I saw this on the news tonight. A true story, the upshot is this.

Two Australians living in London buy a lion cub from a department store. They raise it in their flat in London. The authorities won’t let them keep the lion when it gets full grown so they arrange to get it released back in Africa.

The story.

Here is the first part of the story, re-enacted. Follow the links to the subsequent parts when Youtube opens up.



and here is the reunion a year later...



And while we’re talking of lions, do you remember Kimba!?
www.kimbawlion.com
The theme song (1966)

Fantastic stuff.

I couldn’t find an individual bottle image for this wine so I may have to take a photo myself this weekend. However, that won’t hold back the review. In the image here, it is second from the left.

Granite Ridge Wines hail from the...well, granite belt of Queensland. Ballandean to be exact.

This chardonnay sauvignon blanc from 2004 is the only wine I have tried from this winery. I purchased this bottle while attending the “Apple and Grape” festival in Stanthorpe in 2004.

The Apple and Grape festival comes around every two years.

This unwooded sweetish wine is a very pale lemony yellow, not quite as pale as Semillon but close. It’s bouquet has hints of passionfruit, gooseberries and mint. It’s taste is fresh and crisp with high acid. There are banana, kiwi fruit and passionfruit flavours with a medium finish. All in all, fairly well balanced.

This wine would suit seafood or anything fresh and summary.

Tags: wines

Money is like manure. Unless you spread it around it doesn’t do any good.

...but it doesn’t stick to your boots.

Tags: farmerism

Worth reading: Yes.

Summary: Jack Reacher, catches a bus and then, on a whim asks the driver to put him off on the country road to Margrave. He walks the 14 miles into town and settles down to breakfast at Eno’s diner...and then gets arrested.

There has been a murder in the small, perfect town, where the cherry trees look as though they’ve been polished by hand.

The only new arrival is Reacher, therefore Reacher is the murderer. The police cheif is adamant. That is until his story checks out and witnesses have been found.

Reacher is released. The murder victim is his older brother. Someone has made a very fatal mistake.

This could be the very first Jack Reacher novell. He is only in is mid thirties and has been out of the army for 6 months. This novell is also written from his point of view, not as an onlooker, and gives us an insite to the younger Jack Reacher.

Excellent reading.

I was chatting to Craig today and he mentioned he didn’t ‘rate’ my wine reviews because he didn’t have a point of reference. You see, he doesn’t drink wine. Yeah I know, there had to be one person alive who didn’t.

I like wine. J'aime le vin. Beaucoup!

Wine is a very personal thing. Everyone has their own preference and it’s more than likely different to everyone else’s. This is perfectly normal. Finding out which wine you like is a lot of fun and will take a lifetime. There is so much out there, it will take that long to try it all.

A huge range of variables come into play with wine. Grape variety, climate, soil, time of harvest, hemisphere, the winemaker, storage, age(vintage), your attitude toward it, among others. All these impact on how it smells (its bouquet), how it looks, and how it tastes.

I’m no expert but I know what I like so I’ve thrown together a few tips on how to taste wine... for the chappos out there. If you really want good advice, read a book or find an expert.

Remember, tasting include the whole of your mouth not just your tongue, and most importantly - your nose. Smell and taste are intricately linked.

Let’s get started.

Body: is what you feel in your mouth. Is it light like water or heavier like milk?

Acid: is what makes a wine “crisp” and you feel the tingling on the sides of your tongue.

Alcohol: too much of this will make the wine feel warm or hot at the back of your mouth. Not a good thing. You shouldn’t be able to feel this sensation in a well balanced wine.

Tannin: comes from the skins, pips and wood. You can’t smell or taste it but it gives a wine a dry feeling to your mouth.

There is also things like “fruit” which ballances out the alcohol and oak, a flavour from a barrel. All these things together make up the wine and how it is balanced.

So, how does one taste wine, what is the methodology?

This is how I go about it.

Find a good glass. Preferably one with a stem that closes slightly at the top. Just like the ones you get at a winery. Fill it to about a third and give it a good swirl.

Take a good sniff, depending on the type of wine/grape you’ll get a large number of aromas. Try and identify some of them. Cinnamon, nutmeg, oak, mint, citrus, smokey, the list is long.

Now for each of the body, acid, alcohol and tannin take a half a mouth full, swishing it around each time. Spit or swallow, it’s up to you.

Once you’ve done that you’re ready for the different flavours, cherry, chocolate, lemon, blueberries, raspberries, wood (if it’s been oaked), mango, raisins, sultanas, prunes, honey, and so on and so forth.

...and that’s it. Work your way to the bottom of the bottle.

So that was your first bottle of that type. Now try it chilled. Then try a different vintage, younger, older.

