Jan 10, 1998, 4:35pm

I know it's been a while. Sorry!

Here's the deal. See, I've been working on a complete makeover for this site. Something totally different (well, not *totally* per se... I can't give up the cool table layouts for my subsections). New sections added, dead wood knocked off, that kind of thing. Some sections are going to disappear mainly because I don't like the way some people have tried to use them against me (don't worry, it's probably none of you reading this... talking about stinky FS lawyers here). Other sections are going to disappear because they are old and stinky in their own right.

So anyway, I've been holding off on doing a new rant (hence the extra long x-mas message site change) because I wanted to pop the new site as a surprise on all of you. BUT, alas, that's not to be - I'm still not finished the darned thing yet, and my history with this site is not to put up changes piecemeal... I like doing the "change" all at once - and especially since the new design / layout / look / content is so different, it would have been a nightmare to load up only parts of it. Maybe by the time the next rant goes up (which is about geocities, by the way).

Christmas is over and done with, now I've got to face up to the upcoming 2nd anniversary of my 29th birthday. sigh... I knew when I was 15, 17. 19, 21 that I was not going to enjoy getting older, and I was right. I don't like getting older. Sure, I have a lot of fun still, do a lot of things, but I dunno, my age gets me so depressed. I compare myself to my parents at this age - they already had 2 children with the 3rd coming soon... they were established, settled, and sort of "respected" if you can say that, by their family. You know, the traditional "family values" bullshit thing.

Me? Well, I'm like, in a one bedroom condo, (albeit nice), sharing it with my partner Jean, struggling to make my stake in the world with my own startup, but with no real tangibles to show for it, other than a few web things here and there, and a dog. No kids planned or on the way, nothing like that.

Many of you don't know this, but both Jean and I share the same birthday - I'm two years older than her, but we were both born on Jan. 25th. She'll be 29 this year, and I just know that she's going to start hearing her 'biological clock' ticking mighty soon, so we have to start making big plans as to our future. All that serious stuff - all the stuff I don't want to even think about most times.

Nosir, I don't like my birthday anymore. I hates it, I tells ya. Each year brings me further away from the wacked out guy who went bungy jumping just because a bunch of testosterone-laden Aussies said "be a man". Each year brings me further away from the guy who spent two years touring around Europe, sometimes with only pennies in my pocket. Each year brings me further away from the guy who used to be able to actually bike in the Gatineau hills without having to stop every two minutes or fear a massive hyperventilating session.

Before any of you write, ya ya ya... I know "stop living in the past dude!" or "life is what you make it" or other stuff like that. I know it all. But ever since my 25th birthday, which actually sucked since no one knew it was my birthday (I was in Banff then) I've hated my birthdays. I've decided, since Jean's is the same day as mine, to basically ignore my birthday, and concentrate on celebrating hers. And that's the way it will probably be for some time. Once I have a kid, then fine, the kid and mom can celebrate my birthday, it will seem more proper then. But for now, I hate the feeling I gets when Jan. 25 rolls around.

As for Christmas, well, I still love it though! Santa was good to me, bringing me more memory (you can never have enough memory... but of course, you need the slots for it! :-)) Santa also brought me 5 new playstation games (including one I really wanted - Rally Cross!). He also brought me some clothes and other goodies. But let me tell you, Santa, bless his old heart, was really really good to Jean. She talks about some of the presents she got, over at her web site (she finally updated her rant! after an absence of a full month!).

I got to spend Christmas this year with my Mom which was good - first time in five years. She was out here for the holidays, which didn't make the rest of my family too happy, but made Jean and I happy. She was there Christmas morning, and was witness to Mitzy's canny (canine?) ability to unwrap presents - folks, it's a site you have to see to believe! (pictures coming soon) and was suitably impressed.

Anyway, enough rambling for one day - sorry for the long delay, and I hope you pop back soon, and catch the totally different look that will be here next time around.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season no matter what your faith is, and I hope all of you have a great 1998.

1 comments | reply

Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D