Delbert's Coffee Chronicle

Indonesia Flores Jade

2008-06-26T20:44:00.002-04:00

Roasted to FC+ this evening. Will brew on Saturday after de-gassing.

Tanzania Hassambo Macro-Lot Peaberry

2008-06-26T20:42:00.002-04:00

Roasted to FC+ about two weeks ago. This is by far the best I have roasted recently. Very smooth, no bitter aftertaste. Nice body.

Brasil FTO Poco Fundo Coop

2008-06-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

Roasted this afternoon to FC+. Will try in a few days.

Very hot and humid here again today.

Ethiopia Organic

2008-06-07T10:25:00.002-04:00

Very hot here today. And humid.

Roasted two small batches of Ethiopia Organic Dry-Process Golocha to FC+. Probably wait until Sunday morning to brew to allow it to de-gas properly.

2008-05-26T07:17:00.002-04:00

We have a new brewer now (again). Made the plunge and got a Technivorm Mochamaster at Christmas. We have the KBT 741.

El Salvador Matalapa Estate

2008-05-26T07:15:00.001-04:00

Very nice cup. Lighter body, no bitter aftertaste. I would order this again. Very sweet smell when freshly ground.

Roasting Again

2008-05-24T19:14:00.002-04:00

After a long lay-off, I've started to start roasting again. Been too long. Started today again with a batch of El Salvador Matalapa Estate from Sweet Maria's. Roasted to Full City +. Should know how it came out tomorrow.

I'm still here

2007-04-01T15:36:00.000-04:00

My sister informed me yesterday that she is going to check out this blog occassionaly, so I may have to post something she doesn't like to see if she is paying attention.

Tried a few other fair-trade Trader Joe's blends a few weeks ago. The Ethiopian was better than the Nicaraguan. Both were slightly overroasted.

Lavazza

2007-01-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

Just finished up a can of Lavazza drip. This was included as a freebie from aabreecoffee.com when I ordered the Capresso. Supposedly this is the most popular drip brand in Italy and I fail to see why. Had a very unpleasant finish and aftertaste. I won't be purchasing it again. At least not this grind and roast.

New Capresso

2007-01-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

I replaced the Presto Scandinavian with a Capresso Elegance Therm that I ordered from aabreecoffee.com . I wasn't real happy with it at first. The clock, even though I don't use this, was broken. This irritated me every time that I looked at it. I was going to return it, but decided to have Capresso replace the main unit instead. It should be here shortly.

It make decent coffee and I do like the thermal carafe. It's important to warm the carafe before making the coffee to maintain a proper temperature. The carafe is on the small side, making only 8 cups.

Pictured next to the coffee maker is my wife's favourite coffee mug; it was issued by Pearl S. Buck International and celebrates 50 years of international adoption though its Welcome House agency.

Goodbye 2006

2006-12-31T22:36:00.000-05:00

Well 2006 has come and gone. On the whole it was a pretty good year. I had many wonderful opportunities to do things with the family such as camping and a trip to Europe. The kids are wonderful and my wife and I are truly blessed. Hopefully 2007 will be as much fun as 2006 was.

Presto - fired!

2006-12-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

While the Presto Scandinavian made good coffee, I got tired of it spilling coffee all over the counter so today it goes back to Costco. Broke out the Krups Moka Java again. Makes much better coffee anyway. It's just a little too strong for my wife's taste.

More Peet's

2006-11-12T14:39:00.000-05:00

Been awhile since the last post. Recently been drinking some more Peet's blends. Blend 101 and Major Dickason's Blend. Both are decent enough but unremarkable, roasted a little on the dark side. I enjoyed making espresso with them more so than drip coffee. Don't know what I'm going to be trying next. Roasted some El Salvador green coffee yesterday. First roast in awhile so maybe it's time to go thru a roasting spurt.

