without belief ... we have nothing

... that was a line from the movie I seen earlier today. That's right *I* went to the movies.

I *hate* going to the theater. Not so much the prices (which are outrageous) but the rudeness of those around you as you try to enjoy a movie you just paid "way too much" for.

I have always had a fancy for fantasy films. I don't know why, but for whatever reason, I still haven't outgrown it.   ;j

Going to see ths was bittersweet, since her and I never (okay hardly ever) get to have just "us" time, but  it was the first time this series would be viewed when all four of us were not present. Granted, when Dad took his stroke, we all knew our lives had changed, but had no idea to the extent they had. It's sobering sometimes!

The movie? the latest installment of the Narnia series ("Voyage of the Dawn Treader") by C.S. Lewis. Megan is an avid reader and a *big* fan of C.S. Lewis' novels. (not at all saying I am *not* a fan, just haven't read it, since I am not much of a reader)

Soooo .. when her and I saw the advertisement for the preview of this movie, I looked at her with an anxious smile and said "Let's go to that" and she, without hesitation, said "Yes, let's".  So it was a date ... SWEET!

As mentioned, I have never been much for seeing a movie at a theater, especially as much as they charge to do so anymore. This was even more escalated when Megan found out that the 3-D version of the movie cost $3 more than the 2-D version.
.
WTF?!?! There never used to be any difference between watching 2-D and 3-D flicks. sunuva .........

Well, neither Megan nor I are so caught up in  effects to merit the extra $3 (bless her heart) to watch the technology that was already (fuggin') filmed! So we both decide the 2-D version is good enough since we are both in it for the story and plot ... not so much the special effects (again, bless her heart!)

We get to the theater about 10 minutes prior to filming to see .. commercials! Really? I see enough advertisements on *TV* that I try to IGNORE!! Commericals? Really? yeesh!

Anyway, the movie finally starts and I am not sure if I enjoyed the movie more .... or Megan's reactions to the movie. I could tell when moments of the movie did not follow the C.S. Lewis' intent; I could tell when all of a sudden Megan was scared, enthused,  or shocked by a scene; it was almost as fun to watch her react. Don't get me wrong ... the movie was good, but it was priceless to watch Megan.

Again, it was bittersweet, since it was just her and I watching it, not all four of us! But then again, as previously mentioned, her and I get few "dates" .... the last occurred so long ago neither of us could recall the date, but knew what we had done together. However, as sweet as it was, it was still awkward since, Melissa and Isaac had not joined us.

The movie was great, and if you had watched the previous two, the third didn't disappoint, and that is all I am going to say in hopes that I don't want to spoil it for those that would be wanting to see it. I will say, though, there was one scene that reminded me of the silliness of Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" scene where the knights that say "ni" asked for a "shrubbery" (it is the monopods scene for those familiar with the novels).

Once the movie ended, the directors/producers/ whomever incorporated the actual artwork of C.S. Lewis' works in the credits. Of all the 12 people that were in attendance, Megan and I were the last to leave, as we enjoyed every bit of the artwork offered.

We closed our "date", with some sundaes at Sonic. Ordinarily, that would be no big deal, but this time, it was around 25*F so I imagine we tripped out the people working there when we ordered.   LOL

Sadly, Megan had to head back to the dorms shortly after getting home as the winter storm coming had intimidated her, and she had finals in the morning. Good luck Kiddo .... and thanks for a good (albeit rare) afternoon date!   ;j

if at first you don't succeed?

Tonight I made my first attempt at brewing some beer. It was from a Brewer's Best English Brown Ale kit. I have read and read and read until I was sick of reading just trying to get the process of brewing engrained (no pun intended) in my head, so that when the time came to do it, I could do it without having to think about it.

I had a perfectly good kit, that if I followed directions, should produce a good beer. But me, being me, that wasn't good enough. This is my first run, yet I had to play with it. I decided I wanted a nut brown, but was unable to find a nut brown kit at the homebrew supplier.

I decided to add some roasted pecans to get a nutty flavor and some crushed chocolate-flavored coffee beans (to add to the complexity of flavors) to the steeping bag. This could either be really good or introduce oils and tannins that will not work with the beer. We'll find out in a month or so.

Out of all the reading I've done, if there is *one* thing I've learned, it is clean, clean, clean. Then, when you think you have cleaned everything, clean some more. I spent an hour and a half cleaning and sanitizing, not just the equipment but countertops, stove top, and the deep freeze, next to the oven.

