Good as any, Better than most

Monday, October 30, 2006

Connected

Since my arrival on the internet, I’ve become connected.  With a little bit of work, anything I could want to know is at my fingertips.  I can know as little or as much as I want to know about the world around me.

I’m generally not interested in “Current Events”.  Politics, war, death, celebrities, I really could give a shit about.  There’s this deluge of things that don’t really make any difference in my day to day life, that some agency feels I should know about.  I try to stay up during elections about who stands where on issues, but with the current state in that field, how they stand during election usually doesn’t reflect how they’ll act in office.

The fatalist in me says that we’re all going to die anyway some day, so who cares about all the crap we’re inundated with every day.  The responsible adult in me says that I should care, if not for myself, then for the generations of people that will come after me.

I just want to hide under a rock, and know that that will benefit no-one, especially myself.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Hear the drummer get wicked

I’d like to buy a new guitar.

I have 2 already, a beat up acoustic I was given by a co-worker when I was 18, and a cheap electric I bought about 6 years ago.

I’ve wanted a new acoustic since I first tried to tune mine.  One of the tuning pegs is totally shot, and barely keeps it together.  The spider gear is a different size than the normal gear, but it mostly works.  The sound is, well, what you’d expect from a beat up free acoustic guitar.

I don’t have any delusions of being a good player.  I know a few chords, and can muddle through a few songs appropriate to the era I grew up in.  My left hand can’t seem to grasp any transition to a C chord, although it handles A and G just fine.

The problem lies in determining what I want.  Do I want an acoustic electric?  Do I want a 12 string?  Do I want something I won’t be afraid to take camping, or do I want something that requires a shrine at home?

These are world altering matters here.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Mine.  Chapter 1 Part 6

“Dear sister, you should know not to play with Mort’s mind”

“Yes little one, it’s akin to setting your target to low”

Mort turned to see Urwin and Urlete behind him.  Although fraternal twins, and different genders, the two were nearly identical in appearance.  Long dark brown hair curled to their shoulders.  Dark green eyes, dappled with grey staring out from under thin brows.  Both were of a height with Oneida, yet seemed less.  Their rail thin frames and narrow stature made them appear as half the size as the rest of their siblings.

A former weapons tutor had once commented to them “Even added together, you’re still less than a whole person”.

He was neither the first, nor last person to make that mistake.

Each individually was nearly a match for Mort in physical combat.  They were both viper quick, with a steel corded strength.  It was only in weapon choice where the two seemed to disagree.  Urwin favored the broadsword.  In his two-handed grip the formidable weapon looked enormous, yet moved with a deadly grace.  Urwin had created his own style of fighting with the weapon, a series of steps, spins, thrusts and swipes that made the blade never stop, gathering enough momentum to cut armored practice dummies in half without slowing. 

Urlete favored no weapons at all.  Although equal to Urwin’s use in all, except the broadsword, she preferred to fight barehanded.  With slightly less arm strength than her siblings, she made up for the lack with speed and focus.  None of them could hope to equal her weaponless.  In truth, most of them could not best her with a weapon, while she remained empty handed.

Separated, they were arguably as skilled as any in the land could claim.  Together, none could match them.  They communicated in the way of twins, unspoken, gesture-less conversations worth volumes of words could occur with a glance.  The weapons tutor that had commented on them lasted less than 10 seconds when he first sparred with them.  A champion fighter in his homeland, he fell quickly to the 12 year old pair.

The twins were fast and silent.  Their tongues were nearly as cutting as a blade.  Many of the playmates of the siblings had felt the sting of words from the twins.  All of their siblings were used to the caustic sarcasm they exuded.  They were five when their youngest sister was born.  Every morning, they had climbed to sit on the edges of her crib, chattering to each other, in the small quiet voices. Once, their mother had asked of them “Why do you perch above the baby, my dear birds?”

“We’re waiting for her to be fun” was the reply.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Tay inn win

My home theater speakers blew out this weekend.  I’ve had them for about 8 years.  The subwoofer blew about 2 years after purchase, and I’ve just been making due since then

A trip to a retailer, several hours on the internet, and $400 later, I have a new sub and 2 front speakers.  They sound great (Polk r-30’s, and a psw10), now I wish I had a receiver that could truely drive them.  Maybe I’ll have some more money saved up in a few months for that.

I feel so out of my depth when looking at stereo equipment.  Prices start at uncomfortable, and just go up from there.  I like what I was seeing about the Onkyo Tx SR803, but apparently it’s already an outdated model, and doesn’t do HDMI upscaling of any analog signal.  Do I need HDMI?  Am I willing to spend money on it?

