Bibles in the Jury Room

Yesterday, the Colorado Supreme Court threw out the sentence of a man who was convicted of raping and killing a cocktail waitress. The reason, because the jury consulted Bibles for wisdom in making it sentencing decision. Click here for story. On first blush, I thought this to be the right decision since he should be sentenced based on the law and not the old testiment.

The problem is that the judge in Colorado is required to instruct jurors to think beyond the bounds of the law and to make an individual moral assessment. So the jury is to be moral, but without any outside guidence as to that morality. Here are jurors making what amounts to a life or death decision, and told to do so in a moral way, but that morality must only come from what you brought to the table through your own memory.

Great headline

So few times do the headline writers get the opprotunity to use the words "Farming event" and "sexed up" in the same headline. But luckily the good folks at The Scotman were able to do so. Click here for story.

A good time was had by all

On Saturday, Bob, Sean and I went on a gastronomic trip through southern Wisconsin. This trip was planned by one of the brew clubs in the Chicago area and about 30 to 40 people showed for the trip. We toured a sausage maker, a cheesemaker and two breweries.

The sausage maker and cheesemaker were in small Wisconsin towns. And we got lost trying to find them. The sausage maker was outside of Juda, WI, which is such a small one horse town that it amazes me that we actually got lost. When we stopped for directions, we had a choice between the fire department or the local bank to stop at. We chose the fire department and were amazed when we found a firearms auction taking place in the fire department. We decided that we would leave quietly and go to the bank, where a very nice teller directed us to the right place.

The cheesemaker was in Monticello, WI (1150) but we decided not to follow the little horse trails in our directions since we needed to get gas. But finding a gas station took 20 minutes. And once we got gas, we asked directions to the road we needed. But the food at these places was wonderful, fresh and flavorful.

The highlight of the trip was New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, WI. Easy to find. We were treated to a tour by the brewmaster and more food and drink than we could consume, which is quite a lot. They simply gave us 3 cases a beer, which consisted of 9 different varieties. The food was great, the beer was phenomenal and the tour was the best brewery tour I have ever been on. Every question we asked was answered. They treated us like royalty. I am now a loyal New Glarus drinker and will stop by New Glarus whenever I have the chance.

Which brings me to the anticlimax of our tour. The Huber brewing company in Monroe, WI. The tour was lead by a person who was not a brewer but worked in the packaging plant for several years. We spent 30 seconds in the brewhouse and 40 minutes in the packing house. Do you know what is more boring than watching idle packaging machinery? Watching idle packaging machinery while someone drones on about the inane and uninteresting history of the packaging machines. The best part of the tour was when our tour guide yodeled. Unfortunately that only lasted for 45 seconds. The beer at Huber was OK. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad but after New Glarus it was such a let down.

But overall I will do this again.

What should I work up next?

My experience in homebrewing has been extremely rewarding. And I thinking of expanding my repeture. It will either be mead making, cider making or cheesemaking. But alas, I am conflicted as to which.

For those who don't know: mead is a honey wine; cider is fermented apple juice; and if you don't know what cheese is I can't help you. All of these are natural expansions for the homebrewer. The upside of mead and cider is that I can get all of the stuff I need at the homebrew shops I already frequent. The downside is that I'm still the only drinker in the house and getting Sarah's approval might to difficult as money's a little tight right now. On the other hand everybody likes cheese, but as when I started brewing, I don't know anybody who does this. Yet it doesn't seem all that hard.

This does not mean that I will stop brewing. If fact, I'm designing a stout and a bock to brew this summer.

Just a Psycho rip off

The Scotman reported this week the story of a Turkish man who kept his dead mother in his basement. Click here for story. The only difference is that he dressed up as his mother to cash her welfare checks as opposed to dressing up as her to work out many severe mental problems by carving up the guests at a motel. Otherwise, exactly the same. Except that this wasn't a movie. But other than that, exactly the same.

