Where I'd rather be ....

The post lunch lull has hit me, and even though I have to finish preparing for an 8 hour workshop I'm running tomorrow, my mind is drifting to where I'd rather be.

I can narrow the list down to three bars:

• Mussel Inn, Onekaka, Golden Bay, New Zealand


• Rose Hotel, Chippendale, Sydney, NSW Australia


• Liars Club, San Diego, USA
  

The three bars all have in common a very laid back bohemian style atomosphere with great beer and food. I've spend many hours (and dollars) at each and if ever I was to start my own place the inspiration would come from these venues.

Alas, back to workshop preparation.

The Beer Factory

Last night the Hills Brewers Guild got a tour of the newly opened Beer Factory at Seven Hills in Sydney and I was really impressed.

It is a really great setup, lots of space, nice and clean, and great enthusiasm from the staff.

They had a couple of beers on tap that tasted very clean and refreshing also.

I really hope places like these prosper and serve to educate the community on what great beer can be brewed instead of being dictated to by major breweries and their advertising campaigns. The end result of this could be a micro-brewery explosion like on the West Coast of the US. Then we all benefit.

If you haven't brewed beer before, or have and failed, check these guys out. You won't be dissappointed.

It's This Easy

USB Air Missiles

Saw these in one of the Sunday papers today as a suggestion for father day. I know a couple of guys in my office that would love them.

You cubicle warriors out there can get pretty intense in your day-to-day work environments. This USB-powered launcher with three darts may be the perfect weapon to add to your arsenal. Using the included software, firing is just a mouse-click away. Unfortunately, yes, you still have to go pick them up after they're fired and there is a good chance all three darts will be lost quickly. Oh well, at least there won't be assault charges after you beat your cube neighbor with the ole' Swingline

USB Air Darts - Gizmodo

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You call that a knife ?

Will probably make using any of the tools a two handed job though.

Wenger, the company that makes the legendary Swiss Army Knives has introduced a 9-inch long, 2-pound "blade" which features every tool Swiss Army makes, 85 instruments in all. Check out this photo gallery to see them.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/photogallery/gallery/0,20036,1304110,00.html

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Time for a Mouse upgrade

When you work with computers all day, a good mouse is a must. My current mouse is a Microsoft Optical Notebook 4000 jobby with a programmable button as well as all the normal buttons including left and right scroll on the scroll wheel. Just checking these new Logitech ones out though, and if they work as well as they look, I think I'll be getting one on the next upgrade. Hope they have Linux drivers.

Logitech went back to the drawing board on the MX Revolution and VX Revolution mice, and here's what they came up with: the MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel, which enables force feedback application support. Basically the heavy-feeling alloy wheels (of which there are two on the MX, and one on the VX) can spin freely and smoothly for up to seven seconds with a flick of your finger, or lock into the regular ratcheted scrolling motion like most of us are used to, depending on usage (the VX requires a flipped switch to toggle between the modes), the application, and your system's settings. It's kinda one of those things you have to try for yourself to really appreciate (we got to play with one a few weeks back), but if you're already sold and don't have any problems with your mice once again having dozens of moving parts, the Revolution series will set you back $99 or $79, respectively.

Logitech's VX and MX Revolution mice - Engadget

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Apple recalls 1.8 million batteries

I hope you have learned from your mistake Sony.

Sony confirmed that Apple's batteries are using the same faulty battery cells that were used in Dell's batteries. Different notebook makers use slightly different configurations of battery cells and battery packs, but both Dell and Apple used the same basic cell that can be prone to short circuits in rare cases, said Rick Clancy, a Sony spokesman.Fortunately for Sony, the company believes that it is done replacing bad battery cells. "We're anticipating no further recalls of battery packs using these particular cells," Clancy said.

Apple recalls 1.8 million batteries | CNET News.com

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Bomb or Penis Pump ?

One word. DUMBASS.

