Beach Cruiser Bikes, the perfect way to start.. or to get back into biking.

So I finally got off of my duff and started making YouTube content again.  Here's a video I shot today about beach cruisers..

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 15 - Pizza Night

Another easy day, but not entirely by choice.  I'm in a lull right now with house projects. I've got items on their way to me in the mail, so I'm kind of in limbo as far as repairs and house maintenance go right now. I'm also waiting on a new pool filter as the current filter is starting to breakdown.  Therefore, I'm abstaining from swimming for a couple of days.

Here's what I did yesterday:

• Made Breakfast Burritos (Egg, Chorizo, Potatoes, Cheese & Green Chile)
• Completed our household Government Census
• Combed our finances
• Got lots of writing done for the blog
• Made pizzas from scratch
• Went for a walk after dinner

The down time yesterday did give me time to take a look at some finances, finally finish our household Government census, and I wrote the first half of my article on my 1963 Schwinn Rebuild.  I believe I will finish part two of that article today, and kind of want to start work on a couple of YouTube videos about bikes, but we'll see.

 Homemade thin crust Pepperoni Pizza

(lighter on the cheese than I like, but hey.. we're rationing)

Making pizza is always a very zen thing for me.  So are my other hobbies like writing, homebrewing and bike building.  I actually took pause this morning to be grateful through all of this.  I mean, it really is a crappy situation we are in right now. How blessed am I to have hobbies and activities that bring me peace like this right now?

Don't get me wrong.  The stresses are real, and we wonder just how bad this is going to get.. and if we are going to be able to make it financially if this stretches out any further.  However, I'm learning that you NEED to focus on the positive, and there IS a lot of positive things to be appreciative of.  I've got my health, my family, and my mind.  And honestly, if I can keep reminding myself of this.. it makes me feel like anything is possible.

Take care friends.  Try to keep your chin up and do something nice for yourself today.

My 1963 Schwinn American Deluxe Rebuild - part one

Meet my 1963 Schwinn American Deluxe.  I affectionately call her.. "Olga"

This is how she looked when I first got her about 5 years ago.  A very cool vintage bike indeed.  What really impressed me, was that everything on the bike except for the seat, tires, and headlight was original. I did have the original seat as well, it was just in desperate need of restoration. I ended up moving to Florida from Colorado and took the bike with me.  It was my late Brother's bike and I had been wanting to restore it, but just didn't have the desire or motivation to do so at that point in my life.

This is how she sat for about a year after my move. Neighbors would sometimes walk by and see it hanging in the garage and say things like "Wow! That's a neat old bike".  At times like those, I felt that flicker of desire in me that wanted to start on the project, but it would fade away in a day or so.

A little over a year after the move when life started settling down for me, I decided to start tearing the bike down and cleaning it up.  The bike truly is a testament as to how things were built to last back in the day.  Here's some things I came across during the tear down..

Overspray everywhere!

Someone repainted this bike without actually taping anything off.

The cranks were crazy hard to remove. 

I started beginning to think someone glued the nut on here.

I kid you not.. every bearing in this bike was coated with this stuff.  Every moving part on this bike was stiff and sluggish, but I didn't expect that it was because of this.  It looked more like silicone caulking rather than grease, and had the consistency of clay!

They eventually came clean however, and I was happy to see the bearings were still very much useable.  I was even happier to see that they were the original Schwinn factory bearings.

More original hardware! A stamped AS (Arnold Schwinn) bolt, 

that runs through the seat post clamp & attaches the rear rack.

This bike spent almost all of its life in California and Colorado, two very dry states.  It's no surprise that the only rust I found on the frame was near the left drop out.  It grinded away quite nicely, without compromising any of the welds.  I will have to keep an eye on it however, with the crazy humidity levels we experience here in Florida.

The original Schwinn Steel S-7 Rims!  There was a little bit of surface rust in the pits, but it came off pretty easy with a some steel wool.  These rims are heavy and stout, and you could save a lot of weight on this bike just by switching to aluminum rims.  Also.. you can't mount standard 26 inch tires on the S-7 rims.  Surprisingly, I easily found a couple of 26 x 2 x 1 3/4 whitewalls on Amazon with no problems at all.

