I’ve owned the H40V2 for a year and have loved it. I wanted a hand grinder for pour over/v60 and it’s been perfect (highly recommend using it with the turin pour over scale). I’d planned on picking up a second one so I could leave one in the office and have the other at home and to take on trips.

Enter the H63.

Ever since I saw the introduction of the H63, I really wanted to buy one and test it out. When Espresso Outlet put it on sale at amazon, I jumped to grab it. In the picture below the H63 is on the left and the H40V2 is on the right. Yes. I do have that correct. Even though the burrs are over 2cm wider, the overall grinder is smaller. The decreased height makes it just a bit nicer in the balance for me. The catch basin is roughly the same size, but whereas in the H40 it flairs out under the burr, in the 63, the burr seems to be at the flair. That would make sense to me anyway. Both the H40 and the H60 have the option of a blind shaker distribution right from their base (not shown). The H40 worked fine, with the ability to unscrew the base to reveal the bottom of the shaker. The H60 has a completely separate attachment for the blind shaker that you swap out one base for the other. I think I prefer the H60, but won’t know until I use it a bit more.

For me, the main improvements in the design come down to two things: the adjustment and the grind.

The H40 has 9 steps steps marked with many unmarked detents in between. This has worked great and I didn’t think twice about it when I got it. The h63, however, has 70 clearly marked detents. I absolutely prefer knowing without counting in my head exactly what my setting is.

Finally, while I believe the H40 is very capable of grinding any size you want/need, the H63 is faster. I ground the same volume of the same bean in both grinders. The H63 required fewer turns in my testing and taking only about 18% less time.

I’m very happy with my new grinder and know it will be used plenty in the days and months to come.

Manufacturer: Portakeeper
Product: Portafilter Holder
Current Price: $16
Vendor: Espresso Outlet

Soon after I started my journey into espresso, I realized, I didn’t have enough room. I think this would be true regardless of how much space I had available, I’d likely fill it with espresso/coffee related paraphernalia. I also realized, portafilters are heavy and I probably should avoid dropping them. Neither the portafilter nor my tile was going to be very forgiving if I kept seeing if the portafilter felt like bouncing today.

My real problem was my portafilters didn’t have a place to just “stay out of the way”. Moving them around during prep or during the time that I was puttering in the kitchen just wasn’t convenient. I don’t like leaving the portafilter in the grouphead when I’m not using it (or at least pre-heating it), but I’m embarrassed how long it took me to discover the portafilter. A solution I find to be elegant in its simplicity.

I watch a LOT of YouTube videos dealing with espresso creation and follow Espresso Outlet’s channel along with many others. I was in the market for a new grinder and had heard a lot about the DF54. Barrett Ellis dropped a video going over it in detail. I loved the machine on first sight and purchased one. But more importantly for this review, I noticed (though I now know they’d been there in previous videos and I was simply not paying attention) that there were several portafilters hanging on the wall. Simply and gloriously, just hanging there, out of the way but ready to be used.

That’s the first time I saw the Portakeeper and it wasn’t long until l ended up with a couple of my own. The Portakeeper comes in several sizes. Espresso Outlet sells models to accommodate both 54mm and 58mm portafilters.

The Portakeeper itself is a pretty straightforward design. It’s a molded plastic circle with wings at the bottom that hold your portafilter by the lugs. I was worried about how it was going to attach because I don’t like drilling into my walls, so I sent the guys at Espresso Outlet a query and was told that the Portakeeper products affixed to the chosen surface using 3m double sided adhesive strips. Sold.

By the time I purchased these, I had also purchased a counter for my espresso setup. Rather than mount them to the wall, I mounted two Portakeepers to the side of my counter. After I use my machine daily, I wash my portafilter and give it a brief wipe with a drying cloth. However, one of the things I didn’t anticipate but immediately became one of my favorite features is that when the portafilter is put in the Portakeeper, its sits completely perpendicular to the cabinet. Then handle of your portafilter will not touch your wall at all. If you haven’t dried your basket as well as you might have, the moisture will not touch your wall but empty straight down! Though my baskets are relatively dry by the time I hang my portafilter, this still made me very happy as I didn’t want to introduce any moisture to my wall at all.

