Drinking on a deadline…

We have all been there, we want to get completely wasted but downing 4 Jaeger bombs and a few Sambucas will just take waaay to long.

Now normally you would start reaching for the bottle of meths but hold your horses their is a new kid on the block….

WA|HH Quantum Sensations

No, this isn’t the next James Bond blockbuster. Behind this rather odd name lurks the brain child of Harvard professor David Edwards and designer Philippe Starck. A neat little gizmo that promises to turn you instantaneously drunk for a few seconds, without any of the harmful effects of alcohol (no hangover!).

The Wahh Quantum Sensations contains 20-25 sprays each of which delivers 0.075 ml of alcoholin the form of micro-particles and reportedly simulates the sensorial pleasure of alcohol, giving the user a brief moment of light-headedness and distraction.

Professor David Edwards came up with the idea of using his micro-particle spraying technology to distribute alcohol after meeting with Philippe Starck and discussing the possibility of recreating the positive sensations associated with drinking – but without the drunkenness and negative health implications. The result is a spray which contains tiny amounts of alcohol, that can be sprayed directly into the mouth or onto food.

“Everyone has an occasional need of light-headedness, distraction, and another place … but our societies and codes of amusement have led to the over-consumption of alcoholic beverages as a kind of social placebo,” said Philippe Starck.

Because each spray of the device contains nearly 1,000 times less alcohol than a standard shot, it’s said it would take hundreds of actuations to deliver the alcohol content found in a typical drink. But while some reports have claimed WAHH Quantum Sensations spray actually gets users drunk for a few seconds before they sober up just as fast, the team behind it is keen to stress this is not actually the case.

“WAHH does not stimulate drunkenness. It is precisely to avoid drunkenness. It stimulates the pleasure of alcohol without the alcohol. There is almost no alcohol in the product, yet the aerosol gives an instantaneous lightheadedness, slight, not disorienting, and is intended for anything but the experience of being drunk”… So no fighting lamp-posts or waking up with your face stuck to the bed by some rogue curry sauce.

There are two types of WAHH Quantum Sensations spray – the Flash, which offers a tonic flavor and a strong and instantaneous sensation, and the Demon, which is described as having a spicy, wooded and slightly fruity flavor and said to be best served vaporized on salty or sweet foods. In describing WAHH Quantum Sensations, David Edwards said, “Its ability to deliver flavor with each actuation that grows in intensity with the vapor cloud of millions of tiny micro-droplets makes WAHH an exciting food spray for the future.”

WAHH Quantum Sensations can currently be sampled at the “Experience 14 WA|HH by S+ARCK + EDWARDS” exhibition at Le Laboratoire in Paris – but will soon go on sale in Europe for €20 (about US$26).

The new house

So in one of the crazier things  I have done recently I convinced herself to move house last week.

Now just to set the scene and lessen how weird I sound I should mention that moving had sort of been up for discussion for a while…..just not really in this fashion.

We had just been going through the motions really, you know how it is. A few minutes day dreaming on Daft.ie, a couple of visits to completely random houses. Nothing concrete.

Then boom! I saw my dream house.

I really, really didn’t think that C would be interested in it. Our tastes in property are normally wildly different, she likes trendy new houses and I like rambling country estates where you could set a remake of an Austin novel.

Still I decided to send her a link to it anyway just for a laugh. Next thing I know my mobile is ringing, “I’M IN LOVE! I have called the letting agents and we are going to look round it tonight at 5″

That was Tuesday 1st May…. somehow between then and Saturday we found ourselves handing over a stupidly large deposit and moving in, how is that for hasty!

So here in all it’s ridiculous Georgian glory is the house that has made two normally sane, rational adults go more than a little bit ga ga… Underhill House

Oh and yes, the nerd in me is stupidly pleased at the silly little reference to the Lord of the Rings in the house name

 

Happy Summer Solstice!

Well even though the weather is doing it’s very best to convince me otherwise it is indeed the 21st June so happy Summer Solstice, enjoy the sunshine if  indeed you are lucky enough to have any.

 

 

 

Louis Theroux: America’s Most Hated Family In Crisis

America’s Most Hated Family In Crisis is a follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 documentary The Most Hated Family In America, and sees Theroux return to Topeka, Kansas for a second visit to the Westboro Baptist Church.

