Closer to the art...

What a journey it's been from start up until this point.

I have a ways to go before I'll be banging out art on a consistent basis but I'm happy to say that at this point I've been able to get a few pours that look close to something I've been after for a while now.

Careful instructions from Coach Shaun were instrumental as was practice, practice, practice..

My machine makes it difficult to do many back to back pours so another factor in the time I've spent is that many days I might only make one attempt and others two. Once in a great while I'd get in three pours. Not exactly powering in the practice ya know, so it takes time...

But I'm happy with the progress and am finally starting to see things that I think are kind of cool.

Closer.....

Moving blog...

It's a little bit strange and I've got no explainable explanation right now but I'm moving to a new blog.

I've lost my Feedburner password and don't have the first clue who watches this blog...if you have interest please subscribe to the new blog and see what antics I am up to.

See ya over here.
http://newpossible.blogspot.com/

PPF3

It's been a fun idea but at the same time it's getting strange....

Oh well, here is another one from El Dorado canyon.

PPF2

Got in a training climb today in the Matthews/Winters park.

About 4.5 miles with just under 1,200 feet elevation gain. The target 14er for the first climb this year has Elevation Gain: 2,850 feet Round-trip Length: 7.00 miles so the training climb is about 50% or so by the #'s. Numbers don't tell the whole story but I think it was a decent day out there.

This is the second edition of PPF...

So much fun.

And yesterday on a little day trip we spotted Longs peak. It was looking pretty intimidating over there. From what I've been told it's even more intimidating in person. I doubt I'll be considering it until 2012 but it looks cool.



The weekend was pretty damn sweet!

PPF1

This is something I want to start doing. I actually started doing it when I put my lucky rock on top my shoe at Handies peak to take a pic of the rock and my shoe was the only contrast I could think of to illustrate the point that me and the rock were both in that spot.

But I started thinking about it years ago on our first trip to the grand canyon and fell in love with something special about special places. They are no respector of persons...

If you want to go there you have to take your feet and place them there.

This really hit home for me when I started going off the beaten (paved and safety approved) path. Everybody out there is the same...if you want it you have to earn it by stepping your little feet one stride at a time and getting to the place. Sure money can still buy helo trips to remote locations and set you in exclusive resorts but there are places only those that go and earn the right to stand there will ever stand there.

I like that so much...

I'm going to start taking pics of Places I've Put my Feet. PPF1 is above.

Red Rocks day

Got back out to Red Rocks for some stair climbing.

Big snow from earlier in the week blew any chance of getting on a trail this weekend. Eventually we will gather all the gear necessary to deal with weather events but for now the crazy dump of 12+ inches of snow several days ago means a sloppy mess out on the Apex trail system we have been romping on and as of now we are not prepared to deal with the slushy goodness.

So it's stair climbing at Red Rocks.....

The thing that strikes me most about getting out where other people are at is just how amazing a process acclimation to elevation is. I can feel loads of difference in how my body is responding now compared to when we first got here but when you watch other people who are obviously more acclimated it's interesting. Nothing like slogging up a slope and having to move over so somebody can come jogging by. ;)

I like RR for a back up destination to get in some exercise and training for the upcoming season but it's a real kick in the (pick your place you don't want to be kicked). It does not take more than about 30 steeps up the stairs before you know you are into something. And it's like progressive...the more you push the harder it gets.

So you can get in, get some work done, and get out pretty quick.

I think it's funny that they have a heart monitor station at the top. :)

Art still eludes me.

I have still not given sufficient effort to it to pour real art.

At this point I can not blame anything other than my lack of focus and time behind the pitcher for this season of goofy art that I'm pouring.

I'm not really sure if I'm going to commit to pouring decent art or if I'm somehow into pouring these funky ass shapes that have more to do with random vibes from the universe than controlled work on my part...

I'm just not sure yet.

From today another flowing blob-o-tron.



I do think it was cool that I somehow captured espresso planets on my el cheapo camera today. They are teeny tiny (click for a slightly better look) and most people probably have no idea why this is of interest but I got a kick out of it so here it is.

Apex to Sluice to Pick n' Sledge

That is the chill spot at the top of Pick n Sledge off the Apex trail system.

