Somewhere in between

The day before Thanksgiving I found myself on a delivery run. Dropping off those refrigerators and stoves so they can shove a turkey in them for their inaugural cooked meal. 
We dropped off a fridge and stove at a subdivision alongside a golf course. Very swanky neighborhood. The houses were mansions and went for three hundred grand easily. As we were leaving this gated community, I noticed a half melted garage door frozen in mid-flow down a driveway. A house had caught fire the night before. (Not the one we were delivering to.) The roof was gone. Only partial walls and charred timbers remained. My heart went out to this family who suffered so much loss the day before Thanksgiving. I hoped no one lost their lives.
My driver and I continued to drop off appliances like Santa'a elves, spiraling out all the way to Seguin, a small town about thirty five miles away.
We dropped off a washer and fridge to a farm way off the beaten path. At a guess the farmhouse must have been built before air conditioning was invented. The ceiling had to of been over nine feet above our heads. The farmer pulled up in his John Deere tractor as we backed in. I was afraid we would get stuck in the dirt and mud and he'd have to pull us out. Originally the house must have been a two room affair. Over time, the owners kept adding rooms. We went over three different foundations and as many exterior doors to get to the kitchen.
I could tell the farmer did a lot of his own work on the house. The doors were different widths, getting the stuff on the porch required strength and a working knowledge of geometry. You notice this stuff when you have to squeeze a washing machine through a narrow archway. I'll lay money that farmer doesn't have a plumb bob in his tool chest.
Far from looking down on his creative architecture,  I found myself admiring how resourceful he was with the material he had on hand. 
My day started off witnessing a well off family lose their house, and my day ended with a man who had next to nothing hanging on and building additions to his house  as he could afford them. Seeing both of these things made me grateful for what I have and Thankful for the people in my life.

300

November 27, 2014. Thanksgiving is upon us. As I sit outside tending the turkey on the grill, my wife is preparing the side dishes. When I went inside to refill my wine glass, she was busy roasting chestnuts. Last night we made the cheesy mashed potatoes. The cornbread stuffing she is putting together now is a meal unto itself with sweet sausage and tart cranberries.
Tradition is what defines us. During the holidays our family raises our glasses in a toast at one p.m. We salute our family and friends. Loved ones and the ones we lost in the past year. It is neither festive or somber, but somewhere in between. I would describe it as heartfelt and reassuring.
Because the cornbread stuffing requires only 1/4 cup of white wine and our toast only uses about half a bottle, there is a bit left over. Pity really, I had to finish off that before I opened the prickly pear mead I'd made during the summer.
In two weeks we are attending a wedding for family in Houston. I selected the best bottle of mead I made as a wedding gift. The wife kindly printed up a label personalized for the happy couple. While the turkey cooks in the smoker, I am contentedly sitting sipping the second of the three bottles of mead. Having never tasted the fruits of this brewing experiment would be tantamount to sacrilege. Offering a newly married couple swill or at worst, poison, is unthinkable. Quality control, you understand...

Several hours have passed since the last paragraph. Apparently I made it to the Thanksgiving dinner, stood up and proceeded to the bedroom where I passed out, drunk as a skunk. The wife says that was as drunk as I've been in over 25 years. I woke up incredibly thirsty, not for mead, but water. There is a little chunk of time missing from my memory. So my first mead making venture was a success-- for certain quantities of the word success. Good thing I'm a happy drunk. The bottle that we will be giving the newlyweds is very powerful, perhaps a warning label should be printed up. In any case, I think a business got started. The author who makes some really powerful mead. Wow.

No surprise

The rioting in Ferguson continues. Can't say I didn't expect that outcome. Also, Officer Darren Wilson was not indicted by the grand jury. It's events like this that test my belief in the rule of law.
As I've mentioned before, I'm against knee-jerk reactions in general. Everyone is guilty of them, myself included. The fact that I recognize the emotions for what they are and try to make corrections should count for something.
I read the key reports about the incident that caused the death of Micheal Brown.
Another blog I read is from Larry Correia. In the blog he describes the legalities of using lethal force. Aside from being a good writer, Larry is a certified firearms instructor.
I don't agree with him all the time, but his posts fall under intelligent dialogue and reasonable discussion. All the articles I've linked help you the reader to step back and see the larger picture. That picture is: we weren't there that August day.
The thought I'm left with is what happened before Mr. Brown got close to Darren Wilson's patrol car? 
I think Wilson got away with murder, plain and simple. I read and saw the hospital report and saw the pictures of Wilson after he was treated. I'm not buying his story of broken cheekbones and fear for his life.
While it's true I wasn't there, I have been on the giving and receiving end of disarming and incapacitating someone. Someone sticks their head in my car? They are asking for a headlock and more.
My bottom line: Darren Wilson went for his gun first, when it should have been the last.
The true disappointment I feel is with the black community and the rioters. Be mad. Be angry. Burning down a pizza restaurant and a used car dealership? I can clearly see where Little Ceasars was responsible in this matter.
Protesting for change is not a licence to break the law or destroy the livelihood of others. 

