Bill Cosby: Write in Candidate

I heard about this on the radion yesterday, so I looked it up on the net today:

His platform is a hoot!

Campaign issue No. 1

"Press 1 for English" is immediately banned. English is the official language; speak it or wait at the border until you can.

Campaign Issue No. 2

We will immediately go into a two-year isolationist posture to straighten out the country's attitude. No imports, no exports.
We will use the Wal-Mart policy: "If we ain't got it, you don't need it."

Campaign Issue No. 3

When imports are allowed, there will be a 100% import tax on it.

Campaign Issue No. 4

All retired military personnel will be required to man one of our many observation towers on the southern border (a six month tour).
They will be under strict orders not to fire on SOUTHBOUND aliens.

Campaign Issue No. 5

Social security will immediately return to its original state. If you didn't put nuttin' in, you ain't gettin nuttin' out.
Neither the president nor any other politician will be able to touch it.

Campaign Issue No. 6

Welfare checks will be handed out on Fridays at the end of the 40-hour school week and the successful completion of urinalysis test and a passing grade.

Campaign Issue No. 7

The FIRST time you check positive for professional athletes steroids, you're banned for life.

Campaign Issue No. 8

We will adopt the Turkish method when it come to crime. The first time you steal, you lose your right hand. There are no more life sentences. If convicted, you will be put to death by the same method you chose for your victim; gun, knife, strangulation, etc.

Campaign Issue No. 9

One export will be allowed. Wheat. The world needs to eat.
A bushel of wheat will be the exact price of a barrel of oil.

Campaign Issue No. 10

All foreign aid using American taxpayer money will immediately cease and the saved money will pay off the national debt and ultimately lower taxes. When disasters occur around the world, we'll ask the American people if they want to donate to a disaster fund, and each citizen can make the decision whether it's a worthy cause.

Campaign Issue No. 11

The Pledge of Allegiance will be said every day at school and every day in Congress.

Campaign Issue No. 12

The National Anthem will be played at all appropriate ceremonies, sporting events, outings, etc.


In his closing remarks, Cosby apologizes in advance with an upbeat comment:

"Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes but a vote for me will get you better than what you have and better than what you're gonna get. Thanks for listening and remember to write in my name on the ballot in November."

God Bless America !!!!!!!!!!!
Bill Cosby!!!!!!!!

I read on a website that this is false, but I like his platform.

Progress Lodge Master Mason Degree

I am helping out Progress Lodge #22 in Salt Lake City tonight to confer the Master Mason Degree on a lucky candidate. I will be playing the part of Second Fellowcraft. Its been awhile since I have traveled to another lodge, it has been even longer since I helped another lodge do degree work. I just hope I do Wasatch Lodge #1 proud.

Raspberry Wheat Beer

So I tried the raspberry wheat that I started a few weeks ago. It was flat, but other than that I thought it tasted awful. I think I have fixed the carbonation issue. I have read previously that the raspberry extract that I used can cause a soapy flavor. That was exactly what I tasted. I am hoping that the beer will "grow" out of it. It definitely doesn't taste like tasty natural raspberries should. I think if I do fruit in beer like I am with the apricot wheat, I will only use fresh fruit, or fruit pure going forward, those flavorings are nasty.

I also started the beer for an apricot wheat ale. It was going to be a heffeweizen, but The Beer Nut didn't have a heffe kit. I did a wheat beer instead, it should be basically the same, I am using a heffeweizen yeast. Speaking of yeast, I also used a liquid yeast rather than dry yeast. Supposedly the liquid yeast will make the beer that much better. I am planning on adding the apricots to the secondary fermentor. Right now the apricots are frozen. When I am ready for them, I am going to thaw them, mash them, and bake them for about a half an hour at 150 F to pasteurize them. It will have to taste better then the soapy raspberry flavoring.

The amber ale I first kegged keeps getting better. My first brew, the American Brown Ale tastes awesome. I cracked open a bottle this weekend, and didn't want to stop drinking it. I think that my next beer will be a stout or something else with some body to it.

That's all on the beer front for now.

Bottled: Brown Ale
Keg 1: Amber Ale
Keg 2: Raspberry Wheat
Keg 3: empty
Secondary: Cream Ale
Primary: Apricot Wheat
On deck: Irish Stout

Giambi-stache

Since I started growing a moustache last week in honor of Jason Giambi, the Yankees have gone 4-0. I think it is a sign. The stache stays. pics may come later

Shriners

One of the first things that I noticed after I joined the El Kalah Shrine in Salt Lake City, Utah, was that they are desperate to recruit new members. I think this is fine, but where are the new members coming from? I would say that they are going to come from men my age or younger. My question is, what does the Shrine have to offer men like me?

I went to a free Steak Fry on Saturday sponsored by the El Kalah Shriners. The food was good, the company was good, but I wouldn't call it a great event. The advertisement said games and socializing at 4 dinner at 5. This is great, but the games consisted of bingo and a raffles. These are fine in small quantities. It was an outside event, we could have played some music and gotten some classic summer activities going. Volleyball, horse shoes, croquette, these would have all been fun. I have no complaints about the food, I'll take a free steak any day of the week (and twice last Saturday).

Probably one of the most frustrating things for me was when a brother noble who is fairly new called up his wife and told her not to come because there were no other kids there. He was affraid I think that his kids would be bored. We need to promote families more. Shriners is one aspect of Masonry that families can and should be encouraged to attend.

So I go back to the question, what does Shriners offer a man like me? Other than helping with the hospital I would say not a lot. I know it is important to maintain the ties to our past, but half of the purpose of Shriners is to have fun, and a lot of what they do now isn't necessarily what I would prefer to do. Even in the Shrine Band, I think one of the reasons we have a hard time recruiting is that it is irrelevant to a younger crowd. I almost feel that we need a club for men under 40. I don't think we would exclude anyone from the activities that the club did, however, it would be totally directed by younger men. I would also like to start a shrine band not for marching, but more just to perform some rock and roll and have fun.

These were just some thoughts and observations from this weekend.

Promotion

I accepted a new position with UTA today. Beginning on or about July 28, 2008 I will be a Grants and Contracts Administrator. I am looking forward to it. I will be making more money which is nice and I will relocate to the Meadowbrook office which is less of a commute. I will be stuck in the office a lot more, which I think will be okay. Right now I am trying to get my Real Estate Projects wrapped up so I will probably be back and forth for a while. Anyways, we'll see how it goes.

The Great American Lager!

Budweiser was one of the primary sponsors of the MLB All Star Game. I find it ironic that their tag line was "The Great American Lager!" in their commercials right after it was announced that InBev, a Belgian company, is going to purchase Anheuser Busch. Sam Adams is actually the largest domestic brewer in America now which is okay because I actually prefer the fuller bodied beers like Sam Adams.

All Star Game

The 2008 all star game had to have been the longest game that I have ever sat and watched. It was good though, in extra innings both teams had several opportunities to score. Five hours of baseball can be a bit painful. It was nice to have a few beers and sit and relax for a bit. It was too bad that a member of the Red Sox won the MVP, I think he won by default because one of his hits squeeked over the wall. Of course all of the Yankees (A-Rod, Jeter) position players were done by the fifth inning. I have to admit I lost interest a bit after they sat down. Well, congratulations to the American League, thankfully the Yankees will have home field advantage in the World Series again ;)

Home Kegging

I purchased some CO2 from Bevco yesterday, and I set up my keg system. The first beer on is an amber, and it tastes great! I am having some problems balancing the system though. Basically that means there is a lot of foam on the beer and I'm not sure if it is super carbonated. We'll get the balance figured out, there are a lot of equations to calculate the propper pressure, but I think trial and error will be better in the end.I ended up drinking enough last night to give me a headache today though. The alcohol content on the amber ended up being almost exactly 5% abv.
The Raspberry Wheat is looking really good so far. I think my goal is to brew a batch a week, I think that is very doable

Bottled: Brown Ale
Keg 1: Amber Ale
Keg 2: empty
Keg 3: empty
Secondary: empty
Primary: Raspberry Wheat
On deck: Cream Ale

Kegs

I have ordered some cornelius kegs online. They won't be as nice as the one pictured above, they are used. I just found out they arrived today. Basically they are containers that probably had soda syrup in them previously. I am excited, it will be easier than bottling and cuts out several steps of the brewing process. I purchased a separate refrigerator to house these kegs, eventually I intend to make this fridge into a kegerator. The first batch that I will keg is an Amber Ale, I think I am going to try a raspberry wheat ale next. Hopefully I can get it pitched this weekend.

My first beer...

I cracked open the first of the first beer that I brewed this past weekend, I've actually drank three of them at this point. They are 24 oz. bottles so it is quite a bit to drink once the bottle is opened. The overall impression of how it looks is very cloudy. It does however have a similar color to any other brown ale so that is good. I really enjoy the smell.

The first one kind of had a soapy aftertaste. I think that will go away as I get better at brewing, it is likely that some chlorinated water got into the beer after it was pitched. That is what I am attributing it to anyways.

The second one was probably my favorite, it tasted just right. It had just the right amount of hoppiness and you could definately taste the caramel and chocolate undertones.

The third one, which I drank last night, was tasty, but it tasted a little more bitter. One thing that I am noticing is that beer taste different depending on different conditions. My mood plays a major role in how much I enjoy a home brew. Kevin H from RedRock said I should keg the beers so they all taste the same.

I sent one beer to work with Hollie so the brewers at RedRock could try it. We'll see what they have to say. My brother did try it, he seemed to like it just fine. In fact, he went back for seconds without being prompted.

I have an amber ale in my secondary fermentor right now. I think it is ready to bottle, but I have ordered some kegs so I am not going to bottle the next batches, I am going to keg them. I even bought a refrigerator last week to put the kegs in, it cleaned up really nice. Eventually I am going to turn the refrigerator into a kegerator.

that is all for now

Lucky!

