Revival and life…

I have been busy, busy this week.  I didn’t even get to check my e-mail yesterday or Sunday (I think).  We have been having revival at our church and between that and work I have just been out of the ol’ loop!

OMG, I am going command line!

I can’t believe that I would make this leap, but here it goes. After a couple days of reading up on different linux distros (almost 300 of ‘em) I decided on Sabayon Linux as my first try out of the “command line” world. Hey, I am a big boy. I can take it. I remember DOS 3, for crying out loud. I may remember it, but do “I R E M E M B E R I T ?”

What peaked my interest? Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, a ZDNet contributor, has a whole section done up at ZDNet regarding the topic of making “the move” or at least experimenting with “the move.”  Check out his section on ZDNet called “My Linux Experience.”

Evidently, you can run this OS strait from your DVD drive!  YESSIR!  And it runs like a banche like that, too.   You can see an example on Chris Pirillio’s website or just YouTubed here.

As you can see, the graphics seem to take Vista and smack M$ down like a big 900 lb gorilla.  It literally adds a dimension to your computing experience regarding multitasking.   It would be the difference between watching a movie in 2d or 3d.

I report, I decide!

Blogging: A history and where I am in the picture.

I have been “blogging” since 1998! That is a long time. I even went to the trouble of working with a Perl programmer in Plano, TX on developing what I considered the first online service for that purpose. I even flew to Plano from N.C to consult. Oh, yeah companies like ZDNet or CNET had internal systems at the time for posting, but they didn’t call it blogging and it wasn’t available to the public for rent, free or otherwise. We didn’t even call ours blogging, just “.Plan Files,” and I don’t know how that name came about. Don’t believe me? It was the first “.plan file” engine for 3dretreat.com, a site that I hosted for Aaron, nickname “Snicker,” for a year or so. Before the miracle that the Perl programmer worked up, Aaron and his frequent news posters had to drag out the HTML editor and edit the news with that. Before we invented the wheel, we looked the Internet up and down to find an “off the shelf” or otherwise solution. We never found one so we started the programming ourselves. What happened, you might ask? I think that larger programming coops started working on the “problem at hand” about the same time. We just deployed ours first. We didn’t have the ability (read here: money) for the advertising and such. Hence, we faded and other small companies or coops flourished. After a while, almost every service that was fee based either went “free” or faded. Thus, the rest of blogging history is…well, history.

Microsoft has a way of developing tons and tons of little “nothing” freebie applications that just never turns my head. Remember, when in Windows ‘95 there was a “Front Page Express.” Stuff like that is more frustrating to use than useful. But, I saw on a blog that I frequent that the editor used by the author was something called “Windows Live Writer” and it is a freebie from Microsoft.

The whole “Windows Live” suite of tools is anything from the old MSN IM, now called Windows Live Messenger, to Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Spaces and on and on. It is amazing that Microsoft used to be an innovator and now they are just basically a “reactor.” Meaning they react to what everybody else is doing. For example, with Windows Live Spaces it is simply Microsoft’s attempt to replicate the success of MySpace.com and what Google is doing. Of course Google is the reason behind the “Live Search.” Just go to Google.com and compare that to search.live.com. They look almost alike.

There is one difference in the Microsoft freebies of today and ten years ago. They work and are usually useful, with a few exceptions. This Live Writer flat out rocks. Before now, I almost always used Macromedia (Adobe) Dream Weaver to edit a blog and I would use the code view to copy and paste the code into Word Press or Blogger’s dashboard. In that way, I could create post with rich features, including some serious hyperlinking with a breeze. I still use DW sometimes, but this Live just works very well.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe DP Biloya Spec. Selection

A friend, who will remain anomalous unless he tells me other wise, sent me a half pound of the most amazing coffee I have ever seen or tasted in my life. That is a strong, strong statement. But, let me give you some history on the beans.

About two weeks ago I received an e-mail from my friend saying that a coop he was a member of purchased the beans and just a days before our e-mail exchange these beans were on the tree in Ethiopia. They had them picked and processed and then nitrogen sealed and FEDEX’d from Ethiopia to the States. You didn’t just mis-read that last sentence. FEDEX was the carrier because usually the beans sit on a dock for two to four weeks waiting on a ship to take them on the journey of six to eight weeks. So, instead of waiting up to 10 weeks for the beans, we received them literally a few days from the time they were picked.

Let me ask you this, who else in the United States, Australia, Europe or Asia has any coffee selection this fresh? Nobody. I feel very, very special to have been a part of this purchase. And a very special thanks goes to my good friend for including me. He actually sent me the beans “home roasted” and also sent me some Bolivian beans that were green just to get em started on the roasting.

This coffee was extravagant. First off, I was thinking to myself “Yeah, all that hype about the origin, selection, and shipment and watch these beans be just like anything else from Yirgacheffe.” Which would have been fine with me because I personally think that the very best beans come from Ethiopia and more specifically Yirgacheffe. But, this wasn’t the case, at all. The third day after roasting I made a press pot at 06:00 and the wife and I were well pleased. I could taste florals, blueberry, tobacco, and about twenty different things, but a hint of honey, as well. We were very impressed. But, at 19:30 that evening we opened the sealed bag up for another try and it came out like golden honey. It looked like honey and tasted like honey. My wife just couldn’t believe it was the same variety. We were both simply floored. As it cooled, the florals and blueberries started to come forth, but never overpowered the honey. It truly was an amazing cup.

Kitchenaid Pro Line Coffee Grinders are built like Tanks

I have proof!
I was stuck in Reidsville, NC over the weekend and my wife made the three hour drive with the kids to come and stay at the hotel with me. She also was sweet enough to pack my KA PL grinder, some beans and my French Press.

She pulled up into the parking lot and while I was getting some stuff out of the front seats for her I heard her open the rear hatch of the GMC Yukon XL. Out came my KA PL slamming to the ground, and I do mean SLAMMING. I thought it was my beans from the way it sounded, but I walked back and there the PL was.

She just waited for me to explode, but I just stood there and started laughing! The upper hopper basically exploded, but in large shreds, so it wasn’t dangerous to pick up. All damage entailed the hopper and two small nicks in the paint – that was it! I cleaned it off and it runs like a charm.

Never, Ever, Work for Somebody At Church

“Over qualified.”  “Your smart, but too smart for this job.”  “Your going to do fantastic elsewhere.”  “I mostly admire your Christian character.”

I wonder why people fire you with the same words.  This is the first time I have been “let go” from anything.  I did try the car business for five months and I walked out…flat out, just walked right out.  The stuff I quoted above this paragraph is kind of like saying about a blind date to the perspective datee, “She has a beautiful personality.”

I have always shunned the idea of working for somebody with whom you jointly attend church.  Now I wish I had kept my “policy.” 

No hard feelings, no bad mouthing…just no job and that means no money.  I was talked out of what I was doing before to do what I was just “let go” from doing.  Remember, sir, you called me…comes to mind.  Remember sir, I walked away from two contracts, good ones, to do this fantastic job your talking about.  Remember sir, I HATE a job.  I am not an employee minded person and I will not participate in orifice politics.  I am a “go getter” and I will lead the way.  I am a team player, but I will be the team captain.  Oh, no, I just realized I repeated myself.  I told you that before you hired me. 

One thing is for certain, when you are a threat to someone (not the employer) and their security due to the tools that you have acquired – anything can happen.   When they are looking somebody that seems just a little stupid, but not so stupid they can’t do the job – that is a good sign things are going to go wrong. 

Prayer Meeting and a Coffee Revival

Nikki and I host a prayer meeting at our home last evening in conjunction with our church’s revival service which begin the 26th of August.  We had one couple, the Bennett’s’, over for dinner.  Nikki “out-did” herself again.  We brought out the china wares which we have collected over the years and the silverware.  I brought out the big guns with some of the finest coffee in the world, literally. 

First off, after a short fellowship time and then prayer request we proceeded to ask the Lord for his blessings on our lives, our children and our families.  It was a good time with each other and the Lord.  We spent about thirty minutes in fervent prayer, seeking God’s face on the matter of pure revival for our church family.  That soul’s would be harvested as well as Christians getting thoroughly right with God. 

Afterwards, we proceeded to get a hold of the muffins and different types of deserts.  And of course, I made coffee for everybody. 

For the details on the coffee, please visit this page for the coffee menu and presentation - it is worth a look.

Tres Santos™, Colombia

I just wasn’t impressed with this at first. It was a let down. OK, I know after I get any beans from any roaster I need to age this stuff about three days from the day I get it (for my personal taste). But, with almost any other bean I received a good aroma and tasting right out of the bag. After three or four days it just gets better and so better. With Tres Santos Columbia, it just wasn’t that good right out of the bag.