I’ve loved my Portakeeper holders. I’ve seen pictured holders for V60 papers, though I do not see them currently listed on the Espresso Outlet site. I have a feeling one of these will be joining my collection soon.

If you’re not bothered by loose portafilters lying around the house, I applaud you. However, if you are, I simply can’t imagine a better solution than the Portakeeper portafilter holder!

An enthusiastic 2 out of 2 Ravens!

How about another giveaway?! Folks, I had so much fun with the last giveaway, I’d like to do it again. I will give two lucky commenters here on the blog a Portakeeper! You do need to live in the U.S. to participate. I apologize for this, but with the current state of the world, I learned the hard way with our last giveaway that international shipping is too expensive at the moment. How do you get in on the drawing? Just leave a comment! I will randomly draw two winners on Friday, May 9, purchase and send directly to you a Portakeeper! Thanks for reading!

As a technologist, I’m always interested in advances in artificial intelligence and have been following the AI art debacle in the news. If you don’t know about it, feel free to read more about it here.

Today though, I was interested in a difference art form. The art of writing. I’d read an article about the OpenAI app, ChatGPT, and how it was going to make the work of writing teachers much more difficult. Being in education myself, I admit to being a bit critical.

That was until I tried it out. Once you arrive at their website, OpenAI has you login using one of several options. I used my google login and was immediately granted free access to ChatGPT. It details some of its strengths and weaknesses and then opens up a pretty plain page with a simple prompt.

From my very first line of text, I was blown away. I tried, “How are wildfires changing the American west” and the software wrote a very well written essay on exactly that. I ran it through a plagiarism tool, and … nothing.

I tried all sorts of prompts, “compare Van Halen to AC/DC”, “write a 1000 word essay comparing themes from Lord of the Rings to Chronicles of Narnia”, “write 500 words about the history of Amish quilting”. Each time it “wrote” word by word, on my screen, the topic I’d requested.

Finally, I asked it to “write a playful, sincere 400 word essay about raising livestock in 4h club for a college admission essay” (FTR, while I did attend 4H Club as a teen, I never raised livestock). Here is what I received in full:

At this point, all I can say is, I’m glad I’m not a high school English teacher.

Evergreen Coffee: Latte Macchiato

After the dirty chai at Yukon, I drove across town to Evergreen Coffee on the north side of Longview.

Evergreen is one of my daughters favorite coffee shops in town. Not because they serve great coffee, but because they have great pastries and boba tea. They really do. I’ve never been disappointed in either their boba tea or their pastries. I particularly enjoy their savory scones.

By this time, I was wanting something a little different. I noticed they had a caramel macchiato on the menu, so I asked if they could make a “regular” latte macchiato for me. The barista said “sure” and asked if I wanted it hot or cold. I told them hot and went to the register to pay.

At this point, I’m probably going to sound like a bit of a snob, and I truly don’t mean to be, but perhaps I was (and am). I’m fine with coffee shops hiring anyone that wants a job. I’m fine with cold espresso drinks substituting coffee toddy cold concentrate. However, I wish shops would train their staff that how they do things isn’t necessarily the “original” way. I won’t even say “real”. When a customer asks if they can get a flat white or a macchiato, is it too much to expect that what they’re provided with isn’t the exact same drink the cafe serves as a latte?

As I got ready to pay, I noticed the barista swirling caramel around the inside of my cup. Since I was the only one in the shop, I knew this was going to be my “regular” macchiato. I stopped her and apologized, and asked if I could have my macchiato without caramel or any syrup. I admit, I was a bit gobsmacked when I was told, “That’s what a macchiato is.” Um. No. Not it isn’t. A decent break down on macchiatos can be viewed here (and I do think the YouTube presenter is more of a snob than me, lol).

Seriously, I blame Starbucks.

I asked them if instead of what they were making for me, they could simply give me a latte but pour the milk in first, then the espresso. They replied, “That’s how a latte is made is made.” At that point, I kind of shut up and drank what they gave me. And it was horrid. To be honest, I didn’t take off the lid to see if it was stained or spotted.