So here you can see the original Schwinn badge.  Also, you can see the un-weathered color of the paint underneath the badge.  The paint that this bike was re-shot with, was more of a maroon color.

You could just barely see the old painted white arrow pinstripes on the forks.

Remnants of an old Schwinn logo on the frames down tube

Definitely NOT original.  I thought I still had the original reflector, but sadly I did not.

This looks era specific, but it's not a Schwinn reflector.  It was made by 'FAIRYLITES' in the UK.  Upon closer examination of the light, it jogged my memory that this reflector came off of an old english Raleigh 3-speed I owned in the 80s.  It was a beautiful red 3-speed with a lugged framed.. but that's a different story.  

On a side note:  I still have a lot of hardware and parts from my childhood days of bike building from the late 70s to late 80s.  My Dad is also a bike enthusiast, and he had them all stored in his garage for years.  He gave me all of the parts at the same time he gifted me this Schwinn, that my Brother had given to him.  The parts all fit in one plastic storage bin, but those parts have helped me out on past bike builds when I needed era specific hardware and parts.  One of those builds was a 1970's John Deere 10 speed and a CHIMO 10 Speed Restoration I did for a friend.

Totally disassembled, cleaned, and prepped for reassembly!  I wasn't sure if I wanted to just reassemble it, repaint the frame, or do a total restoration on the old Gal.  Nor would I know for a half year, as this is how long it would once again sit upon the garage wall.

The crazy thing, is that the bike almost became invisible to me after this teardown.  From time to time though, it gnawed at me in the back of my mind that I needed to finish this project.  I obviously had issues I still needed to work through about my Brothers death, because after I disassembled it, I couldn't bring myself to touch it again for another year or so.

But that's in the past, and she's all together once again.  In my next blog post, I'll share the final stages of the build, and some more details.  Stay tuned!

In case you too have been bitten by the Schwinn Bug..

   

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 14 - Blogging and creating content

Wow.  It's been two weeks since I've been off of work already.  If it weren't for this blog, I'm really not sure if I would even know what day it is.  I can't say that this time off has been dragging for me.  In fact, I've kept so busy with projects around the house, it has truly helped me to keep my sanity.

Yesterday is what I'm calling my first '"Down Day".  Here's what I did..

• Went on an early 2 mile bike ride with my Bride
• Made cheese grits, eggs, and biscuits & gravy for breakfast
• Worked on redesigning my blog
• Worked on my social media accounts
• Took a quick dip in the pool at around 5:00

I spent hours tweaking the blog and writing yesterday.  I also spent a lot of time reading up on new SEO methods as well as Instagram and twitter algorithms.  I spent the first half of the day exiled to my garage because my wife wanted to paint around the area I normally sit and do my computer work.

It was actually incredibly peaceful and relaxing out in the garage. It was cool in the morning, and I ran a fan to keep the air circulating in the early afternoon.  I had a comfortable chair, Bluetooth Speaker, and was 10 feet away from my beer fridge.  It was so quiet, I got a ton of writing and work done on the blog.

I'm the kind of writer that needs peace and quiet to be productive.  Not necessarily silence, as I can be super productive in a coffee shop with soft ambient noise.  Maybe it's more about a peaceful vibe for me.  For a fact, it's nearly impossible for me to be creative and productive if I'm not in a good place mentally.  Interestingly, the words DO flow freely if I'm angry.  However, anger and stress is something I don't like to nurture, which is why my 'Retro Dad Rants' are far and few between.

Not sure what today holds for me.  I feel the need to do some work outside, but may wait to do a couple big projects later in the week when it starts to cool down a bit.  I do believe I will spend the afternoon on the blog again.

Take care friends, stay busy and try to keep your spirits up.

Thank the maker for Pancakes during this time of self isolation

I have made so many pancakes over the last week, but no one in my house is complaining.  They've been eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and maaaaybe even for an occasional late night snack.  To me they are the perfect self isolation food. They are cheap, filling, delicious, and are quite efficiently serve as comfort food during these stressful times.

