Happy pi day

[(–1)^(1/2)] [2^3] π

....and it was good

Happy π day everyone!!

I'm a super poster!!!!

Ever since I said I was going to quit blogging, I've found myself thinking of a lot more blog post ideas. I've also found that since I quit, I've felt a lot less pressure to post anything. I can't seem to get myself to totally quit. Slow down, yes, but not quit. I've like the Brett Farve of posting.

OK, maybe not, but here I am. Not being retired from blogging.

Let me get you up to date on my brewing activities because they have been plenty.

Tonight, I once again pulled off an evening few would be able to do. I did all of the following without my wife's help as she was out supporting the family:

I fed 4 kids (corn dogs, sweet corn, corn chips, see a theme here. They love that type of stuff)

I entertained 4 kids until the Olympics came on. Then I made popcorn for a snack. I vacuumed up a lot of popcorn my 1 year old dispersed.

I got 4 kids to bed. PJs, stories, brushed teeth, potty, everything.

I brewed two beers. An American Pilsner lager and and Czech Pilsner. One extract and one partial mash.

I sanitized 4 carboys.

I racked a 10 gallon batch of beer to two 5 gallon carboys and dry hopped them.

I emptied the dishwasher.

I filled the dishwasher.

I cleaned my 10 gallon carboy.

It was a busy night and I'm ready to finally drink a homebrew and relax.

So, I was thinking to myself that after a night like this, I'm pretty super. And that reminded me of a story.

When I was young (around 4-6 years old) I loved Superman. Who didn't? One day I was playing in our basement, and I decided to declare my admiration of Superman to the world by writing a bold statement in red crayon on the white basement wall. I wrote:

I love Supper man

My mom was not amused in the least. She also pointed out that I wasn't a very good speller. But, in the end, it turned out to be prophetic. Well almost. I don't love Superman as much now days, but I sure do love supper, man.

Belated birthday to the blog and goodbye?

This blog was born on January 3, 2007. That's three years ago, and I missed its birthday 20 days ago. oops. It is time to reflect on whether I have accomplished what I wanted to with this blog.

In short, No, not really. My posts on the Chemistry of brewing have been few a far between. My problem is that I plan big ambitious posts and never find the time or motivation to finish them. There's something about having 4-5 classes a semester and 4 kids that really sucks the energy from ones being. Don't get me wrong, I love the life I have with 4-5 classes a semester and 4 kids, but it is not conducive to being a good and comprehensive blogger.

I had hoped this blog would be a source of meaningful information regarding the chemistry of brewing. I never quite got there.

On the other hand, I've written a lot about education and teaching. I usually complain about things, but that's not unusual. And regardless of the subject matter, I've been writing. Not well, but writing none the less. If there is one thing that I need to practice it is writing. I've used this blog to force myself to at least try to craft a thought and make it coherent as written words. I know I will never be 'writer' but I never wanted to be. I just want to exercise my brain.

So, were does that leave this blog?

Well, two days ago, I had a conversation with my brain. We have been mulling over the idea of shutter up this little corner of the internet. I came to a decision (this was just two days ago, BTW). I decided that I would continue to blog, albeit sporadically, as long as blog pal Matt Jenks continued to blog on his site, A Crown of Thistles. I thought, if he ever quits, then I'm going to quit. In a sense, I was merely passing the buck on making a decision.

Guess what? He's quitting (sort of).

To be true to my brain, I'm quitting too. Sort of. I plan on taking a bit of a hiatus. Yeah, yeah I know. I seem to have been on hiatus for the past 2 years.

Anywho, I'm not going to post much around here. Even less than I have. Maybe I'll shut it down completely. I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'll get my second wind and find some inspiration.

Until then,

Good bye cruel world

The legend is true.

OMG, it does exist!!!

I just found my desk.

After I shred a pile of papers, I will have clean (in a very relative sense) desk.

A little math lesson for you

Where I am:

Where I will be in about 30 hours:

Here's the math (updated to actually be correct) :

83°F – (-23°F) = 105°F difference between the two locales.

After setting two record lows in 2010 (yeah, that's 2 out of 4 days) for my area, I'm ready for a break.

A few reasons why I might be awesome

I brewed two batches of beer tonight. A pale ale and a pale ale.

I racked two beers to secondaries. An oatmeal stout and a doppel bock.

I cleaned and sanitized three carboys during the process.

I changed a poopy diaper.

I fed my kids*.

I put my kids to bed*.

I wrote a math quiz today.

I taught 4 classes and an organic lab.

