PEIBlogs.com: the definitive Prince Edward Island blogroll since 2004.: Islanders Away

I think that's it...no, it's this: what is your favorite beer and why? While I did like the music non-beer theme, I'd prefer something more of a beer theme for The Session. All these non-themes that use beer as illustration, like last month's about beer and memories, are really treating beer as a constant - a mechanism if you will - to help us describe the other variable element of the question. Beer should be more than mechanism, more than the straight guy in the comedy duo. But that's me. And I'm a bit grumpy.

So, in November's session, we will explore the process of establishing a favorite. Sure, why not? There will be lots to learn about favoritism as there was about perception of memory last month for session #20 or a ways back for #15 and how it started for you. That's fine and you may love it. Me? I may still be just a bit grumpy.

A small gift to myself from Tulley's last August. $3.25 from the discount rack. "Discount rack?!?" you say. Yes, discount rack. Don't you recall what your mother told you as she lent over you and cooled your brow with the wet wash cloth when you had that fever back in grade five? She said "remember: it's not off...it's Belgian." That's what you heard. You never understood at the time. You thought it was the fever. But now you know. Because it is true.

Massive waves of yeast, rising bread and apple rise from the massive mouse head over clouded amber ale. Sweet and malty with a lager-ish roundness. Creaminess with the sweetness that is a bit like MacKintosh's McCreamy McCandy - slight butter, slight smoke - but a jag of alcohol which that 1960s Canadian tartaned schoolyard treat never boasted. Also very close to a higher test version of a 1995 Algonquin Hunt Club cream lager, according to herself who obsesses over that long lost Ontario microbrew. A worthwhile rich and sweeter take on a pale ale from Brasserie D'Ecaussinnes. Nutmeg in the finish.

BAers vote with their first initial, not their second.

In amongst all the daily beer news items about this guy beating up that guy over a case of beer...or these guys passing a law that will never work to stop this guy beating up that guy over a case of beer...you find a gem like an article in the Charleston (Regional) Business Journal by Molly Parker (but not that Molly Parker, as illustrated) entitled "Debate Brewing Between Local Beer Brands, State Law" about the state of craft brewing in South Carolina.

Why such praise for a rather humbly sourced piece? First, it neatly summarizes the three-tier system - something that confuses every non-American (not anti-, just non-) I have ever met. Then, it contextualizes that system into the current moment and the need for change to assist in the development of local craft brewing. Illustrating how specific beer-related legal reform makes for economic development is always a winner for me. Then the whole thing is interspersed with interviews with a range of craft brewers, providing the reader with a basic entry into the scene in the state.

Good beer reporting...unless it is all rubbish. But that's always the case. Yet in this case, I don't get the sense as Molly Parker's bit carries the right sort of confidence. Plus she is not a dedicated beer writer as the news about her 2007 move to South Carolina from Peoria indicates. So, unless it is all a pack of lies, good work for a regional non-beer publication and good for Molly Parker...the other one.

I am a bad home brewer. I have had supplies in for months to do a couple of all-grain batches but still they stiff wrapped and wrapped again in plastic in a cool, dark place. I did buy another mash pot yesterday but, given my failure to avoid napping and reading this afternoon, no beer again was made. Yet, beer knowledge expanded as I was reading The French and Indian War, a pretty good read by Walter R. Borneman, and came across this recipe for spruce beer from 1759, taken from an order by General Jeffery Amherst, to be supplied to the British troops moving to take the fort at Crown Point from the French:

Take 7 Pounds of good spruce and boil it well till the bark peels off, then take the spruce out and put three Gallons of Molasses to the Liquor and and boil it again, scum it well as it boils, then take it out the kettle and put it into a cooler, boil the remained of the water sufficient for a Barrel of thirty Gallons, if the kettle is not large enough to boil it together, when milk warm in the Cooler put a pint of Yest into it and mix well. Then put it into a Barrel and let it work for two or three days, keep filling it up as it works out. When done working, bung it up with a Tent Peg in the Barrel to give it vent every now and then. It may be used in up to two or three days after. If wanted to be bottled it should stand a fortnight in the Cask. It will keep a great while.

