quality dried flesh

While hangin' in Ohio with the family I picked up some great jerky from Beef Jerky Unlimited. They have all kinds of good stuff. The spicy turkey is excellent. I'm usually getting the cajun and jalapeno beef as well. It's the real deal, none of that commercial pasteurized crap. It's mmmm good. I need a local hookup.

high class

In 2007 I was upgraded to 1st class while flying quite a few times. It’s a sweet perk. Once you get a taste of 1st class it is hard to go back and sit with the riff-raff. There is no waiting in line to board and a stewardess takes your coat and serves you drinks before the flight while the less fortunate file in for the next 30 minutes. There is a lot of comfy room to sit and get in and out of the aisle, we have our own bathroom the “others” are not allowed to use, and of course free food and alcohol including mixed drinks.  

Well I haven’t been flying so much this year and therefore I’m at the bottom of the list for free upgrades. But on the return trip of my last flight of the year, on the last leg, I got upgraded for the first (and only) time this year.  A comfortable seat and a few bloody marys always helps the trip pass by. And it wasn't even a Delta flight. This was a Northwest flight but with the merger I now get privileges on NW as well.

Need to start racking up the miles in ’09. Wouldn’t want to lose my gold status at Hilton either which results in quality customer service including free food and beer.

x-mas 2008

Another year another Christmas in P-burg. I’ll miss Jazz but the new dog brings some new energy. My Mom’s brother came over for dinner as usual and we learned more about our ancestors who he has traced back to the 1300’s in Germany. My Mom's family is from the Stuttgart area, the state of Wurttemburg. Before that lineage came over to the US they were wine farmers.

We ate at Granite City Food & Brewery on Friday evening. A manager stopped by the table and I asked him who the brewer was. It happened to be him. I asked how long he had been brewing and he said 6 months and that he knew nothing about home brewing. In other words he is following a recipe and directions. My brother and I had the bock and it was typical and not bad. I did find some fine craft brew at Andersons earlier in the day.

On Friday night Ben had people over. It was nice to see the crew again. We swilled and BBQed. Entertainment was provided by a minivan missing Ben’s driveway by about 100 feet and getting stuck in his extremely muddy field. We all passed out there and holy crap I’ve never heard such loud snoring in my life.

Today is 60 degrees and all the snow and ice is gone. Time for some left over Honey Baked Ham.

pics and video

my Uncle on Google

So after x-mass dinner we were sitting around plugging addresses in Google Maps for fun. Isn’t that what every family does x-mass evening? It so happens Google captured my Uncle out working on my Grandfather’s old house.  

a new Saluki joins the family

Well she is not really a pup. She is about 5 years old. The owner passed away and she found her way to my Mom through her Saluki connections. My Mom was looking for another second dog after her original saluki of 15 years, Jazz, passed away. Sheriah, the new one, is a skittish little fellow. She doesn’t allow you to come towards her, she has to come to you. And she won’t go up or down stairs. She just arrived last Sunday from Texas so hopefully she will get more comfortable over time. My Mom is trying to change her name and confuse her more but she hasn't decided what she likes. We have been trying to get pics of the two of them together all week. I also found some pics of her on Flickr at the animal shelter last year where she stayed after her owner died.

Jazz

1993-2008

Sheriah

Sheriah & Quest pics

UPDATE: Apparently the dog's name is now Ciara.

mmmm smokey

Mark Thompson of Star Hill brought up the last keg ever of the GABF silver medal winning Smoke Out. They said at the Winter Holidaze Extravaganzee it would be tapped last week but that didn't happen until Friday. Yesterday Kirby and I went to try it out at RFD.

Liquid smoke yo. It was pretty good though, it wasn't overwhelming. It was a heller bock. The smell and aftertaste gave you the sense that you were at a camp fire. Definitely unique. I could have had more than one. Apparently I'll never have another though as it was a one time special brew.

RFD had quite the good selection of craft drafts and seasonals this month.  

yummy microbial lambics

After our usual breakfast ful Kirby and I stopped by a small little wine store on the corner of 18th and U today and I smiled. They had some fine brews out among the wine. Including a bottle of Duvel that was the biggest bottle of beer I had ever seen in my life. I think it was 5 liters. Other than the 5 liter bottle they had a bunch of 750 ml bottles about. I was happy to see they had a good selection of Allagash. I picked up a bottle of Odyssey for my beer stock because I don’t usually see that one as much as the other two Allagash barrel aged beers. Hopefully it will be another place to replenish my Victoria and Victor supply along with the Wine Specialist.  

Kirby picked up some Lindemans Framboise and Pecheresse for gifts and it got me looking at the Lindemans website. I forgot lambics are brewed using open-air fermentation. Usually brewers spend lots of time and money keeping all impurities out of their beer so when it is sealed for fermenting bad things don't happen. This is the opposite, from the site…

...lambic's signature event, unique in all of beer making: the pumping of the hot wort into open, shallow cooling vessels (also called a tun) in the attic of the brewery. The brewer throws open vented windows, turns on fans and leaves the liquid overnight to cool and be inoculated by the yeast and other microbial flora, of the surrounding air. This exposure to the air is called pitching. The local conditions are of fundamental importance in pitching. Not only does spontaneous fermentation of wort takes place consistently only in a small area around Brussels, but it does so only from October until April, when outside temperatures remain under 15°C. Some seemingly minute conditions that could affect the balance of microbial flora and the growth rate of the microorganisms would also affect the fermentation sequence and, therefore, the final product.

To brew a spontaneous fermented Lambic, no yeast is artificial added to the wort, but the wort is exposed to the open air. The result of this method is that wild yeast cells, which are always in the open air in the environment of Brussels, come into the wort and start on a natural, spontaneous way the fermentation. This is the reason this method is called "spontaneous fermentation".

The picture above is from the original Lindemans brewery which they stopped using in 1991 when they moved in to the new one next door.  

Can’t wait to enjoy those microbes again.

avalanche kills skier at Snowbird

Official announcement from Snowbird:

An avalanche occurred Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort on High Baldy, hike-to terrain on the east side of the resort.

A female skier from Salt Lake City was recovered from the debris at 1:18 p.m. and was transported to University Hospital via Air Med in critical condition.

Following an exhaustive search of the area using seven avalanche dogs, probes and avalanche beacons, the search has been called off.

A witness reported the avalanche at 12:24 p.m. using a cell phone. The terrain opened at 9:30 a.m.

Snowbird has received 9 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, 13 inches in the last 48 hours and 93 inches season-to-date.

Agencies assisting in the rescue effort include: Snowbird Ski Patrol, Salt Lake County Search and Rescue, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue and Unified Fire Station 13, as well as avalanche dog teams from numerous Utah resorts.

The 27 year old woman from SLC died at the hospital.

Kevin, Lewis, and I skied there last season. It's a great resort. We were even on that peak but I don't think we were near the avalanche site. Apparently it is the first in-bounds avalanche death at Snowbird since 1977. Unfortunately they had just opened that section of the park that day. They do a very good job with avalanche control in that area. They keep the road going through that canyon to all the resorts closed in the mornings until avalanche control has taken place. And we saw quite a few craters from avalanche control cannons. In fact, this picture I took shows a blast mark just past the skier on the exact same peak (but different area) that the avalanche took place yesterday.

