...and I'm a happy guy!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
On the folly of prohibition
The Cato Institute's Jeffery Miron has written Strict Gun Control Will Seem Like War on Drugs, an examination of the potential success of proposed gun controls,
It was contemplation of the gun grabbers' dream of total prohibition, and my probably reaction to it, that caused me to adopt a more libertarian attitude toward recreational narcotics. (That means "drugs", for those of you on drugs!) Miron argues that gun prohibition cannot work for the same reasons that drug prohibition, like alcohol before it, does not work. I came at the argument from the opposite direction. I realized that drug prohibition cannot work because gun prohibition would not work. How do I know that it wouldn't work? Because as a law-abiding citizen, I know that I would violate a law prohibiting gun ownership!
I will not accept disarmament. I will be armed, even if that requires me to break the law. "If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns" isn't about criminals getting guns no matter what; it's about otherwise law-abiding citizens becoming criminals for doing something they see as morally upright.
The State cannot successfully ban possession of a commodity unless the people themselves have already decided that they do not want that commodity. The people, or at least a very large portion of them, want guns. They'll get them one way or another. In the 1920s, the people wanted alcohol and they got it. Now they want narcotics. Drug prohibition is doomed to failure because too many people do not accept the idea that drugs are inherently immoral. (By the way, I am not arguing their morality one way or the other; I'm simple stating a fact.) Because the people themselves have not rejected drugs and drug use, the State will have no success banning drugs. The Drug War will be lost.
Worse than that, the Drug War brings the same unintended consequences that a War on Guns would have. If possessing a .22 rifle was as illegal as owning a machine gun, and got you the same penalty, why wouldn't you want a machine gun instead of a .22? And if you were a gun runner, and if the penalty for smuggling a .22 was the same as for smuggling a machine gun, then you would quickly see that the same risk brings greater reward if you smuggle the machine gun instead. Drug traffickers already know this. The more potent the drug, the greater the payoff is for the risk. Thus more deadly drugs like cocaine or heroin are preferred by smugglers. Pound for pound they pay better and the risk is no greater than for smuggling marijuana. Before them, rum runners realized the same truth. Hard alcohol pays better than beer or wine for the same risk. For a gun runner, the machine gun, pound for pound, is a better investment of capital and effort than a .22 rifle. When I realized that gun prohibition would follow these economic rules, and fail because of them, I realized that drug prohibition cannot work.
It was contemplation of the gun grabbers' dream of total prohibition, and my probably reaction to it, that caused me to adopt a more libertarian attitude toward recreational narcotics. (That means "drugs", for those of you on drugs!) Miron argues that gun prohibition cannot work for the same reasons that drug prohibition, like alcohol before it, does not work. I came at the argument from the opposite direction. I realized that drug prohibition cannot work because gun prohibition would not work. How do I know that it wouldn't work? Because as a law-abiding citizen, I know that I would violate a law prohibiting gun ownership!
I will not accept disarmament. I will be armed, even if that requires me to break the law. "If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns" isn't about criminals getting guns no matter what; it's about otherwise law-abiding citizens becoming criminals for doing something they see as morally upright.
The State cannot successfully ban possession of a commodity unless the people themselves have already decided that they do not want that commodity. The people, or at least a very large portion of them, want guns. They'll get them one way or another. In the 1920s, the people wanted alcohol and they got it. Now they want narcotics. Drug prohibition is doomed to failure because too many people do not accept the idea that drugs are inherently immoral. (By the way, I am not arguing their morality one way or the other; I'm simple stating a fact.) Because the people themselves have not rejected drugs and drug use, the State will have no success banning drugs. The Drug War will be lost.
Worse than that, the Drug War brings the same unintended consequences that a War on Guns would have. If possessing a .22 rifle was as illegal as owning a machine gun, and got you the same penalty, why wouldn't you want a machine gun instead of a .22? And if you were a gun runner, and if the penalty for smuggling a .22 was the same as for smuggling a machine gun, then you would quickly see that the same risk brings greater reward if you smuggle the machine gun instead. Drug traffickers already know this. The more potent the drug, the greater the payoff is for the risk. Thus more deadly drugs like cocaine or heroin are preferred by smugglers. Pound for pound they pay better and the risk is no greater than for smuggling marijuana. Before them, rum runners realized the same truth. Hard alcohol pays better than beer or wine for the same risk. For a gun runner, the machine gun, pound for pound, is a better investment of capital and effort than a .22 rifle. When I realized that gun prohibition would follow these economic rules, and fail because of them, I realized that drug prohibition cannot work.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
From the pep rally...
Obama urges Americans to unite in tragedy's wake
And by "Unite" he means "Stop disagreeing with me you ignorant peasants!". Liberals are always so fond of unity and bipartisanship... just as long as those qualities are reached by having everyone see things their way.
And by "Unite" he means "Stop disagreeing with me you ignorant peasants!". Liberals are always so fond of unity and bipartisanship... just as long as those qualities are reached by having everyone see things their way.
Time to keg!
Pooh's Blustery Ale II is now in the keg. The starting gravity was 1.069 (I got a little carried away with the honey!) and it's dried out to 1.006. That gives us an ABV of ~8.25%. (A session beer by Falcons standards!) The color and clarity are what I wanted...
I treated the water with a bit of acid to get the pale color I wanted. (Our local water is really better suited to darker ales and stouts.) I also tossed some gelatin in a few days ago to clear it out.
I sampled it flat and it's pretty tasty. It will be better with carbonation to bring out the flavors.
I treated the water with a bit of acid to get the pale color I wanted. (Our local water is really better suited to darker ales and stouts.) I also tossed some gelatin in a few days ago to clear it out.
I sampled it flat and it's pretty tasty. It will be better with carbonation to bring out the flavors.
Monday, January 10, 2011
How predictable!
Carolyn McCarthy readies gun control bill
I can't help but think that people like McCarthy have these bills already drawn up and waiting in a file cabinet for just the right tragedy to come along.
I can't help but think that people like McCarthy have these bills already drawn up and waiting in a file cabinet for just the right tragedy to come along.
I had no idea...
Quoted without Comment - By Ramesh Ponnuru - The Corner - National Review Online
Did you know that wanting lower taxes makes you an aspiring slave owner?
Did you know that wanting lower taxes makes you an aspiring slave owner?
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
The "Old Grey Lady" is showing more signs of senility...
In Pomp, and Little Circumstance, on Capitol Hill the New York Times opines...
As to the meaning of the Constitution, I cannot recall any of the Founders suggesting that the English language would change over time. It simply did not occur to them that English is fluid over time. This concept was at the heart of Supreme Court's debate over the meaning of the 2nd Amendment during the Heller case. That court reasoned that the only interpretation possible to the Constitutional text is the original public meaning of the words. This is something that we can know. The Constitution is far from being the only document we have dating from the late 18th Century. We have plenty of examples of English usage from that period. The US Constitution is far from being a mystery to the modern reader.
In any case, it is a presumptuous and self-righteous act, suggesting that [Republicans] alone understand the true meaning of a text that the founders wisely left open to generations of reinterpretation. Certainly the Republican leadership is not trying to suggest that African-Americans still be counted as three-fifths of a person.The last point first: The NYT editorial staff seems to have forgotten that the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed by the Republican Party. The Party of Obama, on the other hand, fought tooth and nail to preserve slavery.
As to the meaning of the Constitution, I cannot recall any of the Founders suggesting that the English language would change over time. It simply did not occur to them that English is fluid over time. This concept was at the heart of Supreme Court's debate over the meaning of the 2nd Amendment during the Heller case. That court reasoned that the only interpretation possible to the Constitutional text is the original public meaning of the words. This is something that we can know. The Constitution is far from being the only document we have dating from the late 18th Century. We have plenty of examples of English usage from that period. The US Constitution is far from being a mystery to the modern reader.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year
...and happy new beer!
I just racked that Stout off to the secondary fermenter. I took a bit off with a wine thief and measured the SG. This beer isn't finished yet, but the SG is already down to ~1.013 from 1.057. I tasted a little and this should be quite good when it's finished.
I just racked that Stout off to the secondary fermenter. I took a bit off with a wine thief and measured the SG. This beer isn't finished yet, but the SG is already down to ~1.013 from 1.057. I tasted a little and this should be quite good when it's finished.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Now I'm in the mood to brew something else...
