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Gaming, yeah, I like that too

Posted on March 26th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Technology, Gaming.

One of the things that I enjoy but haven’t written about is gaming.  When I was a kid my family had an early TO computer that used audio tape for storage.  We had a few games for that Q-bert was one, and there was some moon thing too I think.  A few of my friends had Atari too and that was all pretty cool.

I got the original Nintendo in 1986 or 87 (whatever year Zelda came out) and played it religiously for many years.  I started playing computer games in the early 90s and did that for a long time too.

In 2003 though, things began to change.  I was given an Xbox as part of a project at work.  It was a real hardship, but I had to play for a few hours every day and write a report on my impressions.  That experience - combined with the ongoing headache of upgrading my PC - led me to play more and more on the console and less and less on the PC.

This past December the Xbox finally gave up the ghost and it was replaced with an Xbox 360.  I’m not the only gamer in the house anymore and so share the system with my kids.  I still love it as much as ever and really enjoy playing with them, as well as with other people online.

This past Saturday night I had a rare and wonderful online experience.  I was looking for a coop game of Rainbow Six Vegas and fell in with three people that felt really comfortable to play with.  I’m 40 and am too old to take any of this very seriously but I don’t suck either.  The group I was playing with were doing well and having fun.  It was good and refreshing and a reminder of just how good a good game can be.

Technorati Tags: gaming, Nintendo, Zelda, TI, Q-bert, Xbox, Xbox 360

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Brew Day - 3/18/07

Posted on March 20th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Brewing, Beer, local.

I went into Barleycorn on Sunday to keg and bottle the batch I made back on the 4th.  While I was there I decided to make another batch and chose a smoked Scottish ale.  The ordinary bitter turned out just great.  It’s a nice, simple everyday beer.   The only thing I’d change about it would be to increase the finishing hops a bit.

Kegging went very smoothly.  I filled two five gallon kegs and then 12 22 oz. bottles but still had more so I filled a half dozen or so 12 oz. bottles as well.  It was actually more beer than I’d expected from the batch and so I was quite happy with everything.

I’ve never made a Scottish ale before (though I’ve enjoyed quite a few) and am curious how this will turn out.  My choice was arbitrary but I have a rule that unless the first thing I see on a list or menu is something I specifically hate I stick with it.  Stupid?  Yes, but I’ve never been disappointed and it saves a lot of time in hemming and hawing.

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, Barleycorn, ordinary bitter, smoked Scottish ale, kegs

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A Poem about Shovels

Posted on March 20th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Poems.

Shovels are simple tools
Too often overlooked

People that don’t use shovels
Don’t give them a second thought

To people that depend on shovels
A good one means a lot

If you take the time to think about shovels
You’ll appreciate them more

A handle that’s strong and provides good leverage
A shaft that’s thick enough to get your hands around
A head that’s the right size and shape for the job
A blade that cuts through the soil easily

In their racks, against the wall at Home Depot
Shovels are mute

In your garage or shed, they’re a reminder
Of work done and to be done

But pick one up and hold it in your hands
Look at it closely and remember:

Every garden that has grown
Every grave that has been dug

Technorati Tags: GregPC, poem, shovels, tools

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(s)Lowe’s in Framingham

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: local.

I went to the new Lowe’s on Rt. 30 in Framingham on Saturday evening.  Wow.  It was a ghost town.  Staff may well have outnumbered shoppers.  We were there at around 6:00, which may not be the most popular time for home improvement shopping; but seriously, how long can a store last without customers?

People out in Metrowest are about to find out.

Technorati Tags: Lowe’s, Framingham, Metrowest, Route 30

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Time Machine

Posted on March 13th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Poems.

For more than 20 years
I’ve shared a bed with the woman I love
We were teenagers when we met
We’re parents now
And fast approaching mid-life

But in the deep of the night
In each others arms
We’re young lovers again
Holding onto each other
And the memories of our youth

Never letting go

Technorati Tags: love, memories, youth, time machine

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The Relationship was Strictly Platonic

Posted on March 13th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Poems.

As someone who was a guest
In your home
I want you to know
That I enjoyed my stay
And did not overstep my bounds

Temptation was present
At every turn
But I want to assure you
That I resisted
And kept things pure

Nothing was sullied
By my presence
In your home
I did not stray
Down unwelcome paths

I did not masturbate
Not in your shower
Not in the bed you made up for me
Not in your sink or toilet
Not in a tissue or in a paper towel
Taken from your kitchen

I know that as a host
You would want to know
That my time in your home was restful
And that the relationship
Was strictly platonic

Technorati Tags: poem, house guest, platonic, masturbate

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Perhaps the worst headset in the world

Posted on March 6th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Technology, Warnings.

Like more than 100 across the country, my local CompUSA is shutting down. I needed a new bluetooth headset so on Saturday I stopped in to kick the store while it is down.

I bought this one:

and boy was that a mistake. I’m not sure whose ear this is designed to fit but it sure ain’t mine. It just hangs off my head looking stupid. The only way I can get it to really hold tight is to have the mic pointing more or less at my eye.

Unfortunately, because the store is closing, it can’t be returned.

If you see one of these headsets nearby and feel even the slightest inclination to purchase it - RUN!

Technorati Tags: Motorola, Bluetooth, headset, terrible

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Brew Day - 3/4/07

Posted on March 5th, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Brewing, Beer, Photography.

