Well, the holidays are just about over and it’s the beginning of a new year.We hope everyone got what you were wishing for this year!If not, you can always pick up some Bruery beer at the Tasting Room to make up for it.
This weekend we will be closed Friday so that everyone can recover comfortably from their New Year’s festivities, however we’ll be open for normal business hours on Saturday and Sunday.
Also, if you’ve signed up for the Reserve Society, this is the first weekend your 15% discount will be in effect so come take advantage of it!
This weekend we’ll be pouring –
Orchard White
Saison Rue
Rugbrød (available for growler fills)
Berliner Weisse (available for growler fills)
Humulus XPA (available for growler fills)
2 Turtle Doves
We wish everyone a safe, happy New Year and we’re looking forward to seeing you in the first weekend of 2010!
At first I wanted to share some photos taken on Christmas Day itself but realized that my baby left his camera back in London (which has all the Christmas dinner photos on it). -.- Fail.
And then I wanted to post some photos of Paris but realised that we were too lazy to take any yesterday. Lagi fail~
But today we are going to take some. For sure. Waiting to check into a 200 euro a night superior room in this boutique hotel at 2pm (it's 1pm now) to spend a nice romantic New Year's Eve night for two.
Though I wouldn't call Paris quiet at this time of the year, every where we go it's fully booked and packed. It's as if people from all over the world are swamped in this little city just tonight. It's insane. And prices of everything just shot up overnight.
Not sure if this is the worst time or the best time to be in Paris. Ermm... You be the judge.
I'm supposed to do a recap on all the things I did back in the year 2009.
But then I think I'll not do that this time.
A year is a year.
There were good and bad times in the year 2009, some I can't forget and some I rather not recall.
This is the year I realised I have met someone whom I am going to share the longest relationship with. The year I realised the past isn't important and our future is always bright and undetermined.
It's another year I spent a considerable amount of time travelling too. A month in Australia + New Zealand. Several months diving in various islands in Indonesia and East Malaysia, went around Thailand twice, Bali once, Hong Kong once, and East Malaysia twice. Spent the remaining of the year in Europe hopping between countries before settling down in England for Christmas and finally New Year's eve in Paris.
Maybe that's why the year flew by so fast for me.
There were some job prospects came up but for most of them I turned them down. Probably I have not realised that I'd like to do just yet, and despite being the end of my 25, I'm not sure if I should be worried. Afterall, this was also the year I graduated from my Master degree in Australia.
I have plans to pursue a PHD in Europe or the states but the idea was immediately brushed off each time it came up because I don't think I can manage another LDR, not anytime soon anyway.
I have intention to do a diamond course in Belgium or London though, for a span of six months. Am still playing with that thought.
Wanted to get a house but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment yet. Or maybe the right house just hasn't turn up. Everything decent and nice in my eyes is at least up in million(s). :S
I like the present. The present is just nice. Yes the past is good to reflect upon to learn about our mistakes, and the future a good measure of what we should do now in order to achieve that. But like I said, in 2009, I learnt that sometimes the best thing and best way to live a life, is living it in the present.
Who cares about the future when you don't even know who you're going to meet then, where you're going to be, or what you're going to do. And the past is just the past because those people in the past can never harm you any longer, and those things in the past are just bittersweet memories that's meant to be, well, bitter, and hopefully sweet.
I'm not going to share any photo in this post. And I am not going to reflect on any past. Well, I kinda did in the earlier paragraph but what the hell.
May 2010 be better than 2009 and may life be as ever-changing and ever-enticing.
May I keep the friends I have and meet many more. To have a better life, better job prospect and better hope.
Ok, maybe just one random photo.
Here you go.
Eating portugese eggtart in Portugal. You can't get more authentic than that.
