Thoughts From The John

Movin' On

2006-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Wow. Last post: July 22nd. Maybe it was the "Random Ambition" idea. I intend to do better from now on, but not in this space. Please visit the new Thoughts from the John on my Yahoo 360 space. I have so far found it to be less stifling and more user-friendly (to make friendly use of an over-used phrase). And my photo's bigger. Chivalry may be dead, but vanity's not. So, update your links people! All 3 of you...

Random Ambition

2005-07-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, I had this idea. In our office, just to the left of where I sit, stands a seven-foot-tall bookcase. It's filled, actually overfilled, with books. My idea is to take one book off the shelf as randomly and as blindly as possible, open it to a random page, point to a random place on that page, and read the nearest complete sentence, paragraph, or section. The way I see it, this could be anywhere from truly enlightening to completely pointless and stupid. It's a risk I'm willing to take. If it's interesting, I might do this once a week or so. If not, well, I promise I won't torture any of the three of you. So, here goes:

"Universities, too, are being redefined by corporations. I recently visited Omaha, where the corporate community made it possible for the Omaha branch of the University of Nebraska to build an engineering school -- even after the Board of Regents vetoed the project. Local corporations, particularly First Data Resources, wanted the school, so they worked with the Omaha branch of the university to finance what became less a school than a large information-science and engineering complex. 'This is the future,' said the chancellor of the Omaha campus, Del Weber. 'Universities will have to become entrepreneurs, working with corporations on curriculum [emphasis mine] and other matters, or they will die.' The California state university system, in particular the San Diego campus, is perhaps the best example of corporate-academic synergy, in which a school rises in prestige because its curriculum has practical applications for nearby technology firms."

From: Robert D. Kaplan, The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War. Random House. 2000.

California Politicians Pattin' Themselves on the Back

2005-07-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

At least one California Legislator isn't congratulating himself on our latest budget. If you are a Californian, whether Democrat, Republican, "independent," or whatever, please read this.

Kennewick Man

2005-07-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've been following this story off-and-on since the 1998 discovery of 9300-year-old remains near Kennewick, Washington. I was taking an Anthropology class at the time (where I first met my Annie), so my interest in the story was heightened somewhat. The more I learned, the more outraged I became. The bones were found by accident on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. When the remains were dated and measured, scientists were shocked and excited at their discovery: the bones were more than 9000 years old. No big deal right? Well, this is where it gets interesting. The bones appear to be from a Caucasian male rather than from an Asiatic (Native American) one. (I'm not going to get into how they do all these technical measurements on the skull structure). This discovery, if proven to be accurate, would throw out much of our long-held beliefs about where the first Americans came from and when they came here.

The scientists, naturally, planned to excavate the entire site in order to look for other possible human remains or cultural artifacts. But, this is where the story gets outrageous. The Army Corps of Engineers forbade further excavation and promptly planted over the site. What's more, Native American tribes got involved and demanded the remains be handed over to them for proper burial. They claimed Kennewick Man was not an ancient white man, but one of their own. To paraphrase one of the tribal spokespeople: "We know this is true because our people have always been here. Our ancestors have passed down our story to us." Thus began the protracted legal battle you now read about in the article.

My outrage stems from the willingness of some to forbid scientific study in the name of religion, culture, history, ancestory, or pride. If you are truly secure in your ancestoral pride, you would let the light of careful scientific scrutiny shine on anything and everything. It would appear that scientists may finally be able to shine that light on Kennewick Man. Unfortunately, the tribes have shown that they don't just "want a seat at the table." In this, and any future cases, they want to bury the remains with no scientific study performed, and they want the Government and the scientific community to go away. If the pending legislation in Congress should pass, they just might get what they want.

What A Jacques Ass!

2005-07-06T00:39:00.000-07:00

I know what it's like to get myself into trouble by saying something I shouldn't have, but I love this story anyway. French President Jacques Chirac (former ally and trading partner of Saddam Hussein) was overheard making comments about British and Finnish cuisine yesterday. The comments have apparently motivated someone to challenge Chirac to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. Read the article here.

After reading the article my only question (and, yes, I know I'm probably the only one on the planet who would think of this): Why not serve a fine English Ale or Finnish Sahti with those dishes. Either one would match a hell of a lot better than French wine (whine)!

Think Globally, Eat Locally!

2005-06-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Annie and I have been waiting for this for months, and finally, on June 15th, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op is coming to Elk Grove. I was so very pleasantly surprised when I found out that the SNFC chose Elk Grove for a second location. Suburbs like ours have a great need for access to fresh, local, organically-grown food. The SNFC works closely with small, local, family-owned farms to fill that need for our community, and I can't wait to start enjoying the benefits: fruits and vegetables grown in their natural season without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers; dairy, eggs, and meat from ranches that treat animals with the dignity and respect they deserve; household products that contain only earth-derived ingredients so as to not pollute our home or our environment; and being able to reward the people and companies who provide these products and services.

