I bought a race scanner/headset package a couple of years ago at the 24hours of Daytona. It was really great. I plan to use it as the USGP this weekend. The details for the radio frequencies used by the teams are a little sketchy, so I need to have multiple frequencies for each car, team, PA system, broadcaster, Etc.
The total is close to 140 freqs. Inputting these (and the description) into the scanner would take hours. My scanner (a Uniden SC200) has a serial port and with the right software all this can be done on a PC. Key detail there -- the PC, I don't use a PC and my Mac doesn't even have a serial port.
So after reviving an old Dell laptop and purchasing ARC200 Scanner Programming Software, I was able to upload everything I wanted in about an hour. ARC200 is pretty good -- a little loose with Windows programming conventions, but it offers a number of cool scanner conveniences.
I also want to get a new battery -- it looks like there is a 2500 mAh upgrade from the 800 mAh original that claims to last 36 hours. We will see.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Paralels Workstation for MAC
Wow -- I just purchased Parallels 3.0 to replace my Bootcamp 1.2 install. Much more convienient. I use Visio, AutoCad, and Project for work. AutoCad took a little time -- as it does on the PC. Everything else was perfect.
I actually had a little trouble getting it installed, it turned out to be my WinXP install disk (in fact I have 4 Full Retail versions of XP, all with bad disks). After solving that issue everything went perfectly.
I ran into an incompatibility with my Polar heart-rate monitor. It uses a USB 1.1 to IR converter to download ride data from my HRM. It appears to be incompatible with Parallels. There is a new converter (USB 2.0) that appears to work. Yet another Polar accessory required.
Bootcamp is good, Parallels is better.
I actually had a little trouble getting it installed, it turned out to be my WinXP install disk (in fact I have 4 Full Retail versions of XP, all with bad disks). After solving that issue everything went perfectly.
I ran into an incompatibility with my Polar heart-rate monitor. It uses a USB 1.1 to IR converter to download ride data from my HRM. It appears to be incompatible with Parallels. There is a new converter (USB 2.0) that appears to work. Yet another Polar accessory required.
Bootcamp is good, Parallels is better.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wanted -- Scanner frequencys for USGP
I'm seeking the scanner frequencies for Track Operations, Timing & Scoring and anything else for the USGP in Indy next month. I have the freqs from the 500 -- maybe the IMS numbers are the same?
Thursday, May 24, 2007
US Grand Prix
I just ticketed a trip to Indy to take my father to the U.S. Grand Prix on Fathers Day. Kath and I have been to a couple of runnings but have missed the last three. I'm really looking forward to it this year -- even if MS has retired.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Espresso Stuff
In addition to 2 pounds of Intelligetsia Black Cat Roast, I received a couple new Espresso toys on Friday. Two are new products from Bumper, a tamping stand and a knock-box. The tamping stand is really nice. I use a Naket Portafilter exclusively and have been using the edge of out 
kitchen sink as a makeshift stand. The bumper stand is perfect for either Naked or Traditional PFs. The notch for traditional PFs makes a nice place to hang my tamper.
The Bumper Knock-Box is a great upgrade from our old one. It's much larger, has a raised rear area to prevent slosh from soupy pucks from going everywhere, and has much thicker rubber. It reeks of quality.
Our old box was the traditional low, square stainless box with black wood frame. It has a couple of problems. The edges of the stainless insert dig into the wood and trash the paint on the corners of the box. I installed small rubber feet to the wood but they only reduce the wear, not prevent it. Also the bar is lower than the front edge so it is easy to hit the PF in the edge at the same time as the bar - denting the stainless insert. It was a good starter box, but the Bumper box is much better. As shown in the picture, the Bumper has a large rubber base so it feels very solid -- a "good thing" when whacking it with a heavy E61 PF. The Bar is about twice as thick.
The only thing I would change about both is the finish, both products are finished in brushed stainless. Everything else in the Espresso world is polished. Nit picking for sure. Chris Coffee has the whole line of Bumper products
The last thing I received was a 53mm tamper for a friend. He has a classic LaPavoni hand pump machine and continues to use the plastic tamper that came with it. It's really hard to get a consistent tamp with a plastic tamper so I got a nice all steel model. It is surprisingly heavy. I didn't weigh it but it must be twice as heavy as my Aluminium/Stainless Reg Barber.
kitchen sink as a makeshift stand. The bumper stand is perfect for either Naked or Traditional PFs. The notch for traditional PFs makes a nice place to hang my tamper.The Bumper Knock-Box is a great upgrade from our old one. It's much larger, has a raised rear area to prevent slosh from soupy pucks from going everywhere, and has much thicker rubber. It reeks of quality.
