Ping, Twitter, and other random odd stuff

So I've been messing about with Twitter, to see what all the fuss is about, and then I discovered this thing called "Ping.fm", that enables me to post to all sorts of social networks. I'm still trying to figure out how to use it in a way that will meet the variously different formats of Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and whatever. It gives me something to do in between getting snippy with even more snippy receptionists at doctors' offices.

Updated to add: You can read my Twitter updates in the blog sidebar. Or you can "follow" me on Twitter. Or you can ignore all the silliness.

When it comes to Facebook --- I tend to be more personal there, so I am very careful about my "friends"...

Cool Stuff

I was going to write about iPhone apps, and maybe I will...in a future post. But there's much cooler stuff...

There is a plethora of "cool stuff" these days, whether it's handy gadgets, nifty technological wonders, kitchen appliances, or whatever. I've written about a few of these things.

But there's stuff that is way cooler than just...stuff. And here's just a little sample:

• Foggy mornings. On those mornings, it sometimes looks like we're living on the edge of the world, with nothing beyond our backyard. Such days are made for drinking hot chocolate and enjoying a world shrouded in mist. Like this morning
  
• Early summer mornings when you feel the anticipation of heat but it's still cool. We very rarely get those around here. But when I experience those, it brings back memories of my childhood.
• Morning workouts that leave you sweaty and spent --- but strangely invigorated and much more ready to face the day.
  
• Two year olds. The ultimate in cool stuff and cool people.
• Dogs that greet you excitedly when you return home.
• Back rubs.
• Freshly picked berries.
• Freshly picked cherries.
• Good coffee.
• The Sunday newspaper.
• Porch swings. Someday maybe I'll have a porch and a swing.
• Beach bonfires. We live close to where we can drive on the beach, hauling in our big supply of firewood, chairs, food, and more --- and build a wonderful bonfire. Ah...
  

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A little blog housekeeping

The new version of Blogger, now out of beta, definitely counts as Cool Stuff. I just finished doing a few more blog tweaks here and there, nothing real major, just a little light housekeeping and decorating. It's really nifty how easy it is to edite the format of the blog.

If you're on Blogger and you've been hesitant to change over to the new version --- don't be. The whole process was relatively painless, and well worth it.

Speaking of iTunes

Of the stuff I have added to my iTunes library in the last couple months, here are the Top Ten in terms of what I've been listening to the most:

1. Hound Dog -- Elvis Presley (It's our beagle's theme song)
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough -- Diana Ross
3. Through the Years -- Kenny Rogers
4. Unforgettable -- Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
5. Saturn -- Stevie Wonder
6. Sailing -- Christopher Cross
7. 16 Minute Advanced Walker Interval Workout -- Prevention Magazine (my morning warm-up via my iPod)
8. Testify to Love -- Avalon
9. Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again -- Barry Manilow
10. Blowin' in the Wind -- Bob Dylan

I've been in a rather nostalgic mood lately, which explains all the songs harkening back to my youth.

Cool stuff

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. Do I have an excuse or explanation? Not really.

I haven't done a "Cool Stuff" post in ages. (I haven't done a post in almost ages, but that's another thing.) Today I'm inspired, because I've decided that iTunes is about the best example of cool stuff around.

Here is what I've been doing with iTunes:

• Putting some of my favorite CD's on my laptop
• Using my laptop to play music, wirelessly, over our stereo
• Creating all sorts of playlists by genre, mood, event, season, activity, etc., etc.
• Downloading nostalgic music from the iTunes Music store
• Downloading free podcasts on a variety of topics
• Uploading music and podcasts to my iPod

Today I downloaded a cool little Dashboard Widget that helps me figure out the bpm (beats per minute) of songs, and I used it to help categorize my workout music by intensity/speed of workout (slow, medium, fast).

How I ever managed to live without iTunes is a mystery to me...well, actually not. I had no idea what I was missing. Now I'm enjoying making music a much bigger part of our lives as a family.