CHICAGO -- Mardin Azad Amin found himself in a tight squeeze last week when security at O'Hare Airport discovered a suspicious-looking object in his luggage.So Amin, 29, handled the delicate situation this way: He told security the object was a bomb, Cook County prosecutors said.The security guard then asked Amin to repeat what he'd said to a supervisor. This time, Amin was chuckling as he spoke, prosecutors said.In fact, Amin was trying to disguise the fact that the black object -- resembling a grenade -- was a component for a penis pump.

NBC5.com - Travel Getaways - Sex Toy In Luggage Gets Man In Trouble

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Would you like a beer officer ?

Great execution on having beer avail for those tailgate parties.

Looks like he hasn't solved the problem of keg agitation during transport though.

Nice Car - AussieHomeBrewer.com

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Metallica make it to the Simpsons

Not sure when we'll see this episode in Australia, and it's hard to believe it has taken so long for them to get on the show.

Metallica's cameo appearance on The Simpsons will air in the season premiere on September 10, 2006 on your local FOX station. (please check locallistings for channel and showtime in your area. And as always,schedules are subject to change).

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Now that's a bridge

The Millau viaduct is part of the new E11 expressway connecting Paris and Barcelona and the overall height will be an impressive 336 meters, making this the highest bridge in the world.

briage.jpg (JPEG Image, 1024x525 pixels)

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Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup Champs.... again

Whos got a full cabinet of silverware ? We do. All Blacks at the top of the game a year out from the next Rugby World Cup. With Henry at the helm I'm really hoping they don't implode in France next year, after winning everything else on offer this year.

Go the AB's.

FOX SPORTS | Sports news Australia | Australian sports

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Pre-built MythTV Box

Interesting to see the availability of pre-built MythTV boxes appearing in the US. I've recently put MythTV on an old workstation at home and hooked it up with a TV Tuner. It is working but could benefit from some faster hardware. This would be a great solution for non-IT style people. I'm sure someone will be offering it in Australia, if their isn't already.

If MythTV's promise of a free Windows Media Center alternative sounds exciting, but you can't quite bring yourself to navigate the trials of a Linux install on your own, then you might be interested in Monolith's pre-built Media Center PCs, which come with MythTV pre-installed on top of Ubuntu Linux. Models start at $650, and include a remote, an IRBlaster, and free electronic programming guide access -- none of those silly TiVo-style monthly fees.

Monolith Media Center brings MythTV to the technophobe - Engadget

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All Blacks vs Wallabies TV Coverage

TV Guide - Yahoo!7

Why the hell is the game only being shown live on Channel 7. Why do I have to sit through the endless babble of the commentators on Channel 7 also knowing they will be filling any injury break, or pause after a try or before a penalty with bloody ads !!!! ?

I want my footy on Foxtel, with the easy listening commentary of the Foxtel Rugby team, rather than all the bloody useless background facts you get on channel 7. Maybe if Roy & HG could commentate on Rugby Union, I could have the channel 7 picture, with Roy & HG commentating.

On the upside, I'll be drinking some great beer, and should still get to see an All Blacks win.

Doc

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Aidan's Birthday

Aidan's birthday is just over two weeks away, and with a number of other commitments the birthday brew has not been completed.
So this Saturday is brewday for Aidan's Irish Red.

I've been messing around with Beer Tools Pro to import my Promash recipe file. Because Promash splits the brew into the recipe and the brew session, I had to do a couple of things in Beer Tools Pro to make the analysis accurately reflect the brew. I had to;

• Increase the Final volume to the kettle volume
• Select Lock
• Increase the Kettle volume to be the pre-boil volume

In order to also have this on tap in time I'm going to use a 0.5micron carbonation stone to carbonate the keg. Without having to shake the shit out of the keg to get it to uptake the CO2 let alone lifting the keg in and out of the serving freezer, this means I'll have it carbonated in less than a day ready for his birthday for all the family.

A well and truely tested brew, this one never dissappoints.

