The Wandering Troublemaker

Our little troublemaker is on the verge of walking. She has been cruising for a while now and is close to walking.  She can stand without holding on to anything.  She has made a few attempts to step away from the furniture, but so far has fallen everytime she tries.  Soon, though, soon.

On a better note, she uses a big girl toothbrush now.  After trying to bite Momma's finger off the other day while using the fingerbrush, we decided it was time to switch to a big girl tooth brush.  She has four teeth now, and one more coming in. They are SHARP!  Momma doesn't want to stick her finger in that tooth filled mouth anymore.

BERRY TO THE CHIEF

President-elect Barack Obama checks his Blackberry while riding on his campaign bus in Pennsylvania last March.

                                   (Credit: Pete Souza/ Rapport Press )

This bloggy is as you guess it, our Tech Savvy politicians. I am Picking our 44th president, not because I vote. In fact Politics really upsets me, due to my war time experience. Anyways this bloggy is about thy Commander in Chief, the Brother from the Hawaiian Islands. I heard this guy is like hooked on his Blackberry. I can relate. I myself can not put down my iPhone. Heck I use my iPhone as a remote control to my entertainment system. Obama took some heat over not leaving his PDA at the front Gates when he moved into the White House. So he just hired a bunch of Geeks on his cabinet of advisers and got his Blackberry a presidential Security overhaul. Awesome!!!!

If you are curious on the Texting action on this, check out this URL:

-Just click on the arrows on the bottom of PDA to navigate-

The FirstBlack Berry......

CHeeR's.......

Windows Millennium Edition

 Windows Me

Windows ME is a Microsoft Operating System, that was released Sept. 14, 2000.

As with all Windows software, it was launched to be the next updated version compared to the last. Windows ME offered now Moviemaker and Media Player 7, plus an advance DVD player. Also introduced were Plug and play and a TCP/IP networking stack.

However, with all these great things for the Time, came a lot of problems. Windows Me was reported to be one of the most criticized OS ever released. One funny negative report was when PC world called ME the Mistake Edition. Of the long list of problems with the software always freezing and crashing was an error with the System restore tool. Of course, that was if you could even get the OS to upgrade or install properly on your Computer.

Windows ME was the replacement and upgrade for Windows 98, which I used as a kid. In fact, I had Windows 98 SE. I lucked out and missed all the fun with Windows ME OS experience and jump right into Windows XP. Therefore, now with at least three more OS that Microsoft has released over the past decade, I am surprised to hear that some people may still use this software. I cannot believe it since ME was running on computer’s that only needed 150 MHz worth of processor speed and only 32Mb of ram. Hell I think you need more than that check your email over the internet now a days. If I ran across someone still running such an old piece of software I would suggest they pick up a Cheap used computer that I can almost bet would run 10x times faster and with less trouble.

Little Troublemaker Updates

Well, our baby girl just went trick or treating for the first time ever last night.  She dressed up as Minnie Mouse.  She managed to say "trick or treat" once, but it was before the person opened the door at the house we were at.  She is doing well at speaking now, she can say about 20 words.  We have almost given up on sign language, because she seems to pick up the words faster than the signs.  Maybe she's just lazy and figures it's easier to say "all done" than wave her hands around.   She loves to dance, and to be Daddy's "back up singer" when he is playing Guitar Hero.  She loves to play with her laptop and make it sing nursery rhymes while she's playing with other toys.  We think she'll be walking in the next few weeks.  She stands up without holding onto things now.

Help!!!!!!!!!

Now I have to Discuss Linux here in the CIT world...........

                               Linux?

                    Linux is an operating system.

As an open operating system, Linux is developed collaboratively, meaning no one company is solely responsible for its development or ongoing support. Companies participating in the Linux economy share research and development costs with their partners and competitors. This spreading of development burden amongst individuals and companies has resulted in a large and efficient ecosystem and unheralded software innovation.

Windows and OSX are predominantly found on personal computing devices such as desktop and laptop computers. Other operating systems, such as Symbian, are found on small devices such as phones and PDAs, while mainframes and supercomputers found in major academic and corporate labs use specialized operating systems such as AS/400 and the Cray OS.

Linux started as a server OS and has become useful as a desktop OS and many other Device Systems.

Some of the popular electronic devices Linux is used on today includes:

                                   Children Laptops

          Dell Inspiron Mini

          Garmin Nuvi

                                             

                Google Android Phone

                                                    TiVo Video Recorder

                              

                           

                                     

                                     Sony Bravia Television

                       Yamaha Motif Keyboard

                                    

                                      

These are just the most recent examples of Linux-based devices available. Linux is on a lot of crap out there, Awesome. The next questioned posed is would I use it. Well Its seems I am already am using stuff using Linux.Linux looks pretty cool. I hope I learn a lot more in my studies.

