Monthly Archives: January 2008

New Beer Tap

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I’ve been having trouble with one of the taps in my kegerator. It gets stuck, won’t open, won’t close, and the only time it works reliably is when I’ve loosened the collar enough so that it leaks out the handle shaft.

I ordered a new tap, a Ventmatic (formerly Shirron) Forward Seal Faucet from Northern Brewer and got it installed a little while ago. It’s working well so far and I’ve got access to my stout again. We’ll see how it does over time, and if it works out I’ll replace the other one as well.

For A Few Demons More

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I got a Barnes and Noble gift certificate for Christmas and used it to pick up a few books, including Kim Harrison’s latest Rachel Morgan book. It picks up not long after the previous one left off and continues the major plot lines of the ongoing demon problems, the werewolf issues, and the vampire clans’ dominance battles. The last book and now this one have gotten more episodic. Not saying that they don’t stand alone, but you couldn’t start in the middle and enjoy the read because there’s very little recapping and history discussed. Definitely one of the better books of the series and it’s set the stage for the sequel. I’m hoping some of the longer unresolved threads to start at least working towards a resolution…

Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas from Peoria. It’s been a fun day, especially watching Reese open his presents. The little guy made out like a bandit, picking up a bunch of Hot Wheels car sets, a Leapster, some games, a glow-in-the-dark solar system, and more. I got a couple DVDs, one an old Japanese samurai flick and the other on all-grain brewing. Just a nice day celebrating Christmas with Reese…

Alvin and the Chipmunks

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Reese and I went to see the Chipmunks movie today, and in spite of me dreading it, it was a lot of fun. Jason Lee really nailed the Dave character and the CGI chipmunks didn’t look odd at all. The humor was well done, with jokes for both children and parents alike. The skewering of the record companies and recording industry in general was kind of fun, but with current events, maybe I’m seeing something that wasn’t there.

Reese enjoyed himself, which was the most important thing… 🙂

Cursor’s Fury

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The third book in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series was my traveling book, for the airports, etc. and I just finished it off. In this installment we learn a lot more about Tavi’s past and the problems facing the realm. Tavi has been inserted into a newly formed Legion to keep an eye on the situation and report back. If only things went according to plans… While all hell is breaking loose there, Isana and company are working to free slaves and captives across the realms. The ending was quite surprising, at least for me. The author opened up a whole bunch of worm cans and has got me anxious for the next book to come out.