Randall Munroe writes what is commonly considered one of the nerdiest comic strips on the planet.

I can't quibble with that analysis, but beyond the abstruse math gags, programming jokes and assorted geekery, he's also got a very good eye for the human condition.

Correction: After posting this on Tuesday evening, it was pointed out to me by Bi-Rite's head monger Anthea Stolz that the vertical tasting I mentioned was actually of the wonderful Barinaga Baserri, which happens to be our fall centerfod:

"Marcia Barinaga was gracious enough to let us buy the whole batch, and we’re tasting 2 wheels each month for 10 months and then the last wheel when the batch will be 12-months old, sending her our feedback along the way."

Bi-Rite is ALSO the exclusive source for Kuba's Kreation experimental cheese from Point Reyes, but they are not performing a vertical tasting. I apologize for the confusion; Bi-Rite is apparently participating in too many awesome cheese experiments for me to keep track of.

Jesse Reklaw has been drawing his reader's dreams for a decade and a half in his weekly comic strip, Slow Wave.

People dream about food a lot. Alongside phantasms of vampire linguini and forced cereal eating, I thought that this recent account was worth sharing...

Summer's almost gone, and you still haven't taken your goat on a picnic? Well, it's time!

In honor of national goat cheese month, culture's giving away a fabulous summer picnic pack with award-winning Redwood Hill goat cheese, scrumptious Daelia's biscuits for cheese, and Bambu's eco-friendly All-Occasion Veneerware plates and cutlery to eat it off of.

All we need from you is the #1 reason to take your goat with you on vacation.

Tipster Matt Spiegler sent along another entry in the annals of adorable goat video.

I'm gonna cut this out before this place turns into Cute Overload.

What with my two years of Jr. High French, I'm really not sure what this video is about.

As far as I can tell, the wicked cows defeat the peace-loving brachiosaurs in the battle of the sacred bell. Cows have a numerical advantage because they're really some sort of ambulatory hail or other weather phenomena, and don't rely on cumbersome egg-laying to reproduce.

Doofy cavemen then create Comté cheese, which blots out the sun, creating an ice-age plagued with pesky pterodactyls. The cheese then rolls down a hill and into a cave. The cave contains a number of ghosts, including Julius Caesar and the Beatles. Unafraid, the foolish cheese rolls straight through them and into the hands of a waiting affineur, who punishes its impertinence with a sharp rap with a hammer.

Mead Open Farm has a live webcam of adorable goats. Nothing I can say can possibly add to that, except, FULL SCREEN MODE.

Thinking about the wine article from our fall issue, and remembered this little clip... Picture me as the guy in the sweater w/the bowl cut.

My sweetie pie is a devotee of podcasts, and pointed me towards this tale from The Moth Radio Hour.

Julie Kraut tells of her time in Africa, an unfortunate traveling companion, and what happened when a piece of cheese came between them.

"You know how some people feel about God? I feel that way about cheese."

You can download it via iTunes (it's free)

It's the second story, starting at 7:00. Salty language alert.

As you may remember, several weeks ago I posted a whole wheat goat-cheese and peach pizza, proof that I'd acclimatized to Northern California.

Lauren spotted this innovation and struck back, challenging me to a Cali-cuisine duel and throwing down the gauntlet with a salad. It was a nice attempt, with backyard greens and spearmint, plus grapes, apples and dill havarti. But was it California? Sure, there were home-grown Napa grapes, but the DOP chestnut honey was the tip: Lauren's heart still lingers in Italy.

Her salad looks tasty, but it doesn't really answer the ultimate question: What Would Alice Waters Do?

Oyster mushroom ceviche, that's what. It's local, it's fusion (Bay Area hippie-veggie with Central Valley migrant-Mexican), it's completely bonkers, and it's delicious.