Oktoberfest!

What a wonderful time of year. I have been watching friends posts on Facebook that are in Germany for the real thing, but the next best thing is coming to Dhaka! The 12th of October marks the 11th annual AISDhaka Oktoberfest. Brewers have been ramping up production, the food wizards are mixing up their best potato salad and other German delights... and some brave souls are practicing a traditional Oktoberfest dance. Last year I was unable to enter but had the privileged of judging the beer competition. This year I will be entering 3 beers and I think my chances are pretty good. Here is a rundown of the three:

1. Name: Dunkel Wiezenbock - The name translates to a dark, high alcohol, wheat beer. The flavor translates to an alcoholic wheat beer. It weighs in at 8-9% and has a great Belgian Wheat flavor, a little fruit flavor (pineapple) and mellow hops. The alcohol level walks a fine line between overly alcoholic and perfectly balanced. The beer is cloudy when cold as is traditional with wheat beers.
2. Name: The Greatest Beer In The World (tribute*) - This is a big one. 10% and it is balanced by depth of character and wonderful hop flavors thanks to three different types of hops. A beer that lives up to its name...
3. Name: Rickshaw Wala Pale Ale - This is the easy drinking crowd pleaser, named after the Bangladeshi word for cycle rickshaw driver (Wala). It is a dry ale with pronounced hops and a decent kick in the pants at 7% ABV. The label reads, "A refreshing beverage for a long day in the saddle.

*note: This is not the greatest beer in the world this is just a tribute, in fact the greatest beer in the world does not actually taste anything like this beer, this is just a tribute.

There is also a commemerative beer mug designing contest which I have submitted a design for (see below). I did the oval one for pint glasses and the square one for the mug.

The brewers also get together to pick a brewers choice, which I think is a great opportunity to talk about beer with their makers. Looking forward to the 12th and seeing how my beers stack up. I will post results... if they are good!

Car of the Week: Alfa Romeo GTV

There are enough Alfas to do an "Alfa of the Week" and this one will probably seem a bit blah or mainstream to some... For some reason I just love the looks of this car. Then again I like the looks of a Volvo 240 so that might explain it. Here is a pic of a nice restoration similar to the look I would go for that I found on Bring A Trailer. Just look at it for a bit and read on.

I love the subtle curve from front to back in two plains. I love the dainty pillars and that the b-pillar almost disappears. I love the double headlights with slightly smaller ones inside. I love the ridges on the front fenders and I love the one piece front end. Flush mount door handles and a cool grill. These happen to be my favorite wheels as well. Orange, maybe not but it does look good in just about any color. They made a deep eggplant purple that was nice.

Here are some facts and figures. The GTV refers to many different redesigns over the years but my interest only lies in what Alfa calls the Series 105. They were made from 1963-77. Engine was Alfa's standard 4 cylinder twin cam motor ranging in displacement from 1290cc to 1962cc. They came with a 5 speed transmission and disc brakes. A friend of mine who has one say that they are not that inspiring to drive which kind of bums me out. He was comparing it to a Datsun Roadster with plentiful modifications but the only Datsun Roadster I ever drove, drove like a truck. I still want one because they look so great and I think I could sort it to be a ton of fun.

They made a GTA which was an aluminum bodied and other lightening efforts throughout the car along with engine and transmission adjustments. There were only 500 made so these are the real collectors items. There were quite a few of the standard GTV's made and prices are not unreachable but they have been slowly increasing over the last decade. $10-20K will get you a clean to completely restored example. Small beautiful car with decent technology for the time that is usable today... Yes, I think I would drive one.

iPad Guitar Amp!

Ever wanted to have a bunch of guitar amps and various effects boxes? Yeah, I know me too! I just could never justify spending the cash or packing all that stuff around (mostly because my guitar skills are not very good). Well I have just figured out a cool way to get all those amps and boxes using the iPad and Garage Band. Here is what you will need:

1. 1/4 inch male (Stereo) to 3.5mm female (Stereo) headphone adapter
2. 3.5mm male (Stereo) to dual female RCA adapter
3. 1/4 inch male (Mono) to female RCA cable
4. 3.5mm male video (has 3 rings as opposed to the 2 on regular headphone plug) to male RCA (there will usually be three colors: red white and yellow)
5. An iPad with Garage Band App
6. Guitar with a pickup

This is how it will be set up.
The video 3.5mm jack goes into the iPad.
The yellow RCA hooks to the female RCA to 1/4 mono jack which pluggs into the Guitar.
The Red and White RCA plug into the RCA to headphone adapter which you can either plug into headphones or you ca plug into an amp.