Gearing up

This may be a short post folks. I've been working on TR, but nearly as important, I'm doing a bit of homework. Call it research. My editor gave me an assignment. I needed to write back stories for the cast. Those stories in turn would help me flesh out the characters in TR. As of this writing those little vignettes won't ever see the light of day. Perhaps one day...
Been thinking about making a holiday mead. To that end, I put together a cinnamon mead with orange peel. Naturally this will not be ready before Christmas, or New Years for that matter. Last week I asked some friends if they would be interested if I held a tasting some time in the spring. Of course I'd need several flavors for people to try. Yeah, I'm exploring to see how far I can take this. So far I've asked several people, (liquor store owners, lawyers.) what kind of permits or licenses I'd need to sell mead. No one has given me a hard answer. 'It's not worth it.' was one response. Thanks, but I'd like to have some data and a dollar figure before I trash can the idea.
Last week I wrote about Anonymous and the KKK in Ferguson, Missouri. We're still waiting on the grand jury's decision and the governor has called out the National Guard. A prudent decision, in my opinion. After a week of chest thumping and a general pissing contest, let's check the score. Anonymous took down the websites, twitter accounts and posted the names and pictures of those original home grown terrorists. Anonymous warned that if the KKK chose to interfere or attack the protesters in the wake of the verdict, they would release the phone numbers and names of the KKK, effectively taking away their privacy. To show they were not bluffing, they released partial numbers. Also in the de-hooding of the KKK reveals that some members are deputy sheriffs. I read an article this morning and now I wish I saved it. In the article Anonymous warned both the KKK and the police against acts of violence. I can't find the article now, but if what I read is true, Anonymous has crossed a line into thinking it is above the law. Some time ago I mused about the limits and effects of vigilantism. Are there some bad cops out there? No doubt there are, but the officers I've met and formed friendships with are the good guys. They are the norm rather than the exception.

Some quick fun

I'm going to try and post this nifty link that came my way. It's an interactive webpage that lists all the states you've been to.

States I've visited

Okay that didn't work. Here's the link to the web page for a few minutes of wasted time.

Stronger than hate

As my brewing venture continues, so does the rest of the world. Turns out no one really cares about Kardassian butt, other than the three lonely guys who hang out at the mall. People were generally excited about landing on a freaking comet, but most of all folks were getting ready for the holiday baking season. 
My wife, ever the punster, got a box of ninjabread cookie kit. Yes, they're a thing.


Don't know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both.
Right now she's making the label for the mead we've made thus far. So far the only idea is B+C mead, and even that is under debate.
B+C honey wine?
B+C brewery?
B+C Meadery?
B+C It's not poison, really.
Perhaps 'A Touch of Honey?' We're thinking about it.
My eldest experienced her first snowfall up in Colorado. I can't copy the video she sent me from her phone. We've all seen snowfall before, some of us more than others, but this is her first time experiencing it while it happens. Ah, the novelty of youth.
My friends over at the Planetary Society and NASA are getting ready for the New Horizons spacecraft to wake up from hibernation on December 6th. From there it will take a month to prepare for it's January 15th encounter with Pluto.
And here I was worried about the fundie's re-writing Texas history books when in fact we're about to rewrite everything we know about the outermost almost-a-planet. Between January and July of 2015, we are going to be getting a host of information about the edge of the solar system. After it's done flying by Pluto, there are three potential candidates for a flyby to explore objects in the Kuiper belt. Hey! We're exploring the solar system, baby! Oh, and it's a five hour lag between messages. What am I telling you all this for? Here's the link. Check them out.

Let's see. Wal-Mart workers are calling for a strike on Black Friday. I say, good for them. I sold my stock in Wal-Mart and don't shop there. I encourage my friends to do the same. Vote with your wallet people.

Okay, last item. The one that inspired the title. Time for us to turn our attention back to Ferguson, Mo. and the trial of Darren Wilson, for his crime of killing an unarmed black man, Micheal Brown. The tension is very high and people are preparing for the worst. The KKK announced that they would use lethal force against any protester after the verdict. Presumably the protesters would go after the police. Such a bold threat did not go unnoticed by the Hacktivist group, Anonymous.
The KKK websites were hacked and information about the Klan's members were made public and posted to You Tube. In fact, several sites are posting the identities of Klan members. Special thanks to Anomoly100 and Libraland for alerting us to this. It gets better. Tiffany Willis of Liberal America reposted the story and it got a lot of attention, especially from the KKK, who didn't like being unmasked. Then a person from the KKK called and left a threatening voicemail. I can't make this stuff up.
The next morning another voicemail came. This one was a bit different.
This would be entertaining, (and on one level it is.) if the underlying threats weren't there. Like my friends above, I don't do fear. Sure I get scared once in a while, but not for long.
My question to the KKK: compensate much?
Oh yeah, the hashtags #OpKKK and #Hoodsoff are good things to add to your twitter.
These KKK assholes are insecure bastards. Thanks for removing their hoods Anonymous.

  

Faith in Humanity

The other day I was talking about Pope Francis and the way he's leading by example and making progressive changes in the Catholic church. When I hear about the stuff he is doing, there is a deep seated belief that he's going about it the right way.
Here are some other people who are doing the right thing.
The ESA landed a probe on a comet. While everyone was ogling Kardashian bubble butt (I call photoshop on that), and the neo-cons are shouting how Obama is behind the spread of Ebola, the European Space Agency was making real news.
Philae, the probe from the Rosetta spacecraft, landed on comet 67P Churyumov-Garasimenko.
That's harder to spell than Kardashian, but at least the ESA is doing something nobody has ever done before. This is much more news worthy. The ESA topped NASA. Of course the boys down in Florida are going to be visiting Pluto in a few months, so that should count for something.
The BBC has an excellent article describing the landing and just how difficult it is.
Upon landing the drills and harpoons in the lander's feet were supposed to anchor the probe to the surface. Think about it, the gravity is almost nil. So yes, the probe actually bounced when it landed. 
I want to give you some perspective.


This is comet 67P photoshopped in with a picture of downtown Los Angeles. Originally, the probe was supposed to land on the far right side of the comet, roughly in the 3 o'clock position. Now we don't know what made it bounce. It could have been the harpoon as it deployed. It could have been the engine on top of the probe. The surface of the comet could be a lot less dense than anyone could guess. We don't know, and that's all right.
The philae probe has touched down, but they think it's on a slope or on it's side. Notice how it looks like two spheres mashed together? We'll call them bubble butt One and Two in honor of Earth's own Kardashian bubble butt. Hmm, would that be referred to as the greater and lesser B.B?
The top people at the ESA think that the probe is some where near the peak on the top of lesser B.B. Roughly twelve or twelve thirty. Oh, and keep in mind the probe is only about as big as a washing machine. So we landed a washing machine on bubble butt two. Boy, the jokes we could have with that.
Assignment time: Somebody photoshop the Philae lander on Kim's butt cheek please. Then we will really break the internet.

Pope watch

Just because I've been busy writing, doesn't mean my head is in the sand.
Pope Francis demoted a cardinal for his conservative views. Reform doesn't come easy, especially for the Catholic Church. The cardinal in question has always criticized the pontiff for his progressive stance regarding homosexuality and abortion.
Recently the Pope excommunicated an Argentine pedophile priest.
This goes a long way towards healing the rift between the church and the public. Some say the Pope isn't moving fast enough. Instead we should all say thank you for bringing action to something that was overdue.
I'm not religious, but I have to admire the man who sets an example of leadership. This man is someone we can all look up to. I already admire him for his efforts to bring the Catholic church into the twenty-first century.
In my humble opinion, Pope Francis is reaching out and spreading what it means to be a man of faith. By preaching tolerance and setting the example of inclusiveness, Pope Francis is doing more for the Catholic church than any pope before him.
Well done!

