Jax pics

Future Golfer?

Who is that guy?

More guitar

Now that I’ve been playing guitar regularly for a couple of months I’ve started to subconsciously hear guitar in all kinds of places. I notice riffs, hooks and licks in everything -- elevator music, TV and radio commercials, kid's shows, etc. The more I play, the more I hear. Is it Neuroplasticity (R)? Who knows. 

I’ve also started to listen to more blues – between Pandora, iTunes Radio, and SiriusXM I can listen to blues all day long -- Robert Johnson, Rory Gallagher, BB, Buddy Guy, SRV, Leadbelly, and Bonamassa. I've started to play it too. I even got another guitar so I can have one in drop-d tune all the time.

So ffar I’ve been playing through an Amplug AC-30 “pocket amp” or an iRig/iPad pair using ear-buds. This works pretty good for practice – but now I want to be able play without things in my ears.

SO now that my playing isn’t a total embarrassment (most of the time) I’ve started taking my guitar to the local shops and test-driving small tube amps. They sure do sound cool.

Guitars and Ukuleles

When I was in high school I played bass guitar in a couple of punk bands. I was never a good musician, but I had a little rhythm and could drive a 3-chord punk song along pretty well. I gave it up when I joined the Corps, but have always missed it a little.

In the meantime I’ve develop a broad range of musical interests. I’ve pored over Alan Lomax’s historical recordings, followed the history to Chicago and through the invention of electricity. I’ve listened to Armstrong, Coltrane, Porter and Davis. Covered Ragtime, Swing, BeBop and Cool. I’ve found that I prefer guitar driven music with strong harmonies and blues rhythm. Surf, Blues, Punk and Rock and Roll all sound great to me. Oh yeah, I love Eminem and RZA as modern musical poets.

Now, some 30 year later I decided to resume my practical musical education. I borrowed a beautiful Gibson ES-325 6-string to get started on. I played it about 45 minutes nearly every day for a month – focusing on getting stronger and more flexible. That was my metric – If I could practice every day for a month and not get bored then I have integrated the habit into my life.

Fender Custom Shop Pro model with DiMarzio pick-ups

So I bought myself a guitar. It’s a reward for a really good year consulting. It’s a used Fender Stratocaster in Lake Placid Blue with a maple neck. I thought I built up some pretty good calluses playing the Gibson. Not enough. The first day I played the Strat for about three hours and had to quit because my fingertips were raw. I’ve had it a few days now and can now play as long as I want (thank you barre chords).

Kathy is also getting into music. She play weekly with a local Ukelele group and seems to be having a grand time.

I think we are both really inspired by Jackson and want music to be part of his life.

Monster Jax and his Da'

About Jackson...

Another 5 months have come and gone and again no updates. This time I have a real excuse. We had a baby.

Jackson came quietly into our world at the end of July. We have been going through all the typical new-parent trials; the lack of sleep, the endless feedings and changes. Actually since I'm working from home again it's not been as bad as I had feared. Not at all. 

Here is the Jax photo blast:

Here he is about 20 minutes old. Note my gigantic
fingers -- almost as big as his arm.

With papa at three days

Here he is with Mom at about 2 months.

Matching hoodies -- three months.

TechShop

I recently started a membership at TechShop, a facility that provides a full machine shop including 3/4 Axis CMC Mill, a FlowJet, Sheetmetal, a full wood shop, 3 different 3d printers, and the list goes on and on.

I've been like a kid in a candy store...

I started with the complete MIG and
TIG welding courses. I'm pretty good
now but I'm not sure I'm ready to trust
my life with one of my jobs. Steel -
even pretty thin is pretty easy after
enough practice. Aluminum on
the other hand is always hard. 

Turning 7/8" 316 stainless steel
on a 14-40 Gearhead lathe.
After tapping each end for
1/4-20 cap screws, this became
a 135mm dummy axle used
 to align bicycle frames.

A scale replica of Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber
from StarWars Ep 4 "A New Hope" Started as
a 2.5" 6061 Aluminum rod.

Jet Mills

Prototype pawns for a chess/
checkers set for Jax.

Prototype bishop and rook
(in background). 6061AL with
Single knurl at the top and double
at bottom. These were both too
large (over 5" tall). The Rook was
later turned down into 2 smaller
rooks that are probably keepers.

Turning 360 Brass -- this stuff rules.
Turning aluminum creates a concertina-wire
of hot, razor-sharp swarf. I nearly always
burn or cut some part of me while
working with it. 360 Brass
however, creates a nice, tidy little pile of
sand. I'm going to turn more brass.  

More 360 Brass. This became
4 grooved zipper pulls and
a set of cuff links.

of Toast and Tea

I’ve had a lot of free time as of late and have spend some of it baking a little homemade bread and custom blending my own tea. And going to TechShop but that’s for another post.

After tasting some great bread from the Manressa Bread Project I was inspired to attempt my own.

About a month ago I started a wild yeast pre-ferment called a “Levain” that forms the basis for baking bread. Its pretty simple, mix 100g of Rye flour, 400g of All Purpose White flour and 500g of water in a container, cover and let stand for a couple of days.

