VIDEO History of the VW Beetle, aka Bug, aka Type 1

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1968 VW Beetle

By VW A,G - VW A,G, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41833656

There have been a lot of VW Beetles in our family both growing up and as an adult. I had a baby blue 1967.

For me the sweet spot of the vintage Beetle was 1967 to 1969. Still traditional look, 12 volts, bigger engine, some safety features. But I like them all.

I was a crew member on an off road racing team that ran a VW Baja Bug in the 5-1600 class at races including the Baja 1000. It is pretty amazing what these engines can put up with!

Like most cool vintage cars they are pretty lacking in meeting any safety standards but of course you know that and safety isn't the appeal. I don't know if I'd drive one around much today.

They do run a long time if you check and change oil frequently. If they run low on oil the air cooled engine heats up fast and it will be bad news quick. Thankfully parts are still easy to get to repair any mechanical issues.

I know guys that had 2 engines for their Bugs. 1 was totally stock and was for passing smog inspections. The other was tricked out and it went really fast! A friend had a VW Drag Racing national record for a while.

As the saying goes "How fast do you want to go? How much money do you want to spend?"

I saw this Donut Video linked at Autoweek (they both post cool stuff)

"Nearly everyone can immediately call to mind the shape of one of the best-selling cars ever -- the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle. Originally designed under Ferdinand Porsche’s leadership, the Beetle was supposed to be a cheap and reliable car for the people. It also heavily resembled the Tatra 97 -- so much so that Tatra sued Porsche over the design. That lawsuit was mostly settled when Hitler’s Germany invaded Tatra’s home of Czechoslovakia."

New Twist on Chicken Soup Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup

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#mindblown from this great Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup found at twosleevers.com

This soup was easy to make, has a lot of flavor, and could be made vegetarian with a few substitutions. 

The name of this soup alone probably sounds good but check out the list of ingredients. Boneless chicken thighs, coconut milk, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, green onions, garlic, ginger, lime juice, cilantro, grape tomatoes, straw mushrooms, and Thai yellow curry paste.

All of that flavor comes out balanced and the broth stays light and fresh tasting. The coconut milk isn't heavy or dairy like but has a lot of flavor and is the base for everything else.

I didn't have time to get to the super market so I just went to a small unsuper market for some things.

Instead of a can of straw mushrooms I just used a small can of whole mushrooms.

Instead of grape (or cherry) tomatoes I just used a chopped up regular sized tomato. I bet with the grape tomatoes it would be even better.

The coconut milk at the store was the kind in the carton not the can. It was sweetened so I cut down on the honey in the recipe.

I ordered the Thai yellow curry paste online here. It is pretty hot in concentrate form and this calls for just 2 tablespoons in about 2 cups of liquid. I would say on a 1 to 10 scale this soup was at about a 3. Add more to make it hotter. It definitely adds a lot of flavor with the heat.

For the chicken I had some frozen boneless chicken thighs. I just dropped them in the Instant Pot with the other ingredients and used the "Soup" setting for 12 minutes. At Two Sleevers the recipe says the soup setting prevents the Instant Pot from getting too hot and boiling. That would be bad for the coconut milk and maybe everything else.

What a smart pot :)

I did use the Saute button after I released the pressure, shredded the chicken, and added the last group of ingredients. I let it heat back up and cook those ingredients just a little.

Total time to make this was about 25 minutes total with my Instant Pot. There are also notes for using a slow cooker (4 to 8 hours) and for cooking on the stove top.

If you are looking for a different chicken soup to make this might be it.

Two Sleevers Low Carb Thai Curry Coconut Soup

"listen to more audio" Smart Speakers Info From CES 2018

Good news for audio not for TV. Interesting data from AllAccess.com report "Wednesday At CES 2018: Deep-Diving Into The Smart Speaker World"

71% said they listen to more audio since getting a smart speaker (and 28% of those said they are listening to more News-Talk content), but 30% said the device is replacing time spent with TV. (WOW!)

Additionally, 61% said they are interested in getting the technology in their cars -- good news for the car makers who have announced ALEXA and GOOGLE ASSISTANT capabilities in their vehicles.

And the research, WEBSTER noted, showed people "gathering around" the devices the way families used to gather around the radio before television; (WOW!)

66% said they use the devices to entertain family and friends (the devices, WEBSTER said, are "removing the earbuds" that have been the primary way people listen to audio in recent generations). (WOW!)

