bauhauswerk

Dear Coilers, after my “Brew!” series on Coil, in which I educate you about beer, the moment to start writing about whisky has come.

I was thinking about the way to present you whiskies, and have decided to do it slightly differently than I’ve presented you beers.

I will try to inform you about whiskies in general as well as presenting you a distillery by distillery with presenting, tasting and reviewing some of the whiskies they make.

The reason I’ve decided to start this niche topic now, is Whisky Fair Zagreb 2020.

As you might learnt through those few months I’ve been posting articles on Coil, I come from Zagreb, Croatian capital which is a drinking center of Central Europe.

Whisky Fair Zagreb is the event which gathers whisky enthusiasts from Croatia and surrounding countries.

During February 7-8, visitors will be able to taste over 100 whiskies, with numerous exclusive and limited series within them.

There will be 4 professional workshops for those who want to learn more and VIP Trezor will, as always, offer tasting of selected whiskies paired with food to accompany each one.

Whiskey claims to itself alone the exclusive office of sot-making. – Thomas Jefferson

Dram is probably one of the first terms one will learn when entering the world of whiskies. Whisky is drunk in “drams” and drinking act is “dramming”.

These days, dram is more the term meaning a glass of whisky that the actual unit as those are pretty much flexible and differ from place to place as well as the location and situation in which dramming takes place. Bars will have fixed units but at home it could be a sip as well as a bottle.

Dram is a unit of mass in the avoirdupois system, and both a unit of mass and a unit of volume in the apothecaries' system. It was originally both a coin and a weight in ancient Greece (where it was weight of about 4,37 grams). The unit of volume is more correctly called a fluid dram.

In the avoirdupois system of measurement, a dram is specified as 1/16 of an ounce, which is about 1.772 g.

A fluid dram is specified to be 1/8 of a fluid oz. As there are differences between the Imperial and US systems for defining units of volume, it results in 3.6967 ml in the case of an imperial fluid dram and 3.5516 ml if you are measuring out a US fluid dram.

As you can see, that unit is rather small, so in a dram of whisky there is usually much more liquid than that!

Standard measurement in the USA is a US fluid ounce, or another multiple of 0.5 fluid ounces. In the UK things are more complex. In the past, the unit used for measuring drinks was the gill (or quarter pint). Historically, spirits were served in either a sixth, a fifth or a quarter of a gill (or 35.5, 28.4 or 23.7 ml) with the fifth of a gill measurement being identical to an imperial fl oz.

In the 1970s, Ireland and the UK chose to adopt the metric system at which time spirits began to be measured in millilitres. In Ireland, a standard dram remained at 35.5 ml (the same as a quarter gill) however in the UK, barkeepers can choose whether to serve a dram of either 25 ml or 35 ml.

In other countries you can’t expect a dram to be the same as each country has their own tradition when serving spirits. In Germany, a standard shot measures 20 ml, however in the case of whiskey, a measure is 40 ml. In France, a standard shot measures 30 ml just like in Croatia and so on across Europe.

So when you order a dram, you order a whisky. Volume in a glass can vary but the enjoyment will be the same!

In next “Dram!” I’ll bring you a report from the Whisky Fair, hope you’ll enjoy it.

Dear Coilers, have you ever seen a tweet saying how good some digital asset is and that you should fill your bags with it, but in the end there is a disclaimer saying it is not a financial advice?!

Haha, the question was asked rhetorically. I know you are bombed with similar posts every time you check the feed on any of your social networks.

All Crypto Twitter communities are the same so the XRP community is not the exception here.

There are soooo many members whose only topic to talk about is shilling the coin they hold.

Buy and hold USD! Not a financial advice! – Thomas Jefferson

I know that people mostly say it’s because of potential legal consequences. But if that’s the case they should not advise then.

They should just share they personal thoughts and opinions and call them thoughts and opinions!

When “not a financial advice” is added as a disclaimer, the only logical conclusion is that the person saying it finds it to be an advice and wants others to see it as an advice and praise him as a messiah.

