Steve Holden's Blog

Making Coffee Better - Some Recommendations ...

Back in late 2007, Kevin Devin and I traded some emails and resources related to coffee storage recommendations and I summarized them in this blog post.

Now a recent article was published in the San Diego Union-Tribune written by Jennifer Goodwin entitled "How do I brew a great cup of coffee?"

The article is worth a read if you have the time, but here is my main next step for getting the best cup of coffee -- "brew between 175 to 190 degrees" with the brew time between "3.5 to 4.5 minutes."

The recommendations to do this include (links to Amazon):

• French Press
• Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200
  
• Michael Graves Coffeemaker 40304
• Oster Counterforms 4281

I think I'm going to start with the French Press option and see what difference I can notice.

Tracking What You Eat - Lose What You Want

In the blog world, there have been a lot of posts recently from folks like Jason Calacanis on their weight loss successes and recommendations.

I have some similar experience that I'd like to share. Even with all the exercise I do, I still have to monitor my overall calorie intake and expenditures if I want to maintain what I consider a healthy weight. 

The idea I've been following to maintain my weight is by taking in no more calories in a week then I use up. 

In this system, if you want to loose weight then you must have a deficit of calories.  The higher the deficit the more weight one can lose.  It is my experience that you can achieve deficits by eating healthy portions of the right types of food and exercise.

The tool I have been using to do this is Diet Organizer for Windows.   It helps with tracking meals, the calorie counts, statistics, and logging.  The interface is pretty straight forward and simple, but it does have some great power features like creating template meals or reoccurring food choices.  The data entry process  has been streamlined as much as possible to make it fast and easy.

I have used this twice over the last couple of years to lose 10-15 pounds.  The most recent time was last spring when my weight went up to 189.  I was able to get down to 176 in less than 10 weeks eating healthy foods in quantities that made better sense. 

Since then I've been using it periodically to track a week at a time to make sure I am still in the approximately zero calorie gain after a week. I have been within plus or minus 3 pounds of 176 since mid-summer so it does help in re-syncing with good eating habits if you follow your overall calorie intake and expenditure.

One clarification, I really only used this tool to focus on overall calories and trying to maintain the recommendation weight/calorie balance  from Diet Organizer based on my body size and age.  You can also dig in deeper with the software to measure types of fats, sugars, and other items.  Each person is different, but I think this tool is flexible enough to support many different types of scenarios.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions.

Coffee Bean Storage Suggestions

Kevin Devin and I have been trading emails on coffee bean (whole or ground) storage options since we are both purchasing some beans from Kevin's brother who lives in Alaska and works at roaster Cafe Del Mundo.

Kevin found this recommendation, which I have summarized to:

1. Store beans (whole or ground) in an air tight container
2. Store the air tight container in a cool place like a pantry with no direct sunlight on the container. If pantry gets warm, then use a refrigerator but not a freezer.
3. The sooner you go from bean to grounds to brewing the better.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Other opinions?

Christmas Party Invite

If you happen to be in the San Diego area on Saturday, December 22, 2007 and are interesting in coming to our annual Christmas Party from 4 p.m. until whenever, then please drop me an email or private message on Twitter.

Kids are totally welcome, and there will be a pony available for the kids to ride from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Jersey Boys San Diego Ticket & Dining Deal

There is a special deal for folks who are interested in attending Jersey Boys* when it comes to San Diego from Oct. 19 - Nov. 11, 2007:

San Diego Cohn Restaurants' Jersey Boys Ticket & Dining Deal!

This is a deal that I was able to get permission for the Jersey Boys Podcast to promote. This is not a paid advertisement.  It is just one fan helping others get a good deal, and see one of the best musicals I've ever seen.

In semi-related news, Frankie Valli discusses his new album "Romancing the 60's" on the Jersey Boys Podcast #049.

* Authentic, Profane,  Jersey Vocabulary is used in this production.

