October 31st

Happy Halloween.

Backseat CAD Operator

You can point, you can give directions, heck, I'll even let you run my mouse for the moment. But never, I repeat, never close another person's toolbars. That's just not cool man.

They Call Him Whiskey

Speaking of Will, this has got to be one of my most favorite, telling pictures of all time. If you didn't know Will before...you do now.


Miss you buddy

Quote For The Day

Quote from my good friend Will's brother that I think is funny:

"I love drinking on days I take off of work because it's like they are paying me to get drunk...and that makes me happy."

A Rush Of Fools

Is it sad, or just a fact of life that the biggest adrenaline rush I get in a day is trying to get the eighty-five drawings prepared and sent to the printer on time with twenty minutes notice? I plead the fifth...damn the electric fence.

Experiment

Here's something pretty crazy for you to try. I used to do this all of the time when I lived out in the country. It made it easier with no sound references. Sound and light references will make this a hard experiment. What you do is lie in your bed at night and close your eyes. Clear your mind of everything but your room. Picture it in your mind as if you were looking at it from your current position, not standing up. Once you have the orientation down, change the image in your mind so that the room has rotated about you and your bed. For example, if the north wall in your room is on the normally on the left, picture it in your mind as being behind you, and so on. You have to concentrate really, really hard to convince your mind that you and your bed are oriented differently than you really are, but it's possible. Picture it clearly, everything in your room. Try moving your head to your left and picture what you would be seeing, not what is actually there, then do the same to the right. Things like Windows and doors are really good references. Look with your head at where a door or window would be in the rotated room and work out from there. Once you have thoroughly convinced your mind that you are facing a different orientation, and you can see a clear picture in your mind, looking in all directions, you are ready. Now open up your eyes and you will see the room spin back into place, to it's real orientation. It is quite an experience. It sounds unbelievable, I know, but really does work if done correctly, and it is a really neat experiment of what the mind can do.

Autumn In The Valley

Some pictures from the weekend...

Little Helper

I just had to show this picture. Garrett loves to "help" with my beer, but there are some things he just can't do yet. So, we got him his own plastic "carboy" and a rubber hose from his swimming pool so he could do his own "beer." And last night he really got into it.

It's Alive

So I got uncharacteristically impatient and opened one of my beers yesterday after only two weeks in the bottle. I just had to know what was going on in there. So with the help of my other brewing partner, Garrett, I tried the first one. It was good...it wasn't great, but I enjoyed it and my wife liked it too, and she's not even a beer drinker. However, I think it could benefit from another two weeks in the bottle, just to help it along.

Now that's this batch is nearly done, and I just bottled the second last night, I have been getting some inquiries on what I am going to call my beer. Truth be told, I haven't decided yet. I know, it's getting pretty late in game, but I do have it narrowed down to about two or three. So we'll see who makes the cut. I am excited though to see what others think of my beer experiment.

What I'm Drinking

One of my favorite parts about Autumn is the beginning Fall beer season. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the light and refreshing summer ales, but when that cold weather comes around, there is nothing better than a nice hearty stout or porter. They seem to warm you from the inside out.

A nice transitional beer is the one shown above, Samuel Adams Imperial Pilsner. This is probably one of my top five favorite beers. It only comes out this time of year around here, I'm not sure about it's availability elsewhere, so I only get to enjoy it for a short time. My wife just brought me home some last week, so I've been savoring it a little at a time...and for $2.50/bottle, I have to stretch it out.

As it says on the box, it does have an "Intense hop flavor." I've had IPAs that were no doubt stronger in bitter character, but for this style, it definitely fits the bill for a hop-head like me. It also uses my particular favorite variety of hop, hallertau. Everything about this beer is nice, it's pour, it's aroma, color, head retention. I can't find much about it like I don't like. And it's just over 8% alcohol, so like I said, it'll prepare you for those big winter beers coming up.