After sitting in my bodum jars for four days it has definitely matured into a nice brew. It has some nice florals and the body is rather medium. I think there was some currant there and some woody or nutty textures and hints. I think it needs one more day to be perfect…but alas, we are having a dinner party tonight with retired two Baptist missionary couples that served in France and Brazil all of their adult lives, respectively. I was really wanting to bring in the “big guns.” These are medium guns at best, but it is still a very good coffee for the French press.

Cooking with Cisco!

Well, it is about time I got back into the swing of things. Like I said in my About Page: "I guess you already know that I like coffee. I like other things too. Some are Bible related, some are coffee related and some are just plain off the wall and “out of left field.” I guess for many of you this is one of those "where did that come from? Left field?" type questions.

I love computers. Whether it is working on the hardware, messing with HTML or learning how to program with things like Visual Basic (wish I was more talented on the latter). Last February I joined the Cisco Networking Academy which had a training center in Goldsboro, NC. I went to a few classes and became H O O K E D! But, at the time I had a job that required crazy schedules so I pulled myself off of the road and quickly found myself not being able to afford class and work. So, I chose work, naturally. I had to forgo the Cisco Academy.

Yesterday I was talking to my teacher and he has talked me into rejoining the classes, starting next Monday Night. I can’t wait. I am almost entirely starting over, but that is fine by me.

I don’t care to get my CCNA so I can forget my current work. I really just want to better myself and become a more rounded individual. I also have some ideas, entrepreneurially speaking. The reason why is because I can’t make the type of income I make at my current work with a CCNA or barely with a CCNP. You may find a NP out there making +$75,000 but it is difficult and they have to cut their teeth for a long time to get there. But, in regards to my work, we have a guy that is the "boss" who is a good business man and runs the office (brokerage back-end) and is the "computer guy" and deals with the brokering "front-end" as well. He has compeltly written our in-house brokering software from scratch utilizing SQL 2000 (currently migrating to current SQL life cycle). I can keep up with that fairly easy. I like him a ton, but I think he has two big weakness (and somewhat misunderstandings) with hardware and networking. That is my specialty – to say the least. I see my CCNA(NP) working great in-house and a foundational building block to work off of. He is getting older, in his 50’s and eventually he will step aside…I hope that is where I can elevate myself in our work.

Whoa, what Paradise in Ethiopia

Some things are just good. And then there are things that are so good it is hard to mess them up! In my first attempt with Paradise Roasters they have scored big! This 2007 Ethiopia Limited – Yirgacheffe Idido Teramad is right up their with the best of the best! Mr. Davids at Coffee Review hasn’t reviewed this particular offering from Paradise, but I imagine a 91+ must be called for.

I am sitting here shaking my head at every sip. Whether it be Intelligentsia, who has had some incredible Ethiopian varieties, Paradise or Counter Culture, Ethiopia shines in my pallet as the very best in the world. I have Tres Santos™, Colombia from Intelly that just can’t produce aroma and taste like this; and it doesn’t have anything to do with Intelly – it is all about the bean. It is all about the origin. I think the Cup of Excellence should go to Africa! Maybe I don’t understand how COE works or something, but I am telling you the best coffee that deserves $49.75 per lb to the farmer is African varieties. The average African variety is better than the best South American!

Rediscovering Indonesia

Indonesia is a place I don’t usually buy from. But, I felt like I was so abnormally biased because of the horrible offerings by the folks at Charbuxs, and I do me CHAR!  Starbucks’ Indonesian offerings are almost always extremely bitter, acidic and have an almost burnt taste, thus killing the flavor.

But, I was pleasantly surprised this morning by Intelligentsia’s offering of the Abongabong, Sumatra. I expected harshness, it was strong compared to Ethiopian or Kenyan origins, however it was still smooth. It is a very complex coffee. There is a lot to be discovered in the cup! Geoff Watts, the Director of Coffee and Green Coffee Buyer at Intelligentsia, has some great cupping notes on this coffee and they are fairly “spot on.”

Congrats to Jim Hoffman, WBC Champ

Jim Hoffman won the WBC (World Barista Championship) in Tokyo this past week! Congrats and check out his charity auction! He is offering signed cups from the Kenya BC and the Costa Rica BC for silent auction. I bid $100 USD on the Kenya cup and I knew I was going to get blown away from the start! As you can read, that is just what happened.