Retro Saturday: Adventures of Lolo Floor 4

Some audio issues on the first version of Floor 3 last week. I fixed the issue and uploaded a new-and-improved video for Floor 3. The old one is still alive and active, if anyone cares to see it.

After the new Floor 3 video, why not check out Floor 4? We meet some new challenges, and we encounter the first screens requiring quick reflexes to avoid charging enemies. Maybe there are better ways to deal with some of these levels, but what the hey. Whatever it takes to make it through the early levels, right?

Father Pat Noise Memorial Plaque

In Memory of "Noisy"

Hands-down our clear new Dublin landmark favorite. When crossing O'Connell Bridge, it might be easy to miss the small memorial plaque embedded in the stonework on the west side. The plaque is innocent enough, and passers-by (hundreds or thousands a day) probably don't even give it a second look.

After all, how many such memorial plaques stand in every major city? How many are dedicated to figures of minor historical importance but no real relevance today? How many like this have each of us strolled by in our own lifetimes. Impossible to know, because we don't even notice them.

Father Pat Noise

What makes this plaque significant is the (wonderfully cheeky) fact that it was placed here illegally and is dedicated to a fictitious person. That the plaque has been a source of local controversy, angry politicians, and a true testament to the tricky Irish spirit goes without saying.

Slimy Origins

True, the plaque was placed here without the sanction of any government official, but it wasn't immediately noticed because it was sized perfectly to fit in the depression left by- and I am not making this up- the control box for a Millenium Countdown clock that once projected a green digital clock display on the river. The idea was that this green alarm clock projected on the River Liffey would count down to midnight of January 1, 2000 from March of 1996. This strange idea was dubbed, according to local sarcastic rhyming custom, "The Time in the Slime."

What was to happen at midnight of 2000? We'll never actually know, as the clock was removed in December of 1996, less than a year after installation. It had been plagued by technical and visibility problems since its installation, and was scrapped.

Well? It was the nineties, and Ireland was so flush with cash no one knew what to do with it. I think the immortal words of Lyle Lanley apply very appropriately for this situation...

"Ya know, a [country] with money is like a mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows how to use it!"

Father Pat?

Yes, so the clock was scrapped, and the control box removed. One mysterious night in 2004, a gang(?) of miscreant(s?) installed this perfectly-fit plaque into the control box impression. In case the photo is difficult to read, here is the inscription:

THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES
FR PAT NOISE
ADVISOR TO PEADAR CLANCEY

HE DIED UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN HIS CARRIAGE PLUNGED INTO THE LIFFEY ON AUGUST 10TH 1919

ERECTED BY THE HSTI

So, those are the facts. But- no such person as Father Pat Noise exists anywhere on record. Peadar Clancey is a real Irish freedom fighter who died in 1920, but there was no Fr. Noise in his entourage. This plaque is nothing but a sneaky, harmless, clever and hilarious joke.

Of course, the City Council immediately wanted the plaque removed and destroyed, as it was unauthorized and undermined their authority over the city. Just as in older days, the Irish people stood in support of these subtle jabs at authority, and people gathered and demonstrated around the plaque in support. Signs with messages like, Canonize 'Noisy' sprang up around the plaque. 

The Council, after this very loud public demand, decided to keep the dedication to Fr. Noise in place, as he had become a local fictional folk hero. Like the well-endowed Molly Malone, Fr. Noise could stand as a Dublin tribute to the old line,

"Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!"

But That's Not All!

The plot indeed thickens in 2007, when the plague is removed and "lost" during some restoration work on the bridge. Stories like this are incredibly entertaining to follow, as the fog of mystery, innuendo, and rumor inspires so much more entertaining material than the truth. 

With the plaque "lost" during restorations, the impression was again empty... but not for long. A new, identical plaque showed up mysteriously one night, to someone's delight and someone else's fury, I'm sure.

Since the reappearance of the plaque, the controversy continues. Some Councillors demand the plaque be removed, while others (echoing popular opinion) support the plaque as another quirky addition to the lore and fable of Dublin.

