Homebrews!

Brewers Best American Cream Ale

By: Kyle Butler

Cream of the Crop American Ale

By: Jimmi Desrosiers

July 23RD

I drink a lot of beer.

I'm often short and impatient.

I'm not in peak physical condition.

I'm not an extremely handsome man.

My past is riddled with mistakes that constantly cause problems.

I've been diagnosed with a chronic, incurable disease, so my future is uncertain.

My job (and my loyalty to it) pays me several thousands of dollars less than people who haven't been there for a fraction of the time I've been there. I also tend to respond to problems during off-hours.

I game heavily, it eats up a lot of my time.

This is a (VERY) short list of my faults. By my estimation, I am not worthy of the unconditional love of any woman. Yet, 3 years later I find myself married to not just any woman, but THE woman.

I wont go into the topsy-turvy tale that is my life and previous marriage, but I will say that I finally have gotten everything right. I am so happy and content in our relationship. It makes me feel stronger.

Happy Anniversary, Paola. Here's to many more. :D

Griction Week Wrap Up

I'm sorry friends, I do not feel very creative today and the horrific news and the intense worry I felt (although briefly) for a few friends and family members has made me not want to write today's Griction.

I had already considered this for my Griction finale, so I think I'll just go with it and see what happens. Typically, I punch these things out on MS Word so that I can proofread and whatnot...but I'm just going to do this in the Blogger UI to make sure the raw emotion is captured in the moment.

***********

As much as this week was about Grindo, it was about Insane Horde Posse. The entire team was on my mind the entire time I was making up goofy ass content. No one reads this blog unless I direct them this way. The random ramblings of my silly mind are of little concern to anyone in this world and the content is not riveting enough to develop a following of readers that feed the desire to write for an audience. I do it anyway. This week was for my raid team's entertainment. Those of you who took the time out of your day, I hope you enjoyed the silliness that was going on over here inside the AoE.

I don't remember when I joined Insane Horde Posse. I know it was some time after I decided that having a new baby and being a Guild Master was too rough to juggle when raiding nightly. The team fit my schedule very well and wound up being a mixture of personalities that was something I came to cherish. The team became like family to me.

Family is a word that has been redefined in this Internet Age. We (of course) have people we are related to in real life, but the advent of social media has caused the world to become a much smaller place where we can identify with groups of people and interact with them on a regular basis. I have raided with Insane Horde Posse (henceforth named IHP, if applicable) for over two years. It's hard to believe that when I think about it, but it's true. The team is no longer composed of the same individuals but that does not change anything. IHP has a special place in my heart and I care about each and every person that comes into our "pack" as if they were our brothers and sisters. We depart each other's company each week and go back to our daily lives, but convene again to play this game every Tuesday night...yet the team communication throughout the week is active and jovial. This is a good group of people and I'm proud to belong to it. Proud? Honored is more like it.

The integration of Twitter into the lives of several team members, the ability to chat on Steam, and the way the communication on the forum has accelerated make me feel closer to IHP than I ever have before....

So here's to you IHP...this week was as much about you as it was about Grindo (<3 <3). I'm glad that our team members in the Colorado area are safe, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

Until next time IHP.......SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY.

Letters to the Editor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

To Whom It May Concern,

It strikes me as funny that we’ve publicized the personal choices a person makes. I think a decent respect to common decency tells us that what Grindo does doesn’t concern anyone else. I believe that the statement released by Insane Horde Posse was sufficient enough for everyone else to just stop worrying about the matter. If the team is fine with what is happening, they obviously have information that we don’t.

This reader is tired of these kinds of story. Grindo does so much for you. Just leave him alone. LEAVE GRINDO ALONE! How [expletive deleted] dare anyone out there talk bad about Grindo after all he’s been through. HE’S AN ORC! WHY DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT GRINDO IS PUMPING OUT ALL THIS DPS?!

LEAVE HIM ALONE! You’re lucky he’s even out there raiding for you BASTARDS!

LEAVE GRINDO ALONE……please…

IHP OFFICIAL STATEMENT RELEASED

OFFICIAL STATEMENT from Insane Horde Posse

REUTERS- ORGRIMMAR

Insane Horde Posse recently released the following statement through their spokesman Beefmaster:

We are aware of the accusations placed on our teammate [GRINDO]. It has been decided that these accusations do not bring to light any fact that is harmful to team activity. Therefore, there will be no further investigation conducted on the matter. Insane Horde Posse will continue raids on Dragon Soul as scheduled. QUIT TWISTING MY NIPPLE WOMAN!!!!!!!!

This brings to light several questions and adds an unexpected twist to this story. It was widely expected that Insane Horde Posse would seek to pursue more information and possible consequences.

As the crowd exited the press release, one attendee was quoted as saying, “I bet the whole [expletive deleted] team is a bunch of bule-lovin’ [expletive deleted].”

What do you think?

- Saskil Holyground of alea iacta est

WHERE was Grindo?!

Grindo’s Absence: Saving Face?

REUTERS- ORGRIMMAR

Several sources have confirmed reports that Grindo was mysteriously absent during the portion of the raid when Insane Horde Posse confronted teh bule. We have been told that Grindo explained this by telling one of the team members (Otuel) he was having a “minor emergency”.

This event comes on the tail of recent accusations about Grindo having an inappropriate relationship with teh bule. Insane Horde Posse is expected to provide a press release shortly addressing the severity of the accusations and calling for an inquiry into Grindo’s behavior.

A whisper to Grindo this morning yielded “Player Not Found” as other reports have mentioned.

Saskil Holyground of alea iacta est

Hunter Teased by Raid Team Accused of “Sleeping With the Enemy”

Hunter Teased by Raid Team Accused of “Sleeping With the Enemy”

REUTERS – ORGRIMMAR

How much teasing is too much? Did Insane Horde Posse take it too far this time? These are the questions that Azeroth is asking itself after accusations that Grindo (a hunter and member of the team) has been accused of having a secret relationship with the team’s sworn enemy, “teh bule.”

The accusations came to light when other teammates noticed that Grindo was not shooting at “teh bule” during a visit to Yor’sahj the Unsleeping’s lair. The team was working toward an achievement called “Taste the Rainbow” and Yor’sahj brought forth a grouping that required them to kill “teh bule”.

An anonymous (who asked us to withhold his name for his own protection) team member told us:

“Ya, I was sitting there and DBM went off, so I was like “taunt Ot” and I went to run over there but Grindo was just doing that stupid MC Hammer dance. WTF man…”

Since the accusations have arisen, several sources tell this reporter that they’ve spotted Grindo and “teh bule” hanging out together in Dalaran. These reports cannot be confirmed because, seriously….what kind of sick asshole hangs out in Dalaran anymore?

