Whizlog

Oh, and one other thing.....

2009-07-13T09:10:00.002-04:00

We have decided to enable comments on our Whizlog. All posts subsequent to this one will have comments enabled. Be nice! :-)

- TNW

Weekend Report

2009-07-13T08:58:00.006-04:00

Well, it was mixed results this weekend at Naked Whiz Plaza. First of all we had a successful Operation BBQ event in Raleigh, NC at the Naval Operational Support Center. This one was run by American Spirit BBQ. We just showed up to take pictures for this one, but we got some nice photos. You can view them by visiting our Operation BBQ web page.

Then we reported that we would be making a movie for our latest charcoal review. Ooops. We made a movie alright, but unfortunately at little bitty eensy weensy resolution, so it looked pretty bad. We'll have to recreate the effort and film it again next weekend. Of course, the nice thing about screwing it up and then viewing the results is that you have an opportunity to improve upon it. Which we will do. Oh well, such is the life of a Naked Whiz.

- TNW

What's Up At Naked Whiz Plaza This Weekend!

2009-07-10T15:54:00.002-04:00

Well, let's see. We will try to make a movie to include in our latest charcoal review. This will be a first! We will try to complete another charcoal review that was suspended when we ran into a small problem. We may also try to make some more progress on our current "Build It Yourself" project, which of course, is a secret. And finally, we will be attending the American Spirit BBQ event on Saturday morning for about 300 Naval reservists in Raleigh. So, we have plenty to keep us busy!

- TNW

July 2 Operation BBQ at Camp Lejeune

2009-07-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

The event was a big success! About 1000 Marines and their families dined on pulled pork, brisket, hot dogs, potato salad and beans. There were games for the kids and games for the Marines. The weather was hot, but clear. All in all it was a wonderful time. You can view all the photos at this link: Operation BBQ Photos.

Consider giving your time to this worthy endeavor. You can visit the BBQ For Our Troops website for more information. Another group with a big cookout coming up in August is American Spirit BBQ.

- TNW

Ok, Here's What We Learned About Being Green

2009-06-24T07:43:00.003-04:00

Inquiring minds and all that you know, but one afternoon we were idling away the time when it suddenly popped into our head. Does an LCD monitor use more electricity when it is displaying all white or when it is displaying all black? Yes, that is what popped into our heads and thus was born the mini-quest for knowledge.

You may think it is obvious that a monitor must use more electricity when it is all white, but you have to remember, these monitors aren't your grandfather's monitors. We aren't talking about cathode ray tubes which turn on the electron beam (use electricity) when painting a portion of the screen that isn't the background color and turns it off when painting a portion of the screen that IS the background color. LCD monitors have a backlight that is always on and then little gremlins, thousands and thousands of little gremlins who live inside your monitor, open and close little light faucets that allow the backlight to shine through or not. So, maybe these little gremlins need more electricity when the valves are open or closed or who knows what?

So, off we went to Google on a quest to answer this question. And as usual, we found answers that indicated anything you want to believe. So as a result, we chose the answer that we wanted: LCD Monitors use less electricity when displaying a black screen than they do when displaying a white screen. Ok, we have a little bit of reason to think this might actually be the correct answer. We came across a search engine called "Blackle" which is located at www.blackle.com and purports to have saved over a billion watt-hours of electricity by having a black background on their pages. In support of their claim, the provide a link to this study by researchers at the Energy Analysis Department, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California in Berkeley, California. And there on page 19, are the numbers. LCD monitors displaying a black screen use slightly less electricity than monitors displaying a white screen.

So, how does this make The Naked Whiz web site green? Dude! All of our screens have black backgrounds. Geez, we must have save a billion watt-hours ourselves! So. Be green! Visit our webpage. Be annoying. Write to web sites with white backgrounds and tell them to switch to black. We'll save this planet one pixel at a a time!

- TNW

What's Coming Up at The Naked Whiz Plaza...

2009-06-22T10:38:00.001-04:00

We are sort of working on a new secret project. This is a smaller secret project than the big secret project. The big secret project will probably resume in September. This small one should only take a day or two, so we hope to get it done soon.

