Stimulus Dollars at Work

The main thoroughfare in town is undergoing a much needed widening project. The project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as "The Stimulus." The process of widening this road speaks volumes about government projects.

Although it's hard to see in the photo at the right, notice the utility poles on the right. Originally, they were well off the roadway. Then as construction progressed, crews working around the poles, widened the right of way. Then the area was graded, still working around the poles. Then the forms for the curbing were built, working around the poles, leaving a gap in the curb in places. Next the contractors poured the concrete for the curbing, still working around the poles. Last week, the paving crews came in and, working around the poles, put down a layer of asphalt. 

Now this week, crews have arrived to put in new utility poles and one would assume, remove the old ones. Then crews will need to come back and finish building the curbing and filling in the paving.

One wonders how many tax dollars could have been saved by moving the utility poles first. But then again, the purpose of the Stimulus Act was to spend tax dollars, in any way possible.

The Gun Registration Lie

While flipping through radio channels in the car the other day, I came across a recorded interview of John Fogerty talking about his 1970 hit song "Run Through the Jungle." The artist was explaining the common misconception that the song was a protest against the Vietnam war.

I think a lot of people thought that because of the times, but I was talking about America and the proliferation of guns, registered and otherwise. I'm a hunter and I'm not antigun, but I just thought that people were so gun-happy -- and there were so many guns uncontrolled that it really was dangerous, and it's even worse now.

This quote is from the 1993 interview Fogerty did with the Los Angeles Times. Despite the quote being 18 years old, I was struck how the same meme is repeated still today, by the clueless and the dishonest.

What would be the purpose of gun registration? It has but one purpose, and that is the government-sponsored confiscation of guns from law-abiding citizens. Criminals won't register their guns, so those weapons won't be trackable. Tracking a gun after a crime is committed doesn't help the victim in any event.

In 1968 the anti-gun politicians in the Great Britain instituted gun registration. The lie told to sportsman, and hunters like Fogerty, was that the data would never be used to confiscate sporting guns. However in 1988 the government knew exactly where to go when they decided to confiscate all rifles. And then in 1997 they confiscated all hand guns. In both instances only law abiding and honest citizens were affected. Did Great Britain become a safer place? No. In fact, crime increased as citizens were disarmed and criminals continued their ways. Today we see the results of these misguided policies. Private citizens stand by helplessly while rioting thugs loot and destroy private property. The criminals still have their weapons, but a defenseless British population rolls over. There's no reason to think the same thing won't happen here. The Brits have no monopoly on dishonest politicians, or gullible citizens.

Today we see the same push for registration in the U.S. under the guise of "common-sense gun control." Only a dishonest politician uses this ploy. Only an uninformed citizen believes it.

It was not that long ago that President Obama spewed forth with his own plans for gun control: "We have to go through a few processes, but under the radar."

New Belgium Snow Day

This one one of the "impulse buys" from our recent beer shopping trip. New Belgium Snow Day Winter Ale is just one of the many beers from the Colorado brewery that are starting to make appearances in Virginia. I'm impressed, and appreciative, that New Belgium doesn't appear to be holding back in making themselves seen in the state. As an aside, just a couple weeks ago I was at a party where there was a keg of New Belgium's flagship beer, Fat Tire, and enjoyed it very much.

Snow Day pours a very dark brown with a thick, long-lasting tan head. The aroma has slightly smoky, caramel malts with piney hop hints. The taste begins with the smokey, roasted malt flavors, followed by the bitter pine hops. Mild citrus notes longer at the finish. Or wait, does the citrus hit first, followed by the roasted bitterness? As we sipped this one we debated which flavors were prominent. They're all there in a very tasty beer. The mouthfeel is creamy and mildly carbonated.

When we saw the 12-packs of Snow Day Winter Ale at the store, I initially hesitated over buying an unfamiliar beer. But I've always enjoyed New Belgium beers when I traveled to Colorado so I figured it was a safe bet. After trying the beer, I'm glad we decided to chance it. I don't suspect those 12 bottles will hang around long.

Impulse Buys

We went out beer shopping this weekend, with one mission in mind, to pick up some Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale. I've read that it's showing up in Northern VA, so I hoped we'd find it here as well. The first store we tried had only the 1.5 liter magnum size bottles, but no standard six packs. The second stop was a bust as well. However, there are lots of holiday beers showing up now, and we didn't make it out of either shop without some impulse purchases.

As pictured below, we picked up Heavy Seas Winter Storm, New Belgium 1554 Black Ale, New Belgium Snow Day Winter Ale, and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. Those aren't too shabby as consolation prizes I'd say!

That should do until next time. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Selfish Twits

Of all the idiocy surrounding the "occupy" movement, none better exemplifies the participants' inherent selfishness than the sign that some parents forced upon their nine year old, "What is in your bag that's more important than my education?"

Where do I start? How about maybe there's food for a family in the bag. Or maybe clothes or school books. Or maybe it's even a luxury like an iPod2 or Kindle. So what? What makes these leeches feel they are so deserving of other people's money? If the occu-nuts don't like the high cost of education, why aren't they out protesting their liberal college professor's selfishness at insisting to be paid for teaching them?

In another incident, the mindless drones invaded a Walmart and harassed shoppers before leaving behind 75 shopping carts full of merchandise that employees had to put away. The same employees they claim they are trying to protect. Too bad Walmart security doesn't carry pepper spray.

F. W. Sullivan's

The Richmond-based F.W Sullivan's held their official opening of the Fredericksburg location last week. Anxious to check them out, we stopped in for dinner on Friday. The restaurant is located at 409 William Street in Old Town Fredericksburg, and open daily from 5:00 pm - 2:00 am.