Mead, the drink of Vikings, comes out of the Dark Ages and into America
This has me thinking of brewing a cyser, but the Mrs. would probably string me up if another bubbling carboy showed up around the house.
This has me thinking of brewing a cyser, but the Mrs. would probably string me up if another bubbling carboy showed up around the house.
Chris Matthews: Why Doesn't Obama Just Release The Birth Certificate?
Chris Matthews: Why Doesn't Obama Just Release The Birth Certificate?
2 reasons come to mind. First and foremost, the Birthers are right; Obama is a foreign national here in the US illegally. Obama won't release a document that would get him sent to Gitmo. The second, and probably more likely, reason is that His Royal O-ness just can't stand the idea of people challenging him. Don't they know that he's simply beyond such pedestrian concerns? How dare this rabble question The One?!
2 reasons come to mind. First and foremost, the Birthers are right; Obama is a foreign national here in the US illegally. Obama won't release a document that would get him sent to Gitmo. The second, and probably more likely, reason is that His Royal O-ness just can't stand the idea of people challenging him. Don't they know that he's simply beyond such pedestrian concerns? How dare this rabble question The One?!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Privacy and "The Cloud"
Katherine Noyes has a round up of blogosphere responses to Richard Stallman's comments to The Guardian regarding privacy and "cloud" storage. Stallman's Cloudburst: Prudence or Paranoia? details responses from Oh-Stallman-is-overreacting-again to "He's absolutely right,". Personally, I think that the bearded, blind squirrel has found a nut.
Google's ChromeOS is the object of Stallman's ire this time. The system minimizes local storage in favor of "cloud" storage. This is OK if you want to access data from multiple machines and if you pay attention to what you're tossing out into the aether. Putting Granny's oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on "the cloud" is one thing, but your tax records are quite another.
"Cloud" storage is well known to those working in a Windows Server environment; even if they're unaware that it's happening. Do you work in an office where your "My Documents" folder is there no matter which computer you use? It's there because the folder is stored on your company's server, not on the local hard drive the way it is on your home computer. This little, local "cloud" is OK for company data because it's only available in-house. No one from outside the company can see it. (Assuming, of course, no security farts from Redmond!) However, if you've been keeping a diary of what you really think about your boss in My Documents, that file is probably visible to your boss. Do you see now how "cloud" storage can be bad?
Google's ChromeOS is the object of Stallman's ire this time. The system minimizes local storage in favor of "cloud" storage. This is OK if you want to access data from multiple machines and if you pay attention to what you're tossing out into the aether. Putting Granny's oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on "the cloud" is one thing, but your tax records are quite another.
"Cloud" storage is well known to those working in a Windows Server environment; even if they're unaware that it's happening. Do you work in an office where your "My Documents" folder is there no matter which computer you use? It's there because the folder is stored on your company's server, not on the local hard drive the way it is on your home computer. This little, local "cloud" is OK for company data because it's only available in-house. No one from outside the company can see it. (Assuming, of course, no security farts from Redmond!) However, if you've been keeping a diary of what you really think about your boss in My Documents, that file is probably visible to your boss. Do you see now how "cloud" storage can be bad?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Most vigorous fermentation ever!
That batch of the American Stout was minutes from blowing its top this evening. The bubbler had filled with yeast and had turned from bubbler to cork. It's now clean and refilled with a little Jack Daniels.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
...and a happy brew year!
It's brew day again. This time I brewed an American stout. "Ol' Curmudgeon" looks like this...
It's brew day again. This time I brewed an American stout. "Ol' Curmudgeon" looks like this...
Ingredients:This was pitched onto the yeast cake from "Pooh II". Pooh II, by the way, looks like an improvement over the last batch. I was able to maintain much better temperature control this time. (Despite a few 80° days!) It also looks closer to the color I had in mind. This stout, on the other hand, will be as black as the ace of spades.
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.82 %
0.75 lb Roasted Barley (700.0 SRM) Grain 5.46 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3.64 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.64 %
0.50 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.64 %
0.25 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.82 %
1.00 oz Warrior [17.20 %] (60 min) Hops 53.2 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [10.60 %] (30 min) Hops 12.6 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.40 %] (30 min) Hops 8.8 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [7.40 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Chinook [10.60 %] (0 min) Hops -
8.00 gm Baking Soda (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
14.00 gm Chalk (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
8.50 gal Los Angeles, CA (West) Water
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) [StartYeast-Ale]
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
It's Brew Night again
It's cooled off here in So. Cal. so it's time to brew. I've been putting this off for weeks now. Every time I think of brewing, it's gotten hot this fall. Now I think that it's finally winter. (I really need to invest in a 'fridge; however, She Who Must Be Obeyed frowns upon the notion.)
Tonight's brew is an improved version of Pooh's Blustery Ale. I am tweaking the recipe with Simcoe and Amarillo instead of using just Chinook. I wanted more of a citrusy (Is that a word?) character. I've also added a little lactic acid to the water for a light color. If I've done this right, the SRM color should be ~5...
Which looks more Pooh-ish to me. My last two shots at this recipe were darker than I wanted. I also messed up the water salts. I'm using a spreadsheet from John Palmer this time to set the amounts as well as the acid amount.
The grain bill is unchanged. The hops are now ½ oz. of Chinook for 75min., ½ oz. of Simcoe for 30min., and 1 oz. of Amarillo at knock out. I've also bumped up the honey to 1¼ pounds.
Tonight's brew is an improved version of Pooh's Blustery Ale. I am tweaking the recipe with Simcoe and Amarillo instead of using just Chinook. I wanted more of a citrusy (Is that a word?) character. I've also added a little lactic acid to the water for a light color. If I've done this right, the SRM color should be ~5...
Which looks more Pooh-ish to me. My last two shots at this recipe were darker than I wanted. I also messed up the water salts. I'm using a spreadsheet from John Palmer this time to set the amounts as well as the acid amount.
The grain bill is unchanged. The hops are now ½ oz. of Chinook for 75min., ½ oz. of Simcoe for 30min., and 1 oz. of Amarillo at knock out. I've also bumped up the honey to 1¼ pounds.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Space Madness!!!
The Mystery Missile, which was really a jet's contrail, was caught by a weather satellite...
The "missile" was really an eastbound flight coming up over the horizon toward observers in the L.A. area. The blue arrow above shows the contrail. Note that it is fatter on its west end and narrower the further east it goes. Obviously, the source of the trail is moving from west to east, not east to west as some missile maniacs would have you believe.
In this view...
You can see far more twisting and distortion at the "base" of the "plume" than would be seen from a missile. The trail at the bottom of the image could not have been left seconds earlier, as would be the case for a rocket motor. It was laid down minutes earlier and upper level winds have had time to blow it around. We see this with jet contrails, not rocket motor exhaust. Also, the "plume" never got out of the reddened light of the sunset. Missile plumes get bluer as the rocket gets out of the light of the sunset.
The "missile" was really an eastbound flight coming up over the horizon toward observers in the L.A. area. The blue arrow above shows the contrail. Note that it is fatter on its west end and narrower the further east it goes. Obviously, the source of the trail is moving from west to east, not east to west as some missile maniacs would have you believe.
In this view...
You can see far more twisting and distortion at the "base" of the "plume" than would be seen from a missile. The trail at the bottom of the image could not have been left seconds earlier, as would be the case for a rocket motor. It was laid down minutes earlier and upper level winds have had time to blow it around. We see this with jet contrails, not rocket motor exhaust. Also, the "plume" never got out of the reddened light of the sunset. Missile plumes get bluer as the rocket gets out of the light of the sunset.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
It gets worse for Democrats
The Washington Post reports that, as a result of the Party's strong performance in State legislative contests, the GOP can draw nearly half of new House districts. The 2010 census numbers translate into new Congressional district boundaries next year, after new legislatures have been seated. The GOP dominates far more State legislatures and Governorships than ever before. Making things worse is the passage of Prop. 20 here in CA. This proposition takes the redistricting process out of the hands of the Democrat dominated legislature and puts a non-partisan commission in charge. The Dems won't be able to Gerrymander districts like they did in 2001.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Reid won, but who lost?