This last week I've made banana pancakes, bacon pancakes, and pancakes with all manner of toppings like apples, strawberries, peaches, and pineapples.  I've also learned I absolutely detest soggy and soft pancakes.  I prefer to eat them fresh off of the griddle when they're nice and crispy. 

Aunt Jemima is my pancake mix of choice.  I follow the recipe to the letter, and then add in a wee bit of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to the mix.  The result is a delicious tasting pancake that is light & fluffy, with a nice crispiness to it.

Wow, all this talk of pancakes is making me hungry!  I would probably make another batch for dinner, but my bride has already begun cooking dinner.  No worries, I foresee many more batches of pancakes being made soon. 

For pancake tips and recipes, visit AuntJemima.com  They even have a recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Pancakes I may just have to try in the near future!

The Bare Bones Basics of All Grain Homebrewing Beer

Need something to do during the Covid-19 Lockdown? Brewing Beer is a great skill to have in your pocket any time! Here's a 5 minute video me and my friend made about the Bare Bones Basics of All Grain Homebrewing Beer.

You can get EVERYTHING you need online to brew this way, or even using the faster and simpler method of extract brewing.  Here are a few good places to go online.. 

• RiteBrew (My personal favorite) 
• Brewers Best 
• Northern Brewer

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 13 - Busy work and bike building

Had a good and active day yesterday. Here's what I accomplished..

• Went for a walk with my Bride before 8:00am
• Made Banana Pancakes for breakfast
• Treated the sidewalk for weeds
• Treated problem areas in the yard for weeds
• treated the yard for fire ants
• fertilized the yard
• Installed a wireless touchpad for the garage
• Tuned and got my Son's bike roadworthy
• Took an hour swim
• Went for a two and a half mile bike ride after dinner

All in all, a very busy day that was book ended with some great exercise.  I also managed to get a fourth bike tuned and roadworthy this week!  It's my Son's bike that has sat for three years, and it just needed to be cleaned and tuned, as well as some bearings repacked with grease.

I really have found peace and comfort tinkering with my bikes over the last couple of weeks, and now I get to reap the rewards by riding them.  I'm not hitting up the bike trails like I originally planned on doing.  I simply ride around the perimeter of the neighborhood, winding through the side streets.

I actually rode 2.5 miles after dinner yesterday in about 15 minutes.  I worked up a little sweat as there are a couple long inclines in the neighborhood I'm still getting used to.   A far cry from the 15 and 20 mile rides I used to take on my one speed Beach Cruisers in Colorado, but it's a lot different in Florida in regards to bike riding. There were thousands of miles of paved bike trails in Colorado, and I would spend what felt like endless hours on them whenever the weather permitted.

Here in Florida you can ride 11 months out of the year pretty much, there just isn't many places to go on those type of rides. I sure as heck won't venture onto the streets, because I don't fancy taking my life into my own hands, or rather.. putting it in the hands of distracted drivers who simply aren't used to sharing the road (or caring to share the road) with cyclists.

When this is all over I may try to join some type of classic bike or beach cruiser enthusiast club in the Orlando area. Not sure if any exist, so maybe I can start one if that's the case.  I don't know how I'm going to spend my Sunday yet, so I'll update you tomorrow.

Cheers friends!

Review - Giordano's Pizza in Kissimmee

7866 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy. Kissimmee FL

Pizza Chap rating..

4.5 out of 5 slices 

I stopped in at Giordano's the other day for lunch.  If you weren't aware, they have a pretty good lunch special that's been running for awhile now.  From 11:00 to 3:00 p.m. You can get a 6 inch stuffed deep dish pizza with all cheese, pepperoni, or sausage, and a choice of a side for just $8.95.  You might scoff at the thought of a 6 inch pie, but I attest as an official card carrying "Big Guy".. you will not be disappointed with this meal.

A cute little Deep Dish Pizza Pie that will fill your belly!

Be aware that this pizza even at six inches, is going to take a half an hour to bake, so if you're in a hurry, you might want to order something else off of the lunch menu.  Personally however, if I'm taking the time to go to Giordano's, I am always going for their signature Deep Dish Pie!  I opted for a sausage Pizza, and was not disappointed.