A fire-and-brimstone Christian group, made up of 80 members of the Phelps family, has garnered worldwide notoriety thanks to their funeral picketing of soldiers killed in action.

Believing they were killed as God’s punishment for America’s toleration of homosexuality, the family wield anti-gay placards while singing their own disturbing lyrics to Lady Gaga tunes.

In the four years since Theroux’s first documentary, a series of defections of family members has shaken up the church. They’ve also been at the centre of a landmark supreme court case (the court ruled that vicious anti-gay rhetoric was constitutionally protected) and their beliefs have become increasingly bizarre.

For Theroux the story has moved on, which is partly why he wanted to return. That and the fact he admits he’s “fascinated” by the Phelps family.

“It sounds really odd to say this but there are aspects of them that are quite nice, given how hateful they and the pickets are,” he says, adding he found his attitude towards them “modulated”.

“When you’re on the pickets you find yourself shocked and sometimes upset by what they’re doing, and then at other times you see them as normal people. The challenge is to try and manage your reaction,” he explains.

“I mean we’re human beings, they’re human beings, in some way you have to guard against demonising them too much, and against becoming desensitised by being around them.”

The documentary is being broadcast tonight at 9pm on BBC2 – make sure you tune in.

Shed of the year 2010…

A sheddie from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, has won Shed of the Year 2010 after beating off competition from 1,250 shed-lovers. Reg Miller’s pirate-themed shed, ‘The Lady Sarah out of Worthing’ named after his partner, was judged best shed in the competition sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable and comes complete with a Koi Carp pond and even a parrot!

The judging panel, including Sarah Beeny and ‘Head Sheddie’ and creator of readersheds.co.uk Uncle Wilco , commented: “Reg shows that a perfect shed sums up the personality of the individual that created and uses it. The pirate atmosphere is superbly evoked throughout and underlines that when it comes to creativity, sheddies have it in spades.”

The man of the moment himself  had this to say: “I’ve spent years working on my shed and to win Shed of the Year 2010 is a real thrill – it’s the ultimate accolade for shed owners! It’s still a work in progress, as I’m constantly adding to my collection of pirate memorabilia and props and the shed is slowly but surely taking over the whole garden.

It’s become a real talking point in the area and since I entered it in the competition, I’ve had loads of really positive comments from sheddies around the globe – it really seems to have caught everyone’s imagination! Funnily enough, I’ll be spending my winnings repairing my decking at the top of the garden! It has recently collapsed and I really want to spruce it up again so that I can use it for the summer and yes, I will be using Cuprinol products!”

Reg bagged himself £1000 cash and a boatload of shed care products courtesy of competition sponsors  Cuprinol.

This sort of thing could only be from Britain; it captures the slightly strange eccentricity that we as a nation seem to thrive on. I mean seriously where else in the world would a happily married man be able to get away with converting his back garden into some sort of pirate themed fantasy land…

I have long been an admirer of all things shed and have made most people in my life well aware of the fact that one day I too will be sitting in a small wooden box at the bottom of the garden oohing and aahing over my collection of assorted detritus  as I lovingly catalogue it.

 

Man Walks into a Pub: A sociable History of Beer by Pete Brown

Man Walks into a Pub: A Sociable History of Beer by Pete Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have read quite a few books on beer in the past and have found that typically they all have one thing in common: they are either monumentally dull or a total farce.

Weighty volumes that document the complete history of a particular brewery right down to what tiny changes were made to a particular recipe and when are all very well and good. No doubt they are of great interest to men with big bushy beards who wear cable knit jumpers and who carry note books around with them but they are a bit too serious and stodgy for the more casual reader.

On the flip side of the coin I don’t want to read a book written by some tracksuit wearing chav who just wants to brag about how he can drink 20 pints of Stella, fight some rival football fans and still drive his barely legal Vauxhall Nova that should have been scrapped before he was born.

That is where Pete Brown has got things bang on the money, he treats the subject seriously and manages to convey a lot of useful information whilst keeping things light and smattered with humour throughout.

By choosing to focus more on the social history of beer brewing and drinking he avoids bogging the reader down with some of the useless minutiae that a lot of the more serious beer books pride themselves on.

