Thursday, October 26, 2006
Had the pleasure of attending a Carolina Hurricane hockey game last night that went into overtime. ('Canes won) Really cool. Met one of the players before the game, Niclas Wallin from Sweden, friends of Jim & Sue Smith. Jim brought me over to his house and then we went out for a coffee.

Monday, October 23, 2006
What another fantastic weekend in Apex, NC. (thanks to my great hosts, Jim & Sue Smith) Some of the pics show Jim & friends brewing his infamous Belarusian Imperial Stout. To make it official he had three of his Belarusian friends ‘helping’. Fiodar, Artem, and Vladimir. (all great characters) Terry, Sam, Rich and myself also lent a helping hand in our own way. 5-6 hours of slave-driving labor produced what appears will be a gold winner. I plan to return next October to hopefully sample the ‘fruit’. Truly a rewarding experience. Thanks. In addition to brewing, I was blessed to get to know Keifer, Andy, and Nicole (Sue & Jim’s kids) better. I also got to know Linn, Marcus, and Alex Wallin (some might recognize the last name as one of the pro hockey players on the Hurricanes) I made out like a bandit by receiving almost a dozen original art works from Nicole, Marcus, and Alex. Truly treasures in my book. (which is where they are) Thanks Sue for the wonderful meals and hospitality that you always show. Your mentoring is awesome.
Attended church on Sunday morning at Tree of Life Lutheran in Cary, only 5 minutes from the Smiths. Second time in October. Small but friendly congregation. Very uplifting. Pastor Geiger knows some of the LA Rosenows. (who doesn’t) They also have their services live and recorded on the web. Google them.
Returned ebullient! (look it up) Decided to prepare, campground style, lobster bisque infused with Eastern Blue Crab meat. Fresh Italian bread and a nice glass of Chardonnay made a near-perfect World Series watching event. See picture. The picture also shows a large gaping 250 mm hole in the side panel of my canopy. A 5” diameter (yes I’m mixing units) branch came crashing down during one of the several thunderstorms the past month. Could have been worse….. I could have been under it.
Badgers won. Packers won! Double rare yeah!
Looking forward to attending a professional hockey game on Wednesday, completing my classes on Thursday night, and driving up to Baltimore to hang out with Jamie and friends for the weekend.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Wet, drizzly, overcast, rainy day blues ….. perfect day to read & study. Finally able to get into the dentist to re-glue my crown. I have to laugh at some of the ‘things’ I do. Some of you have seen the Southwest Airlines commercial where the lady finds herself in the men’s bathroom. “Want to get away?” is the slogan. After spending considerable time at a Panera Coffee shop, I marched into the men’s room somewhat puzzled that they had removed the urinal. Much to my surprize, upon exiting, I noticed the bathroom across the hall was labeled “Men”. Opps.

Huge furniture show happening this week in the area. Expecting over 150,000 buyers/sellers. Met one last night, he’s from Wisconsin. Name is John. Lives in Oxford. Sat around the fire for several hours. Most interesting furniture designer. Not sure what he’s writing in his blog about me.

I’ve attached a few photos of the campground and a ‘working’ barn located about a mile from here.
Heading back to Apex for the weekend to help Jim brew a Belerusian Imperial Stout.

