Dissapointment Brown

I’ve got a keg full of brown ale. And it’s ok. But not great. I had high-ish hopes for this batch, but honestly, it tastes a whole lot like the red ale I made before. Heck, for that matter, it looks pretty similar, too. It’s got the same thin mouth feel, and occasionally, I get a whiff of wort (mostly the wet barley part) from my glass.

Of course, I did learn a little somethin’ somethin’ from this batch: The Brewer’s Best kits are pretty much crap. I mean, I kind of suspected, but this is just icing on the cake. And now I’ve got a keg full of the stuff, that I’m gonna have to suck down. *sigh* The things I do for my beer…

Of course, it’s not all bad new on the brew front: I also have a carboy of IPA made from a Northern Brewer kit that I’m really looking forward to. It’s sitting in the basement at about 55 degrees, (hopefully) clarifying and gaining a little character for the glass.

I’m thinking, though, that it’s time to move away from kits on to partial — or even full! — mash brews that I can control completely. Look out beerville; here I come!

Rain, rain, go away

…or maybe not. I mean, we need you here, but you make things sooo muddy.

Hey, I have an idea: Why don’t you come do your thing at night, then
let your ol’ cuz Sol come out to play during the day? Kind of a time
share thing? Or maybe you could visit folks in the Southeast. I hear
they’d be mighty happy to see you for a week or two at a pop. Heck,
you might not even be able to wear out your welcome there, at least
for a while.

Just thinkin’ out loud, ya know?

Because I can

I’ve set up my blog to allow me to post from e-mail. Is that frickin’
sweet, or what? Now there’s no reason whatsoever for me to avoid
posting, no matter where I am. Heck, I’m so geeky-cool, I can even
post from my phone.

Three years, +/- 10 percent, in April, no less

Goddamn it! it’s that time again.

Every three years, give or take a little, I start getting restless and something usually gives. Sometimes, it’s the job that goes (witness my tenure at The Press), sometimes the house (or something with it); sometimes it’s just my attitude. Oh, and did I mention how I absolutely loathe the completely useless month of April?

My job isn’t going out the window this time around; I like it way too much. Though I do have a confession: I’ve been doing my pilot routine again. Hell, I might even get myself worked up to the point of taking lessons this time; anything’s possible. My house isn’t going out the window, either. I mean, really, who’d buy this dilapidated piece of crap, anyway?

Apparently, it’s my attitude that’s going to get the make-over this time around, then. Instead of dwelling on the nasty, muddy, wood chippy shit-hole (literally, around the dog house) that is the yard, maybe I can look at the bright side of things: Wow, that rabbit has gotten really fat and juicy-looking by eating our apple tree and tulips.

Huge props, muchas gracias, and *thank you!*

I’ve been long overdue with this letter of thanks to my Elmers that I sent out this morning. I’m posting it here as a reminder to you to says “thanks!” to someone who’s made a difference in your life lately.

It occurred to me this morning that I’ve been a ham for almost a year
now, and I owe almost all of that to you guys. The three of you have
been mentors, trouble shooters, a cheering section, whip-crackers, and
equipment sources for me since even before I first got licensed, and
you’ve kept that up even when I’ve been absent from the airwaves for
weeks at a time, absorbed in the rest of my life.

I want to let you three know how much I appreciate all your help and
encouragement, and to tell you that I’m the ham that I am today in
large part because of your guidance. I just hope that when it’s my
turn to mentor someone, I can do half the job you all have done with
me.

My sincere thanks, and 73!

Trying to clarify myself…

It’s come to my attention that some of the local hams thought I was calling them out with my previous comments about the ham community. That’s not the case.

I’ve been taken to task by a couple seemingly old-school hams on 80m when I’ve tried to — always politely — get a signal report or add something to the conversation. That’s what I was alluding to in that post, albeit poorly. My apologies for the confusion, and 73 to *all* hams out there, no matter how grouchy or geeky. ;-)

Only a three-year-old

I mean, *seriously:* jam behind your ear?

AJ’s new toy

I’ll give you some hints: it’s electronic (there’s a big surprise, right?), it’s sexy black, and could potentially fit perfectly in the entertainment center. And it’s not an XBox.

Give up?

Meet my new radio. I’ve been kind of dancing around it for about the last three months while I’ve been dancing around ham radio as a whole.

In the last month, though, every time I’ve talked with someone about my involvement in radio, I keep hearing myself say “I love the technology and the public service opportunities, but get frustrated by some of the people.” Finally, it clicked for me: If I give up, then the forces of darkness other people win. If every time someone new comes to ham radio, all they interact with are grouchy uber-geeks, then that’s they only kind of person that’ll be in ham radio. So I’m going to try to amplify the friendly, useful faces of ham radio around here. We’ll see how it goes.

And that brings me to the new radio. Another local ham* upgraded one of his radios, so he had one to sell. He gave me a great deal (yes, he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse ;-)), and the radio is in pristine condition. For those of you who speak ham, it’s an HF+50MHz rig. For those of you who don’t speak ham, think medium and short wave, plus a little. Once I get my antenna repaired (and no, honey, I’m not going on the roof until you get home), I’ll be able to talk regionally (100-500 miles), across the country (500-2,500 miles), and around the world (do the math), depending on conditions. I’m pretty stoked!

A Note on the Ham Community

The guy I bought my radio from is a super-friendly guy, just like almost all of the hams I’ve had the good fortune to meet. There are only a couple of “pain-in-the-ass apples” out there in the ham ranks, but they’re louder than most of us regular apples. Most of us are just geeky people playing with geeky toys, and that’s cool.

Guys’ weekend @ home

The Boy and I are hanging out in our underwear today. At least, we are when we’re not outside in knee-deep (or waist-deep, depending on how you do the math, and which drift you step in) snow. The Wife and Number Two are in the Greater Chicagoland Metropolitan Area with a friend going to a quilt show (or maybe going to *the* quilt show, YMMV), so The Boy and I are on our own.

Of course, The Wife and Co. had to push their departure ahead by a day to beat The Great and Almighty Spring “I’m Gonna Snow Like Frickin’ Hell” Storm of Ought-Eight. So they left yesterday at one. By six, I could barely see across the road.

I knew the storm was coming, so I rented a movie (”I Am Legend”), a Wii, and a couple games. We’ve got food (but are running perilously low on beer!) and entertainment, but I’m really hoping we’ll be able to make it out of the driveway tomorrow. If not, you may be hearing from me quite a bit here. I think both of us could use a good session at The Chocolate Shake House.

Old friends, new lives

For some reason, in the last three days, I’ve heard from three old friends that have been gone from my life for 15+ years; that’s totally cool! Shouts out to Emily, Heidi, and Laura!

Since these folks have me kinda thinking about the old days (I mean, really, it was *pre-Internet!*), I figure why not make an open call? If you’re part of Menomonie High School class of 1992, 1993, or 1994, or went to Northland College from 1994-1999 (this is category for you, Em!) and think that classmates.com is *lame* and think that Facebook is kinda lame and not just a little spooky, drop me a line or give me a shout. I’d love to hear from you, what you’re up to, etc., and I promise to write back, too. What a deal, eh?

Better yet, leave a comment on this post, and maybe it’ll turn into something like a little mini-reunion, but without the drunken idiot factor, the “you can only see your friends from this year” factor, and the “OMFG, I’m back in the gym” factor. Or maybe this post will just languish in blogatory (like purgatory, but online for everyone to see).