Local pride

Macalester grad Omar Ansari started the local business Surly Brewing Company. I've only tasted their concoctions a time or two, but I may need to sample the swill again soon. This Wall Street-Journal article is about a legendary Belgium brew, but it includes this line:

Two American Web sites, Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, rank the strongest of Westvleteren's three products, a dark creamy beer known as "the 12," best in the world, ahead of beers including Sweden's Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter and Minnesota's Surly Darkness.

Way to go, Surly. Too bad I generally don't enjoy dark beers.

On a side note, the story of the Trappist monks reminds me a lot of "The Drawing of the Dark," a book by Tim Powers. It's an entertaining read. Not wonderful. Not for everyone. But perfect for, say, an airplane ride.

This is my niece, Francis, getting a bath on Thanksgiving Day. Yeah, she had to clean up in order to impress the in-laws.

I learned two valuable lessons during the holiday week/weekend. One, I know how to properly handle a small baby - at least in some situations. Two, one should not drink heavily in the night prior to a long morning flight.

My friend Melissa

My pal Mel was in town over the weekend to run into the Twin Cities marathon, and, uh, it didn't go as well as expected. I found out on Monday night that she had collapsed due to heat exhaustion, dehydration, ridiculously high temperature... all that good stuff. The short story is that Melissa is out of ICU and back at either her mom's or her dad's place, and she'll return to Chicago this weekend. WCCO ran a story about her near-death experience.

The lesson, I think, is to never run marathons. You want to run? Fine. You want to push yourself? Fine. Make your goal...oh...5 miles, 10 miles? Maybe even 12 miles. That seems much more reasonable, right?

Question

Like many people, I enjoy reading Thomas Friedman, and he posted a column on Wednesday about "Generation Q." This is his moniker for college-age people (and 20-somethings), and his basic point is that these kids aren't angry enough or radical enough to be asking politicians the questions that they should be. Namely, in his words, "What is your plan for mitigating climate change? What is your plan for reforming Social Security? What is your plan for dealing with the deficit — so we all won’t be working for China in 20 years?" He scolds the passivity of e-mail, Facebook and online petitions.

Do you think, in a very general sense, recent generations are too distracted or too busy to publicly stand up for such issues?

New addition

My sis and her hubby-to-be are now the proud new owners of this scrappy little fella. He currently resides in Duluth, MN but will somehow make his way to San Francisco, CA. My guess is that this innocent wheaten terrier, a sarcastic cat, and a tough and dumb but good-hearted bulldog will team up and find their way across the country - with hilarious results and funny dialogue. Starring: the voices of Robin Williams, Annette Bening, and The Rock.

Damn, Them Boys Are Good!

Not only did I catch fish this past weekend, I also netted three (count 'em...1...2...3) fantasy football wins. Seeing as how I'm only in three leagues, it's tough for me to do much better than 3-0.

My various teams actually didn't play particularly well, but the combination of inept and injury-plagued opponents helped me to earn those three wins - one of which was slightly controversial. My rosters seemed to be filled with more and more ailing players with each passing day, but I won't use the maladies as an excuse... until I lose this Sunday.

In the words of former colleague Court E. Mann...Stay hot!

Proof of my prowess

Deb and her father took me fishing with them this past weekend. It was the first time I've grabbed a pole (insert joke here) since I was a wee, pre-teen lad, and I'd never truly been on a fishing excursion. My past experience included throwing a line off a dock and...uh...that's about it.

This picture was taken on our first night, after a long day on the water. On this Friday, we slept in a bit, ate a big breakfast, purchased some minnows and a license, and put the boat out in Birch Lake. We motored for roughly seven seconds before the engine sput...sput...sputtered. Deb's dad pumped the gas line, shook the can, cleaned out the lines, checked the gas filter, cleaned out valves, cursed, and tried just about every trick he knew. No dice.

So, we headed to the Trading Post in Remer, MN for some advice from the local shopkeep/engineer. We systematically eliminated a number of issues and settled on buying a new hose from the gas tank to the engine.

Back to Birch Lake and sput...sput...sputter went the engine after about 14 seconds. Further on-lake inspection uncovered a problem with the tube/filter in the gas tank. Deb's dad stuck various objects into the tank in an effort to capture the missing piece, and after about 30 minutes, he pincered the piece and put all the parts back in place. And...we're off! At about 4:00, I figure.

Birch Lake proved to be windy, cold, and a bust for fishing - which stinks because getting to the lake involves navigating a shallow canal filled with logs and muck and weeds for about 20 minutes. We eventually switched over to another lake and nabbed 6 or 7 crappies for the Saturday night feast.

Good news

A quick update: All the news from my brother's friend sounds positive. I don't have many details, but it sounds like the doctors believe they rid his body of the cancer via the operation. I imagine he will still need either chemo or radiation...but, heck, I'm no doctor.

Two steps forward, one step back

Three weeks down, 14 to go. Another mixed bag for my fantasy football teams again this past Sunday and Monday. On the positive side, I won two of three games. The kicker you see here (picture courtesy Elsa/Getty Images) tried his best to send my most important squad to 0-3. He missed field goals from 42 and 43 yards, causing me to utter something like, "Mr. Wilkins, you have greatly vexed me! If you were in my presence, I would deliver unto you a most thorough thrashing!"

The bad news is that the best club I own, a 2-1 juggernaut that leads the inter-office league in points, is riddled with injuries. One of my starting running backs strained his abdomen; the other tore the ACL in his left knee. And Mr. Andre Johnson, featured in the previous fantasy football post, will miss a second straight game in Week 4. Oh, and my quarterback has cracked ribs. Good times.

Alas, injuries are all part of the journey that is fantasy football...we persevere and move forward.

I'm so popular...

For the second time in less than a week, I've been invited...nay...begged to fill in for a softball game. Last Friday, I led was part of a co-ed club that won both games of a doubleheader. Tonight, I'll be suiting up for a men's league game. Word on the street is that I'll be behind the plate. Donning the tools of ignorance, if you will. I plan on calling mostly fastballs. Maybe mix in a curve or two. A few sliders. I wish softball games had runners to throw out on steals.

From my one summer of men's league experience, all I can pray for is a victory. We males can be awfully surly and stupid when we don't win.

And here's the video that goes along with this picture. Possibly the best episode of all time.