. Lou was very gracious to let us use the space and his gesture is most appreciated. The game will continue next Saturday.


Until then...
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 2/19/11

Sammee! (click to enlarge)

Congratulations to Joe and his wife Val! They have a new addition to their family - Sammee! Their new bundle of joy is part corgi and yellow lab and was adopted just today. Joe e-mailed me the picture tonight and I showed it to Paula who promptly said that she needs to adopt him from Joe and Val, he's that cute. I don't think that Sammee's new parents are going to let him go, so our house will remain a cat-only household for now. Anyway, enjoy your new puppy guys!


Joe actually didn't stay too long at The Tobacco Hut today as he had just gotten the puppy and was anxious to help Val get Sammee settled into his new digs. Maybe next week he'll bring Sammee to the Hut for a meet and greet! By the way, Joe, when you come next week, we're running low on the peanut butter pretzels!


Ed B came earlier in the morning but by the time I arrived around 12:30 or so, he was getting ready to leave for the day. It was great weather for Ed to be driving his orange Jeep around town, too. Finally, we're getting some average temperatures. Today was a perfect day to be outside, so I naturally chose to spend most of it inside at the Hut.


The only other regular to show up was Adrian a little later in the afternoon, but more about that later. We had two new customers who found Lou via his website. One of the gentleman was visiting from Chicago, Paul F. I think the other fellow was his brother-in-law, or friend, or something, and unfortunately I didn't catch his name. But Paul purchased a cigar and stuck around to enjoy it. He's also a pipe smoker and we chatted a bit about all things pipes. Chicago has some world-famous pipe and tobacco shops, including Iwan Ries & Co., one of pipe smoking's meccas. With over 15,000 pipes in stock, you can tell why I drool a bit just thinking of it. Every pipe smoker should make a pilgrimage there sometime in his life. Unfortunately, I haven't made mine yet, but someday. BTW, Paul, I hope you can make time in your trip for another visit to the Hut!

My Mauro Armellini Fatte A Mano
(Click to enlarge)

Today found me puffing on a Mauro Armellini filled with Tinder Box Reserve 1928. I purchased the pipe from a Tinder Box in Savannah, Georgia back in 2005 and it has always been an excellent smoker. Mauro Armellini was a self-taught pipe carver who worked for Savinelli before opening his own studio in Italy in 1960. Although there are no distinguishing marks on the pipe to indicate when it was made, my guess it was made by Armellini himself. He passed away in 2004 and since then his daughter Wilma has taken over the business, not only the administration of it, but crafting the pipes as well. Whoever made it, hats off to you for carving a beautiful pipe!

Mauro Armellini
(Click to enlarge)

Lou informed me that Bret came in earlier in the week to pick up the pipe I gave to his son, Blake. Lou had cleaned and sterilized it and got it all ready for this new smoker. I hope you enjoy it, Blake, and hope to run into you soon at the Hut to talk shop!


As I mentioned, Adrian arrived a little later in the afternoon, and it didn't take long for the chess rematch to begin. I had lost in our last meeting over the chessboard and was eager to avenge my loss. Adrian was just as eager to add a second victory to the records. Adrian brought a beautiful marble chess set with him (probably looking for a home court advantage) which we played on. I sometimes have trouble playing with highly decorative chess sets, like Revolutionary soldiers or Middle Earth pieces, but the men weren't overly stylized and stayed pretty close to standard Staunton pieces. 


How did the game go, you ask? We started off fairly even, although I picked up two pawns early on. Being up those two pawns would prove decisive much later in the game, but moving into the middle game it didn't make much of a difference. In fact, Adrian had his pieces doing a full court press on my king's position and I was getting more than a bit nervous. After quite a few tense moves, I was finally able to drive his queen back to a defensive position and could go on offense. In the end, we were exchanging pieces back and forth, and my two extra pawns proved to be an overwhelming advantage. It was an excellent game and really could have gone either way for quite a while. Can't wait 'til next week, Adrian!


