Good Beer

There is a report from Denver that Texas breweries won nine medals – five gold – at the Great American Beer Festival yesterday .  There were 4,338 entries this year from 666 breweries across the country.

The Spoetzl Brewery, makers of Shiner, won three first place medals.  Spoetzl's Shiner Oktoberfest won in the German-style Marzen category and its best-known beer, Shiner Bock, won in the American-style dark lager category. It also earned gold in the German-style schwarzbier category for its Bohemian Black Lager.

It’s no surprise that Spoetzl fared so well.  Like their billboards used to say, Shiner is “Run through Hundreds of Quality Czechs.”

Beach (eye)Ball

An eyeball the size of a grapefruit has been found washed up on a beach in Florida.

The disembodied eye, which is bright blue, was found by a man on Pompano Beach and turned over to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The commission has so far been unable to identify what species the eye belongs to, although presumably it came from some sort of marine animal.

I think their (the Commission, not the Eye) focus is too narrow.  It might be of extraterrestrial origin, or it might be some sort of bio-electronic surveillance device -  the very latest in cutting edge spy technology.

Guesses about a probable owner so  far range from large sharks and whales to a giant squid.

VP Debate?

Reaction to last night’s vice-presidential debate fall predictably along party lines. 

Democrats are ecstatic, saying Joe Biden wiped the floor with Paul Ryan. 

Republicans were appalled with Biden’s tactics – mugging for the camera, consistently talking over  Ryan, etc. – and hoped that independents would see Biden as rude and boorish - a loudmouthed bully.

While Biden’s tactics were better suited to an argument in a bar, and would have seen him disqualified in any high-school debate, they seem to have worked.  Surveys of uncommitted voters showed more (about 50%) thought Biden won than Ryan (31% in one survey).

Very little of what they had to say seems to have registered, so it’s hard to say that either candidate scored major points on substance.

The whole thing brings to mind three similar axioms:

Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. —Proverbs 26:4 (King James version)

Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. —Mark Twain

And finally, George Carlin’s famous advice. - Don’t argue with idiots because they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

Accidental Self-induced Chiropractic

Several days ago I messed up my lower back.  Not sure how I did it, or even when it happened, but it hurt.

I went to the chiropractor on Monday, and it helped.  Tuesday, I was practically pain free, then yesterday I aggravated it again – pain so debilitating I could barely move around.  Today is the doctor’s day off, so I was expecting another 24 hours of agony before I could expect any relief. 

The last night, while lying in bed, I sneezed.  I felt a pop in my lower spine, and miraculously, the pain was gone.

Well, not gone entirely, but so much better than yesterday that it is amazing.  There is still just enough residual tenderness to make me very cautious when I move.

Third Time Ain’t A Charm

Houston grown and trained Dennis Quaid is starring this year in a TV show called Vegas.  I mention it today because I don’t think it will be around as long as the two previous series with that name – Robert Urich as a private eye from 1978 to 81, or James Caan and Josh Duhamel running a casino from 2003 to 08.

Last night, about 50 minutes into the show, Quaid almost smiled for a split second.  His dimples showed and his eyes sparkled, giving him the look that has made him appealing in the past.  Otherwise, through the first few episodes, his face might as well have been cast in stone.  His only look has been a scowl much more dour than the publicity photo above – he has looked like an old man trying to decide if that raisin in his muffin was a rat turd.

Acting by the minor characters in the series has been over-the-top caricatures of mob guys, while the principals, Michael Chiklis and Quaid,  have done no acting at all. 

There is another quasi-historical show about an American city that debuts tonight – Nashville – and the pre-release reviews are calling it the best new series of the year.  I hope they are right, but compared to shows like Vegas, it won’t have to be very good to take the title.

Snackus Interruptus

Sometimes even the best plans  go awry.  The spider above was about to eat a wasp it had caught in its web when they were both encased in amber.  Scientists estimate that happened somewhere between 97 and 110 million years ago.  They also say that, although there are lots of amber chunks with bugs in them, this one is the first containing an interspecies attack.

Both the spider and wasp are from species that are extinct today. but the wasp  belongs to a group whose current members are known to parasitize spider eggs.  Revenge, it is said, is a dish best served cold, and 100 million years is about as cold as it gets.

Great Space

Houston Mayor Annise Parker is probably feeling pretty smug today.  Her snide comment last week about San Antonio’s River Walk was (at least partially) justified when the American Planning Association designated Houston’s Buffalo Bayou as one of this year’s Great Public Spaces.

APA singled out a nine-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou, between Shepherd Drive and Turning Basin Overlook Park, for its distinctive design, amenities, and public art; high level of public and private support; and ecological restoration and protection efforts.

"Buffalo Bayou is our Central Park," said Mayor Annise Parker. "From the time the Allen Brothers laid the city’s street grid along the bayou’s course to today as it undergoes a rebirth, Buffalo Bayou has been central to our history and development. Yesterday it was used for commerce and trade. Today it provides recreation for increasing numbers of bikers, hikers, joggers, skateboarders, dog walkers and art lovers. Tomorrow, it will serve as the spine for a continuous system of public parks and trails, or greenways, linking every major bayou segment of the city."

Here is a link to the APA list -Great Public Spaces