We have a new charcoal on the way. This one will take some time and effort since we will be comparing it to past incarnations of this charcoal. There will be extra tests and photos and writing it up will be a challenge, but it should be worth it. It's been a long time in coming and we look forward to finding out how this "new" charcoal does.

- TNW

The KCBS Controversy, whew!

2009-06-16T09:24:00.007-04:00

People have asked where we stand on this recent explosion of controversy. Well frankly, we don't know but it is certainly something to behold. We don't compete on the BBQ circuit, just like when we flew a hot air balloon, we didn't compete in balloon rallies. We just don't like these sorts of competitions. 'nuff said. We have never joined the Kansas City Barbecue Society since we don't compete and we don't really see a reason to join otherwise. That said, we are certainly curious about what's going on in KCBS at the moment.

A member of the board of directors has resigned over the behavior of another board member. The member who resigned is Rod Gray. The member who has caused all the grief is, well, we don't know who it is because apparently everyone associated with KCBS knows who this is and have known for some time who this is, but no one is allowed to name this BOD member for fear of slander accusations, apparently. As we are not "in the know" regarding all things KCBS, we don't know who this member is and certainly can't have an opinion on what's going on.

We do find it curious that as a regular lurker on the KC BBQ Forum, we had never heard about the behavior of this board member until recent weeks. Now that Rod Gray, by resigning his seat on the BOD, has referred to the elephant in the room, everyone is now posting to The BBQ Forum about how this BOD member has tyrannized the board along with a long list of other objectionable behaviors. There are now calls for the removal of this BOD member and posts about Missouri law governing removal of BOD members from organizations. It truly is one of the most bizarre things we have ever seen.

So, like we say, we have no opinion nor do we have any information that would help us form an opinion. For what it's worth, here is a link to Rod Gray's blog in which he details the reasons for his resignation: Pellet Envy Blog. Also, here is a link to a broadcast tonight on LA Talk Radio (Channel 1) in which Rod will be interviewed: LA Talk Radio. All we can say is that it should be interesting. We'll be listening. How about you?

Whatever happens, here's to hoping we can all get back to arguing over foiling ribs...

- TNW

Leading the Green Revolution in BBQ?

2009-06-16T09:15:00.003-04:00

We have to write this one up, but it appears that The Naked Whiz web site has been leading the green revolution in barbecue and we didn't even know it! What do we have that the World Famous Kansas City Barbecue Forum doesn't have? (Or perhaps more accurately, what does the World Famous Kansas City Barbecue Forum have that we don't have?) We'll fill you in with details later, but for now, rest assured that every time you visit The Naked Whiz web site you are helping to save the planet! (Very big wink!)

- TNW

Another call for volunteers...

2009-06-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

There will be another Operation BBQ event at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina coming up in July. The event is July 2-3 and volunteers are welcome. You can email us using the link at the bottom of every one of our web pages and we'll forward your name to the organizer.

If you have never attended an Operation BBQ event before, the schedule goes something like this. We usually meet at the main gate at 11 am on July 2nd. We get situated at the site provided for the event and then we all sit around for a while wasting time and thinking about lunch. Around 5ish or so, the meat gets prepared and by 8 or so, the meat is in the cookers. The next morning, the pork is pulled, the brisket is sliced, the beans are heated and everything is made ready for the lunch at 11:30 or so.

It is a great event: you get to meet young Marines serving our country; you get to talk barbecue; you get to eat barbecue. Sometimes you even get a tour of some of the Marine Corps' neat toys! So, email us if you are interested and we'll get you hooked up. Hope to see you at Camp Lejeune!

- TNW

CyberQ II review is up!

2009-06-01T07:47:00.007-04:00

We have just posted (well, ok it was Friday) the review of the CyberQ II Temperature Controller from The BBQ Guru. (www.thebbqguru.com) The CyberQ II is the first offering from The BBQ Guru that has computer connection and dual cooker control.

This is possibly our most in-depth review ever, so enjoy it!

- TNW

Cyber Q II review status

2009-05-28T09:38:00.003-04:00

We have been working on this product review for quite some time and we are close to publishing it. We need to update a few images, proof read and possibly conduct one more test and then we can publish. We hope to have it done by this coming Monday, so keep an eye out for it!