Wild yeast that arrived on the flour begins to reproduce and along with rapidly developing Lactic Acid Bacteria turn the Levan acidic preventing the growth of undesirable mold.

After three days I began to feed the Levan 500g AP Flour and 400g of water every day. Prior to feeding I remove about 90% of the old Levan, which I can use for baking or pizza dough. As the Levan ages, the depth of flavor increases as different yeast strains colonize and mature within the starter. One San Francisco bakery claims their Levan has been alive since the mid-1800s!

When I first started the daily ritual of feeding the Levain I dirtied 3 bowls a silicons scraper and a chopstick and it took nearly 20 minutes. Now I do it in about 5 minutes with one bowl and a chopstick. During heavy baking I’ll feed it twice a day.

My baguettes have turned out beautifully because they rise in the same pan as I bake them. Boules however are still a work in progress. They cook in a pre-heated Dutch oven. I’m trying to successfully transfer the risen dough from a stainless steel bowl to the 500+F Dutch Oven without letting out all the CO2. If you are ham-fisted with the dough and it deflates, you end up with a 4” tall baked loaf not a 8” tall loaf.

Even without a full rise the bread is totally edible. It has a mildly sour flavor, a hearty texture and a crispy, crunchy crust. I often have it for breakfast; toasted with a little butter and blackberry jam from a batch I made last summer.

Here in the Bay Area we have easy access to spectacular Artisan bread. On Sundays the team from Michelin-Starred restaurant Manressa have a weekly booth at the Campbell Farmer’s market.  There you can get fresh white and whole-wheat Levan boules baked by a master.

I’ve also recently made the trip to the Mill, where bakerJosie Baker and Four Barrel operate a collab serving prepared toast and coffee in the City.

During our visit I had Whole Wheat with Butter and Almond Butter. It was awesome. Not exactly a meal, but an epic nosh none the less.

I’d love to wax poetic about the Four Barrel shot, pulled on one of two beautiful La Marzocco Stradas installed there. Unfortunately it was a sour-bomb not worthy of comment. As we were leaving we picked up loafs of Josie’s Wonder Bread and Country. We enjoyed them tremendously, the latter ending up as a Stirrer/Crouton for Kathy’s Squash Blossom/Corn soup.

On the other hand, Avery, the head baker at Manressa’s Levan Boule is baked perfection. Perfect crust and crumb. Just the right amount of flavor and the sound it makes is a symphony of crackling goodness.

One key thing I learned for these inspiring sources is how dark to bake the crust of the loaf. Boules from both sources looks almost burnt on the outside – much darker then I would ever go. I used to think it was baked when it was “golden” brown when the right color is much darker – almost burnt. It makes a huge difference in flavor – those extra few minutes caramelize a lot of sugars and adding depth to the flavor. 

Teabagging

Our espresso machine is down until we get an electrician to make a wiring change so I’ve been drinking tea instead lately.

I traditionally drink “English Breakfast” tea. I acquired a taste for Tetley’s during trips to the UK early in my career. It’s easy to find and thus became my tea of choice. Just a few years ago I discovered that along with my favorite, Black Cat Espresso, Intelligentsia also sells a line of teas. I ordered a bag of their whole leaf English Breakfast tea and really liked the strong flavor over Tetleys.

At that point I started reading a bit about tea and have come to better understand levels of quality and types of leaves.

As my knowledge level grew I began to seek out the stronger, more flavorful teas. I’ve since ordered tea from many online sources and have pretty much settled on Mighty Leaf as my primary source. I love their OrganicBreakfast blend. It’s my favorite commercial tea blend.

For a while I was blending my own Breakfast-style tea, a combination of Assam Estate, Ceylon and Golden Pu-erh.  I love it. However it costs a mint to make and many of the included teas are only available seasonally. I’ve got about a pound of perfect blend that will last a few months.

One of my favorite tea discoveries has been Sapsang Souchong. It is a fermented black tea dried over a pine fire. When fresh and of high quality (for LS), it smells and tastes like an Oregon campfire. Sharp and smokey.  I often add a teaspoon or two to my cup.

I never liked those little cup tea strainers, they always seem to let leaves escape into the tea. For many years I made my own Origami tea bags from unbleached coffee filters.

My brewing technique has also changed since I discovered single-service tea-bags at Mutsua. They are little fold-to-close polyester bags that hold 2+ tablespoons of tea. Amazon has them here. I like them because they hold a lot of tea – probably the equivalent of 6-8 commercial teabags.

I use a 14oz cup of spring water heated to 190F. I use 2 tablespoons of Organic Breakfast and steep to 2.5 minutes.  The short steep prevent astringency, although it’s not common with high quality tea like this, I really dislike it. I sometimes forget the tea with a bag in leading to over-steeping. A dash of milk can soften the tannic acid the can develop when over-steeped.

I sweeten with a little pinch of German Rock Sugar I get at Tevana. It’s a crystalized form of rock sugar about the size of pea-gravel.

The resultant brew is dark, almost coffee-like in appearance with a very strong, rich tea flavor and no astringency. The sweetness of the rock sugar balances the unusual strength of the tea.

I double the sugar and pour over a tall glass of ice for Iced Tea in the afternoon.