Peet's Espresso Forte

2006-09-04T16:45:00.000-04:00

I go thru spruts in which I seem to stick to one thing for awhile. Lately it was the Bialetti Moka Pot. Peet's sent me a coupon for free shipping so I ordered some coffee beans from them. Most of the message boards and sites deride Peet's and Starbucks for over-roasting their coffees.

I have to say however, that the Peet's Espresso Forte makes tremendous espresso. The best that I have made in awhile. Nice thick crema and tiger-stripping on the pull. Great taste with just a touch of a bitter aftertaste, but I really like it. I recommend that you give it a shot. Peet's Espresso Forte

Ground Coffee

2006-08-12T08:23:00.000-04:00

My experiments with ground coffee continue. Recently I've been brewing some of the Skanerost from Lofbergs Lila. This is a dark roast that Ikea imports to the US. A 9 ounce bag is only $2.99. It's pretty good coffee, not bad. Has a nice full body but could use a better aftertaste.

New Coffeemaker

2006-08-12T08:15:00.000-04:00

I got tired of the Melitta Clarity so I recently ordered this Presto Scandinavian. The Scandinavian is similar to the Clarity and the much more expensive Technivorm in that it has multiple elements to produce much hotter water for a more appropriate brewing temperature of 195 to 200 degrees F. Looks much better on the counter as well with a much smaller footprint. So far, I've been very satisfied with the performance. We'll see how it hold up long term. Apparently Presto has decided to stop making this model however.

Heat Wave

2006-08-01T07:30:00.000-04:00

It's been unbelieveably hot here and will be hotter today. Our oldest is at camp this week and I'm worried about him. Hopefully the counselors know what they are doing.

This morning I brewed some Seattle's Best Coffee Breakfast Blead. It was on sale and our local Giant and I had a coupon as well. I'm a sucker for what appears to be a deal. Unfortunately all our store stocks is pre-ground coffee. The brewed coffee is still pretty good however. Very pleasant aftertaste. Not my favorite, but at about $5.00 a pound, not bad either.

Supermarkets

2006-07-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

I love going to new supermarkets, especially good ones. On our trip to Spain, the Carrefour and Super Sol stores were terrific.

Carrefour is sort of like a Wal-Mart Supercenter. They have everything. These are referred to as "Hyper Markets" in Spain and other parts of Europe. This store was attached to a shopping center near Jerez.

The other store was the SuperSol in Cadiz. This was more of a traditional supermarket. They had terrific fresh bread.

Here at home I love going to Trader Joe's, Wegman's, and Whole Foods. They are a pleasure to shop.

Segafredo

2006-07-30T21:57:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of days, I been experimenting with some pre-ground Segafredo espresso that I purchased on our recent trip to Spain. I haven't bought ground espresso before but thought I would try it.

Yesterday I tried it in the espresso machine. The result was what looked to be a nice shot with good crema formation, however, it was very bitter. I'm going to try it again with a slightly harder tamp.

Today I used it in the Bialetti. It's really too fine a grind for the moka pot but I thought I'd try it anyway. I'd have to say that it made better coffee in the moka pot than in the espresso machine. I'll try the espresso machine one more time but I'll probably reserve the rest of this for the moka pot. Though more expensive than the Super Sol Moka grind, it just doesn't appear to be as good. I'll reserve judgment until I try the Segafredo Moka grind though.

The Bialetti Brewing

2006-07-29T22:42:00.000-04:00

This has become one of my favorite ways to brew some coffee. I don't really consider it to be espresso, just really strong coffee. This was brewed with the Super Sol Moka grind that we picked up in Spain. For generic coffee, it is very good.

Office Coffee

2006-07-26T12:10:00.000-04:00

We switched our coffee service a couple of months ago. The quality of the coffee improved but it's still pretty bad. Why is office coffee pretty much undrinkable everywhere?

They are Nut-riffic

2006-07-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

I brought these home from a recent trip home to North Dakota. They don't sell much of these on the East Coast. I have seen them occasionally at Sam's Club. The venerable Pearson's Nut Goodie and Salted Nut Roll are two of Minnesota's finest ya know. You betcha they are.