Salt Lake Tribune article

work holiday party and not The Infamous Stringdusters

I thought I had a great night lined up. After a lax Friday at work Kirby and I were going to hit the open bar and good food at my work holiday party. The plan was to get out of there before too late and head to the State Theatre not far away to see The Infamous Stringdusters get down. I saw them open for the Seldom Scene years ago and have been waiting for them to come back ever since.  

The ISG company party was not bad. It was at Clyde's in Tyson's Corner just like last year. It started at 6:00 and we were to sit for dinner at 8:00. Lewis was having back issues and never came in to town. Andrea's furnace broke and she called making excuses while we were driving there. Sonny was sick and decided not to show. So I was a bit worried about who Kirby and I were going to enjoy hangin' with. Justin came with us and his wife was waiting when we arrived. Rodyna was there with an asian-french friend and they hit it off with Kirby. Josh showed up at the end of dinner and Laundrew walked in at the end as well. It wasn't bad but I wish everyone would have been there to liven things up a bit.

Kirby and I boogied to the State Theater before 10:00 to catch the Stringdusters. They throw down real raw bluegrass and I was looking forward to the ho-down. I had thought I had planned things perfectly yet again as we walked in right after the first band and before the presumed headliner. Unfortunately, little did I know that it was a double bill evening and apparently the bands choose who was going to play first. So after we sat down with a drink on came Old School Freight Train. The Stringdusters had played from 9 to 10:30. Bitch!

Old School Freight Train was ok but not what I was hoping to see. The best part of the night was spending time with Kirby after she was in NYC for a week. I'll wait another year or two and catch the Infamous Stringdusters next time they come around.

Winter Holidaze Extravaganzee

Yesterday I attended the annual Brickskeller Holiday Extravaganzee. This is pretty popular with both the tasters and the brewers. They had a full line up of 13 beers to taste with the brewer on hand to discuss each one.  These were all local brewers as opposed to the all-star event last spring.  And the beers averaged about 7% or 8% so as usual things got more interesting as the evening went on. I don’t seem to recall going to bed last night.  List o beers:

• White Marsh – Winter Solstice
  
• Vintage 50 - Wee Heavy
  
• Brewer’s Art – Coup de Boule Grand Crue 2008
  
• Brewer’s Alley – Three Kings Spiced Ale
  
• Legend – Belgian Triple
  
• Flying Dog – Snow Goose
  
• Flying Dog – Dog Schwarze
  
• Franklins – IPA2
  
• Franklins – Imperial Stout
  
• Sweetwater Tavern - Happy Trails Spiced Ale
  
• Sweetwater Tavern – unfiltered Holiday Bock
  
• Johannsens – Black Forest Stout
  
• Star Hill – The Gift

Mark Thompson of Star Hill, the evangelist, was pretty funny. Apparently he is known to be entertaining. I don’t remember his beer much but I may go to RFD tonight to taste the last ever keg of the award winning Smoke Out.

I learned that Sweetwater Tavern is three independent operations that try to brew the same beers. The Holiday Bock was still about 3 weeks away from being tapped and will be served filtered.

The young brewer from Johannsens had a pretty funny story about having to decide between the shitter or the beer when he was brewing the Black Forest Stout.

The Winter Solstice had cocoa nibs and some crazy strain of vanilla in it. It was definitely unique and not bad. I think this was the brewer who was a baker for his day job which is an interesting combination.

It was a good sample of different winter beers. I need to take notes next time.

commute via segway

On my way home from the office today I spied a segway commuter. The guy was decked out with a helmet, flashing taillight, and headlight. At first I chuckled but then he sprinted off at a very fast pace. 

I want one for my take-out runs.

Timberline, the Mountain State Brewing Co, & the Jack Frost ho-down

My coworker Laundrew invited me out with some folks from the Mid-Atlantic Snowboarding Meet-up group who were going to Timberline over the weekend. It was the earliest opening in awhile for the resorts in WV. Unfortunately those that were open only had about one run going all the way from the top to the bottom. I did hear Snowshoe opened up a few more this last weekend though.

Dave of Monument Snowboards had us staying at the Tallyho Mountain Lodge.  The 9 of us pretty much filled the place. It doesn't even have a street address. It is listed as the "southside of SR-32". The key characteristic to this modest little establishment is that it happens to be located about 200 feet from the Mountain State Brewing Company. It is a self-described hippy bar that brews their own fine beer and Dave knows some folks there. It was a cool place with a back party room, fire place, wood burning stove, ping pong table, WVU cornhole board, and a stage with stone masonry to match the fireplace and bar. Laundrew and I opened the place around 6:00 and awhile later some people started straggling in. The place was jumping with a DJ by the time we left around midnight. Lots of cool guys and drunk hippy chicks in the mix. And a lot of talk of this local annual Jack Frost Festival thingy that is apparently a party not to be missed.

Most of us met at the bar but the whole group was all together the next morning for the first time at breakfast. The Tallyho was a bit slow to say the least in serving. We weren't in that big of a hurry being that it was cold and icy conditions on the slopes. The temperature turned out to be OK but they only had one run open that thankfully went all the way from the top. Beginners could jump off at the half way point and catch the bottom part of the trail which was less steep. There was an inch or two of decent snow in a few places but a lot of ice and crusty stuff. Having just one run didn't make for the most exciting snowboard experience but the group had a decent time overall.

We ate dinner at Hellbender Burrito which was quite tasty. Along with the food they had good beer and music. Even the ladies had to check out the X-Files display in the men's room. And we heard more about this Jack Frost ho-down at the White Grass cross-country ski resort. Apparently a 60-something yr old guy owns the place and opens it up each year for this huge party. Lots of food and beer and people come from out of state. All the locals were talking about it and said that nothing else would be going on in town (not that there is anything in town for anything to happen at). So after freshening up we went off in search of this annual celebration.

We found out what the party was all about when we arrived around 10:00. A pickup with a plow was trying to pull some hippy van out of the snow as we searched for a parking space. After a successful extraction the pickup driver burst from the cab hootin' and hollerin' about how awesome that pull was and how much of a good time we were all having. Needless to say we made every attempt not to get stuck. We walked up to a big fire, a barn with a band, a shed with a string jam, and a kitchen/store crowded with food, merchandise, and people partying. We found the beer in the back and they were openly serving Mountain State Brewing Company Oatmeal Stout and Amber Ale. An interesting and friendly party.

We settled in with some beer and took in the scene. It was all locals including a ton of young hippies from the resorts. We had a few beers inside the kitchen/store. I hadn't tried the Amber Ale the previous night and it was quite good. Unfortunately they ran out of both after a few cups. I then moseyed in to the shed to get down to the string jam among the tools. There were about 8 people pickin' and 15 people dancing in this shed that would fit 10 comfortably. True to the rumors we had heard earlier, a full gallon jug of white lightening was being passed 'round the shed with everyone taking a swig. And that was not all that was being passed around. Some excited young fellow decided to hang from the rafters and swing to the music quite enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically; the beam he was holding on to let go. He fell to the ground on top of the band and they didn't miss a beat. It was definitely a good ol' classic mountain culture experience. My great great grandfather would have felt right at home.