Tons of cheese, tons of crust, tons of satisfaction

Here are my findings:

The Crust - Nice and crispy on the outer layer, and not doughy anywhere else.  Nice and bready on the end crust, but I love this!

The Cheese - Their aged Wisconsin Mozzarella tasted incredible and provided great creaminess, with a nice buttery flavor.  The stretchiness of the cheese is something you just won't believe until you see it.

The Sausage - A roundish sausage crumble that one gets accustomed to seeing in pizzerias of all sorts.  I would have liked to see a sausage in this pie with a more artisan feel and taste to it.

The Sauce - A very fresh tasting sauce that helps pull this deep dish together.  Giordano's sauce does not have any preservatives or chemicals and is made fresh daily.  Crafted from fresh tomatoes grown in Mendoncino County California, this quality sauce is definitely a star.  It would be so easy for a pizza chain to 'Phone it in' and use a mass produced sauce from a distributor, so I really respect how Giordano's keeps it real.

Some video of that famous Giordano's 'Cheese Pull'

on my Instagram account..

View this post on Instagram

First I cut carbs.. THEN I stretch. #pizzapie #pizza #giordanos #deepdish #cheesepull #chicagostyle #za #pizzapizza #pizzalove #lovepizza #pizzafanatic #pizzaholic #thepizzachap #pizzachap #pizzafan #pizzaaddict #pizzaAddicted #floridafoodie #orlandofoodie #pizzablog #pizzablogger #floridapizza #orlandopizza #whydontIstrechOut

A post shared by The Pizza Chap (@thepizzachap) on Oct 24, 2018 at 10:55am PDT

New York style is usually my go-to pizza of choice, but I do get a hankering for a good Deep Dish pie on occasion.  I really do dig everything about these pies, even the massive end crust that you're left with when you finish your slice.

Some people don't care for end crust to begin with, so I can see how a Chicago style crust may not excite some folks.  If that includes you.. I will share a trick with you that might help you finish off that crust a bit easier.

How to eat your Chicago Deep Dish End Crust

(for those who don't particularly care for end crust)

Step One - Stop eating the pizza when you get a couple inches away from the end crust.

Step Two - Rotate the crust so the tip of where your slice used to be, is facing straight up.

Step Three -Hold and eat the crust the way you would eat a Hot Dog.


When you utilize this technique, you will have sauce, cheese, and toppings to go with every bite of the thick end crust.  The toppings won't fall off thanks to the sheer width and flatness of the end crust.  It doesn't work on any other type of pizza!

All in all I had a wonderful dining experience at Giordano's.  One of these days I will have to visit and order one of their full blown loaded large pies that can feed 4-6 people. If I do.. rest assured you will read about it and see it here!

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 12 - Another trip into society

So while I had every intent of taking an early morning walk or bike ride yesterday, I ended up deviating from that plan, because I once again had to venture out into the unknown.  I got an e-mail from Lowe's that they couldn't deliver my items I ordered online, and that I had to pick them up at their store.

I headed out before 8:00 a.m. and thankfully there was virtually no one there. I smelled the scent of chlorine as I walked through the doors, obviously from the cleaner they have been diligently sanitizing with.  Sneeze guards were in place by customer service now.  Messages played over the store's P.A. system that repeatedly explained steps on how to avoid the virus.  Many workers were wearing masks and gloves, vigorously cleaning everything in sight.  The cashier sanitized the credit card reader and keypad both before and after I was done using it.  Like so many other things I've experienced this week, it was all utterly surreal.

I got home, unloaded my items in the garage, sprayed Lysol on the bottom of my shoes, and headed directly to the shower.  I then made a breakfast of corned beef hash, eggs, and fruit salad for me and my bride.  I was definitely on track to a much better mind set for the day. 

Here's how I attacked the rest of it..

• Pressure washed the sidewalk in front of my house
• Worked on another one of my bikes for about an hour
• Took a short bike ride around the neighborhood
• Worked on my blog and social media accounts
• Went swimming for about an hour
• Made chili dogs for dinner
• Went on a bike ride after dinner with my wife

I must say that today was a much better day for me. I didn't watch the news at all today, only checking in on an occasional news story that popped up on MSN or social media. I filled my ear holes with my favorite music and podcasts as I worked around the house.  Any exercise I get helps me immensely. Whether it's endorphins, or something like that I don't know.  I just know it always puts me in a better place mentally.  It also helps though when the form of exercise you perform, is something you truly love like swimming or biking.