Candy from Europe

2006-07-23T21:47:00.000-04:00

We brought home some candy from our recent trip. The kids loved the Kinder chocolate products. The Nestle Aero Mint candy bar is what our oldest called "the best candy bar ever!" and I have to agree that it is pretty darn good. I can't understand why Nestle doesn't sell these here. They are terrific. When I open my shop, I'm going to stock it with European or Canadian candy since it is different from the typical stuff we see here.

2006-07-21T11:52:00.000-04:00

This is a map of the F1 layout at IMS. When we have gone, we've always had seats in the H Section right at the end of the first straight at Turn 1, one of the best places to watch the race. This is where Fernando Alonso went into the wall back in 2004.

Euro Vacation

2006-07-21T11:49:00.000-04:00

Here we are at the Tower Bridge in London. We had a terrific time visiting London for 5 days and then spent 6 days in Southern Spain. It was a wonderful trip and the kids were great travelers.

Visit to Disneyworld

2006-07-21T11:47:00.000-04:00

Picture of the family last year during our trip to Orlando. I must say that I had a much better time than I anticipated. It was really a wonderful trip.

VW Geek

2006-07-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm a VW geek too. This is a shot of the odometer on our Passat Variant hitting 111,111 miles a few months ago. Probably not the safest activity since I was obviously doing about 70 in a 55.

F1 Road Course at Indy

2006-07-13T13:03:00.000-04:00

This is a shot looking south on the F1 road course at IMS. They let fans walk a portion of the track during the days leading up to the race on Sunday. This taken on the straight in the braking area between turns 6 and 7. The cars are doing about 180 mph at this point.

Almost

2006-07-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

I played a quick round of golf yesterday at Rocky Gap in Western Maryland. It is a Jack Nicklaus designed course so it is very difficult. This photo is the result of my tee shot on the par 3 No. 4 hole. Closest I've come to a slam-dunk hole-in-one. At least I made the putt for birdie.

Costa Coffee

2006-07-09T14:50:00.000-04:00

Costa Coffee

These stores seemed to be very popular in London, giving Starbucks a run for the money. I only had time to visit one. The macchiato that I had was very smooth. Should have had another

F1 in 2002

2006-07-08T09:29:00.000-04:00

This is a short movie of the start of the F1 USGP in 2002 at Indianapolis. I've had the good fortune of going to 4 races there with my friend Steve.

Seoul Starbucks

2006-07-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of a typical Seoul Starbucks that I took a few years back. The Koreans are as crazed about coffee as we are. There is a Gloria Jean's in the background. I hate Gloria Jean's and all the flavored coffees. Many hate Starbucks as well, but at least I know what I'm getting there - hot fresh coffee at the proper strength.

Seoul is a wonderful city and we hope to return soon.

Ferrari Coffee?

2006-07-06T18:56:00.000-04:00

This is picture of a trip to Hawaii a couple of years ago. Seemed like everywhere we went on the Big Island to look at coffee related stuff, the place we were going was closed. Happened at the UCC factory tour as well

More Mugs

2006-07-04T14:50:00.000-04:00

We also picked up a couple of mugs as well. Granted Starbucks is not either Spanish or English, but I do like these because they usually depict the most recognized landmark for each city. These are for Sevilla with the Cathedral and London of course with Big Ben. Both of these are larger than the Seoul mug (12 oz) with the Sevilla mug at 16 oz and the London mug at 20 oz.

Coffee from Spain

2006-07-04T12:59:00.000-04:00

I bought these 3 packs of coffee on our recent trip to Europe. The one on the right is a generic from a supermercado in Espana called SuperSol. A moka grind, I've been drinking it since I got home and it is superb. The other two are an espresso grind and a moka grind from Segafredo. I think they were roasted in Italia but am not sure. More on those later when I try them.

More from Trader Joe

2006-07-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

I've always been hesitant to try the Kauai coffee for some reason. Having visited the island, I guess I thought that it was too wet to grow good coffee there. I was wrong. This is a very good roast and I'll buy it again.