Upon finishing the sanitizing process, I put 2 1/2 gallons water (as per directions) in my brewpot and brought it up to 160* F.  I put all my grains, coffee beans, and nuts in the steeping bag and boiled for 20 minutes.

About 10 minutes into the process, I already am questioning this decision. The smell of coffee is ... overwhelming. Okay, I'm worried that I just brewed a $30 batch of carbonated coffee.

Then I removed the bag and added the dry malt extract, the liquid malt extract (which was thicker than molasses), and the first round of hops, called the bittering hops. This needed to boil for 45 minutes. Luckily, the coffee smell had subsided by now, and some confidence is coming back.

The second thing I have taken from my reading is that you really want to avoid boilover. I stood at the oven and watched to make sure it didn't.

Stir, Stir, Stir, Stir. Monotonous! yet, it's certainly a labor of love.

After the 45 minutes was up, things would happen much quicker. The next round of hops, called the flavoring hops, were added and boiled for 10 minutes. Then the last round of hops, called the aroma hops, were added  and would  boil for another 5 minutes.

Then, you remove the wort (that's what the beer is called at this point) and put it in an ice bath to bring the temperature down to the temperature of the yeast that will be used to ferment it. I have read this typically can take about an hour without a wort chiller (which I don't yet have).

I filled a plastic tub with ice, put the brewpot in it, and kept stirring the wort. I figured if I took it outside it would cool quicker since it was about 30* outside, so that is what I did.

Within 20 minutes (TWENTY!) it had cooled close to what the yeast require. I called a buddy of mine whom has brewed before and asked him if I had done something wrong or something right. He seemed to think I was okay.

I spent about 30 minutes trying to catch up and chat with him, all the while my wort is getting cooler and cooler in that ice bath. When I got off the phone I checked the temperature again,  only to find that it was down to 60*F. Uh-oh! I needed it to be 70*. DOH!

I brought it back inside and let it come up to room temperature. This took .... forever! I actually passed out on the couch waiting.

Upon awakening, however, the wort was room temperature and I was able to "rack" the beer into the carboy that it would ferment in. Once the beer was added, I added the yeast and enough water to bring it to 5 gallons and shook the hell out of it. All that remained now, was to put on the airlock and hope it ferments over the next couple weeks.

Now, it's just wait, wait, wait, and hope, hope, hope that I didn't fuck it up! That's what I am doing.

the waiting is the hardest part ....

Headed over to Knoxville today to get the rest of what I needed for my first attempt at brewing. I didn't need much, but had no bottles, no ingredients, nor sanitizer. Yes, you can use bleach, but the sanitizer is tasteless and isn't toxic and you needn't worry as much about rinsing the equipment.

Dad is trying to sell his Mustang and is interested in trading it off for another old classic. While perusing Craigslist the other day I noticed a 66 Galaxie convertible. He was interested and it was just a half hour further, so we included that on the agenda as well as a trip to Sam's Club to further justify the trip over and back.

Well, the Galaxie wasn't what Dad was looking for, so we loaded back up and headed over to the homebrew supply store to pick up the last of what I needed to brew with. Upon pulling into the parking lot, Melissa and I spied an International specialty store. What caught my attention (and Dad's) was the word "sausages" painted on the window.

We went in and were pleasantly surprised at the selection of meats and cheeses, jams, and other condiments available. We left with some Polish cheese (cannot remember the name nor will I attempt to pronounce it), Knockwurst, Kielbasa, and Bratwurst, as well as some mustard, a couple of teas, and jam.

From there we went into the brew supply store. We got the stuff needed to get me up and brewing. The brewkit we got was a European brown ale. Sweet! I am soo stoked. I cannot wait to get home and get started.

The last stop was Sam's and we headed that way, but were again sidetracked when Dad noticed this store that sells those "as seen on TV" items. He had seen a couple things he wanted to pick up as Christmas gifts so  we stopped there. He got everything he was wanting and to be further sidetracked in the same plaza/strip mall, was an "Oak Factory" furniture store.

He wanted to check that out, too. It was on the opposite end of the strip mall, and as we were headed there, there was a neon sign that said "Fat Tire" so I curiously checked in the window and saw quite the selection of beers. We wheel in there and were able to make a variety six for me and one for him as well. I got quite a few beers I have never tried and cannot wait until tomorrow to try them (as they were not cold).

