Cub's Rally in Daley Plaza

Even as a Cubs' fan, I have to call bullshit on this rally. First of all, the Cubs won four more games than an even 81 this season. They had a real nice second half of the year. There's 15 champagne celebrations in the MLB post season. My math tells me there's twelve too many.

I just put up a couple of albums I've been playing recently.

First, the new disc from a band I've gotten to like, and not just because of the name: Challengers, by The New Pornographers. This effort sees the band being a little less energetic, a bit more focused, and in totality a lot more intriguing. As a whole, this album stretches the band further than some of the more jangly efforts on earlier discs. I like it, but admit there are some weaker moments.

Next up, a bit of Irish Punk. The Dropkick Murphys are likely to be well known to several of the riders, but if you've not run across Flogging Molly, you owe it to yourself to listen. While the Murphys are largely all aggro (and damn good at it), Flogging Molly treads a slightly wider path. They do the aggressive hard-driving sound as well, but can lay out more melodic tunes with as much thought as anger. Within A Mile of Home isn't the newest album, but so far it's my favorite. "Tomorrow Comes a Day Too Soon", "Seven Deadly Sins" and "Within A Mile of Home" are key items, but "Tobacco Island" and "Screaming at the Wailing Wall" are not to be missed.

So, fire up the Mint Jams and settle in. (As always, this is Mint radio - no downloading available.)

Bears bench Grossman.

The most scrutinized athlete in recent Chicago sports history, Grossman failed to revert to the form he displayed last September when he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month. Instead, the former Florida star failed to generate points or protect the football.

In three games this season, Grossman directed an offense that scored just two touchdowns while committing 10 turnovers on 37 possessions. In his last 16 regular season starts dating back to Week 3 of last year, he threw 25 interceptions and lost five fumbles.

I'd have to share Chuck's sentiments. I too really wanted Rex to work out. He's the best thing the Bears have in terms of potential. Griese is a band-aid, though if he plays well, it will be hard to remove him mid-way through the season. Grossman's contract is up at the end of the year. So, last Sunday could have been his last game as a Bear.

Considering Griese's previous injuries, he might have a short stay as well. And as for Orton, ehhhhh he was good enough to get the Bears into playoffs a few years back. And he's not signed past this year. So he could bail if he's not seeing enough field. If that's the case, then it's back to the shopping mall.

Team	Record on 6/02*	Record on 9/24	Winning Percentage Since 6/02*
Yankees	23-30	90-66	.650
Cubs	22-31	83-73	.592
D'Backs	33-24	88-68	.555

* Lou Pinella's Dirt-kicking, hat-tossing, team-inspiring tirade.

I'm not sure which is better, the fact that the Cubs are 20 games over .500 since early June and the Pinella tirade, or Alyssa Milano in a nice air-conditioned room.

Hurt. Me. Plenty.

The reviews from the Friday evening pumkin ale fest are in. Overall, a good showing by all, including the beer and the guests. I encourage the riders to post their own thoughts as they see fit. I will list the brews in order of preference from worst to last. Here we go:

Blue Moon Pumpkin:
Easily the macro of the bunch. I actually like the wheat variety the sell and will, at times, stuff an orange in the glass. The pumpkin offering is half-assed, and lack direction. Overall, it's just a full bodied ale with a very round taste that goes nowhere. Don't get me wrong. It's not a spit-back reaction. The beer is drinkable, for sure. It just doesn't seem to do a whole lot to separate it from the pack. Let's move on.

Arcadia Jaw Jacker:
A solid brew with the most hops of the four tasted, which surprisingly did complement the gourd flavoring. There were slight nutmeg and spice hints. Lighter and more refreshing than your typical spiced ale.

O'Fallon's Pumpkin Ale:
This one got better as I put it next to the others. O'fallon has got real nice spice combination that comes on shortly after the swallow. The gourd is there, but the nutmeg and spice is balanced perfectly. This beer is light enough to have several and complicated enough to carry the conversation while you do.

Dogfish Head Punkin' Ale:
Awesome! Heavy, dense, sophisticated. Not a volume drinker by any means. But if you want something to get head-to-head with some brisket, this is it. This beer is not the most flavored, which if that is your thing you'll enjoy it. The gourd is there, it's a just a little further back in the patch. What flavor is there is balanced with the heavy ale taste. Drink up.

Southern Tier's Pumking:
I was formally warned by the liquor store attendant regarding this beer. Actually, he saw that I had a theme going on at the register and made a quick recommendation. By far, this is the most flavored of the bunch. The bouquet is a buttery, fresh baked pie that is flaky and warm. No shit, the aroma is fantastic. In fact, I want my wife to wear it as perfume. In addition to being brewed with pagan spirit, as the label suggests, this beer is high-alcohol content brew (9%), so you are not going to do to many of these. If you can find it, pick this one up. It's a roller-coaster of a brew that will bring glee with every sip.

Well, I went out and got myself a mixer box of pumpkin ales, and over the Sunday games (fucking Vikings) have cracked open the first of several.

Maybe it's good to get the crap out of the way. If so, then it's a very good thing that I tried Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale now. This stuff is shite.

Imagine taking a Bud (and I'm being generous, it may be more along the lines of a Bud Light) and dumping a little cheap cinnamon and nutmeg into the bottle. The overwhelming taste of piss-weak beer is the overwhelming flavor, followed by what might be a touch of allspice. Then comes the after-taste of cheap wheat bread that is so familiar from college days of not giving a shit about where the beer comes from.

Save your money. You'll get a better beer by buying a Bud and cramming a piece of gourd into the neck. Think of it as a Halloween Corona.

Southern Tiers' Pumking
Dogfish Head's Punkin
Arcadia's Jaw Jacker
O'Fallon's Pumkin Ale

A meeting of the minds this evening. Bergeron, Chuck and the Big Wall are on tap.

Chuck: I'm determined to find a flavored ale you enjoy.

Bergeron: We're gonna put the Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale head-to-head against some very worthy oponents. It's not going to be pretty.

The Big Wall: Let's chat more about the chicks you've been shagging.

A full review of the above material is in order, and soon to follow. ~clink.

I've posted this before. Bookmark for your reference. You've got all season to get it down.

With auto insurance, at least there is a reasonable argument that a well-enforced mandate could reduce insurance premiums. When many motorists are uninsured, those who do buy insurance need, and are sometimes required, to buy coverage for damage done to their vehicles by the uninsured. So when the uninsured become insured, others' premiums could fall. But this argument simply doesn't fly in the case of health insurance, because (as already noted) uncompensated care is such a small fraction of overall health spending. Furthermore, more than 85 percent of uncompensated care is paid for by governments, not by private insurance. That means less than 15 percent of uncompensated care -- less than half a percent of all health care spending -- contributes to higher private insurance premiums.

None of this means that the uninsured are not a problem. But the problem is not that they cost the rest of us too much. One reason uncompensated care is such a small fraction of health care spending is that uninsured people simply get less health care than others. (Though they do get some; health care and health insurance are not synonymous.) So if the real concern is making health insurance and health care available to those in need, we should focus on health care prices and insurance premiums.

You know, a federal mandate for ass-wiping isn't going to keep me fresh either... crap.

Here's today's handout: TLR B&W Toning. I've been dicking around with black and white printing on my Epson R1800 for some time. Prior to snagging those Photoshop CS2 actions, it has been a meandering through bad pinks, greens and completely unpredictable results. Add a set of Epson drivers and things are groovy.

Dig.

I'm not a warm weather guy. I like it fine, in moderation, and it helps if there's a bit of water around and the appropriate scenery. But in general, I prefer fall and winter. Just suits my temperment more.

So I was thrilled when the DC temps finally stopped capping out above 90 with 98% humidity. (Of course, it will be back. It always comes back. But I won't let this ruin my good mood.) It struck me that things were taking a true fall-ish turn when, on a run to the local vintner to stock up on an assortment of wines, I noticed that the breweries had unleashed the latest crop of pumpkin ales.

Sure, sure, it's a "fruit" beer. But I consider this a cut above blueberry, raspberry, or any other fruit-concoction. I attribute this to the fact that pumpkin is actually a gourd, and isn't used as a method for distilling more sugar into the beer. But whatever. It's flavored beer. I know. It's just a flavor I happen to very much like. So, this season I've decided to sample as many as I can find. I had one with seed last year that was a superb specimen, but the DC area doesn't seem to stock the brewery that produced it. (I may have to resort to finding out if VA allows for liquor sales online. I can go to a gun show and buy a piece on the spot*, but I may not be able to have beer sent to me. Fuckin' A.)

The first one I picked up was a reasonably priced ($6.99 for a sixer) pack from Buffalo Bill's Brewery.

It claims to be America's Original Pumpkin Ale, though this is unsubstantiated at this posting. (Go here for one description without citations.)

I won't get too snobby here, but I have to say this is a damn fine craft beer. A warm hue in the glass with a rich head makes it seem like a serious beer. Too often the near-lambic like flavored beers are vehicles for sweetness, making the whole thing wear. The flavoring here is strong, but it doesn't become overpowering, letting the actual beer come through well. Pumpkin is the first thing you'll taste, but it quickly becomes a really nice spice finish. The reviews mention ginger, which I can see, but the nutmeg claim is a stretch to me. Maybe they all have Christmas on the brain. Had another tonight, icecold with a burger. The spice settles down a bit and you just get a nice, full-bodied beer with a rich taste of pumpkin.

Upshot: pick some up if you can find it. Well worth trying. (Hey, do we have a rating system yet? Is that too prissy? Marriage is making my guy-reflexes soft.)

* No, this is not a freaking "loophole", either. Read the damn law. The federal government does not require records to be kept by people who sell a firearm occasionally. That is, those people who do not sell guns for a living/through an incorporated business are not bound by the laws of gun retailers.

Me: Sweetie, my back is still killing me. Going to the gym last night was not a good idea...

