Two of my favorite things (Early Intel Mac edition).

[Certificate of Excellence]

About a year ago (and I think you and I had discussions on it in this thread) we had coffee sitting around that we'd bought, but decided we didn't like. I decided to just use it up, no matter how awful it was going to taste, just to get rid of it. My wife was on board because her idea of consuming coffee is largely just to acquire the caffeine.

Wasn't fun, but we got it all used up and now our canisters are full of the coffee we DO like.

I think I remember those discussions.

Usually, I'm pretty good at using up coffee I don't like. It takes something pretty awful for me to let it sit like I did with that one can!

As money hasnt been as tight as it was in the past starting out, if the chance coffee is really yucko, I have gotten into the habit of throwing bad coffee into my garden lol 🙂 I do this anyways everyday with the grounds I produce after my morning pot brews - very caffeinated flowers & veggies lol. Luckily for me, my garden beds start within a baseball toss of my backyard kitchen door. If I miss a bed, it just hits my grass and becomes some of its future nutritive protoculture 😛

 

[eyoungren]

As money hasnt been as tight as it was in the past starting out, if the chance coffee is really yucko, I have gotten into the habit of throwing bad coffee into my garden lol 🙂 I do this anyways everyday with the grounds I produce after my morning pot brews - very caffeinated flowers & veggies lol. Luckily for me, my garden beds start within a baseball toss of my backyard kitchen door. If I miss a bed, it just hits my grass and becomes some of its future nutritive protoculture 😛

Our backyard is a postage stamp. Which suites me fine because there is absolutely nothing I hate worse than yardwork. I've mentioned more than once to my wife that I'd appreciate being able to concrete in the entire front yard and back yard. I console myself with the fact that at least there is desert landscaping (rock and gravel).

But…if I were interested in that, it'd be a good idea. Plenty of local Starbucks offering their grounds free.

My wife at one point did have a small fountain going and various plants and such. But once she no longer had time, it all turned into weeds. Fortunately, the screengrab I show below also explains why we no longer have any weeds.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

The official high for us was only 97F but at my mom n dads their western exposure at 4pm made it up to 103F and for me my thermometer read 101F. For the record I have no idea how folks live through that sort of heat. Humidity or no humidity, that is just wild. I got the worst heat stroke ever in Phoenix around the totc - made me so sick. I couldnt drink water fast enough it seemed. After that, I realized Phoenix and all of southern AZ and NM was not for me lol. 🙂

 

[eyoungren]

The official high for us was only 97F but at my mom n dads their western exposure at 4pm made it up to 103F and for me my thermometer read 101F. For the record I have no idea how folks live through that sort of heat. Humidity or no humidity, that is just wild. I got the worst heat stroke ever in Phoenix around the totc - made me so sick. I couldnt drink water fast enough it seemed. After that, I realized Phoenix and all of southern AZ and NM was not for me lol. 🙂

Air conditioning.

Literally, the only reason anyone can survive out here. It is a necessity, the same as heating in some areas of the country during winter is also considered essential.

But, as you may know, our central AC went out in 2020. We've done this enough times now though to establish a routine. At this moment, two portable AC units are on full blast, two air recirculators and one box fan. This year, I also added in two smaller fans that are specifically pushing air towards my Cinema displays and the Mac Pro.

Noon is when we receive the max heat from the sun that we are going to get for the day. That heat fully shows up by 4pm, at which point all the buildings and pavement begins to shed that heat as the area cools down. Relief really only comes around sunset when it starts to drop. By sunrise, it's as cool as it's going to get and the cycle repeats. The problem is that if all it ever cools down to is 90º, then you're already starting the day behind the 8-ball.

For us, noon to 8pm no stove, no dishwasher, no washing machine. On days like today we manage to keep it between 78º in the morning and 82-84º in the evening. Bedrooms have window AC/portable AC. As there is much less area to cool, those are primarily much cooler than down here in the kitchen/front room.

Typically I'll start the AC units and fans around 2:30am. I'm generally down here around 5 to 7am and by that time the temp has usually dropped into the 80º range. I do not leave the units running over night. They would never shut off and our electric bill would skyrocket from the already high price it is in summer. The units also need some rest because they are going from 2:30am to about 9pm at night.

I hear you on the heat stroke. That's why there are certain rules out here and you follow them. 😉

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Air conditioning.

Literally, the only reason anyone can survive out here. It is a necessity, the same as heating in some areas of the country during winter is also considered essential.

But, as you may know, our central AC went out in 2020. We've done this enough times now though to establish a routine. At this moment, two portable AC units are on full blast, two air recirculators and one box fan. This year, I also added in two smaller fans that are specifically pushing air towards my Cinema displays and the Mac Pro.

