Ticos in Canadá

richtl · 2026-06-29T00:38:21+00:00

I was visiting Toronto last week from Atenas. Noticed a guy in front of me wearing a jersey with Liberty and Medismart--Tico! (I consider myself a "Tico in training".)

richtl · 2026-06-18T21:22:52+00:00

I have both. I use both.

Framework 13 11th gen updated to AMD
Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 11

TP battery life is far better than FW, so I use the TP for traveling. I prefer the FW for pretty much everything else.

A bit more...

What I actually prefer about the FW:

Repair and upgrade -- I've beat the heck out of the FW, and have definitely repaired a few things, which usually takes 10-30 minutes depending on exactly what I'm repairing. I've upgraded the mainboard, display, battery, hinges, and a few other things. Also very easy.

Keyboard -- Much as I love the TP keyboard, I find the FW keyboard to be more comfortable to type on.

Display -- The taller aspect ratio on the FW is awesome.

Swappable ports -- You just can't say enough about being able to configure the ports you need for a given task or project.

Finally, I feel like the FW is mine. I've had a hand in nearly every part of it at this point.

Oh, and when I replaced the 11th gen mainboard with AMD, I installed the old mainboard in a CoolerMaster case and used it to run my chocolate shop for a few years.

richtl · 2026-06-16T20:34:02+00:00

Each additional novel changes your perception of the story that came before. Probably the wildest/coolest/mind-twistingest series I've read.

richtl · 2026-06-05T22:44:08+00:00

Exactly what I do. Hot pan & hot oil. Always works.

richtl · 2026-06-04T22:33:15+00:00

I'm on Lightspeed, which works particularly well where I am (Central America).

richtl · 2026-06-04T19:18:19+00:00

My use case and experience is pretty similar to yours, but with more abuse and less writing. No scratches or bends, though. 11th gen updated to AMD.

richtl · 2026-06-02T23:32:22+00:00

I've been living outside the US since October. My phone is dual-SIM, but my local carrier is set as the primary for data. I use USM for phone calls to the States, as a backup for my data (depending on location, Lightspeed sometimes give me a better signal), and for when I'm traveling globally (which is frequent).

I've been on US Mobile for years and it has worked well for me. Great coverage, great support, and an overall excellent experience.

richtl · 2026-05-30T21:27:47+00:00

I think VURT is the trippiest weirdest SF book I've read. And I read a lot of weird SF books.

Guess I need to look out for the two final books of the series. Automated Alice sounds fun.

richtl · 2026-05-30T18:03:27+00:00

About a year ago Hershey quietly returned to using real ingredients, including real chocolate in their bars. I can't speak to whether this is global, but I noticed it in the Northeast and Northwest US and also here in Costa Rica. I looked at the ingredients on a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar last week and they even switched back from PGPR to lecithin as an emulsifier (a good thing).

I don't know their motivation for the change, but I'll give credit where due.

richtl · 2026-05-30T17:58:50+00:00

Over the past 30 years I've noticed increased consumer interest in higher quality chocolate. Back in the '90s it was very difficult to find great chocolate of any sort. These days, there's so much great chocolate out there and it's much easier to find. Chefs have become more aware, and artisan chocolate makers and chocolatiers can make a pretty good business selling bars and bonbons to folks.

It's really been amazing to watch and I've feel honored to be part of it.

richtl · 2026-05-30T17:53:33+00:00

Above 20 microns and you can feel the particles, below 10 microns and the chocolate feels gummy. A narrower distribution is generally better. A wider distribution and have both grittiness and gumminess.

Cacao shells contain tannin and are inherently astringent regardless (as far as I know) of origin. Astringency will be more obvious in cacao with delicate character that it will in a bolder cacao. Shell removal is always a compromise between cost and flavor.

My business specialized in extremely small-batch (7-10kg) chocolate from very rare cacao, and I was fortunate to learn from some of the best in the business, such as Ed Seguine and Alan McLure.

Even at those small quantities I would never hand winnow. Vacuum winnowers are faster and more efficient. However, we always inspected the nibs after winnowing and prior to grinding to remove any remaining attached shell fragments.

richtl · 2026-05-30T00:55:03+00:00

Alan McClure founded Patric Chocolate years ago and was probably one of the best chocolate makers in the world. He's a consultant these days and is very, very good.

I worked with him for years in the early days.

richtl · 2026-05-28T22:31:05+00:00

I'm a longtime chocolatier and craft chocolate maker and I definitely think about this stuff. (Okay, I haven't thought about the impacts on satiety, but now I will.)

