Andy's Blog

I just finished another round of IPA. Randy thinks it should be named TCP/IPA. You gotta admit it's a stinkin' good name.

Details...

14 lbs. grain, the only ones I remember that are likely to be there are 8lbs Maris Otter Pale Malt, 1lbs Rye Malt, 1lbs Caramalt (Raph at Cellar Homebrew does my recipes).

Hopping schedule:
60min. 2oz. Fuggles, and 1oz. Amarillo
30min. 1oz. Amarillo
10min 1oz. Chinook, 1oz. Amarillo

Dryhop:
1oz. Amarillo
1oz. Chinook

and I might get some Columbus too...

Yeast:
Wyeast London Ale Yeast 1028

My original gravity came in at 1.080 which means that if I get the expected attenuation of 73-77% (attenuation is calculated as [(OG-FG)/(OG-1)] x 100) then my final gravity should come in around 1.022 and my beer will have an alcohol by volume of 7.6%, (1.080 - 1.022) * 131. A VERY respectible IPA.

DISCLAIMER: Just to be clear, this post addresses the difficult subject of homosexuality, and the article specifically focuses on the result for men who are not homosexual. The article is from a Christian point of view, but doesn't grandstand about the moral nature of the issue. My intent is not to get into a moral debate about homosexuality. I hate that it's such a divisive issue, and I strongly feel that homosexuals should be treated with the same love, charity, and fairness with which we are to treat any other human. It is simply an interesting and challenging article. I hope we can agree on that.

I just read an article called A Requiem For Friendship (I scanned a PDF copy for you). It makes some challenging observations about how the mainstream acceptance of homosexuality has basically eradicated intimate male relationships. The consequence of our new social reality; men no longer are able to express love for another man, which was common in the past (the article lists examples from Lincoln, to David, to Gilgamesh, to Tolkien), without it being sexualized.

I ate lunch today at Padow's which is quickly becoming my lunch joint of choice (mmm Turkey Pastrami). They had on Fox News and I watched for a while as I ate. One thing stuck out was an advertisement from a political interest group advocating a "fair up or down vote on Alito." I don't know anything about Alito except that conservatives are much happier about him than Miers. However that commercial worries me... I never saw commercials like that for Roberts, or Miers. Clearly some group is worried that Mr. Alito won't get a fair hearing (or won't get a hearing at all) and now I wonder if there's a reason.

Perhaps more generally, is vehement advocacy for polarizing candidates always a red-flag? This isn't just a conservative/liberal issue. The same thing would happen in reverse if it were the other way around (in fact if I had a better memory I'd recall if it happened with Ginsberg). Maybe it's good to have a bench of idealogues on both sides?

For the longest time the Task Manager on my PC (which I'm trying to wean the family of ;) has been virtually useless. It didn't have any of the tabs to check on performance, kill apps, etc. It turns out that it was running in "Light Footprint Mode" and all I had to do was double-click in the border. How obvious!

I figured I'd ask all three of my friends that read my blog...

I bought a new Apple Cinema display (the 20") and I'm hooking it up to my old powerbook and basically replacing my PC. However, my kids aren't ready to ditch the PC entirely. So I'd like to hook up the monitor to a KVM and be able to toggle between my Mac and the PC.

There are DVI/USB KVM devices out there sold by Belkin, etc. But they're WICKED expensive ($250-350). So I was hoping that I could get a basic VGA KVM and buy an adapter from the DVI out on the display to VGA on the KVM/PC. I tried this DVI Male to VGA female adapter and it doesn't work even plugged directly into my PC. Is this possible?

Also, do you all know if it's possible to share a bluetooth mouse/keyboard through a KVM? It doesn't look like it, but I've got the D-link DBT-120 that I'm trying... I plugged it directly into the PC and paired the bluetooth device with it. Then I plug it into the USB KVM and it still works. I don't know if I'll be able to get it to work on the Mac through the KVM yet since it was paired on the PC. We'll see... That is, as soon as I can "see" through the KVM with the display adapter problem.

Fall is the time for new music for me. I buy stuff pretty much year-round, but for the past few years I've splurged on new albums at once. Yesterday further confirmed the pattern (it's sooo easy with iTMS).

To find new stuff, I consult my musically similar friends, browse All Consuming, and read Pitchfork Media's Best reviews. I've found the later to be quite excellent. This year it was:

• Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better...
• Sufjan Stephens: Illinois
• Clap Your Hand and Say Yeah: Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah
• Franz Ferdinand: You Could Have It So Much Better...
• Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
• Wolf Parade: Apologies to Queen Mary
• Third Day: Wherever You Are
• Liz Janes: Liz Janes & Create(!) - EP

The later two not from Pitchfork... I'm a sucker for Third Day, and Liz Janes leads worship at this new church in Indy The New Deal, a project started by my good friend Jason Dorsey (head pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian).

Among the above, the Sufjan Stephens album is really sticking out for me. It makes you feel happy and alive. The music is diverse and multi-faceted. It's a musical cornucopia. Seeing Sufjan live in concert must be amazing because he practically needs an entire orchestra. Highly recommeded!

I'm a Hair Cuttery guy. I like that I can run over to the shop and if there's no line, be in and out in 15 minutes for $15. They don't do a GREAT job, and you get a different person all the time, but it's good enough for me.

However, Shiree made an appointment for me with the woman that does her hair last night. She runs her own salon out of her basement. You park in her driveway and walk around behind her house to the basement entrance. When you enter everything is tastefully decorated and smells nice. You're greeted by Michelle (name changed to protect the innocent, and I don't really remember her name anyhow), a very smiley, bubbly woman whom you easily imagine as a high school cheerleader. She escorts you to your "throne" and for 30 minutes you're pampered. She is a perfectionist concerned about every last detail. She used a straight-razor on my neck, washed my hair after cutting it to get rid of the clippings, and even trimmed my eyebrows (apparently they were too long but I didn't have any ear or nose hair that needed trimming... yet). She then proceeded to instruct me about "palm aids" and how if I wanted to blow dry my hair in the morning that they would be better than gels because they reveal the colors and cut of the hair. I told her that I'd stick with gel for now and she offered to teach me when I'm ready; as if I were here hair paduan.

Damage... $15 + tip. Cool. I'm going back.