Archive for August, 2009

Great Lyrics…

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Great lyrics, can you name the songs…Without Googling!

“Well they call you Prince Charming…Can’t speak a word, when you’re full of ludes.”

 

“Just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you.”

 

“You’re in a laundry room…Conclusion came to you!”

 

Half Moon PSA

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Man, that is spooky!  I just looked outside and noticed it was a half moon tonight.  Legend has it, that on the night of a half moon, the Half-assed Werewolves will show their ugly faces.  They probably won’t kill and eat you, but they may cause a really nasty scratch!  Keep the Neosporin handy.

Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

juxtJuxtaposition Black Pilsner
10% ABV
3-way collaboration between Stone Brewing Co., Brew Dog, (Scotland), and Cambridge Brewing Co., (Cambridge, MA).  The beer was brewed and bottled at Stone’s facility in Escondido, CA.

Color-Purrty black, with a dark tan head.
Aroma-Thick, sweet malt, intertwined with citrusy hops.

Strong, dark malty flavor with hops right there in your face the entire time. Dark and bitter, sweet and bitter, sweet citrus then bitter.  Then comes the lingering crisp bitter, smokey hop finish.  According to the extremely brief description on the back of the bottle, that Stone is famous for, these guys used hops at every possible step in the brewing process, from the very beginning, all the way to my glass, excluding a swat team crashing through my windows, spraying me and my beer with fresh hops. So it’s super malty, loaded with hops, hello Stone.  Any of you familiar with Brew Dog Hardcore IPA will recognize the strong citrus flavor that hits you right in the middle of the swallow.  I haven’t  had anything from Cambridge, but being that they were involved in this, I’d like to.
Overall, great beer experience.  I’m trying to think of an occasion special enough to have this beer again.  Hump day maybe?

 

Saaalut!!!

9.5 bananas!

Women and Men

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

bananasHow can 2 minds be so different?  My wife and I can argue for hours over a point that we completely agree on!  Women and men are just different.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for equality.  Hell, those on the outside of my marriage looking in would swear that I’m a proponent of affirmative action and reparations for women.  I fight everyday to achieve equality!    When I first heard of the book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”, I didn’t really pay it much attention.  I was single then, and understood women even less than I do now.  Now, that statement makes a lot more sense.  We are definitely wired differently.  What can make perfect sense to a man can seem totally insane to a woman, and vice versa.  I’m not saying that one is better than the other.  I can only speak from one side of the fence.

Beer Cred

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

redribbonFor those of you that don’t know, I entered my first beer competition back in May and suprisingly finished 2nd  in my category, (out of like 19)!

(Scroll down to table 19, Specialty Beer)

http://www.brewmastersopen.com/2009Results.html 

One of the judges grabbed me on the way back from collecting my prize and asked me what I used and told me the beer was great.  Well, due to mine and my wife’s extreme surprise we celebrated a little too much that night, with friends and family,  and I lost my scoring sheet.  I contacted the hosts of the event the following Monday, to get a copy, and they informed me that the score sheet I received was the only copy!  Oh well, that’s the price you pay for really, really, loving beer…Well, one of the prices.  Anyway, one of the hosts emailed me back with the email addresses of the judges in my category.  I emailed both of them and one of them responded…

“Hey Brian,

Awesome beer. The only notes I can recall, speak to it’s amazing tangerine aroma and flavor, balanced perfectly with a nice malt backbone. Very nice copper color, too, IIRC. I gave it a 47.

But you should be able to get another copy of your sheet from Les, no? Either way, keep up the great work and send me that recipe!

Matt”

Obviously I was flattered.  Especially after checking out Matt’s website and learning that he was actually a professional in the beer industry.  I went back to his site recently and saw this…

http://www.thebeerexpert.com/beer-summit-choices.shtml

I’m even more excited and honored after seeing this.  With Nicolai’s assistance, I have made this beer again, with some modifications, and it is silently completing itself downstairs.  Should be ready in a few weeks, who wants one?

Eenie, Meenie, Mausoleum, Mo!

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

bananasI drove by a really nice cemetery today, and I started thinking…Where will I rest eternally?  That is, if you can call being dead, resting.
It really isn’t that big of a deal to me, but I hope it will matter to somebody:  I’m pretty sure I won’t notice.  My paternal grandparents are buried behind the church that I grew up in.  That would be fine with me, but I don’t know how much room is left.  Dead or alive, I need my space.
To be honest, I would like to be preserved and put on display.  Maybe in a glass coffin, like Stalin, except with my eyes open.  It’s easy for people to talk bad about you when they’re just looking at a tombstone, but if they were looking at me, and I was looking right back at them…They might show a little more respect!

