As part of my training at the hands of a bona-fide national champion, I pulled my first shot of espresso today and made my very first latte (see below.) It was fun, learning the particulars of the process, from tamping the grounds, to pouring the art on top. Judging from my first day, I think I’ll like the coffee business just fine.

http://www.cafekubal.com/

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

How I make a living

Since I was laid off in May, I have been earning my living primarily through using these tools. It is a different feeling to get up in the morning and not know exactly what challenges face you. My last position was as an inspector of widgets. secret military widgets, but widgets none the less. I knew what to expect from work that day, the next week, the next month. Thousands of parts that I would do the same thing to. There was a certain mental freedom in that. I was allowed to listen to music and I took full advantage of that by burning through all the audio books and podcasts I could get my hands on. But at the end of the day, it was tedious, monotonous work. The job before that, I was doing paperwork, day in and day out.

But now, each day is different. Sometimes I’m a plumber. Other days I’m up on a roof stripping shingles. Some days I’m pouring concrete to repair a footing for a house foundation. Or demolishing a bathroom, building a back stoop (pictured above), painting, installing blown-cellulose insulation, running electrical, or a hundred other things. While the pay isn’t great, and there are no benefits like health insurance or 401K, I love the variety, the satisfaction of actually building something with your own two hands, and the flexible schedule so that I can still stay at home some days and play with my sons before they get too old to horse around on the living room rug.

So that’s what I’ve been up to in this recession. What about you?

How was coffee discovered? The legend goes like this.

A Ethiopian goat herder named Khalid was doing his thing in the hills when he noticed his goats acting strangely. They seemed to be uncharacteristically energetic. He saw that they were eating strange cherry-like fruit from some shrubs near the edge of the field. Curious, he tried some himself, and was amazed at their effect. He stayed up all night, invigorated by the strange food’s power. His mind was active as he contemplated this discovery.

The next morning, he gathered the cherries in a bag and took them to the local priest, explaining their strange powers of energy and clear thought. The priest grabbed the bag and threw it into the fire, saying, “These magic beans are from the DEVIL!”

Minutes passed as the small rectory filled with the fantastic aroma of roasting coffee beans. Finally the priest could stand it no longer and snatched the bag out of the fire, declaring, ” Anything that smells this heavenly must be from God himself. And that’s how coffee was discovered.

During the next hundred years or so, coffee, and especially the seeds were controlled by the Arab and African states where it grew naturally. So how did it spread around the world?

In 1714, King Louis XIV was granted a gift of a coffee tree for the royal arboretum in Paris. One night nine years later, an enterprising naval lieutenant named Gabriel de Clieu snuck in and stole the precious tree to stow onboard. His ship sailed with the tide and was far out to sea before the theft was discovered. After a perilous sea voyage that included a stretch in the doldrums, being boarded by pirates, and nearly being wrecked by a giant storm, the ship landed in Martinique, where he was able to start a plantation that is the ancestor of all the coffee plants in the Americas.

How did Brazil get coffee?

During those early years of the coffee trade, its seeds and secrets remained fiercely guarded. The Portuguese emperor sent Francisco de Mello Palheta to French Guinea to arbitrate a dispute between the French and the Dutch. This was his overt mission. His covert mission was to steal some fresh coffee seedlings to bring back to what would become the largest coffee producing nation in the world. During the week of intense negotiations, Palheta seduced the Governor’s wife. At the end of the week during the celebration dinner, she presented him with a thank-you bouquet of flowers for his “services” to their country. Hidden inside the bouquet were several tiny coffee seedlings! Brazilian Coffee dominance here we come.

If you’d like to know more, visit the National Coffee Association site.

Or read “The Book of Coffee and Tea” by Joel, David, and Karl Schapira. This book has nearly everything you might want to know about either drink. WARNING: Before reading this book, I could just drink any old coffee. After reading this book, I am a coffee snob.