Radio needs to think of these as a transmitter and a broadcast license for the modern world. I think this is a big deal.

I have an Amazon Echo and

yes - I listen to more audio
yes - the device is replacing time spent with TV
yes - I am interested in getting the technology in my car
yes - I use the devices to entertain family and friends
yes - the devices are removing the earbuds

Wow So Good! Instant Pot Now and Later Keto Indian Butter Chicken

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Indian Butter Chicken is a world famous and much loved dish. When I got this Indian Instant Pot cookbook by food blogger Urvashi Pitre of Two Sleevers.com I knew I had to give it a try. It is a great cookbook with lots of food dishes I want to try. I've done a few now and they all have been very good.

I cook with my Instant Pot at least a few times a week. Sometimes a few times a day. I have a pretty high success rate. I really like Indian food but the recipes and ingredients are full of styles and names I have never used. Thanks to this cookbook and the Instant Pot that is all changing.

I am grating my ginger, making my garam masala, and adding turmeric, and coconut milk just like it says.

In the Instant Pot world this is kind of a famous recipe.

The end result? Really good! I like that she has you make more sauce than you need. When you are done take out half of it to freeze or keep in the refrigerator.

It is Gluten-Free, High Fat, High Protein, Keto, Low Carb friendly.

In the new world of Instant Pot cooking there are already a few "must have" cookbooks for me. I have given these as gifts to friends that are new to the Instant Pot world.

I like Great Food Fast : Bob Warden's Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes it is the one that got me started.

Hip Pressure Cooking: Fast, Fresh, and Flavorful has a lot of good ideas and a website with a lot of videos.

This Indian Butter Chicken recipe can be found in the Indian Instant Pot cookbook and online here.

It takes 10 minutes at pressure in the Instant Pot then another 10 minutes to wait as it cools off before you add the finishing touches. In under 30 minutes you can have some great chicken.

On the plate is some riced cauliflower with cranberries and a few other things and naan with peach chutney.

follow Urvashi here

Book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/IndianInstantPotCookbook 
WEBSITE: www.twosleevers.com
FB PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/twosleever/
FB GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twosleevers/
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/twosleevers/pins/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/two_sleevers/

By all means give this a try and just so you know what to shop for here is the ingredients list

1 14- ounce can diced tomatoes

5-6 cloves garlic

1-2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (or use breast, bone-in, or whatever works for you. If frozen, add 1-2 minutes to total time)

To finish

4 ounces butter cut into cubes (use coconut oil if dairy free)

4 ounces heavy cream (use full-fat coconut milk if dairy free)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

My David Bowie Interview Was A Trainwreck

David Bowie: The Last Five Years TRAILER Trailer

I saw this Jan 8th the day of David Bowie's birthday. It is also the birthday of Elvis Presley. How cool is that?

I interviewed Bowie. It was a train wreck.

I got to interview him at Live 105's Green X-Mas concert on December 7 1997 at Kezar Pavilion on a bill with Bjork, the Verve and Everclear.

He played early on the bill because it was the last day of his visa and he had to get to SFO to make a flight. He did a full set including a cover of Laurie Anderson's O Superman.

I was backstage on the air and he was nice enough to stop by to chat. A few other DJ's joined in. Uh-oh that's never a good thing... It went off the rails fast and I remember Bowie's head on a swivel as all these people were talking and asking him questions.

I do think he was entertained by it as he laughed and smiled as we were talking over each other and blabbing about whatever.

I am sure Bowie fans were yelling at their radio "SHUT UP! LET HIM TALK!"

I apologize. These things happen.

p.s. 5 months later lots of things changed as Howard Stern and the KOME crew arrived at KITS

Here is the setlist as posted to setlist.fm

1. Quicksand

2. "Heroes"

3. The Jean Genie

4. I'm Afraid of Americans

5. Battle for Britain (The Letter)

6.Fashion

7. Seven Years in Tibet

8. Fame

9. Looking for Satellites

10. Under Pressure

(Queen cover)

11. The Hearts Filthy Lesson

12. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

13. Panic in Detroit

14. Look Back in Anger

15. Hallo Spaceboy

16. Little Wonder

Encore:

17. Dead Man Walking

18. White Light/White Heat

(The Velvet Underground cover)

19. O Superman

(Laurie Anderson cover)

20. Stay

Encore 2:

21. V-2 Schneider

22. The Last Thing You Should Do

23. Fame

(Is it Any Wonder?)

