New Beer

I forgot to mention that my friend, Dave, and I bottled our latest batch of beer on Friday. We used the Raspberry Wheat brewing kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supplies here in the city. We actually substituted the Raspberry flavoring in half our batch with apricot in hopes of coming close to replicating the Apricot Ale from the Pyramid Brewing Company, which we got to try in Seattle a few months ago. It is a spectaular beer, and you can find it in some liquor stores here in Minneapolis. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, our beer is now sitting in bottles building up carbonation. It should be ready in about 2 weeks.

The Hopefuls and the Fair

I had a great day at the Minnesota State Fair today. It's called the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and for good reason. For 2 weeks, the entire state of Minnesota turns out to show off the wonders of our region. HUge brans full of farm animals of all kinds, merchants in machinery and vehicles from all over, and various contests ranging from quilting to butter carving. This may sound boring to you, but really it is quite amazing. And of course, the main reason to go to the fair: The Food. You are course obligated to eat at least one helping of cheese curds. But where else can you find deep-fried Snickers bars and Oreos (they really are very good!), a huge bucket of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, or pay $1 to get all the milk you can drink (especially recommended after purchasing the bucket of cookies)?

The highlight of the day, though, was a small concert put on by The Hopefuls, a local band (formerly known as The Olympic Hopefuls). With an awesome sound slightly reminicent of Weezer, I think this band is going to go places. They've already gotten the attention of the National Olympic Committee, which is why they can no longer use the word "Olympic" in their name (it's been a federally-protected trademark since 1950). I thought it would be a good idea to go see them while I still can. It wouldn't surprise me if they start going national soon.

Locked Within My Own Cell

Today (well, technically yesterday) I did something I thought I would never do. I have renounced my principles and convictions. Willingly, and of my own volition, I went out and bought a cell phone.

I'm still somewhat in shock that I did this. I have spent the past several year evangelizing the lack of necessity for one. It seemed like a waste of money for something I didn't need. But when everyone in the free world has one (and even several in the not-so-free parts of the world), it gets harder. Maybe it's because I actually have something resembling a social life now, but more likely I simply caved.

Next thing you know I'll be driving a Ford Excursion, joining the NRA, and voting Republican. I mean, I don't think those things are likely to ever happen either.

I am a weak, weak person.

Count Dooku Rocks!

Found this link over at MilkAndCookies.Com. It seemed kind of dumb at first, but if you keep hitting the little white rectangle at the bottom the music changes. Some of them are just hilarious. I think the theme from Benny Hill is my favorite.

Give it a few minutes to load, it can take a bit. But it's worth the wait.

Random Note on Raisins

This is for Kristin B. in New Jersey.

Cereals I know of that contain raisins (off the top of my head):
- Raisin Bran
- Total with Raisins (like Raisin Bran, but better for you)
- Basic 4
- Grape Nuts

Umm...that's all I can think of for now.

Now, how random is that?

New Rules for Fuel Economy

Looks like the government has passed new rules concerning fuel economy in SUVs. Well, it's about time. Though the new rules really just mandate the MPG rating on most vehicles be bumped up just a couple miles, and not until 2008. Of course, the real problem is our culture that demands everyone drive a behemoth that only gets 15 MPG. As long as that persists, don't expect our national fuel consumption to change much.

Post Secret

Bill Harris posted this link over in his blog, but I thought I'd pass it along here. Post Secret is a project where people can annonomously send in their secrets on postcards to be displayed on the Internet. Some are funny, some are heartwarming, some are disturbing, and still others will speak to you directly. You should check it out.

Mechanics On Strike

It is now official. NWA and AMFA have failed to reach an agreement and the mechanics are now on strike.

Countdown

Well, we now have less than 30 minutes for Northwest Airlines and their mechanic union to strike a deal, and things aren't looking good.

It seesm like Northwest has had nothing but a long string of problems. If it isn't a mechanic strike, it's a fligt attendant strike. If it isn't that, it's a pilot strike. I'm not kidding. The employees already have a long history of taking pay cuts just to keep the company afloat. I don't know what it is, but it seems like the company just can't get its act together.

I know a large airline like Northwest has a lot more challenges than a small airline like Sun Country. Northwest can't just choose to offer flights only to the most profitable cities. But it seems to me that if it were well-managed they shouldn't have nearly as many problems as they have had.

I hope all parties can work things out and get what they need without having to resort to a strike. If a strike happens, I hope it is short. Well, just have to wait and see what happens.

