When travelling...
Other than, oh I don't know, missing my family, the one thing that hurts my head most of all is the bad coffee. It's really not that hard to make a decent cup. It doesn't cost more really. It's a simple application of quality standards for technique, ingredients, and machine tuning. Put another way, all the proprieter needs to do is care and try just a little.
I've been making drinks out of my machine at for about two years and I surpassed all but the very very best shops after only a few months. This timeframe would obviously be compressed to mere days given the volume of drinks that go through a commercial establishment. You'd think that at least 1 in 5 people behind the coffee bar would just work as hard as they can to build the best possible drinks. You'd think they'd do it purely to take pride in what they do. Hell, I've witnessed the toll-booth collector making sure the bills are all pointed in the same direction. Can we please spread the coffee culture beyond Portland/Seattle (& that boot shaped country)? I mean really, should the rest of the country suffer at the hands of Starbucks? Do it for the children.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Sunday, April 24, 2005
again
Charlie, "...The End"
Ben, "again!"
Charlie, "But we've read 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom' THREE times already!!!"
Ben, "Read it four times?"
He's a demanding boy. Clever but demanding.
------
Traveling all week. The blog is closed. The cafe is closed. OK... the cafe is only serving Chai. See you next week.
Ben, "again!"
Charlie, "But we've read 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom' THREE times already!!!"
Ben, "Read it four times?"
He's a demanding boy. Clever but demanding.
------
Traveling all week. The blog is closed. The cafe is closed. OK... the cafe is only serving Chai. See you next week.
Friday, April 22, 2005
i know
i know what people want... pictures. sorry
too lazy and too busy for the moment. so alas, text will have to suffice.
Acronym for the day: mods - Middle Of (the) Day Shoppers... mods.
The mods are an ungainly group. The mods touch all the vegetables and always... ALWAYS pay by check. Said check always, always requires something extra written on it because it's missing data. And mods NEVER bring their own pen. Why would they? They wouldn't... because they're mods. Avoid shopping when the mods are out and about. Sure 5-7pm primetime shopping is hectic but at least everyone's competent. They know the drill. People don't block traffic with their carts and quickly scoot past your field of vision when you're choosing the correct salt-and-vinegar chips or the best olives to go with that bread. And they quietly excuse themselves for doing so. Perfect. It's a fabulous dance and nobody's stepping on my toes.
And the pizza's fresh.
too lazy and too busy for the moment. so alas, text will have to suffice.
Acronym for the day: mods - Middle Of (the) Day Shoppers... mods.
The mods are an ungainly group. The mods touch all the vegetables and always... ALWAYS pay by check. Said check always, always requires something extra written on it because it's missing data. And mods NEVER bring their own pen. Why would they? They wouldn't... because they're mods. Avoid shopping when the mods are out and about. Sure 5-7pm primetime shopping is hectic but at least everyone's competent. They know the drill. People don't block traffic with their carts and quickly scoot past your field of vision when you're choosing the correct salt-and-vinegar chips or the best olives to go with that bread. And they quietly excuse themselves for doing so. Perfect. It's a fabulous dance and nobody's stepping on my toes.
And the pizza's fresh.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
This one goes to eleven
The community cafe has gone beyond traditional whole milk and is now proud to announce non-homogenized "cream on top" whole milk. This takes drinks to a new level.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
One and a half
Our house turns one-and-a-half today. This afternoon I completed half of the full bath ... so we now have 1.5 bathrooms. Happiness is not having to navigate stairs in the middle of the night for a glass of water. Next I'll tile up the shower and then it'll be fully functional.
All of this slows to a near stop because tomorrow is day one of my new job. I'll be busy and spent in the near term.
btw, The NE Cup-&-Saucer restaurant has the best home fries in town. word.
All of this slows to a near stop because tomorrow is day one of my new job. I'll be busy and spent in the near term.
btw, The NE Cup-&-Saucer restaurant has the best home fries in town. word.
