]]>However, there is a lot of great content on video and television, and I don’t really want to deprive the little guy of all that is good out there. One trick I have found is simply to use YouTube. There is a certain brilliant randomness to this, because you can find videos on just about any topic, and most of them are just a few moments long. For example, if the little man yells something like “DUMP TRUCK!,” then all I have to do is to type dump truck into the seach function of youtube, and I will find footage of dump trucks doing their thing. Using this technique, the little people can be entertained for anywhere from 2 minutes to as long as you like. It’s better than TV, because it requires SOME interaction (choosing a video and clicking on it), and you can also do it together with your kid, and talk about the videos with them.
Here are some of our favorites:
The Remote Control Flying School Bus
Doodlebops “Get on the Bus” Song
Using YouTube is free fun for toddlers. You do have to watch out for all of the “other” content on there, but as long as you do that, you can have a great time, for less than a dime.
With that, I leave you with my son’s very favorite video. I have no idea why he loves this one so much, but hey…like I said, it’s fun, it’s free, and it’s for toddlers:
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My Zojirushi
I think the last time I missed a day of drinking coffee was when I was 15 years old. That means that I have about 20 years of experience in coffee drinking, and that I’ve drank coffee from the last 7300 consecutive days. Does that qualify me as an expert? Add the fact that I’m a bay area resident and have been consuming the likes of Peets before there was ever a Starbucks, and I think it’s fair to say that I know my Java.
My daily ritual has typically been enjoyed through the use of a Bodum Columbia 8-Cup Stainless-Steel Thermal Press Pot
Recently however I learned that press pot coffee is associated to higher cholesterol levels since the oils do not get filtered out. You can learn more about this here. Anyone at risk for higher cholesterol should heed this, but really everyone should heed this anyhow — there is no reason to raise your cholesterol levels.
As a rabid coffee drinker and health fanatic, I had to set out to solve this problem for myself. The solution is very simple — you just have to use a paper filter. So, the question becomes, which coffee maker to get? Which of the many out there make the water hot enough, and also don’t have one of those glass carafes on a warming plate, which simply cooks the goodness out of the brew?
I did quite some research on this topic, consulting Consumer’s Research, Consumer Reports, as well as the baristas at the local Peets. The results of this research were surprisingly unanimous. My criteria were as follows:
- Simple, elegant design
- No unnecessary bells and whistles
- Ability to heat water to 200 degrees for proper brewing
- Basket brew style
- Timer
- Thermal carafe rather than glass warmer
- Less than $100
Like I said, the results were unanimous and resulted in the Zojirushi EC-BD15 Fresh Brew Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker. This little gem is pictured right here. It brews super hot, super fresh coffee. The thermal carafe is surprisingly functional. It keeps coffee drinkably hot for about 2 hours, and after that it will stay warm for about 8 more. So if you’re not fussy, you could drink coffee in the afternoon that you made that morning. What’s more, is that since it uses a thermal carafe, it does not change the flavor of the brew.
This is all dependent of course, on you choosing the right coffee to brew. But, that’s a topic for another post.
Please let me know what you think of this machine, if you get the chance to try it. Happy Drinking!
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La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma 2007
I am both a drinker of fine wine, and an obsessive bargain hunter.
When it comes to wine, I love to taste it, and I love to go wine tasting. However, wine tasting and wine buying are really two different activities. If I want to go wine tasting, I can spend the day with my wife up in Sonoma, visit a few wineries, and inevitably buy a bottle or two at each winery. In fact, once I’ve spent 20-30 minutes with the person pouring wine, i feel some kind of obligation to buy a bottle, which typically runs me $20-30 bucks a bottle. That is OK, and if I want to spend the day that way, i’ll just know I’m going to be out a few hundred bucks. Two of my favorite wineries up in Sonoma are Wellington Vineyards and Loxton Vineyards.
But most of the time, there is NO need to spend that amount on a bottle of wine. So, I troll the depths of Trader Joes and Costco for good deals. My take so far, is that Trader Joes is the best for the under $10 and under $5 category, whereas Costco is tops for the under $25 category. I dont’ know about you, but I just about never spend more than $25 on wine. There are WAY too many good wines for under that price…
Anyhow, let’s get started with this review. I purchased a bottle of La Crema Pinot Noir 2007 last week for $18 at the local Costco.
To start with, we fired up the Weber grill and threw on some wild sockeye salmon and some asparagus. These were both prepared simply — drizzled with olive oil, lemon, and dill for the salmon.
To me this wine had a smooth feel in the mouth, with a nice nose mostly of blackberries, maybe some vanilla. The tannins are medium, and the acidity is mild to medium. The finish is a little “thin” which basically reminds me of tea. It went well with our salmon, although I think the wine would have been better paired with a tomato-based dish, like a pasta or a pizza.
Overall this is a decent wine! I give it a B+. I am not about to go buy a case of this, rather I am going to continue my search for the best Costco wines.
Happy drinking, and let me know what you think!
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