So much for the Go Kart
So much for the Go Kart…
They say in this business the only constant is change. I suppose after 29 years I should be used to it, but… On the eve of putting in for a cold one and some rest, we find ourselves back on line. Same sh*t, different day, and realistically, it’s not been all that long since we were in, and there are not THAT MANY days left until we get back anyway. (That is, assuming that whatever changes fate has in store for us don’t affect the homecoming…) In the old days, staying at sea for indefinite periods was a way of life and nobody would have thought twice about going months without a break. Perhaps we’ve just softened a bit.
Anyhow, it appears the Go Kart is just not in my future. Not that I needed it anyway, but it would have made for a fun toy. With what I’ll ‘save’ by not buying one, I can do all the improvements to the brewery I have in mind. The other thing about spending the extra time out here is that you can plan all sorts of cool projects for when you get home. I’m thinking a small, walk-in cooler large enough for 2 big fermenters and a couple of brite tanks. My Czech Pilsner recipe has come about to the point where I think it’s ready for prime time. Ditto the last science project. (note to self: come up with a proper name for the last science project.) I just need the ability to control fermentation temperatures for the large fermenters / brite tanks. I’ve also been thinking about the time it takes on a big brew day and I think I can cut that way down with an on-demand water heater. Picture an inverted keg with a sheet metal liner and fiberglass insulation between the liner and the keg and a 2” stovepipe coming out the top. Now insert 100’f of ½” copper tubing wrapped in a series of concentric coils inside the inner liner. Place the whole rig on top of a 170KBTU propane burner and I should be able to push 2.5GPM through with a 100F temperature rise. In other words, instead of bringing my mash-in water to strike temperature in 4 hours, I should be able to get there in less than 1. Instead of taking 3 hours from mash-out to boil, I should get there in 45 minutes. With the leftover copper (I’ll order 200’ and use about 150 for the heater and attachments) I’ll put together a righteous CF chiller. ½” copper tubing and 1” Nylabraid (which I already have) will speed the cooling down from 2.5 hours to 30 minutes. Total time savings on brew day: 7(+) hours. In other words, I can start brewing on a Saturday morning and be finished and cleaned up in time to go to the hash.
So, what does this mean to the uninitiated? More and better home brew at The Revolution in the years to come!
I recently came across a page describing a chunk of dirt for sale in Grundy, VA. My friend Sam (some of you know him as Langenhardt) has family in the area. Anyhow, this was a 265 acre piece for $149K. WOW! That’s a lot of dirt for not a lot of money! Now Grundy is a bit off the beaten path, but that’s the kind of place I’d prefer anyway. Living in the mountains, or at least having a nice cabin in the mountains to get away to is exactly what I’ve got in mind. I sent the link to Mom and she didn’t dismiss it out of hand, so maybe we get out there when I get back (assuming it’s still on the market) and have a look / make an offer.
What else? I’ve not heard from Mary in a few days. She had a bunch of projects going while Cheri was out of town for a week. She’s probably very focused right now which explains the lack of correspondence. That’s good; it means she’s happy and in her zone. At the same time, I miss hearing from her on a daily basis. Kind of a Catch-22. In any case, I’ll be able to see here in June and all will be good.
Spoke to Mom last night. She’s doing well. Her brother is visiting with his wife and their 2 exchange students. They’re doing the tourist thing throughout the Hampton Roads area and having fun. She’ll be pooped when they leave (I think tomorrow) and need a day or two to catch up, but that keeps the time moving along.
So, a few more weeks here, a few more weeks there, and all of a sudden no more AFN commercials. Have I mentioned how much I hate AFN commercials. What f*cking idiot comes up with those things anyway, and what f*cking idiot gets anything from them. There needs to be a dose of reality there. That and they actually decided to not air the Cup race from Martinsville for the NCAA Women’s Basketball sweet 16 game. WTFO? I actually tuned in (hoping the program guide was in error) and there was nobody in the stands. Now I don’t want to say that nobody gives a sh*t about NCAA Women’s Basketball, but if people won’t go to the arena to watch the game, what makes you think that anyone will tune it to see it? So much for AFN…
Jimmie won last week. I hear guys talking about fuel mileage and all, but I seem to recall him making up 5 seconds in the 30 laps before Mark pitted. If he was that much faster, I don’t think the outcome would have varied had he pitted for fuel or not. I think Mark needs to just retire from the cup circuit, maybe run trucks full time (which I thought was the plan way back when he ‘retired’ the first time 4 years ago…) or something. Same with DJ, although he is supposedly retired now. Anyhow, Jimmie is back to 4th in the points and within 100 of the lead. So much for the Hendrick’s slump. 3 or 4 drivers in the top 15 isn’t a slump in my book, and the RCR girls will start sliding any time now. Cousin Carl looks to carry Rousch-Fenway for the season, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be writing the Biff-Monster off just yet. Rudy continues to improve. Poor kind got a crap deal having to race his way into a secure position with owners points only to have to clean up DJ’s mess. Anyhow, it appears that he’ll have the 44 car solidly in the top 35 in a few weeks. ‘Dega is always a crap shoot, but he’s in (barely) now and barring any bad luck week after next, he should be safely in the rocking chair by the time we go to Pocono in June.
Anyhow, that’s what’s on my mind these days. I think a Steel Beach Picnic is in order. This will be the first time GLADIS has had to perform at sea, but I’m sure she’ll do admirably.
