Sweet on Finca La Folie

September 19, 2009 by Patrick LaForge in Coffee!

I found myself on a fool's errand trying to research this coffee, suggesting that it has already sold out. And, as so often happens, I got distracted wandering the Internet. The seller, Ritual Roasters has a great video tutorial about espresso, using a French press, the Clover and other topics. I was hooked after the first one, in which the barista explains the wide variety in espresso flavors, even with the same beans, and he compares the intensity of espresso to the slap in the face of whiskey. I never thought I'd have this much fun watching videos of coffee geeks do their thing.

Podcast Zeitgeist, Jan. 26

January 26, 2009 by Patrick LaForge in Podcast Zeitgeist

This week's installment is the Podcast Zeitgeist of second chances, and probably the last such post for a good long while. I'll continue to listen to a few favorites, but a hiatus is in order. This started as an effort to make some notes about what worked for me as a listener. But it became an exhausting and time-consuming exercise, particularly since I sampled many more hours than I ever wrote about. It was cutting into my Twittering time. At some point I may summarize what I have learned, or not.[See all lists.]

A Nerd Planet, Gobsmacked by the Reticulum

January 07, 2009 by Patrick LaForge in Moving Images, Paper & Ink

I'm happy to report that I finally finished the 900+ page "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson, just four months (!) after starting it. I have to admit that I took breaks to read a few other things. I previously posted about the difficult, otherworldly vocabulary that Stephenson made up for this book. (For example, the "Reticulum" is similar to what we call the Web or the Internet, though you have to figure that out based on the description of a narrator who is basically a cloistered monk who never uses technology. "Jeejahs" are smart phones or mobile devices of some sort. Videos are "speelies" recorded with "speelycaptors." Those are some of the neologisms that feel apt. Not all of them do.)

Podcast Zeitgeist, Dec. 19

December 19, 2008 by Patrick LaForge in Podcast Zeitgeist

Here are more quick takes on podcasts that caught my attention this week, in the order I listened. [See previous lists.]

The Great Nerd Book Remains Unwritten

December 14, 2008 by Patrick LaForge in Paper & Ink

Supposedly, nerds are now cool. People compete to show their nerd cred. They are joining Facebook, taking nerd tests on the Web, and discussing the definitions of geek and nerd on their blogs. They watch TV shows like "Battlestar Galactica," "Heroes" and "The Big Bang Theory." They read adult comics and mammoth science fiction novels. Even Barack Obama is said to be a nerd. It was not always this way, a topic that Benjamin Nugent explores in "American Nerd: The Story of My People," published earlier this year. I ordered the book after listening to Nugent give an interview on The Sound of Young America podcast about what he called his childhood experiences as a self-loathing nerd. It was poignant (and familiar) to hear him describe dumping his nerdy Dungeons & Dragons friends in high school so he could pass for normal. Unfortunately, the book did not quite live up to that interview, either intellectually or emotionally.

Podcast Zeitgesit, Nov. 13

November 13, 2008 by Patrick LaForge in Podcast Zeitgeist

What I got out of this week's podcasts for nerds and geeks:

Podcast Zeitgeist, Nov. 6

November 06, 2008 by Patrick LaForge in Podcast Zeitgeist

Podcasts I got around to listening to this week, and what was on them, in the order I listened: