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.