Week 17 - Christmas

Work is slow again for me now as I cleaned up our fermenters this past week. The data was confusing and I need some time to sit down, process it, work through what we need to try next, and also to come up with some new sampling techniques.  For what it's worth, cleaning out fermenters is not "just like cleaning really dirty glassware" as our lab manager declared. It requires line flushing, glass scrubbing, and what I would describe as a full dental exam cleaning on the metal moving parts in the stirring/heating/infusing-equipped lid. Absolutely gross, and even worse is the splashing of the cleaning process and the fact that you end up wearing some of what you clean.

Speaking of gross, this Sunday before I walked for graduation, we decided to hang up the Christmas lights. Nothing too crazy, just icicle lights. This being our first year hanging them, we came up about 3 strands short, which became 4 when a strand died the first day. I thought since we were already up on the roof, I'd clean out the gutters as well. Definitely not something to do with your bare hands if you are queezy at heart. I actually ended up going to graduation and forgetting to wash my hands until about an hour before the ceremony started. Good thing I remembered, since there were classy black rotten-leaved stains all over my hands. Amanda may think that our house looks tacky with the missing icicle lights, but I think that it just gives us a more authentic appearance than other people.

Christmas is indeed in the air around here, and this past week I finally had time to pick up all my gifts. Luckily, in this modern age we can log online and search for what we want exactly. Since I ordered the gifts, I have already received everything except what is to arrive today. One thing I did go buy in person at Best Buy, but that is because I can return it so much easier if things go South. I saw frightening reviews online and I really want to be able to deal with a real person for that product.

Centerpiece at the Christmas Wedding.

We went to a Christmas wedding this past weekend for a coworker of mine, down on the East side of Cincinnati. Had a little trouble finding the place, but the set up was very cheery and that is when the Christmas mood started to sink in for me. I've seen a couple Christmas movies on cable now and taken the time to watch them and can even tolerate the local all-Christmas radio for short amounts of time.

I did finally walk for my Master's diploma this past weekend, which was a nice recognition of the work we've all put into my degree, but more important was that I had the honor of receiving my degree in the same ceremony as Jack Hanna's honorary doctorate. As always, Jack Hanna came prepared to entertain as the guest speaker and even brought a cheetah out on stage (it didn't seem like it wanted to leave). Since my pictures are pretty far away, I've also included a video of some of his animal-sharing on the David Letterman Show. Great ceremony and while I may be biased, I think that it was one of the best I've been to, and definitely the best keynote speaker.

This is what I called "Graduating Coach Class". Very hard to fit in the row.

3 of the 5 of us who did our Master's essentially together.

You can just barely see Jack with a Cheetah up on the stage at commencement.

Speaking of Jack Hanna, and the Columbus Zoo, we went to the zoo twice the past weekend to see the lights. It's a great Christmas tradition here in Columbus, and the zoo was packed both nights, although we timed out the trips so we were either a bit earlier than most or later than most people there. Baby tigers and Hank the largest elephant in North America were the 2 big highlights for me. Hank is huge, no debate about it. Big elephant. But the baby tigers take the cake for me. Babies in general are just so exciting - not sure what it is, but I cannot wait until we have one of our own to care for and raise. I will be so proud.

Santa Claus diving and feeding the fish at the zoo!

Dug one thing from the annals of history on Youtube for your final entertainment today. I thought it was hilarious acting by some highschoolers I know.

Week 16 - Hydrogen

Wow, I can really see the priorities of my readers if I look back on the page views. Whiskey came in a quick first, finally beating out a Halloween cross-dressing post. Yikes! But thankfully, the drinkers came through. I thought about continuing the trend by naming this week's post "gas", since that is pretty much all I've worked with this past week, but I thought I'd just be a little more specific about what is rapidly absorbing my life like a sponge.

Over the past week, I have continued to strive with our fermenters in hopes of getting a better gas seal. This struggle has made me increasingly aware of what a big feat it will be when we can finally get this measurement up and running accurately. I joked with my advisor about the Nobel prize, entirely implausible, telling him that by the time we got it for saving the world from Methane I would instead need to accept it posthumously on his behalf. Of course, by then we will have gone through another half-dozen threats to our survival, too, so no big deal. But I do seriously feel as if my PhD work will take that long sometimes.

After the fun outside, Betsy paid the price with a bath. So pitiful.

Meanwhile, I've been working on better relaxing at home on the weekends. I am now what I would consider a full-fledged member of the Arbor Day Foundation, having received my membership trees and either planted them or given them away to other good homes. Funny scam, that foundation is, and ironic that I joined it since I used to be a heavy trash burner, but we will probably not be joining again because they continue to sell my name and address out, as well as try to squeeze me for money. Dogwoods and Redbuds got placed around the house (at a safe distance) to provide some new color. Our pasture was short on shade, so I put a few fast growers and one big tree out there to hopefully add some comfort to the sheep (which we loaded out over the weekend - traumatic process). They will return again in the Spring once I've had time to put dirt floor into the barn with windows for ventilation and once all the downed trees are finally burned or cut up.

