TCP/IPA

I finally got around to bottling my IPA. I expected a final gravity around 1.022 and it turns out that I got 1.018! Which means my TCP/IPA is going to have an ABV of 8.1% Whoa. It tastes excellent too.

Coexist Campaign

I just heard about Coexist... As Doug Pagitt says in his post Bono My Man it seems to be nothing more than a marketing campaign. It's interesting though. I know it's gonna ruffle lots of evangelical feathers....

Trying

Erik Benson wrote a very insightful post about trying.

I was reminded of it when I visited a nativity that the local church puts on every Christmas. It's quite a production. You walk along a path outside stopping at several scenes along the way and the narrator tells the story of Christmas. When you're finished you end up in a marketplace with people tossing pottery, carving wood spoons, weaving, serving up period food, etc. It's very well done.

But I wanted to note the beginning. It draws enough visitors such that you have to wait once you enter. You sit in the sanctuary of the church until your guide/narrator calls your number to take the tour. While we were waiting we listened to 5-6 middle-age black men, a young boy (under 13) and a black woman sing Christmas carols and traditional hymns. If you saw them purely through a talent lense they were pretty mediocre. But it you saw them a people who were TRYING, people who cared, and wanted to serve; they were WONDERFUL, and you wanted to hear them more. Definitely a highlight of the evening. You've missed it this year, but I recommend you stop by the Mount Pleasant Church of the Brethern.

One more thing... The singers were from Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Elkton. I really appreciated the inter-denominational cooperation/unity.

Speechless

I took a den of Cub Scouts to visit the national D-Day Memorial. It’s located in Bedford VA because per-capita Beford lost more men at D-Day than any other city in America.

The monument itself is beautiful and is located on the top of a hill in the Shenandoah Valley. It’s shaped in such a way that you walk the path of the battle, from the planning in England, to the landing on the beaches, to climbing the cliffs, to victory. There’s lot of plaques telling the story of D-Day or commemorating the men who lost their lives. If you take the guided tour, at one spot they play an audio clip of Eisenhower giving the battle orders to the men. It’s a pretty humbling speech. Probably the most interesting part was the section where they’re storming the beach. Several bronze soliders are coming out of the Higgins boats, several have paid the ultimate price on the beach and several are pushing onwards in some cases carrying wounded. All around the beach there are air guns that blast up through the pools of water. It looks like bullets hitting the water and sounds as you might imagine it too (apparently veterans testify to the accuracy of the sound… though not NEARLY as loud)

I’ve seen all of the other monuments in D.C. (Vietnam, Korean, WWII, Lincoln, etc.) and this one is hands down better.

If you visit, consider stopping at Peaks of Otter too. It’s only 20 minutes away and would be a great place to stop for a picnic or spend the night.

See more progress on: D-Day Memorial