Blaauwklippen, so named for its stony soil, lies on the slopes of the Blaauwklip Kloof, sheltered by the Helderberg and Stellenbosch mountains. This port wine has been made in the classic Portuguese style: a full Vintage Port with light drier style, tobacco-like aromas, elegant, with an alc.of 20% volume, giving it a smooth but dry finish.

This is a 1997 vintage, purchased in 2002 by me at the cellar door in South Africa, and finished tonight, 28th of June 2008. It was as good to the last drop as it was back in 1997.

The Blaauwklippen estate is a beautiful place and worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. I bought a couple of red wines from this estate they were absolutely brilliant.

I have another bottle of this fine port. My wine buying motto is “Always buy 2”.

Tags: wines

I can’t really give you any history around the Marco Luigi Winery.. because it’s all in Portuguese.

I was given this bottle by a fellow wine lover while visiting my Dad in Malaysia. The bloke was a Brasilian who had spent over 24 hrs continuous travel to get the bottle to us. Apparently only 7000 bottles of this vintage were produced, this is the 2003 version.

If nothing else, this wine is spectacularly displayed, with string, wax and gold lettering, and almost tastes as good as it looks.

Colour: Rich ruby red as you’d expect from a Cab Sav, but with a slight mauve tint. I’m not sure where that came from.

Bouquet: I have to admit this wine has a great aroma. I can detect tobacco though not very strong, and cherry and plum. A typical Cab Sav I think.

Taste: surprisingly there wasn’t the strong typical Cab Sav taste and the finish was almost fizzy which I think is an indication that the wine was a little old. However, it was a full mouth taste that covered the entire tongue.

This is not the best Cabernet Sauvignon I have tried, indeed it’s not up there in the top 20 or 30 I would suggest. I think this is more to do with it’s age and probably should have been consumed sooner. The presentation is something else and looks like something out of the middle ages.

There is no export label on the bottle so I assume it’s not available in Australia. Pity, I’d like to give a younger vintage a go.

Tags: wines

Keep your knees bent while walking through a paddock.

Tags: farmerism

Allesverloren, situated on the south-eastern slopes of Kasteelberg near Riebeeck West, is the only estate in the Swartland Wine of Origin district, an area that is becoming increasingly renowned for the excellence of its reds.

I’m talking about South Africa, which personally I think rivals some of the best reds Australia has to offer.

First named in 1704 the farm began producing wine a century later.

The version of the Cabernet Sauvignon I tried is the 2005 vintage and it is a rather nice drop. Personally I don’t think it’s quite as good as the Nederberg range but so far I have only tried a single bottle from Allesverloren, whereas I’ve tried many from Nederberg.

This Cab Sav. is a dark red as you’d expect with a fantastic bouquet. I can detectect a sweet, smokey cigar box smell that is wonderful.

The taste covers the tongue and is full bodied with a touch of wood.

Personally I think this would go well with steak and pepper sauce, but would also go well with strong game or fowl.

Unfortunately Allesveloren don’t export to Australia at the moment, but they will arrange to send you a bottle, carton, or more if you wish.

Tags: wines

When digging a post hole by hand, there are two stages.
The first stage involves digging the hole, the second, planting the post.

When digging a post hole by hand there are two tools.
A crowbar and a shovel. For a standard hole in standard dirt, the crowbar is heavy but does little. The shovel is light but does lots.

To a novice, one just starting out, it would appear based on initial observation, that the crowbar would be the easiest tool to use. You use its weight to break up the dirt and rock, so the shovel can get it out of the ground. The work of the bar at the outset is very light, a couple of smacks and then it’s back to the shovel. Indeed, to a beginner, the shovel is doing all the work. The time taken for the shovel to remove the dirt far exceeds the time taken to break it up.
Not only does it take longer, there is an art to removing dirt from a post hole efficiently without dirt falling back into the hole. The shoveller’s skill comes into play the deeper the hole gets. No such skill required for the bar.

