tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119834682024-03-14T13:48:59.053-05:00Midwest Rock LobsterThe Official Blog of Lobsterism, championing Truth, Justice and Free Beer. Your basic, anarcho-capitalist journal of outrage and delight. A lone voice of reason tilting at the windmills of our kinder, gentler police state. Or the cry for help of a disturbed individual. Take your pick.Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.comBlogger3342125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-60017429136801206332019-04-30T20:08:00.000-05:002019-04-30T20:08:11.644-05:00Bike Smut / Return to Mass
<br />
<br />
After my AV fistula surgery right around a year ago, I had so many neuropathy issues with my left arm it just wasn't any fun to ride the bike. By the time the issues resolved, I was out of the habit of getting up early enough to ride to work. It was so easy to stay in bed another hour and drive.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was going to ride to work this time for Critical Mass. But I didn't get up early enough to pull that off, so I put my bike on my car, drove to work, and then parked my car near the Bike Smut Film Festival and pedaled my way to Scumfresh for the ride.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="538" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="574" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This was my second Bike Smut. I went to <a href="https://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2015/06/kick-ass-weekend-part-ii-bikesmut-nsfw.html" target="_blank">the only other one </a>I think Kansas City has ever had a few years back.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Bikes and smut, two of my favorite things. How could I miss it?
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut07.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The last Bike Smut seemed to have more material that made me squirm a bit. I don't mean that as a criticism, I think I'm pretty broad minded when it comes to sex. We all have our kinks and fetishes, I don't think we pick them, they just happen. But the last Bike Smut had more moments where I cringed.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut09.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut10.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="601" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut11.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Not having biked much the past year, I was pretty gassed trying to keep up with the herd on Critical Mass. Which is pretty drag-ass slow.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut12.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="575" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut13.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="608" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut14.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="674" /></a></div>s
<br />
<br />
But then I caught up with the festival after riding myself embarrassingly ragged in only 11-ish miles. And it was all good. Gabe's girlfriend Steph even hoisted her Lucy-meets-Charlie-Brown skirt to show off her Bike Smut panties.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut15.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut16.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="602" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut17.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut18.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut19.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut20.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://midwestrocklobster.com/2019bj/Critical_Smut21.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-80584933297569874312018-07-02T20:42:00.000-05:002018-07-02T20:42:24.500-05:00Survival (in Quotes)
<br />
<br />
They had some motorcycles on raffle at the theater when I took Mo to the latest Jurassic movie (I think this is the sixth installment, it's basically the same movie as the original Jurassic Park, but I can't say it's not a move worth making six times over).
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/BIke01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/BIke01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, these were motocross bikes, the ones you ride if you want to fly 50 feet into the air as if you were invincible. Two cycle motors with tons of torque, suspensions meant to take gravitational forces that an astronaut would blanche at.
<br />
<br />
But this one was a supposed 'survival' model. It had water gerry cans and a rack to mount panniers onto, and probably strap a few more supplies on top of.
<br />
<br />
This way, you can pack up a bunch of camping gear, ride off into the wilderness on a bike capable of going places you couldn't ride a goddamn horse. That way you're hundreds of miles from medical assistance or even a cell signal to beckon assistance when you get your life-threatening motocross type injury. Brilliant.
<br />
<br />
I admit, part of me wants one.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-53156559438645929622018-06-20T21:47:00.000-05:002018-06-25T20:19:07.846-05:00Mighty Ducks
<br />
<br />
Habits, man. I was in the habit of riding my bike to and from work, at least part of the way (I'd do the bike on bus thing pretty regularly to save time, avoid unpleasant weather, or to be lazy). Then I had that fistula surgery at the end of April and my left arm has been a mess of neuropathies ever since. I'm going to try the bike out this afternoon, it may be like the guitar, something that doesn't feel right or good for my left arm but that's doable.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But I have gotten back into the habit of playing guitar every day. Doing both the bike commute and regular, focused guitar practice is tricky, they're both pretty big time vampires. But they're both things I love to do and that I feel better when I stay in the habit.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="421" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
See also blogging. Obviously, it's been like a month since I posted anything here. Including about my friend Elizabeth's suicide. That'll have to be a whole other post, a lot to process there. A total tragedy.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="492" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, none of that is what I came here to talk about right now. I came to talk about the ducks. Who are getting pretty near maturity. We started with five (well, six, but one died before the brood box was all the way set up).
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="438" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The five Suedes were then joined by a pair of Pekins someone gave to us.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="770" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Then Sheba got one of the Suedes and Corinna butchered that and roasted it. The up side is it got us legal, since the city has a six bird limit. The realities of keeping them in clean water and keeping the coop merely gross also dictate a limit of six. Possibly four.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But after learning that Sheba can't really be trained to not chase ducks (she's part greyhound, and the coursing hound in her just can't help it), Corinna moved a bit of fencing so the dogs can be out at the same time the ducks are in the yard.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And the ducks <i>love</i> the yard. They chase each other, eat and sit on crops in garden beds, sit in the shade of the peach tree. If there's a puddle, they gobble earthworms, if the sprinkler is on they'll play in the spray and gulp water out of the air. They like the yard so much, in fact, they'll line up by the gate to their enclosure and holler until they're allowed through.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mighty_Ducks07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="416" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I sat out with them for quite a while, particularly trying to capture their play, the chasing, the flapping, the brief flights (they sometimes get off the ground, but not by much or for long).
<br />
<br />Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-29291025759042969362018-05-13T19:37:00.001-05:002018-05-13T19:37:18.545-05:00Fistula
<br />
<br />
So I had fistula surgery a little over two weeks ago. To facilitate my ongoing <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2014/06/apheresis.html" target="_blank">apheresis</a> therapy.
<br />
<br />
This is a pretty common thing for people who take dialysis, which apheresis resembles. They're filtering my blood for different reasons but it's still filtering the blood. In my case, it's high LP(a) which is strongly correlated with early onset heart disease, which I have. Heart attack at 32, a double bypass at 43, it's financially ruinous, physically unpleasant, and time consuming but while there's no guarantees, it's the best shot I can see to being a senior citizen some day.
<br />
<br />
So this fistula. The surgeon basically hooked an artery to a vein in my left arm. Gotta remember not to let them take my blood pressure on that side ever again. And there's a visible bulge where this rewiring of my circulatory system creates a big fat vein for the apheresis clinic to access both for input and output.
<br />
<br />
The up side is besides making it easier to access me and possibly even to run the treatment a little faster, I'll have one hand free to jack with Netflix and whatnot (what else are you going to do when immobile for a half day?) The downside is if you were to cull my phobias and squeamishness to come up with the perfect freak out, the only thing this surgery is missing is giant spiders.
<br />
<br />
I played guitar this evening for the first time since the surgery. I was officially cleared to do so a few days ago but I wasn't feeling up to it. I have all kinds of neuropathy symptoms from the surgery that call back my senior year of high school when I dealt with a lot of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome symptoms that were misdiagnosed at the time as tendinitis. I have chills, spasms, numbness, sweats, aches in my forearm and wrist. It wakes me up at night sometimes.
<br />
<br />
Physically I seemed able to play pretty well, but it felt so freaky and sometimes painful. But the worst, looking down at my upper arm above the elbow and seeing the fistula bulge. I almost fainted dead away in the middle of the living room with the guitar around my neck.
