Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air... or at least was in the air.  When I was walking by the park near my place, I noticed a gaggle of yellow flowers and my instant thought was dandelions.. but to my surprise, they weren't.  I thought about laying down in the grass... but then remembered that I'm allergic to grass...hmmm..  I also was strolling by the Palais Theatre on my way to the grocery store and noticed numerous middle-aged folks... many of which were wearing leis.  I thought that these look like Parrotheads... and they were!  Jimmy Buffet was playing on a Sunday night.  I also thought I should include a picture in the suburb where I bought my car.  The train stops on top of a hill with a beautiful view out into more suburbs.  Luckily it cooled down again: my allergies subsided, I didn't sweat on my walk to work, and I could ferment beer outside of my fridge... allowing me to continue using my fridge for food :) 

Anchors Away

I was across the street at the beach, when I saw this funny sight.  There is a yacht club right across from my place and I always have to step over the railroad tracks leading from the club to the abyss.  For the first time, I saw them in use.  I enjoy the man on the ship, captaining his way up the rails.  Since they blocked the road during this procedure, I figured that it was a good time to take a snapshot for your enjoyment. 

Protest

I participated in my first protest.  The Aboriginals were protosting the insertion of a gas refinery on their land in the Northern Territory, so they held ceremonies across the entire coast of australia.  It involved the burning of eucalyptus leaves.  They are concerned about how the refinery would impact the wildlife.  Don't worry mum and pop, I'm not becoming a hippie ;) 


I burned a cigar in the honor of the ceremony.  It was being held just outside my apartment on the beach.  One of the things I found funny was that during the ceremony, the hippie parents that were there would let their children run wild, which was actually a bit disruptive.  While one of the aboriginals spoke, the child would play with the sticks, putting them in the fire, throwing sand at the fire, etc.. I thought it was interesting that the parents would support something, yet disrespect it at the same time. 

Any better?

We'll try a raspy voice and a slow and steady voice to see if these are any puzzles. 

Vagon

After living in Oz for a year and a half, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a car.  I won't bore you with the story of the decision making.  I can just say that it will be nice to actually have a set of wheels.  I can get out of town!  The disadvantage is that it's too short to sleep within... at least to sleep comfortably.   It's a '97 with only 56,000 km (35,000 miles) on it.  That means it only averaged 2320 miles per year.   


Victoria has oodles of beuracracy though.  The car had to be unregistered, then I had to get an unregistered permit ($70) to get a road safety certificate ($100), to then bring to the "DMV" to get a registration ($850). 

The car has a 10 disc cd changer!  ... but I have no CDS :(  

I bought some microphones, mostly because I like the occasional new toy.  I'm also working on playing/singing a bit better.  It helps to hear my own voice clearly.  I've come to realize that I'm a bit out of tune... still working on that.  Anyhow, here's a tribute to Led Zeppelin's Tangerine, just to show the mics in action.  It's not so easy to sound like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. 

A little of what I do

Well, I figure it's time to show what I do day in and day out.  Essentially, I watch platelets attach to different substrates (surfaces).  This is typically followed by some counting... manual cuonting of the platelets.  These sorts of high tech analyses require a doctorate. 

However, it does get more interesting when I try to observe the mechanics of platelet adherence.  Here, we have a TIRF (total internal reflectance fluorescence) microscopy image of platelets attaching to Fibrinogen.  The brightness of the platelet corresponds with a region that is closest to the surface.  Essentially, the technique allows us to quantify the depth of the platelet morphology from 10-300 nm from the surface. 

I also officially became a biologist when I ran my first Western Blot of some platelet lysates.  These tell us if a certain protein exists based on the size of the protein.  On the left is the size based on kilodaltons.  The lysates are run through a gel and separate by size.  Then specific proteins can be labeled, as seen by the black spots.  I figure that's enough detail for my average reader.  These are some of the fun activities than one can perform in the laboratory, but don't try this at home ;)

Sick

It's strange to see snow when living in a place where it never snows.  I had a window seat on my flight to New Zealand and was watching a Pink Floyd documentary during the flight.  It's rare that I fly with the fancy airlines that have enetertainment seats.... but I got a good deal on the tickets.  Anyhow, every time I'd glance outside, I'd notice the clouds. Finally, on one glance, I realized that the clouds were actually New Zealand.     

