Hey all. Long time no talk. I dropped in with bad news a few weeks ago. The good news is that my mom is doing/feeling much better after getting over her first round of chemo. They are doing a PET scan today to try and get a more definitive answer of what they are dealing with. It's been almost a month already and we still don't have any solid answers.

But on the internet front: I'm learning once again how similar all forums are to each other. As I mentioned, I recently picked up the guitar again and have been really enjoying it. I joined an acoustic guitar forum and the results have been as expected. People type more than they play. People are really big fans of 1 or 2 brands and basically look down on everything else, ESPECIALLY import models made at extremely low prices. There is one import brand that gets a lot of love, but is not exactly shy about what company they emulate. Lots of people are worried about how much their guitars cost, from the "I paid this much and it's this much better" to the "best bang for the buck" crowd.

I mean seriously, people just don't change. :lol:

On the cycling front, I'm not getting any freaking riding in. Guitar has stepped in for my mental release during the busy season of life right now. I can play for 10-15 minutes at a time without having to wear special clothes and leave the house. The wife is finishing her first successful year at the new school this week and things will soon be more relaxed. I am looking forward to getting on a bike again for both mental release and exercise, but Texas summer already sucks. Looks like some night rides are in my future.

Going in later today to discuss a job offer.

Yeah, but let's hope that it didn't come straight outta the guads.

Oh, was that a beer reference? It's not like I'm hurting for good beer to drink over here, so no worries.

Yeah the wisconsinites are obsessed with the spotted cow.

Fingers crossed for good news on mom and say 'hai' to pcad for us over at GF.net

:bday:

I know that I've heard of some beer so fantastical that they they take pride in not exporting it to other states - is this the one? Sounds like good marketing, nothing more, nothing less. Do Wisconsinites not know that there are now more good breweries than you can shake a stick at?

Yes, spotted cow is one of the unexported magic beers. It's nothing special though.

Ugh, I was in the bathroom and decided to brush my teeth, but I still have coffee to drink.

On the subject of ubiquity of good beer, I need to check out the Edina liquor special of the month now that it's June. I always pick up whatever the special is and it's always pretty damn good.

My beer consumption is way down since becoming unemployed. Most of my beer drinking is when I'm dining out since tap beer is so much better than bottled.

Ha - this reminded me of something the boy a couple days ago. He got home from school and asked for some yogurt, something that he has every morning. As he was eating it, he stopped and asked if it was the same stuff as usual; I told him that it was. "Well, it tastes a little different... are you sure?" It was then that I realized that the only time that he typically eats yogurt is immediately after brushing his teeth in the morning. I had to explain to him that what he was currently experiencing was what the yogurt really tastes like.

B- b- b- but the cost of 1.5 tap beers = the cost of a 6-pack!

Beer poured from the bottle/can in to a glass is dandy. There's a chance that the same beer on tap might be better (could be fresher and I'm a fan of nitro), but there's also the chance that the bar doesn't clean their lines as often as they should.

IOW, I don't discriminate and drink where and when I can. ;)

Post ride free beer is best.

I need to see if I can find cheep micro brew in PHX. I had a $2 pint micro Tuesdays joint in North Portland and a $2 micro everyday tavern in Northeast.

There was hardly any micro in Rock Springs so it was always $5

You go right ahead and correct my spelling any time you want to, penman. Whatever makes an old putz's day :lol:.

In my original post, I should have stated, "much safer" not "much better."

Hope it goes well!

How long do you plan to stay in PHX?

Just mention cheese curds. That seems to distract them for awhile.

Went to culvers yesterday and they gave me fries instead of the curds I asked for. They only charged for the fries so I didn't bother driving back to complain, but I was looking forward to those curds damnit.

Couple or three years, if we can stand it for that long

Oh, I didn't realize that you were planning on being there that long.

My back was too messed up to ride last night. Maybe tonight, if rain holds off.

Anyone know of any side effects of riding while on muscle relaxers? Falling asleep at the wheel?

I hope mom does ok.

So I have a gee-tar question. What do you think about guitarsdirect.com, which model is bulletproof and gives me the best bang for the buck?? Do I need a carbon fiber neck???