The random chat thread for throwing out things that don't matter

Posted by: @dev

Posted by: @cspidy

Posted by: @dev

@cspidy 

Hand grinding has some advantages. Because you are grinding slower you will produce less heat which is good but it can be a real pain depending on how many grams you need to pull a shot. My hand grinder is large with big burrs and a large flywheel so its quick but it also costs a small fortune. When I started out with a small hand grinder it took nearly forever to get 14g. 
I did hear good things about these guys but I never used one of their grinders.

https://www.oehandgrinders.com/OE-LIDO-ET-Manual-Coffee-Grinder-_p_94.html

Here is another entry level grinder that has got good reviews. 

https://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Sette-30-Conical-Grinder/dp/B075G11F9N/ref=sr_1_12?crid=W9NH64INA58X&keywords=niche+zero+grinder&qid=1649821892&sprefix=niche+zero+grinder%2Caps%2C34&sr=8-12

 

I would be using it for espresso, one tablespoon at a time

Actually a better question would be what kind of espresso machine are you using and how many grams of coffee is needed.  

It’s a Mr Coffee, my wife bought 2 of them at a Kmart that was going out of business 

gave one to my son and meant to give the other to me

after 5 years she found it and gave it to me

I know it’s cheap, but so am I

I drive a Spyder remember 

and

if it was good enough for Joe it’s good enough for me 

I use about a table spoon to make a double espresso 

No shame in that. That is how I started with something similar that made espresso using less coffee. It was given to me by a Spyder friend I met that was going to throw it out when I was fascinated by his coffee set up but thought it was insane for him to spend $400 on a grinder.  I first tried ground coffee and it was a disaster and then a blade grinder that also did not turn out well.  Eventually I bought a cheap hand grinder and it did the trick and made good espresso before I worked my way up and adapted it as a hobby. I eventually helped out my friend with modifications to his coffee machine and then we started roasting together by splitting the cost of a coffee roaster and greens.   

 I would get what marsrock7 suggested as this seems this will give you the best grind for your needs.  

https://store.handground.com/collections/frontpage/products/handground-precision-coffee-grinder

Posted by: @dev

 

 I would get what marsrock7 suggested as this seems this will give you the best grind for your needs.  

https://store.handground.com/collections/frontpage/products/handground-precision-coffee-grinder

Thanks

I will look into that one

do you need to use a special bean for espresso or will most work well?

Posted by: @cspidy

Posted by: @dev

 

 I would get what marsrock7 suggested as this seems this will give you the best grind for your needs.  

https://store.handground.com/collections/frontpage/products/handground-precision-coffee-grinder

Thanks

I will look into that one

do you need to use a special bean for espresso or will most work well?

 That is a very hard question to say yes to.  

 Although you can use any bean as I have done, I would still choose an espresso roast to get a good result. 

 Espresso roasts are traditionally Italian which are dark oily beans usually of a mixture of several beans varieties of different proportions. They tend to hold up well to the espresso method without much channeling.  There is a lot more to it as the Americans prefer medium roasts for a different flavor profile. 

  It also depends on your machines set brew temps.  Darker roasts need lower brew temps and medium needs higher brew temps but generally these little espresso machines are set for darker roasts. 

 The way you know is from the taste of the espresso. If it taste burnt its too hot and if its taste sour its too cold. Because you don't have temp control each coffee will give you a different result compared to a different machine.  You might find one coffee to work the best but most will work until you find something that is optimum.

 I would also advise using a good method for bean storage. I have two airscape canisters which allow me to remove air from the beans which prolongs their life. 

 You might want to look into something like this as it can make a big difference in prolonging the taste between batches of coffee. I have been going 10 years strong with my airscape  so it could be one of those things you buy once for a lifetime of use. 

Airscape

Let me show you all what I am dealing with that has been the absolute joy of my life.  I like the understanding and mastery of my hobbies but sometimes it gets old but not coffee. It is one of those hobbies that on the surface seems ridiculous but it is an obsession for some because its elusive once you pull your first god shot. Its not about heating up water and passing it though. There is so much engineering involved with heat absorption and retention by the metals used and the transfer of heat.

 A few years ago I picked up a 1981 Cremina for $900 used that I rebuilt which was fun.  15 years ago people were throwing them out or selling them cheap because they  were very old but over the years they started to gain  a cult following because they are built so well.  At the time when I purchased I thought I was paying a premium and the price topped out but as of last year they have doubled in price close to $2k.  New ones go for $4k and it is considered the 911 of espresso machines.

  This guy describes it well but he doesn't know how to pull a shot. It takes years of mastery by repetition and then trying something slightly different and making a new discovery. I never did hard drugs but from what I heard if its done right its like crack.  

And with espresso, remember cleanliness is next to godliness.

