iPod Helps Win Carling Cup

According to this article, an iPod helped Manchester United win the Carling Cup. Goalkeeper coach showed goalkeeper Ben Foster highlights of Tottenham players taking penalty kicks. My first reaction to this is that this could be a form of cheating. But being an advocate for technology, I came around to believe that athletes should be able to use whatever technology is at their finger tips in order to win. Winning is the name of the game, and this situation is similar to watching game film. The only difference is that the game film was being watched on the field. But who cares? All that matters is Tottenham lost.

Dude, Dell Gets An A

One of the most impressive things about Dell for me is their online technical support. I recently had my hard drive fail (hence the lack of posts this past week) and using the online support was excellent. I like that I do not have to talk to someone on the phone and attempt to understand them. I can sit in front of my computer with the music playing. I am able to type out everything, making sure my point gets across to the technical support. Note, it does help to have a second computer if you need support for one, but the experience is priceless. I highly recommend getting a Dell just for the technical support, should you need it. I hope you don't though.

The Flys- Got You Where I Want You

This week's throwback song is The Flys' "Got You Where I Want You." Great song highlighting Katie Holmes before she went on the Cruise ship. Get it?

Special 1 TV- Episode 4

Another great episode.

"I do the diving, I do the fall. Put the free kick, into the wall."...hilarious.

Thoughts on Calhoun

For anyone who has not seen the highlights of Jim Calhoun's post-game press conference, please watch the video above. I think the video is hilarious, but it does beg the question, should coaches take a pay cut. I say 100%, NO. Here is why:

• As Calhoun points out, the basketball program brings in $12 million to the school annually. For the most part, college althletics are funded by the two main revenue sports: football and basketball. That means that the money that Calhoun is responsible for bringing into the school funds scholarships for the rest of the student athletes in the "non-revenue" sports. The opportunity for someone to receive a college education is priceless, and the better UConn does, more money is available to fund scholarships.
• What would happen if Calhoun left and the program fell apart? That money could evaporate quickly, and the state would be left to foot the bill to support the university. More money out of tax payers' pockets.
• If the public universities limited their spending on coaches, it could put private schools at an advantage, as they would not have spending limits. They could attain the money from donors to get the coaches they want and pay them the money they deserve. If a public university wants to remain competetive, they should not put a limit on the salaries of coaches.

So, do you agree?

Special 1 TV Episode 3

I love Wayne coughing out CONCACAF.

Extreme Torture? Posh?

The Verve Pipe- The Freshmen

The Verve Pipe |MTV Music

Throwback song of the week goes to "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe. I'm pretty sure this was a class song for most people during one of their freshman years. Enjoy!

Family Guy vs. Christian Bale

This spoof on the Christian Bale rant is hilarious. I love the part where Peter ate his pie. Good work!

Bavarian Barbarian Brewery

The final stop on our brewery tour was Bavarian Barbarian Brewery in Williamsport, PA. This place has only been open for a little over a year and I had not heard too much about it. Since it was close to Bullfrog, we decided to give it a chance.

The brewery itself is in a small warehouse, but fits the operation perfectly. It is very neat how you can see the entire operation from the bar. 

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The brewery is nice enough to provide a 6-glass sampler for free to all attendees. Add one point to the scoreboard for free beer. The beers sampled are as follows:

Hammerin' Ale

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The ale was a good start to the sampling, as it is very smooth. The amber color is very attractive and I like how the beer is cloudy. The quality placed into the beer is very noticable.

Weldspatter IPA

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

I normally do not like IPA beers, but the hop content in this IPA was not overwhelming. Most IPAs will try to overpower your tongue with the hops, but the hops in the Weldspatter compliment the rest of the ingredients nicely. I definitely recommend the beer, even for those who do not like IPAs.

Headbangers Brown Ale

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

This beer is built on malts and has an excellent nutty flavor. It has a deep, dark, rich color about it and was pleasant to drink. This is one of the two beers I filled my growler with, and I enjoyed it the second time at home.

