jmaynard and I have conspired to create a one-stop source for all your chupaqueso references, and it is now live at chupaqueso.com. Jay is putting up the hosting, and he and I will be sharing the job of providing content. I’m providing advertising (under the Schlock Mercenary account umbrella).

There’s not much out there yet. A quick FAQ, the Original Recipe, and some glorified test posts. There’s no window-dressing at all.

But it’s up and running. Now, when I talk about cheese, I’ll probably be linking you LJ’ers over to chupaqueso.com, or cross-posting.

–Howard

UPDATE: Aaaand now it’s down, with chupaqueso.com “refusing connections”. Dunno what’s going on. I’ll let Jay field this one.

UPDATE AGAIN: Aaaand it’s back up. Yay!

A Schlocker who got hooked up with the Meadow Creek Dairy thanks to my post back in December very generously sent me a wheel of Appalachian Shitake/Leek.

This is good cheese. Oh MY but this is good cheese. And that’s based on samples I ate that were still cold. I’m warming up a wedge for room-temperature eating later today.

The only problem with it is that the rind itself smells like dirt. I also suspect that there’s some mold spores or something on the rind, because it triggered allergic reactions when I sniffed it. I tried eating some rind, but it tasted like dirt. I was halfway to swallowing when my hindbrain said “dude… you’re eating DIRT. Spit that out before swallowing, or I’ll tell our stomach to spit it out AFTER you swallow.”

Sandra looked at me like I was crazy. She had this “why did you even put that into your mouth in the first place?” look.

Well then. I’ll be trimming the rind away, and we’re being VERY careful to store cut bits so that the rind doesn’t contaminate the middle of the cheese. I think this wheel and I will get on just fine. It’ll get eaten, and I’ll get fed.

If you’re not into ordering cheese on the internet, Meadow Creek Dairy has a list of stores that carry their cheese. There’s one in Utah, even. Odds are, your state is covered too. You may have to drive for a bit, though.

–Howard

I don’t put a whole lot of stock in Alexa ratings… unless, of course, they happen to be MY Alexa rating, and they happen to be “up and to the right.”

Like this one…

I’m not sure what’s going on. Webalyzer and Google Analytics both show growth, but not as sharply. I suspect that a group of spyware-illiterati all discovered my strip recently, and have been consuming the archives.

It’s interesting that you can SEE the “dip” in the graph at the time I started plugging Google’s “Switch to Firefox” campaign. Apparently a bunch of my Alexa-infected readers got Google-infected instead.

Ah, statistics. Just because they’re facts doesn’t mean they can’t also be lies.

–Howard

I spent the afternoon and evening at Dragon’s Keep yesterday after the “movie.” I wrote my movie review at the Keep, trying out passages of text on innocent (?) bystanders and friends.

After a while I got thirsty, and realized I needed to go fill my 64-ounce mug at 7-11. While there I was tempted by a “1/4lb bratwurst and cheddar” hot dog.

I’ll make this short. DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKE. I’ve had bratwurst. I’ve had cheddar. The thing that Raj helpfully slipped into the bun was made of neither. It tasted like beef jerky and cheez-whiz. I was hungry enough to finish it, but I shan’t be getting another. (Unless, of course, it’s FREE, it’s the only food available for miles in any direction, and I’m withering in the last stages of starvation. At least that way my death will be quick, as the jerked cheez-whiz stops my weakened heart.)

–Howard

(the slurpee was fine)