Scott Abides, Cheer's.........

Project Natal by Microsoft for the Xbox360

I am going to try and cheat and use this Bloggy for my next 2 blog's. Since it is a cool Media device and it is something new from good old Microsoft........

I think this is awesome. It is for a Game console but the possibilities are limitless.. The link in the Title shows a video that not only is a gamer trip but a media one too. You can watch movies all with the wave of motion of your hand. I can see this being used in MS-Office applications in the near future too. No more keyboard and mouse, plus it would make an office board meeting a little more interesting. I have seen nothing but rave reviews about this. With Project Natal you can upload images to use and play with. It has voice and facial recognition, so it knows you. There is Live Chat, so now you can stay at home and still shop with friends or get the Family together for a full on interactive Game or social night. I think this Kicks the shit out of that Nintendo Wii junk. Once you go and see the video I have provided  for you all (not naming names but for the Technology challenged, fresh out of High school kids in my other classes the URL is embedded in the title or header of this blog.)  I think we will all agree that more can be done with this piece of equipment, than what is just advertised. A little imagination would probably turn this into the next Military Tactical hardware.... Who Knows? I am really digging it and want to get my hands on it, but of course with all my Tech toys, Warranties beware of me... 

   Okay I need to go and take my Play nice with the other classmates Pills, I hope you all agree with my findings here, if not well that is what the comment portion is open for here on my bloggy. If I need to piss off?  let me know.... If you want to give me a Nobel prize for nothing I will accept one too in the comments section.

Scott Abides, Cheer's.........

 

FLOPPY'S and Stuff

This Bloggy we go back to terms. And we have a little research to do. We get to look at internal Floppy Drive’s and External Floppy drive Price’s. I think I saw a floppy on a George Lucas Film once. Just kidding I am Old and remember when these thing where like huge, like a 10 inch to 3.5 floppy. I cannot believe people still use these thing's they seem so Pre historic. Like an 8 Track player versus a CD or MP3 player. Plus we look at connection types and of course Pro’s and Con’s of prices and usage. This is real fun stuff. Well not really, but it does add up on the Dry ’ O ’ Meter.

Internal Floppy’s look like they are going on the EBay for .99 cents to $30.00 bucks. They are going cheap because they probably came out of something or for it to be used you have to actually install them into your PC.

External Floppy on the EBay is going for .99 cents to about $150.00 bucks depending on Brand. Most External connectors are USB now. There is a SATA type connector too. These puppies are price for the easy Plug and Play feature. All you have to do in plug in and run. Plus I think the speed and read is boosted with the USB set up. So these drive seem to take the advantage if you are running a lap top maybe.

Here are The Terms we get to look at and define:

DMA Direct Memory Access. This transfers the data to the memory without having to use the CPU.
Low level formatting This is track and sector formatting done at the Factory for IDE drives.
SATA or Serial ATA. This is the standard now. It uses a Serial data path cable than a parallel or an EIDE cabling.
ATA AT Attachment, is basic level connector. Some other would be – PATA or ATAPI. ATA sets how your Peripherals like Zip drives/ CD and DVD communicate with the mother board and BIOS.
IDE Integrated Device Electronics. This covers the way the Drive it self operates.

Second Life – A CIT Discussion of a Virtual World Application……..

 

 Category: Virtual world

 Publisher: Linden Lab

Release date: June 23, 2003

Platform: GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows, Windows XP

 License: Common Public License

First release date: 2003

I think this is what we are talking about this week. My Brain has been Encrypted up there lately and really out there, so here goes:

            I guess a business can find and apply this as an application, Maybe even in the medical word, like Psychology. I personally would not use it unless It was made mandatory a job I was doing. Then I would have to Assess this job I am doing and if I want to be a part of it. This all seems like some type Of World of War craft Crap to me. Or a Nintendo Wii Mii Game. It would be use full in the schools since all these little punks ( Students ) are all Gamers. So they would probably dig this as part of their curriculums and would not even know they are learning something.

So here is a little about that.