Monday, April 11, 2005
E Lec Tricity
The bathroom is wired. Literally. I got to say that there's nothing quite as scary as being anywhere near the main electrical lines heading into the house at the breaker box. That's where you have no safety features of any kind. It's just you and the endless amperage of the grid. Yikes. You know all went smoothly given I'm here typing this blog update.
fishew
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Perfect weekend
If you know us then you've certainly heard the waxing about a weekend riding here or a weekend camping there, etc. But THIS weekend was the mac daddi to top all weekends.
Lets go back two Tuesdays ago to get the whole picture. The first conference call of the workday went smoothly enough. The next conference call wasn't as nice. It seems the company was downsizing and I was part of that action. I took about ten minutes to assess and then got back to work. The nature this work was strangely similar to the earlier part of the morning. I sent emails, I placed calls, I did some research. It was as if nothing changed except the clients.
Fast forward to the drive out to our resort destination. The Volvo is packed with gear: Bikes, skis, snowshoes... we're ready for whatever's out there. The one thing that is missing is Ben who is being taken care of by friends for the weekend.
After creeping through the slow traffic, my mobile phone rings and my stint at unemployment comes to an end with a verbal offer. The company is superb, the people are brilliant and they're happy to have me continue telecommuting from Portland. This great news is the icing on the cake. We're ready for our first weekend away from the boy (that's over TWO YEARS) with absolutely zero stress.
With all of the activity choices available, what do we choose to do the whole time? Did we ski? snowshoe? Bike? {Bike bike and bike... of course.} Perfect weather, idyllic trails that have a rhythm and flow unlike anything else. The trail designers built this specifically to maximize the pleasure of biking through endless curves over and over and over and ... local lore says that the trail is made smooth every night by gnomes. It's true.
That plus just regular things that non-parents take for granted. Seeing a movie, having dinner... so simple yet so wonderful when unincumbered by the kid. Our accomodations were swank and the 100 degree soaking pool post-ride was just over the top perfect.
Thinking big picture... the weekend allowed us to stop and think about how everything is coming together. A really great job, a place to live that feels like home, and a family direction that feels right... everything is looking pretty sweet right now. Oh, and the chickens, that's the best part of all: free eggs. Forget the rest of it, it's the free eggs.
Lets go back two Tuesdays ago to get the whole picture. The first conference call of the workday went smoothly enough. The next conference call wasn't as nice. It seems the company was downsizing and I was part of that action. I took about ten minutes to assess and then got back to work. The nature this work was strangely similar to the earlier part of the morning. I sent emails, I placed calls, I did some research. It was as if nothing changed except the clients.
Fast forward to the drive out to our resort destination. The Volvo is packed with gear: Bikes, skis, snowshoes... we're ready for whatever's out there. The one thing that is missing is Ben who is being taken care of by friends for the weekend.
After creeping through the slow traffic, my mobile phone rings and my stint at unemployment comes to an end with a verbal offer. The company is superb, the people are brilliant and they're happy to have me continue telecommuting from Portland. This great news is the icing on the cake. We're ready for our first weekend away from the boy (that's over TWO YEARS) with absolutely zero stress.
With all of the activity choices available, what do we choose to do the whole time? Did we ski? snowshoe? Bike? {Bike bike and bike... of course.} Perfect weather, idyllic trails that have a rhythm and flow unlike anything else. The trail designers built this specifically to maximize the pleasure of biking through endless curves over and over and over and ... local lore says that the trail is made smooth every night by gnomes. It's true.
That plus just regular things that non-parents take for granted. Seeing a movie, having dinner... so simple yet so wonderful when unincumbered by the kid. Our accomodations were swank and the 100 degree soaking pool post-ride was just over the top perfect.
Thinking big picture... the weekend allowed us to stop and think about how everything is coming together. A really great job, a place to live that feels like home, and a family direction that feels right... everything is looking pretty sweet right now. Oh, and the chickens, that's the best part of all: free eggs. Forget the rest of it, it's the free eggs.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
All grown up
Not Benjamin... the chickens.
