The CaffiNation Podcast has been running since January 9th 2006, and Since April of 2006 we have been part of the fine folks at the Techpodcast Network. As it is their custom the fine folks at the TPN are winging their way to Las Vegas for CES, the consumer Electronics show. Basically a week long technology festival where all the vendors unviel thier most awesoem stuff, smaller developers get to showcase their wares, and only the best and brightest of tech shines.
We also have a friend of the Show rocking it out as a man on the Street. Norbert Davis is hunting for the best in Totally Cool Tech, So make sure to check out those websites in the coming days. But the CaffiNation will have the live stream of the TPN events on our homepage for the Duration of the conference!
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 7th, 2012 at 2:00 pm and is filed under News, Show News, tech, video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The french are know for a great many refined things in the world, dainty cheeses, varied wines, and champagne. Well you can add another culinary masterpiece, with a little geek flair thrown in.
Enter, with appropriate music of course, the Darth Vader (apprently Vador in french) Burger! Actually the picture looks even more epic when you play the linked video in the back…
This is a special kind of awesome, although it needs to have three patties, just so you could say the force is strong with this one. without knowing any french I can only assume that the Sith Burger would be spicy and awesome and have lots of bacon hidden on it., while the Jedi burger is nondescript, generic Jedi. If it was an Obi Wan burger it would be pious and a little bitter, if it was a Luke burger they would have to serve it with whine.
Because let’s face it is this was a Yoda Burger it would be white castle slider small, and have Guacamole on it… And would still be more awesome than the other two Jedi burgers combined. OK that’s it I need to make my own versions of these now…
This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2012 at 10:30 am and is filed under Food n Coffee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
You would think with as much build up the holiday season has I would have been ready for it? Well i wasn’t in fact the last week leading up to the Holiday was a blur. Buildings moved at work, sling came off, arm is no longer so special. And a lot of work needed to be done. Quite frankly i was done at the end of the normal work day and didn’t write or think after i got home.
For tonight we have a bevy of Geeky things to share, a few fun wrap ups from the past year, stuff like favorite stories, most popular posts, evil chat room antics… All of it. We have a live show once more set to go off without too many hitches. Time will only tell if all the bugs have been ironed out. We are covering everything from Steve Jobs as a doll, to Meteor showers, Coffee and coffee related stuff a plenty and a fun new graphic I have hanging in my window at work. There are a bunch of fun things to talk about so make sure you join us each week, for the Live Taping!
Did you know that the CaffiNation will be celebrating our 6 year anniversary of podcasting? 6 years as of January 9th 2011. Lots of great times and new friends over that time. People like to make resolutions right around this time every year, and I for years have scoffed at this practice, and that really didn’t help things so this year I’m trying for 1600 x 1200 as a resolution…
CES by TPN, and TCT! Consumer electronics show is right around the corner, we are goignt o be carrying the live stream for the Techpodcast network, as well as pointing you to some awesome content from Norbert at TCT!
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2012 at 12:04 am and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We here at the CaffiNation Podcast and Puzzle Piece Productions would like to send out our warmest wishes to you and yours this holiday season. There are so many problems in the world it’s quite nice to spend a few moments with family and friends celebrating the things that are going your way. So our deepest and warmest wishes to you.
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 24th, 2011 at 9:03 am and is filed under Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Getting into the Holiday mood was never a problem when you were younger. But what about now? How do you continue to kringle things up when you hit the Post childhood years? Why by finding tons of fun things to eyeball and keeping the frown turned upside down with a few laughs. We have everythign from Star was to Trek, from dirty Haiku to wonderful holiday cheer. It all depends on you.
Tonight’s show was a bit of a mish mash of different stories, work life is getting in the way of clear thinking after hours. Huge things are afoot in work, with our new building basically done, and the move on Monday… Crazy times. This was an awesome show with a lot of interplay with the live audience. and a fun hanging challenge at the end of the show. How wrong am i?
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at 12:11 am and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
If you like this website, hell if you hate this website, but like the ability to choose where you go online please read below. Quite Simply SOPA will allow the US government to turn off websites, on whim of a corporation.
This will break the internet, no hyperbole.