Second Life virtual world developed by Linden Lab launched on June 23, 2003Built into the software is a three dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows a resident to build virtual objects.In 1999, Philip Rosedale formed Linden Lab. There is no charge to create a Second Life account or for making use of the world for any period of time. A Premium membership (US$9.95 per month) facilitates access to an increased level of technical support, and provides a stipend of L$300/week ( L$ is like there monetary system ) Second Life has its own money that can be used to buy, sell, rent or trade land or Virtual goods And services with other users. Avatars may take any form the user chooses, animal, vegetable or mineral, including being made to resemble the person whom they represent or even more abstract forms, every aspect of an avatar is fully customizable. A single Resident account may have only one avatar at a time, although the appearance of this avatar can change between as many different forms as the Resident wishes. A single person may also have multiple accounts, and thus appear to be multiple Residents , Avatars can communicate via local chat or instant messaging. Chatting is used for conversations between two or more avatars, and is visible to any avatar within a given distance. IMs are used for private conversations, either between two avatars, or among the members of a group, or even between objects and avatars. . As of version 1.18.1.2, voice chat, both local and IM, is also available on both the main grid and teen grid, using technology licensed by Vivox, a provider of similar services to other MMO worlds.

 

Scott Abides…Cheer’s!!!!

                    New Innovative Tools for People with Disabilities

Welcome Bloggy Fans - This week I have to blog about technology for the disabled, for Computer Information Technology School. There are a couple different pieces of technology I found during my research I want to talk about.

The first is a neat laptop style computer for Autistic kids.  Autism affects 1 in 150 kids. Teaching these kids can be a challenge for parents and caregivers. These computers were designed by a Boston firm called Continuum. It allows teachers to use cards and sounds for positive feedback to teach basic concepts.  It shows promise in helping Autistic kids learn to communicate.  The price for these computers is not listed, but they were designed by the same company that designed the One Laptop per Child laptops, which only cost $100. 

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/linda-tischler/design-times/can-good-design-help-autistic-kids-learn

Another neat piece of technology I found is a software program that can be loaded on a tablet PC which allows people with communication difficulties from autism, stroke, birth defects, and deafness, among other issues to communicate by taping or touching the appropriate part of the screen.  This program is surprisingly affordable.  It is only $30 for the software.  There is also a monitoring service that allows the program to connect the patient to family and friends via standard internet connections. 

http://www.touchntalk.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=4

I think these are pretty cool ways to use technology to help out disabled people.  Being able to communicate can allow disabled people to live a fuller life. These guys seem to get the coolest toys.

How are my Bloggy Fans. Well, I am still hanging in with this Computer Information Technology schooling. Yes, I believe we are almost to the quarter way point in this A+ class. So lets take a trip through Processors this week. Here are some Key terms used in the text which I have to explain in my own words. Now this is the hardest part of this assignment, putting it into my own words. Here is a old college try though, I did omit the swear words here.

Processor frequency is how fast, or the speed of the processor. It is measured in clock beats per second. A processor should beat more time than the human heart would in a lifetime. When you look at a label on a computer and it says something like 1.6GHz or 3.2 GHz, that is the processor speed or the frequency.


Word size is also called the internal data path. This is the largest information and data that can be moved inside the processor at any single operation. This can be either 32 or 64 bits in size, but does not have to be as big as the Data path size.

Over Clocking is when you run the processor at 5 to 30% faster than the regular speed the processors were set at from the factory. I think this is only useful with old processors in old computers. You boost the speed if you have an old processor and you are trying to run a newer program or OS that needs a faster processor to function.

Data Path can be called the external data path, too. This is the part of the Mother board that moves the information or data to the processor. This path is 64 bit wide going into the processor.

SRAM is a type of memory Cache. Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) is the faster Ram compared to DRAM (dynamic RAM). SRAM is fast because no refreshing is needed and it holds and stores its data as long as it has juice running to it, unlike the DRAM which loose data rapidly and needs refreshing periodically.

Primary, External and memory cache is the memory on and outside the processor chip. Primary or internal memory cached is known as Level 1 cache or L1. The External memory cache is a secondary cache known as a Level 2 cache or L2.

      HFD Series PowerSupplies          
Today in the CIT School world I have to discuss Power Supplies.This topic will be about the HFD Series. I tried looking for a cheaper or different company to score one, but I had no luck. Maybe my google is broken....  Anyways it looks like the Manufacturer sells it for about $188.00. If you want a ship load you got to buy it from Japan in F.O.B. 10unit stocks. This power supply runs a basic amount of juice. 100 volts to 200 volts, so looks like you can plug it into your wall at home. It puts out 150 amps and 5 to 12 volts so if you touch it in the wrong place you will feel something.  You can use this to power your computer and the Hard drive and Disk drive.

  Daitron Incorporated-click on me

    

                                 Giants 3 - Rockies 4

                                             

    WE'RE IN THIS!!!!!

          Wednesday, September 16 2009     Vs.   Colorado Rockies

   For The Monkeys First Birthday....

What Does the Research Say About Technology's Impact on Education?
Very interesting subject I have to Blog about now. No not really. Well nothing came up for me that really sparked any light for me. There is a lot of Information to sift through on the Web. Bling and Google had a lot of nothing to say about it. I am more interested in the machines and what they were learning. All I found was Mac world and General education material, between all the pros and cons which just made me dizzy, my final take on this subject was that technology in the school has a place sometimes. Like math and science. Some Times there is not room for technology. Well I can probably dribble on with argumentative devil’s advocate ramblings, but will let you examine this Symposium I found on this subject.
http://www.educationalliance.org/Partnerships/Symposium.pdf

Scott Abide's......Cheer's!!!!!!!

Baby Sign Language

We got a special request to see how our daughter is doing on learning sign language. We have been working on several words, like Daddy, Momma, All Done, More, Eat, Drink, and Milk. She knows the signs for Daddy and milk. However, she decided she was more interested in just saying the words, instead of doing the signs. She now says “Daddy”, “Momma” and “All Done”. She is working on saying “Cat”. I wish she would learn “poop” and “drink” or “juice” so I can figure out what’s she is crying about.

Scott and Karin

Real Problems, Real Solutions in the CIT Class world

Hey everybody, I am back with more Computer Information Technology work. I have to answer 8 questions about a advertisement of Business Computers.

1. What is the System bus Called? What are the Frequencies are offered?

- The System bus is refered to as the Front Side Bus ( FSB )

- The Available Frequencies offered is a 533fsb or a 1M/800fsb

2. In the ad what do you think P4 mean?

- I think it means Pentium 4 processor.

3. What are the four choices of Frequencies for the Processor?

-I see it comes in a 2.66GHz , 2.95GHz, 3.0GHz and a 3.2GHz processor.

4. What is the Brand Name of the Processor?

- It looks like an Intel Celeron.

5. How much RAM is on the MotherBoard? What is the cost of doubling the RAM?

- It comes with 512MB of DDR400 PC3200. You can double that for $50 bucks more.

6. What type of expansion slot is used for the Vidoe Card?

- It says a 16x PCI Express.

7.What term descibes the Hard Drive?

- Well I saw many descriptive terms for the Hard drive like - SATA ATA and UIDE HDD.

8. List the terms in th ad that you do not understand?

--- Well I really did not find any new terms for me. I found some pictures though and I now know what they look like.................

Scott Abide's......Cheer's!!!!!!!

Back to School - "7 thing's yall don't know about me"

Hey Everybody...... It is back to school for us. I am going to try and use this existing Blog if the School or teacher will allow it. My first ASSignment in my CIT class is like an intro getting to know you. "7 things you don't know about me". Well this blog tell a lot of thing about me, but I must elaborate even, so I can attempt to receive credit for this.

You guy's probably do not know:

1.) I am a Movie buff. I love movie most movie. The movies I totally dig that would shed some Character reference about me would be: The Big Lebowski, Apocalypse Now Redux, All Robb Zombie Films, Cohen Brothers movies, some Gus Van Saint stuff. Heck!! I can go on and on, I think you all get the picture.


2.) My 1 year old daughter is growing and learning so fast , that I am extremely proud of her. Soon she will be walking and cruising around, That would be a cool day. I may pull out the Digital Camera and get some Film of her. I already have Baby pic's to show her boyfriends to embarrass her or Scare the boy silly.

3.) I just started getting into S.F.Giants Baseball. My wife got me into it. I was married to here for over 4 years and but lived together for like ten before we got married. I didn't know She was a Sports Fan.On my Daughter 1st birthday we will be in Frisco and seeing the Giants crush the Rockies.

4.) Zygurmy. The Art of Brewing Beer and make fine Wine. I am a Brew Master. I just recently got into making wine. I have never been a big wine drinker, but I am spreading my knowledge base so I can go back and make even better Award Winning Beer.

5.) I am a Real Red Head, both upstairs and down stairs.

6.) I love the cold. I hate the heat. "My blood has always been to think, for Nevada !!!"
Okay please respond to this post and tell me who you think said this line and what movie was it in. HINT: Gonzo journalism.

7.) Music................ Oh! yeah Baby!!!!! I own about 4,000 or more CD's. I am a master of Name that tune. I listen to it all except country. My wife Digs the Country so I leave her that Knowledge Base to own.


Thanxs everyone for checking us out.......

Scott Abides----Cheer's.

Cheesy Attempt at Cheese Making

Tonight I tried my first attempt at making cheese. I got a kit at our local homebrew store to use. I followed the instructions and tried to make cheddar cheese. I got weird smelling white liquid that went down the drain when I tried to drain it. No curds, no whey. I don't know what I did wrong. The temperatures did get funky on me, so that's probably what happened. Maybe cheese is alot more temperature sensitive than beer and wine. Beer has a range for fermentation and brewing, cheese has a number you have to keep it at. Maybe I'll try a different cheese type tomorrow. It sucks that it didn't work, but practice makes perfect, right?