In keeping with my snobbery, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the best cafe in Syracuse: Cafe Kubal. They roast beans everyday and have a unique and tasty flavor. Each bag comes with the date it was roasted (usually just a day or two before purchase) and a taste description.Example:My current bag of Sumatra Lintong- French Roast. Aroma: sage and thyme accents. Taste: roasted cocoa. Body: heavy. Aftertaste: tobacco

I had a sudden realization yesterday that I must have as many helmets as women have shoes. So I thought it would be fun to gather them together and see what they were for. (of course they each have their own specific boots as well) So from left to right they are:

Snowboarding , Rock/ Ice climbing, motorcycle, whitewater kayaking, bicycle, luge, and martial arts/ sparring. This pretty well encompasses my various hobbies. Does that say something about my personality that pretty much anything I choose to do for fun I need protective headgear for? I wouldn’t consider myself an adrenaline junkie but now I’m not so sure. What kind of crazy stuff do you do?

2010 was another great year in my reading life. I would have to say that my top favorite books this year were:

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This book was integral to our getting a real handle on our finances, getting on a budget, becoming debt free, amassing six months worth of expenses in an emergency fund, and starting to build wealth.

The “In Death” police procedural mysteries by J. D. Robb. These near-future, gritty, sexy mysteries really grabbed me this year and I have now read more than half of her 30+ books. The characters are great and the interplay between all their relationships kept me intrigued enough to keep picking up the next one in the series. I especially like the audio books because Susan Erickson does such a great job acting all the different characters with distinct and entertaining voices.

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. I don’t normally read a lot of pure fantasy with magic and things, but this was some awesome, hardcore demon slaying goodness. I also really like how we followed three characters from very early ages up through adulthood.

After that, there were so many others and I enjoyed almost all of them. The books on Afghanistan were very interesting and also a few of the survival type books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Dune Frank Herbert

I can see why it has remained a sci-fi/ fantasy classic for decades. This was a great story with powerful world building.

What your contractor can’t tell you Amy Johnston

This is mostly geared towards homeowners who are going to be using professional contractors to fix up their house, not DIYers like me.

Welcome to Afghanistan: Send more ammo Benjamin Tupper

A real and gritty account of life as a US soldier over in Afghanistan. It was especially cool since the author is from my home town and I got to meet him.

Dune Messiah Frank Herbert

The saga continues.

Children of Dune Frank Herbert

This one was filled with intrigue and I was curious to see how it would play out. However, after this third book, I was pretty much Dune’d out.

Pay it Down Jean Chatzky

A decent book about paying down your debt.

Eastern Standard Tribe Cory Doctorow

This was a cool idea from Doctorow but I could tell that it was one of his earlier works. It had a choppy flow with flashbacks taking up a large portion of the book.

The Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey

Probably the single best book on money management that I’ve ever come across. Anyone who uses currency of any kind, be it Klats or Dollars should read this book. After several months of taking his advice, my family is debt free (except for the house), we have six months of expenses in the bank, and we are saving for retirement. The future is looking bright and wealthy.

The New Space Opera

Makers Cory Doctorow

One of his better novels. It’s amazing how many fresh ideas come out of Cory’s mind, especially since so many of them deal with recycled or repurposed materials.

Superfreakonomics Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

Another great economics whirlwind from Levitt & Dubner.

The Sunless Countries: Book Four of Virga Karl Schroeder

A good sequel to the previous Virga books. I liked the story and the darkness of setting. I still love the Victorian steampunk style. I can’t wait for the next one!

7th Son: Descent J.C. Hutchins

Very gripping storytelling. I liked all the government conspiracy and cool new tech. I also liked it since it bears a resemblance to the novel I’m currently writing. I can’t wait for the sequel.

The Quiet War (Gollancz) Paul J. McAuley

Geosynchron (Jump 225 Trilogy) David Louis Edelman

A fitting end to the series. I liked how all the loose ends got ties together, but it’s not my favorite in the trilogy. Overall though, pretty good. I would not recommend someone just pick this up and read it, unless they had read the previous two books though.