It's interesting how skiing seems to be more fun with the more people that go.  I received some good ski lessons from one of the members of the group.  I learned what not to do from another member... who crashed into a child.  Don't worry, no children were harmed... badly. 

As a complete aside, I'm always fascinated by the edge of a mountain range, or the top of volcanos.  The horizon consists of flat land, which isn't scenery that I'm used to on top of a mountain.  I would say that it hads some nice contrast to the mountainous landscape.  

Gone Skiing

Taking a break from the daily Melbourne grind, it was time to see the mountains. I spent a wonderful weekend with some of my closest Kiwi friends.  The only downside is that I was sick all weekend.  We stayed in a lovely resort with spa and all of the skiing essentials.  The resort also had an amazing view.  We could see the lovely Southern Alps out of the back balcolny.    

I gave skis a try.  This was my third day on skis and I'm beginning to think that they're more fun than a snowboard.  This is particularily true if one can get the beautiful colors of the 80s in their ski set. 

However, a trip isn't complete without a trip to the Staff Club, some Snow-Ouzo, and some good Kiwi brew. 

More burs

Beer, beer, and more beer.  So, I decided to make a big portion of my trip devoted to wine... I mean beer.  I guess after making homebrewing a hobby, it's nice to see what the professionals do and how they do it.  So, while I was in Boston, I stopped over at the Sam Adams brewery, which is now used for test batches.  They had us all try eating differently kilned barley and smell their hops.  I think I was the only one who actually ate some of the hops and then proceded to rub it on my neck like cologne, but hey we all have our individual tastes ;) 
At the end of the tour they have some beer tasting.  Unfortunately, they chose to display some of their normal/average beers.  Therefore, I had to cross the street to the pub to try some of their more interesting brews.  I have to say that my favorite was one of their IPAs.  They make 2, one tastes average to bad, the other is great.   I wish I could remember which one was which...

The other major brewery I checked out was Stone, over near San Diego , CA.  I had no idea that their production facility was so large.  They're even expanding beyond what I saw.  I have to say that their facility is really nice.  There is a bistro at the front that has a huge selection of beer, some of the finest in the world.  I was a little sad that I had to drive. 

The last stop was Pizza Port, which is a pizzeria that has a few small fermentors.  They are actually very famous in the beer world and after trying some of their beers, I can understand why.  I had an amazing American Stout, one of the award winners, at the particular Pizza Port (their are 4 locations all brewing different beer).  The location I chose was right down the road from the aiport... how convenient.   

Burs

 

I headed back to the States for a conference in June (yes, I realize it is now August).  One of the key things I looked forward to was trying a bunch of beers that I heard about on the beer radio I use to learn homebrewing tips.  Suffice it to say, I tried a lot of beers on my trip.  The other beautiful thing about coming to the states is that hops are much cheaper.  So, I grabbed a suitcase full of hops to bring back to Australia.  It always makes customs more adventurous.  The other wonderful thing about going to the States is seeing my wonderful family.. which really is the highlight of every trip :) 

Beer week continues ... should it ever end?

I was excited during Melbourne Beer Week to see that some of my favorite breweries would be holding events around pubs and bottle shops.  On the 16th of May, Renaissance Brewing and Yeastie Boys had a beer tasting.  It was great to ask questions of the breweries, ingredients, and secrets.  The beer was great and it was essentially all you can drink by the end of the session.  One of the interesting beers from the Yeastie Boys was a beer made from peat malt, which is what they use for Scotch.  It was an interesting flavor that no one seemed to like, but it grew on me.  I left the event with a bottle of Renaissance barley wine, and I will be aging it until I leave Australia.  It's one of my favorite styles from one of my favorite breweries... so quit your whining (apologies for the horrendous pun).

