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2nd Annual Art Sled Rally - Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis

Here's the best video summary of the recent Art Sled Rally held in Powderhorn Park. Being a part of this fun made me want to build a sled for next year.

Oppenheimer

Being a father in waiting has made me more contemplative about my childhood. It can be triggered by seeing a family in a restaurant or even a PBS documentay.

I sometimes feel like I missed out on being a scientist. There seems to be a more clear sense of success and failure, right and wrong than other professions, including my own. I thought
American Experience on PBS recently aired a documentary entitled The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer. This man gave his all to his country as creator of the atomic bomb but was later destroyed by accusations of Communist Party membership. Actor David Strathaim (Good Night and Good Luck and The Bourne Ultimatum) plays the morose scientific visionary.

I was facinated by this program because it involves the creation of a product so powerful that it could destroy the entire world. I find it hard to believe only 9 counties are currently known to have nuclear weapons in 2009, 64 years after the first. I supposed its not comparable to kids building smoke bombs based off a recipe they found on the internet. Particle accelerators and enriched uranium is quite difficult to obtain, just ask Doc Brown.

The Day The Music Died

Is it irony that this video came out on the anniversary of the date when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper's plane went down?

This can't be real. This can't be real. Microsoft is developing software that will turn your voice into Muzak. I could see Christian home schooled kids thinking this was neat. That's about it. Maybe I'm wrong and this will pull Microsoft out of it's prolonged slump. Afterall I was wrong about W 2x.

Pail to Pale

This afternoon I bottled four and a half gallons (I left behind half a gallon with the yeast and spent hops) of English Pale Ale. Cleaning and sanitizing goes faster when using 22 ouncers but it's still a pain in the ass. The first bottle should be lightly carbonated and drinkable in two week. I'm not sure if Pale Ale's are supposed to be copper colored, but I'll drink what I've got.

Here's Northern Brewer's description of the kit I brewed:

Easy to brew, tastes great in a bottle or a keg... it's no surprise that English pale ales are consistently popular with homebrewers. English pale ales are generally maltier, sweeter, and less aggressively hopped than the American version. Our kit produces a slightly caramelly, copper-brown, medium-bodied ale with a flowery, fruity boquet and subtle bitterness from real English hops. We selected Wyeast Whitbread Ale for this kit because of its high flocculation, which makes it possible to package the beer and drink it very fresh — try serving it on tap at a low level of carbonation. Rule Britannia!

Hi, come in. Please take off your shoes.

Inspired by my Uncle G-Man's blog, 1410 Oakwood, I have decided to document life's comings and goings in this new blog. The name take the ringer comes from a line in one of my favorite movies, The Big Lebowski. This movie along with Office Space helped me to feel comfortable and confident that putting off getting a job after undergrad was really in my best interest.

I am going to try consolidating my Bulldog Softball Blog into Take The Ringer. Going times and prosperity are coming. I promise.

Jim Carrey Happy New Year

Who Throws a Shoe?

Ride a Mechanical Bull - wikiHow

Ride a Mechanical Bull - wikiHow

Violin and Cello Shred Metal

Beastie Boys coming to St. Paul on Vote tour

Pass The Mic [HD] from mc boulangerie on Vimeo.

By JON BREAM, Star Tribune

October 10, 2008

For the 2004 presidential election, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., John Fogerty and other classic-rockers staged the Vote For Change Tour, including a concert in St. Paul. This fall, the hip-hop stalwarts the Beastie Boys will undertake the Get Out and Vote '08 Tour, which will visit St. Paul's Roy Wilkins Auditorium on Nov. 1.

Also performing that night will be eclectic rocker Ben Harper and Tenacious D, the comedy-rock duo starring Jack Black.

"We are going to do a few shows in hopes that we can remind people to vote," the Beastie Boys said in a statement. "This election is too important, too much is at stake to stay at home. We hope that you can come out, have a nice night, dance, sing, get your freak on, and then wake up the next morning and get everyone that you possibly can to get out and vote."

They added: "We are very excited about [Barack] Obama. Hope you all feel the same."

Similarly, the Vote for Change Tour in 2004 supported the Democratic candidate John Kerry.

Springsteen, Billy Joel, the Grateful Dead and others have done individual shows this fall on behalf of the Obama ticket. The Beastie Boys have announced three shows thus far and plan others in battleground states. Joining them at other cities will be Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson or Santogold. Ticket, priced at $37.50, will go on sale Oct. 17 at Ticketmaster outlets.

Jon Bream • 612-673-1719

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Dancer Needed for 2009

We need a dancer to augment Tyler's keyboarding skills and Bill's abundant vocal assets. Don't bother trying out unless you as good as the guy in this video clip of the Christian supergroup, The Way. The solo at 1:55 is the greatest.