Cheap Beer

Words of wisdom I learned long ago... "There are two types of beer in the world, cold beer and free beer. Free beer is always better!"
In these hard economic times everyone needs to reevaluate our priorities in life. Tighten our belts, go without and make what little we have last longer. Pass up that case of Newcastle Brown Ale ($25) for a 12 pack of Miller High Life ($6.99). Search the sofa cushions for wayward quarters and dimes. What do you do when times are tough and you yearn for that malty hoppy goodness? This question has made man pause for thought for generations. Being schooled in the art of home brewing, the obvious answer is to make your own. Rewarding and fun but it's also time consuming. If I started a batch tomorrow, I would have to wait at minimum 6 weeks to reap the rewards of my hard work.

Of course drinking a less expensive brew is an obvious option. But how to justify the reduced expense with the reduced quality and flavor? I think that Yeungling is the one of the better price/quality/flavor beers around.

My solution to cheap beer involves my second hand kegerator. A few years ago I bought an old second refrigerator from a coworker. When I went out to his house to pick it up I noticed a box of old beer dispensing equipment. Since he was well past his prime drinking age, had teenage children around often and was recently more involved in his local Baptist church, he gladly threw in the kegerator parts with the price of the fridge figuring (correctly) that he probably would never set it up again. He also recounted many a tales of excess (beer in Cheerios, etc..) to warn me of the dangers of keg beer the house. After fixng a few parts and replacing a few hoses and gaskets, I had it up and running in no time. I can certainly attest to the dangers of keg beer in the house. With no empties to count, having one or four too many is very easy. Also, anyone who wants to loose weight shouldn't have draft beer in the house. But I digress, this post is supposed to be about reducing the cost of beer in your budget...

As I said before, I find Yeungling Lager one of the best mix between taste and cost. 6 Packs go for $4.99 at the local gas stations. 12 packs run between $7-8 and out on the town, a draft pint is usually under $3. A pony keg of Yeungling runs between $42-$47 plus a refudable $10 deposit.(Yeungling 1/4 kegs also come tall & skinny and fit nicely in the fridge by only taking out the sleves on one side, leaving the other side for other beverages or food). The CO2 tank lasts about 3 to 4 kegs before having to refill, about $30. At $45 for 7.5 gallons, doing the math gives me $0.89/pint. I also get coolness points and rarely have to "make a beer run" in the middle of the big game.

A couple of tips. 1) keep a hand pump handy. It really sucks to have a full keg and run out of CO2 during a big game. Plenty of beer and no way to get to it. 2) you will drink more, no matter how you rationalize this to you wife.... with beer on tap in the house, you will drink more than just buying a 6 pack at a time.... This may lead to a quick extra 10 pounds.

I actualy use a travel version I made from a plastic trash can and few pieces of scrap wood more than the original set up. It's invaluable at sporting events (see picture in my profile at a SC football game) and other gatherings where copious amounts of beer will be consumed. Also using CO2 instead of a hand pump to dispense the brew eliminates the oxidization of the beverage and reduces much of the "skunk" taste of leftovers. Just keep everything cold (draft beer isn't pasturized) and you'll never have to worry about bad keg beer again.

So, pass along your ideas for drinking on the cheap, hopefully without sacraficing quality!

Check it out.... & 2008 Victory Garden update

While taking the boys to the library yesterday, I was perusing through the home improvement section and a gardening book caught my eye. Check out Great Garden Shortcuts by Joan Benjamin. Lots of great ideas for organizing, planning and working in your garden. I liked the idea of using a bottle bottom to make an impression in the soil to mark spacing of seeds. Lots of ideas about planning and also working more efficiently in your garden. I blew through it in a night and took what I wanted out of it. now it's back to the library.....

Also, I've spent the past 2 days getting the garden ready for spring. I took Colonel Mustard down to the county composting facility to fill him up for $20 (well, as much as I could before the bed was below the rear tires and the front tires were raised enough to make it hard to steer). I added another raised bed this year but am still running out of room. This year I've dedicated an entire bed to garlic and onions so the addition of a 4th bed only brings me back to my original 3 beds for everything else. I'll be spending the rest of the day figuring out where I plant the last few things most efficiently. My Seed Saver order was shipper Thursday so hopefully I'll be fully planted buy next week! Happy Gardening!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Read a little about St. Patrick. Enjoy an Irish feast of champ and Irish soda bread and chicken & leek pie. When washing it down, forgo the Guinness and Killian's for a Smithwick's or Beamish. You can thank me later. And of course think of your Irish ancestors and the trials & tribulations they endured for a better life. Thanks Patrick Keaveny & Nora Quirk!

I have the day off today, so Mr. Quinn & I will be visiting local establishments from about lunchtime on, all day. maybe I'll post a picture or two later.

One bit about Irish history in Columbia, SC. One of the local Catholic churches here was formed by Irish immigrants. Read about the history here. I find it a bit odd that in 1821 (well before the Civil War), there was nobody in South Carolina able hand dig the Columbia Canal but Irish immigrants from the north?

My political platform...

Since I like a spirited political discussion as much as the next guy and I'll no doubt be posting more links to articles about the candidates, I figured I should come up with a manifesto of my core tenets. This should make it clear as mud who I support in the coming and all future elections.