My Top 10 Songs of 2006

Here is what is playing most often on my computer so far this year:

1. Never Saw Blue --- Hayley Westenra
2. Amazing Grace --- Eden's Bridge
3. Angels Watching Over Me --- Hack Bartholomew
   
4. Amazing Grace --- Hayley Westenra
5. Homesick --- MercyMe
6. Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus) --- Chris Rice
   
7. I Can Only Imagine --- MercyMe
   
8. Home --- Natalie Grant
   
9. I'll Fly Away --- Alison Krauss
   
10. We've Only Just Begun --- The Carpenters

Today I finally installed some stuff that added our stereo to our wireless network, so that I can beam songs from my laptop to the stereo without having to worry about hooking up cables. Pretty cool!

We join the 21st Century...finally

One of the few negatives, as far as I'm concerned, about living in a supposedly semi-rural (but not semi-rural enough for me) small town is that DSL has been unavailable to us. We've had to limp along with dial-up internet access, and our community's phone system really wasn't designed with such new-fangled data useage in mind.

As of yesterday, I feel like I've caught up with the rest of the world. We now have wireless broadband, and it is soooo cool! Immediately after the hardware was installed, we were up and running. Eldest Son and I both were on the internet at once, sitting at our dining table with our laptops and nary a cable or phone line in sight. How cool is that?

Oooh, oooh, oooh!

An easier way to post pictures to my blog! This is sooo cool! To try out this great new feature, I thought I'd show everyone what happens in the kitchens of boy-dominated households during clean-up time.

I have this fantasy that in all-girl or almost-all-girl households, the kitchens are filled with cheerful young ladies in lovely frocks, singing melodiously in multi-part harmony as they turn the kitchen into a polished delight. My mother and her two older sisters actually did practice gospel and hymn trios while doing dishes, so I have some basis for this mental image. Please don't disabuse me of my lovely notion of what goes on in your girly homes, if your daughters are not bringing forth melody amongst the pots and pans.

But I do know for a fact that my lone daughter would never pose for a picture with a towel over her head and face.

For my German readers

Gelegentliches Musings is now available. Be forewarned that this is a Google-generated translation and is thus...well, unintionally amusing to say the least. For example, in the translation of the Cool Stuff entry, I am the strong one, not the coffee.

Cool stuff

I've been enjoying my pods from Community Coffee so, as promised, here is my review of sorts.

At first, I have to admit, I was a tad disappointed. The coffee just wasn't as strong as I remembered, when made from either the dark roast or from the café especial. But then again, my first introduction to Community Coffee was when a guy practically saved my life by offering to share some from his thermos, coffee that he'd warned me was so strong that I might never be the same again after tasting it.

Perhaps so.

In order to recapture that taste, I have to throw caution to the wind by altering the setting on my Bunn coffee maker in full defiance of their information about the alleged Gold Standard of coffee-making. And then, if I put the resulting strong drink in a thermos, add some sugar (which I usually don't do), and sip it with my eyes closed, I'm almost back in Louisiana. To get the full effect, I should probably stand in a hot steamy room.

Too much time on your hands?

Or just annoyed with my blog?

Now you can spill coffee on it or nuke it, or send in a plague of snails, or flood it, or send down a rain of meteors or fry eggs on it or...

I discovered this extremely useful link on Coffee Swirls.

Too cool for words

Community Coffe now has pods for the Bunn My Cafe!!!

As soon as mine arrive, I'll let you know what I think.

Invasion of the body snatchers

People are writing me in alarm, wanting to know why my blog is full, of late, with references to pod people...or maybe it's just pods. What are these pods? Are they taking over the world? Have I been taken over?

Here's one answer to the question: What are Coffee Pods?

The "Cool Beans" Dilemma solved

Bunn My Cafe doing its thing
Originally uploaded by Keichu.

Here's my new toy, the Bunn My Cafe. It definitely belongs on my short list of cool stuff.

One of the nifty features is that when you make a cup of coffee, this mysterious and ultra-cool blue beam of light shines down on the cup. Unfortunately, it didn't really show up in my picture.

More about the Bunn pod coffee brewing system below.

See also The Cool Beans Controversy and Momentary Wimpiness

Almost all you could ever hope to know about the Bunn My Cafe here

How do they compare?

Bunn & Senseo
Originally uploaded by Keichu.

I've been happily putting the Bunn coffeemaker through its paces, and here are some of the things I've noticed about how it stacks up against the Senseo:

First of all, the Bunn---with its innovative pod holder design--will hold any size coffee pod, while the Senseo works only with 62mm pods. This was a big selling feature of the Bunn for me.

Another huge selling feature is that the Bunn can make a cup of coffee ranging from approximately 4 ounces to 12 ounces, while the Senseo can make either a 4 oz cup, two 4 ounce cups, or one 8 ounce cup. The variable setting on the Bunn is a great feature. I did notice that the actual amount of coffee made may vary somewhat from the setting, depending on what pod you are using and how much water it absorbs. I did quite a bit of measuring the coffee I made for a few days in order to tinker with the setting.

The "Golden Cup Standard" of the Specialty coffee Association of America indicates that a 10 gram pod (such as those from "Cool Beans") is best for brewing 6 ounces of coffee. I've been enjoying those "golden cups" now that I have my Bunn.

The first thing I noticed while unpacking and setting up the Bunn My Cafe is how much better made it is than the Senseo. It has a number of clever design features. I like not having to remove the water reservoir in order to fill it. I've also enjoyed the special tea setting. (OK, tea purists will probably scoff, but I thought it made a good cuppa tea, and you can use any tea bag.) I really like that the Bunn can be used with any size mug.

Note in the picture that I've shown the largest size mug that I can use in both machines. The mug that I have in the Senseo is rather short; my standard mugs don't fit in it at all. The Bunn holds my tallest latte mug with ease.

When I did my side by side coffee comparison, using the same flavor of Senseo pod (see entry below) I noticed that the Senseo produced far more crema. Some may like this (I do) but others may not care. I also noticed that the Bunn made hotter coffee. Those who like their tongues scalded may not want the Senseo. Coffee flavor was good with both machines.

I liked the pod holder of the Bunn much better, especially because of the ease in getting it in and out of the machine. However, it is really designed for one pod, although one can use different sizes. The Senseo comes with both a one pod holder and a two pod holder.

One thing I miss with the Bunn is that it can't make two cups of coffee at the same time. This isn't a big deal to me, since it heats up the water and makes the coffee faster than the Senseo anyway---plus, I'm rarely making another cup for someone else anyway.

Which to choose?

The Bunn will open up a whole wide world of possibilities as far as coffee pods that you can use. Plus, you can also make tea. It's far better made and seems much more durable. It heats up faster. It's easier to use. You will give up the few little things I mentioned above. However, it's pricier than the Senseo. Whether or not it's worth it is a matter of preference, I suppose.

[Edited to correct ounces to grams. Oops!]

Pod Holders

Pod Holders
Originally uploaded by Keichu.

On the left, the Bunn pod holder; on the right, the Senseo single pod holder.

Unfortunately, my special filter which fits in the Senseo double pod holder and allows me to use the machine to brew any coffee, without a pod, doesn't fit in the Bunn. Hopefully someone will soon make a filter to fit.

The side by side "Crema Test"

Crema
Originally uploaded by Keichu.

In this highly scientific, controlled experiment, I used the same type of Senseo brand coffee pod (imported from Europe) and the same nifty class coffee cup in both coffee makers, the Senseo (on the left) and the Bunn (on the right).

There was a signficant difference in the amount of crema. In this particular test, the Senseo won hands down.

More cool stuff

Like many busy mamas, I spend a lot of time in the car, driving hither and yon. Some of that time, I have offspring with me. But other times, I'm returning alone from dropping someone off, or heading off alone to pick someone up. Inevitably, while by myself in the car, I will suddenly remember something that needs to be added to my endlessly undone "to do" list. With my old cell phone, this was no problem---it had a voice recorder feature.

But now...

For years, I've wanted a small digital voice recorder. Back in my PDA days (I've discovered a paper and pen planner works better for me) I had an attachment that turned my Handspring into a voice recorder. But this was unwieldy and awkward and I seldom used it.

