Coffee
This Is How I Feel Some Mornings
Actually, I can feel this way pretty much anytime the coffee is gone. I like coffee. I need coffee – frequently and in large quantities.
Perhaps I have a problem? No, YOU have a problem. Wait … sorry.
At least when I do run out of coffee (which happens sometimes, let’s face it), I can turn to this.
My other best friend.
Happy Saturday. Please enjoy accordingly. I know I will be.
Some Serious Gourmet Shit
I really have nothing much to say here except I really like this movie (Pulp Fiction, in case you didn’t know) and I really like coffee, so it all makes sense. Well, it does to me at least.
Plus, Samuel L. Jackson is cool. If you doubt that, we probably have nothing more to discuss. You can go about your business. Move along.
The rest of you, enjoy.
And because I like you (well, most of you anyway), here’s the clip from Pulp Fiction, just for the hell of it.
[youtube www.youtube.com/watch
(Kudos to The Good Films for the GIF)
Seven Coffee Mistakes You Might Be Making
If I made a list of the things I love it would have to include, of course, many things geek such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Sci-Fi in general, Apple, Google, Comics, D&D and a whole lot more. Another prominent item on that list would have to be coffee.
In truth, I’m kinda obsessed with it. Not just drinking it but with the whole process of bringing it from bean to cup. I’m also obsessed with getting the best cup of coffee I can at home.
Turns out, there’s others like me.
In fact, one of them has written a list of the seven mistakes people make when preparing coffee at home. Yes, this is a list of bad things you should stop doing so your coffee doesn’t suck.
Here they are (with my notes as applicable):
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Dirty Equipment: Make sure all parts of the machine have been rinsed thoroughly and no coffee or soap residue remains. (I clean my stuff daily).
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Old Beans: If you can’t remember when you bought your coffee, it’s time to buy some new beans. Only buy as much as you will consume in 1 to 2 weeks. (I get my beans fresh from these guys, these guys or these guys.)
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Pre-Ground Coffee: Coffee that has already been ground is more susceptible to oxidation. Grinding your beans as close to brewing as possible ensures freshness. (You’ll need a grinder for that. I use this one).
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Wrong Size of Grounds: Each brewing method requires a different size of grind. Coffee that has been ground too fine is often bitter, but if ground too coarse it may be weak. Check the machine’s manual to find out which size is ideal. (Again, get your own grinder and RTFM).
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Wrong Coffee-to-Water Ratio: For every 6 ounces of coffee, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of coffee grounds. Using more, your coffee may be too strong and taste bitter; use less and you’ll end up with watery, weak coffee. (To measure, I use this
. Or, you could weigh your ground coffee with one of these
).
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Improper Water Temperature: If the water is too hot, you can scald your coffee, and if it’s too low, the flavors will be mellow. The water should be around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or just before boiling (water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit). (I use one of these
and let it get just to the point of boiling, then I turn it off, wait a few second, then pour).
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Impure Water: Tap water often contains minerals that can alter the flavor of your coffee. Use bottled spring water or filtered drinking water. (I don’t have a sophisticated walter filtration system at home, yet. I just use Arrowhead drinking water. It seems to work well).
While we’re on the subject, my current preferred method of making coffee at home is the French Press. This one
Yes, it takes a bit of time and you need to clean up a bit after, but it’s so worth it if you do it right. Of course, for the real coffee geek, the next step is to start making espresso at home. I’m going to do that after the move. But that’s a topic for another time.
Until then, go make some great coffee!
What Your Coffee Says About You
Continuing a fine tradition of coffee-related posts, I’ve got another one for you. This one is a new, handy chart that tells you just what the coffee beverage you order says about you as a person.
Check it out below. Oh, in case you’re wondering, according to this chart I’m “assertive and outspoken, don’t let seasons dictate how I live my life and I like straws.” Huh, maybe there’s something to this chart after all?
What kind of coffee are you?
Your Caffeine Intake Levels
As you might have guessed, I like coffee. In fact, some would say, I’m slightly obsessed about it. Truth be told, I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think lots of others like coffee as much, or more, than I do.
So, in the spirit of helping out my fellow coffee fans, here’s a handy little graphic that helps illustrate just how much caffeine you’re getting from various kinds of beverages.
I hope this helps.
A Helpful Coffee Chart for a Tuesday
In the interest of being helpful, I found this handy coffee chart that you can use to determine exactly what you’re drinking and, more to the point, what your drink consists of. Of course, if you like coffee as much as I do, you probably already know all of this.
Still, I kinda like it and it could be helpful, so there you go.
Some Useful and Interesting Things For A Friday
Hey, it’s Friday. Congrats, you made it through another week! I’ve had a fun week (more on that below) but, as usual, I’m glad it’s Friday and the week is over.
Although, knowing me as I do, I’m pretty sure I won’t be taking the whole weekend off or anything. Much too much to do, especially with the new project and knowing we’re going to be moving again in a few months.
But that’s later. Now, sit back, relax and enjoy another edition of Useful and Interesting Things.