Taste is only the start. Different wines look different, they have different colours and change colour as they age. Riesling get’s darker as it ages, as can Chardonnay. Reds become deeper in colour depending on the grape. As they age, their taste changes too.

There are so many to work through and each with differing characteristics.

White:
Chardonnay
Gewurztraminer
Pinot gris
Pinot blanc
Muscat
Sauvignon blanc
Riesling
Semillon
Viognier
Verdelho

Red:
Cabernet Sauvignon
Pinot Noir
Malbec
Merlot
Carmenère
Grenache
Shiraz/Syrah
Cabernet franc
Pinotage
Gamay

Fortified Ports, sherries etc etc.

...just to name a few.

Get tasting. Life is short and there’s so much to try.

Tags: wines

Worth reading: Yes, absolutely!

Summary: How long would the earth take to recover from the blight of homo sapiens?
Alan Weisman takes us on a journey of discovery that opens our eyes to the ravages we have inflicted on the planet, and how long it may take for nature to recover should we suddenly not be here.

In some cases it may only take a few years before grasses and other plants start to take back their ground from our concrete jungles. In other cases it may take millions of years to break down the enriched uranium we have in our nuclear power-plants.

Alan also looks at the impact humans have had on the megafauna and flora of the continents and how we may have extinguished more species that we realise.

What is plainly obvious from reading this book is that nature is a mighty and powerful organism, and given time it will erase all trace of humans from the face of the earth.

Fighting carbon emissions is only the first step, without another home to go to, the Earth can only sustain a finite number of humans. We may have surpassed this number already. Have a read and make up your own mind.

Tags: climate change, books

I’m a real fan of Nederburg wines and unfortunately we don’t seem to get a large selection of them here in Australia. This Cabernet Sauvignon from 2006 doesn’t live up to the 2004 version, but it does taste a bit young to me, where the 2004 version is about perfect now.

Colour: Dark Ruby.
Bouquet: Berry fruit mingled with chocolate and mocha, and soft oak vanilla in the background.
Palate: A full-bodied wine with ripe fruit and delicate oak spices, firm tannins and a lingering aftertaste.
Serve with robust dishes from pâtés to steaks, as well as full-bodied dishes such as beef stroganoff, winter stews, roasts and mature cheeses.

I’m going to pick up another couple of bottles of this red as I think in two years time it will be just as good, if not better, than its 2004 predecessor.

Tags: wines

I’ve been a little slack of late, and there has been a couple of weeks pass since I tasted this wine so I’m deferring to someone elses description of it. I do remember thinking this 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Taltari Vinyards would be quite a nice drop.

Deep magenta colour and a combination of cassis and cigar box on the nose with smoky vanillin. The palate displays classic varietal characters of blackcurrant wrapped up with fine
tannins and a lasting palate, complimented by subtle French oak. Cellaring potential is 10 – 15 years

I now realise why it tasted so young, “Cellaring potential is 10 - 15 years”. I’m 6 - 11 years too early for this one. I don’t recall there being cellaring information on the back label of the bottle and if the restaurant new this to be the case, they shouldn’t have stocked it... in my opinion.

Still worth a try though if you find it, so buy two bottles and put one away for a while.

Tags: wines

Know thy neighbour. In a bind, they are the ones who will help you out.

Tags: farmerism

Leave it as you find it.

Tags: farmerism

Worth reading: Yes. What the world could become.

Summary: It is around the year 25,000 AD. Man has thrown off the shackles of conquering aliens species, the Qax and the Silver Ghosts, and has chased the Xeelee to the centre of galaxy. Hustled around Chandra, the large black hole in the centre of the Milky Way, for 3,000 years the Xeelee have thwarted mans attempts of removing them completely.

Child soldiers have become mankinds weapon. Billions of them. Because of them we now hold an unsteady rule over our galaxy. Cannon fodder and taught to expect a short life and glorious death fighting the Xeelee, it is very rare for them to reach their 20th birthday. Taught not to show initiative but to follow the Doctrines, a short life burns brightly, until now.

A young ensign, in a desperate attempt to save his Greenship crew show’s initiative. In so doing he has condemned himself to hard labour. It is now up to his younger self, two years in the past, to show that mankind cannot stagnate, but must take the fight to the Xeelee and Chandra their home.

Excellent read and says a lot about today’s bureaucracies.

Tags: books, stephen baxter

A bit more information from Novell regarding iPhone integration with GW.

List: ngw
Subject: [ngw] Novell GroupWise and the Apple iPhone
From: "Alex Evans"
Date: 2008-06-13 15:23:21
Message-ID: 48523C89.4E3C.0093.1 () novell ! com
[Download message RAW]

[Attachment #2 (text/plain)]

Novell GroupWise and the Apple iPhone
Apple recently announced iPhone support for Microsoft Exchange, based on the \
ActiveSync technology that Apple paid Microsoft for. This has prompted GroupWise \
customers to ask what Novell's plans are for iPhone support. Novell is committed to \
providing a solution that allows users access to their email, calendar and contacts \
on the iPhone, and is pursuing multiple avenues to address this goal.

