Coffee

Bye Buds

While chatting with neighbor Tere over the fence several weeks ago, I noticed an odd-looking thing that sort of surrounded her ear. At first I thought maybe they were cochlear implants, so I didn’t ask. I did what anyone would do; I entered long strings of words into Google until I got a picture of what she was wearing. They were bone conduction earphones.

That sounded really good to me because I have several in-ear earbuds that I have trouble keeping in my ears. I have three sets, one for each car and another to use while in front of the PC, and all of them don’t stay in my ears very well. They all came with three different sizes of the flexible cones to allow for a fit in many sizes of ear canals. I’ve tried all three, but none stay put.

I’ve been mulling it around, and then on Saturday the person in front of me in line at the coffee shop had a set on, so I went home and did some research. I searched for reviews and tests, and then I put in “best bone conduction headphones,” and the consensus winner is the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, which retails for $180. Wow, I have to think about that. Of course if you check Amazon for these things, they start at $20 and work their way up to that $180.

The clincher was that just two days later, after the Google and Amazon searches, what should appear in my Instagram feed but an ad for bone conduction earphones. Nice work Internet! I figured instead of getting something via that way, I’d go to a review site and click on an Amazon affiliate link. Instead of the $180 top-of-the-line, I’d just buy the regular OpenRun Pro (no “2” on the end) for 70% the cost of the big boy.

Fedex arrived this afternoon with one wheel and tire for the GTI. Hopefully tomorrow the other 3 arrive…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 14.0%

 

Two Days In The Life

Monday was pretty much a washout as well, but at least I got out of the house for a coffee. I also swapped vehicle order, putting the GTI up front; it is its week to be driven. Also yesterday, I pulled the trigger on dedicated summer tires on new wheels for said GTI. They’ll be here tomorrow.

Today I got out. First was a trip to the ATM to take out some cash, then I went to Fred Meyer for a couple items I should have bought on my regular Friday trip. I know I could have gotten cash out at the grocery store, but I like to take it out in a big chunk, which exceeds what Freddy will let me take out. Plus I needed to take the GTI out for a spin. I needed the practice too; I actually stalled the car taking off from the first light I came to. On the way home I grabbed my usual latte, and even though I had ridden the exercycle for 45 minutes this morning, I walked a mile and a half while sipping on it.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 17.3%

 

How Was Your Weekend?

Thanks for asking.

Saturday was a washout, literally. I rained all day. I only stepped outside of the house onto the side porch once to verify that the loud noise I was hearing was in fact a downpour. The Miata had just its fabric cockpit cover on. But that was just fine, as the cars are covered by an awning/portico, and unlike the southern thunderstorms, the rain falls mainly straight down, not sideways.

Neither car moved today either. I did get out for my typical Sunday bike ride to breakfast at Stomping Grounds. And in spite of the promise of no rain, when I started out, it was cold, damp, and lightly misting. Instead of turning downhill to start the usual route, I turned right and went to get the muffin and latte first. I figured if it still felt like that when I was finished eating, I could just go home and get on the indoor bike. But afterwards it had started to warm up a touch, and the mist was gone, so I did my route backwards. The only downside to going in the opposite direction was it finished on an uphill instead of a downhill blast.

I am about 4 episodes from the end of season three of LOST, and it is starting to get weird, which is saying a lot for the show.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 22.0%

 

What A Slug

I did my usual 10-mile bicycle loop where I end up at Stomping Grounds for a muffin and my salted caramel latte. I think they make their muffins there, but whichever one I’ve had has been great. Today was one I hadn’t had yet. It looked different, but I didn’t ask what it was, because of my past taste experiences there. It didn’t have a distinguishing flavor, but I did get mild hints of orange citrus. There were also small black specs that I assumed were a sort of spice, but I couldn’t get any flavor from them. For a bit my mind went to ants; I thought I’d heard that they had a citrusy taste. It couldn’t be, could it? I was dining outside, so I went inside to return the plate & fork and toss the trash. I asked the barista what I just ate, and she said, “That’s Earl Grey tea, plus cream.” “Ahhh, that’s what the specs were: tea leaf bits.”