• My pal Matt Raub and I are back doing a podcast for The Flickcast. I’m very happy about it and you can listen to the brand new episode which kicks off season two right here.
• Confused about who’s who and who’s related to who in the Star Wars universe? Perhaps this handy chart will help.
• I know, you’re still sometimes having trouble with well-known punctuation like the comma “,” or the semi-colon “;” but that hasn’t stopped some enterprising individuals from coming up with 8 new punctuation marks to surprise and delight you.
• Feeling anxious or nervous? Lifehacker has you covered on how to beat it. No, alcohol or other controlled substances are not involved, sorry.
• If you make coffee at home and ever do a Pour-Over, you need a Hario V60 Power Kettle
• Angry, sad, happy, undecided, indifferent about the end of Downton Abbey season three? Perhaps these tidbits about season four will help you feel better/worse/whatever?
Finally, a here’s a little video I like to call Lego Michael Jackson. Coincidentally that’s pretty much what the person who made the video calls it too.
Plus, in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a little bit of Alison Brie and her freestyle rap skills. This video is here mostly so I can put a photo of her at the top of this post. Yes, she’s eating ice cream, so?
What, you don’t like ice cream or something?
[vimeo 60169112 w=525 h=395]
Some Useful And Interesting Things
I guess I might reconsider the title of this post and perhaps change it to something like “Things That Are Useful to Me” or even “Things That Are Useful And Interesting to Me.” Although, because I’m the only one writing here (at least as far as I know), I guess it’s pretty much implied that anything I list in a “useful” or “interesting” post is, or has been, useful or interesting to me personally.
That’s not to say you won’t find these items useful or interesting too, you may. In fact, I hope you do. Anyway, here we go. . .
• Because everyone seems to be getting sick these days, Lifehacker has a no-nonsense, non-alarmist, essential guide to Flu and how to deal with it. Useful indeed.
• The California State University system is going to give online courses a big test and offer a lot of them online during a trial program at San Jose State University. This could save the state quite a bit of money. I wonder how it will go?
• Facebook unveiled a new search feature today which will allow users to search, well, Facebook. The new feature, called “Graph Search,” is designed to allow users to search for content on Facebook such as news posts, status updates, photos, locations and more within the Facebook Social Graph. Sure, why not?
• Over at Sprouted Kitchen, Hugh details his Chemex brewing method. If you like coffee as I do, this is a great way to make it. To make things even easier, he’s put together a video demonstrating the process. Check it out below.
[vimeo 48920310 w=500 h=281]
The photo above is also from Hugh’s article. Just wanted to mention that.
Friday Random Update
I’m pleased to tell you my new coffee machine (The amazing Moccamaster) arrived and I’ve had the chance to put it through its paces for that last couple days. The only word I can use to describe it and the coffee produced by it is: sublime.
That’s right, it works like a champ and every time I have some of that exceptional liquid, I’m more convinced I made the right choice. If you have the means, I definitely suggest acquiring one.
Also, as I’ve tried to do as often as I can, I’ve got a couple photos for you today. I’m including one of the new coffee machine in action in my very own kitchen. Yes, that’s not a granite counter top, get over it.
Two I took myself and one I found online and it made me laugh. That’s pretty much the only criteria for photos that I don’t take to go up here on Fridays. They need to make me laugh out loud or otherwise have some other type of emotional response.
I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you? Here you go:
Happy Valentine's Day
Today is the day women often make men feel bad because they’ve forgotten it’s Valentine’s Day. However, don’t worry because I don’t know any women like that so you don’t have to be concerned for me. My significant other doesn’t have those kinds of issues.
In fact, for me and mine today is just another Tuesday. However, that doesn’t mean that you guys out there with women who love these types of holidays shouldn’t get them something nice and make a big deal about them. It’s the right thing to do, especially if they care a lot about it.
In fact, if you’re with someone you love today and they love you, go with it. Relationships are hard and if you can find someone who will put up with your shit for days, weeks, months and years, that person deserves your respect and, let’s face it, your gratitude.
Besides, a few bucks for some flowers and maybe a box of candy isn’t all that much, is it? Come on, you can do it.
On another note, I’m still waiting for my Moccamaster to arrive from Portland and my new friends at Clive Coffee. According to the tracking info it should arrive tomorrow (that’s Wednesday). Needless to say, I’m quite excited. Still, I found it necessary to say it, didn’t I?
Anyway, I look forward to long sessions getting to know my Moccamaster and all of its workings. I’m also looking forward to some great coffee.
I may even make one for my significant other. She would probably like that. Sadly, I can’t do it today.
I’ll keep you posted.
Coffee, Macs and More
I love gadgets, tech and toys. As I’ve grown older, that love hasn’t lessened. Although, the quantity of gadgets, tech and toys may have decreased slightly, the quality (and the associated cost) has increased, so there’s that.
That’s just the “circle of life” or something. Anyway, that leads me to recent developments. One of these developments has to do with my search for the perfect way to make coffee at home.