Desktop Graphics

I've been running SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 and OpenSUSE 10.1 in demo modes on and off for the last month or so with a view to switching to Linux and SLED10 in the next month. Obviously in my day to day work role there are a number of things that I will need a Windows environment for. So I've tested SUSE with XEN, Parallels and VMWare to see which will work best for me, and it is looking like VMWare will be the one to run XP in for those tasks that are just M$ based. With XGL though I'll be running the XP VM in a dedicated workspace and only switch to it as required. If you haven't seen XGL then check out the link after the blurb below. It rocks.

Linux XGL/Compiz Graphics to Apple Aqua & Vista Aero: EAT ME!I
Couldn't help being a little over the top on this one. Just watch the attached videos.
Wikipedia excerpt on XGL: "Xgl is an X server architecture, started by David Reveman, layered on top of OpenGL via glitz. It takes advantage of modern graphics cards via their OpenGL drivers, supporting hardware acceleration of all X, OpenGL and XVideo applications and graphical effects by a compositing window manager such as Compiz."openSUSE excerpt on Compiz: "Compiz brings to life a variety of visual effects that make the Linux desktop easier to use, more powerful and intuitive, and more accessible for users with special needs. Compiz combines together a window manager and a composite manager using OpenGL for rendering. A 'window manager' allows the manipulation of the multiple applications and dialog windows that are presented on the screen. A 'composite manager' allows windows and other graphics to be combined together to create composite images. Compiz achieves its stunning effects by doing both of these functions."Linux XGL/CompizApple Aqua Featuring SpacesApple Demo: Mac OS X ExposéWindows Vista AeroAttached Images

eHomeUpgrade Forums - Linux XGL/Compiz Graphics to Apple Aqua & Vista Aero: EAT ME!

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Dell recall 4.1million notebook batteries

Even though Dell is the vendor, Sony is the manufacturer. This must really cap of a crappy year for Sony. Remember the Sony 'rootkit' cd protection saga. Will the Playstation3 save them ?

 

Dell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission plan to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries on Tuesday, a company representative confirmed Monday.The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision mobile workstations and XPS units shipped between April 2004 and July 18, 2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being recalled, the representative said. Click here to see photos of recalled batteries.

Dell to recall 4 million batteries | CNET News.com

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Mammoths roam the earth again ?

Would be cool to see them living. However only in zoo's although I'm getting a Jurasic Park flash back.

Mammoths may roam again after 27,000 yearsBy Mark Henderson, Science EditorBODIES of extinct Ice Age mammals, such as woolly mammoths, that have been frozen in permafrost for thousands of years may contain viable sperm that could be used to bring them back from the dead, scientists said yesterday.Research has indicated that mammalian sperm can survive being frozen for much longer than was previously thought, suggesting that it could potentially be recovered from species that have died out.Several well-preserved mammoth carcasses have been found in the permafrost of Siberia, and scientists estimate that there could be millions more.

Mammoths may roam again after 27,000 years - Britain - Times Online

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Hopheads, literally

From a blog entry ( Whomp Power ) on the Oregon Brewers Festival, this picture of some real hop heads.

I have the shirt, so looks like now I need the hat. Although I can't really see me wearing it.

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Beer Can Chicken

BeerCanChicken.jpg,
originally uploaded by DoctorsOrders.

At the recent Hills Brewers Guild Imperial Pilsner brewday at my place we did a Beer Can Chicken.
The chicken was impregnated with marinade as well as steamed with Kilkenny. It was awesome.
The recipe can be found here http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=5377

Oregon Brewers Fest

After listening to many beer related podcasts reviewing trips to the Oregon Brewers Festival, I made my way over to their website to check it out. Oregon Brewers Festival What a list of breweries and brews present.

Some that I'd love to try are:

21st Amendment Brewery

Watermelon Wheat

Butte Creek Brewing Co

Organic Revolution X

Jack Russell Brewing Co

Saison

Water Street Brewing and Ale House

Big Phatty Imperial Red

Will have to time one of my trips to the US to coincide with one of these festivals.

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Sony Mylo

Looking very similar to the iMate mobile the new Sony Mylo seems to have most of the features for a little handheld. If only it had a phone in it though.

