Re: I bought a cup of coffee today, at McD's
Hactar
Charlie Pearce <charlie...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote:
> On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:37:04 -0500, Tim Wright
> <tlwri...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> >Bill Turlock wrote:
> >> for the first time in my life at an eating place.
> >
> >Seriously? You've never, ever purchased a cup of coffee in a restaurant
> >before? Did you just recently start drinking coffee? The mind boggles.
> > Bought my first cup in a cafe when I was about 12.
>
> I have never, ever bought myself a cup of coffee.
I've never drunk one either. Like the aroma, don't like the taste.
But, I like chocolate-covered coffee beans, coffee {ice cream,cake}, and
mocha (coffee and hot chocolate half-and-half). There was a machine at
$PPoE that dispensed mocha, but it charged money. I would partake when
I swiped the keys from the manager and pressed the "freebie" button.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
Logic is a systematic method of coming to
the wrong conclusion with confidence.
Charlie Pearce
wrote:
>In article <2qsue5590na4fras2...@4ax.com>,
>Charlie Pearce <charlie...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote:
>> On Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:37:04 -0500, Tim Wright
>> <tlwri...@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> >Bill Turlock wrote:
>> >> for the first time in my life at an eating place.
>> >
>> >Seriously? You've never, ever purchased a cup of coffee in a restaurant
>> >before? Did you just recently start drinking coffee? The mind boggles.
>> > Bought my first cup in a cafe when I was about 12.
>>
>> I have never, ever bought myself a cup of coffee.
>
>I've never drunk one either. Like the aroma, don't like the taste.
I've drunk exactly one. But that was just to be polite, and I hated
every mouthful.
Charlie
--
Email killed by spammers - please ask for the real one.
John Hatpin
If a bug-eyed, green space alien from Mars landed his spare-rocket on
Earth and read this thread, he'd think the whole population of the
planet hated coffee. Please allow me to redress the balance.
I absolutely love coffee. Every morning, I have three mugfuls before
I attempt to do anything involving physical or mental exertion. Every
sip is as delicious as the smell, and by the end I feel absolutely
wonderful. If for some reason I can't have that coffee - for example,
staying overnight at someone else's house ("sorry, only instant") - I
feel deprived and not quite myself for a long time.
--
John Hatpin
http://uninformedcomment.wordpress.com/
Hactar
Jesper Lauridsen <uselastname...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2009-11-01, Mac <ANMC...@ALUM.WPI.EDU> wrote:
> > On Nov 1, 12:42�am, Opus the Penguin <opusthepenguin+use...@gmail.com>
> >
> >> But in the middle of the 70s, retired baseball hero Joe DiMaggio
> >> began doing TV ads for Mr. Coffee, an automatic drip coffee maker. I
> >> don't know if Mr. Coffee was the first such or if it was just the
> >> first one that everyone became aware of. By the 80s, the coffee maker
> >> was becoming a fixture in the American kitchen.
> >
> > Drip machines went back to the 1950s, at least, but were mostly
> > commercial. Bunn was around a long time before Mr. Coffee.
>
> When I was growing up, I only saw to ways to make coffee:
> Put the coffee powder in a filter placed in a funnel, then pour boiling
> water into it.
>
> Or use a coffee maker like this:
> http://tinyurl.com/yzg2uvz
> Same principle, the machine just handles the boiling and pouring.
There was a strange accessory here for a few days. I'm pretty sure it's
used to make coffee, but I'm not quite sure how. Take a mostly hollow
octagonal(?) metal cylinder about 6" high and 3" across (its axis goes
vertically). Taper it in the middle. The top and bottom halves screw
together. The bottom surface of the top part is perforated thin metal,
and the top surface of the bottom part is open. The bottom is flat, and
the top is a hinged lid. There's a spout on the side/top away from the
handle.
I'm guessing you put water and ground coffee in the bottom, put it on a
stove/fire, and coffee ends up in the top. Anyone seen one of these?
What's it called?
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
Unix is user-friendly; it's just picky
about who it makes friends with.
