I love brewing with my husband, though I totally take over. I'm finally getting a chance to brew my honey ginger steam ("Honey, I'm Ginger Lager") beer again tomorrow (along with more C^3PA, of course!). I've been too busy (school/work/life) to brew for a while, so I'm so going to love having the time to do so tomorrow. Hurrah for holidays, eh? Oh, and I talk to my yeasts, too, especially those still in the White Labs tubes, so they don't make too much of an explosion when I open the top. Speaking of, White Labs just opened their lab test brewery tasting room in San Diego. You should totally go when you have a free weekend. We'll be getting down there as soon as we can.

PS I'm not wearing an ascot in my photo... that's a scarf. :|

Love it. Hell, I would enjoy just sitting in a library with a roaring fire with a glass of brandy. But, you know, one can't have everything.

Hope you were able to get the C^3PA home in one (or 2) pieces. We drank some of its deliciousness from the keg last night, and I have to say it's a damn fine brew. Hope it carbonates up properly for you. Always enjoy when you come to pdx. Thanks again for a crazy awesome night of laughter to tears.

PS If you get this -- will you let me know if the others would like some homebrew, too, so I can bring enough? Thanks!!

I always love your fiction -- I would love to see more of it. I don't write, just like I don't draw or do very many artistic things, so I'm envious of those who do. You have a great talent, and I'm happy to see you use it. See you (and P&S and the 2xClicks!) tomorrow, with a bottle of IPA in hand. ^_^

I have to say that I'm happy you've picked up a hobby I also partake in. Back when you wrote a lot/alot about poker, I felt totally left about, but now I can beergeek with you. I've found that most brewers in small breweries love geeking out about brewing, and are fun to chat with. I've had the best conversations with brewers while traveling these here united states (and Canadian provinces, and soon, Japanese prefectures). Yay for alcohol - the universal friendmaker!

My soon-to-be-husband has been homebrewing for over 10 years and it was actually one of the many things that attracted me to him. I've been homebrewing now for just under 2 years and won a homebrew contest at a Timbers Army tailgate last year, even. First rule of homebrewing, which a lot of people have already said, but it deserves to be said again: sanitize *everything*. Second rule of homebrewing: relax, and have a beer. I also suggest keeping a good watch on your boil, especially if you're using a lot of sugars (usually for heavier beers), as boilovers are a pain in the ass. Keep a hose with a fine spray nozzle available, or if you're brewing indoors, keep a spray bottle handy to keep the foam down. Once you've made a couple of batches successfully, don't be afraid to step out and experiment with different hops, steeping time, etc. That's how I made my winning Honey Ginger Lager, and it's fantastically tasty. Hell, maybe I should actually publish the recipe... Lastly, it is really really handy to have a secondary fridge/kegerator/freezer available to chill the beer and keg it instead of bottling. We don't typically bottle too often any more, and having a fresh keg in "the back kegerator" is so very awesome. We have 2 batches to keg up tomorrow, in fact. Happy brewing!

I missed the "empty city" exhibit -- do you know where I might find more of these, or how to get in touch with the artists? Thanks!

I can't wait for Eureka to come back... I keep staring at its wee icon in xbmc, wishing and hoping... And I love love LOVE that Clerks quote. I use it all the damned time. ^_^

This is why I played GURPS when I was a kid, rather than D&D. My elf drummer whose weapons were poisoned drumsticks (stuck in v. uncomfortable places) was flipping awesome. The D&D kids didn't like my lack of "true roleplaying"... sigh. :(

Funny thing is that I just commented the other day on how "Frakes" you were looking in that Playing-D&D-and-laughing photo. I always wanted to have Troi hair. Until it was straight. Then it was lame. Hah.

Do they have a "geek expert" on set to ensure everything seen on-camera and said is "correct"? If not, will they hire me? ^_^

In addition, I'd like to cordially invite you to the Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders (soccer) match on Wednesday night. The Sounders play in MLS, and the Timbers are currently in USL, but will be moving up to MLS next year. This is round 3 of the Open Cup, and we're huge rivals - the match is going to be one epically awesome showdown. The Timbers play at PGE, right downtown, and tickets are $15. Seriously, if you have the chance, you should totally come. ^_^

Exciting! The weather has finally turned gorgeous here, so I'm sure you'll have a great time. Hit up Voodoo downtown during a weekday between 2-4; that's usually the least busy time. Oh, and definitely check out Big Ass Sandwiches - they're just around the corner from VooDoo and they have some of the best (and biggest) sandwiches this side of the Earth (you can follow them @bigasssandwhich and check out their photos). Enjoy your stay and hope to see you at Ground Kontrol!

PDX can haz moar w00tstock quarterly, please? Again, awesome show. Thanks so very much for coming and for going for the full 4.5 hours. I'm sure the peeps at the Aladdin will get over it eventually. ^_^

w00tstock PDX was indeed really fraking awesome. Thanks again so much for coming, and even more thanks for signing the Bop photo... I hope Paul, Storm, Adam, and Molly didn't give you too much crap over it. Have some great pics of Paul nearly *leaping* over Adam to get a good look at it. >_< ... hope you enjoyed your visit and got at least a good hour in at Ground Kontrol. -Devlyn

Though I'm not a local, I do go up to Vancouver 1-2 times a year for soccer matches and the like, so here's what I enjoy: The Fritz European Fry House on Davie and Granville has some kickass poutine, and still some of the best kebab/gyro I've had is at a hole-in-the-wall place next to the Hosteling International Hostel on Granville next to Nelson. I can't remember what it's called and streetview doesn't go down Granville (they've been redoing that whole strip for 2 years for the olympics, so I'm sure it's nice now, but the street didn't exist for a good while). Anyhow, for fun places to do stuff at, there's a market on Granville Island that's fun to go that's pretty walkable from downtown. I'm also a fan of Stanley Park and the aquarium. If you have a chance, take the bus up to Simon Fraser university - they filmed a lot of Caprica city scenes there for BSG, and it's just gorgeous and has fantastic views of everything, since it's on a hill overlooking the city. Back in downtown, the main library and Georgia and Home is also a must-see - it's gorgeous and has really nice reading rooms where once can just chill for a while. There's a really awesome Japanese bookstore that carries a TON of CHEAP manga downtown too, but I can't remember what it's called. :( I'm sure someone else might be able to figure that out. Oop, this is a really long post. Enjoy Vancouver!

Oh Carol, how I wish it were all true... sort of. Heh! I hope you all the best on your "travels". ;)

Wish PAX would have been around back when I was going to Burning Man looking for other geeks. Unfortunately, most of the so-called geeks there were the pervy types or dot-com-where-do-I-plug-in-my-Blackberry types, at least 10 years ago. Will likely never go back, but it's good to know there's some place for like-minded geeks to get together and feel accepted.

Kind of wish I could make it to the Seattle w00tstock, but PDX's is so cozy. I'll be first in line here, at least. ;)

P.S. Sounds like PAX is the Burning Man for non-desert geeks. I'm going to have to make it to PAX up in Seattle this year.

But w00tstock is so soon! I can't wait to see what you have for us there! ^_^

I wish I could have made it up there, but I was just too damned busy this last weekend. Any chance you'll stick around to sign books after w00tstock?