My favorite englishman turned 40. We did a throwback lunch sess with Connie and afterward he and I tailgated with Cheese Shoppe sandwiches. Classy Guy had Perrier, I had Bawls.


Lee and Carly tied the ol' knot. I was nominated to photograph it, and recruited Browe to shoot/assist. It went well, better than the first one but just as exhausting. Had to pull the flash-in-the-rafters trick to eliminate some nasty shadows in the gazebo during the ceremony. Lots of photos to process still.


Having lost a halftime (read: optimistic) wager to one Ryan Leaf Pepin, I named my most (only) recent brew in honor of the San Diego Chargers football organization. Its beginnings were pretty ordinary - a porter kit from Midwest for which I traded Steve all-grain ingredients. At re-rack time, however, I boiled a gallon or two of water with Quaker oats and a small jar of maple syrup (Canadian, in honor of Philip Rivers who is probably a Canuck).

The oatey contribution to the brew aroma was immediate. A week after bottling, however, the beer tasted like an ordinary porter. But after a few weeks of bottle conditioning it has regained the smooth, oatmealy nose and flavor. This one is a sure winner, which is ironic given its name.

On the subject of beer, I dug up the beer list from Sly Fox. Mmm that Siberian Night was sure good. Back here I found Blaecorn Unidragon imperial stout. It was similar to-, pricier than-, and not quite as good as Mission Dark Seas, but worth it for the awesome name/label.


I headed out to DC for some Borderlands, beers, and baby updates. The task list was daunting:

• Torgue's campaign of carnage. Yeah Mr. Torgue is one of the best characters ever. And he invented the lootsplosion and EXPLERIOD.
• Hammerlock's big game hunt. For sure a tough playthrough, thanks to witch doctors that level their compatriots.
• Scarlett and her pirate's booty. Treasure rooms are always welcome, as are HST-inspired characters.
• Ultimate vault hunter mode. Not. Easy.
• Vermiverous. We never did spawn him.
• Other raid bosses. Beat Pyro Pete on TVHM, no luck with the others. UVHM raid bosses are just silly.
• Creature slaughter. Nope.
• The quest for the one ring (Claptrap's -> Eridium blight). Nope.
• Find our first-ever pearlescent. Yes!
• Brew. The Badass IPA of Badassitude. I might not be trying it for a while, though.
• Tasting. Went back to Lost Rhino - it's really blowing up. Also did Vintage 50 - great food, not great beers. Was willing to make the hike out to Flying Dog, but stupid Maryland doesn't let them have a tasting room and tours were booked.
• Some sort of mild-to-serious bodily injury. Sadly, no.

The trip would not have been complete without a pilgrimmage to Potbelly.


My favorite people from The Mission (Missionaries?) came down for some wedding, Tecates, and yard work. I did not drop a large branch on Bobby. We worked on the pool quite a bit and since then I've cleared out most of the east sideyard to make way for landscaping and maybe a hammock.


Went to Kauai for the Pops' 60th. The first trip spoiled me on surfing, since I was so near Kealia. The south side had a small, crumbly, reef break and strong current. But the water was warm so, as they say, Eddie might do it. The north side was breaking pretty nice, but wayyy out there.

Diving was okay. Not quite the vis, depth, or features of Maui, but certainly better than what I have here. The Poipu boat launch (leftmost image below) dive was pretty murky, but there was some reef at a steady 30'. Next, we set out from the coast near Salt Pond in a vain attempt to find the shelf. Got some good entry/exit practice in, though. Our last two dives were at Tunnels (second left image below). Here the vis was much better and there were great, deep reefs. And white tips.



I apologize for the Coldplay and take credit for the Mario.


I made the most of a four hour layover in Honolulu by catching up with Ty. He took me up Tantalus Crater and then back around. Left to right: Ty's view, his university, his building, Slash, the punch bowl crater/memorial.


The oil breather seems to be doing the job. I did see a couple of oil pressure lights shortly after install, but not regularly. More definitively, the moisture buildup visible through the level window is completely gone. Huzzah.

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