JamesCronen.com

Those of us in the Albany, New York area are very familiar with the ubiquitous Stewart’s Shops. Stewart’s is the place to go for coffee, gasoline, ice cream, cigarettes, or lottery tickets. Most Stewart’s also have a beer selection, though the selection is for the most part limited to 30-packs of various mass-produced American lagers. (Though if you’re lucky there’s a single overpriced six-pack of something decent tucked away on a shelf at the top of the cooler.)

A few weeks ago I noticed a new offering among the usual suspects lining Stewart’s shelves: Stewart’s Beer!

At least, I think it’s Stewart’s beer. It’s officially branded as “Mountain Brew Beer” but I’ve only ever seen it at Stewart’s. The typeface of the text “A Very Cool Brew” matches Stewart’s trademark font (though the font is not unique to Stewart’s). But it’s worth noting that the words “Stewart’s Shops” are printed nowhere on the can.

Two other comments on the packaging. The alcohol-by-volume content (a high 5.5%, compared with the 5.0% of Budweiser, Coors, and Michelob) is prominently displayed on the can. I was also amused by the curiously-placed sports logos lining the bottom of the can. Apparently, Mountain Brew is the beer for athletes who want to get drunk as quickly as possible.

When I was at Stewart’s this morning I bought a can. (Yes, one can — they’re available individually.) This can cost $0.75, but if you’re willing to commit to six Mountain Brews at a time you’ll only be set back $3.

My wife Robin foolishly agreed to participate in the taste test.

We opened the beer and poured. The color was impressive — a moderate amber, not the urine yellow we were expecting. My careless pouring demonstrated the beer’s capability of unleashing a foamy head.

We were pleasantly surprised — the beer actually didn’t smell as bad as we were expecting. At first the bouquet was reminiscent of a respectable pilsener such as Pilsener Urquell. After a few more seconds, however, the odor gained a bit more “skunk”. Still, the beer was pleasant enough smelling that we were willing to move on to the tasting phase without fear.

Robin and I both raised our eyebrows in disbelief at the taste. It really was pretty good. “I would call this a surprisingly smooth brew,” said Robin. The flavor was light but not vapid, and the beer was overall pretty refreshing. There was a bit of a syrupy heft to the beer, but it wasn’t without merit.

As I tasted more and more, the syrupy flavor got a bit more annoying to me. There’s a thickness to the beer that doesn’t have a really good flavor. And I have no experimental reason for believing this, but I suspect this beer will be horrendous if allowed to warm up even a small amount. The cold temperature seemed to keep the syrupiness under control.

But still, if you’re in the target demographic (athletes who want a high-alcohol beer), you’ll probably be drinking it quickly anyhow.

Rating Mountain Brew Beer Ice against all the beers I’ve ever had, I’d rate the beer a 4 out of 10. I’ve had many better. But I’ve had more expensive beers that weren’t as good. However, I’d rate the flavor to price ratio at about a 7. For three Washingtons per can, or three Washingtons per six, you could do a lot worse.

As a physics undergraduate, I never opted to take a circuit theory class. That never bothered me when I was a student. But now, as an adult, seeing the Maker movement in full swing, I’m kicking myself that I never got into electronics.

My dear wife got me a soldering iron, an Arduino Duemilanove, and lots of miscellaneous electronics-related supplies last Christmas, to help me fill this gap in my education.

And finally, last night I sat down and in two hours completed my first soldering project: the Adafruit Industries TV-B-Gone v1.1.

The TV-B-Gone is a simple device whose sole job is to turn off television sets. That might not be too useful at home, since you already have a remote for that. But, consider being out at a bar or restaurant or waiting room, trying to talk to friends or read in peace, while the incessant chatter of talking heads drills its way into your skull. (Why no, I’ve never experienced this, why do you ask?) The TV-B-Gone is a godsend.

The TV-B-Gone kit contains four infrared LEDs, driven by a microcontroller that contains the codes for all major brands of television sets. When you press the button, the TV-B-Gone flashes about 50 power-on codes in sequence, one after another. One of them should turn off the television, giving you the peace you deserve.

(Since televisions use the same codes to turn off and turn on a television, the same TV-B-Gone can be used to atone for your crime if you get caught.)

I opened up the kit and went through the parts list, as recommended. All the parts were included (a very important first step). I brought up the soldering instructions and got to work.