Some of you may be shocked and wonder how I could betray my beloved Starbucks, Coffee Bean or various other establishments I frequent. It’s simple, really, I just want to do it at home so I get used to working at home again. I would also like to save some time where I can too.
On a busy morning, if I have to take the time to stop at Starbucks or wherever on the way somewhere else, it can often take quite a bit of time. So, in the interest of efficiency (and to save a buy or two, let’s face it) I’m going to make coffee at home.
During a previous attempt at this I had purchased one of the Tasimo devices that makes coffee from a capsule. The results were less than stellar. In fact, the coffee kinda sucked.
This time around I’ve done much more research and committed to a much better solution. At least I think it is.
I’ve decided that the only way to make it work at home is to get the best coffee maker you can get. That one, if you ask pretty much anyone who knows anything about it, is The Moccamaster
That’s a picture of it right there. Nice, huh.
I expect this little beauty to arrive early next week and I will report back on how awesome it is. Yes, I expect it to be awesome.
In other news, I am also trying something else again that I had tried several years ago: going all-laptop and having no desktop Mac.
At this moment, I have two computers. One is a 27" iMac and the other is my 13" MacBook Air. I’m am giving the iMac to a worthy person (selling, actually) and will be using the MacBook Air exclusively from this point forward.
However, this choice does present a few problems. The first of which is my iTunes library is way too big to fit on the Air. So, for the moment, it will have to reside on an external drive. Not ideal.
Second, my iMac also served as the media and print server for the house. With it gone, certain people are going to have to go upstairs and connect to the printer via usb if they want to print. Also, not ideal.
So, that means I will most likely have to get some sort of computer to use as a file, media, print server and iTunes repository. That will most likely mean a Mac Mini.
Before you ask, I’m not considering a Windows or other solution at the moment. We’re too invested in Apple tech at home to try to make that work right now. Maybe if I get some more free time I can put together a nice Windows server instead.
For now, it will probably be a Mac Mini running Apple’s Lion Server that will take on those duties at home. Plus I would like to work with Lion Server a bit more so the new Mini serves that purpose as well.
Of course, if I’m going to be using the MacBook Air as my only machine from this time forward, I kinda think it should be the latest model, don’t you? Just go with me here, okay? The one I have know is a 13" 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 256 GB SSD.
I feel a newer 13" MacBook Air i7
So, lots of changes coming in my tech world. Fortunately, I don’t mind change all that much – especially when it brings newer, shinier toys.
Breakfast Anytime
For the record (and what better record than a blog post?) I love breakfast food. Pretty much anytime of the day or night I will eat it. Toast, eggs, omelets, pancakes, breakfast burritos and everything else that is traditionally thought of as breakfast food I will eat at 3AM on a Thursday.
I also fancy myself as a bit of a food person. As in, I think I know the difference between good food and that which is best served to dogs, pigs or other animals with less discerning palettes.
That said, I’m not a snob about it or am I what is commonly referred to these days as a “foodie.” I just like good food and know it when I see, or rather eat, it.
So, when I come across some really great food I feel like sharing it with others who may appreciate it. That happy circumstance happened to me just today at a place called The Gypsy Den in Santa Ana, CA.
I had what I consider one of the top five breakfast burritos of all time (that’s a picture of it above). And believe me, I’ve eaten quite a few in my day.
If you are ever in Santa Ana or near their other location in Costa Mesa, I highly suggest giving them a try. Oh, and if you get the breakfast burrito, spring for the Avocado inside. Trust me.
You won’t regret it. And hey, the coffee is pretty darn good too.
Starbucks, Mars Edit and John Coltrane
well, here i sit at my local, and still favorite, Starbucks in studio city. john coltrane’s “a love supreme” is playing. for once, they have some pretty good music here. usually, its some junk i don’t know or like very much. but sometimes, they hit it right on the mark. at least the days of hearing alanis morissette’s “jagged little pill” acoustic record twenty times a day are gone. i almost lost it a few time i can tell you. that was almost too much.
anyway, i am trying out a new piece of software (at least for me) called Mars Edit. what is is? its for blogging, silly. much like ecto, Mars Edit is a blogging post tool. it allows you to write, edit, etc. blog posts and then upload them for all to see and enjoy. or whatever it is people do during and after reading my blog entries. the people that make Mars edit also make my rss reader of choice, NetNews Wire.
i really like ecto and i think the guys that make it are doing a great job. that said, Mars Edit works pretty well for me so far too. plus, it looks like i will be able to post to other sites like Laist with Mars Edit as well, which would make life easier. i haven’t tried posting to Laist yet but i will soon. i hope it works as i don’t love having to go to a web page in order to post.
i think for text, Mars Edit will probably be just fine. it’s the image handling that has me concerned. will i be able to put the images in the posts the way they are supposed to be or will the site look weird after i post? well, only one way to find out, right?
i’m sure tony pierce is a good boss and won’t mind if i mess up the site by accident. i’m sure it will work out just fine. plus, i’m going to steal a picture from his site for your enjoyment that has absolutely nothing to do with what i’m writing here. i just felt like putting it up. so sue me.