To all of you out there, to new lovers and old ones, to people with family and to people who just lost theirs, to the hopeful and the discouraged, to new friends and to long lasting friends, even to enemies and people I don't talk to that often anymore,
If a patient with a complicated psychiatric history suffers a traumatic brain injury and then develops new psychological problems, how do you know whether the new problems are related to the head injury or the prior psychiatric diagnoses? This dilemma forms the latest 'complex case' to appear in the journal Personality and Mental Health where it is accompanied by five expert commentaries.
The complex case is described by psychiatrist Kathleen Diehl at the University of Michigan. She undertook several sessions of therapy with a woman referred to as 'Ms C' after the lady, a 50-year-old divorcee, had suffered a head injury as a result of a fall at work. Prior to the accident, Ms C had a long history of depression, suicidality, self-harm and had received a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder - a condition associated with relationship problems and emotional lability. Ms C had been physically abused as a child and had suffered extreme physical brutality at the hands of her ex-husband. She had two children, one of whom had cerebral palsy and had been moved to foster care.
After her fall, Ms C reported chronic dizziness, double-vision and head aches, but three brain scans, two taken immediately after her injury, have failed to uncover any signs of brain injury. Other symptoms to emerge after her fall include apparently unprovoked episodes of dissociation, in which Ms C would regress to a child-like manner and speak in a girl's voice. She experienced temporal dislocation, believing that she was living through a time eleven years prior to the present, such that she claimed not to recognise her pets or the medical staff attending to her. Despite these claims she seemed able to use modern technologies, such as her mobile phone. As plans for her return to work approached she developed panic symptoms. She was mostly oppositional in therapy and declined to participate in 'dialectical behavioural therapy' exercises which are designed to help increase emotional tolerance and help reduce distress.
Traumatic brain injury is known to lead to psychological problems in many cases, but given the negative brain scan results and Ms C's prior history, the psychiatrist Diehl concluded that it is 'difficult to distinguish organically based symptoms from emotional problems'. She asks: Just 'how do Ms C's medical and psychiatric symptoms overlap?' The expert replies, unfortunately behind a pay wall, are available here. _________________________________
Diehl, K. (2009). Head trauma, dissociation and possible development of multiple personalities. Personality and Mental Health, 3 (4), 295-301 DOI: 10.1002/pmh.95
The Bruery Reserve Society is a revered group of beer enthusiasts who wish to gain access to the most esoteric beers The Bruery has to offer. In this inaugural year, we'll be offering 400 memberships to the Reserve Society. Reserve Society members will have first pick at special releases. There will be releases that will only be available to Reserve Society members. As an inaugural member, you'll also have the first right of refusal to join in 2011.
Price: $195
Benefits: - One bottle of Barrel Aged Autumn Maple, one bottle of White Oak, and one bottle of 2 Turtle Doves - In October / November of 2010, members will receive one bottle of Black Tuesday (2010 version) and Barrel Aged 2 Turtle Doves. - Reserve Society Zip Hoodie - Entrance for two to the Reserve Society Initiation Celebration (January 16, 2010) - Access to Reserve Society-only events (barrel tastings, release parties; additional charges may apply) - Access to purchase special bottle release allocations (in person or through our website; allocations only for Reserve Society members. Bottle limits will vary from release to release.) - Shipping of allocated beers (shipping cost not included, will ship only within CA) - 15% off all tasting room and Bruery Provisions purchases (Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts) - Access to special growler fills - First right of refusal for 2011 membership
Anticipated 2010 Special Bottle Releases: - Oude Tart - Flemish Red (scheduled release in mid-January) - Melange #1 - Flemish Red / Imperial Stout Blend - Melange #3 - Barrel Aged Strong Ale Blend - White Zin - Sour ale with Zinfandel Grapes - White Oak - Blended Barrel Aged Wheatwine / Golden Strong Ale - 100% barrel-aged Coton - Barrel Aged Old Ale - Black Tuesday Imperial Stout - Barrel Aged Imperial Stout - 100% barrel-aged 2 Turtle Doves - Barrel Aged Holiday Beer - Perhaps a few other releases up our sleeves
A few details: The registration period will close on December 31st, 2009, or when all memberships have been sold. Membership begins on January 1, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010. Due to unfair and archaic alcohol laws, we cannot ship out-of-state. Those who are out-of-state may be members, but they must elect a trustee to pick up or receive your shipments within California. Please list the CA Trustee as your shipping address on this order. If you would like to pick up your items, please select store pickup at checkout. If you would like us to ship to you or your trustee in CA, please select ground shipping.