Wife: Well, I have the name of a good masseuse. I could give it to you.

Me: (thinking to myself - Do I assume this person is a woman? DO NOT SHOW EXCITEMENT) Is she hot? (Look away.)

Wife: ?????

Me: Well, I'd let you watch if she was. You could even...

Wife: (Puppy-dog look of displeasure.)

Me: Would you rather me be rubbed down by a hot chick, alone?

1. Pitch-A-Tent Potential (P.T.P.)
2. General fear of psuedo-intimate contact with man hands.
3. Probability of average to below average looking female specimen coming in close contact with me, as a direct consequence of my own actions; AND P.T.P.
4. Remote possibility of the masseuse being totally hot; and P.T.P.

The only thing better than a hot chick is a hot robot chick that slaps her own ass, while serving beer. Is anybody else entirely turned-on by the new Heineken draught keg commercials?

Just checking.

Admittedly, this is a truly Big Boy Toy kind of post. It's mostly just weapon-pr0n, but you know what, if you can't find that here, then man, I don't want to be seen here anymore.

Bear with me. Seed's HTML kung-fu (as well as his actual "kung-fu" AKA tae-kwon do) is light years beyond mine. You'll have to get by with pop-ups.

#1 #2 #3

From an operational report (all open-sourced!!! and horrific abuse of apostrophes are part of the original):

In Actual In-flight (simulated) Combat Operations against the F-15, two
F/A-22's were able to operate without detection while it went Head to Head
against (8) F-15's. The F/A-22's scored Missile Hits (Kills) against all
the F-15 Aircraft and the F/A-22's were never Detected by either the F-15's
or Ground Based Radar.

Had the chance to take in a few coldies and get close and personal with some of the flora and fauna. This upcoming weekend might be the last good stretch of days we have. And it's a damn shame.

Just got back from vacation, and the massive amount of work that I had to get done in order to go on vacation. But it was definitely worth it. I spent about a week and a half touring Switzerland with the girl. Spent about 6 days of that walking around the Berner-Oberland area. (And yes, this is where the dogs get their name. And yes, there are a lot of them around. And yes, it made me want one ever more than I did before.)

My wife's cousin runs a hiking company, and guides some of the tours himself. I don't mean to turn the Mint into an advertisement, but really, Alpine Hikers does a great job setting the whole thing up and going on some fantastic hikes. They set up the hotels, cover all three meals, and we had the owner do the guide work on the hikes. We had a varying level of tolerance for hikes in the group, but Troy (the owner) made sure everyone had options to do more or less, depending on their interest level.

If you have any interest in seeing Switzerland, or like hiking in the high mountains, this is worth every penny. You start in a town up in the Alps that you can only get to by cable car, and get to walk around this picturesque mountain farming town. The hikes head everywhere, including these great cabin-like places called "huttes" that serve homemade food, beer, coffee, and have bunks for sleeping if you want. I'd have liked to do a bit more hiking higher up and stay in one or two of the huttes, but we'd paid for nights and dinner at hotels, so didn't want to waste it. Still, it was about 7 hours of hiking every day, and good parts of it were pretty damn steep (and next to sheer dropoffs -- several places had rubber-covered wire through posts into the rock so hikers can keep from pitching over the side). Try walking downhill on a steep grade of rock for about 3 hours and see how your thighs feel the next day. Of course, that this should be seen as a positive factor shouldn't come as a surprise to readers, seeing how much time some of the Riders spend with a bike seat wedgie.

Like I said, I don't mean to sound like a commercial, but if you like hiking at all, I can't think of a better place or guide.

Switzerland itself was a lot of fun, as well. We spent a couple days in Lugano, which has a decidedly Italian feel. After the hiking we went to Lucerne, which is the big tourist city in Switzerland. Fun, despite it being a bit mobbed. Lucern also provided us with the cheesiest thing we did the entire time. After walking up and down mountains and walking around the city seeing statues, museums, shops, and more, we found a place that (it turned out) caters to bus tours for retirees. Incredibly cheesy review of "traditional" Swiss culture such as alpinhorns (think Ricola ads), yodeling, and more. The food was decent, and being able to sit and drink huge steins of beer while being utterly entertained ended up being a lot of fun. I think it kills a little bit of the native Swiss soul every time the show is performed, however. And finally one night was spent in Zurich. Didn't get to see a whole lot of it, but it seemed like decent place. Lots of variety, good mix of the German, Swiss, French and Italian influences. And had a fantastic meal at a very moody Spanish restaurant.

I should get some of my shots up, but I'm on my linux box, and don't have decent editing software that I know how to use. Maybe I'll just dump them all onto a Flickr account. In general, the shots are what you'd expect from a point-and-shoot digital. Decent detail, but not much control in the outcome, so I have a lot of really grey shots and things that kind of get washed out. Plus -- and this really isn't just an excuse -- on sunny days the display on the back of the camera (there is no viewfinder) is almost impossible to see. So framing shots was pretty much random.