This is the second time that Grindo has been accused of an inappropriate relationship. As early as last month there were reports of Grindo fraternizing with another team member, but those accounts were dismissed as unfounded.

A whisper to Grindo didn't yield an answer. The communication line seems to be cut as there is a message telling you "Player Not Found".

- Suhli Deloloth of alea iacta est

Part 2: The Meeting (also Electric Boogaloo)

****DISCLAIMER****

Most of my interactions with Grindo come during periods of intense and heavy alcoholic beverage consumption....I don't know what he calls his pet, I just seem to recall that name...

****DISCLAIMER****

His eyes scanned the area for his bow. It was nowhere to be found. His eyes fell on his tiger, Shia. She looked at him and went back to cleaning her big paws.

“Shia, COME,” he commanded. Dutifully, the tiger stood up and padded her way across the ground. “You didn’t see that?! Why didn’t you help me?!!” he bellowed. He reached back his hand to cuff her on the ear. Seeing his motion, Shia flinched but did not move.

“You gunna hit her for listening to you?”

Grindo spun, reaching for his bow. He found air. That’s right! Where is it?! He turned his head from side to side, trying to find the source of the question or catch a glimpse of his bow.

“W-w-who is there,” he asked, “Do not play games with me.”

He didn’t have his weapon, but being an orc had advantages. He was strong and agile. It wasn’t inconceivable that he could protect himself without it.

“Play games with you? If you play games as horribly as you shoot a bow, I don’t want to play any games with you. If the game was “Kill the Boar About to Eat the Orc” I’ve already won…the game is over.”

His bow slid across the dirt to his feet. He grasped it and picked it up. His fingers found an arrow and he nocked it but didn’t draw. He looked to Shia, but she only looked back at him with her deep yellow-brown eyes. The voice, whoever it was, was right. He had told her to stay where she was. She didn’t disobey him, even as he was being attacked. A puff of smoke and a cracking twig caused him to wheel around. He drew his bow and pointed in the direction of the noise.

“Who’s there,” he demanded.

A voice right behind him said, “You would draw on the guy who just saved your life and gave you back your bow? At least your feline friend has a little sense.”

He whirled again but stumbled backwards and found himself on the seat of his pants. Shia was nuzzling up to a goblin no taller than she was. The goblin took her face in his hands, pressed her cheeks together, and kissed her on the nose. The daggers that hung from his belt seemed too big for him, but still dripped blood. The boar’s blood.

“Name’s Suhli. Do you have a name or should I call you Greeney Mcfailshot?” He extended a hand to help him up, but Grindo swatted it aside and crawled back to his feet.

“Grindo,” he announced gruffly, “My name is Grindo and I can shoot just fine.”

“Noted,” said the goblin called Suhli, “I reckon my work here is done then. Need to get heading off to Orgrimmar. There’s never enough time in a day and time is money, Grindo.”

“Wait, you saved me, let me come with you and buy you a drink,” Grindo said, “Do like to drink?”

“Like it?” Suhli chuckled, “You could say that….”

“Good! What do you drink?”

“Anything but that troll gin. I…uh…had a bad experience once.”

They set off for the gates of Orgrimmar, Grindo wondering what adventures were to come and Suhli yearning to fill his mouth with some free grog…..

Vogon Poetry About Grindo

See, see the Muscular sky

Marvel at its big Ghastly Green depths.

Tell me, Grindo do you

Wonder why the Clefthoof ignores you?

Why its foobly stare

makes you feel horny.

I can tell you, it is

Worried by your Masshole facial growth

That looks like

A Beer.

What's more, it knows

Your fucktarded potting shed

Smells of Grindo's pinky.

Everything under the big Muscular sky

Asks why, why do you even bother?

You only charm Beefmasters.

50 Shades of Grindo - By: Ashella

"... see you next week"

"Alright Ot, see ya."

Grindo bid the last of his farewells for the evening. Flexing his exhausted bow arm, he surveyed the scene around him. The streets of Orgrimmar were nearly empty as most people settled in for the night. The sweet scent of freshly baked cookies filled his nose. "Must be someone just put some fresh fortune cookies up for auction" he thought to himself.

Grinding dust under his boot, he reflected back on the events of the evening. "Those ungrateful bastards don't realize how hard I work" he muttered as he massaged the tight muscles in his arm. It had been a close call tonight. The group of renegade vigilantes known as the Insane Horde Posse, of which Grindo counted himself a member, was fighting hard to push back the forces of the World Destroyer. Deathwing's forces were pushed back, but not yet beaten. Grindo had not escaped the evening entirely unscathed. His leg was still stiff from where Blackhorns shockwave had nearly torn it off at the knee. Mocknu's prayers were the only reason he could still walk at all, albeit stiffly.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he spun around.

"Heya Grin" Kitty said with a playful smile.

"Kit, you startled me!", he exclaimed.

"Sorry hun", Kitty said with a mock sheepishness. "I just wanted to see how you were feeling."

"Well, my leg hurts like hell, and my shoulder feels like Beefmaster sat on it."

"Let's see what we can do about that. Let's take a walk. Follow me." Leading, she headed in the direction of the Valley of Spirits, Grindo winced with each step as his injured knee creaked and groaned.

Kitty had always been friendly towards Grindo. Since joining their team a few months ago, her smiles and whispers had seemed to hint at something more than friendship, but Grindo couldn't be sure if he was just reading too much into her. Lost in thought, he glanced at Kitty, only to see her eyes dart away. She had been observing him, perhaps out of concern for his injuries, perhaps lost in thought herself.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"There's a nice little secluded spot by the lake. We can sit and.... talk." she giggled.

Grindos pulse quickened. This was the first time the two of them had been alone without the rest of the team around. What is she after? he wondered to himself. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Rounding a corner, the lake came into view. The burnt amber light of evening reflected off the lake, giving the whole area an almost magical glow. Grindo had always thought that this lake was one of the most beautiful places in the otherwise desolate city of Orgrimmar. The taurens had somehow found a way to cultivate lush aquatic plants and exotic trees to provide a shaded canopy at the lakes edge. The gentle smell of water blossoms filled his nose as Kitty led him to a secluded spot near the western shore.

"This is my spot. I come here often after we fight to relax and unwind. No one ever seems to come over here." she said as she took a position with her back to one of the Nelam trees. Grindo sat down next to her. Not too close as to be presumptuous, but not as far away as one of her business associates would've sat.

"Yeah it's nice here. Quiet. So, what did you want to talk about?", Grindo asked nervously.

"Oh nothing specifically" Kitty shot back. "We just never get to spend much time together outside of work. Tell me Grindo, do you find me attractive."

