Author: Steve Block
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Going Loud
I got a new keyboard. It’s one of those fancy Das Keyboards that all the kids are talking about these days. To be more specific, it’s the recently released Mac version which has the keys labeled correctly. Instead of getting a new keyboard I had given serious thought to finding a high quality PS/2 to…
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Drinking my first all-grain batch, and preparing for the next
My pale ale turned out pretty good. I wish it was slightly hoppier and I think the ESB was better (seriously I love how that one turned out, awesome beer) but it tastes good and is nice and pale and clear. I’d call it a pretty solid success, especially for my first all-grain batch in…
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Minneapolis Spring 2012
Despite the big travel shuffle that ended with me changing my plans and attending my brother’s small wedding, I did make it out to Minneapolis. Only one week later than planned, too! I really like this town. I like that it is covered in trees. I like that the streets make no sense. I like…
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Jeff and Diana’s Wedding
My brother got married last weekend. It was a small, informal family wedding, and everyone on both sides made it. Even me. I wasn’t going to go at first. We only had a few weeks notice of the date, and it was on the weekend I had bought plane tickets to visit Ben in Minneapolis.…
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Gravity Checks
No, there’s nothing wrong with the Earth’s gravity, I’m only referring to Specific Gravity, the ratio of the density of a liquid to the density of water. In this case, the specific gravity I’m concerned with is the specific gravity of my two fermenting batches of beer. The alcohol content of beer can be calculated…
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I Finally Got My Bike Put Back Together
Way back in January I wrote about getting my road bike tuned up for the season. Shortly after that we got a huge snowstorm that delayed my plans, and then I started riding my fixed gear bike instead. As a result my good geared road bike sat about halfway put together for almost 2 months.…
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I’m Clearing Out Some Old Files
It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m in the office. That’s very unusual, despite what you may have been told. My group moved last week from a space on the west side of the building to a space on the east side. It’s your standard cubicle space, with one major exception: the cubes are right up against…
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Building a Mash Tun From a Coleman Cooler
Overview The other day I pulled out my old Coleman cooler, which hasn’t been used since I went to Burning Man in 2006. After talking with some brewing friends I decided to use it as a mash tun. Coolers, both round and rectangular, are popular for mash tuns because they are inexpensive, easy to build,…
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Feels Like Spring
We’re a few days into spring now, and it really and truly feels like spring already. It seems like we went from almost winter to full on warm weather in only a week. I’m certainly not complaining though. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this weather. It almost feels like coming out of hibernation. I went out…
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I’m Not a Thief
But I feel like one. I stopped by the Apple Store this afternoon because I had decided to buy a smart cover for my new iPad. I looked around and spent a while trying to figure out whether I preferred the leather or the polyurethane cover, and eventually settled on the leather cover in navy…
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