08 March 2011

Your Author has Been...

Considering I fell off the face of the map in February, I guess I should clue you in to what I was doing with my limited "spare" time. 


I'm not going to lie when I say I am a huge Tom Clancy fan.  If I count correctly, this is the sixth novel I've read by the best modern writter (in my not so humble opinion) of the last 30 years. 

Originally published in 1986, the plot is based on a war of agression by Russia and against NATO (for reasons you'll have to read the book to find out).  If you've read the book Hunt for Red October (or seen the lame attempt at making it into a not so great movie) , you'll like this book as one that war games a conventional conflict between the super powers of the cold war.  If you are at all interested in naval tactics, specifically sub warfare, than you better block out some time and hide from your spouse (though I do thank my wife for being understanding when my nose is into a good book).  If you like something that will make you turn the pages one after the other, and you don't consider yourself a heavy novel reader like myself, you'll enjoy this historical "what if."  

I have also started another book right after finishing this one; a biography on Ike.  So, I'll offer a quick blurb about that once finished.  And yes, dear reader, I have not forgotten about a book I told you I started many moons ago.  That one will proceed after I finish Ike's biography. 

Until the next "book club" update, happy reading. 

Full of WIN! Goreacle Designs Stink Making Devices for City of San Fran

While most of us here understand the law of unintended consequences, politicians, green-warriors, and environmental-wackos, don't. 

Thus, it is with great amusement I draw your attention to this article which reports that there is a stench wafting above the streets of San Fransisco during the summer months.  The ode to odor is apparently owed to that of an improperly functioning sewer system.  Somewhere in that statement there is a great story of irony.  Oh, wait, there is!

Yes, it would appear that in their attempt to "conserve" water (a naturally renewable, and harmless resource), the City of San Fran has decided to subsidize the purchase of low flow toilets.  Obviously, if the government subsidizes something that means that it has stopped moving, but for this instance it's really the shit that has stopped moving.  Without the lack of flow, raw, physical sewage is building up in the gravity and flow fed sewer systems where the waste is decomposing instead making its preferred final destination at treatment plants.  While the citizens of the city suffer from the skunky smell, the environmentally forward thinking (read ass backwards leftists) have found it is an easy problem to fix.  The solution?  Bleach.  Yep, you guessed it, BLEACH!

So, let me get this straight?  A city tries to "conserve" the "scarce" resource of water only to have now created a crisis of sewage stench?  (Of course this is a multiplied self created crisis that only California could achieve).  Instead of reversing the policy and undoing the cause of problem, those in charge of the sewer system thought it was more appropriate to dump about 8.5 million pounds of bleach into a system which ultimately discharges back to the resource that feeds it?  Que the Guinness Guys!

I'm sure you could imagine my laughter today as I read this along with the comments which were very amusing (your author going by a familiar name of WheresPatton).  Unfortunately for the citizens of USA, the diseases of California tend to spread to other parts of the country, which make for a double irony of sorts.  Let us hope that these failed policies will not traverse to my city of Baltimore.  Although, considering we get abundant spring rains that purge the system into the inner harbor every once in a while, I guess we shouldn't be to concerned over the smell.  The toilets and politicians on the other hand, well, that's still up in the air. 

Mmmmmmm Beer!

The question is, how good is 200+ year old beer?  Surprisingly, it's not that bad when it's been dredged up from a ship wreck in the cold waters of 165+ feet deep.

Either way, trying to find flavors from earlier periods of history is intriguingly awesome.  With today's micro (and even macro/micro brewing) evolving into new territories, it would be interesting to see how a reverse brewed beer would stack up against some of the best bottles out there right now. 

In the end, I guess they could just call this beer "skunk sunk."  (That idea is mine by the way, all right's and money whoring reserved).  (BTW:  Yes, I know this article is a month old tomorrow, I've been a severe slacker).