Aug 15, 2002, 10:50pm

I'm a "down" guy today, which is weird because there are many good things happening in my life as of late that, while they have me a bit scared due to some increased visibility and responsibilities I'm being saddled with in the world of coffee, they are also incredible opportunities that I should feel honoured and proud of.

I'm down though because, well, my Mom isn't doing well. The cancer that was thought to be in regression after her first chemo sessions is in fact growing, and has been found in other parts of her internals. It's not good news, but we hold out hope. She's going for an operation very soon to do certain things, but where before they thought they'd be able to cut it all out, they're going in now knowing they have to leave some in. Some of the cancer is in her pelvis, which they cannot remove.

My mom has mentioned recently to my brothers and a girlfriend of one of my brothers that she wanted to save money up for a computer, but that it would take time. When I heard this, I had a short talk with Jeanette, and we decided to buy her one on the spot. My brother Mike, in Ottawa (where my Mom lives too) was the go to guy, and he got a fairly decent setup and built it and loaded tons of stuff on it. We did this without telling anyone else in the family. I bought the 'pooter, Jeanette bought the monitor. Yesterday, Mike brought it over and set it up for my Mom, who was ecstatic, very surprised, and very happy. Which, of course makes me very happy. Today she got Rogers broadband cable, and though she had a trip planned to her sister's cottage for this weekend (and left this evening), when she gets back next week I fully expect her to be this internet-surfin, letter writting, photo editing, game playin' fool, and she'll probably be stopping by here to read and maybe even post to the comments board.

(note, there was another part to this rant about a guy who had me a bit miffed, but I've decided to edit this out).

2 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 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