So Thursday, July 3, 2005, I was listening to an interview of Bobby Dall the bass player for Poison on KBER 101. At the end of the interview Bobby Dall gives away two sets of two front row tickets to tonights concert to callers 17 and 22. As I was sitting in traffic I decided to call in. I happen to have the number in my speed dial, so I dialed it up... busy. After about 8 attempts the phone started to ring. "You're caller 17, what's your name?" I was in shock, I didn't even think it was real. Turns out, it was real. We picked up the tickets, then went and had dinner at the sky box.
Dokken (another golden oldie) opened for Poison, they were cool, but I will never forget sitting on the front row for the Poison concert. They aren't even one of my favorite bands, but it was still awesome. I ended up getting a guitar pick from Bobby Dall and three from C.C. Deville, two of wich were given away, apparently for good carma. Below are some of the pictures:

Brewing Update

Bottled my first batch of beer on Sunday or Monday, I can't remember. The yield was just over twenty four 22oz. bottles. They should be ready in ten to fourteen days. It tastes decent so far, and the dog liked it. It should be about 5% abv.

I started a new batch last night. We went with an amber this time. I feel much more confident about this batch, I'm not sure why, it just seemed to go smoother. It was recommended to me to taste the beer often, but I hate the taste of Wort (that is the beer before it is fermented). It tastes like soap I think.

Three things that I will be exploring: kegging, a kegerator, and a wort chiller. Those should be some fun projects.

Saturday Night Baseball

So Saturday night Hollie and I went to the Bees game. We got there at about 6:45 p.m., the game was supposed to start at 7:05 p.m. Turns out there was a double header that night, and it was a fireworks night so it was a little crowded. We purchased our tickets, bought a few beers, then went to our seets, they were on the top row. We caught the last inning and a half of the first game wich the Bees lost to the Las Vegas 51's(lame name I think) 3-0. The Bees managed to come from behind to win the second game 6-4. Then we waited a few minutes while the people in left field moved down to the field to watch the fireworks. After the fireworks started (about 10:00 p.m.) I realized that that was the perfect night... beer, baseball, and fireworks what more do you need?

10 Reasons Why Beer is Better than Jesus:

10. No one will kill you for not drinking beer.

9. Beer doesn’t tell you how to have sex

8. Beer has never caused a major war.

7. They don’t force Beer on minors who can’t think for themselves

6. When you have a Beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it away.

5. Nobody’s ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured for their brand of beer.

4. You don’t have to wait 2,000+ years for a second beer.

3. There are laws saying Beer labels can’t lie to you.

2. You can prove you have a Beer.

1. If you’re devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you stop.

Religious Truths

During these serious times, people of all faiths should remember these four religious truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people.

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian world.

4. Mormons do not recognize each other at Wendover.

My first brew

I am starting out with a brown ale. Brown ales are some of my favorites. Newcastle Brown Ale, aka "Newkie" is very tasty, but I haven't had it in a long time.

Rogue makes a very good Hazlenut Brown Ale but it is very strong.

One that I have recently tried and loved immediately was Red Rock's Nut Brown Ale. It has won many awards. You can read more about Red Rock beers here:

http://www.redrockbrewing.com/

I know my first attempt and maybe none of my attempts will be up to par with these fine ales, but I can always aspire

Home Brewing

I got a home brew kit from the Beer Nut in SLC today. I'm going to try and brew my own beer. Wish me luck.

Me in Springfield

Shrine Band

The band didn't march in the St. Patty's day parade this weekend. Oh well.... look for us this summer.

El Kalah

I was just curious so I looked a little. According to several websites:

El Kalah means "the fortress"

I wonder how AAOMS temples get their names. I know the history of Shriners in Utah goes back like 125 years. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of history on-line for the El Kalah Temple. Its too bad, even the listed website is 3 years out of date. This will be something I will look into further at some point.

Shrine Band

I joined the El Kalah Shrine Temple in November, I was immediately recruited for the band. When I was in highschool and college I played Saxophone. Playing sax in the U of U marching band was probably the best part of my college career. I enjoy playing in the Shrine band, I just wish we had more people. If you know anyone that can play a musical instrument, particularly low brass instruments, get in touch. We'd love for them to come out and play. We are open to anyone of any skill level. We reherse on Monday nights from 7 to 8 at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple. We play marches in the parades. Being a Shriner is not a prerequisite at this time. For the St. Patricks day parade we are playing MCNAMARAS ARMY and BEER BARREL POLKA. It would be nice to play more, but right now we are limited as to what parts we can fill.

The Preparation Room

So I think I'll give a blog a try. I sometimes have intelligent thoughts and this might be a good place to get them out there. I also thought that this might be a good place to share some of my personal experiences with life and Freemasonry. I find myself reading more about the craft all the time. I do love the fraternity, but please note that I speak only for myself and not for my lodge, or Masons, or anyone else for that matter. If you are reading this, which I am assuming you are, I hope you enjoy and please feel free to comment and let me know what your think.