Oddly, when we got to the Oak Factory, it had since closed. Alright, load up get to Sam's and get on home. Upon arriving home, I asked Isaac if we got a package delivered today. When I ordered my brewkit last week, I ordered a  5 gallon brewpot at the same time. For whatever reason it still hadn't arrived.

So now that I have everything (else) that I need, i asked Isaac if we had that delivery ... "Nope, no one came by today" GAAAAHHHHH!!!!   sooo aggravated! I was psyched to start brewing, but now have to wait.

I so wanted to be sippin' on some homebrew for New Year's Eve, but it isn't looking likely.

yeesh! it's just a game!

Hi, my name is Ed and I am a college football junkie. I love the game. I love the pageantry, the rivalries, the tradition, the intensity (that gets lost most times in the NFL -- money ruins everything), just about everything about it (well with the exception of the BCS structuring -- again money! but that's another rant!). 

I could happily set my ass down in front of the idiot box on Fall Saturdays and watch 12 hours of games. It's a disease, I know, but we all have our vices.   ; )

I am a big-time loyally devout University of Tennessee Vols fan. I watch every game I can, and those I cannot watch, I listen to Bob Kesling on the Vol Radio Network. Winning or losing, whether or not the game is competitive, I am tuned in. When they do well I cheer, when they don't, I jeer. Yet, I still watch and faithfully support them week in, week out.

I have been to many games at Neyland Stadium and have had interactions with fans from nearly every single SEC school. There is always banter and smack-talk going on between the fans, and it is usually done in a light-hearted fun spirit.

The Florida Gators are a much-hated rival. Well for us at least, since it's been such a long time that we have beat them. Additionally, more often than not, the winner of that game has gone on to represent the SEC east in the SEC championship game, so it's always a big game. I have been to two UT-UF matchups and have had a pleasant interaction with Gator fans, even though they are on the wrong side.   ; )

Alabama is another hated rival. Our team could theoretically go 1-11 for the year and the coach wouldn't get fired, so long as that lone win was over the Crimson Tide (okay that's a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea).   Again, I have been to two UT-UA  matchups and have had no problems with the opposing fans.

Football is a big deal in the south. These folks take it seriously. Fridays in the fall in many small towns are spent at the local High School stadium watching the boys play. Saturdays are typically spent either watching the game on TV or going to campus to tailgate on the strip and, if fortunate, watch the game. It's just a rite of passage!

Yesterday, prior to the game between USC (southern Cal.) and UCLA there was a brawl involving over 50 fans. As a result, two folks got stabbed. STABBED! over what? an argument about "my team is better than yours"? WTF?!?!

There is a quote by Mark Twain I like (actually I enjoy most of his witticisms) that is especially pertinent to this situation ... ""We need not worry so much about what man descends from-it's what he descends to that shames the human race." Too true!

I mean, really! What has become of "civilization"? I can understand that tempers flare, but this all started over a game! 

Yes, I am aware violence occurs with some regularity at some World Cup events, but again, it's just a game! I love sports, am a bit  of a fanatic, but not crazed enough to cause harm to another, that's ridiculous! and as Mr. Twain said .... SHAMEFUL!

(as a side note, cops arrested the two they believed to have been responsible for the stabbing and the two that were stabbed were taken to the hospital and were in stable condition)

"alien" life

Yesterday NASA announced it had found a new lifeform that defies "life as we know it". This lifeform is an adaptive form of bacteria that has managed to thrive in what we refer to as a poisonous environment. It is immersed in and feeds off of arsenic. Adaptive, indeed!

Arsenic is poisonous to "life as we know it". It is the only lifeform to date that has been found living in such conditions. Originally this bacteria lived in a phosphoric environment which is not outside the accepted boundaries of basic life requirements.

It managed to adapt to arsenic-based life when it depleted its phosphoric medium. Quite an accomplishment, to be sure, but, then, life is not static. As Darwin implied it will adapt, or die off.

These scientists that claim "life cannot exist unless ...." are clueless. These bateria cannot exist because "life as we know it" cannot do anything but perish in an arsenic environment.

The finding of life in an unexpected environment is not a new premise. There were lifeforms found thriving in an extremely hot hydrogen sulfide climate near the ocean floor. Hydrothermal vents are basically cracks in the Earth's crust that force super-heated gases through the surface.

The hydrothermal vents I am referring to exist on the ocean floor and the water surrounding is extremely hot and would likely boil the blood in an organisms vessels should they get close to it. Furthermore, the water around these vents is primarily a Hydrogen Sulfide concentration, which is not very habitable as far as the experts claim.

