Rituals
I get up, get dressed, and meander into the kitchen rubbing the sleep from my bleary eyes while the morning sun reflects off sides of buildings. I grab the portafilter from the espresso machine, give it a clean wipe, and place it under the grinder. I pull out 18 grams of pre-measured beans and pour it into the machine, turning it on, watching the chocolate-coloured fines shoot out. I spread the gr...
Unexpected Conversations
Sometimes things work out better than expected. I flew into San Diego to visit Addison and put a little bow on that particular quest but if I’m flying from one side of the continent to the other, I might as well spend a few days exploring. Over a decade earlier, I had spoken at a conference in San Diego but I barely remember that trip. I vaguely recall the conference centre and presentin...
100/13
In 2017, on a photography workshop in the Faroe Islands, the organizers had a reservation at KOKS, a Michelin-starred restaurant, but being busy with organizing said workshop, decided that they couldn’t make it and offered up the opportunity to whomever wanted to take it. I volunteered. I’m pretty sure this was the first Michelin-starred restaurant I went to. Since that time, I’ve made i...
Grinding
When I first decided to get an espresso machine, I went for a top of the line machine. I wanted something that would last a lifetime. The same applied to the grinder. I bought an ECM V-Titan 64, with titanium-coated flat burrs that are quoted to last at least 50 years before needing to be replaced. Here I am, 8 years later, and finding myself somewhat frustrated with my grinder. I make o...
Snook.ca is dead, long live Snook.ca!
After a couple years of not putting any revenue into the business, I realized that it was time to say goodbye. I have officially dissolved my corporation, Snook.ca Web Development, Inc. My personal blog, Snook.ca, marches on. ...
The Kind King
Back in the late 80s, my mom bought me a 386sx 16MHz computer equipped with a 2400 baud modem. It was my first computer that enabled me to connect to an online world. Back then, there was large behemoths like AOL and CompuServe but there were also independent services called bulletin board systems, aka BBSs. A BBS was somewhat of a one-to-one connection. Most independent BBSs had only one or t...
Split
There’s a certain simplicity to the life of the harried and married with children: the nuclear family with two and a half kids. The day to day is predictably unpredictable with its routines: breakfast, lunch, dinner, work, meetings, daycare, changings, sports, mid-night feedings, music lessons, and so on and so on, day in and day out. And then we split. Divorce established two worlds. I...
Tasty Coffee
Today’s coffee is tasty—different tasty. It feels thick on the tongue, like a high percentage chocolate, with a bitterness bordering on sweetness. Subtle notes are difficult to find, hidden amongst the clouds of creamy, frothy whole milk that blankets—nay, marries—the espresso. Today is not a day for subtlety. It is a day to be consumed. And this pain au chocolat ain’t bad, either. ...