Pyramid Hefeweizen in CU
June 14th, 2008 by erb
Pyramid Hefeweizen is semi-hard to get out here… Not impossible, Picadilly’s has it, but even then only certain stores. Much easier to find (for some reason) is their Apricot Weizen, which you can find in both stores and restaurants. Anyway, I found a Picadilly’s that carries it, but it had a “best use by” date of July 2008. Sigh. Had a polite conversation with the clerk, who assured me that “Like the Budweiser dates, it doesn’t really mean anything.” I agree, a Budweiser “expiration” date doesn’t mean anything to me, either. You figure that one out. But it does mean something to me on a Pyramid bottle, which is NOT Budweiser. And I know the “expiration” dates on my Pyramids in Seattle were always 6-12 months away. Anyway, as I said: “I’m just happy to have it.” But I can definitely taste that it’s not fresh.
Yes, I am that serious about beer. Not a connoisseur or a snob, I’m just picky, and I don’t like a lot of them. I use to drive up from Seattle to Canada just to get a case of Kilkenny Ale (See earlier post). Ironic that the brewers of Kilkenny Ale are also the brewers of Irish Budweiser!
So. How do I get fresh Pyramid? I went researching. I know I won’t be able to just call up Pyramid in Seattle and beg nicely, with a promised couple extra twenty’s in the mail, thanks to the ATF and interstate alcohol laws. But I did get some useful information at the Pyramid Distribution web page. There are only two Illinois distributors, one up in Chicago, the second in Peoria (an hour and a half away, past Bloomington Normal, which seemed like a nice enough city to visit when I drove through). So I’ll have to see if I can’t get fresh(er) beer from them, directly, if I paid them a visit? Malaika and I can do some shopping or something along the way? Get a nice meal outside of Champaign? See some different corn for a change?
Grumble Rules Moan Regulations Bitch Bureaucrats
June 14th, 2008 by erb
From earlier New Champaign Public Library (and Idle 2 A.M. Ramblings) post:
Oh! And perhaps I’ll pick up a book, while I’m there?!?
Maybe so — but I won’t be checking it out with a library card. CPL loses points with me on obstinate bureaucratic obtuseness. I duly followed their online directions for getting a library card at Getting a Library Card:
Stop in and we‘ll make a card for you right away. Get a head start by filling in a registration form PDF ahead of time. To get a card, you‘ll need to show us:
- A photo ID such as a driver‘s license
- Proof of your Champaign address, printed on a check or a piece of official mail such as a bill
I thought I had (literally) all the bases covered. I brought with me:
- My drivers license;
- My first pay stub, with my Champaign employer’s address, complete with my temporary Champaign mailing address (same as employer);
- My Busey Bank first printed checks, with my Champaign temporary (employer) address on it;
- My Busey Bank Debit Card mailing, with my Champaign temporary (employer) address on it;
- My Champaign post office box information;
- My “Residential Sales Contract” for our new home, closing on July 7th (approx. three weeks from now), at our new Champaign address;
- My assurance that I am subletting an apartment on First and Springfield, at a Champaign address
To misquote Kennedy, I chose to bring all these things with me, not because it would be difficult, but because I thought it would be easy. I had no idea…
So to make a long story short, I was declined.
New Champaign Public Library (and Idle 2 A.M. Ramblings)
June 13th, 2008 by erb
New building, that is (see the floor plans). Sorta new, that is. They had their Grand Opening in January, but they’re only just now finishing up the final details. It’s been open for awhile, and I’m checking it out this weekend. And hopefully getting some quiet, solitary, zen-like time to focus on the computer (work, personal Mathematica time, blogging updates, web research, etc). Oh! And perhaps I’ll pick up a book, while I’m there?!?
Malaika’s CU Visit
June 8th, 2008 by erb
Well, it was an eventful week. Malaika flew in for her first Champaign-Urbana visit, primarily to look at houses for sale — and so we could see each other, when we could spare the time! 
First off, she got stuck in Chicago, but that was a Good Thing, I think! The alternatives are all Bad Things: Awful turbulence (which I would like, but I know Malaika would hate) — at BEST — and let’s not even hypothesize about the worst case. Suffice to say, there were awful thunderstorms all day and all night, and the Tornado Warning in our area was extended twice until 10:30. ‘Nuff said.
I wanted to mention how great our realtor, Barb, is. We highly recommend her! She’s been a lot of help, and really taken the time to show both Malaika and myself the entire area – Separately!
Thankfully, her Wednesday morning flight was on a much nicer, brighter, dryer day. She managed to make up for lost time with our realtor, Barb Johnson, and still see most of the neighborhoods and houses she was interested in over two days: Mahomet, Saint Joseph, Savoy, Champaign, and a bit of Urbana. In those short two days, we had some ups and downs, including getting excited over a house that was just out of our budget in Mahomet — one which I had been interested in already, before Malaika’s visit.
Then Malaika found a great house in Champaign, we decided to make an offer, and with minimal negotiations, we actually settled on an offering price. Voila! Mission accomplished in only one visit. And, to boot, we’ll be able to afford this one without needing to sell our Bainbridge Island house first, as a contingency. Yay!
After a few thundershowers this week, Malaika had a pretty uneventful flight back Saturday morning, even if it was a bit wet.
Speaking of, most of the area around here (central Illinois) is quite literally flooded. Most of the farmer’s fields are mini lakes in the corners and sides…
I ended the weekend by attending the Annual Wolfram Picnic, which was also celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the first release of Mathematica 1.0. Met some more new people, which is not surprising, given I’ve only worked there a couple weeks thus far…
MemDayWeekend; Fresh Food in C-U
May 25th, 2008 by erb
First gas fill-up in CU: $50! $4.07/gallon! (Though I’ve seen it as low as $3.99 around town since.) Malaika pointed me to GasBuddy.
This weekend, I went to: Market at the Square, Strawberry Fields, and Common Ground Co-op.
testing: blockquotes
May 24th, 2008 by erb
So while working on updating my blog, with lots and lots of new info (currently in draft form) … as well as updating my blog resume … I was unhappy with the way the <blockquote> looked on that resume page. Result: a couple hours distraction researching, editing, and fine tuning several better WordPress blockquotes for future use… Comments? Readability? Suggestions? All greatly appreciated!
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