Month: November 2022

November 15, 2022 – Plum Wine… Liquid Fire or Liquid Gold?

November 15, 2022 /

It is finally bottling day. The wine has been in the secondary over a year. I think that it has been ready to bottle for six months or so but I have been consumed with other activities.

My first challenge was bottles. I hate dealing with bottle preparation. To top it off, I really didn’t have enough wine bottles as five gallons need two cases of bottles. I had 2/3 of a case (or eight) bottles open. Instead of spending $50 on bottles, I decided to put them in 22oz beer bottles. So this meant cleaning them.

This is a task that I don’t mind doing as much in the summer time, but now the temperature is near freezing. Soaking these bottles in sanitizer and scrubbing them with a bottle brush is drag and it is pretty cold too. I found three bottles that needed some extra attention, so much so that I actually abandoned them and found other bottles to use. They took days of soaking, scrubbing, pouring boiling water and other cleaning chemicals to try and get these clean.

I have two bottle brushes. One does not fit into my bottles and the other does not fan out properly at the bottom. I need to be in the market for a third brush so that this task is not so difficult. The real, real lesson is to not leave bottles dirty. I could have avoided all of this by rinsing them properly before putting them away.

The bottling process is not too bad. It involves a spring-loaded plunger and a gravity syphon. Essentially, while there is pressure on the tip of the plunger, liquid will feed from above until you release the pressure. I try to fill the bottle as full as I can get it because once the bottle dispenser is removed, that volume is replace with air (or headspace). Beer will utilize that oxygen to do it’s bottle carbonation. Wine really doesn’t benefit from any extra oxygen and should be avoided.

Once all the bottles are filled, they can be corked or capped. I write the page number of my brew log on the cap for identification. You can see the color, kind of a reddish-orangish color. Very nice.

When I was originally brewing this, I was planning that this recipe would make three gallons. It turned out to make five. I suspect that because I froze the fruit, most of it remained in the brew, adding volume. Had this actually been three gallons, I think it would have been way out of proportion. I didn’t actually weigh the fruit, I estimated it. To do this again, I would make some modifications, likely less added sugar.

I brewed this on a whim. A mysterious box of plums showed up on my deck one day. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a starting sugar, so I don’t know what the actual alcohol content is. But it is kind of rocket fuel. It has a distinctly plum taste to it but it is not sweet like the Asian wines. I probably need to cold crash it so it stays a little sweet and is not quite so strong. Otherwise, this is an Altf4.co success; found fruit brewed into future enjoyment. This is exactly what I wanted to do with this site.

End Your Programming Routine: Now that this is done, it is time to start turning into brewing beer again. I have four kits and two empty kegs sitting and waiting. I also want to make a decision on apple cider. I am strongly thinking that I will brew that as well. I guess now that the weather has changed, it is a good time to be working in the kitchen.

November 14, 2022 – Post Election Additions and Analysis

November 14, 2022 /

After I did my last podcast, I did some more research on the local candidates and issues that were not documented in the voter’s guide. This week. I also do some analysis of election results.

Truthfully, I was hoping to see the political wave change. Not because it would make a difference in policy but delay the inevitable five to ten years. With all of the problems we have, I have no hope that we can actually change course, specifically in this state. I don’t have the energy or the resources to fight them all.

End Your Programming Routine: I voted like a good citizen. If you listen, you can hear the results of my effort. I think it is time to start exploring the concept of ‘Galt’s Gulch’ because the looters are fully in charge. They are just going to keep voting themselves more power, money and inventing new rights. Remember that we all belong to each other – I just don’t have anymore words.

November 11, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 2:9

November 11, 2022 /

I would say happy Veteran’s Day, but I don’t really think this is an appropriate statement. I have spoken about feelings on veterans on Memorial Day. And to get more technical, a veteran is a living person that served in combat, not just spent time in the military. Despite my feelings on whether our country should have been involved or not, I can appreciate the sacrifice of service.

Growing up, we had a parade in town that was billed as the largest Veteran’s Day parade west of the Mississippi. I was in band, so I was marching in the cold and the rain every year. Since leaving home, I have never had it as a holiday so I really haven’t seen it in a long time. But, I assume this is not the reason that you are here so let’s get into it.

