Today, Dad wanted to go look at a car that was posted in the local Craigslist ads. I guess he has empty garage syndrome as he sold the Mustang a couple weeks ago and feels the need to fill that void.


The roads were mostly passable, especially once we got out onto the main roads. However, getting there was a little dicey. Nothing I couldn't handle, but a couple times the rear would spin. Let off gas, catch traction, hit gas, and so on.

Headed back home, I saw the following ....

The light on the right side is a "rainbow". It is poor quality because it was taken with my cheapie cell phone.

It was strange because there was no rain in the area. It had been sunny and cloudless all day long until now. We have snow predicted for the whole week, starting tonight so these clouds are snow  clouds.

Anyway, as we progressed down the road, I noticed a couple more of these "rainbow"s. I keep using quotes because as mentioned there was no rain.

The other (there were two of them) "rainbow"s were along the same radius as the one pictured above and just bordering the clouds which had now surrounded the sun. Basically it was the sunlight being diffracted through the clouds and the resulting light beam had "prismed" into a rainbow-effect.

I could see nearly 270* of the ring. It was as if the sun had it's own halo in rainbow color.

Pretty cool! Never seen anything like it. I wish my phone camera had a  wider field of view or that I had my camera on me to better represent it.

another one flies the coop

Time to spread your wings and fly
Set to the sky and soar
Ahead of you lies your destiny
Plot your course and explore!

Many obstacles lie ahead
Challenges yet to overcome
Apply yourself to meet them
But remember to also have fun.

Schedule your time wisely
For it passes too quick
Managing between work and play
Is the real trick.





Isaac left for college today. It's weird because even though Megan went "off to college" a couple years ago, it feels like this is the first time we are dealing with it.

Megan's college is only about 20 minutes away, and even though she lives on campus, we could see her everyday or meet up with her when wanted/needed or whatever. She usually comes home on the weekends, so even if she is gone off to school, it's kind of as if she is still here.

Isaac, on the other hand, went off to Indiana, on the Illinois border -- roughly about 7 hours away. He won't be home on weekends. We likely won't see him again until spring break, and that's only if he has the gas money.

I am happy for him, though. One, that he got accepted to a college to start with, but additionally, that he will be on his own and will learn a lot that he wouldn't if he were here being coddled.

Time for you to spread your wings, Isaac ... SOAR!

mmm mmmm mmmmm mmmmmm mmm ... tasty!

I bottled my first batch of beer two weeks ago. From what I read the early end of when you want to sample your brew is about that time frame. So without further delay, I put two bottles in the fridge on Thursday evening, knowing that Dad and I would be able to taste it the next day.

He wanted to go over to Knoxville so we loaded up and were en route by 2:00 or so. I figured since we were over there, I would ask if we could grab another beer kit since my primary fermenter *is* empty and the secondary will be available within a week.   ; )    He agreed so long as we could do what was on his agenda.

First we hit Lowe's to look for some linoleum for the new addition. We had checked at the local store earlier in the week, but they didn't have anything to Dad's liking. The Knoxville store, however, had a bit more  selection and we found something he thought was okay and got out of there rather cheaply (considering our usual foray into Lowe's).

Next it was off to the brew supplier. I needed to get another hydrometer, since I had carelessly bumped the one I had onto the floor when I racked my bock into the secondary Thursday night. DOH! So I grabbed another hydrometer and another kit, an IPA this time, which hopefully will be my next to last kit. I intend to get a porter next time and then will go freestyle after that. Lord help me!   LOL

From there we headed to Woodcraft to see if they had gotten the stuff I wanted last time we were there but didn't have in stock, only to find they still didn't. So I placed an order for it and was told it is on backorder and I won't see it until Feb. 11th or so. Yippee!

The other stop we made was the impetus for Dad's yearning to go in the first place. He wanted to get more fish for the aquarium. He got five more fish for the tank, a suction pump (for cleaning) and some fish "treats" (basically bloodworms  and shrimp flakes) and I think he spent more here than at Lowe's.  

Among the fish he got was a black ghost. These are interesting fish -- they are like a spine with one long fin underneath that is moved side to side to propel them through the water.

These fish like to hide, though. However, a clear plastic tube is sufficient for these fish as they think they are hidden if inside it.

So Dad asks if they have any tubes. The guy waiting on us said they have some, but none as big as the ghost he just purchased. He said they could order one. I asked if we could just have the one in the tank the ghost was in -- since it's not being used anymore and they could take the one they ordered. He said "no".

I don't understand that at all and to say this irked me is putting it mildly. I mean, they are going to get a shipment of them in, and the one in their tank is no longer being used, WTF?!? So you're telling me that you want me to come back over here (a 40 mile one-way drive) to get one when it comes in because you won't sell me the one right now that you are no longer using? Fuggin' ridiculous!!

They better be glad it's Dad's money and not mine! I would've left the damn fish there and said something like "you won't see me back here again!"

Customer service is a big deal with me. I would pay more for an item if the service at a place is good. That was bad business in my opinion.


Finally! Finally we get to head homewards. I have been giddy all day -- anxious to get that first taste of my first batch of beer. I know it's just beer, but I was pretty psyched. I realize how silly this sounds, but oh well!

I started brewing this about a month ago. I have nursed it along through its stages, it was now time to taste the fruits of my labor.   ; )

However, once home, I had to unload the truck, get the fish settled in, and get dinner going. This only added to the antici- .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................pation!  (Rocky Horror reference   ;)       )

Okay, truck unloaded, fish swimming around and fed, dinner in oven. FINALLY! FINALLY, it's time!

