Brussels Upper Town

Brussels is divided into two very distinct sections by a steep slope. At the bottom of the hill is the historic Lower Town with the Grand Place and most of the old, exciting, and touristy spots. We had already explored that part of town pretty thoroughly, so we spent our last half-day in Brussels walking around the old (and new) centers of political and religious power in the Upper Town.

The climb is long and steep, but the views of the Lower Town and the more palatial feel of the buildings here make it worth the struggle.

Statue of Godfrey de Bouillon 

The statue of Belgian-born crusader Godfrey de Bouillon looks down to the high tower of Old Town Hall in the Grand Place. He is the centerpiece of the Place Royale, ringed with Neoclassical buildings and a busy tram line.

Yes, this is a Church

Near the Place Royale is the easily-confused Royal Palace. This is the official residence of the Belgian royal family, the figurehead kings and queens of this modern democracy. The royal overlords exert their non-power from right here in this pricey building.

Belgian Royal Palace

Further down the road in this neighborhood is the 14-century Gothic church, Notre-Dame du Sablon. This church is decidedly less flying-buttress-y than many of its Gothic contemporaries, but it makes for some stunning photos- inside and out.

Notre-Dame du Sablon Church Exterior

Notre-Dame du Sablon Church Interior

 Near the old center of Catholic Church might is the center of judicial power in the Palace of Justice. It dominates the Place Poelart- another ringed plaza in the Upper Town roundabout style. We didn't have time to be put on trial for anything, so we continued to a lovely viewpoint nearby.

Palace of Justice

From the viewpoint we could see some of the more far-flung sights of Brussels. The kitschy and expensive Atomium exhibit was built in the 1950s in the age of the nuclear craze. It depicts an iron molecule... and I guess you can drop a big chunk of money to go up into it. Not for me, but hey, at least we got to see it!

Brussels Atomium

With most of the Upper Town hotspots done and the day getting on, we made our way back downhill to the Lower Town. On the way back to collect our bags, we paid a visit to one of the last pieces of the old Brussels city wall, with a corner tower- the Tour d'Angle. It's now surrounded by urban development and a busy road, which makes a nice juxtaposition of the issues facing so many old European cities. How does a city preserve its past while developing for the 21st century?

Tour d'Angle- Brussels Corner Tower

Fittingly, one of the last photos we took in Belgium before catching our flight home was of this familiar scene.

One More Belgian Beer

The stuff they brew over there in Belgium is amazing. We couldn't get out of town without enjoying one more. It may seem like we had a lot of beer on this long-weekend-holiday, but beer was the real reason for the trip. We did enjoy the sights and sounds (and smells) of these two very different cities, but our evenings were for enjoying the fine fruits of the talented Belgian brewers.

If we were to go back to Belgium, we would like to get out of the cities and into the countryside and small towns. Bruges would be a very nice hub from which to cycle out into the small villages in the flat farmland of the northern coast. I feel like we did everything in Brussels that we would want to do- we only really skipped the European Union Headquarters. 

Next time we go to Belgium, more villages and more beer.

Retro Saturday: Final Fantasy 5 Ancient Cave Romhack

In the age of emulation, 1990s nerds figured out how to rip the files from video game cartridges to play on computers. Shortly after they figured out how to pull out these files, they began to tinker with the programming of them, changing things about the game.

Since those early proto-hackers began their journey, we have come a long way in the field of what is called rom hacking. Dedicated hackers continually program software patches and mods to be applied to game files, producing some very interesting results.

Many of these are translations, written and applied to raw Japanese games by dedicated fans so others can play beautiful games that Japanese companies decided weren't worth sending over to Europe and North America. Some of them are mods that change the difficulty or settings of a game, making it a slightly different experience. These are much like Game Genie mods, changing values like number of lives, starting money, and enemy spawn rate.

...And some create whole new games inside an existing game. Enter the Final Fantasy 5 Ancient Cave Hack.

This beautiful hack, first done in Japanese then translated into English, creates a new experience for the hardcore FF5 fans. In this hack, the player has to go through a randomly-generated dungeon 100 floors deep. They can level up as normal, but a time limit on each floor forces the player to move on and limit level-grinding on any floor.