Stunned, Grindo did his best to hide his shock at her forwardness. "Of course, you are very beautiful" he said with a quivering voice.

"I've noticed how you look at me Grindo. You aren't very good at hiding your thoughts. They are as easy to read on your face as 'Introduction to Arcane Incantations'. OK, bad example..." she said when she saw his expression. "My point is, you want me. I want you. So what do you say we have a little fun" Kitty said with a mischievous smile.

It was true. He did want her. All words had left his head as he struggled for a response. He tried to form a response, but all of the saliva had left his mouth. "Kit I... we... why....".

She cut him off with a kiss as she tackled him to the grass. Suddenly, she was on top of him, pinning him to the ground. She fumbled with the laces on his pants, half ripping them in her hurry. Suddenly, he was inside her.

"GRRINNNDDOOOOOOOOOOO" she gasped.

* * *

Lying on the shore, covered in sweat with Kitty laying on his chest, he smiled to himself.

"That was amazing" he said, still breathless.

"Thanks. You weren't too bad yourself" she smiled. "So what do you think? Would you like to join me here after work, to help me 'unwind' " she asked him playfully.

Grindo smiled to himself. He knew raid night would never be the same again.

Griction #1!

The boar wandered slowly across the dusty ground, foraging for small plants and roots with its round snout pressed to the earth. A soft breeze breathed across the valley causing the leaves to sigh as they rustled together. The boar continued on his way, nose to the ground, trying to scrounge up more food. An arrow sailed harmlessly over his back into the cactus next to him. It made a loud crack as the shaft smashed through the soft flesh of the cactus and the boar raised his head to look in that direction. Its muscles visibly tightened as it prepared to flee. The next arrow did not miss. It slammed deep into the boar's flank. The beast wheeled in anger and blindly charged at the first shape it saw.

Grindo reached into his quiver and pulled out another arrow. He fumbled with it as he tried to notch it on the string of his bow. He didn't quite have the hang of it yet and the boar charging straight at him didn't make it any easier. Steady, he thought as he drew. By now the animal was about 60 yards away. He aimed for a spot right between its eyes and let loose. He'd forgotten to adjust for the fact that the animal was moving toward him and the arrow skimmed just over the boar's head and grazed its back. The animal scarcely seemed to notice. In fact, it seemed as though it was sprinting even faster now. Less than 20 yards remained. He reached back for his quiver, but couldn't find any more arrows.

The boar slammed into him and sent him sprawling across the dirt. His bow flew from his hands and slid out of reach. The animal was on top of him again before he could roll all the way back over, viciously ripping its head from side to side, tearing at his feeble chainmail with its tusks.

So this is it, he thought, This how I die. Right after my first shot ever.

He tried to grasp the boar's tusks with his big hands and managed to get a grip on at least one of them. With all of his strength he did everything to keep the tusks from tearing at his torso, but in order to do so he had to squirm along the ground. He was nearing a small outcrop of rocks. He knew if his back were pressed against those he'd be done for. There was no give in the rock and he would no longer be able to squirm out of the way. The boar thrashed more and more ferociously. He could feel himself losing his grip on the tusk as the boar's head swung violently from side to side; in and out. The last of his fingers slipped from the tusk. Instinctively, his hands went up to guard his face. The boar seemed to realize that it was free. It reared its head back for the killing blow. Grindo clenched his fists in preparation and squeezed his eyes shut.

The blow never came, or at least, he never felt it. In fact, he couldn't even hear anything above the rustling of the leaves. Am I dead? Slowly he opened one eye and then the next. The boar lay on the ground next to his legs, its eyes wide with death. Blood dripped from its mouth slowly. Grindo scrambled to his feet.

To Be Continued....

Adding Apples

Alright, so I'm not content w/ the Cream Ale that is in secondary....

I've decided to add 3 lbs. of Granny Smith apples to it. :) That will pick up the alcohol content (which is potentially very low atm).

The apples are sitting in the freezer right now. I read that it's better to break the cell walls by freezing it. When it freezes, I'll go ahead and cut them up and then puree it all. The puree is going to be added to a 5 gallon carboy and then the beer will be racked on top of it.

This should be an interesting experiment. I also went with vodka in my airlock this time (as opposed to the tap water I've been using). It was only because I happened to have it. Supposedly this will keep the entire process more sanitary.

Still a fledgling beermaker, but I'm starting to get more confident in the entire process. :)

Griction week starts tomorrow! No one else is submitting anything (to be expected for such a derptarded idea) but I'll be sure there is some content for every day until Friday!

Coming Soon: Grindo Fan Fiction Week ("Griction")

Hey all! Inspired by the recent Twitter hashtag #GrindoRules (which only I seem to use), I've elected to name next week "Griction Week"!

An entire week devoted to fan-fiction about Grindo! Will I get any other submissions? Probably not. Will I be posting stuff I've written? YES!

I've already started on the first short story and was able to churn out a neat little mini-scenario.

I can't wait to share it next week! Griction Week will officially start on Monday, July 16th! Look for the first episode of my short story about Grindo that day. :)

GRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Brew Notes!

Last week I got involved with brewing again. I had taken a little time off from the hobby during (and after) our trip out to Florida, but my wife made sure to let me know that the extract kit sitting in the fridge was taking up too much space.

It's hard to say why I needed a kick in the butt to get going; I really enjoy brewing (nearly as much as I enjoy drinking). Part of it likely had to do with the fact that I didn't have many bottles, but a good friend came by and dumped a plethora of them on me. I just had to clean them out and get them ready for the beer that I had sitting in secondary.

That beer is an IPA that smelled heavenly. I'm really looking forward to getting after it in a couple of weeks. It sat in secondary for longer than any other beer I've brewed. Secondary isn't completely necessary, but it really helps the beer's clarity and adds to the time it's spent aging. My plan is not to open that beer until my wife's birthday (September 4th) but we'll see. The one that I brewed last night was called "Cream of the Crop" American Ale. This is supposed to be a lighter beer that is a little bit smoother. Based off of the ingredients and the smell/color as I brewed it, I'm pretty sure it's going to be. This morning, the airlock was already going off, so it must be working the way it's supposed to.

This was a little bit of a big step for me. Until now, I have always followed the directions that they send me very closely. This time, I didn't even have to look at them because this has become habit. I knew all of the amounts & times to add ingredients. I also knew which actions to take. This may also have been the fastest batch I've brewed. Not because it spent less time boiling, but because I am understanding my equipment better and getting more efficient at getting the wort to a boil. It also didn't take as long as I thought it would to cool the wort down afterwards. I seem to have got that system down. I could really use a wort chiller to make the process faster, but to be honest, I don't mind the time. Brewing extracts still takes way less time than brewing an all-grain brew. It is for this reason that I've decided I don't need to switch to all-grain brewing just yet. Brewing extract is comfortable and seems to fit our living situation better. It's also worth mentioning that the beer is not bad.