When I say that I buy, get, collect... and hold XRP because I find it to be an asset which has great potential to make a fortune to the holder, I do NOT advise others to do it. I’m just sharing my thoughts and opinions. If I’m not advising why should I say it is not an advice?!

Have you ever seen disclaimers in fast food restaurants saying: “the items we sell are not concrete bricks!” I’d use the same analogy in “not advising”...

I even don’t want others to buy and hold XRP! I want it to be held by as few ppl as possible. Less people in it – higher probability for them to enter the elite.

When some drunk in a bar approaches me and asks: “Hey Srdan, you know those Bitcoins! Which one you recommend?”

I reply: “Just don’t go into XRP, if you do it you’ll kill yourself with acute alcohol intoxication when it moons!” (To be honest I’ve started telling them that within last few months.)

I also tell them to do their own research. OK, I know that the only research, they are able or willing to do, are the prices of beers in the price list.

They choose the cheapest beer regularly. So they can choose the most expensive Crypto only.

All those from the lowest social levels belive in expensive things. They dream about them and they talk about them among themselves. They admire people who have millions yet they don’t know any. They admire Ferrari and Lamborghini yet they’ve had to sell their FIAT to pay fine for driving drunk...

Those people often talk about economy and how the system is rotten yet they were not able to finish high school.

Economy is simple and logical. It excludes the stupid making them stay low and includes the smart making them lead and own.

How many of you (assuming you are from the smart group) want the stupid to run the economy? You get me, don’t you?!

There is one great fact in economy. Those who become wealthy, but were not ment to become, loose their fortune within 3 generations. The system was built through centuries and was proven not to allow unchosen to become the elite.

Just think about this... If all the people in the world were multibillionaires, who would bake bread to feed them? Who would be a waiter in a restaurant? Who would milk cows on a farm? Or the most important, who would brew beer?!

Those who are smart, don’t need any financial advice or at least not a Twitter or YT one.

Stupid will not listen anyway.

If you ask me, I would forbid “not a financial advice” disclaimer... would you?

Dear Coilers, Museum Night (Noć muzeja in Croatian) is a big event happening in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia (sometimes in other Croatian cities, towns and villages). During the night on the last Friday in January museums open their doors and host over 350000 visitors.

The Croatian Museum's Society is the organizer of the event and the idea came from mr.sc. Vesna Jurić Bulatović and mr.sc. Dubravka Osrečki Jakelić who wanted to present the “job” of museum workers to wide public. The event was first held in December of 2005 with only 6 museums participating and about 10000 people visited the exhibitions. In 2014 the event was organized on the country level with over 200 museums taking part in it with about 10% of the country population visiting.

The theme of 2020 Museum Night were anniversaries. 200 years of the Archaeological Museum Split, founded in 1820, and 140 years of the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Zagreb, founded in 1880. If I told you that the year 2020 marks 184 years since the founding of the National Museum, 152 years since the founding of the Strossmayer Gallery of Old Masters, 142 years since the founding of the Natural History Museum, the theme is an opportunity for the Croatian museum workers to raise the awareness about the importance of the “museum past, present and future“.

I have visited few of the museums of which Technical Museum “Nikola Tesla”, Museum Of Arts And Crafts, Meštrović atelier and Police Museum were this Museum Night highlights.

Here are some photos from the museums. For the subscriber there is a story from the Police Museum and their section of art forgery!

Dear Coilers, when you hear Japan and drink, I’m sure that most of you think on Sake, Japanese rice wine, the drink which associates majority with the grain and county. But rice can also be used in beer brewing. One of those beers will be presented in Coil’s taproom for the subscribers.

In American breweries, rice is used in making Adjunct Macro Lagers which is the way to produce cheap beer with adding grains to higher the alcohol but not influence the flavours much.

In Japan, rice is the national grain and using it in beer brewing was more of a logic and tradition than anything else.

Untill 1994 there were no small Craft breweries in Japan. The law prohibited licensing breweries with the production of less than 2 million liters a year. In 1994 the law was relaxed and the minimum production lowered to 60000 liter per year so it opened the door for small breweries to be funded and enter the market. Some of them stick to Japanese style, some make western styles of beer and some experiment with the recipes and play with tradition and western influences.

