Spring into a coffee podcast - with Kyle Anderson of Baratza · Monday May 18, 2009 by colin newell
Seattle Washington. Home of endless rain and gray winters… the city that invented the latte – and host to arguably the best coffee in North America.
Seattle’s other secret is Kyle Anderson, CEO and engineer-inventor at Baratza INC. They brought us the Baratza Virtuoso grinder – and now the Vario. We interviewed Kyle today via the miracle of Skype.
Kyle is the affable, jovial, frank and often downright amusing guy behind some of the most successful coffee grinders on the Planet Earth – it was fun hooking up with him and we think you will agree… there are few things he loves more than coffee.
Have a listen!
or click here for the mp3 if you cannot see the above widget.
Saying no to twitter chapter 1 · Sunday May 17, 2009 by colin newell
If anyone is interested in what I did.. without having to tune into the ultra-lame and now square twitter…
here goes.
Saturday lunch: Visited the ultra-rural Ken’s Cafe on West Saanich road for memorable pancakes. Andrea had the cheeseburger. Coffee by Van Houtte. Not bad. Will return again as Eat magazine has said yes to an actual restaurant review.
Dinner: Red Fish Blue Fish for Halibut and chips – Andrea had the Shrimp roll.
Dessert: Ice cream at the now open “Sweet Memories”.
Personal comment. I wish the owner would re-visit his food safe guide. He served about 20 people before us, handling money and food and never once washed his hands. Now that’s just gross. Normally, I would speak up but I like my ice cream…
lightly sprinkled with cocaine from all those american dollar bills he handled before scooping my single scoop on a waffle cone.
Sunday: Got up at noon. Made a buffet of waffles, bacon and eggs – and granola to keep it safe. Espresso from Everyday Gourmet Coffee roasters, Toronto – brewed in a Gaggia Dose – coffee ground by a Baratza Vario grinder.
Stuck my head into the new Crumbsby’s cupcake and gourmet coffee joint in the Estevan Village, Victoria. Thanks to rock music engineer, Peter Lupini, for the tip. Crumbsby’s has a multi-group fire engine red La Marzocco machine and coffee from the Drumroaster – Crumbsby’s is very child friendly – and today they were packed with screaming children (this is a holiday long weekend) – so I did not hang out for coffee.
Dinner: Nachos, Calamari and Beer at the Swifsure on Bellevue across from the inner harbor, Victoria.
Dessert. Andrea and I were with Sheila, creator of Wisdom’s Essential Elements and she insisted on more ice cream from Sweet Memories… obviously did not get enough cocaine from last nights money-handled cones.
Now. Wasn’t that better than a brain dead twitter feed of dozen word nonsense posts?
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Spring into taser fun - excited delirium and other mythical disorders · Saturday May 16, 2009 by colin newell
When the only tool in your handbag is a wrench, you keep your eyes out for the nuts…
And to explain nutty behavior and unexpected death in taser use, owners of Taser International do what comes naturally – make up a cause of death that does nothing to implicate the energy weapon itself.
Our own RCMP, Canada’s once beloved law enforcement agency, are now “brainwashed” by the manufacturer to justify “ridiculously inappropriate” use of the electronic weapon; zap first, autopsy later.
The makers of the Taser appear to be instructing police in Canada that when they encounter a person suffering from a “mythical” condition that Taser calls “excited delirium,” police have few options other than jolting the person with the controversial electrical weapon.
I guess that this is the upside to using a more typical explosive discharge weapon like the 9MM Glock… which often results in instant death and unexpected gaping wound syndrome.
Excited delirium is not a recognized medical diagnosis. It is a “dubious disorder” created by Taser International and its training Canadian and American police to legitimize it.
The term is also used by the Institute for the Prevention of In-custody Deaths, surprisingly lead by John Peters, an associate of Taser International of Arizona.
John is the go-to guy if you need a professional witness to defend your cop shop against accidental death by over-joltage charges.
Gives extra meaning to the expression… guilty as charged!
Dunno. If some copper is sitting on my head (or neck) after zipping me 4 times with an energy weapon, I am either going to be dead, nearly dead or suffering from entirely pissed off syndrome.
Anyway. What we do know now is that the reputation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is at an all time low… and unless we can bring some of their victims back from the dead… or undo some of their lies, there is little hope that things are going to improve in the short term.
Spring into reflection - pet ownership days gone by · Friday May 15, 2009 by colin newell
Has it been 30 years since I had pets? You know. Come to think of it. Yes.
When I was a kid, I had 3 pets; 2 dogs and a cat.
A black lab. A West highland white terrier. And a street cat.
And like most pets, they were telepathic. But not very good at hiding their superior mental powers.
For instance.
The two dogs would often look at each other. One would raise an eye brow. One would nod. The other would look at its paw. The other, one more nod. And they would both leave the house together… and appear back in time for kibbles.
The cat was in a bit of a pickle, canine relationship wise. It got along famously with the terrier… but not the lab.
The terrier would hang out with the cat, occasionally gesturing and nodding.
Until the lab would show up.
And then the terrier would give the cat an apologetic look – and according to telepathic intercepts that went something like this…
Terrier: Uhm. Dude. Sorry. The lab. Is. One of my kind. And. I need. To chase. You.
Cat: Same as last time?
Terrier: Yea. I. Chase you. I will hold back. You run faster. If you run into a corner. And I catch you. You take a swipe at my nose. And hiss. Make it look good. You go left. I go right. Got it?
Cat. Left. Then right. Hiss. Yea. I think so.
The lab was not so good at reading the cats mind.
More than once it missed the escape cues and ended up with a bloody nose.
I can still hear the cat thinking… “Lab. I am going to swing at you NOW. You pull back. You might get grazed. No blood. Good luck.”
The lab did not like cats much… and did not like the mental interaction. And generally did not listen to what the cat was thinking… so blood generally.
I made a promise as I buried my last pet: Never again.
And I kept that promise. But sometimes, I miss the interaction between domesticated animals.
In the year 2009, I have human interaction and technology – neither of which is 1/2 as interesting as pets. So. If you have a pet that is alive and well. Give it a gentle hug. And remember. If you cannot read its mind, remember this.
It’s reading yours.