Back in the kitchen/store we popped open some wine after someone said "drink it; we've been drinking all day!". There was still food to munch on as well. The females from the previous night were even more drunk and amusing. Had our group been a little younger I'm sure a lot more interaction would have taken place; such mature moral men I associate with. We boogied from the party before it got too late being that we were considerably less intoxicated than everyone else and had plans for the next day.

On Sunday Laundrew's Jetta got stuck in the Tallyho parking lot. We all pushed him out and headed to breakfast somewhere other than the Tallyho Restaurant. We were excited to hit the slopes after getting 4-6 inches the night before. Unfortunately they only opened up one more run and it was a green one. The day was much colder with the wind even though the sun was trying to shine. The snow was a bit better but not as good as we all had hoped. There were probably 20 other people on the mountain that day. We put in a half day and enjoyed the little fresh snow that there was. 

Passing by Canaan Valley, Seneca Rocks, Smoke Hole Caverns, and everything else I visited on vacation as a kid brought back memories of hanging in WV in the summer with the family. Memories such as my brother convincing me to jump on a ski lift half way up the mountain so when they shut it down they had no idea we were stranded 80 ft in the air near the top.  And when my sister and I got attacked by bats on a pond while fishing before almost walking in to a bear in pitch dark near the shore. Good memories.

Even though it wasn't the best snowboarding it was a fun trip. We are planning for the near future.

pics and videos

down with the Eighteenth Amendment!

Today is the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment and allowing states to set their own laws accordingly.

Not to be confused with the repeal of the prohibition of 3.2 beer.

Raise a pint!

planning the first snowboarding trip

I'm heading to Timberline this weekend to surf the slopes. The WV resorts got over 40" of snow in November. I'm going with a friend from work and I think the owner of this local snowboard company is organizing the trip. It looks to be a good time if the conditions hold up. Unfortunately it appears it will be near single digit wind chills but I've got my new jacket so I'm ready.

I'm planning a Vermont trip in the end of January with the same guy. Ideally I'd hit the Rockies as well this year. I'm trying to plan here.

need gift ideas?

Have you been stressing about what to get me for x-mas???  Fret no more!  An up-to-date x-mas list is posted online for you to access 24/7 for your shopping pleasure.  No more worrying about what to spend that $100 on!  No more sleepless nights trying to decide how to impress me!  Simply purchase one of these gifts with my shipping address and feel good about yourself today!

Kevin's x-mas list

Thanksgiving

My parents drove down from Ohio and my sister and her boyfriend drove up from Raleigh on Wednesday afternoon. We walked to Il Radicchio for dinner and everyone enjoyed it. Beth, Matt, and I took off afterwards to see the Hackensaw Boys at the State Theatre. They really threw down. The guys on stage were having a good time and were pickin' up a storm. The acoustic encores were quite the jam as well.

Hackensaw Boys pics and videos

The big event on Thursday went well and wasn't quite as big as last year. For the second time in my living history Thanksgiving as at Scott's house. We had about 16 last year and two turkeys, this year there were 10 of us and one lone fried turkey. I handled the beer. To start things off we opened a bottle or two of the Allagash Victor and Victoria Ale. The Victor is brewed with red chancellor grapes and the Victoria Ale contains chardonnay grapes. Oh quite tasty! During the turkey dinner we had Ommegang Abbey Ale. Nothing too hoppy or dark for these non-beer connoisseurs and this spice/fruit belgium beer did the trick. Sticking with the Belgium theme we finished the evening off with some Lindemans Framboise. Apparently I thought it tasted pretty good.

After dinner Beth, Matt, and I took off to Kirby's house. Lisa and Gramoz were there after their big "dinner celebration". Gramoz was feeling as good as the three of us and got friendly with Beth. We all headed to the Red Room and had a good time. Lisa was hooking us up with free beers from her friend behind the bar. A fight broke out and the 5' female bouncer escorted the guy right out. We closed the bar down and got home a bit late. It would be accurate to say I had a measurable alcohol content at the end of the night.

Thanksgiving pics and videos

On Friday we attempted to go to the American History Museum. It reopened the week before after a two year renovation. Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea because the line was 100 yards out the door. After passing the line at the National Archives we decided to go to the American Indian Museum. The group felt the same way I did in that it isn't centrally organized or laid out so well. Some interesting stuff though.

After the tourist trip to the mall we headed to the Kennedy Center for the Millennium Stage performance where Kirby joined us. There is a Jazz in DC program going on and there were performances all week dedicated to DC's influence on jazz. At the performance we went to they talked about the jazz clubs around U Street. It was interesting and the band laid down some good grooves as well. Then on to dinner at Faccia Luna.

On Sunday we all relaxed and did a little shopping before dinner at Sawatdee. Until next year...

snow sighted

Rumor has it that snow was spotted in DC last week. Today I spied snow for the first time this year. DC is such a disappointment when it comes to snow. Cancelling school on the forecast of an inch or two and raiding the grocery store for TP and milk is crazy nuts.

Snowshoe opens today with 42.5 inches including 3 new inches last night.  The lift ticket is $29 because there are all of 6 trials open. Check out their pics from today in the gallery.

If I have to deal with this cold I'm looking forward to playing in snow.

Rock Bottom beer dinner

Rock Bottom Arlington had a beer dinner last night that Sarah and I checked out. This is their second beer dinner and it sounds like they may have 4-6 a year. Overall it was pretty good. Sarah and I are spoiled after a Dogfish Head dinner at McCormick & Schmick's that was the best palate experience ever!

They started us off with a choice of their beer line-up as we chatted with the brewer and chef waiting for everyone to arrive.  Sarah and I sat with an older couple.  The Irish gentleman got on a bagpipes kick and we learned everything there is to know about the instrument.  Did you know it was invented in the middle east?  

The best part of the meal was the buttermilk squash soup. That was most excellent. The Cinnamon Spiced Ballston Brown was a great complement. Chris, the brewer, said they just threw a bunch of cinnamon sticks in during the brewing process. Not something I'd drink alone but great with the soup.

Sarah is a great beer tasting partner.  She chats it up with everyone at the table and I end up finishing all her samples.

menu...

1st Course: Heirloom Tomato Salad drizzled with a Balsamic Cabernet Vinigerette.  Paired with Liquid Sun White Ale. 

2nd Course: Buttermilk Squash Soup served with rustic bread.  Paired with Cinnamon Spiced Ballston Brown 

3rd Course: Fresh herb rubbed Quail served with a pumpkin risotto and grilled seasonal vegetables.  Paired with “Harvest Hopped” Radio Towers  Red. 

4th Course: Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding topped with a Brandy Butterscotch sauce.  Paired with “100 Acre” Braggot. 

