Well, it’s got a name now after how fast it disappeared after Pascha. Henceforth to be known as St. Maximus Wheat. It’s in the keg now and I’m just doing a final leak test before getting it in the fridge for forced carbonation. Tasted a little bit on the way out and it’s yummy!
Author Archives: Pat
BMW R1150RT Test Ride
I’ve been thinking about picking up a sport touring machine for a while and with gas getting more expensive and me getting older, touring on a Sportster just isn’t as much fun as it used to be. I went out today to meet with a local guy who has an RT for sale. The bike looked good, felt comfortable, and the test ride was great. I’m going back tomorrow to pay for it and take it home. Here’s some basic observations from the test ride:
The RT handles cross winds a LOT better than the Sportster. It just shimmies a little instead of taking a dive.
The ABS really is grabby until you get used to it. By the end of the test ride I was a lot more comfortable with it than at the beginning.
Six gears are better than five.
Adjustable windshields rock!
After riding a single bike for ten years it’s going to take a while to get used to this one.
Small Favor
| I splurged and picked up the latest installment in the Dresden Files series and tore my way through it, finishing off today. Harry’s life keeps getting more interesting as he gets deeper into what’s been going on in the magical world and Chicago. Mr. Butcher’s keeping at least a half a dozen threads active over the series and has been bringing them around at appropriate times in the last few books, and especially this one. The Denarians are back along with both Fae Courts and there’s nothing good about that, nothing good at all. As is the norm, by the end of the book there is some resolution and more exposition for the next few books. It’s frustrating, in such a good way, mostly because I have to wait another year or so for the next installment. |
I Wooted
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I got together with some friends to go see what’s being billed as the movie of the summer, the new Indiana Jones movie. It was a good movie, lots of fun to watch, a good story, good dialog, etc. I’m not going to bore anyone by rehashing the movie itself, since that’s being done to death everywhere else. But, here’s a few things I noticed.
The motorcycle used was in no way, shape, or form a 1950s era Harley-Davidson. It was a Harley, but based on the engine’s heads, it was a modern Twin-Cam 88 dressed up to look like a 1950s era Panhead.
How big was that bike’s gas tank?
Shia LaBeouf did a lot better job than I thought he would based on Transformers. Good to see that he’s got some range and isn’t going to get typecast.
And finally, who knew that refrigerators were so durable in the 1950s?
Talking To The Police
I pulled this off of a forum post on The High Road and it’s really worth the time to listen to. Some good information in there from both a lawyer and a cop’s perspective.
Sunday Brew Day
Horror of horrors, I’m running out of beer. Today was a brew day and now I’ve got a batch of St. Maximus Wheat in the carboy. Here’s the recipe:
- 6.6 pounds wheat extract
- 1.5 oz. Tettnang 4.1% AA (6.2 HBUs)
- 1.5 oz. Hallertauer 3.7% AA (5.5 HBUs)
- Wyeast 1010 American Wheat
Boil for 60 mins., 15 mins. in add the Tettnang, 45 mins. in add the Hallertauer.
Chill and pitch the yeast.
Back In Texas
Technically today is the last day of my D.C. vacation, but all it was was a jog to the Metro station, a wait at the airport, and an uneventful flight back. I’ve unpacked and settled in, gotten through most of the e-mail backlog, and just relaxing.
Washington D.C. Trip – Day 7
The last full day in DC started out slow, got a late start, completely missing breakfast so I just grabbed some lunch at Union Station and then hopped the Metro over to Arlington National Cemetery. The weather cooperated, for the most part, but it got chilly and windy while I was at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and even sprinkled a little while the changing of the guard was going on. After that I went over to see the JFK memorial and bumped into Robert Kennedy’s memorial on the way. I hadn’t even known that it was there, because the last time I was at Arlington was with my Scout troop, seeing it from a Tourmobile. From the Eternal Flame I went over to the Marine Corps Memorial. While there I took a few photos bracketed to try out some high dynamic range processing. From there I headed over to check out the carillon donated by the Netherlands and then back to the Metro station to get back to the hotel.
Dinner tonight was at Tuscana West and I can’t say enough good about them. The service was excellent, the food was fantastic, the dessert were delicious. If you’re ever in D.C. and want to have some good upscale Italian, please pay them a visit.
The rest of the evening was spent packing for the trip home. I’m ready to get home but still would like to stay a bit longer. There’s so much that I didn’t get to do, but that’s why there will be a next time…
Washington D.C. Trip – Day 6
Another early morning (aren’t I on vacation?) but I got ready and headed over to Sen. Hutchison‘s office in the Russell office building for a morning meeting. This one didn’t go as well as the one at Senator Cornyn’s office did because it was crowded and I couldn’t get time with the legislative assistant who handles health related issues. After meeting the Senator we got a chance to head on over to the Capitol for a staff guided tour. It was a lot of fun because we got to see some of the basement and ride the Senate subway over. I got to see parts of the Capitol building that I wouldn’t have seen, including the rotunda and some office and meeting space. I also ate lunch in one of the Senate cafeterias in the basement area. The food was good and it was definitely the cheapest lunch so far…
From there I went back to the hotel and got changed and hopped a cab over to the National Arboretum. They had a bonsai exhibit with many plants over 100 years old. The center piece of that exhibit was one that is almost 400 years old. Very impressive stuff. After that I nosed around the herb garden and talked to one of the staff about rosezilla. He gave me good pointers on places to start trying to figure out what kind of rose it is. Finally I went up to check out the Azaleas and got some good pictures of some of them, even though it was a little past their peak.
After a short cab ride home I hoofed it over to Cafe Berlin for some schnitzel and beer. The food and service were excellent. I would strongly suggest checking it out if you’re in DC some time.