Looks like i done fucked up. I was invited to two parties. One with my friends out at NIU and one with my brother and his friends. I chose my friend's party. I didn't anticipate the massive snow storm, which makes it dangerous if not impossible to drive the 40 odd miles out to the party. Now i could have went with my brother, had i known this was coming but we left a few hours ago. Oh well, i still have a six pack of Blue Moon and....damn.....

Hey Jack, we stayed home too !
The choice was some friends and a potentially good party, but which had a BIG chance of turning into a ruck-fest due to alcahole (that's booze that turns people into a-holes...) and jealousy, or braving the weather (actually not too bad in the end...) or staying in snuggled up with the cats in front of the fire with good food and several (hips !) bottles of good wine.....

2008 looks good !

All the best !
Happy New Year POAC Dudes and Dudettes !!!

I usually stay home anymore.

For one, it's just not worth the DUI risk. In this state, it's jail first time, plus major expenses.


So tonight at midnight I'll be out on the front porch with a rum and coke watching the neighborhoods a few miles south of me explode. From my perspective it always looks and sounds like a major firefight, as I can't quite see the homes behind the trees, but can see and hear the fireworks. Tonight it'll be clear and cold. Should be a good free show!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Let's hope this next year brings us closer to peace.

Let me tell you, i absolutely made the right move by not driving out to my university. I went outside (i ended up trying help someone find his lost dog, a story for another day) and none of the streets were plowed, i was absolutely covered in snow after about 10 minutes, and i saw one car slide into someone's lawn. I probably wouldn't survive a 40 mile country drive.

I guess that i doesn't really matter. I just feels like any other night. Who cares if tomorrow starts 2008? Nothing will be any different. I will just sit back, drinking my blue moon, and hope no one bothers me tonight.

By the way guys, if you have never had blue moon, you needs to try it. $7 for a six pack, amazing Belgian white wheat ale. Probably in my top three.

I usually stay home at new year (or I have for the past 4 or 5 years anyway) but this year I decided to wander over to my mums who was having some friends over...
We decided to spend the night at a local pub and had a ball! - Locked in after the pub's license ran out. Loud and tune-full karioki (no idea how to spell that, but I'm sure you know what I'm getting at!), great company, lots of dancing, in what must be one of the friendliest cities on the planet.
Glad I broke my tradition!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope 2008 amazes you in some really good ways!

Well let me tell you how my new years went. I got drunk (what? no way!), researched graduate schools, and then watched episodes of "The Office" with my dad. And to show just how little i cared about new years, i didn't realized it was 2008 until a half hour past mid-night. Its approaching 1:00, so i will probably be going to bed. All of the nasty weather has made my head hurt.

Well, here is to our final year of the Bush Administration! You people enjoy yourself in 2008.

blue moon's good stuff, but if you like darker beer, check out Butte Creek Organic Porter (chico, ca - the same town as sierra nevada)... distribution just went nation-wide.

I'm not really a fan of dark beer. They always taste too bitter and strong. I like wheat beer. My absolute favorite, better than Blue Moon, is Sam Adams Summer Ale. It isn't around for very long which sucks.

See, then again I don't care for wheat beer. I prefer hops and don't like "stuff" floating around in my beer.

I prefer an amber beer. Killians Irish Red, or a good amber bock. Best of them all, Dos Equis.
Then again, Budweiser and Miller both make a very fine lager, and they don't require a small loan to buy a short case.

That is good stuff but I have avoided Killians ever since i tried their strange berry beer. Lets just say it tasted like a cranberry muffin that was soaked in beer.



They have amstel amber bock at this bar i go to every now and then. I usually choose that over the other cheap stuff. My friends and I often wonder if it has more alcohol because it is darker (probably not though). Plus, it is better than Bud Light and St. Pauli Girl.

I believe the alcohol content is limited by law. Used to be anyway.
Used to be that when we went to Canada, the beer knocked us on our butts rather quickly.

I think anything above 6% or so is called "malt liquor". I'm sure we have all had that crap. King Cobra, Magnum, Olde English. There is this stuff they sell everywhere in my area called Steel Reserve which is about 9% alcohol. A 24 oz can is about $1. If you are poor and need to get drunk that is the way to go. Tastes awful, if you hadn't already guessed.

http://www.2basnob.com/beer-types.html



One of these days I'm gonna try beer making.

you obviously haven't tried beers in the belgian tradition...

try some Ommegang, or or even stuff out of the "old belgium brewing co." in colorado (you may have seen "fat tire" around... not their best)...
Just because blue moon says it's belgian, doesn't come close to putting it in the same class as the brewmasters of brussels and the like... Most of it is over 7% and may cost you over $9 for less than two pints, but you'll understand after the first sip...

That is, if you prefer flavor over volume...

If the idea is to get a head change, just shoot over to NY and pick up some absinthe...

you won't be dissapointed.

by the way, Killians is far from Irish... Its from the coors plant in colorado.

Absinthe is not beer, and can't be equated to beer.
Though clearly some people like Absenth, most consider it quite disgusting.

Basically, you have two types of beers.
Ales and Lagers.


Generally Ales are old world beers while Lagers are new, cold brew beers that can more easily be pasturized.


Ales
An ale yeast is called top fermenting because of its tendency to flocculate (gather) at the surface of the brew during the first few days before settling to the bottom.

To brew an ale, fermentation must take place in warmer temperatures for the yeast to multiply and do its magic. Ales are usually higher in alcohol and will be noticeable fuller and more complex.

Lagers
The lager yeast simply flocculates (not at the surface) and sinks to the bottom. Therefore it is known as bottom fermenting. Lager yeasts need cool temperatures during fermentation to perform their magic.

Lagers tend to be lighter in color and usually taste drier than ales. They are generally less alcoholic and complex. This is the most common beer type sold in the U.S.

Specialty Beers
Specialty beers are either ales, lagers, or a hybrid of the two that will contain other ingredients that cause it to not fit into a true ale or lager style.

Thanks for the lesson, there, buddy. I'd have never known any of that if it weren't for you.

You really like to assume that everyone else is your intellectual inferior, don't you?

On top of that, how many people do you know that have actually tried absinthe? for god's sake, you can't even spell it right! Just because either; you haven't tried it 'cause someone you know told you it was bad, or you had someone's lame ass attempt of mixing vodka with wormwood, or you've actually tried the beverage, [which has been illegal in the US since prohibition (until last June in NY)] and didn't enjoy it, its lasted for centuries without your endorsement. In fact it's risen above propaganda to re-emerge as an enjoyable experience, particularly among artists and creative communities.

I'd like to see some kind of support for your statement that most people think it "disgusting"

You're entitled to your own opinion, but don't speak for others without proof.

Wow, we seem to be in a big bad ass condescending mood tonight.
Why you got your panties in such a bunch?

I was going to say the same thing but probably would have used a lot more swear words. Thats just who i am.