With beer guys seemingly sharing all of yhe same interests and hobies, I feel it necessary to share my airpad experience with you all!
I am a low grade tech nerd. Not a code monkey or programing genious, but rather a consumer with a semi limited tech budget and unlimited gadgetitis. Every dollar I spend on electronics is a dollar I don't spend on travel and beer.
I recently putchased an AirPad from X10. Touted as the best (and only) android tablet under $200.
Well.... one of 2 claims is correct!
My first complaint: the service sucked! I have been an X10 fan for nearly 10 years, but this was stupid! I was ready to report them to paypal by the time this gadget showed up!
And gadget it is! Fun? Yeah. Durable? We'll see. Useful? Not really!
I am using it to type this report, and it seems to be working, but I am also thumb typing which is a bit slow.
The battery life is nill! It is dead in 7 hours standby with wifi on. I expect a considerable reduction from that while surfing the web! One or two hours maybe!
That isn't aweful, but by the time you download the Netflix app and find a movie you wont have enough battery to watch it!
The apps are just like what you get on Droid phones so there were no surprizes there. Well... almost.
SOME of the apps you use on a Droid phone are prrtty reliant on location data and internet. If you are like me, you don't really think about this stuff until it doesn't work. And with the Airpad... they don't work!
The twitter is fun on the air pad because the screen is so much bigger than a phone. But again, this requires wifi, so do not expect to tweet your day away unless you have a wall outlet handy!
Did I mention that you cannot order a car charger or extra wall charger? You are on your own to find one that will work.
I don't much care for the build quality either? The plastic feels thin and poorly made. Like a child's toy rather than a $200 piece of electronics.
Whatever you do, dont expect quick startup either. A full 2 minute wait fron the time you turn it on should be expected.
I am pretty unexcited by the droid platform for a 7" tablet, altho I love... LOVE my droid x phone.
In the intrest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am a full on fan of my iPad in the cockpit of an airplane! Other than that it is simply a handy way to surf part of the web (no flash) and read blogs. Without the in-flight capabilities of the iPad, i would have to call it an $800 trinket!
Overall, I am not disappointed in the airpad, other than battery life, but certainly am not impressed.
If I were in the market today, I would wait for the $250 gizmo from Amazon!
Just when you think you’ve done it all, something new pops up.
I’ve made beer… Lots and lots of beer. Some great, some terrible, but most somewhere in the middle.
I’ve made wine. Country wine from fresh fruits and vegetables, kit wine of grapes and bags of who knows what and I’ve made mead. Honey and water in every conceivable combination, with fruits and spices and flowers and even a batch with what amounted to lawn clippings.
With limited success, I’ve made clean beer, I’ve made funky beer, I’ve made sour beer and I’ve made Belgian beer. I consider myself an expert at nothing. But an adventurer none the less, and willing to try nearly anything that’s not illegal… and a few things that are. (Homemade whiskey is another post altogether).
So what to do once you’ve converted every known sugar source into alcohol? How about turning that alcohol into vinegar?
Apple cider seems like the obvious choice. It’s widely available, and really nice on salads and vegetables. Malt vinegar is a tried and true favorite, fish and chips and all. But how to make one MINE. Something you can’t get anywhere else.
Well, I began with some research on the interwebz… and promptly ignored about 90% of what I learned. Forget building up a starter mother, pitch it and see what happens.
So far, I’ve only used “Bragg” organic apple cider vinegar as a starter culture. It’s available at big grocery stores and on Amazon and at vitamin retailers. It’s good vinegar weather you’re making a salad or a batch of your own, so no big risk in shelling out $5 for a bottle.
The first batch I started was in a glass jug. I used about 1/3 gallon of Ed Worts Apfelwein (If you are unfamiliar, visit homebrewtalk.com and search for it) and a shot glass of Bragg’s vinegar.
By the time I’d started that little experiment, I’d ordered a 1 gallon oak barrel for the next batch. I can’t think of anything more unique than oaked apple cider vinegar!
But that wasn’t enough. I love salad dressing with a vinegar and fruit character, so why not peach wine vinegar?
I quickly modified the Apfelwein recipe to use White Grape Peach juice, and once fermented out, I’m pitching another shot glass of Bragg’s into it.
None of the batches are done, and I have no idea what I’ve created. All I know is that I’m very excited about trying all of my new concoctions, and I’ve found a new way to take my brewing another step further down the road.
Perhaps these batches will all fail, and I’ll have to go buy a “Mother” from “The Brew Hut” in town, or maybe they will be OK. The fact is, I won’t know for several weeks. But isn’t that the fun of brewing in the first place?
Expand your knowledge, explore new things. Build your skill set and make yourself happy!
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