I am also very impressed with the way that Pete Brown handles the often tricky real ale vs. lager issue. A lot of writers fall heavily on one side of the fence or the other and as such we often hear lager being decried as tasteless or a children’s drink or ale being slagged off for being a drink for fat, bearded weirdos who need to get out more.

Whilst I have my own views on the matter I realise no one really wants to hear them, and in return I don’t really want to hear their views rehashed over and over again either.
So it was certainly pleasant to come across an author who wasn’t using their book as a soapbox to take pot shots at their target of choice.

If you have anything more than a passing interest in beer and have ever considered reading more about beer and drinking then you could do an awful lot worse than to take this book as a starting point.

View all my reviews

Sloe Gin

I love sloe gin.

That isn’t really a trendy statement for a 20 something man to say but I say two fingers to what is and isn’t trendy, sloe gin is great.

To me it looks and tastes like Christmas in a bottle, not that it can’t be enjoyed at other times of the year as well.

For those who don’t know the sloe is the fruit of the Blackthorn, a lovely spikey hedgerow tree that grows like a weed. Sloes are roughly marble sized bluey/purple berries that are at their very best in October/November ideally just after the first frost.

Seeing as Blackthorn is so prolific in hedgerows throughout the UK and Ireland you can very easily bag yourself several pounds of delicious, sweet and most importantly free berries whilst still leaving ample for birds and fellow humans.

To give an example at the beginning of October 2009 we picked 8 3/4 lb of sloes from the hedges and bushes at the side of the River Lea between Springfield Marina and Stonebridge Lock.

As well as being one of my favourite tipples; Sloe gin also makes a great Christmas present, especially in the present economic climate.

Here is how to make your own Sloe Gin:

Buy several litres of cheap gin, we are talking the sort of stuff that they sell as own brand in Tesco or Asda.

You could waste your money buying the very best gin possible but the sloes will be completely changing the flavour of it and you really don’t need to

You will also need to get your hands on some extra 1 litre spirits bottles or ideally a nice glass demijohn.

First things first wash your sloes and get rid of any stray leaves and twigs that might be caught up with them, not to mention any unwanted visitors such as bugs or flies.

In order to get the best results out of your sloes you need to release the juices that are locked inside them. You can do this a number of ways, you can prick them with a pin/fork, gently squish them between your fingers or pop them in the freezer until they split.

Once you have prepared your sloes you are ready to begin, empty the gin from one bottle to the other/the demijohn so that each bottle is only half full.

Fill each bottle with sloes until the gin has been displaced enough that it is nearly at the top of the bottle.

Using a funnel add approx 150g of white sugar to each bottle.

*If you are using a demijohn then adjust the amount of sugar accordingly, for example if there are 2 litres of gin in the demijohn you will need 4 times the amount of sugar(600g)*

Once all of the bottles are filled and ready pop the caps on them and tip them upside down, be very careful if you are trying to do this with a demijohn.

Each bottle will need to be upended in this fashion once a day for the first week, after this point you will need to upend each bottle once a week for the next two months.

After two months your sloe gin will be ready to drink, I would advise though that you leave your sloe gin for longer. The gin that I will be drinking this year was made last year, the difference that the extra ten months or so makes is very noticeable.

The Hardest Game In The World…

Recently I have noticed that my brother is swearing more than usual; I’m not just talking a little f word here or there I am talking a full on torrent of verbal abuse.

The target of all this swearing a video game, but  not just any video game this is the hardest game in the world…

The game in question is called “I wanna be the guy” and it is hard.

 I’m not talking “wow wasn’t that a tough game of Halo” or “man taking down the Lich King was hard” I am talking gouge your own eyes out in frustration hard.

There is no learning curve in this game, none - if you suck you die tough luck.

Boy will you die; you know how sometimes you are reading a book and the author will say that death was the protagonists only companion?  Well gues what you get to experience that first hand! Death will need to take a holiday when he has finished with you.

So what is IWBTG about? Well it is fiendishly simple the game itself is a throwback to the halcyon days of the 8 bit platformer… think Mario, but with the difficulty on steroids and possibly PCP.

