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       Stardate: 20220106.1348
       Location: Living Room
       Input Device: AlphaSmart dana.wireless
       Software: Alphaword
       Audio: Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (side two)
       Visual: Living room with holiday decor and various musical instruments.
       Emotional State: Content +5pts coffee booster
       
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       I am typing this on the dana.wireless by AlphaSmart right now.  I had 
       to reset the clock since this device becomes amnesiatic when it runs 
       out of power.  The reset date was 01/01/2000.  dana is 22.  She 
       doesn't seem that way to me and she certainly doesn't look it! 
       Happy Belated Birthday, dana!  Wishing you many more years of 
       ruminating with me to come!  
       
       This morning I cleaned my coffee grinder.  It is a Mr. Coffee burr 
       grinder that has bins for the input and output, degree of coarseness 
       settings and auto shutoff for how many cups you want to grind for.  
       It's good enough.  Last time I cleaned it was quite some time ago.  
       There was much coffee dust and oils caked into the damn thing, so I 
       cleaned her out real good.  It is important to keep the coffee 
       crafting hardware clean.
       
       The maintenance task took me back to a time when I was quite fixated 
       on the methods of preparation and the various hardware and 
       paraphernalia involved with crafting a "perfect" cup of coffee.  The 
       espresso machines, auto drip makers, milk frothers, DIY coffee 
       roasters, percolators, manual hand grinders, gravity bong chemistry 
       sets, etc.  Also, the type of roast and the region the beans come 
       from.  Or even the digestive tract of a mongoose that the coffee 
       cherries passed through!  Now that there was a sh!tty cup of coffee!!!
       
       I was a "barista" in a former life, before they were even calling them 
       "baristas."  I worked for a local coffee roaster when I was in college 
       and learned about the art of coffee and crafting numerous coffee 
       beverages.  This vocation helped further my journey as a chronic 
       coffee drinker.  I think I would consider myself a lifer, unless I 
       am told otherwise by the doctor.
       
       These days, I usually drink a 12 cup pot of freshly ground, auto 
       drip coffee.  Some days I don't have coffee at all.  Sometimes I 
       switch to tea.  
       
       For me, the "perfect" cup of coffee is the one that tastes good to 
       me.  There are various tricks of the trade and can be guides to 
       figuring out what tastes good, but what really matters is that I 
       enjoy my damn good cup of coffee!
       
       PRO TIP: To clean out oils from your grinder, especially if 
       flavored coffee was ground, grind plain Rice Krispies cereal through 
       the grinder.  This should help absorb the oils and remove the taste 
       of previous grounds.
          
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