After a long after-work nap I went to Rich O's tonight. The first beer I had was my local favorite Cone Smoker. I've already said that this beer fluctuates quite a bit, and tonight it had done it again. I've gotten to where I always order a small sampling of Cone Smoker before I commit to a 20oz. pint. Tonight's version was very drinkable, though not my favorite. To review:

Version #1: Good, well balanced, with a good smoky taste.
Version #2: Very strong smoke flavor, a little too strong at first but by the end of the glass the smoke seems just right. Very good batch. My favorite of all.
Version #3: No smoke at all. Hoppy taste predominates. If I wanted high gravity and hoppy taste I'd just order an Arrogant Bastard.
Version #4: See version #1.
Version #5: Smoky, but otherwise more bland than any other version so far.

Also on the menu tonight was Rockies Brewing Company's Hazed and Infused, part of Rich O's Hops festival.

Hazed and Infused

(draft) Much blander than I was expecting. Just a beer, neither great nor horrible. I'm starting to think I've got the wrong idea that hoppy must mean bitter.

The Hazed and Infused reminded me of a pretty famous beer, Pilsner Urquel from the Czech Republic. I decided to have a Pilsner to see if the similarity was just in my head.

It kindof was in my head. I've had Pilsner Urquell before and enjoyed it, but tonight I couldn't even drink half the glass. There was a strong orange peel sensation that I just couldn't stomach. As I said, I've enjoyed this beer before, so I think tonight it just clashed too much with the Cone Smoker I'd had earlier.

Pislner Urquell

(draft) Citrusy piss. I recall having this a long time ago and somewhat enjoying it, but my last attempt caused me to swear that I'll never let this touch my lips again.

I found out today that I get to go to Seattle for four days starting next weekend!

I'm going there ostensibly for work reasons, but since that part will only take one day and I'm leaving two days early I'll have Saturday night, Sunday, and most of Monday to catch up with my friends in the area.

I called Gene, one of my best frends anywhere and certainly my best friend in Seattle, to let him know the news. I put him in charge of social coordination for my stay. All I asked is that I get to a place that serves Alaskan Amber Ale, a brew that I've really missed since leaving Seattle in '98.

I noticed today that when I set up the site search function I sorta broke the 'blog search function. Well, not really broke it, I just caused it to display every matching entry twice.

I fixed it quickly enough, but I should have noticed it way before today.

A girl who can even make vomiting look sexy, Michelle Tesauro from Survivor: Pearl Islands is my Hottie of the Day for October 16th.

Happy Birthday to my Sister, Neisha!

Let me let you people in on a little secret. I have caller-id, and for over five years I have refused to answer any calls unless I knew exactly who was calling.

"Private Caller" - not answering. "Out of Area" - still not answering. "Cellular Call" - Nope. "Some person I never heard of" - still not going to answer.

I dont' care if you let the phone ring 500 times, if I don't know who you are I'm not going to answer it. Never.

Sometimes even if I DO know who you are I'm still going to just let it ring. It's my phone.

And there's no answering machine either. So ha ha.

Give up. If I haven't answered by the fifth ring I never will. You're wasting your time.

Tonight I met up with my sister and her boyfriend at Rich O's for a couple of beers. It was very nice indeed to see my sister who's become quite a stranger to me this past year. Also nice was to get another chance to get to know her boyfriend who my sister seems crazy about.

There were a couple of other highlights to the evening. For one, LaptopGirl made an appearance. She's still very cute in a dorky way - quite intriguing. Also making an appearance tonight were DooRagGirl and her husband. DooRagGirl may be pretty much the perfect woman for me - back when I was in my late 20s. We spent a while talking while her husband talked to CoffeeDude.

Besides my usual Cone Smoker, I had another beer with the word "Thumper" in the name. For a beer featured during a hop festival this wasn't bad at all. Very close to the "lipshitz Goze" or whatever it was I had a couple of weeks ago.

Well the Kentuckiana area can breathe a sigh of relief tonight. Insight Communications has finally notified TiVo of their rrecent lineup change where they switch WAVE to channel 6.

Took them long enough.

I've reimplemented the Site Search Function, accessible from the main page.

Maybe I'll add some bells and whistles someday.

Happy Birthday to my Grandmother, Dorothy Siltz!