Autumn is officially upon us. If you're not ready to give up your summer beer, that's fine, but if you need something to ease you in, go down to your bottle shop and pick up a couple of these. They are a bit pricey, but well worth it in my opinion. They are just the thing needed to kick off Fall beer season.

A New Hope

Even mom couldn't console this little guy after he saw how bad Star Wars episodes I, II, and III were. Sorry Garrett, I guess that's why episode IV is called "A New Hope." We'll get you into the good stuff, I promise.

Currency of Cynics

So I paid $2.49 for gas today...I never thought I'd pay below $3.00 again let alone $2.50. But then again, I am a clinically severe cynic.

Genius

AP-Artist Laura Gilberts' print 'The Zero Dollar' protesting the breakdown of the American economy. Gilbert distributed 10,000 of the fake greenbacks in front of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 to call attention to the economic crisis gripping the nation.

--I've got to have one of these.

The Space

The space had always been there. It was nothing more than white lines painted perpendicular to the curb. So many feet wide by so many feet long, no doubt the result of some sort of regulation. It was oriented toward the south, giving the parker a view of a field that in the summertime was abloom with wildflowers, and in autumn filled with geese. A short, solitary tree shaded the space the best it could with its leaves and branches when the sun was high.

He took the space the first day he arrived. At first he did it to be polite. Everyone else parked in the middle and he feared he would be taking up another's space. Eventually, however, he felt at home there, and never felt the need to park closer, even through rain and snow. The shade was nice in the summer, and he enjoyed looking out across the field before leaving his car in the morning. Things were good.

Time went on, and every day he pulled into the space the same as the day before. Days became weeks, and weeks turned to months. A year went by, still he kept the space. Something was beginning to change though. Despite his devotion to the space, he felt an overwhelming, crushing feeling of monotony. Every day he drove in the same lane, turned the same corner, pulled into the same lot and squared up to his space. He was beginning to get...bored.

Until one fateful morning...he drove in the same lane, turned the same corner, pulled into the same lot, and for some unconscious reason, pulled into his space diagonally. He sat there for a moment, confused, not sure if he should back up and park square as he had hundreds of time before. However, after a moment, he got out, walked backwards a few paces and observed his car, in his space, parked at an askew 45 degree angle. He pivoted on his heel, took a skip, and with a smile on his face, walked towards the door.

Cake and Beer

I requested a carrot cake recently and my wonderful wife whom is an excellent baker and all around cook obliged and had one for me when I got home. My request was spurned by having heard recently that carrot cake "goes well" with a nice IPA, so having some on hand (I had just started in on a six pack of Ballast Point Big Eye IPA) I got a bottle from the fridge and poured a glass. Let me start by saying, "goes well" is an extreme understatement. This is one of the most exciting things to happen in my mouth since I had the food in Chicago. The carrot cake is very sweet and thick, the frosting leaves a creamy texture on your tongue and coats the sides of your mouth. Once you take a quaff of the IPA, however, the carbonation dances in and cuts through, scrubbing away the creaminess and leaves you with a wonderfully clean taste and feeling. The extreme bitterness of the beer is more than ample to handle the equally intense sweetness of the cake, symbiotically bringing them together into a Utopian-esque balance. And a slight, very slight, almost imperceptible spiciness from the hops perfectly compliments the spice in the cake as lost lovers who were meant for one another. Every subsequent bite and drink was the same wonderful experience. My wife looked at me in perplextion as I ooooed and ahhhed over the deliciousness, but I was unreachable in a euphoric state of bliss. I will never again eat carrot cake without IPA. To not would be to deny peanut butter of jelly, a hot dog of a bun, or apple pie of apples. It would be incorrigible. You're better off not to eat any at all, or just eat it with a glass of milk...I hear that "goes well" with carrot cake, but my standards have now been raised.

All Hail

My little sister was crowned the Queen of Homecoming the other night. Congratulations, I'm really proud of you.

Centennial

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The Machine

I'm thinking of making a change...pretty catchy, no?

First

Ah...the first of October, my favorite month of all.