New shoes

After about 10 years, I finally purchased some new running shoes.  They are Asics GT 2150 in black.  My wife calls them orthopedic shoes because of the extra support that they sport.  I definitely noticed extra arch support that I am not sure that I need.
I went for a run yesterday and while I was trying not to fall over, I thought about some trying to gain weight.  I have never been over 155 pounds.  I am pretty much spot on 150 everytime I get on the scale for the last 10 years.  What if I made it my goal to gain 10 pounds?  Could I even do it?  Obviously, I don't want to just put it all in my stomach.  That would be easy and it would be cheating.  I would probably lose that weight as soon as I stopped overeating. 
I also don't want to use creatin or anything like that mainly because its too expensive.  Also, steroids are out for obvious reasons.  I want to try to eat more often and healthily.  I usually eat a Cliff bar at work everyday. Yesterday I had a PowerBar.  I will probably do some overeating, but try to work it off quickly.
The idea is to gain 10 pounds of muscle mass.  That is a crazy notion when I consider that is over 5% of my weight.  I have toyed with the idea of the "biggest gainer" as a television show.  I also have thought about writing a book about a character that puts himself through scientific experiments.  This seems to be the next step.

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Exploding Russian Imperial Stout

Well, I broke my first carboy last weekend 4/9/10 when I was moving them around in the garage. Barely clinked two of them together and a chunk fell off one of the carboys after it cracked. I was able to find the glass pieces and salvage most of the beer. My dad was there to helped so he poured the beer through some cheese cloth and into a bucket. I put the breather on the bucket and the emergency was averted.
Before this mishap this Russian Imperial Stout has given me problems. At the beginning of the mash, it broke my plastic stirrer. This caused me to have temperature problems. Various other problems occured during the brew including a partial stuck mash and over flowing the mash. My new system still needs fine tuning especially for a 42 lb. grain bill.
That morning, as I was driving to work, I called my wife to warn her to keep an eye on the carboys because I had filled them to much and there was no blow off tube and the RIS is high in fermentable sugars. She said they looked fine. A couple hours later she called back because there was explosion in the closet and a river of beer running out. This Russian Imperial has caused problems, but it will be good. Coming in at 1.082 OG. I will wait to at least three months to drink it.

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Blood Red Beet Beer/ Pinot Brown

I brewed last Sunday, so this Sunday I went to the brew shop to share some Willava IPA with the folks at the shop and to ask about adding beets and wine-soaked oak chips.
I brewed a brown ale, but was aiming for a red. I added too much roasted barley although the recipe called for that amount.
Since I brew 10 gallons at a time, I have two carboys of 5-6 gallons each. When I rack into a secondary, I want to add beet juice to one carboy and add a measured amount of oak chips which I will soak in wine, first I was thinking Chardonnay, but now I think Pinot Noir.
The reason I brewed this beer is so that I could add a Russian Imperial Stout to the English Dry Ale Yeast when I brew next weekend. I read online that it is important to add your RIS to a yeast slurry because there are so many fermentable sugars. The sugars will beat up the yeast too quickly if I add a vial of White Labs.
My IPA was well received at the brew shop and I tried a Tripel and a Smoked Porter that were fantastic. I bought some French Oak Chips that will be soaked in wine for a couple days then go into the secondary along with some of the wine. The beets are a little trickier. Canned beets may be the way to go, but I am not sure how to juice them. I am thinking I will blend them, boil them with some water, strain them, and bring them back to a boil. Let it cool and add to my beer.

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Pete's Woodworking Blog-- Skills to Pay the BIlls (My skills won't pay anyone's bills)

My friend Pete of Pete Records formerly of Sea Monsters formerly of Crankcase and current Math Teacher has a new occupation/ hobby. He does custom furniture in the modern style of West Elm and Room and Board, but he will do whatever you want and he will work with you. Check out his blog: http://furniturebypete.blogspot.com. There are a bunch of pictures and you can see what a craftsmen he is. In honor of Pete the only person who even lays eyes on my blog. Here are pictures of the woodworking I did this weekend. Next project, which will include lumber that has not been left out in the rain for three years or found on a corner, will be to make a beer brewing rack that will support my kettles and the liquid they hold. Keep up the good work Pete. I obviously need to keep trying.