Life After Coffee

Andy C has posted a list of Oracle blogs he reads listed by Technorati ranking. Not only did Life After Coffee make the list, but it made #1!

Andy C posted a short history of Oracle blogging about a year ago. It seems there were a lot fewer back then.

Check out the whole list. There are some great folks on here, many of whom actually post primarily about Oracle!

oracle, database, dba, rdbms, blog

As this was all going down yesterday I thought it a bit of an overreaction that the Massachusetts bomb squad was being dragged out for what was obviously an LED array (even from what little video the news stations had.) Now Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky who placed the devices around the city are being charged with placing “hoax devices” and disorderly conduct.

Now lets, just for a moment, review the definition of the word “hoax“. Now, if you read it carefully you’ll notice it starts off “to trick…” The phrase “to trick”, at least to me, implies intent. If you’re paying any attention to the reasons these guys (and folks like them in other US cities) put the devices up and what their purpose was you know already that there was no “trick”.

But anyway, while the press is busy sensationalizing the whole incident, the two men are taking time to learn a bit about hair styles of the ’70s! Really! Click through and watch the video. Bravo to these guys for not feeding the media machine!

Get these guys for graffiti, maybe even trespassing; even disorderly conduct, but they’re not terrorists. Now, Turner Broadcasting and the ad agency they hired that came up with the idea have a bit more to answer for, although the campaign was received quite differently in other cities. If they had any brains at all they’d have walked into Boston today with an apology and a million dollar check.

The MAKE blog (where I stole the image from, hope they don’t mind) continues to have some interesting information on the event.

publicity, graffiti, prank, led, technology, cool

Here’s a story I’ve been putting off writing for a while. Alexander Kjerulf has a typically superb article on procrastination.

Alexander feels, and I agree, that procrastination isn’t necessarily bad. When you feel like procrastinating it may be a sign that it’s time for a break, or that your mind is in better shape for a different task right now.

If your year is off to a slow start and you don’t feel ready to jump into that big project this morning check out Alexander’s full article for tips on getting the most out of your procrastination including procrastinating without guilt and procrastinating 100%.

procrastination, work, work ethic, management

Those of you who know me have realized by now that I’m not the type to send Christmas cards. It’s not that I don’t celebrate or enjoy Christmas it’s just that it’s one more thing to do when I barely have enough time to get my Christmas shopping done. That and having to keep track of everyone’s address, make sure I don’t forget anyone, and worse yet, there’s the challenge of finding a card I like.

Well, all that aside, consider this my Christmas card to you, whether you’re a close friend (you know who you are) an acquaintance, or a regular reader of Life After Coffee. It may not be addressed to you, but it also didn’t use any paper and no mailman had to deliver it.


So from me, Kirsten, and Gwen the cat (see below) have a happy and safe holiday and save some eggnog for me.

Green Mountain Coffee Roaster is a New England icon. Their coffee is served in everything from restaurant to gas station here in New England. Founded in 1981, today Green Mountain is the nation’s largest seller of double-certified Fair Trade organic coffee. Recently I had the opportunity to try two of Green Mountain’s Fair Trade Organic offerings.

Green Mountain’s Organic Sumatran Reserve is an appealing coffee with an earthy richness you could expect of an organic coffee from the beverage’s birthplace. This is a pleasant, medium bodied coffee which, while it doesn’t disappoint in the cup somehow left me wanting more. A decent floral nose is the highlight of this coffee and, though the flavor is somewhat earthy the aftertaste is clean and smooth.

The roaster’s PBS Blend is a Mexican coffee with an interesting story (see their site for details.) I found this coffee rather disappointing. While the coffee was smooth with very little acid and no bitterness it also lacked any defining flavor. A hint of caramel was all I could discern from what was otherwise a surprisingly ordinary cup of coffee.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a large catalog of coffees. Through the gourmet coffee revolution they have become ubiquitous in New England and, while I was not impressed with the PBS Blend, the Organic Sumatran Reserve is a good coffee for those shopping for a Fair Trade organic coffee.

Unfortunately Green Mountain has adopted the all too common industry trend of cutting back their bag size. Currently their coffees are offered in 10oz bags, both of these being between $7 and $8 per bag on their website. This equates to around $12/lb which, while not unreasonable, is a premium price for coffee. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the coffee being Fair Trade, the end result of which is the farmer seeing more of this money.

Conclusions: Despite the premium price, those looking for a good organic coffee should enjoy the Organic Sumatran Reserve but a lack of richness or any defining flavor left me disappointed with the PBS blend.

dining, food, coffee