EdipisReks1

Dan Bean->SSP burrs->CAFEC abaca filter->Brewista tornado brewer->really nice cup of coffee.

A giant bag of coffee just arrived. Damn it smells amazing.

A little afternoon decaf.

That’s a good looking coffee Nate!

That should really have an analog gauge for that price. It is a good looking machine and I’m sure it pulls good espresso, but you can’t profile without a general idea of the pressure, which defeats the point of a lever. I also think a straight lever on a 58 is… a decision. You lose a lot of mechanical advantage. Straight lever works great on a smaller portafilter; taller column changes the pressure distribution. You can pull a shot on the Flair 58 with your chin.* Less mechanical advantage is going to mean less precision. This is assuming the full manual has the same arm geometry as the spring version. *the Flair is hardly perfect, but the curved lever is not one of its many flaws.

Not really “cooking,” but I’m fermenting for the first time in a while. Some sort of heritage cabbage Heather got from her local farmer’s market in North Carolina. I let it sit in my fridge, which was a mistake, as it lost moisture. I had a fix: I made a tea with bay leaves and added that, along with roasted fennel seed. I imagine it’ll be quite good.

Gosh I hope that is the case here. My mom needs a win.

Too bad I wasted this on a cafe mocha. It was, admittedly, a very good mocha (I make a vegan/sugar free cocoa syrup).

Happy Saturday morning everybody.

Third from the right.

I have decided that with dealing with my mother and her upcoming hip surgery it would be selfish of me to bring a new cat into my home when I may not be able to provide the amount of time that cats deserve. I hope Tommy Ten-Toes goes to a good home. I’ll figure something out a bit down the road.

I have put out a feeler (it’s just a feeler), for a 6 year old male Tux. He’s still in intro medical at the shelter, but I’m hoping to meet him. “Tommy Ten Toes.” That name is a thing. I can’t say I hate it. Silver and I need another cat. I’ve been working with her on stimulus (playing more, and holding her more, and introducing her to slightly unexpexred things), and I’m hoping introducing another cat at her home will work. This isn’t something that will happen tomorrow.

Single best pull I’ve ever done, I think, and this is what I do with it. It is admittedly very good.

./yakety yak

And yes: she can easily jump to my shoulder level. But she also isn’t a member of the Sardaukar equipped with an anti-gravity belt, so she doesn’t linger at that elevation. She is not happy, though.

Problem solved. She immediately noticed that I removed the free weights and tape and then triumphantly attempted closet entry. Kitty disappointment was the result. I’m smart enough to have these at my shoulder level on affected closet doors: I think she could get the latches open if they were easily accessible. She’s a SMART cat.

In. Paid.

Anybody else getting dramatically better battery life on older Apple Watches since the most recent update? My 40mm series 4 is still e-waste, but the 44mm is on track to get 20 hours of constant use, and it hasn’t done that in a long time (battery “health” at 81, currently).

Normcore portafilter is great. It feels wonderful in the hand, and is super well machined, so it locks into the group easily but also solid as a rock. Also also it’s a big ol’ chunk of metal: who wouldn’t like that? The basket it came with is not, however. It’s a perfectly fine precision basket, but the shape doesn’t let dosing funnels sit securely if they aren’t magnetic funnels. I have a magnetic funnel, and it’s fine, but I prefer to use the Weber blind shaker, which is not (at least not in that way: the magnetic bit is in the base of whatever you call the thingie that you remove to dose the coffee; it sticks to the neodymium magnet I put in the base of the Niche, but doesn’t stick to a basket). So I bought an IMS baristapro 18g. Of course the Normcore basket was part of how I convinced myself to get the portafilter, but I didn’t buy that this week so it’s okay: new week new shit!

Made that steamed iced americano thing. It’s super good! The texture really is like a nitro coffee, but it doesn’t taste bad because it’s not cold brew crap. I think I’d go a little shorter on the water/espresso ratio next time. But it’s super good!

Silver and I are finally, I think, finally hitting an equilibrium point: she is tolerating more attention and I am tolerating not giving her too much attention.

The other major thing that happened to me today (and honestly at the time I figured was the only major thing) is that I have sort of “officially” transitioned from being my mother’s son to being her care taker. There is overlap. I think this is a lot better for both of us. It’s… at least honest. Her hip replacement is semi-firmly set for April 12th. I’m hoping improved mobility will help her. Surely it can’t hurt.

It looks like a good coffee cup!

I figured out who Brian James Chesser likely is: custody issue. Worked at a place that is less than half a mile from where I live.

I did a lot of things, but being followed home by a PI (I made them immediately, and my pulling into a police department parking lot wasn’t unsubtle enough apparently: “I’ll fucking kill you right now” apparently suitably unsubtle) who had been hired to serve somebody with almost but not quite my name made for an interesting few moments. I don’t even think this variety of being served is legal in Ohio. I’ve been served papers (divorced twice, after all) and most of the time they don’t even bother with certified mail (“most” being “all”). A… particularly difficult parental situation? well, regardless, whomever cares about James should hire a better PI.