Grubulub: dirvish's Blog » Words

Afghani Voter Turnout

dirvish — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:40:32 +0000

Part of an email from my cousin in Afghanistan:

We just got back from the afghanistan pakistan border securing the election voting sites there. There are about 4 villages there each with about 300 or so people and on the day of the election we had 35 voters because ass soon as the sun rose the taliban decided it was time to play all day long and no one would come out of their homes. Kind of frustrating sticking your neck out for these people so we can have 35 damn votes.

So based on my cousin’s rough estimate of a small sample size the voter turnout was about 3%.

Brew It Up!

dirvish — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:12:00 +0000

I went to Brew It Up, a brewpub in Sacramento, on Friday. The food was good, but nothing spectacular. I wasn’t too crazy about the beer I tried. I had the Captain Ron’s Imperial IPA and the Orange Blossom Blonde. Neither beer was bad…they just didn’t suit my taste.

I think the problem I had with the IPA is the strong malt flavor. When I order an imperial IPA I expect huge hops. I expect an ale that is totally out of balance in favor of hops. The Captain Ron has big malt to match the over-the-top hops and I’m not really a malt fan; I’m a hop head. This beer was way too balanced for my taste…which is an odd complaint about a beer.

The Blonde had a nice honey taste too it, but again too much malt for my taste which isn’t normally characteristic of a blonde ale.

The most interesting part of Brew It Up is the atmosphere. They have small brew kettles along one whole wall of the restaurant that they were actively using with dining tables just a few feet away. Employees were pumping beer out of one kettle and stirring another while we were there. In the middle of the restaurant they had a large table set up where they mixed ingredients for their beer. In the back, by the bar, they were filling and capping bottles. It was very interesting, if a bit noisy, to watch all this going on around you as you eat. Apparently they have a membership program you can sign up for if you want to learn how to make your own beer in their facility.

Even though the food didn’t blow my mind and I wasn’t crazy about the beers I tried, Brew It Up was still a great experience.

Upgrade

dirvish — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:43:51 +0000

I upgraded my Wordpress install and I dig the new interface.

Scrooge

dirvish — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:16:16 +0000

Mother-in-law: You should put Christmas lights on your house.

Me: No way. That’s a waste of electricity and I’d probably fall off my six foot ladder trying to reach the eaves.

Mother-in-law: I put lights on our house by myself.

Me: Jesus and Santa really appreciate that, but Christmas lights are not going on my house.

Proposition 8

dirvish — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:51:15 +0000

I think I’m currently experiencing the second stage of the seven stages of grief over the passage of California’s Proposition 8: “Pain & Guilt.” A vulnerable minority was in need of protection and California has failed in this duty. I’m very disappointed and I feel like I could have done more to help the cause.

I am looking forward to the “Anger & Bargaining” phase if it involves punching a bigot in their hateful face…

Brewery Roundup

dirvish — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:56:08 +0000

I escaped the heat and smoke last week with a couple trips west. First was a trip to Santa Rosa for a wedding, which included a side trip to Bodega Bay. We hit up two breweries on this trip.

Third Street AleWorks – Santa Rosa
Food: Good. Favorite was the parmesan garlic fries.
Atmosphere: Good. Downtown Santa Rosa is pretty groovy…view is of a big ugly building though. Inside of brewpub is nice.
Beer: Good. We tried the Pale Ale and the IPA. Both were good; nothing mind-blowing though.

We took the long way home and swung through Sacramento for dinner.

Rubicon Brewing Company – Sacramento
Food: Good. Favorite was the spicy BBQ sauce on the Rubi—Q Burger.
Atmosphere: Good. Seating was cramped. Enthusiastic sports fans at the bar. Helpful waitress answered questions about local night life.
Beer: Excellent. We tried the Monkey Knife Fight Pale Ale, their IPA, and the Hop Sauce. I had their IPA at the Brewfest in Chico and it was at least as good at the brewery. The Pale Ale was good as well. The highlight of the trip was the Hop Sauce, a strong ale with a huge variety of hops. It was delicious.

After a couple days at home we headed Northwest to Humboldt County where we visited three more breweries.

Lost Coast Brewery – Eureka
Food: Meh. Nothing really stood out here, nothing was bad but it was all a little boring.
Atmosphere: Great. Cool artwork.
Beer: Good. We tried their wheat, apricot wheat, tangerine wheat, rasberry brown, and the Alleycat (Amber). I usually don’t like fruity beers but I enjoyed their apricot wheat. I would even dare say that I like it better than Pyramid’s apricot brew. The other beers were good as well, though I wasn’t crazy about the other fruity beers. If you haven’t had Lost Coast’s brews before don’t miss the Downtown Brown or the Indica (IPA).

