Possibly not the most exciting of topics, but certainly "important" in todays crazy financial times. This excellent video explains how Fractional Reserve Banking, possibly one of the craziest ideas in history, happens.

I've started brewing my latest batch of homebrew, Firkin's Bruces Best Bitter. I've used this pack once before, and it was really nice. However, I'm pretty certain I used far too little water (litres instead of pints? I dunno), because it was VERY strong (one bottle of the stuff had me staggering!). This time I've used the right amount of water. Hopefully I won't be disappointed....

I'm also currently researching my latest project - making mead. I'd initially planned on just doing a small quantity test run, because honey isn't too cheap. However, it appears that it isn't really drinkable within a year, and doesn't taste it's best until 3 years. Therefore, I think I'll take my time and do some proper research before starting. I've ordered champagne yeast, and am currently trying to source some good quality honey (of what type I've not decided yet... heather honey is a definite possibility).

Old Firm violence Being a member of the Children's Panel, where a large number of the cases are related to drink fueled domestic violence, I found this to be pretty interesting. It comes with some statistics, which are of course easy to manipulate (88% in domestic violence over what? Other Sundays, or other days, or what?), but is still pretty startling.

Pope opposes condoms I find this infuriating. How many people will die as a direct of the horrible disease that is AIDS as a direct result of this?

Fred the Shreds pension This has only interested me because it is still being discussed. It is almost certain that there is nothing that can be done about it, and it is simply being used to disguise the total lack of any action in sorting out the big fat financial mess. I suppose he is a pretty good figure of hate for people who need such things.

Richard Dawkins in Oklahoma I simply do not understand the US. The US Constitution is so often held to be sacred, yet also so often attacked in the most spurious ways but those who claim to defend it.

The importance of numbers cannot be underestimated. This is hilarious. Make you sure listen to the phone call.

I had my first visit to the Red Shed in Wakefield tonight. I had a really good tasting porter from Bradford (local to the area). A wonderful clean tasting pint :D

What a place too.... literally a shed that is red. There are plaques of various awards and pictures all over the wall, all squint, and all advertising just how good this place is.

If you are ever in West Yorkshire, go to Wakefield, and find the Red Shed.  If you have ever seen "Batteries Not Included", then you will experience what is basically the real life version of the cafe in that movie. A massive shopping centre is being built right next to it (though the building has currently been suspended due to financing issues). They tried to buy over the Red Shed and turn it into a bit of a shopping centre. They failed. Here's hoping they NEVER succeed.

Help help help help!

Now for part 2!

The drive down to Wakefield was much more comfy than I expected. After a little mucking about with the seat, the pedals were not as uncomfy as I thought at first.

This car has cruise control, which I have never used before. I decided to give it a go. It was a bit creepy to be honest - not changing speed and feet off the pedals. Was really useful for the few 50mph zones in road work areas. I wouldn't use this for anything else though.

The steering wheel was a bit annoying. Because the centre part of it doesn't move, the spokes of the steering wheel point away from you. This makes it really awkward to grip your hand round the spokes, which is normally how I like to drive on motorways.

As I thought, the radio reception got lost too often for my liking. This always happens at specific bits on the M74/M6, but with this car it happened more often than normal.

This is the heaviest feeling car I've driven. Certainly felt safe in it. The deisel injection thingymajig was great for overtaking.

I like this car more than I expected to when I first got it; particularly for long motorway journeys.

This is the first review in my series of reviews of the hire cars I get. I know absolutely nothing about cars, so the reviews won't be very technical or anything, but just how I feel about them.

Part 1 - Initial Drive
This part of the review will be about when it's first delivered, and the short drive I have to get used of it.

Look
It looks alright, really. I think they tried to make it look quite business like, but also decent for a family. It ends up looking a little silly, but when I'm driving it I don't see it, so this doesn't really matter.

Feel Inside
It seems really big to me, much bigger than the other hire cars they give me. This is quite good, though unnecessarily big feeling for one person. The seats look a bit odd, sort of like they were designed for elderly people, full of strange wee holes like old sofas I've seen.

It doesn't have a dashboard behind the steering wheel like other cars. Instead there is a computer thing that has all the information you need on it. This is ok, and doesn't interfere with your field of vision.

Sound System
This isn't too great. It has quite a tinny sound. Even more annoyingly, the radio seems to partially lose reception really easily, reducing the sound quality further. The version I have is also diesel, so background noise is louder than normal too.

Drive
It's smooth and easy to drive, as are all new cars really. The most annoying thing about the car is the layout of the pedals. They are at a funny angle, which makes getting a comfortable driving position quite difficult. I suspect that I have a really sore right foot when I get to Wakefield on Monday; I'll update that on the second part of this review then. Maybe I'll be able to find a more comfy driving position on the journey down.

Other
It looks as though there will more than enough space for my stuff, though I haven't actually checked the boot space yet. It is possible that the huge feeling inside means to boot will be smaller, but I doubt it. The bang of the doors sounds a bit cheap, and some of the interior feels that way too. It is full of tiny little drawers, which may sound like a good idea, but is dangerous when you only have the car for a short time. I won't be surprised if I end up forgetting stuff.


That's it for now! I'll send the second part of my review after my drive down to Wakefield.

I think I'll start blogging a bit about beer. I'll have some reviews of beers I try (there will be a bias on Scottish and Yorkshire beers, because that is where I'll be mostly). I'll also add some stuff about my attempts at making better tasting homebrew, including my attempts at making beer from scratch, which I'm going to try soon.

Stay tuned!