This is really awesome.
A little quiz that compares quotes of Mitt(ens) Romney and Mr. C. Montgomery Burns, you might know him from TV. Check it out, it's really hard to do actually.
Adam
P.S. I love that Ron Paul is ahead of Newt Gingrich right now.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Looking forward
So I successfully defended my master's thesis in January, and just submitted a final copy of my thesis to the graduate school. I'll likely have that shiny crisp piece of paper to frame and hang up within about 6 months. I've started work on my PhD degree, although it's been a slow start, finishing up the thesis, revising a paper for publication, getting ready for two conferences in the next month. I'm busy, but I really can't complain, I've got a good life going down here in South Carolina and I'm happy.
I've recently had an addition to my family, a 1.5 year old pitbull named Riley. I picked her up from a rescue shelter in Greenville. She was really skinny and had a bad case of kennel cough when I picked her up. A week later she was back to get fixed, which went fine, two days later I adopted her. She's been here ever since, a bundle of energy and always excited to see me. She's somewhat well behaved, and learning the rules every day. Prevail is definitely helping me out on this one, he's kind of miserable sometimes though, since all he wants to do is relax, and Riley wants to jump around and spazz.
I've started renovating the kitchen of my house with my tax return money. Step one was building a closet to house the washer and dryer that were crudely located in the kitchen. When you did a load of laundry, you better be sure to either not be around, or turn the TV or music up to 11. They were really loud, which may be a hint that I need to get some new gear, but for now, they're in a closet and it's wicked quiet now, plus I have some extra space in there that I can use for storing pots/pans/etc. The next step is to modify the wall between the kitchen and the living room to make it more open. I haven't settled on exactly what I'm going to do yet, but it might involve moving or removing one of the doors (most likely the one to the carport) and removing a closet which is now obsolete with the addition of the new one.
And yes, there is a window in my closet. I might leave it there, I might take it out. What sucks about having it there is that I can't install any cupboards on the back wall, but it looks nice with the sun shining through it. I'll keep in it the back of my mind, and maybe I'll have made a decision by the time I do the finishing work around here.
Last, and certainly not least (if anything it's a save the best for last), I purchased all the required equipment for brewing my own beer! Propane burner, big kettle, mash tun, carboys, etc. All together about $200 invested in the equipment. I settled on a recipe, a La Fin du Monde clone, and picked up the ingredients. To end my day yesterday I decided to brew. I've learned that my setup needs some revisions. (WARNING: BEER JARGON AHEAD) The screen I bought to strain the wort from the mash gets clogged very easily, so it took me nearly 2 hours just to sparge the mash. I tried using a colander instead, which worked, but I got some grain into my wort, which isn't a huge issue, but it's not a desired attribute of the wort as it adds to tannin in the beer. On to the boil, the burner that I bought was equipped with some safety BS so I took that off, turns out the design needs it for the propane to burn right, however, this thing was $50 at Lowes and the pot alone is worth that. Speaking of the pot, after all the hops were added to the boil, it was time to cool and put it into fermentation. The appeal of this pot was that it has a spigot on the side of it. The spigot was easily clogged with the hops though, which made it difficult to transfer the wort. Regardless of all these complications.......I present, beer.....
About 5 gallons worth of it, which will be about 8-9% alcohol. Checked it this morning and it's bubbling, which means the fermentation is beginning and the yeast is active. BABY!!! A week later, this will get transferred to another carboy for secondary fermentation where it will sit for a couple weeks to finish up. Then it's bottling time!!
Well that's all for now, stay on the up and up. Come visit, it's nice down here, minus the recent tornadoes.
Love to everyone.
Adam
I've recently had an addition to my family, a 1.5 year old pitbull named Riley. I picked her up from a rescue shelter in Greenville. She was really skinny and had a bad case of kennel cough when I picked her up. A week later she was back to get fixed, which went fine, two days later I adopted her. She's been here ever since, a bundle of energy and always excited to see me. She's somewhat well behaved, and learning the rules every day. Prevail is definitely helping me out on this one, he's kind of miserable sometimes though, since all he wants to do is relax, and Riley wants to jump around and spazz.
I've started renovating the kitchen of my house with my tax return money. Step one was building a closet to house the washer and dryer that were crudely located in the kitchen. When you did a load of laundry, you better be sure to either not be around, or turn the TV or music up to 11. They were really loud, which may be a hint that I need to get some new gear, but for now, they're in a closet and it's wicked quiet now, plus I have some extra space in there that I can use for storing pots/pans/etc. The next step is to modify the wall between the kitchen and the living room to make it more open. I haven't settled on exactly what I'm going to do yet, but it might involve moving or removing one of the doors (most likely the one to the carport) and removing a closet which is now obsolete with the addition of the new one.
And yes, there is a window in my closet. I might leave it there, I might take it out. What sucks about having it there is that I can't install any cupboards on the back wall, but it looks nice with the sun shining through it. I'll keep in it the back of my mind, and maybe I'll have made a decision by the time I do the finishing work around here.