NotifyLink and Toffa both plan to offer iPhone support to GroupWise customers.

There are a number of options that we have been considering:
1. Nokia enhance GMS to provide iPhone support. This had to be postponed due to the \
Apple SDK limitations. And I do mean postponed, not rejected. 2. Jailbreak the \
iPhone and use unauthorized APIs. That is not something that we feel we can \
recommend to corporate customers as an enterprise solution. 3. Create a web \
browser solution like IBM has. Not ideal as it does not sync any data to the device, \
allowing offline access. Much of the value of these kinds of solutions is having all \
the data to hand. 4. Rely on the SDK and create something in house. The SDK is very \
limited and does not allow enough access to the native apps and for services to run \
in the background 5. Do something around ActiveSync - a possibility that we are \
looking closely at, but it is a longer term strategy.

We are currently assessing other options and yes, we are also talking directly to \
Apple.

As Jay Parker mentioned in a previous post, IMAP and iTunes will work to allow cradle \
sync to the device

Thanks
Alex





Alex Evans
GroupWise Product Manager
aevans@novell.com
T: +1 801 861 7288
M: +1 801 368 8930
Blog: http://www.novell.com/communities/user/565

Tags: technology, apple, Iphone, groupwise

Tonight I saw a terrible news report. It wasn’t the quality of the reporting, this time it was the content.

People lining up for free food. Up to 3,000 families, needing for food lined up over 750 metres. What made it much worse was this even occurs EVERY Friday in Logan, Brisbane.

What astounds me most is: THIS IS AUSTRALIA !

This country has more than enough food production capacity to feed everyone - easily. Don’t try to tell me it’s because of the cost of fuel. That is the biggest load of bullsh*t I have ever heard. It’s time for the food distribution companies to tighten their belts and those of their shareholders rather than the belts of the people who need to eat the food to survive.

We’ve all seen the reports on the markup of food-stuffs from the farmer to the supermarket.
If ever there is an example of the result of a few taking far too much it is Free Food Friday.

The very next news report was the turnout for the Apple iPhone. 300,000 people across this nation lining up for a bloody phone when families are having trouble feeding themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing against the iphone or Apple for that matter, but the contrast between the two news reports was so great and threw into stark relief what is wrong with the world.

BRING ON THE REVOLUTION!

... it’s time for this madness to stop.

We’d all like to know what Novell is doing in the iPhone integration space. (So I use the term “ALL” loosely)

Toy or not, companies will be looking to integrate the iPhone purchased by those “execs” that must be seen to have the latest shiny-shiny, to make up for their I-have-no-idea-what-this-is-or-what-it-does-but-everyone-has-one-so-I’d-better-have-one-too.

What is Novell doing? Here is an excerpt from Dean Lythgoe’s blog on GroupWise integration.

“iPhone - Apple. As you know, this is a very hot topic right now and many are looking to Novell to provide a solution in this space. We have been very hesitant to discuss publicly what our plans and discussions have been. As I said, this is a sensitive topic. I will say a few things. Novell is working with Apple. Apple's integration with Exchange was done by Apple using internal proprietary Apple interfaces and by licensing ActiveSync. The integration was NOT done by Microsoft. There are at least two GroupWise partners, NotifyLink and Toffa, who have announced solutions in this space. Novell is continuing to evaluate and work on solutions. See a post by Alex Evans in the NGWList for other information.”
His full blog entry can be found here.

Keep up the good work Dean.

Tags: Iphone, groupwise, technology

At least for the rest of the world.

Admittedly it does appear on the surface to be a very cool device. There are others that do the whole mobile phone connectivity-entertainment thing better but that’s all by-the-by for some.

I’m sorry but I can’t help rolling my eyes and shaking my head at the people lining up for one of these gadgets on release day.

I’m not sure that these people would meet the criteria for Chappo’s “Earthlings on the right track”.

Has the world gone mad? I keep asking myself this question. I’m finding it more and more difficult to convince myself that there is time yet for people of this planet to wake up. I suppose there is always time. While there is at least one person who realises, there is hope. But the tide one has to walk against keeps getting stronger as more people get caught up in the maelstrom.

I have an idea that some people MUST have these types of devices because they’ve become disillusioned with their lives or perhaps have a lesser self-worth than others. So buying the latest *bling* makes them feel alive or worth something if only until the next *bling* comes along... retail therapy? I’m sure there is some modicum of thruth here, you tell me.

