Hillsdale Brewfest!

I spent 6 hours today at the McMenamins Hillsdale Brewfest, also known at the Battle of the Belt. Every year McMenamins brewers from all over the Kingdom compete against each other for the honor of providing the McMenamins beer for the Oregon Brewers Festival the following summer.

Past winners were:
1995: Old Bushwacker Barley Wine - Bart Hance - Westlinn
1996: Chewbaccan Strout - Mike Hougan - Lighthouse
1997: Brahmamama Pale - Clay P. Riley - LSD
1998: Jabba the Porter - Jon Greene -Hillsdale
1999: Reincarnation Pale - A. Collins & C. Culla - Crystal Brewery
2000: Armadillo IPA - Vince Howell - Highland
2001: Beltfester Lager - B. Hance & A. Gonzalez - CPR Brewery
2002: Stronghold Imperial Stout - Jason McAdam - Hillsdale
2003: Hoot to the head - Organic Oatmeal Stout - Greg Balch - Hillsdale
2004: Big Bully - Organic IPA - Greg Balch - Hillsdale
2005: Royal Oil Oatmeal Stout - Mike White - Fulton
2006: White Lighting Whiskey Stout - T. Proctor & B. Riely - Concordia
2007: No Mas Lento IPA - Chris Haslett - Fulton


There wer 20 different brews, ranging from fantastic, to ones I could barely get down (but hey, beer is beer).

Although I don't really like IPAs I am hoping that an IPA wins theis year. that brew is Rose City 'Til I DiePA, a brewed by a fellow TA.

Some pictures:
First 10 brews:


Sectons 10 brews:


The belts:


Obi also did some live blogging : http://hesaidwhatagain.blogspot.com/2008/02/strange-brew-live.html

Edit:
The Winner will be anounced at 4pm at the Back Stage Bar at the Bagdad Theater and Pub, on Wednesday Feburary 12. I plan to be there and will post the results.

Happy Birthday!

Last Sunday I saw many of my former teachers, and it was quite a walk down memory lane.

My friend Bruce had asked that I help out at his father’s birthday party at Catlin Gabel. I went to Catlin for 13 years, from 1st grade (twice) through senior year. Since Sid taught at Catlin for a number of years, there were a lot of teachers and other people connected to the school there. It was also an excuse to hang out with a few of my fellow TA that were also helping out.

I saw and caught up with:
--Sid (the birthday boy): My 7th grade English teacher, and C&C advisor for Middle School
--George: My 8th grade English teacher, now the councilor for the Upper School
--Patty: 1st grade teacher (the second time). I think she was the one the suggested to my parents that I get checked for Attention Deficit Disorder which helped me throughout school.
--Andrew: who held many different positions in the 13 years I was at Catlin, from soccer coach, to Interim Head of school, to maintenance manager.
--Robert: theater tech teacher for 4 years in high school.
--Shoe: 6th grade teacher
--Dale: Middle school art teacher, and boss one summer.
--Robin: 8th grade Global Studies teacher
--Lowell: Physics teacher senior year, whose passion for the subject was a big part of the reason I majored in Physics in college.

All of these people are fantastic teachers, and were a big part of forming me into the person I am today (for better or worse :) ). So to all of you (and any I may have forgotten), THANK YOU.

Timber Jim

Today Timber Jim announced his retirement as mascot of the Portland Timbers. Jim was more than just a mascot, he was a friend of the club, and it's fans.

This was a day I knew was coming, but I have to admit I still teared up a little bit when I read the news while at work. It's really sad to think that we'll never see this again:


There have been games where Jim wasn't around, like the match against Sunderland, but it will still be very different to be in the park and not hear the roar of Jim's chainsaw.

It's hard for me to really put into words what Jim means to me. Timber Jim has been a constant as long as I have been part of the Timbers Army. I remember the first time I was with the TA outside of PGE Park. There was a Timbers road game on FSC and we met at McFaddens. Jim was there shaking hands and handing out copies of the Timbers magazine.

Since then it has been a pleasure to get to know a wonderful man who loves his family and friends deeply. In 2004 we mourned with Jim the loss of his daughter.
I still get tears in my eyes most of the times that we sing "You are my Sunshine." Jim saw my love for Habitat for Humanity, and has responded by giving his own money, and donating money that we had raised for his granddaughter's trust.