Mac
> In article <hcsi4t$aq...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> Jesper Lauridsen <uselastnamedotfirstn...@gmail.com> wrote:
Moka pot, if I got your description right. Does it look like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_%28coffee_pot%29
Your description leaves out the funnel-shaped poece that holds the
grounds, but I assumed that was missing.
These are stove-top semi-exspesso makers. (Some purists feel the
product isn't "real esspresso".)
Peter Ward
It's one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_Express
We had one when I was a kid, and I've had a couple myself since. They
make good coffee, similar to espresso, but I find them too much of a
faff.
And your guess as to how to use it is right. There should be a
removable perforated funnel, which you didn't mention, in the bottom
half, into which you place finely ground coffee. Pour water in the
bottom half, there's usually a safety valve which marks the level, put
the funnel in complete with coffee, screw the two halves together firmly
(there should be a rubber seal in there somewhere), heat, and presto,
coffee appears in the top half. Well, after a while, anyway.
--
Peter, from outside the asylum
I'm an alien
email: usenet at peterward dot adsl24 dot co dot uk
http://blowinsmoke.wordpress.com/
Although there really are at least two sides to every story, sometimes,
one of them is just fucking stupid and wrong.
- Huey Callison
Bill Turlock
Oooohh. I wonder if I'd like one of those. I'm thinking I might
like my coffee strong.
Hactar
Yes, that's it.
> Your description leaves out the funnel-shaped poece that holds the
> grounds, but I assumed that was missing.
It's possible the device was incomplete, also that I'm misremembering.
> These are stove-top semi-exspesso makers. (Some purists feel the
> product isn't "real esspresso".)
Because the water isn't es-pressed through the grounds, right?
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
Q: Why does hamburger have lower energy than steak?
A: Because it's in the ground state. -- Harold_of_the_Rocks on Fark
Mac
> In article <74daad28-78da-4f4f-93c5-027ca61a4...@y10g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
>
> Mac <ANMCC...@ALUM.WPI.EDU> wrote:
> > On Nov 4, 1:58 pm, ebenZERO...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
>
> > > There was a strange accessory here for a few days. I'm pretty sure it's
> > > used to make coffee, but I'm not quite sure how. Take a mostly hollow
> > > octagonal(?) metal cylinder about 6" high and 3" across (its axis goes
> > > vertically). Taper it in the middle. The top and bottom halves screw
> > > together. The bottom surface of the top part is perforated thin metal,
> > > and the top surface of the bottom part is open. The bottom is flat, and
> > > the top is a hinged lid. There's a spout on the side/top away from the
> > > handle.
>
> > > I'm guessing you put water and ground coffee in the bottom, put it on a
> > > stove/fire, and coffee ends up in the top. Anyone seen one of these?
> > > What's it called?
>
> > Moka pot, if I got your description right. Does it look like this?
>
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_%28coffee_pot%29
>
> Yes, that's it.
>
> > Your description leaves out the funnel-shaped poece that holds the
> > grounds, but I assumed that was missing.
>
> It's possible the device was incomplete, also that I'm misremembering.
>
> > These are stove-top semi-exspesso makers. (Some purists feel the
> > product isn't "real esspresso".)
>
> Because the water isn't es-pressed through the grounds, right?
It can be, but not always. It comes out, depending on how hot a heat
source you have, as something from strong drip to true expresso. The
"crema", the foamy oil generally isn't neatly seperated out,
either.
The boiling of the water in the lower compartment drives a column of
water up through the funnel (the part that was missing or you don't
remember), through the grounds. How quickly it does this has a lot to
do with how much heat is being thrown at it. One of the makers has a
pressure weight (like on a pressure cooker) that keeps a lid on it
until it's ready to make full espresso, and the results are more
predictable.
Bill Turlock
I found one tonight at a thrift store for $4, less 20% sr. disc.
It's a wee thing, I don't think there'd me much more than one cup
of coffee yield.
It seems to have all the previously noted components: the two
havles, the top with a hinged cover; the bottom filter/funnel
thing; the 'tween gasket (in good shape); and the upper metal
filter.
The bottom has a brass fitting near its top, it looks like it was
made to receive something, but I'm not sure. Is this the safety
valve thingy referenced earlier, and do I need more parts?