Evergreen is in an older strip mall. They’ve done their best to give it a nice ambiance, and to be fair, I’ve been in much worse. It was well lit as can be seen from the picture. I enjoyed reading my book while I forced myself to drink half of the coffee. I will state, that although other places had indoor seating, this is the only one that didn’t have outdoor, and thus was the only time I sat inside on this gorgeous day.

I’ll definitely be going back to Evergreen. But I might stick with the boba. And the scones. Definitely the scones.

Score: 2/5

Yukon Coffee: Dirty Chai

My second stop for the day was at Yukon Coffee next door in Longview, TX. I don’t think this is a chain but to be honest, I’m not 100% sure. I couldn’t find multiple locations with a simple google search, but their branding and building seem a bit polished for a single location, so who knows.

Yukon Coffee opened fairly recently, and I admit, this was only my second visit. I had planned on getting a cappuccino, but when I arrived I noticed the Dirty Chai on the menu and decided to go for it.

I have gone back and forth on coffee and tea. For several years, I didn’t drink much coffee at all, but always had tea handy. Recently my pendulum has swung back the other way. A good dirty chai hits both targets.

For the uninitiated, a dirty chai is simply a chai with a shot of espresso added. The spicy, milky tea goes well with a good shot and I have been known to try these whenever I see them on the menu.

I should have asked if the chai was a mix. I’m pretty sure it was. It was overpoweringly sweet and, to be honest, I won’t be ordering it from Yukon Coffee again.

Yukon Coffee has no internal seating, but has an interesting combination of chairs, tables and a grouping of Adirondack chairs next to their building. Since this is Texas, I’m sure it could be used most of the year. The morning of my visit was a bit cooler than the locals enjoy, but I had fun sitting in the cool weather enjoying (or at least drinking) my chai.

If you get the chance to check out Yukon Coffee, I can say the latte I had several months back was much superior to the chai.

Rating: 3/5

I’m going to do something a bit different for this blog. I’m going to discuss another passion of mine. Coffee.

This weekend, I decided to do something I’d never done before. Since I was a teen, I’d heard of people going bar hopping, but since I don’t drink alcohol, it’s never been something I’ve been acquainted with. Saturday, as I was planning out my day, it occurred to me that I’d enjoy spending some time drinking various drinks in different local coffee shops, reading a book and watching the world go by. I did set myself some rules: I wanted to try to only visit privately owned shops. I wanted to pay closer attention to the ambiance than is my normal want. I could read my book, or people watch, but with the exception of taking a photo of the drink, I didn’t allow myself to play on my phone or iPad until I had finished my drink and posted my order and location. I used the #coffeeshophop on FaceBook. If any readers decide to replicate the experiment, I’d be honored if you would use it as well so I can follow your experiences! (If you do, please feel free to comment so I know to look for you!)

Since it was a nice day, I climbed on my motorcycle, grabbed my iPad (I only read eBooks these days), and hit the road.

My first stop was my small hometowns only coffee shop. Main Street Coffee in Hallsville, TX. I get coffee here at least several times a month when I’m too lazy to make something at home or just looking for a change. As you can see, I chose to sit outside under their new pergola since it was a nice day. Inside seating is also available. The seating area is small, but since we’re a small town, it’s more than adequate.

I usually hate sweet coffee, but they were advertising their “seasonal” drinks and several had gingerbread flavoring. I chose not to order one of the seasonal drinks, but did have a single pump of gingerbread syrup added to my latte.

So, let’s talk about lattes.

Latte: I don’t speak Italian, but my understanding is that a latte, or better – cafe latte, literally means “milk coffee”. A traditional cafe latte should be approximately 1/3 espresso, 2/3 steamed milk, and a thin layer of foam on top. The espresso is placed in the bottom of the cup, the steam milk is added on top. Yes. Order matters, as we’ll talk about another drink later in my sojourn. Main Street’s latte was perfect (as expected).

While I love Main Street Coffee, and enjoyed my cafe latte very much, I’ve never seen anyone offered a ceramic mug here. I get the added hassle of cleaning drink ware, but would enjoy the option. Still, great service, great espresso, and great atmosphere.

Rating: 4.5/5

I was thrilled when my last post garnered a few interested replies. Baldr and I are both in a group on Facebook devoted to the novels of Nathan Lowell (Golden Age of the Solar Clipper). He mentioned his love of The Pelbar Cycle and was kind enough to write up a short review. I asked Baldr if he’d be interested in returning to review each book more in depth at a later date, to which he has agreed, time permitting.

