Curious Souls

Remember, back in January, when we toured O'Dell and New Belgium? No? Here is a reminder. It just so happens that, tonight, on my way home from Ignite Fort Collins , I picked up some beer to restock our fridge. It also just so happened that Mighty Arrow was on sale. Unpacking the beer at home, I was ready to utilize my new knowledge of decoding the New Belgium time stamp to see when these particular brews were born. Wait for it... Yep. The 12 pack I just purchased was bottled exactly 4 hours 20 minutes after the beer that we pulled off the production line on our tour! Ain't life funny sometimes?

We are officially car-free at the moment* so our breakfast plans this morning involved a combo of biking and busing. Who needs a stinkin' car? :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *The (new in September) radiator in our van broke. Booo! Since it is fairly new, it appears that we can exchange it for a new one but that will take some time as it has to be shipped out and then a new one shipped in. Looks like we'll have plenty of time to get the hang of being car-free!

Since I am on the topic of finance, I have two excellent documentaries to recommend. " Inside Job " 'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. imdb Video " Maxed Out " When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Ma...

Wherein I reveal the impact of short selling our house on my credit score! February 4, 2010 (just before the short sale hit my credit): Note that this was a scale of 830. I used the same company to get my scores both times ( TrueCredit ) and today they gave me my scores using a scale of 990. Why??? If they thought to confuse me, they FAILED! I know how to do math, yo. February 4, 2010 in percentages: February 6, 2011: February 6, 2011 in percentages: Comparison: So my credit score dropped an average of 12% as a result of short selling our house (with one missed payment at the end of the short sale process). I have no idea if this can be unilaterally applied to other people in the same situation; how they calculate credit scores is something of a mystery and predicting what the effect would be was one of the larger irritations during the process. NOBODY could or would tell me. But hopefully this is a general guide of what to expect for those of you going through (or ...

I have figured out how to remove the shell from a soft boiled egg WITHOUT removing half of the white part of the egg along with it¹!! Check out this beautiful specimen from my breakfast this morning: Gorgeous, isn't it?! Are you ready for the secret? Here it is: Leave the eggs out on the counter OVERNIGHT² so that they are at room temperature³ when you cook them! Et Voila! Perfect eggs! In case you are interested, my soft boiled egg technique is as follows (modified from Nigella Lawson 's always fantastic advice): Put room temperature eggs in a pot and fill with enough lukewarm water to cover the eggs by about an inch or so.  Put pot on stove and turn heat to high. Bring to a boil and keep boiling for 45 seconds. Remove from heat and let sit for 8 minutes. Remove eggs and put in another bowl full of cold water. Peel and eat! UPDATE: Apparently, this technique works only for store bought eggs and not fresh eggs fresh from the chicken. Boo!! For those of you...

The other big (and super fun) thing we did with our friends when they visited this past weekend was go on factory tours at both Odell Brewing Co and New Belgium Brewing . Odell Tour stats: Approximately 30 minutes long About 25 people in our group Knowledgeable and laid back tour guide Small operation (62 employees, one building) and unfortunately not running since it was a Saturday I love Odell beer. Love, love, love it. And not to be too melodramatic, but it has changed my relationship with beer. Before moving here and falling in love with them, I did not like IPA's or stouts. But their IPA's and stouts? Ah-mah-zing. Obviously, their recipes have something to do with it but I learned on the tour that they don't pasteurize their beer. I actually have no idea whether or not this actually affects the taste (they say it does) but it's sounds cool, yes? Every time we've been to their tasting room, they have different beers available to try out. Turns ou...

We had some friends come visit us this weekend and guess what we did? We went sledding!! Want to guess where we went? Video Rocky Mountain National Park ! We rented two different types of sleds... ...and ripped up the slopes (as much as we could rip up a not very steep slope covered with small children). Video Thanks for the fun, ARS!