The Wizard of Speed and Time

Just a bunch of things I think are interesting or funny.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

I should hang the new ceiling fan, but Rock Island isn't that far...

Saturday, Sarah and Rebecca are going up to Gurnee Mills to get a head start on their Christmas shopping. Nick and Scooter are spending the day with Grandma. Which leaves me all alone. So, I planned to get some things done around the house, like putting up the new ceiling fan Sarah bought.

But...

I got an e-mail from Steve McKenna, Beer Judge Teacher. Apparently the beer club in the Quad Cities, Mississippi Unquenchable Grail Zymurgists, or MUGZ, is holding their annual Land of the Muddy Waters Homebrew Competition on Saturday. And they're looking for judges. And I'm a judge. And my Porter should be ready by Saturday. And if I judge I can get my porter entered into the competition. And they'll feed me and serve me good beer to drink for free.

And I'm going to Rock Island on Saturday.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Not a good way to get your name on CNN.com

It's a familiar story, two airline passengers get a little too frisky during a flight. But these folks simply could not leave well enough alone. Eventually their antics lead to an arrest. Click here for story. The best chuckles are in the affidavit including the line "Persing was obversed with his face pressed against Sewell's vaginal area. During these actions Sewell was observed smiling."

Strange publicity stunt

I understand Elvira Arellano's desire to stay with her son. I understand her desire to stay in the US. I understand her seeking sanctury in a west side church.

But I don't understand the whirlwind press junket that her 7 year old son is on. He's supposed to be in school now, but instead he is going to Washington DC to try and hand deliver a letter to President Bush. He's been to LA to be on "The Cristina Show," a popular Spanish TV talk show taped in California. And today he showed up in Mexico City and appeared before the Mexican Chamber of Deputies to ask them to pressure Washington to stop the deportation of his mother.

Two things confuse me about this. First, Elvira has been saying all along that the reason she wants to stay is so that she can be with her son. I understand that having him do these things may work toward the long term goal of having her stay with him. But since it is clear that he can go to Mexico and come back anytime he wants to, the real goal is to have him stay with her in America.

But the plea to the Mexican Chamber of Deputies is more confusing. Now I don't have a transcript of the speech, but isn't the message I need Mexico's help in keeping my mother out of Mexico? Please whatever you can do, don't allow them to send my mother here.

54 bottles of beer on the wall, 28 bottles of Cider

This weekend bottled the porter which I hope to enter in the St Louis Brews Happy Holiday Homebrew Competition. It tasted nice and robust going into the bottle, but it might be a bit over the top an have moved into a stout. On Saturday I'm going to take it to The Homebrew Shop and let Ed give me some guidance.

I also blended and bottled 2.4 gallons of hard cider. To sweeten it up I blended in pear and peach nectars. It also was tasty going into the bottle.

This of course has left my fermenters empty. And a fermenter is a terrible thing to waste. I'm hoping to brew sometime around Thanksgiving, and have good stuff for the January competitions and Christmas.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Weird Al Yankovic-Bob

All in pallindrome

What is that Pastor Haggard?

The Rev. Ted Haggard, who has resigned as one of the nation's top evangelical leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage and bought methamphetamine. You'd have to be living under a rock t onot know this story. If so here it is.

My question is this: what kind of person buys drugs and doesn't take them? What kind of person hires a male prostitute and doesn't have sex?

Time heals all beer?

In March, I made a helles that was drinkable but had way too much diactyl (a buttery taste which is a flaw from incomplete fermentaion). I asked around for advise, but no one seemed to have a solution for my beer. So it languished at the back of my fridge. Until...

Sarah's brother Andrew can by in September. He asked if I had any homebrew, and the only thing that was ready was the helles. He tried it and declared that it was quite good. Confused, I sampled it. The beer was good. So I entered it as an Octoberfest in the CBS Spooky Brew Review. And it took a second place.