Diagnose your health problems using beer.

More people are turning to the internet for self-diagnosis of health problems. This is one of the great benefits of the technological marvel that is the world wide web, and not only do I fully support it but I wish to contribute myself.

This is why I am sharing a system I developed to accurately pin-point your health problems using a cheap and easily accessible tool: BEER.

This is how it works: your body is a complex mechanism that processes inputs to generate energy and provide the nutrients that your body needs to operate, while expelling anything that is not needed. If your body is not operating effectively, it will expel more of one thing or less of another, and there will be tell-tale signs of this in the colour of your pee. Stick with me here ...

To take advantage of this underrated bodily function, I have developed the Perfect Urine Beer Scale (PUBS). Using PUBS, you can tell what ails you simply by comparing the colour of your pee to the colour of an ale from your local beer store.

The PUBS^© diagnosis

If your pee looks like: COORS LIGHT

Diagnosis: The pale colour indicates that you are lacking vitamins and minerals in your diet. Go buy yourself some fruits and vegetables for a change. If your diet consists mainly of Coors Light and empty carbs, your urine will look like Coors Light. Coincidentally, your pee and Coors Light also probably taste the same.




If your pee looks like: KOKANEE

Diagnosis: You are healthy. This is a normal colour, which means that your body is operating normally so you can cancel your doctor's appointment. There is no need for you to waste his time and yours with a needless check-up when you can tell just by looking in the toilet bowl that you're in perfect health.


If your pee looks like: RICKARD'S RED

Diagnosis: The red tinge is a result of blood in your urine. You had better sit down for this part ... you are dying of cancer. If you haven't caught it by the time you start to pee blood then it is probably way too late. You shouldn't have cancelled that doctor's appointment last year. What were you thinking?


 

If your pee looks like: SLEEMAN HONEY BROWN

Diagnosis: This is darker than normal which indicates that you are dehydrated. The solution is to drink more fluids. No, NO, not BEER. I mean something besides beer. Get a glass of water or juice or something like that.


If your pee looks like: NEWCASTLE

Diagnosis: You are extremely dehydrated. What the hell were you doing? Never mind ... just find a cool room, perhaps a rec room in the basement, drink water and keep drinking until your pee returns to normal. Do it now, before you pass out and require an IV drip.




If you pee looks like: HOEGAARDEN

Diagnosis: The cloudy appearance is due to a kidney infection called pyelonephritis. It sounds bad, but don't worry, it is treatable with antibiotics although severe cases may require hospitalization.

Or you may have cataracts. Better get your eyes checked too.


If your pee looks like: GUINNESS

Diagnosis: You are a zombie. That is all you need to know.











Disclaimer: The accuracy of the PUBS^© diagnosis may be compromised by eating Doritos chips with artificial colouring, especially Spicy Chipotle BBQ. Also, everything else may be grievously incorrect.

Exchange Brew Pub

A column in the Free Press this weekend - Exchange brew pub might make Irish eyes smile - correctly points out that Winnipeg does not have a brew pub. I am not quite sure why this is, but it is shameful.

The author, a Benjamin Gillies, also reminded us of the complete lack of foresight that our civic government had when it rejected a proposal to sell an abandoned pump house in the exchange district to an entrepreneur to create a unique brew pub: the Pump House Restaurant and Brewing Co. This, and the nonesense that followed whereby the city lost $600,000 in a failed attempt to do something with the building, is also shameful.

Benji (can I call you Benji? Good... thanks) goes on to propose a reviving that old brewpub idea:

"Should another developer approach the city with a solid business plan for establishing a microbrew restaurant, the government should seriously consider donating the pumping station to the project (as it did for the Red River College's downtown campus).
Instead of holding onto an empty building as it slowly succumbs to demolition by neglect, the city would be putting the heritage structure to productive use and earning tax revenue in the process. It would also be contributing to the growing list of unique attractions that make Winnipeg a more dynamic place to live in and visit. And that is definitely something worth raising a glass to."

The location is great. It's an area that growing in popularity with condo developments springing up, and an interesting development directly across the street where Sunstone Group is developing a boutique hotel and outdoor plaza area on the waterfront.

The concept includes a restaurant and wine bar to be built in another old building: the Harbour Master building that juts directly out onto the Red River.