It all just keeps coming back... Like bad sushi

Yesterday I read in the Independant, a brittish tabloid, that the BBC is making another Dr Who series. (For Phil's sake I am not attaching a link as it would require him to sign up for free.)

And I was thinking of all the times I begged my mom to let me stay up late (11:00 was late at the time) just to watch this show. But to be honest, I'm not sure if it stands the test of time. I mean the best characters were a robotic dog and the dalecks (I don't know if I spelled that right and I don't care enough to even do an internet search) and they really had just one line.

The weird thing is that I feel the same way about the Twilight Zone. Don't get me wrong, there are a few episodes which are classic. But since the Sci Fi channel is rerunning them at Midnight, I've come to realize that there's a whole lot a schlock between the classics.

I came, I saw, I got jack squat.

This Saturday, I attended the Drunk Monk Challenge for the Urban Knaves of Grain. I volunteered to be a steward, which meant getting everything ready and making sure the judges had what they needed for the contest. All in all I had a great time.

Until the end of the night. To begin with, I didn't win anything. Not in the competition and not in the raffle, which seemed to last for hours. What's worse is the fact that I couldn't even snag one of the leftover cases of empty bottles because I took Metra to the event and the train cops were sticking to the no glass containers on the train rule.

I know what I'm doing April 29th

Click here for the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trailer.

Disturbing Michael Jackson quote of the day

"He licked my brother's head."

This is why brewers have unlisted numbers

This evening I had a very uncomfortable experience. I received my first drunken call up. For those not familiar with the term, this is what happens when past relationships, meet alcohol and combine with the ease of cellular phones. Normally what will happen is a person gets drunk and decides that they have some unfinished business with a former boyfriend/girlfriend. They then use the speed dial function on their phone and get off whatever is on their chest.

Since I have been with Sarah for 16 years, since we started dating in 1989, I have never had the pleasure of receiving this type of call.

Tonight I received a call from a coworker who I gave a six pack of my beer, as I lost a wager regarding the NFL playoffs (thanks for nothing Peyton Manning). He had previously had my homebrew and was more than happy to receive his winnings in 12 oz bottles. So last Friday I gave him a six pack including 4 brown ales and 2 scottish 70 schilling ales. Tonight he drank the scottish, I know because he called me to tell me just how great they were. And while I appreciate the complement, I'm not sure I needed the call at 9pm on my cell.

What the...

Yesterday, I took the dog for a walk, played outside with Nick for an hour, got the car washed.
Today, it snowed.

This is why I hate March.

So all that team building stuff in the 90s was a crock

A social scientist has determined that an organization which is decentralized as opposed to strongly connected, in terms of interpersonal relationships, are more resilient and "better able to whether outside criticism and internal quarrels." In order to come to this conclusion the scientist studied the star studded soap opera of baseball, the New York Yankees. Click here for story.

He concludes that the fact that there is no central character or leader helps the Yankees function better as a group. While this may be true, I still think its Steinbrenner's checkbook which has the greatest roll in the Yankees success.

See, Americans aren't the only insensitive ones.

In business timing is everything. So to cash in on the biggest tragedy to hit Thailand in recent years, some businessmen are planning a tsunami themed amusement park. Click here for story.

The story in part states:

Speaking on behalf of the Thai Prime Minister, Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Juthamas Siriwan yesterday told an international delegation about large-scale plans to remarket the region to foreign and local tourists.
"It would firstly educate everyone who comes to Phuket to make them aware of how these kinds of things happen," Ms Siriwan told reporters at a conference on the island.
"And at the same time, because tourism is an enjoyable product, we would also ... like to (use technology) to make the museum more attractive and interesting by making a simulation of a tidal wave.
"I talked to the architect and they say they are going to make something like that so maybe this will be the next Universal Studios of the tsunamis in Khao Lak."

A simulated tidal wave? Will the park have a flume?

Spring!

The first days of spring have finally arrived in Berwyn. This afternoon, Nick and I walked the dog and played outside for the first time since November.

It's a good thing to get Nick outside because he loves to run and create mayhem. Both activities which are better suited for the outdoors.