I may yet be surprised, it will be interesting to hear of the numbers who stayed out in the cold, lining up to hand over their cash (more likely credit card...spend someone elses money) for one of these shiny baubles.

The words I’m hoping to see in the news reports after today are “Not as many as expected...”.

Tags: Iphone, technology

Don’t stand between a cow and her calf.

Tags: farmerism

Forgive me this winge, I’m suffering from a cold but feel I should get this off my chest...

Regardless of what you believe, lets for a moment assume that climate change is real and will have a devastating effect on us and our planet.

Assuming the above, then the human race has given up.

Why?

Because the majority of radio segments, news paper articles, and TV reports no longer contain information on how and why to combat climate change.

They are instead filled with requests for governments to provide money to ailing industries so those industries can modify their operations to maintain a competitve edge when the effects of climate change start to have a detrimental effect on their current processes and products.

Read that last paragraph again.

The focus seems to have shifted from combating climate change, a potentially very expensive exercise, to how to make money when it occurs.

If the worst case senario is played out then climate change could be the worst natural/unnatural (depending on your view point) disaster to face humanity thus far.

Why has the human race become so apathetic?
When did making money take precedence over life on this planet?
Why would we not suffer a little pain now, to save ourself a huge amount of pain in the future?

If it was an alien race attempting to destroy our planet we’d be screwed. Is that what is required to make us wake up?

1. Switch off the light when you leave the room.
2. Stop buying electronic gadgets.
3. Drive only when you absolutely have to.
4. Read a book instead of playing a computer game.
5. Put on some socks instead of turning up the heat.
6. Reduce your consumables.

There are hundreds more, so pretend you will die if you don’t and get on with it.

Tags: climate change

Do not pee on the fence, no matter how desperate you are or how innocent it may appear.

Tags: farmerism

Worth Reading: Yes.

Summary: Tandia is the continuation of the tale started with “The Power of One”. It resumes with Peekay and Hymie going to Oxford to study law.

The focus of the story - Tandia, is a young woman born in a very difficult circumstance. Her father is Indian and her mother is Africa. She is neither and scorned by both.

Her story starts with her rape at her fathers grave side, the day after he is buried. This puts her on a path that eventually leads to Peekay and his quest to become the Welterweight champion of the world.

Set in the early 60’s during the growing tensions between the black Aficans and the white Afrikaaners in South Africa.

Tags: books, bryce courtenay

After trying a very ordinary Beaujolais Villages French wine the other week I was a little sceptical about this one. The price was more than double the Beaujolais but still ...worried I was.

I needn’t have been. Meet La Feline. What a hell of a wine! The French have got to be the masters of this art. I say that loosely as this is only the second French wine I’ve tried in recent times.

I’m still coming to grips with this lovely red so I’ll tell you what the Borie de Maurel website has to say about it.

“Let your eyes plunge deeply into this purple robe, with its intoxicating violet reflections. Dare to admire its legs. The Feline’s like that: seductive. Its perfumes, its aromas pass over you like caresses.
Like Sylla the Feline is a concentration of the Michel Escande style of wine, voluptuous, heady without excess,
where each mouthful calls for another. The first notes of black pepper, cumin and tapenade are intense. Then the finer notes, of thyme, Mediterranean herbs and ripe red fruits, an almost fig-like taste. In the mouth its like lace, all finesse and elegance, in a froufrou of soft spices and cherry. But beware! Behind this apparent simplicity is hidden an astonishing complexity that the years will only embellish and amplify, as with a beautiful woman…
This “gallant wine of fine dinners” is the fruit of an assembly of two thirds syrah and a quarter of Grenache, spiced up with a touch of carignan. All the grapes, hand picked from the limestone and clay plateau of Petit Causse, are de-stalked before being fermented gently for a long time. The wine spends at least 16 months in the vats, and one third of it is aged in Burgundy style barrels. There’s only light filtering.”

Only the French could have come up with that, and it’s accurate.

Tags: wines

Don’t turn your back on the quiet bull.

Tags: farmerism

So we know that Ubuntu Hardy Heron can manage your iPod with Rythmbox, I spoke briefly about it here. But what about openSuse 11.0? Well I fired up the openSuse live CD and gave it a go.

A slightly different icon appeard on the desktop and it didn’t look like the iPod that it was to represent, but it was obviously an MP3 player.

Shortly after the icon appeared, so did Banshee. Banshee is the default music player in the Gnome version of openSuse. Different program, but from the slight look that I gave it, essentially identical.



Banshee recognised all the albums, cover art, artists etc that I had stored on the iPod from my iTunes library. Sounds ok too.

Again, if you still want a more iTunes look, check out www.songbirdnest.com.

Tags: Ipod, Linux, technology