Moving the site (update)

The new SixPackTech.com is coming along rather swimmingly. I'm up to my nose in learning new stuff. This week yields a new header graphic (my new buddy, there at the left will be part of it) and the addition of a user forum. Although moderating a forum could be a bitch.

I'm almost comfortable with the structure of the file system on the hosting service, but updates to existing software packages leaves me a bit befuddled. I'll have a new email addy hosted on the site and I still have to look into how that works. WordPress is a little daunting but is quite learnable. I keep drilling into my own head, "Patience, patience, patience!" Good things come to those who wait. I hope I don't do anything stupid right after a Brew Review. Hmm. Maybe I should. Na-a-ah!

I want to have everything we have here at the .blogspot place to be present at the new place and I haven't quite decided on what to do to smooth things out and still have a few new features. The WordPress import feature will (I'm told) migrate everything from the old site - posts, comments and whatnot over. But no pictures. (Foo!) I'm a little unsure as to how smoothly cutting the cord will go in our case.

The only thing the user will see is the new decor. Everything under the hood, the stuff for me as admin dude, will be new. I think there will be a bit more HTML involved on a daily basis but I'm up for the challenge. I tuck my copy of WordPress for Dummies under my pillow at night and it seems to help. But I develop a flat spot on one side of my head every morning.

The Archives feature at the new place is something I'm unfamiliar with as yet. Other stuff like the BlogRoll, RSS feeds, widgets and backing up the database is all new territory for me. It will come, though.

I don't think anyone out there is more excited about putting up a new, graphically great, feature-laden website than I. But right now I think, from my own standpoint, that we're about 90% there. The babes are there, the voting is in place and the familiar USB sixpack is there. There are a few minor details yet to iron out. I just have to learn how to use this iron.

Stick with me guys. Yer gonna love it!

New Weekly Babes

The new babes for the week have just been uploaded. Look left. Scroll down. Over yonder.

Is that a knee? Or an elbow? Whatever it may be, there's a nice tushy attached to it somewhere. A sultry blond with assets awaits in the Butt of the Week.










Our Nat or Not poser will once again keep you guessing, once you've seen her. Take a deep, long look and then think to yourself... "Is she real?"

When you're done, vote.





The votes for last week's babe were unanimous:

Yep: 10
Hmm: 2
Nope: 1

Another beauty graces our confines.


If you have a viewing preference or suggestion, just leave a comment below.

Saturday Night Blue Collar Brew Review

The choice of brew tonight is based on a snippet of conversation I overheard at the Beer Store (not FSL) a few weeks ago. A guy was asking if they had a beer called Shiner Blonde. He said his father-in-law was in town visiting from Texas and that Shiner was the guy's favorite beer. He walked out with two sixpacks.

On my visit there for a review beer last week, I asked the counter lady if they had any Shiner Blonde. She scoured the shelves and coolers but came up empty handed. She offered me some paper and a writing utensil and asked me to write it down. "We could probably order it," she said. "Oh, and put down your phone number and we'll give you a call when it comes in." HUH? Do businesses still do that anymore? Hell, I was impressed! I wrote down my vitals and paid for the sixer of Harp Lager, which I reviewed last week.





On Wednesday of this week I took a call. It was the Beer Store. I was floored. The Shiner Blonde had come in and there were some already being chilled awaiting my patronage. By Friday I had the test specimen in my possession. This week's review will be on Shiner Blonde, brewed in Shiner, Texas.

So here it is, Saturday night and it's beer night. Good ol' noche de cerveza. I'm going to dispense with all the initial sniffing and smelling and bottle tasting and just dispense the contents of the bottle right into the mug. Let's get it on! Into the mug it goes and up comes a white foamy head with rather large bubbles clinging to the inside. Large bubbles is rarely a good sign, aren't it? (sic) The head dissipated quite rapidly. Is it the beer? Is it my mug?




Let's have a taste. Hmm. Not the big whammo that I was expecting. A little tasty. Not very bitter. It has a rather thin taste to it almost as if the brewer didn't let it cook long enough or ran low on one of the ingredients. By the time I downed four sips, the head was gone. The remaining liquid reminded me of a large urine sample. With bubbles. C'mon. It just looked that way it didn't taste that way. Of course I'm going to have another. Eight bucks is too much to spend on beer to just give it away.

As I popped the second bottle and dove in, the taste became more apparent. It's really not bad. But the taste seemed to get bored quickly and fell asleep until I jarred it awake with the next sip. This beer's taste could be the equivalent taste to say, MGD in Texas.

All in all, this beer is drinkable but not memorable. If I was offered this beer I'd drink it again. It's not a waste on your taste buds. It's just not the party you'd expect from a premium beer. This beer is like a large suitcase containing only a few tees and two pair of underpants.

At eight bucks a six-pop, I'll skip over it next time I want something sapid and sudsy.

The SixPackTech ratings for Shiner Blonde are:

Taste: 6.5 - am I missing something?
Smoothness: 5.5 - Perrier with bubbles.
Drinkability: 6 - I guess I'll have another, then I have to go.
Bang for the buck: 4 - twice the price for half the taste.
Wife's all encompassing opinion: "It's barely a beer."