Fox News is projecting that Harry Reid has beaten Sharron Angle in Nevada. But who's the real loser? Why none other than Chuckles Schumer! I'm sure that Chuckles was measuring Reid's office for new drapes, but those plans may be dashed. Also dashed are any hopes Chuckles had for advancing new anti-gun laws as Senate Majority Leader.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Redcloak's California Voter Guide - Senate
U.S. Senate: Carly Fiorina
What can one say about Barbara Boxer's long term of service in the Senate? Pretty much nothing. She's kept the dust bunnies off of her chair, but that's about it. She's been a big nothing; a waste of space; a zero.
What can one say about Barbara Boxer's long term of service in the Senate? Pretty much nothing. She's kept the dust bunnies off of her chair, but that's about it. She's been a big nothing; a waste of space; a zero.
Redcloak's California Voter Guide - Statewide offices
Governor: Meg Whitman
I'm old enough to remember Jerry Brown's first turn at the wheel... Never again!
Lieutenant Governor: Gavin Newsom
No, I haven't been smoking crack. Abel Maldonado is a whore. He's one of a handful of Republicans who helped to pass the largest tax increase in American history. While the rest of the GOP in Sacramento stood firm against the tax increase, Maldonado sold us out. (If you just can't bring yourself to vote for "Any Threesome" Newsom, vote for the Libertarian candidate, Pamela Brown.)
Secretary of State: Damon Dunn
Controller: Tony Strickland
Treasurer: Mimi Walters
Attorney General: Steve Cooley
Kamala Harris is an anti-gun wingnut. Cooley isn't all that friendly to gun owners, but he isn't openly hostile.
Insurance Commissioner: Dave Jones
As with Abel Maldonado, Mike Villines is a whore. He's another Republican turncoat who voted for the largest tax increase in US history. (And if you can't stomach voting for a Democrat, vote for Libertarian Richard Bronstein.)
I'm old enough to remember Jerry Brown's first turn at the wheel... Never again!
Lieutenant Governor: Gavin Newsom
No, I haven't been smoking crack. Abel Maldonado is a whore. He's one of a handful of Republicans who helped to pass the largest tax increase in American history. While the rest of the GOP in Sacramento stood firm against the tax increase, Maldonado sold us out. (If you just can't bring yourself to vote for "Any Threesome" Newsom, vote for the Libertarian candidate, Pamela Brown.)
Secretary of State: Damon Dunn
Controller: Tony Strickland
Treasurer: Mimi Walters
Attorney General: Steve Cooley
Kamala Harris is an anti-gun wingnut. Cooley isn't all that friendly to gun owners, but he isn't openly hostile.
Insurance Commissioner: Dave Jones
As with Abel Maldonado, Mike Villines is a whore. He's another Republican turncoat who voted for the largest tax increase in US history. (And if you can't stomach voting for a Democrat, vote for Libertarian Richard Bronstein.)
Redcloak's California Voter Guide - The Propositions
OK... So it's been a while. I hope, however, that you will find this worth the wait.
Some of these are no-brainers and some will require some explanation. But first, a few general rules...
19 "Legalize it!" YES
Your opinion of recreational drug use isn't what's at question here. The real question is whether or not the State should continue to participate in the Nation's failed drug war; but only with regard to marijuana.
The Drug War is a failure, pure and simple, and we all suffer as a result. Do you feel safer having to obtain permission to purchase decongestants? How many times have you read of botched drug raids that ended in the deaths of innocent, law abiding citizens? And what have we gained by surrendering our freedoms and safety? Nothing. Drug use continues unabated. Let's at least get the State out of the marijuana prohibition business.
20 Redistricting YES
You simply cannot trust elected officials to draw their own district boundaries. This has never been true in the American experience. The 200-year old term "Gerrymandering" is taken from the name of a politician, Elbridge Gerry. Today, some California Congressional districts make for stranger beasts than any Gerry may have envisioned.
21 Save the parks or Bambi, or some such line of bull crap NO
It's a tax increase. See rule 1 above.
22 Prevent raiding of local funds by Sacramento YES
This is kinda like a rule 2 situation. Keeping Sacramento's dirty fingers out of the cookie jar is a good thing.
23 Suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Suicide Pact. YES!!
This is the most important proposition on the ballot and a no-brainer. Religious fanatics in Sacramento expect the rest of us to present ourselves a sacrifices to their goddess Gaia. AB 32 would crush the State's economy. It kills jobs. It hurts people. And for what? The myth of Man-made Global Warming. While it would be better to repeal AB 32 altogether, at least this gets the razor a little further from our wrists.
24 Increase taxes on businesses NO
See rule 1 or rule 2 above. Sacramento, in an inexplicable fit of sensibility, cut taxes for some businesses in the State, helping to save or create jobs. The public employee unions want those taxes reinstated. Call it saving a tax cut or preventing a tax increase, but the effect is the same. By keeping your boss from getting screwed, you save your own job.
25 "Balanced" budgets NO
The flaw with this proposition is that it makes it easier for the whores in Sacramento to spend our money. It now takes a 2/3 majority to pass a budget. The whores love to pork up the budget with all manner of give-aways to their whore-mongering friends in the public employee unions and other special interests. When they try this, it becomes harder to get 2/3 of their members to go along. Getting 1/2 to bend over is a much easier task.
26 2/3 vote to raise "fees" YES
"Fee" increases are the latest way the whores in Sacramento have of sneaking around Prop. 13's 2/3 vote requirement to raise taxes.
27 Let the whores in Sacramento draw their own district boundaries NO
Does this really require an explanation? See Prop. 20 above.
Some of these are no-brainers and some will require some explanation. But first, a few general rules...
- Rule 1: A tax increase or bond measure, no matter its supposed purpose, gets a NO vote. We're all taxed more than enough and the State already has plenty of our money to wallow in. Two corollaries to this: Anything that makes it harder for the whores in Sacramento raise our taxes gets a YES vote. Anything that makes it easier to raise our taxes gets a NO vote.
- Rule 2: Any tax cut, no matter who benefits, gets a YES vote. Taking money away from the whores in Sacramento is a good thing, even if your tax liability doesn't change.
19 "Legalize it!" YES
Your opinion of recreational drug use isn't what's at question here. The real question is whether or not the State should continue to participate in the Nation's failed drug war; but only with regard to marijuana.
The Drug War is a failure, pure and simple, and we all suffer as a result. Do you feel safer having to obtain permission to purchase decongestants? How many times have you read of botched drug raids that ended in the deaths of innocent, law abiding citizens? And what have we gained by surrendering our freedoms and safety? Nothing. Drug use continues unabated. Let's at least get the State out of the marijuana prohibition business.
20 Redistricting YES
You simply cannot trust elected officials to draw their own district boundaries. This has never been true in the American experience. The 200-year old term "Gerrymandering" is taken from the name of a politician, Elbridge Gerry. Today, some California Congressional districts make for stranger beasts than any Gerry may have envisioned.
21 Save the parks or Bambi, or some such line of bull crap NO
It's a tax increase. See rule 1 above.
22 Prevent raiding of local funds by Sacramento YES
This is kinda like a rule 2 situation. Keeping Sacramento's dirty fingers out of the cookie jar is a good thing.
23 Suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Suicide Pact. YES!!
This is the most important proposition on the ballot and a no-brainer. Religious fanatics in Sacramento expect the rest of us to present ourselves a sacrifices to their goddess Gaia. AB 32 would crush the State's economy. It kills jobs. It hurts people. And for what? The myth of Man-made Global Warming. While it would be better to repeal AB 32 altogether, at least this gets the razor a little further from our wrists.
24 Increase taxes on businesses NO
See rule 1 or rule 2 above. Sacramento, in an inexplicable fit of sensibility, cut taxes for some businesses in the State, helping to save or create jobs. The public employee unions want those taxes reinstated. Call it saving a tax cut or preventing a tax increase, but the effect is the same. By keeping your boss from getting screwed, you save your own job.
25 "Balanced" budgets NO
The flaw with this proposition is that it makes it easier for the whores in Sacramento to spend our money. It now takes a 2/3 majority to pass a budget. The whores love to pork up the budget with all manner of give-aways to their whore-mongering friends in the public employee unions and other special interests. When they try this, it becomes harder to get 2/3 of their members to go along. Getting 1/2 to bend over is a much easier task.
26 2/3 vote to raise "fees" YES
"Fee" increases are the latest way the whores in Sacramento have of sneaking around Prop. 13's 2/3 vote requirement to raise taxes.
27 Let the whores in Sacramento draw their own district boundaries NO
Does this really require an explanation? See Prop. 20 above.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Useless but hysterical...
