Coffee and Doctorow

KDE Planet often has some thought-provoking blogs, whether or not they are "strictly" speaking, about the KDE community or our software. For example, Jeff blogged about how to make cold-brewed coffee. When I read that, I remembered that we used to have a toddy kit, like this one listed on Amazon.

When I was looking for a light book to read, Adityab suggested Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. Since it's available for download for my kindle, yes! It is light as in 'short and YA,' but rather serious in considering the consequences of the increasing use of government surveillance, and where that can lead. Fortunately, the young hero of the book creatively fights back. Also, it is set in San Francisco, a city I love. Highly recommended.

I found out that Doctorow has recently followed up Little Brother with Homeland. The first section of the book takes place at Burning Man, which was really cool. The up-to-the-minute timeliness is alternately delightful and scary. So what did our heroes bring to Burning Man to share around? Cold-brewed coffee! The 'desert process' was even more relaxed than Jeff describes. With this second reminder, I dug around in the cupboard over the refrigerator, found the toddy, and brewed up some coffee.

Now I've gotten into a rhythm with it. No measuring, and I usually steep it a couple of days, since as soon as I empty the carafe, I bring out the steeping grounds, filter them, clean out the grounds and felted filter, and start the process again. It takes me a few days to drink the delicious coffee, and letting it steep longer just seems to make it better. I just use pre-ground coffee for now, but I'm going to investigate getting a grinder, since I do love the aroma of fresh-ground coffee.

Why did we ever stop using the toddy? I wish I could remember, but I think we are using it from here on out. Even my husband who loves the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee, is switching to the toddy coffee on weekends. Give it a try, and enjoy! And snap up some Doctorow. He might just re-inspire you to do some more free software work. Individual people are the ones who make the difference.