Noon is when we receive the max heat from the sun that we are going to get for the day. That heat fully shows up by 4pm, at which point all the buildings and pavement begins to shed that heat as the area cools down. Relief really only comes around sunset when it starts to drop. By sunrise, it's as cool as it's going to get and the cycle repeats. The problem is that if all it ever cools down to is 90º, then you're already starting the day behind the 8-ball.

For us, noon to 8pm no stove, no dishwasher, no washing machine. On days like today we manage to keep it between 78º in the morning and 82-84º in the evening. Bedrooms have window AC/portable AC. As there is much less area to cool, those are primarily much cooler than down here in the kitchen/front room.

Typically I'll start the AC units and fans around 2:30am. I'm generally down here around 5 to 7am and by that time the temp has usually dropped into the 80º range. I do not leave the units running over night. They would never shut off and our electric bill would skyrocket from the already high price it is in summer. The units also need some rest because they are going from 2:30am to about 9pm at night.

I hear you on the heat stroke. That's why there are certain rules out here and you follow them. 😉

Lol I was young and dumb. Played in a rock band and we toured through Phoenix and had a couple shows in the Phoenix area. I remember on the drive out, I felt like I was going to die. This likely was due to dehydration from playing hot & sweaty rock shows and not replenishing fluids & salts as I should have. By day 3, holy cow I was dying lol.

Phoenix is the only place I’ve been where it was 103F at 3a in the flippin’ morning - that was the coolest it got. I remember walking out the back of the venue of the 2nd gig at that time and feeling completely defeated as there was just zero relief and by then I was starting to really feel the heat stroke setting in. That’s just nuts but yeah you can see how AC in a place like Phoenix is the equivalent of a furnace where it’s cold enough to freeze to death like Siberia or Alaska.

In northern NM where I live it gets hot but not Phoenix hot. Here we have the luxury of swamp coolers for most days which are very cost effective and when the temps shoot into the triple digits (where SCs begin to lose their cooling efficiency) , like you, we have a window AC unit to help take the edge off. For us with the AC unit even on triple digits days I can keep the inside temps around 73-75 which is pretty comfortable for us. To be fair I have also put reflective film on the west facing windows and attached those hip stretchy Shade cloths over the west facing windows as well, so cumulatively it is seeming to add up.

But yeah, Phoenix is just so brutal. Props to those who can make it happen there. It is certainly not for the faint of heart.

 

[eyoungren]

Lol I was young and dumb. Played in a rock band and we toured through Phoenix and had a couple shows in the Phoenix area. I remember on the drive out, I felt like I was going to die. This likely was due to dehydration from playing hot & sweaty rock shows and not replenishing fluids & salts as I should have. By day 3, holy cow I was dying lol.

Phoenix is the only place I’ve been where it was 103F at 3a in the flippin’ morning - that was the coolest it got. I remember walking out the back of the venue of the 2nd gig at that time and feeling completely defeated as there was just zero relief and by then I was starting to really feel the heat stroke setting in. That’s just nuts but yeah you can see how AC in a place like Phoenix is the equivalent of a furnace where it’s cold enough to freeze to death like Siberia or Alaska.

In northern NM where I live it gets hot but not Phoenix hot. Here we have the luxury of swamp coolers for most days which are very cost effective and when the temps shoot into the triple digits (where SCs begin to lose their cooling efficiency) , like you, we have a window AC unit to help take the edge off. For us with the AC unit even on triple digits days I can keep the inside temps around 73-75 which is pretty comfortable for us. To be fair I have also put reflective film on the west facing windows and attached those hip stretchy Shade cloths over the west facing windows as well, so cumulatively it is seeming to add up.

But yeah, Phoenix is just so brutal. Props to those who can make it happen there. It is certainly not for the faint of heart.

The year our AC went out was the year record heat was set. Unfortunately, not a lot of money. So, it took some time to acquire AC units and the kids were sleeping on the floor in the master bedroom until we could buy them units for their rooms. There for a while it was just a indoor evap cooler - and fans.

Yeah, we've been there though with 100º+ heat in the early AM. People wonder a lot why Arizona doesn't observe DST and this is one of the major reasons. An extra hour of daylight has the sun setting in Phoenix at 9:00pm while it's still over 100º. That benefits us how?! 😀

 

[WriteNow]

Today I used a small single cup pour-over of a design I've used off and on for over 30 years. (How can that be, when I'm only 21? LOL) It's the style I've described with a coffee basket with permanent filter, topped by a plastic water reservoir.