But whichever styles are made there, the most famous of the styles will always be...

JAPANESE RICE LAGER – beer for which you have 99% chance to be served in sushi restaurants all arround the world and are very popular in Japan as well. It is the best known beer style that uses rice as a main ingredient.

Japanese Rice Lagers are made with a large proportion of “adjunct” grain added to the malted barley (in some cases, though, rice is used exclusively). Because rice lacks certain enzymes that traditional beer grains like barley have, most rice lagers contain a certain amount of barley as well, but it’s the rice that define this style’s flavor and alcohol.

Rice is not a very flavorful grain when used in beer so the result is an ultra light-colored beer with a lighter flavor profile that might have some residual sweetness balanced by a subtle bite from hops, similar to American lagers. Higher carbonation is common, as is a drier, refreshing finish.

Dear Coilers, this article is not going to be the one you can read on daily basis. Not because it is a literal masterpiece nor because the topic is intriguing one but because of my hope that it will make you think...

There is a photo of a stone in the header. Would you give $10k for it? Would you give $1k? Even $100 is too much for a small piece of some rock? It’s just a small stone, what worth is in it?!

I understand your way of thinking but I will try to change it.

Is there a person in this world which doesn’t want to achieve something in life?

OK, we agree that there is not a single one.

But how is one’s achievement measured? By money earned? Children raised? By education level? Books written? Or all and every achievement, even a minimal one, is just a piece of the totality?

Then again, what is an achievement for one, doesn’t have to be for the another.

Your own one can be an object of laugh for those who do not know nor understand how much of work, effort and persistence you had to input into it.

What if I told you that the stone in the header pic is probably the most precious present I ever recived. It made me change my views completely. After long hours of contemplation about that stone, with that stone in my hand everything in this world looks so small to me. And every problem looks like a joke... Do I have your attention?

What if I told you that a human life was lost for this stone to be picked? I have your full attention now?

OK, here is the story you waited to hear...

That stone, that small piece of a big rock is the stone frome the very summit of Mt Everest.

It was a gift from Mr. Stipe Bozic, the most successful Croatian Himalayan climber, second European, after Messner, to climb the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, twice.

In 1979 he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest via the, never climbed before, West Ridge, and all the way with his camera.

Bozic is the only man on the planet to have filmed four times on the three highest peaks in the world. He climbed SEVEN SUMMITS the highest peaks on all 7 continents: Mount Everest (Asia), Aconcagua (S. America), Mount McKinley (N. America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), Mont Blanc and Elbrus (Europe), Mount Kosciusko (Australia).

Stipe Bozic descended 1395 meters deep in Lukas cave on Mount Velebit in Croatia. With it negative altitude and height of Mount Everest, he held world record.

Whith an international expedition he reached the North Pole on the skis...

The stone in the header pic comes from the 1979 expedition thru West Ridge.

The difficulty of the Everest West Ridge route is reflected by the fact that, as of 2000s, 21 teams attempted it, but only 3 succeeded. The 1979 climb is considered by many as one of the finest in the history of Everest.

(Stipe Bozic)

From Stipe’s memories:

“The 1979 Everest expedition consisted of 24 climbers, 2 doctors, 3 reporters and 20 Sherpas.

Over a period of 19 days, 750 local porters carried 18 tonnes of equipment up to a height of 5300 metres. Tone Skarja, an experienced Himalayan climber, was the expedition leader. On the Khumbu glacier we make a complete village of tents, forming the base camp at 5300 metres. From here the route leads via steep cliffs to the saddle of Lho La at 6000 metres.

Only 83 people have climbed Mount Everest, from various directions, before 1979. Most took the southern route from Nepal used by the first British expedition with Edmund Hillary and Norgay Tensing in 1953, via the south saddle and on to the south face. The West Ridge involves an extremely long climb, and is exposed to

powerful winds from Tibet. And no-one knew of a certain route over the final section, the steep yellow belt.”

