Category: Long Form

I anticipated Monday’s beta release as I assumed beta 3 would likely be the first to have a chance to update the Liquid Glass material after the initial feedback from developers. Disappointment would be an understatement – the light mode glass material is so incredibly frosted in some places it looks more like older materials than Liquid Glass. I run my phone in dark mode all the time, and luckily the glass updates there are a far better compromise. It almost feels like a bug how much they pulled back on the light glass material. Keen to see how the redesign settles down by the public release and over the coming years.

Over the past month, I’ve been thinking about how I haven’t had a creative outlet for most of the year and how much I’ve missed it. With the social media landscape so splintered, I found myself not posting or even interacting with my feeds. I don’t see this as a bad thing, just a thing.

I think I am going to start to blog again and see where it goes. I’ll admit I was inspired by Myke Hurley’s wonderful new blog The Enthusiast. I expect to share what I’ve enjoyed recently and any online appearances I’ve made. I am really excited for my friend’s new podcast of which I was on the first episode. Word on the street is it’ll launch this week and I’ll share it when it does.

My previous post here was in anticipation for Apple’s spacial computing platform which we now know as Vision Pro. I remember how excited I was that day. A lot has changed since then.

Anyways, time to rip off the awkward bandaid of said comeback. Here’s some cool things I’ve enjoyed this week.

I think about how mobile computing, high speed internet, and competent cameras in a pocketable rectangle has reshaped how we consume and create news. It is a shame that algorithmic feeds are how many get the news these days. I think the intentionality of seeking a source or going to a website / RSS feed is something folks should consider practicing.

This is just neat.

Lastly, I went to see F1 in IMAX. It was the first movie I have seen in theaters since Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. It was fun and I look forward to watching it again when it is available to stream on Apple TV+.

This morning I made an impromptu piece of #coffeecontent that created a lot of #engagement from folks far and wide. Apparently folks are curious about making better coffee and I wanted to answer all the questions I received here.

Perhaps COVID-19 has prompted more people to look into making high quality coffee at home. This isn’t the first time I made a reference to my interest in coffee but for some reason this one really took off.

Gear

My coffee gear has been acquired over time. I first became interested in coffee when joining the workforce six years ago where drinking coffee was something that people seemed to do. That said, I quickly became disinterested in the industrial Burr coffee maker’s Folgers output and the would-create-brown-liquid-without-a-Keurig-cup approaches.

For a single cup, I recommend an AeroPress. It makes incredibly good coffee, is super portable, and costs 25-30 bucks. I’ll explain my technique later.

For more than one cup, I use a Chemex, a recent edition to my life. I used to just AeroPress back to back. The Chemex makes super good coffee and has some more ceremony which is always nice. I love watching the coffee bloom and release CO2 in the morning.

This summer, Rachel requested cold brew in the rotation. I got the Oxo Cold Brew dingus. I just follow its included brewing steps. 4 parts water to 1 part grinds for about 24 hours. I make my coffee by using 1 part concentrate, 3 parts water.

My water kettle is the Bonavita Gooseneck programmable kettle. This thing allows you to specify the temperature of the water, which is just as important with coffee as it is tea.

My grinder is a Baratza Encore. It took me a while to spend the money for it (130 or so), for a while I would get my beans ground when I bought them. However it was a good investment and does a great job creating a consistent grind size. You’ll find the deeper down the rabbit hole you go, the cheaper good coffee can get.

My kitchen scale is a Escali Primo Digital Scale. I mainly use it with Chemex. For the AeroPress I just use the scoop that came with it. I find it consistently gives me about 15 grams of beans, give or take a gram.

I just started to home roast and for that I use a 20 buck popcorn air popper. I first experimented with the one Rachel already had for popcorn, but bought the Sweet Maria’s recommended one from their website since its a different design that doesn’t require constant stirring. This is also where I get my beans. The popper comes with 4lbs of beans so its basically free since a pound of green coffee beans is about 5-7 bucks (much less than the 14-20 you’ll spend for pound of fresh local coffee). I plan to order another with my next shipment to parallelize my efforts. Sweet Maria’s provides a roast recommendation for each bean that you buy and I simply follow the instructions they provided with the Air Popper. They have a few supporting videos on their website you can watch too, if you decide home roasting is your thing.

Buying Beans

You probably don’t want to start your coffee journey roasting coffee. I never thought I would get into it until a friend of mine told me they started with an air popper and that it wasn’t that bad. I had always heard it wasn’t worth the hassle from those who had tried.

That said, don’t buy beans from the grocery store, unless they are local and have the roasted date on the packaging. Coffee is only fresh for about 2-4 weeks. Most of the stuff at the grocery store, no matter the cost, wasn’t roasted recently. Fun fact, the reason a lot of coffee in the store is darker roasts is because the freshness is less apparent since you’re mainly tasting those heavy roasted flavors and less actual coffee flavors.

I used to buy coffee from local Baltimore institutions like Zeke’s, Spoons, and Vent (my favorite). Silver Spring has less local options, but Nagadi is pretty good as is Bump ‘n Grind.

