I could (and probably will before this is all over with) watch the CO2 burble out of the airlock on the fermenter for hours. I think we’re well on our way to some glorious Riesling.
The dining room smells like one hell of a party too.
Month: November 2011
Stella’s Christmas Groove
Too early for Christmas music, but not too early to appreciate downloading a fine Christmas album put out by the folks at Stella Atrois. I warn you it is lots o’ Flash but I was also tell you that this is one of the few times that lots o’ Flash is a good thing. A very good thing.
This is the slinky universe I navigate in my head whilst wandering through this mundane one in which I find myself.
Many thanks to David who pointed toward this in the first place.
2011W01
Happy birthday, first batch of wine!
Today was the day Elizabeth and I took the leap and began making wine at home. What started as an obsession over various homemade fruit brandies at a church auction has borne fruit, as they say. After a quick trip to Cornhusker Beverage & Bridal (no, not the world’s best web presence but you get used to that living in flyover country) we wandered home with supplies.
Supplies!
Hot to trot, we set out whipping up our first run as soon as the box was opened. We definitely wanted to start with a kit first time out. There’s just enough uncertainty about what we’re doing that having the extra help is nice. Don’t get me wrong, 2011W01, we have high expectations no matter your provenance. And because both of us prefer a nice white to a nice red, we selected a Riesling. 
The Grand Cru Johannisberg Riesling kit to be exact; Lot 20046, packaged June 6, 2011.
After the initial rush to sanitize the primary fermenter and mix up the must we had to find a place for the wine to sleep. Because we wanted the wine to know we cared very much for it—and we wanted to keep a close eye on its temperature—we decided on a nice chair with a view in the dining room. 
Extra bonus points for being near the thermostat so other than the basement, probably the place with the most consistent temperature in the house.
For now we watch and wait. Nothing burbles through the airlock. That should change in the next 24 hours. This will be the sign that something good is happening inside. In two weeks we’ll sample the must with a hydrometer to check on the progress. If we get a reading that most of the digestible sugar is gone, we’ll rack this into a carboy for a few more weeks of setting out.
Initial temperature: 73˚F
Initial specific gravity: 100.082
Potential alcohol: 11%
Born on date: 12 November, 2011
More updates to come!
Doing it with People Like Us
Do or D-I-Y is a mashup/remix podcast radio show by People Like Us. It is only one of the many entertaining shows in WFMU‘s arsenal of not-in-the-mainstream talent.
It is, in a word, phenomenal. It is also going on hiatus for a bit. You can listen to archived shows though, and I highly recommend them. You can also have it queued up in your podcast manager thinger so that when shows start turning up again, you’ll be the first to know.
11-11-11
To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.
-Woodrow Wilson, Armistice Day proclamation, 11 November, 1919
a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.
52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a, 13 May, 1938
Today is a day to remember the heavy toll that war in all of its various forms takes, both on the armed forces and the hardships endured by civilian populations. It is a day that we reflect on the sobering costs of global military conflict and renew our dedication to peacefully resolve differences. We honor our veterans best by not being spendthrifts with their courage, honor, and dedication to their country. It is not a celebration of triumph insofar as that celebration strays from gratitude for the victory. It is a day to mourn and remember.
To those who have fallen in battle, I honor your dedication to a civil society and am sorry we were not able to resolve our differences peacefully. To my brothers and sisters in arms, thank you. To the civilian population that supported myself and others, thank you again.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
For immediate release
Council Bluffs (AP) – “Cancel your late season skiing plans and give up on your Canucks early this year, ladies and gentlemen, because spring training is back,” was returning GM and owner Nick Hansen’s opening line to the throng of baseball fans in Western Iowa at an early morning press conference. Tens of fans had gathered to hear the good news on this chilly and remarkably snow free day.
Long courted by elements of the CFCL since the disintegration of the now defunct Nick’s Picts franchise, Hansen has relented to the demands of this baseball-starved region and applied for membership in the Midwest’s premier fantasy baseball league. “I know the Picts were the very model of striving toward mediocrity,” Hansen continued, “but inheriting a pre-built franchise should afford us a firm place in the middle of the pack next season. We look forward to providing the bar by which all other franchises can measure failure in seasons to come.”
All of this assumes, of course, ratification of the application for membership. While sources say the acceptance is a foregone conclusion, no one was willing to put that on the record.
Hansen made the announcement sporting the new uniforms for the franchise. “Nick’s Picts exemplified Tartan Pride, but those colors should remain retired. Heck, I should probably remain retired. Still, today we embark on a new path, with a new team, and a renewed relationship with our sponsor, Eukennott Sausages. I think speak on behalf of all NL-style baseball fans, as well as the area’s disaffected Royals fans when I recommend the Eukennott Beatniks’ application to the CFCL.”
Can a ragtag ensemble of black beret and turtleneck wearing hipsters strike fear in the league’s other franchises? Will the CFCL even associate with the local nine? One thing is certain, this team would always do well On The Road.
The new phonebook
The new Growl is here! The new Growl is here!
Oh, wait, it’s now a paid application? But it’s open source.
So now we’re in dependency hell because there’s no Maven-like dependency management widget in Xcode. Also, knowing full well I’m behind the times, I still prefer SVN to either Git or Mercurial. I understand how both of these are more desirable in OSS development initiatives. I just don’t like them.
Oh, and so what is up with Google now running all of their search result links through their own proxy now? I really dislike the extraneous metadata they attach to their links now. It’s also a PITA to clean up because, bless their hearts, they are actually HTTP escaping their URLs. Now one right-clicks a search result link and gets http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fbrowse%2Fstupid&ei=rge4TqGZDYnhsQKCndT_Aw&usg=AFQjCNGEqQexn968lheIsBKwJ37dIe1d9Q when all one really wants is http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stupid.
For some reason this running all search results through their proxy really pisses me off. I’d expect this from Microsoft. Coming from Google, this feels icky and gamable. So, off to find some Greasemonkey or Firefox plugin that scrapes that metadata while I continue to try building Growl.
I don’t even know what is so desirable about this new version…. FML?
Hockey night in Omaha II
READY!
The usual suspects
Slow running machine? As always, look at Mail.app and Firefox. Nearly enough to make me cry.
Hockey night in Omaha
Going to spectate hockey with my lady amongst the swells this evening. Thanks, Jeremy!
