Beer is the basis of modern static civilization

Not my title. It’s a quote from Charlie Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science at the University of California (which is possibly the greatest professorial title ever).

More on the subject at Scientific American.

Some good quotes here:

Because before beer was discovered, people used to wander around and follow goats from place to place. And then they realized that this grain [barley] could be grown and sprouted and made into a bread and crumbled and converted into a liquid which gave a nice, warm, cozy feeling. So gone were the days that they followed goats around. They stayed put while the grain grew and while the beer was brewed. And they made villages out of their tents. And those villages became towns, and those towns became cities. And so here we are in New York, thanks to beer.

And this one explains my theory of Sunday morning brunch:

He who drinks beer sleeps well. He who sleeps well cannot sin. He who does not sin goes to heaven. The logic is impeccable.

Good stuff.

Busy, busy…

There was a Nike Liquidation Sale here in town, over at the convention center. Imagine if you took a football field and filled it with Nike gear. Shoes, shirts, socks, caps, jackets, pants… anything they can stick a logo on, basically. Then imagine they were selling all of it for 85% off the normal price. Yeah, it was a bit crazy over there. Still, I got some nice sandals out of it.

After that and a few drinks, I went over to see the condo. I’m both happy and disappointed about it. Happy because it’s basically done and practically ready to move in. Disappointed because they have not started replacing the carpet yet, the exterior door is still messed up, and there are some nasty scratches on the hardwood floor in one place. So that’s something I’m going to have to deal with in the next couple weeks that I really just want them to do without me having to pester anybody about it.

Still, I can’t wait to get the purchase done and move in already. Gotta find and talk to some movers, gotta find some new furniture for the living room, etc. Too much to do.

Also, last night I discovered that I’m pretty good at darts again. It’s been a few years since I really played, so it’s good to know the skills ain’t gone.

Spending money like it's going out of style…

So, it looks like I’m buying a condo.

I’ve been looking at the market downtown for the last several months now, going to friends places in various buildings, tooling around town on my own and walking through various places, and just generally getting a feel for the area and its pricing. So last week, when Clay told me about some new construction going on near the South Main area, I had to check it out.

The place is impressive.

What’s more is that it was impressively priced. With new construction, there’s generally very little haggling over price. The price that is given is the price that it is. When it goes on the market, realtors tend to buy up the properties and then sit on them to make a profit and raise the prices up. Then you can haggle. But when you find a place that’s not on the market yet, the prices are what they are. And these were pretty good for downtown.

So I toured the place, went home and did the math, called a mortgage guy or three, and will be buying it here in the next 30 days. I went in and started the paperwork and have the place waiting for me, more or less.

Since they are still constructing the building, I won’t really be able to move in until sometime next month, and even then, the lower floors will still be under construction. But I got a place on the upper floor that was almost complete anyway. All that’s really left for them to do in my place is to put in the rest of the hardwood flooring (I’m making them remove the hideous carpeting in the bedroom area in favor of hardwood), and clean the place up.

For those of you who have been to my apartment, know that the new place is smaller than my current apartment, in terms of actual floor space. However, it is larger in terms of feel, because it’s basically one/two big open rooms. The pictures don’t really do it justice. But here they are anyway. 🙂

css.php