The yet-to-be-named birds are living large in the coop. They migrated from the incubator to the coop in a dramatic ceremony. The grand ceremony consisted of me picking them up and gently placing them in the coop. This followed by the ceremonial food & water followed by the ceremonial food scrap toss. Benjamin got into the game with his own tossing of the food.
Maybe we'll put in a webcam in there. The purpose would, of course, be data collection. We'd monitor worm activity and make note of time of day and which bird got the worm. Then we could finally put that age old expression to the test.
[no you're not getting a hint. If you don't know the saying then well... hmm... looks like you're stuck then.]
photos to follow
The yet-to-be-named birds are living large in the coop. They migrated from the incubator to the coop in a dramatic ceremony. The grand ceremony consisted of me picking them up and gently placing them in the coop. This followed by the ceremonial food & water followed by the ceremonial food scrap toss. Benjamin got into the game with his own tossing of the food.
Maybe we'll put in a webcam in there. The purpose would, of course, be data collection. We'd monitor worm activity and make note of time of day and which bird got the worm. Then we could finally put that age old expression to the test.
[no you're not getting a hint. If you don't know the saying then well... hmm... looks like you're stuck then.]
photos to follow
Monday, March 28, 2005
commute
As a guy in the middle of a major renovation, I'm getting tired of the commute. All DIYers know exactly what I'm talking about. The home to HomeDepot commute. The home to the tile place commute. The home to Parr Lumber commute. The short commute to the store that doesn't have what you need immediately followed by the HomeDepot commute.
It's hell
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Oops and oops
The original work that our plumbers did was superb. The craftsmanship and speed of installation showed expertise and professionalism. Everything fell apart today. Today was the day the city's inspector came to check the plumbing and structural. Oh the stuff all passed without problem but a few mistakes were made.
We need to start from the beginning with some background info. The plumbing permit requires that any drainage system goes through a rigorous test. The test works like this. Cap off every the bottom and any connected drain and then fill the whole system with water and wait 4 hours. If nothing leaks then you pass. Easy enough right. Your plumber is who loads up the system with water until it pours out of the vent on the roof and then comes back after the inspection has taken place. Then they uncap what they capped. OK, clear on this...good.
Now the system was getting filled with water and soon would be spilling out of the roof vent. The one problem is that there was an open T fitting about three feet below in the attic. Well water started pouring out of this for about 30 seconds before Amy's panicked "WATER!!! WATER!!!" commentary could be reacted to. I shut off the fill valve probably at the same time as the plumber did at a different point.
The saturated blown in insulation and the roof below were soaked. I poked a hole with a pin into a crack and water came out...hmmm. The plumbers will sort me out for the damages and it's really not such a huge deal but a good morning it did not make.
Oh and then there was the 2nd thing. Again Amy noticed, although much more calmly, an encroaching puddle in the basement. On the phone with the plumber, he was confident that it couldn't be growing. I assumed that he was right and the existing puddle simply was spreading slightly due to the normal effects of a puddle sitting. It's a nasty basement so as long as it dries, I'm not going to worry about it. I continue about my day and go into the basement to visit the chickens when I notice that the puddle is MUCH bigger. Perplexed I investigate to find that the pipe connected to the existing bathroom lavatory is resting gently on a rubber cap. It's supposed to be connected to the pipe below. One bucket, one screwdriver, and ten minutes later I have it all sorted out and everything's fab.
The funny thing is that I can see how both mistakes could have been easily made. The existing workmanship and professionalism was so good prior to today's mayhem that I have a hard time reconciling the two. I still think these guys are good plumbers but really got it wrong today.
And Amy truly saved the day. If the water had run into the attic for three or four minutes then the damage would have been drastically different. The ceiling would have likely burst sending dirty water atop the very absorbent futon and likely taken out the computer and other furniture in the room. More importantly, my bikes in the basement might have gotten wet. Then I would have been really mad.
We need to start from the beginning with some background info. The plumbing permit requires that any drainage system goes through a rigorous test. The test works like this. Cap off every the bottom and any connected drain and then fill the whole system with water and wait 4 hours. If nothing leaks then you pass. Easy enough right. Your plumber is who loads up the system with water until it pours out of the vent on the roof and then comes back after the inspection has taken place. Then they uncap what they capped. OK, clear on this...good.
