Peach Wine #3 and Apple Wine #2

Racked the peach wine into a carboy this evening. It has a somewhat funky smell, very yeasty, but I think it'll turn out good. It has a nice ruby color, heh.

I stirred up the Apple Wine as well. I'm a little worried about the amount of apples in the bag, and the amount of juice in the bucket. Seems like a lot more apples then juice... I guess we'll just have to see how it turns out. Since I'm going to Orlando tomorrow, I won't be able to rack the Apple wine until like 9 days since adding the yeast. The recipe calls for racking after 5-7 days, so hopefully that won't be a problem as well.

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From Blogger Pictures

Everton vs Liverpool

This was a great game for Everton. So nice to see them get a win over the Reds. I totally don't want to see either team go down this season though. I thought Everton looked the better side by far. Much more energy and determination.

It was definitely a cracking derby... kind of crazy that these two teams could be fighting relegation this season. Hopefully Liverpool's new owner can sort them out. I don't see Everton getting the drop either. They're just too good of a team... hopefully.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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New Job...

In a few hours I'll start the second day in the new job. It was a great first day... pretty much going over the current network, servers, applications, etc. Also meeting quite a few of the business side of the organization.

They have a one terra byte SAN currently running, and have a 10 terra byte new SAN ready to deploy... hopefully before the current Network Admin leaves, heh. The plan is to move all, or most, of their current servers onto VMWare virtual machines. There are currently a couple of VMs running, and they seem to really like them so far.

Another cool thing is that they are very friendly to Open Source and Linux. The current admin implemented a pretty sweet inline Squid install to proxy and cache web content. It'll be fun to bone up on his ebtables rc.local script that sets all the rules and what not.

Anyway, it's exciting days to land a new job, attend UDS, and get married in the space of about three weeks! :-)

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Arsenal vs Shakthar Donetsk

Another great performance by the Gunners! Great to have Cesc back, he really adds a lot to the team. He'll need a few games under his belt to get back to 100% fitness, but he looked good. Another good performance was put in by Tricky Jack... he looks really good alongside the skipper. I have great hope for the rest of the season if they can both stay healthy.

Song was up to his new found tricks. Seemed like he was always bombing forward, and I can't really complain because he got the first goal by being in a poachers position. Shakthar will probably be kicking themselves for conceding a needless penalty on the free kick. Especially after the ref warned them. Nasri's goal was brilliant, and was definitely deserved. Wilshere and Chamakh had finished the scoring with some great finishing as well.

It was also great, even if with a little chagrin, to have Eduardo score for Shakthar... the fan's response was super. Makes you wish things had turned out different for him.

Overall a solid performance that will see Arsenal top of the group.

Entertainment Value: 5-5

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Peach Wine #2 and Apple Wine #1

I added the yeast to the Peach wine on Sunday around midnight ish. Agitated the fruit tonight, and the yeast is definitely working... smells yeasty and peachy, heh.

Started the Apple wine as well this evening. I used five pounds of sugar and 10 1 gallon zip lock bags full of apple chunks. I had 12 1 gallon bags in all, but they wouldn't all fit into the 5 gallon fermentor, which is really just a bucket.

It was pretty crazy trying to add all those apples... can't wait to taste that wine.

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Newcastle vs Wigan

Wow, it was nice to see the N'zogbia show the first half. He must feel vindicated after leaving Newcastle last season. I like Charles myself, but he needs some growing up in my opinion.

This was a winning tie for Newcastle... especially with all the pressure they applied to Wigan in the second half it was a deserved point. Wigan have certainly seem to have recovered from their rough start to this season, but still have a lot of work to do.

Overall a pretty great match.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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Aston Villa vs Chelsea

Yay for Villa! Great performance from the Villians. The start of the first half had a lot of excitement with Villa really applying the pressure to Chelsea. Things did settle down about midway through the first half.

Chelsea had quite a few chances, but just couldn't get the needed finish. Maybe it's something that Drogba didn't play... either way it's great that Chelsea dropped two points this week.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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Fulham vs Tottenham

Very decent game for a somewhat neutral. Very good performance from Fulham, but Tottenham get by with a controversial goal. I think Gallas was impeding the keeper, and may have touched the ball thus making him yards off side.

So far it's shaping up to be a weekend full of controversy for the League. It will definitely be fun to watch the other matches.

Entertainment Value: 3-5

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Arsenal vs Birmingham

Lots of controversy in this one... Not sure where to start, but I guess the best place would be Chamakh's dive. You can't honestly call it anything but a dive. It will be interesting to read how the Arsenal Internets community comments on the penalty.

Birmingham's goal showed that we really could have used Kos in this one. I feel he would have picked up that guy in the box better.

Overall things seemed a little flat on the pitch to me. Some great build up play, as always, from the Gunners, but no emphatic finish. I thought Diaby had a great game, and I'm glad and hopefully he will build from this and get a run of games. He always looks better after playing five or six in a row, and when he doesn't get that it leaves him open to some heavy criticism.