Last, and certainly not least (if anything it's a save the best for last), I purchased all the required equipment for brewing my own beer! Propane burner, big kettle, mash tun, carboys, etc. All together about $200 invested in the equipment. I settled on a recipe, a La Fin du Monde clone, and picked up the ingredients. To end my day yesterday I decided to brew. I've learned that my setup needs some revisions. (WARNING: BEER JARGON AHEAD) The screen I bought to strain the wort from the mash gets clogged very easily, so it took me nearly 2 hours just to sparge the mash. I tried using a colander instead, which worked, but I got some grain into my wort, which isn't a huge issue, but it's not a desired attribute of the wort as it adds to tannin in the beer. On to the boil, the burner that I bought was equipped with some safety BS so I took that off, turns out the design needs it for the propane to burn right, however, this thing was $50 at Lowes and the pot alone is worth that. Speaking of the pot, after all the hops were added to the boil, it was time to cool and put it into fermentation. The appeal of this pot was that it has a spigot on the side of it. The spigot was easily clogged with the hops though, which made it difficult to transfer the wort. Regardless of all these complications.......I present, beer.....
About 5 gallons worth of it, which will be about 8-9% alcohol. Checked it this morning and it's bubbling, which means the fermentation is beginning and the yeast is active. BABY!!! A week later, this will get transferred to another carboy for secondary fermentation where it will sit for a couple weeks to finish up. Then it's bottling time!!
Well that's all for now, stay on the up and up. Come visit, it's nice down here, minus the recent tornadoes.
Love to everyone.
Adam
Friday, March 2, 2012
Indoctrination and Rick Santorum
Dear Ricky (or is it Ricki/Rickey?),
College is not the indoctrination of students. In college we are encouraged to ask questions in an attempt to better ourselves and understand our surroundings. We are encouraged to stand up for what we believe in. This is the complete opposite of indoctrination, look it up.
Religion however, has often persecuted any schism of thought which may let one of the their sheep stray from the flock (maybe herd). It's really appalling to me, that you are so skewed by your own illusion of zeal that you cannot see this.
This is why so many students who come out of college don't take the BS that has been fed to them anymore, they understand that they are in control of their own lives.
So Rick, please stop rousing crowds up with your lies and conjecture.
-Adam
College is not the indoctrination of students. In college we are encouraged to ask questions in an attempt to better ourselves and understand our surroundings. We are encouraged to stand up for what we believe in. This is the complete opposite of indoctrination, look it up.
Religion however, has often persecuted any schism of thought which may let one of the their sheep stray from the flock (maybe herd). It's really appalling to me, that you are so skewed by your own illusion of zeal that you cannot see this.
This is why so many students who come out of college don't take the BS that has been fed to them anymore, they understand that they are in control of their own lives.
So Rick, please stop rousing crowds up with your lies and conjecture.
-Adam
Monday, October 17, 2011
A reason to wrap.
STOP HAVING CHILDREN
"A rising population puts enormous pressures on a planet already plunging into environmental catastrophe. Providing food, clothing, shelter, and energy for 7 billion people is a task of startling complexity."
"A rising population puts enormous pressures on a planet already plunging into environmental catastrophe. Providing food, clothing, shelter, and energy for 7 billion people is a task of startling complexity."
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Crossing borders for what matters.
So many things are able to translate and be appreciated across cultural borders. People from so many different countries, backgrounds, religions, can get together, put on some music, have some drinks and enjoy themselves, even though their respective countries may be upset or even at war with people at the same party. Why, when governments and politics get involved, do things break down.
There is only one conclusion I can come to, it's all about money and possessions.
Only when someone thinks they are getting the low end of a deal, do they feel threatened and feel the need to defend themselves. And who it to blame for this?? I would say that it's the person trying to give the business to the person getting screwed over. Honestly, if you think about it, these are the roots of all the problems in the world. People and countries have money and possessions, and they will do anything to keep it.
How have we been disconnected from what really matters, the things that we really enjoy, the music, the love, the food. When possessions and ownership come into play, we lose sight of what really matters. So, I'm not trying to solve the world's problems, just sending a reminder, that maybe we need to change things around a bit. Maybe all these problems of the world aren't inherent, but maybe it's the way we do things. Not only does this play into world politics, but everyday life. So I'm just asking, please, keep in mind what really matters in life.
Adam.
There is only one conclusion I can come to, it's all about money and possessions.
Only when someone thinks they are getting the low end of a deal, do they feel threatened and feel the need to defend themselves. And who it to blame for this?? I would say that it's the person trying to give the business to the person getting screwed over. Honestly, if you think about it, these are the roots of all the problems in the world. People and countries have money and possessions, and they will do anything to keep it.
How have we been disconnected from what really matters, the things that we really enjoy, the music, the love, the food. When possessions and ownership come into play, we lose sight of what really matters. So, I'm not trying to solve the world's problems, just sending a reminder, that maybe we need to change things around a bit. Maybe all these problems of the world aren't inherent, but maybe it's the way we do things. Not only does this play into world politics, but everyday life. So I'm just asking, please, keep in mind what really matters in life.
Adam.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
You know how I know....
This post is dedicated to all the people that I recently met in Charleston. I really had a lot of fun with everyone and I look forward to seeing y'all again. There is no feeling that is matched by the sensation of having great times with people that you have just met. I think it's the familiar feeling of laughter and happiness coupled with the fact that you don't really know this person. It's comforting to find that feeling in a stranger. As for Charleston, I'm in love with that place. The architecture reminds me of Buffalo and has the ocean a few blocks away, the best of both worlds as far as I'm concerned. I really missed my girlfriend when I was gone and it was great to see her when I got back. She took care of the dog when I was gone. She's really great.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
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