Deja Brew: another 6 kettles!

The Band of Brewers were at Deja Brew recently and I missed both the brewing and bottling sessions. Sorry guys! Glad that I at least got some of the output. This brings us to 203 kettles! Wow, that is a lot of beer.

What we did this time and the bottle cap codes are as follows:

B = Balance Rock Red = ACBBD A nice slightly sweet red ale
Blue = Blueberry Ale = A delicious ale. It smells good, tastes good and finishes clean
H = Honey Ginger Madness = Nice and light, the ginger helps to cleanse the palate
P = Pumpkin Ale = One honey of a lager. Smooth and easy, very light.
S = Stunner = A creamy British Pub style pale ale “stunning colour”
U = Uncle John’s Stout = Contributed by Jody & John. Not just for Saturday night!

moon over Gillette

It was a pleasant evening weather wise. It was not so pleasant soccer-wise.

The Revolution played some good soccer for 21 minutes to go up 3-0. Then forgot how to play defense and ended up in a 3-3 tie. Frustrating!

Not sure what to make of this team. They seemed to be on track for playing great soccer earlier this year and have gotten progressively worse the last 8 games.

The creative capital

Well considering they are the claiming to be "the creative capital", you'd think they could have found a better way to 'fix' the clock than by covering it up.

In the Providence (RI) Train Station, the schedule board has some plastic covering the only clock in the main waiting room.

Shower time

No, it didn't rain in the area on Sunday but it was time for a bridal shower. Allison's wedding is coming up in Jan 2013 and the preparations are well underway.

Twas a good family gathering of the ladies. A few of the men 'solved half the world's problems' while we waited for them.

The following photos were taken just before the ladies all went to the shower. (Well, actually one photo was taken after - Carolyn and Meghan had left early to prepare.)

The Oscar Meyer Wienermobile came to Franklin, what was I supposed to do?

For additional photos from the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile visit to Franklin on Saturday
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/08/the-oscar-meyer-wienermobile-photo-essay.html

point of view

What is that?

It is where my car's side view mirror once was!

Some incompetent driver clipped the car in the Walmart parking lot last week and took off the mirror. They left the mirror just under the car. No note, no apology. Thanks, just what we needed.

Driving without the mirror is so different. I had not fully realized how much I depended upon the point of view it provides.

What mirror or view that if you lost it, would be a big change for you?

beach sand

sandals on the beach

They look like they were washed up. In fact, they were stepped out of to better feel the sand with my toes.

Two kinds of sand along the beach. That closer to the surf, hard packed but still supporting as you step. Further ashore, much softer. Your feet settle more deeply and you need to adjust your walk.

More like real life, needing to adjust a little each time as you make your way!

What kind of beach sand do you enjoy?

Show up

I have shown up regularly, just not here recently.

Last week was a wonderful time away to celebrate our 30th anniversary. My wife and I traveled through Prince Edward Island and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was a good trip, we saw a lot but there is plenty left to see so if the opportunity were to arise, we would return.

Tom Peters shares his insight on why showing up matters



What do you think about showing up? Does it matter?

Happy anniversary to us!

Dolores and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage today.

Still happy and smiling! This self portrait taken on the beach on Prince Edward Is.

Clouds

The weather is humid and threatening to break out into a thunder storm almost anytime now. So what can one do?

Instead of an outdoor activity, find something to do inside. Open a book, play a board game, there must be hundreds of options.

And when the weather clears, go back outside!

heavy water

In some circles, heavy water is a technical term. For purposes here, the weight of water is what is noticeable. After rain, the grass is drawn down.

After the sun is out for a bit, the water evaporates and the grass rises!

All the Saints

High school reunion time. Yes, it has been more a few years since I have been there. I was actually fortunate to have coached at St Raphael Academy for several years before changing direction. Coming out of college, I was going to be the world's greatest English teacher. Spent almost six years working as a substitute teacher and track coach before switching to the business world.

I enjoyed those years teaching and coaching. I don't regret having moved on to the world of business. I have ended up teaching in many more subtle ways as a manager. And now the chance to go to my high school reunion. Wow! 40 years - how time does fly!

There are some missing among my class. If the ways of the web today can help to find them, or them find us, maybe they'll see this and join us for the reunion.

The 'missing' classmates for the class of 1972

Paul Berard

Tom Bray

Norm Chretien

John Clarke
Pat Gannon
Marc Gentes
Terry Gore
Paul Hartmann
Wayne Johnson
Jim Kenyon
Ray Lareau
Bob McCallum
Tod McKenna
Don Nadeau
Pete Nichola
Mark O'Malley
Dennis Paiva
Steve Pertuso
Bob Reilly
Mike Ryan
Ray Salois
Mike Schoenberger
Glenn Surkont
Larry Tedeschi
Steve Thurston
Alan Vincent
Alec Wardyga

All the sprinters

The NY Times put together a great comparison of all the Olympic sprinters. In particular, the gold medal winners of the 100 meter dash. Working backward from Usain Bolt to Francis Lane in 1896.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/05/sports/olympics/the-100-meter-dash-one-race-every-medalist-ever.html?hp

Very well done, the data tells the story!

math test

Dolores and I stopped by The Christmas Tree Shop at Patriot Place before going to the double header soccer game on Saturday. This sign caught my eye.

Fortunately, the items in the bins were marked at $1.99 each.

Thoughts on the run - 8

Franklin has been on the single stream recycling process now for 2 years. My how time does fly! By all accounts, it is going very well. Trash tonnage is down, recycling is up, the solid waste fee is down, the totters were paid off early. All goodness!

I noticed a good feature of the totter design as I ran around on trash day. The route I happened to be running was the same as one of the trucks so we played tag for a bit. He'd stop to handle a bin, I'd pass him. He catch up, etc. I eventually crossed the street to get out of his way and let him do what he needed to do.

The bins line up so nicely. The street does look much better than it used to with everybody having a different color and configuration of bins and bags on the sidewalk.

One aspect I hadn't noticed before was with the different color lids and how the bins look after the truck has passed. It is easy to tell if the truck has come by or not.

I have seen more of the surrounding communities go this way for their trash. I hope their program is as successful as Franklin's.

So long, Shalrie!

It was a busy work day, I wasn't aware of the trade until I got a text message from one of my daughters. Trading Shalrie for another midfielder, a draft pick and additional allocation money? Does this solve the congestion in the midfield for the Revs?


Shalrie is a natural defensive midfielder with good passing skills. I think the best pairing this year was with Feilhaber in front of Shalrie. Shalrie could focus on the defense, helping out the back line and shutting down the pay before it got there. With Shalrie there, what do you do with Simms? 


With Shalrie up in the playmaker spot, what do you do with Feilhaber? Even without Shalrie, the Revs don't seem to be able to solve their midfield issues. As pointed out by Sean Donahue at New England Soccer Today:

One doesn’t have to look back far to see the impact Joseph’s presence has on the Revs results – just take a glance at the last four games. Without Joseph in the starting XI, the club has lost to the three worst teams in the East. With Joseph, the club grabbed an impressive road point against the then-first place Sporting Kansas City.

With choices to make among Rowe, Nguyen, Cardenas, Guy, Nyassi, Simms, Feilhaber, and yes, Tierney too, the Revs do need to settle on who will do what and then execute.


Will this help resolve the issue? Not sure. Time will need to play out to see.


I wish Shalrie all the best. He can deliver. Let's hope the Revs can figure out how to do the same.

Honey by light

When you get to the bottom of the honey jar, this is what it looks like in the morning light.

Enjoy!