Chicken Heads

Is it just me, or are the new Burger King commercials advertising their Chicken Fries kind of disturbing? I don't know what it is, but watching a bunch of guys dressed as demonic undead chicken zombies at varying stages of decay screaming bad psuedo death metal just doesn't make me hungry. Maybe it's just me.

VJ Day - 60 Years

For those interested, today is the 60th anniversary of VJ Day, or Victory over Japan for the Unites States - the end of World War II. While the war only lasted 6 years (starting when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939) and American involvement lasted just 3 and half years, this period of time was probably the most tumultuous time in the last century of world history and the effects of it can still be seen today.

A salute to all our forces that fought during this terrible time and helped return peace to the world.

A Day at the Fair of Olde

Today I went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival with my friend, Phil, who came over yesterday for Tim's wedding, as he used to be one of Tim's roommates too (at different time than me, I met Phil through Tim). The Ren Fest here, as it is called, is said to be one of the best in the nation. This weekend was openning weekend, which neither of us had attended before. Lots of artisans, leathworkers, glass blowers, clothing makers, blacksmiths, and artists of all kinds, set up shop in the festival with all kinds of unique wares. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything else like it anywhere.

Phil and I have sort of a fascination with swords. He has quite a collection already. Last year I bought a really nice katana from Badger Blades, a maker of some very nice-quality blades. They can be rather expensive, however, and really just took a casual look this time. I still have to get my last sword up on the wall and I really didn't feel like spending a lot of money this year. I did, however, buy a really cool chainmail hackey sack.

Of course, the best thing to do there is just people-watching. Lots of people will come in costume and it's just fun to see what people come up with. A lot of them, especially the cast, really get into it and you can sit there and banter with them if you feel so inclined.

It can be a lot more fun if you come in costume yourself. It helps you get into character more. Unfortunately, we just didn't get it together in time to pull this off. I have a hobbit costume I wore last year at Halloween, but I didn't get my feet tough enough to be able to pull that off, nor do I have any real footwear that would fit very well with it (tennis shoes just won't do). Our ultimate plan is to get a bunch of our friends togther and all dress up as barabarians. I group of barbarians could "really clean the place up", as Phil said. Plus, it would just be a lot of fun. We have a plan for next year.

The Age of Marriage

I just attended my third wedding this summer. This time the wedding of my old college roommate, Tim. It really is crazy watching all the people my age get married. It's been a busy summer. I guess it's just one of those things that happen. Or not.

Congratulations Tim and Felsia!

You May Now Leave Comments

So it seems I had it set up so only registered users could leave comments. That's not what I intended. My bad. I fixed it so now anyone can comment. Feel free to leave your thoughts.

Thanks, Karin.

Gates on Spam

While cruising through the Snopes archives (I recommend taking a browse through there. There's some fascinating stuff.) I came across a link to an essay written by Bill Gates back in 1998 on the evils of Email spam. It's an interesting read. I especially like his idea about getting paid to read unsolicited Emails. That would cut down on the amount of spam we get quite a bit. Or at least put a little extra money in the pocket. I wonder when Microsoft is going to implement this?

Recipes From the Bachelor's Kitchen Pt. 1

Hamburger is by far, the most versatile type of meat you can buy at the grocery. Every single guy (or anyone for that matter) should have at least a pound in the freezer on standby at any given time. You just never know when you're going to want to whip up a quick meal instead of eating out, and if you keep it in the freezer it last nearly forever (or at least until the next time you make your bi-monthly grocery trip).

So here's an easy recipe for you using stuff you likely have in your kitchen (including the obligatory hamburger!):

Cheeseburger Macaroni
What you need:
- 1 package of any style Macaroni and Cheese
- 1 half pound of hamburger (I usually store my hamburger in the freezer already cut into half-pound chunks)
- Some milk
- Some butter

Directions:
Prepare the Mac and Cheese as directed on the package. Everyone should know how to do this. (this is where the milk and butter come in, by the way)
Defrost the hamburger in a microwave. 5 minutes for half a pound set at about 30% power should do the trick. Be sure to flip the hamburger periodically through out the defrosting process to make sure it gets evenly thawed.
Brown the hamburger and break into small chunks.
Once the hamburger and macaroni are done, simply combine them. You now have Cheeseburger Macaroni. This easily makes 2 makes servings or even more if you are a light eater. Share with a friend or store the left-over in the fridge. It reheats really well!