Cheers!
 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 2/12/11

We had more than a full house at The Tobacco Hut on Saturday; fortunately it was broken up into three shifts. I arrived early as I knew Scott and his entourage would be the first to punch the clock. I had told Scott earlier in the week that I would buy him a cigar for his birthday on his next visit to the Hut, and he didn't waste any time coming in for it. I tried to steer him towards one of Lou's house specials ($2.30) but to no avail. At least he didn't go crazy on me - he selected a nice mid-priced cigar. Happy Belated Birthday to a good friend and marketing guru!


Scott brought two brothers-in-law with him, Paul V and Jeff. Ed B also came, a little earlier than usual. Paul V is an old friend and familiar face at the Hut, and I think Jeff has been to a few events in the past. The word of the day became "pedestrian", not as a noun as in a person walking along the road, but as an adjective, meaning "lacking inspiration or excitement; dull." At this point, I can't even remember how the word came up. Paul was making some commentary about the subject at hand and used the word "pedestrian." Others questioned the usage and eventually pooh-poohed the word, but I flew to Paul's defense. It was a most apt and appropriate word and I salute Paul for his appreciation of the linguistic nuances for which the English language is known.


By the way, the word "pedestrian" comes from the Latin pedester which means "going on foot." However, if the suffix "ian" is added to it, its meaning becomes "written in prose" (straight expository writing as opposed to poetry). And in early English usage, prose was viewed as inferior to poetry. Etymologically, you can now see the link between "pedestrian" and "prose". You can also see that my English degree was not wasted, and that I have way too much time on my hands.


Switching to something that is far from pedestrian...Paul revealed an interesting discovery about Lou's Baker Street tobacco. He found that the combination of sipping a Lowland single malt scotch and enjoying a pipeful of Baker Street is a particularly exquisite marriage of flavors. I forget that Paul is also a pipe smoker; I usually only see him smoking cigars. Interesting discovery, Paul! I can see how the Baker Street with its Virginia tobacco and resulting hint of sweetness plus the Latakia would be complemented by a Lowland single malt. I'm not sure, but I believe such scotches are triple distilled, giving them a lighter taste.


As the first shift was packing up and cashing out, the second shift was arriving - Tom L, Joe K, and Peter G. There was a brief but rousing game of musical chairs and we settled into the afternoon's topics of conversation. Tom was well behaved and played nicely...there were only a few references to "Libbies", those of us who are more progressively minded and listen to NPR. Speaking of which, for the first time, I was wearing my NPR shirt and Joe was wearing his "Pipe Down You Silly Liberal" shirt. I'm still searching for the perfect response to Joe's choice of apparel.


The topic soon turned to the foreclosure crisis and we busily placed blame and solved the problems, all in a span of an hour or so. Tom has worked in banking, Peter had his own mortgage business, and Joe's wife was in the business as well, so it was interesting to hear three viewpoints on the housing collapse.

Neerup Sandblast
(Click to enlarge)

I was busy puffing on my Neerup sandblast, enjoying Baker Street of course, when the second shift punched out. The third shift soon arrived consisting of Ed F and Dan. Peter actually pulled a double shift and stayed over while Ed F and Dan settled in. Neerup pipes seem to be little known but are an outstanding value in pipe smoking. They are the creations of Peder Jeppesen, a Dane who worked for a long time at the Nording studio. He has been making pipes for over 25 years and his attention to detail really shows. He uses almost exclusively Corsican briar and black acrylic stems. I can't remember where I picked up this Neerup, but I'm quite sure it was only around $100 or so, a bargain considering how nicely it smokes. 


For those of you who remember "Box Tom", we now have "Box Ed", because like Tom, he now uses a box to transport his pipes, tobacco, and tools. Box Tom's container was an old shoe shine box converted to pipe usage, and Ed is now using an old cigar box courtesy of his friend Dan. Peter annointed Ed F as "Box Ed", which will be especially helpful so we don't confuse Ed B with Ed F.