I’m still planning on doing this Beer-B-Q thing on April 14th so I realized I’m going to need some beer on hand. Every weekend I think, “I’m going to brew today,” but either because of the weather, other plans or the fact that I’m lazy it just hasn’t happened.

I said it to myself this past weekend too. It was in the 50s here in Boston so it should have been ideal. But . . . My kids had stuff going on in the morning and the back yard (where I brew) is a muddy snowy mess and Betty was coming over for help with a slide show, and, and, and. And so I didn’t brew on Saturday.

On Sunday it was cooler. The yard was still a mess but I really needed to get a batch started. So I decided to brew over at Barleycorn in Natick center. Barleycorn is where I get most of my ingredients and advice. You can also brew on premises which is great when you need to brew but are facing a thousand small conspiracies.

I called in the morning and arranged to come in at 1:30. Dan Eng, the owner was there and we talked for a while about recipes. I wasn’t looking to do anything fancy so just went with an ordinary bitter I’d made a couple of years ago.

I was planning to brew with my nephew Justin and friend Marcos but let’s just say things came up so I did most of it solo. Which isn’t that big a deal.

Things started with weighing out the grain. You can only do extract and specialty grains at Barleycorn so I only needed a few pounds of grain:

Dan helped grind and bag it.

After that we began to heat the water. The set up he has is very nice, big 15 or 20 gallon steam-heated copper tanks.

I was using the second to last kettle on the end up above. Here it is with the recipe.

The grain went in at 2:00 or so and steeped for 30 minutes.

While the grain was steeping I got together the rest of the ingredients. 20 pounds of light malt extract and hops (I used cascade and goldings for this batch)

Justin was around for part of the brew and did help add the extract

Adding the hops at the boil

The process is so much easier than doing an all grain batch, but I still like brewing with grain. When the boil was finished, I stirred the wort into a whirlpool just before it got pumped through the cooler and into a fermenter.

Probably the best part about brewing at Barleycorn is that you don’t have to worry about cleaning and sanitizing everything. To me, that’s the least fun part of the process but a pretty critical one.

Just before Justin left I IMed my brother-in-law James to see if he might be free to help out. He and Chesley did come but things were pretty well finished by that point. We hung out a bit, had some food and beer and then went on our way. I need to go back in in a couple of weeks to keg. I’ll end up with 12 or 13 gallons so I should be in good shape for the 14th. I’ll probably do one more batch for variety before then though. I’ll post again when this batch is finished to say how it turned out. It it’s as good as it was the last time I’ll post the recipe as well.

Here’s an update on how the batch turned out.

Technorati Tags: Beer, brewing, Barleycorn, Natick

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Traveling Dufus

Posted on March 1st, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Misc.

I often do some pretty stupid things.  Sometimes I realize that I am being stupid even as I am doing something.  Other times my stupidity dawns on me slowly.  And sometimes my stupidity sneaks up and surprises the shit out of me.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I had to be in New York for a meeting.  That meant getting up at 3:45 – which sucked all by itself.  I got to Logan with no problem.  Slept most of the flight to New York.  Grabbed a cab and started snapping photos on the way to the city.

When we pulled up at the hotel, I couldn’t find my wallet.  The driver, who’d been irritated and impatient during the drive didn’t seem so happy.  I wasn’t too happy myself.  I had just taken $120 out of the bank for the trip and now had nothing – no cash, no credit cards, no ID.  The only think I did have was a $60 fare.

I finally managed to reach a colleague who was staying at the hotel.  All the while I was waiting for her I could tell the driver was just smoldering.  Minutes went by.  My phone rang.  It was Wendy.  “Are you missing anything?” she asked.  It turns out that I’d left my wallet somewhere at Logan.  At least I knew where it was.

While I was waiting for Kristen, Scott Sikes, a colleague from Hong Kong, came walking out of the hotel.  He saw me in the cab and came over.  Ignoring pleasantries, I immediately asked him for the $60 dollars.  He had the money and gave it to me.  As I was paying the driver Kristen appeared.  For the moment, all was well.

The meetings were all well and good.  I may add something on them to my other blog but I doubt it.  The thought that kept running through my head though was getting back to Boston without an ID.  My assistant Amy was totally cool and helpful with all of this.  She let me know that I’d be able to get onto a flight but that I should be prepared for extra security.

She was right.  I got to La Guardia at about 5:30.  It took me a while to explain to explain my situation when I checked-in.  When I went through security I was naturally – and as expected – pulled aside for additional screening.  The screeners were nice.  One of them said he’d had the same thing happen to him last year in Charlotte.

Then my shoes set off the explosive detector.

“Well,” one of them said, “we’ll have to retest these.”  “Yeah,” said the other, “and if it goes off again we’re going to have some problems here.”  These were not comforting words.  Thankfully, the tertiary screening turned up nothing and I was sent on my way.

When I finally got to Boston, I went to retrieve my wallet.  “No wallets turned in today,” I was told.  “Are you sure,” I asked, “someone called my home to tell me it was here and where to pick it up.”  The blank-faced clerk just stared at me.  He stuck his head into a back office and confirmed that there were no wallets.  My patience began to wear thin.  I insisted that it must be there and asked that he physically check.

A few moments later he asked me my name.  When he had confirmed my identity, he produced the wallet – with the $120 still inside.

So while it was stupid of me to lose/leave my wallet, everything worked out alright in the end.  But that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel like an idiot anyway.

Technorati Tags: Boston, Logan, US Airways, Lost wallet, New York, La Guardia, stupid, cab

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