First Snow Ale

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

I am a big fan of winter seasonals, especially ones that are this good. The First Snow Ale tastes a bit like a ginger bread cookie. In a way, it reminds me of Left Hand Snowbound Ale, which I highly enjoy. I like all of the flavors that are brought out in drinking this beer. I filled my second growler with the First Snow Ale.

Steel Drivin' Stout

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The stout was in par with other oatmeal stouts. It has a nice smooth taste and a deep brown color. It wasn't overpowering with its taste, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is definitely worth getting a glass of the stout.

Square Feet Wheat Winter

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

It was interesting to hear how the brewery alters ingredients in their wheat beer depending on the season. The winter version of the wheat is excellent and was my buddy Matt's favorite beer of the day. He filled his growler with the wheat. The multitude of flavors included in this beer make your tongue work to process them all.

Overall

It should be noted that I will be returning to Bavarian Barbarian Brewery whenever I can. I will also try to catch up with the brewery at any beer festival that they are at. I highly, highly recommend trying their beers. I'm sure you will find one that you like.

Bullfrog Brewery

The second brewery adventure of the day was Bullfrog Brewery located in Williamsport, PA. We ate here and also enjoyed the brews.

The Beers

Billtown Blonde

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The first beer I had was the Billtown Blonde. I liked how smooth and crisp the flavor of the beer is. It is a very good compliment to greasy food.

Old Toad Barleywine

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

Barleywines can be very hit or miss. The Old Toad was full of flavor, very sweet, a little bite. Although it is over 100 IBU's, the flavor is not too hoppy.

Smoked Porter

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The Smoked Porter tasted exactly as it sounds. There was a very strong hint of smoked flavor, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Overall, it drank pretty smooth. I'm not sure how many one could drink in one sitting, but it is a very good beer.

Dread Double Red

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

I thought the Dread Double Red had the perfect amount of hops, which followed by a nice little bite at the end of a sip. I like how the beer is very cloudy and drinks very smooth.

Food

I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak and I was not disappointed. It has a great flavor and is very filling. I highly suggest the sweet potato fries on the side. Everyone's meals looked good and I know everyone left the place stuffed.

Overall

I think Bullfrog Brewery is a must-visit brewery. The atmosphere is very welcoming. The back wall is covered with growlers from various breweries, so it also gives me a few more breweries to visit.

Selin's Grove Brewing Company

A couple of friends and I took a road trip up US 11/15 to three breweries on Valentine's Day. It was a great day, and this post is the first of three, each one relating to one brewery. 

The first brewery on the trip was Selin's Grove Brewery, located in Selinsgrove, PA. It's pretty easy to find, right on Main Street, and is a very quaint little brew-pub. We did not eat there, but the food looked amazing, especially the bread used for the sandwiches. On to the beers:

Solstice Dubbel

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The first beer I had was the Solstice Dubbel. This beer was well rounded. The spice that is added to the beer was soft, but very complementary of the beer. I really liked the darker color of the beer, but it was a light tasting beer.

Scottish Ale

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The Scottish Ale was a decent light tasting beer, but I felt it was missing some flavor. It was still a good beer, but tasted more like it was from a mainstream brewer than a craft brewery.

Saint Fillian's Wee Heavy

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

I really liked this beer and how it was served out of a gravity tap. Since it comes from the gravity tap, it was served rather warm, which allows the drinker to experience the full flavor of the beer. It had a nice compliment of hops and definitely had a warming property about it.

Dunkle Weizen

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

I was looking forward to tasting this beer, but it did not live up to my expectations. It had a decent flavor, but it tasted a little empty, like one ingredient is missing.

Framboise

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

This is one of the better Framboises that I have tasted. It was very fruity and sweet. We all felt we could get in trouble with this drink as it tasted like juice.

Organic PILS

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The pilsner was a very clean tasting beer with no after taste. This is a great beer for the warmer weather, as it is not filling and it is refreshing. I definitely recommend, especially to people who like lighter beers.

Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The Oatmeal Stout was good tasting, but it was very similar to other stouts on the market. It's not that it wasn't an impressive beer, it just wasn't that memorable.

White Horse Porter

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The White House Porter was an excellent tasting beer and full flavored.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Porter, and I definitely recommend on your visit.

Mud Puppy Brown Ale

From 2-14-08 Selingsgrove and Williamsport

The Brown Ale was excellent. It is a lighter brown ale that does not have an over-powering hop flavor. I think was threw me off is that the brown ale drinks a lot like a porter, as it is smooth and a little thicker. I think this was the most impressive beer out of all of them.

I really recommend checking out Selin's Grove Brewing Company. It is a small town brewery with big tastes. I will be going back and definitely checking out the food.

Pedro Gomez is a US American Without Maps

Pedro Gomez may have caught Miss Teen South Carolina fever. As part of his interview, he asked Sven Goran-Eriksson what the weather in Columbus compared to. Pedro's reporting was as follows:

"Albania.  So, Albania, Columbus, maybe they are sister cities."

That is priceless. The last time I checked, the land of John and Jim Belushi is not a city, but an entire country. Time to buy a map, Pedro.

I Think I Crapped My Pants

Great tasering video. I feel like this is something out of Reno 911, especially at the beginning when the cop knows the guy's name.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones- The Impression That I Get

Throwback song of the week is The Mighty Mighty Bosstones "The Impression That I Get". I remember being in middle school when this song came out and totally rocking out. It changed my impression of music and is a totally fun song. This is one of the reasons I really began to love music.

Stimulus Package

I believe now is the best time to legalize marijuana. With job losses mounting week in and week out, the best for of stimulus to the economy comes in the form of government regulated marijuana. Here are some things to think about:

1. With the legalization, the government can highly regulate and highly tax marijuana. With regulation, comes a safer form of marijuana. Gone will be the days of marijuana laced with other drugs, which is what really makes the drug dangerous. Even with taxing the sale of marijuana, it will still be cheaper to produce and sell legally than illegally. The government will be tapping a source of income that is there, but of which it does not see a single cent. And there is a lot of money to be made, all of which can be put into the government's pocket for roads, programs, and other public aid.
2. Imagine the amount of jobs created by adding a new industry to US economy. There are varying levels, from field workers planting and harvesting the crops to chemists analyzing the plants to produce the best product to sales, marketing and executive jobs for the companies that will sell the marijuana. All types of skill positions and professional positions will open up from the creation of a new industry. Even the addition of coffee shops and employees will be created.
3. Is marijuana worse of a substance than cigarettes or alcohol? I don't believe it is. I believe the statement that marijuana being a gateway drug is false because people who use marijuana and move on to other drugs are into them because of the illegal aspect of drugs, not because marijuana makes you want to do other drugs. Most other drugs make you body react in a much different manner than marijuana, which only mellows you out. Marijuana does not make you angry, as alcohol does to some people. Of course, operating a vehicle while under the influence will still have to watched, as marijuana slows your reaction time.
4. Legalizing marijuana can increase tourism to the US and help retain US citizens for their getaways. Most people know someone who has traveled to Amsterdam to experience the Coffee Shops. Why not in the US? Having the substance available in the US may keep citizens here for vacations, spending their money on our taxed marijuana and stimulating the local economies. People from other countries may see the US as a more desirable vacation destination.
5. Illegal drugs send money to other countries and terrorist entities. Why not keep the money within our borders rather than have it sent to Afghanistan and funding terror cells? Even if it does not fund terror cells, the money most likely goes to a country that does not have a high opinion of America, other than loving the money being sent to it.

These are some of the reasons that I believe the USA needs to legalize marijuana. Let's use the $800 billion in stimulus money to create a new industry with loads of jobs for citizens that will create a tax revenue for many years to come. President Obama, if you read this by chance, please consider the reasons and decide appropriately.

Thoughts? Do you agree or disagree?