• As of now I'm currently undecided who to vote for President in November. I voted for McCain in January but that was because I felt he needed my vote more than Obama in the primary and I have always liked his straight talk and independence. I despise Hillary. She is about the most slimy, detestable, abhorrent politician there is. As long as she doesn't become President, I will be happy. I like Obama's mantra for change. But then again 8 years ago I though GWB was the type of outsider to bring change to Washington. As long as Obama doesn't surround himself with the same type of democratic old guard GWB did, change might actually happen. For the record my votes for President since turning 18 have been for Bush I, Clinton, Bush II & David Cobb.
• I believe that I have the right to buy a shotgun from Walmart or an AK-47 from a gun show, and don't mind anyone knowing that I have the weapons or filling out some paperwork or waiting a week to fire that first round, but if I ever get committed or commit a felony I would expect those rights to be taken away from me.
• I have to live withing a budget and expect my government to do so also. On a similar note, I own a house, I mean I owe a mortgage for a house & have a car payment. For big expenses these are practical ways to pay for things I can't pay outright for. I grant the government the right to do the same thing if the need is there.
• Torture is torture no matter how or why it's done. We have prosecuted many other nations & soldiers for this throughout the 20th century. It should be clear as day that ALL TORTURE IS ILLEGAL, but there's a comparison to justified murder that nobody ever talks about. There are many occasions that a beaten and battered woman who kills her abuser isn't charged with murder. Also, imagine if someone breaks into your house and rapes and kills your wife and kids. You grab your Walmart Special 12 gauge and blast him to kingdom come. Both extreme circumstances but if I'm on either jury, you'll get a 'not guilty' from me. Why isn't torture perceived the same way? Republicans like to speak in a vagueness that they would never want to hinder future Presidents or soldiers; but if the Jack Bauer scenario ever happens with an eminent attack & the only person with knowledge of the when and where is in custody. Go ahead and torture his ass to get it out of him. It doesn't matter if it's legal or not. Then let the Attorney General decide if it was justified just like a state Attorneys General would do for the many justified homicides that happen each year. If it really wasn't needed though (see Abu Ghraib) I'll put your ass in jail for a LONG time.
• Too many people in this country/world will gladly acknowledge that they've been dealt bad hands in life, but refuse to acknowledge that just about everyone CAN overcome most of life's problems through hard work and a hand up as opposed to a handout and waiting for that full house to be dealt. Apply this to all social programs, help those who help themselves.
• We are stewards of the world. That means growing our population and economy in symbiotic relation to our environment. We are one of the world's most prosperous, inventive and industrious nations. If there's a true commitment to make a successful electric car or use more sustainable agricultural practices or become energy independent, it will happen. Think JFK's commitment about going to the moon. Too often the commitment is to profit and return on investment.

Ok, I've rattled on enough for now. I'm sure there will be more to add in the coming months. As always I would love to get comments. Or if you are just unsure of what side of an issue you should be on, let me know and I'll tell you where you need to be. ;-)

Candidates, speeches, talking points and reality

This article caught my eye the other day. It seems all three candidates fall short on economic policy making but instead of actually debating the issues they try to shout louder that their policies are best. Nobody wants to say the emperor has no clothes on because they themselves haven't looked in a mirror in a while.

Something else that bothers me quite a bit about the modern political campaign is when polititians (or there spokesperson) harp on one statement or idea and try to monopolize it hoping that some of it actually sticks and the public will associate the candidate with the issue/idea. Example, the Bush campaign painting John Kerry as a flip flopper. Because the Bush people were able to ingrain that image into the voters minds early and often, it stuck, rightly or wrongly. I'm starting to see similar tactics with Obama & Clinton attacking each other. Each one trying to attach themselves to vague ideals so that hopefully some stick, no matter what the realities are, the public perception is already formed.

The Fact Checker is a great regular column that also interjects reality into overstating campaign promises and ballyhoo.

Stream of Conscienceness blogging

Bear with me.......
I've been looking for shaving stuff on eBay lately and came across some good links...

A Straight Razor Forum, This has all of the questions, answers, tips & techniques for shaving with a straight razor but also buying old razors and restoring them to top notch form.

A good place for sharpening stones and hones, I have my old Boy Scout stone but I think I do more damage with it than good.... I need something around 3000-8000 grit.

I think Paul McCartney'S Silly Love Songs is one of my favorite of his.

I went on a field trip with Sheridan yesterday. I joined Springdale Elementary's 3rd grade on their trip to the State House and visited the Confedeate Relic Museum. I know all of you Yankee are snickering about that Confederate Relic Museum, but It was much better than I thought it would be and the staff was very entertaining and knowledgable. I went free but for $6 admission, it's worth it when you're visiting through Columbia. I was surprised that it wasn't just "guns & uniform" place and more than "those damn yankees ruined everything!" They have lots of stuff from Wade Hampton. They also talk a lot about the Confederate Veterans post war too which I thought was interesteing.

The State House was cool too. Especially the bronze stars marking the 6 places hit by General Sherman's cannonballs! Great architecture and gardens on the property too.

I looking at going back to graduate school this fall. I need to take a few calculus courses to bone up a bit but I'm looking at a Master's of Industrial Statistics degree at USC.

I placed the first of my garden seed order this past week.... getting the green thumb itch soon. More to post later.

Kimberly is a 2 mini-semesters away from graduating nursing school! We're going to have a hum dinger of a party after she graduates!

more soon