Metatropolis John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, …

I really liked this compilation. I thought the stories flowed well into one another and the whole idea of building a common world/ history really worked to each author’s advantage. This book is packed with cool “green” ideas that may not be so far off in our future, if they aren’t here already. Anyone who is interested in being eco-concious should read this. Or, if you’re listening to the audio version like I did, listen. The voice actors did a superb job.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Max Brooks

A truly interesting, epic, insightful, and realistic account of the upcoming zombie apocalypse. The author packs so much detail into each character’s story, I really felt the realism of fighting the undead. I can tell he did a ton of research. An entertaining and gripping look at how our current society might face an outbreak. Great read. Also, go buy a machete right now.

The Magicians: A Novel Lev Grossman

This was like Harry Potter meets Narnia, meets Animal House style sex and drinking. The story was intriguing but I found the ending disappointing.

American Gods Neil Gaiman

Wow what an epic! Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller, and this novel is no exception. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I loved all the little vignettes and other things thrown in. His use of dreams was great as well. I also really like all the little details he throws into a scene that other authors (and most people) miss. The characters were believable and the plot was crazy.

Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life Neil Strauss

Wow. What a cool practical, dangerous book. This made me see how much I still have to learn about how to become self-sufficient, and how much I already know, which was nice. Now for making lists. So much to do before society collapses!

State of Fear Michael Crichton

A very intriguing book. I thought the authors note and appendix at the end were nearly better than the story itself, which was very good to begin with. Beware: huge science dumps. One of the main characters just likes to spew facts for pages at a time.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Michael Pollan

This was a great, eye opening, hugely interesting book. Everyone who eats food should read this.

44 Scotland Street Alexander McCall Smith

A Rrrreally Grrreat book about characters in Edinburgh. Some scenes were hilarious. Poor Bertie who is forced to wear crushed strawberry dungarees to school, etc. I will be reading the sequel for sure.

Rollback (Sci Fi Essential Books) Robert J. Sawyer

This was an interesting take on a situation. (SPOILER) “Hey, take a couple who have endured 60 years of married life, then see what happens when one of them is twenty five again.” An entertaining read, but not too challenging.

Big Jack J.D. Robb

A good page turner ( or in my case, continuous mp3-er) of a police mystery. I loved the fact that it was set slightly in the future. The love scenes were a little over-written and cliche-ridden, but apart from that, the cast of characters was great. I might have to read more.

Espresso Tales Alexander McCall Smith

What a wonderful book! I loved the characters and it was filled with hilarious and poignant scenes of true human nature.

A Place So Foreign and Eight More Cory Doctorow

I always like Cory Doctorow’s stuff and this is no different. Very cool ideas, displayed with geek savvy and hip prose.

Star Wars: Death Troopers Joe Schreiber

This was my first Star Wars novel and I have to say… I liked it. It wasn’t amazing literature by any means, but it was fun.
I will say, the one thing that impressed me most was the quality of the audiobook production. When there are suspenseful parts, music creeps up. Blaster shots use the real effects from the movies. Even the wookie sounds are there. This made a mediocre book spectacularly entertaining for me. It is worth a listen, if not a read.

Judgment in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb

I liked the emotional tension in this addition to the Eve Dallas series.

Kindred in Death J.D. Robb

Another good, if formulaic addition to the series. The method of murder in this book was a little rough, but it makes it all the more satisfying when (or if) Eve gets the bad guy (or girl) (s?)

Fantasy in Death J.D. Robb

A good, if predictable, volume in the Eve Dallas mysteries.

Origin in Death J.D. Robb

Another good Eve Dallas mystery with a lot of cool science.

Digital Fortress Dan Brown

A somewhat dated cyber thriller. Not too bad.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse John Joseph Adams

A great collection of post apocalyptic stories from some very diverse authors. They really spanned a range from cool slick futures to gritty, nasty desolation.

