Water Water Water Everywhere & A Trailer Strategy

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I've been obsessing over the Columbus water lately and I'll get into that a little later AND I'm thinking, FIELD TRIP!, but first I have to talk about Public Enemies (since this IS a Public Enemies blog).

I've was thinking about the upcoming trailer which MIGHT be happening in a few weeks. Things are starting to ramp up a little as Universal Studios has been working on their Public Enemies site, MTV had a little writeup (although I presume with the wrong premiere date) and there was a pre screening review. IT'S GETTING EXCITING!!

So I'm driving home and I have to think that 99.8% of the population does no even know there is a Public Enemies movie in the works. Once it comes out there is going to be all sorts of movie fans (not PE fanatics like us) going gaa gaa. hmmmmmm what can I do, what can I do.

I GOT IT!!

I've been asked to do this a few times already and it seemed like a LOT of work and I'm not a workoholic, so I had to come up with an alternate easier way.

NEW BLOG!!!!! This is a Public Enemies Photo blog. It will contain as many of the hundreds of photos that have been sent to me as I can before I burn out. Many shots you have seen and many you have not. Check it out as I will be updating as we go.

And speaking of photos

ARE YOU LISTENING UNIVERSAL??? I know you were keeping tabs on me at one time.

It seems that a local photo dude, John Walcott, was contacted by Universal and was told "You ain't putting THAT photo in your calendar". Well - I certainly have not tried to be under the radar and I've TRIED to contact them 3 times but get nothing in return. So - as far as I know the postcards are OK. No model release needed on those. IF there is a problem, you certainly know how to get a hold of me.

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Football - there had never ever been a game in the NFL that ended with a score of 11-10. AND - last nights game ONLY ended with that score because of . . . disinterest. If any of you watched the game you know as well as anybody that there was no forward pass nullifying the touchdown to end the game. It was just that since the teams could not get back on the field to kick the extra point and FINISH the play. They said f*ck it. Play never happened and no one cares we will call a penalty. It's the easy thing to do.

EXCEPT for the people betting on the game it meant a LOT LOL.

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Batman is going to die this month! As the movie The Dark Knight closes in on $1 Billion world-wide gross Batman #681 will end Bruce Waynes life. Writer Grant Morrison finishes off his R.I.P storyline. But who is helping him write this?? None other then superstar Neil Gaiman (remember? he was the guy that brought us that outstanding movie Stardust).

I've read a lot of Gaiman and Morrison is a name from the past as I read all of his Animal Man and Doom Patrol comics along with Vamprellia. Vamp had (and still does have) some odd draw to me that I can not explain to this day. I really liked to story line and writing.


Anyway Batman #681 looks pretty good.

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FIELD TRIP!! I've been obsessing over water because of beer. Since beer is mostly water I thought it was time to look into what was IN the water. Not the bad icky stuff but the minerals and so forth.

The first thing I did was get a PH reading and it was off the scale as far as making good beer. Upon further obsessing I find that dark beer likes high PH . . .but that high? Well, it seems barley changes water so who cares WHAT is in the water out of the tap, it's what happens to the water once it hits the barley.

It seems dark malted barley will lower the pH which in turn will help the chemical conversion of the enzymes into sugar (actually certain enzymes alpha and beta amylase I believe). This means in the simplest explanation that Columbus water is great for making dark beer's - sort of like Dublin and their Guinness. My brew water yesterday started with a PH in the lower7's and once I started mashing the PH lowered to a perfect 5.8.

But - the problem is making lighter beers. I needed to know exactly what the Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity was. This is where I contacted Columbus Water and Light and started to get some answers.

What I found is that Columbus has a calcium content of 11 ppm which is exactly what Pilsen (the home of Pilsener beer) AND Magnesium is 3.4 ppm which AGAIN is exactly what Pilsen. BUT WAIT - what about Alkalinity. This was a hard number to find until I found the DNR website which has ALL the towns in Wisconsin water readings.

Alkalinity was 300 ppm which is 297 more then Pilsen. 300 is more like Burton (home of the IPAs).

So now I can make a nomograph and fix the water for lighter beers like Browns, Ambers, APA's and the IPA I'm making next weekend. (example of a nomo graph - I believe this is L.A.)

BTW - I brewed up a Milk Stout yesterday. Milk because I put 3/4 lb of lactose sugar in the beer. Shakes - I sent an email to you - I have new barley for bread.

BUT - the real story is this.

I love field trips (remember the Sassy Cow Adventure?). We have been invited to tour the super secret Columbus Water Works Plant #2. I hear it is over 30 stories below ground in a nuclear free bunker. Or not, I guess that is what we will have to find out. THE TRUTH!

Anyone besides me interested on a pre-Kurth visit to the water works some night? I have no solid date in mind yet. Any night or Saturdays. We are welcome to have our own private (swimming suits optional) tour.

Let me know and I'll get the ball rolling - don't make me go alone. OH! I WILL AND YOU WILL BE SORRY! If I'm forced to go by myself you will have a whole week of this kind of talk

"The finished water in the distribution system normally ranges between 50-70 mg/l (as CaCO3), with a pH of 7.4-7.5. Our well water is quite "hard" at approximately 275 mg/l (CaCO3)."

And we don't want to go down THAT road!! Although "zeolite softening" sounds rather sexy.
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AND LAST - because this FREAKING song has been in my head all weekend I'm going to make you listen to it. It's by Dido and is really pretty good - however once I listen to it one last time I'm going to play something manly, perhaps some Slipknot or Drowning Pool or Marylin Mansion afterwords!

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