- TNW

Kingsford Competition Briquettes

2009-05-01T10:43:00.000-04:00

We recently published our report on Kingsford's new "Competition Briquettes." You can find the report at The Lump Charcoal Database in the "Other Charcoal Testing" section. You can also find it by visiting our main page and looking in the "What's New" box.

There's a lot of interesting information in the report, but if you just want the bottom line, Kingsford Competition Briquettes are better than their original briquettes (what wouldn't be?), but they still fall short of the best all natural briquettes. We feel that if you can get them, Wicked Good Charcoal's Weekend Warrior Briquettes are still the best briquettes out there.

As a side note, we recently picked up a bag of Stubb's briquettes, an all natural briquette from Cowboy Charcoal. These are the same folks that bring you Cowboy Lump Charcoal. We should be publishing a mini-report on Stubb's sometime soon.

- TNW

Today's status....

2009-04-20T09:39:00.001-04:00

Well, not much to report. Or, a lot to report. I guess it depends on your point of view. The wife (yes, the wife who....) went to Vegas for a few days. So, while the cat's away.....

We have completed all our testing on the Kingsford Competition briquettes. We are almost done writing up the report for the web page. We just need to proof read, write the conclusions, and then remove all the snippy comments about Kingsford. We need to keep our objectivity intact, you know. But one does have to wonder why they claim that "high heat" is good for "slow cooking!" And one does have to wonder why they couldn't come up with a new name rather than use one that has been used before for a lump charcoal. Oh well. The new web page should be published in the next few days.

The latest excitement is that we just received our new CyberQ II from The BBQ Guru. We need to start making plans for a full review. We hope to do this around mid-May. Keep your eyes glued to our website!

- TNW

What's In Store

2009-04-14T16:28:00.003-04:00

Well, for one thing we have a bag of Kingsford Competition Briquettes sitting in the garage. Wonder if Kingsford has finally figured out how to make an acceptable briquette? So do we. We'll find out this weekend.

We are still waiting on some product in order to finish up our secret project. We're not sure why it hasn't shown up on store shelves yet, but unfortunately, it is holding us up. So, we plod on with other things.....

- TNW

Ft. Bragg Whizcast posted...

2009-04-14T16:25:00.003-04:00

We have finally completed the Whizcast of the Ft. Bragg barbecue for the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade and posted it on our Whizcast webpage: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/whizcast We hope you enjoy it!

- TNW

Ft. Bragg was a big success!!

2009-03-18T21:18:00.004-04:00

Well, you folks missed a great time at Ft. Bragg on March 12 and 13. The weather was miserable but we had a damn good time feeding the soldiers. If you would like to see photos showing the whole event from start to finish, soup to nuts, yin and yang, just visit operationbbq.nakewdhiz.com.

There are many opportunities for you to volunteer for these events. Visit www.bbqforourtroops.com for a schedule or to make a tax deductible donation. We hope to see you at an event!

- TNW

P.S. We hope to put together a podcast about the event in the next week. Watch our website for the announcement.

Anyone want to volunteer?

2009-02-21T17:22:00.003-05:00

Any of you readers out there need to work off any community service time? :-) Or maybe you just want to volunteer? March 12-13 are the dates of the Ft. Bragg, NC Operation BBQ being held for the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade and their families. It is being organized by Pete Benac, a.k.a. Celtic Wolf and he needs folks to cook, folks to serve, folks to just plain help. If you don't know how to contact Pete, send me an email via my website and I'll hook you up.

If you think you can't be of help, you can. The last Operation BBQ we attended was in last June at Camp Lejeune, NC. One group of volunteers was essentially a BBQ cook and a bunch of members from his church, including kids who all helped. We hope to see you there!

- TNW

All the latest news

2009-02-18T15:30:00.002-05:00

We just published the Publix GreenWise review. You can find a link at www.lump-charcoal.com or in the What's New box on our front page.

We think we have what we need to finish up the BBQ Brick review. Although published, there were still questions about the source material and whether or not it is a "green" product. You will have to read the review to find out, lol!