I wrote a gen chem exam.

I got my kids to school...on time.

I graded homework.

I bought new jeans for the first time in 6 years (true story).

I bought salt for our water softener.

and

I got a flu shot. Seasonal, not H1N1. They won't give that to me, yet.

And I did this all before 10 PM. Now, I'm watching Scrubs on WGN and then I'm going to bed.

* with my wife's help.

Personal revelation

While teaching my math class, I just realized I have been doing FOIL wrong all these years.

I've actually been doing FIOL instead. My God, how embarrassing.

360°

So, did anyone else out there go to Soldier Field in Chicago this weekend to see U2's first North American show of their current tour?

I did.

It rocked.

As soon as I catch up with the tons of worked that piled up because of our trip there, I will post pictures and describe the spectacle that is a U2 concert.

Sorry, I've been away for a while

I spent the last several days in an isolated part of Northern Wisconsin camping with family. It was nice to be unplugged from the rest of the world. No internet, no cell phone, no newspaper, nothing.

So, did anything interesting happen while I was gone????

96 and counting...

By my calculations, I have brewed 96 batches of beer in my homebrewing career. I must admit, I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Obviously 96 is close to 100 and batch 100 must be a momentous brew. For batch #100 I want to brew something worthy of being batch #100.

At this point I have no idea what I'm going to brew. Here are my brew plans leading up to 100.

97: Carbon Black Stout
98: Metathesis Pale Ale
99: American Cream Ale
100: ?????????

I need your help. What type of beer should I brew for #100?

Since I only have two available fermenters (2 are full in my lagering fridge) it will take a while to get through 97, 98 and 99.

Suggestions, please.

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!!!! 233 years!!!! Take that, Britland!!!!

Actually, thanks for the solid start, Great Britain. You really did set things up nicely. Sorry about that whole tax and representation thing. Things kind of got ugly. I'm glad we're friends. I raise a pint to you.

The USA is a great country and I am proud to be one of its citizens. Is the USA perfect? Nope. No country is. But I am proud to be in a country that let's girls go to school, that let's me decide who to vote for, that let's me criticize the government, that builds roads, schools and jails, that let's me brew up to 200 gallons of beer a year.

God Bless America.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have some transition metals I need to torture....
BTW, if you are ever in Madison, WI be sure to stop at the Great Dane Pub and Brewery. Awesome.

Memorial Day and a movie review

Happy Memorial day to everyone. And I mean the real Memorial Day. Not the one that has come to mean the "official start to Summer" or the "let's grill" or the "let's stick it to the American consumer by jacking up gas prices" Memorial day. No, I'm talking about remembering the men and women who fought and died for my country.

To those who have served: Thank you.

Since I have your attention, I strongly suggest you watch the movie Taking Chance. From imdb.com:

Based on real-life events, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming

What made this movie remarkable for me is that the movie was not a vehicle to glamorize war or to vilify war. It could have easily become a propaganda film. The director very deftly crafted a movie that was much more than that.

This movie is about dignity and respect. Specifically, it dealt with what happens after a Marine dies in battle. From the moment a soldier falls until his or her body is laid to rest, the body is treated with the greatest amount of dignity, honor and respect as a part of protocol, but also, as the movie showed, as a spontaneous gesture by those who are thankful.

life changing moment... coming soon

I recently promised a story about a recent life-changing moment. I didn't forget. Things are just getting really busy, what with the imminent end of the semester and all (3 days and then finals). I promise I'll tell it soon.

Let me whet your appetite: This life-changing thing will probably contribute to my downfall on many different levels. It is related to my hobby run amok. This thing could be used to kill mjenks.

Until then, watch me "blow up" shit:



Only four stars???? YouTube users suck!!!

The end of the year, a life changing event and Longshot

Seven more days until finals week. Not that I'm counting or anything. This time of year is always hectic. Students are frantically trying to finish projects and homework. Professors are frantically trying to cover 5 weeks worth of material in 2 weeks and grade everything.

It's a busy time of year.

Last weekend, I did something that will change my life forever. Well, at least the beer drinking part of my life. I'm not going to tell you what it is. I want to build up some suspense and force myself to make an entry soon.

In the mean time, let me tell you about Longshot beer. The wildly popular homebrew contest held by Samuel Adams brewing produced three wonderful brews once again. Here are my brief reviews:

Double IPA: A wonderfully strong ale with excessive hop flavor. The use of 7 varieties of hops takes your taste buds on a extensive journey. It's just too much. This beer proves that it may indeed be possible to over hop a beer. But, at 9.0% ABV, who cares?