Verizon finally sends update notice

Verizon just sent me a notice in the mail about a "FREE software upgrade" for my phone. It updates the operating system from Windows Mobile 6.0 to 6.1 and gives you Rev A data speeds. It also enables the Verizon Navigator application if you wish to pay $10 a month for GPS navigation. And because Verizon is a bitch once you update to this "FREE software upgrade" they lock the GPS functionality for all applications that are not digitally signed by Verizon Wireless. That means the only GPS capability you have is with their $10 a month Verizon Navigator service. This update was available back in August. I received my undated snail mail notice yesterday.

Thankfully I updated back in March to a hacked version of WM6.1 that included fixes of the 6.1 memory leaks, unrestricted GPS capability, and the super fast Rev A wireless data speeds. 

In fact I wrote the first post to this blog while waiting on Verizon to reauthenticate my phone after doing the above hack.

Google Earth graffiti

I work with a guy out in Montana who does R&D for the Forest Service putting together technology for wildland firefighters in the mountains. This is the same guy who lived next to the National X-mas Tree. He does things such as put cameras and wireless networks on UAVs. He has been a long time proponent of using Google Earth for work and has ties back to the Keyhole guys. When high resolution satellite imagery of Missoula became available he made a phone call and an update appeared in the public version of Google Earth. 

So he decided to leave his own mark. He owns some land in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana and mowed "AFF" in his backyard. AFF is an application that provides real-time geospatial information to dispatchers, aviation managers, and incident commanders. It uses Google Earth to display the geospatial information. 

The picture below is from a private satellite. Once the image is publicly available he'll have Google update the quad in Google Earth. Then when you zoom to Bob's backyard while using AFF you can see his AFF lawn sculpture.

You could paint your roof but without connections it might take a few years to appear in Google Earth. Google recently released the Google Maps street view for DC. I checked my walking routes and they didn't capture me. It appears the Google spy car drove around DC two winters ago.

GT3 RS spotted today

I saw this Porsche GT3 RS parked on the street in DC today. It weighs 3,031lbs and tops out at 193 mph. It is my favorite car ever. Well not really but it's in the top 5. As mentioned I don't need a $500,000 car. This $125,000 one would do fine. It's not exactly my ideal choice for the streets of DC but I understand why one would not want to compromise. 

Ratdog

Last night I went to the Ratdog show with Kari and Lee. Lee had gone the night before and the setlist looked pretty sweet. Our seats were in the same row as our Widespread seats which are quite nice being the first row in the main balcony. The price was outrageous at $45 ($55 after taxes and fees). Neither night sold out. I haven't seen Ragdog in many many years so I thought I'd give it another go. 

Lee drove and we parked in the garage under the venue which was convenient and allowed us to avoid the front line. It was a good jam but playing so many Grateful Dead songs it just made me miss the Dead. Mark Karan on guitar played some good lead here and there but on some songs I didn't think he was all that. And Bob's guitar had some high pitched feed-back sounding loud tone to it that bothered me. It didn't sound right. And to top it off they ran out of their one decent beer and I had to drink a Miller Lite. That tasted like crap in the end. The hippies have gotten old because unlike most shows I was on the younger side. Overall it wasn't that bad; just over-priced and of course nothing near what the Dead used to be.

Warner Theatre setlists...

Wednesday which I didn't attend:

I: Jam > Dancin in the Street > Shakedown Street > Maggie's Farm > She Belongs to Me > Money for Gasoline, She Says > Liberty, Foolish Heart

II: Deep Elem Blues, El Paso, Estimated Prophet > The Other One > Stuff > Morning Dew > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider

E: U.S. Blues

And last night:

I: Jam > Here Comes Sunshine > Brown-Eyed Women > Loser > Lucky Enough > Cream Puff War > Quinn the Eskimo, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl > Ashes and Glass

II: Me and My Uncle, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Mississippi Half-Step > The Wheel > Lady with a Fan > Terrapin > Stuff, Black Peter > Throwing Stones

E: At a Siding > Terrapin Flyer

scheiße!

I left my red jacket on a railing in the Rosslyn metro while waiting for a train. Of course it was not there 25 minutes later. Scheiße! I liked that jacket. Had it for a long time. Got it at some ski expo for cheap. I was one of the first cool people with a MP3 pocket yo. I was in the market for a new one but that old one was still kickin' strong. Now I need to find one somewhere somehow. And soon.

keeping me warm in the Alps on 2-26-2004

UPDATE: And then I discovered Arc'teryx

National x-mas tree comes from the Bitterroot

The National Christmas Tree is coming from the Bitterroot National Forest. Not familiar with the Bitterroot you say? The Rockie Mountains go through western Montana and I spend some time there on occasion for my client the Forest Service. A bit ago they identified the National Christmas Tree and apparently it's a short walk from a coworker's house. I asked him to carve my initials but it's been under 24 hr surveillance since it was made known. They cut it last Saturday and it's making a tour across the nation to DC.

news stories...

Great Falls Tribune

KPAX (w/ pics)

DC celebrates B-Rock!

Once the election was called people started pouring in to the streets of DC. I was at U and 14th where there was a planned gathering and drum circle. A few thousand people were also there. Fireworks were going off. The whole intersection was taken over and people were climbing on trees, bus stations, newspaper machines, and everything else. The cops didn't interfere at all and did a little traffic management being that no one was getting through the intersection.  Lots of cars and buses had to do U turns.  Everyone was in quite the happy mood dancing in the streets. Even the cars that were stuck were having a good time.

The cops did get control of the intersection once but then lost it when more people came from Adams Morgan, the 9:30 Club, and their homes after the 11:00 news.  At some point people start yelling to head to the White House.  Apparently another large crowd was down there.  They should have walked on to the White House lawn.  What would a few secret service guys do if 5000 people started walking up to knock on the door?

I took pics with my phone but being that I've never really used the camera before and it was dark out they aren't exactly high quality shots.

The Washington Post also did a story.

UPDATE: videos

throwin' paint

A couple people from work organized a paintball outing.  It was back in the hills of Virginia near Leesburg at AG Paintball Games. A good time was had by all. And most will feel it tomorrow. I'm a bit sore and have a few bruises from jumping over logs and boulders in the woods while dodging paintballs flying 290 feet per second.

There were 20 in the group; seven of us from the office and the rest friends.  A few professionals showed up with their own gear.  We battled on 3 different playing fields which were all very unique and fun.  The first one was in thick woods with a few places of artificial cover such as piled logs or wooden pallets scattered around.  On one side of the playing field were small wooden structures.  We switched up a few times on each field.  The next one was also quite wooded on a decent grade with a bunker in the middle.  At the start of each game teams would go running for control of the bunker.  And the last one was very large with a decent stream and a slight clearing running down it length-wise. Teams would start on opposite sides of the stream.  Some crossings were deeper than others.  There were some fun battles and interesting terrain on that last field.