Yum. You see the key phrase, don't you: "till the bark peels off". The British army was using whole branches, not just needles and boughs. Again I say - yum. Google gives us that recipe, too, but give up has more on the brew - in the form of a digitized copy of the 1759 orderly book from Amherst's expedition north up Lake Champlain, setting out how the army brewed:

Spruce Beer will be Brewed for the Health and Conveniency of the Troops, which will be ƒerved at prime Coƒt ; 5 Quarts of Mollaƒƒes will be put into every Barrel of Spruce Beer ; each Gallon coƒt nearly 3 Coppers. The Quarter-maƒters of the Regiments, Regulars and Provincials, are to give Notice to Lieut. Colo. Robiƒon of the Quantity each Corps are deƒirous to receive, for which they muƒt give Receipts and pay the Money before the Regiments marches. Each Regiment to ƒend a Man acquainted with Brewing, or that is beƒt capable of aƒƒifting the Brewers, to the Brewery to-morrow Morning at 6 o'clock, at the Rivulet on the Left of Montgomerys. Thoƒe Men are to Remain, and are to be paid at the Rate of 1 8 Pence Currency per Day. One Serjt. of the Regulars and one of the Provencials to ƒuper-intend the Brewery, who will be paid is 6d per Day. Spruce Beer will be deliverd to the Regiments on Thursday Evening or Friday morning.

Sweet use of the long "s" HTML, eh what? Let me know if you can't see them and I will report back to The 1700s Typeface Open Source Beer Recipe Project.

More? OK, Borneman points that "rum and other spirituous liquors" were prohibited under his command but that spruce beer provided some protection against scurvy among other benefits...aka "conveniency". Here is a 5 gallon clone of the beer for the inconvenienced homebrewer. But not me. I have those other beers I have yet to make lined up first.

This beer crosses a lot of categories: oaked, aged, sour and from a state that looks like a mitten. I picked this 2006 edition of Perseguidor from Ron when I spent an hour with him a year ago, probably my beery highlight of 2007 now that I think of it.

BAer's lavish love - though they lament that the brew is no longer made. Happily wrong, the good people at Beer News explain that Perseguidor is a period release of a blending essentially at Ron's whim. Going by the date, the version I have apparently is Batch 2, a blend of Oro de Calabaza and Bam Biere. That being the case, I should love this beer with a love no other can comprehend. Or at least I will feel bad after it's gone.

Much darker than either Oro or Bam, it pours a lovely bright chestnut with a light beige cream rim and foam. On the first sip it is clear that this is actually Batch 1, a blend of La Roja and Bam Biere. I don't seem to have reviewed La Roja, though I still have a couple simplicitur and even as one small Grand Reserva in the stash. It is incredibly elegant - the lush richness of a Flemish brown given the planky structure of Bam, northwood cousin to sauvignon blanc - each characteristic softened by time. Perhaps the best smelling beer in the history of the nose. Bright with the sweet and spicy apple rice vinegar of the Flemish brown. There is a soft richness in the core despite the modest souring plus something like biting your cheek while eating a green apple.

Wonderful. I thought I would save the bottle after I rinsed but the "2006" on the gold label and half the ink on the main label washed away. Be warned.

The difference between America and Canada is that Americans don't care what the difference between America and Canada is.

Adams' method was established in Fire and Ice: he notes at one point that in the U.S. SUVs outsell minivans by two-to-one, whereas in Canada it's vice versa. That's a fact. The fancy is in the meaning he appends to it. "This is a stark difference," he writes, "whose roots can be traced directly to the differing values of our two countries." This assertion seems to have no basis other than a casual assumption that Canadians are more environmentally responsible and thus more concerned with "excessive gasoline consumption, pollution and safety violations."

Isn't there a more obvious correlation? Minivans are cheaper than SUVs, and Canadians have less disposable income than Americans. It's easy to be "socially responsible" if you've got no choice in the matter. On the Continent they're driving around in things the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger's cup holder, so presumably they're more "socially responsible" still. In Canada those who can afford SUVs buy them, it's just that their numbers are smaller. Remember Herb Dhaliwal? Well, no, you probably don't. But a couple of years back M. Chrétien made him minister of natural resources, and he certainly got through a lot of them. He drove around like a Hamas warlord in a three-ton Cadillac Escalade. That's bigger than my SUV and I'm in favour of global warming. The difference is that the high living of a Liberal cabinet minister is confined, north of the border, mainly to Liberal cabinet ministers while down south it's more widely available.

I don't often cross post on Pownce and here on my blog, but this is worth an exception I think. A few minutes ago, a friend reminded me of the Barenaked Ladies' cover of Lovers in a Dangerous Time. I hadn't heard it in years and I'd never seen the video. The song is as good or better than I remembered. I don't care what you think of what the band's done since the famous (at least in Canada) and elusive Yellow Tape, this cover stands on its own.

The fantastic Canadian Design Resource has an article today about the historical flag of Canada's Metis people. I've made several posts in the past about flags and the Metis flag fits well with the other standouts I've mentioned previously. According the description, the Metis flag "represents the coming together of two distinct and vibrant cultures, European and indigenous, to produce a distinctly new culture, the Metis... the infinity symbol suggests that the Metis people will exist forever."