Holiday Gift Giving Guide: Best Gifts for Senior Citizens Senior citizens and elderly people can be the most difficult people to shop for during the holidays. Selecting appropriate gifts for seniors means being mindful of certain restrictions and limitations, so that the gift that you give can be enjoyed. Read More
Although our bodies appear largely symmetrical on the outside, the way our brains are organised and wired is rather more lop-sided. This is obvious to us in relation to handedness, whereby the brain is better at controlling one hand than the other. The idea that, for many of us, the left-hemisphere is dominant for language is also widely known. However, functional asymmetry between the brain hemispheres also affects our behaviour in more subtle ways that are still being explored. The latest example of this comes from Japan where Matia Okubo has shown that right-handers have a preference for sitting to the right of the cinema screen, but only when they are motivated to watch the film. The finding is consistent with the idea that in right-handers, the right-hemisphere is dominant for processing visual and emotional input. By sitting to the right of the screen, the film is predominantly processed by the right-hemisphere and the suggestion is that, without necessarily realising it, right-handers are choosing to sit in an optimal position for their brain to digest the movie.
Okubo presented 200 students with a grid showing the seats available in a cinema (a central area was shown as occupied; the screen was at the top of the grid). In the first experiment, all the students were told that the film was enjoyed by friends and critics, with half also told that the story was sad and depressing and to imagine that they'd rather avoid seeing it. For students who only heard the recommendation, the right-handers were far more likely to choose a seat to the right of the screen (74 per cent did so), whereas the left-handers and mixed-handers didn't show a bias for one side or the other.
For the students who were put off the film, none showed a preference for the right-hand seats, regardless of their handedness. This suggests that we only choose an optimal seat for our brain organisation when we're motivated to watch the film. Left-handers and mixed-handers are known to have a more balanced distribution of function across their hemispheres so this could explain why they didn't show the opposite bias to the right-handers.
A second experiment was nearly identical, but this time half the students were told the film was excellent and depressing, whereas the other students were simply told they wouldn't enjoy it. Again, when they were motivated to watch the film, even a depressing one, the right-handers showed a bias for seats to the right of the screen. 'People tend to adopt the most effective manner in which their hemispheric functions can be utilised,' Okubo said, adding that: 'It is tempting to think that some other undiscovered behavioural asymmetries can also be discovered through this approach'.
This new research comes after a past study showed that adults with a more artistic, less analytic thinking style (associated with the right hemisphere) were more likely to sit on the right-hand side of the classroom; and another that showed people are more likely to exhibit the left side of their face (controlled by the right hemisphere) when asked to express emotion in a family photo, but to show their right profile when asked to pose as a scientist. _________________________________
Okubo, M. (2010). Right movies on the right seat: Laterality and seat choice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24 (1), 90-99 DOI: 10.1002/acp.1556
My fifth aunt's place. With her lovely daughter, my cousin, Elaine.
And son, James.
And a whole bunch of my distant cousins.
And me.
Two days ago our Christmas celebration started. With a lovely homecook meal of pre-Christmas dinner with my aunties and uncle and cousins, etc. Sorry, Jo (my other cousin), didn't have your photo here.
That's my cousin's fiance wife Sarah. Hi Sarah! You're up!
Dinner was superb, forgot to take photo of my fifth aunt since she's slaving away in the kitchen at that time. Sorry auntie.
Hehe, forgot to take photo of my fourth aunt and uncle during dinner either. Dinner was too good!
