Friday Five!

1.  End of a hectic week at work, where I haven't even been able to take a lunch break all week...sneaking in a quick half hour just now.

2.  Been ultra-low carbing all week, and feeling a bit perkier for it.  However... see no. 3...

3.  There's a new pub in town which serves a 10.5% hazelnut stout at £12.50 a pint!!!  My OH has been there twice this week, and keeps telling me how much I will love this stuff, so I might go for ONE tomorrow, just to see what it's all about.

4.  my iPod is playing up

5.  My manager has been on holiday for the last 3 weeks, but is back on Monday, and I'm not looking forward to it.    

A pint for £12.50?  All right for some .

1. The smoke is back. Forest fires still raging in PNW. AQI up to 184. Yech!
2. High school robotics team I mentor is starting a new competition. Yeah!
3. Insect sting two days ago has left me with a painful, itchy 1/2" thick lump 2" across. Yech!
4. The students are back, pubs are full. Meh.
5. The cat might have finally stopped chewing on power cords. Bitter apple is good stuff apparently. Yeah!

1.  Had an interview last night.  I literally had to answer a question with "I don't have an answer to that question."   . So that was a waste of his time and mine!

2.  Sitting around today waiting for my BRP to arrive.  The three year old wants to get out of the house...  could be a long day!

3.  I am so tired.  This baby has to start sleeping at some point, right?

4.  Night at the spa with a group of American ladies tonight!!

5.  I desperately need a haircut.

Edit:  bit surprised.  I'm back for a second interview next week!  I'm shocked!

Sometimes honesty really is the best policy.   

The baby will sleep.

CONGRATS!

1.  UGH... so hot and stuffy in this office.  I'm sure my face is the same colour as the red shirt I'm wearing.
2.  My iTunes library is FUBAR'd
3.  No plans for this weekend, other than to do a Mex Grocer order, and to take the kitchen bin to the tip, because Argyll & Bute Council seem to think we can get by just fine with a rubbish collection every THREE weeks!
4.  Just bought a raffle ticket... all the prizes are booze.  YAY!
5.  If my raffle ticket doesn't win, I think I need to buy a bottle of brandy on the way home tonight.

Happy Friday!

1.) Dinner and then seeing the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra tonight -  like a proper date 

2.) Doing a brass band play along day tomorrow in Caithness, so pretty much leave my house at 7:30 am and get home at midnight kind of day. Looking forward to it though.

3.) Have gotten an early Xmas present of a Grainfather. I've got ingredients to make either a Ghost Ship clone, a New England IPA, a British style IPA,  Bitter Ale, a Trappist style beer or a California Common (Steam Beer). Hmmm, what to start with first?  Going to be busy!     

4.) Listening to a Road Trip Mix on Spotify. Full of all kinds of fun and happy and danciy-sing-a-long music.So just dancing at my desk and getting some funny looks from co-workers,   

5.) Frosted over night, so wonder how many of my plants will have survived once the sun came up. Booo. Winter. Which would have been okay if we had some semblance of summer. But blech.   

I vote for the steam beer. 



Please explain what a grainfather is.

I do love a steam beer!

A Grainfather is an all in one brewing system. In normal brewing, you mash (to get all kinds of sugar out of your barley) making wort, then sparge (rinse the barley to get even more sugar) and then lauter (separate the grains from the wort), and then boil the wort(concentrate the sugars). 

With a Grainfather, you mash, sparge, lauter, and boil all in one system and it recirculates the wort.
For someone like me who's been making beer in a coobox for a mash tun, I've not had any way to maintain or adjust the temperature of the mash. So this system now has computer controls and as bluetooth capability to an app to keep an eye on everything.  Basically, I can put all kinds of process controls and quality control into my brewing now. As an engineer, this makes me geek out hard!   
It also should make a brew day reduce in time from 8 or 9 hours to about 4 hours as well , as it's more efficient. You still need to ferment and condition and that takes the same amount of time. But now I can make more beer in the same amount of time!

The only thing better than beer is a beer factory with computer controls and Bluetooth.  I am seriously jealous! 

Could I make some drinkable beer in the unused ensuite bathroom?  Something like a wheat beer or Amber ale?  If so, send me a link .  I can’t stand hearing about your beer any more without making my own. 

Seriously, pls send a link to the easiest compact beer making kit that tastes good.

Just checked out the grainfather website and found this gem:
“When you are ready to sparge, the basket can be lifted out with an easily-attached handle. A 45-degree turn then lets the grain basket’s feet sit on a support ring to allow the grain basket to drain while you batch sparge over the top.  “

Pardon me while I batch splarge over the top.  I’m giggling so hard everyone is looking now.

That is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.

1) Finished gathering up all the docs the employer wants (for their security check) and checking everything for the fifth time. (Interview is tomorrow. Nerves are starting to kick in.)

2) Went and got ANOTHER set of passport photos done. They are still substituting some tired-looking, baggy-eyed old lady for me in them, just like the last times. Prospective employer wants one, need two to apply (again) for RC document, Daughter needs one for her RC application. Thankfully, SnappySnaps sells them four at a go.

3) Went grocery shopping, got Iceland "American" chicken box and chips to make for supper. Daughter has "freshman flu" (she gets a cold every year when all the Uni students show back up with their germs, from all over the world) and I'm trying to keep her fed. "Nothing tastes good."

4) Stopped at hole-in-the-wall shop on the way home and got "chips and cheese". OMG they are to die for, with vinegar and salt.....     These are definitely going to do well as a substitute for bacon-cheddar-chipotle fries!

5) Made sure clothes for interview fit. Haven't worn a suit in a good 20 years. Still the same one, actually....  Shoes don't match it. Oh, well.

[Wish I could drink. That beer thingy sounds wonderful!]

 

Hehehe, well Jimbocz, if you want to make beer in your bathroom and not deal with boiling or lots of equipment, then making beer kits is an ideal way to go.  And beer kits aren't like your 70s versions anymore, they make proper, good tasting beer. You can things like Cwtch, for example.
Woodfordes Wherry Ale is a highly recommended kit.
For a wheat beer, something like Mangrove Jacks Bavarian Wheat Beer would probably be really quite good. 

I'd recommend this as a starter kit for equipment and includes one ale kit. Instructions here You can also find equipment and kits at Wilko reasonably priced, so I'm told on the homebrew forums.  I don't have any such store near me.   

(Interview is tomorrow. Nerves are starting to kick in.)

Good luck!!

Thanks. Still not sure how the "must prove you have GSCEs" is going to play out. I have copies of all my transcripts (many, many years of University courses), but we'll see.

It's somewhat ironic that, for the first time in my life, I don't NEED this job. It would be good for us, but not necessary. And I'm more nervous than I've been for a lot of job interviews. Now if I don't get lost on the bus going there....