Sony announced today its first WiFi broadband communication and entertainment device. The new mylo™ personal communicator works in any open 802.11b wireless network and lets you use instant messaging, browse the Internet, listen to music, send emails and view photos concurrently. The name mylo stands for “my life online”.The mylo features a 2.4 inch color LCD screen with a slide out QWERTY keyboard for comfortable and quick thumb typing.The device, available in black or white, comes embedded with the Google Talk instant messaging service, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger. Sony highlights that these services are free and the mylo does not require initial setup or a monthly service contract.

Sony Announces the Mylo Personal Communicator - Xbox

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Beerfest the movie

Another spoof comedy from the Broken Lizard team.

I don't get to the movies all that often these days, but I imagine it will be on DVD pretty quick and I can enjoy it after having a few cold ones to get me in the right frame of mind.

Moive website

When American brothers Todd and Jan Wolfhouse travel to Germany to spread their grandfather’s ashes at Oktoberfest, they stumble upon a super-secret, centuries old, underground beer games competition—“Beerfest,” the secret Olympics of beer drinking.The brothers receive a less than warm welcome from their German cousins, the Von Wolfhausens, who humiliate Todd and Jan, slander their relatives, and finally cast them out of the event. Vowing to return in a year to defend their country and their family’s honor, The Wolfhouse boys assemble a ragtag dream team of beer drinkers and gamers: Barry Badrinath, the consummate skills player with a dark past; Phil Krundle (AKA Landfill), a one-man chugging machine; and Steve “Fink” Finklestein, the lab tech with a PhD in All Things Beer.This Magnificent Five train relentlessly, using their hearts, minds and livers to drink faster, smarter and harder than they ever have before. But first they must battle their own demons... as well as a bunch of big, blond, German jerks who want to destroy the team before they can even make it back to Munich.Revenge, like beer, is best served cold.

BEERFEST Movie Synopsis

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The joy of modern web design

Microsoft IE7 is due for release in the next few months. Will this solve web development problems associated with browser compatability. From the info here Web Browser Standards Support Summary it doesn't look like it will. And Microsoft wonder why people don't like their presense on the web.

CSS 2.1 Compliance by browser

IE 6	IE 7	Firefox 1.5	Opera 8.5	Opera 9

51%

55%

93%

93%

96%

technorati tags:ie7, web, standards, css2.1

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No more beer in your hand luggage

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government heightened security on passenger planes and barred air travellers from carrying liquids on Thursday after Britain said it foiled a plot to blow up flights to the United States.

Hand luggage on flights banned in the UK and the US. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before it happens here too.
It is really dissappointing that a bunch of terrorists can really screw with our ability to enjoy life and have the liberties of being able to bring back our favourite beverages from overseas in our hand luggage amongst other things.

No More Beer In Your Hand Luggage ? - AussieHomeBrewer.com

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More fuel please

This is one awesome beer font. Gives a new angle on beer engine.
I used to dream of having a Moto Guzzi/Ducati, and more that likely this would be as close as I'd get if I was to find an old block.

Full Flickr link

Over Regulation gone mad

Panel forces Lion to sober up Tooheys spot - Business - Business - smh.com.au

LION Nathan has been forced to make "extensive and expensive" amendments to its big budget Tooheys New advertising campaign after it fell foul of alcohol advertising codes.

....

Lion was unlucky with the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code, in spite of the ads being approved    at a pre-vetting stage. The panel was forced to consider the ad after just two complaints from consumers.

Two complaints. TWO COMPLAINTS. FFS what is the country coming to. A coupld of old biddys not getting the context of the ad, complaining. Complaining; fine. Complaining and making them change the ad is just a joke.

Lion was unlucky with the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code, in spite of the ads being approved at a pre-vetting stage. The panel was forced to consider the ad after just two complaints from consumers.

It is an ad. A commercial. Hell if all commericals had to be a reflection on reality, tv would be boring as batshit.

technorati tags:tooheys, beer, commercial, regulation

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Australian Rugby in disarray on and off the field

From the latest RugbyNews newsletter comes this insight into the ARU. Explains a lot really doesn't it.

