Dragons are F'ing Awesome
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
SWWW
Thursday, I am still sick. But don't worry, it's not the flu, it's just a cold. So you can still come over for dinner tomorrow night. Well, not you. But you can.
You know who you are.
I don't really have much of anything to write here today but I just wanted you all to know that I'm not better yet, but I'm getting close. And I think by this weekend I'll be all well & good and everything will be great. This is good, because we have a free weekend and I don't want to be sick for it.
Julia
Had the monster last night. She was good, and again seemed a little tired. We hit the food store then went back to the house to have dinner and watch TV. After she barely ate half her mac & cheese, she admitted that she had already had dinner before I picked her up.
Kids.
Then we read 3 chapters in the book I'm reading to her, and then did a science experiment where we made a volcano. Then we went to bed where she fell asleep in about 3 minutes. Not sure why she's so tired these days.
Jake
While it is true you did invite me to your house for dinner, I have nothing to counter that with, so I will continue to ignore that factoid.
I believe the word "factoid" actually means something that is not actually a fact. But we've molested the word so the media uses it to mean an actual fact.
People.
Bikes & Coffee
I don't know about you guys, but I like them both.
Pics
I have no pictures today so I will surf FB until I find something...
...actually nothing jumps out at me. So I got nothing for today.
Wow it's already 4:00. This post will just disappear into the void of after-work nothingness.
Thursday, I am still sick. But don't worry, it's not the flu, it's just a cold. So you can still come over for dinner tomorrow night. Well, not you. But you can.
You know who you are.
I don't really have much of anything to write here today but I just wanted you all to know that I'm not better yet, but I'm getting close. And I think by this weekend I'll be all well & good and everything will be great. This is good, because we have a free weekend and I don't want to be sick for it.
Julia
Had the monster last night. She was good, and again seemed a little tired. We hit the food store then went back to the house to have dinner and watch TV. After she barely ate half her mac & cheese, she admitted that she had already had dinner before I picked her up.
Kids.
Then we read 3 chapters in the book I'm reading to her, and then did a science experiment where we made a volcano. Then we went to bed where she fell asleep in about 3 minutes. Not sure why she's so tired these days.
Jake
While it is true you did invite me to your house for dinner, I have nothing to counter that with, so I will continue to ignore that factoid.
I believe the word "factoid" actually means something that is not actually a fact. But we've molested the word so the media uses it to mean an actual fact.
People.
Bikes & Coffee
I don't know about you guys, but I like them both.
Pics
I have no pictures today so I will surf FB until I find something...
...actually nothing jumps out at me. So I got nothing for today.
Wow it's already 4:00. This post will just disappear into the void of after-work nothingness.
speaking of coffee...
i've been told no caffeine for me, or at least drastic cut backs from the steady intake of about a kilo a day for me. with that in mind, is there such a thing as decent decaf? i've been speed-free for a while now, made it through the headaches and all, but still would like coffee even if it isn't to satiate my addiction any more.
i've been told no caffeine for me, or at least drastic cut backs from the steady intake of about a kilo a day for me. with that in mind, is there such a thing as decent decaf? i've been speed-free for a while now, made it through the headaches and all, but still would like coffee even if it isn't to satiate my addiction any more.
Wait, you were on 1000 mg per day? How much does a cup of coffee have? Cup of tea?
Arwen's Mom
Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains
Try tea, still has caffeine, but not as much.
I buy Gevalia coffee, I mix the decaf with the regular 50-50. Love it.
When they screwed up a shipment one time and sent only the decaf, no one in the house could tell the difference.
right, now you see why I an not a drug dealer
Wow- sorry to hear this- I can't imagine life without the bean.
Congrats on making it past the headache stage.
How about a decaf version of whatever was your poison?
If not, there is a bunch of tasty ones out there.
A particular favorite around our house is Green Mt Colombian decaf.
Coffee
Sorry, no. You can't. It's like asking if there's such a thing as a good non-alcoholic beer. The core of some of the flavor is lost when you un-zingify it. With coffee, most of the decaf processes are the water (or Swiss water) methods, where the beans are soaked and the caffeine is leeched out. The problem with this is that the oils in the beans also get washed away, and so much of the flavor of the coffee bean is the oil that comes out when it's roasted.
