July 13 2012: Post 549 (2012 Day 195)

July 13, 2012

Daily Comment

After more than five years of superb service, my Braun coffee maker quit working today, and joined yesterday's grounds in the trash. As someone who takes his coffee fairly seriously, this was a sad and happy occasion.

I had been preparing for this for over a year. The coffee-maker was showing its age, and cleaning it had stopped making much of a difference. A year ago, I spent some time  researching coffee-makers, and tentatively decided on a Nespresso automatic espresso-maker.

I had gotten to sample coffee made that way at my local Williams-Sonoma, and it was very good. The machines are highly-rated on Amazon, as well. And the whole thing was quicker, easier, and neater than grinding beans and using the automatic drip.

I did a little bit of renewed research - initially just checking pricing and availability (good price and in-stock at Williams-Sonoma). I was about to go out and get it (immediate gratification, retail therapy, etc), when I happened to notice there was a new Wikipedia entry on the subject. 

It talked about the pros and cons, and I was a bit disturbed at the cons: a high per-cup cost (which I knew, but it was still cheap for the result and quality), triple that of other single-cup makers, and many times the cost of bulk drip-style cups; and a negative environmental impact. It seems that the required pods are made of aluminum, and the use-and-toss requirement, plus some worries about 'cooking' in aluminum, plus the cost and environmental problems of aluminum mining and manufacturing, and suddenly, I was looking for alternatives.

The most famous and very best automatic drip coffee makers are made by Technivorm (a Dutch company). They are very expensive, though.Since I last did research, though, a new brand has come along, Bonavita, with a maker that uses a very similar system to Tecnhivorm's, at less than half the price.

It arrives Tuesday. Meanwhile, French Press. Not exactly a hardship.

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Food and Diet Section

Today's Weight:        201.2 lbs 
Yesterday's Weight:    200.6  lbs  
Day Net Loss/Gain:     + 0.6 lbs

Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011.

Diet Comment:

Today's slight weight gain is brought to you by baby carrots and home-made mayonnaise at midnight.

It is foolish to follow this up with the weird eating day that I had, but I did. I blew it in two ways: firstly, I drank less water, by far, than any day in the last two years; then, I had a major fail at dinner, when I had a craving for tomorrow's cheat, and gave in. So it goes.

Food Log

Breakfast
A cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (36g protein), kale, egg, cocoa, chia seeds, vanilla, cinnamon, stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch
Skipped.

Dinner
Baby carrots, home-made mayonnaise, Second Nature Wholesome Medley (dark chocolate chunks, roasted and salted peanuts, almonds and cashews, tart red cherries and dried cranberries).

Liquid Intake

    Coffee:    22 oz,   Water: 32+ oz

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