Karin

Hot August Bottle Aged Night Grapes

It's been awhile since we posted. We've been busy with the baby, a new grape crop that is growing on our property and just living life. The baby finally got her two bottom teeth in, after 6 months of teething. We have some nice old grape vines growing on our property. The wood looks like it is at least 12 years old, but we've heard the vines peak out and that they may be 20 years or more old. Out of the last 6 years we've lived here, this is only the second year that the grapes look like we can harvest any. I took some time to figure out a watering schedule and prune them so they are coming in very nice this year. I hope to be able to make a delicious wine out of them.

The beer my wife made, which we named Clara Belle Ale, has been bottle aging for 3 months. It should be perfect for our baby's first birthday party (for the grown ups, not her). It's hard to believe my baby girl is almost one! (let alone that I have a kid...) She has been a great inspiration and installment to my life. She makes the wine even sweeter. I love watching her learn and discover new things, it's almost like she's human, lol.

Here are the pictures of the August grapes that should be ready to harvest in September.

Davis Grape's August 2009-reno

Scott abides, Cheers.........................................

It's still fermenting...

My beer is still fermenting in the primary fermenter. It is going to be a strong beer if it's taking this long. It is slowing down, though, so I should be able to transfer it to a second fermenter in a few days. My husband is thinking about just putting it in the keg, instead of bottling it. That would make it easier to serve at my daughter's birthday party.

Brew Day

Today, I decided to brew a batch of a Sierra Nevada Celebration Clone. I’ve made this before and got rave reviews on it, so I decided to make it again. I like to let it age awhile before I serve it to people, so I figure making it now will allow it to be ready on my daughter’s first birthday, to serve to the grownups, obviously.

The first step in brewing a batch of beer is to clean and sanitize everything. And I do mean everything. So, I started my day off cleaning the brew pot, the fermentation bucket, the paddle we use to stir the brew, and the airlock. Then everything has to be sanitized in a solution of water and bleach. Then I let everything dry.

Then, using our high BTU propane burner, I brought 3 gallons of water to a boil. Then, to make the wort (unfermented beer), I added 6 pounds of light malt extract. This is a thick syrupy liquid that has various grains and barleys already mashed and then condensed. Many commercial breweries use malt extract, but just as many also use what’s called all-grain, where they start with grains and Steep them in water to release the sugars from the grains. Malt extract is the result of the boiling of the grains and then reducing the excess fluid to produce syrup. I also added 1 lb of crushed 60L Caramel Malt and 2 ounces of Perle Hops. I let this boil for about an hour and 45 minutes. Then I turned off the heat and added 2 ounces of Cascade hops. I let this stew in the pot for about 20 minutes. I let the wort cool for a bit then strain into the fermentation bucket. This removes the parts of the malt that doesn’t have sugar in it and helps make the beer clear. After transferring the wort to the bucket, I added 2 more gallons of water, to bring it up to 5 gallons. I use cool water to bring the wort up to 5 gallons to cool it down enough to pitch the yeast without killing it.

After fermentation starts, when the wort starts to foam, I’ll add another 2 ounces of Centennial hops to the wort, a process called dry-hopping. Dry hopping simply means adding hops that aren’t boiled. This is done for flavoring.

I prefer to use liquid yeast in my beers, simply because it starts fermentation quicker than dried yeast, which has to reconstitute before it can start fermentation. My preference is White Labs. For this beer I like to use White Labs California Ale Yeast. This is a similar yeast to what Sierra Nevada actually uses. Sierra Nevada uses a different brand, but the two yeast strains are very close. Now I just have to wait for it to ferment. It will take a while for it to ferment completely. It will take at least a week, but previously it has taken about 2 weeks to complete fermentation. After it’s done I will bottle it. To get it to carbonate, I boil some corn sugar in about a cup of water and add it to the beer. This will give the yeast more food. Then I put it in the bottles and cap it. As the yeast eats the newly added sugar, it will produce carbonation. I like to let it age a while, so I probably won’t serve it until my daughter’s first birthday.

VSOP

I’ve just been informed by my husband that VSOP stands for Very Special Old Pale when referring to Brandy and Very Superior Old Pale when referring to Cognac. Cognac is the name for brandy that is made in a specific area of France.

Christmas Cocktails in February

Well, Brandy is defiantly a Christmas time spirit. We finally broke into one of the Korbel Brandies we picked up while we were visiting the Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville earlier this month. We decided to try the VSOP first. VSOP was originally released in 2000, but it is considered the top of the line of the Brandies by the Korbel Gift Shop employees. I had picked up a 750ml bottle of it, so we have a bit to get through. It’s a good brandy, but neither of us is really into Brandy, at least at this time of year. VSOP is labeled as the Gold Reserve Brandy. The distillery is in Digiorgio, California, which is south of Bakersfield. The brandy is then brought to the Guerneville Cellars to be aged in charred American Oak barrels. After aging, it is mixed and bottled. They use grapes from the same vineyards from which they select grapes for the Champagnes. It has a distinct butterscotch and smoky flavor. It’s just the wrong time of year for Brandy, but we did like the flavor. We just couldn’t get into drinking a brandy in February. It should be really good come Christmas time. Since we couldn’t get into the VSOP, we decided to wait a while to open the other two, the standard Brandy and the XS Brandy, which I’m told stands for extra smooth. I haven’t found anything that says what VSOP stands for, but it is supposed to refer to the crowned heads of Europe in the 19th century.

Bottling Time!!!!

It’s finally time to bottle the wine! We went out to buy some bottles, corks and a corker today then came home to bottle. We already have a bottling tube, from doing beer, so we cleaned that out instead of buying a new one. The bottling tube is a nifty little device that allows you to fill any bottle perfectly. It has a pressure activated valve at the end which lets the fluid into the bottle only when it’s depressed into the bottom of the bottle. This makes it much easier to fill bottles without making a huge mess. The tube is also the perfect size so you fill the bottle up to the rim with the tube in the bottle, then when you remove the tube you are left with the perfect amount of space between the top of the fluid and the top of the bottle. With beer, this allows some room for the bottle carbonization to occur. Most home brewers carbonize their beer by adding a small amount of corn sugar to the beer just prior to putting the beer in the bottle. The remaining yeast in the beer reactivates and ferments this additional amount of sugar. As the sugar ferments, carbon dioxide is released into the beer, thus giving the beer the bubbles of carbonization. For wine, this extra space allows the perfect amount of space for the cork. After filling all the bottles, we used the corker to put corks completely into the bottles, just as any wine you buy from a store is, flush with the top. The corker has two handles that are moved together, which causes a mechanism inside to squeeze the cork small enough to easily slide into the top of the bottle. One the cork is compressed, you simply place the corker on top of the bottle, push down another handle and voila, your wine is corked. The homebrew store also sells foil wraps to go over the end of the bottle. After we decide on labels for the wine, we plan to pick up some foil seals to match the labels. The wine is okay right now, but it still needs to age to bring out the full flavor profile.

Rotary Club Mardi Gras Wine Tasting.

Tonight my mom asked me to go with her to a wine and food tasting event put on by the Rotary Club. It was Mardi Gras Themed. We decided to take the baby with us. It was kind of nice to have the stroller tray (my stroller has a parent tray up by the handle) to hold our glasses. Great Basin Brewery was there, with a selection of a few of their beers. Another interesting beer at the event was one from Leinenlingers Brewing, out of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It is called Berry Weiss, and as the name implies it is a Berry flavored wheat beer. It was actually very good. I’ve never seen it in this area though. I think my favorite wine of the evening was Ferrari Carano’s Fume Blanc. It was nice and crisp, with a sweet fruity taste and nose. My least favorite was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Shooting Star. It had a sulfuric taste and seemed a bit cloudy. Another good one was Chasing Venus Sauvignon Blanc. Chasing Venus is from New Zealand. I spoke with the representative for a moment. Apparently, New Zealand’s weather can present some challenges for grapes and limits the harvest time. Despite their harvest problems, it was an excellent selection.

Mardi Gras Lunch at Great Basin and a little about Proof...

Yesterday, for Mardi Gras, we decided to take a drive for lunch and ended up in Sparks, NV at the Great Basin Brewery. I was driving, so I didn’t get to drink. My husband had their IPA, called Ichthyosaur or “Icky”. It’s a single IPA made with Cascade hops. It’s named after Nevada’s State fossil. I didn’t realize states had official fossils. It has 6.4% ABV. ABV means alcohol by volume; it’s one of the standard measurements of alcohol in beverages. It is related to proof, in that a beverage’s proof is a number equal to twice it’s percentage of alcohol, or ABV. For instance, Captain Morgan has just come out with a new spiced rum that is 100 Proof. What this means is simply that it has 50% ABV. However, typically you will see only liquors and spirits listed by proof and beer and wines listed by ABV. Anyway, the Icky is pretty good, but not too hoppy. My husband was on a hops kick today (As Vinnie from the Russian River would say, he was having a Lupulin threshold shift), so while he enjoyed it and had 3, he wasn’t quite satisfied with the hop level. After, lunch we headed to the brewing supply store to buy bottles and corks for the wine, as it’s going to be ready to bottle any day now.

Why is it illegal to distill your own alcoholic beverages?