I have had one batch that I've been unimpressed with. I know that I brewed it and aged it appropriately, I'm just not a fan of fruit beer (much less extract fruit beer).

Anyways, Suhli has found his way back onto the Insane Horde Posse's roster and I couldn't be happier. In fact, it's a little bit of a relief to me knowing that I can be doing something that comes more natural. Less frantic......In fact, I am scheduled to be backup DPS this week...there's a good chance that I wont even be needed. I could (potentially) have an entire night off.

I bet Paola (and Heidi) would enjoy that. :P

4th of July at the Zoo!

This 4th of July, we elected to make use of our annual passes and head down to the zoo. The weather was a little gloomy at first and we experienced a little bit of drizzle, but it was only a light misting. We really only saw it during our drive down, but it was over by the time we got to the park. It was still a little chilly (I use that term lightly because: 1. It's never "chilly" in San Diego. 2. It's been so hot everywhere else that I feel bad if I complain.) A light sweater and I was good to go.

Personally, I love our zoo. It's not just the abundance of animals, but the layout and the terrain. It provides a real challenge for me and let's me get some work in on the legs. :P The annual pass also entitles us to rides on the Skyfari, so we could ride that down and up the hills as we got tired.

The peacocks did not disappoint. Immediately upon entering, there was one who had his feathers on full display in the flamingo's pond area. There was (of course) a huge crowd gathered around, but Paola managed to fight her way in and get a picture. We decided to head over to the new Reptile Walk exhibit and immediately saw a bunch of Galapagos Tortoise. One of them graced us with an up close experience and a volunteer walked over and let Heidi feed him some celery. His name was Oliver. He has the number 23 painted on his shell. I'll be keepin' an eye out for him next time we are there. :)

Oh, I almost forgot! Before we made our way down to the Reptile Walk, we went through the reptile house and got a closeup with a Komodo Dragon! That was cool. The monitor lizards are some of my favorite animals to see and the dragons are definitely the coolest. He hung out near the glass there for the entire day. We saw a crowd near that area when we were rollin' out.

The most exciting moments of the day were brought to us by the cats. First and foremost, tigers are one of my favorite animals to see. They are so beautiful, yet usually elusive....as you can see from the picture on this post, I managed to get a great shot of a tiger at rest just a few feet away! I was stoked after leaving that exhibit and certain that was going to be the highlight of my day.....it was not. We walked over to the lions. There was a male and a female in the pen but they weren't really in a good position for a picture, so I started to walk off. I noticed that there was a decent view behind some glass a few feet away, but it was still a long way off for my little camera. Just then, the male stood up and started walking my way. He ended up walking over to just a few feet from where I was standing at the glass. Nobody was there yet, so I had a good opportunity to get a few pictures and I had already staked out some real estate.....Well, I guess he wasn't too fond of the fact that people were looking at the leopard cubs instead of him, so he went ahead and got attention the only way he could.....he started bellowing. I don't know if I would call it a roar, but if there's one level below that...that's what he did. Everyone rushed over, but I had already snapped a few pictures. :)

If you click on the link to the leopard cubs, it's entirely self-explanatory. There's no reason to write about that, you can watch it, it was adorable.

All-in-all, we had a good time. We ended the night watching some live music on Front St. then headed back up to the house. We were on the road when the fireworks went off. The entire night sky in San Diego was brightened, it was a neat thing to see as we listened to patriotic music on loop. Not sure what the plan is for next 4th, but this 4th was a lot of fun.

I've Been Roguing!

I've taken a couple of days and dedicated them to Suhli. It was nice to get away from the druid and do what I've always done.

For those who don't know, Suhli wasn't always who he is today. Suhli started off on the Llane realm as a Blood Elf female named Kelenya. Kelenya had a long and storied history. I spent a lot of time in a guild over there named Requiem of Decay. Eventually, Kelenya became an officer of Requiem of Decay. It was a challenging part of my life where I was dealing with being recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and then separated.

There came a point where it was relevant to have control of the guild situation (due to an expansion and increased capability of the current raiders). Kelenya left Requiem of Decay and formed a guild named Perseverance. (This was around the time that Paola and I became an item and she subsequently got pregnant.) Kelenya lead Perseverance for a long time, but as fatherly duties and work became more demanding, I realized that it was time for a change. I had been listening to The Instance for a long time and it seemed like alea iacta est would be a good home for Kelenya because I would have a good chance of finding a group of people to play with since the guild population was astronomical.

I decided to go to an event the guild had that was essentially a memorial for people they had lost in real life. I'll always remember that day. That was the day that I realized how much more this game could be than just a game. I had already forged some life-long friendships, but I had no idea how close an online community could be. We marched through The Barrens into Thrall's (he was still the Warchief) room in Orgrimmar. I don't know how many people there were....there were at least a hundred. A hundred individual people walking (not running) unarmed in honor of those who had passed. I didn't even know these people. This was just a trial. I had only been around them for a day or two, but the sincerity of the moment cut straight to my heart. It was a sad event, but also a happy one. I left that night knowing that Kelenya was leaving Llane to come to Earthen Ring and join alea iacta est.

And it was so. Unfortunately, to this day, someone has the name Kelenya parked on a level 56 Death Knight who hasn't leveled in two years. That meant I had to change it up. I decided that I didn't have room for another woman in my life (my wife and I had a little girl, two was enough) so I paid to have Kelenya "re-imagined" into a male character. I had to change the name, so I went with "Suhli". I was also fortunate enough to find myself a team that raided once a week. Suhli joined Insane Horde Posse as an "alternate" but quickly found himself raiding with the team full-time.

Playing a rogue is like second nature. Half the time, I don't even realize which buttons I'm pushing, it just happens. A week or two ago, I was having a really tough time because of the medicine I take for MS and I raided on Suhli that night. I don't even remember thinking, I just remember I did well and it was all natural. The rogue hasn't changed much over the years. A few things here, some number tweaks there, but very few major mechanic changes have plagued the class.

I had a good time playing Suhli these last few days. It makes me feel normal and less anxious to be able to focus on the aspect of the game that I'd focused on for so long. :) I'm looking forward to getting back into the stabby-stabby game with Insane Horde Posse. It's been far too long since I got to relax my way into bloodying up some daggers.

Also, to boost my confidence, I got into Well of Eternity. The final fight in there is a major DPS boost. Talk about an e-peen inflation. :P I threw the recount from that one fight up on the picture for this post. If I wasn't already missing Suhli...I was after that!

