The Phases of French Press Coffeemaker Ownership

french-pressI used to fancy myself a coffee snob, but now I’m perfectly content with my Trader Joe’s Medium Roast, which is sold for a reasonable $4.99 a pound. I know the difference between a good and bad cup of coffee, but at this phase in my life, I drink it for effect, and then flavor. I never need coffee soon. If I need it, I need it several minutes ago.

Occasionally, I still dabble in coffee snobbery. Like last fall, when I convinced my wife to use some of our remaining Crate & Barrel credit from our wedding toward the purchase of a French press coffeemaker.

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The Legend of Chipotle’s Quesarito

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Over the past few monthes, Chipotle has generated a heap of media and consumer buzz over a product that may not even exist.

The quesarito – a burrito wrapped in a cheese quesadilla – has been the subject of stories on Fast Company, BuzzFeed and even Daily Mail. The story goes that some Chipotle employees have gone rogue and created a gargantuan off-the-menu option that has whipped the QSR’s biggest fans into a frenzy.

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TNGHT – “ACRYLICS”

DJs/producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice make up TNGHT, and the super-duo continues to press some of the most interesting electronic music out.

Their latest offering, “Acrylic,” is a sparser offering, but goes just as hard as previous tracks like “Goooo” and “Higher Ground.” Everything TNGHT makes sounds like superhero music. One listen and I’m like, I need to go fight some crime. 

We Bought a House

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We bought a house. I think I can safely say that now. I broke the news on Facebook about a month ago after our initial offer was accepted, but then things got hairy with inspections and appraisals. With all (almost) said and done, we got the list price down $4K and the owner agreed to replace the severely cracked garage floor.

Here’s the vitals: It’s a rambler, just about 1,000 square feet, two bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a three seasons room, fire place, central air, one-stall garage. Scan the photos and you’ll notice a lot of pastel. Yeah, we’re planning to paint on day one. And the big shutters? We plan to paint them black and the door, red.

Adulthood, yo. Here’s what we’re getting ourselves into (Olive has no idea):

Case Closed in Boston

Though I’m posting the Boston Police Department badge, I’m very proud of every civil servant — city, state and federal — for their work in Boston the past week.

On Monday, America was under attack.

By Friday evening, one suspect was dead and another was apprehended. Alive.

I feel terribly for all who lost life, limbs and loved ones this week. But man, I’m proud as hell of what measures we Americans are willing to go to preserve our way of life.

Nike Free Chukka Woven “Grey”

I bought a pair of the Nike Free Run+ 3 last July. I wear them strictly for running, and they are the best running shoe I have ever worn. These Chukkas as a casual shoe, though?

The Nike Free Chukka Woven “Grey”features an all-grey textile upper complimented with blue branding on the tongue. Also, the sneaker is finished with a Nike Free 3.0 sole for comfort.

I only wish they would have kept the sole darker.

What do you think?

[Source: Nice Kicks]

My Justin Vernon Crush, Revisited

I’m not afraid to admit I was late to Bon Iver. I had seen the name aplenty, but after hearing Bon Iver not once, but twice on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy  (“Monster” and “Lost in the World“), I thought, hey, if they are good enough for ‘Ye, they’re good enough for me.

It’s weird to even refer to Bon Iver as “they.” It’s Justin Vernon and some other dudes on myriad instruments.

The same goes for The Shouting Matches, Vernon’s latest project where he plays the role of earnest bluesman. On Grownass Man, you won’t find the AutoTune’d, yet charmingly indistinguishable vocals of Bon Iver. It’s more like early Ben Harper with the lo-fi thrust of The Black Keys — roots rock meets bayou blues.

And it’s awesome. The Shouting Matches is to summer what Bon Iver is for a dreary autumn. Seriously, get this album before your next summer road trip and blare it with the windows down.

Ricky Rubio to Alexey Shved: “Change this face”

The Minnesota Timberwolves have fallen on hard times. Smacked with the injury bug all season, any hope for a playoff berth has long since disappeared and the entire organization is once again resigned to a next-year way of thinking.

It’s depressing.

But not for point guard and all-around sweetheart Ricky Rubio. Coming off an ACL tear last season, many wondered if Rubio would return to his wizard-like style of play. Well, in February, he led the league in assists (9.5 apg). That’s got to count for something, right?

What’s more, Rubio has quite literally become the emotional leader for this hapless Wolves club. Even while they were taking a whooping from the Los Angeles Lakers last night at Staples Center, Rubio took a moment to encourage teammate Alexey Shved to enjoy the moment.

You can see why Rubio didn’t actually encourage Shved to smile, though …

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