Tamper

2006-01-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

This is my espresso tamper. Previous to getting this wonderful tool, I just used the cheap plastic tamper that came with the machine, thinking that was good enough. Bad idea.

This is a handcrafted Pullman tamper from Australia. It has a wood handle that provide as great feel and it is weighted very well. My pulls improved immediately after getting this. I highly recommend spending the money on a quality tamper.

The mug counts as much as the coffee

2006-01-14T23:16:00.000-05:00

I've had this mug for over 10 years. It has the old banned politcally incorrect Starbucks mermaid logo on it. These mugs are the right weight and keep the coffee warm for a long time. If the Seoul mug is dirty, this is the one that I reach for.

Favourite Mug

2006-01-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

This is my favourite coffee mug. It contains a recently pulled Americano and some steamed milk. The espresso is a blend of Starbucks Breakfast Blend with a some Equal Exchange French Roast. Yes the mug is from the Starbucks evil empire, but I purchased it in Seoul when we traveled there to bring our youngest son home. The mug spells out SEOUL with one of the Royal Palaces in the background. We didn't bring home many souvenirs from our second trip but this was one of them.

Busy at Work, Forgetful at Home

2006-01-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

We have been extremely busy at work lately. So much so that I often don't know what to do first since everything requires immediate attention.

What makes this worse is that I forget to do the little things at home, often because I'm bringing work home with me. Things like telling my wife that I love her and that what she does at home with the kids amazes me. I know that I could never do it as well as she does. Things like reading more than two bedtime stories to my 3 and 5 year olds because I'm too tired. Things like spending time with my 8 year old when we're not rushing off to some event or activity.

I wish that I could slow the clock down. But I know that's not happening.

Today is Thursday so it's usually pizza night. I called home around 5 to see what kind of pizza we wanted and my father-in-law answered the phone. This was not a good thing. My wife's parents come to watch the kids when she goes to work one day a week. I had forgotten which day she was working and was already late coming home.

Spoons

2006-01-11T19:35:00.000-05:00

These are some spoons that we purchased on a trip to Seoul. They are perfect coffee spoons. I love the weight and size of them and wish that there were more available for purchase here. I think they're better than a standard demitasse spoons that are typically available here. That is a quarter next to the head of the spoon for scale.

Moka Brewer

2006-01-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

I've known about these for a long time but always thought they could not possibly brew good coffee. I was wrong. This is a Bialetti 6-cup Dama. I was hoping for a Bialetti Brikka but Target ran out of those before I could order one before Christmas. It's basically the same, the Brikka has black handles as opposed to red.

This is very easy to use. Fill the bottom portion with water, add coffee above the filter, screw on the top and throw it on the stove. A couple of minutes later you have some good very strong coffee. Some call it espresso but I prefer to refer to it as strong coffee. The resulting brew does not have the body of espresso. It's a little lighter.

I really can't wait to take it camping. It will work perfectly on the Coleman stove.

Happy New Year

2005-12-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

Just sitting here looking at the tree, and drinking some egg nog spiked with Captain Morgan. The tree will come down tomorrow with the new year. I haven't tried Captain Morgan with the egg nog before, it's much better than bourbon.

In hindsight, it's been a pretty good year. The kids are really coming into their own and they are a joy to be with.

We went to a Japanese steakhouse in Lancaster for dinner tonight with our good friends. It was a great time.

This is a collection of cans from Trader Joe's, displaying the various different blends of their coffee that I have been enjoying for the past few months. Of those blends, I think that I like the Smooth and Mellow and the Kenya AA the best. I've been saving the cans for a Cub Scout project. Now if I could just think of one for them to do.

For Christmas I got a new Bialetti Dama 6-cup "espresso" maker. More on that to follow.

Delbert's Coffee Chronicle

2005-11-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

I really need to update this soon

Long Time

2005-08-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

Wow, summer has been so busy with vacation and other activities. Took the kids to Williamsburg and Ocean City, MD for a few days; it was much fun.