I was taken out early in the first games probably for being a little too aggressive.  I got caught in a cross fire in the middle of the field on the first game.  The rental gun wasn't the most accurate or powerful.  A few times my goggles fogged up and I was worthless.  It's not fun sitting in a battle, trying to take cover behind a tree, and not see the enemy who is rapidly closing in.  I learned to control my breathing and to move around when the fogging started (which is not easy when people are shooting at you). I'd probably get my own decent goggles before I'd invest in a gun.  

My team consisted of most of the "professional" friends who came yet somehow we managed to lose the first couple games.  By the end we came around and showed our deadly force. I have quite a few half inch red dots on my body that will be black and blue tomorrow.  Check out the last picture to see how my last game ended...

paintball pics

The Capitals, sickness, The Pietasters, and Matt & Casey

On Tuesday I went with Kevin and Nick to a Capitals game. We picked up nice tickets on the club level off the internet. I forgot how nice the club level is with carpeted floors near the concessions and a bar/restaurant overlooking the arena. The lines for food/beer and the bathroom are quite short as well. Unfortunately only corporate clients get such good treatment as the fans don't have access and the whole tier is almost always more than half empty. Of course we all know it's about money not the fans. The game was good, it went in to over time and then penalty shots. The Caps pulled off the win.  

The next morning at about 6am I woke not feeling too well. I proceeded to empty all contents of my bowels and belly. After that I didn't feel all that bad and assumed I'd go in to work later in the day which I did. I was back home by lunch. Things were not feeling right. I couldn't eat and was feeling a bit nauseous. The next day I tried to go in the office again without success. By Friday I just felt like I had a glob in my stomach that wouldn't go away. I still wasn't eating much and had little energy.

I did make it out to the Pietasters show though on Friday night. It was Halloween and they had a costume contest at the 9:30 Club with the winner getting free tickets to all of the shows for the rest of the year. Kirby, choosing from the few empowered unibrow women of the world, went as Frieda Kahlo. Amy was there feeling quite good with some drinks in her. The band threw down as usual and I found out I can still have fun at 2am on a Friday night while sober.

On Saturday I met up with Matt and Casey while they were between shows at the 9:30 Club. They saw some comedian at 7:00 and then Lotus was playing later that night. We met at a nice restaurant on U Street and that was the first time I felt like I might be able to really eat. Good thing too as I need my energy today to shoot my coworkers with paintballs.

Dr Dremos demolished

Ten months after it was closed they finally started tearing down Dr Dremos.  Taco Bell was gone a couple weeks ago.  Only the upstairs front-end of Dremos is left.  

Can't wait for the new condo/apartment building!

(get in line to) Vote Now!

I happened to walk past my neighborhood polling station on my way home from dinner tonight.  At 7pm I could see more than 100 people in line in the lobby of our county offices.  Someone walking out mentioned "1 and 1/2 hours".  I bet it was longer if you got in line at 7:00. 

On NPR someone said that 40% of Colorado has already voted.  Don't vote now, save time and vote on election day!

UPDATE: The Washington Post did their own story video style here.

enduro 2 of the season

I think they usually have 6 enduros in a season with one a month.  They might take off in December.  So on this second enduro Dustin bailed on us with other plans and we recruited a guy from the PCA league I usually run in. 

Six teams showed up again.  Two were new and I hope the turn out doesn't dwindle anymore as six is the minimum number of teams we can race with. And a few of the new guys came equipped with gear. One in a Ferrari shirt had shiny red Ferrari shoes.

I qualified 2nd in the 5 lap qualifying session. Our kart for the race wasn't horrible but it was below average.  Last race we had no top end and this race we had no torque out of the turns. Maniacal, who usually competes for 2nd, passed me sometime during the 30+ minute stint but had issues and made an accidental pit.  So I handed it over to Howard in 2nd.  I think Maniacal came back and passed us during Howard's stint and he handed it over to Greg in 3rd.  Greg did an excellent job being his first time at the track and clicked off decent times each lap for a full stint.  I bet he is sore today.  Finally Tony got in.  Tony won our league this last year and he ain't slow. He proceeded to throw down some consistent times. The trouble was that Maniacal ahead of us was throwing down good consistant laps as well.  I was giving Tony all the info on the pit board including lap times and intervals.  Maniacal's driver apparently got FTD in an A Mod earlier in the day at an autocross (and another team member got PAX!).  Towards the end of the race though Tony was ever so slowly catching him for 2nd.  He managed to get the interval down to about 3 seconds and then it stayed that way for awhile.  It came down to within 5 minutes and I was yelling at Tony to pass the guy.  They clicked off similar lap times and the interval remained the same.  Then with about 5 laps to go they came up on traffic and Tony got around them both.  He ended up pulling away just a bit and crossed the line in 2nd.  It was this team's best finish.  

The 5 and 6th place teams started floundering towards the end and started getting lapped every 4 or 5 minutes.  Apparently those shiny red Ferrari shoes didn't give them the edge they needed.

My back is probably not as bad as last time but I did get a bruise on my left thigh that is worse than normal.  Usually my thigh is just real sore.  The seat belt gave me a small buise on my neck as well.

Stats...

Kevin	Fast lap - 24.946	Avg - 25.199
Howard	Fast lap - 25.279	Avg - 25.199
Greg	Fast lap - 25.179	Avg - 25.624
Tony	Fast lap - 24.832	Avg - 25.146

beer stock list!

I was thinking about doing this after I created a list of books and CDs in Google Docs that I wanted. It allows me to view the list on my phone while I'm in the store which sometimes happens unplanned. So I created my beer stock list (see link below). Not only will it show me what I already have, but it keeps track of purchase date and location as well. Important things to know when you get around to tasting it. Hopefully the spreadsheet will stay updated.

Once I've enjoyed the beverage and it's no longer in my fridge I'll move it to the second tab. The second tab isn't so complete being that I've just started keeping track.

I'm thinking I'll get a second fridge with a special thermostat for higher temperatures to store my precious beverages.

beer stock list

back in business

My mobile computer is back in action with the latest hacked software.  It's running oh so smooth and fast.  I originally hacked my phone back in March but about a month ago my number one app, the Opera Mobile browser, started crashing after 5 seconds. And the device would freeze up on me many times a day. I had to do soft resets all day long and sometimes more than once at a time. Without Opera Mobile, I had to use Pocket IE (PIE) with no iphone-like finger scroll or tabs! I felt like I was back in 2005. I don't think I'm necessarily that busy of a guy but for some reason it took about a month to find the time to fix.

After a bunch of research to make sure I won't end up with a useless brick and a few initial stumbles I got it updated with the latest OS and radio ROMs.  It works quite well.  Apparently Verizon did release a WM6.1 update but the GPS only works with the Verizon Navigator app.  So this hacked release doesn't use whatever code is on that official Verizon update, rather I believe it is derived from the XV6900.  I documented my steps this time so I can make quick updates in the future.

Some day when I have more time I'll get the aGPS working.  Currently it takes a few minutes for the GPS to get a fix and it only works outside.  It is possible to get it to work instantly and indoors with some added configuration.

