Now if this holds true it will pose a few problems:

1. Hobos living under the bridges wont know wtf us going on. This will totally screw with their hibernation.
2. The Occupy people just caught a huge break if they’re still camping out. damn.
3. The Mayans probably did predict this & we’re all goners in December.
4. PennDOT will find some reason not to patch holes.
5. If I have to cut my grass I’m cutting someone.
6. I think it’s God’s way of telling me to get outside and exercise or else.
7. I can’t throw any more snowballs at Teaspoon

Plus side if this holds up:

1. I’m wearing shorts to Pens games
2. I don’t have to buy any more salt
3. I can brew outside
4. It buys me time to get the house properly insulated and fix more of whatever Capt. Obvious did.
5. My birthday is going to be very comfortable

I need to smile more. Jesus I didn’t realize it until I saw this pic and this was the best one out of the series on my webcam I just shot.

I wonder how long I can grow a beard until I wake up and find that someone shaved it off? At least let me make some designs first.

What’s with that funky eye thing from my glasses? I need to get new glasses or contact. Probably depend if I play softball this year what I’ll get.

Dropping pounds. Not from some great miracle diet unless you count sleeping in 2hr spurts a diet. Let my kids sleep over for a couple weeks and you can be as dashing as myself. If anything it making me cranky. Yes, cranky.

I bought a couple books today. I hate reading but something compelled me when I listened to the author speak. I never impulse buy. I did today. Books will be posted when they get here.

Did you ever notice the people that bitch most about how they hate the high school drama on social media sites are always the ones causing it? Even funnier is when they drag fantasy land into the real world and spend all of their time offline talking about what happened online. Watch out I might blog about it. Err wait. And people wonder why TV soap operas are dying *sheesh*

You thought all those D&D kids from grade school were freaks. They’re the ones building the apps right now you can’t stop using. Suckers!

I’ve paid attention more to the debates recently not because I want answers but because I want to see who’s going to get choke-slammed by Newt next. He probably won’t win the nomination because people are still too sensitive but man he’d be a bad ass. At the end of the day though my vote in November will go to Stephen Colbert.

If the biggest drama in your young life is if you should have kids now or later,  my advice is to wait until you’re 30. You’re obviously not ready to handle the mindscrew they lay on you so enjoy your 20′s. Just wait until there are 2 of them.

Want or need? The most annoying thing old people, especially my mom, say to me is “Do you NEED it or do you WANT it?” when it comes to making purchases. I have a feeling this has the legs for a good post subject. One that I NEED and WANT.

Late today I got the great news that this big project I’ve been stressing over got the green light to launch days earlier than expected. To celebrate I’m going to be the celebrity judge at a wine competition tomorrow night. Wrap your noodle around that one. Little know fact, I like wine… Franzia, thanks to Griff.

I have a couple more brew kits coming my way and I just need to pick out the yeast. Be afraid.

Looking forward to hanging with various groups of friends I haven’t seen in almost 6months. There will be bowling, mexican food and tequila involved. This can’t end well.

cheers!

The inaugural Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week is now official! Logos and a webpage make things official right? To say I’m psyched for this is a bit of an understatement as I’ve been involved on one of the planning teams for a few months. To see this growing from a small idea to what it is now, is incredible!

Last night was a who’s who of craft beer in Pittsburgh at one of the major planning meetings.  You should see more info coming soon on the website and also details of the newly created Pittsburgh Craft Beer Alliance  (which has already said to be “like a drunkard Justice League”). The week will be April 20-28, 2012 and will feature Pittsburgh finest craft breweries and craft beer restaurants.

Pittsburgh has an incredible food and drink scene that we want the world (and all of yinz) to explore.

That’s all I can tell you for now. In the meantime click the links below to connect with PCBW and if you’re on twitter start following the #pcbw tag.

Website: http://pittsburghcraftbeerweek.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pghcraftbeerweek
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PGH_BeerWeek

cheers!

I have never been to a Golden Corral before. In fact, I’m not even one for buffet style places because I really don’t eat a lot in a sitting (I’m not fat, I’m cultivating mass) but it is fast and easy for the kids plus my good friend Jimmy swears by them. This night would prove to be a lesson in people watching.