Working In A San Francisco Pizza Kitchen Was Fun Fu*kinbuddy

I heard this song

and it reminded of when...

I worked at a pizza place in San Francisco with a guy named Manuel. He and I were back in the kitchen. He was a really funny guy from Peru. He would end what he said with "...fu*kinbuddy." If the phone rang more than 3 times we were supposed to answer it and ask them to wait on hold.

Manuel would answer it "hello fu*kinbuddy."
"Ok hold on fu*kinbuddy"

He said it so fast and with an accent that you couldn't quite make out what he was saying. But we knew and it always made us laugh.

He said hello with "Hi fu*kinbuddy" and respond with "I'm fine fu*kinbuddy."

As these things go it was shortened and morphed into nonsense slag all of the kitchen staff would say.

When asked by the servers "Where is that order?" somebody would shout out "fakenbud-e" really fast. In other words "yes it's coming we are slammed back here!"

If he saw a pretty girl it was "faaakeeenbud-eee" really slow.

Lots of fakenbud-e in the air Friday and Saturday nights for whatever reason.

When I worked the prep shift early on weekends to run the slicer for the mushrooms and bell peppers  it was "faaakeeenbud-eee" really slow as well. For different reasons of course.

Like "fuggedaboutit!" in Donnie Brasco It could mean so many things. Some shifts he would only say that but we all knew what he meant. Low on sauce, need more cheese, more to go boxes, whatever.

That was a fun job. A guy there knew how to put a straw in the arcade machine to add credits.

And when we closed we could have pizzas that didn't get picked up or were accidentally made as a mistake. :)

Fakenbud-e!

Winner Winner Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Dinner

It's a good thing when your cooking looks at least a little like the cover.

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If you have an Instant Pot get this book!*

I made Chicken Tikka Masala from this Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre of the Two Sleevers cooking blog. She has a lot of "low-carb appetizers, soups, and dinner recipes big on taste and short on calories. From Stove Top to Instant Pot, these recipes are fast, varied and most importantly...delicious."

It was really good and I got a passing grade from an experienced Indian food connoisseur.

There are a lot of ingredients I have never used and it does take some prep time but it was worth it. When you make the recipe you will make extra sauce. It can be used for a lot of things. I also made a coconut tomato soup from this book as a first course. It also tasted great.

I can't wait to make more from this cookbook.

Here is the recipe link and here is the ingredients list
she does include a garam masala recipe in the book

Marinate the chicken
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken (breast or thighs), cut into large pieces
½ cups Greek yogurt
4 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika for color and a slightly smoky taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (omit if unavailable)

For the sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 carrot, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon minced ginger minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1-2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin

To finish
4 ounce half and half (use full-fat coconut milk if dairy free)
1 teaspoon garam masala
¼-1/2 cup chopped cilantro

*Amazon Smile link supports the ALS Association Golden West Chapter

My Christmas Presents Indian Coffee from Karnataka Chikmagalur

I got 5 pounds of Indian Karnataka Chikmagalur beans from Burman to roast at home and give as gifts. I really like this coffee. It is very well described here in the paper I included with each gift. It is shared below. The region sounds very interesting. I would love to visit some time.

Check out the QR Code below for a great video.

Indian Karnataka Chikmagalur

Tasting Notes:
A great Indian coffee. The aroma is nutty, woody, and some slight smokiness. The taste is classic. Many of the notes in the aroma come through in the flavor like walnuts and some smoke. There’s dark fruit, oak, licorice, and some vanilla tones, like a good dry red wine. The finish has a subdued brightness to it with just hints of lemon zest. The body is medium to full depending on roast and brew. There’s a reason people keep coming back to this bean. It’s a smooth all around great cup of coffee.

The world’s best shade-grown ’mild’ coffees
Indian coffee is the most extraordinary of beverages, offering intriguing subtlety and stimulating intensity. India is the only country that grows all of its coffee under shade.

Indian coffee has a unique historic flavour too! It all began with a long, arduous journey around four hundred years ago... when the legendary saint Bababudan brought seven magical beans from distant Yemen and planted them in the Chandragiri hills of Karnataka. The sensations of aroma, flavour, body and acidity that you enjoy with each coffee experience is rooted in these mystical beginnings.

Coffee plantations in India are essential spice worlds too: a wide variety of spices and fruit crops like pepper, cardamom, vanilla, orange and banana grow alongside coffee plants.