On-On,
Gopher
They say in this business the only constant is change. I suppose after 29 years I should be used to it, but… On the eve of putting in for a cold one and some rest, we find ourselves back on line. Same sh*t, different day, and realistically, it’s not been all that long since we were in, and there are not THAT MANY days left until we get back anyway. (That is, assuming that whatever changes fate has in store for us don’t affect the homecoming…) In the old days, staying at sea for indefinite periods was a way of life and nobody would have thought twice about going months without a break. Perhaps we’ve just softened a bit.
Anyhow, it appears the Go Kart is just not in my future. Not that I needed it anyway, but it would have made for a fun toy. With what I’ll ‘save’ by not buying one, I can do all the improvements to the brewery I have in mind. The other thing about spending the extra time out here is that you can plan all sorts of cool projects for when you get home. I’m thinking a small, walk-in cooler large enough for 2 big fermenters and a couple of brite tanks. My Czech Pilsner recipe has come about to the point where I think it’s ready for prime time. Ditto the last science project. (note to self: come up with a proper name for the last science project.) I just need the ability to control fermentation temperatures for the large fermenters / brite tanks. I’ve also been thinking about the time it takes on a big brew day and I think I can cut that way down with an on-demand water heater. Picture an inverted keg with a sheet metal liner and fiberglass insulation between the liner and the keg and a 2” stovepipe coming out the top. Now insert 100’f of ½” copper tubing wrapped in a series of concentric coils inside the inner liner. Place the whole rig on top of a 170KBTU propane burner and I should be able to push 2.5GPM through with a 100F temperature rise. In other words, instead of bringing my mash-in water to strike temperature in 4 hours, I should be able to get there in less than 1. Instead of taking 3 hours from mash-out to boil, I should get there in 45 minutes. With the leftover copper (I’ll order 200’ and use about 150 for the heater and attachments) I’ll put together a righteous CF chiller. ½” copper tubing and 1” Nylabraid (which I already have) will speed the cooling down from 2.5 hours to 30 minutes. Total time savings on brew day: 7(+) hours. In other words, I can start brewing on a Saturday morning and be finished and cleaned up in time to go to the hash.
So, what does this mean to the uninitiated? More and better home brew at The Revolution in the years to come!
I recently came across a page describing a chunk of dirt for sale in Grundy, VA. My friend Sam (some of you know him as Langenhardt) has family in the area. Anyhow, this was a 265 acre piece for $149K. WOW! That’s a lot of dirt for not a lot of money! Now Grundy is a bit off the beaten path, but that’s the kind of place I’d prefer anyway. Living in the mountains, or at least having a nice cabin in the mountains to get away to is exactly what I’ve got in mind. I sent the link to Mom and she didn’t dismiss it out of hand, so maybe we get out there when I get back (assuming it’s still on the market) and have a look / make an offer.
What else? I’ve not heard from Mary in a few days. She had a bunch of projects going while Cheri was out of town for a week. She’s probably very focused right now which explains the lack of correspondence. That’s good; it means she’s happy and in her zone. At the same time, I miss hearing from her on a daily basis. Kind of a Catch-22. In any case, I’ll be able to see here in June and all will be good.
Spoke to Mom last night. She’s doing well. Her brother is visiting with his wife and their 2 exchange students. They’re doing the tourist thing throughout the Hampton Roads area and having fun. She’ll be pooped when they leave (I think tomorrow) and need a day or two to catch up, but that keeps the time moving along.
So, a few more weeks here, a few more weeks there, and all of a sudden no more AFN commercials. Have I mentioned how much I hate AFN commercials. What f*cking idiot comes up with those things anyway, and what f*cking idiot gets anything from them. There needs to be a dose of reality there. That and they actually decided to not air the Cup race from Martinsville for the NCAA Women’s Basketball sweet 16 game. WTFO? I actually tuned in (hoping the program guide was in error) and there was nobody in the stands. Now I don’t want to say that nobody gives a sh*t about NCAA Women’s Basketball, but if people won’t go to the arena to watch the game, what makes you think that anyone will tune it to see it? So much for AFN…
Jimmie won last week. I hear guys talking about fuel mileage and all, but I seem to recall him making up 5 seconds in the 30 laps before Mark pitted. If he was that much faster, I don’t think the outcome would have varied had he pitted for fuel or not. I think Mark needs to just retire from the cup circuit, maybe run trucks full time (which I thought was the plan way back when he ‘retired’ the first time 4 years ago…) or something. Same with DJ, although he is supposedly retired now. Anyhow, Jimmie is back to 4th in the points and within 100 of the lead. So much for the Hendrick’s slump. 3 or 4 drivers in the top 15 isn’t a slump in my book, and the RCR girls will start sliding any time now. Cousin Carl looks to carry Rousch-Fenway for the season, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be writing the Biff-Monster off just yet. Rudy continues to improve. Poor kind got a crap deal having to race his way into a secure position with owners points only to have to clean up DJ’s mess. Anyhow, it appears that he’ll have the 44 car solidly in the top 35 in a few weeks. ‘Dega is always a crap shoot, but he’s in (barely) now and barring any bad luck week after next, he should be safely in the rocking chair by the time we go to Pocono in June.
Anyhow, that’s what’s on my mind these days. I think a Steel Beach Picnic is in order. This will be the first time GLADIS has had to perform at sea, but I’m sure she’ll do admirably.
On-On,
Gopher
posted by Gopher at 4:12 AM
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