As promised, here is part two of my traveling coffee review, as my quixotic coffee quest continues on a second coast. After some misadventures with two ancient drip coffee makers, I bought a French press at Peet’s Coffee and Tea on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. I also acquired some of the specialty chain’s Aged Sumatra, on top of the plain old Sumatra I wrote about yesterday.
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Archive for December, 2008
A Mug of Peet’s Aged Sumatra
December 29, 2008A Mug of Peet’s Sumatra Coffee
December 28, 2008
Making good coffee when traveling is a hassle, especially if you are staying with people who don’t make it regularly, as is my current situation. So my search for the perfect shot has been somewhat disrupted. I went down to the Valley, as they call it here, and found a Peet’s Coffee and Tea on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. My coffee geek friends from the West Coast have always sworn by Peet’s. The list of beans on the wall was heavy on citrus-y flavors, and I asked for something richer, nuttier. The staff concluded that I should go with something Indonesian. I settled on this and had them grind it for use in a drip coffee maker. I took it back to where we were staying, and then my troubles began.
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A Consumption Report From Virgin Airworld
December 27, 2008
I’m in Los Angeles with the family this week, visiting the in-laws. I booked the flight kind of late and decided to try Virgin America, which had been getting a lot of hype for its geeky amenities and Jetblue-style business model. The only way I could get three seats together on Virgin was to pay extra for the roomier bulkhead seats, the so-called Main Cabin Select, which came with “unlimited” food and media, a sort of discount business class. The flight was pleasant and as enjoyable as JetBlue, but the geek reality has not yet caught up with the hype.
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15 Blogs on My Current Reading List
December 20, 2008I subscribe to the feeds of hundreds of blogs through Google Reader (see shared links to some of them at left), but the list of blogs I actually enjoy reading is short. I’m always looking for additions to that list, and here are some strong contenders, in alphabetical order:
A Shot of Hartmann Honey Selection 5
December 20, 2008
In this quest for the perfect shot, I have written before about my fond memories of drinking coffee last December made from honey beans of Panama, so I was delighted to spy this bag on the shelf. Let’s get down to business.
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Podcast Zeitgeist, Dec. 19
December 19, 2008Here are more quick takes on podcasts that caught my attention this week, in the order I listened. [See previous lists.]
- Night of the Living Podcast 122. A cast of men and women discuss all things horror around a table in Cinncinnati. Not that you would know that is their focus for the first 15 minutes or so of the episodes I’ve heard. They tend to open with off-color, off-topic discussions. For example, this week featured recordings of farts, birthday messages to people you probably don’t know and Andy Rooney impressions. Fifteen minutes in, the horror discussion started, with news about VH1′s “Scream Queens” reality show, a riff on surviving zombie attacks, an extended negative review for the straight to video flick “Primal,” about a killer sasquatch, then some reader voicemails. They crack themselves up a lot, and I’m sure someone finds it fascinating, but I’m not enough of a horror fan to stick with it. Length: 1 hour, 52 minutes. Released: Dec. 14.
What My Smart Playlists Showed Me (3)
December 16, 2008Name of iTunes Playlist: The Older Faves
Rules: Rating is greater than *** (3 stars). Last played is in the last 12 months. Last played is not in the last 6 months. Date added is in the last 24 months. Play count is greater than 5 times. Skip count is zero. [See all lists.]
Top 10 From the List
1. “Sirena” by Calexico on “Convict Pool” Playcount: 8.
2. “Summersong” by The Decemberists on “The Crane Wife.” Playcount: 8.
3. “Story of an Artist” performed by M. Ward on “The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered.” Playcount: 8.
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The Great Nerd Book Remains Unwritten
December 14, 2008
Supposedly, nerds are now cool. People compete to show their nerd cred. They are joining Facebook, taking nerd tests on the Web, and discussing the definitions of geek and nerd on their blogs. They watch TV shows like “Battlestar Galactica,” “Heroes” and “The Big Bang Theory.” They read adult comics and mammoth science fiction novels. Even Barack Obama is said to be a nerd. It was not always this way, a topic that Benjamin Nugent explores in “American Nerd: The Story of My People,” published earlier this year.
I ordered the book after listening to Nugent give an interview on The Sound of Young America podcast about what he called his childhood experiences as a self-loathing nerd. It was poignant (and familiar) to hear him describe dumping his nerdy Dungeons & Dragons friends in high school so he could pass for normal. Unfortunately, the book did not quite live up to that interview, either intellectually or emotionally. (But it was a pleasant diversion from reading more of “Anathem,” the giant Neal Stephenson SF novel on my to-do list.)
Let’s start with the definition of a nerd.
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A Shot of Poker Face Espresso
December 13, 2008
My quest for the perfect shot of home-made espresso took me to the world of blended concoctions, The name and the white bag with a handy matching clip caught my eye, though on reflection at home the packaging seemed like a waste. It didn’t help that I clumsily tore the bag up, causing beans to fly all over the kitchen.
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