Foundstone TV

Finally, the Foundstone videos from BlackHat are going online. Check out Foundstone TV with Chris Wysopal and Dinis Cruz.

Don't forget to digg it.

(Yeah, lame post. Sue me.)

Bark in the Park

Turner FieldToday was the first, and hopefully not last(!), Bark in the Park at Turner Field. Wag-A-Lot — Why wag a little, when you can Wag-A-Lot?! — was the sponsor. We take the "kids" there for doggie day-care and for boarding when we're on vacation. So when we received the invite a few weeks back, we figured it would be fun to have a day at Turner Field, watch the Braves and play with all the dogs.

We took the dogs for a long walk this morning on the new Whetstone Creek Trail, a part of the PATH Northwest Atlanta Trail system, which runs very close to our house. They were tired when we got home, so the plan was working. Wear them out before the game, otherwise, they'll wear us out at the game.


Braves FansThe game was at 1:05 P.M., so we headed down to the stadium around noon. They had a special check-in for all Bark in the Park people and pets to receive our tickets. After entering the stadium we walked up the stairs to the Coke Pavillion nosebleed seats which were blocked off for our convenience. On the pavillion they had hoses lined up to hose down the dogs and keep them cool, a vet station, "ice-cream" treats for the dogs and many kiddie pools filled with ice water for cooling baths. There were dogs EVERYWHERE! Java and Lucy made quite a number of new canine friends as we sat in the stands and watched the Braves beat up on the Nationals. They also got to sniff all kinds of nasty stuff left behind in the bleachers from previous games. Ewwww.


Atlanta Skyline Everyone had a good time with a lot of very well behaved animals. The only part of the day that sucked was the limited access to vendors to buy food and beer. I know I'm a beer snob — no, really, its true! — but the lack of anything other than American piss-water beers in the vicinity of our seats was a real bummer.

Speaking of beer... I bottled the dry Irish stout last night. Of course I had to do a taste test and it was GOOD! Nice roasted malt nose, rounded body with a lot of roasted malt flavor. It could be a little drier and its a bit on the thin side for a stout, but it will be very drinkable. Now I just have to wait a few weeks for it to carbonate.

Icewater Bath I also picked up a lot of malts yesterday to make two beers next weekend, a dunkelweizen and an Imperial porter. I'm going to use my 4 day weekend fully and enjoy myself greatly while I begin to make some heavier beers in anticipation of cooler weather in the fall.

Travel & The World Is Flat

I'm currently at 36000' flying up the west coast. I have had a hellish travel schedule for the past few weeks. Plus I've been double booked trying to manage a number of projects and complete my own projects. I'm ready for some down time!

Starting a few weeks ago...

Fly Atlanta to Las Vegas round trip.
As soon as I landed in ATL, I drove home, met Steph and drove 3 hours to Hendersonville, NC for the weekend.
Drive home and work from home for a week.
Fly Atlanta to Miami round trip.
Home for two days.
Fly Atlanta to San Diego for two days.
Now I'm on my way to Seattle for the remainder of the week. I should get to my hotel by midnight. Thank you, Mr. Client, for pushing back tomorrow's meeting until 10 A.M.

I fly home on Friday and remain in Atlanta for a few weeks. That is assuming I don't have to drive to Augusta, GA next week to meet a new client. Argh!

All the miles are paying off. Steph and I are taking a 6 night vacation to Los Cabos in November, paid for entirely with frequent flier miles and hotel points.

Enough bitching. I still love the travel, even when I have a crappy schedule.

The reason I'm writing is because I just finished Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat. When I sat down to write I had some poignant thoughts. The Alaskan Summer Ale seems to have wiped them from my brain. Damn.

Great book.

Read it.

You won't think the same way about outsourcing and globalization again. The author's insights on the driving force behind global terrorism is quite interesting.

I'll actually write a real review of the book when I get my head together again.

P.S. Delta could learn a thing or two from Alaska Airlines. Serve beer that is representative of where you come from or is locally brewed near your headquarters. Alaska serves beer brewed in Juneau by Alaskan Brewing Company. Delta is based in Atlanta, the home of Sweetwater, Terrapin (well, close enough), Atlanta Brewing Co. and Zuma. Perhaps their beers should be offered on your flights? While I love a glass of Woodford Reserve bourbon on Delta, a decent beer would be really nice too! Now if only Alaska has the Alaskan Smoked Porter.... yum.

P.P.S. Rudy's flight was late. Baggage claim was backed up. Budget had a line to rent cars. We didn't even get to the hotel until 1 A.M. Blah!

Brewing, Not Running (and other random stuff)

So much for running. A week into running I strained a muscle in the outside of my right calf. I'm still unable to run, even a day of walking around causes me pain in the late afternoon and evening. This is why I have always said, "I only run when chased."

I've brewed two all grain batches so far. An American pale ale was the first beer I brewed on my birthday weekend. Unfortunately, it was infected in the primary fermentation and had to be thrown out. Bummer! The second brew session was last Saturday. This time around I did a dry Irish stout (think Guinness) which is currently in its primary fermentation. When I get home this weekend I'll transfer it to secondary where it will sit for a week before being bottled.

Let's hope this time my sanitation routine improved this time around...

I'm in Miami this week with a few other consultants. This is an odd town, I've never been in another city where people speak Spanish to you before they speak English. Well, except for in Latin America, but that's to be expected! Its gettA few more days here, working my ass off before I get to head home for a short weekend. And then off to the west coast for a week.

This whole TSA ban on liquids is irritating the hell out of me! I can't bring back any west coast beers from my trip! I refuse put any beers I pick up in my travels in checked baggage due to the liklihood of them being broken in transit. I sure as hell hope that the TSA relaxes their rules soon. Not being able to carry on my loggage is an absolute pain in the ass. The terrorists have won. They must be sitting back, laughing their collective asses off while watching the traveling public jump through hoops to travel.

Enough surliness for one night...