The Ono charcoal from Hawaii has arrived. We need to start doing a little research now to get ready for the review. It's made from Kiawe wood, which makes it unique. There's a little history behind it so we'll be sure to enlighten you in the review.

And, we should be able to get started now on a new little project which we are keeping secret for now. Actually, this is our second secret project, tee hee. We've been working on our first secret project for quite some time now. We hope to finish it up soon. It will require an investment of about $80 though....

- TNW

Our Latest Progress Report

2009-02-11T13:07:00.002-05:00

Well, we just finished the BBQ Brick writeup, although there is a little touch up that needs to be done. We asked the manufacturer what it is made from. They said "charcoal". Ok, we won't push it. We're sure it is coconut charcoal, so we speculated as such in the write up. The manufacturer contacted us and said, "No, No. It's made from charcoal, not coconut." Sigh. We're going to burn a piece and confirm that it at least smells like coconut charcoal so we can clarify this point.

We will be publishing the Publix results soon. The work is all done, but we need to write it up and update the database.

And in an exclusive announcement for fans of the Naked Whiz, we have some charcoal coming from Hawai'i! Yahoo! This should be interesting. Lump from the island of Mau'i.

And we are also going to try to get started on our second secret project. This will be a lot of busy work, but it should be fun too.

- TNW

What's New At Naked Whiz Plaza?

2009-01-16T13:41:00.009-05:00

There's a lot going on at Naked Whiz Plaza these days. Some of it doesn't show on the website as the results often come out in dribs and drabs as they are published. But we thought you might like to find out what's in the works, what might get published, what might not. So, welcome back to Whizlog where we will endeavour to keep you up to date on all the latest news.

The first exciting news (ok, not really) is that you can now become a Fan of The Naked Whiz on Facebook! Wow, huh? We don't know what this will buy you, but it's there for you to add to your collection. Just search on Naked Whiz and we should show up so you can become a fan. We just looked and so far we have 3 fans! Two if you don't count us.

Here are a few things that are in the works or at least in line to get into the works at some time in the future:

We are currently finishing up a review of Harris Teeter lump charcoal. This is actually manufactured by Nature's Grilling, so it should be a good one. You can read the review as soon as it is published. You can find all the latest pages that have been published in our What's New box that shows up on our front page.

We are still pondering and playing around with a product called BBQ Brick, an extruded coconut brick. You may recall a product review we did of a King's Grill product. This is very similar. Look for a report in the next week or two.

In the way of future lump charcoal reviews, we have some Publix charcoal sitting in the garage waiting for warmer weather. In addition, we are told that Cherokee Charcoal will be marketing their Cherokee Brave product soon. This is lump charcoal made from oak and hickory, vs. their current Cherokee Chief product which is made from hickory only.

We are toying with the idea of doing some sort of review or comparison of a number of types of wood chunks. We don't intend to evaluate them or judge their quality, but merely present information on different brands. This should be interesting!

That's it for now. We'll update this Whizlog as news becomes available!

The Naked Whiz

P.S. One addition. Yes, we have our eyes open for the new Kingsford "Competition" Briquettes. Too bad they couldn't think up a new name of their own...

Welcome To The Naked Whiz's Whizlog

2007-06-27T21:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our Whizlog. It's the newest way that you can log your thoughts and ideas to the Internet. Just like we pioneered the introduction of Whizcasts to bring audio material to the masses around the world, we bring you Whizlog! This might be as successful as the chat room we used to host! :-) Or the online discussion forum. :-) again. Whatever, if anyone asks if The Naked Whiz has a blog, you just tell them "No, he has a Whizlog!" We don't plan to limit ourselves to charcoal or ceramic cookers here, but rather post about anything we damn well please. So, again, welcome. We hope you enjoy the show.

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!

And don't forget that Whizlogs, just like those old fashioned blogs are upside down. Up is new, down is old. We thought you'd need to know that. That's why in a few days if we post something new, the "welcome" post will be at the bottom. Isn't it strange that the more you read, the further back in time you go? Sorta like some kind of time warp or something....

TNW