Treasure chests are scattered throughout the dungeon, and they contain weapons, armor, items, spells, and jobs. That's right, jobs are unlocked one at a time as they are discovered in chests.

The game becomes quite difficult as the player advances, and management of healing items becomes critical. With only one (randomly-appearing) shop with overpriced merchandise, saving those Phoenix Downs becomes very important. Boss floors force very difficult encounters- not all of them are escapable.

If you can make it to the bottom floor, you are rewarded with a very, very interesting final boss fight:

It's Zeromus from Final Fantasy 4! He/She/It has some of the abilities of the Zeromus we know and love like Big Bang, and some of the abilities of Neo Exdeath like Grand Cross and Almagest. It's a tough fight, but if you finish if, you are rewarded with a special surprise- the final dungeon area from Final Fantasy 4. There are no encounters and the character can't interact with chests, but it's a nice little feature to include in this genius rom hack.

Here is a longer gameplay video with some failed attempts at the final boss if you need to see more of the devastation it can cause.

Next week, I'll be working on more Blue Marlin tricks, attempting to actually learn the mechanics of a game I know and love so well.

In the News: Irish Water

As of October 1, 2014, the citizens (and expat residents) of Ireland will be paying for water and sewer services for the first time- and many are not happy about it.

Boiling point: Irish water charges unleash flood of complaints http://t.co/0JApV3o6WD pic.twitter.com/9XQ58D8QZ5
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 1, 2014

Our main source of Irish news and opinion is the daily morning radio show NewsTalk Breakfast featuring one younger and one older host reading the headlines and sprinkling in their own addendums and interjections.

When it was first announced that the country had set up a corporation to send them a water bill, there were many questions and few answers.

"So water used to be funded by my already very high taxes. If you charge me separately for water now, will I get a rebate on my taxes?"

"Buildings and plumbing weren't designed with water meters in mind, how will we be billed?"

"What about well water or septic tanks?"

"Very important: How much will it cost?"

These questions and many more hit the airwaves and the internet. As the government answered the first wave of questions, it led to many, many more.

Water Wars

"No, you won't be getting a refund on your taxes, are you crazy?"

"Buildings without water meters (almost every building in the country) will be billed on an average use per resident, no matter how much the building actually uses. We just hope that thousands of households don't simply turn on their taps forever in protest."

"We'll umm... have to think about the well water and septic tank thing. Check back closer to the billing start date. Same on the cost."

What? They didn't know how much to charge or how to handle the tricky exceptions like septic tanks? Many people in Ireland already have low opinions of politicians, banks, and corporations. One would think that the good people on Kildare Street would have had the FULL plan ready to roll out a year ago when the water charge was first announced.

Fast forward to much more recently...

Water registration packets began arriving in mailboxes all over the country. Every household was to register with their names, the kind of water service they have, and the PPS numbers of all residents in the household. That last part caused another stink in the media.

In Ireland, PPS numbers are similar to a US Social Security Number. It is your official identity used in reporting taxes and receiving government benefits. Irish Water, the corporation created to handle the water bills, needs these to verify the residents in a home- but the fine print is a bit scary.

Apparently, by filling out the registration, residents agree to let Irish Water use their personal information-including their PPS number- in almost any way they see fit, including selling of said information to third parties. Yikes.

AND... As the packet arrived, there was still no solid answer to that all-important question. "How much will this thing cost?"

Estimates had been released, but never any clear or definitive numbers. People needed to know.

Just one day before the first-ever billing period, the water service finally announced the official billing rate and charges plan. That's right, one day before the billing period, the public was finally given the answer to their questions about well water, second homes, septic tanks, commercial properties, landlord/tenant status, and the final cost for meterless buildings.

They were nice enough to waive charging homes for water while they are under boil orders and their water is undrinkable. Thank heaven for small favors.

So the way it will work is summarized thus:

• Starting Oct. 1, all households and commercial buildings will be billed for water services.
• If your residence has no water meter (that's almost every residence in Ireland), you will be charged an average per resident (278 Euro/year for 2 adults) regardless of water usage. 
• If your residence has a meter, you will pay the average per resident upfront and receive a rebate at the end of the year if you kept usage under the cap.
• You're welcome.

