Stan Mouser

For most of my adult life, coffee had always been a caffeine delivery vehicle or an excuse to step out of the office. Like cheap beer, the taste was something be tolerated as a means to an end. There was a dorky sense of pride in drinking it without loads of milk and sugar.  It took a single pour-over from  The Java Shack  to change all that. Instead of overwhelming bitterness dominating each sip, it had fruity and floral notes, which I didn't even know could exist in coffee. It was a pleasure to drink, well-balanced, no pungent flavors causing facial contortions on the way down. Naively, I decided to start making coffee like that at home. The guy at the shop literally just poured some hot water over a bunch of coffee grinds. How hard could it be? The first attempts were... not good, but the hive mind at  /r/Coffee/  quickly pointed me in the right direction. I learned that the two most important factors are bean quality and grind consistency, and unfortunately those c

After a long day of work, I like to unwind with a good product review, a video tutorial, or maybe even a nice subreddit related to one of a growing list of hobbies. Sometimes it gets obsessive. I'll absolutely admit reading through dozens of Amazon opinions for a $5 box of trash compactor bags. Probably excessive, but it hasn't affected my job or personal relationships, yet. From time to time I might use this space to talk about some of cool things I've learned, and to shamelessly plug the things associated with them. Those trash compactor bags? Courtesy the folks at  r/ultralight , they're the best and lightest way to waterproof hiking backpacks when used as a liner, and some good ones are here .