9/11/2001

This:

"So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden. Thus [you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam (i.e. are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire) or at least come under your protection], but if it had been Allah's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost," --Surah 47, 4*

Begets this:

Today we pause to remember the innocent victims slaughtered that day 10 years ago. May God grant them eternal peace in His presence.

*http://www.dar-us-salam.com/TheNobleQuran/index.html

Flying Dog Single Hop Centennial IPA

Flying Dog Single Hop Imperial IPA (Centennial) is another beer in the Maryland brewery's Single Hop Series. The Simcoe version was reviewed here previously.

The beer pours a cloudy marmalade color with a thick off-white head. The head drops to leave a thin layer, and lots of lacing behind. I picked up the floral and honey aromas right away as I poured. The flavor is citrus fruit — I'm thinking grapefruit and orange. The citrus flavors have some sweetness, much like the "meat" of the fruit, rather than bitter rind. This Double IPA comes with a 10% ABV that doesn't hide. Centennial IPA is a somewhat boozy beer, but it does still go down quite smoothly. The mouthfeel is syrupy and leaves a sticky finish behind.

I enjoyed this version of Flying Dog's Single Hop IPA while relaxing after a long work week. It was just the sort of beer for slowly sipping, at home, with no place to go.

I received this bottle of beer in an unsolicited package from Flying Dog Brewery. Flying Dog is very active in reaching out to the community and frequently sends samples out to bloggers. And while I don't write about every beer they send, I do appreciate their generosity. (Other breweries take note.)

FTC Notice: I drank and reviewed this beer of my own free will. No compensation was received for the review.

God vs The Liberal - Friday Funny

It's an oldie but goodie...

A liberal college professor stood on his chair and said, "God, if you exist then knock me off this chair." Nothing happened. To the quiet class he said, "See! Now I'll give it a couple more minutes." A Marine Vet stood up; punched him in the face knocking him off the chair; and sat back down. As the Professor came to, he looked at his student and asked, "Why did you do that?" "God was busy protecting my buddies still fighting for your right to say and do stupid stuff like this, so He sent me!"

Virginia Does Whiskey Too

Readers of these Musings already know about the many great beers being produced in Virginia. Recently we learned that the wine industry in the Commonwealth is experiencing fantastic growth as well. Now comes the news that a Virginia distillery is making its mark as well.

Less than two years after Becky and Scott Harris produced their first spirits in a modest space in a Purcellville industrial park, interest in their liquors has become such that this year they will double their 2010 production to 20,000 bottles. Even better, they expect to turn a profit for the first time, despite having absorbed heavy capital costs, such as the purchase of a $200,000 German-made still.

Catoctin Creek is the first distillery to operate in Virginia since Prohibition. They produce organic rye whisky and gin, brandy from Virginia wines, and seasonal specialty liqueurs, which are distributed in Virginia and six other states.

See "Loudoun distiller plans to double its production" for more information on Catoctin Creek's success and expansion plans.

USPSA Area 8 Championship

The USPSA Area 8 Championship was held September 1- 4 in Fredericksburg. 310 shooters converged to compete on ten challenging and fun courses of fire. I shot the match over two days - completing 5 stages Saturday morning and 5 on Sunday morning. While I did not shoot as well as I had hoped, I had a great time. How many other sports allow the amateur enthusiast to play on the same field, at the same time, as those who are at the top of the sport? The match was extremely well-organized and ran quite smoothly, as least from the competitor's point of view. The Match Director, RO's, volunteers, and everyone involved are to be congratulated for putting on a successful match. Area 8 has a well-deserved reputation for putting on an excellent match, and they sure didn't disappoint this year.

The weather Saturday morning was very pleasant with slightly overcast skies and comfortable temperatures. Our squad began the day on Stage 8, a classic 30 round field course. This was a great warmup to get the day started. Stage 9 provided a couple a couple of swingers activated by hitting steel poppers on opposite sides of the stage. This required the shooter to run back and forth to activate then engage the targets. Stage 10 was where I returned my best performance of the weekend. Four shooting positions, and three reloads, made for a quick run. I happened to be able to watch Grand Master Travis Thomasie shoot this particular stage on Friday - maybe that gave me some inspiration!

The most challenging stage for me was Stage 1, which contained two Texas Stars. I think I've now doubled the number of times I've shot these rotating target arrays. The final course of fire on Saturday, Stage 2, was unique, and certainly nothing I've ever done before. The shooter was strapped into a seat with wheels that rode on rails, and pulled himself forward while shooting at targets on either side. It's stages like this that make regional matches so interesting and so much fun.