Now open Garage Band and select the Guitar amp. You will need to turn on the monitor in the input settings see picture below:

Now when you play the guitar it sends a signal to the iPad. With the iPad you can use any of the amp and effects combinations available and it will send the doctored audio signal out to your headphones or amp. The sounds that you are capable of with this setup is pretty impressive. I have not figured out a substitute for the WahWah peddle but you could easily put one between the iPad and the amp. Now go get lost in the iPad and find the right sound for you!

Book of the Week: Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne

Another example of how great books are stumbled upon. I was on my way out of the AISD library when I glanced at a new book display and boom, David Byrne... about bikes! This is a book more about society and cities than about bikes, but it is a collection of Byrne's experiences while biking in different parts of the world. I have been a long time Talking Heads fan and recently a fan of all things David Byrne. His solo albums are fresh and thought provoking. His artwork is fun, vibrant and has a great underlying cometary on our society. His interviews are deep, yet accessible. Then there is the bike element, one could say that this book was ordered for me!

Basic premis is that Byrne has been keeping journals while he travels around the world on tour or for projects. He has been using a bike as primary transportation while at home in NYC and then thought, "Why not take my bike along..." He now has a folding bike (Full size, not a small wheeled thing) that he takes with him on all his trips. So his diary entries all seem to have a view from behind the handle bars of a bike. The result of which is that he has been keeping an informal record of the feeling each city has through the lens of a biker. He has also seen changes that have worked and changes that have not worked for various cities in regards to bike advocacy. It is great to hear his take on cycling, cities, and society as well as enjoy some of his ironic humor.

I enjoyed the book as something to read, it is great to see that there are well off people that see cycling as more enjoyable and more convenient than cars, and it is great to partake in a line of thought that Byrne has been developing over two decades into an informed view and has research to back it up. The other nice thing is that it is not just about bikes so it does not get old or repedative. It is about art and people and culture and society and, well... everything. He has a great bit about art and what we consider art. Here are a couple of gems from the book to give a feel:

I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe---but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry---poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs---is how the world works. The world isn't logical, its a song.  (page 194)

I love the heavy aspect that is totally not intimidating but is accessible.  He is writing about a great idea that you could spend the rest of your life exploring but while reading it, it just seems so matter of fact and I get a feeling that even if I can't prove what he is saying is true, I believe it. Or maybe more importantly, I feel it is true. Then there is this one about an event he was attending in San Francisco:

Just as I become resigned to the business of signing books, a marching band bursts through the front doors and begins to play the "Parade." The Extra Action Marching Band has been at a street festival nearby and has decided to stage an "intervention," as they do from time to time--bringing a pleasant dose of music, anarchy, and baton-twirling girls in skimpy outfits to random events that they have decided need enlivening.  (page 225)

I feel like Byrne really captures the spirit of SF and the other cities he writes about. He seems to really get into the culture of each place and can distill those feelings into words. It is a fun and thought provoking book that I would recommend to anyone, even if you did not ever ride a bike. One final thing is that there is a little cyclist on the bottom of some pages that I notice are in different spots. I finally realized that the book is also a flip book with the little rider riding back and forth. Nice little touch.

Book of theWeek: Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford

Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford

The title of this book sums it up very well. This is a well written, deeply researched look into why shop classes are important. Me reading it is a bit like preaching to the choir but there is great research quoted and the author really walked the walk. He struggled through school, got a job in an office and then realized that he hated it. He now owns his own motorcycle repair/restoration shop and has taken the time to look into why he is so much happier now.

Crawford attributes his happiness to three main points. First is job satisfaction, which has two components. At his current job he actually has a relationship to the customer and at the end of the day he can see what he has done and knows why he has done it. Second, working with your hands changes you cognitively. You think about everything. When you hold something in your hands you ask yourself, "how was this made". You appreciate craftsmanship in everyday objects. Third working with your hands requires creativity, problem solving and critical thinking that are rarely used in a profession where you do the same thing every day.

His argument is that we are doing our kids a disservice (especially the ones that are going to college) by not providing them with this exposure to the industrial arts classes (insert whichever one you want here: wood shop, welding, auto shop etc.) One reason we have such a problem is that there are fewer and fewer do it yourself. Dad's no longer pass knowledge and skills down to their kids (either becasue they are always at work or because the dad's did not learn the skills because they were specializing in another are). There are fewer and fewer programs in schools that offer this sort of knowledge and training and the programs that exist need to cater to a lower and lower skill set because kids do not come with any prior knowledge.

