June 2008 - Posts
It is crazy some of the laws this country has on the books. I was talking with the father of a friend last night, and he was decrying the ridiculous brewpub laws in Alabama. I went and searched, and it is just crazy. This law was passed in 1992.
The Brewpub Act re-legalized brewpubs after Prohibition, but it contains several seemingly arbitrary stipulations. The law prohibits a brewery from serving its beer on premises and bottling it for sale elsewhere (either is allowed, but not both). The brewpub must contain a restaurant that seats at least 80. The most onerous portions of the law stipulate that a brewpub must be located in a historic building—not just any historic building, but one located in a county that was home to a brewpub prior to Prohibition. In Alabama, that means certain historic buildings in five counties are the only prospective brewpub sites. Although the Brewpub Act technically legalized the establishment of brewpubs, it created so many obstacles for prospective brewpub operators that it effectively discouraged the growth of what has become a thriving industry in many other states.
Craziness. Here's the full text I yanked that from. I am glad Michigan is at least somewhat reasonable in this area...
http://www.civilizationrevolution.com/
Oh yeah. A console version of the best game ever... I may have to wait until there are used copies around, but this looks pretty awesome...
http://www.drumstrong.org/
One of those randomly cool, great causes. Check it out...
Congratulations to my big brother, his friend George, and most importantly their children and their friends, who made up the St. Anthony of Padua School Odyssey of the Mind Tee Structure competition team on their 24th place finish in the World Finals!!!!
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/competitions/wf_competition_scores.php?sch_event_ID=6000&sch_problem=4&sch_div=1&show_breaks=1
I know Dave and George worked hard to coach this young group of creative individuals, and I know the kids gave their best to compete at the highest level of this competition. Their finish may not make headlines outside of this blog, but they are all champions to me!! As a former Science Olympiad competitor myself, I know how fun and yet challenging these competitions are. I hope that the experience inspires these kids to expand their minds and take on even greater endeavors.
Again, congrats to the whole group -- you have made us all very proud of you!!!