Dan has made the plunge and bought himself a pipe. He loaded it up with some Baker Street and in no time was puffing away like a pro. Always nice to see someone new take up the briar. Welcome Dan! As your friend Ed now knows, an exciting journey has begun to unfold for you.


As the day wound down, there were four people smoking pipes. An older gentleman came in and picked up some tobacco and sat down and lit up. I'm embarrassed to report that I can't remember his name, but it was definitely a "small world" moment when we discovered that we are both part Seneca Indian. The amount of Iroquois blood running through my veins is far smaller than in his, but it was fascinating hearing him tell tales of growing up in upstate New York, areas I am intimately familiar with. Lou is more than casually familiar with it as well, as Dotty was born in the same area.


Finally, I delivered the Tinder Box Beefeater quarter bent pipe to Lou to clean up to give to aspiring pipe smoker Blake. Blake, when you're ready, the pipe is back to an almost-new state, thoroughly cleaned and sterilized and ready for your enjoyment. I also threw in an old Imco pipe lighter I had. Lou has everything ready and waiting for you!


Great to see everybody at the Hut and can't wait 'til next week. 


 - Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 2/5/11

Wow! I got to The Tobacco Hut a little late today and had trouble finding a seat! No complaints though as a few of the chairs were filled with pipe smokers! In fact, I think for a brief time there was an equal number of pipe smokers and cigar smokers. Unfortunately I missed Joe K who left early - hopefully next week buddy!


In attendance were Bret and his son Blake, Ed B, and Ed F and his friend Dan. Dan's teetering on the edge of becoming a pipe smoker so maybe soon we'll outnumber the stogie smokers. Ed F was enjoying the meerschaum I gave him last week, alternating between two of Lou's blends, Keystone and Baker Street. I haven't tried Keystone but it certainly smells good, and everyone knows how I feel about the most-excellent Baker Street. 

Today found me smoking some of G.L. Pease's rich latakia blend, Westminster, in a Ser Jacopo Maxima. I bought the pipe when I was working at the Tinder Box in Columbus and has always been one of my favorites. Ser Jacopo is an Italian pipe maker founded in 1982 by master carver Giancarlo Guidi. Employing five full time carvers the company creates roughly 6,000 pipes per year ranging from the "Geppetto" to the "Gem" series, which are characterized by ultra-rare high end models fetching upwards of $12,000. No, my lone Ser Jacopo is not a "Gem" but it certainly is a wonderful smoker and is always a regular in the rotation.


As I mentioned, Bret and Blake were in with Bret smoking Baker Street in a nice looking meerschaum. A couple weeks ago when I first met them, Blake was talking about taking up the pipe. Always great to hear of a young person thinking about joining the Brotherhood of the Briar. And Blake isn't just thinking about it; this man has done his research! He's saving up money to purchase his first pipe, a Peterson, and can't wait to jump in. 


I don't know what's come over me, but I'll be giving away another pipe next week. I have a Tinder Box "Beefeater" quarter bent smooth billiard that I plan on bringing to Lou next Saturday to clean and sterilize. I bought the pipe probably twenty years ago and it's been only lightly smoked over the years. I think it's time to deliver it to a new owner, and I think Blake will be the perfect guy for it.


Peter arrived - a welcome sight after a few weeks of being under the weather. His prediction for the Super Bowl tomorrow is Pittsburgh. I probably won't watch the game as my team, the Cleveland Browns, aren't in it. And, unfortunately, they probably never will be. Peter had read on the blog last week about my chess loss to Adrian and asked me about it, causing me to relive the traumatic event.


Speaking of Adrian and chess...he was a no show this week. I think he probably wanted to relish his victory for another week and deprive me of the chance at a rematch. Next week, Adrian, next week!


Nothing overly dramatic at the Hut this week. Just a half-dozen or so guys hanging out enjoying their pipes and cigars. Not too much political talk either (where's Tom L when you need him?). There's a chance Scott R will be making an appearance next week - always good to see him, plus I promised him I'd buy him a cigar for his birthday a couple days ago. Sorry, no cigar for you, Joe (wink, wink).


Until next week...
 - Bob

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