List Of Sites For Food & Dinning Out Reviews

The following is a list of food & dinning out review sites from an article in the Wall Street Journal published on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007:

• Eater.com: Focus on NYC, LA, and San Francisco
• Chow.com: Includes recipes
• eGullet.org: Includes news
• Yelp.com: Covers many large metro-areas
• Tablehopper.com: Marcia Gagliard's take on San Francisco
• Amateurgourmet.com: Adam Robert's take on New York City
• Restaurantgirl.com: Danyelle Freeman's take on New York City
• Citysearch.com: Nationwide coverage

The other interesting thing from this article was that restaurants are now giving away meals to bloggers in the hopes of a good review. 

So far according to the article it appears to be paying off with good rankings but bloggers that aren't transparent are playing with fire.

Wild Idea Gets Some Traction: 'Personal Movie Place'

A while back on one of my runs I had this 'wild' idea that centered around a geographical social networking site that linked movie buffs to each other by enabling them to come together and watch movies that they were very passionate about in a high-end but personal cinema environment.

One of the high-level use cases was:

Sandra goes online to mypersonalmovieplace.com and signs up to "host" her favorite movie "Blade Runner" on Friday night at 8 p.m.  Other fans of "Blade Runner" in her area would be notified and then they could reserve their spots in the 10-20 seat mini-theater.  Once some minimum is met, the room is reserved, and confirmations are sent out.

This movie establishment could have 10-20 of these mini theaters in standard footprint.  The scheduling and collaboration software would be the core glue to bring it all together.  I by no means think something like this is easy to do, the legal issues are probably enough to make most people go crazy.  But when I talk to folks about it, I always get a generally favorable response.

Well ... this idea has some traction no thanks to me.  Mark Cuban and his excellent team at Landmark Theatres is doing something similar at their $20 million multiplex in West LA near Beverly Hills.

They call their rooms - Living Rooms - where a few dozen people can watch a movie in their own personal screen room with access to bar, food, concierge services, and other treats.  The tickets per seat are $11.  There are also plans for slightly bigger rooms like for 60 people that would rent out for $1500 a show.

There is no indication that you can order up the movie of your choice, but I'm sure that is something that would be doable.

The source of the information for Mark Cuban's effort was from an article in the Union-Tribune published on July 22, 2007.

If you like this idea, please feel free to use it (it is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License).  You do have to compete with the likes of Mark Cuban.  Good luck with that.

Brewery Recommendation: Mad Anthony in Warsaw, Indiana

I am working through my stack of stuff to blog about and I am up to my endorsement of a great brewery in the Warsaw, Indiana area:

Mad Anthony's Lake City Tap House

113 East Center Street, Warsaw, Indiana 46580

574-268-2537

www.madbrew.com

We had a great dinner there, amazing microbrews, and a great cover band called The Fabulous Rhythm Kids was on stage for several hours. They played some very good rock and blues covers.

Dinner Recommendation - Romesco, Bonita, CA

Christy and I were very lucky to receive a $100 gift certificate in the mail a couple of weeks ago thanks to the fine folks at RSVP San Diego.

The gift certificate was for Romesco Baja Med Bistro in Bonita, CA. 

Other than Google maps giving is bad directions because of construction, the evening was fabulous.

The bistro is located in a shopping center right across the street from the municipal golf course, but once you get into Romesco you easily forget that.  The interior style is very much like a French bistro and the atmosphere was relaxing.

The following items are all highly recommended: Ajillo Gulf Shrimp, Savervos Baby Spanich Salad, Giuseppis Napolitana, and Lasagna.  We also had Creme Brulee for dessert, and the wine for dinner was a Gewurztraminer from the Russian River area in Northern California.

We highly recommend Romesco Baja Med Bistro!

Warning: Stone 10th Aniversary India Pale Ale

Merry Christmas!

I have a warning for all micro-brew fans.  If you happen to try the Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale it is highly recommended that you read the fine print at the bottom of the bottle.  Specifically the acknowledgment that it is 10% ALC/VOL.

We got home from Christmas Eve church services, and had a light dinner before watching Funniest Home Videos and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with the family.  And I was still a little loopy by 9:30 p.m. while we were making final presents under the Christmas tree  preparations.

It is a great India Pale Ale.  I highly recommend it. ;-)