Wherever you live, your small, local farms are (literally) the lifeblood of your community. This time of year brings farmer's markets to many communities in our country. Consider visiting one if you don't already. They are a fun and easy way to connect with the people who grow food for you! If you have a co-op in or near your town, lucky you! Visit it often for the benefits I described above. And if the cashier has green hair, try not to think about it. He/she still shares the same values as you do (as far as where his/her food comes from anyway).

LocalHarvest.org is a fantastic resource for finding farmer's markets, co-ops, and farms in your area and ways to connect with them. You can even search by product and find many things in addition to fruits and veggies. Find locally-harvested honey, organic flowers, natural wreaths for the holidays, herbs, nuts, coffee, tea, even soap. You can even find restaurants! Happy eating!

Windows XP Startup Help

2005-05-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered this bit of helpful information, and I wanted to pass it along. If you are experiencing a long wait when you start up Windows XP, you may be running unnecessary or even malicious programs. To find out, go to the Start menu and click "Run." In the box type "msconfig" (without the quotation marks). Click on the "Start Up" tab. If you need help figuring out what the programs listed are (like I did), in another window, go to: http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/index.php and click on "Search." From there, simply enter the filename or the program title in the box and it will tell you what the program does and whether or not you need it to run on startup. Remember, if you uncheck something from your startup list, you're not deleting it, you're just telling Windows not to run it automatically.

I'm not saying this is definitely going to help you, but I am absolutely ecstatic that my startup time has been reduced from about 90 seconds to about 15 seconds!

My Dad

2005-05-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's birthday. He lives in Fresno with my stepmom, Jeri, and my sister, Jennifer. Jennifer will turn 18 later this year, and I can hardly believe it. She is considering attending UC Davis after high school, and I am already so proud of her. I am proud of my dad, too, because he and Jeri have raised a great kid.

My dad operates his own small business, and he has been a constant example of hard work and determination for me. I don't get to see him as often as I would like, and I am terrible at remembering to call home once in a while. Dad, even though we don't talk very often, I want you to know that I miss you and I love you. I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

My Mom

2005-05-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell everyone how proud I am of my mom. She moved to Oregon supposedly to retire, but she has really taken her little town, Waldport, by storm. She has been working as a volunteer at CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) for quite a while now. She speaks for abused and neglected children in court. And last November she was elected to the Waldport City Council! Not only that, but she got more votes than any other candidate for the Council. You can read a news article written before her election here, and you can see a photo of her swearing-in here. Give 'em hell, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. We wouldn't be here without you!

Thoughtful Gift-Giving (Part 1)

2005-05-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

I know it is sort of late to be ordering flowers for Mother's Day 2005, but I want you to consider this as an option on your next flower-giving occasion. Here is a great summary article about why it is important to buy organic flowers whenever possible. And here is a great place to find organic farms in your area. And here is a great place to order and send organic flowers without even having to get off your tush.

One Blog Not Enough for the John

2005-04-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

So maybe I shouldn't be starting a second blog, but as the great philospher Britney Spears once said, "Oops, I did it again."

I give you Brew Thoughts: A Beer Blog. I decided that my passion for the brew is just too big not to have its own blog. So, over there I will ponder, philosophize, and pontificate about anything with even a transitory connection to beer. And I will put everything else over here. I mean, why not?

A Day in the Life of the John

2005-04-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

STONER: "Dude, what's that?" (as he points to a six-pack of Anderson Valley Boont Amber)

THE JOHN: "It's a Beer."

STONER: "No, dude. It's like a bear with antlers or somethin'."

THE JOHN: "Yeah. It's a BEER. Bear + Deer = Beer.

STONER: "Whoa."

No Brewpub for Rehearsal Dinner

2005-04-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, since Annie hasn't updated you guys on the wedding stuff lately, I'll take it on: Beermann's Brewery & Restaurant of Lincoln couldn't accomodate us for the rehearsal dinner on Friday September 23. So, our plans have evolved from having our entire wedding at a brewery, to having only the rehearsal dinner at a brewery, to no brewery at all. Annie and I really want craft beer to be an important part of our wedding, though, and we are working on it. (The Bachelor's Party WILL BE AT A BREWERY!!!)

The latest candidate for the rehearsal dinner is Latitudes Restaurant & Bistro. Go to the website and click on the 'About Us' link. This family-owned restaurant is located in a three-story white Victorian in Old Town Auburn across from the historic Placer County Courthouse. Annie and I enjoyed our first visit there on Sunday evening after Aaron's "Incredible" Birthday Party. We enjoyed dinner very much, and Pete visited with us afterwards. Much to my relief, the extensive wine list is accompanied by an impressive beer list. Oh, and the bar downstairs is really neat too. Anyway, we felt at home there, and we think you will too.

Guilty Pleasure

2005-03-30T16:35:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2005-03-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

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

What Goes Around

2005-03-18T10:20:00.000-08:00

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?

2005-03-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

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)

2005-03-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

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).