Traditional Bock: A fine example of the bock style. I'm not a huge fan of this style. The flavor is too flat for me, but because of this, it doesn't hide defects very well. This bock is a very good example of a bock.

Cranberry Wit: Only porters get bastardized more than wheat beers. What fruit hasn't been mixed with a wheat beer? Here's another example. It is a good clean beer with a delicate sweet cranberry flavor. The key is that the cranberry doesn't hide the wheat beer. It's a good beer that contrasts nicely with the other two beers.

Happy Ether Everyone

Beer for dummies...like me!!!

Crap!!!! It's been a week since I posted. Where does the time go?

I have potentially exciting news to announce!!! Well, it's actually exciting just for me. I would expect you, the humble blog reader (or stalker), to consider this to be no big deal. But, for me, it might be.

I have mentioned before that I live about 100 miles away from my homebrew supply store. I love my homebrew supply store. The staff is awesome and they have everything I need in a homebrew supply store. However, recently in my hometown, not more than 2 miles from my house a homebrew and wine making store has opened up. Currently, their offerings are quite modest, but there is hope. They will stock more as demand dictates, and they have promised to order anything we need and charge that same as my current homebrew supply store. This has potential.

The guys who started the store are big wine guys. That's what they know. Currently, they stock really simple beer kits for really simple and often crappy beer. BUT, as I said before, it's a start.

One item I saw that caught my attention was a 2 L bottle called "The Big and Easy Bottle Brew." It is a fully contained brew and drink system. It is a two liter bottle full of wort. A tablet of yeast is added and a special cap with a tiny hole is used to relieve the pressure. After two weeks, you have beer.

I decided to give it a try. I'm only 1 week in, but things seem to be going well. Here are some pics:

Here's the bottle in all of its glory:
Here's a close up:
Here's a picture of its nipple...I mean release valve:
Bonus question. In the background you will see a growler which I use to make yeast starters. Can anyone identify the brewery whence it comes?

When I consume the contents, I will report my impressions.

300? Took me long enough

This is my 300th post of my blogging career. My most humble blog has been chugging along for a little over two years now. I appreciate those of you who have posted comments over the years, even if it was just once or several times.

In my first post ever, I listed out some goals for me and this blog:

"I have set up this blog to give me a chance to #1: Record my homebrew recipes and batches (I'm terrible at keeping records about my brews). #2: Talk about some of the Chemistry associated with brewing that I find interesting (There are professionals that do this. I'm not one of them). #3: practice my tpying. #4: Talk about anything I like. In reality, #4 may become a bigger factor as things go on. I'm not looking to change the world or influence public opinion or control a general election, I just want to write some things."

I have done #1 OK, but not in the last 5 months. However, I started keeping a notebook and have done pretty good with that.

I have not pursued ideas for #2 as vigorously during the last 6 months. I'm going to try to do more of this again.

As far as #3 goes, my tpying still sucks.

I have definitely taken #4 and run with it. That is the default mode of operations for me.

So, for my 300th post, I want to say 'thank you' to those of you who have read and maybe even posted a comment or two, or many. I appreciate the blogging friendships I have made with many of you. They are, by their very nature, impersonal, but yet they are still very meaningful.

As an added bonus (and I'm taking this out of the That Blue Yak playbook), for the next 5 people that start following this blog, I will start following your blog.

Decommissioning

Well, my friends. The time has come. Tomorrow I will begin decommissioning my soldiers... if you know what I mean.

I will be undergoing a vasectomy tomorrow. Unlike last time, it will be done by a trained medical professional. Certainly, not a hack with a saw.

My loving wife has undergone 4 C-sections. A vasectomy is relatively nothing, but I have every intention of spending the weekend on the couch soliciting as much sympathy as I can from the fam. I must take total advantage of the situation.

Thanks to Able Pharmboy at Tera Sig and some friends, I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Unlike Able, I was sure to shave. I shaved me nethers tonight. There is no way I am taking a dry razor to my scrotum. YIKES!!!!

I may give you an update when I have recovered a bit.

Wish me luck.

Fluff post of the week

I have some really cools pictures to post as soon as I get the chance. Hopefully, tonight.

Until then, check out this guy.

My favorite line: "An instructor from a local modeling agency judged the women on the way they looked, how they sang and how much alcohol they could hold, the Shanghai Daily said."

That's exactly how I picked my wife. Uncanny.

Kutti's back

Kutti at Jungfreudlich is back from a blogging hiatus.

Welcome back!!!