Speaking of cutting, I've been getting pretty good at splitting wood. My accuracy struggled at first, but no harm was done. It's not something that I grew up doing, nor would anyone attest to my being a high grade in the hand-eye coordination spectrum, but I am quickly improving. Betsy, on the other hand, seems to have a deathwish and jumps around the wood when I am cutting. We're still working on her. However, she has finally learned to go out in the dark and come back without needing to be on a leash, so that is good. Perhaps the cooler nights is leading to enforcing this behavior as well.

Unfortunately, this wasn't where I wanted to plant a tree.

The cool weather has brought on fires in our fireplace, one of the perks to this house when we were shopping. The heat doesn't project as well as I'd imagined, but the wood is still green and often wet in this damp weather, so it will be some time before we have roaring fires on the hearth. I am hurrying to finish up the mantelpiece before Christmas so that we have something to hang the stockings on - I know how much that means to my wife. She and I have such different takes on firebuilding. Me, I like the painful struggle of the flame as it works its way through the first few pieces. I like to use 1 match, no paper and the shred off the starters. I've also been known to use gasoline and set things off in a hurry (the best never get caught on video), but not indoors or for civilized fires. However, methodical as she might be, my wife is all hell in a handbasket about fires inside. Sure, she'll tell you all about how she has it down to a science, but the truth of the matter is that she likes to hit it hard with paper and set the damn thing to roaring. Hopefully that catches the wood, and hopefully she doesn't find this blog post. ;)

Not much of a reader, but she likes to sit and help.

With fires comes reading, and I've settled down to a new Shaara book. Not his newest, but it's new to me - based in the Pacific war after Pearl Harbor. It seems appropriate, since it was just this past week that we observed our 71st Pearl Harbor Day. It's insane to think about how long ago that was. This year it was a rainy Friday as I walked to class, and I couldn't believe they left the flags out in that mess. I know that they wanted to honor the fallen, but one would think that respect to THE FLAG would also dictate to keep it out of the rain. Just a pet peeve of mine.

Finally, as Obama's 1st term starts to wrap up, there is one member of his cabinet that I will hopefully not have to say goodbye to: Vilsack. Secretary Vilsack has been a great leader and an outspoken, yet reasonable, ambassador for agriculture. We should be proud of the service he has given, and grateful. On a few occasions, I have had the opportunity to see him in person, and watch his interactions with highschool youth in the 4-H program. He is not only respectful, but takes the rhetoric of our "future leaders" off the table. Rather than patronize kids, he takes their voices one-on-one and debates with them about their opinions on issues, while educating them in the gaps of knowledge. He treats them like leaders rather than talks of them as leaders. I only wish we had more politicians like him.

Week 15 - Whiskey

My past week has been primarily absorbed with research, so this post will likely be brief (even though I have no idea at the current moment - nothing like booze-posting to highlight poor preparation). Despite my recent embrace of the Apple products and a new iPhone, I have actually spent less time this past week on the internet and utilizing technology than previously. However, I do have to say that the iPhone is quickly growing on me and you can expect an upcoming post geared to those of you who are still holding out against the evil. Nevertheless, I have not really gotten a break to focus on the blogging, so it's good to be back and I suppose there will probably be a few of these in short time.

While my main focus of this post is to rave about a great new whiskey I've had over the weekend, I first must tell you about my research. We used a dual-flow continuous culture system with gas measurement equipment attached. However, as one can imagine from 50+ years of data struggles with this set-up and its archaic predecessors, the gas measurement can be pretty difficult. My main function has been to monitor the fermenters for gas leakage and to solve these leakage problems as soon as possible during preliminary tests on the fermenter system. However, these leaks just can't be allowed to occur during true experimental testing and I am back to the drawing board as to methods to prevent leakage. The search continues...

About a year ago, my wife and in-laws purchased a whiskey crafting working with a local distillery: OYO. Apparently, their name is derived from the native American name for the Ohio River, but I think this is more marketing ploy than anything else. However, their whiskey is no ploy. After mixing up mash and talking through the distillery process, it was time to start tasting whiskeys. I learned more about whiskey flavors and their influencing factors in an hour than I have learned through years of heavy usage. Before I knew what I liked and didn't like, but after last Saturday, I learned what I taste in these favorite whiskeys, or what I don't taste. As it turns out, the water holds a large portion of the original flavor in whiskey and Irish whiskeys are distilled to high proof and leave a smoother taste while bourbons in the US are distilled to lower proof and have some of the stronger flavors which are intensified by absorption and escape of the liquor into and out of the brand new bourbon barrels. Fascinating stuff, and as I sat there listening to the guy talk, I realized over and over again how I knew this information already. What was different was that before, I had never realized how all of the pieces an parts of my knowledge fit together to make a whiskey product. This one workshop put all the puzzle pieces together and I realized that I would love to make whiskey and beer, while running a side-show bar, for the rest of my life. And for what it's worth - OYO makes some of the best whiskey I've ever tasted in my life, and I've had the gamut.

It's all about fermentation in the end, right? Some fermentation is just more toxic than others.