Silver!! because I'm poor and I missed the boat on platinum

A couple months ago I read an article by Robert Kiwosaka (Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame) where he spoke about investing in silver. His reasons were because it is a growing necessity in cell phones, computers, ipods, pdas,and so forth. It is easy to invest because it is so cheap. I bought a 10 oz bar for about $150. which is probably closer to $175. now. I also accumulated three lots of about $200.total worth of coins through ebay. I like to invest in silver this way because some coins have numismatic value as well and they can be fun to go through. Silver is much lower than gold percentage-wise compared to previous years. I have read speculation that it will be close to thirty by the end of the year. Today it is down, almost below $17. I think a good time to buy.

A good website is coinflation.com. Here you can find the melt value of your coins and see which have silver. I go for the quarters lot because they are easiest to keep track of and seem most in my price range. If you do it right, you can get a lot for less than $3.00 a coin. I think the value is close to $3.10. I just missed winning a lot of 100 coins (pre-1965) for $275. (shipping included). As always the more you buy, the cheaper the product seems to get. Except for nickels, 1964 is the cut off date for silver, but don't bother buying rolls at the bank. They have been gone through already.

You can sometimes find coin collections at estate sales or possibly find them at a small town bank, but I think highly unlikely.



www.kitco.com]">

Why the Bengals need Odell Thurman and David Pollack

"David Pollack this morning referred to Feb. 8 as 'D-Day' in terms of his possible return to the NFL as a player.
'I should have all the details that I need to make an informed decision,” said Pollack, who last played football Sept. 17, 2006, for the Bengals against Cleveland.
That afternoon, Pollack suffered a C6 vertebra fracture. He underwent surgery Jan. 3, 2007 to repair the neck fracture.Dr. Anthony Guanciale, director of orthopedic spine surgery at University of Cincinnati Hospital, has treated Pollack from the day of his injury and will meet with him next month.'

"Suspended Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has applied for reinstatement from the NFL and should learn his fate in the second week of February following the Super Bowl.
Safarrah Lawson, one of Thurman's representatives, said Sunday that Thurman is optimistic about his chances and looking forward to playing again.
Thurman was suspended for one year for violating the NFL substance abuse policy. His application for reinstatement in July was denied by the league, and he was told he could re-apply after the 2007 season."


Odell will show that the Bengals are capable of staying out of trouble and putting football first. Pollack will model hard work and dedication can pay off.

Pollack is a inspirational player who puts God first in everything he does. He plays the right way. Currently he is working with potential draftees as a trainer. Odell is a model of what not to do. He is a constant reminder to the young fellas that they can easily throw away this great opportunity they have been given. Just do what Odell, Pacman, and Vick did. These guys will quietly change the dynamic in the locker room.


The defense needs bodies.

Odell will be back in the middle and Pollack will most likely play defensive end. Both positions that Cincinnati will draft for. If these guys play, all the youngsters will have more time to develop.

THEY are the future.

Pollack is 25 and Thurman is 24. These guys are hardly old. They both have five or more of their best years ahead of them.

Numbers don't lie.

In 2005, Thurman led the Bengals in tackles with 98. Pollack had 28 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Bengals led the league in turnover ratio. Defense began to look like the reason the Bengals hired Marivin Lewis. Carson Palmer doesn't go down in that Steelers game and the Bengals have a real shot at a Super Bowl title. (Why Palmer is on the trainer's table at halftime I'll never know?)

Odell should be back. The only reason he wasn't back last year is because of assault charges. He has no new charges against him. I guess he learned to stay home. Pollack should be back, but we will see.

House FOR RENT in Woodstock, GA

Anybody want to rent or buy a nice two story house in Woodstock. It is 4 Bedroom 2.5 bath. Comes with a refrigerator and matching appliances. Practically a brand new home with carpet and wood floors. Sunken tub and a four car garage. Email me for more info/ pictures or leave comments.

Skylark Dwarf and Don Gillogly

I purchased a Don Gillogly Dwarf Avocado Tree about three weeks ago for 49.99 at Roger's Gardens. It has been three weeks and I have yet to find a good place to plant it. I am even thinking about taking it back because several websites said that it is not as good as advertised and the Holiday Avocado is a better dwarf. I think I will see if I can do both. Find the Holiday at Lowe's or something and put them next to each other.
The other plant I purchased was a 99.99 Skylark Dwarf fruitless olive tree. I put it in the front of the house and it is beautiful. I can't wait to see it grow.