Yet, there is a whole ecosystem that has learned to adapt to living in such volatile, non-life-supporting conditions (as we know it). There are a host of adaptive invertebrates including tubeworms, clams, shrimp, and mussels  that all survive in this harsh environment.

How can this be? How do the baterial lifeform announced yesterday thrive? When you look at the requirements for "life as we know it"  there is no way these organisms can survive.

Sooo ... how is it that these experts can claim that there is only ____________   planets in the entire solar system that can support life. We keep finding things that defy explanation and those blanket statements are not universally true.

The more we know, the more we learn what we don't know.

space is at a premium ...

at least with Dad it is.

Yesterday he and I went out to order a storage building that would be large enough to house the bikes and free up some room in our garage. As it is now, everytime I go into the garage, I have to perform aerobic exercises to get beyond the door.

Dad likes toys! Actually, I think he makes it his mission to fill up every available square inch of room available, and then get *just* a little more. He sure does like a full garage, but then he doesn't have to navigate his way through it.  ; )

When we moved up here, the first thing Dad did on the property was to get a 20 X 26 two-bay garage built. This is much larger than the one he had down in Florida.

Of course, it didn't take long for him to acquire enough toys to fill it. First, it was the Tyrex (basically a 4x4 golf cart on steroids), which he had in Florida, along with his Harley and my Sabre and Bandit.

Then he bought a tractor. So now both bays are full as well as the middle with bikes.

He then traded his bike off for a 66 Mustang. Now the tractor has to be kept outside, so I built him a lean-to along the side of the garage so the tractor wouldn't be in the weather.

About 6 months ago, he bought a 2010 Challenger R/T, which also has to sit outside, but we do have a car cover for it. Back in September he picked up a Goldwing with a sidecar, now the Tyrex sits outside so the 'wing won't have to. His toys sitting outside drives him crazy.

So we came up with the idea of getting  another building that we could keep all the bikes in and hopefully (at least briefly) free up some space in the garage. I can hear the wheels in his head spinning   "what can I get next to fill that area back in?"  LOL

As I mentioned at the start of this blog, we went and ordered a building yesterday. It is due here two Wednesdays from now. It will be 12 X 16 with one 90" door, which is just barely wide enough to drive the rig into.

Problem is, the space where it is going to be placed, is not very level. So I scooped the top layer of dirt I dragged off for Melissa's garden a couple weeks ago and began using it to fill in the low spots. Where I had this pile of dirt was on the lower part of the property.

After a few trips across it with the tractor, it was getting rather slippery due to all the rain we had in the past two days. I damn near got that tractor stuck and I had it in four wheel drive. I was backing up and just sliding sideways further downhill.

All the while, I kept playing with the gas and the wheel trying to regain traction, but it was pretty futile. I finally grabbed enough traction to get out of there and decided that was all the dirt I needed to get today so I wouldn't risk getting the tractor stuck!

it was 20 years ago today ...

okay so it was 55, but I was just looking for an excuse to use the song. Anyway, it was a  very significant moment in our nation's history. Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to take it ... anymore!

In the waning heights of racial inequality in the southern, redneck-dominant, KKK-influenced Alabama, a black woman said "No" to, not one, but MANY whites, and their silly "ideals". Back then, in the "sawth", as a black you had to give up your seat to whites when the bus got crowded and whites no longer had a place to sit.

After one long, stressed day at work a certain black woman said "NO". It was a voice (and ideology) that would resound across a nation. Sometimes, media coverage is not such a bad thing.

It wasn't so much that she was tired from a long day at work as much as she was just ... tired! Tired of racial inequality, tired of being treated inferior (for no legitimate reason), tired of rolling over or being pushed around ... just tired!

Her defiance influenced a young minister that we have come to know as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He went on to further Rosa's stand. I am not saying that MLK lacked that ambition to start with, but maybe Rosa's stand helped be the spark that lit the fire that ignited the movement, that was long overdue.

God bless her for standing up (or for not standing, as it were)! This was supposed to be a land of equality and freedom; for so long, it wasn't. At least not for the people that didn't bear the "ever-precious white skin"! Everyone else was inferior in this country of opportunity.

A quarter century ago, a little minority woman in Alabama said "No", and it made our nation better, stronger. She suffered for her decision, as did her family. Yet, her action sparked a revolution of sorts that needed to be waged. Never give up what you believe in!

"I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free... so other people would be also free. "

- Rosa Parks