I just noticed that YouTube has added a new control to their viewer. There's now a little soccer ball on the control panel. Click it and you get droning vuvulzelas added to the video's soundtrack.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Copycats!
Per existing California law...
834b. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.So it looks like Arizona was merely copying their trend-setting neighbor to the west. What's next Gov. Brewer? A bill to change the Suns' colors to purple and gold?
(b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the following:
(1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status.
(2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or leave the United States.
(3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal status and provide any additional information that may be requested by any other public entity.
(c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city, county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly prohibited.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
It's official... I quit
...quit the GOP that is.
I'm looking at this sorry crop of candidates we get to choose from here in California and I decided that I don't want to be part of the aforementioned "we". They're a bunch of RINOs all claiming to be the most conservative candidate in the room. Whitman is Aaaahnold in drag. Poizner? I didn't even know that he was a Republican until a few weeks ago. I kid you not: I thought that he was a Democrat! Would a "conservative" give money to John Kerry and Algore?!? Fiorina? Didn't she support Barbara Boxer last time around?
In Sacramento, the biggest tax increase in US history passed because a Republican governor and a few GOP turncoats in the legislature wanted it. Now that governor wants one of these tax hiking stooges as the new lt. governor.
So that's it... No more.
I've been a Republican since I turned 18. Back then, the word "Republican" had a face...
Where did that party go? Where is that GOP now?! Reagan was once a Democrat. He said that he didn't quit the party, the party quit him.
So, perhaps I didn't quit after all...
I'm looking at this sorry crop of candidates we get to choose from here in California and I decided that I don't want to be part of the aforementioned "we". They're a bunch of RINOs all claiming to be the most conservative candidate in the room. Whitman is Aaaahnold in drag. Poizner? I didn't even know that he was a Republican until a few weeks ago. I kid you not: I thought that he was a Democrat! Would a "conservative" give money to John Kerry and Algore?!? Fiorina? Didn't she support Barbara Boxer last time around?
In Sacramento, the biggest tax increase in US history passed because a Republican governor and a few GOP turncoats in the legislature wanted it. Now that governor wants one of these tax hiking stooges as the new lt. governor.
So that's it... No more.
I've been a Republican since I turned 18. Back then, the word "Republican" had a face...
Where did that party go? Where is that GOP now?! Reagan was once a Democrat. He said that he didn't quit the party, the party quit him.
So, perhaps I didn't quit after all...
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Brother, can you spare a dime...
Perhaps Obama can part with a little BP Bling to help clean up his mess in the Gulf of Mexico.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Algore's new digs
HotAirPundit reports on Algore's new digs. It seems that St. Al the Warm has entered the California real estate market in a big way... a $9,000,000 way. Nearby Santa Barbara has a very nice airport that should be more than adequate for Al's private jet.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
That strong ale...
...got stronger!
The latest batch of my strong ale tips the scales at 8.5% ABV. It's still hoppy and sweet; a good balance.
The latest batch of my strong ale tips the scales at 8.5% ABV. It's still hoppy and sweet; a good balance.
Upgrading to Lucid Lynx
I've been using Kubuntu for quite a while now. The latest long term support release is 10.04, Lucid Lynx. I just let the automagical update do its thing and updated my box. It went without a hitch, for the most part. I did have one small problem with Thunderbird, however.
When I tried to start Thunderbird, I got an error saying that "Thunderbird is already running...". Of course, it wasn't. The problem seems to be when the update process tries to set up a new profile rather than using an old one. The old profile gets stored as /.thunderbird.upstream. A new /thunderbird sub-directory is made, but the profile.ini file in mine referred to the old profile that now resides in /.thunderbird.upstream. The problem was fixed by copying the old profile directory into the new /.thunderbird directory.
This is the only glitch I've had thus far.
By the way, I really like what I'm seeing in the latest T-bird.
When I tried to start Thunderbird, I got an error saying that "Thunderbird is already running...". Of course, it wasn't. The problem seems to be when the update process tries to set up a new profile rather than using an old one. The old profile gets stored as /.thunderbird.upstream. A new /thunderbird sub-directory is made, but the profile.ini file in mine referred to the old profile that now resides in /.thunderbird.upstream. The problem was fixed by copying the old profile directory into the new /.thunderbird directory.
This is the only glitch I've had thus far.
By the way, I really like what I'm seeing in the latest T-bird.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
You know...
...this used to be a political blog.
Perhaps the beer is a manifestation of my libertarian streak!
Perhaps the beer is a manifestation of my libertarian streak!
Taste test
OK... The Pooh's Blustery Ale has been kegged and under CO2 for 4 days. It's pretty good! I'm trying it out a little too warm, but the flavor's very good. More malt-forward than my previous beers; ~45 IBUs. It still has a lot of residual sweetness despite fermenting out to 1.005 (O.G. was 1.056.) Some honey bite to it as well and the color is where I wanted it; Pooh-bear colored.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Two beers in secondary
I've never had this before: Two beers in secondary fermentation...
On the left is the Pooh's Blustery Ale and on the right is the Strong American Ale
There's just under 5 gallons here...
...and roughly 6 here!
I'm gonna need another keg!
On the left is the Pooh's Blustery Ale and on the right is the Strong American Ale
There's just under 5 gallons here...
...and roughly 6 here!
I'm gonna need another keg!
Friday, March 19, 2010
I like this...
I pitched that AB clone onto the yeast cake from the Blustery Ale and it's taking off like a rocket! I pitched it about 45 minutes ago and the airlock's already bubbling. Another plus, I only end up cleaning the primary fermentor half as often this way. Ditto for the secondary.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Another brew night!
Pooh's Blustery Ale has been racked off to the secondary and now a second batch of that AB clone, in this case "A Modest Strong Ale", is bubbling away on the stove. The Blustery Ale does smell like honey, so that little twist seems to have worked.
The dogs really love it when I brew beer. My wife takes the spent grain and make dog biscuits with it.
The dogs really love it when I brew beer. My wife takes the spent grain and make dog biscuits with it.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Pooh's Blustery Ale
Odd how the mind wanders about some days...
So today's recipe started out as an excuse to grow some more Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast. However, I also got a hanckering to make a pale ale. Thus far I've been making darker beers; nothing really appropriate for summer. So I decided to make an American Pale Ale with a twist. I decided to add some honey for a bit of spice and aroma. This is a recipe that's come straight outta my own oddyknocky. If it doesn't pan out, I have no one to blame but myself!
So today's brew day and I wake up to the sound of the wind blowing. What goes thought my mind? The phrase "Blustery day"; an occupational hazard of being a parent I suppose. So what comes next? Well, it's a blustery day and I'm making a golden bear colored yellow ale with honey in it. This must be "Pooh's Blustery Ale".
From Beersmith...
I've been writing this as I go. The software predicted the mash temperatures very closely. I like this program. I've been trying out Promash, but I think that I like Beersmith better. For those of you using Linux, Beersmith, like Promash, runs well under Wine.
An addendum: Beersmith also nailed the estimated starting gravity. The estimate was 1.057; I measured 1.056. I can't be sure with all of the foam kicked up in the fermentor, but it also looks like the program nailed the post-boil volume as well.
"If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee."OK... So I really like that strong American ale I made about a month ago. I want to make another batch, but part of the "secret sauce" is the ginormous starter I pitched the beer onto. Last time, I used an unhopped wort from DME to make a big starter. I racked off the resulting unhopped beer and I set aside about a gallon in a vented jar. I poured a little vinegar with live acetobacter in it and now it's turning into malt vinegar. I don't need another gallon of the stuff, so why not make an actual beer instead?!
Then he thought another long time, and said: "And the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey."
And then he got up, and said: "And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it." So he began to climb the tree.
So today's recipe started out as an excuse to grow some more Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast. However, I also got a hanckering to make a pale ale. Thus far I've been making darker beers; nothing really appropriate for summer. So I decided to make an American Pale Ale with a twist. I decided to add some honey for a bit of spice and aroma. This is a recipe that's come straight outta my own oddyknocky. If it doesn't pan out, I have no one to blame but myself!
So today's brew day and I wake up to the sound of the wind blowing. What goes thought my mind? The phrase "Blustery day"; an occupational hazard of being a parent I suppose. So what comes next? Well, it's a blustery day and I'm making a golden bear colored yellow ale with honey in it. This must be "Pooh's Blustery Ale".