I get the feeling from the reaction in the media that the people here wouldn't specifically mind paying for a service like water. People here understand better than Americans that nothing in life is free, and they are mostly willing to pay their fair share. The problems people seem to have (and I largely agree) are with the disorganized manner in which the government handles such a huge change.

I used to wonder why people here had so little trust and faith in their elected leaders at large. I think I've just learned why.

If you are an Irish resident, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments section below. I tried to be fair about my observations here, but my experience is limited- I didn't live here through the boom and bust of the last few decades. It would be great for me (and American readers) to see your thoughts.

FOR SALE : in immaculate condition, of no further use to owner, would suit overseas buyer #irishwater #watercharges pic.twitter.com/HDA0FwbxNw
— Gerry (@Ulysiusr) October 1, 2014

Blackrock Park

In South Dublin, a nice linear coastal park runs from the village of Blackrock to Boosterstown Wildlife Preserve. It isn't the largest park in Dublin, nor is it particularly packed with things to see and do, but it does have a nice uninterrupted walking and cycling path for commuters tired of the busy north/south suburban Dublin roads.

Blackrock Park Map

Martello Tower

When walking or cycling through the park, we found a rare un-fenced Martello Tower. These squat round towers line the Dublin Bay coastline, still keeping out Napoleon's invading forces... I guess. Many of them are privately-owned today and are surrounded by high fences.

Blackrock Park Walking and Cycling Path

One unlucky bit about the park is the DART line- Dublin's commuter train- running between the park and the sea along its entire length. I know the DART provides a valuable service, but it is tough to have to look through security fences at beautiful Dublin Bay beyond.

Thankfully, an overpass crosses the tracks in the park, allowing visitors access to the sea.

NO KITES!

The defining feature of the park is the lake- complete with a mini Greek temple on a small island. Benches ring the small, shallow lake, making it a nice place for neighborhood residents and commuters to sit a spell and feed the birds- which they shouldn't do!

Blackrock Park Temple

A number of other small oddities are leftover in the park from its Victorian beginnings. A now-vandalized bandstand used to draw large afternoon crowds, an old stone foundation marks where the shoreline used to be before this land was reclaimed and made a park, and this (much newer) seat carved from a tree stump.

Tree Stump Chair

Much, much, much more can be found in this thorough article from UCD. If you are interested in learning about the iron scrollwork on gates and benches, this is the article for you. 

If you just want a quiet place to relax or make your journey from Blackrock to Booterstown easier, take a stroll through this fantastic park.

Mixing up a Cooper's Pilsner

I've never made anything even resembling a lager beer; my only experience has been with beers of the ale family.

Let's clarify, this is an important distinction. Beverages made with malt and hops fermented with top fermenting yeast are known as ales. Top fermenting yeast works best at higher temperatures, and thus works quickly and produces some chemical by-products that we want in an ale. These by-products help define the complex tastes in the ale family. Notable beers classified as ales are IPA, stout, barleywine, amber ale, American pale ale, and most Belgian wheat and fruit beers.

Lagers (like the very popular Pilsner style) are fermented with bottom fermenting yeast that work best at much lower temperatures, producing a clean, crisp flavor. These are much more difficult for the homebrewer, as they require much longer fermentations and refrigeration if the brewer really wants to be diligent with a clean flavor profile.

Now... Cooper's makes a Pilsner kit, with light malt extract with some Czech bittering hops to match the Pilsner lager style. I had always assumed that these kits came with their regular ale yeast, but the instructions specifically called for fermentation temperatures as low as I could muster.

Hmmmm.... So this means either Cooper's included a real lager yeast that will ferment a sloppy beer at room temperature or an ale yeast that ferments fairly clean and lager-y without needing near-freezing temperatures to get there.

Well... let's find out.

Gathering the Troops

Mixing up the Extract

Bucket in the Fermentation Corner

After one week (as of this writing) it's still bubbling away at Irish room temperature- a bit longer than it's ale cousins. For now, it remains a bucket of mystery. Good thing I have a good deal of stout left from my previous batch. I'm going to give this one some time.