I wonder what fraction of new open source projects are created because previous projects are poorly documented. Most programs I need have already been coded, but often the documentation is missing, inaccurate, or so poorly written that the program is useless. Because of this, it is often easier for others to write their own equivalent [...]
We finally got the first snow of the 2011–2012 winter. I got out early on Saturday and set tracks on most of the paths at Fox Island, with double tracks on the wider ones. We had the busiest day of rentals we have had in a couple seasons. Sunday morning I went in early and [...]
It is good to see all the opposition to SOPA and PIPA, including today’s website blackouts. The flow of information due to the right to free speech is necessary for a democracy to function. SOPA and PIPA will have a negative impact on free speech and fair use, all for the cause of allowing a [...]
I finally got to ski for the first time this season. We got a heavy dusting of light dry snow on Friday night. The dusting was just enough to use my rock skis on the fairways at the Foster Park golf course. Living so far south and at such a low elevation, it may be [...]
Real Cidermaking on a Small Scale by Michael Pooley and John Lomax is a good introductory book on cider making. It is short with lots of photographs. One feature I like that is not in the other cider books is a pair of flowcharts on the steps for making either naturally conditioned sparkling cider or [...]
Andrew Lea’s Craft Cider Making is the best book I have read on producing your own cider from fresh apple juice. It is an excellent introduction to making traditional ciders. As a food biochemist who spent 13 years in cider related research, the author is probably the most qualified author in this series. This background [...]
The first book I read on cider was Ben Watson’s Cider, hard and sweet. This book is an excellent starting point for Americans only familiar with the pasteurised and preserved “cider” found in grocery stores in the fall. It provides a good introduction to the styles of cider produced around the world and includes the [...]
Two years ago, I became interested in the classic American drink: cider. This interest was partially due to Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire, and later Daniel Okrent’s Last Call. I happen to live in Fort Wayne, the final resting place of John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) the great lower-Midwestern spreader of cider apples and the [...]
One of the local cycling club’s fun annual events is the Chilly Challenge New Year’s Day ride and Chilli Dinner. I usually ride the four miles to the start, ride the 25 mile route with the club, eat some chili, then ride home. In 2010, I learned to unicycle, so three of us unicycled an [...]