There will be a celebration of Jim's dedication to the PTFC on April 17, at the home opener. Be there.






Also a quick note about the new turf: I swung by the park on Wednesday night and the rolls of new turf were neatly stacked on the south end of the stadium along with several large bags of what I assume was the rubber infill. I'll see if I can stop by in the next few days to get some pictures of the continuing work.

6 years, 60 homes

I've been volunteering with Portland Habitat for Humanity since early January of 2002, since it is now early January; I took a look back at my time with Habitat.

I was curious about the number of homes I had helped build (every time I counted in my head, I got a different number) so I made a google map on the locations in approximately the order they were built. It turns out this past weekend I worked on my 59th and 60th homes (a duplex).

6 years is a long time to be volunteering with one organization, all of the staff that I interact with have not been around the entire time that I have (one did leave and come back).

Some approximate numbers:
--1700 hours
--4500 miles driven
--175-200 children housed
--15,000 nails driven
--100 cuts and scrapes
--1 electrocution
And
--2 trips to the ER (more on that later)

For those of you that don't know, Habitat doesn't give away homes, the families buy the homes. Here is some more information. Also Here.

I didn't start volunteering with Habitat for the best of reasons. In July of 2001 I was at the beach with a friend and we (well I) caused a large beach grass fire. We got arrested.

I hired a lawyer who got me a deal where I paid restitution, and had to do 80 hours of community service. I asked if it would be possible to do the service with Habitat since I didn't really like the idea of raking leaves in the park or the other stuff I would have had to do with the Corrections Department. He said that was fine, if they could verify hours (which they can).

After I had completed the 80 required hours, a letter was sent to my lawyer who passed in on the court, and the charges were dropped. I was having so much fun that I continued to come out every Saturday to work with Habitat. Sure getting up early on my Saturdays’ wasn't that much fun, and working in the rain isn't really that much fun, but it just felt good.

I've had my share, and probably more, of injuries (as I mentioned above), most due to my own clumsiness.

The first and by far most severe was when I slipped and fell off a second floor roof. It was November, so naturally it was raining (it is Portland after all). The framing had been almost completed, the roof had just a few more pieces of sheeting to put on, and then it had to be covered in tar paper so the inside would begin to dry. I climbed right up onto the roof to help with the work. I had to make one cut of a sheet of plywood and to do so squatted down. About half way through the cut I started to slip, the lace of traction from the well worn soled of my boot, the fact that I was squatting so I only had the balls of my feet on the roof, the rain and the pressure I was exerting to cut the wood was just too much, and I slipped. You sometimes hear stores about people who say they fell in slow-motion and they saw it all happen. This wasn't the case with me. I vaguely remember seeing the edge of the roof in front of my face, but other than that from the time I started to slip to when people were holding me down on the ground (as I was trying to move) the only thing I remember thinking was "Oh, shit." The ironic (and funny in hindsight) part was that the other volunteers were in the middle of the safety talk for the day when I went flying by the window. I don't think the people doing the talk thought to say "Please don't do that."

As I lay on the ground waiting for the ambulance to arrive I started trying to figure out where I was hurt. I know enough first said to know what I should have hurt. I started by tapping my finger to my hips, I could feel that so I knew I wasn't paralyzed, then I wiggled my toes, and gently rotated my ankles, and moved my hips a little bit. All this time there was just one place the hurt: my lower back. I was pretty sure I was going to be ok. I was strapped to a backboard and whisked away to the ER. I lifeguarded for 2 summers in high school so I have practiced putting people on a backboard. I was amazed at how much I moved on the backboard, it really doesn't stabilize your spine that much. As they were cutting off all my clothes at the ER (which is a really uncomfortable feeling, by the way) a nurse (or something) leaned over me and said she wanted to introduce me to someone. She introduced the Hospital Chaplain. Yes, the guy that would read you your last rites if you were about to die. I had a few seconds of panic as I'm thinking "Am I that badly hurt?" He just wanted to say "I think Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization, and I'm sorry you got hurt working with them."