You run, you jump, you dive from platform to platform etc etc but something is missing, oh yes the parts where you die… a lot.

There are different difficulty settings on IWBTG but they don’t make the game easier in the conventional sense, nope that would be too kind, all the lesser difficulty levels do is increase the frequency of save points.

When I told one of my co-workers about this I was asked why I would choose to play a game that is so mind rendingly difficult?

My answer to him?

IT IS FUN!!!

Sure you die, a lot.  Sure it is hard, almost too hard in places, sure some of the obstacles made me want to ram pencils up my nose and bang my head on the desk but it is FUN.

I loved just playing a platformer without any bells and whistles; it took me back to the innocence of my childhood back when all I looked for in a game was the ability to jump from group of blocky pixels to group of blocky pixels.

I can’t recommend this game enough, particularly if you like a challenge, an impossible, maddening challenge

http://kayin.pyoko.org/iwbtg/index.php

Enjoy

Home Arthritis remedies

A couple of weeks ago the weather started to change; it suddenly got a lot colder particularly of a night time and in the mornings coupled with this was an increase in how lovely and damp everything was, Autumn had arrived, or as I prefer to call it Arthritis season.

I happen to love Autumn and Winter, they just don’t love me, in particular they don’t love my hands and wrists, even now at the beginning of October I am suffering with a lot of stiffness in my hands, particularly in the mornings.

So it is time for me to break out my selection of homemade remedies to help ease things along a bit.

Here are a couple of things that have worked for me in the past and might well work for you. Please bear in mind that I do not have rheumatoid arthritis and can’t vouch for how efficient or not these remedies are in treating it.

Ginger – A Chinese friend of mine back in the UK always swore by ginger as being the best medicine that he knew of for helping with arthritis as far as I could gather ginger is a strong antioxidant and therefore able to help prevent breakdown of cartilage.

He used to steep a one inch piece of root ginger in boiling water for about 15/20 minutes and drink it as a tea each morning, however if the idea of ginger tea doesn’t appeal then you could just try and incorporate it into your daily diet. If you cant get fresh ginger then 3/4 tsp of dried ginger would be the equivalent of a 1 inch segment.

Wolfs bane/Arnica – I love Wolfsbane as it is useful for so many things not the least of which is helping to remove the aches and pains associated with arthritis.

Wolfsbane is best used as an oil or liniment applied to unbroken skin, you should apply a few drops to the affected area and then massage it into the skin working in the direction away from the heart. Please be aware that Wolfsbane is incredibly toxic and is not to be taken orally under any circumstance.

Click here for a great Wolfsbane and Comfrey liniment that is also very good at reducing swelling and bruising.

Bay Laurel/Laurus Nobilis- Bay Laurel make a great alternative to commercially available anti-inflammatories. Bay has been used for centuries in traditional folk medicine and a lot of people claim to have had great success in treating Osteoarthritis with Bay Laurel.

As with the ginger the best way to get the benefits of bay laurel is in an infusion; take 5 to 8 bay laurel leaves and steep them in 250ml of water for 30 mins. Strain the infusion and drink twicely for a month.

A lot of people notice a reduction in symptoms of Arthritis within a week and there are reports of many people having complete relief inside of a month.

I would avoid taking this bay infusion if you are pregnant as bay has been used in the past to promote abortion.

Wolfsbane and Comfrey Liniment

This liniment uses Wolfsbane/Arnica and Comfrey and will  help reduce inflammation and also relieve muscular pain.

Use this liniment on all bruises, sprains, swollen joints and areas affected with arthritis.

*THIS LINIMENT IS FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY – WOLFSBANE CAN BE HIGHLY TOXIC IF INGESTED*

1 oz. dried wolfsbane/arnica

1 oz. dried comfrey

1 pint rubbing alcohol

Place the herbs into a clean jar with a tight fitting lid and pour in the rubbing alcohol. Stir the mixture well and apply the lid.

Allow the mixture to rest in a warm location out of direct sunlight for at least 4 weeks.

To decant, place a layer of cheesecloth into a strainer and place the strainer over a bowl. Pour the liniment mixture through the strainer. Squeeze the cheesecloth to release all the liquid.

Funnel the liquid back into the jar or bottle that you are using and discard the herbs