Go Green!

A very, very,very, long time ago, I received a shaving mug as a white elephant gift. It seemed like a great gag gift at the time. I put it into the cupboard, and forgot about it. Until my can of shaving cream ran out. So, in desperation I opened the mug, installed the little cake of soap, swirlled the brush...I was hooked. Not only does the brush feel good on the skin, but the soap is warm. The longer you work it into the skin, the creamier it gets. As time marched on, the little cake just kept on making soap, for a couple of years. It finally deminished to the point of needing replacing.

I was sure I wouldn't be able to find any more.
But to my surprise, in the old guy section of the corner drug store, I think it was Payless or Rite aid, there was my old friend. It even gave me the option of a whole kit, (mug and brush and soap cake) or just the cake. I think it was under 3 bucks for just the soap cake. It just dawned on me the other day that not only is the cost about 1/4 that of buying a can of shave cream, but it is also better for the enviroment. There is no can or aerosols, just a little cardboard box about 2 inches square.

Let's review:

Saves money.
Better for the environment.
Nice and warm lather.

Try it?

PS: Don't use the old straight razor! Ask me how I know...

Upgrade Me !

For those that know me, this is not earth shaking info. For those that don't, this may be a shock. I am vertically challenged. I know, I sound bigger in print. At 5'3" inches tall, I have heard all the short jokes, everyday. Fortunately for me, I got over that in 3rd grade. I have embraced my size, and learned to deal with the fact that I have to ask my wife to reach things on the top shelf of the kitchen cupboards. But I also got to be on top when building a
human pyramid in school.

Now that I have set the stage, I pose a question that I have pondered on. If you could re-design the human body, what change would you make? Not just enhancing what you have, that would be too easy. Be sure to think long term, because something that sounds good at 20 years old, may not be so good at 70.

I would do
this.

Yes, an eye on the end of my finger. Just think, when looking for your slippers, just reach down and extend your finger, and voila, there they are. Or, instead of digging through your purse or pocket, simply reach in and look around! Of course this eye would have to have night vision. If you wanted to spy on someone, just put your finger around the corner! You would also have the ability to check out those new jeans you just bought to see how they look from "behind"! No more asking the age old question, "do these pants make my butt look big? If you bump your head, you could check to see if it's bleeding! Check for spiders in you shoe, look for that quarter that fell between the sofa cushions, buckle the car seat in the car with ease! The list goes on...

So, I ask you, what would you alter?

Hand me up's?

I love this picture. Me and my boy, hanging out doing boy stuff. I'm so cool I even have a Tony Hawk sweatshirt! Oh wait, that's Mason's sweatshirt, and it fits me. Most Dad's wait for their boys to start borrowing their clothes. You know like stealing socks from their drawer. Not me, I get to have Mason's hand me downs. Oh well cool and free.

SuperDave

I occoured to me that most people know me as SuperDave, but few know why. So I thought I would throw some insight onto this subject. It started with Super Dave Osborn, a pretty funny guy all in all. His outrageous antics made it easy to attach his name to mine.

So, in no particular order, here are a few of the "publishable" adventures of SuperDave.


What was I thinking?______I love my stang!


The Big one!__________Hunting camp.


150 Feet up, 50 to go! __Mile 16,with 10 to go!


Levi cutoffs?______________Snorkeling in Maui.

Let's play! Call first, I'll pencil you in...

Ruht-roh

OK, my work schedule has changed and I no longer work the vampire shift. This has severely cut into my afternoon routine. I now have reduced time for running, email, and blogging. But enough about me, lets talk about one of the best cartoons ever, Scooby Doo. I'm not sure but I think aliens are trying to communicate with me.
Because if you remember a few blogs ago, I scrapped the ice off my windshield and it was in the shape of the African continent? Well, while pouring oil and vinegar into a little saucer for dipping bread into,
the head of Shaggy appeared! What can this mean?

Am I really psychic?

Or psychotic?

I better go call Sigmund Freud. Wait...he's dead! That's ok, I'm psychic remember?

If I could just get the voices to take turns...

Petersen's Rock Garden

This week I went to Central Oregon to visit my Grand Daughters. Near their house is The Petersen's Rock Garden. It was a perfect place to take the kids for an afternoon romp to burn off some steam.