We got a chance to get a few hours on the trail today and it was pretty good. Pretty...pretty..pretty good. ;)

Conditions were super sloppy. We figured as much from the big snow on Friday. The snow was over by Sat mid am and with temps around 60 today (Sunday) it was go time for another training climb day on the Apex system. Learned that some sort of micro spikes or something like that is a MUST for snow/slush/ice/mud conditions. The people we saw with them were doing fine in spots where we were slip sliding away..

Oh well live and learn, we still made the top of the trail we were after. I'm not sure if an actual complete "summit" is available on this section but we were within a few feet or so of the absolute top but this isn't set up like a 14er with a marker and stuff but it is a great training location for the upcoming season and I'm sure we will be back soon/often.

Good day out there today.

Union Station

I've been too busy lately to say much about anything...

Settling into my new job is a real process and I think it's going to take another 2 months or even 3 before we really find a groove and set our patterns to living in a new place.

We did have some time last week to hit 16th street mall and Angie got a cool pic of Union Station.





And a look at the clock tower looking building down the street...





We also found a crepes place there that serves Lavazza (meh..) and really good crepes. They do an in house almond pesto that really caught my attention. It was outstanding on the turkey and cheese buckwheat crepe. I just poured some half and half in this coffee and it made a ghost face... Blaaaah!




Anyway, it's all about working and settling in at this point. Very time consuming stuff. I look forward to saying more once things calm down a bit.

Royal with altitude.

We made a day trip to Royal Gorge Bridge yesterday and it was certainly something different. The bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world...

This is what it looks like from inside the cable car going across the gorge.



This is the cable car looking back from the bridge area.



Something a pic won't show is what it's like to be walking on the worlds highest suspension bridge when the wind blows and the entire bridge starts flexing, warping, bending, and swaying around like crazy as you are 1,200' over the rocks and river below.





It was a fun day for all.

Kayleigh, Sarah , and Adam...




Me and Angie..



We also rode the incline elevator to the bottom....all in all it was a nifty little day trip. ;)

Transportational coffee

Soon I should start posting things that make sense but another item of interest happened that I feel like noting.

Transportational coffee is not something that you find/experience at Starbucks or in 99% of all kitchens so this post is something most can just pass up...Sorry about that.



Now onto it:

Today I was planning on pouring into an irregular shaped cup to see what funky things might happen in the interpretative art avenue but as fate would have it the odd cup walls just destroyed anything of visual interest.

Fine by me because I was met with trasportational coffee in the cup. By my senses this is not an everyday occurrence. Mainly because I do not try to find it and allow the intensity of the experience to dictate to me what it wants. Another way to say it is that I am content (at thins point in time) to let the small still voices remain subtle and it takes a "stand up and shout" cup to sway my attention. Again I'll stress at this point in time.

So today it was such a loud roar.

Outdoor cafe' Someplace like Austria or Bavaria...maybe it's even main street USA at Disney World to be honest the overriding factor is outdoors, crisp air, and a very airy atmosphere and as I look deeper I'd bet $1,000 it's Bavaria.

Sitting at a small table with white frame and white chairs...etched glass table top.

Alone but only right now...somebody else has stepped away from the table but should return.

Eating chocolate croissants.

VERY strong register of chocolate croissants.

Most interesting is we are also smoking cigarettes and there is no coffee to be found anywhere on the table. ?? :o

Of course I've never been to Bavaria, don't smoke, and hardly ever eat chocolate croissants but that goes without saying right?

2 pics I like

I have a couple pictures from last week that I enjoyed. This is just a quick post to mention them...no real content or comment.

The first one is something Adam found on a walk a few days ago. He took off down Cherry Creek Trail looking for a lake we heard about without knowing exactly how far away it was. This pic is just a bit down the path but he wound up weaving, turning, trail switching, and stream jumping his way about 5-6 miles from here.. hahaha! He isn't used to that sort of thing but this is a cool pic from along the way.



The other one is from my testing of the Handpresso Wild. It's not art but to me it's artful. Sometihng unintended happened when I selected my hand made cup from Stray Clay and the way this thin espresso got washed out in the milk...I just like the pic for some reason.

Stair training location #2

Now that I'm within 1-3 hours drive of more 14er's than I can probably ever climb considering my advanced age. :o ...

As the move settles in I've got to get ready for next season with some off season training. Stairs were my main tool back in Sugar Land to simulate "going up" and yesterday we had a chance to go to Red Rocks and see what's what.

Lot's of stairs....in elevation... uhmm.... "ouch".

1.5 trips with my .5 jumping bleachers instead of taking the steps (cuz I saw somebody else doing it) was enough for an introductory lesson in cardio above sea level.