Crusading in Melbourne

Well, well, well.  After watching my favorite rugby team in Christchurch, I decided to watch their next game, which was in Melbourne.  So, I went with some friends, wearing my Crusaders support gear.  Amazingly, as one of the biggest upsets, Melbourne won the game... the one time when I was rooting for the other team.  I had to zip up my jacket to avoid the Rebel fan heckling.   

burs

After visiting Christchurch, I took a 3 day week, while taking the Friday off to go to the Melbourne Beer Spectapular.. part of Melbourne beer week.  If I remember right, it was ~60 beers on tap, but if you are feeling spunky and want to call me out on that number, you can count the taps in the picture.  There were some interesting brews.  One beer was flavored with rose pedals... another with chili peppers, and one tasted like the warhead candies.  While, interesting, I have to say that my favorites were some of the classic styles.  My absolute favorite was a Simcoe Imperial IPA by Liberty Brewing in NZ.  Each brewery was supposed to submit an original beer that they don't sell commercially... at least not as of the event.  Anyhow, whenever you're looking around and think hmmm this may taste good in a beer... I say try it.. but be warned that you may not get many takers on that style.  Barley and hops remain the #1 ingredients ni my book... with maybe a touch of wheat. 

Seeing Red

On my way out of Christchurch, I saw the entire Queensland Reds team going through the International terminal.  They were the team that played the Crusaders on the previous day.  The unfortunate part of the airport was that I had to spend 10 hours there because they canceled my original flight.  Luckily, I can sleep in strange places... blogged with my family, did some shopping, had coffee, some more coffee, and coffee.  I also luckily brought some work to do.  All in all, the Christchurch airport was a pleasent place to be delayed.  

Crusading

Wow, so much has been going on.  I feel like I haven't had any time to update this blog.  I'll try to fastforward my devoted readers through the past couple of months.  I headed to Christchurch in May, which was the first time in a long time.  Ironically, one of my friends from there was training in Melbourne to be a flight attendent for Jetstar, and we somehow ended up on the same flight. 

The downside to that was that the 3 hour flight left at midnight and arrived at 5am.  The trip was a bit of a whirlwind.  I headed to the mountains during my first day... of course.  I hiked up Avalanche Peak with a friend.  It was an amazing day for the mountains (then again, all days are great for that).  Then we raced back to meet old friends for a brew. I forgot how much I enjoyed New Zealand beer. 

However, I started to notice that my beer is actually starting to taste better than some of my favorites, which I attribute to the fact that I brewed it and also that it's a little fresher.  Freshness makes a big difference.   On the next day, I headed to a rugby game to watch my favorite team, The Crusaders.  Oddly enough, I followed that up later that week with another Crusaders game in Melbourne.  I have to say that the beer they served in Christchurch for the game was great and better than what I got in Melbourne. 

The Tasmania Conclusion

 After Port Arthur, it was time to get back into the wilderness and some National Parks.  I headed north toward the Maria Island port.  The entire island is a National Park and there is camping!  There are also sea cliffs, so it seemed quite appealing.  So, I drove into Triabunna around 4 something... 15-30 minutes after the last ferry for the day.  The next day was almost booked up and the the return ferry would have pushed me past my flight.   

I suppose these are the vacation problems when one flys by the seat of one's pants.  Luckily,there are multiple great National Parks in Tasmania.  I headed to Freycinet National Park, which was absolutely beautiful.  I arrived there just after dark and setup camp.  Some possums tried to come eat my noodles, but I wouldn't have it and decided to take them down to the rocky beach.  It was a beautiful night.  I climbed a mountain the next day... because that's what I do.  It was very beautiful.  The climb started out like Stone Mtn in Atlanta, but got much steeper near the end.  It certainly would be impossible in the rain.  The view on top was well worth it.  I ate some snickers, figured out how to work my phone camera, and then headed back to Hobart to catch my flight back to Melbourne. 

Snails in my Mail... Curses

I don't know how common this is in Melbourne, but almost every time we get a fair amount if rain, I get snails in my mailbox. I've found up to two at a given time.  The odd thing is that there are no holes large enough for the shells to get in. Plus my box is always locked.  I think it's a mailman conspiracy. Do they mature after already being in the box? The funny thing is that the snails will eat my mail. It would be great for children with bad mailed report cards... Not so great when bills are unreadable.

Where's the coffee?

To continue describing my Tasmania Easter trip: 

Something I really enjoyed, despite its simplicity is what they call Tesselated Pavement.  It looks like a brick wall on the ground.  It is formed from the shifts in the earth that occur in three directions (2 obvious perpindicular ones in the image).  As the water erodes these "fault lines", little rounded bricks begin to form.  

I set off to find coffee.  It looked like the biggest nearby town was Port Arthur.  As I drove, I noticed a tourist "i" sign and pulled on in.  These places always are a sign for coffee.  This place had tons of tourists pouring in.  I grabbed some pamphlets as I went to drink my coffee... which was absolutely delicious.  Apparently this place was a penal colony and is now a historic site, where they hold ghost tours and what not.  Due to the dreary day, I thought... perfect. 

So, I headed on in.  They asked if I wanted a ferry to the Isle of the Dead.  I said, "heck yes."  Any isle with that name is an isle for me.  It reminds me of a song I heard while writing my dissertation on Halloween 2010... called the Isle of the Dead by Rachmaninoff, which also corresponds with a painting that I really like by Böcklin.  The island had over 1200 people buried in it.  The island is tiny.  It was freezing and cloudy out, which went well with the otherwise sunshine and rainbows atmosphere.   

Bad David Kill Camera

I made my way over to the east coast to the Tasman Peninsula.  It was a big National Park with sea cliffs, so I thought it would be a good a stop.  What I didn't realize is that very little of it is actually accessible by car.  I got there just in time to catch the sunset, which was magnificent, as it usually is in beautiful locations of nature.  As a complete aside, all info areas around here were actually just peoples' houses.  It was very confusing when I followed the information signs (the blue signs with the i).      

Anyhow, I managed to stop at all 3 point of interest sites in the NP within 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, a very sad and stupid incident occured at my last stop for the night.  I thought I would get a self-portrait... because mum likes those.  Being the shy guy that I am, I didn't ask anyone to take the picture.  So, I setup my camera on a railing, which had a nice flat place for cameras.  The bad part is that the wind was blowing pretty well.  I thought... hmmm.. my camera could blow off.  Bah, let's do it anyhow.  Well.... please refer to photo.  I think it can be fixed by the manufacturer, but I still feel silly, when I had a inkling for what would happen. 

Then, it was time to find a place to sleep.  I thought about finding a hotel... but eh.  I love the outdoors... and admittingly, I'm a cheap man.  I am what I am.  So, I found a remote location in the park that had nearby tourist attractions.  I stopped the car and took a look around to see if I should setup camp.  To sum up what this area was, was that it was a parking lot, with some sand and a short footpath that leads to another tourist attraction site.  The point it is that it wasn't really a proper place to camp.  Finally, I gave up on that spot as tourists began walking around.  I didn't want to seem like too much of a bum.  So, I drove into the most remote dirt roads of the park and found a nice spot next to a dumped refrigerator and furniture.  It actually was a fairly nice spot... other than the trash.  

Easter Sunday Pilgrimage

I slept surprisingly well in the whipping tent.  I woke up a few times and always thought about getting up to climb the mountain, while getting an early start.  However, the pitter patter of raindrops and the warmth of a sleeping bag, kept me nestled into my tent, despite the pools of water that were forming.  I did unzip to check the visibility... but the fog lingered.  After the sun came up, I could still hear the rain and decided to get up and out anyhow. 

When I stumbled out of bed, I had a had time trying to decide if I should continue on to summit Mt Anne.  At the moment, I couldn't see 10 ft in front of me, so the view would be no good.  I debated whether or not the mountain would rise out of the clouds, but based on previous experience, I guessed not.  Then I tried to decide if I should do it for the challenge and finally I decided that the logical thing to do would be to find another National Park, where I could see more of Tasmania.  So, down I went.. not that this was easy.  I ended up bending my hiking pole.  I was blown off my feet because of the wind and my face was freezing from the wetness and wind.  The boulders were slow-going.  Slickrock is slick when wet.  Once down from the boulders, I met a group of people that thought about going up Eliza.  They had just entered the cloud/fog.  I told them that they were welcome to try, but the view would be lacking, unless the clouds lifted up to some degree, while the sun continued to rise.  I also made sure that they knew the forecast, which called for snow that night.. which is problematic on this rock without the right equipment.  Then I asked if there was decent weather anywhere in Tasmania.  They said the east coast.  So, off I hiked and drove.  First things first, I grabbed a Easter coffee. 