Finished up the Black Cat Blend for the espresso. Wonderful stuff but pricey once you add in the shipping.

For espresso, I've been drinking the Trader Joe's espresso for the past week. Not bad, not great, but not bad. Can't beat the price either.

Brewing Equipment Part IV

2005-07-02T08:43:00.000-04:00

This is my espresso machine and grinder. The espresso machine is an Expobar Office Pulser. I purchased it from Whole Latte Love and have had it for about 9 months now. It took awhile to get used to it since I had a Saeco Rio Vapore prior to this, which didn't really require any knowledge to operate regarding grind and tamp. This has been a wonderful machine. I especially like the E61 group head (not an actual E61 but a knock-off) due its heat retention capability. The Expobars are manufactured in Spain.

The grinder is a Rancilio Rocky with doser. It works great and produces a very consistent grind. Some people have complained about the doser but I like it. Keeps the grinds from going everywhere. The Rocky is manufactured in Italy.

I catch the brew in the Reese's cup. We live near Hersheypark and its a nice local touch.

Both pieces of equipment are extremely well made and solid.

Brewing Equipment Part III

2005-07-02T08:40:00.000-04:00

This is my collection of French presses and what I store my beans in.

The presses are all made by Bodum and off varying size. I take the one in the middle when we go camping and it works great.

I purchased the Starbucks canister at the original Seattle store near Pike Place Market in 1989. It is made by Beehive and has served me well.

The Peet's canister was a giveaway when Peet's started selling beans via mail order. The narrow top limits its utility though so it doesn't get as much use.

Brewing Equipment Part II

2005-07-02T08:36:00.000-04:00

This is my Krups Moka Brew. This also brews a great cup of coffee, although the resulting cup is often quite different in taste and body even when using the same blend of coffee in a drip maker.

The Moka Brew uses steam to force the heated water through the ground coffee. As a result, the coffee has a slightly more burnt flavor from the higher brewing temperature.

I don't use it as much since getting the Clarity. I think I'll have to break it out again this weekend and fire it up.

Brewing Equipment Part I

2005-07-02T08:22:00.000-04:00

I thought that I would create a few posts to catalog my brewing equipment.

Pictured is what I am currently using to brew drip coffee. The brewer is a Melitta Clarity. It is a Technivorm-like brewer in that it has two heating elements to bring the water temperature close to 200 deg F which is needed for proper brewing. It really makes a superb cup of coffee; I enjoy using it. Very simple to operate and clean. Only negative to me is the lack of an automatic "off". It was only $20 when I found it on clearance. The Technivorm costs close to $200. Where would we be without that cheap Chinese labor?

The grinder is a Starbucks Barista, which is really a rebadged Solis grinder, is manufactured in Switzerland. It has been a very durable grinder for drip coffee. Not so good for espresso. Also performs adequately for the French Press though a slightly more coarse setting would be preferred. I got a good deal on this too when Microsoft was giving $20 away for using the now defunct Passport Wallet.

Finishing up the New Guinea

2005-06-28T21:32:00.000-04:00

Not much has been going on. Finishing up the New Guinea tomorrow, then back some of the Trader Joe's fare that I recently purchased. I think I'll try the Mocha Java first.

It has been so stinking hot and dry. Our yard is totally fried and now dormant. Hopefully we will get some rain soon. This has been far too hot for June.

My oldest child leaves for church camp this Sunday. He's 8 and this will be his first time away from home without us. So I'm a little nervous.

Playing Catch-up

2005-06-21T07:38:00.000-04:00

It has been a hectic month, and difficult to keep up with the posts.

Went camping over the weekend. It was wonderful and we had a great time.

Used the French Press early in the morning at the cabin with some Intelligentsia Berkely's Blend, which was very nice.

Brewed some Intelligentsia New Guiena this morning. A very wonderful roast, can't wait to have more.

