Author Archives: Felix

The Next President…

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As of 04NOV2020 11pm Pacific, the electoral map of who wins the US Presidency is still unknown. Neither Trump nor Biden has reached the magical 270 electoral votes.

I’ve been thinking if Biden were to win the presidency, he’s going to faced with a number of difficult issues… controlling COVID-19, appeasing racial inequality, combating climate change, equalizing economic and wealth inequality, updating healthcare for all, and reconciling the partisanship (if that’s even possible). And with the divisiveness of America, he’ll be met with extreme opposition with every national decision. With the Senate majority potentially still being retained by the Republicans, the Senate could easily slow any progress similar to how McConnell’s strategy played out in the last two years of Obama’s presidency. Furthermore, if the Democrats do manage to flip the Senate, a conservative court and very litigious Republicans lawyers could also complicate any potential progress to correct these issues. These issues are just some national issues plaguing America!!

From a foreign policy perspective, there’s also the ongoing trade disputes with China as well as the repairing not only the relationships that the current administration have destroyed. Many foreign nations look at US with a sense of uncertainty and view the US presidency as a with little confidence especially compared to the previous administration. Rebuilding the reputation of US as a world leader as a confident, committed, dependable ally is just as important for the future of US.

Biden is right. The 2020 election is an election for the “Soul of the Nation.” It’s an election that determines the course of the American future. It’s an election that hopefully starts the process of bringing back the civility and decency of the American people.

  • I am tired of living in a nation where I wake up to news about how the current administration is offering lies related to COVID19.
  • I am tired of living in a nation where I wake up to news about Trump spouting face and misleading information.
  • I am tired of living in a nation where I wake up to Trump tweeting about racism and fomenting violence between people.
  • I am just tired of Trump, his lies, his temper tantrums, his inability to lead, his pettiness, his racist views, and his moral character.

Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Company

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November’s Trade Coffee (referral link) comes from Caffe Vita Roasting Company. Everything about these beans are different from the normal single origin, light to medium roast beans that I’ve been receiving from other roasters. This bag is clearly a blend so the origins of the beans are unknown. However, since this is a French roast, I think the origin of the beans are not as important as the roasting promise.

Upon opening the bag I get strong charcoal, ashy aroma reminiscent of beans that have gone through dark roasting. Making my latte, the first sip definitely reminds me of a dark roast with a charcoal, ashy flavor. After the initial flavor hit, I start tasting hints of berries and citrus which is overpowered by a milk chocolate after taste. Although the milk chocolate is pleasant, it really becomes the dominant flavor with every sip. I actually enjoy these beans. It’s a different aroma and flavor then previous lattes that I’ve made.

Remember to Vote!!

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The government confirmed that they received my mail in ballot. If you mailed in your ballot, remember to double check that the government received and accepted it. For LA County, to check click here.

The best comeback?

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I think this is the best comeback from the Trump-Biden debate on Thursday. Trump was attempting to home in on the failures of why/how Biden couldn’t deliver as Vice President regarding some policy. Biden’s comeback was accurate: “It’s the Republican Congress.” But I think what’s more striking was the nearly 5 seconds of silence that followed.

Jumpy Monkey Coffee

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October’s Angels Cup comes from JumpyMonkey Coffee. They’re from Papua New Guinea which I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of tasting before. Specifically the beans from this Ulya Waghi Valley region which from the looks of the Google Map is situated pretty much in the middle of the country.

Opening the bag, I’m greeted with a very smoky, ashy aroma. The aroma reminds me of a dark roasted Kona or Maui coffee smell some time ago. While the beans are being scooped out to be grounded, I start getting whiffs of fruity aromas.

After making my latte, on that first sip, I taste this deep smoky, roasted, and brown sugar flavor that very much reminds me of the recent Julian Coffee Puerto Rico beans or the Taiwan Dongshan beans. The deep smokiness also is reminiscent of Kona but there’s less acidity. The initial smoky flavor fades into this wonderful chocolate after taste that coats the tongue. What’s interesting is that this coating doesn’t last too long and each sip almost always starts with the smoky flavor that fades into chocolate. Sometimes I get hints of citrus when I immediately go for a 2nd or 3rd drink quickly. But for the most part, I’ve been taking my time to really enjoy this coffee.

To you… (a poem)

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To you…

Maybe it wasn’t destined in this life.

Maybe the stars were never aligned.

Maybe defying the power of numerology was impossible.

Maybe the road not taken will lead somewhere else.

And… Thank you.

For a moment, you were everything.

For a moment, you were dazzling.

For a moment, our roads crossed paths.

For a moment, fate took pity on us.

And… In that moment, everything was magical.