I've been spending many of my recent weekend days working from cafes near my apartment in San Francisco. There's a new one called On the Corner on Divisidero about two blocks from where I live and it gives me a nice break from my small apartment to go down there to write email and work on Pownce stuff — plus their coffee is very drinkable.

However, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels guilty throwing down a couple of bucks for a coffee and then mooching wifi, power, and a comfy chair for a few hours. I try to get up every once in a while and grab a snack or a coffee refill. I hardly need the extra caffeine and I especially could handle eating fewer pastries, but I feel obliged to support the cafe.

In many ways, cafes serve a very similar purpose as co-working space. Many people come much more often than I do and stay longer, essentially using the cafe as temporary office. For co-working space, like the Queen Street Commons, people pay a decent sum for the convenience.

I'm curious if anyone out there has seen cafes experimenting with alternative payment schemes? I could imagine either a subscription scheme or something as simple as special tip jar clearly indicated as a 'thanks-for-the-wifi-comfy-chair-music-bathroom' donation. I know I'd be willing to pay — and my body would thank me for the reduced consumption of guilty pastries and extra cups of coffee.

I'm currently in Toronto at the Mesh conference taking place at the MaRS centre on College Street. Today was the MeshU day of workshops, including great presentations by John Lax, Leah Culver, Ryan Carson, John Resig, and a bunch of others. I presented in the morning and promised that I'd stick my slides online, so here they are. If audio is available later, I'll try to add it on, but I promised to get them up there at least in a basic way. Thanks to anyone/everyone who came out!

As I've talked about at a few conferences recently, one of the exciting/difficult things about working in-house, on a project with the scope of something like Digg, is the luxury/challenge to adapt your own work. The comments system on Digg is a perfect example. Just this past week, we rolled out the latest iteration of the comments system, which is the fourth major adaption of the system since the site launched over four years ago. It's a project that's been a long time coming and has been under development for a fairly long period. What a relief to finally see it out in the wild.

In his blog post about the release, Micah described several of the important changes that we made from both a design and performance standpoint. From the design side, we've made the comments visually lighter, reduced the metadata around each comment, improved the visual flow down the comment threads, added subtler functionality, and significantly improved the interaction design. When I say we improved the interaction design, I mean that as you interact with the comments (e.g. digg a comment, write a comment, edit your comments, etc) all of the pieces fit together more naturally.

The next step will be to iterate on the comments system once we've seen how people use, abuse, and break the one we just built. We certainly plan on doing more small adaptations over the next months as opposed to waiting to perform a large revision. As always with Digg projects, it's pretty exciting to watch a few million people use a feature that, up until launch, had only been seen or used by a few people... it'll be interesting to see what they do.

The idea that ATV'S Steve Murphy could play a role in an election - or any decision for that matter - amazes me. That it is based on his utter contempt for the worth of his own giving of his word does not.

I trust the French-language media do-overs for every political leader in Canadian history are about to be revealed.

Like many of you, I am heading away for the long weekend before the election - away from the politicians, pollsters and the media. I have to be at the other end of the province on Friday for work so may not be able to post again until election eve, even if then. The road will decide. But I am going to have a think about how I am going to vote and how we got here.

Mostly, I will think about Stephen Harper. This election has, after all, only been about him. He is his party. He is the platform. His opponents are really only what they are in comparison to him. He is the measure of all things and, if the polls are to be believed, he has been found lacking. But not based on his vision or his secrecy or his alleged but little proven policy wonkishness. In a way, he has become something of an icon for himself. Be calm. Be reserved. Be prepared. He stands for all that Stephen Harper stands for.

And we must be honest. He is all of that. These two wonderful clickable photos from Chris Wattie of Reuters that were making the media rounds today capture some of that part of him...and something else. He is also self-contained and maybe a little self-satisfied. Even if he is not aloof, these are not good qualities in a politician. They make him seem to lack the fire to be what he may want to be. In a way, he seems to fit that characature of Canadians that some hold - like Rex Mottram of Brideshead Revisited, there seem to be bits missing. But there is also a sweetness about him that has nothing to do with either the blue sweaters or the babies, that is not needy. He wants to help. I am not sure he knows how. I am not sure we want him to help us in the way that he wants to.

This has been a good election campaign. I may not vote the way I am planning but you never know. There's still a long weekend and a few days more to go.

Other news for Day 33 and thereafter:

• I put this rather well.
• Have we actually warmed to Dion? Have you?
• Time to annex Iceland?

