Merry Xmas

Mmm... beer...
Mmm... 1050 beers!

Cheers

A special thought for JB and Oscar Peterson.

M-Audio Firewire 410 For Sale - $199

add posted on Craiglist:

M-Audio Firewire 410
4-in/10-out Mobile Recording Interface

Extremely Portable and Professional Sound Quality

Like New, Factory Refurbished and
Fully Bench Tested by M-Audio Labs, Irwindale, CA on 12/10/2007

Use the same rig as guitar legend John McLaughlin!

----------------
Top Features:

- 2 x 8 24-bit/96kHz analog I/O; 192kHz stereo out
- 2 mic/line ins w/ preamps and phantom power
- 8 line outs to mixer or direct surround output
- S/PDIF digital I/O w/ PCM, AC-3, and DTS support
- 1 x 1 MIDI I/O
- includes Ableton Live Lite music production software

FireWire 410 is a FireWire-compatible audio/MIDI interface that has it all—power, flexibility, compact size and low price. FireWire 410’s 4-in/10-out configuration complete with preamps is perfect for personal recording, routing discrete outputs to a mixer, or directly driving a surround sound system. The on-board ASIO 2-compliant mixer and software control panel provide total routing flexibility—including monitoring with external effects. You also get ultra-low latency software monitoring and near-zero latency hardware direct monitoring—and two headphone outs with independent level controls let you collaborate with a partner anywhere, anytime. FireWire 410 can even be completely bus-powered for total mobile operation (6-pin FireWire port required)

Link to Official Product Presentation, Manual/Driver Downloads

Happy Holidays from Iritis

Wishing you rockin' holidays and a fantastic New Year.
We'll be hosting a tiny little World Premiere private show next week.
If you mention this posting and manage to get in touch with me directly I'll try to bribe the bouncer into letting you in.

Iritis means business

We gots business cards now!
ya dig?

Things are shaping up nicely with the band,
i'm finally ditching my capricious M-Audio Firewire 410
recording hardware. It might be good enough for John McLaughlin
but it has been a serious headache in our set-up.

So i went out and got meself a Line6 TonePort UX8.
This baby is rock solid and it's just a whole new dimension
to have 8 real inputs instead of the misleadingly advertized 4 inputs
on the firewire that turned out to only be 2.

It's going to be fun playing with this new toy.
Even if it seems that more gear beget$$$ even more gear....
The quality of our recordings should vastly improve.

As to the quality of our playing... well we're getting there.
There are quite a few news song sketches I recently posted on myspace. And watch out! You might just get invited to some
private house party soon for our maiden live show...

Quote of the Day: Wendell Wisdom

"This whole technology and computer thing is a fad. It won't last."

-My zymurgy sensei Wendell after sending his first cell
phone text message, it was blank. He is now an seasoned pro
at sending picture messages.

zy·mur·gy:
the branch of applied chemistry dealing with fermentation,
as in winemaking, brewing, the preparation of yeast, etc.
syn: zy-mo-lo-gy

2007 Arctic Sea Ice - January through September

"The 2007 Arctic summer sea ice has reached the lowest extent of perennial ice cover on record - nearly 25% less than the previous low set in 2005. The area of the perennial ice has been steadily decreasing since the satellite record began in 1979, at a rate of about 10% per decade. But the 2007 minimum, reached on September 14, is far below the previous record made in 2005 and is about 38% lower than the climatological average." Original Nasa Webpage



I have to throw in this other NASA video too.
It's a riotously geeky a cappella ode to Noctilucent Clouds...


Ok, here's another naughty extra. This was one of the recommended videos
after watching "Noctilucent Clouds". Go figure. I'm just speechless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6aXAvUj2Kk

Transformers

Happy Halloween

Sam Adams Glassware

As a member of the American Homebrewing Association,
i just received my two free unsolicited newly designed
glasses from Sam Adams. It sure pays to be an AHA member:
Nice discounts at brewpubs all over the country
and now free beer glasses. You should join AHA too!

This new vessel has all kinds of fancy features, the purpose is ambitious:
"delivering sweetness from the malt;
maximizing the hops aroma and flavor;
maintaining the ideal temperature;
supporting a rich and creamy head;
and sustaining the right amount of carbonation."