Ritual Coffee Roaster

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October’s Trade Coffee (referral link) comes from Ritual Coffee Roaster. These beans come from Colombia. Colombian beans have been fairly rare so not only am I excited to try the beans but I am actually pretty excited to try this roaster again. For some context, before I started down the path of monthly and then semimonthly coffee deliveries from various roasters, I was gifted a short term subscription to Ritual Coffee as a birthday gift years ago. I’m not sure if the current version of this blog will contain my reviews from the subscription period. But I may have bought and reviewed beans from Ritual whenever I went up to the SF Bay Area.

I smell hints of berries and citruses with subtle hints of toffee. The subtleness of these aromas makes me want to just smell the beans forever. Making my latte, I taste berries, fruits and a subtle milk chocolate after taste. What I find interesting is that with each subsequent sip the flavors are changing to a more fruity/peach flavor. In addition the milk chocolate after taste also begins to take on this more nutty flavor that just sits at the back of the throat. I’m always disappointed that I finish my latte so fast. It just goes to say how delicious these beans are.

First 2020 Presidential Debate

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Did anyone watch the shit show 2020 Presidential debate last night? That was one of the worst 90 minutes I have EVER sat through. I honestly thought the candidates would be civil and inform the TV audience the stances on the various topics of discussion.

Ya… NOT HAPPENING….

The biggest issue was the constant interruptions by the interrupter-in-chief. Every interruption had him spew either personal attacks, lies, or half-truths about all the “issues” that he’s been saying for literally the past 6 years… election fraud, bringing manufacturing back, coronavirus deaths and lying about the COVID-19 severity to Woodward in February and even blaming Biden for Biden’s lack of action. I mean seriously… Trump is the President and has ALL THE POWER to prevent the spread and he blames Biden’s lack of action? Are you fucking serious man?

TRUMP IS THE PRESIDENT and has ALL THE POWER to prevent the spread!!

And he’s blaming Biden? How childish can he be? Re: the Woodward tapes, I understand that as president, making the people feel safe is appropriate. Playing down the coronavirus to the public is one thing, but to not make plans to minimize the spread behind the public is a total irresponsible and un-presidential action. How many of the 200,000 deaths could have been prevented if the president took immediate hard action? How many of the deaths could have been minimized if he listened to his scientific advisors instead of going off his “instincts”? How many people would still be employed if Trump made the decision to do a hard border closure in early Jan/Feb? What about endorsing the simple act of wearing a mask as a presidential statement to everyone? His instincts pretty much bankrupted his companies a number of times. That alone should be a warning sign of his aptitude… but his supporters still think that his facade “business acumen” is still the real deal? My god….

Cafe Kreyol Coffee Hunter Project

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September’s Angels Cup comes from Cafe Kreyol. The beans come from the Ramirez Estate Microlot in Dominican Republic. I haven’t had too many beans from the Dominican Republic. I’m not sure what it means to be “Red Honey Processed.”

Opening the bag, I am initially greeted with a wonderful sweet and fruity aromas. As I prepare to grind, the aroma morphs into a pleasant chocolate, earthy, nutty aroma. This mix of sweet, fruity, chocolate and nutty aroma is such a great aroma every time I go make my latte. After grinding and making my latte, the first sip has a very subtle sweet and fruity flavor. There is a pleasant chocolate after taste that lingers at the back of the tongue after every sip. The smoothness of the latte is pretty amazing.

Challenger: The Final Flight

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Netflix recently released a 4 episode documentary called Challenger: The Final Flight about the Challenger disaster and the stories around the seven astronauts, the decision makers behind Launch/No Launch decision, a brief history into the infamous O-ring and then a very brief intro on the role of the Rogers Commission.

Overall, I think the video editing is fantastic and very slick. The producers leave you at “cliff hangers” between episodes. I say “cliff hangers” because everyone knows what happened to the shuttle. The way the first episode ended was amazing. It leaves you momentarily silenced with the shuttle exploding mentally but I’m seeing the credits roll. I literally went “whoa, what just happened there” because I didn’t expect the sudden fade to black and fade to credits as someone was talking about the Challenger launch and seeing it go up into the clouds. The other fascinating part of this show were about the stories behind the decision makers to continue with the launch as well as the emotions of the family members who literally watched their loved ones die in the explosion. Some of the decision makers didn’t seem to show any remorse on the show when talking about the launch. Although I wonder if they kept up the appearance as a matter of principle, I don’t know how one could not show any emotion or remorse after 40 years. I felt a bit of disdain and anger towards the two NASA engineers Mulloy and Lucas with their actions around the decision to launch and their subsequent attempt to justify the launch.

If there’s a lesson to be learned… the value of human lives is more important hitting some artificial timeline and budgets