Let’s sum up so far.
Crowbar: light, intermittent work. Requires no skill.
Shovel: constant work. Requires skill.

But now the hole has been dug, it’s time for stage two. The planting of the post.

This is where the novice who chose the crowbar suddenly realises that the light easy work earlier, turns into something else. For now, the crowbar is used to compact the dirt back in the hole around the base of the post. The shovel, merely places the dirt back in. The work of the bar becomes hard and heavy going. Not only do you need to use the weight of the bar, but you also need to force it down to compact the dirt.

The shoveller who earlier was working constantly is now taking it easy. The bar who was earlier taking it easier is working harder than the total combined effort of the shovel.

Let’s sum up:

Crowbar: light initial work requiring no skill creates constant work for the shovel, ending in severe effort to completion.
Shovel: constant work, have been created by the crowbar, requiring skill and ending in light effort to completion.

I’m a farmer, a simple kind of guy with a simple view of the world.

Why is it then, that when I think of I.T. Managers/Directors the image of a crow bar comes to mind?

Tags: farmerism, management

Worth reading: Yes

Summary: The year is AD 922. Ibn Fadlan, courtier to the Caliph of Bagdad is hijacked from his mission as emissary to the King of Saqaliba by a group of Viking warriors, Northmen.

Fadlan has been chosen as the thirteenth warrior on a quest to rid a kingdom of the “Wendol” - monsters of the mist.

He tells his tale in an observational tone and makes comment on the gross personal habits of the vikings as well as their jovial demeanor in the face of certain death.

Ibn Fadlan may have started out a scholarly courtier, but through his adventures, his mettle is tested and he becomes a true warrior of the North.

Tags: books, michael crighton

This is not a review.

openSuse 11.0 was released about 5 days ago and from what I’ve seen and read so far, it looks very good.

I have downloaded the Live CD Gnome version but have only run the OS in Live mode. I’ve only just installed Ubuntu Hardy Heron so I’m not quite ready to go through another install and reconfigure just yet, I have a life. But to be honest, I do prefer the Suse interface to that of Ubuntu.

I’ve used Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) and reasonably familiar with the Gnome interface that comes with it, but there has been some rather nice additions to the free version.

Once such nicety is the desktop effects. This is nothing new, Ubuntu also has this feature.

What is plainly obvious is Microsoft Windows is now very last year. Both Ubuntu and now openSuse come in Live CD formats so there is no reason why you can’t try it out before clicking the install button.

Download your copy from http://software.opensuse.org/

Novell have done a sterling job encouraging this opensource project.

Tags: Linux, technology, openSUSE

So you’ve succumed to the anodised aluminium wonder and purchased the slimline Apple keyboard (wired in this case)... but you don’t own a Mac and you want to get it working on WinXP.

You could just plug it in and it would work satisfactorily as it is.

However, what about the INS (Insert key) or the NUM (Numlock key) and all those specific OS X keys? What do they do now that this brushed beauty is running on a legacy OS?

Solution: Get the Apple driver.

If you’re an OS X user you’ll know that OS X 10.5 comes with BootCamp. This allows you to run a Microsoft OS on your Apple hardware with no OS X in sight. To fascilitate this desecration Apple have provided a swag of Windows drivers to allow the hardware to function.

One of the drivers is for the Apple keyboard.

To get the driver you could try downloading it, or you could ask one of your OS X using friends to get it for you.

If you have an OS X 10.5 DVD as I have you do the following:

1. Mount the OS X DVD on a Windows PC
2. double click the “Drivers” folder
3. double click the “Apple” folder

To install the drivers double click the “applekeyboardinstaller.exe”.

You can reboot if you like, it’s Windows afterall and it’s never happy without a reboot of some type.



Now when you plug in your slimline “twiggy” of the keyboard world, WinXP will detect it and away you go!

