I liked Flowers for Algernon when I was a kid and recently re-read it. Such a great and heartbreaking story that holds up incredibly well even after nearly 50 years.

I love that picture and miss Eureka. I always got the sense that it had not only a good cast, but a cast of good people. I see a game night going on after it all wrapped, Colin crocheting with Felicia and Neil playing Settlers, and it makes me smile.

Thanks! Its now on my wishlist along with Greg's book. Maybe this summer I will get a chance to take a crack at the recipe myself. In the meantime I'll stick with extracts and partial mashes and do my best to relax and not worry.

Great post! I am sadly behind on my beer making and appreciate the chance to live vicariously. Would you mind sharing where you got your plans to make a mash tun? I'm not ready to start all grain brewing yet but I want to give it a try in the future and it sounds like the design worked well for you.

Any danger in boiling the wort outside? I'm wondering if the sideburner on my grill would be a better choice than having it in the kitchen.

That is awesome advice! I had my first batch come out bad, but it was still bottled and now 6 weeks have passed. I took your advice and put one in the fridge last night and what do you know, its not bad! Its not great either, but I have a whole batch of beer that I'll be drinking rather than pour down the drain

I'm from Boston and for my birthday my wife got me a class at http://www.beer-wine.com/ in Woburn. As near as I can tell in order to own a homebrew shop you have to be the nicest, and most passionate person when it comes to beer. They love talking about it, making it, and helping others who are interested in the hobby. I made my first batch about a month ago...and it was terrible. Long story short is I did not provide a constant enough temperature for the wort and I think the yeast that I had was not stored properly (by me.) I'm going to be working on my second batch as soon as I get a few more home improvement projects done. I also need to get some more equipment. I did the beginners approach which is fermenting and bottling in the same vessel which means the wort sits in the sediment for longer and can give it an off flavor if you aren't careful. Going with a two-stage method is a lot more forgiving. As far as tools go, I am a big fan of "The Thief" from Fermtech for taking hydrometer readings. Much less of chancing contamination with this method. Oh, an for sanitation I really like Star San as it is made from food-grade acids, is odorless and tasteless, and requires no rinsing. I keep a gallon of it for rinsing tools and bottles and some in a spray bottle too. Remember, we just want our yeast as the microorganism in the wort.

I think I would be more upset if you didn't change. You've grown as a person, as a writer, as an actor, and as a creator. I appreciate this post because its been a long time coming. Don't forget, your fans have also grown with you. I started following your blog about the time you started it and over 10 years have had my own struggles and successes. I am very happy where I am today but I had to make sacrifices too. Some things I wish I had more time for, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the even more awesome things that I have cooking. You want to write with us and you want to interact with us, which is great. We're just talking about a medium change (most of us are on twitter and your other e-dwellings) and maybe a frequency shift. And if that means its because you're taking time to write fiction, act, or just time spent with family it is time well spent. We're all in it for the long hall and I'm happy to see you moving forward and not dwelling on what once was.

Wow, bought it, read it, and I really like it! The Day After had my heart racing. I don't want to spoil even the topic but the characters had me on edge. It felt like everyone was reaching toward their breaking point and you didn't know what was going to happen next. Also, way creepy descriptions of the scenery...I had visions of my high school which made it even scarier. Room 302 could have been in a Stephen King collection. Seriously. Language Barrier was a neat little story. I think its something we have all observed at one time or another. Poor Places was a little lost on me, I've played some poker but not a ton. Very well written, I'm just not the core audience. Thank you for putting these out and keep them coming! You have zero to worry about with your fiction. And if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read The Day After again.