We saw the promotional video for Flying Dog's Wildeman last month. This weekend I got to satisfy my curiosity and actually drink this new beer from the Frederick, MD brewery.

Blue Mountain Brewery was featured in the "Live Where You Love: Nelson County, Virginia" promotion from Nest Reality.

I came across this tongue-in-cheek (or not?) article that lists the beers you should give up after college. The writer opines:

You had your fun in college. Now it’s time to stop drinking crappy beers. Pour yourself a good micro brew from Vermont or Colorado and take a few lessons here. If you’re 25 or older and drink any of the following beers, you’re simply stuck in the past. You’re one of those hangers-on. All your friends are talking behind your back and speculating about when you’ll get a job and get on with your life. Some are even placing bets. It may also help if you stop crashing on the couch of the fraternity house and get a real apartment, you deadbeat.

Here they are:

• Milwaukee’s Best
• Keystone Light
• Budweiser
• Busch
• Schlitz

Whew, I'm good.

See the article for the not-so-tasty details.

Check out these easy, and very tasty sounding recipes, perfect for Super Bowl feasting. They come courtesy of Mad Fox Brewing Executive Chef Russel Cunningham.

This is a fun and easy way to get the kids involved in cooking. You and your kids will love eating this simple entre' and will have even more fun making it. Just give them some spaghetti and hot dogs and let them thread away! :)


Low-Point Spaghetti-Threaded Hot Dogs
Ingredients:
- 1/2, 13.25 oz. box of whole grain thin spaghetti
- 10 turkey franks (I bought Jennie-O turkey franks)
Cut the ends off the hot dogs and cut them into thirds. Take two to three spaghetti strands and thread through each hot dog. Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil. Place spaghetti-threaded hot dogs into boiling water, along with the rest of the left-over spaghetti. Boil until spaghetti is tender, strain and enjoy! If you'd like a printer-friendly version of this recipe, Click Here.
Total servings - 4
Serving size - 1
Points per serving - 8
(9 points with 1/2 cup Classico Traditions Tomato/Basil pasta sauce) or any pasta sauce that has 50 calories, 1 fat gram, and 1 gram fiber for 1/2 cup.

I had a few days of "use or lose" leave time built up, so I took a couple days off mid-week. Fortunately, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were unseasonably warm, and dry. Just perfect for a trip to the range on Tuesday. A friend was visiting for the day who is also a shooting enthusiast. He had just purchased one of these spinner targets so we were looking forward to trying it out as well. We loaded up the care with target stands, shooting gear, and lots of ammo and headed out mid-day.

I've lamented previously that the range where we shoot is getting crowded and the ranges are more and more frequently in use. When we arrived this day, I noticed a backhoe working on one bay and the other bay was already in use. We stopped at the bay being worked on and were told they'd be done in about 15 minutes. That was great timing.

So we were the first people to shoot at the newly re-built bay. While the bay floor was still loose dirt, the berm was now higher and wider. I was told reseeding will happen this week. It was great to see the work being done as the berms were getting a bit worn. I also learned that the club is reviewing the possibility of adding a third pistol bay.

We set up our three target stands with paper USPSA targets and the new spinners. As always we took a few minutes "just shooting" before moving onto the new spinner target. Wow. The circles on the three hanging spinners are just 3 inches across. Slow down, work on a good trigger press, and watch it spin.

We got out the shot timer for some friendly competition. Buzz! Two shots on the right USPSA paper, moving left two more on the next, then slow down and one shot at each spinner, and finish with two on the last paper. We casually checked time, but the main point of the "competition" was whether or not your three shots at the tiny steel were all good. We did another game were we just timed hitting all three spinners once. Good natured ribbing and laughs were the order of the day.

Sufficiently warmed up, we decided to mix in some short bursts of running. Start at 15 yards, at the buzzer sprint to the 7 yard line and then put take the predetermined shots — 2 center mass, or 2 head shots, or 2 body, 1 head, etc. It was a great drill to work on getting the gun on target quickly at the same time as stopping your forward motion.

Shooting on the move is something we are fortunately allowed to do here as well. We spent time shooting both while and advancing and retreating, with both slow and fast movement.

I am sure we threw other fun activities in there too but I wasn't taking notes. At the end of our range visits, we typically expend a few magazines shooting at will, when each person just does whatever they feel like doing. For me, that meant tacking a paper plate to the well-shot target and simply working on a smooth draw from the holster followed by two hits on the plate.

I ended up putting about 250 rounds down range. (We're going to need more ammo.) With the running and moving I really felt like I had shot a match that afternoon, but it was a good sort of tired.?

A beautiful afternoon spent shooting with my lovely wife and a good friend. It was a wonderful way to spend the day, and it only got better as we headed off to the local pub for good beer and food.

New York Archbishop Anthony Dolan is visiting the Holy Land prior to going to Rome where he will be elevated to Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. As we did when we visited Israel, the Bishop is testing out the local fare, including the beer.

His visit is a spiritual pilgrimage, with 50 priests in tow, but he said he hopes to return to Israel again to “get more into the social, demographic issues and politics.” 

The leader of New York’s Catholics is making time to socialize, though, and he raves about the local beer. 

“I am drinking Maccabi; you have to try it. It even has a biblical name!” he said.

"Maccabi" is a commonly seen spelling of Maccebee from Isreal's Tempo Beverages. By our standards it may be considered a fairly bland lager. But, I can attest it can be quite refreshing in the desert heat.

See "Archbishop Dolan’s Holy Land tour stops at crucifixion site."

That reminds me,
Q: What beers are named in the bible"
A: He-brew and Israel-ite.
Badum-CHING!!!