The unimportant news thread

[DavidW]

My default method for making coffee these days is a pour-over, which means I boil water (3 minutes in an electric kettle) than wait 3-5 minutes for the coffee to trickle down. Then there is the funnel to clean. Alternatives are a French press or a stove-top cappuccino pot, which require about the same time. But I keep some Starbucks VIA instant packets around for when I am really short of time, or the family is asleep and I don't want to risk waking someone up puttering around in the kitchen. Just add water and it's done, with nothing to clean. Starbucks instant actually tastes like coffee, and I would put it on the same level of quality as a Keurig machine. (It contains condensed coffee with some micro ground coffee to give it a little extra kick.) It is nothing like the instant coffee I used to drink in my youth, which was advertised as "freeze dried." When I first drank coffee it was only instant and when I had real coffee on some sort of occasion (a dinner party my parents had at our house) I didn't even recognize the taste.

Pour over is my favorite method, but I usually only have time or energy for drip these days.

[DavidW]

When I make proper coffee, I have a French press. But I find that I'll go weeks without bothering with it.

French press retains too much of the oils and irritates my stomach.  I use a Chemex for pour over and their filters are quite thick, no stomach aches just flavor.

[Karl Henning]

French press retains too much of the oils and irritates my stomach.  I use a Chemex for pour over and their filters are quite thick, no stomach aches just flavor.

I may consider this. Perhaps this is a subliminal reason behind my (comparatively) seldom being in ther humor to make "proper coffee."

[Brahmsian]

Well, I appreciate the insight into instant coffee as I clearly can see their is a need and usefulness to it. I am happy to stand corrected. 

[Jo498]

Well, I appreciate the insight into instant coffee as I clearly can see their is a need and usefulness to it. I am happy to stand corrected. 

For some reason I never used instant, if I had any choice. When I lived alone I usually preferred tea in favor of small portions of coffee and with some makers (e.g. French press or the italian style espresso makers) one can easily make small amounts of coffee. I grew up with only one way of coffee making, pouring boiling water over a paper filter (this was in the 1980s before fancy machines became common). Instant always seemed a bit low class me which is probably nonsense.

[Karl Henning]

For some reason I never used instant, if I had any choice. When I lived alone I usually preferred tea in favor of small portions of coffee and with some makers (e.g. French press or the italian style espresso makers) one can easily make small amounts of coffee. I grew up with only one way of coffee making, pouring boiling water over a paper filter (this was in the 1980s before fancy machines became common). Instant always seemed a bit low class me which is probably nonsense.

Oh, I certainly drink much more tea than coffee.

[DavidW]

Oh, I certainly drink much more tea than coffee.

Yeah I didn't even know you drank coffee, I thought it was only green tea!

[Karl Henning]

Yeah I didn't even know you drank coffee, I thought it was only green tea!

This may horrify our Ray even worse than my use of instant: 95% of the coffee I drink is decaf

[Brahmsian]

This may horrify our Ray even worse than my use of instant: 95% of the coffee I drink is decaf

Nothing horrific about that Karl. I usually have 3 or 4 cups medium sized cups of coffee (literally a cup per) and the final one is always a decaf. 

[Jo498]

I think decaf coffee brands invented the "blind testing" in commercials that was later picked up by alcohol free beer, i.e. someone is served coffee without knowning it's decaf and praises it along with a derogatory remark against decaf. Then he is shown that he had been drinking that particula decaf brand... I think I only ever drank decaf at my grandma's or other elderly ladies decades ago. While my mom and other relatives are now in a similar age, they don't drink decaf if they can avoid it So in my coordinate system, decaf is for grannies and instant for special work/travel situations only

[Karl Henning]

Though Trump has publicly panned Twitter as boring and irrelevant, he still looks at the site often, mostly via printouts of tweets from politicians and journalists handed to him by his aides, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Trump's habits.

[greg]

Probably won't be just looking soon.

[Todd]

U.S. economic growth rate unexpectedly declined in the first quarter by 1.4%

The decline in growth came due to a deceleration in private inventory investment, which helped propel growth in the back half of 2022.

Where was the editor?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

My vet has a Keurig machine at their clinic.  It's very nice to show up (sometimes quickly dressed and tired after dealing with a sick/injured pet) and quickly make yourself a cup of something--usually coffee for me--whilst waiting to go and see the vet.  A nice courtesy. 

I have a small (5-cup) Zojirushi coffee maker that I like.  You can make 1-5 cups in it.  These days, I've only used instant coffee (espresso) for making things like a chocolate cheesecake.  I do also have a small and inexpensive espresso maker which I use sporadically.

Also have some different kinds of tea around that I'll occasionally have.  The herbal ones I used most often in the summertime and make a tea for serving chilled....quite refreshing when it's hot out.

PD

[Todd]

Elon Musk: Twitter deal 'temporarily on hold'

[Irons]

From the Old Baily -

Rooney v Vardy. A tale of two Wags (wives of famous footballers).

Coleen, wife of Wayne Rooney, become disturbed as information from her private Instagram account was being leaked to the Press. She decided to set a trap to uncover the culprit - the Sun newspaper christened her "Wagatha Christie" a name she will known by for ever more. By feeding false information to single accounts and waiting for the "Sun" to publish she was able to discover the guilty party, Rebekah, wife of Jamie Vardy. Wagatha announced her findings and all hell let loose with Vardy suing Rooney
The trial is gripping and beyond hilarious with costs clocking up north of £3 million with mind boggling details, one of which a well known celebratory has a penis the size of a chipolata!

 

[Karl Henning]

Melania Trump Slams Vogue for Not Putting Her on the Cover.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

It maybe big news, I don't know. Farewell to the iPod, the device that ushered in too much choice.


https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/14/ipod-nostalgists-farewell-to-ipod-device-ushered-in-too-much-choice?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[steve ridgway]

I thought the iPod was a fantastic invention. Rather than offering overwhelming choice though the random shuffle eliminated all those problems of deciding which LP or CD to listen to next and whether you could actually be bothered getting up and putting it in the player for the one track you really liked.

[fbjim]

Students at a high school in Berlin replaced their long-time human skeleton specimen with a model human skeleton, and decided to give the medical specimen a proper burial.

https://apnews.com/article/science-religion-education-biology-e7734fbff8ab18d687f3b7c1763bd80c?utm_medium=AP_Oddities&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter