New Synology DS1513+

DS411j Storage Manager
DS411+ Storage Manager

I have two Network Attached Storage units. In case of a disaster at my home, I keep one of them at work. The first one is a Synology 411j. The second one is a Synology 411+. And I have finally almost run out of space on my first drive.

So I bought a new NAS built from the following parts:

And now I have:

DS1513+ Storage Manager

So I will now relegate the first NAS (the 411j) to be a media server.

links

The Empathic Civilization link via

A Smart-Phone Camera that Offers More than Megapixels link via

A “sparse” animated gif website link via

What would Feynman do? link via

Tearing down a Nikon D5100 link via

Amazon’s $23,698,655.93 book about flies link via

Focus Fallibility link via

Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two link via

Hansei link via

April 26th, 2011, Central Texas, over two hundred photos of the same cloud link via

A Paper Record Player for a wedding invitation link via

New Technicolor Profile for Canon HDDSLRs link via

World’s Smallest Playable Donkey Kong / Mame Arcade Cabinent link via

Bucket Man link via

Rocket Scientist: Making Space Pay and Having Fun Doing It link via

From White House To Pakistan, Photos Play Strange Role In Bin Laden Drama link via

George Washington’s personal beer recipe surfaces link via

How to make fluffier omelets link via

Settlers of Catan: McDonald’s Edition link via

Same hill, different day link via

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says link via

How to stop cats pissing on your car link via

Estimation rant link via

Pendulum Waves link via

Matrix like effect with video instead of single image link via

Air Print link via

Nightclub photography: you’re doing it wrong link via

10-gigapixel, 360-degree panorama of Wembley stadium link via

The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science link via

A Very Scary Light Show: Exploding H-Bombs In Space link via

What makes a body obscene? link via

Photographers Respond to Lady Gaga’s New Copyright Demands link via

Nanolaw with daughter link via

Anatomy of a Mashup: Definitive Daft Punk visualized link via

My Drunk Kitchen Ep. 6: Brunch? link via

Creative Promotion with 100 Free Phones Hidden in a 5 Megapixel Photo link via

Six-Foot-Long Homemade Large Format Camera link via

Canon EOS 0 link via

Photos taken of people asking me for money. I offer them $2 for their portrait. link via

The most camera flashes ever used to make a photograph link via

Depth of field explained link via

Lightning trigger for cameras link via

Ethics over photography link via

The White Rock Rock Paint link via

Street photography: A right or invasion? link1 link2 via

Photographing the moon link via

Explosions in the sky link via

Making a 35mm camera from scratch link via

World’s Biggest Writing link via

Projector wedding ring link via

Fisheye-Nikkor 6mm f/2.8s. A lens that can see behind itself. link via

Leonard Nimoy as The Dude link via

George Lucas Strikes Back link via

Who’s got the first PowerPC chip photo? link via

15 Minutes to Shoot, 15 Years to Master link via

The art of photo-bombing by Nathan Fillion link via

New Yorker rides into obstacles in bike lanes to prove a point link via

The Right’s Favorite Historian: Founding Fathers Opposed Darwin link via

Killer Queen Cover link via

Dissecting an Episode of MythBusters link via

Roman Gladiator’s Gravestone Describes Fatal Foul link via

Illegal Tour of Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans link via

Our Dwindling Food Variety link via

Fair use versus copyright link via

Dial-Up Modem Noises Slowed Down link via

$50 car paint job link via

Solar roads link via

“From Dust to Edge” is the documentation of a long journey in the efforts of making a blade out of homemade steel. link via

Spectacular liftoff! How he gets those shuttle imageslink via

Film psychology: The Shining spatial awareness and set design link via

Nasa Wraps Its Space-Flashes in Cute Little Spacesuits link via

Teetering on the edge link via

250 Canon EOS 60Ds with flashes are synchronized for a music video link via

Notes on lens and camera variation link via

Will Wright’s Business Cards: Just His Information Stamped on Old Currency link via

Configurable living space link via

QR code built from everyday objects link via

106 of the most beloved Street Art Photos of 2011 link via

Chromatic typewriter link via

Mini Speed Demons link via

The Personal Analytics of My Life link via

Sky wave link via

Kombucha with Brett Trois


Brett Trois

I got a vial of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois from Ryan (which is sold by White Labs). They describe it as: “This Belgian strain, used traditionally for 100% Brettanomyces fermentations, produces a slightly tart beer with delicate characteristics of mango and pineapple. Can also be used to produce effervescence when bottle-conditioning.” And, supposedly, White Labs grew it from Geuze Cuvée Joost En Jessie Blauw Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen.

I poured it into a one gallon Central Market Organics Apple Juice bottle, put an airlock on top, and let it motor boat away.

For my first use with kombucha, I replaced the cap on the bottle, shook it up really well, and then poured half of it (1/2 gallon) into my version 14.0 kombucha. The bottling gravity wass 1.013 @ 77.26 = 1.015, and the pH was 3.5 @ 77.26. I consider this to still be too high in gravity as the yeast will certainly bring it down to 1.02 or so. And that much CO2 makes for quite the bottle rocket when warm.

For the second use with kombucha, I poured another half gallon into the conical after the kombucha got to a desired tartness level (the gravity was 1.012 @ 72.26F = 1.014, and the pH was 3.4 @ 72.26). I will let it motor boat in secondary fermentation until it quiets down. I will then add 64 ounces of R. W. Knudsen Organic Just Tart Cherry juice. According to the label, there are four servings of 24 grams of sugar. Which should come out to 96 grams of bottling sugar.

Flying Saucer Festival

So the Austin Flying Saucer had its yearly festival.


Austin Flying Saucer Festival 4

And I drank the following beers:


Brouwerij Rodenbach Classic Red
Avery Rumpkin
Timmermans Oude Gueze Lambic
Thirsty Planet Double Buckethead Double IPA
Stone Farking Wheaton WOOTSTOUT
Ommegang Duvel Rustica
Deschutes Armory XPA
Green Flash Hop Odyssey Symposium IPA
Full Sail Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Cripsin Cider Prepare To Die
Brouwerij Rodenbach Grand Cru
Sixpoint Autumnation
North Coast Class of '88
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
Sierra Nevada Fritz & Ken's Ale
Southern Tier Warlock
Buffalo Bayou 1836
Sixpoint Spice Of Life
Harpoon Octoberfest

Bottling with 750ml bottles


bottling with 750ml bottles

I have now started bottling with 750ml glass bottles. Given how many Jester King bottles I have bought over the years, I have quite a supply of them. And removing the labels is somewhat of an easy task. And it goes quickly if you do it with a friend.

So I bought a Red Baron bottle capper, 29mm bottle caps, and a 29mm capping bell for Agata cappers. The capper actually supports two different sizes in its crimping mechanism. So you can slide out the metal plates and then rotate them 180 degrees for the 29mm size.

Sixth lunch set for a number of days


Sixth lunch set

The first dish was roasted asparagus, spaghetti squash, and sliced shallots. I liked it.

The second dish was where I got creative. I made up a sauce of soy sauce, sherry cooking wine, peanut butter, shin-shu aka miso, and grated ginger. To which, I added tempeh. The sauce turned out good. I don’t think I like tempeh though. I did have one unmitigated disaster though. I roasted two vegetables which were new to me. The first was jicama. The second was yuca root. Little did I know that the yuca turned out to be covered in parafin wax. Which melted and made a mess in the toaster over. Sigh. What a CF. And then, when I cut them into cubes, the edges turned into a really tough substance and was unpleasant to eat.

With the third dish, I added some diced mango and apples to beans from Snow’s BBQ. I think that turned out good. It kind of made the beans more of a sweet dish while still being savory.

Switching teas


Switching teas #1

Switching teas #2

So I’ve switched from using Lipton decaffeinated iced tea bags to using loose leaf decaffeinated Darjeeling black tea. It is easier to measure out an exact amount. And the tea is stronger and tastier. The trick is to use a plastic mesh paint strainer bag from Home Depot. Who would have thought?

I have now moved brewing outside…


Outside brew setup #1

Outside brew setup #2

I have now changed how I brew kombucha. I used to use an 8 quart enameled Le Creuset stockpot on my gas stove. To cool it down from boiling to 80F, I would fill my kitchen sink with ice water and let it sit. This takes a while and all of the ice in my freezer.

I looked at Academy for outdoor propane burners. But they were incredibly flimsy. Sigh. People buy such cheap crap. Fortunately, Austin Homebrew had a Bayou Classic Outdoor Propane Burner which was pretty solidly made from cast iron.

The next step was to use my 36 quart Coleman ice chest. I can just barely fit two 16 pound bags of ice for $3.00 in my corner Ice House America. I then bought a pool pump from Home Depot and a hose to connect to a BrewVint Wort Chiller (30 ft) on loan from Ryan (NOTE: I don’t think this is an exact match).

40 quart (10 gallon) Stainless Steel Stock Pot Steamer Brew Kettle

The next step was to buy a large kettle. I went with 40 quart (10 gallon) Stainless Steel Stock Pot Steamer Brew Kettle w/lid BA76-40 from eBay for $76. I now buy 5 gallons of reverse osmosis water from Glacier Water Dispenser next to my Super HEB.