Mashing the Past, Fermenting the Future

The evocative title for this post comes from Nick Rakowski's article in today's DC Beer.com blog. This article quickly flew to the DC Beer listserv and from there to Fb and countless blogs like this and websites like BeerPal.com. Brewing is mashing the harvested grain from yesterday, and fermenting the beer we'll enjoy tomorrow.  Great! 

Mashing the Past, Fermenting the Future: Terry Hawbaker, The Farmer’s Cabinet, and the Rebirth of Shenandoah Brewing Company

By 

Nick Rakowski

Published: August 29, 2011Posted in: Beers, Breweries, Featured, Interviews, News

Here is a LINK to the latest on the conversion of defunct Shenandoah Brewing Company and BOP in Alexandria, VA to Farmer's Cabinet Brewery. Very interesting! New owner will focus on farmhouse ales, (Lambics, Grisettes, Saisons, etc.) under the tagline: "makers of artisanal / primitive field beers"

What are your 9/11 plans?

Do you have plans for the 10th anniversary of 9/11? Here is what I have on the agenda.

We have a memorial on the E-ring side of 4th corridor for our 29 co-workers who were killed on 9/11 (29 of 125 in the Pentagon were from our office). On Friday, Sept 9th, we are hosting a luncheon for the families of our victims, and then we'll all meet at our memorial for a remembrance service. We've done this every year and it's powerful.

After that, I'll walk upstairs to the 3rd floor conference room where I was when the plane hit. Fortunately, the floor held until after those of us in that conference room were safely out. I am grateful that the plane hit the reinforced part of the Pentagon, or the damage and loss would have been many times more severe.

Next I will move down to the first floor 9/11 Memorial Chapel for some solitude. I love the stained glass windows there, and the Vietnam Memorial-like wall of engraved names. 

After that I will walk to the outdoor Pentagon 9/11 Memorial where there is a bench for each of the 184 who died (including the 59 on American 77). 

Next I'll take Metro's Blue Line train over to Arlington National Cemetery to visit General Maude and several others buried there.

On Saturday, Sept 10th, there's a 5K run fundraiser for Fisher House, a charity that provides housing for families of wounded warriors during their rehabilitation. 

Sunday 9/11/2011 there is the non-denominational Unity Walk down Embassy row. Later that night I also have a little ritual I perform with candles and flower petals at the waterfront. I light three candles (red, white, and blue) and toss petals into the water as I read off the 29 names. Then I recite a poem of remembrance. This is something I first did with my children and I repeat it every year. It's a source of comfort and hope.

The following week, I am riding up to NYC to see the new 9/11 Memorial there. I joined America's 9/11 Foundation too late to ride with the 2000 or so that came through Shanksville and DC en route to NYC last week. 

Other options and suggestions are found in these links:

• From The Hollywood Reporter comes this report of 9/11 TV: 5 Specials Worth Watching
• From DC About.com here's a list of September 11 Memorial Events Around the Washington, DC Region

Lots of worthy activities.

What are YOUR plans for 9/11?

Daniel Libeskind, Visionary Architect

Libeskind's rendering of Freedom Tower

I heard this outstanding interview of Architect Daniel Libeskind on The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR, and it inspired me to write and share some thoughts. I highly recommend this 20-minute interview if you are interested in 9/11, NYC, architecture, Daniel Libeskind, or--like me--all of the above!

Libeskind was already a famous architect when he was selected to be the master planner for the world's 9/11 memorial at the site of ground zero in Manhattan. Now that his winning vision is taking form, he will soon become a household name.

There are three parts to the project.

1. The 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated on September 11, 2011 in a special ceremony for victims’ families. The Memorial opens to the public on September 12, 2011 with the reservation of a visitor pass.
2. The 9/11 Museum, slated to open in 2012, will house artifacts such as bits of steel from the Trade Center towers, first-responder equipment, and items left at spontaneously-created memorials.  
3. Freedom Tower, which is already the tallest structure in NYC and will be open for mixed-use in 2013. 

Here are some additional links that describe the overall project concept and timeline:

• Renderings, models, and photographs of the 1,776 foot high 1 World Trade Center (Freedom Tower), the museum, and memorial.
• World Trade Center Reconstruction timeline (to be substantially complete in 2013)

In the NPR interview, Daniel Libeskind said that he became an architect because he realized it was the one profession that brought together all his passions, such as music, physics, visual arts, and psychology. I can relate to that! I am not aware of any other profession that so perfectly unites art and science.

