Come on people, this is the basic of basic...

This morning I was working at the Pensacola Bay Brewery and couldn’t resist taking some photos of the sunrise over Pensacola Bay.

As per SemperFiCharityRun.org,

Started in 1983, the original charity race was organized with the goal of helping families of the 241 American service members killed in the bombing attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Today, the purpose of the race is to give back to the Pensacola community that so willingly supports Marine training. All proceeds go directly to local outreach programs.

1. Belmont Pale Ale
2. Light Lager
3. Jim’s Root Beer
4. Jim’s Honey Ale
5. Jim’s Blueberry Wine
6. Rick & Butch Tornado Watch IPA (between 8% and 9% ABV)
7. Dusty’s Red
8. P&B Pale Ale
9. P&B Wheat
10. Ron’s Rum Punch
11. Scott’s Cherry Wheat
12. Laura’s Dry Cider
13. Laura’s Blueberry Cider

This was a fun event for me, not only did I find out about the Belmont Art & Culture Center but I also got to meet other club members. The BACC looks like a pretty cool organization.

AHS 20th Anniversary Irish Red & Stout All Grain Kits

A few days ago I ordered my next two beers from Austin Homebrew Supply which shipped without much delay and arrived today, well within their promised delivery period.  So far all my experiences with AHS have been great and I recommend them to anyone looking for good deals on Homebrew supplies.

Currently they are running a special, to celebrate their 20th Anniversary, with a wide choice of 20 beer kits for just $20 each, yeast is extra of course. Each kit gives you an option of Extract, mini-mash and all grain to fit your brewing style preference. These kits were not designed as cheap products made with low production cost and high sales in mind.

These are not inferior kits. These kits are being sold below cost with an option for free shipping. The only shortcut is the price. Order soon before they are gone.
-Forrest (HomebrewTalk.com Forums)

Sure, I know the argument that if you put your own recipe together, it costs less- and it does. If you buy all your grain in bulk and culture your own yeast bank, grow your own hops (or find really good prices) you can get your beer cost down to less than $0.25 per 12 oz serving. The AHS kits come in to about $0.44 per 12 oz serving. That still isn’t bad at all when you consider that they have 20 years of experience putting together award-winning beer recipes so the recipe will produce good beer- the homebrewer is the one at this point who’s going to make or break it. Also, if you are starting out or have limited space for storage, it just makes sense to spend a little more and get the beer kit that fits your needs.

The plan:
This weekend I will be brewing my beers. My goal is to brew them back to back, finally using the all grain equipment I have collected over the past few months. I plan to post my progress as I go, so come one back later for the updates.

Reflective

Last night on the way to pick up Alex from school, Ally noticed the reflectors on the road and asked, “Daddy, why are there lights on the road?” Pretty much the rest of the drive to the college was spent talking about reflectors and how they bounce light back towards the source of the light, causing them to appear as though they were a light source.Every Friday at Ally’s pre-school they have show and tell, all themed about a letter of the week. This week was the letter “R” and I figured it would be a perfect for Ally to discuss what she just learned about for show and tell.

When we got home, I dug out my reflective tape and some foam board. I airbrushed the board black and cut out the word ‘Reflective’ from the reflective tape. I placed the letters on the board and gave everything a nice coat of clear coat from a rattle can.

Ally with sign

In the morning, we dropped Ally off at school with her sign and a bright flashlight to show off her new knowledge of a new word. 

When we picked her up from school, the teacher raved about her show and tell. He was very excited about it, because not only did he get to teach his kids a new word, but it was also a very visual example too.

This time, instead of talking to someone who seemed to only want to tell the customer whatever they wanted to hear, even if it was a blatant lie, I spoke to Janine T., who’s honesty was refreshing.  Not only did she have an incredibly sexy British accent, she took the time to find a resolution that was acceptable.

So, while I may not have 4G coverage yet and I find myself hoping to have it soon, I am feeling better about the situation. I’m not trying to justify a move to AT&T or Verizon, which after early termination fees and having to buy new phones again would have been upwards of $800.