Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas.

Apologies for the cheesy title. Yes, it's been too long since I posted anything here. Life and work have been full of distractions!

I never told you about...

- Our "hoptacular" trip to San Diego, where we visited the Green Flash Brewing Company and Port Brewing. Green Flash does not have a proper bar; rather, they open up the floor of their bottling facility to the public three days a week. Their Imperial IPA left a big impression on us: ~10% ABV, chewy, hoptacular, and almost bacony. Port Brewing had a neat little tasting room with deli cases full of local and imported beers. Mickey had an oaked Arrogant Bastard from Stone that was inspiring. I tried an unusual Hitachino Nest beer that was stored in sake barrels. I like Hitachino's products, but the strong, musty flavor of fermented rice in that beer was not my cuppa tea.

- The "Drugs from Bugs" conference in Alta, Utah. We're allowed to attend one conference/year on the company dime, and this one looked fun. Bacteria, viruses, and other pests have evolved ways to either avoid detection by your immune system, or to cow it into submission. Nematodes, for example, induce a state of "tolerance" in the immune system so they will not be attacked. How do they accomplish this? It's a question that's very interesting to scientists, because with autoimmune diseases like type I diabetes, the body does *not* tolerate itself. Instead, it destroys itself. What nematodes are doing to suppress the body's reaction could be used to create a therapy that tempers autoimmunity. This conference was held at the Snowbird ski resort, by the way. I tried skiing for the first time in umpteen years. I fell down. A lot.

- The races! It has been a very intense race season for Mickey. He had his bike overhauled since crashing last year. The engine was not only replaced, but taken apart for a polishing, tweaking, and tuning it has never before experienced. His dynamometer readings arc higher with every adjustment; his lap times descend lower (and... lower next time?). Read his great writeups here. Yes, I said dynamometer. I can also throw around terms like triple clamps, V-twin, and trail-braking. Does that mean I can repair my own car? Not a chance.

Early in the racing season we heard a hilarious term used for bravery - "testicular fortitude". We joked about the possibility something like that existed in pill form, to be handed out to racers having a slow day on the track. I was dying to play this gag on someone, so we decided to make candy-filled pill bottles with this label. I sketched out a rough idea and sent it to my brother Marc, who is a first-rate artist. He turned my scribbling into a slick graphic, which Mickey printed and attached to medicine bottles. Can't wait to hand out more of them...