Our old box was the traditional low, square stainless box with black wood frame. It has a couple of problems. The edges of the stainless insert dig into the wood and trash the paint on the corners of the box. I installed small rubber feet to the wood but they only reduce the wear, not prevent it. Also the bar is lower than the front edge so it is easy to hit the PF in the edge at the same time as the bar - denting the stainless insert. It was a good starter box, but the Bumper box is much better. As shown in the picture, the Bumper has a large rubber base so it feels very solid -- a "good thing" when whacking it with a heavy E61 PF. The Bar is about twice as thick.The only thing I would change about both is the finish, both products are finished in brushed stainless. Everything else in the Espresso world is polished. Nit picking for sure. Chris Coffee has the whole line of Bumper products
The last thing I received was a 53mm tamper for a friend. He has a classic LaPavoni hand pump machine and continues to use the plastic tamper that came with it. It's really hard to get a consistent tamp with a plastic tamper so I got a nice all steel model. It is surprisingly heavy. I didn't weigh it but it must be twice as heavy as my Aluminium/Stainless Reg Barber.
A little too far, a little too fast
I have been debating riding the Elephant Rock century an a couple of weeks. Since it goes right past my house it seems a logical choice for the first century of the year.
Due to a lot of business travel, I don't have the base I had planned. So, to gauge my fitness for such a ride I rode a hard 67 miles on Saturday. I rode two of my regular loops, Russelville Road to County Line Road (typically an out and back) and Perry Park Road to Wolfensberger.
Saturday was beautiful so many other cyclists were out and things got a little competitive (as they do in a century -- so it seemed like good training). After doing most of Russelville and Parker Roads at about 85% of maximum heart rate, I was a little tired as I crossed County Line and reached Perry Park Road. Add a little head wind and I was baked by the Thoma cut-off. After a brief moment of weakness, I pushed on to Wolfensberger (mostly because it's down hill, and i wasn't ready to climb Thoma) and struggled up that instead. Thank god for the long descent into Castle Rock proper. Now I just had to make the ~800 ft up to the house. It wasn't pretty but I got there. 67 miles, 2800 feet, 4 hours and 12 minutes.
I was totally shot when I got home. Even today (Monday) I still have some residual soreness. Not the result I was looking for. Maybe the Metric distance is a better choice for the Elephant Rock this year.
Due to a lot of business travel, I don't have the base I had planned. So, to gauge my fitness for such a ride I rode a hard 67 miles on Saturday. I rode two of my regular loops, Russelville Road to County Line Road (typically an out and back) and Perry Park Road to Wolfensberger.
Saturday was beautiful so many other cyclists were out and things got a little competitive (as they do in a century -- so it seemed like good training). After doing most of Russelville and Parker Roads at about 85% of maximum heart rate, I was a little tired as I crossed County Line and reached Perry Park Road. Add a little head wind and I was baked by the Thoma cut-off. After a brief moment of weakness, I pushed on to Wolfensberger (mostly because it's down hill, and i wasn't ready to climb Thoma) and struggled up that instead. Thank god for the long descent into Castle Rock proper. Now I just had to make the ~800 ft up to the house. It wasn't pretty but I got there. 67 miles, 2800 feet, 4 hours and 12 minutes.
I was totally shot when I got home. Even today (Monday) I still have some residual soreness. Not the result I was looking for. Maybe the Metric distance is a better choice for the Elephant Rock this year.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Recipe for Hypothermia
Take one cyclist in early season form.
Dress in spring -- not winter -- clothes (tights, wool shirt, cotton socks, rain coat, thin full-finger gloves, mesh shoes)
Ride due South for 2 hours in dry but overcast 35 degree weather
Now add heavy, cold rain, soak thoroughly.
Mix in hail, sleet and strong winds.
Ensure rider is completely soaked.
Add more rain.
Turn rider around and allow to ride to almost three hours into a 2o MPH wind to get home.
Watch as rider shivers so bad he shifts gears uncontrollably while trying to hang onto handlebars.