My anonymous friend asked another question that I missed; why is it illegal to distill alcohol? The primary reason that it is illegal to distill your own alcohol is because the revenuers want their cut of the action and it’s too hard for them to track what a smaller distiller owes, without all the proper permits. Another reason is that it can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Alcohol, both methanol and ethanol, is flammable. The higher the concentration of alcohol, the more flammable it is. Add heat and flames to alcohol and you have the potential for serious fires or explosions. While beer is boiled to release the sugars from the grains, it does not have alcohol in it yet while it is exposed to the heat. It is only after the wort has cooled and yeast is added that beer has alcohol in it. Wine does not get heated at all; the sugars in fruit juice are easily digestible by yeast so it does not need to be boiled. Another safety issue with distillation is that if you don’t distill at the right temperatures, you can end up with methanol, which is toxic. Of course, in large quantities, ethanol is also toxic, but it takes much more ethanol to kill you than it does methanol or isopropyl alcohol.

That being said, it is remotely possible to obtain a license to distill your own alcohol. I have not done this, and would not attempt to distill near my home considering I have a young infant, but I have been told that they way around the prohibition on distilling alcohol for consumption is to obtain a permit to make alcohol for experimental fuel use. I’m not exactly sure how one would go about doing that; it’s just what I have been told is a way to get around the distilling issue. Using distilled alcohol as a fuel may be a viable alternative to fossil fuels some day, and a much more renewable resource.

Wine Tastings

The wine is getting very clear. It is almost completely cleared now. In the meantime, we’ve been trying various Gewurztraminers. It has been difficult to find them. Most places we’ve been only have 3 or less choices, and most of those choices have been the same. We tried a Fetzer, which was by far the best one we’ve had. It was sweet and fruity, with not much of an alcohol bite to it. Another variety we tried, which we didn’t care for was Two Vines from Washington. It was not good. We barely drank any of it. We are somewhat surprised by the lack of choice for Gewurztraminers. Other varieties of wine, like Rieslings, Chardonnays and Pinots have much more selection to choose from. So, we’re basically hoping ours will taste like the Fetzer, as it’s the best one we’ve tried.

Oh, to answer the questions raised by anonymous in the comments, yes the two headed goat was alive. As to the other question, some varieties of wine are aged in oak barrels, but for the clearing, it is better to clear the wine in something you can see through, for home wine making at least. Also, different woods can be used for the barrels of some wines, as well, depending on the flavor profile the vintner (wine maker) is looking for.

Touring Lagunitas and transferring wine

Sorry it took a couple days, but we’ve been busy this week. On the way back home, we stopped into Lagunitas in Petaluma. We took a tour of the brewery. They recently got a brand new brewing system from Germany that is twice the size of their old brew kettles. Now they can make much larger batches. We sampled a few of their beers; my husband’s favorite is called Brown Shugga. They had a circus going on while we were there, complete with circus freaks and a two headed goat. So it was interesting. Apparently all the guys on the line like Randy Savage, the wrestler; they had action figures of him all over the place. All their fermentors had funny names, cartoon characters and such.

One of the things that have been keeping us busy has been transferring our wine into the carboy. We are on the final step of fermentation before bottling. We put in sulfites and a bunch of other additives. The sulfites and potassium slow the fermentation process. The other additives help clear the wine. The wine has gone from a cloudy yellow to almost clear. We can’t bottle it until it’s completely clear, which will take a couple weeks. In the meantime, we have to drink some wines to collect bottles.

Tiny Bubbles and sushi, but no tiny champagne shirts...

We went to lunch with my sister and nephew at Tex Wasabi’s today. It’s one of the two restaurants co-owned by Guy Fieri, from the Food Network. He also co-owns a place called Johnny Garlic’s. Both are here in Santa Rosa. There’s nothing quite as good as getting barbeque and sushi on the same plate. Usually the barbeque at Tex Wasabi’s is pretty good, but today it seemed a bit dry, almost like it was leftover from yesterday. I had the barbeque and sushi combo, which comes with BBQ chicken, ribs, and a sushi roll. They give you the choice of a California Roll or some house roll with French fries and BBQ Pork, one of their “gringo rolls”. I think it’s kind of cool that they have non- fish and seaweed sushi-style items. Some of the creations are really good. My husband had a Lagunitas Draft beer while we were there. Tomorrow we plan to take the brewery tour at Lagunitas, so more on them later.

After lunch, we went out to Korbel. We had Korbel Sec Champagne. That was a nice, light, crisp variety. Apparently, it’s not sold in stores; it’s just available at the Cellars. We also picked up a bottle of each of the three varieties of Brandy they make, as that is not available in our area. We are saving the brandy, so I don’t know what it tastes like. Come to think of it, I should have picked up some shooters of the brandies too, so we could taste them. Oh well.