Tasy - Promising Start

I finally made my way down to Tasy (where the 's' has a 'z' sound).  I headed to the most remote location that I could, the Southwest NP.  I had some friends let me in on the little secret, known as the Mt Anne Circuit.  One problem.  It requires good/sunny weather to cross a particular section.  I began with my quintessential stop at McDonalds to get some coffee, Coles to get some groceries, and Anaconda to get some gas for my stove, then finally the ranger office for a Park Pass, in order of priority.   

The climb reminded me a lot of some of the NZ climbs that I have done.  The scenery was beautiful.  Luckily, the rain held off for some good views.     

Then, I walked into the cloud.  There was a nice appealing hut 2/3 up the mtn, right before a difficult 1 hr rocky scramble up Mt Eliza.  I skipped the hut and made my way up the mtn, discovering the swamp, or plateau on the top.  It was very cold, wet, cold, windy, and cold.  I'm not sure if you can make out the ripples in the water from the wind.  Anyhow, I waded through the plateau to get to the next section of rock by Mt Anne.  Night was coming quickly and the rocks were very slick from the fog/rain/snow.  So, I thought about hunkering down.  I found a good spot when I pushed my face into a bush after slipping on a rock.  I setup camp and was too tired to start up the stove, so it was Snickers bars for dinner.  Despite the torrential downpour that commenced and the tortuous wind that whipped the tent back and forth at a frequency of about 1 hz, I had no trouble falling asleep (to remind you, I got up at 3am to get to the airport in time).  Bedtime was 7pm, just like my favorite Goddaughter.  To be continued...

Covering Tangerine by Led Zeppelin vid 3

Covering Tangerine by Led Zeppelin vid 1

English?

I should also apologize for my spelling and grammar issues.  I rarely read over these posts and often neglect the spellcheck.  Usually, I'll get part way through a post and realize I need to get back to work, so I'll rush through the rest.  If it gets too bad, let me know. 

CCC Copper, Calcium, Cooling

I've made myself a beautifully complicated brewing system.  Well, actually, it's not very complicated at all.  I recently began an attempt at a Tripel, trying to replicate La Fin Du Monde, one of my favorite brews.  My beers have been getting better, as I've been gaining more experiencing in the noble art of brewing.  What's new you ask?

• I fabricated a whirlpool chiller.  This is just the copper coil you see going down the middle.  Beer is pumped through the bottom of my bucket and into this copper tubing, which exits, to make a whirlpool.  Why am I doing this, you ask?  Well, my dear reader/s, it helps to create convection for my immersion chiller, thus cooling the wort more quickly.  Quickly cooling the wort makes for better because 1) it reduces the amount of time that it is at an ideal bacteria loving temperature and 2) it either increases or decreases the cold break... I can't remember which one, but it's supposed to be better.  One of the big bonuses from this setup is that the whirlpool creates a cone of particulate in the center of the bucket... oh fluid mechanics, the mistress that I have been missing.  This is great because wort has a large collection of hops and residual grain husks.  There is a decent size pile of stuff left, once the bucket is drained, showing the utility of the whirlpool.  It's a beautiful thing.  Lastly, the whirlpool is nice because it breaks apart the hops to get maximum hop to wort surface area. 
• Water chemistry.  I adjusted my water chemistry this time.    Why would I do that?  Well, in the malt, it is important to create an ideal set of conditions for enzymes to breakdown the starches of the barley.  Otherwise, there would be no sugar, thus no fermentation, thus no alcohol.  Temperature and pH are the big hitters than can affect this process.  A acidic pH is ideal during the mash and I've been aiming for 5.5.  The pH is lowered, in part, through the grains.  Darker grains result in more acidity.  The alkaline water of Ireland is the reason stout was invented.  The dark grains bring down the pH to proper levels.  Pilsen, however, has very low alkilinity and is produces one of the lightest beers in existence.  This is because dark grains would cause a really acidic mash.  What can we do when we want to brew a beer style that doesn't fit our water?  We can either add acid or bases diretly, but the better way is to add salts.  Calcium additions, bind with hydroxide, to lower the pH.  Therefore CaSO and CaCl are added, depending on if we want to increase the malt taste or the hop taste.  The ratio of So/Cl is very important for the beer the beer taste.  Furthtermore, temperature has an important role in the mash.  Different enzymes work optimally at different temperatures and so certain temperature rests are important to convert the start into specific sugars (some long chain and some simple, depending on what we do here).  Simple sugars ferment well and long chains do not, because the yeast have to put forth more effort to convert them to alcohol.  Low temperature mashes are the best for converting simple sugars.  Very low mash temperatures can even be used to produce more acidity, which can be a helpful tool for creating Pilsners in Pilsen.  Low temperatures can also be used to break apart the husk on barley, if it hasn't been modified (gemenation commenncement).  

