Sunday, July 31, 2005
Diversionary Tactics
You know, it's not that I've been lazy and not felt like posting, au contraire, I really did try. I went to the well time after time and always came back dry. I've written 3 or 4 entries, a few paragraphs each, saved them as drafts and never got back to them. Well after going back and reading them again, I figured I might as well share them with you just to get you off my ass until I get my groove back.
This is the first rejected draft I wrote. It's from 7/14/05 and it's titled:
WATER COUNTRY USA
We have been the proud owners of a WyteTrashCo (TM) above-ground pool attached to a SlyBilt (TM) pressure treated deck for twenty years now. It provides us with nearly hours worth of family fun each summer. It's held up pretty well but, over the years I've had to make a few repairs and improvements. The stairs have been recently overhauled allowing access without the aid of the rope and the deck has 25% fewer splinters now that the back few planks fell off.
We've only had to change the liner in the pool once and that really wasn't very hard. Except. Did you know that a pool liner has a different texture on each side? No? Same here! Who knew that the shiny, very slippery side was not the side you walked on? Who would have thought it was the rough and very much not slippery side? Well, next time we'll know, eh?
Anyway, it really is nice to have as a relief from the heat seeing as our house is not air conditioned or apparently, insulated in any way. The problem I have with it is our summer here, as you well know, is eight weeks long at best. The photos are what the pool looks like the other 44 weeks. OK, I'm not really sure where I was going with this. Wait, lemme read it from the start again.
Alright, I think I remember. I was going to go on and on about how nice it was to blog from the pool but on the way to the pool, I was swarmed within seconds by mosquito's. I know, I could have doused myself with fuckin OFF but I prefer not to use it unless I can shower afterwards and I can't (or more correctly, won't).
So, I guess
See what I mean? Where the hell am I going with this? What's my fucking point? I don't know and I freakin' wrote it. Why did I use pictures from the winter? I mean I have lots of summer pix. Sometimes I just don't understand me.
NEXT, I penned the following entry on July 17th and called it:
BREW BLOGGING SUNDAY
Well, today looks like a good day to brew blog. I absolutely have to brew today and because I am behind with my blogging I will combine the two. Let's start the chronology now:10:05 Began brewing process.The weather is 80f and very humid (90%)The first step is to heat the mash water (about 7-8gal) to 170f. This takes about 15 minutes. Once it reaches temp, I mix it in a modified picnic cooler with 25lbs or so crushed grain to create the mash. The mash resembles oatmeal or porridge whatever that is. Mixing the room temperature grain with the 170f water gets me at my strike temp of about 154f. I will let the mash rest for an hour and a half in the insulated "mash tun" until the starches in the mash have been converted to sugars.
10:35 Next, heat the sparge water. Twelve gallons heated to 180f and transferred to another modified picnic cooler called the hot liquor tank. This one has to sit higher than the mash tun to allow the sparge water to flow into it. This means I have to move 12 gallons of scalding hot water from the brew pot
YAAAAAWWWWWNNNN!
Who fuckin' cares?
Christ, it bored the shit out of me and I actually do fuckin' care.
Last but not least, well actually it is the least.
It's from 7/18 and it was tentatively titled:
I've Been Busy, No Really, I Mean for Me.
Saturday, I had to do some brewing stuff and then go and pick up the Gravely parts. "What Gravely parts?" you are asking. Oh, yeah, I won a bid on eBay to buy replacement parts. The replacement part in this case was the entire mower deck. I only needed the vertical drive shaft but it was cheaper to just buy a whole used deck. They guy lived about 45 miles away on a farm so the Lovely Janis and I took a ride to pick them up. They are waaaaay to heavy to ship so when buying most Gravely repair parts, you have to find someone local.
I had planned to update the original Gravely piece with this but I couldn't find a way to make the point in three of four paragraphs. Any longer than that and my Gerbil like attention span finds other bright shiny things to chase.
Just call me PinHead.
YO...... PINHEAD!!!
This is the first rejected draft I wrote. It's from 7/14/05 and it's titled:
WATER COUNTRY USA
We have been the proud owners of a WyteTrashCo (TM) above-ground pool attached to a SlyBilt (TM) pressure treated deck for twenty years now. It provides us with nearly hours worth of family fun each summer. It's held up pretty well but, over the years I've had to make a few repairs and improvements. The stairs have been recently overhauled allowing access without the aid of the rope and the deck has 25% fewer splinters now that the back few planks fell off.
We've only had to change the liner in the pool once and that really wasn't very hard. Except. Did you know that a pool liner has a different texture on each side? No? Same here! Who knew that the shiny, very slippery side was not the side you walked on? Who would have thought it was the rough and very much not slippery side? Well, next time we'll know, eh?
Anyway, it really is nice to have as a relief from the heat seeing as our house is not air conditioned or apparently, insulated in any way. The problem I have with it is our summer here, as you well know, is eight weeks long at best. The photos are what the pool looks like the other 44 weeks. OK, I'm not really sure where I was going with this. Wait, lemme read it from the start again.
Alright, I think I remember. I was going to go on and on about how nice it was to blog from the pool but on the way to the pool, I was swarmed within seconds by mosquito's. I know, I could have doused myself with fuckin OFF but I prefer not to use it unless I can shower afterwards and I can't (or more correctly, won't).
So, I guess
See what I mean? Where the hell am I going with this? What's my fucking point? I don't know and I freakin' wrote it. Why did I use pictures from the winter? I mean I have lots of summer pix. Sometimes I just don't understand me.
NEXT, I penned the following entry on July 17th and called it:
BREW BLOGGING SUNDAY
Well, today looks like a good day to brew blog. I absolutely have to brew today and because I am behind with my blogging I will combine the two. Let's start the chronology now:10:05 Began brewing process.The weather is 80f and very humid (90%)The first step is to heat the mash water (about 7-8gal) to 170f. This takes about 15 minutes. Once it reaches temp, I mix it in a modified picnic cooler with 25lbs or so crushed grain to create the mash. The mash resembles oatmeal or porridge whatever that is. Mixing the room temperature grain with the 170f water gets me at my strike temp of about 154f. I will let the mash rest for an hour and a half in the insulated "mash tun" until the starches in the mash have been converted to sugars.
10:35 Next, heat the sparge water. Twelve gallons heated to 180f and transferred to another modified picnic cooler called the hot liquor tank. This one has to sit higher than the mash tun to allow the sparge water to flow into it. This means I have to move 12 gallons of scalding hot water from the brew pot
YAAAAAWWWWWNNNN!
Who fuckin' cares?
Christ, it bored the shit out of me and I actually do fuckin' care.
Last but not least, well actually it is the least.
It's from 7/18 and it was tentatively titled:
I've Been Busy, No Really, I Mean for Me.
Saturday, I had to do some brewing stuff and then go and pick up the Gravely parts. "What Gravely parts?" you are asking. Oh, yeah, I won a bid on eBay to buy replacement parts. The replacement part in this case was the entire mower deck. I only needed the vertical drive shaft but it was cheaper to just buy a whole used deck. They guy lived about 45 miles away on a farm so the Lovely Janis and I took a ride to pick them up. They are waaaaay to heavy to ship so when buying most Gravely repair parts, you have to find someone local.
I had planned to update the original Gravely piece with this but I couldn't find a way to make the point in three of four paragraphs. Any longer than that and my Gerbil like attention span finds other bright shiny things to chase.
Just call me PinHead.
YO...... PINHEAD!!!