Upon arriving home place rider (fully dressed) in warm - not hot - shower for up to one hour. Listen for howls of pain as "pins and needles" rack rider in pain.
It helps that rider has been riding all winter on a bike with fenders so was unprepared for amount of spray riding new (fender-free) bike.
Mmmmm... Nice.
Monday, April 30, 2007
80 Degrees and Snow
Only in Colorado can you have consecutive days with the temperature over 80 degrees and still have snow in the ground. We got 16 inches of snow Tuesday night and by Saturday we hit 83. Even now, there are still large piles of snow in many shaded areas.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Espresso Machines
A friend recently called me from a Starbucks and asked for my advice choosing a new Espresso machine. He was looking at machines in the $200-$300 dollar range and thought a few of them there looked pretty good.
First of all, there are very few machines for less than $500 capable of making "real" Espresso and those that can have difficulty to do it repeatably. Now some may argue that their XYZ machine makes fine espresso for $100 or whatever. There is simply an inverse ratio of machine cost to preparation complexity. Even machines in the $500-$600 range require a pretty complex process to produce really good espresso. Not everyone has the patience to develop the process and repeat it accurately to produce good espresso.
So if you are looking for a machine that makes "Real" Espresso, here are your choices:
The least expensive are "Capsule" machines. Don't confuse these with "pod" machines. Capsules are hard plastic and air tight, pods are soft paper like tea-bags. One makes Espresso and the other doesn't.
Here is a easy tip for identifying "real" Espresso -- when you look at a recently made espresso, if the liquid inside is black -- it isn't espresso. Espresso is golden brown. Part of the magic of espresso is the exctaction of carbon dioxide from the beans -- that is what makes to golden cream or Crema in the cup. Without it, you have coffee.
I have a Nespresso capsule machine in my office, and it makes a pretty good cup of espresso. I generally don't make milk drinks (Latte, Cappuccino, Etc) so the lack of steaming capability isn't a problem. There are other Nespresso machines that can steam. Learn more about them here
A friend describes it's output as "Swiss" Espresso, which implies that it is not as strong and rich as "Italian" Espresso. He's right. But for less than $200 and 45 cents a shot it makes a pretty good cup without the considerable mess of a traditional machine. Nespresso frequently lists refurbished machines on E-Bay for a 15-20% discount.
Moving beyond the capsule machines you can choose between a semi-automatic machine and a super-automatic machine.
Semi-auto machines require the operator to grind coffee, dose, tamp, pull and froth milk manually. Super Auto's do all that automatically, only requiring the operator to keep the beans and milk topped-up. These are more expensive than semi-autos, but compared with a semi-auto and the required burr grinder, the difference gets pretty small.
If you are interested in producing the highest espresso quality possible and are willing to spend some time learning the technique required to achieve that; then semi-auto is the right choice. If you just want to produce good espresso with little or no practice, then get a super-automatic.
Good Espresso = Super Auto
Great Espresso = Semi Auto + Technique
I have used the $700 Gaggia Syncrony Logic super-auto extensively and am very impressed by it's performance. As noted above It makes good espresso (better then my Nespresso) at the push of a button.
Gaggia also makes very good semi-auto machines. Two friends have smaller Gaggia's (a Baby-D and a Compact). Both are very happy with them. These machines are ~$500 each and will require another ~$300-$400 for a good grinder. These are all good starter machines.
The next level in the quest for espresso perfection is a dual-boiler semi-auto. This is the biggest, baddest machine you can get without rewiring and plumbing your kitchen. My current machine is a dual-boiler Expobar Brewtus II. A dual-boiler has one boiler for brewing espresso and another for steaming milk. Single boiler machines (also called heat-exchangers) have one boiler for steaming and plumb the brew water through a heat-exchanger in the steam boiler to heat the brew water. This makes it difficult to achieve the kind of temperature control necessary to produce spectacular espresso. Dual-boiler designs offer the performance of a large commercial machine in a smaller footprint, and without wiring and plumbing. Prices for dual-boiler machines range from $2000 - $4000. With time and practice these machines make espresso better then almost any coffee shop and every Starbucks.
The pinnacle is the full Commercial machine. These require 240v power (like your clothes dryer) and a plumbed in water supply and drain (like your washer). Hmmm... Never thought of using the laundry room for Espresso...
