The missus and I are heading to the UK for a couple of weeks. See y'all after Memorial Day. Be nice to each other. Please don't leave SGBear and heyalumingo to do all the work. Also, I'm usually the one who opens the break room in the morning. The lock is stubborn you have to push as you turn the key. And oh by the way....Go Bears!
First person in the DBD put on a pot of coffee. Do offices still do a pot of coffee anymore? Seems like lots of them do Nespresso or Keurig. Google had acutal grinders and espresso makers.
Have a good time. I'm currently in Aix-en-Provence visiting No 1. Flew into Paris on Wed and got onto the TGV to come down here. He's here this week doing research at the French art archives. Apparently this archive holds art from outside of France, presumably from their colonies. We go back up to Paris on sat and then I fly out on Tues to NYC to stay with HSB until Sun.
My wife works for Google. Google doesn't just have grinders and espresso makers. Depending on the office, it has baristas. NY and Durham have baristas. Their lunches are also [chefs kiss]
We have automated coffee machines on every floor. Whole beans grind-to-order with espresso drinks. The beans are terrible, so I don't drink it even though it's free. We have coffee in the main cafeteria - which is meh. I end up spending my own time and money to go across the street to Sir Walter, which has kick-ass coffee.
This may be coming to an end. Constant layoffs there. I think the writing is on the wall for her as her group's leader is weak and is a target for elimination. I think she'll retire if this happens.
Here at EBMWU we have free coffee, and it's dispensed into a carafe. The grounds are packed in nitrogen, but it's still clearly inferior coffee to Peet's. Someone has to make a new pot when it runs out or it becomes stale/burnt.
I grind my own at home and make coffee each morning unless I'm buying a new pound of whole beans. In that case, I get a free cuppa when I buy a pound of beans.
If I thought I could afford it, I'd skip making my own and get my cuppa at Peet's each morning. At $3.40 for a small, or $3.65 for a medium drip coffee, I'm perfectly happy to grind my own and make a pour over cup. I figure I can make it at home for about half of what it costs me in the store.
We're getting into the warm weather months. Soon, I'll be making cold brew for Mrs Slug. I follow, more or less, the recipe that Peet's uses to make cold brew. Here's a link to the YouTube video How To: Cold Brew - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhlmDAWoFXg
my introduction to coffee was in graduate school. we had a standing meeting every morning at 900a that centered around everyone's first cup of coffee for the day. no milk, no flavored coffee, no sugar, just good black coffee was the tradition in our research group.
usually there was one person who regularly took care of the logistics of putting on the coffee 10-15 min before the meeting started. there was a lot of scrambling and complaining when he was not around.
The Miata club had a show and shine car show along with lunch. A bunch of us brought stuff to make. Burgers, chicken, one guy brought a brisket he made. I stuffed my Ooni in the trunk and brought 12 pizza doughs to make pizza there. It went really well. I also bought a proofing box which I think made the dough much easier to handle.
No BART service systemwide this morning as there are computer network problems. I was forced to take AC Transit all the way from near home to near work. The bus ride was about 35 minutes, but was speeded up because not many folks are riding between 6:20 and 6:55 AM
Root beer is an odd, very American thing. I remember going to the Ponderosa Ranch near Incline Village back in the 70s. They served Sarsaparilla and I absolutely loved it. And then I went to several summer camps and we twice made homemade root beer. I was fascinated how you could create root beer and have it taste much, much better than the canned stuff and how diverse the flavor profile could be - which is wild considering how consistent the modern product is. If I say "root beer", you can probably taste in your mind's eye what it should taste like. It doesn't have to taste like that.
I remember there being a place near where I grew up in SoCal called something like Sarsaparilla Joe's. I was probably 6 or 7 years old and we went there maybe once or twice before it closed before I turned 8. I remember it being the only time I have ever tasted a sarsaparilla It's been over 45 years since that memory. I don't remember what it tasted like. Would love to try it again.
Fausto Coppi was one of the best riders of his generation, winning major races before and after WWII.
He won the Giro d'Italia five times (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953), the Tour de France twice (1949 and 1952), and the World Championship in 1953. Other notable results include winning the Giro di Lombardia five times, the Milan–San Remo three times, as well as wins at Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record (45.798 km) in 1942.