Jay is bored but Ben suggests there will be some sort of October surprise that may pull the Conservatives out of the nose dive death spiral self-fulfilling prophecy of a vicious circle that has found them where they are - possibly about to lose the election. Why are they there and what could help with a few days to go?

• Be honest. Events have overwhelmed them. For a surprise to work against this theme, they will have to show themselves to have mastered events. But that would mean an about face from the path of laisse-faire. He is not one to change either tack or tactic. A manufacturered surprise won't help.
• Stephen Harper may well attack for six days of pure anti-Liberal venom. But I don't see this either as I frankly don't think he has it in him either as an ethical matter and, as he can't talk the dirty talk, as a personal skill. Chretien and Mulroney could but Harper is no Chretien or Mulroney - and that, as a person, is to his credit. Yet it, too, will not help.
• He looks bad when he does flip-flop especially when it is to something know he doesn't support like funding rude movies. We know he doesn't believe in rude movies or their funding. Fess up. Be yourself. Keep cutting their funding if you are a leader and that is your creed. Being someone he isn't won't help now either.

But worst of all, it also hurts when he is himself, when he comes up with these last minute ideas in his last minute platform like a "Charter of Open Federalism"¹ which, seeing as it is called a "Charter" is a constitutional document. Hint: seriously bad idea to open up constitutional debate when you have no hope of a majority and when Newfoundland hates you. And even the Western Standard has had some serious questions about this one when it has been bounced around in the past. The Globe and Mail says it is meant to "enshrine the original division of powers among provinces and Ottawa." But they are already enshrined in the current constitution and have been elaborated by 141 years of Court rulings and yoinks of Federal and provincial legislation.

But is that the point? Is this really a grab to undo the Canadian federation as it exists as well as the entire legacy of the past? Retroactively impose originalism and some sort of founding principles a century and a half after the fact to fit an ahistoric world vision which owes more to Marxism (in the sense of breaking with history) than the British system of justice? If it is, is this the person to take on that impossible task? If you think The Green Shift is nutty, just wait for playing Jenga with the basis for the entire national bargain that put Canada together. Good luck with that one, Mr. Harper.

Other news for day 32.

• Uh-oh: "His platform launch was disorganized by usually meticulous Conservative standards and there were subtle traces of panic in the air."
• Oh dear: "For Harper to suggest he saw this all coming sounds smug -- and unlikely."
• Noted in the National Post without any accompanying scoff: ""It shows how much Stephen Harper is insensitive and out of touch with ordinary Canadians," Mr. Dion said. "I can't believe he said that."

¹Warning: a .pdf of the CPC platform with blurt about this at p26 is all they've provided.

Were these the "famous last words" of the campaign?

"My own belief is if we were gong to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now."

That was our Prime Minister on Day 10, just three weeks ago. For a man who has done his utmost to not say much - even about his secret but fabulous banking plan and certainly not about Ontario - and not release, say, that Afghan mission report or even a platform until today - maybe he said too much back on Day 10. Did he sound too much like a man who likes to sit on his hands in a time of crisis?

Uncle Preston doesn't think so. Uncle Preston thinks he is a very nice young man. But do you?

Other news for day 31:

• Noon update: Tory support - now at 31% - is collapsing faster than the Icelandic economy!
• Wouldn't you be happier with a primary plan? Is there no one in the party who can tell Harper he is being stunned when he uses phrases like "secondary plan"?
• Unexpected sighting: a columnist writes about "Dion" and "invigorated" in the same sentence and there is no punchline.
• Fair point: "Mr. Harper himself plays a huge role in determining how well his party will do. The Liberals, for example, can run ahead of their leader, Mr. Dion, in the polls. But the Conservatives can't run ahead of Mr. Harper. In the public's mind, he is the party."

In what has got to be [Ed.: oxymoron alert!] the most excruciatingly boring Canadian election ever, it is nice to realize that today is the last working Monday left before the vote. Yes, the days have dwindled down to a precious few and the only recent trend I can see is that steady slipping of the Conservative's national average. So until something really changes, I am now accepting no more than 35% polling for them at this point. Are they in free fall? As Ben micro-notes, Coyne thinks they may be. If they reverse things and pop up to 37% (which they well may) they'll govern with a stronger minority. But if they continue to slow drip drip drip of the melt and hit, say, 32% (which they also well may) well, the arse may be truly out of it for the next 18 months. The more I think of that possible universe, the more I realize I don't like it.