Irish Style "Rain or Shine" Stout

This came out with much less body than a Chocolate Stout or Guiness clones that I have done in the past. Very easy to drink with dark chocolate notes. Josh Teague helped brew this batch.

Grain Bill: (16 1/2 lbs.)
12 lbs. American Two Row
1 lb. Black Patent Malt
2 lbs. Crystal 35 Malt
11/2 lbs. Roasted Barley

3:19 PM
4 gallons to start Mash at 135 (water came down to about 130 once I added the grain)
Stir every five minutes
3:50
Poured 3 gal. boiling water to raise temp to 157
4:25
Began sparge with 5 gallons of 172 water, continued with 3 gallons at 175


5:20 PM started 11 gallons of wort
6:00 began boiling

Hopping Schedule
6:00 (beginning of boil) 2oz. Fuggles Leaf hops
6:25 (25 mins.) 2 oz Fuggles and 2 oz. Chinook
6:55 1/2 oz of Magnum

(Ran out of propane at 6:45, I was getting hamburger buns at the store)

I wish I wrote down what yeast I used, but it yielded about 9 gallons and was drank quickly.
If I were to guess, I'd say White Labs California Ale yeast and California V Ale yeast

Overzealous Overhopped Twisted Hat Blonde Ale (Magic Hat #9 clone)

This recipe came out of Clone Beers and is modeled after Magic Hat Brewery's #9 in Burlington, VT (my birthplace). The recipe calls for apricot, but I instead used 4.4 grams of blueberry in one secondary fermenter (my first time using a secondary). I have not been able to taste the blueberry. It also calls for Tettnanger and I used Magnum and Chinook because that is what I had on hand.

Grain Bill:
17. 5 lbs. Pale Malt, English Maris Otter
18 oz Wheat Malt
1/2 lb. Crystal 35, English (Carastan)

The Monster Mash
10:32
4.5 gallons at 130, I added all the grains
10:36 - Temp. is at 122
Stirred every 5 mins.
11:02 added 2.5 gallons at 200
Settled around 152 (Lower temps will yield more alcohol, less body, so no second step.

11:51
Sparge begins: 9 gallons at 168

12:39- Wort is on the burner (11 gallons)
1:22- Wort is boiling
Hop Schedule
1:22 Begin boil with 1.5 oz Magnum, 2 oz Chinook
2:18 Add hops last 15 minutes of boil 2oz Cascade, 2 oz Willamette

2:33 Chill wort

Pitched White Labs German Ale/ Kolsch Yeast (WLP 029)
11/23- Moved to Secondary
O.G. 1.040

Thinkin' on Lincoln Pontification Porter

This is a recipe straight out of Charles Papazian's Book The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It is the Silver Dollar Porter. I just used different hops because I used what I had on hand. After three weeks in the bottle, the Porter has dark to medium body, but definite chocolate in the after-taste (sometimes not hitting the palet for a few seconds after the beer is swallowed, yum!) I used the Kolsch style yeast from my Blonde Ale and it started fermenting in less than an hour. Stopped fermenting after just a few days.

Silver Dollar Porter (11.23.07)

16 lbs. American 2 Row

2 lbs. Munich Malt

1 lb. Black Patent Malt

1 lb. Chocolate Malt

1 lb. Crystal 150, English

-----------

21 lbs. of Grain

2:04

Began with 5.25 gallons of water @ 130 and added grains

Dropped temp to 124

Stirred every five minutes

2:34

After 30 minutes, I added 2.5 gallons of 200 water

Sparge was 10+ gallons @ 170

5:05- Boil Started

Added 2oz of Willamette (ALL leaf hops)

Added 2oz of Cascade

6:00 added 2 tsp. Irish Moss

6:05 Added 1oz of Cascade

Took 10-15 minutes to put Twisted Hat into a secondary. Next time, I will do both carboys before is even finished. Timing was not exactly right, so beer sat warm for an extra 10-15 minutes.

Started fermenting right away using Twisted Hat's German Ale/ Kolsh Style Yeast. Fermenting in Garage.

O.G. (from bottom of boil with hops in it) 1.042