Here are three additional links that describe Libeskind's philosophy and accomplishments:

• Powerful TED Talk entitled Daniel Libeskind's 17 words of architectural inspiration
• Daniel Libeskind's Online Studio 
• Images showing several of Daniel Libeskind's designs

Listening to Daniel Libeskind talk about his design motives makes me so proud to be an American, and a student of architecture. I am certainly following this project and cannot wait to make multiple trips to NYC to personally observe the beautiful plan take form and come alive in the physical world.

Recent aerial photo of  WTC Memorial site (AP / Mark Lennihan) 

True Happiness | Helen Keller

 

Image source: myhero.com



"Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

                              --Helen Keller 

Hat tip: Criminal Minds. Hotch spoke this quote at the end of Season 5, Episode 19, "Rite of Passage"

=========================================

The quote rendered in Robert Shetterly's beautiful portrait of Helen Keller reads as follows:

"When one comes to think of it, there are no such things as divine, immutable, or inalienable rights. Rights are things we get when we are strong enough to make good our claim on them."

My favorite Helen Keller quote:

"The aim of education is tolerance."

Improving performance and increasing accountability @ Performance.gov

“If we believe the government can make a difference in people’s lives, we have the obligation to prove that it works – by making government smarter, leaner, and more effective…”

                                                         -- President Barack Obama

Amen to that! The problem: we need a shared definition of effective. Otherwise, one person's waste is another's requirement, and discussions break down along dogma-driven fault lines. A little tug and pull in Congress usually works to produce a reasonable compromise which satisfices the requirements. However, the recent debate over the debt crisis in this country revealed a government that is divided, ineffective, and not particularly smart. It is a national embarrassment that we formed a supercommittee of Congresspersons to attempt what the body as a whole was designed, and failed, to do.

The problem with using Congress to solve a problem that Congress created is--or ought to be--obvious.  As Albert Einstein said, “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

On 16 August, Newt Gingrich advocated using Lean Six Sigma instead of a "supercommittee" to sort through the competing demands and find the best value for tax payer dollars. Lean Six Sigma (L6s) is a combination of Toyota's Lean Manufacturing speed and Motorola's Six Sigma quality. I have certainly seen L6s work in "target rich" government environments, such as the Army staff. 

"The former House speaker is a big fan of the waste-cutting management philosophy popularized by Fortune 500 companies, and used a speech to the Heritage Foundation to press again for its adoption in Washington. “An intelligent Congress in a city that wanted to be intelligent would hold hearings, bring in the experts, figure out how to fundamentally change the government.”"

Read more: politico.com 

NPR recently highlighted Performance.gov, an organization designed to respond to the President's challenge to cut waste, save money, and better serve the American people, by providing data and analysis for data-driven decision-making.

"...Performance.gov provides a window on the Obama Administration's approach to improving performance and accountability. Performance.gov shows progress on the Administration’s efforts to create a government that is more effective, efficient, innovative, and responsive.

"Reforming how Washington works is an ongoing effort that demands vigilance and leadership. The Administration is strongly committed to investing in what works and fixing or cutting what does not. As part of this effort, the Administration is leading the “Campaign to Cut Waste,” an initiative to eliminate wasteful spending and get the most from taxpayer dollars throughout the government. Whether driving progress on top priorities or cutting the cost of delivery, government leaders at all levels are accountable for achieving results."  

Read more: Performance.gov

I would love to see Newt's idea catch on. In fact, I would love to be a part of using L6s to make our government more responsive. Could I get a job working for Performance.gov? Of course, I would need to arrange a month off each summer to facilitate a rolling Chautauqua on Pirsig's Metaphysics of Quality...

Hat tip to NPR

A great idea for a course I'd love to teach... What do you think?

"The real cycle you are working on is the cycle called yourself."

I am re-reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM) with my friend Julie. Maybe you know the storyline: Basically, the author, Robert M. Pirsig, serves as narrator of the tale. He embarks on a 17-day motorcycle ride with his 11-year old son. They are joined for part of the journey by a husband and wife riding a second motorcycle. Traveling from Minneapolis to San Francisco, the author explains his personal philosophy in a series of talks. Educating his friends and training his son enables the narrator to delve more deeply into self-awareness and finally grapple with his personal issues to find peace.

The book was published in 1974 and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. ZAMM is based on Pirsig's actual 8-24 July 1968 ride. An excellent summary of ZAMM is HERE. More about Pirsig's philosophy, the Metaphysics of Quality, is HERE.

My idea is this: gather a dozen adventurous, motorcycle-riding philosophy students and re-enact this ride. We would travel over the same course, stopping for food and rest in the same places Pirsig wrote about, and discuss his philosophical concepts every night around a different campfire. How awesome would that be?

Check out a detailed map of the 17-day route HERE. It has GPS points and period photos. It's a great resource. 