California Fruit Wine

So, two weeks in a row I've gone down to California Fruit Wine on Wednesday. I'm a big fan of the EpicEatz food truck and they've been over at the winery every Wednesday, so I figured..."Why not give it a shot?"

Well, friends...I'm here to tell you that it was worth it. The first week, I stopped by in there by myself. Last night, I was able to talk Paola into joining me. We went up there with Heidi so we didn't have to concern ourselves with trying to find a babysitter.

We ordered from EpicEatz. They have the best damn fish tacos around. He also managed to get

Whenever you think of fruit wine...the tendency is to expect something ultra sweet. Not true at all. I'm lobbying to get more people down there. Vista has its own little winery and it's a nice place.

I'll probably be going up there this Sunday. They do sangria on Sunday, so we're trying to get our family to come by. Things are looking good and with my new school schedule...it sounds like I'll be spending a lot of Wednesdays up there for the next 9 weeks. :)

If you're around, you should come join me!

Raid Night 6/26/2012

Another Tuesday, another raid! Last night, Insane Horde Posse tackled Dragon Soul 10-man on normal mode. We were short one of our tanks, so one of our tin can rogues...erm....Arms Warriors (Beefmaster) stepped in and tanked with Otuel.

Mocknu made a fantastic decision and decided to bring his warlock, Amijade. I think this is a good move because he runs a blog over at warlockery.com. If you're going to talk the talk...you might as well walk the walk. I sincerely hope he'll continue to focus on that character (even though it means one less healer and will cause me to keep having to heal instead of doing what I want...)

Raid night was fun. It was typical IHP asshattery at it's best...in fact...I even got to throw a few jabs at my good buddy Grindo. That was nice. I missed teasing him. Everyone else has been doing it, but I'm not sure they are doing it with the appropriate amount of love. (I love you Grindo...and your pet tiger...) We didn't push through as far as we normally do. We got up to Ultraxion and were having all kinds of different troubles. I even DCed once! That never happens.

He died though.

I think some nice tanking stuff dropped, so Beefy was able to upgrade his tanking set.

Asaphiry and Ashella were "mysteriously" absent (I'm on to you two!) Ashella with "work" and Asa needed some "kitty time". (MEOW-ZAHS!)

Not entirely sure what the plan for the coming weeks is going to be, but I am for smashing through Dragon Soul until Smeghead gets his legendary weapons. The fact that we're already looking to other content to "fill the void" tells me that Suhli isn't probably going to get the runs he needs with this team to finish that quest line. Dragon Soul burnout is taking place and we've been more interested in Heroic fights than just getting Smeg through his quest line. The gathering portion of that quest is pretty ridiculous, the legendaries always are. Too bad because until then, the quest line was really good and story like...figures it would break down into some kind of grind.

Either way, I'm behind you, Smeg....I want to at least see one pair of those suckers in IHP.

At a Crossroad

I guess I've acted mostly neutral about the situation. It seems like that's what everyone else wanted. I was mad about it at first, but that never took away how sad it makes me. Jimmi IV is officially going to be moving to Maryland on August 1st.

I struggled with the concept of not having him in my life anymore. I thought about ways that I could still keep myself semi-active in his. I thought about ways I could try to salvage my relationship with him. Everyone had an opinion on the matter. It was easy to displace the blame that should be solely on his mother onto him. At first, it was easier on me to focus on the things he supposedly said to the CPS worker and be mad........but logic and reason overtook me. At some point I realized that what was said (or not said) probably wasn't really what a 10 year old meant to say. Especially Jimmi.....

I haven't talked to him since February. I remember the last time I saw him. We went to Stater Bros. that morning to get him something for lunch. I walked with my arm around him the entire time. We laughed and joked and then listened to The Morning Stream on the way to school. It was the most unsuspecting, heartbreaking thing to find out he had said what he had said to CPS.

What makes me even more sad about it is the timing. I documented several things with Jimmi. (Don't let anyone fool you into thinking the California Courts give two shits about that stuff, they do NOT...especially if the other derptard has a lawyer and you don't...) and I had specifically written about a day when he was crying because his mother supposedly told him he had to say bad things about my house in therapy (with her own handpicked therapist). Conveniently, the report was made to CPS from his therapist a few days prior to that entry. This was consistent with the fact that it had happened during the weekend she had him. All of the timing was perfect.

I wasn't willing to continue the battle. It's not worth fighting with his mom. She lies to get her way. She lied to my family to get out of her parent's house. She's lying to everyone to get back into it....and her parents are aware of her lies. I'm sad about that. I'm sad that her dad will never know (or care) about the horrible things she said about him. I'm sad that her mom can live with (but not surprised, she's equally as deceitful) the fact that some of the things that were said about her were said. One thing to Jamie's credit, she obviously kept her lies about them to a small group, that way...they were controlled and once her ties to us were cut, the lies no longer existed.

Anyways..the point of that was that I'm sure she's lying to Jimmi too. That makes me sad. He should know that I love him and that this was what I considered to be the most appropriate decision....he never will....and that wouldn't make it any easier on me.

So, let's recount how the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 affected me...because the emotional side of me is not over ANY of it.

1. The wonderful relationship between my family and my parents was severely damaged. Damaged to the point that we all hardly talk and I don't even remember the last time they saw their grand-daughter. (At least THAT situation will heal itself in time)

2. My dog. My precious dog died in December. That doesn't seem like a big deal..but I was VERY close with my dog. We had her since 1998. I grew up with that dog. That dog was there the first time I kissed Tia Clark, through my next two serious relationships, through my time in the army, through the rise and fall of my relationship with Jamie, and through my marriage to Paola and the growth of our family (Heidi). Ya, Sandra going was hard on me....and not a day goes by where I don't think about her and miss her. In my less sober moments, I sometimes look to where her bed was next to the TV before I remember what's happened....ya...that crap is sad...I'm getting a little emotional just writing about it.

3. Jimmi is gone. (See the prelude to this list)

Basically, things haven't been so spiffy. I wasn't emotionally sound. I acted like it, but no part of me ever felt whole.............until I went to Florida. My grandfather gave me plenty of sage advice, but the comment that may have turned things for me didn't come during one of these moments.

He said, (something to the effect of) "You have a decision to make every morning when you wake up. I'm going to have a good day or I'm going to have a crappy day..."

It's true. We're not around long enough to constantly be miserable. The people around me are good people. My wife is a wonderful (WONDERFUL) lady. My daughter is one of the best things to ever happen to me....I have no control over what everyone else is doing. I can't make Jamie stop trying to torture us. I can't make Jimmi come back. The people I work with are still going to do 100 retarded things to their computers a day. My employer isn't going to pay me what I'm worth.