“Tomorrow, the US government will vote to have broad powers to block any site. SOPA would not only hurt free speech, it will choke off the internet workforce and its readers by taking down entire websites. Today is the only day we have left to have our voices heard. It’s time to pull all stops – please make a call right now to protest censorship. Your call matters. If you don’t call, SOPA will pass. If there is one call per minute into every one of our representatives, we have a chance of stalling SOPA enough so it dies for quite some time. Please call Congress now and tell them you oppose internet censorship and stifling the internet. If you own a site, you’re in the best position to spread the word. Please post this call widget. If we’re really going to stop SOPA, we need you to get involved. If you write emails or have a blog, or if you post to Facebook, twitter, tumblr, tell everyone by blacking out your text here. It’s super easy. SOPA kills jobs that we need right now and blocks sites to Americans for the purpose of serving copyright in vague and overbroad ways, in ways that are not even well-agreed on by academics in the field. Please help us stop SOPA now.”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 5:12 pm and is filed under tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
You have to love a good old bad local commercial. And even more when they throw in a lovely swath of geek references. The USS Dodd doesn’t disappoint. And i guess even geeks need to sleep sometime… Now Don’t Klingon to those old mattresses… Classic. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rhett and Link had a new client on their hands.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 10:48 pm and is filed under Geek. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Ever wanted to fall asleep abroad the USS Enterprise, any of them. To fall asleep after leaving your post, to the sultry sounds of the warp cores humming in some far off section of the ship. Well wait no longer. Here is a 24hr loop of the Ambient engine noise from Star Trek TNG… Wow.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 10:30 pm and is filed under tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I recently got to try out Third Street Chai‘s Wonderful Festivus Chai. Little know fact this Coffee lover also happens to really enjoy Chai and Tea in various forms. If they are done well. This all natural Savory blend comes in at just the right time. Heat a little milk, throw in the concentrate and boom you have a fantastic alternitave to Hot Choloate in terms of creamyness, and a wonderful low caffeine solution for Holiday Nights wrapped in close with your family.
This blend has a full bodied flavor rich in black tea, cocoa, nutmeg and cardamom, and other flavors all swirling around that I couldn’t quite pick out. Fantastic in both hot and cold form, but come on if the weather outside is frightful its time to try some of this delightful beverage.
Most of you know Festivus from Sienfeld, but I wasn’t aware that it was an offshoot of a family holiday that has turned into a secular celebration of celebrating. A little wink and a nudge are always included.
A huge thank you to Third Street Chai for Sending this Sample to my doorsteop as the weather turned chilly in Philly. I guess this would classify as a Festivus Miracle? This product is available exclusively at Whole Foods!
*Full disclosure: I was sent this sample at no cost for the purpose of review. This did not affect my conclusions or was any desired outcome specified
This entry was posted on Friday, December 9th, 2011 at 1:52 pm and is filed under Food n Coffee, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We find ourselves with a ton of news and only so many hours a day to read it all in. The reviews are flowing once more, we have a fresh fire lit under my can and a wonderful outlook for the holiday season. This show has some bad jokes some good laughs and some wonderful discussion. All in a nights work. You really owe it to yourself to make the live show. We do our best to throw down a good time!
Tonight was a Solo Mio show as Steve couldn’t make it onto the program. But the show also turned into a long running one filled with lots of fun from the chat room, and a great bundle of comments and suggestions throughout!
As a small aside… What do you do with dead chemists? Barium…
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 12:00 am and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
There are few things in life more pleasurable than learning how to play an instrument. what would happen if that instrument was also awesome in its own right? Why the sheer force of awesomeness would flow forth from your apartment or garage and George Carlin would show up in a time traveling phone booth…
wait…
different movie.
But learning how to play a tune on an instrument is usually its own reward but this right here would make any ukulele solo epic.
This handcrafted Autobot themed Uke is not only sold out but there is a waiting list… At $550.00 each that is awesome. Now we just need to learn how to play 80′s power ballads on a ukulele. My Hats off to the fine folks at Celentano Woodworks
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 at 1:00 pm and is filed under backchannel, Geek. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
We all love having our tasty hot beverages on the go, and now with KeepCup the options to do so are growing in a much more earth friendly manner. I’ve been play testing this replacement for a take out cup for about a month now. And I’d like to share my findings with you.
What is a Keepcup? A Keepcup is a replacement for getting yet another disposable cup from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Saxby’s or anywhere else your thirst finds you. They come in all of the standard sizes used by Barista’s and the smaller sizes even fit under the portafilter for dosing with espresso.
The Good: My wife and I have traveled with these cups for about a month and never once was a drop spilled in the car with the lid on and the plug in the right position, a huge improvement over disposable cups. And the Silicone band aroudn the center of the cup makes for a nice insulation from the heat.
I know a bunch of people who worry about throwing a travel mug up on the counter at a Starbucks or coffee establishment only to have it turned away. these cups are perfectly sized at 16, 12, 8, 4 ounce sizes.
They are BPA free and dishwasher safe. They fit perfectly into all of the cup holder’s I have found so far.I’ve seen products that claim to look like a styrofoam cup, but are made of ceramic, or hardened plastic shells drop one of them and see how practical they are.
We actually use them around the house to prevent accidental coffee spills and milk for the kids at night. Everybody loves having a little barrier between you and the couch when its movie night and milk & coffee is dispensed.
The Bad: There is really only one downside to this cup, and that is the insulation. Pour a hot beverage into the cup and much like a paper or Styrofoam cup the product is cool an hour later. A sad fact when my usual commute is an hour. And I like to make beverages at home and drink them in the office. You can feel the heat seeping right out through the sides of the cup. Maybe a silicone liner or total cup sleeve would fix this?
But should this affect the normal consumer? No Most people buy coffee from the store to drink it right away. So perk up and grab one.
And while yes they are spill proof, or splash proof. they are not airtight, this isn’t a bad thing. just not ready to be thrown into a gym bag while full or anything crazy like that.
Cost & Color:
Costs are mighty simple, and pretty awesome when you consider the life of the cup.
16oz $14.20
12oz $12.20
8oz $10.20
4oz $8.50
The color combinations are almost endless. Choose from 9 cup colors, 13 lid colors, 22 Band Colors, and 17 plug colors. Any combination of any of those colors is fine. And hey the band actually comes with pre printed words for use by your coffee establishment to mark off the style of beverage you orders. Flat White, Doppi, Tea, Chai, you can have it all.
And via their online ordering system you can customize, and share your design acumen with others.
The Earth Friendly Upside: When your cup is at the end of its life simply placer it into the recycle bin. How nice is that? And besides that you are slowly eliminating the disposable cup menace, it’s like the dark side’s craft services department.
Conclusion: This is a great and serviceable durable mug. It completely should replace your need for disposable cups from any of the coffee establishments out there. Not too much. Keepcup is a fantastic idea and a great product at a great price. I give this travel mug a 8 out of 10 grade!
*Full Disclosure Keepcup Sent me samples to evaluate at no cost to me, this did not reflect the review.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Food n Coffee, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Who hasn’t felt the pangs of loss when an old scanner goes to that great digital divide in the sky? Who hasn’t had a moment of heartbreak as a digital denizen passes on? Well imagine if all your old tech could sing.
That is what you get when Stepper Motors and other bits and bobs of technology harmonize into this beautifully done song. its pitch perfect and on time as far as my ear can tell. Enjoy!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 12:41 am and is filed under backchannel, tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I like making coffee almost as much as I like drinking coffee. Which I guess is helpful, but the problem with loving coffee is that you need to be able to repeat the results for company. Now I previously posted 5 tips for making coffee for company. Please consider this an update. Secrets on making coffee people will love.
Choose the right coffee: Coffee comes in many different forms, between roasting level and blend. You aren’t trying to find the one perfect coffee, but rather a coffee everyone will enjoy. So hit for the middle of the road.
1.) Avoid Dark Roasted Coffee, Especially if you aren’t familiar with the roaster. More often than not a dark roasted coffee can taste burnt and bitter to some people. So in striving for a middle ground go with Medium or city roast.
2.) Blends! Here is the cheat sheet. African coffees are usually bold flavors, South American Coffees are usually earthier, and if you are picking coffee from an Island (Jamaican, Kona, Sumatran) Just go with that coffee, don’t go for a blend, and your guests will thank you.
3.) Get Whole Bean! Buy a grinder let it do the work, store the coffee in a cool dry place, not the freezer, or the fridge. A Mason Jar, or a Canister on the countertop is a good solution. The Bag is not your friend. If you know you are having company grind a helping of coffee before they get there, no its won’t be at peak freshness, but the speed at which you produce the first cup is important
4.) French Press: Not only does the process look impressive, and smell fantastic but the cup produced is unmatched, save for espresso in its ability to make almost any coffee really shine. Grind the coffee coarse to reduce the sediment in the cup, and have all the fixings nearby. I usually suggest to have the guests try to coffee black first.
But lets be honest the secret to good coffee isn’t in all of these tricks. its in repetition, if you can make yourself a cup of coffee that makes you want to stop what you are doing sit down and enjoy the sip. Then you are doing it right. Coffee has a job to do, it wakes most of us up in the morning, it refreshes us when we are tired. but if you don’t know your way around the apparatus then you are just making coffee. You aren’t enjoying doing it. I think this calls for some practice.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2011 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Food n Coffee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
A lot of news got snowed under by the mountain of savings that happened this past week. We shuffle through the marketing fluff to find you the best in bad jokes and the worst in horrible puns. We find some fun additions to our favorite software bundles, we discuss the burning of books, the navigational tactics of the vikings and the food addictions of mustache aficionados world wide.
Did you hear the one about the 2 guys who walked into a bar? Third one ducked! You need to listen to this show, the jokes are bad the news is fun and the vocabulary is off the chart!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Thanks for Listening & Stay Caffeinated!
I like making coffee almost as much as I like drinking coffee. Which I guess is helpful, but the problem with loving coffee is that you need to be able to repeat the results for company. Now I previously posted 
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