Also finally ordred some Intelligentsia Black Cat for espresso. I thought I was making good espresso before until trying this. It is fantastic.

Starbucks Fortymile Blend

2005-05-30T22:13:00.000-04:00

Picked up a pound of this last week, new blend from Starbucks. Label says that it is a blend of peaberry beans. Very tasty cup. Has a chocolatety aftertaste that is very pleasant. Also makes a pretty good expresso, good body and flavor. Not burnt like other Starbucks roasts.

Memorial Day weekend was fairly uneventful. Marched in the Memorial Day parade this morning with the Cub Scouts. My son did a pretty good job, but holding the flag up was a bit much for him for the entire parade. After the parade, the Pack cleaned the stream in town. Was really just an excuse for the kids to play in the water.

Good Weekend

2005-05-23T08:04:00.000-04:00

Even though I still don't feel very well, had a good weekend with the church golf tournament this weekend. Even though we didn't win, it was still fun. Played pretty well too considering that I had only played 9 holes prior to this all year.

Finished up some of the Trader Joe's Bay Blend this weekend. Pretty good coffee, I like it because it is cheap. Full bodied, with a very slight sour aftertaste. Not enough to deter me from purchasing again.

Golf today

2005-05-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

First golf of the year, if you forget about the nine holes played on New Year's Day. But that was really sort of a fluke.

Started off pretty well, considering that I had not hit a ball in five months. Good drive, pulled second shot, chip and 3 putts. Only one par in the nine holes played. It was really a beautiful day though and felt good to be on the course again.

Birthday Parties

2005-05-07T21:54:00.000-04:00

Went to a birthday party for my wife's cousin's son today. After a two hour drive in the car I was a bit fried. The party was even worse. Theme - rock n roll party for a 6 year old. The child's father is a high school teacher and he had some of his students come over to crank out the tunes for the 6 year olds. Good lord were they loud. I'm getting too old for this.

What's the deal with the birthday party give-away? We never had this when I was growing up. Parties were a lot simplier as well, and probably more fun.

I'm so old.

Trader Joe's again

2005-05-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

Even though it is not fresh roasted, the Trader Joe's Smooth and Mellow has been very nice. I like it almost as much as I like the store.

Today I had it both at home in the morning and this afternoon. Today's brew was much better, think that I used the right amount of coffee and had the water hot enough. That wasn't the case yesterday. Tasted sour.

Trader Joe's

2005-05-02T08:38:00.000-04:00

Went to New Jersey over the weekend. Stopped at Trader Joe's and picked up some of their coffee and a few other things. I like that store but there are always too many people there.

This morning I brewed some of their Mellow Blend. Has an African flavour and aroma. A lighter roast, I like it. And it's a bargain at about $5.50 a pound.

Office Coffee

2005-04-29T08:18:00.000-04:00

Why does "office coffee" have to be so bad? It is absolutely dreadful.

I've tried bringing in some fresh roasted coffee in the past and brewing it to the right strength but all I get is complaints that it's too strong. "Wow, that's STRONG coffee." So I've just given up.

Now I brew one cup at a time with a Melitta pour-over. Saves coffee for me and doesn't go to waste. This method works very well.

F1 and a disappointing espresso

2005-04-24T21:41:00.000-04:00

Thankfully F1 returned to racing today with a nail bitter of a race as Fernando held on to win the San Marino GP. It was a very exciting race.

Last week was very busy so I did not have much time to post. Today during the race I had a cappucino that was very disappointing. I was using some Millstone Equal Exchange Rainforest Blend (I know, blech) but it makes very good drip coffee. Unfortunately that does not seem to translate well to espresso.

Nice weather and new blend

2005-04-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

We finally had some really nice weather over the weekend. Took the opportunity to roast some new beans., Guatemalean which I took to a nice full full-city roast.

Tried it neat but did not really care for it. Blended with some Equal Exchange French Roast and that made a much better blend.

Not really satistfied with the beans from CCM Coffee in Florida. I think I'm going back to Sweet Maria's even though the bean cost more there.

