Shaving & Fighting The Man

About 6 months ago I ran out of Mach III razor blades. I had been usually buying them in bulk at Sam's Club for about $40 for 24 blades. In my rush I figured I would stop by the local CVS and pick up a few until our next Sam's Club trip. I was totally taken aback by the price..... $8 for 3 !!!! I started thinking.... hmmm that's more than $2.60 each blade! The price per blade at Sam's Club was better, $1.60, and at least I wouldn't have to buy them again for a few months. There had to be another way. I thought I might be able to score a deal on eBay to get some, nope.... All about the same price as Sam's when you add in shipping. But while searching for for razors I came across an article about straight razors and how to use them. The article gave to basic how to and why and piqued my interest. Another quick eBay search and for $8 including shipping I could own my own and also maybe NEVER buy another razor cartridge again!!! I did end up forking over $8 for a 3 pack of Mach III razors to bide myself until my new razor came in.

I had been using a badger hair lather brush and cake shaving soap for a few years already, so I already had that part of the deal. The stuff lasts forever and the brush gives a great feel lathering up. I read up on shaving techniques and care for the razor. I bought a leather strop for another $30 and have never turned back. It took me about a month to get my sideburns down (doing the rest with the Mach III) and then to move onto my chin and upper & lower lips. And yes, I did cut myself, a lot at first, much less now, about once a shave. The blade is so sharp though, I often don't notice I nicked myself until I see myself bleeding. It does take a bit longer though. I could whip through a shave with the Mach III in about 4 minutes, now it takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

I have turned the corner, I usually shave about every other day. I figure I am out about $50 now and lots of practice (and nicks & cuts) but I haven't had to buy a razor blade in 6 months! I don't envision Gillette not being able to sponsor the Patriots' stadium anymore without my money but I'll be keeping more in my pocket. There is a sort of romance about shaving the "old fashioned way" too. Something of a bond with generations of men before me. If this is something you're interested in check out www.classicshaving.com. They also have a great selection of cartridge razors (in case I had decided to keep the old Mach III), horn combs, shaving brushes, soaps and anything else the well groomed man could ask for. In the future I may spend some money on a nice bone handle/etched blade razor but for now, I am free of spending ridiculous amounts of money for razor blades!

Ha Ha Ha Ha.....

A baby seal walks into a bar. The bartender asks "What'll you have?".
The baby seal replies "Anything but Canadian Club!"

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To show the possum how it's done.

Late summer reading.

Yesterday I was going through a box of books contemplating actually putting them away in our new "library" room. I didn't get very far as I would get distracted by a book I hadn't seen/read in a long while and leaf trough them and read a bit. This got me thinking of some of my favorite books and why I like them. I was never too keen on reading in school. In 1999 when the whole millenium thing was going on there seemed to always be "best of the century/millenium" lists appearing everywhere. I remember hearing an NPR interview about a list of the 100 top fiction books of the 20th century while driving in the car. I felt a bit stupid because I had only knew of a few titles and authors. Over the past few years I have used the list to pick a book up whenever I'm looking for something to read. I've come across a few gems, here's some and quick blurb as to why I liked it.

THE SUN ALSO RISES - Ernest Hemingway
This is my all time favorite book. Every character in the book will remind you of someone you already know. It's very easy to read and makes you want to drink sangria all day in the hot spanish sun.

UNDER THE VOLCANO - Malcolm Lowry
Set in Mexico in the early 20th century. The scenes where he decribes the world as seen through a drunken haze are great, almost like you had two too many.

ANIMAL FARM - Gearge Orwell
I did read this in high school but when I reread it years later it was SO much better. Besides the whole anti-communist thing it has many life lessons in the story and is really just a great fun read.

INVISIBLE MAN - Ralph Ellison
A great book about a man who is "invisible" because people see him only for what they want and not who he really is. More good life lessons. Great descriptions of early 20th century America, from the deep south to the big city.

APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA - John O'Hara
Reminds me of F. Scott Fitzgerald characters in 1920's Pennsylvania instead of Newport, RI. O'Hara gets the title from this fun story.

Death speaks:
There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra. - W. Somerset Maugham, 1934

I would love to hear about your favorite books or if you have read any of these here. Let me know. caio.

Scratch that.....

Well as soon a I got home from work yesterday wouldn't you know it...... I hear the distinct glug, glug, glug of the air lock on my fermenter bubbling. Kinberly said it had been bubbling all day long. It only took 3 days to start, usually it will start in about 6-10 hours. All in the beer brewing world is now fine.... I hope.

Brewing frustrations & sewing bees

The brewing went OK this weekend. The only problem was that I killed the yeast. This isn't the first time it has happened either. I can never wait until the wort has cooled and get impatient to add the yeast (for non-brewers, the boiled liquid (wort) must be cooled to at least under 100F before adding the yeast or else they die before they can do their magic). I tried the contraption shown in the picture to cool the wort as I siphoned it into the fermentation bucket. The hose went through a pot filled with ice & water before the bucket. This didn't do too well as the hose was still very hot to hold from the wort (maybe I should use copper tubing next time). 3 hours later we left to pick up the kids and it cooled to about 110F and I added the yeast. When we got back 4 hours later there were no signs of fermentation; when I awoke the next day, still nothing. I've done this before and have saved the batch by adding more yeast. Well, I don't have any yeast and the brewstore is closed on Sunday, I have to work Monday & Tuesday; so that leaves Wednesday to get more yeast and hope to save the batch. The one big monkey wrench would be the wort getting contaminated between Saturday and tomorrow. I've had it sealed up in the fermenter and airlock for 3 days now afraid to open it up and introduce some stray bacteria. I guess I'll know more in 24 hours. I'll let you know what happens.

While I was brewing on Saturday, Kimberly was having girl time sewing away with an online group for a virtual sewing bee. They all make the same project and send each other pictures. They all made hanger covers, Kimberly's is pictured. Something I didn't quite get though.... The whole virtual part. I grew up in a house with a mother who was very crafty and sewed quite a bit and I remember when other quilters/crafters/seamstresses would visit they would be showing each other all of their current projects and would just gossip and talk the day away. That's the part I don't get... an essential part of the bee is the carrying on and gossip. Something that is distinctly missing with the virtual sewing bee. Of course they will post pictures of their projects and comments on message boards but it isn't the same. On the other hand you could have many different people from all around the world and reach a wider range of people being virtual than the usual clique of blue hairs. Seeing how excited Kimberly was the week before and then showing off the pictures after I guess I have to say it was a success. Maybe this is the wave of the future!! What do you think?

Beer, brewing and ingenuity....

I plan on doing a little beer brewing this weekend. In preparation I was doing a little web research on homebrewing equipment. I'm looking to upscale my production from 5 to 10 gallon batches. It sounds easy enough, just make everything bigger. Well, the more I think the more I need to modify some equipment for ease of use and transport (10 gallons weighs almost 100 pounds) ie. put a valve in the bottom of my brewpot, build a wort chiller, ect... Then there is the bottling, a 5 gallon batch usually fills about 48 12 oz. bottles. Ten gallons will necessitate almost 100 empty bottles!!! I really hate washing and sterilizing bottles. I also found this blog here. Anyone from novice to expert (I fall somewhere in between) will learn something new. There are lots of good beer & brewing related links too. The picture to the right was found here, they have beaucoup information on beer festivals all over the world. Kind of makes you want to visit Germany, doesn't it. I make sure to take a few pictures while brewing to show the world (or 3 people) how I have things set up.

Check out this beer recipe site!!!! Awesome!!! Anything you could ever imagine and lots of extra stuff to tweak your recipes.