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Friday, April 25, 2003I've been pretty busy with my new job, but I love it. It's a lot of hard work. None of you would probably believe it until you had to shovel 600 pounds of wet grains out of a steaming mash tun and then get in it and scrub it until every last speck of grain is removed. Rock Bottom in Chicago brews a LOT of beer. So far, I've worked there 9 days and the two of us have done 12 brews. That means we have brewed six single brews and three doubles. I'll tally up how much beer that equates to:1 BBL = 31.5 gallons 1 brew = 11 BBLs 12 brews = 132 BBLs 132 BBLs = 4,158 gallons of beer! And another bit of good news. Next week we'll be brewing one of my recipes. So, in May, my very own beer will be on tap at Rock Bottom. I'll be brewing an E.S.B., or Extra Special Bitter. You'll have to come up and visit before it's all gone.
Monday, March 24, 2003Hoo-ray!!!!Breaking news on the job front! I just found out I will be the new assistant brewer at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in downtown Chicago. I went in for the interview on Friday and got the job today. The facility is beautiful and the head brewer seems like he will be a lot of fun to work with. The brewpub is located in a very hip and scenic part of downtown, on the corner of Grand and State. It's going to be a lot of work, but I can tell the experience will be very rewarding. And chicks dig brewers. I made that part up. But who knows, maybe they do.
Friday, March 21, 2003Well, we're at war. Wow. War. Wow. I still don't think war is the answer (when is it?). However, we are now under a lot of pressure to support the President and our troops. Well, if supporting means I hope Bush sees the err of his ways and that I don't want any harm to come to our troops, then I do. But to say the debate is over and suddenly support a war would be silly. If you don't believe me, here is a good quote from relevant source:"To announce that there must be no criticism of the
Wednesday, March 05, 2003Sorry it has been a while for me to post, but I have been pretty busy. Binny's has made me the Cigar Consultant and I have been actively pursuing a new job.Jen and I went to see a movie last week. It was Old School, starring Will Ferrel. This had to be the funniest movie I have seen in a long time. And it wasn't just because I had brought along the 'portable beverage kit' that Page got me as a wedding party gift. The whole audience was getting into it. I can't remember the last time I went to a movie where the whole crowd seemed to be enjoying their experience as much as I. Anyway, great movie. It will really hit home for those of you newly married types. So true. Go see it. I don't know if you've heard, but Tommy Chong, of Cheech and Chong, was arrested last week by the FBI. When I saw the headline, I wondered, did he kill someone, or worse, is he in a terrorist cell? Apparently, he was arrested for running a company that makes glass pipes and bongs. Now, as far as I know, that's legal. So, he must be planning some sort of attack. Good ol' Asscroft. Still making Missouri proud. I found a commentary on this subject entitled 'FIght Bombs, Not Bongs' that was really well stated. It was even on a crazy right wing website. If conservatives are starting to get it, maybe we're on the right track. Here is a good quote from the article: 'This federal overreach featured an unhealthy dose of rhetorical overkill. "People selling drug paraphernalia," said acting DEA chief John Brown, "are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide." Yes, and wineglass makers cause drunk-driving deaths.'
Thursday, February 13, 2003Well, it looks like we're getting closer to starting a war. I wonder if this is how Germans felt when Hitler invaded Poland? Anyhoo, Page was kind enough to dig up a couple of outstanding quotes that seem to be highly relevant in these scary times."Beware the leader who bangs the drum of war in order to whip the citizenry -Julius Caesar "Naturally the common people do not want war: neither in Russia, nor -Hermann Wilhelm Goring at the Nuremberg Trails
Wednesday, February 05, 2003A study shows that today's youth, thanks to video games and MTV, is less likely to kill. Animals, at least. I found this at Fox News' site, where it's not as much news as it is commentary. It's definitely a slanted view towards wanting to see more kids learn to fish and hunt, in the guise of 'connecting with nature'. What's wrong with camping and hiking? Why do you have to kill? I say, kill the people who piss you off from day to day and then go camping to be with superior life forms while the heat from the cops dies down.Here's my favorite quote from the article. Which is, by the way, written by the 'journalist', not some crazy person they interviewed. By the way, when I said favorite, I really meant the opposite: 'American kids aren't being taught the sports as children, as many of their parents and grandparents were. And without early exposure, experts fear that many people will never experience the joy of reeling in a flapping flounder or skinning a deer.' There are so many things wrong with that that I don't know where to start.
Sunday, February 02, 2003Jen and I attended the annual Brewery and Brewpub Shootout yesterday, hosted by the Chicago Beer Society. It was great. There were so many good beers and food. Plus, I showered the brewers with resumes, so hopefully something good will come of that.I'm sure everyone is aware of the shuttle Columbia tragedy. Sad times. I am always disturbed by setbacks in space travel because I think it is one of the most important investments of our country. At the rate we are destroying the earth, we will come to depend on space travel one day. Just think of all the money wasted on missile defense and increased military spending that could have gone to newer, more reliable spacecraft.
Friday, January 17, 2003Happy Sanctity of Human Life Weekend!That's right, Bush has declared this Sunday to be Sanctity of Human Life Day. He wants this country to be a society that respects life. Surely then, he will want to lead by example and find a peaceful means to get through the Iraq and North Korea crisis. Somebody who respects life as much as Bush could never order a preemptive strike, killing soldiers and civilians. Now that's satire!
