Fall fun food and follies in Victoria B.C. 2010 chapter 2 · Monday October 11, 2010 by colin newell
For starters, I have twitter to blame for a dearth of activity around here. Damn you, you insatiable Sea Gull with a bottomless appetite for my most trivial thoughts! Never pleased with the amount of witty wrist shots I tap out! Well, I am done! Almost…
Big news in the Victoria area is the gradual opening of the Atrium Complex at the corners of Douglas, Yates and Johnson with Zambri’s taking the lead, followed by A.J.‘s Organic Cafe, PIG BBQ Joint and (for me) the most hotly anticipated coffee event in the last year…
The opening of HABIT COFFEE AND CULTURE # 2.
The Atrium, designed and built by the imaginative Jawl Properties, has fundamentally changed the game downtown – and folks, this is not the latest tourist trap area. This new infusion caters to the neighborhood – and what a splash folks! What a splash.
Andrea and I popped into the new HABIT and the Atrium after returning from a wonderful cabin get-away to Jordan River (Point no Point cabins) and had our breath taken away. An ebullient Shane Devereaux held court behind one of the brightly colored La Marzocco espresso-cappuccino machines and poured flawless latte art while we chatted for a few seconds.
Shane humbly reminded me that “this” was a collaborative effort when I suggested that his new digs fundamentally shifted the downtown Victoria vibe. And so it is. Peter Zambri (and his crew) and Shane’s collective (and others) have brought some magic to Victoria like nothing I have seen in the last 25+ years. I am excited… big time. And I hope my readers get down there soon.
One of the things (another blog perhaps) that I notice are the number of colleagues at the University (where I work) that claim to have not been downtown in years. This shocks me. The things that makes a city alive, well and healthy are people and healthy commerce. Claiming that there are too many social ills or no parking in our gem of a town is utterly lame. Sure. Go ahead. Do all your business at a corporate Mall or, God forbid… Walmart. But be prepared to pay the price.
Anyway. Rant off.
The Atrium on Yates is utterly spectacular and an incredible architectural wonder. Give it a week or so and come on down. It will be worth it!
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Fall fun food and follies in B.C. 2010 chapter 1 · Saturday September 25, 2010 by colin newell
Life in British Columbia guarantees an endless procession of political intrigue, scandals, government screw-ups and boondoggles.
It gets on my nerves and amuses me – but not always in equal measure.
The last few months it has been the police, particularly the RCMP who have been getting under my skin – like Fall drunk wasps who get in my face the moment I head outside.
The RCMP – a once respected National police force that used to be trusted, reliable as gravity and, for all intents and purposes… inscrutable…
(And)Now you wouldn’t trust them to handle a simple drunk and disorderly call or a jet lagged tourist without someone getting a bullet in the back of their head…
…or worse.
Now they want more power on the roads.
The B.C. Attorney generals office has radically reshaped speeding and drunk driving laws in such as way as to grant extraordinary powers to the cops on the tarmac beat.
And don’t get me wrong – I am all for getting people to slow the heck down. Speed kills. And so does excessive drink. That is why we have reasonable limits of alcohol consumption.
But, in my opinion, it is not the food enthusiasts and lovers of life – who enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, that are the problem. It is the hardened repeat offenders that are too stupid to not drive blitzed, putting themselves and every animate and inanimate object in their paths in danger.
The new DUI laws put everyone in the cross hairs of Joe Police Constable. Due process has been eliminated and the roadside cop is now judge, jury and executioner. As I currently interpret the new laws, you can be pulled over, have your license pulled, your car towed and be fined thousands of dollars never even having had the pleasure of one sip of liquor… or the pleasant company of a wise old B.C. judge.
Doubt me? You shouldn’t. It all comes down to the discretion of the attending officer. You may have just had a 12 hour shift at the mill or the office. You are tired. And are weaving a bit. And whether or not you “blow” .05 is irrelevant. There is a new “definition” of impaired out there folks.
And listen up. Roadside breath tests do not test for alcohol. They test for chemical compounds in your breath that indicate the presence of alcohol (and other substances) in your bloodstream. It is not an infallible test and every test is open to subjective analysis and criticism.
Oh, I mean in most places other than B.C.
Results. The hardened drinkers are still going to drink and drive.
The rest of us are going to stop eating out or enjoying a glass of wine or beer at a restaurant or social – in addition to living in a society that is tipping towards a nanny state at an ever frightening rate.
So. The cops have more power.
Guess what? They want MORE power still.
The Association of Police Chiefs of B.C. want the ability to execute random roadside breath tests.
Huh? What ever happened to innocent til proven guilty?
Here is a little truth: Surgeons like to cut things, carpenters like to build things and cops like to have power – and it’s human nature to want more than you have or do more than your doing.
What I can see happening shortly is a clash of lawyers in B.C. with the A.G.‘s office. Class action suits. Charter rights challenges. Etc.
Scandals, boondoggles and more scandals. Welcome to B.C. folks.
Too much power, but now police chiefs are calling for even more.
“The randomness of catching people who are drinking and driving is pretty key to lowering the death rate and sending a very clear message to people that break the law,” mused Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham.
We cannot trust our current crop of cops with guns or tazers.
