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Zeke’s Market Blend (second bag)
This is my second bag of these. I previously bought them last October, and I settled on kind of a convoluted V60 method where I used hotter water to bloom the grounds and then diluted the water to cool it before brewing. I didn’t want to go to that much trouble, so this time, I…
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Second and third paddle outings of the season
So far, I’ve done well with my informal New Year’s Resolution to get out on the water earlier in the season. I’ve been out the past three Tuesday mornings, each time launching from Solley’s Cove Park. Last week, I paddled most of the way down Marley Creek, which is the longest creek upstream of the…
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Zeke’s Colombia Huila
I started these at setting 19 a couple of days ago, and it seemed like it needed to be a little finer, so I went with 18 today. This was a good cup. It will be interesting to see how I need to adjust things over the next couple of weeks. Some of it depends…
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Rain Run
We appear to be back in a rainy weather pattern for at least the next several days. When it’s wet or rainy out, and I want to go running, I’ve always focused on trying to keep my feet dry. Vibram FiveFingers with toe socks do not work — the water ends up soaking through the…
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Run to UMBC
I tried my hand at running from home to UMBC today, which I had never done before. I had spent yesterday afternoon setting up a new computer at the office, and needed to pop in this morning to make sure the Apple Migration Assistant had finished moving all of my stuff over (it took several…
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Zeke’s BirdSong
I brewed the first few cups at 95°C. For a couple of them, I included a 45-second bloom step and steeped until 3:00; for a couple others, I skipped the bloom and steeped until 2:30. I didn’t notice much of a difference. The cups were a tiny bit on the bitter side, but not enough…
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First paddle of the season
Last year, I didn’t take my first paddle until early June, effectively missing out on a couple of months of nice paddling weather. One of my resolutions for 2024 was to get out paddling earlier in the spring, and I was able to make it happen yesterday morning. Spring paddling can be tricky, because while…
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New Pool Pump
Earlier this month, I started work on replacing our pool pump, and as I write this, it’s mostly finished. I’d file this project under things I’m happy I did once, but wouldn’t want to do again. A hot swap of the old pump, with no plumbing or electrical changes, would have been quick and straightforward,…
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Rise Up Guatemala Single Origin
I brewed my first cup of these on Sunday afternoon (4/14), using grind setting 20, and it was really good. The flavor was great with no bitterness and low acidity. Just as an experiment, I nudged the grind one “click” finer on Monday morning, and another “click” finer this morning (Tuesday), but those cups did…
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This and that
Yesterday, I participated in my first organized run in almost 22 years: the inaugural Open Gate Gallop. I ran the 8-mile route from the Guinness Brewery, into PVSP, out to the swinging bridge via the Grist Mill Trail, and back via River Road. It was a great time. As a long-time solo runner, it was…