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Austin Stevens – Snakemaster

We here at Beerslugger.com are not in the business of promoting people, however, Austin Stevens is just FANTASTIC!!! After watching a couple of his specials on Animal Planet we were amazed at what this guy does and his enthusiasm.  While Steve Irwin was a great Adventurer this guy takes the cake.

More info from him at Wikipedia, “In an effort to generate funds and public interest in the plight of African gorillas, Austin set a record by spending 107 days and nights in a cage with 36 of the most venomous and dangerous snakes in Africa. On the 96th day, he was bitten by a cobra, but to many people’s amazement he refused to leave the cage and was instead treated in the cage. Although he was very sick at that time, Austin completed the 107 days and beat the existing Guinness World Record (documented in the Guinness Book of Animal Records).”

In the video below he pets a wild King cobra on the Head! Seriously.  One of the more entertaining things we’ve encountered in a while.

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Net Neutrality

Network neutrality (equivalently net neutrality, Internet neutrality) is a principle proposed for residential broadband networks and potentially for all networks. A neutral broadband network is one that is free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed, as well as one where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams. (From Wikipedia)

Essentially the issue is whether or not the IPS’s should be able to restrict traffic or bandwidth based on the type of data or website or the ability of ISP’s to effectively censor or prefer certain websites/data over others.

Comcast as I have read has been “throttling” bit torrent traffic for some time now. Not getting rid of Bit Torrent traffic but slowing it down greatly. (The discussion on Bit Torrent whether used legally or illegally is for another day).

From a business standpoint, it makes sense for these Companies like Comcast to try and make as much money off their product as possible (Internet Connection/Bandwith). After all this is a free market and those CEO’s are paid to make money for their companies. It’s a no brainer for the Service providers to try to exploit it. Just like Corporations did to Radio and Television.

However, this is the internet. And we at Beerslugger.com support Net Neutrality. We want our site to be treated just the same as MSN.com or Google or any one of the millions of Porn sites out there. We don’t want our news/content to be censored or unavailable should an ISP (Corporate America) deem it so.

The internet is a place of freedom essential to our modern way of life. Don’t take it for granted and don’t let it go away.

Visit http://www.savetheinternet.com for more details.

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Sprecher Black Bavarian Lager

bb_pint_n_pint_cold
Had about 6 of these this past Sunday for brunch along with Lobster Mac n’ Cheese and some good conversation.

I was officially lit up at 5pm and in bed by 7.

From the website:

“This intensely dark Kulmbacher style lager has a superb malt complexity with the distinctive flavors and aromas of coffee, caramel and chocolate. A renowned smoothness and a creamy, tan head make it a world champion.”

Beer Facts:

Alcohol by Volume: 5.86%
Degrees Plato (Initial Gravity): 15P
Weeks Aged: 8
Bitterness Units: 32 IBU
Year First Brewed: 1985
Recommended Serving Temperature: 60°
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Black Patent, Caramel, Chocolate, Pale
Hops: Cascade, Chinook, Mt. Hood, Tettnanger
Sizes: 1/4 and 1/2 Barrels, 16oz Bottles

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Is Raul Ibanez the answer in left field?

After signing a 3 year $31.5 million deal with the Phillies in the off season, I offer the question was it worth it?
How much longer can Raul Ibanez keep up the 100 RBI pace? He is turning 37 this year and for most people not named Barry Bonds or juicing this is the down side of their careers. I know Ibanez has posted good batting averages over the course of his 13 years, but this has been in non-pressure situations and for teams battling for last place. Ibanez has made the playoffs twice – 1997 where he had 26 At Bats, and once again in 2000 where he had 140 At Bats and hit .228.

How will Raul Ibanez react to facing left handed specialists every night? In Seattle, Ibanez did not have to deal with being “the man” but that pressure to perform is on Ibanez since he signed his multi-million dollar contract. Hey, I am the first one to say I hope Raul Ibanez has a career year, but I don’t see it happening. I believe the Phils got to excited and jumped the gun on the market.

Milton Bradley, Rangers/Cubs, 3 years, $30 million
Adam Dunn, Diamondbacks/Nationals, 2 years, $20 million
Pat Burrell, Phillies/Rays, 2 years, $16 million
Juan Rivera, Angels/Angels, 3 years, $12.75 million
Bobby Abreu, Yankees/Angels, 1 year, $6 million
(per David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News)

I really can’t believe Raul Ibanez is making the most money on this list. He has averaged 105 strike outs a year for the last 4 years. Not to mention his OBP is .30 points less than Pat Burrell’s over the last 5 years.

Listen I am not going to sit here and criticize the Phils. We won the freakin’ World Series! But I just don’t know if this was the right move.

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Microbrews – Casco Bay Riptide Red Ale

Casco Bay Riptide Red Ale
Casco Bay Riptide Red Ale

While being involved in the beer of the month club for several years, we encountered a beer that was so delicious and easy drinking that we decided not to keep it to ourselves.

Directly from their website:

“ Riptide Red Ale
Our flagship, this Irish-Style Red Ale proudly won a gold medal at the 2000 World Beer Cup. A combination of 5 different malts and 3 hop varietals, carefully blended, results in a perfect balance. Full-flavored and medium-bodied, the Riptide Red provides surprising complexity for such an easy-drinking brew. The Riptide Red has an original gravity of 1.056 and a 5.4% ABV. ”

There were a couple of other beers from Casco Bay mixed in along with the Riptide Red Ale with the beer of the month delivery.  However, the Riptide Red Ale was clearly the best.

The beer only seems to be distributed in the Northeast. So this might be one of those once a year, birthday type cases because of the difficulty in acquiring it.

Truly worth the Effort!

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Preamble

How good it feels to be 26 & 27 years old to be playing videogames and drinking beers.

You may agree with some things, you may disagree with some things.  But at the end of the day you have to respect each other because we’re not affected by the daily grind and you shouldn’t be either.

It’s all about good times, good music and good friends. We are die hard Philadelphia  Sports fans, DRINK, listen to music, cook and always ask the question WHY?.

We promise to stay true to who we are and make you the reader think about issues from all sides.

If anything we’ll give you a first hand account of the different beers we encounter and that should keep the boozers involved long enough to peak their interest about everything else.

Fraternally,

Billy Beerslugger & Luan Zuccarello