The guy who created this hacked ROM included remote desktop and internet tethering.  It has improved memory management and unnecessary applications removed.  I installed a little flashlight app that lets me use my camera flash as a flashlight.  That would have come in handy as I checked a friend's oil level in the dark two nights ago.

I can't wait for Firefox Mobile and Opera Mobile 9.5 to be released.

another Harvest Ale

I saw Sierra Nevada's 2008 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale at Whole Foods today.  Unfortunately I'm sick and can't taste it.  I'm curious how it compares to the Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale from this spring.  I'm sure its mmmm tasty good.  Here is a little bit about Sierra Nevada's Harvest Ale series:

To make this project happen, we selected hops from regions where the hop harvest occurred at different times of the year. Southern Hemisphere Harvest uses hops from New Zealand that are harvested in our spring. Our Chico Estate Harvest uses hops grown at our brewery in Chico, California that are harvested in late summer. And our original Harvest Ale uses hops from Yakima, Washington harvested in early fall. The result is three fresh hop ales that will be released at different times of the year, each providing a unique experience with hops from different parts of the world. We aptly call this trilogy of fresh hop ales our Harvest Series.

UPDATE: One of two Chico Estate Harvest Ale casks that are east of the Mississippi will be tapped at the Brickskeller on Thursday.  

my Arlington bike loop

I finally rode a big loop around Arlington that I've been thinking about since I got my road bike. Its about 17.5 miles and uses parts of the Mt Vernon, 4 Mile Run, W&OD, and Curtis trails. See the map below. If interested check out the Arlington bike trails here.

I've been using my bike as transportation around DC lately and it was nice to get out without my heavy lock and in more suitable clothes.  I felt swift like the wind!  The weather was perfect and the trails were not too crowded.  I ate more bugs than usual on this ride and found a few in my hair and on my face afterwards.  

There were about 100 people at the park at the end of the runway at the airport.  A week or so ago Kirby and I were on a night ride and surprisingly found the spot to ourselves.  A few people were fishing at the mouth of 4 Mile Run which is quite nasty.  I didn't realize I was going to ride right through downtown Shirlington.  Once I got in the parks along 4 Mile Run past Shirlington I came across about two dozen dogs hanging out in the stream.  Their owners were mingling and the dogs were having a good time.

There are at least four parks between Shirlington and I-66 along 4 Mile Run.  The W&OD trail is along one side and the 4 Mile Run trail winds along the other.  The 4 Mile Run trail often splits in different directions around the parks and through the woods.  A few side paths go up and away with lots of elevation change which allowed me to dream I was on my mt bike.  I saw some single track that I might have to tackle some day.  At one point I came across a rather large and elaborate public rose garden.

It's not long but you could run that 4 Mile Run leg a few times and not get bored (or run the same trail twice). The whole ride was almost all on off-street paved bike paths.  It was a good time. Bummer winter is upon us.

mmm beer!

I haven't been to the store in a month or two and was able to hit up Total Wine & More today. Oktoberfest time of course! Last night I tasted Avery's Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager and it was damn good. Today I stopped by the store and picked up some Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, Sam Adams' new Hallertau Imperial Pilsner "An Intense Hop Experience", Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale, and my old stable North Coast Prankster.

The Hallertau Imperial Pilsner is quite unique; I dig it. I haven't had the DFH Pumpkin Ale yet this year.

ridiculous money

People in this town have way too much money. Of course it's true of any large city. There will always be those with shit tons o cash to spend on whatever they please. Oh I wish I were one. Really I don't need to buy a 500K or 1 million $ car; I'd be happy with a $130,000 Porsche Turbo. 

I've seen so many nice cars lately. Over the summer I saw an Audi R8 twice in my neighborhood. The other day while at the race shop near the Lamborghini dealership we heard a V12 fly by. Surprisingly in Missoula I saw an Audi S5, and there are a few around town here. Two nights ago I was downtown near a club and quite a few $90K BMWs and Mercedes where getting parked. Just today I saw a 6 series BMW, a new M3, two Jaguar XKs, and a Ferrari F430. How many of those guys have actually been anywhere near the limit of their cars on the track do you think? Someday I'll be old, make silly money, be insensibley rich, and buy ridiculous toys. Till then I'll appreciate what I have. 

I remember lapping the track with a Ferrari 360 in my four banger although I'm sure he was a bit more timid than I. That was fun.

yet another Beerfest!

Its that time again. The semi-annual World Beer Festival took place in Durham and of course my sister and her friends hosted us out-of-towners. For four hours you get your choice of 300 or so beers from around with world. Raleigh hosts the event in the spring and Durham in the fall. It was a new Durham venue this year and for some reason they like baseball stadiums. If you were in the know you were aware of the restrooms underneath the stands. This event seemed to have more local NC brews. Although there was still lots of good representation throughout the globe. Thanks to Mark and Michelle for driving me there and back. No real big discovers other than Smittynose which for some reason I've never really tried and the IPA they had seemed very fresh and tasty. I made the mistake of having two 10% brews before the fest and I don't remember much after the 3rd hour of the event.

Pics and vids

the first enduro of the year

The 2 hour endurance kart races have started up again at G Force Karts in Richmond.  I think the season consists of one race a month for six months.  Its a team event.  You are required to make 3 driver changes so it makes sense to have a team of 4.  I've been running their enduros for quite a few years now.  

Whoever qualifies is required to start the race and I think that has been my job all but one or two events.  You only have 5 laps to throw down a quick lap and usually I can put us in the top 3.  This wasn't my best showing and I ended up putting us 5th out of 6 on the starting grid.  Usually we have 8 teams racing.  My first stint lasted for over 30 minutes and I only gained one position after trailing the guy for probably 15 minutes (~35 laps).  We ended up 4th in the race.  We did well though because we had a slow kart and any slight disadvantage is huge over a 2 hour period.  Running 35 minutes wasn't as difficult as usual but it impacted me physical more than ever.  My lower back is super sore which isn't all that normal after karting.  And I have an open wound on my back.  There is a high speed turn on the track where you pull a good couple G forces each lap.  Imagine having to work against twice the force of gravity (twice your weight) every time you take a turn every lap for 30 minutes.  It's an extremely physical task.  It's a clockwise track with mostly right-hand turns so I rubbed the skin off my back just to the left of my spin as my weight was pushed against the seat.  The first pic is from a few hours after and the second is from this evening.

Its a clockwise track so most of the turns go towards the right and therefore my wound is on the left. 

UPDATE: The scab is almost gone 12 days later. I don't heal like I used to.

NYC, beer in Boise, and hangin' with the homeless

I'll throw down a quick synopsis of the last week or more.  Kirby and I took off to hang out with her friend Lisa in NYC.  We left at 11:30pm on the chinatown bus and the trip to NYC was about the same price as the cab ride getting to the bus.  We stayed in Brooklyn and we saw a decent exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.  On Sat night we hung with some of her Nicaragua trip crew.  We got down in Harlem to a samba band in one bar and a hip hop band with horns a few doors down.