From Beersmith...
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 5.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 78.05 %
0.75 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 7.32 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.88 %
0.75 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 35.4 IBU
0.25 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
0.25 oz Willamette [5.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 lb Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9.76 %
(Added at the end of the boil)
1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) Yeast-Ale
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.25 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 11.56 qt of water at 164.9 F 150.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 7.40 qt of water at 201.6 F 168.0 F
I've been writing this as I go. The software predicted the mash temperatures very closely. I like this program. I've been trying out Promash, but I think that I like Beersmith better. For those of you using Linux, Beersmith, like Promash, runs well under Wine.
An addendum: Beersmith also nailed the estimated starting gravity. The estimate was 1.057; I measured 1.056. I can't be sure with all of the foam kicked up in the fermentor, but it also looks like the program nailed the post-boil volume as well.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Wow... That keg's almost empty!
I didn't think that I could go through that much beer so quickly!
I just bottled some of that AB clone using a homemade beer gun; about 2½ 6-packs worth. I picked up the keg and it almost flew out of my hands. I guess it's time to make more!
The beer was well received at last Sunday's meeting of the Maltose Falcons. I used Wyeast 1272 American Ale II which doesn't attenuate as much as the dry English ale yeasts that most people seem to use for a beer like this. I ended up with a beer with more residual sweetness that played well with the hoppiness of all that Chinook.
Have I mentioned how cool this is having beer on tap? OK... I may have.
I just bottled some of that AB clone using a homemade beer gun; about 2½ 6-packs worth. I picked up the keg and it almost flew out of my hands. I guess it's time to make more!
The beer was well received at last Sunday's meeting of the Maltose Falcons. I used Wyeast 1272 American Ale II which doesn't attenuate as much as the dry English ale yeasts that most people seem to use for a beer like this. I ended up with a beer with more residual sweetness that played well with the hoppiness of all that Chinook.
Have I mentioned how cool this is having beer on tap? OK... I may have.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Beer on tap...
OK... It's only been 24 20 hours, but I really like the way that beer turned out. And did I mention how cool this is having beer on tap?
Friday, March 05, 2010
Kegging time
And by that title, you ought to be able to guess that I took the plunge and bought kegging gear.
I took that AB(-ish) clone and racked it off into the keg. There's roughly 4.5 gallons. I'm playing a trick that I read about to speed things up a bit. I've got the keg on its side and I'm shacking it until it stops loudly taking gas. This exposes more of the beer's surface area to the gas and speeds up absorption. The ideal keg, from a carbonation standpoint, would be one that's very broad and shallow such that a thin film of beer would cover the bottom. In that case, all of the beer would be exposed to the gas. In a real keg, however, the beer at the bottom of the keg is, in essence, protected from the gas by what's on top.
Have I ever mentioned that I'm an engineer?
If I do this right, the beer should be ready to go by Sunday.
I took that AB(-ish) clone and racked it off into the keg. There's roughly 4.5 gallons. I'm playing a trick that I read about to speed things up a bit. I've got the keg on its side and I'm shacking it until it stops loudly taking gas. This exposes more of the beer's surface area to the gas and speeds up absorption. The ideal keg, from a carbonation standpoint, would be one that's very broad and shallow such that a thin film of beer would cover the bottom. In that case, all of the beer would be exposed to the gas. In a real keg, however, the beer at the bottom of the keg is, in essence, protected from the gas by what's on top.
Have I ever mentioned that I'm an engineer?
If I do this right, the beer should be ready to go by Sunday.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mmmmm... Beer.
That AB clone is turning out nice. I just transfered it to the secondary. The ABV is ~7%, the color is good, and the balance of hops and sweetness is good...
I know... AB isn't really an all-Chinook recipe. But I had a freezer full of the little lovelies from my over achieving plant.
I know... AB isn't really an all-Chinook recipe. But I had a freezer full of the little lovelies from my over achieving plant.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
And now, let's get back to the beer
Enough mocking the Church of Warmingtology... Let's talk about beer! (OK... so the COW will have a cow over my CO2 footprint, but that can't be helped.)
After way too long a pause, I've started another batch of homebrew. This time I'm going for an American Strong Ale (an Arrogant Bastard clone). Tonight, I got the yeast started and I plan to pitch the brew onto that yeast cake this weekend. I brewed up a gallon and a half of unhopped wort to get the wee yeasties going. After I rack off the liquid, I may try my hand at making a malt vinegar. The recipe I'm using is...
After way too long a pause, I've started another batch of homebrew. This time I'm going for an American Strong Ale (an Arrogant Bastard clone). Tonight, I got the yeast started and I plan to pitch the brew onto that yeast cake this weekend. I brewed up a gallon and a half of unhopped wort to get the wee yeasties going. After I rack off the liquid, I may try my hand at making a malt vinegar. The recipe I'm using is...
- Grain
- 12 lb. two-row malt
- 1.25 lb. Crystal (120L)
- .75 lb DME (I added this when the SG didn't end up as high as I wanted)
- Hops
- 1.5 Oz. Chinook (whole), 60 min.
- 1.0 Oz. Chinook (whole), 30 min.
- 1.0 Oz. Chinook (whole), flame out (I added a wee bit more that was left in the bag.)
- Irish moss at 15 min.
EPIC FAIL!
This week, the gurus of glorrible warming were forced to cancel a hearing before a U.S. Senate committee due to "inclement weather"...
(Yes, I bolded that last part.)
UPDATE: The following Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearings have been postponed due to inclement weather this week:
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, will hold a hearing entitled, "Collaborative Solutions to Wildlife and Habitat Management."
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing entitled, "Global Warming Impacts, Including Public Health, in the United States."
(Yes, I bolded that last part.)
Saturday, February 06, 2010
This makes no sense...
Sure, the Dems have wished for decades to impose universal health care. Each of them since Franklin Roosevelt has recognized that they'd have every American by the short and curlies if they could just pull this off. Obama is no different. He says that he's not giving up on health reform; even after the drubbings the Party has taken in elections where Republicans made health care an, or the, issue. One would think that at some point they'd realize that this is a suicide mission. I guess not.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
I really ought to update this more often...
No, I haven't forgotten the password or something stupid like that. I've just been lazy.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Why do we "cling" to our guns?
So what is it that motivates us clingy gun owners? Why the obsession with guns? This clip from Iran (Be forewarned: This is extremely graphic and disturbing. Do not click the link if you are easily offended.) shows what happens when the government holds a monopoly on violence.
Across Iran, the people have been protesting an obviously fraudulent election. Government thugs, the Basij, have felt free to employ whatever violence they please to put down this growing insurrection. This includes firing on unarmed civilians, such as poor Neda. Reports say that she and her father weren't even involved in the protests, but were merely observing from some distance when she was shot by a sniper. Neda, whose name means "voice" in Farsi, was silenced by her own government.
There are those who will say that "this can never happen here". No, it can't. But why can't it happen here? It can't happen here because our government doesn't hold a monopoly on violence or the means by which one can do violence. More importantly, it knows this and has known it for over 200 years. No American leader would even think of suppressing protests the way that a foreign dictator would. The dictator knows that his subjects are unarmed and can be beaten down in whatever fashion pleases him. In the US, any politician aspiring to similar oppression knows from the start that we aren't unarmed subjects; we're armed citizens. He knows that against even a fraction of the nation's 100,000,000 gun owners, he doesn't stand a chance; thus he wouldn't even try.
Hence the obsession.
But this can change. Gun owners won a major victory in Heller, however that victory can be lost through apathy. If we allow our rights to slip away a little at a time, there may come a time when an American father will have to watch his 16-year old daughter die before his eyes; unable to defend her, fight back, or do anymore than wail in grief for his Neda.
Across Iran, the people have been protesting an obviously fraudulent election. Government thugs, the Basij, have felt free to employ whatever violence they please to put down this growing insurrection. This includes firing on unarmed civilians, such as poor Neda. Reports say that she and her father weren't even involved in the protests, but were merely observing from some distance when she was shot by a sniper. Neda, whose name means "voice" in Farsi, was silenced by her own government.
