Raleigh Beer Week Starts Tomorrow!

Blogging neglect aside, I am ecstatic to report that Raleigh Beer Week begins tomorrow. If you haven't planned out your beer tasting week yet, which if you're smart you would have, then make sure to stop by the Busy Bee, Flying Saucer and all of the other participating locations.

Supporting local businesses and tasting rare delicious kegs of beer? A win all around.

Now let's get to it. The business of beer. I am a sour beer girl to the bone. Well, to be fair, I'm a beer lover in general, but sour beers are my beer of choice. It doesn't get much better than a Petrus Aged Pale in a bottle.... oh wait. Yes it does.

Next week Busy Bee Cafe will not only have my lover Petrus Aged Pale on DRAFT, but they will also have not one, but my TWO other favorite beers in the whole world on tap. That's right, Petrus Aged Pale, Ommegang Zuur and the winner of them all, New Belgium Eric's Ale will be on tap for Raleigh beer week.

I'll forgive the less informed for not knowing the delights of the sour beers, but I will not forgive you for not stopping by and getting a cold glass of these amazing beers.

Also being tapped for beer week, the Bee will have:

• Brooklyn Detonation
• Malheur 12
• Bruery Coton
• Dogfish Burton Baton
• Dogfish/Victory/Stone Saison du Buff
• Ommegang Zuur
• Terrapin/De Proef Monstre Rouge
• Petrus Aged Pale
• Terrapin Hopzilla
• St. Louis Geuze
• De Dochter Korenaar Noblesse
• Knob Creek Foothills People's Porter
• New Belgium La Folie
• New Belgium Eric's Ale
• Great Divide Rumble
• 2007 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

If anyone can look at this list and not want to jump up and down with excitement, they are crazy. This is huge.

For the full schedule and up to date list of things going on in Raleigh for Beer Week, be sure to check out of fellow bloggers over at http://www.raleighbeerweek.blogspot.com/.

Not Raleigh, but still really awesome

Check this Out... A recent study has traced mitochondral DNA all the way back to the very first human woman. How cool is this?

Age confirmed for 'Eve,' mother of all humans

Mitochondrial DNA places her existence at about 200,000 years ago

By Wynne Parry

8/20/2010 11:19:17 AM ET

A maternal ancestor to all living humans called mitochondrial Eve likely lived about 200,000 years ago, at roughly the same time anatomically modern humans are believed to have emerged, a new review study confirms.

The results are based on analyses of mitochondrial DNA. Found in the energy-producing centers of cells, mitochondrial DNA is only passed down the maternal line, and can be traced back to one woman.

However, this doesn't mean she was the first modern woman, rather it indicates that only her descendants survive to the present day.

"There is always some other female that predated mitochondrial Eve, whose DNA didn't make it up to modernity," said Marek Kimmel, a professor of statistics at Rice University. "So the age of the mitochondrial Eve is always less than the age of the true, first female modern human."

A molecular clock
While most of an organism's DNA is contained in the nuclei of its cells, mitochondria also contain genetic material, but much less of it, making it easier to analyze. Mitochondrial DNA contains a region that changes rapidly and can provide a sort of molecular clock calibrated to times comparable to the age of modern humanity, making it a favorite for population geneticists, Kimmel said.

As part of the three-year project, Kimmel and Krzysztof Cyran, a Polish researcher, compared the estimates produced by about 10 genetic models intended to determine when mitochondrial Eve lived. They started with data on mitochondrial DNA previously collected from random blood donors.

Scientists know the average rate of mutation, so they can look at the genetic variation among pairs of individuals to see when their lineages diverged. But the equation becomes more complicated.

"Mutation is producing divergence, but some of the divergence is lost because of random events that occur, for example some populations become extinct," Kimmel said. As ancient modern humans dispersed, some groups settled and grew, while others became extinct.

The models make different assumptions about growth and extinction rates, which had the potential to change the estimate of mitochondrial Eve's age, the researchers found. One type of model makes the less realistic, but more manageable assumption that the human population has increased at a smooth, nearly exponential rate. Another more realistic, but more technically challenging type of model assumes the human population has grown in discrete random episodes.

An agreement
But, regardless, all of the models produced estimates placing this ancient mother's age at around 200,000 years.

"We actually show if one uses different models, one comes up with a very similar estimate, so this makes the estimate more robust," Kimmel said.

The estimates produced by models that assume population growth occurred in discrete, random bursts fell within 10 percent of each other. When taking into consideration models that assumed smooth growth, that range expanded by up to 20 percent. These models also tended to estimate that mitochondrial Eve lived earlier, according to Kimmel.

The research was published in June in the journal Theoretical Population Biology.

Addiction Satisfied

Someone reminded me this week that I have both an addiction to Raleigh and an addiction to the internet.

I see nothing wrong with either of these things to be perfectly honest. I can now walk home from work at 2:50 a.m. in the city I love, indulge Lola in her infinite love of fetch, and indulge myself in my lust for the internet. Is this so wrong?

Tonight was another glorious first friday. In fact, the first first friday that I have worked as a service-industry member of our fair city of oaks. No, I didn't get to enjoy the new show at Rebus Works, and no I didn't get to see Bobby at the Times, but I served beers like my life depended on it, and I did it well.

It's this small satisfaction that reminds me why I'm where I am to begin with. I refuse to accept doing what I'm supposed to do versus what I want to do, and I refuse to accept the "right thing to do" when what I want to do is just be myself. I'm an imperfect, flawed, confused 23-year-old that couldn't imagine being anywhere than where I am.

Ok, so I've gotten a little introspective with this post, but to be fair... I was at the Busy Bee for 15 hours straight today. I had no breaks, no leaving the building, no dinner, no nothing. I deserve a little internet self-indulgent lust.... right?