I can hear ’em now, “Look!  Wherever I go in the room, his eyes follow me!”

Wherever I end up, I sure hope it’s a long time from now.  I’ve got a lot left to do in this life.

I’ll have the Fried Calipari, please.

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Here’s a quote from an article I read today…

“I’m not worried about it because they have never said Coach Cal did anything wrong at all,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who appeared with Calipari at the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday before the NCAA announcement. “I think he’s a very upstanding guy. I think that’s his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don’t foresee any problems.”

In other news…

The Governor recently approved a bill, allocating 4.3 million dollars to a project that will renovate Kentucky’s entire Atlantic coastline.

 

The above excerpt, excluding the coastline joke, is from rivals.com at yahoo sports.  Read the entire article here.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=AoxQOmjlKmGhys1zuFxEtCoOvbYF?slug=ap-memphis-vacatedwins&prov=ap&type=lgns&start_row=26#comments

UGA prediction continued

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

georgiabulldogsI want to go on record.  In many of the years passed, I have made some extremely accurate predictions that were not documented, and people seem to forget that I was the one that said it 1st!  (Eg.  I said D.J. Shockley would have a great season in his one year to shine…SEC title.  When I saw Barack Obama at the 2004 DNC, I said, ‘there’s your next President’.  I could go on and on.)   So this year, I am documenting my statements so there will be proof.

-I still stand behind my earlier prediction, (please see archives), that Georgia will go undefeated and win the National Championship.  If somehow, OSU did pull off a miraculous victory, it would only inspire us more to go on and win the rest of our games and secure the crystal trophy.
Here’s why…

-Offensive and Defensive lines.
Our O-line played through some very trying times last season and they developed as a solid unit.  We are getting back a huge talent from injury.
Someone will emerge from our strong and experienced D-line as a game-changer,  once again making UGA a powerhouse on defense.  Not to mention, Willie is coaching for his job this year!

-Our QB is extremely talented and has been studying and practicing this offense for over 3 years.  He will succeed.
 
-A running back will step up and be a solid performer, with many other quality options platooning in, to keep him fresh.  They may not hurdle any players, but they will get the job done.

-We won’t have to listen to every sports reporter talk about our future NFL, 1st round pick, quarterback. By the way, I don’t know if Mel Kiper gets enough credit for his prediction that Stafford would be the 1st overall NFL draft pick…He said this before Stafford’s 1st season at Georgia!

-This year we have a TEAM, not a collection of individuals.

-There is not a game on our schedule that is not winnable and in most, we have an advantage.

Florida will fall, mightily.  If you keep telling someone over and over and over again, how great they are…They will eventually prove you wrong.  Maybe we’ll even learn what Tebow’s darkside is…You know he’s got one.

Go Dawgs!

Go for it!

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

bananasWhatever you dream about doing, make a plan, and do everything you can to make it happen.  When I was young(er), I didn’t really think about what I would be doing the rest of my life.  Now that’s all I think about.  I love my wife and child more than I could ever love a career, but just think how much of a better husband and dad I would be if I loved what I did.  Some people just stumble into a career, work hard at it, do fine in life, and then retire.  Other people, (me for example), just stumble around looking for something that fits, something that feels right.  I don’t think that right job ever just ‘comes along’.  I think that all these jobs along the way, that don’t work out, are part stepping stones/part signs, pointing us in the right direction.  I have learned a lot at every job I’ve had; sometimes it’s what to do, sometimes, (most times), it’s what not to do.  The point is, it was all part of the process of making me…And I’m still not complete, but I’m getting there. 
I think all of the jobs I’ve had were signs pointing me towards what I have to do to be happy in life…Happy, we’ll talk about that word some other time.

Moral of the story…Just go for it!  And do it while you’re young, while you have nothing to lose.  Then again, maybe when you’re young, you don’t have the wisdom and experience you need to know what it is you are actually going for.  And maybe you need to have something to lose, like a family.  Maybe that gives you no option but succeeding.  You know, maybe 36 is just the right age to go for it.  Happy birthday Monkey, wish me luck!

What I Learned this Weekend…

Monday, August 17th, 2009

I’ll never listen to The Doors song, “Break on Through”,on my Ipod while spreading pine straw, again.  It seems that none of my neighbors are on peyote, and they have no desire to see a fat dude dancing around his yard, like a Psychedelic Indian.