I had in my notes “short chapter, kind of worthless”. What happens is Francisco goes to Dabny to see if she will change her mind about going back to working for the railroad. Of course she will not. This conversation is interrupted by Henry Reardon coming in and loosing his cool.

I won’t say that there is nothing of value in the chapter, the conversation and debate between Dabny and Francisco was pertinent. There are two camps: either don’t support the looters by continuing to work or don’t let the looters win by quitting. Which side is correct? I suppose that it has to do with where you stand on confidence with your abilities, pride in outcome and stubbornness to continue.

I know which side I fall on. Maybe you can guess what it is, but I can relate an anecdote to highlight my stance. I have spoke of this before, but I once ran a program. The people above me were extremely poor running their own programs, hence I would call them looters. In fact, the company was taking money out of my program to prop up these other failing programs. In the end, it was all from the same bucket but the point was taking from me to make them look better.

These people made my life miserable. Misery at work translated to misery at home. But, I was running a successful program. I was happy with my team’s results. We were named a ‘Center of Excellence’ for the company. Along with that success came more meddling to the point where the company took that program away from me in a way. They hired someone to run and expand the program I was running, in effect pushing me away.

That move was explained to me as ‘making my life better’ by reducing my interactions with the looters. What they didn’t realize was that my fundamental success running the program was the only thing keeping me satisfied with my job. In my mind, it simply gave me no possible way to happiness because instead of making my life better, I was more miserable. I had reason to keep fighting when I had something to prove. By being relegated to team lead instead of a program lead, I no longer had that motivation.

So, I quit. The program failed within six months. In fact within a year, the company imploded. I don’t claim that this was all me. Mismanagement left a structure riddled with holes like termites in wood. I was simply a part of the structure that was no longer sound and when I crumbled, so did the rest.

It is not in my nature to quit. For right or wrong, this is one of the few things I have ever quit. I was devastated to surrender my identity but I was also at a point where staying was self-destructive. I no longer wanted to prove something, I wanted to take the whole thing down. I had no other success criteria than a total re-write of the company in my own image. That wasn’t realistic, so I gave into the looters and natural consequences took their course.

End Your Programming Routine: I think that you can see that I side with Francisco. At the time, I didn’t do it with the same intent, it just happened to prove his theory. On my last day, I walked out the door with a small box of my personal belongings. I didn’t leave a single item that was mine, including the business in which I was engaged. I choose the path of force disrupter rather than head on battle for change.

November 10, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

November 10, 2022 /

Admittedly, it has been three weeks since I went to the range and got this data. On that day, the temperature was 87 degrees. It was the farewell to summer for sure because we are finally back to normal, Oregon weather. For the uninitiated, temperature is important when gathering range data because this is about measuring results of a chemical reaction.

The warmer the outdoor temperature, the more likely the reaction happens faster. This ultimately translates to velocity. This is what leads to the rabbit hole of reloading. It is possible to develop cold and warm weather loads. For today, I am going to ignore the fact that it was warm but I will keep the data point for some other day. I do have to say, my measurements were higher than I expected by quite a bit.

This is using a 158 grain jacketed hollow point by Speer and Alliant Power Pistol powder. The grid shows velocity by powder charge.

7.7gr7.9gr8.1gr8.3gr8.5gr
114241436143514591432
214201419143014371515
314071407142214641458
413661460144014551531
513751385142814911472
613671395140614741424
714191420145714281430
813541368139114481437
913461365142714591474
1013881473146814291493
Mean13871414143114551467
3 Sigma2633201834
Energy675701719743755

Now, that is some tight data. Everything did what it was supposed to do. I base that opinion on the standard deviation numbers. Surprisingly, published velocity is is only 1078 fps. My variations from this recipe include a Winchester Small Pistol Magnum primer instead of CCI 500. I also used a standard Speer jacketed hollow point instead of a Speer Gold Dot hollow point. This was also measured from a rifle with a 16″ barrel, not 10″. So, these are some variables that could possibly make a difference.

