Hixter

Good beer doesn't come in clear bottles.

Oxygen is the enemy of beer. Beer that's exposed to it will go stale (typically a wet cardboard taste) after about 24 hours. A properly filled growler is good for a few days, but once it's opened you should drink it as soon as possible.

 

Ratio is a cool place. The owner is a friend of a friend.

How could anyone get excited about a Cruz win?

I'd certainly rather see Cruz elected than Trump.

Trump's call for Rubio to step down is a poorly concealed plea for him to remain in the race. Hopefully Rubio will step aside and give Cruz a chance against Trump.

I only heard bits of it, but Romney's speech sounded good --- tonight's debate should be a good one (and a mess).

The full transcript of Romney's speech.

 

are you suggesting that Cruz and/or Rubio would come out at the top of the wisdom charts among that group?

As far as raw intelligence goes, I suspect that Cruz would come out on top.

age before wisdom?

What was the rally like?

 

Would be really surprised if did not win on his home turf.

It's still going on. Rick Perry just finished speaking and now Governor Abbott is on stage. Cruz will be next.

Just arrived at the Ted Cruz rally. The place is packed and they're going to have to turn people away.

 

I'm wearing a Wilco shirt and I'm almost tempted to cause a commotion to get on TV and make Jeff Tweedy's head explode.

I drove by the Fort Worth Convention Center this morning and the line for the Trump rally was already really long.

He hasn't graced us with his presence. Hillary was here a few months ago, but the rest seem to stick with Dallas and Houston.

I just read that Ted Cruz, Governor Abbott and Rick Perry are having a rally Monday. It's only a couple of miles from my house, so I think I might check it out.

Do they put a tax on it or is it because it's a liquid in a glass, so the charge more. I never dealt with shipping beer before.

Shipping beer and wine via UPS and Fedex is a weird thing. While not illegal, their rules actually forbid consumer-to-consumer shipments of alcoholic beverages. You're supposed to be a registered merchant, blahblahblah, but in reality it's more of a "don't ask, don't tell" situation. They seldom ask about the contents, but if they do it's best to just say that it's full of car parts or homemade jelly. Some people call them "live yeast samples" which isn't really a lie, but it's safe to assume that UPS knows what's actually in the box.

 

There's no special surcharge or tax for sending liquids or alcohol, it's just that it's very expensive to send heavy packages long distances via UPS/Fedex. A 22-ounce bomber weighs about 3 pounds, so 12 of them will add up to about 40 pounds total after packaging materials are considered. I just checked UPS and it looks like it will cost my friends in Boston $63 to ship 12 bottles to Texas.

 

The carriers do some weird math when it comes to calculating shipping charges. I have a nice $18 box with styrofoam inserts that are designed to protect beer/wine bottles, so I figured I'd send it empty to my friends in Boston. It only weighs 3 or 4 pounds, but UPS takes the dimensions into consideration and calculates the billable shipping weight at 26 pounds and would charge me $46 to send it to Boston. I might as well fill it with several bottles of Texas beer while I'm at it.

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention that UPS is still charging a 5% fuel surcharge even though gas prices are near an all-time low. 

mailing a case of Trillium is gonna cost a ton.

 

it cost me about $40 to send two bottles to Wisconsin.

Yeah, I know. It cost my other neighbor $90 to ship 12 bottles of Pliny to my house. My friend's wife is willing to cover the cost.

 

I read that the USPS is considering allowing beer shipments in order to raise much-needed money. It would be nice if they could get the price down, because right now it's almost as cheap to fly Southwest and cart back two suitcases full of beer than it is to ship a few bottles via UPS.

My neighbor will be returning from his second deployment to Afghanistan in April and his wife is planning a big party with a limo, steaks and his favorite beers and I've been saving the rare/unusual beers that I've come across over the last few months. Last week his wife asked if I'd fly to Vermont to pick up a case or two of Heady Topper and the other "big" Vermont beers. She's picking up the tab, so why not?

 

I'm anxious to try Trillium's beers, so I'm going to ask my friends in Brookline if they can mail a dozen bottles. 

 

I'd been saving some bottles of Pliny that a friend brought back from California, but now that there are plans to have a case shipped here for the party I guess I'll just drink them.

 

One of my favorite styles of beer is a good ESB and I've been drinking a lot of this local version lately. It used to be Alamo Drafthouse's house beer, but it hasn't been brewed for several years. I wish Real Ale would add it to their year-round lineup.

 

https://realalebrewing.com/beers/esb-2/?age-verified=c23c094258

The SiriusXM audio fidelity is so poor that I just can't listen to it.

Thanks for the razor sharp riposte and refutation of the arguments laid out above.

It's true and it's my standard retort whenever people use that line. 

like an asshole everyone has one. 

My brother's boyfriend doesn't.

just because he died doesn't mean we have to make him a saint.

There's quite a difference between beatifying someone and exhibiting a little common decency toward a dead person.

 

Hixter, who's on your short list?

Of politicians whose deaths I would celebrate because they sit on the other side of the aisle from me? Nobody. Not a one. I can't see it ever happening.

 

Barack Obama has ordered airstrikes which have killed thousands of men, women, and children. Hillary Clinton has also had a hand in it and both are on record as having been opposed to same-sex marriage. Would cheering their deaths be acceptable? I consider their performance in office to be quite poor, but I won't dance on their graves when they pass.

Before we totally move on from Scalia:

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/19/in_defense_of_grave_dancing_its_true_that_scalia_was_a_human_being_but_i_still_refuse_to_mourn_a_holes_like_him_politely

Decency aside, fair enough, although I hope the author won't be upset if dies and people on the right celebrate. Myself, I find it petty and unbecoming.

Along similar lines, one could forgive Nels if his mind was looking ahead to his imminent European tour with Julian Lage — in 72 hours from tonight's show, the pair will be performing in (oh, you know) Ljubljana, Slovenia 

Looks like Julian couldn't make it to the gig:

 

It is with regret that Julian Lage cannot perform with Nels Cline at tonight's show in Ljubljana, SI at Cankar Hall after a winter storm flight cancellation. Nels will now perform solo. Show starts at 9p. - Nels Cline HQ

I'd expect them to play the entire album in markets where they haven't already done so.

BTW Obama was not president when Alito was nominated. 

I know that. He was a senator who voted to filibuster a Republican president's late-term nomination to the court. It doesn't take a genius to imagine his stance if Republicans try to filibuster his nominee.

17 times a Supreme Court justice was confirmed during a presidents final year. 

And in all but one case it was because they controlled the senate and therefore confirmation process. If a Republican lame duck president were in office right now and the Democrats controlled the senate they would block any confirmation of the Republican nominee. That's how politics works.

 

President Obama has the distinction of being the only president to ever vote to filibuster a Supreme Court nominee (Alito, I think?) and Senator Schumer, who has been vocal about the need for President Obama to choose the next justice said this near the end of George W. Bush's presidency:

 

Given the track record of this president and the experience of obfuscation at the hearings—with respect to the Supreme Court, at least—I will recommend to my colleagues that we should not confirm a Supreme Court nominee except in extraordinary circumstances.