<br />
<br />
I'm sure I'll get used to it, but it's not instantaneous.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-67581401777337786142018-05-05T21:29:00.000-05:002018-05-05T21:29:24.947-05:00Lucky 13<br />
<br />
I went to a casino. To gamble. For the first time in my life. But first....
<br />
<br />
I had fistula surgery last week to facilitate ongoing apheresis treatments. Basically after almost four years of fortnightly filtrations, my veins had developed sufficient scar tissue that it was getting impossible to get a treatment going. Jennifer was on vacation (she's got her spots and ways, she's been the main one to access me all this time), and the whole crew plus the IV nurse (who apparently floats the hospital just starting IVs and who appeared to have been at it for decades) tried for over two hours without success.
<br />
<br />
I've had better days. Anyway, so the fistula surgery. I tend to think of fistulas as something to repair, but in this case they went in on purpose and hacked one of the arteries in my left arm into one of the veins, which is supposed to create a big vein they can easily do both the take-out and put-in of my blood for the treatments. All the other patients who come on Tuesday mornings already have them, seemed surprised I'd been going so long with out one. I guess dialysis patients get them pretty commonly too, same reason except their treatments are even more frequent than mine.
<br />
<br />
So anyway, no bicycle. No guitar. Can't lift more than 10 lbs. My arm feels weird with chills and tingling and one night it swelled up pretty good and there's been spookly looking contusions and hopefuly it's healing the way it's supposed to but I went to a casino. It seemed like something to do on the way home from work.
<br />
<br />
I'm not a big gambler. I guy the occasional Powerball ticket even though I'm pretty sure winning that just ruins your life. A life ruined by windfall money doesn't sound that bad to me sometimes. I buy scratchers for my relatives at Christmas to remember my late step-brother who did the same, though I buy them without hope or expectation of winning anything. But my favorite memory of Todd was taking a smoke outside (we both smoked back then), and lecturing him about how stupid lottery tickets were and the odds of winning and so on and he just smoked in silence until I ran out of lecturing words and then asked, "So you want another one?"
<br />
<br />
I grew up with a play casino set in the board games closet, and I'd play roulette (it had a little plastic wheel with a BB sized ball), my Dad taught me and my brother stud and draw poker, but we were just playing for chips. And all of this play gambling came with heavy lectures about how the house always wins, it has to. Who do you think is paying the light bill on that casino? My first, and most important professional mentor in life, Rich Nadler, had a huge anti-gambling bias. He thought the lottery and casinos were in many ways worse than the illegal, mafia-run gambling they were meant to replace.
<br />
<br />
And while I'm not great with money, I'm relatively risk averse and I know the odds.
<br />
<br />
So I was watching the movie <i>Casino</i> the other night and it occurred to me, I've never once, in my life, place a bet at a casino. On my way home from work, I decided to stop in the Isle of Capri and take a look. I like Texas Hold'Em (though I've never been good at it; I've only ever played in charity tournaments and I'm usually the first one out of chips). According to their website they had some version of it.
<br />
<br />
Walking in, the first thing that struck me was the smell. You're allowed to smoke in there, at the slots, the table games, as far as I can tell everywhere. It smells like 1987 in the Isle of Capri. Actually down in the rows of slot machines where the smoking is really going on, it smells like my Mom's house when my aunt and late uncle used to come for a visit and all three of them would sit in the closed house smoking every waking moment of the day.
<br />
<br />
The vast rows of slow machines, there's a bar, the cashier. I can't believe how many slot machines, with lots of people many appear retired, just zombied out. I can get plenty addicted to games on my iPhone that I play for free, Pokemon Go, Candy Crush, Words with Friends, I don't see the appeal of the slot machines. Maybe if they had Galaga with money payouts for clearing levels I could get into that. But I headed over to the table games.
<br />
<br />
I watched their version of Texas Hold'Em for a while. I noticed there wasn't much folding going on. Unless I'm the blind or the small blind, I check my pocket cards and decide if it's even worth seeing the flop in Hold'Em. It often isn't, sure a pocket 2 of diamonds with a 4 of spades could, theoretically, become the connectors of a straight or the completion of a full house, but don't bet on it. Literally.
<br />
<br />
This 'ultimate' version of the game, you're playing against the house. You ante every hand, and the only real decision is whether to bet against the dealer. It ends up resembling Black Jack more than poker to my mind. Same thing with their Six Card Poker. Black Jack didn't hold much appeal for me either.
<br />
<br />
I watched the craps table for a long time. I don't fully comprehend the game, it's so complicated it takes three casino employees to run it. It's quite popular, there was constantly a full crowd playing the whole time I was there, but I just couldn't place a wager on a game where I can't understand why money is coming and going from different spots on the table.
<br />
<br />
Roulette was fun to watch. I understand roulette more or less. Well, I later learned I didn't entirely.
<br />
<br />
I watched a woman buy in, get a little stack of chips, and proceed to hit straight up on a number. 35:1 payoff, she suddenly had several stacks of chips twice as tall as her one, original buy in. I was thinking, "take the money and run." But she stayed and played through those chips until she was down to nothing. And I judged her for it, oh boy, did I.
<br />
<br />
So I never did get around to placing a bet on that visit. I watched, the people watching aspect was pretty entertaining. I saw other people get up significantly and stay playing until they were back down again, not just at the roulette wheel, at all the games. I had a beer and watched and eventually decided the smoke was getting to me and went home.
<br />
<br />
The next night I decided to go back and actually play. That whole know when to stop before you start thing they throw in to the gambling ads? I decided going in that $40 was all I'd put at risk. I put two twenties in my front shirt pocket and was like, that's it for the gambling part. I got a drink from the bar and watched for a while more before I finally sat down at the roulette table. I didn't want to buy in with the whole $40 a once, I figured I'd blow through the chips faster if I went that way. So I gave the guy $20 and got a cute little stack of blue chips.
<br />
<br />
It's a $5 minimum, $50 maximum bet, and I knew from watching that people spread their bets around. I started to do so, and the dealer was like, you can't do that! I didn't understand, but when I explained that this was my first go at this, scooped the chips back to me and explained the whole inside/outside thing. Outside bets like black or red, even/odd, etc., don't pay as well as inside bets (where you're placing on a specific number or straddling numbers). The minimum applies to a single spot on the outside, so you can bet $5 on black, for instance, but you can't spread the $5 to multiple outside bets. On the inside, as long as you put a total of $5 in play, you can split it up between single numbers or groups of up to six numbers, with correspondingly lower payouts as you get less and less specific in your bet.
<br />
<br />
So anyway, 13 is as close as I get to thinking a number is lucky. Both my daughters were born on the 13th. So was my wife. In hindsight, we got married on a 12th but should have done it the next day, on the 13th. So I put $5 on 13 and $5 on black. A guy came to the table and bought in with $100 and proceeded to spread about half of it over so many spots on the table that I told him he'd missed a spot. One of those spots was 00 and he ended up with more chips than he'd started with. And proceeded to litter the board with chips again. I tried 13 by itself, nothing. The money is going fast, mind you. I did 13 one more time and bought in with my other twenty.