Here, you didn't think you'd learn anything from my blog ;) It's actually all simpler than it sounds.  These details are only important when fine tuning a beer and are less important in the present day because maltsters (modify barley through kilning and roasting) do a great job of simplifying this process.  However, as an engineer I like to keep the process complicated.  Also, it's hard to mess up a mash.  It's much easier to mess up the ferementation.  There are some tricks to the fermentation proces too, that I might get into if anyone is interested... or even if they're not.          

Penguins, bagpipes, beards, and dresses

Well, my friends... and everyone else, I have caught on film 'phone' some of my favorite Melbourne characters. One day I was walking along and stopped at a street light. I looked at the person next to me and they had a good greying beard, not unlike my uncles'. As I began glancing back over, I saw that this person had on a dress. I looked up and the rest appeared of the man seemed to correspond to normal attire, with a man's leather jacket. Since that day I see this fellow about once a week. On the hot summer days I have seen him topless with a short skirt.  Whenever I walk by this man, it always makes me smile and I imagine that there would be a much nicer breeze when wearing a skirt. 

Putting Words to the Song

One of the first songs I learned on guitar was "Wish you were here" by Pink Floyd.  I'm sure the family remembers this tune fondly.  However, I never did learn how to play the parts of the song that actually contained words.  Therefore, I present the words  ;) and corresponding tune.   

On a another note, this song reminds me of an old friend from high school that passed away in 2004.  I think he lived a fun life and died doing something he enjoyed, so I actually remember this song fondly and it makes me happy when I hear it.  As I was listening to it the other day, around February 22nd, I had been wishing that those that passed away in the earthquake were still here and that Christchurch and the spirit of Christchurch were still here.  I think the city will return in all of its glory in time.  It's strange that such a brief stay in the city could allow it to feel like a home to me.  I guess if you put the ocean, mountains, volcanoes, rugby, ruggedness, great beer and beautiful wildlife all in one place, then it will typically feel like a home to me...    Since I've been living away, I've been trying to figure out what exactly it means to feel at home.  I still don't have a great answer, but I think it begins with being around people you care about and who care about us back.  I think it also means being around things one enjoys.  The Bavarians call it Gemütlichkeit.  I'm sure it's a different feeling for everyone and that everyone has a different source and reason for feeling at home. 

Cheerio



In Remembrance

Today, I remember those who lost their lives, homes, and loved ones during the Feb Canterbury earthquake.  I'll be thinking of my friends. 

February 22 2011

It's odd to think that it has only been 1 year since the February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch.  Life seems very different now.  The weekend before the quake I was out hiking in the Southern Alps, enjoynig a typical weekend.  On the 21st, I was in the city at the CTV building, approximately 24 hours before the quake.  I remember some loud construction outside, but otherwise things seemed normal.  On February 22nd, I was planning to have lunch at the University Staff Club. 

