Do You Hate "Blair Witch Project" Like Video ...

I think I nearly puked when I saw "Blair Witch Project" in a theater from all the shaking movie footages. I realized from that experience that I do not want shaking in my home video footage. While I have consciously reduced shaking when I can by holding camcorder with two hands whenever possible. This is still not a great solution, because I still see shaking. Especially when I am moving with subjects.
I recently became aware of a cheap steady camera contraption that will reduce shaking when I am moving with the subject. It is supposed to cost $14, but it is going to cost me more like $17. It was very easy to put together. I only added tennis grips to the original plan. I am going to shoot some steady shots. Yeah! Find the plan here.

Movie Recommendation: I am highly recommending "Cinderella Man." Ron Howard sure knows how to make an epic like movie like the olden days. It has actions for guys, a real moving story line for gals, and it is an all around good movie.

Marathon Update: I gave up on training. I had this convenient excuse, cold for a week. It feels great not to run for a whole week. I think I will go for a run today for fun.

Score Cards Are In ...

I went to What Ales Ya to pick up my score cards from the local homebrew contest. It is always fun, frustrating, and interesting to read the judges comments. I can think about how I can improve my brewing practices.

Export Helles

Entry Number: 1-D-2

Final Assigned Score: 26

Place Awarded: Bronze

Bottle Inspection: excellent pop; proper fill w/ label fragments left on bottle; filled properly

Aroma: Slight DMS appropariate. slight solvent note. low hop aroma (5/12); light DMS aroma w/ malty sweetness appropriate. subtle solvent smell in background. little to no hop aroma. fruity esters. (6/12); clean grainy slight DMS aroma (7/12)

Appearance: Golden yellow, head white deminished quickly, slight haze (2/3); moderate head retention and color to style, slight chill haze (2/3); good head retention & color, slight chill haze (2/3)

Flavor: malty sweet, low hop flavor, solventy flavor, possibly from fermenting at a high temp. or fermenting too long on trub (12/20); malty with little to no hop flavor true to style. some fruity esters and alcohol hashness with dry finish. some oxidized flavor as beer warms up. (10/20); strong esters to solvent notes, very low malty flavors, slightly oxidized flavor (10/20)

Mouthfeel: medium mouthfeel. stingy mouthfeel attributed to source of off flavor (3/5); medium body with medium carbonation. slightly astringent and harsh (3/5); good carbonation, slightly astringent (2/5)

Overall Impression: Off flavors detract from a good beer. found the beert to be slightly more bitter than appropriate. good base, correct off flavors and a good beer should arise (4/10); malty to make good base beer, but slightly problematic. lower fermentation temps or racking beer off trub earlier may help (4/10); too many fruity esters, almost solvent (5/10)

Super Saison

Entry Number: 16-C-2

Final Assigned Score: 33

Place Awarded: Silver

Bottle Inspection: good fill

Aroma: hints of honey, slightly herbal, low spice aroma (8/12); some honey with some alcohol. subtle spicey aroma. no esters (citrus like) were detected (8/12); slight clove smell, some of alcohol, slight aroma from spices, no hop aroma (7/12)

Appearance: Pale orange color is good, lacks head (2/3); pale golden color with little/ no head upon pouring. slightly cloudy. (2/3); no head when poured. color is near perfect and clarity is to style (3/3)

Flavor: pleasant spice flavor with undertones of citruss, honey and alcohol in higher forms. some warming character (13/20); initial flavor is fruity with spicy character as it warms. alcohol is evident. little to no hop flavors with enough bitterness to balance. the spicy character overpowers the malt (13/20); spicy flavor with a hint of cloves and maybe some honey. bitterness from hops is balanced by the sweetness. needs acidity to balance flavors(14/20)

Mouthfeel: medium body, CO2 a little low for style (3/5); medium bodied with a light carbonation level. alcoholic warmth. the carbonation is a little low for style (3/5); mouthfeel is great for body. the malt comes through. the alcohol is evident in the finish. low acidic nature for style (3/5)

Overall Impression: appropriate and pleasant spice flavors and an enjoyable beer. lacks acidity and complexity of a Belgian Saison (7/10); this beer is a little too full bodied and lacks a complexity/balance between the spicy and malty flavors (7/10); Need more carbonation to ???? head to foam. great overall flavor but the sweetness and body need to be offset by some acidic (6/10)

A Short Video of Squaw Peak ...

It rained this morning. What a refreshing change! Here is a time lapsed video of Squaw Peak. Click here for the video.

A Short Video of Sedona Trip ..

Hope you enjoy my short video about my trip up to Sedona with Colby and Josh.

Click here for the video.

Boys' Trip to Sedona ...

Colby was going to work on his Sedona property with his bro-in-law last Friday, and invited Josh and I to go along. Of couse, I said I would go. It did not take much convincing as I think any excuse to get away from the city is a good one.

I drove to Colby's house Thursday evening in order to drive up together. Colby and Amy, his wife, were putting their kids to sleep. You know, giving a bath, brushing teeth, reading a story, etc. There were many Moments, which I tried to capture on my camcorder.

By the time we were able to leave, it was a little past eight. We drove to Josh's and picked him up. We stopped at a Circle K to air up a couple of tires on Colby's trailer. While Colby was working, I bought a package of SnowBall and a package of Chilli Cheese Fritos. Two of my favorites from college. We ate, drank, and talked all the way up to Sedona. I thought the trip was shorter than I remember.

I fell asleep once we got into the town of Sedona. I don't know what happened, but massive fatigue set in. I woke up to rattling truck. It turned out Colby and Josh were trying to park the trailer by driving back and forth. I still could not get up and help them set up. All I remember is laying down a sheet of tarp and putting my sleepingbag on top before crashing. I slept outside under the stars. It was a bit windy and cold. I occasionally woke up to admire the complete darkness and bright stars, which I don't get to enjoy in Phoenix.

I woke up a little earlier than the other two. It was a little chilly because it was breezy. I took care of my morning business first, and walked around a little to waste sometime. I did not want to prematurely wake the boys up. When the others woke, we were ready for breakfast. We ate mini donuts, bagels, and bacon. Mm, BACON!!!

Colby called Mark, his bro-in-law, after breakfast to see what work we were going to do today. Lucky for us, he was working on his house in the morning. We decided to take a stroll around his property. We shared stories, joked around, and just being silly and goofy. I took pictures and video footages for fun.

Soon it was lunch time. We ate Carolina style pork sandwich. Mm, PORK! After lunch, Josh drove the backhoe to Mark's. We did some yardwork for Mark before heading back to Phoenix.

It was a nice lazy FRIDAY!