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I started brewing beer recently. The first batch, a Belgian pale ale, tasted decent, which was much better than I had expected. The only problem was that neither I, nor my brewing partner, realized that we were missing a piece for our airlock until halfway through the process for our second batch, and hence our beer attempted to ferment in a not quite airtight container. Live and learn.
Siphoning
My new job -- at the Robb Report -- has quite a few perks. One them being that it's located in Malibu. And hence this is what I look at during my lunch break:
Paradise Cove
View from Malibu Seafood
And then on my way home a few days ago
I saw this:
And it made me chuckle.
My drive home
Remember the Encephalartos ferox I was pollinating last October? I have since moved on from that job, but just received word that the plant was successfully fertilized. When the plant decides it's time to spread its seed, the cone literally falls apart. It's quite a mess, as you can see:
My former colleagues at the Jurassic Garden gathered up the seeds and "float tested" them, meaning they put them in a bucket of water. Those that sink have a high probability of germinating. And guess what, most of them sank! It's quite an achievement considering this is one of the more difficult cycads to successfully propagate.
I've lived in LA for almost five years, but never saw the Watts Towers until this past weekend. From what I'd read and random pictures, it didn't seem like there was much I was missing. And when I finally went, more to say I'd been than for any other reason, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that these towers, or cathedral, or boat (whatever you want to call it) are much more human, cute and full of personality in person than could ever be shown in a photograph.
Wikipedia has a good summary of their story.
I rarely bring my camera with me, but when I do I like taking tons of pictures. So here are some pictures that very inadequately represent the Watts Towers:
