Friday Vespers At The Institute

It is Friday and it is time to have a beer and stop debating whether Al Franken is merely stupid or if he is stupid and a liar. Join us, Institute Waitresses are standing by to serve you.

For those of you who insist upon the quaint custom of having something to drink to, Oil Traders in London provide us with an example of how to respond to protestors who want to interfere with the free market at work.

As three Greenpeace climbers hung a banner from the roof declaring "Climate change kills. Stop pushing oil", more than a dozen people were hurt when angry traders pulled a large metal bookcase on top of protesters and guards waded in to punch and kick people trapped in corridors.
Activists expressed shock at the reaction. "They were in a frenzy. They just went wild. They were trying so hard to hit us they were falling over each other," said Peter Mulhall, a commercial manager from Liverpool protesting at the amount of oil being traded.

Here's to you London Oil Trader People.




Beer News


Now is the time to submit your nomination for the 2005 Battle Of The Beers. We will be following this March Madness closely.

A raise beer taxes to reduce underage drinking lobbyist inadvertently provides free beer to minors. I hate it when that happens.

Beer Drinker Of The Year

The beer drinker of the year competition is down to three finalist.

Tom Ciccateri, an Alexandria, Virginia specialist in weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation programs, and four-time Beerdrinker of the Year finalist.

Ciccateri's beer drinking philosophy of "Beer is my guiding light" has led him to "a richer and more enjoyable life." It has also led him to extensive travels around the globe in pursuit of the world's best beers. Ciccateri has tried over 2500 beers in 30 countries, he has visited 321 of the planet's breweries, and attended 95 beer festivals. "And I'm still on my original liver," Ciccateri says.

Richard Pedretti-Allen, a McKinney, Texas recording producer and two-time Beerdrinker of the Year finalist.

Pedretti-Allen has been an award-winning homebrewer since 1989 and a certified beer judge since 1997. He has been a prolific organizer of pub crawls, beer dinners, homebrew competitions and beer festivals. His honeymoon with his wife, Valerie, was a two-week pub crawl of the United Kingdom's best pubs. He owns 7,000 beer coasters.

Fred Pelon, a Longmont, Colorado disc-drive engineer and the first Colorado resident to make the finals in the Beerdrinker of the Year search.

An avid homebrewer, Pelon's beer drinking philosophy is "Live to Drink, Drink for Life." He credits a beer-rich diet with helping him reduce a once unhealthy triglycerides level by 85%. He feels that people should diet and exercise "solely to extend your beer drinking lifetime." Pelon spent $5,054.51 at his local beer store last year, prompting the store's owner to ask an employee, "Does Fred own a restaurant?"

I do love the thrill of competition, good luck gentlemen. Winners will be determined Feb. 26 at Wynkoop Brewing Co. in Denver Colorado.