Lungs - toast
Head - dizzy
legs - wobbled

Nice intro but I'm not ready for a big bite yet, I see how you could kill yourself or at least wind up in an embarrassing situation of being flat on your back and begging strangers for air if you try to tackle it too soon.

I'm happy to start getting my head on straight and it was a cool visit to Red Rocks... I'll be back. ;)

Espresso overshoot philosophy

It might have been 5 years ago I thought about learning to pour latte art. After about 10 min. I decided latte art sucks and I didn't need to chase it down. :(

Reason being it doesn't come naturally to me at all and I sensed how hard it was going to be.....bottom line is I bailed out on the work required.

6-8 months ago when my buddy Shaun took my 2-3 doubles per day of perfectly poured latte art back up to Canada with him I was forced to face the work ahead. The fact is I had come to understand something about espresso drinks I had previously discounted. The fact is milk texture matters. Art does not change the taste (however proper milk does, and you need proper milk for art)but it does effect overall presentation and care in the cup. Short answer is that when striving towards excellent cups art is inevitable to tackle.

The first couple months were difficult because I had to uncover and then correct mechanical issues. My obsession with re-inventing my machine is a separate issue but it is what it is and I had to change a steam wand, add a pressure gauge, OPV, and address a water debit problem to get me where I am now. Where is that?

About 6 more months away from pouring art. ;-

But that isn't my point today. My point is my new thought about overshooting a target.

My small milk drinks have reached an all time high point. I am drinking the best espresso drinks I've ever made right now. I don't want the hunt for art to get this point lost so I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge it. My coffee is very good right now and I'm really happy with that.

Much of the credit is because of overshoot by looking for art. I am having to pull good shots, texture good milk, and have everything "just so" while shooting for it and that effect is to pull up all the other tangibles by default.

So while I am grumbling about why it's so hard to pour art and working myself up by some close calls the side effect is very good coffee.

Life should be so hard right?

Close calls.... Stay tuned for 2010.

Nitro pour

Dig my nitro pour stout from Dry Dock brewery. ;)

Sweet!

Also my house IPA.



And my sampler fleet...



I think I will wrap up this post with nothing more. ;)

What a difference a day makes.

Well.... who could have know the events of the last weeks would have led to this but the long and short of the new reality is that we live in Denver Colorado now.

I woke up today to see the first real snow I've seen since I was a teenager.

Not only that but there is a 30' Christmas tree outside my bedroom window. :o

The blog will probably move to "all things Colorado" for a while now and there is too much to say as we have only been here 3 days and have not figured out the lay of the land yet...

More to follow soon!

Funny pics

Cleaning stuff out we came across some pics of me as a youngster...

I think the pics will say enough on their own that I don't need to add much.

I might add more because some of them are pretty funny..

3 weeks after the 30 day challenge

I figure an update is in order...

The reason I have not done it sooner is that the post 30 day challenge is uneventful. Still eating paleo about 95% of the time and there is now 5% variance where one meal a couple off the menu items get eaten and then it's right back to the plan.

I guess eating paleo is sort of habitual. :)

I'm in no hurry to add back the things I have cut and the very infrequent "cheats" are more than enough to tide me over. If I have one meal in 20-30 that includes something I've cut. I think that is an acceptable rate of not only how much of the thing I let in but enough that I'm not worried about wanting to eat it either. For instance sugar. When you cut out all sugars for 30 days and you find yourself at a birthday party...you don't' eat any cake. No big deal unless you think of never eating any cake at any party, wedding, holiday or ever. And cake is just a symbol for anything, I just used that one to make the point. If you know you will eat it once every couple weeks or so there is no pressure of "never eating" xyz.

It makes it easy IMO to eat Paleo/primal almost all the time. There is no start/stop to it if you factor in an allowance like that. The Primal Blueprint suggests the 80/20 rule but I can't see being that generous (because I could figure out how to abuse the 20% for sure) but the concept really does make sense to me with a much smaller allowance.

Anyway...that is about it. My weight loss has predictably slowed down but I am unconcerned about it at this point. There is a lot going on in my life right now so even slow and gradual is pretty exciting to me and I feel good about how everything is going. Thanks again to Paul for doing the 30 day before I did and pointing me that way, and to Urban for presenting the challenge in the exact language that resonated with me.

http://www.paulsedillo.com

http://www.urbangetsdiesel.com/2009/07/change-your-life-in-thirty-days.html


So far it's sticking. ;)

Interesting vids

This is a vid series that I find very interesting.