They teamed up with "Tiax, a Boston-area company that
for decades has worked with food, beverage and pharmaceutical
companies to create and enhance products. [...] "They spent almost
three months on the project before handing over a 300-page report."
They then sent this over to the German glassware specialists Rastal
and this is their new baby:


The marketing materials sure look great right?
So once i received them, it was time to put'em to the test.


Well right out of the box, the new glasses were underwhelming. The marketing pictures just looked so much nicer, big and shiny. I passed on the SA Boston Lager and I picked up Sammy's O'fest instead, which by the way they claim is the widest selling o'fest beer in the world... hmm... I grabbed a snifter glass which i tend to favor, which are good for malty brews such as the o'fest.

The "constant aroma releasing laser-etched circle" on the bottom on the glass is a little hard to see but pretty nifty. It's fun to try to see the circle of bubbles rising up through the brewksi.

The shape was pleasant to hold. Also I could try to imagine a small improvement in terms of aroma, and to a lesser extent for taste and mouthfeel, but I couldn't really tell decisively if there was any difference at all.

What I did enjoy was the curved lip. It was just a very confortable and natural fit. All glasses should be like that! That curvature was definitely an improvement with the more pronounced curve that on the Gulden Draak glasses i like too.

Overall I'd have to say it's certainly a very nice glass. I've
also read an enthusiastic endorsement online from a guy who
enjoyed the practical nice fit of the upside down glass over
a beer bottle. I doubt it will become my go-to glass, but
it is assuredly a nice new addition to my collection. And
it might just call for a lot more experimentation....

Cheers and thank you Mr. Jim Koch!!

For more info:
Article from Realbeer.com
Boston Beer Company presentation

Crab Fest '07

Jorge was not kidding around


We got down to business


Check out the slideshow


Or browse all 22 pix here:
See y'all next year again!

Atisu et copains

It was the year I turned 20
studying abroad in the South of France.
In the bleak worn hallways of the student dorms,
I heard Atisu singing.


Cathal was already penning gorgeous songs for her

David and I were more than happy to join up with our guitars.
'tis' found us a few gigs around town and for local radio shows.

Namibia and Cape Town

Our NamibiMobile
Notice the rooftop tent, unfolded and ready in minutes.


Hoba Meteorite.
At 60 tons, the largest known meteorite.


Elephants at Halali water hole, Etosha National Park


Twyfelfontein Petroglyphs
With over 2,000 figures, it's one of the largest collections
of rock engravings in Africa dating from the Late Stone Age.
Also Namibia's first UNESCO World Heritage site, declared in 2007.


Keepin' cool


Dune Playing in the Skeleton Coast


Dune Topper near Walvis Bay


Desert critter


Dead Vlei, Sossusvlei


Whale watching in Hermanus, South Africa


Ciao


Slideshow (all 164 pictures)

Quote of the Day: Eunuchs

"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how its done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves."

Brendan Francis Behan (1929-1964), Irish Poet

National Toast for Beer Writer Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson passed away in his London home last month.
The world of craft beer mourns and celebrates its single greatest advocate.

His beer tasting sessions were always insightfully illuminating
and thoroughly entertaining. With his impressive knowledge of
the complete universe of beer, he was a masterful orator,
frequently digressing with countless anecdotes but always somehow
getting back to expertly showcasing the wonderful beers.

He often promoted the sense of place.
He would tell us about the place where the beer was brewed:
the actual room, the building, the town, the region, the country.
He regaled his appreciative audiences with stories about the people who made the beer, about the complex history behind the different styles of beers.

There were also some pretty good stories about the master storyteller himself. My single favorite one was relayed by fellow BURPer Tim Artz. He first posted it on our local beer discussion group and it was then reprinted in this months' BURP (Brewers United for Real Potables) newsletter. Here it is, shamefuly without any express permission of any kind:

"Many years ago when the AHA Conference was in Manchester, NH, I found myself in the hotel elevator with Michael Jackson. He inserted a key card to go to the penthouse level of the hotel and mentioned that it was nice to have such things paid for by the Discovery Channel folks.