I've had my Expobar B2 for over 18 months and am very happy. It took almost a year to really understand how to operate it properly. During that time half the shots were drinkable and the rest were bitter or sour and ended up in the sink. I don't remember my last sink shot. If you aren't ready to spend months learning to make great espresso, think about a super-auto.
There are many variables in the quest for perfect espresso and with time you can understand many of them and produce espresso that is better than anything you can buy at a almost any US coffee shop.
So, how committed are you?
First of all, there are very few machines for less than $500 capable of making "real" Espresso and those that can have difficulty to do it repeatably. Now some may argue that their XYZ machine makes fine espresso for $100 or whatever. There is simply an inverse ratio of machine cost to preparation complexity. Even machines in the $500-$600 range require a pretty complex process to produce really good espresso. Not everyone has the patience to develop the process and repeat it accurately to produce good espresso.
So if you are looking for a machine that makes "Real" Espresso, here are your choices:
The least expensive are "Capsule" machines. Don't confuse these with "pod" machines. Capsules are hard plastic and air tight, pods are soft paper like tea-bags. One makes Espresso and the other doesn't.
Here is a easy tip for identifying "real" Espresso -- when you look at a recently made espresso, if the liquid inside is black -- it isn't espresso. Espresso is golden brown. Part of the magic of espresso is the exctaction of carbon dioxide from the beans -- that is what makes to golden cream or Crema in the cup. Without it, you have coffee.
I have a Nespresso capsule machine in my office, and it makes a pretty good cup of espresso. I generally don't make milk drinks (Latte, Cappuccino, Etc) so the lack of steaming capability isn't a problem. There are other Nespresso machines that can steam. Learn more about them here
A friend describes it's output as "Swiss" Espresso, which implies that it is not as strong and rich as "Italian" Espresso. He's right. But for less than $200 and 45 cents a shot it makes a pretty good cup without the considerable mess of a traditional machine. Nespresso frequently lists refurbished machines on E-Bay for a 15-20% discount.
Moving beyond the capsule machines you can choose between a semi-automatic machine and a super-automatic machine.
Semi-auto machines require the operator to grind coffee, dose, tamp, pull and froth milk manually. Super Auto's do all that automatically, only requiring the operator to keep the beans and milk topped-up. These are more expensive than semi-autos, but compared with a semi-auto and the required burr grinder, the difference gets pretty small.
If you are interested in producing the highest espresso quality possible and are willing to spend some time learning the technique required to achieve that; then semi-auto is the right choice. If you just want to produce good espresso with little or no practice, then get a super-automatic.
Good Espresso = Super Auto
Great Espresso = Semi Auto + Technique
I have used the $700 Gaggia Syncrony Logic super-auto extensively and am very impressed by it's performance. As noted above It makes good espresso (better then my Nespresso) at the push of a button.
Gaggia also makes very good semi-auto machines. Two friends have smaller Gaggia's (a Baby-D and a Compact). Both are very happy with them. These machines are ~$500 each and will require another ~$300-$400 for a good grinder. These are all good starter machines.
The next level in the quest for espresso perfection is a dual-boiler semi-auto. This is the biggest, baddest machine you can get without rewiring and plumbing your kitchen. My current machine is a dual-boiler Expobar Brewtus II. A dual-boiler has one boiler for brewing espresso and another for steaming milk. Single boiler machines (also called heat-exchangers) have one boiler for steaming and plumb the brew water through a heat-exchanger in the steam boiler to heat the brew water. This makes it difficult to achieve the kind of temperature control necessary to produce spectacular espresso. Dual-boiler designs offer the performance of a large commercial machine in a smaller footprint, and without wiring and plumbing. Prices for dual-boiler machines range from $2000 - $4000. With time and practice these machines make espresso better then almost any coffee shop and every Starbucks.
The pinnacle is the full Commercial machine. These require 240v power (like your clothes dryer) and a plumbed in water supply and drain (like your washer). Hmmm... Never thought of using the laundry room for Espresso...
I've had my Expobar B2 for over 18 months and am very happy. It took almost a year to really understand how to operate it properly. During that time half the shots were drinkable and the rest were bitter or sour and ended up in the sink. I don't remember my last sink shot. If you aren't ready to spend months learning to make great espresso, think about a super-auto.
There are many variables in the quest for perfect espresso and with time you can understand many of them and produce espresso that is better than anything you can buy at a almost any US coffee shop.
So, how committed are you?
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