The new Pope (Robert Francis Prevost, styled Pope Leo XIV) was born in Chicago. He spent 20+ years in Peru and has Peruvian citizenship. He is, therefore, a dual citizen of both the United States and Peru.
His ancestry includes Haitian and Creole roots on his mother's side of his gene pool. Seems like a rebuke to a certain President and his followers.
I asked Gemini to do research on him. Because he was "only" a Cardinal before, he only has a modest body of published work to draw from. However, the theme in his body of work is cautioning against extremism. That being said, I am skeptical one could draw the conclusion that he is a moderate and I doubt any Pope now or future in our lifetime will be anywhere as liberal as Pope Francis was.
Giro d'Italia starts today, which has become my favorite bike race to watch over the years.
Stage 1 ends in Tirana (Albania) as it has become something of a new trend to start the first 3 days of the grand tour in a foreign country.
this year is a little diminished as most of the top riders are holding out for the Tour de France. still, it is fun and unpredictable. 2023 winner, Primoz Roglic, is the biggest name in the race but not necessarily a prohibitive favorite.
Gabriel Moreno’s grand slam was more than enough support for a scoreless Brandon Pfaadt, giving the Diamondbacks the opening salvo in a 5-3 win over Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers in Thursday night’s series opener at Chase Field in Phoenix.
As expected the Golden State Warriors looked like a shell of themselves in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals without Steph Curry, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-93. The Dubs had opportunities to take a commanding early-series lead, but now both squads with held to the Bay Area with the series tied 1-1.
California track & field's Mykolas Alekna, who shattered his own discus world record earlier this season, has been named to The Bowerman Watch List for the 21st time in his career. Alekna, a two-time semifinalist for the award that honors the best men's and women's athletes in collegiate track & field, is now tied with South Dakota's Chris Nilsen (grad. 2020) and Texas's Ryan Crouser (grad. 2016) for the third-most appearances on the men's watch list in history.
HIGHEST RANKED TEAM IN BERKELEY SINCE 2018 - No. 2 Florida State is the highest ranked team to play a series at Stu Gordon Stadium since a No. 1 Oregon State squad swept the Golden Bears in Berkeley in a three-game set Mar. 16-18, 2018.
The missus and I are heading to the UK for a couple of weeks. See y'all after Memorial Day. Be nice to each other. Please don't leave SGBear and heyalumingo to do all the work. Also, I'm usually the one who opens the break room in the morning. The lock is stubborn you have to push as you turn the key. And oh by the way....Go Bears!
First person in the DBD put on a pot of coffee. Do offices still do a pot of coffee anymore? Seems like lots of them do Nespresso or Keurig. Google had acutal grinders and espresso makers.
Have a good time. I'm currently in Aix-en-Provence visiting No 1. Flew into Paris on Wed and got onto the TGV to come down here. He's here this week doing research at the French art archives. Apparently this archive holds art from outside of France, presumably from their colonies. We go back up to Paris on sat and then I fly out on Tues to NYC to stay with HSB until Sun.
My wife works for Google. Google doesn't just have grinders and espresso makers. Depending on the office, it has baristas. NY and Durham have baristas. Their lunches are also [chefs kiss]
We have automated coffee machines on every floor. Whole beans grind-to-order with espresso drinks. The beans are terrible, so I don't drink it even though it's free. We have coffee in the main cafeteria - which is meh. I end up spending my own time and money to go across the street to Sir Walter, which has kick-ass coffee.
life is too short to drink bad coffee, even if it is free
Co-signed.
This may be coming to an end. Constant layoffs there. I think the writing is on the wall for her as her group's leader is weak and is a target for elimination. I think she'll retire if this happens.
It's amazing how quickly those big tech companies changed from dream places to work to . . . this.
I visiting the Mothership once. Nice toilets too.
Oh right. I forgot about that. I went to a different building and they had a coffee shop with baristas. I agree their lunches are excellent.
Here at EBMWU we have free coffee, and it's dispensed into a carafe. The grounds are packed in nitrogen, but it's still clearly inferior coffee to Peet's. Someone has to make a new pot when it runs out or it becomes stale/burnt.
I grind my own at home and make coffee each morning unless I'm buying a new pound of whole beans. In that case, I get a free cuppa when I buy a pound of beans.
