SweetPeppers
The Best Tour De France in Years
I watched perhaps 40 minutes cumulative of this year’s Tour de France live. And yet, I didn’t miss a single bit of the action. And what an action packed Tour de France this has been. My daily routine was a quick check-in with a summary of the tour on YouTube, and listening to The Move podcast, with Lance and George. It was riveting day after day.
I also finished in the top 25% of Sporza’s fantasy Tourmanager, as I had selected Pogacar, Roglic and Van Aert in my team. Not too shabby, since over 60,000 cycling fanatics were taking part.
But wait! There is more. The classics are around the corner. And this weekend is the world championships in Imola. Wout Van Aert got silver yesterday in the time trial, and is ready for Sunday. Team Wout!
The shot of the day is that of Anne Van der Breggen who won the double for the women. Glamourshot!
Sick shot. #Imola2020 pic.twitter.com/UQeLwVcPkX
— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) September 26, 2020
My First Brisket
After cooking chicken, sausages and ribs in the past months, I was ready for my first brisket. I was extra motivated, after taking Aaron Franklin’s masterclass on Texas style bbq, and admiring plenty of briskets in the Camp Chef Facebook group.
I got an untrimmed 14.5 lbs choice brisket and drafted a game plan for the next day. I followed the plan almost to the letter:
- 4am: trim the brisket. This was a lot harder than I thought. My piece of meat looked much different from those I saw in the trimming videos. I left sufficient fat to “protect” the meat from drying out.
- 4:45am: season the brisket. I didn’t use any lather, and did a 50/50 kosher salt/pepper mix - central Texas style. I was conservative in applying it. Next, let it rest at room temperature for 30-40 minutes
- I started the pellet grill/smoker at 5:40am, 250F and smoke level 8.
- The meat went on the grill at 6am, accompanied by a water pan.
- I started spritzing with apple cider vinegar every hour to avoid the edging from drying out.
- Near hour 6, I increased the heat to 265F to be ready for the infamous stall. I didn’t really notice the temperature stall.
- At hour 8, I wrapped it in butcher paper and let it smoke another 4 hours. I did notice that the internal temperature went closer to 210F, which was higher than I was aiming for (198-203F). I kept lowering the grill temperature to eventually 220F in the hope to bring down the internal temperature a bit. Though it really didn’t come down much at all. Regardless, the meet turned out to be juicy enough.
I am pretty happy with my first brisket. It had a nice bark and the point was very juicy. Next time I was run the grill at a lower temperature.
Saturday Morning
Go Run
Corona kilos are real. Just like the virus is very real. In recent weeks, I started the routine of jumping rope in the early morning, and to go walk and run in the evening. Between the walks and the short runs, I will be surpassing 20 miles this week. Those are mostly walking miles. My runs have been 2 to 3 mile runs. My half marathon race is now in the distant past. My wish is to be ready for another half marathon, when the pandemic is over.
Today it was time to start pushing again towards 4 miles runs. It has been tricky to get a run in, amid a busy work schedule and the large fluctuations in air quality due to the wild fires nearby. On a given day we start with an air quality index (AQI) of about 90, and on the worst days it will go past 200 by the afternoon.
It was good run.
4.1 Miles
Ghost 13
The only true running shoe I’ve owned are the Brooks Ghost model. I’ve ran over 450 miles in both the Ghost 10, and Ghost 11 versions. A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of Ghost 13. This version is truly the best: it is light, and the ankle support has gotten stiffer. It is fantastic stability shoe. 
Woop
When I go for a run, I plan how to keep my mind busy. Rarely do I run without listening to something or somebody. My mind is too active. Even when I listen to music, my mind wonders off thinking about this or that.
Today’s run included two podcasts: Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast with a preview of the Tour de France 2020, and NPR’s Hidden Brain. I don’t find Shankar Vedantam’s voice a great radio voice. Yet, the content of Hidden Brain is amazing.
The episode about Goop marries the US can-do attitude, with European skepticism. It couldn’t hit home stronger.
Is there a methodical way to achieve your dreams? Turns out there is — and this scientific technique has an acronym: WOOP.
— Hidden Brain (@HiddenBrain) August 25, 2020
W - wish
O - outcome
O - obstacle
P - planhttps://t.co/tvN9S68kKq
Pandemic, Heat and Now Air
About a week ago, the thunderous storms with lightning set off some many wild fires.
Rare thunder and lightning storm over the SF Bay Area. pic.twitter.com/OZQC5wJjbk
— Paul Robbins Holland (@paulrholland) August 16, 2020
Extreme weather conditions has led to fire growth, making the #LNULightningComplex now the 2nd largest fire in California and the #SCULightningComplex the 3rd. Dry lightning is expected today through Tuesday so stay #WildfireReady by having an evacuation plan in place. pic.twitter.com/ekNve67hxI
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) August 23, 2020
These NorCal wild fires have been devastating to so many people, especially those who are in the path of the fire. Not to mention, the tough work it is for the fire fighters.