Comfort food was the theme of the day, and while lunch wasn't as exciting, it was still good.  I had rice and beans which were leftovers from a meal earlier in the week.  We're being really attentive to what's in the fridge so we don't waste anything, or have to throw anything out.

Now it's once again the weekend, and it seems like the days are all blending together. It would be much worse if I didn't have this blog to actually make me reflect on what I did I am doing everyday.  It also gives me a great sense of accomplishment to look back on what I've done.  Not sure what I've got lined up for today, so I'll just wing it rather than plan anything.  There is still plenty for me to do, and I'm sure I will figure it out.

Take care and keep yourselves busy friends.  It really does help.

Pizza Review - Screamin Sicilian's Spicy Clucker

Retro Rating..
5 out of 5 slices!

If you haven't had the pleasure of trying a Screamin' Sicilian frozen pizza.. I suggest you do so STAT!  The distinctive packaging and the cut away mouth that gives you a peek into the box, instantly gives you a sense that this is no ordinary frozen pizza.

Whenever I'm in the mood for a spicy pie, I head to the supermarket and reach for a "Spicy Clucker".  This pizza sports beautiful jalapeno slices, pulled chicken, bacon strips, creamy ranch sauce, Wisconsin whole milk mozzarella, and white cheddar.

The very first time I bought one of these pizzas and opened it up, I noticed right off the bat that even though it was still totally frozen, the toppings already smelled amazing!  If I were to guess, I'd say that these pies are made with the freshest ingredients available and then flash frozen to preserve freshness.

All in all, this pizza was everything I had hoped for it to be and more.  To emphasize just how great this pizza is.. I'll break down the pizza by individual ingredient.

Jalapenos
The jalapenos looked, smelled, and tasted like they were just sliced and thrown on the pie.  They added a very nice kick that brought some nice heat to my lips and mouth.

Pulled Chicken
Incredible generous chunks of juicy and tasty chicken were liberally added to this pie.

Bacon Strips
The bacon on this pie was beautiful.  It was thick, smoky, tasty, and of incredible quality.

The sauce
A beautiful creamy ranch sauce perfectly complimented every ingredient on this pie, neither being smothering or overpowering.

The Cheese
A white cheddar and Wisconsin whole milk mozzarella is what you will find on this pie, and I'm happy to say they did not skimp on either variety.

The crust
A tasty and beautiful crispy crust is the vessel that holds this hefty pizza all together.  It's recommended that you cook the pizza on your oven rack rather than a pan, so that's exactly what I did.  Not only does it aid in the pizza cooking correctly, but the crust will in turn have just the right amount of crispiness to it!  With no preservatives pumped into it, the crust tastes freshly made unlike other so called "fresh tasting" frozen pies.

I love Screamin' Sicilian pizza, and have got to say there is no other frozen pie like it on the market!  Screamin' Sicilian didn't have me screaming, but rather.. very zen like, and a bit "Old Timey" (Thanks to the punch out handlebar mustache on the back of the box). 

Nothing about this pizza tasted like a frozen pizza. Quite the opposite in fact.  It tasted fresh, and all the ingredients played off of each other beautifully.  It was rich and tasty to the very last bite, and I for one even prefer this pizza hands down over 95% of the major pizza chains out there.

If you haven't done so already, do yourself a favor and give Screamin' Sicilian Pizza a try.  You won't believe you're eating a frozen pizza, and will get an incredibly fresh tasting and High Quality pie, for a fraction of the cost that the big pizza chains would charge you.

Visit Screamin' Sicilian Online

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 11 - Energy running low

Over the last week and a half, I've tried to keep busy and have successfully done so for the most part
until now. Yesterday was totally a 'Meh" day.  Nothing I did really brought me any joy.  I felt no zest for life, and felt drained mentally.  Dang.. and at the very least we have two more weeks of sheltering in place.