Today's rant

2005-04-14T14:43:00.000-04:00

Today’s rant

1. I can’t understand why the cell phone industry isn’t the most profitable industry since the beginning of time. Almost every woman I see driving has one stapled to their ear.

2. I love the new M3 but know that I would hate every person driving one, starting with the 25-year old fake blondes.

3. I just don’t get the H2. Every person driving one looks like an idiot.

I lost it at the local supermarket on Sunday. Zack Shitbird was bagging my groceries when Brittany the 21-year old fake blonde future M3 driver manning the checkout lane next to mine asks Zack to run and get a carton of smokes for the person in that lane. Zack wanting to get in her pants dutifully complies and runs off to get the Newport Ultra Low Menthol 100s hard pack. So I start bagging my own groceries, which I usually don’t mind. But when Zack returns, he starts pretending to bag the stuff in her lane (the guy buying the smokes had about 5 things – smokes, Doritos, Twinkies, 6-pack of Coke, and something healthy – beef jerky) instead of returning to my lane because my cashier, Wendy, is not nearly as cute and is 20 years older than Brittany. So now he is just standing there shooting the shit with Brittany and Tyler Shitbird, the other bagger doing nothing.

Could not restrain myself any longer. I let Mary Jane, the supervising cashier, have it. It just irritates the hell out of me that men are always expected to bag their own groceries. Now I could understand if there were no baggers, but there were two perfectly healthy troglodytes standing next to me that should have been bagging my groceries instead of trying to get into Brittany’s pants. Mary Jane apologized and said that this is a chronic problem for them, the boys don’t want to help men or the older cashiers.

I’m officially an old man. I know that I’ll pay for this with smashed bread and broken eggs.

Soccer, Cub Scouts and an Americano

2005-04-09T21:50:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted for a couple of days. Just have not had the time.

My oldest had the first soccer practice today. The teams get different colors jerseys every year. His is purple this year, for some reason I thought he would get that color this year and he did.

Grabbed an Americano before we headed out to go bowling with the Cub Scouts. I'm the Den Leader so we had to be early. Followed bowling with pizza. There is the one kid in the den that is so incredibly overweight. He poudned down 4 slices and would have had 5 if there were any left. The Den had a good time bowling as did I.

When we got home my wife was in a very bad mood - she was fried after being stuck with the youngest two for a few hours.

My sinuses are killing me

2005-04-07T01:08:00.000-04:00

Today was a bad coffee day. Only one cup this morning as the rest of the day was too busy to grab another cup.

I've been on anti-biotics for the past 9 days due to a sinus infection. Don't know what is going on but they still hurt and have been draining like mad. I hope this passes soon.

Better day

2005-04-05T22:13:00.000-04:00

Today was a beautiful day, one of the first truly nice of spring.

Fortunately, a few things went better today than yesterday. Most of the equipment worked but I'm still worried about things.

Tonight I fired up the espresso machine when I got home and made an Americano. Used the same blend of home roasted Columbian and Starbucks Yukon Blend. Makes a very nice espresso, good crema, nice body.

Coffee was good today but my job stinks

2005-04-04T22:17:00.000-04:00

A project that I designed is finally nearing completion. Unfortunately, things are not going well and there are many problems. As an engineer, this should be the time that you enjoy most - seeing something that you designed being placed into service, unfortunately it never seems to be that way.

Hopefully things will go better tomorrow but I doubt it.

Out of the Pool

2005-04-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Thought that I would start blogging today since everyone else seems to be. Other than my wife, kids, and golf, coffee is what I enjoy most. Today I was brewed a combination of some home-roasted Columbian with some Yukon Blend from Starbucks. It was great. I used the Blend because I wasn't really happy with the taste of the Columbian by itself.

I was in good shape as the day started today, everything was lining up to win the bracket pool at the office. Then Louisville screwed me. Just wanted to win, now I'm out of the money totally.

We had biblical rain today.