<br />
<br />
The next spin I played 13 and odd again, and the guy who'd bought in for $100 and already hit an improbably high payout scattered bets all over the board again.
<br />
<br />
<i>And it hit on 13.
</i>
<br />
<br />
A little voice in my head said, 'quit while you're ahead.' Pretty sure this situation is exactly where that expression comes from in fact. I decided to play one more spin, put $5 on 13 again. "Gonna see if lightning strikes the same place twice," I said. The little voice in my head said '33.' I almost put $5 on the 33 spot but chickened out.
<br />
<br />
And it hit on 33. And that's when I decided to listen to the voice in my head. As my brother pointed out later, the longer I stayed and played the more my results where going to revert to the average, and the place can only stay open if the average is in favor of the house. The $100 buy in guy left the table with considerably less than he'd bought in with to move to another game and I decided to cash out. I gave the dealer a $5 tip, not sure what the standard is on that, I had one more drink while I watched people gamble as I held the $190 worth of chips (which the dealer had exchanged from the cumbersome $1 chips to a $100, three $25s, etc.
<br />
<br />
I left with $190. I'd spent a little over $10 at the bar, tipped the dealer $5 and bought in with $40, so up what, $135 or so? Watching other people win and give the winnings back over and over, I just don't think that's for me. I got lucky. I basically had eight cracks at the wheel and managed to hit a 35:1 plus a 1:1 payoff on one turn. If I'd listened to the voice in my head about that 33, sure I'd be up another $175 but I don't think life works that way.
<br />
<br />
So rather than take my winnings back to a riverboat casino and turn them into riverboat casino profits, I decided to take my wife to a nice sushi dinner and ice cream.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-56982081665187453632018-04-25T21:51:00.002-05:002018-04-25T21:53:03.976-05:00Our Own Little Duck Dynasty
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="593" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So the ducklings started out in the house, stinking up the joint, growing almost visibly every day.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="639" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="479" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I feared Corinna had been premature when she moved them to the coop. But with the heat lamp out there, they were fine. They have a little porthole to get in and out that we block with a piece of marble at night. There's a bigger door that they use to go back in. Well, this evening we managed to team up and get them to go in the small opening for the night. I was mighty proud.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="487" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Well, I was proud because two or three nights ago, I went to try and put the ducks to bed when it was still light out. They weren't having it, no matter the door. If someone had been recording me with a phone, I'm sure it would have been a hilarious video because every time I thought I had them boxed in they squirted through to somewhere else where they'd cheep and wave their tongues at me. And look at me really hard in profile, which is a thing ducks do because their eyes are in the wrong place to look you in the face.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="546" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
They're gaga over spinach though and we have a bumper crop. I've successfully used it as bait to get them to go places up to a point. They like other greens, they like the chick feed, which is mostly grain with some sand mixed in it. But they LOVE spinach, try to steal it from each other. It's like Cookie Monsters with bills on their faces.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="556" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Gonzo, our black cat who's such a good mouser has been an issue. We decided to lock him in Molly's bedroom for the week until the ducks can get bigger because we caught him stalking them. With clear intent. The other cats are mildly interest in the ducks, but Gonzo was clearly on the prowl. I don't thing a five to seven pound adult duck has to worry but these ducklings, I don't know.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/DuckDynasty07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="703" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
He's gotten out a couple of times. My nephew came to check out the ducks over the weekend and he managed to let Gonzo out in his thorough search to find even more animals he's allergic to even if he adores them. Before his mother could even voice an objection he was hands and torso inside the duck coop looking for birds before going on a cat quest that involved all three of our kitties and then checking out the dogs before needing a Benadryl.
<br />
<br />
I got Gonzo back in his quarters before any ducks were murdered. Then, the next night, I came home and he was out again. I asked Corinna if this was parole or jailbreak, didn't know if she'd decided our Swedes were hardy enough to fend off a Gonzo. She said, "Jailbreak, look."
<br />
<br />
I should have taken a picture for right here but I didn't and it's dark out now. The cat clawed or chewed his way through the screen window in the bedroom to liberate himself. I don't feel too bad about confining him temporarily for the safety fo the flock but that's a deeply unhappy cat. He's got food, water, a litter box, lots of visitors, but he'll gnaw/claw through the screen to get out.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-40950210305116392552018-04-03T21:25:00.001-05:002018-04-04T18:16:49.848-05:00Ducklings
<br />
<br />
So we debated a long time, chickens, ducks, geese. Chickens are what everyone is keeping these days and that's fine. Ducks lay bigger eggs, you can keep a breeding flock easier in the city since drakes don't make the racket a rooster does.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/FDD_1769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/FDD_1769.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Then there's Guinea fowl, we looked at that too but apparently they raise a ruckus, even the females. Geese, too, are apparently louder than bombs, a flight risk on top of that so they're out.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/FDD_1787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/FDD_1787.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So ducks. We got six, but one died almost instantly. They're pretty frail at this point, strong language can do them in. They're in a brooder box in a closet under a heat lamp with food, water, spinach/lettuce from the garden. They fight over the greens, it's pretty stinkin' cute.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-75515977684128854372018-03-25T14:45:00.001-05:002018-03-25T14:45:35.114-05:00Spinach
<br />
<br />
Corinna has been a lot more the gardner than I the past few years. I kind of lost interest after 2014, and our gardening styles are so different collaborating is difficult. My rigid notions of how things should be done mixed with her eagerness to improvise and experiment, and her ideas about what is worth going to the trouble of and what isn't, it just makes for too much conflict.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Spinach01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Spinach01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I said something to the effect that you can't grow too much spinach. It freezes well, and it's my favorite green to eat raw as well, right?
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Spinach02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Spinach02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So I guess Corinna decided to see if she could prove me wrong. She's been bringing in five gallon buckets of the stuff at least once a day and she's not even making a dent in what could be harvested from these beds.
<br />
<br />
I guess we should be careful before we end up with kidney stones or something.
<br />
<br />Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-26805351671122686972018-03-25T14:38:00.002-05:002018-03-25T14:38:24.357-05:00Party Time
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We had a great party. It was billed as Corinna's birthday party, but by coincidence the date ended up being St. Patrick's Day. I think that probably helped bring people out, it's a day they were already thinking in terms of going out and socializing and whatnot. I grilled steaks and fish, my in-laws were in town for the weekend (it was a steak heavy weekend, they took us to <a href="https://fogodechao.com" target="_blank">Fogo de Chao</a> Friday evening), and my brother's family, my parents and some other old friends started showing up around 3:00.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It was a rambling affair, including the unveiling of the fig tree. Which amounted to going out and watching Corinna pull the bags of leaves she'd buried the tree with in the fall to protect it through the winter.