After about two hours of work I was finished, and ready to test my creation. I pointed the infrared LEDs into my phone’s camera, and I could see them flicker when I pressed the button. (Digital cameras can see infrared.) Success!

I liked this kit. The instructions were exceptionally clear, with plenty of photos. The printed circuit board was very clearly marked — if you’re soldering this kit, you have to really have your head in the clouds to mount a component in the wrong place. (And if your mind isn’t on your work, should you really be wielding a 700°F metal stick? Didn’t think so.)

The instructions also provided an intermediate step for testing the device half-way through the build. I understand this isn’t possible for some projects, but I liked having a point at which I could stop, take a break, and verify that what I was doing was working.

I have one very tiny complaint; I would have liked a little more of an explanation of why certain components are needed in the circuit. But I understand that this is a kit for beginners, and too much information might prove confusing.

I heartily recommend the Adafruit electronics kits. I’ll be buying one or two more kits for soldering practice before I start working on my own projects. I think I’ll try the Drawdio next, then perhaps the Conway’s Game of Life kit. If you want to buy the TV-B-Gone kit I’ve mentioned, go here.

Hats off to Ladyada (Limor Fried) for creating a fantastic product.

And, dear readers, if I come over to your house and the television spontaneously turns off? It wasn’t me.

We made it through another one, but just barely.

The year 2008 will forever be notorious in the eyes of financiers, real estate brokers, and John McCain.

This was the year of the bailout. The enormous house of cards that had been constructed from subprime interest-only mortgage-backed securities, securitized credit-card debt, and wildly speculative financial instruments collapsed spectacularly.

The Big Five investment banks were whittled down to the Big Two. Wall Street convinced Congress that they needed to be saved, and only a check for $700 billion (US, not Zimbabwean) would do it. Three months on, the money has disappeared and the recipients won’t say where it is. I’m convinced that this is the biggest heist in the history of the world. Second place goes to Bernard Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme made off with $50 billion.

Because the year was divisible evenly by four, the United States was ensconced fully in its presidential election. Many of us got the opportunity to vote for Barack Obama, hoping for change in the way this country is run. Much to the (pleasant) surprise of many, the Dick Cheney/Karl Rove political machine wasn’t as finely tuned as we thought, and on November 4 our citizenry elected our first non-white President.

In the world of science, progress marched on. SpaceX made some enormous progress in their quest for privatized spaceflight. The role of NASA in the Obama administration is unclear. Moore’s law continues to hold up — processors are becoming still faster and smaller. Progress continues to be made on fighting terrible diseases, and hopes for nanotechnology are higher than ever.

The Maker movement continued to develop. Recreational science and engineering is becoming more popular, as No Child Left Behind continues to only succeed in effectively teaching our children how to fill in small circles. For the first time in a long while, it seems that science is returning to its roots in garages and basements.

The entire Bush administration was a terrible time for the public perception and government support of science, and 2009 will hopefully see an end to this. Across many governmental agencies, including NASA, ideas that were not compatible with the administration’s fundamentalist religious thinking were repressed.

Non-scientific thinkers continued to gain prominence in 2008. The “debate” about evolution continues, even though there’s really not a debate at all. Evolution has been demonstrated in experiments, but super-religious zealots continue to believe the Earth is 6,000 years old and that Jesus rode on the backs of dinosaurs. Millions have accepted Jenny McCarthy as a scientific prophet, believing her statement that vaccinating our children is harmful, despite reams of actual evidence to the contrary.

Unfortunately, big and small media continue to give the crazies airtime. As the economy has forced media outlets to lay off workers, experienced journalists were replaced by young blondes reading TelePrompTers. I predict that this will backfire on the media companies, only making bloggers more useful as a valid means of news distribution.

Personally, 2008 was a year of change. I finished out my four-year teaching career and moved on to do some software consulting. My musical career (something I don’t talk much about on this blog) enabled me to perform locally with the choirs of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Congregation Beth Emeth, the Aoede Consort, AGO Festival Chorus, and the Savoy Ensemble. I also got in better shape. I ran three 5k races this year, with the best time 26:11 (8:26 per mile). I got my long run distance up to seven miles. And next year, I’m going to run a half-marathon.

Thanks to all of you for reading my rambling this year. Have a wonderful 2009!