This is a quick summary and really on gives a feeling for the book. It is a good read because it was an interesting life story and had compelling argument for shop classes. I always knew shop classes were a good thing but this book creates a well thought and legitimate argument for why they are so necessary for society, for each person individually and for our own happiness. Everyone should take some sort of class in skilled labor no matter if it is cooking, sewing, welding or wood shop. The old adage "Idle hands are the work of the devil" actually has substance behind it.

Further exploration of this topic can be found in The Hand: How Its Use Shapes The Brain, Language and Human Culture a book by Frank R. Wilson. There is also an interview with Wilson on NPR that is worth a look.

Car of the Week: AC Cobra

AC Cobra 1961-67

These cars were special when they were built and are still special today. It is an aggressive car with wonderful looks. This was in a time when there were amazing looking cars (Austin Heallys, Astin Martins, Triumphs, Morgans, Alfas, etc) but none of them could be considered aggressive performance wise. This car is a result of Carroll Shelby realizing this discrepancy. He started with a beautiful British sports car, the AC Ace, and shoehorned in a series of American V-8's. The smallest was a 4.3 liter and the largest being the 7 liter (427cubic inch) monster. These cars were fast, and they looked great. The main reason for the speed was the car's light weight. It was built with a tube frame chassis and covered with aluminum body work. With little creature comforts and no top the car was 500 lbs. less than the Corvette of the time. More horse power also helped...

The original AC Ace that the Cobra was based on. Photo from www.classicandperformancecar.com

The speed is not the only reason these cars are so desirable.  It is a great looking car and it sounded great. Current prices for a real Cobra are in 2 million dollar range. The main reason for this are the low production numbers. There were only 316 Cobras made and only 31 of those being the race engine 427. I know that I will never be able to afford one... or can I?

Real Cobra. Photo from http://scorpion-cars.blogspot.com

Because of the low production numbers and the extremely desirable nature of the car, there is a booming kit market for Cobras for people that want one but can't afford the real thing (...yeah, that would be me).There are literally dozens of companies that sell kits of every possible level. Aluminum bodies, and fiberglass bodies, with engines or without and most of them are very true to the original. This just gets my juices flowing; thinking about all the engine possibilities, wheel choices, and interiors ideas. Sure they end up costing 30 K but that will get you a nicer car than some of the original Cobras that had transverse leaf spring suspension (Yeah, I know! Ewe.)

Nice example of one of the kits available. Photo from www.factoryfive.com

Car of The Week: Porsche 911

1970 Porsche 911

Oh the Porsche 911. I have wanted one since... well since i can remember thinking about cars by name. When something has been made for so long without major changes, you know it has to be good. There are things about the car that I am not too sure about but it still tops my list of cars to own. There are a few reasons for this. One, it is unique. There are not too many rear engine cars around these days... in fact I cannot think of another one sold in the US. Even the Bug has gone front engine. Second, it is fun to drive (this is a statement that is not based on first hand experience) which is probably a direct result of the engine being in the rear. Third, it is a fairly affordable piece of everyday sport scar wonderfulness. Older versions are really starting to become collectors items but you can pick up a 80's or 90's 911 for fairly reasonably money. And what you get is a car that is a paragon for sports cars. You could not talk about sports cars and leave the 911 out of the conversation. This brings me to my last reason, it is hard to drive well. 911's are know for being very drivable everyday cars... but, when pushed to the limit the have a nasty side. It takes a driver to understand the difference in weight distribution and traction between the front and the rear wheels. It is also different because it is different than any other car in the way that it handles. Today you can buy the all wheel drive, liquid cooled, turbo charged, traction controlled marvel of engineering, but what I really want is a late 60's or early 70's 911 with manual steering, air cooling, rear wheel drive car. I want to own the car that blew minds back in the day, and has classy looks too. I want to drive a car that takes effort to drive, where you can feel the mechanics of the vehicle. Not that I don't want the new, they are just way out of my league price wise and They are insanely overpowered. If I think of the 5 cars that I have had the most fun in and totaled up all the horse power it would probably just reach the new Porsche Turbo's power... and that is crazy. No I like the idea of a car you have to work hard to get to speed and the quickness is determined by how late you can brake in a corner and how much speed you can keep through the corners. The Porsche 911 is all of that, molded into the same shape that they have been making for 60 years.

2010 Porsche 911S