I asked him about some of the unusual homebrews he had tried during the week. He mentioned that he really expected in New England to see more homebrews made with maple syrup, and he wanted to try some maple syrup beers. I replied that I had some Maple Syrup Old Ale in my room, and I would fetch a bottle and meet him back in the ballroom. I tracked him down with my bottle, and his eyes widened when he tasted the beer. He commented on the sherry notes and then was swamped by others getting him to try their brews. Several times throughout the evening, I would turn around, and there he was with glass extended looking for another sip.

The Manchester conference hotel did not permit us to have hospitality suites, parties in rooms, or even consume alcohol outside of the ballroom. Each evening was a ritual of shuttling beer from rooms to the ballroom. One night, my future wife and I ended up staying up til sunrise with the Chicago Beer Society guys, Kinney Baughmann, and Greg Noonan. When I finally went to turn in, two young women in hot pants, hip boots, and halter tops jumped in my elevator to go up. They produced a key card for the penthouse suite, and rode up. I thought, "Hmm....Discovery Channel account." The next day, we barely made it out of bed for the luncheon where Michael Jackson was the keynote speaker. I nearly fell off my chair when his first words were, "Just a few hours ago, I learned that lust is much better than love!"

Brew-pub'in' Montréal

Here is the much delayed account of our jaunt up to
gorgeous and lively Montréal. Even the daily downpours
could not possibly tame the Québécois vivaciousness.

Things started off superbly when I spotted Le Cheval Blanc
brewpub as we were pulling into the bus terminal coming
from the airport. Beers were all clean and solid.
The friendly waitress was a doll and even bought us a round.
The hefeweizen with a lime! was admirably thirst quenching.


Over the following days I got to visit with a dear ol'
friend and even randomly bumped into an even older friend
I had last seen 16 years ago on a different continent.
T.A. will forever be that cool cat that lent me a tape
with Led Zeppelin I on one side and Led Zeppelin II on the
other. As a 14-year old living in North Africa, that just
blew my mind. I wore out that tape non-stop for weeks until
he finally made me my own copy from his dad's LPs.

While up there we of course visited a plethora of brewpubs
and beer bars. They ranged from quaint unassuming little jewels
such as Montréal's oldest bar Le Vieux Dublin to sparkly
soul-less mega-chains.

I was delighted to revisit old favorites such
as the impressive patio at St Elisabeth Pub.
And it was exciting to see some newcomers such as
Brasserie Bénélux which had a terrific porter.

A good place to stock up is Super Marché Rahman,
Le Paradis de la Bière, 151 Laurier West,
it's just a couple blocks west of Dieu du Ciel.
We also hit up Brutopia, Le Réservoir, and L'Amère à Boire.



We rented a couple bikes for the pleasant 40 mile
roundtrip ride to picturesque Chamblis for a pilgrimage
to Unibroue's must-visit Fourquet Fourchette restaurant.




We checked out the wonderful Atwater Market to load up on
fresh fruits and a wondrous selection of Québec cheeses.

Scrumptious mussels and gourmet pizzas were on the menu (not pictured...) at Le Sergent Récruteur and Bières et Compagnie.





All in all this was a fantastic trip. We did stay away from
cheese and beers for a little while after getting back...
Montréal is as fun place to visit as ever and the jazz fest
was outstanding as always.

Happy Independence Day

As with almost every year around this time
I'll be heading up to Montréal during the holidays
for the fantastic Jazz Festival and to bask
in the city's fun multicultural vibe and cool hipness.


So happy 4th of July y'all,
don't let little dubya and his pals ruin the country

any more while I'm gone.

God Bless America!

Triple Double Medalists

yeah baby! we gots homebrewing medals!!!!

"Where my troopers at?"

Wyclef, Shaggy and the Ska-Talites are doing a free
outdoors show in DC, so I've been listening to ol' Wyclef.

There's a fantastic sample at the start of the
"Hollywood to Hollywood" track off his 2000 "Ecleftic" album.

I finally found out what song that came from:
Super Cat "Dolly my Baby" (Bad Boy Extended Mix, 1993)
Featuring Third Eye, Notorious B.I.G and Sean "Puffy" Combs
propelled by Herbie Hancock and the Headhunter's "Watermelon Man"