Also, silly question. It looks as if it's been used a bit, but
the bottom is immaculate, maybe one little coffee stain and a few
minor scratches, but... how is the heat applied? Do you put it
directly on a gas ring, or electric ring?
Closer inspection reveals that the brass fitting's previously
supposed threads seem to actually be a spring with a little shiny
ball at the bottom (inside end). Could be the safety valve.
So, I get some beans, grind them real fine, and just heat it up?.
There's also a little mark molded on the inside which looks like
it might be a water level mark, sorta like an upside-down upper
case "L". Oh, it has a logo on the bottom(looks like the device
itself) and a name:
"ITAL
express
made in Italy"
TIA for your help...
Bill "will it 'splode?" Turlock
Peter Ward
[Moka pot]
> I found one tonight at a thrift store for $4, less 20% sr. disc.
> It's a wee thing, I don't think there'd me much more than one cup
> of coffee yield.
>
> It seems to have all the previously noted components: the two
> havles, the top with a hinged cover; the bottom filter/funnel
> thing; the 'tween gasket (in good shape); and the upper metal
> filter.
>
> The bottom has a brass fitting near its top, it looks like it was
> made to receive something, but I'm not sure. Is this the safety
> valve thingy referenced earlier, and do I need more parts?
I've uploaded a couple of pictures showing the valve to the AFCA photo
album.
http://snurl.com/bialetti1
http://snurl.com/bialetti2
If those don't work for any reason, they're in the "Peter W's
trivialities" album.
> Also, silly question. It looks as if it's been used a bit, but
> the bottom is immaculate, maybe one little coffee stain and a few
> minor scratches, but... how is the heat applied? Do you put it
> directly on a gas ring, or electric ring?
Yes.
> Closer inspection reveals that the brass fitting's previously
> supposed threads seem to actually be a spring with a little shiny
> ball at the bottom (inside end). Could be the safety valve.
Sound like it.
> So, I get some beans, grind them real fine, and just heat it up?.
Don't forget the water <g/>. I recall reading somewhere that too fine a
grind will form a cake and clog the machine, and I think I used to use a
filter grind. It's been ages since I've used one, though. Neither of
mine has the rubber seal at the moment. I am considering getting them
working again, but this looks interesting:
http://snurl.com/mukkaxp
> There's also a little mark molded on the inside which looks like
> it might be a water level mark, sorta like an upside-down upper
> case "L". Oh, it has a logo on the bottom(looks like the device
> itself) and a name:
>
> "ITAL
> express
> made in Italy"
I have inscribed on the inside of the lower half, from the bottom up,
"1987", "ML", and "L1", the last being at about the level of the valve.
I've never noticed that before, however, and used to fill it to just
below the bottom of the coffee in the funnel, allowing a little for
expansion.
> TIA for your help...
>
> Bill "will it 'splode?" Turlock
Mine haven't, yet.
--
Peter, from outside the asylum
I'm an alien
email: usenet at peterward dot adsl24 dot co dot uk
http://blowinsmoke.wordpress.com/
German brats are the wurst kind.
- Bill Kinkaid
Boron Elgar
"@sonnnic.invalid> wrote:
>So, I get some beans, grind them real fine, and just heat it up?.
>There's also a little mark molded on the inside which looks like
>it might be a water level mark, sorta like an upside-down upper
>case "L". Oh, it has a logo on the bottom(looks like the device
>itself) and a name:
>
This will help...you can even do it while camping...AND have a music
intro and lovely Italian accent..
landotter
> Bill Turlock says...
>
> [Moka pot]
>
> > I found one tonight at a thrift store for $4, less 20% sr. disc.
> > It's a wee thing, I don't think there'd me much more than one cup
> > of coffee yield.
>
> > It seems to have all the previously noted components: the two
> > havles, the top with a hinged cover; the bottom filter/funnel
> > thing; the 'tween gasket (in good shape); and the upper metal
> > filter.
>
> > The bottom has a brass fitting near its top, it looks like it was
> > made to receive something, but I'm not sure. Is this the safety
> > valve thingy referenced earlier, and do I need more parts?