My lunch setting is shown to the left.  We were on the second floor.  I remember having a meat pie and I think stew was the special for the day.  The earthquake happened and did not seem like it was substantially out of the ordinary, after experiencing aftershocks since my arrival in New Zealand.  It was longer and stronger than I had experienced.  As people evacuated the building, I contemplated sitting back down and finishing my lunch (as I said, there wasn't any strong warning signs of danger for me).  Luckily, there were smart people around that forced an evacuation.  I grabbed my meat pie and left.   

I was a little surprised to see that the school was closed and all buildings had been evacuated.  The mood was generally chearful, except for some worried parents.  It is very odd to say, and I feel ashamed to say it, but the rest of the day seemed like a snow day... a free day away from work.  Power and water was out, so we had no idea that there was so much destruction in the city.  In the evening we went for a walk into the city to see what was going on.  Many brick buildings had collapsed.  However, since no one had died in the first earthquake, my mood was still generally chearful and my adrenaline was flowing.  I had no idea what the real consequences were.  It was the experience after the earthquake that may have been the most painful.  Spirits in the city were down.  Everything was closed.  Many were without power, water, or sewage management.  We joined the Canterbury Student Army to help shovel silt out of people's houses/driveways/walkways.  It was painful to meet people that had lost their homes.  It was a little bit of a confusion as to what to do with time.  It was difficult to concentrate, so work was not a good option.  Eventually, we left the city, figuring that we would do more good by using less of the city's resources and selfishly, I wanted to see the west coast of New Zealand before leaving the country for a new job.  It is painful to remember the aftermath and strange to remember the positive mood that I had on Feb 22nd.  I wonder if snow days have instilled a positive feeling in me for when a natural event causes work or school to close for a day or more, without really thinking of the possible consequences.    

The Scientist

I have finally learned how to do two things at once.  I'm still working on doing this well, but I'm slowly making progress.  Here is a video of me covering The Scientist by Coldplay.  I have found that the addition of singing to my guitar playing adds a whole new dimension for me.  It is really quite fun and has reignited my interest in the guitar.  In fact, I probably play too much now, as I find that I procrastinate via guitar.  Between this, beer brewing, and reading, I don't even watch TV anymore.  Anyhow, I'm working on finding my voice.  So far, I do a decent job of replicating David Gilmore, of Pink Floyd, mostly because he's not much of a singer. 

I also apologize for the lack of posts.  Things have been busy and I haven't been on any trips. I'll try to post the occasional song, the occasional beer brew, and will try to find some more entertaining things for you folks, and by that I'm guessing that Mum and Pop or the only ones that read this blog.   

Choices

Does anyone else appreciate the choice of toilet paper roll when they are in the bathroom?  At first, when seeing this, I thought, wow, what a good way to end up with 2 near-empty rolls, instead of having the second as a backup. Upon further reflection, I realized that a dual roll could be quite useful. One could be perfumed, with the other scentless. One can be soft with the other, rough. Oddly in my last residence, some of my roomates didn't like soft tp. It was a big conflict in the house.  Conversley, the same tp could be used in both locations and people can choose a preference for front or back. Personally, I go for the underdog, which I consider to be the back, so I consume the front, with intent to conserve the back. When there is a third roll sitting on top, I'll go for that because it looks so lonely and I need to also make more room up there for its bretherin.  However, it is also probably the dirtiest roll, since it has likely fallen to the ground multiple times. 

Fermentation

As it turns out, the fermentation temperature is quite critical for making a quality brew. This would explain some of the off flavors that I've been having. Therefore, I tried to convert my fridge to a fermenting machine. I started out by placing a heater in the fridge and surrounded that with styrofoam.  It kept the beer at a fairly constant temperature, but it was too warm. I figured that this method might also keep my food at a decent temperature. To get more accuracy, I bought an externally based thermostat.  This seems to be fantastic for maintaining a constant fermentation temperature. However, I took the heating pad out, so now my food is about 18 deg c - 65 deg f. I think I can alternatively use the heating pad with the thermostat, while having the fridge refrigerate like normal. I just foresee that this would waste a lot of energy. Life choices are so tough.  I'm now looking for a second fridge, as that would be an ideal arrangement.