Coffee... I'vehadtoomuchcoffeeandIthinkmyheadwillgo"pop"

   
    Yesyesyes!  Someone out there loves me. 

    Yesterday, I received a little present apparently "just because."  And, inside this little present was a 10-cup French Coffee Press (like the one pictured) and a bag of Kona coffee beans (Hello, Kona!  It's pretty much the China White of the coffee-world).

    Now, anyone who catches me in the kitchen knows that I just really don't measure things.  Not only do I really hate dirtying dishes, but I see no reason why I should dork around with a silly little charm-bracelet of tiny spoons and whatnots.  Trust me, all that measuring reminds me of college Chemistry, and I really hated college Chemistry. 
   
    Anyway, after unpacking my little gizmo today, I put some water in the microwave to boil, dumped a load of beans into my little grinder, and the second I pushed the "go" button, I realized the following:

    "Holy crap!  I just ground enough beans to make TWO pots of coffee in my wheezing, old Mr. Asthma coffee-maker!  I can't imagine what this will wind up as in a press!"

    The unfortunate thing about fresh ground coffee is that once you grind it, you've got to use it.  And, since this was Kona coffee, there was no way in hell I was going to let those precious grounds turn into a pile of cardboard flavored dirt.  So, I emptied my grinder into the French Press.  Then, I ran a finger around the inside and rubbed the remaining coffee dust into my gums like a coke-addict (I'm kidding, of course). 

    When I poured in the boiling water, I started to twitch as the freakishly strong, caffeine-laden fumes found their way into my head.  Even the cat jumped, and I'm pretty sure if I had wallpaper, it would have given out and curled up that second. 

    Nonetheless, it was awesome coffee.  In fact, it's probably the best three cups of coffee I've ever had (yeah.  It only made three cups because the thing was so packed with grounds).  Unfortunately, it was STRONG coffee, and I'm pretty sure if you listen closely, you might actually be able to hear my ears ringing wherever you are.  The inside of my head sounds like a tweaked-out, yodeling mouse on meth, and I'm thinking there's really no chance I'm going to be able to hibernate this winter.  In fact, I probably won't sleep until July. 

    Oh!  I'd go out and take pictures, but, well...,  when I bought my camera, I didn't splurge on the "image stabilization" feature.     

       So, that's my afternoon.  How's yours going?

-DP

Tags: Kona Coffee, French Press, I think my eyeballs just flew across the room

Stop Time! Stop Time!

   
    I love the French.  They make good food, great wine, awesome cheese, and most of all, they are not afraid to stage a First Class protest.  Whether it be unfair labor practices, immigration, or the fact that Napa Valley wine is both cheaper and more popular in France than their domestic product, the French have always been able to embark on the World's Greatest of sign-waving shout-fests. 

    On the other hand, the French are also not afraid to make fun of the French, as this hilarious, little article points out:

    Protest Can't Stop March of Time

    HUNDREDS of French demonstrators saw in the New Year - by holding a protest against it.

    People carrying banners reading "No to 2007" and "Now is better" marched through the streets of Nantes.

    They called on the United Nations to stop the "mad race" of time and declare the indefinite suspension of the future.

    The protest was an attempt to make fun of French people's apparent fondness of saying no to any kind of change and as a different way to "celebrate" New Year.

    When their demonstration failed and the bells sounded the start of 2007, they quickly moved on to the next stage of they campaign - chanting "No to 2008".

    I love the last little bit of this.  I can almost picture a mob of dejected French protesters trudging off into the landscape mumbling their disdain for 2008.  Hilarious! 

    Hopefully, that will catch on here in the States.  Hmmm...  Perhaps, when New Year's Eve rolls around again, I'll try to get a mob to gather around the "Polish Moon" (the largest four-faced clock in the world doncha know) and protest the unstoppable passage of time.  

    Then again, considering 2008 is an election year, I kind of want it to roll around, and I think there are certain folks in our government who are looking for any excuse to stay in power for one more year.  The last thing I'd want is to hear them say "Thanks to this man in Milwaukee, we're going to do 2007 over again."  I really don't think that would help me make any friends, huh?

