socialy retarded

I gained some and lost a lot

Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by Derrick.

I was faced with a decision that has put me in inner turmoil. I’ve always been goal orientated and when I’m not able to achieve that ambition, I don’t take the disappointment all too well.

3 weeks ago I went on a 12 mile run, and on the way back the last 3 miles I experienced pain in my right knee. This is the same knee that I have an audible click in when I squat down. This is also the same knee that my orthopedic surgeon pronounced to be “worthy” of an arthroscopy to partial or subtotal menisectomy and debridement.

I did my usual procedure of ice bath, ibprophen, and recovery shake. The swelling normally goes away in 3 hours and my legs feel fine in 24 hours, but this time the pain lasted 3 days. I decided to go to my Ortho (who happens to be a runner and triathlete) to get his opinion.  He said that from my initial visit in January, that the 60+ mile running weeks have created floating or displaced tissue, and that “IF” I continued for the next two months of 70-80 mile running weeks I would do enough damage to require surgery in mid to late October.

The procedure and recovery time would be dependent on how much damage I’ve done over the last 5 months of training since he gave me the initial a-o-kay in March. His estimate without having to do another MRI is that I’ve shortened the time from 5 years to within the next year  that I’ll need surgery. He did opinion that if I went ahead with my half ironman and continued to train that the floating debris may continue to make my knee inflamed and or prevent me from fully extending or contracting my right leg.

I’ve been spending countless hours training for this half ironman. It has been a goal of mine since I competed and trained last summer for my first triathlon season. Even the entrance fee for the race is non refundable and only transferable to myself for future dates. I almost feel like my blood sweat and tears is what has led to my ultimate seasons demise.

Since my visit, I’ve had to sit with friends and family to discuss my option. Continue and guarantee myself a date with the scalpel, or stop training and maybe with some cycling and low impact stuff I’ll prolong the possibility of surgery. My family and I have not had the best luck with “routine” surgeries. After talking with my little sister, I’ve decided to quit training and bow out of my first half ironman bid.

BUT! All is not lost. I’m an optimist and look at the silver lining in this situation.

When I started this project of slimming down in 08’, I weighed in at 222lbs. That was the beginning. Since that time I’ve lost 69lbs and as of writing this blog weigh in at 153lbs. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t all flab. I was a meat head that went to the gym every day, but still carried a good spare tire of fat (or beer) around my mid section. I’ve lost a ton of fat, but along with that a ton of muscle mass in my shoulders, legs and arms.

At the beginning of last season I weighed 205. I lost 20lbs last summer and in September of last year was 185lbs. I’ve lost an additional 33lbs and I feel amazing. I’m in the best shape of my life since I was 19 and feel blessed that I can still keep up with people 10 years my junior.

These are the before and after pics, same jeans.

I’m now going back to being a meat head. I like that I’ve accomplished a lot, but I’m way way to skinny for my own good right now. I’d like to be back up to 190 but maintain my level of cardio so as to not gain my muffintop again.

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Word porn for the disillusioned woman.

Posted on 07. Jul, 2010 by Derrick.

Remember when Vampires kicked ass? They were evil creatures of the night that swooped down and cleave you to pieces, sucking your blood and taking your life in some sadistic manner. Even when they were seductive they were still formidable and petrifying. Yeah well, that’s all gone now thanks to Twilight. Vampires have become neo-emo feeble men (or 17 year olds in this case). With winning smiles and fast cars. All around us the culture of the vampire has turned into the pussification of a very cool dude.

The only thing that I learned from reading Twilight is: Someday the perfect man will find you, the relationship will be effortless, and all you will ever need to be fulfilled will be to spend every waking moment with him.

I am well aware that grown women are as equally attracted to these books as are the teenagers they were meant for, but I had hoped that my generation of women would have had a few more life experiences that make it easier for them to draw the line between the reasonable and fantasy. Women my age have had their shares of disappointment in men, probably disappointed their share of men, and moved on and created a real and working life. As the popularity of this series continues to grow, the more and more my hope for women with a sense of reality becomes extinct.

The topic of Edward Cullen has touched off an endless and tumultuous dialogue between men and women. He has become what Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Titanic was. A gleaming ideal (of what women want a man to be) and thehaul over the coals that men receive (because so few dudes even come close).

There are swoony yet self-lacerating posts on facebook like “upon reflection, I’ve realized that all the same reasons I salivate every time his beautiful, pale mug comes on screen are the same reasons that I continue to be disappointed by guys.” I fret that Edward is draining the lifeblood from relationships in the nonfictional realm of dull, flabby mortals. I Point to Facebook groups like “Twilight has ruined any chance I have at a realistic relationship,” Women are idealizing Edward to the point where real men can’t compete.

In other words: The pressures and demands of being a 21st century woman have a way of siphoning off the intensity of the most romantic unions. To be blunt: Life is a total grind, and our women are bored shitless. Edward Cullen has, for millions of passion-starved women, become the undead embodiment of everything the contemporary dude seems to have shed: danger, poetry, strength, speed, eternal devotion, and an insatiable hunger for the jugular. Meanwhile, the defanged mortal males of Earth, their rumps firmly planted in front of the flat-screen and their breath faintly fragrant of beer, have become, thanks to Edward, one big collective gofuck.