I've roasted a bunch of different decafs and have not found anything that even comes close. Your best bet is an espresso decaf, as you have 2 things going for it. First, for some reason the flavor simply comes out more in a decaf espresso roast as opposed to a decaf coffee roast. Second, a darker roast is going to actually have less caffeine.
Note #1: There are no such things as espresso beans and coffee beans. The difference is the roast and the grind. A coffee bean is a coffee bean. You roast it longer to be used as espresso. Some beans may roast better for different applications. But the bean is just a bean. And then the grind of the coffee is different. Espresso is really fine. Coffee is as course as it gets (well for me, I use a French press).
Note #2: For whatever reason the more a coffee bean roasts, the less caffeine content it retains. So if you wanted to, you could cut a bold regular roast with a bold decaf roast and maybe get a cup that tastes better and is only 25% the caffeine content of a normal mild roast. The lighter coffee roasts actually have the most caffeine.
I need to roast coffee today. Having people over for dinner tonight and I could offer some coffee if I was a good host. But I have to hang stuff on the walls first, which takes precedence over coffee.
Being Sick
Today is day #4, and as I sit here at 11:00 I feel a little better. What really sucks about this sick thing is that Wednesday night I felt like I was out of the woods. Then yesterday it morphed, and today morphed again. I suppose this is the normal process but it doesn't make it any less annoying. Andy is in the same boat, with most of the same symptoms at this point. Thankfully only 1 of the kids has shown any signs of anything. I guess that's funny since the parents usually get sick because of the kids.
Anyway, I decree that today is the last day of being sick. And I will celebrate this by drinking wine tonight and waking up totally better tomorrow.
Or hungover. Your choice. I believe Jake will tell me that alcohol will chase the germs away. Regardless of that factoid's truth quotient, I'll blindly accept it as fact for the day in the hopes that I wake up totally better tomorrow.
Bikes & the Weekend
The plan is to ride with Andy on Saturday then Utah on Sunday. Tomorrow is a road ride but that hinges on us waking up feeling ok. Mid-day temps are looking to be just around 30-ish, so we should be able to get out for something. I need to try and hit 25 miles just to get 2 points for the competition. Tomorrow is a double day so it would be worth 4. We had plans to do 3 hours tomorrow but being sick and it being cold out sort of hurt that idea.
Sunday I just told Utah to pencil me in. He said ok, but we haven't gone much beyond that. I think Ted will be the weapon of choice. Where we ride is up for discussion, but Utah has other things on his mind these days. Like coffee.
Speaking of coffee, I could use a cup. But then, that would require me to roast some, which we all know I have not done yet.
Catch-22, you are mine.
2013
You know, I know some of you are probably wondering if I'm ever going to get my ass in gear this year and start riding my bike like I have in years past. A few things:
1. Yes, eventually
2. It's really cold out there.
3. I know I used to ride in the cold but frankly the motivation isn't that strong this year.
4. Most people have been saying I've been over-training for the past 4 years anyway, so screw it, let's see what riding a bit less does
5. I like focusing on cross, and riding 800 miles a month at the start of the year sort of burns me out once the fall arrives
6. As always, piranhas.
7. I have nothing to target to start the year. While SSAP is early enough, it's a kids weekend so it may be tough to swing. We'll see.
8. When it's warmer I'll put in more volume to get ready for cross.
Spotify
For those of you who follow me on Spotify, I updated the All Songs Considered list with the top 25 listener picks from 2012. I think right now Robin is the only subscriber. But I highly recommend this list as it's a great way to keep abreast of new stuff that's come out in the last year.
They publish a top 100 but those are albums. I like the 1 song choice from each album, which they give you with the top 25 list. Just listening to it now. Last year's was really good, I still really enjoy it. I should consider adding the 2010 list to it.
Sorry, no. You can't. It's like asking if there's such a thing as a good non-alcoholic beer. The core of some of the flavor is lost when you un-zingify it. With coffee, most of the decaf processes are the water (or Swiss water) methods, where the beans are soaked and the caffeine is leeched out. The problem with this is that the oils in the beans also get washed away, and so much of the flavor of the coffee bean is the oil that comes out when it's roasted.
I've roasted a bunch of different decafs and have not found anything that even comes close. Your best bet is an espresso decaf, as you have 2 things going for it. First, for some reason the flavor simply comes out more in a decaf espresso roast as opposed to a decaf coffee roast. Second, a darker roast is going to actually have less caffeine.