I woke up to a Corona virus count of 69,000 cases and 1000+ deaths in the U.S.  Eight hours later, the evening news was reporting 80,000 cases and 2800+ deaths and.. we are now leading the world in confirmed cases.

Who on God's green earth can say "this isn't so bad" or.. "the media is just making a big deal out of this".  Oh.. there are plenty of people, especially some in Government, which ticks me of to no end.  There is actually a local sheriff who says imposing a curfew for his county is ridiculous because there is no data that proves there is a risk.  Holy Moly.

Having long periods of inactivity is my worst enemy right now.  The things I'm hearing and seeing are really what's draining me to be perfectly honest. I'd love to go on a media blackout, but I simply cannot do it.  I tune in to watch the news two to three times a day now, and the words that come out of a lot of these politicians mouths gets my blood boiling within seconds. I really need to de-stress somehow.

Here's how I spent my day..

• Drove to the post office before it opened to drop off an envelope
• Combed through our finances and paid bills
• Finished repairing the grout in our pool
• Spent the afternoon tweaking the blog and social media accounts
• Made hamburgers for dinner

I know myself, and I can tell everything is starting to really weigh on me.  I also know however, that the more active I am, the better I usually feel.  I'm sure part of that is a diversion tactic, but things like biking, walking and swimming really do make me feel better.  So why am I slacking in doing any of these now?  I'm not exactly sure, but I am committed to fighting it.

First thing tomorrow, I'm either going for a bike ride or walk.  I think I'll have a nice breakfast, and then tackle a list of a few jobs and activities I just made a few minutes ago.  Perhaps that's what I need right now.. a daily plan. It's getting to the point now, where if I don't feel right mentally, I just sit on the couch and then do nothing to try and pull myself out of that funk.

Through life I've found you really do have control of your attitude.  Whether you take the reigns and steer yourself towards happiness or negativity is totally up to you.  I will try harder today to readjust my attitude, and will let you know how it goes.

Hang in there friends.

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 10 - Going shopping

Yesterday was a weird day.  Just when you think you are getting used to this new way of living, ten minutes of watching television can knock you right back down. Mandatory shelter in place orders go into effect tonight for my area.

We have already locked ourselves down for the mostpart.  For health reasons, my Bride has already been locked down for over three weeks, only going out to the backyard, or for walks with me.  I assumed that with the new shelter in place mandate, there would be a run on stores.  Therefore, I decided to go to the local supermarket and restock on a few items like meat so we are absolutely ready for the next two to three weeks.

Upon getting to the store at 8:00 a.m., tons of older folks were already leaving, as this store is allowing senior citizens to shop for one hour before the general public starts showing up.  I was expecting a huge line outside and there was none.  Honestly, I'll bet there was about 30 people in the entire store.  I was actually the only person in the checkout lanes when I was paying for my groceries.

I'm sure other stores in more densely populated areas are worse, so I'm blessed that I live a little bit out of the way, and.. only a mile from the market.  They were running very low on many items like certain meats and canned goods, and of course, they were still out of toilet paper.

I got home and the items I didn't put directly into the freezer were all wiped down with sanitizer wipes and left to air dry.  I immediately took a shower and changed clothes as an added precaution.  Watching the morning news both irritated and depressed me, so I didn't watch it again for the rest of the day.  I'll have to watch it shortly this morning.  I'd rather not, but honestly.. I'd rather be informed than in the dark (even at the risk of getting a bit depressed).

Here's how my day went..

• Hit up the grocery store at 8:00 a.m.
• Spent several hours working on my blog and social media account
• Worked on my Schwinn for a few hours in the afternoon
• Made dinner (Burritos smothered in Pork Green Chile)

My shortest list yet since I started logging my daily activity nine days ago.  I can feel my energy level depleting, and must fight the urge to succumb to this.  It's mostly due to mental anxiety, but also because I went so hard on knocking out projects in the beginning.  I have more items on the way from Amazon and Home Depot, so various home projects are in the works.

On a lighter note, 'Olga'.. my 1963 Schwinn is all put back together! Check her out..

