Mudpuppy Porter

This is a chocolatey porter from Central Waters in Michigan. The label says it pours with a thick head, but I did not get one when I poured it. It has a chocolatey nose and a smell I've come to associate with a high abv, but the label does not list that info. It's dark as mud with an imperial taste and a slight coffee finish. One per night is probably enough.

Grand Teton Sweetgrass APA

I've tried a few Grand Teton's and this one was pretty good. It had a nice copper color and poured with a thick head. I think it's a little hoppy for an American Pale, which of course I like.

Metrolius Blonde Ale

This is the first beer I tried from this brewery - a brewery from Rochester, NY. It poured with a thin head, lots of carbonation and had some honey smell on the nose. This was not a bad blonde, but the label was a little better than the beer.

Midwest vs. East - from real bloggers!

I saw the headline for this column in the NYT this morning: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/the-country-and-the-city/?emc=eta1  

They debate some of the same points that I raised in my initial posts on this blog way back when: midwest vs. east coast -- from fast food establishments to cars, family values to friendliness.  If you can get through the chatter at the beginning, there are some salient points about what I perceive to be the superiority of east coasters, especially New Yorkers.  I'm definitely ready to go back!

One year later ... Update on the rats

So, it turns out that the City of Chicago IS still interested in controlling the rat population. Turns out they have at least three coyotes that they turn loose in the loop after dark to hunt rats. These big cats have gps devices so they can be tracked and gathered up before the hard-working Chicagoans become coyote breakfast. I wonder whether if either of my coyote sightings have been city employees?

Shopping in the shadow

Last weekend was my birthday, or close enough, so we decided to take a day trip to a favorite brewpub followed by some outlet shopping. Which made me wonder, why are so many outlet malls built in the shadow of a nuclear plant?

Winner!

We bought lottery tickets in every state on our trip. We won on three tickets, including the $2 on the top ticket!

Clearance sale

I had heard that a large bookstore was closing a number of it's locations. I stopped in to look for some bargain CDs and a travel book. I did not know the reputable book store was also selling sex. And 60% off!! I guess I should have shopped sooner because the shelves were picked pretty thin.

Visibility = 0

Ok, that's an exaggeration. Visibility was more like 150 yards. You can't tell from this picture, but the snow flakes were about the size of half dollars. Every once in a while it seemed as though some urchin had thrown a snowball onto the windshield. Good thing this only lasted about an hour through the hills above Pittsburgh.

True

Road trips make for bad meals most of the time. Today was no different. I drove from Chicago to Bethesda under a little time pressure. Breakfast at the hotel was "free" and pretty good. Lunch, well, that's another story. Lunch was "hot and delicious pizza." True, if by hot and delicious you mean Luke warm and palatable. At least there was not a lot of traffic.

Rats!

Heard some disturbing news on the radio this morning: the city of Chicago is planning to cut back on efforts to control the city's rat population. The Norwegian rat, which is the variety found in the city, can produce 7 litters of 5-8 rats a year, can drop 50 feet without getting injured, can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter, can jump 3 feet in the air, its teeth grow up to 5 feet a year but are continually ground down by gnawing through things like concrete blocks and they carry a disease which can be passed from your dog to humans. By all means, let them flourish!

View from the 23rd floor

I went to court this morning to pick up an order in one of my cases. The courtroom is on the 23rd floor. On a sunny day, the view is spectacular. Today, not so spectacular. I thought I'd take a picture anyway, in case it's my last trip there.