>
> I've uploaded a couple of pictures showing the valve to the AFCA photo
>
> If those don't work for any reason, they're in the "Peter W's
> trivialities" album.
>
> > Also, silly question. It looks as if it's been used a bit, but
> > the bottom is immaculate, maybe one little coffee stain and a few
> > minor scratches, but... how is the heat applied? Do you put it
> > directly on a gas ring, or electric ring?
>
> Yes.
>
> > Closer inspection reveals that the brass fitting's previously
> > supposed threads seem to actually be a spring with a little shiny
> > ball at the bottom (inside end). Could be the safety valve.
>
> Sound like it.
>
> > So, I get some beans, grind them real fine, and just heat it up?.
>
> Don't forget the water <g/>. I recall reading somewhere that too fine a
> grind will form a cake and clog the machine, and I think I used to use a
> filter grind. It's been ages since I've used one, though. Neither of
> mine has the rubber seal at the moment. I am considering getting them
> working again, but this looks interesting:http://snurl.com/mukkaxp
>
Medaglia D'Oro or Bustelo from the grocery. Both are the right grind.
Traditional Italian method is to fill the funnel with coffee as if it
had a meniscus--mound it up a few mms in the middle.
Then onto the flame, low enough to not melt the handle. When it
gurgles, it's done.
Nick Spalding
<74daad28-78da-4f4f...@y10g2000prg.googlegroups.com>
on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:30:25 -0800 (PST):
> On Nov 4, 1:58锟絧m, ebenZERO...@verizon.net (Hactar) wrote:
> >
> > There was a strange accessory here for a few days. 锟絀'm pretty sure it's
> > used to make coffee, but I'm not quite sure how. 锟絋ake a mostly hollow
> > octagonal(?) metal cylinder about 6" high and 3" across (its axis goes
> > vertically). 锟絋aper it in the middle. 锟絋he top and bottom halves screw
> > together. 锟絋he bottom surface of the top part is perforated thin metal,
> > and the top surface of the bottom part is open. 锟絋he bottom is flat, and
> > the top is a hinged lid. 锟絋here's a spout on the side/top away from the
> > handle.
> >
> > I'm guessing you put water and ground coffee in the bottom, put it on a
> > stove/fire, and coffee ends up in the top. 锟紸nyone seen one of these?
> > What's it called?
>
> Moka pot, if I got your description right. Does it look like this?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_%28coffee_pot%29
>
> Your description leaves out the funnel-shaped poece that holds the
> grounds, but I assumed that was missing.
>
> These are stove-top semi-exspesso makers. (Some purists feel the
> product isn't "real esspresso".)
I thought I might have one of those Moka pots but it seems to have
vanished. I did find the one shown assembled in the first picture and
in bits in the second. Is this what people have been calling a drip
pot?
<http://tinypic.com/r/2rom0xx/4>
<http://tinypic.com/r/2qn9sll/4>
Labelling the bits left to right as A,B,C and D the coffee goes in the
top of C then D, which has lots of tiny holes in it that don't show in
the picture, is screwed onto C. B is then filled with water up to about
the level of the rivets at the top of the handle. C is then slid into B
and pressed in firmly, its top has a slight taper matching one at the
top of B. Next A is inverted and put over the protruding bit of C. It
then goes on the gas until steam comes out of a tiny hole, invisible in
the picture, near the top of A. The whole thing is then inverted and
the water comes down through the coffee grounds into A whence it is
poured into your mug.
At least that's how I remember it, I doubt if it has been used for at
least twenty-five years.
It is 4" in diameter and 9" high.
--
Nick Spalding
Mac
> Mac wrote, in
> <74daad28-78da-4f4f-93c5-027ca61a4...@y10g2000prg.googlegroups.com>
> on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 14:30:25 -0800 (PST):
>
>
>
>
> > > There was a strange accessory here for a few days. I'm pretty sure it's
> > > used to make coffee, but I'm not quite sure how. Take a mostly hollow
> > > octagonal(?) metal cylinder about 6" high and 3" across (its axis goes
> > > together. The bottom surface of the top part is perforated thin metal,
> > > and the top surface of the bottom part is open. The bottom is flat, and
> > > the top is a hinged lid. There's a spout on the side/top away from the
> > > handle.