I, for one, am in favor of keeping the dedication to the fictional Father, but I love that it has inspired so much attention and controversy from the local authorities. I imagine secret Gardai (police) investigations, committee meetings, and much political hand-wringing involved. Even if that sounds romantic, I can still imagine it, right? That's what these stories do, they appeal to our sense of mystery and fantasy.

...And let us not forget the neverending appeal of the pranksters who get the best of those pesky authorities.

Bottling Pipeline Cider

Keepin' the Flow

Follow up post for the Pipeline Cider. Homebrewers all know about "The Pipeline," the steady flow of fermented beverage required to keep a house happy. Because brewing takes so much time, (usually at least two weeks from mixing to drinking) it would be easy to let the stocks get too low between batches. Because of my hard and fast brewing rule:

Cory Brew Code

Art. 1, Sec. 1.7 (101) 

...Whilst in the process or method (sic) of homebrewing, and among these methods be, but not limited to mixing, measuring gravity, bottling, observing of the flavor and aroma properties; the brewer (he or she in possession of brewing and all others present in the household) must be enjoying a previously made homebrew...

I have to always have something ready. Thanks to my standard Pipeline Cider, I always have something I can easily and funly (?) throw together. In a bit over two weeks, this cider had fermented down from 1.054 to 1.006, giving me a little over 6% alc/vol. The cider had the same great look, smell, and taste that I have come to expect since adding the secret tannic addition: a little bit of black tea.

The Process

Time to bottle! I primed the whole thing with 5 tablespoons of brown sugar. I know, I know, I'm working on getting a metric scale to measure out my ingredients more accurately and so I can stop mixing metric and American measures. Until then... 5T for the whole batch.

Priming Sugar Before Dissolving

The batches from my water jug usually yield about 4L of finished juice. I set out and sanitized a 2L, 1.5L, and .75L bottles for bottling. I always have a little bit more capacity cleaned and sanitized just in case, so observe the little 500mL cola bottle on the left. Look a little closer and you might see my glass behind the bottles. Any leftovers are always welcome in that little glass. The glass today happens to be an Old Fashioned glass I found on Grafton Street late one night...

Bottles Ready

I set up my standard bottling rig, even though I was dealing with a small batch. Bottles on one chair, me on another. I start the siphon with the bottling tube from the fermenter above to the bottles below. I started the flow, and all three bottles were filled in three minutes.

Bottling Rig

Filled Cider Bottles

Bottles were filled and primed, with just a little bit of (rather cloudy) cider to top off my glass. Another small batch in the books.

Final Numbers

Brew No. 042

3L Sun Grown Apple Juice
1.5 Cups Golden granulated unrefined sugar
1 handful sultanas
1 teabag Barry's black tea
Yeast nutrient
1/3 packet dried cider yeast

-Boiled sultanas and teabag in water- removed teabag and simmered sultanas
-Strained liquid, returned to pan, added sugar and slowly heated until dissolved
-Added a pinch of yeast nutrient
-Poured first 1.5L carton, poured heated liquid, poured second 1.5L carton into fermenter
-Topped up with cold water to approx 4.5L
-Manually aerated (shook like hell) fermenter
-Pitched yeast

OG- 1.054

15 days later...

FG- 1.006, 88.85% Apparent attenuation, 6.26% alc/vol

Good apple taste, not too sweet, just a bit dry, good tannins

5 Tbls brown sugar priming, dissolved in approx. 50mL boiled water. 

Yield: 1x 2L, 1x 1.5L, 1x .75L

Dublin is Coming to Life!

In real-time, we are back to our regular routine after a two-week whirlwind visit from a dear Iowan friend. We did some sightseeing in Dublin and surrounds, and made a trip to Germany and Prague over a long weekend. As April rolls around, I pulled up the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events) and saw the weekly list of free events growing by leaps and bounds. It's as if Dublin is awakening from a long Winter sleep into the full-tilt schedule of Spring and Summer. If this keeps up, I'll not have a single spare moment until November!

Dublin, it appears, is celebrating an April tradition with its annual Dublin: One City, One Book festival. Each year, the City Council selects a book of the month. They encourage everyone in the city to read that book, and also to involve themselves with more literature and poetry in general. A number of events (free and paid) accompany the festival and fit the literary theme almost every day this month. Look for me to attend and review some of the events here.

In April, Dublin (and Ireland) celebrates the one thousand (!) year anniversary of The Battle of Clontarf, fought near Dublin on April 23, 1014. Quickly, it spelled the beginning of the end for Viking power in Ireland and kept the island fractured into many small kingdoms. I don't know much about it (yet!) because I haven't (yet!) attended one of the many lectures and events put on by various societies, museums, and schools throughout Dublin. Check the above-linked Dublin Event Guide for the schedule of Clontarf lectures.

This week, already underway, is the Five Lamps Art Festival. This adds yet another long list of free and paid events all around the fair city of Dublin. This isn't related to our friends over at Five Lamps Dublin Brewery, but rather references an old wrought iron Dublin landmark on the north side.

Dodder fishing season began the day after St. Patrick's Day, but I haven't had time to dust off the old fishing pole and try my luck. With all of these events filling up my man-about-town calendar, I don't know when I'll find the time to get down to the peaceful riverbank!

It certainly won't ever be on a Tuesday. I don't know just why, but Tuesday at lunchtime seems to be a very popular slot for free events. I see a number of conflicting events, particularly lectures and recitals, lining up at 13:00 every Tuesday. I hate to have to choose between these events, I want to attend them all! Guess I can't complain as long as they are all free and I have the luxury of time to attend as many as I am able.

Finally, as if I didn't need one more pull on my time, Major League Baseball opens the 2014 season this week, and I will be playing Fantasy Baseball and MLB Beat The Streak games to be more involved and more in touch with my American roots. This extra distraction comes along just as the schedule in Dublin gets busier and crazier.

Never a dull moment for this unemployed trailing husband! Let this post be an answer to all those who have ever asked me, "What are you going to do in Ireland all day when your wife is working!?"

More Days Like This to Come

April Fools' Day; One Year of Blogging!

April 1, 2013. Iowa, USA. A blogger account was created in response to a young couple taking a very big jump in their personal and professional lives. They knew it would be an amazing experience, worthy of sharing with friends and family. A blog would be a great way to share their stories, and would also function as a method of forced-journaling- so that they could have an "everlasting" internet record of our travels.

Since then, it has grown into a much larger endeavor, with more room to grow. It has been a daily assignment for me to discover Dublin and Ireland, and the Travel Monday deadlines keep us planning and taking trips outside of Dublin, if for no other reason than to have travel content (yeah, right!) I am sincerely enjoying the writing process, and the casual daily semi-deadlines of blogging seem to fit my style perfectly. Reading old posts now, I see how much I have grown as a reflector and writer. I am now doing much more proofreading of posts before publishing, and by much more, I mean some. With more practice, maybe I'll further refine my technique.

Without the blog to keep me busy seeking out things to do, I might fit the stereotype of the bored trailing husband, so in that way it has been a lifesaver, especially given the difficulty of finding work here. Look for more and more posts about history, Dublin, traveling, cooking, brewing, and, yes, video games now and for the foreseeable future.

I have to thank Sara, my wife and partner in blogging adventure. Most of the many great photos appearing on the blog are taken with her fantastic eye for a good shot. She supports me in every way someone can be supported, really. Financially, professionally, and emotionally, she always has my back. Without her, after all, I would probably have never visited Europe, let alone live here!

Also a big thanks to anyone, past, present, and future, who has interacted with the blog. Readers, commenters, sharers, spammers, Facebook likers, +1ers, re-tweeters, subscribers, linkers, and all the other "ers" have given all my hard work meaning and purpose. Please continue to do all of the following (minus maybe the spamming...) and know that what you do helps me keep writing and keep cabin fever at bay.

Who knew one year ago I'd be here, at the kitchen table, looking over a full year of stories, photos, and videos, getting ready for another exciting Spring and Summer? I could not have imagined how great I would still be feeling, and to all those who worry about me- don't. I'm doin' just fine.

Here's to another year (and another 300 posts!) of blogging fun. Glad to have you along for the ride, and hope to keep you all with me.

Sincerely,

Cory and Sara