Usually when I want something, I research it a bit, hunt for online reviews and info, etc. But today, while out running errands, I just bought one impulsively. For all I know, it could be the worst digital voice recorder on the market. Or maybe I lucked out and it's the best.

It certainly is handy.

Now I'm imagining that I may resurrect an old quirky practice from my college days, when I would sometimes use my small cassette recorder to create "voice journals", full of observations, random background noises, etc., as I went along my day. I would dictate story ideas, or character descriptions, or dramatic openings for stories. People who saw me babbling this stuff into my recorder probably thought I was insane.

Now that I think about it, the general public doesn't need any more evidence of my weirdness. Maybe I won't do voice journaling after all.

But it will be nice to be able to record quick notes and reminders to myself. No more coming home and trying to recall what I was thinking on the freeway when I made a mental note to do...what??

Momentary wimpiness

That's the only explanation for what I wrote in my Cool Beans controversy post. Now that I have recovered from my lapse and have had more cups of coffee, it is obvious to me that trying to get two Senseo cups out of one Cool Beans pod results in coffee that is simply too weak.

For those unfamiliar with the Senseo, it makes a small, European, 4 ounce cup of coffee. The Cool Beans pods are arguably designed to brew a good 6 ounce cup. This results in a bit of a dilemma for those who own the Senseo but don't want a significantly strong cup of coffee. What to do?

1. My current solution: enjoy the stronger cup of coffee. Add a bit more milk. OK, I know that's heresy for some coffee drinkers...

2. Don't buy the Cool Beans pods. That, in my humble opinion, would be a mistake.

3. Get another one cup coffee maker. More about that option some other day!

More about Senseo coffee maker

No, they aren't paying me to write this!

Here's the review I posted on Amazon last August:

The raving reviews of the Senseo had reached my awareness even before the machine was available in the United States. That had piqued my curiosity but, frankly, when the coffeemaker started showing up here, I thought it might be a case of too much hype and not enough substance.

After reading a number of reviews here and elsewhere on the web, I finally succumbed to temptation while out shopping and made my purchase. (Mine came with two nifty looking coffee cups, two bags of pods, and coupons.)

Since I'm the only coffee drinker in my household, and my current coffeemaker, though wonderful, isn't that good at single cups of coffee, I thought this might be a practical second coffee maker. I arrived home, went though a modified version of one reviewer's suggestion for prepping the coffee maker (I didn't go so far as to soak the removable parts for an hour but just washed them with hot soapy water) and made my first cup of coffee. It was good.

The third cup was really enjoyable. Frankly, I like the foam on top and don't stir it in. I've been extremely pleased. I haven't tried the mild roast yet---I've always been more of a medium/dark roast person myself.

The coffee, served in the cups that came with my machine, reminds me of Europe. The machine looks cool sitting on my countertop, and takes up little space. It's ridiculously easy and efficient to make a cup or two of good coffee. I can't believe I put off buying the Senseo for this long.

However, even though I gave it 5 stars, the system is not perfect. If I was going to suggest improvements, they would be:

1. Have a greater variety of coffee pods available for purchase, with different types of coffees and blends

2. Have more options as far as cup/mug size---in other words, be able to make one cup, two cups, a large mug, etc.

3. Improve the way the water reservoir fits into the machine. I love the design and the look of the Senseo, but this seems a bit flimsy to me. I think it could have been engineered a bit better, with the same look and design.

Otherwise, as a second coffeemaker for our household, I'm thrilled. I still have my Capresso out on the counter for when I'm in the mood for a lot of coffee or for specialty coffees...or for when we have company.

Sinced then, I've discovered several sources for a growing variety of different coffee pods. (See my "Cool stuff" entry from yesterday for a few links.) I also discovered and bought a filter that allows me to use regular coffee in place of pods. I don't recall where I ordered mine, but it came all the way from Holland. The Single Serve Coffee website no doubt has more info on the availability of these filters. If all else fails, several different ones can be ordered from Typical Duth Stuff. (That website has so much good stuff that it's well worth the visit. Whether or not you want to order from overseas is a different story!)