New espresso maker: Capresso Ultima (Model 121)
I'm a big coffee drinker, ok? I've been putting my Keurig single serving machine through it's paces for the last few months and I really like it. I've already spent more on little coffee pods from Keurig than the machine ever cost. Another post will go into what I've learned from that. Recently though I've gotten enamored of short non-fat Lattes at Starbucks. That's a story in and of itself, which again will wait for another post. The real story is that I just unpacked my new Capresso Ultima semi-automatic espresso maker. Check it out here. I've already made too many espressos, capucinnos and lattes, luckily many of them decaf. I really like this machine. Semi-automatic means that while you need to feed it ground coffee (i.e. it doesn't include a grinder) it does do everything else itself. Tamping is done semi-automatically, through a very simple use of your own muscle power. The used grinds go into a little compartment for emptying after a bunch of uses. And, the coffee is del.icio.us! I will be posting further observations of my experiences in the near future:
What are the trade-offs that led me to this particular machine?
How does it compare to the Keurig and does one replace the other?
What have I learned so far about the kind of grind that works?
How hard is it to steam or foam milk?
What is the difference between a latte and a capucinno and why do I prefer lattes?
What's up with Starbucks short non-Fat Lattes?
What are the comparative costs of operation
Hey, sounds like I am writing a book! <!-
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If you are interested in Microsoft
A friend of mine who used to work at Microsoft sent me a link to a very interesting posting about what it's like to work there. If you're interested in the big MSFT, you might enjoy reading this. Here's one telling bit:
"I joined Microsoft at the beginning of the antitrust litigation against the company. My NASA coworkers made all sorts of derogatory comments about my choice. I remember one began a conversation with "So you've decided to go work for The Great Satan , huh?" A lot of people who ought to know better are convinced Microsoft is evil. Apologies if you're one of them -- because these people are idiots." (from Working at Microsoft)
At eRoom we were always like a tiny little boat bobbing around a whale called Microsoft. I never thought Microsoft was evil or had it out for us or anything like that. The metaphor was more like, Microsoft is this huge , goofy , well- intentioned giant, not really able to be aware or worry about what happened to every little creature every time they decided to inhale or roll over. Technorati Tags: microsoft, eroom
Why Google is cool, Part 1241
Do a google search for a FedEx tracking number, and Google figures out that this is what it is and sends you directly to Fedex. Cool. Technorati Tags: fedex
Fun movie and TV fonts
This
just proves that you can get just about anything on the web. Here's a
site that provides custom font sets
immitating the type face used in a whole bunch of TV Shows and Movies.
Amusing. Technorati Tags: funny
Great “State of the Blogosphere” Post from Dave Sifry
Dave Sifry, of Technorati, periodically reports interesting statistics about how the world of blogging is growing and changing. He's in a unique position to do this, because Technorati is one of the leading crawlers and indexers of the blogosphere, so Dave has great access to lots and lots of data. And then, he does a great job analyzing what it all might mean. Dave recently published another report. Here are some fun tidbits. All of these quoted from "Sifry's Alerts: State of the Blogosphere, April 2006, Part 1"
The blogosphere is over 60 times bigger than it was just 3 years ago
75,000 new weblogs are created every day
3.9 Million bloggers update their blogs at least weekly
A great report! If you're interested in this stuff, read the whole thing. Technorati Tags: blog, blogging
Blogging is “essential” to a good career
Boy, blogs sure are hot , aren't they? I've been noticing the New York Times regularly quoting bloggers as legitimate sources side by side with witnesses, experts, politicians. And now the Boston Globe has a bit about blogging your way to a job:
"Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field." […] But pick your topics carefully and have a purpose. "The most interesting blogs are focused and have a certain attitude," says van Allen. "You need to have a guiding philosophy that you stick to. You cannot one minute pontificate on large issues of the world and the next minute be like, 'My dog died.' " […] Day realized the value of focus after a misguided mashup of his politics and business. (from The Boston Globe)
Of course the blog that you are reading right now is just such a mashup of random topics that interest me. That's probably why my experimentation with putting ads so far has yielded next to nothing. But I am experimenting as much to learn how ads on web pages do and don't work as much as anything. <!-
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Cool map of undersea cables
This is just a really cool map.
"The vast bulk of international telephone and Internet traffic travels through underwater cables. This map shows the cables that were in use as of the end of 2004 and gives an indication of where traffic is heaviest." (from News.Com)
(from News.com, from TeleGeography Research, from Primetrica) Technorati Tags: cool, interesting
Agenda for OPML Camp coming together
Adam's been busy moving the plans for OPML Camp forward. Looks like it's going to be interesting! If you haven't checked it out yet, you might consider taking a look at the site. And actually, this is pretty cool : the proposed agenda is actually represented as an OPML link, displayed in the right margin using Grazr a nice, embedable OPML "widget" Technorati Tags: OPML, opmlcamp
BostonPHP Meeting: Thursday May 4, 2006 – Check it out!
I met Mark Mark Withington at the last Geek Dinner. He runs the Boston PHP Group. They meet every month. This month's meeting is about the ZEND Framework. Looks interesting. If you're PHP dude, check it out!
When: Thursday, May 04, 2006 At 06:30 PM
Where: Optaros, 60 Canal Street 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02114
What: BostonPHP meeting. Topic: Zend Framework
More info: HereTechnorati Tags: PHP
An easy target…. funny
So, what happened to Alfred E. Newman? 
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