What's Changed?

Late yesterday an inflammatory gem arrived in my inbox from Scotty. A hand-drawn and particularly life-like artwork that I produced some time ago has come back to me - cheers Scotty. Allow me to reproduce the text from the email:

Hey guys i was fondling thru my valuable piles of
rubbish and found this delightful drawing by an
unknown (DAVID PINKERTON) artist.  Sure a few things
have changed, roberts and i are getting stupider, but
ange and jo still have really big thumbs hovering
above unfortunate men and pinko and (probably) kummo
still have enormous heads.  anyway the point is?
hope u get a laugh out of it and i apoligise ahead of
time if i have gotten the artist into any trouble with
large thumb girls

What a ripper! Comments from the large-thumb girls..?

Big Moncrieff Party (Rini is 20)

Rini and her little bro' Matt celebrated their 20th and 18th birthdays, respectively, on Saturday at the well-established Moncrieff Party House. Trace' - I am so glad to hear that you have recovered. We all needed a little time to deal with our over-indulgences. In fact, I think that I am almost ready to go back to work again! Current and honourary housemates of the 'Crieff, I tip my hat to your steadfast dedication to the practice of house shots. Louis, I will carry your sage advice with me always: Be the fish! Oh and Ash, I hope that you and Erin find your special friend (last shown perching here on your shoulder). He would have been safer bunked down after all! Btw Ash, I think that your band's track "Neighbourhood Watch" rocks. (Size 3.38 MB, < 2 min @ 256 kbps)

Note to all: REST UP THIS WEEKEND - thar's a huge one brewing up Cowra way for Friday, the 7th of July!

Big Boy or Beachmaster?

Big boy or beachmaster - which shape is it? Let's hear from the public in the comments section... Dunc, you're at it again. Jenny and I sure enjoyed those beers poured straight from the kegs at your house on Sunday night. Cheers, Duncsta.

Phil Turns 24

Chris and I juggle Phil's special 24th Birthday presents.


The birthday boy and Katie (both Cowra Picnic Races 2006 attendees) celebrate Phil's birthday at Fenner College with a traditional singstar duet.

Brews (Not Mine, Of Course) Gone Off the Rails.

This is a cautionary tale for new brewers. Jenny's housemate (let's call him Paul) tried brewing a rhubarb champagne. He wore a puzzling look when I asked him what the original gravity was. The use of a hydrometer was neglected. Anyhow, full fermentation was not complete prior to bottling! At 2.30am on Sunday morning, my slumber was disturbed by the sound of crashing glass.


My first idea was that we had been hit by a stray firework, but that didn't explain this mess! In fact, the bottles had detonated simultaneously - showering the entire lounge room and living room with glass. Light bulbs had been blown out and the stainless steel panel behind the bottles was scarred from the blast. Kids, use a hydrometer (and store your bottles in a cupboard).

Owls' First Loss.

I was fullback for the team that didn't win against Gunghalin on Saturday.

Queanbeyan Kangaroos Rugby League Club

Jenny, Chris and I took a sauna yesterday afternoon and topped it off with a beer out at the 'Roos Club. My little bro' Marko is shown at the tap. Keep up the great work, mate. I hope that you go really well with your results in Sydney this week!

Ater dinner, I had helpers to bottle my latest brew (number 26), a malt-ginger beer (alc. ~ 4.9%). My current brew is a strong pilsener with extra hops.

Sauna and Plunge at the AIS

A couple of months ago, The Duncsta introduced me to the AIS sauna, plunge pool and spa. I have tried to incorporate a trip out to Bruce every week or two because it really is great to do. According to Dunc', the procedure invigorates your immune system and cleanses your skin! The pool shown below is cooled to 13°C and is a real shock to the system when you come straight out of the sizzling sauna.

Deua National Park

Jenny and I visited Deua National Park on Saturday afternoon. In the morning, my rugby team - the Owls - drew with Queanbeyan. We are playing at home again next Saturday against Tuggeranong.


Despite the weather being literally freezing, Jenny and I were warmed by our campfire. I over-compensated for the cold by filling the swag with three blankets and two doonas. It was simply too hot!


This was our second visit to this national park, though it has been at least a year since our last visit. Again, amongst the fauna, we saw a lyrebird - though not an echidna. This time, as we were not pressed for time, we were able to visit the marble arch, shown below.


The most unusual feature at this part of the national park is the Big Hole. The photograph doesn't really do the hole's depth justice. Those ferns at the bottom are (apparently) two metres tall. A lyrebird lives at the bottom. The hole was formed when the limestone below was eaten away by water and the top layers fell in. Only one person has fallen in to the hole - a fatal experience. Locals in the 1860's said that it was probably an accident.
The Big Hole and the Marble Arch are features of the 400 million year old cave system that can be observed without going underground.


A special message for Kev - congratulations for Wednesday when your thesis goes in - we will see you at the bar to celebrate, certainly!

Singstar III

Singstar Rocks and the Big Quiz kept us all entertained at the Fox this weekend. It looks like the weather would have been great for camping/bushwalking, so perhaps I will try to get away this weekend after football at our home ground on Saturday.

