I like to fix things when they break, and also to use them until they really no longer work. Replacing something that does its job well enough, just because there exists a "nicer" version of it out in the world, is an itch that I am able to resist scratching most of the time. The aesthetics of objects has value, sure, but I generally rank it lower than the enviromental impact of consumerism and the sheer hassle of buying things. Deciding what to get and then doing so is effort that has to be priced in.

All that is to say that I broke our coffee pot when I took it out of the dishwasher yesterday. A large corner is missing and while it still works for now, I am quite sure the rest of the glass will disintegrate very soon.

That machine came with the house when we bought it more than six years ago and who knows how old it was by then already. Not a chance that I find a replacement pot! I fixed/modified the electrical part twice already and the plastic is starting to disintegrate, so I admit it is time to give it up.

We have a Moccamaster at work and I like its no-nonsense approach and that it brews very quickly. That they are so popular should help with future repairs and replacement parts, so I am leaning in that direction for now.

No better way to spend a rainy Sunday than to make full use of the kitchen. Bottling the last batch of beer and brewing a new (split) batch takes the better part of the day, but everything went smooth today and I was done by 4pm, including the cleaning of all equipent and the kitchen itself.

I was reusing the yeast from last week, this time for a Pale Ale with lots of fruity hops: Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra, you name it. And part of the batch became a single-hop with HBC 692 which I had not used before.

We own a small patch of forest and had to take down a piece of it because of the bark beetle outbreak that has been causing large problems in recent years. So now it is time to make sure that the new generation of trees gets off ot a good start there.

While we're waiting for a delivery of 4000 saplings, I spent the morning to plant the ones that we grew ourselves in the garden last year. They promise rain for tomorrow.

Just a snapshot from my lunch break yesterday.

It's been a while but today I brewed a new batch of beer, my 57th. A wheat beer, not quite according to any of the well-known German or Belgian styles, but just the way I like it. I hope, at least, since one never knows exactly how it will turn out until the first tasting, after fermentation and carbonation are done.

If you are into the details, the grist is 56% Pilsner malt, 34% wheat, 10% Munich and a smidge CaraAmber. Hops are Nothern Brewer, East Kent Goldings and a very small late addition of Citra. Yeast is Lallemand's "Munich Classic" which is the same as Wy3068, the most common wheat beer strain, and it well deserves this place. Originally I thought I would add some sugar later on, to bring it in the vicinity of Grosse Bertha, but I think I won't. I prefer weaker easy-to-drink beers, especially since this one is meant for the summer.

I work in a large university building that hosts physics, chemistry and some more applied technical research, which means that it is great fun to occasionally go down to the cellar where the trash is being collected. Usually there is not much interesting in the electronics bin, but over the years I have brought home, for example, a fully functional TV (720p) and a few magnetic stir plates that are useful for yeast propagation.

Some while ago I picked up the power supply that is pictured above. It looked useful for some home automation project or whatever, and I hoped it would be low-voltage DC, which is most useful in this context. I could not have been more wrong: It turns out it is AC, adjustable up to 5 kV! While I took enough care to not electrocute myself, the multimeter that I used got fried for good.

A look inside reveals some nice manually assembled circuits and the ID of central unit is searchable, confirming this is a high-voltage AC power supply. I have no idea what to do with it now, but I have not brought it back to the bin either. Ideas welcome!

Sometimes the stars align such that you have to run back inside to get the camera. From an early morning in February.

I think my first outside project for the spring and summer is taking shape in my head: a shed extension to move the home brewery out of the kitchen and wardrobe.

The first step is, as so often, to make thing worse, before they bet better. Yesterday I tore down the the small firewood shed (before-picture) after having emptied it in recently.

The area there measures about 3 by 4 metres which should be plenty for my rather modest brewing equipment, even if I decide to expand it somewhat.

But first I'll have to finish the removal of large rocks that are in the way. I started this more than a year ago, but granite is hard and heavy, slowing down the drilling and driving of wedges. Lifting the remaining pieces out of the way is good deadlift exercise though!

In November a Ural owl visited our garden. This might not be very spectacular, after all they are not that rare in middle and northern Sweden. But I had never seen one before and was glad it stayed long enough for me to go get the camera.

It is commom knowledge here that Ural owls can get pissy during the spring when they have offspring. The Swedish name for them is slaguggla which literally means "the owl that hits you".

Nevertheless I just built a nesting box this morning, from some scrap material:

The cube of 30cm on all sides, plus a half roof, is meant to mimic a dead tree trunk that has rotted away on the inside, leaving a cavity. My little book on animal shelters says this is what Ural owls like to nest in. Now I only have to find a good spot in the forest and a way to put it up; it is quite a bit larger and heavier than it looks in the picture.

Last night I read this piece in one of the Lesswrong books (pictured).

And just now this video flew by on Twitter. It is about meta discussion, the sphinx that both derails and guards conversations, be they with others or yourself.