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Been meaning to share this, it’s just to funny not to. No reason in the world he acts the way he does.

Finally finding some time here to get pictures up we’ve taken over the past few weeks. First the obligitory christmas ones:

And of course, there were so many Connor pictures Jen ended up making animated gif’s of the good ones. There’s 3 total over on his site, but here’s just one real quick:

Since Connor has his own site, it sometimes feels like I don’t post enough about him here….so I managed to snag a few pics of just him and me.

I always seem to forget exactly how much work goes into bottling beer. Sure I’ve only done it twice now, but you think I’d have a better grasp on the amount of time it consumes. A few days ago we bottled the barley wine we brewed back in July, it has been downstairs in the secondary fermenter (ie carboy) for quite a while now.
Barley wine is one of those beers that can be cellar-ed, or at least stored for a long time. Mostly in part due to the high alcohol and large amounts of hops in it, so we really let it mellow down in the basement for a while. Which it turns out was a good thing because I had no idea how dirty the liter bottles were. Here’s a picture of what they look like, I really wanted to use them because of the “grolsch” style flip cap:

So here’s the deal, a friend of mine helped me buy the kit used from a friend of his at work. So in the deal I got a bunch of stuff, and a couple of boxes of bottles. Apparently his first time brewing didn’t go so well, hence the reason why he was selling the kit. I’m guessing it went to badly that he didn’t even bother to rinse out the bottles after using them. So when I went to clean them, I was greeted by 3+ year old gunk that had almost become part of the bottle on a molecular level
I tried soaking them for a few hours, and that basically did nothing. Ended up soaking them in a vinegar solution for 3 days, and even then I was only able to get them clean using a lot of elbow grease, a bottle brush, and purchasing one of these do dads:

I wouldn’t normally need one, but I do have to admit they work well. You still need to use a bottle brush on stubborn stuff, but you really can’t appreciate it until you’ve used it. Also made cleaning out the glass carboy easier after we bottled the beer.
Anyways, even after all that I still ran the bottles through the dishwasher to sanitize them with the heat. Christmas eve I knew I had to get this done so the beer could carbonate and maybe even mellow more in the bottle. So that’s what we did:

I tried a bit of the beer when we were done (just what was in the tube) and i’m really excited about it. Even flat and warm I think it had some potential…..and speaking of potential…..the hydrometer reading was 15.5 when we brewed….and 3 when we bottled. Using the potential alcohol scale that means the beer has a abv of 12.5%! That’s insane.
More to talk about, but this post is long enough. Tomorrow I’ll post some pics of Connor from Christmas–although Jen has that base super covered over at his site. Also we’ll have some big news here soon….so stay tuned!

Wizards in Winter is an instant classic and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So of course somebody had to do a trailer version of it eventually:

So I’m on vacation from work now, have been for a while actually. My company has a policy of making you use up your time off before the end of the year, and the don’t pay you for it or let you roll it over.
Anyways….well as you might imagine, I have a hard time staying away from the work email. And if I turn off my laptop I only have a finite amount of time before my mailbox get’s full and it starts bouncing them (I get a lot of email, and I do mean a lot).
Add to this the fact that there are a huge number of projects going on right now (my group only has two people in it currently) and there’s my dilemma. If I don’t check my email and respond to people, all I am doing is setting myself up for a shit ton of work when I officially go back. However, if I do respond to people and let them know that I’m working they basically jump on me like flies on crap; because of course everybody else is out now as well, and they need stuff done at the last minute.
I made the mistake of doing that yesterday for something silly, and even though somebody only wanted a description field updated on an interface, I had to stop and say to myself “this is stupid, i’m working on my vacation constantly. Nobody else it busting their hump for me (and trust me, they aren’t) why am I killing myself over something that can wait?”
End result is my laptop is not only off, but unplugged. I can’t keep jumping through hoops for people and keep my sanity. Need to take a little decompression time for me….I’m sure things will be just as hectic when I get back.

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

Yesterday I got the final grade in the mail for my college telecourse I took this year. As I’ve said previously, I’ve decided that returning to college to get a degree is vital to me going any further up the food chain.
So..anyways, my main point here is that telecourses are really difficult. I mean, I really was trying my best but between work and Connor I have to admit I was procrastinating a lot. Had I tried this when I was younger I can almost 100% promise that I would have failed and/or done very poorly.
I did get an A, but it was by the skin of my teeth. Literally one point, and only because the professor for this class gives you a bonus 10 points if you turn all the papers in on time. It’s really important to me though to do well. Plus it will help with scholarships when I change schools.
Funny thing about age, it makes that D you got in English 101 so many years ago really bother you. I hope I don’t sound like I’m bragging….I’m really not. It was only one telecourse, and for what most would consider an easy class. It’s just that I have such a hard time with school in general, add to that work and wanting to spend time with my son. Plus I had help, Jen carved out additional time for me, and also helped me by reading all my rough drafts. It’s amazing how useful a second set of eyes can be on a paper.
Now if I can just get my bosses boss to sign off on the paperwork to reimburse me for the class, I can afford to sign up for another one for spring.

I believe that when planning the layout of an office, perhaps placing the kitchen close to the bathrooms is unwise.
Now I can see the reasoning, in fact I agree with most of it. But when I’m trying to go the bathroom, and somebody nearby has recently prepared a package of Orville Redenbacher’s Super Butter Heart Attack w/ Extra Butter in the microwave, I can’t help but be a little put off. I mean, there generally is a reason why fluids and solids that leave us smell bad. Think about it….would you want the lovely smell of fresh medium well prime rib wafting up from the toilet as you drop off the kids? Of course you wouldn’t…unless your a sick deviant.
So I was a little put off by the whole aroma of butter while I relieved myself and looked at the mural of boogers on the wall in front of me. Surely there has been enough blood in them over the years that the man who did them should be dead by now. But back to the point….when I was done I washed my hands using the new soap dispenser, then turned and was greeted by a brand new towel dispenser as well. (Apparently somebody went on a shopping spree while the companies stock was up above $40)
Leaving the bathroom I walked over to get my lunch out of the fridge (thanks Jen!) and that’s where I made my mistake. I forgot to pull the sleeve of my shirt up so I could use that to shield me from the handle on the community refrigerator. I made actual contact between my dermal layer and the handle.
So I ended up eating my lunch with only my left hand.
yes…that was the point of this whole story.

http://www.hometips.com/home_probsolver/hps03/09_refrig/hps_refrig04.html
Oh man…did it for the first time this weekend.
I was eating a bowl of cereal Saturday morning, when I noticed the milk felt kinda warm. Checked the temp in the fridge and sure as heck it was 48 degrees (for the record it should be between 37-40).
What a mess down there. I doubt that thinks been deep cleaned in ….well ever. Half and hour later, and one foot long bottle brush that will never be the same, those coils are as clean as they day they were made. Well…maybe the year they were made.
Funny thing now is, the temp dropped down to like 33. So we have to reset everything to get it all balanced out again. But my point is the settings are lower, so that means the compressor runs less now…hence less electricity.

Finally got keyboard support to work on it. I’m such a freaking geek sometimes