So how can we trust them with overarching quantities of police powers?
Just say no folks.
Which is exactly what I am going to say to Corporal Kowalsky when I get asked to blow without cause.
You first officer. You first.
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The Baratza Preciso grinder first look - Fall 2010 · Sunday September 19, 2010 by colin newell
Based on our their popular grinder – the Baratza Virtuoso, the Preciso adds extra precision and control to the great basic features of the Virtuoso.
This article on the Baratza Preciso grinder is unfolding as you watch! Watch for changes and additions to this blog over the next week!
Baratza’s coffee diva, Kyra and design engineer Kyle of Baratza were kind enough to entrust me with a sample Preciso for an intense look see – We are in the first few days of play so this article will unfold as this week comes and goes. Check in often!
Photo above right: We were pumped to receive a Preciso to give it the no-holds-barred coffeecrew.com tear-apart and abuse until it bursts review… and there are lots of good things to report!
Like the Virtuoso, the new Preciso retains the 40 grind adjustment steps of the Virtuoso, but a second micro adjustment lever further divides each of the 40 steps into 11 distinct settings. This was a much needed feature for serious espresso enthusiasts because with the Virtuoso’s more limited range of steps, one had to depend on their other skills for nailing the perfect grind and tamp.
Smaller steps (in this case 11 sub-settings for every regular click on the Preciso) means you have more control over your espresso grind, enabling you to pull that perfect shot.
The Preciso retains all the range and durability of the beloved Virtuoso. It really is the ideal grinder for folks who like to mix it up with French press, Aeropress, drip and all the other methods. And if you use a couple of different methods (like I do) it is now way easier to zero in on that sweet spot.
Operationally, the Preciso has the same timer and pulse button that the Virtuoso employs.
We have some photos of the Preciso over here in the photo gallery – more coming too!
The Preciso’s professional grade 40mm conical burrs produce a consistent, fine grind which is critical for all the grind ranges from espresso through French press. I am constantly mixing it up in my lab so the Preciso’s inherent flexibility pays off for stress free grinding batch for batch.
The front mounted pulse On/Off button allows you to grind directly into your espresso brew portafilter and an optional portafilter holder makes dosing a snap. The 60-second timer is perfect for grinding my regular “full batch” for my Newco OCS-8 and OCS-12 drip brewer. The Newco’s and the Preciso are the perfect team – then again, it works well with my collection of French press brewers
The Preciso’s large 8-oz. hopper and a 5-oz. removable anti static ground coffee bin are standard equipment – exactly like the Virtuoso.
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Summer Fun Food and Drink - Techo addiction - Chapter 23 · Monday September 6, 2010 by colin newell
I have a pretty sassy old mom… in her 80’s and as spry as a UVic rabbit dodging a Jack Russell terrier.
Was wowing her with an internet radio that I am testing out. Maybe you have seen them. They look like radios. They pick up a WiFi connection and can spit out 15,000 radio stations.
For most people, it is a 99 channel Universe – especially for those of us who live in urban areas. My wife and I have a digital Shaw cable account that is wrapped with broadband internet. Works pretty well for us. Not always reliable as gravity but I have few complaints about the service. If you pick up the phone and call for help, chances are you are going to speak to some young person in the Victoria area. That speaks volumes for customer service.
Anyway – I am digressing.
My mom goes back to the days of radio. Where there was nothing but radio… and direct dial rotary phones. Where a long distance phone call would cost you bucks based on distance. Unlike today where you can call Mars for about 9 cents a minute.
So she has seen it all. But was immensely impressed with the fact that I could call up a Stereo FM quality radio signal from anywhere on the Planet — via the miracle of the internet of course.
In the space of 5 minutes we were “tuning” in St. Johns Newfoundland, the Vatican, France, the BBC and then back to CBC Radio 1 Victoria.
As my mom also knows, I am a radio guy from a long time ago – at 12 years of age I was building shortwave radios and dabbling in Ham radio. So, through some degree of osmosis, she has soaked in some of this legacy technology.
Fact is, in 2010, we have come to really depend on the leading edge technologies; cell phones, internet, internet phones, iPhones, blackberries, portable PC’s and Macs that depend on a stable broadband connection… that are totally centralized. And where this is a problem is, when there is a power failure, local brown out or, God forbid, a “mass coronal ejection” from the Sun… We could be entirely dead in the water as far as communications are concerned. Under the right conditions we could not even talk across the street – much less connect to a police station or hospital.
Our highways are much like that. Cut one big link and we are screwed.
And do not get me wrong – I am not offering any solutions. Just making an observation.
Like dear old Mom did when she asked…
“This internet radio does not work by itself does it? It is not picking up all these stations out of the air is it? You have another piece of hardware in the home, yes?”
Her words exactly.
My internet and digital connection is a pretty massive and fragile lifeline.
It’s a good thing that I am a licensed ham radio operator capable of helping dig out from a natural disaster and aiding in coordinating communications in the event of…
You get the point.
My advice is: Be prepared with alternatives. An emergency kit is a good start. And a battery powered traditional radio to hear what’s going on.
The rotary dial phone? Sorry. Cannot help you there.
Be safe.