Andrej Stremfelj and Nejc Zaplotnik reached the summit on 13 May, followed two days later by Stane Belak, Ang Phu and Bozic (becoming the 85th through 89th persons to have climbed Mount Everest). On descent, the weather worsened quickly and the team were unable to return to Base Four before dark and were forced to spend the night in a −40 °C (−40 °F) temperature, without tents or sleeping bags, at an altitude of 8,400 metres (27,600 ft). According to Bozic, at the time this was the highest ever overnight bivouac in the open, and the closest he had ever been to death. They managed to survive the night, but on the following day, Ang Phu slipped and fell to his death going through the Hornbein Couloir.

A climber has 2 trials, one up and another down. Down one can be as dangerous as the up one.

From Stipe’s memories:

“But when we reach the summit of a mountain, a second trial is about to begin, in which one’s life is at stake. A terrible storm is brewing over Mount Everest. The wind blows at 150 kilometres per hour and the temperature drops to minus 40 degrees.

The following morning, after surviving the night at 8400 metres in the open, Ang Phu slipped and fell 2000 metres down the Ronbuk glacier.

For myself, having survived, Mount Everest remains a most beautiful memory, a success which can perhaps compare with winning a Grand Slam. But a Grand Slam is played every year and someone must win. Here, apart from the fact that a man rarely wins, he can also die. A climber must really be a little crazy to tackle something so challenging; but not so crazy that he allows himself to come to grief.”

(Stipe Bozic)

There is a photo of a stone in the header. Would you give $100 for it? Would you give $1k? Even $10k is not too much for a small piece of some rock? It was just a small stone, what worth is it now?

I understood your way of thinking but I hope I have changed it!

Dear Coilers, it’s Sunday, a lazy day. Nothing much happening on Sundays, social networks feeds seem to be frozen, even Crypto Twitter is half dead.

So I’ve been thinking about something...

People are constantly talking about the Crypto utility but they don’t want to be those who utilise it.

XRP Community is among the worst here. For years I read and listen about XRP need more use cases and the ideas what those use cases should/could be.

Constant FUD busting, yelling about XRP not being centralized and if Ripple disappears there would still be XRP and the XRP Ledger and that there are validators all arround the world...

But what is XRP really used for? If we deduct Ripple’s payment/settlement platform, Coil’s micropayments and... huh... what will remain? XRP Tipbot? What else?

XRP Community, people who invested in XRP and are hoping it will make them wealthy, use it to send small tips. Only!

Who holds wallet key holds Crypto coins – Thomas Jefferson

I don’t see market price speculation and trade on exchange as a use case. By the way, those coins are not in possession of their “owners on paper” but in possession of the exchanges as they hold keys which open the “safes” where the coins are stored.

“Owners on paper” have their TAG.

It’s the same as bank accounts. Banks hold money on accounts. Owners of the accounts only own cash in their pockets. With a single click their accounts can be freezed.

Do you remember Greece and their 60€ daily limit to withdraw from banks?!

OK, back to XRP Community. Every single day hundereds from the community are tweeting about XRP price will moon when the volume moons and XRP is used on daily basis for payments, settlements, bridging, tipping, new use casing, bla bla bla... yet almost non do use it. Not on daily basis but at all!

I have a small business, handmade watch straps, among the best in the world, customers say that, not me. I know it though.

I remember a situation when I said on that I’ll give 20% discount for payments in XRP...

Comments were mostly like why would anyone spend their XRP as it will be worth zillions in notime. (OK, not zillions but $589 till the end of the year, XRP was probably $1+ then 🤣)

I tried to explain that I give a discount so I will encourage XRP holders to pay in XRP and increase the volume. I said I give a discount so customers can buy XRP on exchange and send it to me and those 20% will cover the fees plus some will be real discount.

My argument didn’t pass...

Now, during long bear market, when quarter dollar has higher value than XRP, people are still calling for the utilization of XRP yet they wait for others (Ripple, Coil, Master Wietse...) to do the job and work their butts off and make their precious asset moon.