For the second day of shooting, on Sunday morning, the weather was a warmer and more humid. Stages 3 and 4 required a bit of memory work to make sure all targets were engaged. Nothing extremely complicated, but I've struggled in the past with keeping my plan straight (once that buzzer goes off!) and I was pleased to work on that a little more. Stage 5, the "shaky bridge" stage gave us another out-of-the-ordinary challenge. The shooter was forced to engage some targets while standing on a suspended platform. I was pretty pleased with how I did on that one, although I did mange to put one shot through the edge of a wall, costing me a miss and a penalty. Looking at that wall, I wasn't the only shooter to have done so! Stage 6 required strong hand only and weak hand only shooting. These are skills that I try to practice frequently - and need to do so even more. The final stage of the match was another classic "shoot 'em as you see 'em" course with both steel and paper targets.

Just two weeks ago I was doubting that I'd even be able shoot this match due to a knee injury so I was very happy that I did get to participate. These regional matches are challenging but a lot of fun at the same time. My overall finish was low in the rankings, but when I compare my hit factors and point percentages I'm pretty much inline with my current classification. There was also marked improvement from my finish in last year's Area 8 match. I was pleased with how I did in some areas, and learned some things I need to work on too. But most importantly, it was a lot of fun to shoot a challenging match with a great bunch of shooters. And that's the whole reason for going anyway.

Labor Day Earthworks

Labor Day in the U.S. is the traditional last day of Summer, even though there is still plenty of time left for summer activities. Many folks have the day off and celebrate by doing no labor. This is also the season the moles seem to be active. Unfortunately the canine member of our household has been busy at work. He seems to be quite adept at sniffing them out, digging, and yes, catching them.

As annoying as they are, the moles are fascinating creatures. I watched one quickly tunnel back into the ground after we called off the dog. It was amazing how quickly it could burrow through the hard compacted ground. Looking at the bright side, that part of the yard needs work anyway, and the dog has certainly loosened up the earth.

Bullets, Belgians, and Burgers

This is perhaps my favorite time of the year. Even though the days are slowly getting shorter, it's still light long enough into the evenings that we can get in some play time after work, yet the temperatures are cooler than they were just a few weeks ago. Recently we took advantage of these seasonal factors after work and loaded up the car to head to the range for a couple of hours of shooting. After a cortisone shot earlier this week, I was even able to move around and do some shooting on the move.

Returning home and stowing the gear, we decide to relax with a beer before firing up the grill. I opened up a bottle of Heavy Seas Letter of Marque that we recently brought back from North Carolina. I've been looking forward to this! The 2011 version of this beer is a Belgian style Dubbel. The beer pours a lovely dark caramel color, with a moderately thick beige head. As I brought the glasses over to the counter to where we were sitting, I could smell the delightful aroma of sweet caramel and dark fruit. The flavor follows the aroma quite nicely with subtle plum sweetness and bready yeast. The finish is clean and the 8% ABV is well-masked. I enjoyed this one very much and would certainly pick up a few more bottles if I came across them.

We all enjoyed that Belgian so much our appetites were wetted for another. A trip to the beer fridge revealed a bottle of New Belgium Trippel that I had picked up just this week. (New Belgian beers are now available in Virginia, and my local chain grocery store had a nice display.) If this had been a planned tasting session, I would have served the Trippel before the Dubel, but this was a serendipitous evening.

The New Belgian version of the Belgian Tripel poured a bright golden color with a thin head. The aroma was sweet with some mild alcohol detected. The flavor was mildly sweet with banana and yeast notes. Some spices was detected but they were not prominent. The alcohol is more noticeable than experienced with the first beer of the evening.

By now the burgers were done and we finished off our glasses and the impromptu Belgian beer evening. Though unplanned, it was quite enjoyable. If I had been scripting the meal, I probably would have served the Dubbel with the burgers, and then possibly enjoyed the Tripel with the lemon pound cake Colleen had baked for dessert. But then again, no one had any complaints about the dinner as it unfolded!

Virginia Wine Sales At All Time High

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that sales of Virginia wine reached an all-time high of 462,112 cases sold in fiscal year 2011. The numbers show an increase from 414,785 cases in FY 2010. That's great news for the Virginia wine industry. The Governor's announcement goes on to state:

Promotion of the Virginia wine industry both domestically and internationally is one of Governor McDonnell's many economic development and jobs creation initiatives. During the last two sessions, the McDonnell administration has worked with the General Assembly to establish a reimbursable tax credit program for the establishment or expansion of vineyards and wineries and to more than the double amount of funds from the wine liter tax placed in the Virginia Wine Promotion Fund for research, education, and marketing programs. Governor McDonnell also has promoted the sale of Virginia wines during trade and marketing missions to the United Kingdom, Japan, China and South Korea. In addition, First Lady Maureen McDonnell has made the promotion of Virginia wines and winery tourism a key component of her First Lady's Initiative Team Effort (FLITE). She too has promoted the sale of Virginia wines abroad and has visited wineries across the state with restaurant owners, sommeliers, chefs, grocers, retail shop owners, and others since FLITE was launched.

Imagine a world where comparable efforts are used to promote the Virginia craft beer industry. Now THAT would be news! Of course, given the Governor's stated preference for Miller Lite, that day is probably a long way off.

Maybe Governor McDonnell should have a discussion with Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper, who knows a thing or two about craft beers.