Coffeeneuring Stop #3: Lafayette Park

 Today's Sunday outing was to a Coffee Shop Without Walls, namely Lafayette Park overlooking Apalachicola Bay.

1. where: Lafayette Park, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/31/21

3. what: Lucky Goat "Goat Tracks", home brewed by The Big Sis, brought along in a thermos

4. details: a perfect October day in the low 70's.  CX bike for me, Big Sis rode her stylin' Schwinn (which badly needs a new rear hub, but that that's a topic for another time)

5. distance: 2.2 miles round-trip.  (It's a very small town!)

Coffee and conversation overlooking the Bay on a beautiful afternoon.  Can it get better?  Maybe, we'll see on the rest of the 2021 Coffeeneuring rides.

Smells Like Halloween

 Heh.

Coffeeneuring Stop #2: Early Birds Mobile Coffee

 Onward and upward with this years Coffeeneuring Challenge!  Details:

1. where: Early Birds, across 10th Street from The Pig, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/27/21

3. what: basic big honkin' latte

4. details: another nice October day, in the low 70's.  CX bike

5. 1.0 miles there, continued with another 12 miles of gravel, shells, & mud in the alleyways

It's a new place, all my neighbors are recommending it, so I had to try it.  Everything I'd hoped it would be.  Then I was off on a jet-fueled tour of the mean alleyways of Apalachicola, followed by tacos and a nap.

Meh.

 It ain't over yet (see what was still in store this time last year), but... meh.  For the moment.

Radio Hiking Season Begins

 Oh, we've had a few cool days, but the real bug suppression won't start until later this week.  In the meantime, here are two from QRPer.com.

Anatomy of a Field Radio Kit Part 1: Basic components and Advantages of going QRP

Anatomy of a Field Radio Kit Part 2: Kit Types, Preparedness, and the Golden Rules

Time to dust off and recharge everything after this just-passed summer's estivation.  Also, probably wouldn't hurt to sit a the desk with the FT-817nd plugged into a dummy load and just practice for an evening.  Also, I really need to re-program the PSK-31 frequencies – it's changed for 17m.  Lots to do.

I may even have some Real Trail Action Pictures to show by this time next week.  In any case, here's a blast from the winter just past:

Overholt vs. Overholt

 I'd been seeing this slightly upscale version of Old Overholt for a while now, and finally had the chance to do a single-blind tasting of it vs. The Original.  It has a noticeably more rich flavor that sips better and will hold up to mixes better too.  Original is good, but at only about $8 a bottle more, Old Overholt Bonded is more than worth the small step-up in price.  Here, read what somebody who knows what he's talking about has to say.  Also, stop by the maker's web site and see what they have to tell about the original and the bonded versions.

Coffeeneuring Stop #1: Scipio Creek Farmer's Market

 Let's get this year's coffeeneuring adventures started in style with a trip to the local farmer's market.  Details:

1. where: coffee guy at Farmer's Market at Scipio Creek commercial marina, Apalachicola FL

2. date: 10/23/21

3. what: Ethiopian "Bold and Bright, Notes of Blueberry, Strawberry, and Peach"

4. details: nice clear late October day, about 75F.  CX bike

5. 2.0 miles round-trip (and I had to take a slightly indirect route)

Bought tomatoes and a few other odds and ends while there.  We're kind of between seasons here, with the summer produce mostly done but the winter harvest still ahead.  Just the usual Saturday ride to the market, but now with Official Coffeeneuring Documentation.

As a side note, Apalachicola is so small that sometimes a circuitous route is required to get the minimum 2 total miles in.  It's an excuse to dawdle, talk with neighbors, and check out the riverfront.

Coffee guy is facing away in the chair on the left side.  Coffee cup is just left of the water shut-off valve.  Coffee is inside the cyclist/photographer.  Note the snazzy Coffeeneuring 2018 patch on the daypack.

Mark Your Calendar: 5000th Grand Ole Opry Next Saturday

 I mean, if you go in for good music and such.  October 30th.  Details here.  Looks like quite a line-up.

Sure, you can stream it off the net if you have to, but really, you want to pull it out of the ether and listen for real.  Dust off your AM radio, set it to 650 KHz, and point it in the general direction of Nashville.

A DIY (maybe) Solar Photovoltaic Panel

 George Cove seems to have stumbled into a workable PV panel circa 1905.  Sure, the efficiency stinks compared with modern stuff – about 5% vs. modern SOTA around 20% – but if you can crank these out for an order of magnitude lower price using a simple, relatively environmentally benign manufacturing process, who cares?  What's more, we now have a decent theoretical understanding of how this fortuitous accident works, and so can probably tweak it to much higher efficiencies.

Well I'm no solid state physicist, so I'll just refer you to the article at Low<––Tech Magazine.  Also of note, that site runs off a used laptop and is powered by a tiny panel and a none-too-new battery, so you might have to wait until the Sun comes back up in Spain.  Yes, they practice what they preach at Low<––Tech.

Fall Arrives Today

 With a dry cool front blowing in and a forecast low for tonight of 54F, here is a little more good news:

Wrap it up, I'll take it.

In which Ritchie wins the internet for 10/13/21.

 In the comment section over at a completely unrelated thread (ok, so he blew that part):

On the Shatner flight – opportunity lost.  While they were aloft, everyone on the ground should have put on lizard suits.

Beyond hearty agreement, I can add nothing to this.

ps: Oh wait, maybe I can.  Link to Wikipedia article on ST:TOS episode "Arena"

After Midnight: 1966 &1972

The 1966 Demo Version

The 1972 Studio Version

It's interesting to hear the original, but on the whole I vastly prefer the 1972 version.

Compare and contrast with Eric Clapton's 1970 cover version.

OK, I understand why Clapton did the amped-up 1970 cover now.  After growing up on the 1972 version, all the others just sound weird and over-caffeinated.

Happy Frodo-Gets-Stabbed Day

 You know, on Weathertop.  Details here at Sweating to Mordor.  As an aside, it's an interesting resource.

Only noticed this after lunch, when I finished the Nth (for some value of N ≥ 10) re-reading of Return of the King.

Note to self: Stay away from strange figures clothed in black this evening.  For that matter, in general.

Coffeeneuring 2021 Announcement Posted

 Link here.  If you're new to the concept of coffeeneuring, I'll leave it to you read up at that link.  There's a minor rule change for 2021 to simplify documentation.  You'll no longer need a blog, Strava account, etc., though blogging etc. is still encouraged (and will be done here as in past years).

The fun begins – huh! – week after next on Monday the 18th.  Got to get that new rear derailleur installed.

Bad News for Fusion Research

 As it turns out, the term "breakeven" as used when selling experimental fusion reactor projects really isn't what one might term "real-world breakeven."  Not even close.  Details in this 12 minute video at Backreaction.

*sigh*  This is not good, both as a practical matter, as well as in terms of academic honesty.