So, without further ado.. our first guest review:

The Pelbar Cycle is five books written by Paul O. Williams in the 1980’s.  The story take place years after an Armageddon event.  Great stories of individuals that help to bring isolated groups of people in the North American continent together again while dealing with their own struggles.

I love that the book does not use bad language, although you will hear a few “slithering snake” or “fish guts” insults.  Perfect for young readers and adults alike.

This is one of the few authors I go back and read time and time again.  If you enjoy Nathan Lowell’s Solar Clipper Ship series, you will enjoy this as well.

You can find book one of The Pelbar Cycle, The Breaking of Northwall in ebook format on Amazon and at Apple Books (and other fine book sellers I’m sure).

Thanks Baldr! Looking forward to seeing what each book in the series brings to the table.

originally published May 7, 2012

Title: Armand Ptolemy and the Golden Aleph
Author: Mark Jeffrey
Genre: Fantasy
Released: 4 December 2011 – 19 April 2012
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast, ebook
Rating: PG for violence

As most Podiobook listeners will know, Mr. Jeffrey is considered one of the founders of the current podiobook format. His young adult book Max Quick: The Pocket and the Pendant (reviewed previously) was one of the books that got this whole thing started. So when Mr. Jeffrey puts a new book up… well, I – for one – am going to check it out.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: Synchronicity machines. Difference engines melded with the iChing. Geomancy: the art of making stone float with sound. The hacker collective ‘Anonymous’. Secret societies …

This is the world of ARMAND PTOLEMY, a new action-adventure hero. Facing an enemy armed with the Golden Aleph — a mystical device that allows its wielder to see holographically into every point in time and space, Ptolemy must use every trick of his Oxford-educated mind and circus-trained body to succeed.

But how do you fight an enemy that knows your every move … even before you do?

When Armand Ptolemy is called to investigate strange tremors plaguing an old wing of the New York public library, he finds himself enmeshed in a series of events that began in 1912. Yet Ptolemy himself is rumored to be from the past himself — and the world’s Elite lust after the secret of how he seemingly jumped forward over one hundred years in time. Most keenly interested in this secret is Octavio Veerspike, head of the Veerspike banking dynasty.

When the Commission — a secret society of the world’s most powerful people — suddenly call a conclave in the tropics, Ptolemy has to figure out what they’re up to, and fast.

But the Elites have other ideas. Putting into a motion the capstone of a hundred-years old plan, the Commission wants Ptolemy out of the way. And with the Golden Aleph giving them very potent powers of prediction, they just may succeed … (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: Ummm… after listening to the first couple of episodes of Armand Ptolemy and the Golden Aleph, I admit, I was asking myself, “What in the heck happened?!”  I admit, it has been a while since I’ve listened to one of Mr. Jeffrey’s podcasts, but I seriously don’t remember them being this bad. Wait… bad? Yes. Bad. There are multiple instances of repeated lines, atmospheric noises (jets, dogs, page turns, etc) and just mediocre production. Armand Ptolemy and the Golden Aleph really has all the earmarks of a first production but without any of the excuses.

Grade: C-

Cast: Mr. Jeffrey does Armand Ptolemy and the Golden Aleph as a self read and for the most part does an excellent job. There was only one issue I had with the reading and that was the pronunciation of “Ptolemy”, which Mr. Jeffrey pronounced phonetically, while I’ve always heard it pronounced “t?l’?-m?”. A small thing, and something Mr. Jeffrey might have done purposefully, but still, it drew me out of the story every time I heard it.

Grade: B+

Story: I’m still not sure whether Mr. Jeffrey intends this Ptolemy from history, a descendent, or a non-relatitve. I’m not sure it matters, but if it is a non-relative, then it kind of confuses the issue. This is a story that does a lot of ground setting and introduces, what I assume, will be the major players in a larger story.

Grade: A

Verdict: I started this story prepared to enjoy it. After the first two episodes and quite possibly through at least three-quarters of the story, I was prepared to blast it. Then I came around and recognized it for what I feel it is: a free introduction to a larger story (that probably won’t be free). And you know what? I have no problem with that. So, listen to the first 4 eps. Listen for the story. Forget the (lack luster) production. Forget the confusion surrounding Mr. Ptolemy’s origins. Be aware that this story is a setup for a larger story, and yes, be prepared to be cliff-hangered.

Disclosure: This is the third time I’ve reviewed a book by Mr. Jeffrey. I still have not conversed with him in any form. I have not received anything in return for this review.

originally published April 3, 2012

Title: Self Made
Author: M. Darusha Wehm
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 11 January 2010 – 3 April 2010
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: Podcast, ebook and dead tree

Rating: R for language, violence and adult content

Once again my trolling through podiobooks brings me to a title and author I’ve yet to read/listen.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: Ever wish things were different?

Ivy Velasquez did, so she became someone else. In the 3D virtual world Marionette City, you can be anything you want — but everyone still knows who you are. Driven by her desire for a new life, Ivy takes her future in her hands when she makes another identity for herself. A brilliant designer, Ivy works for one of the huge firms which control the online system the world relies upon for both business and pleasure. But one day, Ivy discovers that her alternate self, Reuben Cobalt, had been murdered.

Since alternate identities are forbidden by the firms which control access to the nets and to M City, Ivy has nowhere to turn — until she finds Andersson Dexter. Part private eye, part vigilante and part cop, Dex sets out to uncover Reuben’s killer. Since the firms control almost every aspect of life, including law and order, justice for average people comes only at the hands of the outlaw organization to which Dex belongs.

Self Made is a murder mystery set in a vision of a future that seems to lurk just over the horizon. But above all, it is a story of how people strive to control their own destinies, and how that desire affects them and the people around them in ways they could never imagine.

Production: The production of Self Made isn’t stellar. Neither is it horrid. It falls firmly in the category of “okay” and there is nothing here that would make it hard to listen to. At least nothing that I remember.

Grade: B/B-

Cast: Ms. Wehm does Self Made as a self read. Her reading voice is up to the task and none of the characters are remarkable due to the poor reading or voice usage. This book has long narrative passages and Ms. Wehm’s voice is up to the task.

Grade: A-

Story: Self Made is a story set in the undetermined future. Truthfully, I don’t remember if a year was mentioned or not, but it has that sense, like a William Gibson or Philip K Dick story, of indeterminate future age about it. Meatworld contact is now severely limited and most interaction occurs in cyberspace. The synopsis reminded me enough of the previously mentioned author that I was eager to give it a try. Throw in a murder mystery and I was confident this would be an enjoyable ride.

Grade: D+\C-

Verdict: I remember as a young lad, sitting in church and hearing the pastor preach on Revelation 3:16 – “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” At the time I really didn’t understand that. Now I do. This is one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever written. Why? Because I am so ambivalent about the work in general and the characters in specific. Ms. Wehm seems to have worked exhaustively to create a world with little emotion and succeeded only in creating a world that held no interest for this listener. Dex and the other characters felt lifeless and almost like watercolor portraits without any definition. I think the ending was supposed to have been happy. The best I can say is it didn’t have the opposite effect on me.

I also found the underlying meat world vs cyberspace issues to be almost nonsensical with the reasoning provided. (Possible spoiler alert) For example, people rarely talk to one another to the extent that a real bar is unusual and talking to someone in the meat world is extremely rare. However, people still commute to the day job in that same meat world even when everything they do is online. The explanation given was something like “so the system can keep track of your time”. I remember laughing about that at the time.

However, my biggest problem with this story is how little I remember about it after only one week. Most of this review was pulled from notes I took at the time. The poorly contrived story obviously made no impression on my long term memory. Perhaps that will be to Ms. Wehm’s advantage and I’ll completely forget about Self Made and try one of her several other books in the future.

Before ending this review, I will state that according to Ms. Wehm’s site, she has been nominated for more than one Parsec, so I quite likely am a minority in my opinion. Have you listened? Do you disagree? Let me know! (Well, you can do that even if you do agree.) Now, I need to go find my listerene.

Disclosure: I’ve never read or listened to anything by Ms. Wehm before. I was offered nothing in return for this review.