<br />
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I didn't do a great job of documenting it with my camera. I'd remember the Nikon from time to time, but a lot of the shots I took were blurry because I didn't have the ISO high enough, and I kept getting involved in other stuff and forgetting about it.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I didn't even get a group shot with Gwen and Tim, and they don't come to town that often. I think Gwen's last visit was when I had my heart surgery in 2014 and I'm not sure Tim had been along since our wedding in 2012. So I should have gotten some pics taken, damnit.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Tim and I did get to spend some quality time Friday night. The trunk lid to Corinna's car wouldn't open, and Gwen & Tim's luggage was in the trunk. When we got back from the restaurant he started trying to mechanic his way into the trunk, and I ended up helping. Holding lights and fetching tools mostly. He'd had a similar issue with a different year of the same model car before so he knew what he was about. Or more so than I did.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We got the back seats flipped down and there's an opening to the trunk but it was smaller than Tim's hard shell suitcase. Finally he took the seats out completely and we were able to force it though. Then he crawled in and started trying to figure out a way to get the trunk lid to open. Sometime after midnight we finally had the lid open, and the next morning he rigged a way to make the trunk lid open and close (and stay closed). The car is old enough to legally drink, so not worth investing in a proper fix.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, we had quite a few guests still going at midnight with a five player game of Risk finishing up. Corinna and I play that with just the two of us a bit, but a third player really makes it a game. Five, and it's much more fun. Amber turned out to be way more competitive than I would have guessed. Dennis managed to hold Asia for a couple of turns by the end, which is no mean feat, but Amber had North and South America and pretty soon Africa once she crushed the last of my armies. She skates roller derby, too, so I guess it figures.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/StPats06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron01.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As much as I didn't get a lot of the pictures I wish I had, I did catch Aaron amazing some of the kids with his yoyo. Which was pretty cool, it'd be worth doing a shoot with a neutral backdrop and setting up the speedlights to get action frozen or selectively frozen better.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron02.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My meads seemed to be a hit as well. We did some damage to the dry traditional orange blossom I have on tap (sparkling, very champagne-like) and at least one bottle of my raspberry melomel and morat managed to find its way into our guests. I need to get another pail of honey and get to fermenting.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron03.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Aaron04.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-60373606566661843442018-03-25T14:02:00.002-05:002018-03-25T14:02:59.239-05:00Snake Saturday Competition
<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2016/07/indiana-brewers-cup.html" target="_blank">Indiana Brewer's Cup</a> was easily the biggest homebrew competition I've ever judged at.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Snake%20Saturday01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Snake%20Saturday01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This was the smallest. <a href="http://graintoglass.biz/welcome-to-my-new-website/" target="_blank">Grain to Glass</a> put it on for a festival there in Northtown on Snake Saturday, the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day.
<br />
<br />
Just a single session on a Wednesday evening, category 15: Irish Red Ale, Irish Stout and Irish Extra Stout. A very focused competition, I think there were roughly 50 entrants, mostly well done if not off the charts spectacular. There are worse ways to spend an evening, and since diabetes has my beer consumption restricted to when I get a chance at judging, I've been looking for more opportunities to judge.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-15744888431450763592018-03-21T19:10:00.001-05:002018-03-21T19:10:45.883-05:00The Truths Uttered in Jest<iframe width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XMIIahxK5Jk" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />
I resemble this.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-8667801844308115852018-03-06T20:21:00.000-06:002018-03-06T20:21:06.692-06:00Mafia How To
<br />
<br />
My friend Julie once complained about my blog posts using pictures that didn't really go with the text. Pictures I took, stories about shit I'd gotten up to, but they weren't related.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/Mead.jpg" data-original-width="475" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Sorry Julie, here's a pic of an excellent dry sparkling orange blossom honey mead. And I have a story to tell you about how to get blood stains out of shit In case you want to go to work for the mafia or something.
<br />
<br />
The mead had an original gravity around 1.100, finished about .998, not light stuff but as meads go kinda. Bone dry with delicate floral aromatics, really a delight to drink. A little too easy to drink if you know what I mean.
<br />
<br />
But today at my <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2014/06/apheresis.html" target="_blank">apheresis</a>, I learned a trick about garment maintenance I have to share with you.
<br />
<br />
I'm sitting there like usual, my fortnightly filtration of a bunch of blood. I'm pretty squeamish by nature but after a few years of this shit I've gotten to where I can watch these lovely women stab me with their 17 gauge needles.
<br />
<br />
So today I'm watching Weeds, my latest streaming option through the treatment and I notice something. I'm <i>bleeding</i>. A lot. Like blood is leaking around the needle. And before I can say, 'Hey Jennifer,' I see a fine, needle diameter jet of my blood arc from my arm to my shirt. A $40+ Hawaiian shirt, and I don't have a great sense of humor about this.
<br />
<br />
The nurses weren't freaked out a tall. They brought forth hydrogen peroxide and after my treatment they soaked my shirt's problem areas with that. It foams on contact with blood and when you dry it with a towel and hit it with more hydrogen peroxide, when it quits foaming you're there. My shirt looks good as new.
<br />
<br />
So screw cold water and whatever, if you want to avoid blood stains on fabric, hydrogen peroxide, end of story.
<br />
<br />
Separately, I really enjoy this mead, it wouldn't do well in competition, too dry, but delightfully aromatic and crisp.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-57942140384934505562018-02-20T19:56:00.000-06:002018-02-20T19:56:49.674-06:00KCBM 35
<br />
<br />
So last summer I got diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. The doc I see at the <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2014/06/apheresis.html" target="_blank">apheresis</a> clinic had drawn some labs and just casually asked, 'Who do you see for your diabetes?'
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And I was like <i>what diabetes?</i>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
He also said my liver enzymes could look better. "How much alcohol do you drink?" he asked.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As a friend of mine put it, you didn't just rain on my parade, you also shot the Grand Marshall.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I tried to bargain with the diabetes. I love beer. Good beer, not Miller Lite or Michelob Ultra (which don't send my blood sugar to bad neighborhoods). But no, the blood glucose levels don't even like a Bohemian Pilsner like Pilsner Urquell.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM09.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So I make allowances for <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2017/11/topeka-hall-of-foamers-competition.html" target="_blank">competitions</a>. They feed us like Hobbits at these things: first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, etc.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM10.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM11.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Which, before I even tried to clean up my diet over the diabetes thing, was why I quit buying banquet tickets for the KCBM competition. I'm typically full from breakfast when lunch arrives, lunch is typically pretty heavy, and I'm not that big a supper eater anyway. If I'm going to pop for a $35 dinner, I want to go to the table hungry.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM12.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM13.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM14.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I feel like I'm in a rut with the pictures I've been taking at these things. Someone from the club commented to me during the auction that he liked my pictures, and I was like, they're the same pictures every year.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM15.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM16.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Same people, same setting, same activity anyway. I did take some of my meads from the past year, I got religion and read Steve Piatz's book on the subject, decided to be the old dog that <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2017/11/bottling-day.html"target="_blank">learned new tricks</a>, in no small part because of things Al Boyce said at a presentation at the Bier Meister's competition a couple years ago.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM17.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM18.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Al's initial response was they seemed like hydromels. He has a bit of a sweet tooth in this area, what he calls a semisweet I'd call a sweet; what he cals a sweet I call cloying pancake syrup. What I call dry he calls 'bone dry' with an obvious negative connotation.