Now the system was getting filled with water and soon would be spilling out of the roof vent. The one problem is that there was an open T fitting about three feet below in the attic. Well water started pouring out of this for about 30 seconds before Amy's panicked "WATER!!! WATER!!!" commentary could be reacted to. I shut off the fill valve probably at the same time as the plumber did at a different point.
The saturated blown in insulation and the roof below were soaked. I poked a hole with a pin into a crack and water came out...hmmm. The plumbers will sort me out for the damages and it's really not such a huge deal but a good morning it did not make.
Oh and then there was the 2nd thing. Again Amy noticed, although much more calmly, an encroaching puddle in the basement. On the phone with the plumber, he was confident that it couldn't be growing. I assumed that he was right and the existing puddle simply was spreading slightly due to the normal effects of a puddle sitting. It's a nasty basement so as long as it dries, I'm not going to worry about it. I continue about my day and go into the basement to visit the chickens when I notice that the puddle is MUCH bigger. Perplexed I investigate to find that the pipe connected to the existing bathroom lavatory is resting gently on a rubber cap. It's supposed to be connected to the pipe below. One bucket, one screwdriver, and ten minutes later I have it all sorted out and everything's fab.
The funny thing is that I can see how both mistakes could have been easily made. The existing workmanship and professionalism was so good prior to today's mayhem that I have a hard time reconciling the two. I still think these guys are good plumbers but really got it wrong today.
And Amy truly saved the day. If the water had run into the attic for three or four minutes then the damage would have been drastically different. The ceiling would have likely burst sending dirty water atop the very absorbent futon and likely taken out the computer and other furniture in the room. More importantly, my bikes in the basement might have gotten wet. Then I would have been really mad.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
RAIN
Most people have a simple happiness algorithm. Rain=sad. Sun=happy. This is, of course, excluding the farmer. I find myself more like the farmer in spirit. It's finally raining here. I surprise myself with the amount that I care and the emotional response to the rain. It's as if I can feel a collective sigh of relief from the plants and the ground itself. It's the fifth day of this pattern with no end in sight. The current rains may not erase the low seasonal measurements and we may be looking at an earlier fire season. But, for now, it's a nice saturated Pacific Northwest and that's a good thing.
Monday, March 21, 2005
The bug, the bath, and the coffee
Surely each incremental bit of progress in the bathroom project generates a collective yawn so I'll spare the details and photos won't appear as often. But what's interesting is the amount of work and under what conditions it all happened. Lets set the stage... All of us are sick and have all of your favorite cold symptoms including my favorite: fuzzy head. Nothing like working with power tools in a haze. Within the course of one rainy weekend we ...
... framed up and installed a 2nd skylight that doesn't leak...yippee
... filled a construction sized massive trash bin (30 cubic yards fyi) with heavy crap. Happiness is getting rid of the previous owner's trash. Some items needed to be dismantled before removal, like the rusty yet physically connected hot water heater.
... Purchased materials/equipment to build and then built the railing. It replaces the ugliest drywall crap ever.
The bathroom is inching ever closer. Somehow sharing the pain & effort eases the pain. OK not really but what else do I have going on? There's the new coffee grinder en route but best to save that for another day. Surely THAT foreshadowing will leave you on tenterhooks. indeed.
... framed up and installed a 2nd skylight that doesn't leak...yippee
... filled a construction sized massive trash bin (30 cubic yards fyi) with heavy crap. Happiness is getting rid of the previous owner's trash. Some items needed to be dismantled before removal, like the rusty yet physically connected hot water heater.
... Purchased materials/equipment to build and then built the railing. It replaces the ugliest drywall crap ever.
The bathroom is inching ever closer. Somehow sharing the pain & effort eases the pain. OK not really but what else do I have going on? There's the new coffee grinder en route but best to save that for another day. Surely THAT foreshadowing will leave you on tenterhooks. indeed.
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