There are those who will say that "this can never happen here". No, it can't. But why can't it happen here? It can't happen here because our government doesn't hold a monopoly on violence or the means by which one can do violence. More importantly, it knows this and has known it for over 200 years. No American leader would even think of suppressing protests the way that a foreign dictator would. The dictator knows that his subjects are unarmed and can be beaten down in whatever fashion pleases him. In the US, any politician aspiring to similar oppression knows from the start that we aren't unarmed subjects; we're armed citizens. He knows that against even a fraction of the nation's 100,000,000 gun owners, he doesn't stand a chance; thus he wouldn't even try.
Hence the obsession.
But this can change. Gun owners won a major victory in Heller, however that victory can be lost through apathy. If we allow our rights to slip away a little at a time, there may come a time when an American father will have to watch his 16-year old daughter die before his eyes; unable to defend her, fight back, or do anymore than wail in grief for his Neda.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Speaking of beer...
My hops plants have sprouted. The Willamette in the front yard is really a happy camper this year. It's already putting out bines and it's begun looking for places to climb. The Chinook in the back yard has just come up. Pics to follow.
It's either a tribute to my patience...
...or my laziness.
Remember this batch? I brewed it on New Year's Day. Well... I finally got around to bottling it.
Remember this batch? I brewed it on New Year's Day. Well... I finally got around to bottling it.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Crude analogies come to mind...
...about doing something "just a little", but I'll pass.
Kevin Yamamura, Steve Wiegand and Jim Sanders of the Sacramento Bee characterized the Democrats' planned $14,300,000,000 worth of tax hikes in the current budget scheme as "temporary". There is no such thing as a temporary tax increase. Do you remember the Spanish-American War Tax? That was supposed to be temporary too. It's like a frickin' zombie! It keeps coming back!!
Kevin Yamamura, Steve Wiegand and Jim Sanders of the Sacramento Bee characterized the Democrats' planned $14,300,000,000 worth of tax hikes in the current budget scheme as "temporary". There is no such thing as a temporary tax increase. Do you remember the Spanish-American War Tax? That was supposed to be temporary too. It's like a frickin' zombie! It keeps coming back!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
America held hostage: Day 1
His Obammyness hasn't even been in his new crib for 24 hours and the market's taken a big crap. Off 332.13 on Obammyday.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Once more, with feeling
Yup... That last batch went down the drain. I was nothing but brownish-red hoppy water.
So upward and onward!
Or... Bash my head against that wall one more time!
I prefer to be optimistic. I started a new all-grain batch on New Year's Day. This is an Irish Red Ale; this one again, but all-grain instead.
More later.
OK... It's later. (i.e. 24 is over.)
This time I was a lot pickier about the OG of the wort before I sealed things up in the fermenter. The last all-grain attempt gave my an OG of only 1.036 or so. A nice finishing gravity, perhaps, but not a good place to start! This time I was still a little light, but 1.045ish isn't bad. I just racked to the secondary and the SG was 1.008ish. The finishing gravity should have been 1.011 or so, but this should be fine. A little light, but still drinkable. A nice "session" beer.
(Of course, the question really is: Why aren't I getting more efficiency? I think that I'm simply not using enough grain and not giving it enough time in the tun. Easy problems to fix.)
So upward and onward!
Or... Bash my head against that wall one more time!
I prefer to be optimistic. I started a new all-grain batch on New Year's Day. This is an Irish Red Ale; this one again, but all-grain instead.
More later.
OK... It's later. (i.e. 24 is over.)
This time I was a lot pickier about the OG of the wort before I sealed things up in the fermenter. The last all-grain attempt gave my an OG of only 1.036 or so. A nice finishing gravity, perhaps, but not a good place to start! This time I was still a little light, but 1.045ish isn't bad. I just racked to the secondary and the SG was 1.008ish. The finishing gravity should have been 1.011 or so, but this should be fine. A little light, but still drinkable. A nice "session" beer.
(Of course, the question really is: Why aren't I getting more efficiency? I think that I'm simply not using enough grain and not giving it enough time in the tun. Easy problems to fix.)
Saturday, August 09, 2008
I guess you call this the learning curve
I'm not too happy with this first all-grain batch. I think that I messed up the sparge. The OG was wa-a-a-ay too low. I just racked off to the secondary and measured the SG. Again, way too low. I took a sip and it's pretty watery. It's going to sit in the secondary for several weeks. (It will be that long until I can do anything with it.) We'll see... Maybe it will make a nice light beer.
(Of course the beauty of home brewing is that it's pretty cheap. I won't be out much at all if this goes down the drain.)
(Of course the beauty of home brewing is that it's pretty cheap. I won't be out much at all if this goes down the drain.)
Sunday, August 03, 2008
OK... Time to try an all-grain brew
I'm trying an all grain recipe for the first time. This is an ale called "Raucous Red".
I've been slowly building up the stuff I need for a mash tun. I've got an Igloo water cooler and I've replaced the valve with a 1/2" ball valve. Inside, I've made a screen from the steel braid off of a 1" water line. The resulting loop looks like it covers the correct amount of the cooler's diameter. Not too close to the walls and not too far away. (I'll post pics later.) I also got a wort chiller today. It's an early birthday present from my lovely wife.
Another 45 minutes and it's time to sparge!
I've been slowly building up the stuff I need for a mash tun. I've got an Igloo water cooler and I've replaced the valve with a 1/2" ball valve. Inside, I've made a screen from the steel braid off of a 1" water line. The resulting loop looks like it covers the correct amount of the cooler's diameter. Not too close to the walls and not too far away. (I'll post pics later.) I also got a wort chiller today. It's an early birthday present from my lovely wife.
Another 45 minutes and it's time to sparge!
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Keep an eye on your mivonks, Barak!
I dunno... There's just something about the look in Jesse's eye in this pic...
...that ought to have Barak Obama checking his shorts now and then. I mean there's "change" and then there's "change"!
...that ought to have Barak Obama checking his shorts now and then. I mean there's "change" and then there's "change"!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Webhosting update
It only took a about 5 days, but the host finally got back to me. They still won't 'fess up to a security breach. Their advice was a "stronger" password. Given that the old password was about 12 characters long and made up of several words run together, I don't think that password strength was an issue. I still think they got rooted.
It's been a week and a half...
I just put a sample bottle of the Irish Red Ale in the 'fridge to chill. I'll sample it tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I'm getting ticked at my Webhost
No, not the host for this page. Blogspot does a just plain ducky job of hosting blogs. I'm talking about a service I pay real, cashy money for to host a few sites.
The service, which will remain nameless for the time being, seems to have some "issues" with security patches. Google, the fine folks who run the fine site hosting this blog, flagged two of my sites last week as hosting malware. The "malware" was code injected by the host itself as part of a system upgrade. It didn't do anything more than tell them that the files were in the right place on their system. But, since that upgrade was finished a while ago, I decided that the code wasn't really needed anymore. So, to keep the Googlistas happy, I deleted the script. And sure enough, the Googlistas were indeed happy. The sites got a clean bill of health.
...Until today.
The "clean" sites suddenly sprouted real malware. (A virus/worm AVG identifies as Framer.Z) Now, the first thing one ought to suspect is a weak password; but, that wasn't the case here. We were using a nice, strong password on the site. A little Googling turned up several other customers of the unnamed host complaining about virus injections on their sites. Those same complaints pointed to a spotty job of patching their server software. Guys, if you're reading this and something seems familiar, you've got a week until this 5+ year customer wanders off of the reservation and stops recommending your to his clients.
Yeah, it's a Linux system and yeah, to those in the Windows World, Linux seems like rocket science; but really, it's not rocket science. You can patch a Linux system without having to reboot and without any downtime. There's no excuse for allowing someone to run around on your server adding scripts to everything named "index".
I'm waiting for a decent excuse from them as to how their system got rooted and how it will never happen again. Until then, however, I'm browsing the vast multitude of web hosting review sites out there.
The service, which will remain nameless for the time being, seems to have some "issues" with security patches. Google, the fine folks who run the fine site hosting this blog, flagged two of my sites last week as hosting malware. The "malware" was code injected by the host itself as part of a system upgrade. It didn't do anything more than tell them that the files were in the right place on their system. But, since that upgrade was finished a while ago, I decided that the code wasn't really needed anymore. So, to keep the Googlistas happy, I deleted the script. And sure enough, the Googlistas were indeed happy. The sites got a clean bill of health.
...Until today.