>
> > > I'm guessing you put water and ground coffee in the bottom, put it on a
> > > What's it called?
>
> > Moka pot, if I got your description right. Does it look like this?
>
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_%28coffee_pot%29
>
> > Your description leaves out the funnel-shaped poece that holds the
> > grounds, but I assumed that was missing.
>
> > These are stove-top semi-exspesso makers. (Some purists feel the
> > product isn't "real esspresso".)
>
> I thought I might have one of those Moka pots but it seems to have
> vanished. I did find the one shown assembled in the first picture and
> in bits in the second. Is this what people have been calling a drip
> pot?
That's a different Eyetralian invention, often called a neapolitan.
Wheter they were invented there, commonly used there, or just lasted
longer there, I dunno. It makes a strong drip. I mean, a healthy,
stout, strong drip. Kind that puts hair on your chest, or takes paint
off the furniture.
Mac
BTW, Brunton is now making one for campers and other forest people. I
guess the pocket transits weren't enough.
mdg...@gmail.com
In Miami you can hardly walk two blocks without finding a Cuban
bakery, gas station, restaurant, or some other place that has a window
on the sidewalk where you can get a shot of espresso for 45 cents.
Also, free of charge, you can hear all sorts of discussions about
Castro and ideas on how to get rid of him.
Dover Beach
news:f19c3906-f778-4f55...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com:
> In Miami you can hardly walk two blocks without finding a Cuban
> bakery, gas station, restaurant, or some other place that has a window
> on the sidewalk where you can get a shot of espresso for 45 cents.
> Also, free of charge, you can hear all sorts of discussions about
> Castro and ideas on how to get rid of him.
>
Fidel's going to kick the bucket one of these days.
I thought Arafat was made of some indestructible polymer, but he died
eventually. The will to power does seem to give some rulers a little
extra time in the mortal coil, though.
--
Dover
Hactar
Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:
> Snidely <snide...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >But compare the weight of a compass to the weight of just 1 change of
> >batteries. And GPS's are still better at telling where you've *been*
> >than at giving you bearings. BTW, have they been able to put Hall
> >Effect sensors in the same package, or does the IF oscillator mess up
> >the magnetic environment too much?
>
> So walk ten feet then look at the device.
>
> Direction becomes obvious.
My GPS (Garmin Etrex Vista) has a compass, but I don't know how it works.
The arrow on the "compass" won't show up if it can't get a fix on
satellites (i.e. indoors), so that's evidence for it not being magnetic in
nature. It's raining and overcast outside, so I am loath to take it out
there for a test that might not even work.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
LIBRA: A big promotion is just around the corner for someone
much more talented than you. Laughter is the very best medicine,
remember that when your appendix bursts next week. -- Weird Al
Hactar
> In article <7lv2kiF...@mid.individual.net>,
> Greg Goss <go...@gossg.org> wrote:
> > Snidely <snide...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > >But compare the weight of a compass to the weight of just 1 change of
> > >batteries. And GPS's are still better at telling where you've *been*
> > >than at giving you bearings. BTW, have they been able to put Hall
> > >Effect sensors in the same package, or does the IF oscillator mess up
> > >the magnetic environment too much?
> >
> > So walk ten feet then look at the device.
> >
> > Direction becomes obvious.
>
> My GPS (Garmin Etrex Vista) has a compass, but I don't know how it works.
> The arrow on the "compass" won't show up if it can't get a fix on
> satellites (i.e. indoors), so that's evidence for it not being magnetic in
> nature. It's raining and overcast outside, so I am loath to take it out
> there for a test that might not even work.
Rain stopped so I went out to a sunny spot and determined that yes, it's
magnetic.[1] So I guess that its refusal to show a "needle" when it
can't lock on satellites was either pigheadedness, or it does something
smart like adjusting the angular offset based on position. Given its
age, I'm voting for pigheadedness.
[1] I had a refrigerator magnet, held it about 10" away and flipped it
N-S; the virtual needle swung wildly.
--
"On two occasions I have been asked, -- 'Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put
into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?'
... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas
that could provoke such a question." -- Charles Babbage, 1864.