Friday, October 13, 2006
Boo! Friday the 13th. A very “crisp” morning indeed. Love it. Coffee tastes better the colder and earlier it is. Pictured here is the not so infamous #5 campsite, my home for most of October. No fancy Class A diesel motorhome, just a simple tent, canapy, utility trailer, and van. This is by choice. (for now) A weekend of exploring the area including the farmer’s market on Saturday. (yes, an incomplete sentence)
The internet at my favorite coffee house went down. Bummer. Still spent 3 hours in the café but found a work-around, called The Press. A wine bar. Doesn’t work at 8am, but in the afternoon, at 4:20 it works. Yes, that time is significant for my class.
Speaking of which, after about 4-5 hours of prep, I spent 5+ hours in last night’s class. Fantastic! Brought my own comfortable chair, ice chest (pop & milk) and snacks. 450+ people attended. The instructor made many great comments, but the following struck me more so:
“I don’t teach theory, I teach reality. Every day I do what I teach. As students, here is your template. (holding up the primary book for the class) Do not question it, just do it! Successful students follow the rules!”
Never heard that from any of my previous instructors in college.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006
I’ve received more than a few questions and comments about the classes that I’m attending so I thought I’d use this blog to explain what I’m doing in Greensboro, NC.
I’ve hinted to some that I sit in coffee houses and breweries for hours every day. “Must be nice!” is the most frequently heard complaint. More on that comment later. In reality I’ve signed up for a rather unorthodox program to get the equivalent of my MBA. The passing rate for the class is about 80% with only 3% excelling. Odds are not good for 80% of the attendees.
The class is actually 3-5 years long and not just a 4 one-time classes in October. For the college kids reading this, the lectures begin at 7pm and last until at least midnight. The lst class went until 1:30am. The professor had 1 ten minute break after 3 hours. He intends on weeding out the ‘weak’ right away.
The reading assignment is beyond most college requirements. I have a list of over 120 books to read, not just the initial 15 that I showed some of you. I’ve purchased about 10 of the first 15, and am required to read, at a minimum, a book a week. A major challenge for me. Some of the books are extremely dry.
The homework: 1-2 hours a day for 5 days a week, 52 weeks each year. Even though it’s self grading, the evidence of your work is examined/revealed after the first year or two.
I have 5 classes this fall, with 4 of them this month in the Greensboro area. Next year I will be taking another set of classes of similar length and most probably in the October time frame but in the Raleigh, NC area. This still allows me to travel to Mexico, Ireland, Maryland, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and the West Coast for the next year. (as long as I continue with my homework and reading assignments)
Class size in Greensboro is about 500 and the classes in Raleigh hitting the 1000 mark. Tough to speak to one instructor in that arena? Teacher’s aids? None.
So when I email you that I’m sitting in a coffee shop for three hours, I’m really doing homework and reading. I spent 2 hours today at a Chinese lunch buffet reading and getting two meals for the price of one. (you stay long enough, you don’t need a second meal)
An internet connection and access to CNBC and Bloomberg radio or TV is a requirement. In Greensboro, the campground where I’m residing doesn’t have those things, so I find them at coffee houses and micro-breweries. In addition, it’s tough for me to drink coffee for less than the buck they charge me all day. Frugal, absolutely! If I expect that from Jamie and David, I have to abide by that guideline.
So that explains the ‘what’ of my trip to North Carolina. As for the why, when I graduate in the 20% level or in the 3% level, it will be explained.

October 7, 2006
11th Annual World Beer Festival in Durham, NC
134 different breweries Over 300 different beers Live music and food.
Four hours of sampling. Fun!
Favorites: New Holland Brewing Co. Dragons Milk Belgium Stout, New South IPA (nitrogen), Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 90 minute IPA, Kuhnhenn Brewery Creme Brulee Java Stout, and Natty Greene's Double IPA. There were others, but I lost my list. Some breweries had some 'secret' samples that Jim and other home brewers knew about. These were beyond exceptional. People were great, atmosphere fantastic, weather.....didn't matter.

The Jim & Sue Smith family from Apex, North Carolina. Wonderful hosts for this past weekend. (Oct. 6-8th) Great food, great company, great family, and did I mention that Jim brews his own beers? Here were the headlines the day I arrived.
Thursday night, October 5, 2006
APEX, N.C. - More than 17,000 people were urged to stay out of their homes until at least Saturday after a thunderous series of explosions and a raging fire at a hazardous-waste disposal plant released a plume of thick black smoke and a yellow cloud of noxious gases.
No employees were believed to have been inside the EQ Industrial Services plant when the blasts rocked it late Thursday. Officials said 44 people went to emergency rooms, most complaining of breathing problems, but nearly all had been released by midday.

Yes, my friends from Apex warned me that I was going to enter into the 'hazard zone'. Still had a great weekend. Does chlorine smell like bleach?

Greetings from Juan Marcos deRosenow!
They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words. This one might be the exception. Beer, brat, cheese, Wisconsin. I found only 4.
Happy In Wisconsin!
Juan Marcos