-DP

Tags: French Protest, The Polish Moon

A Horse is a Horse, Of Course...

    Unless, of course, that horse is a Shetland Pony named "Rory" who thinks he's a dog. 

    Normally, I'd think this is weird, but I've got a cat who drinks out of the toilet, plays fetch and barks, so, really, a DogHorse isn't that odd to me.  What do you think?

-DP

Tags: Reuters, Rory the DogPony, Weirdness

The Gripe Line!

    I know I may regret this, but I created a Gripe Line (You'll also see the link in my "Favorite Sites.")   It's a place for you all to dump random thoughts, ideas, rants, raves and whatever else is on your mind (it's also a way to leave comments for people who don't want AOL Instant Messenger on their computers).  And hey!  You can even be completely anonymous where not even I will be able to know who you are. 

    I figure it might be fun, and maybe every once in a while, I'll build an entry around some of the gripes and whatnots I find there. 

    So, tell your family, tell your friends, and have fun. 

-DP

Tags: The Gripe Line, DPoem, Graffitti

Cringe Baby!

    This seems like a great idea!

    New York blogger Sarah Brown is putting together a book of embarrassing, brutal, gut-wrenching old diary entries from people's adolescence, and she's asking for submissions.

We're looking for brave souls willing to share their old diaries, journals, letters, notes, songs, poems... anything you wrote during the crushing misery of adolescence and then saved in a hidden box at your parents' house all these years. Top secret no more.

    For those of you not familiar with Cringe, here's a link which provide a bit of a description.  Apparently, they get together at a New York Bar one night a month to pull out their old diaries and share the misery of their childhoods.  What could be more fun than that?

    Unfortunately, all my old, handwritten journals went up in a fire after they were devoured by a plague of locusts which had freakishly descended upon my parents' attic after the raccoons had turned their shredded remains into nests.  I think all that remains is a tattered strip of paper that says "Damn!"

    Anyway, check it out and start excavating your attics and crawl spaces for those dreadfully embarrassing bits of your childhood which, for some reason, you decided to record for posterity.  (Thanks Dooce)

-DP

Tags: Sarah Brown, Cringe, Cringebook, Dooce, Diaries, Journals

Don't Do It!

    Anyone care to explain why the ducks geese in my town tend to hang around on the edge of the waterfall?  There was a whole line of them just standing there watching the cars drive by, but when I stopped and got out to snap a picture, as you can see, some of them paddled off. 

    It's somewhat freaky driving by there to see a bunch of ducks geese just hanging on the edge like a crew of construction workers.  But, you'd think with the slippery rocks and rushing water, it'd be kind of hard for them to stand there.

    By the way, when I was a kid, I used to jump off the bridge where this picture was taken.  Back in the day before global-warming, when it froze, they used to clear the ice and plow the snow over the edge so people could skate.  So, a bunch of us kids would stand on the bridge and leap to our potential demise (supervision?  What supervision?!?).  Eventually, the snow would get packed down as a result of us jumping on it, and when someone screamed about a broken leg, a dislocated knee or some other crippling injury, we knew then that the jumping wasn't safe and we sauntered over to the lodge for some watered-down hot chocolate.

    We also tried to send my twin brother over the waterfall in a barrel once, but we couldn't find a suitable barrel.  For a moment, however, there was talk of using a bucket over his head and just throwing him, but I think that idea was killed in committee, and we just settled for pushing him down the stairs when we got home. 

    Other than that, how was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun? 

-DP

*update*   I just noticed a bit of a weird coincidence.  There are seven ducks geese there, and I grew up in a family of seven boys.  Maybe those ducks geese were trying to figure out how to go about throwing the small one over the edge?

Tags: Duck Motif, Oak Creek Lagoon, Grant Park, Childhood Adrenaline Junies

A Little More of That Ragtimey Music.

    Cinzano!  You're gonna love this one. 

    I couldn't believe I found this when I was plugging around the videos on YouTube.   A person could waste a lot of time there, but considering I found one from a long time ago of one my favorite artists playing one of my favorite songs, I suppose it's not a total waste of time.  Too freaking cool, I think.



   

-DP

Tags: YouTube