Here's a concept sketch of how it would work. Students' tuition would cover fees and expenses. Course-related expenses would include: hiring a trail vehicle and crew with spare parts, communications equipment, and power generation to provide all emergency maintenance and medical support; medical and liability insurance; all required training aids (I imagine a hologram of Pirsig hovering over the fire!); and all required coordination with local jurisdictions for transportation and accommodation. All meals would be provided (the trail vehicle might double as chuck wagon). We'd ride together as a group and camp out every night. There would be a blow-out graduation party at the end of the trail. All of us would be responsible for getting to Minneapolis with a serviceable motorcycle and suitable camping gear, as well as getting back home on our own. 

If nothing else, it would be an awesome summer job. Think of it! Getting paid to ride and teach and drink local beer around a campfire while thinking deep thoughts with cool people. Heaven, right?

This is so exciting! ZAMM was a favorite of mine in Junior High. Another fave, for similar reasons: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach. At that time of my life, I was riding my bicycle everywhere. I had already ridden across the state of Iowa twice when I read ZAMM the first time in 1976. I was definitely the type to perform my own (bicycle) maintenance. My current ride, a Harley-Davidson Road King has many more parts and I have turned maintenance over to a qualified mechanic. However, I do have the service manual and I ask Mark a LOT of questions! 

And yes, I kept my dogeared and annotated copy of ZAMM. I had it with me on my last long bicycle ride, from Notre Dame, IN to Norfolk, NE in 1980. I did not get much reading done. 700 miles in 7 days! I agreed to read it again now with Julie and I am so glad I did. Some of the philosophy went over my head at the time. Now, some of the underlined passages ring a bit truer for me as I am certainly older and hopefully wiser.

"The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology. That's impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barrier of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is - not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both" p. 261

Here is a place where I disagree with Pirsig: 

"[...] the laws of science contain no matter and have no energy either and therefore do not exist except in people's mind." p. 2.

2 + 2 = 4. That is true regardless of whether people invent math.

Pirsig has been sharply criticized by some modern philosophers for considering something abstract as non-existent. Despite this apparent scientific materialism, there are some others who think Pirsig's philosophy is too religious or spiritual. At the same time, famous atheist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, quoted Pirsig, saying "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." Pirsig is a paradox, but that's OK. He shows how art and science go together, how the best technology is indistinguishable from our deepest values, and how the quest for Truth, aka Quality, is the key to peace.

I remain a fan of Pirsig's Quest for Quality. People can argue broad points and even nit-pick details. There is value in examining Pirsig's philosophy critically. And I think it would be a blast to share the critical examination of Pirsig's philosophy while riding over the same path he rode in 1968. This could be the Dharma Bums road trip of a lifetime for people.

2014 is the 40th anniversary of ZAMM and the 20th anniversary of the Road King. Perfect!

Who's with me?

Hoka Hey SITREP #7

Keith (#616) made it! He finished Hoka Hey 2011!! He just departed the Sydney Harley-Davidson dealer at about 11 a.m. and appears to be heading home. Well, done, Warrior!!

After 21 days on the road, Keith gets some rest at the local Day's Inn.

I saw that Keith made it to Sydney yesterday, August 25th, and by 5 p.m. he was catching up on some rest at the nearby Days Inn. I imagine that this morning he spent a little time getting his bike inspected before the ride home. By the way, it's a "mere" 1,300 miles from Sydney, NS to Fairfax, VA. That's a solid 24 hours of non-stop riding on I-95 if all goes perfectly. This "ride home" would be a life-changing challenge for most mortals, and Keith is doing this AFTER finishing a 10,000 mile, 21-day race over back roads. He may be facing some nasty weather and heavy traffic as hurricane Irene approaches. Even though the race is over for Keith, he still has a rough ride ahead!

Dig deep, brutha, you are almost home!!

I also noticed yesterday that our other local competitors were already home in Springfield, VA, ahead of Irene's advance party of rain and wind. Outstanding job, Amy and Laura. Hoka Hey! I noticed that you stuck together as a team throughout the race. I cannot wait to hear your stories!  I am in awe of your accomplishments!

Still a lot of challengers out there riding toward the finish line.

Today is the 22nd day of the race and there are still many riders out there, working against the clock and testing the limits of their bikes and their bodies. I wish all remaining competitors a safe journey to the finish, and on home.

This may well be my final update regarding Hoka Hey 2011. For more updates, follow the official Hoka Hey 2011 blog HERE. This adventure has truly captured my imagination.

Hat's off to Big Jim and his wife Beth, the organizers of Hoka Hey, and to all the participating Harley-Davidson dealers, and to all the challengers, and especially to the finishers--Warriors all.