These boots were made for walkin'...

After just five years of loyal service, my wonderful Blundstones have fallen apart.

I first bought them at the end of 2007, right before I went to France, it was a good buy; the boots proved to be a worthy travel companion. I remember the steel caps being quite troublesome in a Thai airport on the way across. The metal detector kept alarming, much to the confusion of security. I offered to remove the boots so they could be x-rayed, but they refused, convinced their hand held detector and a quick pat down would resolve the issue. It didn't. Baffled and defeated, they allowed me through. Security must be a big issue for an airport whose roof is made of canvas.

After trekking through Europe (including some time in the snow covered Alps, where, I'm pleased to say, the boots held their own quite nicely) my boots settled into a life of luxury, spending time in the garden and working part-time in a local restaurant with Michael. My boots would continue to travel, occasionally accompanying me to Melbourne.

But all good things must come to an end eventually. In recent months, the boots' sole had been deteriorating, leaving a trail of rubber bread crumbs behind me everywhere I went. It was a great gag!

Eventually though, it was time to replace them. My new Blundstones look promising and seem to have a lot to offer, but they'll have to do better than that. They've got big shoes to fill.

True Story

So there I am, making another sound, well thought out purchase on eBay, when I'm prompted to sign into my PayPal account.
 'No worries,' I say, 'let me just type in my password.' I type in my password.

 --Sorry but that password or username is incorrect--

 'Hmm, that's funny,' I say, without so much as a chuckle, 'better check my username.' It was correct. I tried it again.

 --Sorry but that password is incorrect, please note that passwords are case-sensitive--

 Case sensitive!? That must be it! I'm using my tablet, it's notorious for switching me back to lower case at the most inconvenient times. I try it again, paying extra close attention to the shift key.

 --Sorry but that password is incorrect, please log on to PayPal with your computer so we may assist you-- 

'Wait, you're saying it has something to do with my mobile device?' I'm beginning to think it may have something to do with my mobile device. I jump on the computer.

 --Sorry but that password or username is incorrect--

 So now I'm thinking it has nothing to do with my email address, case sensitivity or my tablet;
'I've forgotten my password!' Time to reset it. Check my email for the link. Time to choose a new password.
'Maybe I should use that password I've been trying to log in with - apparently I can remember that!'

 --Sorry, your new password must be different to the password currently in use for this account--

What? 'WHAT!? But, but I... PAYPAL!!!'

 --U Mad, Bro?--

Beer Ahoy!

Well I guess it's time again I do one of these blogs, so strap yourself in and prepare for the ride of your life! Or don't, I'm not fussed.

Today's topic: Generic Brews, brought to you our good friends at Woolworths and Coles. Now would be a great time to declare my interest in Coles, I am a paid employee of the spirit hotels group, hoteliers which are owned by Coles.

But it's their rivals the Australian Leisure and Hospitality group (ALH), which is 75% owned by Woolies, that I want to talk about. Trading as the Sail and Anchor Co, ALH have been slowly introducing their own generic brand of premium beers into the market. Premium generic products are nothing new in Australian shops, even generic brews are becoming commonplace - Coles have the premium lager Maxx dry and Maxx ciders and Woolies, erm sorry, ALH have their own Dry Dock lager and Castaway cider. And you know what? They're actually not bad, not bad at all, so I didn't hesitate to try one of the Sail and Anchor Co's newest offerings - a craft beer.

I love craft beers; my favourite at the moment is James Squire's Golden Ale, or maybe White Rabbit dark ale, actually I quite like 28 Pale Ale from the Burleigh Brewing Co too and let's not forget Hahn Harvest... After switching to ales I've all but given up lagers! I could go into great depth about why they're different, but I think I'll save that for a future blog :-)

The first thing I noticed was the price, they weren't cheap. Nor were they outrageously expensive, at $14 for a four pack they wind up smack bang in the middle - and just above the price of the James Squire's range (about $18 for a 6 pack). What's more is that the quality definitely merited it. I tried the Boa's Bind Amber Ale, and was pleasantly surprised. Great colour, good aroma and not as bitter as other ales can be. There are 4 'flavours' to choose from in the range, the aforementioned amber ale, a pale ale, a golden ale and a kolsch. The only thing is that they're all named after obscure knots. I'm going to have to have another to try to make sense of that. And maybe one of the golden ales too. And the kolsch looks interesting too....

And don't forget to join me next time for the Coles craft beer selection (what, you didn't think they'd have a rebuttal?)