The other thing is happening these days. People saying they don’t want to pay Coil subscription because they can find the content for free.

I tried to explain them that the data they openly give to third parties in the exchange for “free” content is NOT free. At least I value my data more than zero (0).

I tried to explain that even if they don’t value their data, Coil subscription helps XRP being utilized through micropayments and it is building the Internet of Value, the future. The real future.

I wonder do people really think that Karma will allow them become wealthy without participating in the raise of value of their holdings?

Or they wait for Coil to do it instead of them, with all others but they themselves patricipating with their 2 cents?!

Or $5 a month...

Dear Coilers, economy is the simplest of all things. No matter what is it about, there is always a transaction in the end!

Exchange of goods, services, money... payment or settlement... there is always a transaction.

As well there are taxes. Governments’ way to steal a piece of people’s work so they can spend it on doubtful businesses they do with The chosen ones.

OK, they spend it on people who can’t or don’t want to find job in the open market as well.

But one thing is common to every single government in the world – they never have enough money!

On the other hand, people whom they steal money from, want to keep the fruits of their labour for themselves in the biggest part possible. Here I’m talking about the real sector.

Through tax deductions or through gray/black market, it doesn’t matter. People just hate giving their hard earned cash away. Yes, cash, as cash is the only which can pass under the radar.

We all know that governments want it all. All they’ve decided that has to be given to them.

To have absolute control over the transactions they have to digitalize all of them. Some countries, like Norway, are close to cashless society, others will follow, no doubt about it. It is only a question of time.

Bank accounts and cards are not a problem. But Crypto could be a problem.

In the world of absolute control of money flow, anonymous Crypto could be the only way to avoid that control (paying with gold nuggets would be kind of a problem from the practical reasons).

Logic move to expect is the regulation of Crypto in which only the coins with a name behind the wallet would be legal.

Crypto(s) which will bow to the regulators will be legal and accepted. First who bow will be leaders in future digital money economy.

Im my dramatic monologue, I’ve just come to a crossroad. One way leads to complete control thru regulation. The other way has to leave the possibility of black market so governments can keep their illegal activities, which, believe it or not, do exist.

(Gold bullion is always a way to pay thou)

I’ll keep the right side. We, the commons, have to accept we will not be able to participate in governments’ illegal activities so we will be controlled.

Now I come to the part about questioning my own Crypto holding/investment. I haven’t invested for the technology sake, I’m not a tech guy so I can’t understand it anyway. I’ve invested for the sake of future gains or at least the stability of my investment.

Thats why I want to be in Crypto which will be appreciated by regulators and with the least chance of misuse of the ledger.

I’m from the real sector but I’m a realist. I would be the happiest if I didn’t have to pay anything but the realist in me knows it’s impossible.

I am a coward in the same time. So I pay whatever my government asks me to pay. Thou I would happily donate to those who would crash this rotten system.

Anyway, I’m not prepared to give up my privacy and voluntarily open my iPhone to government but I’m prepared to connect my wallets to my name if that will make them more valuble in future. Or at least to let me spend my coins on whatever I want.

Are you?

Dear Coilers, have you ever been to Egypt? Even if you have not, you must have been reading or watching about the historical sights of the ancient Egypt. I will try to make you want to visit it yourself. You will thank me later.

One of the best known of the sights is the Karnak Temple in Luxor (ancient city of Thebes) which (officially) dates from 2055 BC to about 100 AD.

Being built within more than 21 centuries, it is not just a plain temple but a complex of temples to witness the history of one of the biggest ancient civilization.

I have to emphasize that ancient Egypt’s history/religion/legends is very hard to understand. It is not just a simple continuation but very complex mix of influences of religion, family affairs, rulers power... to put it simply, it is a soap opera with physical evidence left behind.

The Karnak Temple Complex is home to three main temples, several smaller enclosed temples, and a number of outer temples. Around thirty different pharaohs contributed to the building process of this site, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. It was Ancient Egypt's most sacred site, rulers from the Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom and Ptolemaic Dynasty left their mark there.