Six Rivers Brewery – McKinleyville
Food: Good. Favorite was the cheese burger. I’m not sure what they spiced it with but it was tasty.
Atmosphere: Good. This seemed to be the townie hangout. The large bar was packed with locals making for a noisy atmosphere. I definitely dug the local vibe.
Beer: Excellent. We tried the IPA, the Raspberry Lamblic, and their strong ale Sasquatch. The IPA was good, nothing too exciting though. The Raspberry Lamblic was a little sweet for me, kinda tasted like Kool-Aid. The Sasquatch was superb. Being from Chico I “accidentally” called it Bigfoot when I ordered it. It is a fairly good comparison though. Although not as aggressively hopped or flavorful as Bigfoot the Sasquatch is just as strong and much smoother. Dangerously smooth for such a strong brew.

Eel River Brewing – Fortuna
Food: Good. Salad and fish were good. Garlic cheese fries were kinda ruined by the mounds of cold shredded cheese.
Athmosphere: Great. Lost of cool old stuff on the walls. Large outdoor garden and dining area. Friendly cats (organic pest control) roamed the grounds. Cool motto: “Be Natural – Drink Naked”
Beer: Only had the chance to try one of their beers, the organic IPA. It was good, nothing too exciting though. Most of their beers are organic.

Terms & Conditions

dirvish — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:10:03 +0000

Where are the terms and conditions I’m supposed to agree to? Not on this page, and there is no link…

Uriah Faber

dirvish — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:29:52 +0000

I wrestled this guy a few times in High School. He wrestled for Lincoln High and was a really cool guy. Needless to say, he always beat me.

Probably the closest I came to beating him was when he pulled an illegal move (he claimed he did it accidentally and I believe him). The move is illegal in collegiate/HS wrestling because if it is done wrong it could paralyze someone. He did it perfectly so I wasn’t hurt in the least. If I had claimed that I couldn’t continue the match I would have won since you can’t win a match my injuring someone with an illegal move. It wasn’t an important match and I wouldn’t pull that anyways so I continued the match, and lost.

I had no idea he was into MMA, let alone one of the stars. A friend started telling about this bad ass featherweight from California and I realized it was the same guy I remembered from High School.

My Brother Jim

dirvish — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:02:14 +0000

I got seminared in Sacramento yesterday so that I can “be an effective supervisor.” Most of the material was really good and the trainer was an energetic and often humorous speaker. My only real problem with the training was that the whole thing seemed to be based on creating a defensible position in relation to labor law. Not bad information to know, but not really applicable to my situation. I have my own supervisors and an HR department to worry about labor law issues for me. That and the trainer tended to be combative with the class, at one point apparently threatening me with violence:

Trainer: Relating a story about helping his daughter find material for managing a bank. “I just typed in [name of some standard HR form that I don't recall] in Google and up came 1.7 million results. And the great thing about all these documents is they are all in the public domain. You are free to use them however you want.”

Me: Raised eyebrows, head tilted to the side.

Trainer: “What’s going on over here? I sense some negativity over here. What do you have to say?”

Me: Not feeling up to debating copyright law with a combative and overbearing professional speaker in his class. “Um, nothing.”

Trainer: Points at biggest guy in the class. “Jim stand up. Keith, I want to introduce you to my brother Jim.”

Jim: Stands up, looking confused.

Class: …

Cricket: “Chirp.”

Me: Look of incredulity changes to look of confusion/annoyance.

Factor military duty into criticism

dirvish — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:31:26 +0000

Found on Quentin’s Blog, orginally from the Chicago Tribune:

In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy’s premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief’s medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation.

What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.

While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.

Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?

After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America’s biggest cities.

This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades.

Since these comments became public we have heard criticisms, condemnations, denouncements and rejections of his comments and him.

We’ve seen on television, in a seemingly endless loop, sound bites of a select few of Rev. Wright’s many sermons.

Some of the Wright’s comments are inexcusable and inappropriate and should be condemned, but in calling him “unpatriotic,” let us not forget that this is a man who gave up six of the most productive years of his life to serve his country.

How many of Wright’s detractors, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly to name but a few, volunteered for service, and did so under the often tumultuous circumstances of a newly integrated armed forces and a society in the midst of a civil rights struggle? Not many.

While words do count, so do actions.

Let us not forget that, for whatever Rev. Wright may have said over the last 30 years, he has demonstrated his patriotism.