Why? Because enough three-way splits-ville ridings come the 14th of October could lead to any sort of result. We could very well have something like a 100Con-85Lib-65NDP-55Bloq kind of Parliament, what with regional as well as ideological splits further discombobulated by a credit default swap speculation bubble bursting...even all around us up in the Great White North. Think about it. Credit dries up. Or a $1.55 Canadian dollar. Every night on the news in January 2009 we would hear about another Canadian firm going sideways as US clients fail to pay their bills due to disappearing operating lines of credit. Then multinationals' payrolls going unpaid without the backing of the multinationals' banks. Then there would be another story about reporter asking Harper and Flaherty why they promised the problems in the US wouldn't spread north and how Conservative polling had fallen in the tank, all under the headline "Tory Times, Hard Times." Add to that lame duck or leaderless Grits without their own operating line of credit and who is going to trigger the next election? Why would you? Is that good for the nation? No. Fearmongery? Maybe.

I understand that it would be best to have a strong leader in these circumstances, these troubled times. But in this five-party universe, with each leader now offering a niche vote, can you ever get to such leadership even if their leader was strong? If people only get to choose libertarian/property rights ideology (whatever that really is), green shift (whatever that really is), union rights (whatever that really is), Quebec rights (whatever that really is) or pure green (whatever that really is) - can anyone vote for the national good? Could the light in the tunnel be another train coming...or even that other sort of light you can find yourself being moved towards? Being in the tunnel sure can be disconcerting with just eight days until the vote. Remember how little we knew eight days ago?

Other news for Day 30:

• No Sox sweep.
• If you do not know what credit default swap speculation bubble means, listen to yesterday's episode of the ever fantastic radio program This American Life called "Another Frightening Show About the Economy."
• The Globe on Harper on taxation as a fiscal tool: "...he doesn't want any actions that put Canadian taxpayers on the hook." So, does this mean in the Harper universe that taxation can never be used? Because if we did have a risk of economic meltdown that would hurt my family more than taxation, please tax me. Park the second-rate ideology and tax me.
• eBay fires 1,000. Gen X at 40 staff gather in the lunch room but stay rather quiet.
• Bank of Nova Scotia chief economist Warren Jestin: "You have to invent a new word to describe what we?re in now..."

I’m not going to lie.  The upcoming US election is much more exciting than the upcoming Canadian election (might have something to do with Obama and Palin).  Nonetheless, it’s important for those of us living north of the border to get involved with what’s happening in our country.  Fortunately, I am writing a daily election blog for CP24, so tracking the election online is baptism by fire for me.  Visit the new blog here.  

Although we’re not using a true blogging platform, we have hacked it together so we can allow comments and a few other Web 2.0 features.  If you find any interesting Canadian election videos, comments, or links, let me know.  

On the issue of stirsticks, I was at the Rustic Cosmo Cafe in Parkdale today and I love their idea of using spaghetti noodles as stirsticks in an attempt to try to reduce the use of plastics.  Random, I know.

in tech news, check out commandN (151) below.  For all the links, visit commandN.tv.

First of all, thank you to the dozens of folks who showed up to the meet-up that Natali Del Conte and I co-hosted in NYC Friday night.  My mom, best friend, and her mom were also at our event, and they were overwhelmed (in a good way!) with the ever-so-friendly crowd of unfamiliar faces (big thanks to Jimmy for helping us to find a venue).  I took lots of pics, which I’ll get up on my Flickr account soon enough (more photos here).  I was in NYC for four nights; and, unlike other trips, I really tried to unplug and spend some good quality time with my mom (i.e. if I owe you an email, it will come soon enough!).  Needless to say, our time away was wonderful (from watching Wicked on Broadway to scurrying around Central Park in the rain).

While I was away, commandN hit the web in record time (thx Chris, Will, and Jeff!). Check out Episode #150 below for all your weekly tech news. In other high-tech news, I just found out about RBC’s Mobex and I am happy to see this mobile payment service come to Canada. Pay back your friends faster than ever ;).

In the spirit of John Hodgman, that is all.

Hello Web World.  I’ve been noticing quite a few “Internet Culture” videos to rise up the ranks on YouTube.  Here are my top five favourites of all time, including two that just launched this September.  I’m sure I’m forgetting many classics, so post your faves here.

You’re No One If You’re Not on Twitter

The Internet Overdose Song

The Facebook Song

The eBay Song

Emoticon Suicide

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful September weekend!  Fortunately, it’s still nice ‘n warm in T.dot (so no standing/shooting out in the snow, at least not yet).  Here is commandN #148, with all the tech news you need to know.  Enjoy!

Thanks to a net@night listener, I just go an email from UnplugYourFriends.com.  Send an intervention to someone you know who needs to let go of technology ;).  P.S.  Great viral marketing from MeetUp.com.