I then spent the week in Boise for a project I'm on to develop a thin client solution for fire camps and other emergency response.  I was staying in a sweet new Homewood Suites decked out with a full kitchen and flat screen TV.  The free breakfast was nice but the free food and beer/wine from 5-7 was better.   While there I stopped by TableRock Brewpub to sample their offerings.  Not too bad a swill.

And then don't ask how it happened but after 3am on Friday night I ended up passing out in a wet tent pitched ilegally in a park in downtown DC as part of a protest with homeless people.  Yeah you can bet that the eco-terrorist was involved.

I haven't slept in my bed in almost 2 weeks.

Caps Rookie Game

Sarah scored "sold out" tickets to the Washington Capitals rookie game against the Philadelphia Flyers. It's our up-coming season prospects veruses theirs.  Tickets were free but you had to have one and they were gone weeks ago. Sarah's family has season tickets to everything so she dropped her uncle's name and wha-bam! she was hooked up. The game is at their practice rink which are rather new facilities not far from me. 

It was a full on game, people were getting in to it and lots of heckling to the opposing rookies. The crowd was fun because it was so small you could hear everyone and people could directly yell at the players or the refs (or the scoreboard guy when he forgets to acknowledge yet another Caps goal). And being that the crowd was mostly die-hard season ticket holders they were quite knowledgeable and adept at heckling. These guys were playing hard for their jobs. There was a ton of hitting and lots of fights. And there were some sweet plays.  Of course the Caps rocked them 7 - 0 but a good time was had by all. 

Except the Flyers, and the fans made sure they felt it. In fact Sarah was getting uncomfortable and feeling bad for the losers. She even wrote a positive cheer up note to her favorite Flyer when he was boo'ed in the penalty box.  That was funny.

Image stolen from Caps website.

urban road warrior

I bought a road bike a bit ago. First I bought a real clunker. I knew I wouldn't be happy with the weight and lack of smooth drive train so I kept looking and finally got a 2006 Cannondale SR 500. It was about $100 more than I wanted to spend on a bike I'm going to lock up in the city but other than that its perfect with the granny gear, B-lever brakes, and rack mountable frame.

I spent a bunch more money and got a new helmet, lock, hand pump, tool bag, rear rack, rack bag, and lights for the front and rear. I'm all set to tackle the paved trail or night-time city streets. Surprisingly I still have not gotten a flat on my thin tires. I've found I can get around in DC in much less time than the metro takes. Its been quite convenient and has gotten me a bit of exercise.

[pic goes here]

Potomac River run

Sarah and I opened the summer on Memorial Day and coincidently finished the summer in similar style on Labor Day. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend. The river wasn't even that crowded. And we were only an hour and a half late to the pick up.

Pics & videos

new company goes live with Google Apps

I started using Google Apps for email, calendar, and online documents back in January. My last company, JPR Wood Consulting, migrated over in March. That was quite painless with a 5 person company. And it made a lot of sense for a small company that is working from various places. The online collaboration is great. Well right after I got pulled in to my new company they had email issues. I suggested we use Google Apps. Shockingly about 2 weeks later I migrated the whole company over. Its a 21 person organization and they are pretty much all non-technical. I ran in to a few limitations; there are some basic enterprise functions that are lacking and would be nice. Its great having the whole company using it and it was a fun little project that allowed me to do something different.

my own independent wine consultant

My sister is an independent wine consultant. No matter that I probably know more about wine than she does and I admittedly know nothing about wine. She put on her shindig at a friend's place in Fredericksburg, VA so I went down to hang out. It was interesting to see her do her thing. And of course since the party started at 3pm we never stopped drinking and were mostly passed out at midnight.

Brew @ the Zoo

The last few years I've wanted to check out this Brew at the Zoo event but it always sells out by the time I hear about it. Not this summer. It was expensive though at around $55 each I believe. They had lots of breweries and some very good food, even a band. The lines were super long for everything. They did give you a nice full size glass mug (with a 4 oz fill line at the bottom). 

While in one long line a little armadillo runs by. People started freaking out and taking pictures. Someone from the zoo had brought it out. Apparently it likes crowds unlike its brothers and sisters. It would scurry around and then start burrowing in the grass. Cute little guy. Sarah dug it.

See crappy cell phone pics.

Kirby saving the world

So I had just started dating this girl gal and she takes off on a secret activist mission in a foreign communist state with the intention of getting arrested. Its the Olympics in Beijing and China has been cracking down on human rights as opposed to opening up. Students for Tibet had actions going on all throughout the Olympics. Kirby was there for a week preparing with a "team". With a few exceptions the protesters were getting deported within a day. One of the first guys got punched, put in stress positions and seriously interrogated. Some of the later ones were held in prison for a week.

Here is the post about her "action".

And here she is speaking for the activists from DC when they arrived at the airport and were received by the local Tibetan community.

spectacular tunes

On 7/25 Kirby and I saw Stanley Jordan at the Strathmore. I've seen Stanley a few times and am always amazed, but this time he went a step further. He played both guitar and piano at the same time. One hand on the guitar playing his tapping style, and the other on the piano. And its not as if he was playing the same thing, he was playing two different complementary parts. Then he would switch hands. The guy is unbelievable.

Then on 8/1 I found a ticket to the sold out world premier performance of the BSO playing the Dead Symphony # 6. I've got a few albums of orchestras playing Led Zepplin, The Doors, and Pink Floyd and was very excited to see this live. Being a world premier didn't hurt. The composer was there and lots of VIPs like Jerry Garcia's wife. A short description:

Dead Symphony No. 6—the No. 6 signifies that it is Johnson’s Sixth Symphony—dedicates separate movements to Grateful Dead hits "Saint Stephen," "Here Comes Sunshine," "Mountains of the Moon," "Blues for Allah," "Sugar Magnolia," "To Lay Me Down," "If I Had the World to Give," "Stella Blue," "Bird Songs" and "China Doll." The work also features a symphonic jam session during "Stella Blue.” In keeping with The Dead's performance style, Pro Video Group of Baltimore will recreate a psychedelic video display behind the orchestra during this performance.

VP no more :(

The prime contractor at work decided they wanted our mobile computing project and told us they are taking it over. They want me and the team of course because they have no one to do the work themselves. Officially its because Robie isn't around and they need someone with gray hair to run the program. But in reality we know that miss VP of Sales needs a technology project to attempt to sell her wares. So they killed my company and offered us jobs. We were damn close to being ready to pitch our own thing but we weren't fast enough. JPR Wood Consulting is no more. My current employer is Innovative Solutions Group (ISG).

RIP

Mid-Ohio 2008

Justin and I made our annual trip to Mid-Ohio this year to see the IRL, ALMS, World Challenge GT and Touring, and GT3 Cup. Good stuff! Kevin joined us this time. Unfortunately Justin's dad couldn't make it so we were rolling in style in the luxury RV. The weather was about perfect. The racing was exciting. We spoke with Randy Pobst as usual (Justin's wife's mother's cousin). King Rat had someone renting a SRT-4 and we touched base with them. It was nice to see the combined IRL series in person. Next year the IRL may not come back to Mid-Ohio with all the CART tracks competing for the series.