If the James Avenue Pumping Station doesn't work out, that doesn't mean that we should give up on a brew pub in the exchange district. It's a great idea, and a natural fit in my opinion. There are lots of heritage buildings with wood beams and rustic brick walls -- not to mention space for vats and equipment -- that could make a great brew pub location.

ahem...

Source: www.winnipeglovehate.com/

There is certainly more to this absence of brew pubs than a shortage of appropriate spaces, and I suspect part of the answer lies in mounds of red tape. I haven't had an opportunity to compare the Manitoba brew pub application process to those of other provinces, but given that the MLCC has 12 different types of liquor licenses, one could guess that anything having to do with booze in this province is probably unnecessarily complicated.

Nevertheless, I am hopeful that our local beer diversity may increase. One reason: The Government of Manitoba is slowly relaxing some of it's liquor laws. Some initial changes were made in 2011 and 2012, and you can view some more proposed changes here. (Thanks Ben). Though the changes are mostly incremental, the general tendency is to make liquor regulations less restrictive, which is a good thing for consumers. For brew pubs, one of the most important changes I think is this one:

"Brew pubs will be able to sell their product on an off-sale basis and through other retailers such as Liquor Marts."

There is also a brew pub concept brewing in Brandon MB. The Brewtinerie, to be established in an old fire hall, is not yet a sure thing but it's an exciting proposal for beeries, especially those in Brandon, and I see it as a good omen for Winnipeg.

Another local beer development that is worth mentioning is Farmery Brewing: a true made-in-Manitoba beer. Read more about it here.

While the old Waterfront pump house might have missed it's opportunity to become a brew pub, I am optimistic about the beer landscape expanding beyond our existing local beer heroes Half Pints Brewing Co. and Fort Garry Brewing Co. because of the developments mentioned above.

Unibroue and the MLCC

Everybody knows that the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (the "LC") is a communist instrument to control our drinking behavior and limit our quality of life so that, like a bunch of deprived North Koreans, we plunge into a depressed malaise that prevents us from caring about life enough to bother rebelling against the government that is suppressing us in the first place. It's kind of like Stockholm Syndrome, except with beer instead of chains.

That said, Liquor Marts are generally well located across the city, and I have no complaints about the selection of wine and hard liquor. There are also independent wine stores that you can shop at, although they too operate within the firm embrace of the ever-caring and wise LC.

Beer, however is a problem. The LCs have a limited selection, and precious little refrigerated beer. Hotel beer vendors, of which there are none in my neighbourhood, have more cold beer but an even worse selection, and under archaic laws are required to operate in association with a hotel .. which is why there are none in my neighbourhood. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why independent beer boutiques should not be allowed to operate in Manitoba.



I went to a Festivus party recently, and brought with me a 750 ml bottle of Unibroue Éphémère. During the traditional Festivus Airing of Grievances, I expressed the following peeve of mine: that Unibroue beers are only available in Manitoba in these large 750 ml bottles. Unibroue makes some of the best and tastiest beer in Canada, but I'm deterred from buying it because each bottle of beer is a commitment.

You see, sometimes 750 ml is more beer than I feel like drinking in a given evening. Now according to the host of that Festivus party, you can cover or recork the bottles and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days. That may be, but to me keeping an open beer in the fridge overnight is just wrong and immoral. A beer can never be at it's best if it's been open for a day or three.

Sometimes 750 ml is also more than I should drink in an evening. Many of the Unibroue creations have higher than average alcohol content. For example, Trois Pistoles, La Fin Du Monde, and Don de Dieu all have 9% alcohol. That makes 1 (one) bottle of any of those beers the equivalent of drinking 4 (four) 341 ml bottles of any average beer.

To make matters worse, the big bottles are plugged with a cork that's a bitch to get out unless you have a pair of Vise Grips handy.

All of these beer do come in regular 341 ml bottles. I know because I saw it with my very own eyes last time I was in Montreal. I bought a six pack for my hotel room. Can we get these here in Winnipeg? No.

Today MLCC tweeted (yes, they're on Twitter, aren't you?) that they were bringing in Collection Packs from Unibroue.

The Collection Pack is a variety pack containing a couple bottles of different brews (Trois Pistoles, La Fin du Monde, Maudite and La Fringante, according to Cody). This is fine and everything, but the point of a taster pack is to allow somebody to try different beers and find one or two that they like more than others. Once they find that flavour that they enjoy, they're forced to buy the becorked 750 ml bottles if they want to continue drinking it.

Apparently we used to have Unibroue 6-packs here but the distributor stopped bringing them in. This just raises the question about why our beer selections are being limited by a single distributor. How can our beer selection be at the whim of a faceless corporation? Why can't MLCC allow individual beer stores to import their own selection? Why do we even need the MLCC?

One of the quirky search terms that I found when doing my 2012 wrap-up post was "we want beer protest". I think this person may have been on to something. People, it's time for us to rise up and demand more! More choice. More freedom. More beer!

Beer review: Lia Fail

Hmm .. I see that it's been a while since I've done a beer review. Well okay then, here we go:

The bottle tells me that Lia Fail means "Stone of Destiny" in Gaelic. The Irish Republic Party Fianna Fáil is translated as "Soldiers of Destiny". Therefore, with my super intelligent Mensa-eating ultra-brain I have deduced the following:

Fail = Destiny

Lia = Stone

Fianna = Soldiers

Thus I have learned three new words today, and so have you! I also presume that Lia Fianna, though it may sound really gay, actually means "Stone Soldiers". Someone out there should name their son that. I dare you.

The bottle also tells me that Lia Fail is "distinctively rich", and that it's "from the heart of Scotland", and there is also a Celtic Cross on the label further adding to the mystique. This here brew has a lot to live up to.

The bottle also tells me that Lia Fail is a "Scottish Dark Beer", although Beer Advocate tells me that it's more precisely an Ale. She comes in a 500 ml bottle and weighs in at a welterweight 4.7% alcohol. The ale pours a cloudy copper colour with a nice foamy off-white head. My nose picks up toffey and citrus, and a little bit of foam if I stick it in too far. The beer feels a little flat in the mouth when you drink it, and I can't say that there is an explosion of flavour exactly. I can taste hops, and maybe ... rye bread? There is a finish of orange peel and stomach acid. It's not as bad as that sounds.

So: is it a pass or a ... *ahem* ... Fáil ? I'll give it a marginal pass. I was a little disappointed after reading the label, but it turned out to be a run-of-the-mill British ale, which is still better than most of the factory beer you get in the vendors. Give it a try. It is your destiny.

Tangerine Wheat Beer

I haven't reviewed a big-ass bottle of microbrew in a while, so now seems like a good time to crack this thing open:

It's Tangerine Wheat Beer, brewed by Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe in Eureka California, and no I didn't leave the beer sitting on the table for 45 minutes before taking the picture. That is a freshly poured beer you're looking at. The head is white and very thin and evaporates in nanoseconds leaving you with a glass of flat orange liquid that could very well be urine from a dehydrated horse.*

I have probably only eaten a tangerine twice in my life, so I can't tell you if it smells or tastes like tangerines or not. My nose is picking up dried apricots (not literally.. my nose isn't that talented) which may very well be similar to tangerine, seeing as they are both fruits. Actually, it has a sweet sort of smell, like a hard fruit candy of some kind. Wheat beers are not generally the most flavourful beverages in the world, although some can be quite tasty. This one has more of a feel than a taste. It is slightly tingly in the mouth with a bit of a metallic fruit flavour, leaving not much behind after disappearing down your throat, except for some reason my saliva glands are going crazy.

Overall, I think this one misses the mark. It might appeal to the sort of person who drinks Bud Light with Lime, though I can't see it being as refreshing on a hot summer day. At 5% alcohol it's not much stronger; and coming in a 650ml bottle, it could be shared with a friend. Or an enemy.

For other perspectives, go here.

*caution: even though it may look like pregnant mare urine, you should not have unprotected sex after drinking this beer.

FASD and reading polls

It must be a slow news day.

Mia Rabson, staring at her empty in box this morning, was forced to manufacture a story that only half of Manitobans know what causes FASD. This willful misinterpretation of a poll should never have been published, or perhaps should have been written as "Between 97% and 100% of Manitobans know what causes FASD" ... but that wouldn't really be news-worthy.

