den: (Email)
Australia Computer Terminology - Getting ready for Broadband in the Bush!!



LOGON: Adding wood to make the barbie hotter

LOG OFF: Not adding any more wood to the barbie.

MONITOR: Keeping an eye on the barbie.

DOWNLOAD: Getting the firewood off the ute.

HARD DRIVE: Making the trip back home without any cold tinnies.

KEYBOARD: Where you hang the ute keys.

WINDOWS: What you shut when the weather's cold.

SCREEN: What you shut in the mozzie season.

BYTE: What mozzies do

MEGABYTE: What Townsville mozzies do.

CHIP: A pub snack.

MICROCHIP: What's left in the bag after you've eaten the chips.

MODEM: What you did to the lawns.

LAPTOP: Where the cat sleeps.

SOFTWARE: Plastic knives and forks you get at Red Rooster.

HARDWARE: Stainless steel knives and forks - from K-Mart.

MOUSE: The small rodent that eats the grain in the shed.

MAINFRAME: What holds the shed up.

WEB: What spiders make.

WEBSITE: Usually in the shed or under the veranda.

SEARCH ENGINE: What you do when the ute won't go.

CURSOR: What you say when the ute won't go.

YAHOO: What you say when the ute does go.

UPGRADE: A steep hill.

SERVER: The person at the pub who brings out the counter lunch.

MAIL SERVER: The bloke at the pub who brings out the counter lunch.

USER: The neighbour who keeps borrowing things.

NETWORK: What you do when you need to repair the fishing net.

INTERNET: Where you want the fish to go.

NETSCAPE: What the fish do when they discover a hole in the net.

ONLINE: Where you hang the washing.

OFFLINE: Where the washing ends up when the pegs aren't strong enough.
den: (happy den)
I have just returned from a week in Wellington, New Zealand. It was part business mostly fun.

It was primarily to meet a but of forumites from the Shadow And Flame Weta collectors forum, and we were joined by some of the artists and managers of the WETA workshops. I bought some loot from the Weta Cave (Dwarf coins, and a Dr Grordbort's Medal Of Arbitrary Self Importance) and did a Window On The Workshop tour. Weta built a fully working Warthog for a cancelled Halo movie, and a lot of the armour and weapons from Lord Of The Rings, District 9, Elysium, Hellboy, and Narnia are on display. They even explain how they make them and you get to handle samples of chain maille (it's plastic) and plate armour (it's rubber and leather)

And then the artists grabbed us and took the group for a tour behind the scenes at Weta.

It started with signing a non-disclosure agreement.

...

Aaand that's about all I can tell you. But wow! I am still all bouncy and squeeeee! from that. I want to tell you about all the things, but must not. All I can say is "Squeeeee!"
den: (Beer)
Almost gone around the world in 80 Beers twice.

Thomas Cooper's Selection

Pours a clear, pale golden colour. The head is medium and bubbly, and fades away quickly to a thin lacing. Lots of carbonation visible.

First sip: Mild malts and hops that are almost buried in a fruity sourness. The sourness lingers for quite a while leaving a dry after-taste. Mouth-feel is a little thin with a nice carbonation tingle on the tongue.

This is quite a nice brew - which you would expect from Cooper's Brewery. It's refreshing, and goes down well on a hot day.

BUT, there isn't a lot happening on the flavours side of thing; a lot of sourness and not a lot else. On the other hand, the sourness make this very more-ish. And as it warms in the glass, a sweet malt comes to the fore and is less overwhelmed by the sourness

It washes down a lightly smoked cheddar rather well.

Thomas Cooper's Artisan Reserve
Cooper's Brewery
5.5% alc/vol
335ml bottle

Thomas Cooper's Selection

Same again, sir? Yes.
den: (Beer)
A light beer? Am I drinking responsibly?



Pours a pale amber with a small head that fades away rapidly. Quite a few bubbles in the glass.

First sip: Mild amounts of grainy malts, with a mild amount of hops bitterness which fades away quickly. Nice carbonation tingle on the tongue. Mouth-feel is thin and watery.

In a word, boring. Today is rather hot and this make a nice refreshing drink. It's quite drinkable; one you could drink a lot of, but don't expect anything exceptional. This is one of the better light lagers.

Coopers Premium Light
Cooper's Brewery
2.9% alc/vol
330ml bottle



Same again, sir? No.
den: (Beer)
What a messy label.

Three Sheets Pale Ale

Pours a slightly cloudy pale amber colour. The head is thin and bubbly and vanishes rapidly with no retention.

First Sip: Mild malts, with some bready yeasts. There are some faint fruit flavours but they are not strong. Nicely hopped, but there is almost no lingering bitterness after the swallow. Mouth-feel is thin and a little fizzy, with a curious after-swallow tingle on the tongue.

This beer makes me go "Hmmmmm.... Yeeeeaaaah... no." It tastes like something a amateur home-brewer would knock up; the sort of thing you drink out of politeness because it's not horrible and the brewer is so proud of it and you don't want to hurts his feelings. "No sorry I can't have another. I'm driving."

It could have been a lot better.