If I thought I could afford it, I'd skip making my own and get my cuppa at Peet's each morning. At $3.40 for a small, or $3.65 for a medium drip coffee, I'm perfectly happy to grind my own and make a pour over cup. I figure I can make it at home for about half of what it costs me in the store.
We're getting into the warm weather months. Soon, I'll be making cold brew for Mrs Slug. I follow, more or less, the recipe that Peet's uses to make cold brew. Here's a link to the YouTube video How To: Cold Brew - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhlmDAWoFXg
i doubt the coffee pot thing happens any more.
my introduction to coffee was in graduate school. we had a standing meeting every morning at 900a that centered around everyone's first cup of coffee for the day. no milk, no flavored coffee, no sugar, just good black coffee was the tradition in our research group.
usually there was one person who regularly took care of the logistics of putting on the coffee 10-15 min before the meeting started. there was a lot of scrambling and complaining when he was not around.
HAG is making his famous homemade pizzas on Sat night. feel free to stop by around dinner time
The Miata club had a show and shine car show along with lunch. A bunch of us brought stuff to make. Burgers, chicken, one guy brought a brisket he made. I stuffed my Ooni in the trunk and brought 12 pizza doughs to make pizza there. It went really well. I also bought a proofing box which I think made the dough much easier to handle.
Enjoy your time in the British Isles! See you when you return!
Have a great time- hope you see some Cal gear for some Go Bears!
I'll be Go Bearsing all over the damn place.
it is sort of like a childproof medicine container. once i get it open, watch out!
ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE
Which orange is it?
https://x.com/SickosCommittee/status/1920813310779314431
How importants are college sports in Arkansas? Apparently more important than basic principles of the law
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/arkansas-gov-signs-law-nil-deals-taxes-foia-requests/527-b0ca6a68-148d-42f2-b2f5-b8920b527e86
BART disruptions
No BART service systemwide this morning as there are computer network problems. I was forced to take AC Transit all the way from near home to near work. The bus ride was about 35 minutes, but was speeded up because not many folks are riding between 6:20 and 6:55 AM
Bad Government
Trump is sicing the DOJ on Letitia James
Gawd, he's an a$$hole.
At this point, it's essentially state-sponsored eugenics
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/us-grants-asylum-to-54-white-afrikaner-south-africans
[deleted] nasty comment is nasty.
Mug
root beer
Root beer is an odd, very American thing. I remember going to the Ponderosa Ranch near Incline Village back in the 70s. They served Sarsaparilla and I absolutely loved it. And then I went to several summer camps and we twice made homemade root beer. I was fascinated how you could create root beer and have it taste much, much better than the canned stuff and how diverse the flavor profile could be - which is wild considering how consistent the modern product is. If I say "root beer", you can probably taste in your mind's eye what it should taste like. It doesn't have to taste like that.
not quite root beer, Cel-ray by Dr Browns (who also makes a decent root beer) is one of my favorites, especially to go w/ your pastrami sandwich.
now i just discovered what i probably want for lunch!
IBC is the best. Though I will have to say the BBC Brewery in Louisville Ky had a root beer they brew in-house and it was very good.
All those are perfectly wonderful and enjoyable. It also reminded me of a soda I don't often have: ginger beer.
I remember there being a place near where I grew up in SoCal called something like Sarsaparilla Joe's. I was probably 6 or 7 years old and we went there maybe once or twice before it closed before I turned 8. I remember it being the only time I have ever tasted a sarsaparilla It's been over 45 years since that memory. I don't remember what it tasted like. Would love to try it again.
Yeah, it's literally been nearly 50 years since I've had it. If I remember correctly, it was like a dirty vanilla cream soda.
my favorite cycling themed mug, perfect for today since it is the first day of the Giro d'Italia
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WPmKzaTU4NZdh8SU9
Fausto Coppi was one of the best riders of his generation, winning major races before and after WWII.
He won the Giro d'Italia five times (1940, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953), the Tour de France twice (1949 and 1952), and the World Championship in 1953. Other notable results include winning the Giro di Lombardia five times, the Milan–San Remo three times, as well as wins at Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne and setting the hour record (45.798 km) in 1942.
