Ale to the Chief: White House Beer Recipe

I got my first chance to see how the White Houses Honey Ale is brewed and delievered to POTUS himself and this happens!! 

Nooooooooo!!!!

Luckily it was just a hitch and the instructions were located below anyway, Crisis averted!

White House Honey Porter

Ingredients

• 2 (3.3 lb) cans light unhopped malt extract
• 3/4 lb Munich Malt (cracked)

Aeroquad Shield Construction (v2.0.7 Shield)

This will be a simple guide for the construction of the Aeroquad v2.0.7 Shield, which will act as the interface between the sensors (Gyroscope ITG-3200, Accelerometer BMA180, Barometric pressure sensor BMP085, Triple axis Magnetometer HMC5883L and a Logic Level converter) and the Arduino Mega Micro controller.

The v2.0.7 comes with standard header and stacker pins for direct a direct shacking connection between itself and the Shield. You will need a small (18Watt) soldering iron
and some solder to make the connections.

Quadrotor Parts!

I know its a slight deviation from my Obama story but i thought I'd share a bit of exciting news!

My friends father is coming back from the States in the next few days which means that the circuit boards necessary to build my own Quadrotor will sooooooon be in my possession! I can't friggen wait!!!

All the parts had to be bought from a store in the States but the reason i opted to have my transported over rather than just buy directly is simply because i don't want to be raped viciously by Customs and pay extra on stuff I've already spent good money on!

So the parts that i hope will arrive are:  

Arduino Mega  2560 Board

• Aeroquad Shield v2.0

• ITG 3200 Gyros

• BMA 180 Accelerometers

• HMC 5843 Magnetometers

• BMP 085 Barometer

• Logic Level Converter Board

Here's a simple Amazon Shopping list for some parts if you wish to keep up with my project!

 













The rest of the part can be bought directly from Sparkfun or most other Electronic hardware stores!

Samsung Galaxy S i9000 Unbricking, Customisation and Unlocking

I recently got a Samsung Galaxy S i9000 off Ebay for about 30 euro. Here is the story on how to go about getting something the is slightly dodgy to perfect working order. I'd like to thank 091 labs, Paul, Grooby and all on XDA-developer forums in advance

Buying a brick

Soft brick screen

 I figured it would be broken in some way (all it said was a crack on the "Menu" button) but I realised after turning it on that it was soft bricked ("Phone - ! - Computer" on the screen). The only

You are not special

Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful. Thank you.

So here we are... commencement... life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to

Quote on Samurai tactics

A master tells his student of two samurai:

"At the assigned meeting place two samurai
warriors approach each other as a dark storm gathers. They draw closer and then stop. They stare at each other while the rain pours down and the wind lashes at them. Their swords are drawn, each ready to strike. But neither of them moves. They just stand there in the storm, poised."

"Why do they not move", asks the student.

"Because whoever moves first loses the advantage", replies the teacher.

Open Source Ecology

I was directed to this a site earlier that claims to reduce the cost of farming equipment (I was looking for a second cheap 3D printer). I found this group is driving an Open Source project this the idea that you can cheap "build a civilisation" with the contents of a CD

They are developing the 50 most common machines that are required to get a civilisation off the ground, from tractors to bread makers, from milling machines to wind turbines and forges. I like the idea because not only will it help set up developing countries and establish their agricultural infrastructure, but it also has applications for developed countries and start up businesses.

There website can be found HERE

Cool "Like" buttons for Facebook

These are custom made "Like" buttons for a Facebook Page, simple to but on a blog or website to increase your audience. I think there pretty sleek and stylish

Download available HERE

[BUSINESS] Domain names registered and camera got!

So i registered the names of my prospective company the other day using GoDaddy.com

They gave me 2 domains for $20 which works out awesome except the domain that i actually wanted was parked on, which is a massive pity

Instead i opted for a .com variant of the actual name i wanted (put and "e" at the end of the name) and a .eu of the actual name which might just work for the start and setting up before i approach and maybe make the .com purchase.

On a side note i got a hold of a hefty digital camera for free that i can use for the initial prototype and for documentation so maybe i'll start with the pictures sooner than i thought

Facebook IPO slipping down a hill

The initial hype of Facebook Inc starting to trade on the market is soon going to wear off as people realize that what they bought for $37 per share is now (as of 11:03 Wednesday (GMT)) worth just $31 per share ( in the red -3.03 (-8.9%) from opening) 


I have no doubt that after a year or 2 the price might rise back up but for the short term investors who where looking to make a quick buck i think they were counting there chicks before they hatched (i never understood why some people say "counting there eggs before they hatch".... of course you can count your eggs, if you have 5 eggs you have 5 eggs, doesn't mean your gonna have 5 chicks!)


Still it netted Zuckerberg $1,134,916,000... not bad for a days work

Internet Explorer no longer most-used browser in the world

Interesting how Chrome has gone from strength to strength, i personally use (and LOVE) Firefox

For the first week in history, Google Chrome is the most-used browser in the world, according to Statcounter. While Chrome has been leapfrogging the incumbent Internet Explorer on weekends for some time now, the week of May 14th–20th marks the first time Chrome has averaged a higher traffic share over a full seven-day stretch.