Three Sheets Pale Ale
Lord Nelson Pub Brewery
4.9% alc/vol
330ml bottle

Three Sheets Pale Ale

Same again, sir? No.
den: (bugger)
The refrigerator is broken. Some time last night it stopped, so this morning I woke to cool-not-cold milk and almost thawed frozen foods in the freezer.

I lost a small amount of icecream, some frozen veggies and all the ice cubes. The meat is still frozen but it's not at freezer temps - the surface has almost thawed but the core is solid. The pies and pizza I can eat today.

Luckily I have the beer fridge in the laundry so the milk, eggs, and margarine are safe. And I have a small spare freezer so the meat is safe.

Buggerit.
den: (happy den)
Today I bought the food for Christmas Lunch:

4kg Tiger Prawns
8 balmain bugs (aka slipper lobsters)
2 chickens (currently in the smoker, smoking)
a ham
a leg of pork (mum will cook that. mmmmm crackling)

Tomorrow friends from the Philippines will bring dishes of spicy chicken and pork pieces, friends from Sri Lanka will bring Dahl and rice.

And we will open the gifts, and sit under the air conditioner (because it is SUMMER) and stuff our faces until we can't move.

May all your dreams and fine wishes come true in this, the best of the seasons.
den: (Beer)
It's been far too long since I've done one of these.

Toohey's Old

Pours a very dark brown with a medium head.

First Sip: Mid- to dark-roasted malt, with a faint bitter chocolate and coffee flavour. Very mild but long lasting hops bitterness on the back of the tongue. Mouth feel is medium with a mild astringent after-taste. Mild carbonation tingle on the tongue. Nice beer burp.

This is my brew of choice at pubs. It has more flavour than the macrobrew lagers everyone drinks, it's not too fizzy, and you can drink it even if it goes a little warm in the glass. One of the old chaps at the RSL* - the sort with a chest full of medals and who talks about sticking it to the Japs at Kokoda in New Guinea in 1942 - used to talk about going to bush pubs in the days before refrigeration arrived. Casks of Old would be on the bar, kept slightly cooler than the atmosphere by being draped in a wet bag. And it is still drinkable at room temperatures.

Old is called "old" because it's brewed in the old lager style, as opposed to the newer lagering process favoured today to force-brew beers. Old was first brewed in 1869, and hasn't changed much.

So if it's your shout, I'll have a middy** of Old.

*Returned Serviceman's League

**middy = half a pint (10fl oz)
Which remindes me of an old Irregular Webcomic strip:
Hobbit: What's that?
Ranger: A pint. What do Hobbits usually drink?
Hobbit: Gallons.

Toohey's Old
Toohey's Brewery (Part of Lion Nathan)
4.4% alc/vol
375ml bottle

Toohey's Old

Same again, sir? What a silly question. Yes!
den: (happy den)
I am listening to the new Pink Floyd album Endless River.

Wow. It's like listening to Wish You Were Here for the first time, again. Only much better.
den: (Beer)
I bought this from Aldi, so the chances are it is an Aldi only brand. Like all things in Aldi. On the other hand, it's cheap. Like all things in Aldi.

Pours an almost clear tan colour. A lot of bubbles visible

First sip: Mildly sweet, with a nice carbonation tingle on the tongue. A little syrupy after the swallow. Very faint, almost non-existent ginger bite appears after the syrupy taste fades. Medium mouth-feel.

Yeah... it's okay. It's refreshing and not too sweet, and it is certainly nicer than your normal generic-brand soft drinks, but oh boy it could do with a bit more ginger.



Burrandy Original Ginger Beer
Made by Aldi brand
Cane Sugar: 19g/serve
896kj/214cal
375ml/12.6fl.oz. bottle
den: (Photos)
On my last day in England, we went for a short walk along the Ouse Valley Way from Godmanchester to Brampton.

The "Chinese Bridge" at Godmanchester, in front of the Town Hall.
Chinese Bridge

River and Meadow )
den: (Photos)
A restored unpowered "butty" which used to be pulled by a narrow boat back in the days when canals used to transport bulk goods.

Stoke Bruern

Narrow boats, narrow tunnel )
den: (Photos)
The Buttercross - a medieval market cross. The structure was built using wooden pegs; there are no metal fixings holding it together.

Oakham

Stocks, castle, horseshoes )
den: (Photos)
Rutland Water is a large man-made freshwater lake in Rutland.

Rutland Water

More water and birds )
den: (Photos)
A walk through The Shambles to York Minster.

Shambles

Shops and stones )
den: (Photos)
Some photos of the National Railway Museum, York. There are many many more here.

The Great Hall.
National Rain Museum

Mallard
A4 Mallard
Many more photos of STEAM )
den: (Photos)
These photos are not as sharp as I would like. There was a covering of thin, high cirrus that slightly fuzzed the edges

Aroo )
den: (happy den)
The lunar eclipse is in progress right now. I've been taking photos (Canon D40 with 300mm lens) and being eaten alive by mozzies.

Eclpise: impressive

Mozzies: not so impressive except in sheer numbers.

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