The "clean" sites suddenly sprouted real malware. (A virus/worm AVG identifies as Framer.Z) Now, the first thing one ought to suspect is a weak password; but, that wasn't the case here. We were using a nice, strong password on the site. A little Googling turned up several other customers of the unnamed host complaining about virus injections on their sites. Those same complaints pointed to a spotty job of patching their server software. Guys, if you're reading this and something seems familiar, you've got a week until this 5+ year customer wanders off of the reservation and stops recommending your to his clients.
Yeah, it's a Linux system and yeah, to those in the Windows World, Linux seems like rocket science; but really, it's not rocket science. You can patch a Linux system without having to reboot and without any downtime. There's no excuse for allowing someone to run around on your server adding scripts to everything named "index".
I'm waiting for a decent excuse from them as to how their system got rooted and how it will never happen again. Until then, however, I'm browsing the vast multitude of web hosting review sites out there.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Time to bottle!
The somewhat Irish Reddish Ale is ready to bottle. I yielded 44 bottles, including one pint flip-top bottle.
And heeeeeere they are...
(Cue the music!)
And heeeeeere they are...
(Cue the music!)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Something's fishy...
Hmmm... Something doesn't add up. Pakistan is complaining after a US strike killed 11 Pakistani soldiers:
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has condemned an air strike by Afghanistan-based US forces that Islamabad says killed 11 of its troops.Now here's what doesn't compute for me: If this is a case of "friendly fire" or plain, old fashioned recklessness, as the Pakistanis would have us believe, then how did eight Taleban terrorists get killed alongside the eleven innocent Pakistanis? In order for the Pakistanis and the Taleban to get killed side by side, they had to have been in close proximity before the shooting started. This, of course, should make us wonder what the Pakistanis were doing while the Taleban terrorists were shooting at the American and Afghan troops. Reloading?
The incident took place inside Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan.
The US military confirmed it had used artillery and air strikes after coming under fire from "anti-Afghan" forces.
The incident comes as relations between the US and Pakistan militaries have been hit by mounting tensions.
The soldiers' deaths occurred overnight at a border post in the mountainous Gora Prai region in Mohmand, one of Pakistan's tribal areas, across the border from Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Eight Taleban militants (sic) were also killed in the clashes, a Taleban spokesman said.
...
A spokesman for a pro-Taleban militant group in Pakistan said it had
launched an attack on US and Afghan army troops trying to set up a
border control post.
"We launched an attack on them from several sides and caused serious
harm - and then the US and Nato forces began a series of air strikes,"
said the spokesman, Maulvi Umar.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Obamanity
Jonah Goldberg asks: Is Barack Obama the Messiah? A new religion, Obamanity, seems to be rising in our midst.
Friday, May 30, 2008
It looks reddish...
The airlock's quiet so into the carboy it goes. The color looks good, despite my screw-up on the grain. It smells great. It's been ~24 hours since I racked it off and it's settling out nicely already. Maybe I can bottle in a week or two?
Monday, May 26, 2008
Another brew
Yesterday was another brew-day!
I started a batch of what I hope will be a nice Irish red ale. At the moment, I don't know enough to design my own recipes, so I'm using a kit recipe from the local HBS. (They give you a break on the price if you do the leg-work and gather up the fixin's.) The recipe, however, called for two varieties of hops that they don't have in stock. So I had to make some substitutions. I also accidentally substituted a grain variety due to me not paying attention. (Oops!) So, this could be an Irish-ish Red-ish Ale.
At any rate... It sure smells good right now!
I've gone through ¼-to-½ of the first batch. That was an English Pub Ale. It was good after two weeks and it's getting better with each passing day.
I started a batch of what I hope will be a nice Irish red ale. At the moment, I don't know enough to design my own recipes, so I'm using a kit recipe from the local HBS. (They give you a break on the price if you do the leg-work and gather up the fixin's.) The recipe, however, called for two varieties of hops that they don't have in stock. So I had to make some substitutions. I also accidentally substituted a grain variety due to me not paying attention. (Oops!) So, this could be an Irish-ish Red-ish Ale.
At any rate... It sure smells good right now!
I've gone through ¼-to-½ of the first batch. That was an English Pub Ale. It was good after two weeks and it's getting better with each passing day.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!
If you get cancer from eating carbon nanotubes, then you're doing something wrong! As far as I can remember, I've never seen anyone write about recipes that require nanotubes.
Carbon Nanotubes Could Be Toxic, More Study Recommended
Carbon Nanotubes Could Be Toxic, More Study Recommended
Friday, May 16, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Mmmmm... Beer.
Oh yeah... It was worth the wait. Nice and hoppy, but not too bitter. I've had two so far this afternoon.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Bottled and resting...
OK... So I shoulda posted this earlier.
Bottling day was on April 26th. I yielded 38 bottles. It should have been more, but I didn't top off the fermentor to a full 5 gallons. (I don't know why, but it didn't occur to me until later that I should have done that. Oh well...)
It's been two weeks now. I tried a bottle after a week and the carbonation wasn't as much as it could have. We'll see what it's like now after a full two weeks.
Bottling day was on April 26th. I yielded 38 bottles. It should have been more, but I didn't top off the fermentor to a full 5 gallons. (I don't know why, but it didn't occur to me until later that I should have done that. Oh well...)
It's been two weeks now. I tried a bottle after a week and the carbonation wasn't as much as it could have. We'll see what it's like now after a full two weeks.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Bottling day this weekend??
The brew is starting to clear up in the secondary. Time to bottle?? Maybe this weekend.
Update: Naaahhh... Not this weekend. Too much happening and the beer isn't quite clear enough yet. Another week or so won't hurt anything.
Update: Naaahhh... Not this weekend. Too much happening and the beer isn't quite clear enough yet. Another week or so won't hurt anything.
So far, so good
The wort was a wonderful color. (Yeah... I know; ya shoulda taken pictures, Red.) The yeast got happy. They got real happy after about 12 hours. Now it's time to rack off to the secondary fermentor.
Update: OK... Here's a visual aid...
Unfortunately, there's no HTML tags for smell cuz it smells wonderful!
Update: OK... Here's a visual aid...
Unfortunately, there's no HTML tags for smell cuz it smells wonderful!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Taking the plunge...
(OK... I know that I haven't written anything for a while; not here, at least. I've done plenty of popping off over at FreeRepublic.)
For years now I've been interested in getting into home brewing. I don't know why, but it sounded like fun. There's just something appealing about a cooking process where time is an essential ingredient. Well, I've finally taken the plunge. As I write this, my first batch is boiling away on the stove. And so far, watching (mostly) water boil has been fun.
More later.
For years now I've been interested in getting into home brewing. I don't know why, but it sounded like fun. There's just something appealing about a cooking process where time is an essential ingredient. Well, I've finally taken the plunge. As I write this, my first batch is boiling away on the stove. And so far, watching (mostly) water boil has been fun.
More later.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
DON'T TAZE ME, BRO!!
As I write this, Google reports that there are ~195,000 web pages with the phrase "don't taze me bro".
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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
When you lie down with dogs...
What do you wake up with when you lie down with nutters? Our own Senator DiFi finds out as Code Pinkos waterboard some poor schlep while she walks by. A bunch of anti-war nutjobs waterboarded one of their own as DiFi tried to enter a building. The look on her face is just priceless!
Well Senator... They may be nuts, but they're your nuts!
Well Senator... They may be nuts, but they're your nuts!
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Now they think it's their money, even before you've earned it!
In the AP story Internet Tax Moratorium Goes to Bush comes this odd line...
Support for a permanent ban [on Internet taxes] was strong in both the House and Senate, but concerns over the potential long-term impact on state and local governments forced a compromise.The only "long term impact" is that they aren't being allowed to claim your money before you've made it! It's bad enough that Democrats think that what you make is theirs to play with. Now they want a claim on any future earnings.
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Friday, October 19, 2007
MSMers get it wrong again
The editors at Al Reuters, gets their title muddled in Reid-Limbaugh spat raises $2.1 million for children. It was $4.2 million. Rush matched the winning bid, as the writer Thomas Ferraro gets correct toward the end of the article. But being as this is on Al Reuters, Ferraro just had to give the last word to one of Dingy Harry's spokesholes.
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
SHOCKING BUT TRUE: MSM get one right!!
Earlier today on his radio show, Rush Limbaugh said that no MSM outlets other than Fox New were picking up on his eBay auction for the Dingy Harry smear letter. Well, now the story's starting to get some notice.