Because of this cultural phenomenon, I think it’s only just that as men, we can demand that women behave like our favorite fictional characters. Porn stars. If I have to be quietly passionate with abs of steal and the ability to play Bach’s 5th symphony, I want you to shriek my name and fuck me senseless like Jenna Jameson. If you get danger filled infatuation, I want to come home to Asia Carrera with a smile. Oh, and one last thing, a sandwich right after sex.

Its only fair.

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Re-hydrating and re-racking

Posted on 19. May, 2010 by Derrick.

матрациAfter a week of first fermentation, the 6 batches were ready to be re-racked into the barrel for 2nd fermentation. That meant that I had to get the barrel re-hydrated as it was dormant for 4 months.

From what we were told, the barrel will take up to 3 gallons of whatever liquid is put inside it. So the idea was to get the outside to re-hydrate first, put some sterilized water on the inside later. Then the final step, whiskey. Just to sanitize the inside and kill some of the buggies.

The next day after the barrel was re-hydrated we re-racked it in the barrel.

But before we did that we took gravity readings.

Mine = OG 1.062, mid point 1.017
PJ’s = OG 1.072 mid point 1.029
Kevin’s = OG 1.065 mid point 1.019
Tristans = OG 1.068 mid point 1.02
Tristan’s Friend = OG 1.065 mid point 1.019
Nick’s = (we don’t have an OG) mid point 1.022

Our OG averaged at 1.068 and mid point average of 1.021. Based on a handy online ABV calculator. It says that we are up to 6.17 ABV. Decent, and I imagine that it will be even more ABV when we take the final hydrometer reading.

And here is a really boring video about the process…

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Soulless gingered Irish red, aged in whiskey (pt1)

Posted on 07. May, 2010 by Derrick.

Several of us fellas will be doing a “going away” brew for our friend who happens to be a ginger and loves whiskey.

Here is the Partial mash recipe

1lb of Colorado 2 row
1/2lb Special Roast
1/2lb Cara Red
1/2lb Crystal 75
8lbs of extract light

2oz of grated ginger at 10 minutes
Crystal at 60 and 30 minutes
Fuggles at 10 minutes

Irish Ale yeast at 65-75 degrees

6 5 gallon batches will be made and re-racked into our Buffalo Trace barrel for 2nd fermentation. I emailed several of the big guys (Russian River, Boulevard, Avery, Lost Abbey, and The Bruery) and got some great feedback on how to re-condition our whiskey barrel. Some of our answers can be found here brewadvice.com

We will be force carbing 15 gallons with Korny kegs and then bottle conditioning the rest for all the brewers to take with them.

You can find a small write up of Nicks batch here. My photos from my batch are following.

The house smell amazing after i grated the fresh ginger.

This is my handy dandy brew tool iBrew.

Wort Chiller (notice I had some boil over.. oops)

I got close, the recipe called for an original gravity of 1.068. I think I’m more at 1.062

BREW DOG!

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The Golden Dirty Thirty (Saturday May8th)

Posted on 04. May, 2010 by Derrick.

This party is to celebrate Derrick’s and Annika’s golden birthdays. Derrick will be 30 on the 30th and Annika will be 27 on the 27th.

The party is “Dress like a catholic school girl”. It is not mandatory, but your hosts Floyd, Derrick, and Will will be dressed up in skirts. Please dress up, because if you don’t, you’ll make us look like idiots.

As always, the party is at our house aka “the man cave”. If you have never been to my house, you can RSVP on our Facebook events page or just comment at the bottom of the page and I’ll email you our address (make sure to fill in your email when you do comment)

We will have several good beers on tap. Since Sierra Nevada is turning 30 this year, and so am I, we are going with a beer theme. Sierra Nevada Summerfest, and Sierra Nevada’s “Old ale”. Old ale is so rare that only 35 people have reviewed it on Ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com (Don’t ask me how I got it, cause if I told you, I’d have to kill you). I’ll even get a 1/4 barrel of Coors light to satisfy the non craft beer idiots (I mean that in the nicest way)

Summerfest is a delightfully refreshing example of a traditional style lager beer. While lighter in body than our ales, Summerfest displays significant hop aroma and a tangy hop bite. The long lagering period adds a smoothness that makes this beer a great summertime treat.

Old Ale is a blend of Imperial Stout aged eleven-months in oak bourbon barrels, and our malty Scotch Ale. This black beer has an intense aroma of roasted malt with pronounced vanilla and toasted coconut notes from wood aging. The flavor is smooth and bittersweet, with hints of caramel, toffee, and mocha. This full-bodied beer is filled with deep, rich and warming flavors.

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Bull shit

Posted on 21. Apr, 2010 by Derrick.

For some time many of us have wondered who is Jack Shit? We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, You dont know Jack Shit? Well, thanks to my efforts you can now respond in an intellectual way. Jack Shit is the only son of Awe Shit who married O Shit. In turn Jack Shit married Noe Shit.The couple had 6 children: Holie Shit, Giva Shit, Fulla Shit, Bull Shit, and the twins Deep Shit and Dip Shit. Deep Shit married Dumb Shit, a high school dropout. After 15 years, Jack and Noe Shit got divorced and she married Ted Sherlock and became Noe Shit Sherlock. Meanwhile, Dip Shit married Lota Shit and had a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Shit. Fulla Shit n Giva Shit married the Happens brothers in a double wedding. The newspaper invited everyone to the Shit-Happens wedding. Bull Shit traveled the world and returned home with an italian bride. Pisa Shit. So from now on, no one can
tell you that you dont know Jack Shit…

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