The poll asked: In your opinion, how much alcohol, if any, would you consider a "safe" amount for a woman to drink at one time while pregnant?
none: 88%
1 drink: 6%
2 drinks: 1%
don't know/unsure: 3%

So it appears that at least 97% of Manitobans realize that drinking alcohol at some level is unsafe. The remaining 3% may also know this, but may not be sure what the "safe" level is. This is understandable, as scientists don't know either. You may question that 1 or 2 drinks is safe, but there have been a number of studies including a well publicized British study late last year that determined that moderate drinking actually appears to be safe:

Children whose mothers have one or two drinks per week during pregnancy are not at any greater risk for developing behavioral or cognitive problems than children whose mothers abstained completely. -link-

... not that I would recommend drinking anything.

The reason Mia says that half of Manitobans are stupid neanderthals who live under a rock, is because of this question:

"The only way to get FASD is by drinking during pregnancy"
Strongly agree: 46%

Like I wrote in the Freep comments: "

"It sounds like a trick question. Maybe you can get the same condition by drinking gasoline or smoking salvia or hanging upside down for 8 hours a day while pregnant. Who knows?"

Or, like a different reader more coherently writes:

"People who know FASD is caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy may answer "neutral" or something south of that answer because they don't know if there's possibly another way to get FASD. Drinking heavily just before pregnancy, perhaps? Drinking while breast feeding? Although I believe they are not ways to get FASD, a reasonable non-medical person might think it's possible, and not want to answer definitively that alcohol during pregnancy is the ONLY way to get it."

The survey itself is flawed and probably not worth reporting on. Mia's mangling of the results compounds the flaws to such a degree that the reader is left less informed than if they had never seen the article in the first place.

Come on, Mia. I know you can do better than this.

Dead Guy Ale

A review of another of my Christmas beers:

After my last beer review, Miss Martin commented:

Ever gone on an Oregon microbrew binge? Based on this post, I have a carefully formulated hypothesis that you would lose your shit. Scientifically speaking.

I have not made it to Oregon unfortunately, but yesterday Oregon came to me in the form of Dead Guy Ale. Brewed by Rogue Ales in Newport Oregon, this "Handcrafted micropiece" is "Greatfully Dedicated to the Rogue in Each of Us." I can't help but think of Sarah Palin when I hear that word, but I will try not to let that interfere with my objectivity.*


This Rogue is 650 ml and 6.5% alcohol. It pours a deep amber with a cream coloured head that has a thin texture and dissipates fairly quickly. The taste is citrusy with just a little bit of bitterness, and it goes down leaving little behind in the way of aftertaste.

It is a pleasing beer and not nearly as intimidating as the name suggests. It was easy to drink, and a full 12 hours after doing so I am not dead at all. For other reviews, go here.

*if you want my thoughts on Sarah Palin, you can check out Impalin' the VPILF and Pullin' for Palin.

A Wee Angry Scotch Ale

I was lucky enough to get some beer for Christmas. Not your run of the mill beer either, but non-standard beer in non-standard sized bottles. This particular specimen clocks in at 650 ml and 6.5% alcohol. Enough to get a bit of a buzz going if you haven't had supper yet ... like a certain someone I know.

A Wee Angry Scotch Ale is brewed by the Russell Brewing Company in BC. Russell is the outfit that bought Winnipeg's Fort Garry Brewery three years ago. It may very well be the case that this ale was brewed and bottled here in Winnipeg, as opposed to the Russell plant in Surrey. Anyhow, enough talk. Let's tip this thing and see what it's like:

She pours with a thick foamy orangey-tan head that slowly subsides, leaving sticky lacing around the glass. I have a bit of a cold, but even still I can smell the maltiness of the beer. It tastes a little bit of nuts and wood chips, but in a good way. It is very drinkable. There is residual bitterness that stays in the mouth for a good while afterwards, which encourages you to take another slug of beer so you can get back to that wonderful wood chip flavour. It's a vicious cycle, and the reason why I've already had to refill my glass since starting this blog post.

The reviews on Beer Advocate talk about caramel and toffee. Maybe I should eat a caramel just to see if it tastes like wood chips to me with this cold. Regardless, it's tasty yet inoffensive; and your friends will feel inferior to you, with their wee little weak-ass bottles of piss-coloured 5% Budweiser.

Le Réveillon, a Christmas tradition

One of my favourite memories from Christmases past is réveillon -- a French Christmas eve celebration that involves staying up late, eating and drinking -- all of the the key ingredients of a worthy tradition. The catch was that I had to endure midnight mass first, but since that was the only time I went to church all year, that was an acceptable sacrifice.