She made raspberry pavlova for dessert, which was uber yummy.
Today, back at my 4th aunt's place.
Christmas Tree 2.
under the tree, all our pressies await *rubs hands*
And we're just about to start a whole day of eating extravaganza!
Before I forget. Here are some really nice shots of Bangkok night scenes.
I took these before, but with a mediocre camera, so when I went back to Sirocco cafe (where these night shots were taken) mid this year which then I had a better camera with me,
I took the opportunities to re-capture Bangkok beauty behind lens.
These were taken with RAW file. It was quite a pain because then I have to download a new plug-in just to read the file. Manage to install it and churn out two wallpapers in the end.
Hope you like them. :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
If you have not sign up for Celcom on their Twitter promo here, then you better get starting.
There's no better way to tweet than from your handy cell phones, with so many phone cameras around, you can tweet with photos and upload them anytime!
The first time I took photo, tweet and update from phone was this -> http://tweetphoto.com/3492003. Displaying my awesome new bb skin. And I took the photo in the car!
After three weeks spent in Europe travelling: Spain, Portugal, & Southern France, I have once again returned to London, got my entry stamped at the custom for the second time in two months and now I am back in COLD SNOWY London.
Brr....
Well, Christmas is in two days time and I am going to be hanging around till then, spend some quality time with my relatives over here whom I have not seen for ages! And my baby is gonna fly in in 14 hours time to join me! Yay~ *hugs hugs warm warm*
In fact I think he's about to board the flight soon. ^^
I heard that snow would be stopping tomorrow onwards so that's a boo-hoo. Then again I guess it's good in a way since it won't cause any airport or Eurostar to cease operation due to snow.
I'm heading to Paris for New Year!!
So I assume by tomorrow all the snow would be really dirty since no new ones are forming anytime soon.
No photo opportunity. :(
But here are the few photos taken by my uncle Sonny these past few days.
I present: Snow in London.
Dashing through the snow, On a one-horse open sleigh, Over the fields we go, Laughing all the way...
We will be closed on Christmas Day (this Friday), however we will be open this Saturday and Sunday for normal business hours.Since it’s the last weekend of the year so we thought we’d go out in style – with a new beer.Our Flemish Red has been aging in red wine barrels for 18 months and we’ve finally decided to share it.
Oude Tart, as it’s been named, is a delicious balance of sour and funk with subtle hints of leather and cherry.This will be a preview of the beer that will be bottled and released at the Reserve Society Initiation celebration in January.Unfortunately, Oude Tart will not be available for growler fills.Bottles will be available for sale after the initial Reserve Society allocations are made at the beginning of the year.
Speaking of the Reserve Society, we’re getting to the end of available memberships and this will be the last weekend to purchase them in person at the Tasting Room.Following that they will be available on line for a limited time if any are left unclaimed.If you don’t get what you want this holiday, treat yourself to the gift of beer!
If you do get something you don’t want this year, bring it to The Bruery!We’ll be holding a “Misfit Gift Swap” this Sunday.Bring in the gifts you weren’t thrilled about and choose someone else’s from the collection.One man’s misfit gift is another’s treasure of course.
This week’s full lineup:
Orchard White
Rugbrød (available for growler fills)
Hottenroth Berliner Weisse (available for growler fills)
Saison Rue
2 Turtle Doves
Humulus XPA (available for growler fills)
Oude Tart
We hope everyone has a happy, healthy, beer-filled holiday and we’ll see you soon!
"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." -- Isaiah 41:10, NAS
The Bible commands us to be anxious for nothing. The Bible commands us to fear not. Survey the Bible and take note of the many times the Lord commands His people—indeed, even the great heroes of the faith—not to fear:
Genesis 15:1: "Fear not, Abram" Numbers 21:34: "Moses, fear him not" Joshua 8:1: "Joshua, fear not" Daniel 10:12: "Fear not, Daniel" Matthew 1:20: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not" Luke 1:13: "Fear not, Zacharias" Luke 1:30: "Fear not, Mary" Luke 5:10: "Simon, fear not" Acts 27:24: "Fear not, Paul"
The Lord instructs all His people, the sheep of His pasture, not to fear:
Isaiah 41:14: "Fear not...ye men of Israel" Joel 2:21: "Fear not, O land" Zephaniah 3:16: "Jerusalem, fear thou not" Luke 12:32: "Fear not, little flock" John 12:15: "Fear not, daughter of Zion"
Note also the many times righteous men and women of faith encouraged God's people not to fear:
Genesis 50:19: And Joseph said unto them, "Fear not..." Exodus 20:20: And Moses said unto the people, "Fear not..." Joshua 10:25: And Joshua said unto them, "Fear not..." 1 Samuel 12:20: And Samuel said unto the people, "Fear not..." 2 Samuel 9:7: And David said unto him, "Fear not..." 1 Kings 17:13: And Elijah said unto her, "Fear not..."
I would add the following: To me, the Lord says, "Fear not..." To my family, the Lord says, "Fear not..." To my friends, the Lord says, "Fear not..." To Cobblestone, the Lord says, "Fear not..." To my pastors, the Lord says, "Fear not..." To our flock, the Lord says, "Fear not..."
Today's prayer: "God, today I choose to fear not nor to be anxious for anything, for you are with me. You are my God and you will strengthen me and uphold me with your righteous right hand."
Earworms are those songs that get lodged in your cranium, playing over and over and over. There's been surprisingly little published research on the phenomenon, although several popular science writers like Oliver Sacks have speculated about it. There's also an 'expert' in the form of Professor James Kellaris at the University of Cincinnati, but his investigations all appear to be unpublished. That hasn't stopped Kellaris' university from hosting a website devoted to earworms. And there's also an online earworm exhibition at San Francisco's Exploratorium.
Now two British psychologists, Philip Beaman and Tim Williams, have decided it's time to fill the empirical void and serve up some actual data on earworms. They surveyed just over one hundred railway travellers, students and visitors to a public garden about their earworm experiences, and they also asked 12 other participants to keep diary records for four weeks about their earworms.
Beaman and Williams found, contrary to the speculation, that earworms don't seem to be more common in people with musical expertise, although a study that actually targets musicians is needed to verify this. Instead, they found that it is people who judge music to be of more importance who are more likely to get a song stuck in their head.
Previous commentators have also tended to highlight the unpleasantness of earworms and compared them to the intrusive thoughts associated with obsessive compulsive disorder. However, the new research found that only a minority of earworms (33 per cent in the diary study) were described by participants in this way. Very few earworms recurred in the same day and most were usually gone by the next day. However, earworms did seem similar to intrusive thoughts in relation to attempts to banish them. Participants reported that most strategies, such as trying to think of another song, actually made the original earworm worse.
The researchers also looked at the typical length of earworm episodes. Approximately 27 minutes was the verdict from the diary study, and several hours was the survey result. Finally, what about the idea that some specific songs are more prone to becoming earworms than others? The researchers found little evidence for this. Different participants named and shamed different earworm songs and each individual participant tended to report a range of different songs, rather than pointing to repeat offending by the same recalcitrant tune. Instead, earworm potential appeared to be determined by amount of exposure to a tune combined with that tune's relative simplicity and repetitiveness. _________________________________
Beaman CP, & Williams TI (2009). Earworms ('stuck song syndrome'): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) PMID: 19948084
Recently Nippon Paint engaged me in a make-over. Seeking the opportunity, I decided it was time for my guest room to have a fresh look.
Now the thing with my old guest room was that the wall was pearl, pearly white. In fact, my whole house is of pearly white.
It was the staple color choice of my dad for everything of everyday use, or in this case, view. Frankly, it was boring. Stale. And utterly not creative.
Besides, there were patches everywhere on the wall from the previous color cracks (this was like at least 10 years ago).
