I was talking with MattC the other night, and I made some comment about something I saw on Twitter that day. He responded by asking what Twitter is. He has an account, but didn’t really understand it, and therefore doesn’t use it.
I tried to explain it, and I think I did a decent job, but this video by Common Craft does a much better job.
If you Twitter, you can follow me @jschwanz and Brendon @bzo. And for that matter, you can follow We Are But Men @wearebutmen.
The other day I was introduced to a world that I knew existed but had never explored. It is a world full of unfathomable depths that can make the mind swirl and the mouth become numb with anticipation. It is a world that I had never thought could hold so many possibilities for someone like me. This is the world of home brewing. Over the years I have drank my fair share of beer and have always had a decent palate that would require a decent quality. Since moving to Oregon I have really been bordering on the edge of beer snobbery, which I am alright with because it means I don’t buy crap. I also roast my own coffee which I find is a similar, yet less time consuming, endeavor and I am also a novice gardener. There is something to be said about being able to consume something that has been forged by the sweat of one’s brow, or in the case of home brewing after hours of spending time with close friends and drinking. Even if one was able to find a higher quality product than that which was brewed, roasted, or grown by oneself it still wouldn’t measure up because whenever you take part in producing something part of yourself goes with it. Every morning when I wake up with my three-year-old and grind my coffee beans there is part of me that takes a little extra care to make the end product perfect. I do this because I enjoy good coffee and I also want to preserve the part of me that is in the mug. I have been hooked on home brewing. I will never be able to go back. Don’t get me wrong, I will drink other beer in the future, just as I will drink other coffee, but it won’t be the same. I haven’t even tasted the beer that we started the other day but I can tell you that the first glass will be the best glass of beer I have ever tasted.
Happy Cinco de Mayo ! And yet another holiday we U.S Americans manipulate so that we can party (read drink Mexican beer.) Don’t get me wrong I am all for celebrating non-obligatory holidays that aren’t even celebrated in their own country of origin. I support Mexico, and all Mexicans today as they take advantage of all of us who will buy, eat, or drink Mexican products, food, or beverages. Jarrito’s anyone?
This has been a discussion going on in our house recently. Do we continue with our current cable plan, jump up to the next level for some channels we would definitely watch, ditch cable and hope we can get the free, over-the-air signal (we live in an area with lots of hills), or just not “do” TV. Could we cut the cable, and save ourselves a little scratch? The arguments are as follows:
For the more channels, as I said, we’d watch the additional channels we’d be paying for. On the flip side, do we really want to spend more time in front of the TV? Are we going to watch it enough to justify the additional expense? I dunno.
For the over-the-air broadcast, it’s free save for the equipment. I’d probably need to get an external antenna for the house, since the rabbit-ears don’t seem to want to work. But since I don’t know for certain that the antenna would work I hesitate to shell out for one.
For the no TV option, most shows of interest are available through the various network websites for online streaming. I had a coworker say last week that they watch CSI on TV, because it’s better to watch The Office online than CSI. That’s totally a growing trend. DVRs are great, but with the online streaming you don’t have to do anything but push play. The major blow for this option is the lack of ability to watch sports. My friends would probably get tired of having me over every Saturday and Sunday in the fall.
If I can get OTA to work that’ll probably be the direction I lean. With gas prices on the rise, and in tow food prices, cost of living, etc. the savings from cable could be a nice little offset to the rising cost of pretty much everything. I would miss me some Discovery Channel, but that’s a sacrifice I think I’m willing to make.
Do you think you could drop cable? Could you go TV-less?
“…there is only one game at the heart of America and that is baseball, and only one beverage to be found sloshing at the depths of our national soul and that is beer.”
-Peter Richmond
“We old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is the milk of the old.”
-Martin Luther
Much more over here.
One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am -a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.
- Edward Abbey
If God had not intended us to drink beer, He would not have given us stomachs.
–David Daye
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
–Benjamin Franklin
You can find more here.
Some men in society seem to be lacking in understanding and proper usage of the nickname "Buddy" or its often used shorter counterpart "Bud." I always sensed there were some rules to guide the use of "Buddy," just as there are guidelines to how and when nicknames can be applied. Today someone younger than me referred to me as "bud" multiple times. I caught myself, before I opened my mouth to correct him of his error. Now, like four-square, I know I don’t have all of the guidelines associated with using "Buddy" or "Bud" in reference to someone else, but I would at least like to start the list.
You can’t refer to someone older than you as bud or buddy. It’s disrespectful. Buddy or Bud is most often associated with young boys, and should continue to be used in this manner. There is a certain age when Buddy transitions into Dude, Man, Homey, etc. To continue using Buddy in reference to someone your own age, older, or even slightly younger is demeaning to that person, and is a poor choice of words on your part. Some may use the word Bud to indicate that they think they are some how superior to the person that Bud is bestowed upon. The person buying the hot dog, may refer to the person selling the hot dog as Bud, and in doing so is making the statement that I am better than you because I buy hot dogs and don’t have to sell them. In truth, the person selling the hot dog, doesn’t himself eat the hot dog, nor does he work for the guy buying him the hot dog, and could in fact use the word bud to refer to the person buying the hot dog.
There must be an age bubble in using the word buddy. A ten year old could call a five-year-old Buddy. However, a ten year old could not call a nine-year-old Buddy. Is a five-year gap enough? I think it depends on the represented age. A 70 year old could not refer to a 65 year old as Buddy, but could easily refer to someone in his 20’s as Buddy. Maybe after age 10 and again after age 20 the rules change. No one over the age of 30 should ever be referred to as Buddy, unless their father or grandfather started calling them that when they were born. Otherwise, think of something else to say.
I’m not sure I have given any clarity on the matter. However, I think we need to come together on the proper usage, and spread the news before I try to correct someone, or worse yet, forget my peaceful ways and punch someone in the face while the word "Buddy" still hangs in the air.
Here is a little video that is one of my all time favorites. The two men here are Warren Haynes, of the Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule, and Derek Trucks, of The Derek Trucks Band and the Allman Brothers Band. There just isn’t very much out there today that can compare. They really are about the best I know on blues slide guitar Enjoy.
I’m an American, so that means I’m overweight and out of shape, right? Isn’t that what the statistics say? Men’s Health is trying to help us be un-American by offering four freely downloadable videos (with free registration of course) that you can load onto your iPod.
(HT MacUser)