Optional:
To add some extra class to your meal, try splashing some Burgundy cooking wine (you probably don't have this in your kitchen; get some) into the hamburger while it is cooking. It really brings out the flavor of the meat and you can go brag to your friends about it (everyone admires people who use wine in their cooking, how do you think Emeril got so popular?). Also feel free to add any other spices you think will taste good. I like black pepper and cajun spice myself.

Sixty Years in the Nuclear Age and the End of War As We Knew It

Speaking of anniversaries, today also marks 60 years since the dropping of the of the atomic bomb, "Fat Man", on the city of Nagasaki. This event, in conjuction with the devastation suffered by the city of Hiroshima 3 days prior, would cause the Empire of Japan to finally concede defeat to the United States and bring an end to World War II.

The decision to use the bomb has remained as controversial today as it was then. No single weapon in the history of the world ever caused as much destruction or terror as the two bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. Casualties have been estimated to be well over 100,000 people, an unprecedented death toll, nearly all of them non-combatant civilians. There can be no disputing the horrible ramifications of these acts.

What is less talked about, however, is the alternative. By this point in the war, Japan had already been defeated. Most of their able-bodied soldiers were dead or captured, their industrial capacity demolished, and resources non-existent, there were some in the Japanese high command who called for Japan to continue fighting down to its last man, woman, and child. The American command knew it needed to put an end to the war. It had dragged on too long and would likely continue to drag on for years.

The next step planned was a full-blown amphibious attack on Tokyo on a scale that would make D-Day look like a war game exercise. It could have been the most horrific battle of the war. Casualty estimates for this operation ranged upwards to roughly 10 times the destruction caused by the 2 bombs. Because Japan surrendered, it did not come to this.

The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed us the true horrors of war. They are regrettable and should be remembered. But it should also be remembered that had the bombs not been used, the destruction likely would have been far more reaching. The bombs also demonstrated the power of that terrible genie we had unleashed and the world would never be the same again.

If any long-lasting good can come out of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let it be to serve as a warning. A warning against the power we humans learned to unleash. Let us pray that those two events are the last time such power is ever used.

Reflections on the Past Year

As of today, I have now officially been working full time for a full year. Four full seasons following the same routine. It occurred to me a few months that I have haven't gone a full year following the same routine since I was 5 years old. That was the day before I started kindergarten.

See, when you're in school, you only go for 9 months at a time before the summer comes and breaks it up. And then we you do come back, you are a full grade higher; a clean slate, ready to start all over again a little older and wiser. And when you enter into middle school, high school, and beyond, you are taking different classes every 4 months. Each new semester is that same slate-cleaning event. Always something different around the corner.

So think about that. The past 10 years, I have been roughly on a 4-month rotation cycle. Constant flux, ever changing, always a different pace. If I didn't like what I was doing, all I had to do was bare through it and wait a few months. It got to be a very comfortable lifestyle.

But that's over with now. And it's not that I'm complaining so much, as just commenting on it. It's been a huge adjustment, and it hasn't been an easy one. I am now where I was exactly one year ago, and the prospect that I will still be here for a while yet is nothing less than daunting.

But I guess that part of growing up, and it had to happen sooner or later. So here's to One Year, and many more to come. I believe I am entitled to a beer.

A Weekend At the Lake (with pictures!)

As I posted before, I spent this past weekend at my boss's trailer on Farm Island Lake, up near Aitkin, MN. It was just a small group of us from work and Mike's (that's my manager) dad. Doing a weekend away at a lake spot up north is a very popular thing to do in Minnesota, though somehow I had never done it before.

We really couldn't ask for better weather. It was sunny and clear, cool, and not humid at all. And just breezy enough to keep most of the mosquitos down. It was perfect.

Stopping to grab some brats and steaks on the way up, we got there late in the afternoon on Friday. We hit the lake in Mike's boat and just cruised around for a while. It isn't a very large lake, but we saw some really cool sights. There was abig eagle's nest on one side of the lake and loons everywhere (that's the Minnesota state bird), which you just don't see in the city. You could hear the loons' call through the night. Truly awesome.

We went back to the trailer and cooked up the brats on the grill, then made a fire and just spent the night talking about various thing. Happennings at work, which turned intoa discussion on the current state of the space program, to a debate on the political climate of the country, to a debate on the role of reliogion in today's society. Yeah...it got heavy, so we decide to retire inside and watch a movie for the rest of the night.