Autumn in Canberra

Though the mornings are frosty now, Canberrans are treated to a marvellous display of changing foliage. The tree shown here is outside the main Chemistry Department lecture theatre at the ANU.


Kittens (as well as other "Fox" dwellers) appreciate being able to take refuge from the cool weather inside. The Fox especially, as all past and present Fox dwellers can appreciate, can be rather a frigid place to live in the cooler months.


Even the beer has to rug up down here! (Though the heating pad is being used only intermittently at this stage.) This photograph was taken just after my latest honey-wheat beer was put on.

Fox Place Hosts Another Singstar and Buzz Night

Our new housemate, Chris, is "warming up" for his performance. (Wink, wink...)


Novel red-eye-reduction technology. Hi Trace' and 'Rini!


Toomaarrah and Jen gave marvellous performances on Singstar. I will have to redouble my training to challenge the girls on the microphone!


Buzz had the gang on the edge of their seats! Has anyone played the sequel yet?

Owls 2006

The third grade Uni Norths Owls team (for which I have been playing) are shown above playing against Woden. Ultimately, we came out on top in that game - and we won again last weekend against Easts. ADFA on their turf is up this weekend. Cheers Jenny for the photo.

Brewer's Update

A note of interest:

27 x 800mL = 21.6L

That is 21.6L of bottled beer per brew.

24 x 21.6L = 518.4L

So after 24 brews, I have bottled just over half a thousand litres of beer. Assuming that beer is approximately as dense as water of course, I can now say that I have brewed half a tonne of beer! You could also say 648 long-necks or 54 cases.

My latest recipe (brew 25):

• Munton's Wheat Beer Kit (1.8kg)
• Queanbeyan (Queen-Bee-Ann) Fresh Honey (1.5kg)
• Morgan's Unhopped Extra Pale Malt Extract (1.5kg)
• Morgan's Finishing Hops - Pride of Ringwood (12g)
• Yeast: Safale/Wheat K97 (11.5g)

Volume: 23 L
Approximate alcohol concentration (v/v): 7 %

This beer is going to be something special. The boiling honey filled the house with a wonderful aroma yesterday morning while I was preparing it.

My salutations, of course, to my fellow brewers - in particular: Jenny, Dunc', Bruce and Mixmaster.

Narooma Beach

It is my first weekend back in Canberra for a few weeks (after Easter and ANZAC weekends) so I considered that I was overdue for some posts. Of course it was fun to catch up with my Cowra friends a fortnight ago. I have a few photos here from my trip away to Narooma last weekend. My unversity rugby union team, the Owls, has finished trials now and our official competition starts next week - I wonder if I could get hold of some action shots or video...?

Clouds starting rolling in on my last morning at Narooma Beach for a while.


Our family mascot, Barkley, was overjoyed to be along for the trip.


Morning bodysurfing experiences certainly are a treat. Oh, if only we had a beach here in Canberra!


Jenny and I are shown suiting up for our diving over the weekend. There were seals, sharks, rays and lots and lots of fish. Oh, and golf balls! (We had one of our dive sites adjacent to a golf course). Jan and Les have some great photos that I will try and chase up.

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Jenny, Kev, Dunc' and I have been selected as some of the new poster boys and girls for the impending Eurovision Song Contest. Screenings will be held live at the ANU and impromptu covers of Tom Jones will be provided at random moments by the Duncsta'.

Paintball Sports ACT

Last Saturday, after rugby at Queanbeyan, and prior to the Belco' Bash, I attended a RACI-sponsored paintball day at Paintball Sports ACT. Out near the airport, deep in a pine forest I had my fourth exilerating session of paintballing. I really love paintballing and I just cannot recommend it enough. It was a blast. The photo above shows Jenny and I posing after the match with fifteen fellow chemists who came out for the afternoon.

A special mention to a fellow Cowra-ite, Sam Clements, working part-time at the range and best wishes for your potential career in the AFP.

Belco' Bash

The hostess with the "most-est" - Finn' fires up. Thankyou for hosting such a fun party, Paula!


The zebra herds graze on the grasslands and savannahs of central west New South Wales. An adult zebra has a mass of up to 235kg and can run at a speed of 80km/h. When the herd is alarmed the zebra move quickly in all directions. Their stripes dazzle the predator and make it difficult to tell one zebra from another.

Jo impatiently awaits an important phone call.

Hi girls. It was great that Mel and Ange (and Jo and Shaun too) made the trip down to Canberra from Sydney on the weekend.


Go Big Jo!


Great seeing you guys and look forward to catching a few of you at home in Cowra over Easter time, right?

Duncan Sutherland... or Tom Jones?

Five dollar schnitzels at PJ's in Civic are becoming a staple. So - now quite a crowd gathers in town and Duncan is quick to oblige with some of his characteristic entertainment. View the video (2.08 MB).

Cowra Picnic Races 2006 Notification

Hi Y'all - the annual Cowra Picnic Races are on the seventh of July this year. I hope to see as many of you there as possible!