Neither Tex Wasabi’s nor Korbel has onesies. Now that we have the Russian River and Bear Republic ones, I am determined to get as many onesies as I can from different places for her. She also has a Margaritaville one my mom picked up for her in New Orleans. I think I’ll try to get her a collection going.

Dinner at Chocolate Mousse Republic, err, I mean Bear Republic

Today we hit Bear Republic in Healdsburg for dinner. Another beverage I enjoy trying different varieties of is root beer. Bear Republic has a house made root beer. Of course, I had to try it. It was pretty good. It had a subtle vanilla flavor. Apparently they make it on-site, along with a cream soda and their beers. I had a Western Burger for dinner, which was fairly standard, nothing much to remark about. But, for desert, I had their chocolate mousse. This mousse has won awards and it is obvious why. It is so creamy and smooth, it is heavenly. It’s served in a wine glass with whipped cream on top, drizzled with chocolate syrup. It makes the drive up to Healdsburg and the 20 minute wait for the table (it is Saturday night though) totally worth it. I may make another drive up there this weekend to get some more. We also got the baby a Bear Republic onesie. This kiddo is going to have a wardrobe full of alcohol related clothes soon.

My husband had a Big Bear Black Stout. It’s a strong beer, with 8.1% alcohol. It’s his favorite there. He also tried a new Hop Rod, an IPA that was aged in cabernet barrels and has cabernet juice in it. He says it has a wine quality to it. It was 8% ABV, and he says it was a bit different from most high alcohol beers he drinks. It was served in a 10 ounce glass, instead of pints, which he doesn’t like. He feels the hop selections they use in the Hop Rod don’t mix well with the cabernet and it had an odd flavor profile. He had their deep fried calamari, which is another of his favorites there. Unlike many places that serve fried calamari, they leave the tentacles intact, and he said they are delicious. But nothing beats that chocolate mousse.

Visit to the River...

While our Gewurtz is fermenting, we decided to take a trip to visit our family in the Wine Country. We also decided to hit up some of the local wine and beer spots. Our first spot was, of course, the Russian River Brewing Company. There were a few new beers on tap from the last time we were in town. One was Pliny the Younger, the nephew of Pliny the Elder. It is a Triple IPA. It’s got tons of hops in it. But, instead of being way too bitter like many heavily hopped beers, it had a more floral taste. Another good new one was Consecration. Consecration is aged for six months in used cabernet sauvignon barrels with currants added. It has a sweet, almost fruity taste. I’d say it’s my new favorite beer. I think I’ll be having some more when we go back. We also bought our daughter a new onesie with the Blind Pig Logo on it. She already has a blue one, but she’s about to outgrow it, so we got her the next size. She came home from the hospital in the one she has, and we’ve taken pictures of her every month on her birthday in it. So now we have a bigger one to continue with the photos. I think I’ll do a scrapbook layout with each month’s picture up to her first birthday when I get them all. We’re also planning to hit Korbel and Bear Republic this weekend. So, stay tuned for more…

It's alive!!!

Our wine has started fermentation! Unlike beer, wine is not boiled to release the sugars. This is because wine is made from fruit juice, while beer is made from grains. To make beer, you have to boil the grains to release the sugars from the grain for the yeast to eat to produce alcohol, in the fermentation process. In fruit juice, the sugars are already available for the yeast. Wine is much easier than beer so far. On the first day, we put the grape juice into a fermentation bucket, added yeast and a flower that adds some flavor aspects and closed it. We put the airlock on the bucket and set it aside. Now 5 days later, the airlock is bubbling, a sign that the wine inside is fermenting. As the yeast eat the sugars and turn to alcohol, they release air, which is what causes the bubbles in the airlock, which is filled with fluid to keep bacteria out of the wine. The beers we’ve made usually have aggressive, almost violent fermentations; there is no rhythm to the bubbling. A couple of our stronger beers have actually had such violent fermentations they have blown the airlock or lids off the fermentators. That is a huge mess to clean up. (By the way, never ferment your beer in a closet full of clothes you wear, or where a wedding dress is stored. We had one beer explode in the closet, the foam almost ruined my wedding dress.) The wine is interesting though. It is bubbling in a “thump-thump” pattern, much like a heartbeat. Tomorrow or the next day we will transfer the wine into a second fermentation vessel. The fermentation process with wine is more complicated than beer. With beer, you pretty much leave it in one vessel for most the fermentation. With wine, you have to move it a couple times, leaving the sediment that forms on the bottom of the fermentator, so it comes out clear. Beer clears itself pretty much. It’s a new learning experience. But, it does seem to be working so far.