If you’ve never been to a Golden Corral before its a buffet style dining establishment where  you can start with salads, go to chicken, steak, seafood/pasta and finish on deserts (for their online menu click here). Sounds pretty basic and kinda like a Ponderosa right? Hold on buccaroo it gets better.

1. the price – children under 3 eat free (score!) and our dinners were about $11 an adult.
2. the food – I never question my F.I.L. when it comes to food. The man has the same palate as me so if he says something is good, I listen. The quality of food was rating high with me. The fried chicken was juicy and crunchy, I asked for a medium rare steak and for one of the first times in a restaurant I actually got it the way I ordered it. Bourbon chicken was a dropkick to the mouth of spice. I never made it past those because I kept going back for steak but the Shrimp Alfredo looked amazing along with mac n cheese.
3. the service – the place was jammed with holiday shoppers and our servers were a level of politeness I rarely see. One kid was being a jag to his table but others we encountered were top notch.
4. the customers – Now there were a lot of normal folks eating but this is where you’re going to get your bang for the buck. You know that site People of WalMart? Well there should be one for here. I don’t know if it was the holiday season but as I was told online last night “you go there when you want to feel better about yourself”. Last night was a collection of 70′s Steelers shirts with matching tats, nascar jackets, missing teeth and some serious hardcore yinzers with 6 kids. Oh yeah and I saw a guy with a Charlotte Hornets Starter jacket and hat. The highlight of the evening was the table next to us enjoying a family meal with a very “manly” aunt who didn’t wear underwear. We all had a show.

I had a fantastic time eating with my family and can see why friends of mine have raved about this place. Strap on the feedbag and go to town Johnny, this is a quality place I’m going back to!

The show was held at the historic (isn’t everything in Pittsburgh historic by this point?) Carnegie Music Hall which is attached to the Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History in Oakland.

Chris rocked out a set list and took requests from the audience for 2 hours before handing out a solid 30 minute encore. He covered songs stretching across his career from Temple of the Dog, his time with Soundgarden and Audioslave to his multiple solo collections. This wasn’t just a night for the greatest hits but for a man and his guitar to tell the stories behind the songs and why/how they came to be. He covered Led Zepplin and multiple Beetles songs before closing the night with a hair raising, goosebump inducing, tearjerker rendition of Blow Up the Outside World (my favorite song for those of you keeping track at home. Surprised its not Spoonman eh?).

Our view was fantastic also. 1st balcony section 4. No obstruction, just a straight up view of Chris.

In almost 20 years of being a Soundgarden fan this was my first chance to see him live and it was well worth the wait. I wont hold out another 20 years to do it again.

The show was everything I had hyped up in my head and I only wish there was someway to relive it again like I can with Pearl Jam (there are bootlegs of every show. Recording is welcomed!)

Here is the setlist I found online. Looks pretty accurate but take the net for what its worth.

1. Scar on the Sky
2. Ground Zero
3. Hope and Promise Fade
4. Can’t Change Me
5. Be Yourself
6. Wide Awake
7. Fell on Black Days
8. Call Me a Dog
9. Hunger Strike
10. You Know My Name
11. Billie Jean
12. Outshined
13. Sunshower
14. Getaway Car
15. State Trooper
16. When I’m Down
17. Seasons
18. Wooden Jesus
19. Burden in my Hand
20. Mind Riot
21. Like a Stone
22. Doesn’t Remind Me
23. A Day in the Life

Encore:

24. Thank You
25. Black Hole Sun
26. The Keeper
27. Say Hello to Heaven
28. Imagine
29. Blow Up the Outside World

All in all it was a magical night but there were a few problems. Always is eh?

1. No photography – This is an absolute bullshite rule and I don’t mean professional cameras, I’m talking about your cell phones. During the whole show we were constantly distracted by ushers flashing their lights in everyone’s faces telling them to stop taking photos or they’ll take your phone. Even if you were texting (why weren’t you watching the show?) you still got harassed. When we entered the venue the ticket taker asked to see our phones and if they took pictures we would have to hand them over. We chuckled and kept walking.
2. Heat – The seats are small and very close together. With a sold out show it was next to impossible to get air and after almost 3 hours one of the ushers finally opened a door for us.
3. Drunks – I don’t care what state of mind you’re in but if you yell Free Bird over and over you’re going to get beat down. Better yet you shout out after every song the same title for him to play and when he does play it you say “Oh, I meant something else.”
4. Recording – if the artist isn’t going to record the show for later release then why can’t I have a pocket recorder on me? I’m not saying you need to walk in with a studio but I saw a guy with a small handheld in his shirt and you’d think he was strapped with a bomb.  I would love for a copy of last night’s show so I can relive it over and over again. This is where Pearl Jam and KISS do it right
5. Merch – I really wanted a shirt but $30? Didn’t happen. Thought maybe I could get one online a little cheaper and I was wrong, merch from the show isn’t even online. I would have gladly paid for a hoodie or make someone else buy me the shirt for Christmas.

We arrived at Union Grill and was greeted with “It will be 60-90 minutes.” Show started in 90 minutes so we needed to find someplace new. Could we have made reservations? Sure but honestly we didnt know until late and really it wasn’t that big of a deal since we got the lead on other restaurants. Walked down South Craig and hit up Lu Lu’s Noodles where the crammed entry was somehow only a 15 minute wait.

After we were seated I started my recon mission to see what other people were eating and, even if it was partially devoured, what looked good. The table next to us had a heaping bowl of Pho that can only be described as food porn. I knew that if I was going to stay attentive Pho would be a bad idea since I would fall asleep in a delicious slumber. We placed our orders of an eggroll, crab ragoons, spicy szechwan chicken and this:

This is Lu Lu’s Pan Fried Noodle and also one of my new favorite dishes. So much so I’ve been craving it again all day. Japanese shiitake mushrooms, asian greens, beansprouts, green onions, w/Lu Lu’s special sauce on top of crispy thin and pan fried egg noodles.

I took a couple bites and felt like I was bitchslapped by my happy place. The noodles were crunchy on the outside, warm in the middle and full of flavor from the sauce. The beef couldn’t have been more succulent and even the bean sprouts were amazing. We swapped dishes so we could try each other’s meal and both of us couldn’t believe what the other was eating. We knew that we had found our new favorite place to eat. Downside is that we don’t live by there anymore but that doesn’t mean we can’t get carryout or make it a special stop when taking the boys to the Carnegie Museum.

As if things couldn’t get any better, the entire meal plus 2 cokes was only $23. Oh yeah buddy, we’ll be back. I have a date with that Pho!

I’m sure I’m not alone when it comes to fear of the dentist. Prior to a couple weeks ago I’ve been to the dentist twice since I’ve moved to Pittsburgh and for good reason, the person I saw before tore my mouth apart and said I needed $2000 in dental work that I didn’t need.

I never liked the dentists in Erie and I’m pretty sure one of them got their license out of a car in Mexico.

6 years ago I had most of my silver fillings (from when I was a kid) replaced with some white filling material. Well one of those fillings fell out and after I heard good things about a local dentist I decided to go in. He inspected the hole and said that most of the white fillings would need replaced again because they were poorly done but the one that fell out will need some work. Downside was that the next open appointment I could get was in November (I was in early Sept). He said that the hole wouldn’t be that bad and I should be fine. I wasn’t.

Shortly after brew day I started getting really bad toothaches and headaches. I called the dentist office and they were on fall break for the next couple weeks. Called the emergency number and no one called back. Happened to talk to my doctor and he took a quick look to make sure nothing was infected and prescribed a pain killer to help me out.

The pain kept getting worse and on the 11th I could barely talk because the pain was so bad. This day also happened to be Veterans Day so no one was opened. Thankfully we found one that answered their phone and was also close to me so I went in for an emergency check. He took a couple x-rays and then said what I didn’t want to hear. “You need a root canal… NOW!” 2 hours later and the worst pain I’ve ever felt, I leave and all of the pressure and pain is gone. However he didn’t finish the job because he’s not my regular dentist and said the guy I go to should be able to finish it and he didn’t want to interfere with any treatment he was giving me. I was cool with that so instead of putting a crown on he filled the tooth with cotton and sealed it up. Said it will be good for awhile.

This past Tuesday I get back to my dentist for a scheduled appointment and tell him what happened. He said he doesn’t do crowns or finish root canals so I would need a specialist and gave me the name of whom he recommends. In the meantime he fixed a couple of the fillings and sent me on my way.