My other trip to the ER was far less exciting, but it did result in a fun picture. I got staples in my scalp!

I had taken a week off work to take part in a Blitz build of 4 duplexes, it was about the third day and we had put most of the second floor deck on, and were getting ready to start building walls. I had been on the second floor, so I hadn't bothered to put on a hard hat, but after lunch I was explaining how to go about building the back porch, when I suddenly got dizzy and my neck hurt. I stumbled forward a few steps and then realized my head hurt. I took off the baseball hat I had on and rubbed my head, only to discover I had blood on my hand. Around this time I head the people on the second floor asking if I was ok. A piece of sub floor about 2 feet square had been knocked off and the corner had hit me on the top of the head. My neck hurt from the compressing. I tired for about 30 minutes to get to bleeding to stop, but it wouldn't, so off to the ER.

Since i wasn't dying they sent me to the Urgent Care part where I waited about 30 more minutes. Eventually I went into a room, and they shot up the spot with novacane, and left me along to let it work. After the nurse came back, they started to put the staples in, it feels really weird. Yes, I know, I shouldn’t have been able to feet the staples, but they had left me alone too long, so the novacaine had worn off. I felt the prongs of the staple going through my scalp, and pulling the sides of the cut together. I got back to site about 2pm, put on a hard hat (I may be an idiot, but I'm not dumb), and proceeded to continue working until about 7pm as the sun was setting, I worked the rest of the week, from 7am to 7 pm, and we got 4 large duplex completely framed, and the siding started on several of them.

All in all, working with Habitat for Humanity is an amazing, rewarding experience. I have since organized 4 Timbers Army days working with Habitat for Humanity.

There are several ways that you can make a difference in people's lives through Habitat.
--You can donate cash or stock
--You can work on site
--You can donate to, or work at the Re-Store

January Timbers Army Gathering!

For the past several season the Timbers Army has met once a month (on the first Thursday of the month) to hang out, catch up and have fun. For the past two years we have done the vast majority of these gatherings at the Bullpen Tavern (1730 SW Taylor St) just 1/2 a block from PGE park, home of the Mighty Portland Timbers. These are a casual affair just a bunch of frined getting together to hang out.

These gatherings have become an important part of my life as a Timbers Fan. I see several of my fellow TA during the off season when I go bowling, and play indoor soccer, but there are a number of great people that I almost never see outside of these gatherings, and it is alwasy fun catching up with them.

The TrailBlazer game was also on, and most of the crowd was very into the game, it's really amazing (and hard to put into words) how muc this team has improved in the past 2 years, they have a legit shot at the playoffs, and this without theri number 1 pick in the raft last year, one Greg Oden.

I'll update this post tomorrow with more about the gathering, including links to other people's pictures...

It is called "The Beautiful game"...

but that doesn't really apply to me...

The Timbers Army Indoor Football Club (TAIFC) had a match tonight, at 9:55pm at Indoor Goals (www.indoorgoals.com). We play in the Mens Rec League which is not very competitive. This was the first match of a new season. We lost 6-4.

I was not very happy with my play, however I didn't have any major fuck-ups the lead directly to goals so I've got that going for me, which is nice. I also didn't really get any chance on goal. I've been fighting a cold (with a cough) for a few days so that didn't make playing any easier (plus I'm not in very good shape). The game was closer than the score indicates, it was tied at 4 with about 2 minutes left when they put one in, our keeper car out of the box to try to even it up, got tackled and hurt, but the ref didn't stop play as they normally do when a player is injured, so they put one in on an empty net.

One of the teams that was supposed to play in the game after us didn't show, so I stuck around and played in a much more casual game. The ref sat down because he wasn't being paid (the teams pay the ref in cash). This game was even worse, I had no touch, and was exhausted. I let several players go right past me because I didn't have the strength to run after them. I'm probably going to be sore tomorrow, but it was good to really get the blood flowing.

I really love playing soccer despite not being very good. It keeps me in shape (or from getting into worse shape), and is a great way to keep in touch with my fellow Timbers Army in the off season. It gets tough to play during the Timbers season, however the Timbers almost never play on Wednesdays so if our league stays with Wednesdays we could continue to play.