We got up...somewhat early the next morning to go fishing. I hadn't been fishing for years, and never to keep anything. I used to do catch-and-release fishing with my dad when I was a kid. Our plan was to catch a bunch of fish so we could make sandwiches for lunch. After about 3 hours of fishing, though, Ryan and I were the only ones that had caught anything. Good thing we brought turkey. We did still fry up what we had caught and had a nice little post-lunch snack. I had never even eaten lake fish before, so this was a first. Where have I been?

We spent most of the day just lounging around, playing XBox games that Ryan had brought and drinking beer. Later in the afternoon, we went back on the boat and tried out the inner tube being pulled behind the boat. Again, this was something I had never done before, and since I've never been very good in the water I was nervous. But Eugene went first and talked me into it. Man, was that intense. It takes so much strength to hold yourself onto that tube, but I was afraid of falling off, so I just held on. I did finally lose my grip and went flying off it, but it wasn't bad at all. And the water felt great! I was so exhausted though, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull myself back into the boat. I had some help though. We also got Ryan to go out on the tube (and he really flew!).




After all that, we went back to camp and got a fire going to get a start on dinner. Mike had a few chunks of old oak wood sitting around which we added to the fire, which added a really good flavor. Those were some good steaks! We also had fire-roasted corn and some garlic, cheesy potatoes Mike whipped up.

After dinner, we decided it would be best to go home. Some had to be back early the next morning and we thought it would be better to head back that night instead of getting up at the crack of dawn the next day. I guess I'm not the only who's not a morning person.

It was a fantastic weekend though. I had a lot of fun and I would really like to do something like that again. Maybe someday I'll have to get my own trailer by a lake.

Hmmm, time to start saving...

Back-To-School No More

I've been out of school over a year now; since last May. There are times that I really miss it. Always learning something new, hanging out with people all your same age with the same interests. Opportunities abound. It really was a great time.

Walking around Target today, though, I have to admit I had a certain amount of gratification in walking past the Back-To-School section, the dreaded section that always marked the end of a summer of freedom, and knowing that it no longer holds any power over me.

I had to smile.

Pictures still coming

I haven't forgotten about the pictures I promised, they just won't be going up tonight. I still have upload them on to my computer and get them sorted (I still have pictures from Christmas I haven't uploaded yet!). I might have to resize them too. Not sure if thing will resize 3 megapixel pictures by itself or not.

Hmm, I might have some experimenting to do...

They actually made a decent Batman movie!

Today was my dad's birthday, so I took him out to a movie. We hadn't gone to see any movies in a while, and we've been missing some potentially good ones. He wanted to see Batman and I agreed.

At one time we ere both pretty avid comic book readers. I think Batman was probably my favorite. It tended to be pretty dark and gritty, but Batman himself always stood for a certain set of principles I thought were admirable. He never killed his opponents, no matter how much he was tried. There was this sense of a greater justice and honor in the way he conducted himself. He stood for the principle that by sinking to the level of your enemy, you become no better than them. And even if your goal is impossible (in his case, to rid the city of all crime), that doesn't make it not worth fighting for. He took the high road, yet wasn't the all-good, can't-do-wrong "boy scout" Superman was. It was the idealism in the face of insanity I liked. Qualities I think are lacking in many of the heroes in other stories.

Now I had heard good things about the new movie, but the last 4 sucked so badly I was really skeptical. It isn't even that the first two (Batman and Batman Returns) weren't so bad in of themselves, they just got the characters so wrong I can't accept them. Someone who didn't know the characters or take them as seriously (I'll freely admit that I am a geek) might actually like those movies. The other two (Batman & Robin and Batman Forever) were just stupid. So there is a lot of bad precedent as far as Batman movies go.

Well, I have to admit they finally got it right. They actually managed to capture the spirit of the comic book and stick to a story that is pretty close to canon. They even veered away from the typical battle between Batman and the Joker and used slightly more obscure, but more interesting villains (I think) from the comic book. The actors chosen for just about all the roles, especially for Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon were spot on. All in all, I have to say I was impressed. If they decide to make anymore Batman movies, I hope they stick to this model.

If you are a comic book fan, go see Batman Begins. I think you'll appreciate it.

I'm Back

Well, I'm back from the lake up north. The weather was perfect the whole time! We had a blast. I'm pretty tired right now though. I think I'm going to go to bed. Pictures to come.

