Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 7 Kiva and Hug someone · Saturday July 3, 2010 by colin newell
I have a friend named Bob Harris, from Los Angeles, who tonight is somewhere in Hungary… Budapest I think – being astounded by the unique nature of the language.
On his own. On a mission that any parent, friend or partner would be proud of.
Researching a book on the subject of KIVA – a microfinance thing that everyone should know about and participate in.
Because it works.
Simple concept.
You loan out small amounts of money to folks in developing nations that are starting up a business that need a helping hand.
Bob has made hundreds of loans – many of which that have already been paid back. It’s simple. And hey, it works. Check out his page
Anyway – yesterday Bob was in Bosnia – a war torn region that is on a comeback. And he anonymously met with folks that he has loaned money to. He is writing a book on the subject. From where I am sitting, Bob is a saint. Or not. Maybe just a normal guy on a mission. That you can participate in as well.
Check out Kiva.
Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 6 Hario V60 · Saturday July 3, 2010 by colin newell
While at the Drumroaster Coffee Roastery with my dear wife, Andrea – and affable host Geir Oglend – partner and coffee Übermensch – we brewed stunning cups of Ethiopia Sidamo coffee with the Hario V60.
No visit is complete without cups of great coffee, stimulating conversation… and coming away with a bag of coffee and a pile of information that I did not have before.
Today was no different.
Geir brewed a Hario V60 drip pot of Ethiopia Sidamo with the Hario V60 dripper and Hario kettle (photo below).
Here is the deal:
To really excel at drip coffee (and it is, in my mind one of the most superior methods of brewing an individual cup.):
-You need a precise amount of carefully ground coffee
-A supply of hot water just off the boil in a suitable container (not all kettles are created equally…)
-A suitable filter holder (like the Hario 60 above)
-A timer, maybe a scale and one steady hand.
Weigh out the dose. A digital scale is very important here – and no home kitchen should go without one. A 60 grams (coffee) per liter (water) is more or less ideal. A 12 ounce serving (medium sized mug) is about .35L – or around 23-25G of whole beans. Select your grind that yields a total brew time of around 3 minutes – 3 minutes and 15 seconds tops. Like any other gravity brewer or filter holder (like the Melitta #4) the V60 is not flow restricted… so your instincts are critical!
I Preheat all components and rinse the paper filter with about 100ml of hot water. Does it make a difference? Don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt.
Water should be just off the boil. Boil your water and count to 10. You should be in the ball park.
0 to 30 seconds: Add the ground coffee to the cone. Use your index finger tip to make a small indentation into the middle of the ground coffee. Start your timer (at ZERO) and pour in just enough water to saturate the bed of ground coffee (about 15 seconds worth of pouring). Pour in increasingly concentric rings. Avoid the sidewall of the filter. A Hario kettle (see photo) really makes the difference in precise control of the water.
30 seconds to 1 minute: Watch and wait as the water saturates the ground coffee – there may or may not be any coffee dripping at this point.
1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds: Begin pouring again, in concentric circles out from the middle until the cone is nearly full. Coffee is dripping into your mug.
1 minute 30 to 2 minute mark: Repeat the water delivery to just keep the filter cone topped up.. Good stream of coffee brewing into the cup now.
2 minutes to 3 minutes: By now you have used up your water quota and you are watching the latter stages of the brew cycle. Do not wait for the last drips as you approach 3 minutes as the coffee will be approaching over extraction.
Summer Food Fun and Drink Chapter 5 Working with Wood at Camosun · Wednesday June 30, 2010 by colin newell
Download the Fine wood-working schedule here – Camosun-Woodworking-Summer-2010.pdf | We spoke with Betsi Davis (bdavis@camosun.bc.ca) at Camosun in the Continuing Education dept. about some of their fine wood working courses for the summer of 2010. There are a few of the courses that are in jeopardy of not happening owing to enrollment minimums not being met.
Two in particular are “ Veneering and Inlay” course and the “Wood Carving Level 2” which are never offered outside of the Summer Woodworking Institute in July.
I have attached the pdf brochure for the courses. Let’s get the word out.
Attached a handout on our Woodworking Summer series of courses as requested.
Betsi says… “As you now know, we need to meet a minimum number of students to run any course and by sharing this information with you – and having you share this information with your colleagues, we could possibly meet the minimum requirements for those upcoming courses that we discussed.
Again, thank you for your input and your efforts!”
Betsi Davis – Administration
Trades & Technology – Continuing Education
Camosun College – Interurban Campus
250-370-4563
Summer Fun Food Drink Chapter 4 More New Canada surprises · Tuesday June 29, 2010 by colin newell
Toronto’s police chief is now admitting there never was a five-metre rule that had people fearing arrest if they strayed too close to the G20 security perimeter.
Come again? You mean, this shit was made up?
Civil libertarians and other bleeding heart liberals like yours truly were fuming like a mis-tuned diesel after hearing Friday that the Ontario cabinet gave police the power to stop and search anyone coming within five metres of the G20 fences in Toronto for a one-week period. And it turned to be a lie. Bogus.
The Ministry of Community Safety claims all the cabinet did was update the law that governs entry to such places as court houses to include specific areas inside the G20 fences — not outside. Not outside the wall!
A ministry spokesperson declared the change was about property, not police powers, and did not include any mention of a 5 meter exclusion zone.
Asked Tuesday if there was a 5 meter rule, given the ministry’s clarification, Chief Bill Blair said, “No, but I was trying to keep the criminals out.”
F*ck me.
Premier Dalton McGuinty has some explaining to do methinks.
The public was left to believe the province had given officers the power to demand identification and detain anyone within 15 feet of the G20 site.
Damn. How I wish I could just make shit up like this.
All weekend there were reports of police stopping people throughout downtown Toronto — often in areas nowhere near the G20 zone — demanding identification and to search bags and backpacks. Each incidence a violation of fundamental Charter rights.
I want my country back and I want it back now! This is fricking stressful and I do not like the feeling.
Do yourself a favor folks – do not get down on the Toronto PD – because those men and women were not the weasels in riot gear that took pleasure in putting boots to peaceful folks. The riot cops, wherever they came from, would be psychologically unfit for regular duty in any detachment or precinct. God help the family and friends of riot cops – because many of them are obviously demented.
Canada day is coming – and remember, as we celebrate freedom in Victoria B.C. Canada – that you cannot be stopped in the street by a cop and be searched. If you encounter a road block or check point in the city, you do not need to submit to a search without a warrant.
Have a great Canada day… and Peace out.