<br />
<br />
Me, I favored dry meads before diabetes pushed me further into those woods. I wouldn't fancy my chances in competition with these things given how much Al's scale of sweetness seems to be the rule.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM19.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM20.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I did have Al and two or three others suggest my raspberry melomel would benefit from more acid. Which surprised me, the five gallon batch had almost 20 pounds of the fruit, and it's a pretty acidic fruit. But given the people who were asking for more acid, I'm game to try next time. Maybe take a small sample of the batch, add acid blend in varying quantities to the finished mead and then scale up that addition accordingly when I find nirvana.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM21.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM22.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Oh, and we had KCBM royalty show up. The closing panel before the banquet included Boulevard founder John McDonald, along with brewers from Red Crow, Crane and KC Bier Co.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/KCBM23.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I didn't stay for the banquet like I said, but at least I got a shot of Myles in his fez during the raffle. Which I bought a buttload of tickets for and yet won nothing. I guess as karma goes, I'm still paying off my score from a few years ago, my Snoop Dog oil painting.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2015bjs/KCBM32pic_010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2015bjs/KCBM32pic_010.JPG" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's a hiphop version of a velvet Elvis, and it hangs over the recliner I'm blogging from. I've looked in some pretty ghetto liquor stores and never found Colt 45 Blast in grape. But then, maybe my liver enzymes and diabetes don't want me finding that.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-85155459882373371382018-02-20T19:12:00.002-06:002018-02-20T19:12:51.607-06:00Mo's 21st
<br />
<br />
My youngest daughter just turned 21. I thought getting to be an old man would take longer, but alas.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday02.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So a party was held. But this kid isn't a Power Hour kind of 21 year old. Low key, at her Mom's house, with pretty much immediate family present. Ice cream cake, soda, pizza.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The artist formerly known as Frau Lobster gave her a sip of wine to try since, after all, what is the point of turning 21 if you can't get boozed up. She made a face that reminded me of the time she had oral surgery and was given something to ease her into anesthesia and reacted to the flavor with, "Hello, boring! Boring! Boring! Boring!"
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So I thought, well, beer. Okay, there wasn't actually any beer on hand, but there was some Coors Light in the fridge. Mo loves club soda, and that's about what the Silver Bullet amounts to, so I tried her on a sip of that one. I guess that was hello boring, too, based on the face she made and the force with which she pushed the Solo cup away.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday09.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday10.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm cool with this. I have something like a romantic relationship with alcohol. I'm a BJCP National rank beer judge, a homebrewer since 1995, with some ambitions of eventually opening a meadery. But I've also had to scale back my consumption in the face of bad lab results, I can't say the stuff improves my social skills or judgment, and Mo takes some pretty high test drugs to control seizures so booze is probably pretty strongly contraindicated.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday11.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday12.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
She had fun opening her presents. We tried to get her to blow out candles on her ice cream cake but she, predictably, ran to her bedroom and hid under stuffed animals. Not sure what gives with that, until a few years ago I could count on getting a photo of her blowing out her candles but at some point that went into the column of <i>I'm not doing that no matter what.</i>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday13.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2018bj/MollyBirthday14.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My eldest daughter, by the way, had to show me her and her husband's digs in the basement of my ex's house. Which features a flag for a Panic at the Disco tour. I don't get the appeal of that band, but I am super stoked that I got us all (my wife, my kids, my kid's husband and me) great seats to a local high school's production of <i>Spamelot</i>. Should be epic. We all loves the Monty Python.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-3511548575233311552018-01-31T19:14:00.000-06:002018-01-31T19:14:39.834-06:00Chiefs!
<br />
<br />
Okay, I get that Alex Smith is too expensive for the Chiefs to keep. And I'm psyched about Patrick Mahomes starting next year, I think he's the most promising thing I've seen in a Chiefs uniform since Dick Vermeil's years coaching here.
<br />
<br />
So they've traded Smith to the Washington Redskins, frees up umpteen million in cap space they desperately need to shore up an iffy defense (and I hope maybe upgrade their offensive line so the green quarterback doesn't get creamed too often).
<br />
<br />
But the Eagles this year illustrate how you can have a Super Bowl caliber team, a promising young quarterback and really need an experienced backup QB. Without Nick Foles, they don't go to the Super Bowl this coming Sunday.
<br />
<br />
I realized today that the perfect solution for the Chiefs would be Colin Kaepernick. He's had a year off to get healthy, he's a big, strong, fast quarterback with plenty of experience (and his talents are very similar to Mahomes' from what I can tell so he'd plug in to a Mahomes-centric system pretty readily), and he's unemployed.
<br />
<br />
The Chiefs already have a kneeler or two during the anthem, so I don't think that'd be an issue. And as far as reclamation projects, Andy Reid took fucking Michael Vick and gave him another chance, surely wearing idiotic Castro t-shirts isn't as bad as dog fighting.
<br />
<br />
And I think they could structure the contract in a way that would be hard to resist: say $2 million guaranteed, with incentives like $500,000 for each game he starts and another $500,000 for each game he stars and wins. So if Mahomes goes down in the preseason and Colin leads us to a 16-0 regular season, he would make $18 million, a very respectable salary for him and a very reasonable deal for the Chiefs. If he spends the season watching from the sidelines, he's got his $2 million, still healthy and fresh, and probably has better prospects of getting some team in the league to try him as a starter again.
<br />
<br />
Honestly, I don't know why the NFL hasn't given me a job making big money. I can figure this shit out on the fly.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-40412194097036344762018-01-16T19:34:00.000-06:002018-01-16T19:34:50.677-06:00Big Grin IV
<br />
<br />
It's been four years since my friend Joel, aka The Big Grin, died of that all too common, you'd never expect it but probably should, accident in the home. I believe he was trying to fetch something from the loft above his workshop when he fell. He had a young son, and his wife had just gotten pregnant with a daughter he never even got to meet. Incredibly sad.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_03.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But the memorial ride we've had for Joel each year since the tragedy is not sad. It is a celebration of a goofy guy who touched a lot of people. An avid cyclist, he would post things to Facebook like, 'Just so you know, riding to work in the snow is super awesome fun!' (on a day when he knew damn well the bike shop would be closed, but he rode to work anyway because it gave him a chance to ride his Pugsley in the snow). He loved to explore the city, he loved to push his own boundaries and see other people do the same.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A couple years ago, <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2016/01/big-grin-ii-second-annual-joel-dyke.html" target="_blank">it was five degrees Fahrenheit</a> and we rode anyway. Joel would have been delighted to see us all out there despite it being stupid cold. This year, it was warmer but snowy.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And for me, snow is a challenge. A little bit of snow, no big deal. But refrozen snowpack can be like a freaking skating rink and I don't have a sense of humor about falling down. I fall with the grace and dignity of a sack of dishes.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_09.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Gravel is hard for me too, and while it's pretty tame gravel, the Big Grin ride always includes a bit of it along the levy. Fitting, since Joel was one of the founders of the Dirty Kanza, one of the premier gravel grinder rides in the world. I remember one year he got hurt right before Trans Iowa, which is another of those. So someone who thought it was good fun to attempt 200 or 340 miles of gravel roads in a race, you gotta do some gravel on his memorial ride.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_10.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Gravel with snow on it, yeah. That's even trickier I learned. Fortunately someone hung to warn me of a frozen puddle that had put a half dozen riders down by some railroad tracks, and I managed to stay upright but there were a few patches where I was pretty terrified. I kept telling myself, <i>these other fuckers have stayed up, you can too.</i>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_11.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_12.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Riding in the wet snow on pavement was tiring, too. It was in the upper 20s, so the snow kind of clumped up on the tires and made them heavy and sluggish. I didn't make the start of the ride, that seems to be a tradition. I got to the Trek Store for the first one right as they were leaving, and every year since I've met them somewhere on Merriam Lane. I guess I've heard that I will be late for my own funeral, so I guess it's fitting that I'd also be late for my friend's funeral.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_13.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_14.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was proud of my beard-cicles. I don't think I've ever grown a good set of ice on my facial hair before, even though I've ridden in much colder temperatures. My friend Jones who has a gnarly, grizzly bear type beard is always a great one for icing up. I've always been jealous, but mine this time was pretty decent.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_15.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_16.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_17.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was also really touched that Jofess, Joel's son, asked me to pick him up at this party. He's not shy, and he's never been standoffish with me or anything, but I think this is the first time he's really engaged with me on this level. I picked him up, and he asked where my hair had gone. Hilarious.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_18.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/BigGrinIV_19.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So I told him straight, my hair went to the Eyebrow Farm where people get eyebrows and ear hair and big long nose hairs. I mean, you're not gullible enough to think eyebrows just grow on faces, right kid?