Wilshere had a great game for 90+ minutes. I thought he moved the ball well, and only had one errant pass that I can remember. I truly don't know what he was thinking at the end though. It will seem sublime pay back for Wenger's critics to see the golden Jack red carded for a rash challenge. For me I think the ref got it right... he had no business making that challenge.

Good to beat Birmingham, and get a league win. Totally not good to concede the first goal at home though. I think things are looking up for the Arsenal, and am glad League Play has recommenced. Looking forward to the midweek Champions League fixture.

Entertainment Value: 4-5

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Lemon Wine #4 and Peach Wine #1

Racked the Lemon Wine into another carboy this morning, and added the KMETA and Sorbate. So hopefully it will clear, or mostly clear in two weeks like the instructions say. I gave it a taste, and it's not bad... quite lemony so it will probably need some sugar at the end.

I also thawed the peaches I got from class yesterday, and started on the peach wine. I used 8 lbs of sugar instead of the recommended 10. Maybe it will be a little dryer... either way the peaches sure smell good.

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From Blogger Pictures

Tottenham vs Aston Villa

It was another game of evenly matched teams. Spurs looked pretty good going forward, and a little shaky at times in the back. Villa could have done better, but looked pretty solid overall.

Van Der Vaart has turned out to be a super signing for Spurs... can't wait to face them again with him in the side. Always good to watch Villa, just wish they could have slapped a hair lip on Spurs, heh.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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Stoke City vs Blackburn

Decent enough match, though I didn't pay too close attention to it. Pretty back and forth between two pretty equal teams. Stoke seem to be getting back on track after a somewhat rough start. With their solid defense and Jones up front I expect Stoke to be decent this season.

Blackburn are tough to watch since Big Sam took over... maybe it's just his teams that are tough to watch. Wouldn't mind seeing Rovers get the drop, but I think they're too defensively tough for that.

Entertainment Value: 3-5

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Chelsea vs Arsenal

The Gunners really pressured Chelsea well for the full ninety minutes. It seems we're just lacking that last killer ball to break down a tough defense. The first half was interesting that the percentage of possession was 50-50, it was very back and forth.

Then in the second half Chelsea conceded possession to Arsenal. They relied on their defense to deal with any threats posed by the Gunners. Very unfortunate that Drogba again got a goal against us... though it was pretty much luck that it blasted in on the near post. Then again there was a lot of hustle in the build up, so I guess you create your own luck.

Very disappointing to have two league defeats in a row, but I feel confident of winning something this season. The team played very well, I think Chelsea sat back more because they realized they couldn't keep up the pace in the second half, or if they tried Arsenal would eventually find the back of the net.

I though Wilshere had a great game. He really adds some needed creativity in midfield with Cesc out. Chamakh did very well disrupting Chelsea's back four... it's great to have an aerial threat for teams to think about. Arsenal seemed to get more energy and drive when Rosicky came on for Diaby... almost think Tomas should have started and given Diaby more time to recover from his injuries. Diaby didn't have too bad a game, just seemed less then 100% match fit to me.

Entertainment Value: 4-5

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West Brom vs Bolton

Pretty entertaining stuff between these two sides. Bolton looked pretty good, but then West Brom looked equally good. This West Brom team puts the one from two seasons ago to shame. They look very confident on the ball, and are solid defensively... also they don't give up when things aren't going their way.

There were a couple of gifts missed for both sides before the Albion equalizer. The Bolton goal was quite well executed. I think both these teams will be mid table at the end of the season.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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West Ham vs Fulham

Pretty decent London derby. Fulham looked the better team to me. Great goal from Dempsey... it's always nice to see an American score. Won't be able to see the other London derby till tomorrow, so this one will have to do for today :-).

Fulham put together a string of passes that both looked really good, and put a lot of pressure on West Ham. The Hammers did look good going forward at times, and I think a tie is a good result for both teams.

Entertainment Value: 3-5

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Birmingham City vs Everton

Looks like this could be the turnaround point for Everton. After such a rocky start, they have finally gotten their first away win of the season. Really hope it's their turn around anyway.

The match was pretty much dominated by Everton, but there were some chances for Birmingham. They just couldn't find a way to convert them.

Entertainment Value: 3.5-5

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Valencia vs Manchester United

Decent enough match. Valencia, like the announcer mentioned, really should have come out and attacked ManU. I think they're going to have a tough time going to Old Trafford and coming away with anything.

Pretty decent goal from United at the end. I don't have any doubts that they'll end up winning their group. Seems all the English teams are favored to win their groups, or at least get to the round of sixteen.

Entertainment Value: 3-5

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FC Rubin Kazan vs Barcelona

Probably the best defensive display I've seen against Barca. Rubin really had everyone behind the ball practically the entire match. When teams do that to attacking teams like Barca, it can really choke off a match. The trick is to do it well for 90+ minutes.

Very interesting that despite all the defensive focus Rubin do win a penalty on one of the few occasions they ventured forward. I think a tie was as good as a win for Kazan.

Entertainment Value: 3-5

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