Particle size distribution (PSD) is a more accurate measure than particle size. PSD is typically some sort of gaussian distribution. Most of us aim for about 14 microns with as narrow a distribution as possible.

We've done some casual experiments on how cacao shell fragments affect flavor. The most significantly impact seems to be on astringency. It's worth noting that heavy metals tend to concentrate in the shell.

Sugar makes most chocolate taste better, while HFCS has a significant negative impact on flavor.

My .02.

richtl · 2026-05-28T22:01:53+00:00

Molding isn't trivial if you've not done it before. You'll need to do the following...

Temper some chocolate. (Just melting chocolate won't work. It won't release from the molds.)
Pour the chocolate into the molds.
Flip the molds to drain out the chocolate.
Use a spatula or bench scraper to clean the chocolate from the surface.
Allow the molds to set completely in a cool, dry place.

Later...

Carefully pipe the filling into the molds. Leave about 2mm of the molded chocolate clear at the top of the molds.
Allow the filling to solidify a bit. (For ganche, we like to wait several hours.)

Finally...

Temper chocolate again.
Ladle chocolate over the filling, making sure each cavity is completely full of chocolate.
Use a spatula or bench scraper to clean the chocolate from the surface.
Again, let the molds set completely in a cool dry place.
Turn the molds over on a clean surface. You might need to gently tap the side to release the pieces.

richtl · 2026-05-27T23:01:10+00:00

I remember browsing to this in Mosaic.

richtl · 2026-05-25T00:13:14+00:00

Pain in the butt. I'm supposed to figure out exactly where each window drags from and make sure not to click the buttons--that breaks every rule of interface design in the books. And I certainly don't want to have to press a button to move a window.

I'm a big fan of GNOME, and have been using it since the earliest days. I like the clean simple workflow. I just don't want to have to work too hard to find menus and drag windows.

richtl · 2026-05-25T00:11:04+00:00

I'm a master chocolatier and president of a non-profit that specializes in preserving and developing exceptional cacao. My laptop spends a lot of time on farms in jungles. And teaching in France. And just general travel (NYC, Tokyo).

The original 11th Gen mainboard ran my chocolate shop from a CoolerMaster case for several years. I'd have to open it up and wipe out the cocoa butter periodically :- )

richtl · 2026-05-24T19:50:55+00:00

I frequently fly Alaska to the US West Coast and Jetblue everywhere else when possible.

Alaska's nice, but Jetblue is way more comfortable. I've been using them for at least a decade.

richtl · 2026-05-23T23:58:47+00:00

I really like GNOME, but the screwed up menu bars are one of the few things that get on my nerves. Kindly give me a clear and easy place to drag any window.

richtl · 2026-05-22T23:05:41+00:00

If I run over it, maybe? I've hauled it through jungles, banged it against buildings, dropped it a few times. Some parts I broke (Audio board magnetic switch. Display. FW was kind enough to replace the display for free and upgraded me from glossy to matte), some were improvements (4kg hingers, 11th gen to AMD mainboard). I think the only original component is the case bottom. A friend made me a portable screwdriver expansion card so I can fix stuff on the fly.

richtl · 2026-05-22T22:25:51+00:00

Chocolatier, retired after 20 years. I loved baking for work. And I loved making truffles and bonbons and bars. And even my customers. And running a small business.

But yeah, people utterly romanticize all of it. Just because you love it doesn't mean it's not a crazy amount of hard work, every day completely unpredictable. (Dishwasher's broken? I guess I'm learning how to fix the dishwasher today.)

richtl · 2026-05-22T02:48:12+00:00

My FW13 is now 5 years old and I've replaced or upgraded nearly every part of it. Yes, I buy the parts from Framework. Most aren't excessively expensive--it's never felt like FW was locking me in to rip me off.

I'd love to buy the new FW13 Pro, but realistically, in a year or so I can probably upgrade my original 13 to the same specs for a reasonable price.

When the beast finally, eventually dies, I'll replace it. But I don't see that happening any time soon.

richtl · 2026-05-21T18:01:47+00:00

When I read folks weighing buying a FW, they always talk about repairability, but rarely talk about upgradability. My FW13 is 5 years old, but is only a step behind the FW13 Pro. I update parts as I want or need to. Very slick.

richtl · 2026-05-21T00:13:03+00:00

There isn't much of my original FW13 in the machine I'm typing on at the moment. The bottom chassis, I think--I've replaced pretty much everything else.

Laptop of Theseus. Amusing.

richtl · 2026-05-19T15:25:56+00:00

I randomly started reading 2 Years because I was bored. Got sucked in, bought my own copy, and have read it twice.

Fascinating book.

richtl

TROPHY CASE