Finally, after almost a year, my PhD diploma is in a proper frame and is hanging on the wall!
PhD diploma in a nice frame
The frame came with some interesting mounting hardware. The plastic hangers have a pointy part on the wall side. Insert those into the key hole hangers on the frame side, put the frame up against the wall where you want to hang it, and press against the wall. The pointy part leaves a little dimple in the drywall right where the plastic hangers need to be nailed. Take the plastic hangers off the frame, nail it to the wall where the dimple is, and then hang the frame.
Pretty clever.
PhD diploma hanging on the wall.
Now I have it hanging on the wall above my computer. Looks pretty good there.
In Canada, it’s old enough to go hit the bars and have a drink.
3200 posts (including a few of draft posts that will probably never see the light of day).
Post volume has been pretty low over the past few years, but now that I have a tiny bit more free time and more projects to ramble on about, I’ll try to kick that up some.
Early yesterday morning, we were able to see the Commercial Crew 2 launch from the house.
We were watching the SpaceX live stream of the launch, and at about T+2:20 after lift-off, we spotted a small red light rising up behind some houses. We lost sight of it briefly as it got higher, but then we spotted the exhaust plume from the booster rocket once it got high enough to be illuminated by the rising sun.
The SD card in my phone picked overnight to get corrupted and unmount itself, so all of the pictures from earlier in the launch, including booster separation, didn’t get saved.
The photo below shows the larger plume of the second stage heading off toward the north, with the much smaller plume from the booster stage near the center of the image.
SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage rocket plume. The exhaust plume from the booster stage is visible just below the center of the image
It was interesting to see the puffs of exhaust as the booster stage made its way to the SpaceX drone ship.
Falcon 9 booster stage returning to the SpaceX drone ship
We were even able to see the booster stage start its landing burn as it landed off the coast.
Falcon 9 booster stage heading to the drone ship
Pretty spectacular start to the day. With 11 crew on the ISS now, it’s going to need some more modules.
A stable has been added to provide some shelter. An angel announces the news!
Christmas nativity scene 2020
More shepherds have heard and brought some of their animals to join the rest of the visitors. A dog, another duck, and another penguin have also joined the pilgrims. The road to the stable is getting busy. I think next year we might have to extend the road.
Christmas nativity scene 2020Christmas nativity scene 2020
Some new wise men and their camels have joined up with the wise men from the East and are continuing their journey. Commander Data has transported over to help guide them.
Cmdr Data has transported over to help guide the wise men from the East
The newcomers are pieces we bought from a seller on Etsy and come from the same set as the other nativity pieces made and painted by Connie’s mom.
It’s not difficult to find tutorials online for making French press coffee. I’ve tried a few, and settled on this method. It makes a cup that I enjoy black, or with a splash of cream.
My French press comes from IKEA, a 16 oz press (or a 32 oz press, depending on how caffeinated I want/need to be). You can find fancier ones out there, but these were reasonably inexpensive and do a perfectly good job.
Small (16 oz) on the left and Biggie (32 oz) on the right
New 16 oz Clemson alumni mug for scale.
I like to use an electric kettle to cook my water. Cooks the water quickly, pours nicely, and the one we have holds just enough water to fill the big press. Get one with an automatic shut off feature.
Electric kettle for cooking the water.
Most French press recipes call for very coarsely ground coffee and long brewing times. Since I don’t want to deal with having to adjust my grinder whenever I want to brew with the French press or Aeropress, I go with the same medium-ish grind that I use with the Aeropress. The grind size is pretty close to what you’d use for a regular drip coffee machine. I’ve found that one very heaping Aeropress scoop (17 grams or about 3 tablespoons) of coffee (double that if I’m using the big press) makes a cup of coffee that I like.
17 grams of ground coffee (about 3 tablespoons)
Dump the coffee into the press and add a tiny dash of salt (something I picked up from a Good Eats episode). I find it helps enhance the coffee flavour but doesn’t make it salty (unless you add too much).
Coffee into the press with a dash of salt.
Add water to about the top of the metal band, give it a bit of a stir, and put the press part on. I like to push the press down a bit so that all the grounds are submerged. Let it sit for about 3 minutes. Set a timer if you like.
Add water and stirPress down a bit to submerge the grounds
After the brewing time, press the grounds all the way to the bottom, and gently pour into your coffee receptacle of choice.
Press the grounds and pour.
The press uses a fine metal mesh to filter out the grounds, but really fine particles will still get through. Towards the end, I slow down the pouring and leave a bit in the press so that I’m not pouring all the fine stuff into my cup. That will help reduce the amount of sludge at the bottom of your cup. If you pour too quickly, the grounds get stirred up and you’ll end up with a bunch of sludge at the bottom of your cup. If you like sludge, then pour however you like.
Enjoy your coffee!
Drink straight up, or doctor it up however you like.
