Complex Numbers

Adventure

You know what else it's wonderful to get back to doing?

I'm sure you know what I'm about to say. Yep, you've got me completely figured out. But I'm going to say it anyway.

Brewery visits.

Yesterday a friend and I visited two local breweries that, somehow, neither of us had ever set foot in before, and they were around in the Before Time so I have no excuse.

As is my usual procedure in such cases, I got a tasting flight of a variety of different beers. And with one exception, they were all really damn excellent beers (the one exception was just a really excellent beer).

Now, I don't want to give anyone the impression that I like all beer. I do not. For example, and I'm sure I mentioned this in here before but what the hell, I was presented with a lime-salt lager a few weeks ago that was utterly foul. But all that does is make me appreciate the good stuff that much more.

Still, not only did I like the beer, but now I'm going to have to go traveling again just so I can find more new-to-me breweries to try. I'm out of local options. Though that doesn't preclude me going back to those.

Edit:

PROMPT May 19th

Write about the most historic world events of your lifetime. How are they (or will they be) remembered? What will the history books focus on?

I know I've written about it before, but during my lifetime, the one historic even that stands out as the "most" is the first moon landing in 1969.

Certainly there have been other important events, and will be in the future, but in my view, the landing of humans and their technology on a separate world for the first time is not only the most significant thing we've ever accomplished, but possibly the most significant thing we can ever accomplish. Oh, sure, maybe we'll plant feet on Mars or soar through interstellar space, but there can only have been one "first time."

Of course, the way history books are trending, they won't see it that way. Possibly they already don't. No, instead of acknowledging this amazing feat of science, technology, teamwork, courage, curiosity, and sheer human determination, they'll probably spin it as:

- It wasted resources that could have better been used for other pursuits (it didn't).
- The effort wasn't inclusive/diverse enough (fair, but irrelevant).
- It was a vast international dick-measuring competition (also fair but irrelevant, as the competition produced results).

Worst of all, though, are the ignorant cockwads who deny that it ever happened at all, that it was a huge hoax. I'm not even going to bother to try to go into the reasons why they're wrong, and I fully admit that at this point some of them are just trolling for attention, same as many flat-Earthers. But I will mention why it's utterly maddening: because to deny that we managed to put a human on the moon not only denies the significance and importance of the accomplishment, but also denies human achievement itself. Denying it is also tantamount to saying: "we are human and thus incapable of great things," so it also denies something basic about our nature and what we are capable of.

Well, I've banged on enough.

I will say, though, that a close second to the moon landing in terms of historical events of great significance was the day in 1978 when Jimmy Carter signed legislation permitting home brewing, which eventually led to a proliferation of commercial craft breweries.

But I fully admit that this one may just be my personal opinion.