It's almost done and only needs a few finishing touches.  I took it for a quick ride, but realized the axle on the front wheel is bent, and it very quickly started trying to grind the bearings into dust.  I'm currently looking for another rim online to swap it out with.  I'd like to find another axle for this rim sometime as it's the original rim that came with the bike, but for now I want to quickly obtain a new one so I can start taking it on rides.

That's it for now friends.  A mandated shelter in place order feels different than a self imposed one for sure.  I already know myself, and need to find ways to keep myself motivated.  Will check in tomorrow.  Until then.. take care and try to keep your spirits up friends!

A fine Dessert.. BEER! Neapolitan Milk Stout by Saugatuck Brewing

I recently tried Saugatuck Brewing's Neapolitan Milk Stout and was pretty impressed.  Here's a quick rundown..

Aroma - This stout punched me in the nose with chocolate right up front and not much else.

Pour - nice head that quickly dissipated and gave way to a thin lacing. SUPER dark!

Taste - Medium body with a great stout mouthfeel. It DID have all the flavors of Neapolitan Ice Cream including vanilla & strawberry and for me personally, they all came together on the finish. 

I would stop at one of these in a session, as it was a little too sweet for my taste. However, I would definitely drink one again as a dessert beer.  All in all, a decent medium bodied stout.

Visit Saugatuck Brewing online

Corona Virus COVID-19 Lockdown Day 9 - Eating like crap

So I took it a little bit easier yesterday.  Here is what I did..

Went for a short morning bike ride

Installed knobs on the kitchen cabinet doors

Spent the afternoon working on the blog and social media accounts

Worked on the Schwinn rebuild

Popped a couple frozen pizzas in the oven for dinner

Went for an after dinner bike ride

More of a chill day than previous ones I've had over the last week.  The seat came in for my bike, so I should be able to finish it all up now. If I do, I'll post pics tomorrow.  First thing I may have to do today however, is hit the supermarket first thing to buy a few things.  Orange County has enacted a shelter in place order starting Thursday at 11 p.m. so I'm thinking I'd better get what we need before the next run on the stores.

I was eating so much healthier before we started to self isolate.  I was eating tons of fresh produce, lots of protein, and plenty of healthy fats.  Now.. I'm eating more carbs simply because of the type of food we've stocked that is cheap, and has a long shelf life.  More pastas and starches dominate the meals lately.  Quick and cheap items like frozen pizza have also been used more.

IF.. I can find flour, I think I will start making the pizzas from scratch, which is a pastime of mine anyway.  We'll see just how much stock the stores have shortly when they open up.

Will share how it went tomorrow.  Take care friends.

Retro Dad Rant - Covid Idiots

I like to try and keep everything light and positive on this site, but from time to time, things just irritate me and I have to open up the pressure release valve.  Today is one of those days.

Some idiot on a local radio talk show in Orlando was denouncing a possible Countrywide shut down due to the Corona virus.  He was screaming that we simply cannot shut everything down for another three weeks, and that just staying inside won't stop the virus.

Has this guy seen the numbers I've been seeing every morning for the last week?  Check out what I've been waking up to see on the news for the last several days..

U.S. Covid-19 cases

Friday 3/20  14,000 cases

Saturday 3/21  19,624 cases

Monday 3/23  35,000 cases

Tuesday 3/24  46,168 cases

What I'd love to tell this idiot, is that a lockdown is not going to stop the virus.  Who knows.. we all may contract the virus eventually.  However, a lockdown will slow the spread and make it more manageable for an already overloaded healthcare system where hospitals already can't keep up.

If we keep exponentially spreading this virus and continue flooding the hospitals, more people will die, plain and simple. Hospitals don't have enough of the basic supplies they need like gloves and masks, not to mention ventilators and test kits.  And if the staff gets sick.. then we're really screwed. 

So many people are just plain selfish.  It's all about how this affects them personally.  Dollars to Donuts.. that if their lives were touched personally by this virus, whether by them or a loved one getting infected, they would be singing a different tune. 

Personally, I'd much rather be inconvenienced for a while rather than seeing the death toll skyrocket.  The economy doesn't even come into play when I say this. We're already going to be hurting for a while because of this pandemic.  The entire World will as well.  We'll make it through this, but we have to look at this long term.   

That is all.  Rant over, pressure release accomplished.