It could also be me or my equipment. I was organizing data over the last weekend and I noted in my reloading book that my electronic balance was reading 20% more than the mechanical balance. It is very possible that these are overcharged. I really need a third source to check my equipment. Nevertheless, I am much more pleased with this combination over the last one.

I will summarize last month’s findings here: same bullet, same primer, Universal powder. The published velocity for that load was 1100 fps. I used the same rifle. I would say that this one underperformed.

5.8gr5.9gr6.0gr6.2gr6.3gr
Mean9499329259431055

Before we declare a winner, velocity is not the end all measurement. There is also accuracy. The truth is, I haven’t even bothered to test this yet. My rifle is not sighted in and I haven’t even tried at this point. But, where I go from here is that I repeat this test on the rifle range and try to shoot groups. I can ignore velocity because I have enough data to tell me that the change is very small between starting and ending. This is the process of developing a custom load for your firearm.

What I can say from this experiment is that I have some ‘low velocity’ bullets that are not supposed to exceed 875 fps and it looks like the Power Pistol powder is not a good choice for that bullet. But, Universal probably is. The low velocity bullets are softer and exceeding the recommended velocity will cause the lead to accumulate inside the barrel.

Don’t forget that measuring velocity from a pistol should be quite a bit less than a rifle. So, it is possible to have loads that are too fast in a rifle but fine in a handgun. Aren’t you glad you just buy ammunition and live in bliss?

End Your Programming Routine: In this time of ammunition shortage which is even worse for reloading components, I have heard some advice. We probably won’t get our choice of what we want, so we just need to work with what is available. I have no hesitation substituting primer brands or bullets as long as you heed the fundamentals.

November 9, 2022 – Will It Juice 2?

November 9, 2022 /

I have long had a fantasy that I would grow apples and juice them when it is time. The apple tree on the property has been in the ground many years before we moved into the house. I had plans to build an apple press, but still never did. So, I made as much applesauce as I could.

I really don’t think this tree yields as much as it should. A typical year is about five, five gallon buckets worth of apples. They have scab and 99% of them have worms. Last year, I didn’t get a single apple. I think my pruning job was too severe. This year, the yard people only pruned 5% of the tree.

I feel like I should get three times that much based on the size of the tree. Nevertheless, the quasi neglected apple tree keeps producing. This year, I got six buckets worth. Not only did we get a good yield, but I also picked up a cider setup. But, you already know that because I used it for grapes already.

Normal cider operation would be a volume production. Not in this house, I have an order to only use the good stuff. This means a lot of extra work. I have to inspect every apple and trim out all the imperfections. Admittedly, partially rotten apples don’t seem very appealing but if I only had a worm in one in five, I probably wouldn’t do things this way.

For this reason, it took me about eight hours to do all of this work. This is a lot. For my efforts I got four gallons of cider. It tastes pretty good too. I haven’t fully decided what I am going to do with this yet. Of course, I want to make some hard cider, but we drank one gallon already. I may chalk this year up to an experiment and just keep the cider in the fridge.

Now that the cider is pressed, you are not done. The juice must be pasteurized or it will start fermenting without any extra help. So, that was another evening. Fortunately, I could watch Monday Night Football and clean up the shop while the operation was happening.

This fits right into my goals. I have always wanted to scavenge apples from some abandoned or forgotten trees and turn it into liquid gold. My second day of doing this I got into a better rhythm of how many apples fill the press. Press while prepping the next batch and wholesale rejecting of apples rather than investing a lot for a little return.

In the future, I will need to split at least or augment my harvest to also make apple sauce. Ideally, I would have seven or eight gallons of juice with some to ferment and some to leave au natural. Plus, I would like to put up 12 quarts of applesauce as well. So, I probably need triple the amount of apples to make this work.

End Your Programming Routine: At the time of writing this, I still have a few, orange tomatoes on the vines. This really marks the end of harvest season. The rains have come and we could have freezing weather at any point forward. If I stumble on a deal for apples, I could be persuaded to run another batch but I am tired now. I would say that it works, now I know how much work it is.

November 8, 2022 – Taste: My Life Through Food

November 8, 2022 /

Taste by Stanley Tucci is the June Left Coast Culinary Book Club selection. Yes, I said June. I ordered it in May. By the time the book was delivered, we were getting ready to leave for Spain. I looked at the page count and I knew that it wasn’t going to be long enough for the trip. I left it home for weight purposes and then all of a sudden I had two books to keep up with all summer and fall.