The payoff was a late night meal of tourtière, including a little glass of Baby Duck wine. As a kid, this was exciting because I never got to drink alcohol except at my grandpa's house where he would slip me a shot glass of Tia Maria every now and then. If I remember correctly, we also got to open a small present that night. It was like a mini late night Christmas with booze.

I highly recommend réveillon as a tradition. You may already have Christmas traditions, which is fine, but how do they stack up against réveillon? Maybe your current tradition is boring. Maybe your current tradition involves trying to read Polar Express to your over-sugared kids who can't stop screaming and fighting as your intoxicated spouse is farting on the couch and yelling at the TV screen because the Canadian Junior team missed a chance to go 12-up on Belarus. If so, then maybe it's time for a new tradition. Or simply add this one on top of the others. The choice is yours!

FAQ

Q: But what if I'm not French Canadian? Can I still celebrate réveillon?

A: Yes! We're not Ukrainian, but that doesn't stop our family from having perogies and holubtsi at our get-togethers.

Q: Do I have to make my own tourtière?

A: No. You can buy them all over the place, especially in St.Boniface. The Dutch Meat Market on Marion is one such place.

Q: What is that funny little line over the "e" in réveillon?

A: That is an accent. Specifically, an accent aigu. It makes the "e" sound like an "a".

Q: If they wanted the "e" to sound like an "a", why didn't they just spell it using an "a"?

A: Oh for fuck sakes, why are you asking such stupid questions? Next...

Q: Can I give my kids grape juice instead of wine?

A: No. Don't be a pussy. Give them wine.

Q: If I give them wine, won't that stunt their growth and make them retarded?

A: You shouldn't use the word "retarded". I used the word "retarded" in a post once, and somebody commented and gave me shit for saying "retarded" and said that it was offensive to retards ... or something like that. The proper phrase is "cranially sub-optimal". And no ... one glass of wine will not hurt your kids. All it will do is get them accustomed to the taste of alcohol at a young age so that they start drinking earlier and become alcoholics who beat their wives and/or whore themselves out for tequila shooters. Haha. I'm kidding. They'll be fine. Give them the booze.

Q: I can't pronounce "réveillon" without a piece of spit jumping out of my mouth from the back of my throat. What do I do?

A: This is normal, but if you wish you can call it something else, like "late night Christmas eve dinner", or "Yay, time to drink wine!"

Q: Can I go now?

A: Yes. Merry Christmas!

Health, wellness, and blasphemy

I am feeling very confined. My wife has banished me to the office, forcing me to kill time by writing on this stupid blog. I suppose I could be doing my taxes, but on a Friday night? No. I don't think so. I started drinking three hours ago already.

The "man" is also beating me down. The man being the government of our province. First, they approve a $260 million dollar bird-killing factory, which has caused the me to lose sleep. Poor little feathery creatures. Then, they submitted a budget that spends $5 billion on health care, yet still doesn't cover the experimental treatment for keeping my finger nails from growing so fast. And now, this. Come on, man. Don't make me take off my copper underwear! It gives me the support I need, and only recently broke in to fit me perfectly!

****

On another note, I shall give you some health advice, because I am an expert. I am an expert because I say I am, and because I have a master's degree*.

Drink. Specifically, drink the following:

A glass of red wine, to lower your cholesterol, followed up by a pint of ale to make your bones strong:

A beer a day could keep brittle bones at bay. That's because beer is rich in silicon, an element that has been linked to bone health. But what type of beer should you drink? ... lighter-coloured beers made from pale malted barley and hops, such as pale ales, are richest in silicon, while low-alcohol beers contain the least, along with stouts, porters and wheat beers.

But don't put away the stout just yet! You need that too to prevent heart attacks.

Feeling good yet? Good. But you're not done: you also need to grab six or more cups of coffee to keep yourself alert and also prevent Parkinson's disease, diabetes and cancer.

That's my typical morning anyways so I should be doing OK, except for those damn fingernails.

*in economics.

****

If you're into blasphemy, these guys might be for you ... I found out about them here and had to check them out, from curiosity. This music isn't really my bag, but the song gets better as it goes on. You can pick up some influences from Metallica, and Avril Lavigne. That last one might be my imagination.

Friday Night Beer

Hmm. It appears that the Broom's Friday Night Blues and Beer is missing it's Beer component this evening. I knew Darcey was going through some hard times, but no beer??? It must be worse than I thought!