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-20514798522551252562018-01-12T21:05:00.000-06:002018-01-12T21:05:03.816-06:00Shithole
<br />
<br />
I've tried my best this past year to avoid blogging political posts. I mean, why bother? If you voted for the Cheeto Benito, I'm not going to change your mind. And if you thought I was sexist for not being fully enthralled with Hillary Clinton, well, I'm probably not going to change your mind either.
<br />
<br />
I got a response the other day to my comment that Trump calling for an examination of our libel laws, so that someone who makes false and defamatory statements can be held accountable, should be careful lest he be hoist by his own petard. "You're still upset about losing the election?"
<br />
<br />
I'm like, are you even awake a few hours a day? I'm not upset that Hillary isn't President. In fact, I blame her because in the cockamamy scheme we've created, she was the alternative to an obviously bigoted and ignorant jerk. And she was a shitty candidate. I voted for her, but I puked in my mouth a little bit doing so.
<br />
<br />
So this week Trump is supposedly negotiating a bipartisan deal on immigration, and he complains about why we can't have <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/11/politics/immigrants-shithole-countries-trump/index.html" target="_blank">more Norwegians and fewer Haitians and refers to African countries as 'shitholes.'</a>
<br />
<br />
Now calling African countries or Haiti 'shitholes' isn't automatically racist in my view. Good government is unknown in Haiti and honestly most of the African continent too. American and European foreign policy is a lot of the reason why these countries are, to varying degrees, shitholes, but that doesn't change what they are.
<br />
<br />
You prefer Norway? Well, yeah, those people are mostly white. They also have a robust social safety net and universal healthcare so how exactly do you propose to entice them to emigrate to a country where what little of that they'd have is under fire from you? What is the big force driving Norwegians to emigrate to America?
<br />
<br />
But even if those African countries <i>are</i> shitholes, leaving aside the fact that a head of state should know better than to talk of his peers that way, are you upset that people want to upgrade from their shitholes? Norwegians might not have much to envy in American life, but folks in Haiti, El Salvador, the Congo, etc, even with Donald Trump as prez we might seem like an upgrade.
<br />
<br />
The people who come from these places enhance our country, they contribute to our economy. And when we 'chain migrate' their families in, that's a plus, too. If you had to start over in a strange country where you might not even initially speak the language, are you less of a burden for having no family and community links there? Personally, if I had to learn Hungarian and figure out life in Budapest, having a dozen family members who had already navigated this world would make that all seem much, much more doable.
<br />
<br />
Wanting to emigrate to America to make a better life is not a goddamn crime. Even people who do so 'illegally,' pump your brakes. Betting on NCAA brackets is illegal, speeding is illegal, we don't throw people out of the country for it.
<br />
<br />
I'm not upset about 'losing the election.' I didn't lose it, but America did. I'm skeptical of Democrats as an alternative, the enemy of your enemy is not automatically your friend. Trump isn't a Republican, he isn't a conservative, he's an existential threat because he doesn't even know what he's gotten into and wouldn't care about anything that matters if he did.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-36503403185990848282018-01-07T15:52:00.000-06:002018-01-07T15:53:16.930-06:00Through the Eyes of a Copycat?
<br />
<br />
Just to get it out up front, I am a Picasso fan, and nothing about this makes me less so. Like Miles Davis and Salvador Dali, he managed to reinvent himself over and over, and understood how to be a rock star at whatever you do.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso01.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso02.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.nelson-atkins.org/events/through-eyes-picasso/" target="_blank"><i>Through the Eyes of Picasso</i></a> exhibit at the Nelson features a lot of Picasso paintings and sculptures, and that alone makes it worth the price of admission.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso05.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And not to digress too badly, but memberships at the Nelson are worth the price, too. On street parking around the museum is scarce, and the membership gets you free parking in their covered garage; for a hundred bucks I got me and Corinna the 'duo' membership which includes up to four tickets per day for their special exhibits. Between the tickets and the parking, the ROI is about two visits.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso07.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, unlike the Met, the museum generally is free will donation as far as admission goes, something which made it a go-to destination for me and my kids when I was struggling with the single daddy thing, but if you can find the scratch to join it's well worth it.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso09.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso10.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But back to Picasso. There's a lot of his works on display, and even if you've seen a piece online or in books or whatever, it's never the same. For one thing, scale, your mind fills in a size when you see an image online or in a magazine. Like how people comment about how small the Mona Lisa turns out to be, I found myself repeatedly thinking, I didn't know that was so big. Or in one case, so small.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso11.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
See what I mean about scale?
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso12.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso13.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Speaking of scale: size doesn't matter? Please, go on...
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso14.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso15.jpg" data-original-width="617" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There's also a lot of African art he collected. And it's astonishingly hard to tell which is which sometimes. Sure, the canvasses are pretty much all Picasso, but the sculptures, I can't tell without the plaques which is which. And a lot of those canvases look a <i>lot</i> like objets and masks he had in his collection.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso16.jpg" data-original-width="557" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso18.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And a lot of the paintings are basically faithful reproductions of ceremonial masks and whatnot. I guess it's true that talent robs and genius steals.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso17.jpg" data-original-width="530" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso19.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In his defense, while you can clearly see that a lot of these things didn't just spring from Picasso's fertile imagination, there is some originality in the fact that he pursued art traditions outside Europe at a time when most trained artists considered those traditions lesser disciplines (or not even disciplines).
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso20.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso21.jpg" data-original-width="654" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm going to go back. I had Mo with me, and that dictates a little bit of pace. She doesn't have the patience for me to read everything, and there's a lot there. Being a fan of the artist, I had seen a lot of these canvases online or in print, but chills went down my spine when I encountered the real thing.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso22.jpg" data-original-width="623" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso23.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="609" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I had similar experiences when I went to the Met on my New York pilgrimage about fifteen years ago, and when I <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2009/10/thats-way-you-spell.html" target="_blank">visited the Modern Wing</a> at the Chicago Art Institute
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PIcasso24.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-56974433930634299752018-01-04T19:10:00.000-06:002018-01-07T15:53:04.749-06:00Infinity and Infinite Aggrandizement
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Infinity01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Infinity01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
When I was coming out of <i><a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2018/01/through-eyes-of-copycat.html" target="_blank">Through the Eyes of Picasso</a></i>, I wasn't really spending much time on the work that fills the Bloch addition as we made our way up to the <i>Dreams of Kings.</i> But this caught my eye, a neon and mirror affair that has a really cool infinite loopiness to it. I think I need one of these for my house.