Tools

Over the years I've acquired quite a collection of Park Cassette Lockring tools. At one point I must have had a dozen of them. I can only remember buying 4-5, yet the drawer was full of them. Then came the Dewalt 18v cordless impact wrench.

I bought it to remove lug nuts from the race car at the track. I has over 600 Ft/Lbs of removal torque. Then I used it to remove a cassette. The impact feature means the chain whip stays in the drawer, it easily removes the lock nut with just a short the pull of the trigger. Unfortunately it also tends to break the removal tool -- typically shattering the business end.

Last weekend I finally broke my last one. It was pretty new and Park specifically warns against it, so I think it's best if I stop using the impact wrench. I was going to get another when my mechanic showed me what he uses for that job. A custom Crombie from Abbey Bike Works. The one I held was the solid handled version, but I ordered the SL which has a hollow handle. With custom engraving -- No, this is not a hammer! -- it will take a few weeks to arrive.

The La Pavoni at work

La Pavoni Pub Espresso Machine

The company for which I work takes great pride in supporting the "Coffee Culture" at the office. They provide very nice La Pavoni Pub commercial grade espresso machines and matching grinders in each of the buildings in our campus. I sit in an Engineering building, close enough to the kitchen to hear our macine and estimate it regularly pulls 10-15 shots a day. Until recently I avoided them totally, here's why.

When interviewing here 6 months ago, I tried to pull a shot on one of them and, as usually happens with no time to work up a proper shot on a new machine, it was shit. Still I was impressed at the sight of a commercial machine. After starting, I took a good long look at the La Pavoni in my building and realized it was absolutely filthy. It was beyond filthy -- it is easily the blackest, most scum covered espresso machine I've ever worked with. The grinder was also in sad shape with so much build up around the adjusting collar it was frozen in place. I ignored the machines for months, drinking tea instead, resigned to the fact that anything it produces will taste of rancid coffee oil and little else. 

I'll admit is was probably the sound that got me. The siren song of grinder, pump and the scream of the steam wand. It called to me. So I started to clean it up -- working in the mornings before anyone else gets in. I brought some Cafiza and a back-flush basket from home and started using them a couple of times a week. The first session with Cafiza was disgusting. Large chunks of black -stuff- started coming out and the water was black. I ended up flushing a more than a dozen times just to get all that -stuff- out. I cleaned both portafilters thoroughly; I don't think the baskets had ever been removed as there was a 1/4" of scum under both of them. I used dental tools to clean the grinder collar and free it so the grind can be adjusted. It's taken a couple of weeks to get most of it cleaned up. On Friday afternoon, after a good clean, I spend a little time dialing in the grinder and produced my first "good" shot -- it was the first one that doesn't taste like a dirty machine.

This morning I pulled another pretty good shot, not best shot ever, but made a little sweeter by the clean machine. I'll admit a little satisfaction from the effort. Now if we can just get some freshly roasted beans to grind we'd be in business.

Coe Monstercross 1 Ren 0

With just a weeks time to prepare, I was a little concerned that I would not be ready for the Coe Monstercross. I was right.

With a busy work and travel schedule I got exactly Zero training in before the event. In fact, the event was only my second ride since the Spring Classic nearly a month ago. I figured that if I could get to the to of Hamilton still feeling pretty good, I'd be good for the whole ride. On the climb up Mt Hamilton I was harshly reminded that I would not be feeling good. On the summit, I realized I was totally spent; my legs jello and my oxygen deprived brain screaming for relief. There was no hope in going on, so I quit, thinking about the line: "Once you quit something, you just make it easier to quit next time", and Andy Schleck's racing season so far. Neither was enough to inspire me to push on.

When I reconnected with the group at the summit, the last to arrive,  I let them know my decision. As they pedaled off to complete the adventure, I felt the brisk wind on my cheek and realized; even with my choice to turn back now I was still looking at a couple of hours of riding to get home. I pointed the Haka downhill and let her run, wishing I had left on the smooth 30mm slicks I used on the Spring Classic, instead of swapping to the knobby Rocket Rons for all the dirt I had expected to ride today. So with more than a little caution I descended all the way to the bottom -- which, if you know Mt Hamilton, you know involves more than a little climbing. An hour later I was back in San Jose, but on the wrong side of the valley. Another 45 minutes got me home. Strava says it was 55 miles and 5500ft. Seems like it was a lot more.

The next day was a testament to the effort and lack of preparation. I was really sore and it stayed that way for 2 days. Finally today (Monday) the legs don't feel like stuffed sausages. Although nobody like to quit, but I think my decision was correct and I'm glad I did. That said, I still really want to do that Hamilton - Coe ride and how that I have a buddie who has done it and a good map I'm sure I'll get to it in the next few weeks -- this time with a couple of training rides to prepare.

I think the highlights of the ride was having the right spare part to saving another rider's ride. Half way up Hamilton I ran into one of the riders in our group on the side of the road with a broken chain. During the planning for the Spring Classic I ordered some SRAM PowerConnect chain links and only the night before I added one to my seat bag. Luck was with us and that little link saved his ride and providing it was the highpoint of mine.