I have watched 5 parts so far and each segment is better than the last. If I didn't have to go to work right now (10 min ago) ;( I'd watch the entire series in one sitting.

I'll watch the rest tonight. This guy goes over a lot of things I already know now, but I still like his presentation style and it's reinforcing info for me.

You can follow the segments in order via the end screen after each 10 min. segment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULWhuO_tJPs

1 month of Paleo

Day 29 of the initial 30 day paleo challenge.

The reason I did this 30 day challenge is summed up here:


"..it will change your life. I cannot possibly put enough emphasis on this simple fact. This. Will. Change. Your. Life. It will change the way you think about food, it will change your tastes, it will change your habits and your cravings. It could, quite possibly, change the emotional relationship you have with food, and with your body. It has the potential to change the way you eat for the rest of your life."
http://www.byersgetsdiesel.com/2009/07/change-your-life-in-thirty-days.html

Two days before I started I figured out a few modifications that would make this trip a better fit for me but "moxyboss" above said "strict by the book paleo for 30 days" and I decided anything less would be selling the challenge short and I would never be able to say for sure what the results wold have been if done by the book. Now that I'm closing it up I am so glad that I played by the rules.

Did it change the way I think about food? Yes...very much.
Did it change my emotional relationship with food?...without a doubt.
Did it change my life forever..... Not sure yet but it's possible.

I learned some things about food I don't think I could have learned any other way than doing this challenge. Not all of them will necessarily be good "paleo" lessons. I won't know until I try to re-introduce things but one of the first things I will be trying to add back in is yogurt. If I discover that I don't have any negative reaction to eating it I will add back yogurt to my diet...it's something I feel would improve my overall eating strategy to include small amounts of yogurt. It may be that paleo people did not eat it but as soon as they figured out how to make it people DID start eating it and I think it's a very beneficial food (as long as you don't have issues with the dairy) and then there are goat milk options as well as coconut milk yogurts. So I intend to expand and improve on my new found base by experimenting with foods from a "clean slate" I could never have had before.

Sugar - My relationship with sugar has changed and we are on the outs. I don't know yet how we can re-negotiate any new terms to coexist or exactly how to proceed from here but the bloom is off the rose on sugar(s) for me now.

Grains - You tricky bastards. I think you might be ok actually and not the demon paleo makes you out to be but the US government and society have convinced us to take you on obsessive quantities. The food pyramid has you at what I now believe is a very unhealthy proportion.
Like sugar we are going to have to find a new relationship and I think for the next few months I will have VERY little room for you. When I started looking at nutritional data for things like oatmeal and bread I realized for the first time how devoid of real "food" some of these things are. They are mainly carb/fiber balls. There is not much nutrition at all in oatmeal.
I'm not going to get into the fiber thing right now but it's a straight up hoax if you ask me. Reading something about food is one thing and eating it for a month is another. I'll give my short un-gross version and say the things you read about people having 5#'s of undigested meat or something like that in their intestines if they don't' eat enough fiber to cleanse it out...I think it's total quackery at this point.
I feel almost certain you could eat nothing but red meat for 2 weeks and you would discover right away there is no problem with it gumming up the works. My month without them tells me grains are not all their cracked up to be. :(

Weight loss- I lost 14#s in the last 29 days and don't have anything to add to it other than next month will be key and I'll have a lot more to say then.

Moving forward - I plan to shift slightly towards Primal over Paleo because I think there are some holes in strict Paleo (for me anyway) that need to be filled. Perhaps "Paleo for athletes" addresses those deficiencies and maybe less active people would do better with strict paleo but I had a few crashes over the month and I think they were related to carb intake/glycogen stores/usage. I don't have any way to prove it but for starters I see myself eating sweet potatoes once a week next month to see what effect it has on my high workload sessions and make adjustments from there.

Overall - a fantastic challenge!

Moxy was correct in almost all of her assertions and possible all of them, I just don't have enough time in yet to say about the long term effects.

I would encourage anybody to try it that could use some help in dealing with food issues. Athletes should read more about that angle on things and read blogs by other paleo athletes but other than that I think it was overall a VERY positive experience and I'm excited to see where the next month brings me as I take some baby step modifications of the paleo plan to seek out what I hope will be the best eating plan I've ever had...more to follow.