<br />
<br />
I didn't spend much time in the second exhibit actually, I was pretty wore out from the Picasso. The artifacts included a lot of jade, the pale kind the Chinese were into back in the day (the dark green stuff a lot of us think of is a latecomer). The stone is hard to work, and this king's burial suit was made of over 4200 plates of the stuff sewn together with silk and then bound with gold wire.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Jade01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Jade01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The resources that went into this burial suit, the hours of labor to mine the jade, cut it, polish it, fit it together, sew it, I wonder how many poor Chinese people starved to death or went without basic necessities so this cunt could be buried in the most expensive set of pajamas ever conceived. On behalf of the subjects of this 'king' I want to ask, who the hell do you think you are?
<br />
<br />
Don't show this suit to Donald Trump, he'll want one of his own.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-74502404958427109682018-01-02T18:58:00.000-06:002018-01-07T15:53:26.651-06:00Are You Mocking Me?
<br />
<br />
Long tradition: I don't think Mo has ever not struck this pose when passing the wax guard at the Nelson.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/MockingGuard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/MockingGuard01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-68155792065064749022018-01-01T21:48:00.000-06:002018-01-01T21:48:46.239-06:00Sub Zero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Set a personal record today. A record I'd just set yesterday. Prior to that, in <a href="http://midwestrocklobster.blogspot.com/2011/02/single-digit-commute.html" target="_blank">February of 2011</a> I rode to work when it was 2ºF, that was a record that stood for almost seven years.
<br />
<br />
So New Year's Eve, in my neighborhood, there is an unfortunate tradition of shooting guns in the air starting about 11:00 p.m. and going into the wee hours. It's asinine and dangerous and enough idiots do it the cops really can't do anything about it. So while Corinna and I were stoked at the prospect of setting a new record for a cold bike ride, we weren't going to try a midnight ride on New Year's Eve. A roof will do a lot more to stop a bullet than a bicycle helmet.
<br />
<br />
So we figured we'd try a short ride about 8:00. It was in the low single digits as we got dressed to go get ice cream from Tropicana. Here's the thing: people on Facebook and whatnot have been asking me if I'm insane to ride in such weather, and the answer is no. Not if you dress for it.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero01.jpg" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The Hawaiian shirt is mainly for aesthetics, it doesn't provide a whole lot of warmth, but everything else I put on serves a purpose. Wool socks, then think layers: bike shorts under light thermal underwear under heavy thermal underwear under pants; long sleeve cotton t-shirt under cycling jacket (mainly a windbreak) under a heavy virgin wool sweater under the Aloha shirt. Heavy balaclava, extra face guard, ATV goggles (ski goggles would work but they have tint, and winter riding tends to be riding in the dark). Mittens (I have some Carhart mittens that get downright sweaty even in single digit cold, a pair of black mittens almost as warm, and some army surplus sniper mittens from the Korea/Vietnam era that pair a heavy wool inner mitten with a leather and canvas outer mitten.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
We rode up towards Tropicana and when we got to a bank that shows the temperature it was reading 0ºF. We took the obligatory selfies, congratulated each other on a new record (Corinna isn't 100% sure it was a new record for her, she thinks she may have seen -1ºF once a long time ago), then set off to find ice cream.
<br />
<br />
Yes ice cream. I know it's cold, but think about it, cold weather makes you crave fat and calories in general, ice cream is fat and sugar.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway the ice cream shop was closed when we got there even though their Sunday hours said they were open until 10:00. So we rode home and I toasted my chilly toes by a space heater. The thing about riding in the cold, if something's uncomfortable you figure out an improvement to your setup for the next time. Chemical toe warmers would have been nice, we were only out for about an hour, but I made a note of that, I have a station of them, I just hadn't thought of them. And in the army mittens, I found my thumbs got a little cold too.
<br />
<br />
So when I woke up New Year's morning and the temperature had dropped to -6ºF, I was excited to set a new record. Not excited enough that I didn't hit snooze a few times and stay in my nice warm bed, but we got up and moving way earlier than we would have if there wasn't a new record to set. So it had warmed up when we got by the bank at 7th and Minnesota. -5ºF. I had my toe warmers in, and my hands were actually sweating up the Carhart mittens.
<br />
<br />
We delivered a bit of holiday cheer to a friend of ours in Strawberry Hill, and I thought that would be about it for me. But I was comfortable enough I went ahead and rode with Corinna to her office over in the Crossroads district. Hung out there for a bit, drank a hot tea and three coffees (I rarely drink coffee, or hot beverages in general, but somehow they hit the spot today).
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/SubZero04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Riding home I spotted a few more cyclists out, but mostly I noticed the handful of car drivers giving double-takes that anyone was out riding in such weather.
<br />
<br />
It was tiring but truly fun. It's challenging, mainly figuring out the wardrobe. But as I've pointed out to people who can't believe someone would ride in such weather, you wouldn't cancel your ski trip because it was cold in Colorado. You'd just harden the hell up and dress for the wether.
<br />
<br />
Truly, the hardest part is keeping your phone from dying. Those chemical warmers are pretty good for that too, I figured that out today. Two toe warmers on the phone case, then put the phone in a pocket of my cycling jacket shell so it was under a couple of layers and relatively close to my body. Cuz without Strava, it's like your ride didn't happen.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-29600952349012511182017-12-29T19:58:00.002-06:002018-01-01T21:13:08.579-06:00When the Customer Really Isn't Right
<br />
<br />
According to the file name, the brochure art that was forwarded to me was on its seventeenth revision. The client had either fired the designer or the designer had quit, I couldn't tell, but he was hoping I could make 'a few quick edits' to his website.
<br />
<br />
The designer in question, forwarded the WordPress login info with a note saying she was more than happy to let someone take over the edits, and warning that they were not easy edits to make.
<br />
<br />
Apparently, once he was more or less happy with the brochure, he then decided to have her do a website, but he didn't understand why the website couldn't be 'exactly' like the brochure. Looking through the pages of the brochure, I could well imagine the difficulty of coding stylesheets that would deliver the mix of fonts, sizes, alignments, etc., on the pages of the brochure.
<br />
<br />
For one thing, you don't really get to pick exact fonts with HTML/CSS code, you designate a neighborhood of fonts an let the browser render in whatever it thinks is the closest available font. If you've picked an exotic font that most people aren't going to have on their computers, you're not going to get 'exactly' the same result. Getting the complicated nesting of elements in the brochure, too, while I'm sure it could technically be accomplished by a stylesheet virtuoso, but it would be an epic effort.
<br />
<br />
I won't claim to be an expert on web design, my wheelhouse has always been print, but if he'd started building the website with me I would have told him to forget about matching the brochure exactly. Ink on paper doesn't look the same as a screen shining light directly in your eyes anyway. No the green won't be quite the same, no the fonts might not all match your brochure (depending on whose browser is rendering it). Get over it. Nobody is going to take your brochure and hold it up to your website and compare that shit, only you are doing that.