Posted by: @uncle-mush

Looking for feedback regarding ethics of selling unobtanium.  I have been hoarding Spyder parts for years.  My habit has slowed considerably over the last few years.  Most of my buying has been fueled by fear of not being able to find parts if/when I need them.  I am now in a quandary, though.  I have acquired some spyder parts that are often sought after and rarely found -- New In Box, kind of thing.  I am not a salesman kind of person, but I know that these parts, in the current marketplace --  are worth 3 or 4 times what I paid for them.  If I hang onto them, they will likely keep going up in value.  I know that I will likely never need these parts for myself as I have sufficient parts for my own needs. 

Is it ethically correct for me to sell these parts -- at current market value -- knowing I would make an outrageous profit, if I were to sell them?  Yes, I could sell them for less money or for what I paid for them, but my mindset is also, well, if I were to sell them for what I paid for them, I would likely just keep them for myself (hoarding again).   Thank you in advance for your input. 

Be forewarned that I have no idea what I will end-up doing -- heed your advise or ignore your advice.  I'm just trying to be as transparent about this whole thing as I know how to be and trying to figure out what I will do.  Thanks again, in advance for your input.  Much appreciated.  

Perfectly ethical. There is demand, and you're charging what is normal price. Now, if it was something life saving or critical, no. If it's car parts, absolutely ethical. 

Of course it is ethical, fill your boots.

Thanks Haloruler 64 and Nelix.  Unobtanium for sale in the private sales thread. 🙂

This has to be their weirdest most tragic testimony I have ever seen. Try not to laugh.

I just retorqued my strut top nuts, and checked the mount studs, and my car now feels brand new lmao.

Was having some clunks when pressings the brakes at all, at any speed, and decided to check the suspension before doing a tear down of my recent brake installation. Front top nuts were suppppper loose. Tbh, not even sure if they were making contact with the top mount. Rears were maybe 10-15 ft lbs below spec. 

I installed these new struts probably 20k or so miles ago. When i installed them, I remembered not being able to get them all the way to spec, off or on the car, even using an impact. Kind of interesting that i was able to torque them to spec 20k miles later, on the car. Not sure whats up there but im not asking too many questions lol.

Car now feels super smooth over bumps, no more clunking when tapping the brakes, and no more clunk when starting to turn the wheel at a stop. This developed 1 or 2 days ago which made me suspicious in the first place.

Anyways, this is your sign to retorque your struts.

Retorque strut nuts.... I need to do this too.

Picked up this 2021 UX 250h F Sport as a daily, since I haven't had a daily in some time and the MR2 keeps breaking at the track. 

One of my other hobbies is portable music players. I have been in this hobby since I was a kid with my first portable CD player that had an external battery pack in the mid 80s. 

 At the turn of the century I bought one of the first generation MP3 players which I thought was a big deal with only 64mb. I kept at it with other players along the way and then got into portable amps. I never invested in one of those Apple iPods as they were junk as far as sound quality and too expensive for marketing hype. 

 Fast forward today and I now have Shanling M6 pro which is amazing as far as sound quality however in order to get that sound quality it needs power which doesn't come in a small package. I can now mirror the display with a phone using the manufactures app and control it.  This player plays files that are better than CD quality and you can hear the difference as these newer digital to analog converters are able to sweeten the sound to where it sounds analog and less digital yet has tremendous puch in dynamics. I also upgraded my micro SD card to the newer 1TB which is a marvel milestone.  I never have to pay for a streaming service but the player has that also. Its amazing how far the technology has come and its still evolving quickly because this hobby is popular in Asia with so many competing products. I rig like mine would have cost thousands a few years ago and now its hundreds. 

I have been busy with my other hobbies particularly audio.  This time I decided to upgrade my home theater system with speakers that I had on my mind for the last five years and a set turned up for a good price on EBay. 

 I also had to buy a new projector as the old one is causing some issues from the generic bulbs that I have to buy for it. It turns out that when I bought the projector at a large discount I never factored in the bulb cost which is too expensive if I buy OEM and they don't last that long. I switched up to a new 4K LED projector that doesn't need any bulb replacements for the entire life of the projector and no motorized color wheel that can fail.  

 Even though 65-85" TVs are becoming the norm there is nothing like viewing content from a 100" reflective screen which is the sweet spot in my opinion for complete immersion. Any larger you will have to move your head.

 Set up was difficult because to get the projector to be optimum it needs perfect placement so you don't use the zoom to enlarge the image or keystone to correct any tilt. Most people that set up their projector don't do it optimally. I measured at least 20 times and used tape and wire to mark the spot exactly. I knew I would be of off by a little and would have to use some adjustment but I nailed it. No zoom and 0 keystone which fits the screen perfectly.  I particularly don't like going to movie theaters even IMAX. Too many people, sucky seats and the audio is terrible.