Life was just simpler when all I had was a VCR and CD player to worry about.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

On science, and bottles

Bottled 4 750mL bottles of maple mead Sunday night (and drank the rest of the gallon).  The gallon we stopped active fermentation on ended up at about 5% ABV, which is weak for mead.  It’s super sweet, and very tasty.  I put the 4 bottles in our buffet (sideboard, whatever you want to call it).  We also put stabilizer in another gallon of it.  That gallon had 4 weeks of active fermentation, and I’ll probably let it go another week with the stabilizer in it, and then sample it.

The remaining 3 gallons, I’m going to let run the course.  I’ve read that it can take up to 6 months for a heavy mead to finish fermenting.  Perhaps it will be ready to drink about the time I turn 35.

Brewing, it’s the ultimate hobby for someone that forgets that they have a hobby.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Twitchy

Coffee makes me twitch.  I think the sheer amount of uppers in it drive my body crazy.

Usually the twitching is negated if I eat something.

If I really want to have a good time, I double the intake of coffee, and not eat anything for about 5 hours.

If I do that, I can’t even type.  My fingers will seriously be moving more than 2 inches each way.  I look like a cerebral palsy victim with Parkinson’s.  I think the sheer amount of shaking burns off the calories from the sugar in the coffee.

It’s my ultimate new wave fad diet plan.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Slacking at being lazy

DW and I made a trip to the hometown this weekend.  A year ago, we were working on moving back near the area, but things didn’t work out.  Of course, they didn’t work out after we’d taken a couple loads of boxes and bookshelves to my brother’s for storage.  Saturday we drove up, loaded the truck, and drove back.

Since it was 9:30 at night when we got home, we had to unload the boxes so they wouldn’t get soaked/frosted on overnight.  6 hours of driving, and loading and unloading makes for a long day.  I had my first soda in 5 weeks on the drive home, so I couldn’t sleep.

Fast forward to this morning.  We didn’t get a chance to do any laundry this weekend, so I’m low on work clothes.  I think “What the hell” and dig in the drawer full of things that don’t fit.  Lo and Behold, I easily fit into a pair of pants that’s been sitting for 5 or 6 years.  Hooray for me!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Mine.  Chapter 1 Part 5

Mort looked at Oneida.  They shared a bond that only the bookends of children could.  As the oldest and youngest children in the family, they exemplified all of their siblings’ good and bad characteristics.  Both had tested their parents wits to the utter edge, and both were held as an example for their good will.

Although he’d only been 7 when she was born, Mort had placed himself in the role of protector and confidante.  He had shaped Onieda’s attitudes as much as either of their parents.  They had all instilled on her a deep sense of right and wrong, a love for their people, their families, and their way of life.  The last month had deepened their love for each other.  Their mother’s death resulted in all of the siblings renewed attachment with each other.  The pain at her loss echoed in all of their eyes, down to their souls.  They bonded together to fight the emptiness she had left behind.

Mort saw that today, something was different with Oneida.  Today, she stood with her shoulders squared and her head back.  He knew that she had made a decision about something.  He arched his eyebrows in concern.

“Good Morning ‘Da.  What’s got you moving so early today?”

“Mook, it’s my birthday.  Today, I’m recognized as an Adult before the eyes of all Grippa.  Today, I turn from the games of my past to the ideals of my tomorrow.  Today, I make known to the land my availability as a courtee.”

Mort stared at Onieda in disbelief.  This couldn’t be his sister.  She had not spared a moment of thought in her entire life to getting married.  Never had she even flirted with another, nor performed any of the precursors that any courtier practiced from birth.

“Hah!  You should see your face dear brother.  I fooled you so well!”

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

BOOM!

The gallon of mead that I’d stopped fermenting, was NOT stopped.

I’ve been watching it continue to bubble and carbonate.  Last week I decided that there was no way it was done, considering the number of bubbles I could watch forming.  Sunday, I headed over to the Wine and Hops shop to get another rubber stopper.  I was going to put a water lock back on it, and let it ferment some more, not under pressure.

I removed the cap, and mead geysered out of the bottle.  I’m not talking about the little spray you get from a shaken beer can.  I’m talking about a plume of foam nearly 4 feet tall.  I jammed the airlock in quickly, and foam was shooting through it, out the tiny holes in top.

I probably ended up with a pint and a half of mead lost, when the foaming finally stopped.  I can only imagine what would have happened if the jar had shattered.  I’d probably have plate glass chunks embedded in my walls.  Or it would have cut my head off.

The color looks good so far, a nice amber shade.  All three containers have a different color, even though the 3 gallon and 1 gallon had the same treatment.  The geyser 1 gallon is the darkest, probably from its week of slow anaerobic fermentation.

The room where they’re stored sure smells good now.  At some point in the next week, I’ll have to take another sample, and see where the alcohol level is sitting.  And the taste, of course.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Whoops

No story yesterday, work was pretty invasive.