Note #1: There are no such things as espresso beans and coffee beans. The difference is the roast and the grind. A coffee bean is a coffee bean. You roast it longer to be used as espresso. Some beans may roast better for different applications. But the bean is just a bean. And then the grind of the coffee is different. Espresso is really fine. Coffee is as course as it gets (well for me, I use a French press).
Note #2: For whatever reason the more a coffee bean roasts, the less caffeine content it retains. So if you wanted to, you could cut a bold regular roast with a bold decaf roast and maybe get a cup that tastes better and is only 25% the caffeine content of a normal mild roast. The lighter coffee roasts actually have the most caffeine.
I need to roast coffee today. Having people over for dinner tonight and I could offer some coffee if I was a good host. But I have to hang stuff on the walls first, which takes precedence over coffee.
Being Sick
Today is day #4, and as I sit here at 11:00 I feel a little better. What really sucks about this sick thing is that Wednesday night I felt like I was out of the woods. Then yesterday it morphed, and today morphed again. I suppose this is the normal process but it doesn't make it any less annoying. Andy is in the same boat, with most of the same symptoms at this point. Thankfully only 1 of the kids has shown any signs of anything. I guess that's funny since the parents usually get sick because of the kids.
Anyway, I decree that today is the last day of being sick. And I will celebrate this by drinking wine tonight and waking up totally better tomorrow.
Or hungover. Your choice. I believe Jake will tell me that alcohol will chase the germs away. Regardless of that factoid's truth quotient, I'll blindly accept it as fact for the day in the hopes that I wake up totally better tomorrow.
Bikes & the Weekend
The plan is to ride with Andy on Saturday then Utah on Sunday. Tomorrow is a road ride but that hinges on us waking up feeling ok. Mid-day temps are looking to be just around 30-ish, so we should be able to get out for something. I need to try and hit 25 miles just to get 2 points for the competition. Tomorrow is a double day so it would be worth 4. We had plans to do 3 hours tomorrow but being sick and it being cold out sort of hurt that idea.
Sunday I just told Utah to pencil me in. He said ok, but we haven't gone much beyond that. I think Ted will be the weapon of choice. Where we ride is up for discussion, but Utah has other things on his mind these days. Like coffee.
Speaking of coffee, I could use a cup. But then, that would require me to roast some, which we all know I have not done yet.
Catch-22, you are mine.
2013
You know, I know some of you are probably wondering if I'm ever going to get my ass in gear this year and start riding my bike like I have in years past. A few things:
1. Yes, eventually
2. It's really cold out there.
3. I know I used to ride in the cold but frankly the motivation isn't that strong this year.
4. Most people have been saying I've been over-training for the past 4 years anyway, so screw it, let's see what riding a bit less does
5. I like focusing on cross, and riding 800 miles a month at the start of the year sort of burns me out once the fall arrives
6. As always, piranhas.
7. I have nothing to target to start the year. While SSAP is early enough, it's a kids weekend so it may be tough to swing. We'll see.
8. When it's warmer I'll put in more volume to get ready for cross.
Spotify
For those of you who follow me on Spotify, I updated the All Songs Considered list with the top 25 listener picks from 2012. I think right now Robin is the only subscriber. But I highly recommend this list as it's a great way to keep abreast of new stuff that's come out in the last year.
They publish a top 100 but those are albums. I like the 1 song choice from each album, which they give you with the top 25 list. Just listening to it now. Last year's was really good, I still really enjoy it. I should consider adding the 2010 list to it.
i was surprised at how persistent the headaches are. it doesn't let up.
they don't make any decaf versions of what i used to drink. i'll try that green mtn out tho. thanks for the tip!
*edit*
oh snap - stepped on the post above - i'm gonna experiment with that esp roast then too!
Last edited:
ChrisRU
Well-Known Member
I've been using spotify for about 2 months now and its pretty awesome. Prior to that I've been listening to the same massive collection of rap music that has been mostly unchanged since about 2005.
Since almost no good, new rap has come out in years, I have become fully submersed in dubstep thanks to Spotify. Mixing it up with some jazz on occasion. That's all I got.
Since almost no good, new rap has come out in years, I have become fully submersed in dubstep thanks to Spotify. Mixing it up with some jazz on occasion. That's all I got.
We should all just show up at Jakes for dinner one night. We can bring Piranha to cook on the grill.