Guilty Pleasure

O.K. So everyone has at least ONE, right? Here's my latest: Virtual Bartender. See how many different things you can get her to do. I'm almost up to 50 so far. Hint: try one-word commands like "light," "rock," or "kick."

Hip Hoppin' wit da Easter B!!!

It just doesn't get any better than this: Happy Easter everyone!

What Goes Around

I just wanted to share with everybody this really neat and unique website I found not too long ago. It's called WhatGoesAround.org. It's a great way to give a charitable donation in someone's name to an organization they have previously chosen on their "GiveList." Register your own GiveList while you're there. Oh...and it's totally free to use.

St. Patty's Day - Just an Excuse to Drink?

It's St. Patrick's Day again. Tonight, and over the course of the next few days, many Americans (of Irish descent and otherwise) will go out and drink......a lot. Some of them will partake in a strange ritual whereby blue food coloring is actually added to yellow beer. They drink it as if they might make themselves as green as St Patty himself, from the inside out. It's making me green just thinking about it.

More careful drinkers know that stout is the beer of choice in Ireland. Stout should be near black in color, and almost completely opaque. Irish stouts are usually low in alcohol (4%-5% abv), low in carbonation, and with a dry, roasty, creamy character. Most people have heard of Guinness, which makes a nice "Extra Stout" and a lighter, blander "Guinness Draught." Many think of Guinness when they think of Ireland and vice versa. Unfortunately, today Guinness is owned and operated by a huge international beverage company called Diageo. Nearly all of the Guinness sold in the US is now brewed in Canada, with the secret "essence of Guinness" imported from Dublin, Ireland. Here is an interesting article describing one guy's take on how Guinness tastes today.

There are better options for celebrating St. Patty's Day with beer. Stephen Beaumont, a great beer writer, describes a few here. By the way, did St. Patrick really do anything worth celebrating? Cheers.

Sharing My Passion

My passion for "better beer" largely got started by two things. The first was working closely with Rick Larson at the Beverages and More store I work at now. He had a passion for beer before I knew a pilsener from a porter, and he taught me a lot. He no longer works there, and I wish we kept in touch more often.

The second important step in my becoming a beer geek was finding the most fantastic website the world has ever known, BeerAdvocate.com. The site was founded by two brothers in Boston in 1996, and they still run it today on donations. I encourage you to check it out, even if you think beer is not for you. There is an amazing amount of information on the site, and it has zero ads!

So, what does it mean to be a beer geek (or beer snob)? Well, I can't speak for all of us, but this beer geek believes in these five core principles: 1) Beer should be brewed from the finest quality ingredients available; 2) Beer should not contain cheap adjuncts like rice, corn, millet, or sorghum; 3) Beer should be flavorful and complex; 4) Beer is meant to be consumed in moderation and can greatly enhance a meal; 5) Beer should never be brewed with the sole purpose of making a profit from the selling of it. Cheers!

What Ails Us

I don't plan to use this space to rant and rave about politics (much), but I will share when I think it's worthwhile.

Many of our "representatives" in Sacramento like to claim that the biggest reason California isn't the envy of the country like it used to be (finest schools, best roads, highest-paying jobs, etc.) is that Californians just aren't willing to "invest" in their future like they used to be. Today, we are "starving" our schools and our infrastructure, they say.

Check this out: 40 years ago, the State of California spent $200 per person per year (that's $1,240 in today's inflation-adjusted dollars). Today California spends $3,200 for every man, woman, and child in the state, and of course it gets bigger every year. Californians pay the fourth highest taxes on gasoline in the country, yet we rank dead last in per-capita spending on roads. California backs every classroom in the state with nearly $300,000, yet only a fraction makes it to the classroom.

Just a suggestion: Maybe the problem is more of a mismanagement of the ridiculous amount of money that Californians are "investing." Maybe our "representatives" are doing a terrible job of representing us. But, I guess people have sort of come to expect that from government. Worse, we have accepted it. And that's just what they want.

2005 To Be the Best Year of the John's Life (so far)

Alright. So after all these years of telling myself I should really keep a diary, here I am finally doing it. Except with this type of diary, anyone in the world can walk in my room, open my diary, and start reading whenever they want. Cool.

So, I've got a lot planned for 2005: finish up that bachelor's degree, get a better job, get married, go on a honeymoon, and generally stay in better contact with my family and friends. And that's where this blog thing comes in. I pretty much despise talking on the phone, and e-mail hasn't exactly been my cup of tea either. But blogging just might be the thing for me.

As you will learn soon enough, I am a 100% certified "beer geek." Thankfully, my beloved fiancee, Annie, is very supportive and understanding of my affliction. She has even agreed to let beer be an integral part of our wedding. You can get all the latest wedding planning news on Annie's Web Log (link at right).