I'm going to look down at this crossroad and walk on the side of the road that makes me happy.

Derpy Lameass Syndrome

First thing this morning, I received a ticket at 8:30 AM about a printer that's jamming.

At 8:33 AM I assign the ticket to myself and walk over to find the guy sitting next to it trying to print to the thing repeatedly. It probably would have been more acceptable if he just didn't know, but he was commenting on how it "jammed again" as I walked up. Still, whatever, no big deal. I mean...if your car was stalling every time you started it, you wouldn't probably continue to drive it as if nothing was wrong, but these guys don't own the equipment, so they have utterly no respect.

I simply said, "So....you decided to keep printing to it knowing it was broken??" Well, his response, in the typical immature fashion I've come to expect from that group, was to completely ignore the question I asked, not give a reason for why he was doing what he was doing, fabricate "attitude" on my part, and displace the blame by playing the victim role.

His cohort decided she'd throw in: "Well, I need a #%@&ing printer to print to."

At that point, I had to walk away. I had to walk away and breathe deep. See, I work for a company who doesn't believe that the rainforest matters. We have 33 networked printers. One is at the end of each row of cubicles (some even have two) and there are four copiers that can be used as network printers in the interim. Furthermore, one of the networked copiers is less than 15 feet away from the lady who made that comment.

Let me let you take that in. Mr. Derp PMSed on me..then Mrs. Pottymouth went all unfounded argument seconds later.....yep..that really happened.

So, in my efforts to not completely despise them all, I swapped out the toner cartridge (suspected the remanufactured drum was a problem) then explained to Mr. Derp why you shouldn't continuously try to make a broken printer try to print. (Still no explanation for why he was doing what he was doing...) I just left it at that. Seriously, 3 minute response time into a world of derptitude far beyond what any person coming off a Rebif night deserves (let alone anyone in general...)

I left it there. I was done with it. What brought it back up was the fact that the people in that row were asking my partner what was wrong with ME today.

See, this is where complaints of my demeanor obviously stemmed from. I'm a pretty relaxed guy and (especially since my vacation) nice to the people I work with. It makes my life easier if they can't see how bad I rage at their ignorance........yet even when I'm calm you get PMSing fatmen bitching about my attitude toward them.

I sure wish I had the words to say that more eloquently....I just don't. I despise cancerous tumors on the face of an organization that are constantly trying to make themselves look better than others when they are really insignificant and immature.

Ya....that...

Raid Night 6/19/2012

The night started like most raid nights. Elmrick was sitting alone in the Raid 8 ventrilo channel, waiting for any of us to show up. It didn't take us long to pile in. This night saw the triumphant return of our glass canon, Asaphiry. Also, I got a chance to dust off Suhli. That was real nice because I was severely struggling last night. Roguey stuff is easier to do than healy stuff.....

We started the night off in Icecrown Citadel to finish off Glory of the Icecrown Raider for the people that still needed Once Bitten, Twice Shy. It's fun to be able to faceroll ICC these days. I remember a time (not long ago) when Insane Horde Posse really got beat up in there.

Next we went to Black Temple. It was another faceroll job, but it's worth mentioning

that the Reliquary of Souls is still a little troublesome. Either way, we walked right through it and murdered Illidan Stormrage. (He gets no link because he didn't drop the leather helm OR a Warglaive...bastard.)

Then we went into Tempest Keep (The Eye). We made quick work of that raid and picked up the achievement for it. No phoenix mount dropped....so there's that....

Finally, we decided to go clear out The Ruby Sanctum. I remember this coming out at a very weird time and being slightly more difficult than my guild was capable of farming. In fact, most people just avoided it. I was one of those people. Not really by choice...but the opportunity never came up and I felt like the risk/reward ration was terrible. It was not an easy fight (at the time) and the loot wasn't THAT much better than what I already had. I assume this was fairly universal because nearly no one in Insane Horde Posse knew what was going on...we just kinda (once again) facerolled it.

It's been good to go back and see some of this older content. I just enjoy the killfest. I missed out on Ulduar week, I've never finished that.....not sure what we have on the agenda, I bailed a little fast because I was just barely still alive. Either way, expect another post next week.

Rebif = sucky.....

I finally went ahead and took one my Rebif injections.

What is rebif?

It's the drug I'm supposed to take to help control my multiple sclerosis. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that every MRI to date shows improvement, so the drug is clearly doing something. The biggest problem I have with it is that it makes me feel like crud. I never really get used to it. No matter how much I take it, there's always some side effect.

The most recent one was a massive swollen lump on the injection site. It gave me so much trouble that I had issues walking for weeks. Eventually, the swelling went down (somewhat) and I was left with a hardened mass on my right hip that looks like someone chewed a wad of bubble gum and stuck it to my hip. I spent a good while OFF of Rebif after that. The experience was so horrible, I had problems taking the shot again because I feared a repeat.

I'm not exactly sure how long I went without taking it. It was a good while, but I decided I ought to start it up again. It feels good, because I know I'm doing what I should be doing. It feels like I am taking responsible steps toward trying to keep myself healthy for my family, but oh MAN, it feels terrible. I don't know the best way to even describe it; it's as though every muscle in my body suddenly weighs more.

/shrug....small price to pay to curb the ol' brainrot.

The pictures uploaded on this post were from our time at the beach in Florida. My lovely wife, Paola and my daughter Heidi. :) The reason I thought about the beach over there today was someone talking about how cold the water was this morning when they went surfing. The first thing I noticed about the water over there was how warm it was! Unlike the frigid beach water of San Diego, the water in that area was lukewarm and nice. I splashed a bit on my face to wash off some sand and noticed that it is decidedly more salty as well.

No real point to that, just random thoughts. I sure miss it there.

Finally, Mother Earth Brew Co. opened up a new homebrew store in downtown Vista at 204 Main Street. I sure like beer, but I can drink at home. What's really attracted me to the local microbreweries (Mother Earth, especially) is the sense of community that is forged. I like that there are groups of people I can usually anticipate on seeing there. I enjoy the friendships that have been forged over pints of beer and I really appreciate the way that the employees foster an environment that makes you feel like we're all just one big happy family. Couple that with the fact that their beers are outstanding....you've got yourself a nice little watering hole. :)

So, if you're in the area, go checkout the new place. The tap room is (apparently) going to open Saturday from 12 - 9 right next door (206 Main Street), you can probably place good money on the fact that I'll be there. :)

Florida Trip!