Midnight Oil

So I decided to check my work Email from home this evening because I needed to get the address of a friend's house where we were holding our weekly poker night. It was in an Email I had left sitting in my inbox.

I open up the mailbox and find one of my users has sent me a note asking me if I could send in this report I had been working on yesterday by tomorrow. I decided to take tomorrow off so I could sleep-in in preparation for the upcoming lake trip (I like to relax before my vacations) and I really didn't want to break that assertion.

I went to Poker a later than usual after taking my time getting dinner and stuff. I didn't really feel like playing, but still wanted to be social. I got beaten in a Chess game (I'll get you next time Nick!). A good time was had by all.

I didn't want this report hanging over my head over the weekend though. And I really should have gotten it done today. It just slipped my mind. Should be a quick job.

So I actually went into work at 11:30 PM to work on the report. Luckily, it went smoother than I expected and I just got done with it. You can see the time of this posting below.

At least I managed to catch my boss online as he was still working too from home (he's like that). So maybe this is worth some brownie points.

I gotta wonder, though...is this job devotion, or just a sickness?

Bleh...

To the lake!

My boss has invited a small group of us from work to his parents' cabin by the lake for the weekend (In Minnesota, it is only necessary to say "the lake". You don't need to specify which one.). A venerable Minnesota tradition that in my 24 year years I have never partaken of. I am quite excited.

So, I'll be gone this weekend. Hope you have a good one.

Concerning the shuttle

NASA is breaking new ground as we speak. Following the tragedy of the Columbia, NASA has taken unprecedented steps to to ensure the safety of their crews, including never-done-before inspections in space and new methods to repair the vessel while in orbit. The whole point of this shuttle mission was to take up a number of experiments in shuttle repair to test them out.

I don't think anyone predicted they would be testing them for real. In their ferver to prevent another Columbia incident, NASA stepped up all their methods of accident detection. Now it seems they are learning just how many problems they have.

First, was the chunk of foam observed during launch. It's now thought that it didn't cause any damage, but this was the cause of the Columbia disaster and it is now clear that they did not fix that problem as they thought.

Next, the found a bit of tile filling protruding from under belly of the vehicle and it was determined that this could result in uneven heating on reentry that could be unsafe. The bits of filling were removed without incident.

No sooner have they solved this problem, when they find yet another potential problem with the thermal shielding around the nose. It has yet to be determined if this is a major issue or not.

Now, all of this has put the space program in an interesting position. Well, interesting to the outside observer, maybe. What we really have here seems to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, the astronauts have proved that it is possible and feasible to repair a space craft in flight. This represents a major leap forward for the space program. This has never been done before.

But one has to figure that all these problems they are finding on this flight have happened before. The only reason they have never been a problem is because NASA didn't know there was a problem. They've never looked for them before. Now they know, and the genie is out of the bottle.

The shuttle program, if it continues and if there are no major advances, is going to continue to have these problems. NASA can no longer ignore them, especially with the amount of press they are suddenly getting. But then every shuttle flight from here on out is going to be spending all its time repairing their ship in flight. That's fine for this flight. The point of STS-108 is to test out these new techniques. But what about future flights? Can the shuttle have a future? And if not, what will take its place?

I guess it is still too early to try and answer any of these questions. But it is food for thought.

I think we are either on the cusp a bright new era for the space program, or about a witness a sad and unglorious end to something good.

Time will tell which.

A Resolution

I've decided that I really need to stop procrastinating on stuff. I've been feeling like I've been stuck in kind of a rut lately, and I'm beginnig to wonder if it isn't simply because I just haven't gotten myself motivated. It's like I'm suffering from a streak of chronic laziness. It's got to end.

It's funny because I've had this resolution for quite a while. I've just been...well, putting it off. But no, I've got to be proactive. I'm starting today.

Or maybe tomorrow. I'm tired.

A New Beginning

Wow, so here I am. I have been meaning to do this for a while. I'm not sure why, I guess blogs are just the "in" thing right now and I felt the need to jump on the band wagon. I mean everyone and their brother has one of these now, so I figured I might as well have one too.

I don't know about the name, but somehow it just seemed...appropriate. I honestly don't know if anyone out there will even care about what I have to say. But, nonetheless, I am here and I think I have some things to say...

But not tonight. Tonight, I am just here to introduce myself and see if I can figure out what this is all about.

Having said that...Welcome to my blog.