The coffee was using up old coffee. Two separate cups of two blend of "almost gone" (and not very fresh) coffees.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Today I used a small single cup pour-over of a design I've used off and on for over 30 years. (How can that be, when I'm only 21? LOL) It's the style I've described with a coffee basket with permanent filter, topped by a plastic water reservoir.

The coffee was using up old coffee. Two separate cups of two blend of "almost gone" (and not very fresh) coffees.

Yeah and Ive been enjoying my 24th year for the past 24 years about lol. 😛





*added my smiley in case my attempt at humor was not clear 🙂

 

[eyoungren]

Not so much 'Two of my favorite things' today as 'Dealing with the heat'.

7th gen iPad and Mac. We broke a record Friday with 117º heat and it only cooled down to 95º last night. Today, we're set for another 117º. Streaming the local news to the iPad so the TV isn't on (heat).

 

[WriteNow]

Note to self: the coffee maker will probably work better next time if you remember to put water in it before plugging it in...

 

[eyoungren]

Note to self: the coffee maker will probably work better next time if you remember to put water in it before plugging it in...

I usually just brew hot water. 😉

 

[WriteNow]

I got the impression that someone I knew had a coffee maker set up to deal gracefully with overflow situations casued by times the carafe didn't get back where it belonged before brewing commenced.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Note to self: the coffee maker will probably work better next time if you remember to put water in it before plugging it in...

I usually just brew hot water. 😉

I got the impression that someone I knew had a coffee maker set up to deal gracefully with overflow situations casued by times the carafe didn't get back where it belonged before brewing commenced.

Guilty of all three. 😂

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Not so much 'Two of my favorite things' today as 'Dealing with the heat'.

7th gen iPad and Mac. We broke a record Friday with 117º heat and it only cooled down to 95º last night. Today, we're set for another 117º. Streaming the local news to the iPad so the TV isn't on (heat).

View attachment 2647820

Man those temps are crazy. It’s reached 100-102 here so I’ve spent that past few days up in the mountains camping in 85F mountain air & afternoon clouds/showers. This makes me wonder though - what happens if lake Meade dries up? Thats like 40% of Phoenix’s water. The drought around these SW parts has absolutely crushed our reservoirs. Below me, our largest NM reservoir Elephant Butte is down to 1% of its capacity 😳. I remember going there in the 90s and 2k to swim and fish and water ski when it was at 100% capacity and over 100 feet deep and over 40 miles long.

Now it’s a stinky mud pit and this has repeated at numerous reservoirs north of me too ie/ Heron lake, El Vado etc. huge reservoirs reduced to grassy fields of dead tree stumps. At least Meade is still at 27ish %. Our water is so fragile.

 

[eyoungren]

Man those temps are crazy. It’s reached 100-102 here so I’ve spent that past few days up in the mountains camping in 85F mountain air & afternoon clouds/showers. This makes me wonder though - what happens if lake Meade dries up? Thats like 40% of Phoenix’s water. The drought around these SW parts has absolutely crushed our reservoirs. Below me, our largest NM reservoir Elephant Butte is down to 1% of its capacity 😳. I remember going there in the 90s and 2k to swim and fish and water ski when it was at 100% capacity and over 100 feet deep and over 40 miles long.

Now it’s a stinky mud pit and this has repeated at numerous reservoirs north of me too ie/ Heron lake, El Vado etc. huge reservoirs reduced to grassy fields of dead tree stumps. At least Meade is still at 27ish %. Our water is so fragile.

Short answer, IDK.

Somewhat uninformed and longer answer…Arizona signed a deal with San Diego in June 2026 for water sharing. SD has a fully functional desalination plant that it would be sharing water from to us.

Of course, SRP pushes Colorado river water into the CAP as well. SRP (Salt River Project) is one of ONLY two electric companies in the Valley. APS (Arizona Public Service) is the other. They don't deal with water as far as I know.

CAP, stands for Central Arizona Project and is a system of canals and waterways that were constructed back in the early 1900s. The intent was to bring Colorado river water (via SRP) to 'farmland' in Central Arizona.

So, that's primarily where we get our water…Colorado river. Incidentally, there are SRP canals on just about every major Phoenix street. The streets follow their path. They are open. And sometimes the news reports people and cars falling into them and what happens afterwards. Most of our fire departments have a swift water rescue team to deal with canal rescues.

The thing about Phoenix water, like all Valley water, is that because of the canals you get algae. That gets treated, but the Fed does not require cities to remove the TASTE of the algae blooms. Most people out here buy water or heavily filter it. And that's reason number one why I never use tap water for our coffee. No matter what coffee I would make, the algae taste would just ruin it.