Chikmagalur is a hill station in Karnataka, a state in southwest India. To the north is Baba Budangiri, a mountain range in the Western Ghats, with 3 large caves said to be holy. Trails through forests and grasslands lead up to Mullayanagiri Peak. The cascading Hebbe Falls lie in an area of coffee plantations. The forested Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, northwest of Chikmagalur, is home to elephants, tigers and leopards.




here is the QR code linked video

Plate Of Shrimp. No Explanation.

A plate of shrimp with a little explanation.

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I love this recipe from Cook's Illustrated for making shrimp. It looks good and turns out very tasty. You'll never want boiled shrimp again.

It does take some prep and you have to be very careful when using the broiler. We don't want to test the smoke alarm!

Before you do anything you have to make sure to get uncooked 16 to 20 per pound size shrimp with the shells on. Fresh is best frozen is ok. That's a pretty big size. Don't get anything smaller as the risk of overcooking goes way up.

Use some kitchen shears and cut up the back on the shell to the tail but not all the way. You want to leave it on for a heat shield and to add flavor.

Next you need to devein the shrimp and again be careful to make sure to leave the shell on.

Now give them a soak in some salty water for a quick brine for about 15 minutes.

While this is happening mix butter, garlic, pepper, parsley, and anise. I crush the anise then put it in a pan as I melt the butter and garlic. Then I strain out the anise and add the rest of the ingredients and set it aside.

Get the broiler ready and toss the prawns and garlic butter in a bowl.

Put the broiler pan about 4 inches from the broiler and set a 2 minute timer.

When the prawns get a nice color take them out, and flip them over, add more garlic butter if you have any left. If they need a little more time let them cook but be careful.

Broil for another 2 minutes or until they are done. The shells will have a beautiful roasted look and they will open up and split wide as the prawns cook.

Watch things carefully don't do anything else in the kitchen as they will overcook and/or burn fast!

You can turn the pan 180 degrees after a minute on each broiling session to even out the cooking and color but it isn't really necessary.

They will taste great!

here is the recipe

P.S. there is a lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything

Big Rick On Fiverr For Voice Work

#sidehustle

I am on Fiverr and ready to do some voice work.

It is about $35 for 150 words.

demos and info at the link

Big Rick Stuart

I am a 35+ year San Francisco market radio vet. I am not a radio guy with a big scary voice. I have always been a friendly happy sounding "invisible friend" to my listeners no matter the music I was playing.

I have a good voice for your upbeat regular guy read without sounding phony.

I will read copy exactly as written so be sure of what it says.

My audio samples are at soundcloud.com/big-rick-stuart

and bigrick.com

Currently I do 10 am to 3pm Monday to Saturday at 99.3 The Vine KVYN in Napa. I also help produce and host our Vine Time Podcast.

Before The Vine I was at Classic Rock KFOX 98.5 San Jose.

I spent 10 years doing afternoons at AAA KFOG San Francisco from 2000 to 2010.

From 1986 to 2000 I did afternoons at Alternative Live 105 KITS San Francisco.

I also worked at Alternative KQAK The Quake in San Francisco and KNAC in Long Beach.

Turkish Coffee

#butfirstcoffee I used my ibrik to make Turkish style #coffee. It is very muddy and flavorful with the addition of some cardamom and stevia.

It smells and tastes good.

My buddy Bill and I did some coffee talk the other night and his love of Turkish coffee came up.

You need a really fine grind on the coffee (I think a dark roast works best) and you make it in these little pots by heating and cooling the mix. Slowly pour when done and the grounds stay in the bottom.

Stop when they start to try to escape!

Add what you like and enjoy.

There is no exact way to do this. People use different variations of basic ibrik coffee brewing.

Good info at sweetmarias.com and at Illy.com

I Cooked A Frozen Turkey (Not Fake News)

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2018 update: I have now done this about 4 times. Each time I did it the same way. Each time I have had very good results. Oh and FWIW Williams-Sonoma has a read on cooking a frozen turkey and another on cooking a turkey overnight at 200 degrees or less.

----

I cooked a frozen turkey. No there isn't a punchline coming. The photo is the end result of what was once a rock solid frozen 14 pound Butterball turkey I bought at Safeway.

The turkey was moist and tasted pretty good. The skin was crispy and browned and with the simple gravy it was a great meal with butternut squash risotto, yams, and apple cranberry chutney.

Here is how I did it.