The decor of F.W. Sullivan's is, shall we say, sparse. The overall impression invoking of very tight budget constraints. The cavernous restaurant is divided into the "bar side" and the "dining room side" by a center row of tall backed booths. The booths are built of plywood and varnished (the varnish aroma still fresh.) The three-sided booths, with somewhat cramped seats have high backs and sides. One can't really slide in to the seats as they are a little rough. Perhaps with a few weeks of butt-polishing they'll slicken up. Due to the height of the booth backs and one end it was nigh on impossible to see anything outside the booth. It's a bit isolating. There are a few standalone tables scattered about. We chose to eat on the dining side, but upon reflection we would have chosen the bar side. The open end of those booths is towards the long bar so it seems a bit less closed in, and there's something to see other than a bare wall.

Upon being seated we were given food menus, but the beer selection was read to us by our server from her notes. There were a lot of "factory beers" listed but also rattled off were "Blue & Gray", " Franziskaner", (but not which beer from these breweries) and Hop Devil. It does seem as if Sullivan's is making an attempt at craft beer, but perhaps it's still too soon for the servers to know the beers. I opted for the Victory Hop Devil while Colleen selected the Falkensteiner, correctly assuming a hefeweizen.

Beer selection out of the way, we perused the food menu. The menu lists a wide variety of food, from burgers to wraps, pastas, quesadillas, salads, and larger entrées such as fish ‘n’ chips and meatloaf. We ordered the Buffalo Chicken dip as an appetizer. We asked for both pita and tortilla chips on the side. The flour tortilla chips were obviously made onsite and flavorful. This starter was very well-done with a moderately spicy creamy base and small chicken bits.

My entrée selection was the London Fish 'n' Chips. Alas, the response from the server was the entrée was only available in Richmond. I then opted for the Sully Burger, topped with bacon, white Irish cheddar, caramelized onions, stout mayo and a fried egg. The caramelized onions and "over-easy" fried egg made for a flavorful burger. Others in our party ordered the American burger, Philly cheese steak, and crispy chicken sliders. Our food arrived within a reasonable time and service was very attentive throughout our stay.

It will be interesting to see how S.W. Sullivan's shakes out. The staff are very casually dressed and it's a little hard to tell the employees from the patrons as there is no standard uniform or dress code. The sparse decor and unprofessional attire does not give a sense of permanence to the restaurant.

While the "ambiance" left a little to be desired, the product coming out of the kitchen was a different story. The food we enjoyed at F.W. Sullivan's was very well-done and flavorful. No one in our party had any complaints about the food and everyone enjoyed their selections. Our waitress was attentive, the only delay in service appeared to be in getting the beers from the bar. We all decided we'd certainly go back again for the tasty food.

Update: After our visit, F.W. Sullivan's began making the local crime news much too frequently for my comfort. I actually have not been back. Casting no aspersion, but better safe than sorry.

Update, August 13, 2102: See "Fredericksburg Police release list of incidents at city nightspots"

Occupy the Range

While Black Friday shoppers were out assaulting each other and the useful idiots of the "Occupy" movement were making plans to harass shoppers, we avoided the malls and headed out to the gun range.

I expected a crowd to be at the range, and I had mixed feelings about seeing cars at all the shooting areas. It meant that lots of folks had decided to occupy the range and not the mall. But it also meant we might have to wait. We even ran into a few friends at the gate who were heading to the skeet range. As it turned out we timed our arrival just as a group was packing up to leave on of the pistol bays. We set up our steel and paper targets and began our fun. I keep four or five different paper target styles with the range gear, just to mixed things up a bit —USPSA, silhouette, color patterns, realistic, etc. I had recently purchased some "hostage profile" targets so we put them on the stands for a while too as a fun way to add a little pressure to the shooting. Of course we took turns shooting the steel at 25 yards too.

As I've noted in the past, we like to mix things up by shooting lots of different drills. One of the fun things our group does on occasion is to have one shooter walk in random directions around the bay carrying an object. When the buzzer, also random, goes off the shooter has to drop what he is carrying shoot from that spot. We usually require hits on two or three targets. You're not allowed to top off the mag before you start either, so there's the unexpected reload added in too!

Before we knew it, we'd each fired a couple hundred rounds and other shooters were waiting their turn. It was time to pack up the gear, police our brass, and head home to get ready for an evening on the town. Occupying the range was a great way to spend an afternoon, and was apparently much safer than being in the malls!

Low Country Punch

As noted yesterday, I hadn't planned any special beers for Thanksgiving dinner, but that didn't mean we didn't enjoy a tasty libation with dinner. Here's something a little different, for us anyway, that we served during our celebration. Low Country Punch combines black tea, sparkling wine, rum, brandy and peach brandy as the main ingredients. It's quite simple to put together and can be done very quickly.

The drink exhibited a nice balance of alcohol warmth and fruit-sweetness while the tea imparted a bit of bitterness at the end. The sparkling wine gave some palate cleansing efforvescnce. While it was a change from the craft beer or wine we typically serve with dinner, and a bit more potent, the Low Country Punch was an enjoyable addition to the meal. I suspect we'll be serving it up for friends over the upcoming holiday season.

Low County Punch, courtesy of Tasting Table
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cook Time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
5 bags of black tea
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark rum
¾ cup brandy
¼ cup peach brandy
3 medium lemons, divided (use juice of 2 and thinly slice one to serve)
Large ice cubes
1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling wine, chilled

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepot set over high heat, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags and stir in the granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large punch bowl or pitcher, combine the cooled sweet tea, rum, brandy, peach brandy and lemon juice and stir to combine. Add the ice cubes, the sparkling wine and lemon slices and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately.