So what - a new blog; what 's the big deal? Probably not much to many of the one-thousand or so hardy souls who still receive these emails. Of course the roughly five-hundred who previously have unsubscribed due to differences of opinion on the course of the direction of the country, or probably were just too busy to read "just one more" dribble of email will miss this. Oh well. To be honest, I find writing book reviews is easier than an original set of thoughts on something that is current and interesting, and hopefully thought-provoking. In fact, YTD in 2022, I've published eleven book reviews and only one blog. That one, back in March, dealt with the ongoing deluge most of us get from politicians and charities looking for donations. It appears clear to me that if one donates to one, they all get a notice that "you" are a potential donor and the avalanche starts.
For those who missed it, here is a link to it:
A Tsunami of Pleas for Money - J.K. (Jim) George (authorjkgeorge.com)
But onward ... as an attempt to get back into expressing something interesting and hopefully thought-provoking, here's a new blog. I hope to get back to a schedule of one a week, or at least several a month. Perhaps this one will be so trivial or prosaic that it might be the last one you read. I hope not, but here goes......
As a young kid at home, both my parents were coffee drinkers, but the brew held no special interest for me. That persisted until college and the need to stay up late, or as it turned out for me, getting up very early to study as I found I was a morning person in terms of reading recognition and remembering what I had read. Also, in terms of an engineering curriculum, the problems seemed more manageable in the morning, although of course there were fewer persons to ask for advice. So somewhere during my four undergraduate years (one at a local community college and three at Virginia Tech), I started my days very early with coffee. At first, sweeteners and cream were part of the regimen, however weight gain soon started to be a factor. To make a longish story short, after some years, the sugar and cream additives stopped and now I enjoy only the fundamental dark coffee bean taste.
There are persons who specialize in (to me) fancy brewing procedures; French presses and the like, but as a fundamentally basic guy, I've settled on the simple Keurig brewing technique. This involves popping a prepared little plastic cup-container into the Keurig and pressing the "brew" button. Easy peasy. After trying several "pods" of coffee, I now use a basic brand available at HEB grocery stores. It's called San Francisco Bay Special, or something like that. In addition, I've used the Paul Newman coffee as well, with the impossibly handsome headshot of the late Mr. Newman himself. Both are a bit strong and pack a punch, which suits me just fine.
My one little "dramatic moment" occurred recently, when the Keurig machine suddenly developed a nasty tendency to burp out an inch or two of blackish and foul looking hot water as it was warming up. That spewed out, unexpectedly, into the "catch basin" at the bottom. Thank heavens, the system includes that feature. Apparently, one is supposed to run vinegar or some sort of cleaning fluid through the critter on occasion, an act that of course I've never done. The system seems to have self-corrected after several near disasters and now that I'm aware of the problem, it has stopped, and of course I have stopped worrying about it. So all is well. (Note several weeks after this blog was published ... I finally did the "vinegar and hot water" process to clean out the Keurig, and then engaged in the nearly endless process of clearing out the vinegar taste. All now is well.)
Over the years, well-meaning folks have gifted to me several fancy gizmos for soaking ground-up coffee in hot water. I'm a person who seems never to throw anything away. But at the same time I admit that I'm loath to try new things and depart from my OCD way of doing things the same way unless the "same way" is just terribly unsatisfying. I just continue to do the same ol' things so on I go with my venerable Keurig and my little pods. It works for me!
Comments are welcome and will be published, pro and con. Make your observations below or send them to me via email at n3bb@mindspring.com. Email commenters will not be identified unless requested.
Enjoy life; it's the only one we will get.
J.K. (Jim) George
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* Check out my books and blogs on my author website:
www.authorjkgeorge.com
Please recommend them to your friends. Also, recall that I’ll travel to any book club or radio club within two hours of Austin to discuss either of the books and answer any questions. Any and all comments are welcome either by email to my return address, n3bb@mindspring.com, or to the website in the comments section after any blog.
* Reunion is available in stock at Tamarack on the West Virginia Turnpike as well as at amazon.com and other Internet retail locations. It’s under consideration for a movie, and a screenplay now is under active development!
*Contact Sport is in stock in hardcover print format at any of the thirteen HRO (Ham Radio Outlet) stores nationwide as well as at DX-Engineering and the American Radio Relay League. In addition, many Barnes and Noble stores nationwide carry it in stock, and they, as well as Book People in Austin or any independent bookstore can order it. You can buy direct at my website’s link for a personalized copy.
*Both books now are available in Print, eBook, and Audio Book formats at all major Internet retailers or from my web site as a personally autographed copy in any print form.