Dramatic video shared by Cal Fire shows what it's like driving through the #CZUAugustLightingComplex fires at night. https://t.co/nUdpV7DWC0 pic.twitter.com/JXpMK7xNNm
— KTVU (@KTVU) August 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/Crazzyintheusa/status/1297393915625177090?s=20
Working from my garage has also its challenges as the smokey air enters through the garage vents. Today is not a healthy afternoon.
http://www.purpleair.com
It’s Hot in San Jose
I don’t do well with in hot weather. And here we are, amidst a heatwave with temperatures above 100F in San Jose.
Temperature records were smashed in the #BayArea on Friday! 🌡️ San Francisco hit 95°, Oakland hit 100°, and San Jose hit 103°! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/cAuP4RTLqN
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 15, 2020
We are all now working from home, amidst a pandemic. I live the true Silicon Valley dream, working from my garage. Sadly, our small house lacks air conditioning.
Is this what Arizona feels like all summer? Austin sounds a lot less interesting to me now, if this is what the weather is like for many months.
I remember vividly some of my worst experiences with hot weather.
There was that one where I melted in Arizona: While working at VLSI Technology, our company held a retreat mid-summer in Tempe, Arizona. When we arrived in Phoenix, it was a balmy 90+F. During the day, it was an entirely different story. I still remember the walk from our bungalow to the main conference building. I probably transpired a gallon. We walked from freezer-box to hell and back.
There was that one when I cooked in my own juices in San Luis, Argentina. One summer the temperatures in San Luis must have easily surpassed 105F (San Luis Climate) I recall suffering all day, trying to sleep a siesta in these hot temperatures. Life came about only after 10PM when the temperatures were more reasonable.
And then there is today. We normally enjoy a cooling in the evening, from over the Pacific Ocean. However due to circumstances, the temperature remains balmy all evening.
Eroding Our Basic Systems
"business as usual" #dontBelieveIt https://t.co/7CPDrL046D
— waffletchnlgy 🚴 (@waffletchnlgy) August 14, 2020
My neighbor postal worker came home quite upset: they started cutting his hours. First they remove 671 high volume sorting machines, then they cut the work hours. Wait for it ... #USPS can not handle the mail-in voting volume. This is #sabotage. This is #VoterSuppression.
— waffletchnlgy 🚴 (@waffletchnlgy) August 16, 2020
The erosion of the basic workings of the United States Postal Service is no surprise. In The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis warns us about how Trump is attacking important systems which make our country function.
When Trump “fires” the climate scientists at NOAA, Trump is impacting a lot more than the creation of climate reports. He is affecting how air traffic controllers and airlines get their weather reports. But who cares? Who even knows what NOAA stands for or what they bring to us?
With the postal service, it is different. My neighbor’s livelihood is affected. People are not receiving their medicine. Income cheques are delayed. Finally, (I hope), folks who didn’t realize the damage Trump is doing to important institutions, are waking up.
The 6am Smokers
Today, amid a heatwave in San Jose, I woke up extra early to start a pork rib smoke. I found two simple baby back ribs. One I planned to keep plain and simple with salt and pepper, the other with a pork rub and Kansas Style tangy sauce.
I started at 220F with Smoke level 5 on my WoodWind Pellet smoker. After 2-2.5 hours, I wrapped the ribs for 2 hours. Then I finished them off unwrapped. After 20-30 minutes rest, it was lunch time.
I was able to control the temperature very well. There were no big temperature swings. The final temperature for the ribs was about 189F.
The result tasted great. It was less juicy than I wanted, though it could also have been the meat.
Hour 2
Hour 3
Hour 4.5
Hour 5.5
Ready
I especially enjoyed the early morning quiet. Sipping a cup of coffee, reading, and watching the chimney of my smoker. (It was too early to play the banjo.)
Masterclass Is … Well … for Almost-Masters
Last month, I canceled my annual subscription to Masterclass. I truly enjoyed watching Malcolm Gladwell discuss his research and how he crafts his stories. I learned a lot from Commander Chris about Space Exploration. David Sedaris’ masterclass felt more like an evening with David Sedaris. The most practical class was Aaron Franklin on Texas style barbecue. Therein lies the rub (pun intended). I was looking for practical advice and feedback. Similar to many MOOC, masterclass isn’t designed for that, and doesn’t create a good feedback loop.
I subscribed to become a better writer. The class community does provide some input, though there wasn’t really any editorial feedback. I will be looking for a more beginner level class, where my writings and re-writings are marked up.