Movie Review: "The Meg"

In which Jason Statham gets in a kickboxing match with a giant, prehistoric shark.  The sci-fi premise isn't too stupid, there's a fair amount of suspense, the comic relief is funny if a bit too stereotypical.  The noble asshole dies nobly.  MANY "Jaws" references.  There's definitely room for a sequel. 

Automatic one-star deduction under the Joe-Bob rule.  Three stars, Ted sez check it out.

Mission: Impossible IV movie review (***SPOILERS***)

I saw the new Mission: Impossible movie a little while ago (with Yankee John and Sir Marc).  It was much better than I expected it to be.  I've never been a big M:I fan and I haven't liked most of Tom Cruise's later work, but this was a damn good actioner.  The fight scenes were really well done, and there were some cool plot twists (which one should expect from an M:I movie).  There's a lot of backstory that you really need to have seen the previous films for, but you don't _need_ it to enjoy this movie, particularly if you're just there for the explosions.  The car chases really stand out, and Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames do a great job in the supporting roles.  It has all the 'fu, lots of kaboom, no nudity whatsoever, and the writing is surprisingly good.

Three stars (after an automatic one-star deduction under the Joe Bob Rule).  Ted sez check it out.

It's alive. IT'S ALIVE!

I've been really exhausted lately.  Last night I slept 9 hours and only woke up because someone hit the doorbell.  The day before I slept 10 hours in addition to a 2-hour nap.  The last couple of weeks at work were pretty intense, but I don't think they were THIS bad. 

Maybe I have mono.

Dry Irish Stout

 This is a dry stout that is meant to be popular with people who like Guinness.

GRAIN	GRUIT
7# Maris Otter	1 oz Target
2# Flaked Barley
1.25# Roasted Barley	YEAST
	Wyeast 1084

PROCESS:

1. CLEAN AND STERILIZE EVERYTHING.
2. Heat 15 quarts water to 165 F and add to grain in mash tun (goal temp 150-152 F)
3. Mash for 60 minutes.
4. Sparge with 170 F water while draining wort into kettle.
5. Boil wort.  WATCH FOR HOT BREAK.
6. Set countdown timer for 60 minutes.  Add Target.
7. At 10 minutes add Whirlfloc.
8. At 0 minutes turn off heat and cool to 65 F.
9. Check starting gravity.
10. Add yeast.  Place in primary fermentor and apply airlock.
11. Ferment at ~69 F for 2+ weeks.
12. Keg and pressurize to 10 PSI.
13. Share and Enjoy!

I made a huge mistake with this beer.  I heated the grain in the water, instead of adding hot water to the grain.  This left me with something that was closer to pudding than beer.  Mouth feel was awful, taste was off, and I have no idea how alcoholic it was because the hydrometer just sat on top of the mess.  I tried fixing it by running it through a secondary, but it didn't really help.

Lesson learned: add hot water to grain.  Do not add heat to cold water & grain mixture*.

*Which raises the question: would cold water + grain = mash?  Or does mash have to include hot water?