So I sat down one day with both of my mom and dad, and persuaded them (more like just my dad with my mom as my ally) to actually get the guest room (getting the master-bedroom for a make-over was stepping over the line) re-painted.
I gave him a list of colors from Nippon Paint for him to choose, thinking that he would opt for the pale green or something of the more neutral color, other than white.
You know there are times no matter how much you think you know a person, that person will someday make a decision that completely throw you off the hooks.
This was one of those times. The next day, my dad got back to me with two choice colors:
ROSE SHADE 5235P & PINK LADY 468
Yep. He went for pink. Of all colors I could have imagined him selecting.
My dad chose pink for his guest room!
Painter painting on Rose Shade 5135P
I was of course more than happy with his decision. (after all, pink was my priority color)
So the painters came to my house and, expertly, shadowed my walls with shades of pink and lighter pink. We decided it was best to have two-tone for a four-wall bedroom.
Pink Lady 468 went onto the other two walls.
I was completely awe-struck, not only by the efficiency of the painters, but also by Nippon Paint’s odorless-paints.
It was, well, completely odorless!! I smelt nothing, nothing at all!! Zit, nil, null, kosong, just ODORLESS!
Nippon Odorless paint is the best!! No chemical fumes to make my house smell of shit for days on.
By the end of the day, we have complete pink walls and by god, it was the most beautiful color I’ve ever seen on a wall!!
On top of that, we also had the ceiling repainted, since if all was going to look new.
This time, I was happy with white.
Then we had the frames of the ceiling painted with a different sort of white paint (not odorless *sulk*).
And had the door frames painted white too.
I decided that we were to go all the way and have a decorative wall.
I said we, because I am going to do the design, choose the colors and create an art out of my guest room wall.
Yep, I was going to DIY my guest room!
I drew a rough 5 foot square cubes design on a piece of paper that going on the wall.
Masking tapes on small squares indicated whitish color
That night, my mom and I measured the painted room up and started masking taping one of the walls.
We even drew square paper for good measurement purpose.
Straigggght line
We decided to do a thicker separation between rows and a thinner one between columns.
After two hours, this was it turned out.
With this design, I chose three different colors: Daphne Red 7173D (like purple), Trailing Pink 7164T (darker shade of pink) and Snowbush Rose OW40 1P (white with a hint of pink)
(All in all, we were using 8 types of paints on my guest room)
The painters came in the morning and got to work on my little project. Hehe.
Who said I was going to do the painting? All master-minds are creators, not painters. :p
The painter stuck my blueprint on the wall, so cute.
First, it’s purple…ehh.. I mean Daphne Red 7173D.
Then white…er… Snowbush Rose OW40 1P.
Then a whole lot of mess due to the many colors put on the wall.
In the end, I think the painters decided it was easier to mark the colors of the cube instead of kept referring back to the blueprint.
I went to my brother’s room to play computer game with my mom after that.
When I got back, it was done. Yay~!
Looks like something out of a 2D animation.
We waited for it to dry for an hour (it was fast-dry), we peeled off the masking tape to reveal the master-piece.
Slowly… one by one, inch by inch.
Be careful when you’re doing this, because fresh paint CAN break or get peeled off. So do it gently. And touch up wherever necessary.
DONE!!
Chio or not?! My masterpiece!
When it was time to furnish back the place, my maid went to put up the old curtains of the old guest room in.
God, it was ugly.
We quickly removed the curtains and replaced it with something more matching.
Got my double bed which I bought years ago in, lined the bed with Egyptian cotton and we’re ready for photos!
That’s my pink teddy carpet on the floor. Hehe
The photo was taken with my kit lens 18-55mm zoomed all the way out.
It was roughly this time I obtained my new sponsored wide angle lens 10-22mm.
So I decided it was time for the lens to be put to its first good use.
Ta da!!!
(This is what wide angle can do *smug*)
It’s pretty empty now, but I am so proud of my new creation!