The temple of Amun (Amun-Ra), the complex' main structure, is the largest place of worship ever built. It is surrounded by two other gigantic temples, dedicated to Amun's wife Mut and his son, Khonsu. There are other temples like the temple of Ptah, the Ipt temple, the temple of Osiris and the temple of Montu.

The god to whom the ground was originally dedicated could be Montu, a Theban god of war, and there was a part dedicated to him even after the rise of the cult of Amun.

As the temple grew, it became divided into the three sections mentioned above (dedicated to Amun, Mut and Khonsu). These three gods became known as the Theban Triad and were the most popular gods until the cult of Osiris with its triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus overtook it, which eventually became the Cult of Isis, the most popular in Egyptian history.

The priests of the gods to which temple(s) were dedicated to administered Karnak. There were over 80,000 priests by the end of the New Kingdom and the high priests there were more wealthy than the pharaoh as they were collecting gifts from the people visiting the place, mostly keeping them for themselves.

The most impressive structure of the temple is Hypostyle Hall which covers an area of 5000 square meters with 134 gigantic stone columns with 12 larger central columns standing 24 m high.

The hall was built by Seti I.

The southern wing was completed by Ramesses II.

Later pharaohs including Ramesses III, Ramesses IV and Ramesses VI added their inscriptions to the walls and the columns.

The massive First Pylon was the last built, and today is the main entrance into Karnak. It was built by Ethiopian King Nectanebo I in 380 BC, and is reached by the ‘Avenue of Sphinxes’. The ram-headed sphinxes symbolize the god Amun...

Many more to be said about it, even more to be seen.

I hope I have caught your interest...

Karnak Temple is so complex it is impossible to imagine unless you visit it yourself.

The famous statue of Ramesses II can be seen there, obelisks, scarab...

Karnak is a “must see” place.

If you ever get a chance to visit it, do it!

I am here just to kindle your imagination. You have to leave your sofa and take a flight to see it yourself.

Our planet is wonderful and its sights are to be discovered by all of us.

Dear Coilers, I was reluctant to include “beers” in my series of articles about beers but excluding the market leaders wouldn’t be fair. In Coil’s taproom I will pour one of those. I have to be honest here, I have never tried one...

Beer business in America is BIG! Over $110 BILLION annualy of which over 75% is made by Big players. Craft breweries are catching up and took about 15% of the market but the price of Craft beers is a limiting factor. Though this multi billion market leaves space for many.

Americans mostly drink “beer”, water with some light taste of real beer with carbonation which would fit soda more than it would fit beer.

Anyway, customers drink it – breweries make it.

And that leading style is...

AMERICAN LAGER – which is also called Adjunct Lager or Macro Lager, the name including all the production of “beers” by American giant commercial breweries which are usually made with adjuncts, unmalted grains (such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat) or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient, such as malted barley, in grain bill.

They “don’t” use it to lower production costs but they “do” use it to get clean, crisp, light flavours of their Lagers.

LIGHT AMERICAN LAGER – is “beer” style which can be sold to Americans only. Tell them it is a healthier option with less calories and you have a market in your hands.

American Lights are “beers” brewed in the Lager style (bottom fermentation in lower temperatures) resulting in pale, clean, crisp beverage with light (or almost non) body which is low in bitterness, thin in malts, low to moderate in alcohol and heavily carbonated.

The main focus is not on making real (good) beer but on mass production to fill the market with cheap pi.s.

No flavours can be thanked to adjuncts which do lower the calories but make tasteless end product.

With it’s high carbonation and when served ice cold, I can see it as a great choice for children’s birthday parties and optionally for hot summer days when water is not available. Dehydrated person won’t notice the difference between the two anyway.

AMERICAN ALL MALT LAGER – or Premium Lager is mostly a real beer! With low to no adjuncts it is a style with stronger flavour, almost to match European lighter lagers. Don’t expect stronger body nor heavy malts and hops. It is still thin but it is beer.

High carbonation is here so you will get refreshing light beer which can pass, apart from Light version which shall not pass!

Ever