A little closer to home, the argument of net neutrality came up. Since Ted Cruz knows nothing about it other than President Obama advocates neutrality, he's against it. Never mind he showing his ignorance again. He can't help himself, being born with a silver foot in his mouth.
Fighting fear and ignorance where ever possible,  The Oatmeal breaks this issue down into bite sized pieces even Ted Cruz can wrap his tiny brain around. Before you get on the defend Ted bandwagon let me tell you. He's a self-serving spineless troll who takes money from corporations and will do whatever you want him to do, provided you give him money.
Now that I think about it, we should raise money for Ted to go jump off a bridge. Seriously, he's a proven money whore. He'd feel right at home after jumping off the bridge, he'd be down with his own kind, the bottom feeders.

Now what?

So yesterday I pushed through and got the last dozen chapters edited. Spelling and grammar, check. Sentence structure and tightening, check.
Next up, tieing characters to the plot and taking an axe to the story line. Here's the litmus test: if it doesn't move the story forward, it gets cut.
I started with the biggest chunks first. There was this one whole chapter that I didn't like. It had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. Didn't advance the plot. No bearing on the rest of the story, so away it went. 2,000 words at the push of the button. I've a few more ideas about what to get rid of, but right now I'm concerned with my cast of characters. To that end I'm going to write a little short story featuring each character. I'm reasonably sure these won't see the light of day, but I might weave them into TR to flesh out the characters. Think of it as shots of adrenaline for ailing people. I need these guys to be up and about, not shuffling listlessly through life.
In my mind, I had a time table. The edits would take X amount of time. Submitting the story for publication (which would be immediately accepted.) would be done inside a month.
Only a fool would think it was that easy.
That little time table in my mind allowed me to set a pace. Every time I touch TR, rough patches disappear. Corners get smoothed over. The story becomes streamlined.
It's not that I think the story is no good, quite the opposite. The book needs to be living up to it's potential.

American football season is over, at least for our high school.Whew! Not a moment too soon. We have a cold front coming in tomorrow. Laugh all you want, but the collective IQ on a San Antonio driver goes down about 75 points when the ice and snow hit.

This weekend I bought a small wine rack to lay my mead sideways. I'm actually looking at recipes to try and make five gallons of mead sometime in the near future. On a side note, I think a line was crossed when I realized the need for a wine rack in my house.
This way when my family comes for a visit, I'll have some mead properly bottled and aged. Which reminds me, I better get a label maker. Any suggestions?

Quick post Halloween post

Hey guys, things have been a little busy here. I survived the five girl sleepover on Halloween and I have the pictures to prove it. Not those kind of pictures, get your mind out of the gutter.

Actually a cool bunch of kids

They had fun. I made pancakes for them in the morning. That was a win/win.

Then it was time to bottle the mead. Then off to finish editing my book. As of this writing I've thirty-nine chapters completed.

I take a chapter or two with me and I edit them on my lunch hour. After making dinner, I work on it some more. I stop when my eyes have trouble staying open.

October has been a busy month for everyone. The last football game of the season is tomorrow. If it rains or gets too cold I might not go.  The wife and I have to start making Thanksgiving plans. Christmas plans are already underway. We have to get our oldest home for the holidays. She'll be taking the bus back to Texas and I'll be taking my vacation time to coincide with her visit. I am hoping to have the edits done before the month is out. What I actually mean is I hope to have it submitted to the unsuspecting mortals-- er publishers, by then.

Today I'm in the doghouse. My beautiful wife sent me a lovely text. 

'Love you, hate not pleased with your hobbies right now.'

'I f'ing hate beer.'

The holiday beer I started yesterday sort of erupted. Blew the airlock off the carboy. Guess who had to clean it up?

I can only say I'm sorry so many times. Looks like my next few projects are going to be mead or wine. They won't blow up like a baking soda volcano.

Now I need a wine rack

New Years mead

Today was bottling day for the mead that has been sitting next to my desk for the last couple of months. Here's what it looked like before.

Cloudy with a chance of poison

Then over the weeks it changed to this

Interesting

So I let it do what it was supposed to do until today arrived. I spent a little time cleaning the bottles my sister collected for me. I peeled the labels off, sterilized everything along the way. This was the final result.

Not a big change

Makes three bottles

A two gallon jug makes three bottles. The first bottle came out the clearest because it was siphoned off the top. The second and third are cloudier. My next batch I'll strain them a little bit better. The cloudy bottles are yeast sediment. Harmless and easy to strain out while pouring. These bottles will be ready for New Years Eve although I'm going to only open one. At this point the mead will mellow with age, so no touching until spring. I'm considering getting some melting wax and sealing the bottles. Which reminds me. I should make some labels.