Over on USAToday.com, the OnPolitics blog mentions the story. What's surprising is that they get it right. They don't state that Rush called anti-war soldiers "phony soldiers". They simply say that he used those words. (And he did, to describe Jesse Macbeth.) Furthermore, the USAToday column gets it right in one of the links on that page. If you look at the page, you will see a link to a pdf of the letter. Note the file name: http://www.usatoday.com/news/pdf/rushlimbaughsmearletter.pdf. This is the original file name on Rush's site. They didn't make a change; they left it properly described as a smear.
Broken clocks perhaps? Let's hope that it's more than that.
Over on USAToday.com, the OnPolitics blog mentions the story. What's surprising is that they get it right. They don't state that Rush called anti-war soldiers "phony soldiers". They simply say that he used those words. (And he did, to describe Jesse Macbeth.) Furthermore, the USAToday column gets it right in one of the links on that page. If you look at the page, you will see a link to a pdf of the letter. Note the file name: http://www.usatoday.com/news/pdf/rushlimbaughsmearletter.pdf. This is the original file name on Rush's site. They didn't make a change; they left it properly described as a smear.
Broken clocks perhaps? Let's hope that it's more than that.
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Friday, October 05, 2007
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
PWN3D!
Weigh in here on this weighty issue.
...which kinda takes me to another issue that left me confused. How is it that shows like Survivor or The Simple Life are called "reality TV". MTV got it right when they called one of their series "The Surreal Life". There's nothing real about these shows. If Paris Hilton and Nichole Ritchie really did make a habit out of visiting pig farms, then perhaps the shows might be aptly named. I'm not saying that they can't be entertaining (for someone else). I'm just saying that they're about as real as a Clinton promise.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
'e's just resting'
This blog isn't dead. It's just pinin' for the fjords.
The Death of Blogs
The article makes an observation:
The Death of Blogs
The article makes an observation:
...What tired bloggers are increasingly discovering...is that it's not necessarily the quality of their blog posts that matter. It's matching their quality with frequency...Which is true. No one wants to read pointless babbling, and trust me, I don't want to write any. (Not that I'm not good at inane babble; but, there's a time and a place for such things. Cheese threads on FreeRepublic are a fine example!) Sometimes, though, there's just not much that catches my fancy to write about. Believe me, I try to ferret out stuff to blog. Mostly, I do so for our NRA Members' Council website. I've found that fresh bloggery attracts new visitors better than anything else. The entire site suffers when I don't update the blog page for a day or two.
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Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
eBay Extends The eMiddle Digit to Gun Owners
Perhaps it's caused by something they put in Pez candies...
The NRA-ILA is reporting that eBay has banned all gun and ammo related listings. The online auction site long ago banned the sale of firearms on their site, but now they are extending that ban to “any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun.” Their list of newly banned items reads like it was written by a typical "Ewwww... Guns are icky!" liberal. We're still trying to figure out what a "bullet tip" is. Here is the full text of the NRA-ILA release...
The NRA-ILA is reporting that eBay has banned all gun and ammo related listings. The online auction site long ago banned the sale of firearms on their site, but now they are extending that ban to “any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun.” Their list of newly banned items reads like it was written by a typical "Ewwww... Guns are icky!" liberal. We're still trying to figure out what a "bullet tip" is. Here is the full text of the NRA-ILA release...
First, let's all be clear that eBay belongs to its owners and not me. I'm in no position to dictate to a business how they must operate. If they want to sell sex toys and hash pipes but not guns, that's their call. However, that doesn't mean that we must patronize their business. If you were planning on "eBaying" a few extra gun parts or accessories, or anything outdoors related for that matter, please consider paying your listing fees to one of the fine sites listed above instead. If you were planning on bidding on such items, please check these sites first. First off, you may find a better selection. Secondly, and more importantly, you'll find sites operated by those who show more respect for your 2nd Amendment rights.
Friday, August 03, 2007 Years ago, eBay banned the sale of all complete firearms on its online auction and shopping website. However, they did continue to allow the sale of parts and many accessories. This week, a spokesman for eBay announced that the company would ban the sale of all gun-and-ammunition-related parts and components.
The ban is set to begin in mid-August, when eBay will prohibit the listing of “any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun.” This prohibition will include, according to eBay, “bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc.” In explaining the decision to restrict these items, Matt Halprin, eBay’s Vice President, Trust & Safety, said, “After much consideration, the Trust & Safety policy team – along with our executive leaders at eBay Inc.– have made the decision to further restrict more of these items than federal and state regulations require.” [emphasis added]
With this action, eBay sends the message that they don’t want, or appreciate, law-abiding gun owners’ business. By banning these legal products, eBay is adopting the anti-gun movement’s opposition to all legal gun ownership. Fortunately, gun owners and sportsmen have alternatives.
The following companies operate websites designed for the buying and selling of firearms and related products: www.GunsAmerica.com; www.AuctionArms.com; and www.GunBroker.com.
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Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
I suppose that I should be paying attention to the YouTube debate...
...but I'm already fighting off a migraine. I can tolerate only so much idiocy on a good day. I did, though, catch Osbama's "Sure, I'll talk to thugs and murderers" answer. Hillary gave the young pup a good bitchslapping with her answer.
I never thought that I'd ever say anything nice about her.
...My head's getting worse now.
I never thought that I'd ever say anything nice about her.
...My head's getting worse now.
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Sunday, July 22, 2007
Bloviating Buffoon
"The Swimmer" reacts to a "Mitchslapping" he and the Dems received the other day...
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Friday, July 20, 2007
The economics of prohibition
Over at The Corner, Jonah Goldberg shares this letter from a reader regarding the Dems' plan to jack up the tax on cigars from 5¢ to $10 stick...
The purpose of the tax, as the minister hints, is not to raise money; it's to stop people from smoking cigars. As such, it is a type of prohibition, just like this nation's flirtation with the prohibition of alcohol. All that was accomplished by alcohol prohibition was the rise of organized crime. This new prohibition will repeat that history. Those who choose to continue smoking, will be willing to pay less than $10 a cigar for their pleasure. All a bootlegger needs to do to sell his product is undercut the tax. He could sell that $2 cigar for $5 and call it "half priced". The old 5¢ tax goes uncollected, as does the new $10 tax, and the extra $3 goes into a smuggler's pocket.
Your tax dollars at work?
The supposed reason for the tax is to raise money. But naturally when the tax goes from $.05 to $10.00 per cigar, they won't even get the $.05 because people like me will quit. I support my family of six on not alot of money in rural Oklahoma and I smoke usually one a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It's one of life's simple pleasures and I resent that I will have to give it up. I'm an Anglican priest and the only way I would quit would be if the doctor told me to or if I became a Baptist pastor. :) Or of course if my $37 bundle of 25 cigars goes up to $287 a bundle, I will also quit. I know it's such a minor thing compared to the ills of the world, but it truly bothers me.The minister certainly represents one possible reaction to such a tax. Unfortunately, his reaction will not be the rule. It may not even be typical. This tax, should it become law, will encourage people to get the product they want by whatever means necessary. This would include, our history shows, buying on the black market.
The purpose of the tax, as the minister hints, is not to raise money; it's to stop people from smoking cigars. As such, it is a type of prohibition, just like this nation's flirtation with the prohibition of alcohol. All that was accomplished by alcohol prohibition was the rise of organized crime. This new prohibition will repeat that history. Those who choose to continue smoking, will be willing to pay less than $10 a cigar for their pleasure. All a bootlegger needs to do to sell his product is undercut the tax. He could sell that $2 cigar for $5 and call it "half priced". The old 5¢ tax goes uncollected, as does the new $10 tax, and the extra $3 goes into a smuggler's pocket.
Your tax dollars at work?
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Apropos of nothing...
I just love the "Preparing to background save" BS from MS Word. Background save... Kinda sounds like it's going to do that in the background, huh? Like it means that the program won't come to a screeching halt during the process? Like it won't sit there for a few moments like a 15-year old geek with taped glasses staring at a girl in a bikini? Like it will let you continue to work while this task happens in the background?
I wonder if it's done yet.
I wonder if it's done yet.
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Thursday, July 19, 2007
More on that nifty little add-on
ScribeFire is a blogging add-on for Firefox. This makes blogging very convenient. The account wizard makes adding multiple accounts easy. If you blog under more than one account, this could save you the trouble of logging on and off of accounts. See the little "Powered by..." link below for more details.
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