I just put the frozen turkey in a 325 oven on a lower rack in a rimmed baking sheet like you would use for cookies. That way hot air can get around it to cook. Don't use a roasting pan with high sides. Put a cup of water in the baking sheet. That's pretty much it.

So simple.

About 2 hours in I pulled out the packet inside and everything else. I put some bbq rub inside and outside. I was tempted to put some cut onions and things like that inside the turkey but I think you need to keep it open as much as possible to get the hot oven air inside the bird.

I made sure all of it got to 165 especially down near the bones but not on the bone. The breast will overshoot but that was ok. Have a reliable and calibrated thermometer to check the internal temperatures. Don't use those silly pop up things.

Total cooking time was about 5 1/2 hours. If you use a convection oven maybe a little less but figure about 50 percent longer to cook than normal.

Let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes and it is ready to serve.

My Thanksgiving turkey was done sous vide using this recipe. This was a shot at something a little crazy with a turkey I got on sale a week later.

I give it an 8 out of 10. It was as good as many turkeys I have had but maybe not as good as the best. It was by far the easiest I have ever made. Yes I would do it again.

One thing that I am sure helped is that the Butterball turkey is prepped for cooking.

"Contains up to 8% of a solution of Water, Salt, Spices, and Natural Flavor."

Some think this isn't a good thing but in this case where you are cooking a frozen turkey it helps because you can't do any of this before you put it in the oven.

I made simple gravy with the dripping using this Betty Crocker recipe.

This is pretty cool because for some reason people (including me) have an interest in ways to cook turkey.

On a more serious and useful note I think this "no prep" way to cook a frozen turkey could help people that cook a lot of food for a lot of people like churches, food banks, and soup kitchens.

Here is the guide I followed to do this at kitchn.com

How To Cook A Frozen Turkey

In a comment someone asked me to post a photo of the pan I used in the oven. They were wondering if it would hold all the drippings. I used a sheet with about a 1/2 inch rim around it. Then I put the turkey on a rack that held it up so the hot oven air could circulate around it.

I added a cup of water to that and it did fine holding all the drippings from the turkey. The water I added was gone by the end.

I think that the water from the frozen turkey turns to steam as it cooks and all of that helps keep things moist.

Instant Pot Turkey Stock and Hammers Turtilla Soup

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I made some stock with post Thanksgiving and post Thanksgiving leftovers with what was left of a turkey breast. The ingredients included onions, celery, garlic, and more. It spent 45 minutes under pressure in my Instant Pot and came out great. Find the recipe at DadCooksDinner.com

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Now that I had the stock I wanted to make Tortilla Soup. It is pretty easy to make and you can add things to it based on what you like. In my case the peppers didn't go in the soup but were added after it was done as not everybody wanted it spicy.

I used the recipe in Bob Warden's "Great Food Fast" a cookbook I really like for the Instant Pot. I like making his food and it is all well explained for pressure cooking. It took about 7 minutes under pressure.

This was very tasty. Éxito! 

On Facebook my friend Chuck Hammers said they did the same thing with the turkey leftover leftovers and they call it they call it "Turtilla Soup" so Hammers Turtilla Soup it is! :)

VIDEO: Cast Iron, Leftovers, Eggs, Blender Bottle

What to do with Thanksgiving leftovers? Enough of the sandwiches... :)

I like cooking with my cast iron and the Blender Bottle is a great way to make eggs.

Almond Dust Pork Roast

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Here is my pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

A few days ago I bought a pork loin. They are cheap cuts of meat but can dry out quick and need a little help with flavor.

I had some jars and bags of flavored almonds around and thought that the salt and sugar and flavors in the bottom of the containers should be used for something.

Enter the pork loin! I butterflied it open (I am not very good at that but it is pretty easy) then I added a mix of the almond flavor "dust" and some Bad Byron's But Rub. It is great stuff I like to use on bbq.

After that I rolled it back up and used butchers twine to tie it up. I am also not too good at that but this video is how I learned to do it. Real chefs and butchers do it so fast it is hard to see how it is done but this explains it well.

Flavored and tied I put the pork loin in the fridge for a day. I simply roasted it fat side up in the oven at 350 for about an hour. When the internal temp got to 140 I took it out and let it rest for 10 minutes.

It smelled great. There was a roasted nutty almond/bbq/pork smell filling the kitchen.

