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Tech pundits and futurists have predicted the demise of retail shopping for almost as long as they’ve promised us flying cars; with about as much success, too. After more than two years driving nearly from coast to coast, four wheels firmly on the ground as we rolled past ugly strip mall after ugly strip mall, I’m pretty certain neither of those predictions is anywhere close to fruition.

It’s true that since the heady days of Pets.com we’ve made grudging progress on the retail front. Amazon is now the 15th largest U.S. retailer with $26B in domestic sales. Buying things online today is as normal for many folks as shopping in traditional stores. But it feels as if our existing technology has mostly reached its saturation point. There are only so many things that we want delivered through the mail.

The internet may have revolutionized browsing and purchasing but it still mostly sucks at the whole getting part of shopping, which is pretty much the entire point. Existing technology can’t fix this problem. Moving forward will likely require another revolution; this time on the delivery side of the equation.

The Colors of Yellowstone National Park

by Brian on October 15, 2012 in Travel, United States, Wyoming

Abyss Pool, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Amazingly vibrant color, more than any other single thing, is what puts Yellowstone in a league all by itself. For some unknown reason, though, the park’s collection of frequently erupting geysers gets most of the attention. Old Faithful, it seems, is as much a national landmark as the overexposed giant heads of Mount Rushmore. But seeing a column of water burst from the ground like an ordinary city fountain is every bit as exciting as it sounds. Having to wait 90 minutes or more to actually see one makes it decidedly less so.

The Otherworldliness of Yellowstone National Park

by Brian on October 12, 2012 in Travel, United States, Wyoming

Ignorance truly is bliss.

To say that we were ignorant about what we’d find at Yellowstone National Park is a bit of an understatement. We knew the park contained a geyser called Old Faithful but not much beyond that. We assumed, given its close proximity to the adjoining Teton Range, we’d mostly find more of the same at Yellowstone: alpine lakes, mountains, and rugged natural beauty. What we found, instead, was like nothing we’d ever seen before.

Hop-a-Palooza

by Brian on October 10, 2012 in Food & Drink

Crafty brew-crafters long ago discovered that increasing a beer’s alcohol and hop content also considerably increased its shelf life. A useful discovery for Imperial Brits trying to concoct a brew stout enough to survive the long journey from England, around the Horn of Africa, to its subjects in India – all without the aid of refrigeration. More recently, Americans have discovered a seemingly insatiable taste for this highly hopped style now commonly referred to as India Pale Ale.

My first introduction to the beautifully bitter American IPAs came in the early 1990s via California brewer Sierra Nevada. For years their Pale Ale was not only my beer of choice but was also the only IPA I could find on east coast shelves – and then only in specialty shops and bars.

Soon, though, Sierra was everywhere and so too were IPA drinkers. About a decade after my Sierra conversion I got a taste of what was to come when I discovered Dogfish Head’s hoppier, and more expensive, 60 Minute IPA (first brewed in 2003). Shortly thereafter, all hops broke loose.