You Go, Hermione Granger!

OMLG. As if Emma Watson wasn't already my fave, she is now in the short-haired girl club! Just had to post. You rock that do, Hermione.

Makes me want to do my bangs shorter. Loves it.

RIP Internet-free Life

We are going to mark this past three weeks as having never happened. It was miserable. I felt like I was trapped in some Ayn Rand novel of a meaningless life... but it's over now. The interwebs live in my apartment once again.

No more post-free blogging. I missed Raleigh Wide Open, Cherry Bounce and god knows what else, but from here on out Raleigh is mine once again for the taking.

Crucial Wrong Turns

No internet: Day 8.

Yes, you read that correctly. I haven't had the internet for more than a week. Every connection I've had to the outside world has come courtesy of my Blackberry, and for anyone who has said aggravatingly difficult device, you feel my pain.

**Warning: this post from here on out is just me putting thoughts to screen. If it's boring, a bit cheery for me or just insane ramblings, don't say I didn't warn you to stop reading.**

Fortunately today I managed to pack up my belongings and head to the future (ok, The Morning Times) to connect to the outside world. One large black coffee, one banana and one fully-read Indy Week later, I'm a satisfied lady.

This past week, there have been a million things about which I've wanted to blog, but when I finally sat down to put words to screen, the only thing I can think about is my Indy Week horoscope. Don't get me wrong, I put as much stock in my horoscopes as I put in this month's Cosmo quiz, but then I saw this:

Capricorn: So it turns out that the "blemish" is actually essential to the beauty. The "deviation" is at the core of the strength. The "wrong turn" was crucial to you getting back on the path with heart. I have rarely seen a better example of happy accidents, Capricorn. You may not realize it quite yet - although I hope this horoscope is bringing it all into focus - but you have been the beneficiary of a tricky form of divine intervention. One good way of expressing your gratitude is to share with friends the tale of how you came to see that the imperfections were perfect.

In a few months, I've gone from an account executive at a public relation agency, a bright career on my horizon, a certainty that I was on the right path, to a waitress and full-time volunteer with a blog and a question mark lingering on every aspect of my current and future life.

Sure, we can't all go through mid-life crises at 23, but maybe we can take a second to step away from the shoulds, the musts, the ought tos and the have tos, and evaluate our lives, our thoughts, our actions, our jobs on a scale of quality rather than quantity.

In any given week, how many of our decisions are made by simply taking the path of least resistance? Do we ever say, to hell with what I should do, today I'm living for me.

I'm going to go on a date with that punked-out, wannabe rockstar skateboarder who is completely wrong for me just because I want to. I'm going to stop saying, "I wish I had time to volunteer at the SPCA," and just take a day off and do it. I'm going to read that cheesy romance novel instead of the classic just because I feel like it. I'm going to put my family's and my own happiness above everything else. I'm going to question everything in the universe and the heavens and not feel guilty for not believing what everyone else believes.

I should caveat this posting with acknowledging that this may be a case of "do as I say and not as I do." I'm always my own worst critic (just ask Erin). I usually find fault in everything that I do or say, every aspect of my personality, but that may just be the point.

Are the wrong turns, the blemishes in our personalities, the deviations from the "shoulds" essential to figuring out the truth and meaning in our lives? Do we spend to much time worrying about the future to stop and enjoy the present?

I suppose Twain said it best in this often-used cliche of a quote:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Maybe today is the day for me to take my horoscope's advice, and tell you the tale of how I'm trying to learn everyday that it's the imperfections in life that may just make it perfect.

**See, I told you I was feeling especially cheery/nonsensical today. This is what too much time to think and not distract myself with the internet does. You were warned.**

Home Sweet Home

I realize I haven't blogged in about 10 years, but lest you think I'm getting lazy, I thought I would update you on what I've been up to, which is.... MOVING!

It's official, my ten block life is underway, and although I don't have time at the moment to sit down and put some thought into my words, I figured the least I could do is show you some pictures.

I love this building almost as much as I love Lola, and that is saying something. As soon as you walk up to the front door, you get this magnificent feeling of walking into the past, and considering that the building was built in 1917, you almost are.

I'm such a nerd; I got super excited just seeing my name on the board.

Then as I walked up the five flights of stairs (of course, I walked to savor the moment and the joy), I took in the smells of a hundred years of memories, of people like me experiencing their first moments in the building and of decades both more difficult and less than our own.

It's the same feeling I get at the History Museum, a certain reverence for those who've gone before us.

An intense curiosity at what living in different time would be like.

But, as I walked through my beautiful green door with giant gold numbers and an old school knocker, I saw my kitchen and quickly realized I would find out what living in the past was like.

Microwave? no. Ice maker? no. Central heat? no. Central AC? no. Cable? no. Insulation? no. Lead-based paint? yes. 100% of my love? absolutely.

I won't even post pictures of my bathroom. You can get an idea by standing in place and imagining a toilet behind you, a sink 4 inches in front of you and a tub one door width to your right.

It's..... well. It's quaint.

Most importantly, I can now come home, walk into my open living room encased in windows, walk onto my balcony and see a view of the city I love.

I would give up every modern convenience in the world for that, and perhaps... I have.

But even on a day like today, where the damp haze can sometimes get you down, this view brings a smile to face and a warmth to my soul that is irreplaceable.

I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing with my life - where I'm going or why I'm going there - but I do know this, for now, I can say, I've found home.

Since leaving my parents home after high school, I've had temporary dwellings that were just a place to rest my pretty little head, but maybe now I can hang up a picture and call this place my own.

Then again, for anyone who knows me, I'm as temperamental as the weather, so we shall see.