Shot
Pope
https://x.com/TheOnion/status/1920857700855840968
The interview(s) with the new Pope’s Chicago brother are great. Joking about watching Conclave, etc. Very humanizing.
new pope went to Villanova and was a math major according to my Catholic Wildcat friends.
Saw on reddit something like: The new pope knows about sin. Hope he knows about cos.
here are the photos my bro-in-law in Philly sent me last night. they live very close to Villanova
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hTxYUfnzFrvFXMxy8
Haha...I've seen the first one.
If he knows tan, he likely knows sin and cos as well.
The new Pope (Robert Francis Prevost, styled Pope Leo XIV) was born in Chicago. He spent 20+ years in Peru and has Peruvian citizenship. He is, therefore, a dual citizen of both the United States and Peru.
His ancestry includes Haitian and Creole roots on his mother's side of his gene pool. Seems like a rebuke to a certain President and his followers.
My favorite pope is Alexander Pope the English poet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope
I don't know too much about the new Pope. Is he more conservative or more liberal? I can probably guess his views on birth control and abortion.
I asked Gemini to do research on him. Because he was "only" a Cardinal before, he only has a modest body of published work to draw from. However, the theme in his body of work is cautioning against extremism. That being said, I am skeptical one could draw the conclusion that he is a moderate and I doubt any Pope now or future in our lifetime will be anywhere as liberal as Pope Francis was.
PRO
Giro d'Italia starts today, which has become my favorite bike race to watch over the years.
Stage 1 ends in Tirana (Albania) as it has become something of a new trend to start the first 3 days of the grand tour in a foreign country.
this year is a little diminished as most of the top riders are holding out for the Tour de France. still, it is fun and unpredictable. 2023 winner, Primoz Roglic, is the biggest name in the race but not necessarily a prohibitive favorite.
expect more updates over the next 3 weeks.
gives me something concrete to do btw 730a-1130a every morning at least.
Diamondbacks slam Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers in Arizona opener
https://www.truebluela.com/2025/5/8/24425997/gabriel-moreno-grand-slam-yoshinobu-yamamoto-dodgers-diamondbacks
Gabriel Moreno’s grand slam was more than enough support for a scoreless Brandon Pfaadt, giving the Diamondbacks the opening salvo in a 5-3 win over Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Dodgers in Thursday night’s series opener at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Jimmy Butler III, Warriors lack intensity in blowout 117-93 Game 2 loss to Timberwolves
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2025/5/8/24426592/playoffs-warriors-lose-wolves-jimmy-butler-jonathan-kuminga-anthony-edwards-julius-randle
As expected the Golden State Warriors looked like a shell of themselves in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals without Steph Curry, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-93. The Dubs had opportunities to take a commanding early-series lead, but now both squads with held to the Bay Area with the series tied 1-1.
They're screwed without Steph, no surprise.
Ws got it down to 7 pts in the mid 3rd quarter and it looked like there was some slight hope of good defense and strong finish.
then Ws had 3 consecutive turnovers and that was the end of that.
It was 13-0 when I started watching and they never really challenged as far as I can tell.
Giants and the A's get a break.
CAL
Go Bears!!!
[T&F] Alekna Named To The Bowerman Watch List For 21st Time
https://calbears.com/news/2025/5/8/track-field-alekna-named-to-the-bowerman-watch-list-for-21st-time.aspx
California track & field's Mykolas Alekna, who shattered his own discus world record earlier this season, has been named to The Bowerman Watch List for the 21st time in his career. Alekna, a two-time semifinalist for the award that honors the best men's and women's athletes in collegiate track & field, is now tied with South Dakota's Chris Nilsen (grad. 2020) and Texas's Ryan Crouser (grad. 2016) for the third-most appearances on the men's watch list in history.
[BASE] Cal Hosts No. 2 Florida State At The Stu
https://calbears.com/news/2025/5/8/baseball-cal-hosts-no-2-florida-state-at-the-stu.aspx
KEY THINGS TO KNOW
HIGHEST RANKED TEAM IN BERKELEY SINCE 2018 - No. 2 Florida State is the highest ranked team to play a series at Stu Gordon Stadium since a No. 1 Oregon State squad swept the Golden Bears in Berkeley in a three-game set Mar. 16-18, 2018.