Recent content by daft

Getting back to using up surplus cherries, instead of forcing a round peg into a square hole you could start with conventional easy-to-make cider and pour it over frozen,de-stoned cherries. If the alcohol level is low and the freeze is deep, the cherries will pick up a soft coating of cider...

I would pick the varieties that have the most tannin, and probably unsightly and sour to eat. Normandy cider is sublime because they use the opposite of the sweet bland varieties popular for eating.

I just accidentally discovered something by leaving my 3qt plastic bottle out overnight (sealed) after refrigerating it earlier to supress further fermentation. After re-refrigerating it, the result was a pleasant but adult semi sweet, and overflowing with pinpoint bubbles with a champagne head...

My dentist recc'ed xylitol gum and I didn't like the taste - maybe just a brand thing. Now that I read of its low glycemic index (non diabetes promoting) I am mainly deterred by the cost. Cheaper to make cider in small batches twice a week and consume it all before the yeast finish making it...

I love the sweet Normandy ciders in France, which I understand use KEEVING to starve the yeast to death of micronutrients prematurely. Not sure if google can tell you how to do it at home. Hurray for doux, demi-sec ok, but bah to brut: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider#Kinds_of_cider . You...

Sounds like an interesting story there. Years ago I flew their Garuda airline on a trijet with a bad safety reputation from LA to Bali, via a fuel stop on a nearly deserted Indonesian island. Some locals lined the runway looking like cannibals, maybe paid by a tourism bureau to add local color...

I remember flying a Tupolev airliner between Finland and Russia with its sinister plexiglass nose cone meant for double duty as a bomber. Wiki has a very interesting list of it's accidents at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-154#List although with a claim it's accident rate wasn't out of...

The US is weirdly averse to sparkling lemonade, usually offering it flat in deceptive conventional soda cans. Visit civilization, like Australia, Europe, or even India and you can get the real bubbly thing (Fanta or upscale brands). I think the problem is that US lemons are so harsh that adding...

10) British air war oddities. Battle of Britain wasn't just Spitfires and Hurricanes fighting the Luftwaffe. For one day Italy took over the attack and it's trimotor bombers and biplane fighters were mauled over Britain, never to return. When the US and UK invaded French west Africa, all UK...

Regionalism is no excuse. There are linguistic principles at work. We all have exposure to mass communications, so when a localism arises we know if it is helpful, neutral, or at odds to the greater language pool. How can someone be so proudly provincial that they don't care how their meaning...

You already know about your regional acceptance (although I never heard coke used for non-colas in TX), so you must be asking how it sounds at a wider national or intnl level. To me it sounds hillbilly, sort of like calling a live cartridge a "bullet". Misleadingly specific, like speakers are...

9) Rear Gunners: The UK carrier fighter "Fairey Fulmar" had a rear observer with no gun. According to guru Eric Brown, this helplessness kindled "fires of survival" and they would toss sheets of toilet paper out their window to disorient approaching attackers! I was going to joke how the...

Another Air Disasters episode about Russian (Moldovian) pilots smashing a Swiss airliner into ground confetti over a confusion of turning right vs. left. Pilot who is abusing antidepressants tries to switch to a left hand turn, but misreads the turn indicator and misunderstands the ground...

I read further about mr Porsche and realize I've done an injustice. To avoid being tedious I will try a picture show of odd things about his ww2 activities. Here is the book I got it from, where you can see the great amphibious 4wd version of his VW Beetle design on the cover. The book...

Yes, a more solid series than most. I believe Hitler watched Hollywood films deep into wee hours. He was needed to release Tiger tank groups which were held way back from the coast so they could be sent to a variety of coastal spots. This drove Rommel crazy who wanted these on the coast. IIRC...