Greetings, friends! Happy belated Father's Day to all the dad's out there. :)

On May 30th, my family and I took a trip to Deltona, Florida to visit my grandparents. It was superb. My body really loves the humidity. It makes my skin feel alive (or maybe that was the thin layer of mosquitoes I wore every time I stepped outside....). It had been several years since I had been on that side of the country and even longer since my wife had been out that way. My grandparents had never had the opportunity to meet Paola nor Heidi, so it was an exciting excursion for us. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it and had the hardest time coming home.

I got a phone call at 1:30 AM PST to tell me that our flight on American Airlines from San Diego to LAX had been delayed by 2 hours. That would have had the plane landing in LAX at 8:30 AM. That was the time that our connecting flight from LAX was departing toward Orlando. I tried to call American Airlines to find out if the delay was also affecting the connecting flight (so we'd have time) but they couldn't give me a decisive answer. In the end, we ended up switching to a flight that had a layover in Dallas.

We got to the airport well before the flight was to take off (like good little non-terrorists) but due to violent thunderstorms in Dallas the flight was delayed. In the end, our flight was delayed 4 hours. The airport was cool though....not sure if I ever truly got to sleep, but sitting around doing nothing was relaxing. I was really, really anxious. Not only was I ready to see my grandparents, but I am not partial to traveling by airplane. I pretty much completely hate the idea of being so far off the ground. I'm not afraid of heights but 35,000 feet seems a little bit higher than my definition of "heights".

When we got into Orlando, the Budget car rental didn't have the rental I reserved any more. They had other four door cars, but they would have to charge me more because of the size. We settled on a free upgrade to a 2010 Ford Mustang. It was fun to drive around, but not fun to drive a family around in.

I don't have the words to express all of the wonderful emotions I felt when we were visiting my grandparents. It was a really good time. The best time. I felt so loved and accepted. I felt so proud of the fact that they approved so greatly of my wife and that they'd finally gotten a chance to meet both her and Heidi. My grandma is an incredible cook and my grandpa is one of the wisest men I've ever known. Bottom line: I come from a darn good pedigree.

We saw some neat things while we were out there. We took a day to do the parkhopper thing over at Disney World...that was neat. It poured on us. That was amazing. If you've never seen a soaking wet Peruvian woman, I highly recommend it. It was adorable.

We also took a day to go down to Blue Spring. I always make a point of trying to at least see one alligator when I'm in Florida....a great big sucker decided to oblige as soon as we walked in. That was nice. I tried to upload it onto this post, I guess we'll find out if it worked. We also took a riverboat cruise on the St. John's river and saw about 12 more gators. That was the tourism highlight of the trip for me. :)

All in all, we had a good time. It's nice to be back in California, but I sure do miss my grandma and grandpa (AND the humidity). I should have some news coming down the pipe about WoW soon (fingers crossed) and more posts pretty soon.

Take care all!

Moving Right Along

It's been a good while since I blogged and I'm going to be honest with you: It's not you, it's me. Okay, okay....so I've been having an affair on blogging with Diablo III.

Oh, Blogging. Don't be mad! I couldn't help myself. Diablo III is so beautiful! I never intended for anyone to get neglected, it just sorta, happened. It's not like you're the only one who has been neglected, Blogging. I've hardly touched World of Warcraft for a solid 2 weeks too.....

Ya, so Diablo III came out on the 15th. It immediately gobbled up my soul. I wasn't even excited for this game. I knew it was coming. I knew I was going to get it for free because I was on the Blizzard Annual Pass...I just wasn't excited. It'd been over a decade since Diablo II (I think) and my only exposure to that was brief. It just wasn't my thing back then. My, how times have changed.

Alas, my affair with Diablo III must be put on hold for a brief time. On Wednesday, my family and I will travel to Florida for a spell. We're going out there to visit my grandparents, whom I haven't seen for nearly a decade. I'm very excited about the trip. Not only does this mark the first "real" vacation I've had in a long, long time, but it will also be the first time my grandparents get to meet my wife and my daughter. Also, while I love California, something about me misses the hot, muggy weather associated with Florida's ridiculous daily humidity. It should be interesting to find out how my MS is going to respond to the heat, but it's an experiment that comes with tons of excitement.

While we are out there, we'll definitely take the time to go to Disney. I know we have one right here, but I don't think it'd be fair of me to deny the opportunity to go to Disney World to my wife and daughter. I'm pretty sure that place is like Mecca to them.

So, very little WoW has occurred. Insane Horde Posse ran right through Dragon Soul in its entirety again. I think we even one-shotted Deathwing. I wasn't drunk, but I wasn't overly attentive to this run, so I'm not entirely sure where all the loot (if any) got distributed.

On the homebrewing front, I think I've had a few adventures since last time I blogged. I moved the cinnamon stout from secondary into bottle conditioning on the 15th (I was trying to keep myself busy and awake for Diablo III!) Most of it went into 22 oz. bottles. There were a few 12 oz. bottles which have subsequently met their fates. The first bottle was a bit rough, but after a week the flavors settled down really nice so that the cinnamon is evident. It's a real nice beer.

The English Bitter has four 12 oz. bottles holding onto survival. They shouldn't make it through this warm day. I swore I didn't care for that style, but it is a fantastic thirst quencher. I guess I enjoyed it overall. It's a light beer, but it's gotten more and more tasty as time has gone by.

Next up, in secondary........Raspberry Harvest Wheat. I threw some banana in this one (barely any) and I think I've decided to bottle it before I go on vacation. (That would mean today...) It's still an extract brew, so the fruit addition is from a raspberry extract flavoring. I'm excited about it. I think it's going to go well.

I experienced my first "blow-off" with the Northern IPA I brewed. I had even constructed a make-shift blow-off tube, but apparently the fermentation process was too rigorous. The pressure basically caused the lid on the fermenter to raise and made a mess. I didn't lose much beer and the process seems to have slowed down. I'm excited for this. IPA-style beer is my thing. I hope this turns out well. I've actually decided to let this one sit on the yeast cake while I'm on vacation and move it to secondary afterwards. I haven't decided if I am going to dry-hop this beer or not. I want to, but not everyone enjoys the greenery the way that I do. I'm still tossing around a few ideas in my head. I just haven't completely decided what this beer's ultimate fate will be. At this point, I'm certain some kind of tom-foolery is going to take place in secondary...I'm just not certain what it's going to be. Any suggestions?

Vanilla? Caramel? Coffee? Chocolate? Typically chocolate is reserved for dark beers...I wonder what would happen if I added it to an IPA....

Anyhow! See you guys on the flip-side of the Florida trip. I'm sure lots of fabulous memories are going to be made.

:D

Deathwing Died, Cinnamon Stout, and a Vacation

Well folks, Insane Horde Posse did it.

