Tepache Batch 07 – Bottling Update

After the initial 48 hour fermentation the two portions of this batch were combined before bottling.

Yeild 14L
Taste: Sweet so far,with a more distinct cinnamon flavor.

Comments: One batch has some residual sugar/molasses at the bottom. Nothing noticeable in the other. Cinnamon flavor likely due to the use of cinnamon as a substitute for canela in one of the batches. Did not measure cinnamon when added, but estimate was in the neighborhood of two teaspoons. After bottling 2L was taken to Jeannie and1L to Rich for independent taste report. Both given instructions to leave open to the air for 24 hours then chill in the refrigerator before opening. In hindsight it may have been better to let fermentation finish at my location for quality control, but I was anxious to share and garner feedback.

Garden Report

The watermelon is starting to take over. It has been growing an inch or more a day… I expect to see the Audrey III waiting out there some morning.

Tomatoes are transplanted and growing again. I waited way to long to move them to larger pots.

I picked up some more seeds this weekend, peas, beans, corn, pickle cucumbers, and turnips. Plan on getting a few of them started this week.

The grapefruit and lemon trees are coming along, about 3 inches. Lemonade is a ways off.

Time to go water.

Tonight’s Tepache – Batch 07

Tonight’s recipe is as follows:

2L water
1 stick canela
3 cloves
2 cups sugar
2 Tblspn unsulphured Molasses
1 pineapple

I made 12L in 2×6L batches. I’m planning to let it sit for 48 hours before re bottling it.

Changes for Batch 07
1 cup less sugar per instance of recipe
1 tablespoon less Molasses per instance of recipe
slightly less pineapple per instance of recipe

For coming batches I’d like to start measuring mass of pineapple to get more consistent.

Switching from brown sugar to white sugar and molasses has improved the taste.

Complete Social network management

I’ve recently started exploring SocialThing! (http://socialthing.com) and find it is quickly becoming my favorite lifestreaming app. I am very fond of how it dynamically updates and sorts postings from all my friends, allowing me to post individual responses or a more broadcast style ala Ping.fm

I’d love to see more competition in this area. had I the resources I would acquire Ping.fm or Hellotxt.com and merge services with Lifestream.fm chi.mp or friendfeed.com

More and more sites are copping up every day that will show you your online presence.. A lesser number are providing user the ability to post/update their status, microblog, and blog sites.

Remember the search engine competition that effectively ended when google came online? I’m seeing a new race begin as social networking sites vie to be the most polished, easiest to use and having the greatest number of diverse services.

It’s not just the Hoff

In my exploring of social networking and social media sites the US, specifically the San Francisco Bay area, continually is the most prolific area for startups and ideas. However I have been finding that Germany (and I’ve not pinned down a specific locale but Berlin in prominent) is pushing forward with almost as much tenacity and creativity.

Some of the recent startups are innovative, http://ping.fm/8utS2 some are pushing along similar lines http://ping.fm/7NnkD and others are direct copies http://freundenews.de when there is no German language support in the original.

I’m going to watch Berlin closely the next few years in hopes that it will become a nexus of Internet creativity as San Francisco did in the late 20th century.

iPhone upgrade shenanigans

When I went to the local Apple store last week to upgrade my existing iPhone to the extra specially shiny 3G version everything went very well (hardly any line, lots of phones on hand) until the credit card was run. My bank would not process the card leaving me no option other than to cancel the sale.

By this point in the process AT&T had disabled my original phone’s sim card and replaced the original billing plan with the new required 3G version. Worst of all was the removal of eligibility for an upgrade discount.

Although I am frustrated with my bank, Apple and AT&T’s arrangement left me bewildered.
Waiting to have the iPhone activate and switching the billing plans until the purchase was authorized by the bank would have save heartache on my part and hours of work on the part of the Apple and AT&T representatives.

Last Friday I was told the problem would be resolved in 72 hours… today is Wednesday and I’m still waiting for the last portion of the problem to be reversed.

Dot com bust 2.0?

I’ve started hearing noises about a second correction in the online world…mainly in the sense that the main model for revenue generation, advertising, is becoming less viable due to manipulations of the existing models… then again not everyone relies solely on advertising for revenue stream…. my bet is that user demographics and geographics will be the highly traded corporate commodity. Take for example several of the newly released applications for the iPhone that use the location feature to provide more pertinent/relevant information.. either about the pictures you post, the restaurant you seek, or where your friends are located…

Web 2.0 is becoming mature…so it is time for Web 3.0 to poke its head above the horizon… wonder what it’ll be.. user specific content? geographically selected? all on a handheld device.. your personal computing core…(need some great name or acronym.)

In other news. I have continued exploring various networking sites and am building up a mental picture of how things are going together and being organized… it has allowed me for one thing to dominate the google search for kestrachern.. I now have nearly all the first ten pages of search results!!!

Off to go rehearse for the Make-a-wish foundation show….