Key equivalents:

fn = INS
clear = NUM LOCK


Hiccups that I’ve found:

1. When installing NetWare in ESX server you are required to press the F10 key to accept the licence. In this instance F10 is not translating. Could be the Apple driver, could be the keyboard mapping to ESX. Fairly obscure I know, but worth mentioning.
UPDATE:- The F10 key is working fine, along with all the function keys. Solution: press the FN key in combination with the function key of your choice. All good. So now I have no hiccups.

2. Let me know if you find more and I’ll add them to the list.

Tags: apple, technology, mac

Not using iTunes to manage your iPod?? Blasphemy!!

Well not quite. What if you’re a Ubuntu user like me and don’t have the all-singing all-dancing iTunes for your OS?

Solution: Rythmbox.

Rythmbox is the default music player in Ubuntu and it has iPod support. I was surprised when I plugged my Nano into my PC to give it a bit of juice, and up popped Rythmbox.

The interface is reasonably similar to iTunes, afterall it was inspired by it.

I haven’t had too much of a play with Rythmbox as I have a macbook that is my iTunes music database, but here is a tutorial to get started with.

So, while we wait for Apple to release a version of iTunes for linux (here’s hoping they do), give Rythmbox a try.

If Rythmbox is not iTunes looking enough for you, you can try out www.songbirdnest.com

Tags: Ipod, Linux, ubuntu, technology

Worth reading: Yes

Summary: What could occur when a corporation slaps a patent on your genetic line.

One man has a special set of genes, specifically a single gene. His gene has the ability to cure cancer. Without is permission and without his knowledge a company has filed a patent on that gene and it’s worth billions. But things have changed.

Litergation and lawyers have entered the scene and the cells obtained by the company, by fair means or foul, have been destroyed. They now want some more. The ownership of a persons cells is being called into question. Who has the right, and what rights does the indivicual have if their cells have been patented by a company? How does that extend to that persons family if they also carry the gene?

This is a fascinating insite to what could occur should the continuing practise of gene patents continue. Michael even lists at the end of this book, several things that should change so the sanctity of the human body remains intact and ownership with the soul that inhabits it.

Tags: books, michael crighton

Worth reading: If you’re interested in Ancient History, then Yes.

Summary: The introduction says this is a translation from French. The Indian civilisation has been around for many thousands of years and to write a single book on her culture would be to create a tombe. This work covers just the time frame from 200BC to 700AD, considered the “Golden Age”, and if you take the time to read it, you’ll discover a rather advanced people for their time.

This book is exactly as the title describes, a look at daily life in ancient India. It covers the traditions, religion, work practises, casts, morals, ethics, manners and a whole gammut of other details that formed the life and times of ancient india, and indeed it’s influence on the lives of Indians today.

It is quite an interesting read with lots of details of the history around why things were the way they were.

If you like reading about other cultures then this book is right up your alley.

Tags: books, history

I’ve had to throw out a lot of old VHS tapes due to fungus detroying the tape. A couple of them were Victor Borge episodes and included the one I’ve linked to here. The first video is Victor’s inflationary language. There is also a skit called “Phonetic Punctuation” which I highly recommend you having a look at and I’ve included it below also.

Tags: humor

I’m a bit of a fan from Dave Allen, specially his earlier work. I liked the fact that a lot of the time there is very little swearing but terribly funny.

I was browsing some of his sketches and this is one I particularly like.

Tags: humor

I had a bit of a problem today. It’s been raining so I was mucking around with desktop effects in my new Hardy Heron install.

I miss-clicked something.

The result was I lost all windows, menu’s and task bars. They were hidden so I think I was playing around with window opacity.

I could ALT+TAB between windows but nothing would show on the screen.

Seeing as all configuration in Linux is in text files I went hunting.

