vodka is my drink of choice

so if you EVER need a tester mr kozub, i'm your babe (really). my friends at the the half door (well eddie in particular and shawn as well) set up a test for me a couple of years ago. i went outside and they poured i believe it was 4 or 5 little sips of vodka. i was only to tell the high end from the well. i not only did that, but i named each brand (that part most likely was luck but one never knows). my drink of choice is stoli o, and stoli in general (their elit is over the top i tell ya!). i like level, ketel one and skye is passable. i dislike with a PASSION grey goose. it tastes like mold to me. i don't know how people can drink it. it's horrid

Vodka Maker Gets His Big Shot
By ERIC GERSHON Courant Staff Writer
Paul Kozub hadn't come to the Sidewalk Cafe looking for Julie and Doreen, two Hartford schoolteachers sipping martinis on a Thursday afternoon.But they were just the sort of people he likes to meet: vodka drinkers.And once they learned who he was, the sense of good fortune was mutual. "You hit the right people," Julie Morrin told Kozub upon his offer to pour them a taste of the high-end vodka he developed in his basement in Hadley, Mass., and produces in Poland, land of his forebears."We are big vodka people," Doreen Clapis chimed in.Kozub was off and running. The 33-year-old aspiring vodka magnate had left his job as a commercial banker two years ago. Since then, he had been selling his spirits one bar and one package store at a time, building a customer base 500 strong in Massachusetts...............

pettibone tavern

UPDATE: FROM SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 SEE THIS POSTING: i've been getting a lot of hits lately..........

was damaged by a sprinkler system. it went off because of a small fire - but the sprinklers kept raining for a long time before being shut off.

it's an historic location. it's wonderful AND haunted (by abigail pettibone). years ago (before it was this incarnation of pettibone and before it was the other place, i think the chart house) when it was pettibone, i used to go there at night sometimes. it was not locked. i had friends who lived across the street. we went to explore. we never took anything or caused any damage. you could feel the stories the house held. perhaps i saw abigail as well......... i do hope they get it back to 'normal' soon

Pettibone's Tavern Damaged
Small Fire Extinguished By Sprinkler System That Runs For Hours

By LORETTA WALDMAN Courant Staff Writer

SIMSBURY — - A smoldering cigarette is being blamed for a trash can fire early Friday that left historic Pettibone's Tavern inundated with water from its sprinkler system.The flames near a second-floor bar were extinguished within minutes, fire officials said. But because no one heard the building alarm and the sprinkler system was not being monitored, the water rained down for hours — causing extensive damage to the 200-year-old wood-frame building."The fire sprinkler really did do its job," said Patrick Tourville, Simsbury's deputy fire marshal. "Unfortunately, due to the fact no alarm company was monitoring the system, the water continued until someone came in the morning.".......

a recipe i created yesterday

because i had a fennel bulb AND sweet potatoes that HAD to be used as soon as possible

Sweet Potato and Fennel (vegan)

3 Large Sweet Potatoes
1 Fennel Bulb
1 (or 2) Granny Smith Apples (or the apple of your choice)
Onion (I like onion so I used lots)
Soy Sauce (1 or 2 T)
Cornstarch (1 T)
Hoisin Sauce (1 T)
Cumin (1/2 t or to your taste)
Cayenne Pepper (1/2 t or to your taste)
Maple Syrup (1 T or to your taste)
Stevia (1 packet)


Mix the Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Cumin, Cayenne, Maple Syrup and Stevia with approximately ½ to ¾ cup of cold water. Stir in the cornstarch

Peel Sweet Potatoes, onion and Apple (you can leave the peel on the apple if you’d like) and clean and wash and trim the fennel bulb. I used a slicer to slice them all fine. If you don’t have one, slice by hand. You can either layer the ingredients in a shallow baking pan (which has either been sprayed with non-stick oil or greased with a little oil) or mix the ingredients and dump them into the baking pan which is what I did since it’s way easier. Pour over ½ of the liquid mixture (stir to make sure the cornstarch is blended) cover and bake at 400 degrees for ½ hour. Turn the heat to 350, uncover, pour the rest of the liquid over the vegetables and bake another ½ hour or until the sweet potatoes are done/tender

(I served mine with a dollop of vegan sour crème)

please DO keep fighting chris

i like MOST of what you do and have done (i think impeachment SHOULD be on the table and i think you SHOULD support that. i also think you SHOULD be doing more to bring our men and women home from the middle east). but i do admire you. i do like you. i do thank you

Sen. Dodd Drops Presidential Bid

By BETH FOUHY The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut abandoned his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday after a poor showing in Iowa's precinct caucuses.
"Tonight I am withdrawing from the presidential race but let me assure you, we are not ending this race with our heads hanging but with our heads held high," Dodd told about 100 supporters here.
"I am not going anywhere," he added, to loud cheers. "I will be fighting for the United States."
Some of Dodd's supporters wiped away tears as he spoke. ............

john durham; crimebuster

i don't know too awfully much about mr durham. the little i did hear was rather positive. i wish mr durham very much luck in his new investigation. i want to believe something will come of this. something MUST come of this. i know what happened when our king promised he would make whoever was responsible for OUTING A COVERT CIA AGENT, pay. they 'convicted' a lesser peon but the king let him walk anyway.

i WANT to believe people who commit crimes against humanity (i.e. king george and the big dick et al) AND those who ignore the geneva convention will be properly punished. i have my fingers crossed here.

much luck to you mr durham.

Leader Chosen In CIA Probe
Attorney General Names Prosecutor From Connecticut
By EDMUND H. MAHONY And LYNNE TUOHY Courant Staff Writers

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday named John Durham, a veteran mob-buster and public corruption prosecutor from New Haven, to lead a politically charged investigation into the destruction of CIA videotapes documenting the interrogation of al-Qaida terror suspects.Longtime colleagues of Durham, who recently concluded another bruising, special investigation of FBI corruption in Boston, said the appointment by Attorney General Michael Mukasey signals a willingness by Justice to conduct an unbiased probe into the destruction of the tapes. "He is ethical and has an incredible work ethic, and if anyone can get to the bottom on these facts, it is him," said Michael Clark, a retired FBI supervisor who worked closely with Durham on high-profile political corruption cases in Connecticut. "He will take the politics out of it and get to the bottom of it."Durham's appointment comes just weeks after the White House named Connecticut U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor associate U.S. attorney general, the third-ranking post at Justice. O'Connor, who is awaiting confirmation, said he had high praise for Durham during discussions of his possible appointment in the CIA case.......