It sliced well and I used a couple of interesting sauces on the side. The Fat Cat Papaya Pequin Passion was new to me. It has a really interesting mix of flavors but isn't HOT hot. The 1st 4 ingredients are papaya, onion, pineapple, apple cider. It has pequin pepper for a little heat. It has a very Caribbean kind of flavor. A great pairing with the almond-y pork.

The Soy Vay Toasted Sesame was exactly what you might think it would be. I really like it and again it worked well with the pork loin.

 I paired it with Steelhead Vineyards 2012 Red a North Coast California red wine blend.

The final result was really good! I eat a lot of almonds and I'll keep a container to save all the almond dust for projects like this.

Sharon Tate's sister "I said a prayer for his soul" The Tough Part Of Being A Christian

Thanks Debra Tate for doing this

“I said a prayer for his soul,” Sharon Tate’s sister Debra tells PEOPLE of the moment after she received a call from a prison official informing her of Manson’s death Sunday evening.

She says she never wished ill of any of the convicted killers. When Atkins died from cancer in 2009 Debra prayed for her soul — and vowed at the time she would do the same for Manson.

...

“My cross in my bedroom still has the flowers that I slipped into Jesus’s feet when Susan died,” she says. “I cried a tear and I asked for forgiveness on her soul. I’ll do the same thing when Charlie dies.”


Among the radio listening I like these days is 1260 am part of the Relevant Radio network. They have really good shows. Yesterday I heard them doing some prayers and they said a prayer for the soul of Charles Manson.

I said "wow" out loud in the car. What a statement of faith to hear on the radio.

As a Christian I know that's the right thing to do but it is so much the opposite of everything else I had seen and heard about him (and others like him) for so many years.

It isn't always easy to do but...

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Share with God’s people who are in need.

Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Live in harmony with one another.

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Romans 12:10-16

more at prisonfellowship.org

Video - Sonoma Bicycle Ride

This was a beautiful day a couple of years ago. I did a bicycle ride from Jimtown to Healdsburg and back. I'll have to do it again soon.

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The route was

Jimtown Store

Alexander Valley Road

Lytton Station Road

Lytton Springs Road

Dry Creek Road

Grove Street

Chiquita Road

Lytton Springs Road and back to Jimtown Store

Thanks Ethiopian Coffee Growers For These Cool Beans! (cool videos)

Having some coffee? Me too. I am having some Ethiopian Natural Yirgacheffe (yer -gah - cheff - aaa). You can't get much more old school than Ethiopian coffee. It's where it all started. Here are my home roasted Yirgacheffe beans.

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Not all coffee tastes the same. It does has different flavors. While these beans make a very nice cup of coffee they do have some brighter flavors that you can detect. Burman Coffee Traders describe it as "...strong notes of melon and strawberry. Accompanied with a bit of blueberry in the aromatics. A bit of citrus acidity upfront at the lighter roasts but all in all pretty mellow in the acidity which gives it a very jammy body. Very clean cup which gives it a nice lingering finish that is not dry and earthy like some." That's pretty accurate just don't think "strong" means it tastes like a smoothie. It is still coffee but there these other notes in the flavors. I also taste a little mocha and the brewed coffee is very fragrant. I really like it!

It is a fascinating process to see how we end up with a cup of coffee. I respect the hard work and time that it takes to have that smile on my face when I take that first sip of brewed coffee.

Check out this video from Sweet Maria's. You can buy beans from all over the world and roast them yourself with what you can buy at Oakland's Sweet Maria's.

Here is an entertaining coffee crazed guy from Old Bisbee Roasters doing a review of a brewed cup

This is a longer video about the coffee trade in Ethiopia

Ska Ska Ska Do The Ska

I've been listening to almost nothing but ska the last few months. The music just makes me happy. It is timeless. From an interview with trumpet player Adam Birch at reggae-steady-ska.com where he was at a festival playing with The Pietasters.

You’ve been involved with ska the bulk of your life. What is it that keeps bringing you back?

You know what, it’s this music. I’ll be honest with you. It never, ever dies. I tried to run away from it. I really believe this—this music is spiritual and I know you might not believe it, but you cannot stop listening to it. You try, you go away from it, you listen to other stuff, you always come back to it. The music just keeps reforming and it multitudes and it multiplies and it comes back third-wave ska, fourth-wave ska, fifth wave. It’s just this root of the music, but it changes and it progresses. That’s the beautiful thing about ska.

The Trellis Became A Fellis

rotten never sleeps