Since that bike ride, I have not left the house, due to the usual lazy day activities: TV, Red Sox, and some jigsaw puzzling.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 26.8%

 

I Learned I Have It OK

Purply Flowery Things

The usual coffee and doughnuts at the community center were replaced by coffee and doughnuts with a corporate muckety-muck of the owners of the community speaking to us. There were a lot of complaints about how the land lease cost has risen over the years. Mine has gone up by 12.5% (I’m assuming that is pretty close to what everyone else’s has done as well), and I haven’t noticed it. But being a 55+ community, there are a lot of folks here that rely totally on Social Security, and they are feeling it. Fortunately, because Donna was a big adherent of IRAs, I have that as an additional buffer. And because she made sure we put at least 10% away each payday, unless I start buying luxury cars instead of small fun cars, I’ll be okay even if I manage to make it to my 80s.

On a sad note, today I deleted the link on my desktop to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s YouTube channel. Kimmel is still there; maybe I’ll add Late Night with Seth Meyers in Colbert.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.1%

 

Missed Opportunity

Yesterday, when leaving Stomping Grounds with my favorite latte in hand as I stepped off the curb to head back to the car, there was an attractive woman walking towards me across the parking lot. We both stopped to let a pickup truck leave its spot, pass between us, and head for the exit.

She was smiling, and as we walked towards each other, she asked, “Is that your Miata?”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “How did you know?”
“Well, you had a smile on your face as you were walking that way.”
(maybe I was smiling just because she was)
“It’s a lovely spring morning, the top is down, I’m going for a drive,” I replied.

We introduced ourselves. I said, “I’m Brian,” and she replied, “I’m Anne.” She said that she used to have a Miata, but it was stolen several years back, and she missed it. We then spent the next few minutes comparing Miata stories and general life stories before she headed into Stomping Grounds and I walked to the Miata.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I thought to myself, I should have asked her if she wanted to go for a Miata drive or even let her drive it. I felt an easy connection, and maybe she did too, but I was too shy/introverted to ask. Now I’m really regretting it. And I didn’t look for a ring on her finger; she could be happily married. She was holding some papers, so maybe she was going into the building to visit the insurance place or Edward Jones and not Stomping Grounds.

I think I’m going to have to try and get my latte purchase next Thursday for around the same time of the morning…

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.1%

 

Hammond, LA – Day 10: Hipster Coffee

Metal Lizard

Another jam-packed day of chill. Slept in late, followed immediately by my usual cereal and banana breakfast, then a trip to the grocery store for sandwich fixings for Sally and me for the week, then a stop at a coffee shop (more on this below) on the way home for me. We were going to go to Subway to buy a couple three footlongs to feed son Stuart and family when they arrived, but we just didn’t feel like going out again, so they got a meal of most of our sandwich fixings. Now Sally and I will have to go back to the store for ourselves later…

After lunch with us, the 4 of them and Sally and I piled in two different cars to drive the couple miles to see GG, AKA Adele. I’m not sure of the spelling of GG, it might have two i’s in it, but quite possibly no one else does either. There, we adults chatted while the kids played with some toys and the cat for the afternoon.

 
There is a NOLA local coffee chain called PJ’s, and there are two in Hammond. Back in January I could walk to the one in downtown from the Airbnb we stayed at then, and I did probably every day. Yesterday I drove to the other PJ’s that is closer to this Airbnb because 2 miles one way is a bit far for a morning walk. Today because of my loll in bed instead of popping up, the morning caramel latte had to wait.

Coming back from shopping, I thought I’d try another downtown place that was on the way back to HQ. I Googled my way to a spot downtown called Luma Coffee, which has a 4.8-star rating. I was directed to the place, but I stopped around the corner to walk over because of the one-way streets. The trouble started when I turned the corner and started looking for a coffee shop; I didn’t see it. There are a couple empty storefronts and a lot of professional building places. Perplexed, I headed back to the car to tell Sally I couldn’t find it. She pointed kitty-cornered across the street, and all I saw was a Rexall Drug Store.

It was a Rexall Drug Store in a previous life, but now it housed a coffee shop that had left the original signage up and just had the storefront glass etched with its name. A very hipster thing to do. And the hipster thing was exceedingly apt, as inside it had that vibe in spades. I could have been back in Portland, Oregon, except no one had a beanie on. And it was a very popular place on a Sunday mid-morning with only 2 people working. I probably could have walked the 4 blocks one way to PJ’s and back before I got my order there.

Also, the 8 oz latte cost about as much as the 16 oz one back at Stomping Grounds, which tasted a lot better than what they were serving up here. If I lived in this town, I would have a different go-to for my fancy coffee drink.