So, I've been roasting coffee at home for a while now and a friend of mine who has a professional nut roasting machine suggested we try some in there. Well, we tried and the thing gets pretty hot really fast. The first batch of 1 lb. Chiapas FTO hit the first crack at like 4 minutes.

We turned the heat down and tried again. This time it roasted more slowly, but the agitation seemed to be off as the roast got done pretty unevenly. Some beans were charred on one side while others never made it past the first crack.

I've pasted the video below. Any suggestions on how to modify the agitation? The arms won't move from that angle...I thought maybe I could just agitate with a big wooden spoon, like i see people doing in woks.

Two recent articles covered my current hometown, both worth a read.

Though I despise the source for its news-in-comic-format, USA Today ran a piece called Close to Home: Boulder, Colo., stays healthy. The article points out some general, positive economic indicators, including the median home price of $506,000 and less steep declines in home sales than the rest of the country.

The second ran in the NY Times last Sunday entitled, Twenty-Five Square Miles Surrounded by Reality. It was a good, honest profile of Boulder for better or worse with the green living, athletic rock climbing children, and - oh yeah - that median home price again.

So, I thought I would ring in 2008 by joining 600 other Boulderites and jump into the 39 degree reservoir. The Polar Bear Plunge was sponsored by the Alzheimers Association of Colorado. Enjoy this clip from YouTube, which proves that with a Mac and 45 minutes, anyone can make an embarrassing video of themselves with no clothes on.

When the clip starts you'll see a fit guy in a pair of black tight shorts. I'm the guy with beard standing in front of him. If you try hard, you can follow me into the water, swan dive, and dash out with my arms swinging. The hardest part of the plunge was the 40 minute wait in line...that and the last three minutes where you stand around in your shorts with your feet in the snow.

Hope y'all get a kick out of it.

Happy new year!

Merry Christmas from Boulder, CO. We had a great day and it snowed 8 inches or so. We're two for two on white Christmases here. Here's a photo of Olga, Kirby and me. Yes, he's wearing a red sweater (made of 100% virgin acrylic). Yes, we're those people now. Hope to see y'all soon.

It took me 20 mins to figure out whether or not we could have a fire in our fireplace this morning. Sometimes the air is so dry or whatever and you're not allowed to have a fire. Well, here's a link to the Dept. of Public Health and the Environment's site in case you're looking for the same thing.

I learned this week that Jimmy Heath passed away. Jimmy and I were part of the sixth class of Mickey Leland Hunger Fellows in 1999/2000.

Jimmy was a photographer and community activist in the Over-the-Rhine section of Cincinnati, OH. Beyond what he did for his profession, he was a good listener, a kind soul, and a good friend. I haven't talked to Jimmy in years, but was saddened to hear we'd lost a talented photographer and someone who made this world more passionate.

Here are some links to Jimmy's Web Site with information about donating to support Jimmy's work and Jimmy Heath's obituary.

Rest in peace, Jimmy. Hope the views are great from up there.

I got out for a few hikes with Kirby and have added some new pics to the hiking galleries. You'll notice I put another album from our backpacking trip this summer there, too.

Had a great run today. Mapped it with Map My Run. Check it out, if you haven't yet. It lets you draw on a Google map with vectors to plot your runs. It also has a ton of other features, like a training log, etc.

Here's the loop I ran.

This weekend we joined Lynn, Jeff and family for their wedding in Washington, DC. Thanks, Lynn, Jeff, Dot, Tom and Jessica for including us! Here's a slew of pics from the wedding, youtube video coming soon.

Last weekend John, Devon and Madeline came to town. Here are a few pics from their visit.