Heh, I had to *force* myself to snap a picture of this before taking a sip. No easy task since I had been wanting to put this to my lips all day long. Okay picture taken -- TASTING time! YAAAAYYY!!  LOL

I was impressed. It was quite tasty. This is from an English brown ale kit that we got.

I added some roasted pecans and some mocha coffee beans (slightly crushed) to it as the grains seeped to try and add a little more complexity to the flavor. I'm not sure that was effective as I didn't notice any apparent mocha or nut flavor to it, subtle or otherwise.

It turned out more like an amber ale, much akin to Fat Tire, but just not as bold. It had a nice complex, caramelly flavor to it.

I was quite pleased, but it needs to sit in the bottle a bit longer as the carbonation was a little low. It shouldn't be long, though, maybe another week or two as it was pretty close. I intend to hold a six of this back and try it in two months to see how it changed/matured/aged.

Seeking (all "3" parts)

You are my beacon, my lighthouse,
And brightly your light has shone.
It was always helpful for me to find you
Whenever I was away from "home".

This time, I have drifted off
Into uncharted waters, as it would seem.
There is no more sight of land,
Nor your bright beam.

I  know the tide shall turn again,
Although I'm unsure when.
I just hope that once it does
Your Light will still be on then.


Constantly circling,
About your own gerth
Your light reaches out
Beyond rock and earth.

Alone you stand,
Solid and true
Yet, all my actions
make you blue.

You're the reliable one.
Always there, always ready
In hope that someday you'll see
The return of your "eddy".

Fighting through the fog and dark waters
While I am out at sea
Painstakingly searching through the depths
That make up me.

It is unclear
What caused me to reach this state
I just hope it's resolved
Before it's too late.

I long to be bathed again
Deep in your Light
and can only imagine the inner peace
I will experience when it comes into sight.

seeking (pt. 2)

Constantly circling,
About your own gerth
Your light reaches out
Beyond rock and earth.

Alone you stand,
Solid and true
Yet, all my actions
make you blue.

You're the reliable one.
Always there, always ready
In hope that someday you'll see
The return of your "eddy".

seeking ...

You are my beacon, my lighthouse,
And brightly your light has shone.
It was always helpful for me to find you
Whenever I was away from "home".

This time, I have drifted off
Into uncharted waters, as it would seem.
There is no more sight of land,
Nor your bright beam.

I  know the tide shall turn again,
Although I'm not sure when.
I just hope that once it does
Your Light will still be on then.

Bock to brewing ...

I made my second attempt at brewing last night. This batch was a European Bock and from another kit. This time, however, I didn't add anything.

I am not yet setup for a traditional bock as it needs to be kept constantly ~ 50*F during fermentation. I intend at some point to pick up a "junk" refrigerator from somewhere and build my own temperature regulator. Besides bocks typically ferment on the order of months and I would need another glass carboy so that I could still brew other beer in the meantime.

This kit, however, used a lager yeast and wouldn't require such a cool environment. I am leary of using dry yeast and the guy behind the counter was cool enough to exchange out a liquid yeast (a California Ale Yeast) for the dry packet so long as I paid the difference.

I set about to cleaning up the area where I was brewing and sterilizing my equipment. Finally, brew time.

Instead of using the two and a half gallon standard for the boil, I used 3 gallons. The paper in the kit mentioned that a higher boil quantity will increase hop IBUs (a measure of the strength of the hops), so I figured I would try it.

I tell ya, that extra half a gallon must've added about 20 extra minutes to the time it took to boil the water to the steeping grain temperature (150*-165* F). It finally hit 160* and I added the grain bag and swirled it around in the water for 20 minutes.

Then it was time to add the malt extracts which requires constant stirring to prevent it from sticking to the pot and burning. Also at this point, it  is time to exercise some caution as it is prone to boiling over -- especially since the pot now is holding a 1/2 gallon more than usual.

I did spill a little while stirring, but not too bad. I also noticed that a little of the extract had stuck to the bottom, but I was able to dislodge it through some stirring.

I added the bittering hops and continued stirring for 40 more minutes, followed by adding the flavoring hops and stirring yet another 15 minutes. This time I did remember to add the Irish Moss (which is supposed to bind all the particulates), which I had forgotten the previous batch.

I immediately set it in an ice bath and vigorously stirred the wort in the pan trying to cool it down. It took about 25 minutes to get it down to 80*. This time I caught it before allowing it to drop past that point (unlike my first effort).

I now racked it into the carboy and even  remembered to take an Original Gravity reading this time  (which I had forgotten to on the first batch). This meant I also got to take a sample. The OG came in at 1.035.

The sample had a sweet taste to it. You could certainly taste the caramel and chocolate malt which were part of the grain pack as well as the sugars which the yeast will feed upon. It had a light brown color and had some clarity to it as it flowed into the carboy.

I then pitched the yeast, gave the carboy a good, vigorous shake and set the bung and airlock in the top, and took it to the closet where it will live for the next couple weeks. I checked it this morning and it hadn't started fermenting yet, so I gave it another couple good shakes and wrapped the blankets back around it.

The temperature in the closet was 80* so I expect it should start soon. Besides, the bottle said it should begin fermenting in 5-15 hours so it should be taking off at some point this evening. It's funny, though, the waiting is a bit agonizing as you are wondering if it's going to take and hopeful to have not wasted beer.