Innocent in Death J.D. Robb

The Warrior’s Apprentice (Vorkosigan) Lois McMaster Bujold

A pretty good story with intriguing characters, but a little weighty with political subterfuge. Still, a fun coming of age tale. It’s not good enough that I will be continuing in the series though.

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines Richard A. Muller

A very good read to bring the average citizen up to speed on many of today’s pressing issues. The section on nuclear reactors was especially enlightening.

Survivor in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

Yet another good mystery by Nora Roberts.

The Warded Man Peter V. Brett

This is a great book. A mysterious world with captivating characters pull the reader along on an incredible journey through years of their lives. It was hard to put this one down until I was done. I could see this being a great video game or movie in a few years.

The Last Lecture Randy Pausch, with Jeffrey Zaslow

An inspiring, thought provoking tale.

The Appeal John Grisham

The writing was OK, but I felt it was ponderous and fell flat at the end. Not sure what people see in Grisham.

Portuguese Irregular Verbs Alexander McCall Smith

A ridiculous book. Very funny characters, and a dry wit.

Promises in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb

A great addition to the Eve Dallas series. Nora Roberts has succeeded again in creating a richly layered world and believable characters. I love the familiarity of this series, but also the surprises.

The Darwin Awards IV: Intelligent Design Wendy Northcutt

Another great addition of stupid, incompetent people removing themselves from the gene pool.

For the Win Cory Doctorow

Another great book by Cory Doctorow. The only downside was that it got slightly bogged down in economics data dumps. But the many interesting characters and the pace more than made up for that. If you enjoy MMORPGs at all, you should read this right now!

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman… Jon Krakauer

A great book about a great man and the terrible tragedy of his death and the worse offense of the cover up by our government. I also especially like the in-depth history of Afghanistan.

Salvation in Death J.D. Robb

Another good Eve Dallas mystery with the plot stretching back years, as always.

Naked in Death J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote… Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

What a great book. I think anyone who is an educator and/or wants to know more about the Pakistan / Afghanistan region should read this. “Dr. Greg” is an inspiring human and really lives out his beliefs.

Creation in Death J.D. Robb

Haunted in Death J.D. Robb

Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich James J. Cramer

This was a good brief view of a traders look at financial fitness. I took some pointers, and left others.

The Department of Mad Scientists Michael Belfiore

A sweet preview of some cool new technologies coming out of DARPA.

Born in Death J.D. Robb

A great “addition” to the Eve Dallas series.

Memory in Death J.D.Robb

Hunger Games Suzanne Collins

A great story with a character that the reader really roots for. The plot tugs the reader along so that you can barely put the book down ( or press pause). Great world building too. I can’t wait for the sequels.

The Unit Terry DeHart

A decent tale about life in the near wasteland. Not amazing though. The constant switching of POV between 5 or more characters was annoying.

The Darwin Awards V

The Art and Craft of Coffee

The Desert Spear Peter V. Brett

A great tale with interesting characters. He sets up the book well so that the reader gets a sense of both cultures and their mind sets before they clash. I can’t wait for the last book!

Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games Suzanne Collins

A great sequel to “The Hunger Games.” This opened out the story started in the first book and really set the stage for the final book in the trilogy. The only negatives were the teenage character not knowing how she was feeling about…well everything. But then again, isn’t that what being a teenager is all about?

Glory in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb

Another great one by J.D. Robb Her characters have such great emotional interplay. Very good.

Immortal in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb

Another great installment in the series. I just love her character development! I get very excited when Eve meets someone who will become so important in later books.

Rapture in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb

Yet another great mystery. I didn’t call this one till the middle this time.

Ceremony in Death J.D. Robb

The Undercover Economist Tim Harford

No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process Colin Beaven

This was a fun read and made me feel pretty good about all that my family already does to lessen our impact on the planet.

My awesome sister Catherine is studying journalism at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. Recently she has been doing radio updates and some on-camera work for their news site: http://edinburghnapiernews.com. Here she is doing a 12:30 bulletin for March 25th, 2011. Good job Cath, keep it up!