I spent 11 hours at work, nearly 3 of which were just untangling power cables and putting some remotely managed power devices in place.

I don’t have any lead on the story, I usually write what I’ve posted minutes before posting it.  I’ll try to get a double dose up for next week if I can.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Pushy Salespeople

"Hi, I’m blah blah from Norlight”

“Hi”

“We currently have a package for voice data and internet access, do you have a bundled provider?”

“No, we have separate providers for all of those things, and prefer it that way, because if one goes down, the others still work”

“well, we provide all these services with guaranteed problem resolutions, and I’d really like to talk with you more about them”

“We are happy with what we have, and are under contract.  We aren’t going to switch anything.”

“Could I setup a time where I could meet with you, and discuss this further”

“I’m not sure why you’d want to do that, we aren’t switching”

“I’d really like to go over the services we can provide, how does Thursday sound for you?”

“We’re not switching.”

“Would an afternoon or morning time work better for you”

“Look, you can come meet with me, it’s not going to do you any good, and is just going to waste your time.  Thursday at 11 is fine.”

Really, what are people like that thinking?  I agreed to a meeting simply to waste their time.  I’m not switching our plans.  I don’t even have the ability to make that choice.

I hope he brings me free literature that I can throw away in front of him.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

We Have Mead!

Well, sort of.

I racked the mead from it’s primary fermentation vessel to secondaries last night.  I stopped fermentation on 1 gallon, and racked the other 4 gallons in new carboys.  Still bubbling like crazy in it’s new home, so all should be well there.

Actively fermenting mead is difficult to siphon.  It will effervesce in the tube, and eventually you’ll have to start the siphon again.

The gallon I added potassium sorbate too is pretty tasty.  It’s at ~3.75% alcohol by volume.  DW and I shared a (rather large, plastic) glass of it last night, and it was much better chilled (added ice cubes, how elegant) than it was warm.  I think it’s still a little too sweet for most people, but you can definitely tell where it’s going.  The maple flavor is fantastic, and doesn’t taste syrupy.  I think I’ll keep that gallon, and let it age a bit.  I’m a little concerned that its still fermenting, and I’m going to have a glass explosion, hopefully that’s not the case.  I’ll keep it in the gallon jug its in now until it’s time to bottle everything.  Hopefully that doesn’t ruin any flavor when I reopen it.

It’s still an amber color, just a bit lighter than it was when I started the process.  I’m glad that I tried this.  Hopefully it all remains potable, and will make nice Christmas gifts.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

-insert emo here-

Age isn’t something you can really watch happening.  It’s the sort of thing that sneaks up on you, little by little.  One day, you stop listening to the Pop music station.  The next, you stop watching Teenuramas on television.  You start making sure your bills are never late.  You only use sick days when you’re actually sick.  You care more about your lawn.

Then you realize, that youth has fled, and you’re old.  You’re driving a Buick or Cadillac.  You’ve got a plan for when you can retire, and just sit back and yell at kids.

Walking at the mall becomes your morning ritual.  You loudly tell your family members what they’re doing wrong.

And then you die.

See, there’s no way around that last thing.  You can follow some other path, but you will eventually die.  Everybody does.  It’s one of the things that’s the same about everyone.  Eventually, no matter how hard you struggle, or don’t struggle, you’ll die.  You can leave a legacy, you can have children, but you’ll be dead.  And eventually, even your legacy, and your children, will all be dead and gone too.

Remember, what you have, is all that you have. 

Monday, October 02, 2006

A general dislike

I went to the Milwaukee Zoo with my wife, her brother, his 2 kids, his new wife and her niece on Saturday.  The 7 of us piled into their Yukon.  I generally disagree with SUV’s, but when you have 7 people, I can concede the point.  It was roomy and comfortable.

I spent the morning walking around, and being Uncle Patrick.  At some point, swinging the kids, and lifting them, something pulled in my upper right inner thigh.  It’s probably a groin pull.  Now every time I shift my right light, it feels like someone is punching me in my testicles.  I aggravated it yesterday mowing the lawn (hopefully the last time this summer, since the gas can is empty, and I don’t want to have a full one sitting all winter to gel up).

I also determined that I don’t really like the zoo.  It smells like kept animal.  The animals also don’t look at all pleased to be locked up.  Again, it’s a general dislike, not a firebombing sort of hatred.  Next time I’m asked to go, I’ll pass.

I made some chili yesterday too.  And by some, I mean 2 gallons of it.  When I make chili, I always seem to go a little overboard.  DW divided it all up into containers last night, and now my fridge looks like a Tupperware graveyard.  I guess I know what I’ll be having for lunch for the next 3 weeks.  I love chili, but my propensity for making too much is the reason I only make it every 6 months or so.

I should really look into a good way of freezing it or canning it or something.