Since we missed the book club gathering in June, I just waited until I got ahead on Atlas Shrugged and didn’t have a second book to go back to. Now was the time.

I am certainly not a big Hollywood person. Most of Stanley’s movies I have never watched. The most famous include Prizzi’s Honor, The Devil Wear’s Prada, Lovely Bones and Julie & Julia. This book is a memoir of sorts that traces his life through food memories.

There are probably 25-30 recipes in the book, nearly all of them are of Italian origin. Typically, they come near the end of each chapter. However, there are sometimes two recipes in a chapter. And some, don’t have any. I would describe it this way, there is some sort of anecdotal story about a period of his life ended by the recipe involved in the anecdote.

How to be kind here? Let’s just say that unless you are a Stanley Tucci fan, this book is pretty much a train wreck. It very roughly follows his life from childhood to current day. Knowing nothing about him, the book cuts right into some situation where he talks about food and then usually punctuated by a recipe. It jumps back and forth in time with unfamiliar characters after about the first third of the book.

I suppose part of my irritation of the book is that I certainly didn’t appreciate the politics whitewashed throughout the book. I would characterized him as New York City liberal turned ex-patriate feigns interest in traditional dishes. He does talk both about Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July with what feels like contempt. I get it to a degree, you like what you like but why bring it up at all?

I started out enjoying the first third of the book. These were largely about the nostalgia of childhood and certainly more innocent and varied. The recipes were interpretations of memories. After that, the book turned into a wandering, food triggered grab bag.

He seems to have a propensity to talk about restaurants that no longer exist. It is written as if it is still available until you read the entire story and then there is a footnote that this is now closed. I think it could have been written in a more agnostic fashion such as “the best XXXX I ever had was at YYYY” and not “Go to YYYY on ZZZZ for XXXX *It is now closed”. I guess for me, New York City or Sicily is just as foreign as the moon so I don’t feel the need to follow all of his restaurant suggestions. Nor would I expect something from the 1980s to even be available 30-40 years later.

It is not that often that I am this critical about something. I personally give this a ‘not recommended’ because the book was expensive at $25, boorish and just too neurotic for me. But, to each his own.

End Your Programming Routine: Stanley bills himself a foodie. I can respect and appreciate that. It is clear that he strongly leans towards Italian food which is way more diverse that the Olive Garden menu. I am not a big pasta person at all, so I can appreciate recipes that go deeper into the cuisine than what everybody knows. We are brother’s in that respect.

November 7, 2022 – I Voted, Where is My Sticker?

November 7, 2022 /

Fifteen years ago, when podcasts first came out podcasters used to take risks. They would do things that were experiments. It may not have been all great in terms of audio, but it was real and I loved it. Podcasting is no where near what it used to be. Sure, it is more polished and there is a formula for success but I kind of miss those days.

Today, I am going through the Oregon Voter’s Guide. I guess you could say that this is one of those risks. I am comparing the guide to my ballot and offer techniques on how to analyze candidates and issues. This is a longer one because there is a lot of content to get through.

When I was re-listening to what I had said, I noticed a couple of errors. I used the term ‘status quo’ instead of ‘quorum’ erroneously. This is toward the end, talking about ballot measure 115.

End Your Programming Routine: After I finished recording, I did some more research into individuals paying for pro and con arguments. It didn’t take much effort at all to find information. I very well may talk about this again. But, vote or don’t vote; it is your right to do either.

November 4, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 2:8

November 4, 2022 /

It’s not a spoiler if I talk about something that has already happened in the book. It is however if you have not read it. So, you have already read the book, you are reading along with me or you just don’t care. Dabny hears about the train crash on the radio and immediately returns back to work.

Immediately before the news was put on the radio, Dabny was having a conversation with Francisco D’anconia. Francisco is this enigma that I can’t tell if he is orchestrating all of this or he just happens to be like Nathanael Green and the right place at the right time (on purpose).