Article HERE

[BUSINESS] Starting a business

I've decided that I’m going to try and start a business. I'm going to document the journey as part of this blog, something that I can read back on later and for those aspiring to create a start up; perhaps you can throw in advice and other inputs. Maybe even learn from the mistakes I make :P

While I won't divulge what the business is about just yet, I will tell you it is Technology orientated. Future blogs about the business will have [BUSINESS] in the title (as above) for easy recognition.

Greeks apologise with huge horse [Funny]

In theory these would still fit

THE nation of Greece said sorry to the European Union with a present of an enormous wooden horse.

Left outside the European Central Bank in the dead of night, the horse has now been moved into the ECB’s central lobby where it is proudly on display.

A gift tag attached to the horse, which is surprisingly light for its size and has small holes along the length of its body, suggested that it should be placed in the bank’s vaults overnight to avoid it being targeted by thieves.

Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, said: “How nice of the Greeks to acknowledge the trouble we’ve been put to on their behalf with this wonderful horse, handmade and so large it could hold a dozen double-decker buses.

“The card with it, which had a teddy bear dressed as a hobo on the front, explained that Greece made us this because they don’t have enough money for a present, which brought a tear to my eye.

“Nonetheless, unless they can somehow find €200 billion overnight then austerity measures must continue.”

 Oddly, Greek representatives in Brussels have hinted that they may soon be in a position to settle their debts and have puzzled the French and German banks that hold their loans by asking if there is any discount for cash.

The government of Spain has reacted angrily to the gift, accusing the Greeks of trying to bribe the ECB and redoubling their own efforts to weave a gigantic sombrero-wearing straw donkey.

Original LINK

Dropbox

I'm usually quite late to pick up on new sites and that (i still hate Twitter (@VMarquall) for example)

However i am a huge fan of a awesome site called Dropbox.

It basically allows me to upload any of my files to the cloud and then when i need them again i can jsut log in and d/l'ed them to a different computer. No USB required! You get 2 gb of space and  if you use the shiny referal you get an extra 500mb :P

Check it out, you can also get a mobile and desktop app (for drag and drop uploading)

SO MUCH WANT!!!

This is the new X8 EPO Flywing from the Skywalker (i think) series. So much awesomeness and capable of a payload on up to 2kg... definately adding this to the shopping list!!

"X8 is a milestone of Skywalker series. this fly wing is so huge and could carry massive weight on it.

the making is also amazing, EPO surface feel very smooth and intact. you can actually paint this plane into any color you want.

Wing span: 2122mm

Wing area: 80dm2

valid payload: 1000-2000g

Your purchase includes:

1x EPO X8 flywing

1x accessory bag 

1 set carbon fiber tube." 

--  http://www.foxtechfpv.com/x8-epo-flywing-fpv-giant-platform-p-529.html

Vote for the Lego Rifter!!

So Lego has this competition were if a concept got 10,000 votes, they would consider producing and selling it.

Someone entered a Rifter (Minmatar Frigate from Eve Online) which is close to 50% of the way there (as of 03.04.2012)! Please show your support and vote it up!

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/11619#

Thanks!!

Homebrewing has started! Brew 1 (Fermenting and bottling) - Turbo Cider

So a after 12 days of fermenting the brew is ready for bottling, heres a quick look at the how i went about puting it all together

 Fermenation has begun, bubbles are forming and the bottle expands with the pressure

 Expansion of the bottle after 1 night!! Rock solid!

Homebrewing has started! Brew 1 (Set up) - Turbo Cider

Today i began brewing my first batch of Turbo Cider using very simple ingredients. I hope to have 5L of cider within 10 to 13 days.

The ingredients for the brew is as follows

- 4.5L of Pure Apple Juice
- 1 tablespoon of dried active yeast
- 500g of suger

I had bought a 5L water bottle which i will use as a cheap demijohn for this and future brews. After emptying the water down the drain i put in 3L of apple juice and the yeast and sealed the container. I shook the demijohn for a minute or 2 to airate the brew and drive as much oxygen into the mixture. I have no set aside the brew for about 48hours to allow the yeast to start fermenting. The yeast will absorb the suger and oxygen and release carbon dioxide and alcohol.

After the 48 hours is up and the fermentation has properly begun i will ad an additional 1.5L of apple juice and the suger and with any luck within 10 days i will have a Cider!

 NOTE: As i do not have an airlock in the pic, be sure to vent the mixture otherwise the container will fail and cause a stinky, sticky mess!


Cheap and cheerful for under a 10er

Sorry i've been away for the last while... something something excuse excuse

Our old brewing friend from 091labs has been travelling around and giving talks at various conventions including 28c3 (the 28th Choas Communications Camp - LINK )

I hope to start brewing myself sometime very soon, i'm still working on the code to get my temperature control system working... hopefully my new C coding book that i got for Xmas will speed things along nicely haha