Postpourri

I've been sitting on a few links and bits I've enjoyed lately:

Almost a month old, but MNSpeak asked readers about where they like to shop for bikes. The comments have their responses. Freewheel is on there a few times. My service there has been excellent.

I was talking to coworkers about the conference bike just a few days ago because there was a discussion about whether my group should go on a local Segway ride (Velocipete). I was also talking about the space elevator ad I saw where they say the trip takes three months, so it's the elevator music that kills you (not the meteors). That came up because were getting elevator music over our conference/polycom phone. There were two architects debating how a space elevator works and how much energy is required, and what you need to keep the other end up. A much more fruitful discussion than the non-PC debate about what kind of icons to put next to country-specific rating systems.

Luke Francl has a link to a great visual description of how to understand joins. It's not great because it's completely correct for all versions of SQL, it's great because the author tried to explain it in an easy to digest way and the resulting commentary is all over the place. Which explains why you can work with databases forever and still be lost. Good SQL writing skills are extremely difficult to find.

Surly Brewing and Pumphouse Creamery are pimping Surly ice cream. I may have to make a special trip. "Just in time for the hot weather, Surly beer now available in ice cream form. Pumphouse Creamery, located at 4754 Chicago Ave S, is making ice cream with Furious beer. Barb, owner of Pumphouse, says she made ice cream with both bender and furious and customers really loved the furious ice cream. She says that the hops really come out in the ice cream. Yum!"

And finally, Dunn Brothers sent me a kebab recipe using their Costa Rica coffee. I'm going to guess they have no problem with me spreading the recipe, as it encourages everyone to buy lots of their coffee. These sound way better than the Heath Bar Cooler I had from Caribou today which almost made me ill. That's just too much damn sugar.

Marinade:
2 cups brewed Full City Roast Costa Rica
Tres Rios "La Dama" Dunn Bros Coffee
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Kebabs:
2 pounds beef loin strips, cut in 1-inch cubes
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch squares
20 cherry tomatoes

For the Marinade:
Combine all of the ingredients, except cornstarch and water, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and water in a small bowl to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the mixture and stir well. Bring back to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Let cool. Combine the beef and the marinade and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat a grill.

Skewer beef cubes, red bell peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes. Skewer each item separately as cooking times vary. Barbecue over low heat, turning and basting with marinade for 20 to 30 minutes or until done.