The title of the chapter “By Our Love” is again double entendre. There is the love between Dabny and Francisco. But their conversation is really about the love of the work and how that is being harvested by the Looter’s for profit. Without the industrialist’s passion, the entire economy will disintegrate.

Time for opinion again. Using generalizations here, have you noticed that the left wants more taxes and the right wants less taxes. No one is arguing that we should have no taxes at all. Why is that? Because they are different degrees of the same thing. The premise is that we all have some sort of civic duty to fund schools, roads, parks, libraries, welfare, etc. If you are picking a side, then you are choosing your degree of civic responsibility and not the premise in the first place.

This all dovetails together by the end, so hang in there. What do you suppose is more profitable: healthy, dead or chronic illness? Using our brains, you got it right chronic illness. If you can be kept ‘in the system’ then you have prescriptions, testing and follow-up visits. This is literally a money printing strategy for life.

What if there was a professional duty that said doing harm was immoral? Now, what if there was a pharmaceutical that kind of worked? And what if you scared the crap out of someone to never stopped taking it? What if the food you ate for your entire life caused the condition in the first place? So, now we have food industry, medical and pharmaceutical industry all working hand in hand in profit.

Are you hanging in there? My favorite subject to pick on is Covid vaccines. Did you know the fourth booster is out? Did you know that these vaccines are pursuing approval for ages 5-18? Did you know that once approved for children the vaccine no longer is considered experimental? Did you know that once accepted, liability is suspended. This is in the wake of pharmaceutical executives admitting that vaccines efficacies are dubious at best. And yet, the CDC is now adding the Covid vaccine to the recommended list of routine shots.

When Dabny goes back to work, she demands to talk only to Mr Weatherby not Wesley Mooch. She is not going to be hamstrung by Directive 10-289 to get the railroad back on track after the disastrous crash. She essentially dares him to stop her. His response is that law’s today are not rigid, but elastic. That should be read as ‘rigid for all people’. Because when you have something that they want then they are going to compromise, otherwise get in line.

So, we have the lawmakers writing the rules as they please. Like for instance US congress members are the only people legally allowed to engage in the practice of insider trading. Literally the people making the laws are the only people that can legally profit on the outcome of the law (with intent). How is that for fair?

In case you didn’t follow the lines. There is collusion between government and industry at the whim of those currently in charge. The rules are being written to endorse certain products and practices. Meanwhile, those on the outside will be kept there. Only with a force disruption will change.

End Your Programming Routine: Reading the book on the surface, you get some romantic mumbo jumbo with a barely interesting story. This post came about as I was trying to relate the conversation between Francisco and Dabny to a current situation and it just flowed. I am not saying that the I think the pharmaceutical industry is intentionally doing harm, but this is all a convenient side effect. It’s worked out pretty well for them, don’t you think?

November 3, 2022 – ‘Tacticool’ Thursday

November 3, 2022 /

Now that I broke the seal on my hunting rifle with a new trigger, I got to thinking about another old rifle I have. It is a Remington 722 which is the precursor model to the 700 which puts it likely manufactured in the 1950’s. My dad bought it for my first hunting season, so I would have been 12 years old.

I was hunting with it 20 years ago or so and the swivel came off. I lost it on the gravel so I took it into a local gunsmith. He said that the original part could not be sourced. When I got the rifle back, the gunsmith said that I was lucky. Whoever cut the stock down was lucky that the remaining wood holding the back swivel in hadn’t already split. He moved both the front and back swivels.

My dad cut off some portion of the rear stock so that it was easier for a twelve year old to shoot. He also added a thick recoil pad as the original rubber was pretty cracked up. I have been thinking about giving that old rifle some new life with a upgraded, adult sized stock and a new trigger as well.

Gun fit makes a huge difference in the ability to be accurate. More so than that, it makes a night and day difference in handling recoil as well. I have a youth sized 20 gauge shotgun that just punishes me because it is light and the length of pull is is about 2 inches too short. I wouldn’t let my kids shoot it because it gives terrible bruising to me.

Length of pull is the distance between the trigger and the end of the butt plate. The theory is that the more precise the fit, the better the shooter will be. As I was pricing out a new stock, there was five choices for length. That got me thinking about what length of pull on my other firearms. So, I did an experiment and took some measurements.