I did a CTRL+ALT+F5 to bring up a terminal window, logged in and I found the following in my home directory:

.gnome2
.gnome2_private
.gconf

A quick look told me these were the gnome display settings for my GUI interface so I deleted them with:

rm -rf .gnome2 .gnome2_private .gconf

followed by a CTRL+ALT+DEL

All back to normal. I reapplied the basic effects I had before I tinkered, and I’m happily working again.

Phew! I was thinking for a moment (just a small moment) that I would need to re-install.

Tags: Linux, technology, ubuntu

In my impatience to see if I could get the very latest Firefox 3 rc2 running on my new Hardy Heron install, I ran “sudo firefox” from the terminal and then an update with the built-in update feature.

Big mistake.

I broke Firefox in a bad way. None of the icons on the toolbar were available and there was general havock with the whole program.

It seems by running Firefox with sudo and then trying an update I had changed the ownership of some of the files to root, rather than my login.

The following command fixed the problem:

sudo chown -R username:username ~/.mozilla

Firefox has now settled down but I don’t really trust it.

Rule number 1: let the synaptic package manager dish out the updates as they arrive, don’t jump the gun.

Tags: firefox, Linux, ubuntu

It is a long weekend so I decided to upgrade my Gutsy Gibbon install to Hardy Heron. This was more of a complete install rather than an upgrade. My pc needed a clean out.

I have a slim aluminium Apple keyboard on my PC which is great and everything was fine.

Fine until I hit the Num Lock equivalent (the “Clear”) key on the numeric keypad.

This promptly screwed up my keyboard mapping. Nothing I did would return it to normal, including rebooting the machine. Although I didn’t try powering off the computer, just a soft reset.

Anyhow, I managed to fix this problem by plugging in a standard pc usb keyboard and pressing the Num Lock key thereby resetting the OS. I then plugged the Apple keyboard back in and all was well. I confirmed the problem again by pressing the “Clear” key. Problem returned, numeric keyboard not working but neither were the alpha keys.

Fix by repeating the above.

After some googling this seems to be a kernel bug in Ubuntu 8.04. Hope they fix it soon.

Tags: apple, technology, ubuntu

I found this today while browsing YouTube.

Danny Kaye could well be one of the best entertainers of the past century. If you’ve never seen any of his material then go hunt some down and have a squiz.

Tags: music, humor

It’s been raining rather heavily over the past few days in the South-east of Queensland.

Once again I’ve been flooded in. I would be rather happy about this, but I’m currently fighting off a sickness of some sort, so I can’t really enjoy it.

The Mary River is due to peak at around 12m in Gympie, rather a small flood by historical standards.

I was shocked this morning as I headed off to work at 4am and nearly ran into the water. The rain had stopped the previous day (Monday) but obviously there was still a lot of water to come down from the headwaters of the Mary River.

Once I had returned to the house I checked the pump (hooked up to a Dam that is within flood reach). While doing this, a local lady drove her Toyota Corolla into the flooded crossing at Happy Jack Bridge. I have a photo here and the Corolla is still in the water somewhere.

I took the Fearless Squirrel out to take some photos this morning.

Now that the Sun is back out, the snakes are taking advantage of the nicer weather and coming out to warm up. I dispatched two brown snakes this morning. Normally I’d leave them alone, but I don’t want them around the houses. The local Kookaburra snapped them up the moment I had “sorted” them. I was surprised she could eat both of them, then even more surprised she could actually fly afterwards.

Tags: flooded

Worth reading: Yes

Summary: Jack Reacher, hitching through the states drops in on a town called Hope. He’s got nowhere to be and plenty of time on his hands so he decides to head on to the neighboring town of Dispair.

Dispair looks like a town time forgot back in the 50’s. Trying to get a cup of coffee in Dispair sees him delivered to the county line by the local constabulary. Crime: vagrancy.

Reacher has never been evicted from a whole town. He decides to find out why.

Another action packed novel by Lee Child and well worth the read. I think Jack Reacher embodies the neanderthal man that all men wish they could be.

Tags: books, Lee Child, jack reacher