Monday, January 06, 2003Weapons of Mass DestructionYes, the American Dialect Society has determined that to be the phrase of 2002. Sad days. Also sad was the fact that one of George W's made up words was also nominated. The 'word' embetterment. It was voted down because, and I quote one of the board members of the ADS, "people didn't want to encourage it". Pretty funny. It reminds me of a great phrase from another visionary like Bush: 'A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man' -Jebediah Springfield I'm sure everyone has heard about the few Christian groups who asked the question, "What kind of car would jesus drive?" Well, an even more important question has been asked and apparently answered. Did Jesus use marijuana? Yes? According to a study of scriptural texts, he did. It was used in the oil he would anoint with. It's an interesting article. Here's a great excerpt from it: '"If cannabis was one of the main ingredients of the ancient anointing oil... and receiving this oil is what made Jesus the Christ and his followers Christians, then persecuting those who use cannabis could be considered anti-Christ," Mr Bennett concludes.'
Thursday, January 02, 2003I hope everyone had a nice holiday season. Ours was a bit of a rush, but it was nice. We went to a fondue party with some friends for New Year's Eve and watched the Navy Pier fireworks from their window. There were some interesting characters on the train that night, I can tell you.Now that the busy season is through at Binny's, I will have free time to start round two of the brewing job search. That'll teach Binny's to cut my hours! (hopefully) There is still an open invitation to come and visit us anytime. Beware, though, we are slowly gaining friends here and our dark, desperate days of solitude are nearing an end. So, if you want us to make a big fuss about you visiting, you should do it soon!
Monday, December 16, 2002Happy Birthday, Page!!posted by Beau on 8:31 AM
Sunday, December 15, 2002Happy Birthday, Jen!!!She's survived another year of living. And to celebrate her cheating death, we will be going out to a fondue restaurant in the area. And for the six months that she is one year older than I am, I get to tease her about how old she is getting!
Thursday, December 05, 2002I'm getting behind in posts, if you hadn't noticed. Well, we had a nice Thanksgiving, or Thankstaking as Bobby Hill would call it. After not having a real winter in NC, Chicago has already made up for it quite nicely. It has already snowed four times and this week we got about four inches. Unfortunately, I haven't had a whole lot of oppurtunity to play in it. Maddy seems to really enjoy the snow, and me throwing it at her.I have some bad news. We saw the new 007 movie last weekend and I didn't think I would say this, but, I hated it. It was so disappointing. It should have just been a crappy action movie without befowling Bond's good name. And it wasn't even Halle Berry's performance that ruined it. Since the holidays are approaching, I won't go on and depress everyone. There is some good news, though. Normally, you can't listen to anything a movie critic says, but this positive review just made me giddy like a school girl. The new Lord of the Rings film, the Two Towers, is set for release on December 18. I'm getting pretty excited. Judging by the books, this will be my favorite one. It will have the darkest themes and most complex storyline. Kind of how the Empire Strikes Back was to the original Star Wars trilogy. A tear came to my eye when I read this story. It was a story of how reckless driving during the holidays can rip families apart, destroy lives, and set civilization back decades. A big rig truck, carrying our most valuable resource, hit a bridge that had a clearance that was too low. I can only imagine the sheer horror felt by anybody in the area. 'No, God no!' they must have cried, only to realize their fears had come to be. The article didn't say how much beer was lost, but did it really have to? The brewers, the beer, and the intended consumers will be in my thoughts and I urge you to say a little prayer.
Tuesday, November 26, 2002We are off to old St. Louie tomorrow. I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving weekend. I was able to get off work for the whole holiday.(I don't think I've had time to mention work, but I am working at Binny's, a fine wine, spirits, and beer store in Skokie. Very similar to the Brown Derby Beer and Wine center in Springfield.)I like what I'm doing there and the people are nice. I think only God has a better beer selection. It's great, and mouthwatering. The only problem is that they have already started playing X-mas music and there is only about an hour and half worth of music that gets played over and over. They only have one song from 'A Charlie Brown Christmas', the only thing worth listening to, and they have three, count them, three versions of 'I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus'. I have yet to hear a version of that song that doesn't make me want to puke. By far the worst is the John Cougar Mellancamp version. It makes my skin crawl. Mainly the part at the end where they have twangy hick children singing out of key. Yikes.
Monday, November 11, 2002It's Veteran's day today, in case you didn't know. I didn't until today. Why is it that Memorial Day is hyped up so much more than Veteran's Day? I read(at shawnandjamie.com) that Veteran's Day is supposed to be a day of thanks to living veterans, as opposed to the ones who died in combat. Does anybody else find it interesting, or bizarre, that you can find a veteran, frequently missing appendages, begging for money on the street and people avoid them like the plague. But when a dead veteran is mentioned, they are true American heroes? Is it that it is much easier to feel good about yourself 'oweing' a dead person gratitude, since they will never require anything? Or is it a perpetuating sick death fetish that western society seems to have?(ie. burial and caskets)At the risk of adding to the snowball effect of the increasing number of invented holidays to boost greeting card/flower sales, I think there ought to be a day to salute DRAFTED veterans. Not to say that a dead drafted veteran gave any more than a dead enlisted veteran, but these are people who were committed by law to fight in a war that they might have felt strongly against. Well, that's my two cents. There was a very good transcript of a phone interview with Kurt Vonnegut that I found on the subject. Click here to read it.
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