In one single session the team moved all the way through Dragon Soul and through Madness of Deathwing. Freegrazer had joined another team before that completed the raid, but there is something much more special about doing it with the group of people you raid with regularly. Still though.....I was sad that Suhli was not present for it. It felt good and Suhli has done it, but I don't raid (at all now that my last team abandoned everyone that wasn't related to them.)

Good for the team. I'm glad to see that we've progressed, I'm sad to say I'm not sure how much longer I can completely ignore my "main" character for one that is convenient. >< I'm certain it will be fixed.

Next up? The stout I brewed.

I moved this over to secondary on 4/30/2012. On a whim I decided to break a cinnamon stick up and put it into it. Cinnamon sticks are strong. This should be interesting.

I didn't know what to expect, I guess I figured that the oils and tastes would be absorbed into the beer over time. (That doesn't even make sense....) The next morning, however, I found out differently. The yeast character that was still in the beer started eating away at the pieces of cinnamon stick. This batch had hardly any headroom after primary fermentation, so the yeast activity spilled over into the airlock. A bit even exploded from the airlock onto the wall (not much).

I was able to build myself an improvised blow-off tube and loop it down into another bucket so that the leakage collected somewhere other than our wall.

I bottled the English Tavern Bitter the same day. I tried a 22 oz. bottle on Sunday. It was very good. Exactly what I was expecting. I'd have to label this batch a success. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ahk1toXYMTA6dGlYR3l4NnJnek9UeWw0QklUWTRQeEE#gid=0

Here's a quick link to the beginning of the spreadsheet I started to document this stuff.

Aside from that, we've decided to take a trip out to Florida to visit my grandfather, possibly my wife's sister, and possibly my good friend Josh.

This will mark the first time I've gone out of the state for vacation for more than a day. I'm super excited about it...but if any you IHPers are reading........I wont be raiding June 5th.

Until next time.

An Excerpt From My Story

As my Composition 156 course comes to a close, I have started to begin thinking about writing again. New ideas have been popping into my head. Edits I would like to make. I originally started writing this for NaNoWriMo -- but I think I'd rather take my time and see what comes from this. I'm not willing to say something is finished until I feel like it is finished. So.....here's a tiny excerpt to help me get in the mood too!

************

 The world was still spinning as he opened his eyes. He could feel that he had opened them but still couldn't see anything through the darkness. He went to move his right arm. A sharp pain shot through his wrist as he dug it into the shackle that held him pressed against the wall. His arms were above his head locked against the wall that was at his back.

As his eyes began to get accustomed to the darkness, he could make out the shapes of other men around the dungeon. Crumpled and lifeless, not a single one was moving. In fact, as he began to see more clearly, some of their bodies were amassed in piles in the corner of the room.  A dank, musty smell of old wet air and decaying flesh filled the entire area.  A wave of nausea suddenly took him before he could react.

He vomited before he could turn his head away to keep it from getting all over himself. The warm purge splashed down his chest and stomach onto his thighs, compounding the stench.  Was there anyone left? How did this happen? One minute, he had been eating venison and drinking mead in the hall.... What had happened? How did this happen? .........

***********************************************************************

=o)

A what? A new post?! What the....I never......

Greetings to all from sunny San Diego, CA! That's right, we have sun again! I never thought I'd say this...but I was beginning to worry about how much overcast we were having.

So -- since the title of this blog is WoW oriented, I'll go ahead and get the obligatory festivities out of the way:

Suhli - Destroyer's End. iLvl 396. His raid team disbanded a few weeks ago and I was left high and dry at 172/333 of the crystals he needed to complete the next part of the legendary dagger quest. My inability to find a suitable raid team stems from the fact that the primary raid night (Tuesday) is already devoted to another team and I'm not looking for a raid team that raids more than once per week. I also tend to be shunned by teams that have another rogue because they don't want to have to share the legendary loot.

Freegrazer - Destroyer's End. iLvl 393. Raids on Tuesday nights as a healer for Insane Horde Posse. We've finally started to hit our stride and have an actual DPS/Heals rotation going on. This team is only one night a week, so it leaves the rest of the nights open for ??? or ????.

Ilhus - The bastard child of unorginal names has actually hit level 85. I don't raid with him, but he does the LFR weekly in the hopes that the loot on Madness of Deathwing wont blow giant Kong-sized monkey balls.

The rest (while not incosequential) will be saved for another day. Even though Suhli is not in a raid team and Freegrazer is, I still consider him my main.

Oh, did I mention I'm in the MoP beta? Ya..there's that...and that's for a different time. I didn't come here to talk about World of Warcraft....I came here to talk about something far more important: Beer.

A couple months ago I picked up a homebrew kit from www.windriverbrew.com. It only really required that I picked up some bottles and a brew kettle. Other than that, it was good to go.

I whipped up the first batch shortly after. "Black Bear Brown Ale". The batch turned out pretty good overall. I was kinda impressed at the ease of the entire process. Before I go too much further, I should mention that I am brewing extract kits from the same website. I wont go into the details about what that actually means yet, because it is not important to the topic.

The first batch stayed in primary fermentation for about 6 days. (Short, I know...I learned.) I then bottled it and started drinking a bottle every two days. The brew was really good. Carbonation was perfect by the time I got to the second week of bottle conditioning.

The second batch was a dunkelweizen. I picked up a glass carboy for secondary fermentation with this batch. I left it in primary fermentation for about 8 days. I then moved it to secondary fermentation for 10 days. This was an interesting thing to see. Although there was little to no airlock activity, being able to actually see the beer let me watch the remain "free" yeast cells floccuate to the bottom of the carboy. Although dunkelweizen is a darker beer, it was easy to see the difference in clarity from the first batch of Brown Ale. We bottled this beer about two weeks ago. The initial tasters were from Grolsch bottles that had conditions for 2 days, 6 days, and 8 days. The Grolsch bottles seemed to do wonders for speed carbonating, but I saved one for this weekend. What I noticed this weekend (12 days) is that the beer in the Grolsch bottle was actually losing some of it's carbonation. Interesting, I enjoy those bottles because they are sturdy and flip-tops are awesome, but I worry that I may not always get the best result from them.

The third batch is an English Bitter. It has been in primary for 6 days. I plan to leave it in primary for 10 days and then move it to secondary for 2 weeks. From the hydrometer tube, I can tell that this beer has the potential to be one of my favorite recipes. I really, really love hoppy beers and this beer smells heavenly. Patience is going to be key here. I really want this to turn out well.

Up next (when the primary is free) is "Deep Woods Stout". I'm excited to brew this one too. I plan on letting it sit on the yeast cake for a couple weeks and then moving it to secondary. In secondary, I am going to shave some of the high end 99% cocoa baker's chocolate into it and let it sit for two to three weeks.

This should be exciting.

I'll keep everyone posted on here.