Pics & videos

Garnet ghost town

Tucked away in the mountains of Montana beyond the paved roads are the remnants of a mining town that people started populating in the 1800's. In 1912 a fire burnt down half the town and it was never rebuilt. It's now managed by the BLM. Robie and I tried to go there in February one year but we wisely turned around on the snow covered dirt roads. I had fun this time sliding around in my rental Legacy. Unfortunately I didn't have time for the short hike to the mine.

Pics & video

Fire on the Mountain

While in Missoula working on the thin client project with Don Winter of the National Park Service (Mt Rainier) we spotted a fire on the mountain. We left MTDC to go to the Lolo Creek Steak House and it was hard to miss the column of smoke. Apparently some boys set pages of a phone book on fire and the grass caught. It was pretty much contained by midnight of that day but was still smoldering for another day or so. We thought about asking if they needed us to deploy a thin client kit. Instead we added to the public gawking and drove as close as we could.

Pics & videos

summer lapse

So I pretty much took the summer off on posting updates. I'd like to give it another go and see if I can't keep up on it like I did the first few months. So unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I'm going to zip through the whole summer with a ton of short posts. I'll even do it in real time by back dating (cuz today is 9/13). Hope you enjoyed your summer as well...

Allagash and Dogfish Head in Missoula!

As I headed to a happenin’ downtown spot in good ol’ Missoula I came across a place that seemed to have a decent wine and beer selection so I stepped inside. It is quite a mix of crap in there. It appears to be a deli, perhaps a bakery, somewhat a grocer, with a decent wine selection, and holy crap do that have sweet beer. I’ve been going to Missoula for a few years now for work and what a bitch I haven’t found this place earlier. Not only do they have the best selection around of regional brews, but they also shocked me with a few familiars. They had bottles of Dogfish Head's Red & White, Black & Blue, and Chateau Jiahu! I have serious trouble finding Red & White on the east coast (Dogfish Head is a Delaware brewery for you non-beer geeks). I had no idea Dogfish Head distributed out to Montana. Not only that but it was a few dollars cheaper out here in the middle of nowhere than in DC! Of course I bought a bottle. They also had one Allagash bottle; the Interlude. Apparently it is the first in the oak aged series. I haven’t seen that around DC at all.

I’ll be stopping by Worden's at least once a visit to Missoula. Lots of new fine regional beers to sample.

I still love that Big Sky IPA though.

a week in Missoula and weekend with family

After chilling with the skate pros, the next day there was a weekly event downtown by the river in Missoula with some live music, food, and of course fine brew. So after a hard days work I found myself a half block from my hotel, chillin’ in the perfect weather with a beer, listening to live music, eating good food, and hanging next to the river watching kayakers and surfers on the Clark Fork at Brennan’s Wave. Life wasn’t bad.

My parents and sister came in over the weekend. We found good food and beer at Restaurant Vero. Checked out a dead rich woman’s antique collection and gardens, went to the Newseum which was actually about worth the $20 admission, and checked out the Folklife Festival.

MOBASH demo

As I hang in Montana I found out that there is an Independent Trucks tour going on throughout the US and they are in Missoula this day. My client site in Missoula is a bit outside of the small town and near the Big Sky Brewery (see previous Big Sky! post). So as usual I stopped by the brewery on my way back in to town for a few samples. I sipped my first taste around 5:00 and suddenly remembered about the skate park demo I read about in the Missoulian news paper this morning. So off I ran. The demo was pretty informal. By the time I got there things were settling down. Most my pics are of locals.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SlickSlopeSurfer/MOBASHDemo2008

Big Sky!

I'm lucky enough to visit Montana for work on occasion and the lowly populated state does have some fine brew. Missoula, large to MT but small to the rest of the world, has quite a few fine breweries. One of my favorites is Big Sky. Moose Drool is da bomb.

It so happens that my client is located quite close to the new Big Sky Brewery. Its convenient to stop by the taphouse on the way back from the office. This time they happened to have a special version of the Scape Goat pale ale which was dry hopped... Super Scape Goat. It was yum. Its not sold outside of the brewery and it was going fast. I called a friend in town with a fridge (cuz my hotel room doesn't have one) to see if they'd be interested in me storing a growler in their fridge but no answer. And then 10 minutes later the beer was all gone.

But I tried their IPA again for the first time in awhile and damn! I thought the server gave me a second dry hopped Scape Goat. That would have been quite nice of her considering you are only allowed one sample of the rare beer. So my third tasting I asked for the IPA again... and it tasted the same! That IPA is damn good, and better than the special Super Scape Goat. The server told me it was also dry hopped. I'll be drinking lots of the IPA in future visits.

UPDATE: On Wednesday the Big Sky IPA tasted just as good, but today it tasted more like a regular IPA and less of the fresh hop taste. New batch?

UPDATE: So on my next trip to Missoula I confirmed that it tasted just as good as it did the first time. Its interesting how your palate changes depending on things like other food and drink.

I'm going overboard

You will not even come close to the cost of beer in my fridge at the moment. Just try to guess. I've gone way overboard the last few weekends. If you add a couple hundred to your guess you might come close. Where is my cool dry beer cellar?

And I since you will never guess correctly cuz you can't see all the beer or you don't care enough to ask me I'll go ahead and tell you.

Over 40,000 pennies. And it will all taste so good! Lots of Dogfish Head and Allagash 750ml bottles of course. And the case of Harvest Ale didn't help.

I'm thinking I need to document my current beer stock with a running list. That way I'd have a historic reference and could refer to it (via my phone) when perusing for more. :P

Cairo Wine & Liquor‎

I happen to be sipping some Red & White tonight. "You're drinking your last bottle of Red & White that were hoarding after its been sold out of the stores???" says the one or two of you that are familiar with my beer stock. No, of course not. I went to a downtown DC liquor store and picked up a few bottles!

My local Dogfish Head rep, Devin, sent out an email saying he was going to highlight a beer store each month or so and the first one was Cairo Liquor. He said they have a full range of Dogfish Head beers including a few I was having trouble finding at the time. So I was all excited to go seek out some more hard to find favorites such as Red & White. It took a few weeks for me to get there so I was thinking I might be out of luck on the rarer selections.

So today is the day I found some time to go. And holy crap this place is your typical downtown corner liquor store. Except with sweet beer! I didn't pay any attention to the wine but my guess is you won't find any sommeliers in there. They had quite the german beer selection. Lots of good belgium ones too. And it took some searching but I found the two Dogfish Head that I sought. There were at least a half dozen 750ml bottles of Red & White. And three 4-packs of Burton Baton. I took about half their stock of each.

Mmmmm yum. Get yourself a bottle of wine, some Mad Dog, a fifth, and some craft brew all in one stop!

Firefox Download Day

Mozilla wants you to help set a Guinness World Record and download the new version of Firefox today. Firefox 3 was just released and they are attempting to set a world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours. I've been using the beta version and I dig it. Click on the image below to check it out.