Here is what I found measuring various firearms I have.

  1. 14 1/2″
  2. 14″
  3. 12 3/4″
  4. 14 3/4″
  5. 13″
  6. 13 1/2″
  7. 13 3/4″

To my surprise, the cut down rifle is only half an inch shorter than my non-cut down rifle. The truth is, I really don’t need to do anything and it doesn’t feel awkwardly short or give me a recoil beat-down. In my head, I thought that the stock was cut down and so I need to fix that. But, even more surprising is that measurements are all over the map.

Here is another secret about length of pull. Depending on what you are doing, your length of pull can change. What do you mean you say? If you are all kitted up in rain gear and bulk out in the field, that adds girth to the gun fit. So, shooting in the summer with a t-shirt versus hunting elk in the snow is going to make a difference on how much distance is between the butt pad and the trigger.

For working firearms, length of pull is going to be a compromise between optimum seasonal use. Now that I know what I know, I am not sure that I am as worried about the stock being cut down as I was before I started this investigation. Maybe, I will just leave it alone. On the other hand, I have always wanted to build a custom-ish rifle.

End Your Programming Routine: In my opinion, length of pull is more critical with shotgun sports. You tend to shoot much more so you are more prone to recoil and consistency because you are moving and shooting. That being said, a stock that is significantly too short or long is also a problem. Fine gun stores, gunsmiths or shooting instructors can properly measure you for a definitive answer. Maybe I should shell out the money to get a proper measurement instead of guessing and wondering?

November 2, 2022 – Has Anyone Noticed a Siracha Shortage?

November 2, 2022 /

This feels like an investigative report. In our house, we have a ridiculous number of hot sauces in the refrigerator. Let me list them 1) Cholula 2) Valentina 3) Gochujang 4) Frank’s Red Hot 5) Siracha. We also have in the pantry 1) El Tapatio 2) habanero sauce from Mexico 3) more Cholula.

I first noticed a few months ago while I was re-stocking the pantry that there were only the small bottles at the grocery store. So, I bought two instead of the one bigger bottle. Since the summer, I started noticing that there was none on the shelves at times. It would be gone and then the small bottles would be back. Now, I look every time I go to any store and it is not in stock anywhere.

Apparently, it is true; there is a Siracha shortage. If you search the web, you will see the same news bulletin that said they stopped taking orders in June because of a global pepper shortage. They were not expecting to resume taking orders until September. Being that this is November, I imagine that it is going to take time to refill the supply chain. I would expect this shortage to last for some time.

When looking to find a replacement at a local grocery store, I found two new ones Tabasco brand and Sky Valley siracha sauce. We bought the latter. Sky Valley is a brand from the makers of Litehouse salad dressings. If it were strictly me, I would have bought the Tabasco brand but I think that my wife was afraid it would be too spicy.

I can respect a company the puts off profits at the expense of quality. However what may be the case is that this market is permanently cracked open for other players. We liked the Sky Valley. It seemed more balanced and complex, not just the in your face Siracha taste. I mean this is the purpose of hot sauce, to add another dimension to the overall profile. But, I could see this brand having more than a niche usage.

Apparently, the peppers for siracha come from Northern Mexico. The claim was that climate change was the reason the harvest was not as expected. I am not sure whether I am happy or sad that this Asian oriented ingredient is using Mexican ingredients. It may be that they happen to grow well in Mexico and the supply chain is simpler. I don’t know.

I really don’t like single use ingredients. I would really prefer something more versatile. The problem is no person can agree on Mexican/Asian/Cajun. Simply put, we have these different sauces because everyone wants something different, not just inventory simplicity. And, I am guilty of buying something like Gochujang because when I make something for the first time, I want to taste how it was intended to be made. Dont get me wrong, I don’t dislike Gochujang it is just that the flavor profile is not right for many things.

End Your Programming Routine: What I take away from this is that the global supply chain is perilous. Really, this is becoming all, too routine. This has to be a huge financial hit for Huy Fong Foods. Whether this leads to second sourcing or some way of cheapening the overall recipe, it is hard to tell. It has definitely opened the door for us to try the alternatives out there.