Oh well, I shall chip in with Green's Discovery All-Natural Amber Ale


Coming in a half-litre bottle with a pop bottle-type twist off cap, this looks suspiciously like garage brew ... but if so it's brewed in the garage of somebody with a sense of humour:


... and the garage is in Belgium.

The beer pours a hazy dark copper colour, and a foamy beige head forms, not unlike the stuff that gathers between rocks along the shore of the pacific. The foam dissipates slowly, leaving little clusters sticking to the glass.

I though the beer was reasonably tasty. I got some roasted walnuts and a hint of citrus in there. It leaves a tingly feeling on your tongue, with a little bit of bitterness of the back-end. Verdict: not bad for a beer lacking celery and crustaceans (and wheat and barley ... what makes this beer again?). 3 peanuts out of 5.

as always, get a second opinion.

... and don't forget to check out Darcey's as-always kick-ass Blues set.

Increase the drinking age? No.

This story is a day old already, but I am not the most punctual blogger, so forgive the lateness:

One Winnipeg school division wants the minimum drinking age increased from 18 to 19:

Peter Carney, chairman of St. James-Assiniboia School Division, says increasing the legal drinking age would help discourage students from coming intoxicated to class or other school functions. <ctv>

however:

Carney says there have been no incidents involving intoxication in his division this school year, and adds that even without a change in the law, the school's penalties are severe.

so if I read this correctly: you have rules in place already, and there is rarely a problem to begin with, so .... wtf?

"It would be nice to quote the law, and not just school rules," he told CTV News.

Ah.

This appears to be a classic strategy from the socialist playbook: "even the most trivial problem can be resolved with more legislation". It's in there. You can look it up. basically, Carney wants the law changed because a few principals in his schools are too lazy to enforce their rules, on the rare occasions that it may be required.

The legal age being 18 didn't stop me from drinking when I was 15. I don't think the increase to 19 would do a whole lot. In fact it could rob young adults of some valuable experience. For me, my high school drinking years prepared me very well for the alcoholic onslaught of University. Imagine if you went in as an alcohol virgin, and got thrown into that pub-crawling, beer-bashing, Aggie How-Downing booze-fest with no prior experience of how well you handle your booze, how to contain hang-overs, or what type of sourpuss you prefer. That could be very dangerous, and could tarnish the University experience for many.

Ergo, the drinking age should stay where it is. q.e.d.

Last minute gifts

You're Christmas shopping and you're frustrated and you're thinking: "Gosh, what should I get ____ for Christmas? They have everything already. :-(" Then you open up a flyer and go "Look! A hammer that turns into a screwdriver which doubles as a level. They don't have that! :-)"

Don't do it!!! It's a piece of crap!!! It's called a gadget. It's something that is either unnecessary, redundant or tries to combine multiple tasks and ends up being good at none of them. As an example, let me introduce you to the Zibra:
It's a cutter, it's a snipper, it's a slicer, it's a screwdriver! It's a piece of crap!!! How do I know this? Because it tries to do 4 different things at once!

Kitchen gadgets are no better. These often take the form of useless plug-in appliances: electric knives, electric can openers, electric rice makers, etc.. I have a rice maker. It's called a POT!

So you still don't know what to get somebody? My suggestion: booze. Booze is always appreciated. A couple bottles of wine, or a nice bottle of scotch or a bottle of Vodka wrapped up with a bottle of Clamato, Tabasco and Worcestershire. Something like that.

You're welcome.

Woo hoo! Long weekend. I cut outta work a little early today. I'll have to check out Darcy's Friday Night Blues and Beer selection of tunes a little bit later, because I've got international hockey on the tube right now. Canada up by two after an awsome goal by Green. I've been trying out a few new beers lately, but have gone back to one of my fav's today:


I've got to say that I'm I a pretty upbeat mood, despite all of the devastation in Asia and the fact that killing a hooker nets you only one day in jail (if you beleive the headline). I am formulating some thoughts on Waverly West and will stick them up here soon. There have been some stories lately about the insatiable appetite for housing, which makes me wonder why we can't push through geothermal energy and proper road infrastructure as originally planned. There's more than one way to reach equilibrium in a market, but the little ticky tacky house makers will tell you that there's only one: more quantity.

Anyhow. Enough about that. Time to relax and watch Canada bury the Swedes. Have a good long weekend everybody.