<br />
<br />
I'm pretty sure the fired/quit designer told him the same thing but this is not a person who listens to such things. So I gather the designer did the only logical fix: she made PNG images out of the brochure's elements and place those images in the WordPress template. Which is fine, except it isn't.
<br />
<br />
First of all, in terms of search engine optimization, if your text is rasterized in PNG files,<b><i> you're invisible to Google.</b></i> If nobody comes to your site because Google's crawlers can't figure out what the hell you're going on about, it doesn't much matter what your site looks like.
<br />
<br />
Another reason it's not okay is when you want to just 'quickly fix a few typos,' you're going back to the brochure, making the edits, then trying to figure out the dimensions those PNGs were exported out at so you can replace them. I was facing four pages of handwritten notes about things the client wanted tweaked or fixed and each line he'd written was a time consuming mess.
<br />
<br />
I was tempted to take the client's money. If the site had been coded in WordPress to begin with in a sensible way, it was maybe a half hour to an hour of work. As it is, it would probably have taken me six to eight hours and there were a couple of things on his wish list that I probably couldn't have managed (I won't say they're impossible, but they might be impossible with my skill set). If he's willing to pay upwards of $600 in shop labor because he didn't listen to sensible advice from the last designer, I'll play.
<br />
<br />
But my employer decided this was a bridge too far, and that was probably the most ethical decision. Like I say, you might as well leave the mistakes in the site since nobody is going to find it anyway. I always cringe when I see someone still designing websites using tables like it was 1996 or something, but this was by every measure even worse. Plus, having dealt with this client before, let's just say I've already experienced him asking me to do something that's not actually possible, and having him decide it meant I don't know what I'm doing.
<br />
<br />
And as frustrating as he is to work for, lest you think I'm just trashing my client, I think he's a decent guy. And I think the business he's trying to start sounds like a great thing if he can get it off the ground. Hopefully he'll grow ears at some point.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-48053418783501524752017-12-26T21:10:00.001-06:002017-12-27T18:10:05.941-06:00A Tale of Two Cities (Sorta)
<br />
<br />
So I take Mo to the bar sometimes to watch sportsball, especially the Chiefs. Generally, she seems to like it. Even when the crowd is noisy, sometimes especially so.
<br />
<br />
I've caught her giving high-fives to strangers when the crowed erupts over a big play. She'll even tomahawk chop.
<br />
<br />
Autism is tricky, though. Her ability to express a desire to, say, leave, well, that leaves a lot to be desired. Earlier this year, I had taken her to Johnnie's on Seventh, one of my favorite dives. They have the game on, the crowd gets into it, they have cheap draws of light beer (diabetes has made me appreciate that anew) and an astonishing selection of Irish whisky.
<br />
<br />
The last time I took Mo there for a game, about halfway through the second quarter, she grabbed my pint of beer, and I panicked, thinking she'd drink the beer. She's almost 21, but still, autism, seizures, the meds to control the seizures, I'm not keen to add booze to that mix. My anxiety was misplaced though, she smiled and threw the glass to the floor, shattering it.
<br />
<br />
I don't know if she knew that would get me 86'd from Johnnies, but it had that effect. I tried to apologize to the bartender and offered to do to the cleanup, but he was like, 'I'm cleaning it up, but you're done here.'
<br />
<br />
Fast forward to Christmas weekend. We'd had family stuff on Friday and Saturday for the actual holiday, and on Sunday, Christmas Eve, I figured to take Mo to Episode VIII of Star Wars (I'd seen it myself the weekend before, but it's the best since Empire Strikes Back so an easy second viewing for me and she seemed stoked about it). There was a 9:15 showing, and I thought that was perfect because then we could catch most of the noon Chiefs game when the Chiefs stood to clinch the division.
<br />
<br />
The movie part went just fine, and we got to a bar in Mission in the middle of the first quarter. Mo asked for and I retrieved her art bag from the car. Her favorite beverage, Sprite, was obtained. Quesadillas, too. And just before halftime I heard the shattering of glass and looked down to realize she'd thrown her Sprite behind the bar like she was spiking a football in the end zone.
<br />
<br />
Goddamnit.
<br />
<br />
The difference in reactions of the staff was notable. My local dive, I was kicked out without ceremony. This joint was like, 'accidents happen, does she need another Sprite?' I'm like, no, she definitely doesn't need another Sprite, and I'm at a loss as to how to communicate to her how fucked up it is that she repays me for taking her to a kickass movie and then to get her favorite soda and foods by making someone behind a bar do unnecessary extra cleanup work.
<br />
<br />
The Chiefs clinched the division on my car radio while I chewed Mo out for what she did. I don't know if I got through, that's one of the things autism takes away.
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-13674458123728525792017-12-13T20:53:00.000-06:002017-12-13T20:53:47.296-06:00Plaza Lights
<br />
<br />
I think I need to go back late at night. Between people walking into my shots and car traffic, it was a challenging thing to get good photos of the Plaza lights this evening.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="317" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
A person even asked me, 'Are you recording?' I said yes, and then she walked right in front of the camera anyway. Like she was only asking to make sure she was fucking up my shot.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights02.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="341" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights03.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I was shooting with my ultra-wide Tokina 11-16mm. It'll go to f2.8 as far as wide open shooting goes, but for a landscape situation at night, a lot of times the long exposure at the higher f-stop is the winner.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights04.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="484" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights05.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
My D7000 doesn't autofocus, generally, in such low light. Which is frustrating. Seems like at one time I was able to get it to do so more often in these situations but that may be a faulty memory. It's hard to manually focus as crisply as the autofocus when it's working. I use the selective focus where I can target a spot in the viewfinder that I want to be tack sharp and let the depth of field work itself out from there. Looking through the viewfinder or chimping after the shot is pretty limiting, you get home and see it big and up-close on your computer and it's a whole different shot.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights06.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights07.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="516" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's interesting the things you notice when you do these long shots. Fountains that seem like really good subjects until you notice the shit floating in them or the jets that aren't functioning.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/PlazaLights08.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="620" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11983468.post-25965687792271656642017-12-09T17:37:00.001-06:002017-12-09T17:37:43.018-06:00From the Meadery
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Melomels01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Melomels01.jpg" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="530" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So I tortured myself over the bottle labels for my Morat, Raspberry Melomel and Pear-Autumn Olive Melomel. But I was making the perfect the enemy of the good, I realized, and I also realized that if I kept putting it off, I was going to end up getting bottles mixed up. Especially the raspberry and mulberry, the color of the wine is so similar.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Melomels02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.midwestrocklobster.com/2017bjs/Melomels02.jpg" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And it's not like I'm a huge commercial winery with thousands of bottles to label. My morat yielded 20 bottles, I think the raspberry 23 bottles, a couple of which have already been consumed. The pear & autumn olive one, I kegged part of it and started with five bottles, three of which are extant.
<br />
<br />
The photography here, well, I have two SB-800 speed lights for my Nikon D7000. But my house is a terrible environment to shoot in, and so far my skills with the speed lights, the soft boxes and reflectors, are just not quite up to the task of taking good photos of these wine bottles. So much to learn about photography. And meadmaking.
<br />
<br />
And like Mr. Carlson after the turkey drop, God as my witness, I thought Mulberry had two L's in it.
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lf3mgmEdfwg" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />Chixulubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17327385516888422628noreply@blogger.com0