Doc (an All Blacks supporter)

AUSTRALIAN RUGBY OFFICE HICCUP

Word from within the Australian Rugby Union office is that the impending major office move has been a major bungle. Whilst the ink was drying on the new lease they are believed to have lost sight of their expiring lease and what transpired has amounted to an inconvenient and costly double shuffle. They would have been homeless if not for the contacts of CEO Gary Flowers.

They are packing up and moving to an address associated with Flowers' former employer only to repack and move again in a matter of weeks. Insiders who spoke to NZ Rugby News saw the humour in the lease hiccup and are pleased they are not picking up the cost although voicing angst at the inconvenience. A Sydney journalist has used the term Fort Fumble when referring to ARU administrative activity.

It appears the onfield performance last Saturday in many ways is reflected in the off field bungles within Fort Fumble.

Real Ale

A couple of weeks ago, I had the Hills Brewers Guild over for an All Grain brewday. We brewed an Imperial Pilsner.

One of the highlights of the day though was my British Beer Engine. Duff an HBG member bought over a keg of Timothy Taylor Landlord bitter, and HBG were more than willing to empty its contents via the Beer Engine. It was a top drop.
Checkout the rest of the pics of the Beer Engine in service by following the link over to Flickr.

Beers,
Doc

Hills Brewers Guild - Imp Pils Brewday - TimothyTaylorLandlord on the BeerEngine 009.jpg on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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Oh to be in San Francisco this weekend

The Bistro in Hayward, San Francisco is having their IPA Festival this weekend. After hearing Vic talkabout it on The Brewing Network this week, I really wish I was there for it.

Our 9th Annual IPA Festival is on the books for Saturday August 12, 2006. 50 + India Pale Ales on tap.

Events

Doc

technorati tags:IPA, Festival, Sanfrancisco, TBN, Brewing, Network

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Mac OSX Leopard, Hasta la vista, Vista

Must be a great time to work in the marketing department at Apple. Also from the WWDC.

Doc

Flickr Photo Download: hasta la vista, vista

technorati tags:wwdc, Apple, Mac, OSX, Windows, Microsoft, Vista

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Mac OSX Leopard is Vista 2.0

From the Apple WWDC a banner introducing OSX Leopard, the next Mac OS release as Vista 2.0. Tongue in cheek; yes. On the money; probably.

Doc

Flickr Photo Download: Introducing Vista 2.0

technorati tags:vista, leopard, osx, apple, windows, microsoft

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Beer Tools Pro

Beertools are currently in public beta for their standalone version of BeerTools.

I've been testing it out over the last week and am quite enjoying the interface after using Promash for the last five years.
I've really been getting into Imperial IPA's in the last few years, and my 200th brew is coming up fast, so I'm planning an Triple IPA. The graphic is the intial planning for the recipe for the Triple IPA (Infinity +1).

Beers,
Doc

What is on tap

On Tap: Abbey's Dubbel 8.15%, Doc's Alt #2 6.1%, Doc's Kolsch #1 5.7%, Doc's Ordinary Bitter 4.3%
On Deck: Doc's RauchDunkelHefeRyeizenBock Cream Ale #1 6.66%, Doc's Hop Whompus #1 & #2 7.7%, Doc's Evil Twin #1 7.7%
Fermenting: Doc's Porter, Doc's RauchDunkelHefeRyeizenBock Cream Ale #2, Doc's Evil Twin #1, Hills Brewers Guild Imperial Pilsner
Keg I'm trying to knock off: Xmas Case in July Beers
Planned Brews: Aidans Irish Red, Hopsickel/Hop-Opocaylpse/Hop-notic/Hop Tonic

Welcome

Welcome to my Blog.
I never thought I would have a public blog, however I need an outlet, and why not make it public.
I will be posting my thoughts, whinges and observations on IT, and craftbrewing as these are the two interests I'm willing to share publically.
So after a day of trying to get multimedia working properly on (SLED10) Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, I'm sipping on my Imperial IPA (Evil Twin) 7.7% beer while making my virgin public blog post.

Beers,
Doc