Called the specialists office and they said they can’t do anything for me. Called back to the dentist office and the nasty woman working the phones says I never had a root canal, I must be mistaken and obviously I didn’t pay attention to her when she told me who to call.

I love this dentist. I fell no pain when he worked and I loved that he explained everything when he was working plus is very relaxing. His staff though is absolutely miserable to deal with which is unfortunate. I finally found someone I like and now I’m questioning if I should go back because his staff is that nasty.

I did find a specialist by where I work that will take care of the tooth in early Dec after and honestly I’m just anxious to get everything finished. I swear that you just cant find good people anymore when it comes to dealing with the public.

Back at SIDT Studio B the brewing started to take shape. The fun thing for me was finally understanding the basics of the brewing process happening in front of me. Thankfully I did have someone with me because sickpuppy found an error with the instructions that were sent with the brewing kit and a quick call to Northern Brewer had it resolved. Thumps up for great customer service especially on a Saturday!

The whole process, including running out to find a thermometer which WASN’T included with the kit, took about 4 hours which was perfect. We wrapped up just as the sun set and it was time to transfer to the bucket.

There has been some serious bubble action going on the last few days and I’m looking forward to a gravity reading this weekend to see where we are. One thing the instructions didnt factor in was the need for more priming sugar so I made a run for that last night.

I like where this can end up going as a hobby. I don’t get to drink that much at home so expect to get some as gifts just so I can make a new batch.

We did also record a show when we were done so you can be expecting that soon. Until then I have a lot of reading to do and look into subscriptions

Click here to view the embedded video.

A couple months ago I decided that I needed to find a hobby that would be something I could do at home and be relatively inexpensive. Free time to leave the house is hard to come by these days and if I could do it while the kids were sleeping (wait, that sounds shady) that would be perfect. Enter… homebrewing.

A few things have played into why I haven’t brewed before; from the lack of space and time to the kids. Arriving as a housewarming gift, my partner in craft beer adventures, sickpuppy, bought me a starter kit from Northern Brewer. Next my good friend Phil said “You can’t just do it to do it, you’ll know when it feels right.” and he’s absolutely correct. I have that passion to learn now and both of those guys are fantastic brewers.

This Saturday also happens to be national “Learn to Homebrew Day“. Honestly I didn’t even know such a beast existed until sickpuppy told me about it. Since I’ve never done it before I haven’t really paid much attention to homebrewing news.  I checked around the Pittsburgh area but didn’t see anything scheduled (really shocked at this) but I did find out that the guys at Erie Brewing will host an event on Saturday from 9am-5pm at their brewery. For more information you can contact them at info@eriebrewingco.com or (814)459-7741.

So what will I be brewing? I picked up the Innkeeper kit and will be adding in some additional hops. The thing that is attracting me most to home brewing is that, like cooking, you can make any recipe your own plus I can can focus on making what I consider the perfect beer. This batch should be ready by Thanksgiving so I’ll have a treat to look forward to and maybe some gifts for family to try out. A name has been chosen (which is why we’re using additional hops) and I can’t wait to work on a label. You’ll find out soon enough what it will be called.

If you’re in Pittsburgh and maybe this weekend is too soon (or not) to get started here are some local resources that you can use.

Supply stores – This is where you can pick up your starter brewing kits and then the packaged ingredients to get started

• South Hills Brewing Supply (South Hills)
• Country Wines (North Hills)
• Porter House Brew Shop (North of Cranberry)

Homebrewing clubs – Groups of friendly people making great beer and always willing to help out the newbies. Everyone has an acronym too.

• Three Rivers Underground Brewers or T.R.U.B.
• Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers (T.R.A.S.H.)

I first met Jim a few years ago as a member of the elite softball squad known as Yinz Team and little did I know that the KDKA weather traffic reporter would become a great friend. When my kids were born Jim made sure we were OK. When times were tough during my layoff he was there as a shoulder to lean on and a bud to have a drink with.

Jim is Pittsburgh. He represents what makes this this city great from his charitable acts to all around kindness.  This city is truly losing a son and Boston is gaining a kickass person.

Thank you captain for always being kick ass and make sure I have a couch to crash on when St Patty’s day rolls around up there.

cheers!
spoon

Here is video of Jim’s sendoff from today

Click here to view the embedded video.