Rachel got me a gift of the Atlas Coffee Club a year or so ago. There are several similar ideas online but they mailed me a freshly roasted single origin (not a blend of beans) coffee at a set interval. It was a few bucks more than buying a local bag (19 per shipment) but I liked the convenience and variety, particularly since fresh coffee was harder to come by post move. I got to try probably 10-15 different country’s offerings from the program. I recommend this approach to learn the kinds of coffee and roast level you prefer. I like Kenyan, Ethiopian, and Columbian best and always a lighter to medium roast.

I just want to note that even if you buy a 20 buck bag of coffee, its still cheaper than a K cup, no matter how much bulk you buy in.

Brewing Techniques

AeroPress

For the AeroPress, I do the inverted technique. That link shows the general steps, but I have experimented and changed the values. If you wanna do the same, there is a cool app called AeroPress Timer that gives you various recipes. I heat my water to 176F, which is the AeroPress creator’s temperature of choice. This results in an instantly drinkable cup – I don’t like my beverages too hot. I grind the AeroPress Standard scoop of beans at the Encore’s 12 setting, which is relatively fine. I pour enough water to just cover the grinds, swirl it around using some “turbulence” (or just use the paddle) for about 15 seconds. Then I fill up the rest of the chamber with water. Attach the cap with a standard AeroPress paper filter and wait a minute. Invert, press into cup, and enjoy.

Chemex

For Chemex, I warm my water to 205F. This is within the Chemex recommended temperature range. Since it takes more time to make a Chemex cup, this temperature also results in an instantly drinkable cup. I do the 15:1 ratio with the Chemex, adding 15 parts water to each part bean. I use 15-20 grams of coffee per person at the 20 Encore grind size, which is more of a medium grind. I add a little bit of water to dampen the paper filter and heat up the device before putting the grinds in. I swirl the water, pour it out, and then start my measurements using the kitchen scale. Once the water has pretty much finished going through the grinds, you can throw out the filter and pour your coffee into a mug to enjoy.

Japanese Iced Coffee

I was introduced to the concept of Japanese Iced Coffee in June and it was a go to recipe to use instead of cold brew in the summer. I thought the taste was a bit more punchy than cold brew, but it might have been the beans I was using. I followed this recipe.

Why are we here? Because we’re here, roll the bones

Neil Peart

Today I had a longer commute to work than normal because of some errands I had to run. After listening to enough podcasts for one morning, I turned to some music. For some reason, I wanted to hear Rush’s 1991 Roll the Bones album. In retrospect, it was the perfect listen for the day.

As I air drummed my way into the parking lot at work, I knew it was my second to last day at a workplace I have simply loved. It’s still weird to say it – but tomorrow is my last day at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.

I wasn’t looking for a new opportunity. I joke a golf ball blasted through my window. Once the opportunity presented itself and it became real, I decided I had to go for it. If not now, when?

On Monday I start at Microsoft in Reston, Virginia. I’m excited to sink my teeth into the unique technical challenges they’ll present.

It’s not easy to leave the incredible people I’ve worked with each day at APL. Tomorrow we’ll wrap up a delivery that’s years in the making. I’m proud of the way the team rallied despite a worldwide pandemic.

Before I wrap a bow on this journey, I wanted to acknowledge the people that made this experience so memorable and fulfilling. Emily, Stephen, and Danny – thanks for each encouraging me in your own way to join APL. It was everything you said it would be and more.

Shogun and Chum, I’ll never forget our divergence into mechanical watches during my interview. You both treated me so well over the years. I grew a ton and appreciate all the opportunities you gave me.

Matt, thanks for being my confidant during many decisions, including this one. I admire your jovial approach to professionalism.

And lastly Kris. I don’t know what to say. Best tech lead ever? Thank you. Thanks for always knowing where my head was. Thanks for sharing your stories. Thanks for your leadership. I’ve learned a ton and I’m sorry to go. It’s been a lot of fun.

A lot of folks told me to enjoy the greener pastures. To them I said, it’s just pastures. I truly don’t know if I will enjoy any workplace as much as I’ve enjoyed APL. Why does it happen? Because it happens, roll the bones.

While listening to episode 280 of Upgrade on vacation, I think I figured out why we still haven’t seen an Apple branded over ear headphone while Beats has released what many would assume the technological equivalent.

My hunch is that Apple wants to make a statement about these studio grade headphones and that technology isn’t ready yet. Latency.

As someone who edits audio using AirPods and AirPods Pro regularly, I can tell you the latency, while improving, isn’t ideal for most of the podcast editing I do. That said, it is not that big of a deal and the conveniences of AirPods make it worth it. However with professional music applications and studios where mobility isn’t a primary concern, the technology isn’t there yet.

I think when Apple does release an over the ear headphone, they will embrace its ability to be used in professional studio applications because of a latency breakthrough.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alec Pulianas (@apulianas)

Some photos I’ve captured in the last few days with iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Night mode.

Pre-Alter Bridge concert sunset and city photos.

How will the Ravens’ defense perform this year? What do you think? Hear our thoughts on the latest Ravens ReCAP!

https://pulianas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/img_9236.mov