Aunt J decided she need to be Miss Liberty.

She has a cat named Liberty, coincidence? I think not.

They even have a little gift shop filled with antiques and rock stuff. There was even a room with a black light display. The kids loved to watch their clothes light up.

Over in the corner of the gift shop, was a little play area. You know kids stay here while parents wander. Do you see anything wrong with this picture?
As it turns out, they were cleaning out a storage area, and it wasn't a play area.

The Garden sits on 4 acres, but the museum and rockery are all bunched together and is easy to walk around. With bridges and ponds, miniature castles, and walkways, it keeps the kids amused and offers opportunity for home school geology.


There was even a horse in the field that just wandered around with no fences. A cute little lamb, and peacocks in full bloom made for a very enjoyable afternoon.

Brewing up summer!

I have several hobbies. In fact, I have had to force myself not to start anymore new hobbies.

Here is a list of things I am doing or have done in the past.

I am restoring my 69 Mustang. I ski/snowboard. I was way into doing acrylic nails. I got pretty good at sewing, nightgowns and skirts are my specialty. Rock climbing. Fishing. Dune buggies. Photography.

But this blog will just focus on Homebrewing.

Welcome to Gargoyle Brewery.

As a boy, my preference for escape was the realm of fantasy. You know, knights, dragons, castles, jousting. That sort of stuff. It is still a dream of mine to visit the castles in Scotland and England. Please keep in mind that I know gargoyles are not real or demonic. They were simply rain spouts to divert the water off castles, they were made ugly to ward off the things that went bump in the night. So they just "watch" over things.


I consider myself a budding Zymurgist. Zymurgy or zymology is the study of fermentation. I have been making beer for about 10 years now. I have made good beer and beer that was so bad, I had to pour it out. 5 gallons and countless hours, literally, down the drain. From start to finish, it will take 6 weeks before they are ready for sampling. Some recipes are shorter.

Let's take a look at what it takes to make a hand crafted beer.

Shopping for the right ingredients aside, here is the low down.


Steep the grains for 20 minutes at 160 degrees.

Add malt extract and bring to a boil.

Boil flavoring hop for 60 mins, bittering hops for 30 and aroma hops 15.

Cool to below 80 degrees or you will kill the yeast.

The yeast is the magic that makes everything work. Did you know that when yeast eats sugar, it gives off alcohol? That's right, alcohol is yeast poop. No wonder it will give you a headache.

Put it all in a glass carboy, and wait.

After about 3 days, it needs to be checked with a hydrometer. I will spare you the details of specific gravity readings. Just know that water has a higher density than alcohol. The hydrometer tells when fermentation is complete.

Add a 1/4cup of priming sugar and fill the bottles, tedious. Side note, another bi-product of yeast eating sugar is co2. This is where the carbonation takes place. Who knew yeast waste was so valuable???

Cap the bottles. Depending on the recipe, you let it condition in the bottles for the required time. My batches need 4 weeks. So, start to finish is about 6 weeks and countless hours.

Enjoy slowly...

Each beer I brew is named and has a label. The names are earned, and have to fit the theme of mid evil days. Here is the history and labels for the two underway.

Queen Angela's Pale Ale.

This beer is named after the artist who sculpted a tap handle for me. Angela spent many hours with a lump of clay and specific instruction and brought forth a marvelous piece of art that has become the tap handle mounted on my beer fridge. Most beers fall into different categories. This is an American Pale Ale (APA), note the initials are the same. Angela's Pale Ale (APA) and she is the Queen of all the artists I know.

Double Dragon

This one is inspired by one of my co-workers. During a meeting in preparation for a visit by the corporate executives, there was some concern for being ready for their arrival. The boss, put the responsibility on his right hand man, who responded with "I will bring out the Dragon." To which the boss replied "You might need Two Dragons". This also happens to be a clone of one of his favorite beers, Dead Guy Ale made by Rogue Breweries.

Mason's Marvelous Mug

My Gson and I have also made our first batch of Root beer. It turned out OK, but I think we can tweak it a bit and make it better. It was pretty easy and only takes about a week to mature and is a fun home school project.

My back label reflects the motto for Gargoyle Breweries.


Who knows, maybe I will get a new recipe and name it after my blog friends. How about "Blog Grog?"