Toby Curl

A few photos from Bruges.

Scotty Loveless has written this great guide for those of you who have some iOS battery issues.

The first step is my favourite because it confirms my crazy suspicion since iOS 6:

Step 1: Disable Location and Background App Refresh for Facebook

My usual train was cancelled tonight so I was waiting for the next one.

(It’s a Puzzleman)

I have just finished the latest zelda game: A Link Between Worlds. and what a fun game it is. It has all the regular fun of Zelda but with the added nostalgia of the older top down Zelda games (it’s set in the same world as A Link to the Past).

One of a great things about this game is instead of having to play for hours before you get various weapons you can rent nearly all of them very early in to the game. So instead of passing cracked rocks that you know can be broken by a certain tool you can break them right there and then. This also allows you to tackle the dungeons in whatever order you happen to get to them.

I would definitely recommend this one.

I have actually updated this website after a number of years with the same design.

As you can see the blog is no-longer on Tumblr (although I think I might keep posting there too so people can use the Tumblr dashboard. When Kottke.org was redesigned he created a Tumblr blog where he cross-posts everything and found it to be a good thing). I am running the blog on a Ghost installation. I have found Ghost to be really easy to design for; it only has three template pages at the moment that you need in your theme.

I will try to write some posts this year too!

My name is Toby Curl, I’m a software developer in North Yorkshire, England. I am currently working as a web developer. I try to make things in my free time but also play video games.

Contact

@tobycurl on Twitter.
@tobycurl on Micro.blog.
Email me at [email protected].

Follow the site via RSS or JSON Feed.

Projects

Dart

Dart was an app for iPhone and iPod touch that saved links to Pinboard with minimal effort.

Everyone has the same advantage. It’s just that they get annoyed when they can’t use it effectively.

A yo-yo in space, what is not to like.

(via Kottke)

Extra points for calling it “Replicator”.

via Dan Benjamin

On my Mac the ‘Open With’ list in the context menu keeps filling up with duplicate entries for apps. Not really sure why it keeps happening but I keep forgetting how to clean it and then not being able to find the solution again.

So this is how to do it:

Enter this into terminal (this is on 10.8 the file path might be different on other version of OS X):

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

I have also created an alias for this in my bash profile:

alias cleanopenwith='/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user'

Let’s keep exploring space.

Via the BBC

I still have mine connected to my TV. Until recently I rented things from iTunes on it but now I just use it as a DVD player.

Extending the Life of a G4 Mac mini

We had the Amiga version, so that was clearly the best.

Genesis Aladdin or Super NES Aladdin?

Speaking of the AeroPress, Adam Lisagor made this fantastic video that captures the essence of the whole process.

The AeroPress is my favourite coffee brew method right now. It just makes such a good, smooth cup. It somehow seems to make most beans taste better than the other methods at my disposal.

Recipes

There are so many ways to make a cup with the AeroPress.

I am not a fan of the original way, I generally favour the inverted methods. You get a part brewed, part pressed, filtered coffee. The Has Bean method is a good example.

However I find my current method to be great. It’s probably a bit of a mix of various methods I have been told or read (or it’s exactly one I have read and just think I have made this, I just can’t remember).

The Method

1. Boil the water.
2. Measure 15g - 16g of coffee (this varies depending on the coffee. Grind the beans, finer than for filter but a coarser than espresso.
3. Put the plunger in the AeroPress so the bung is just fully in, so to around the 4 mark.
4. Once the water has been off boil for a minute or two fill the AeroPress without coffee. This heats the AeroPress and lets your wash the filter paper at the same time.
5. After a minute or so put 2 filters in the cap and attach to the AeroPress and plunge over the sink.
6. Reset the AeroPress and put the coffee in.
7. I have no idea what temperature the water is but it usually has been off boil for around 5 minutes by this point.
8. Fill the AeroPress with water so the bubbles are just at the lip.
9. Stir a little to make sure the grounds are all wet and start the stop watch, stirring for about 10 seconds.
10. Leave for a minute.
11. Stir for 10 seconds.
12. Leave for another minute.
13. Give it another quick stir.
14. Put the cap on, hold a strong cup over the top and invert the whole thing so the AeroPress is now standing on the top of the cup.
15. Plunge, but stop before the air comes out.
16. Rinse AeroPress off.
17. Add some more water from the kettle to fill the rest of the mug.
18. Allow to cool a little, drink, enjoy.

I used to really dislike coffee (as my brother keeps reminding me when I try to push for better coffee at my parents). Now I really like coffee and for that I mostly blame my good friend Andrew Duncan.

The Early Years

The earliest I can remember actually having a coffee I liked was probably 1997/1998 when we went to Canada on holiday. I’m fairly sure I had a coffee Frappuccino type drink which was likely from Starbucks. I probably enjoyed this because it was cold, sweet and full of milk so took away the bitterness usually associated with coffee. I think from then I probably started to drink coffee on occasion at home; instant with lots of milk and sugar.

Proper Coffee

I’m fairly sure my parents had ground coffee either on a Sunday with breakfast or for special occasions. My brother and I always enjoyed plunging the cafetiere (who doesn’t, it’s the best bit if you’re not drinking it!). I’m sure I had some on occasion but I have no good memory of it.

The University Years

Mostly instant, but more of it. I got a little desktop coffee machine (although older that that one, with only one tiny mug) as a present so needed some actual ground coffee. It worked pretty well for a tiny cup of coffee and sure helped for 9am lectures.

In my third year someone in our house got a drip coffee machine so that was good for a while.

Starting Work

Once I got a job I was persuaded to get rid of the instant and go for the pre ground from the supermarket. I generally ended up with the Qualità Rossa blend from Lavazza and sure remember enjoying it. It all started to build up from there.

Fresh Roasted

I started ordering fresh roasted but ground coffee from Has Bean. Then I got this awesome hand grinder and obviously started ordering whole beans. I got an electric grinder (although it’s the older version now, the Maestro Plus) last year and it’s great.

The number of brew methods I had at my disposal also increased. The obvious starting point of a cafetiere, then an AeroPress and then a SwissGold one cup filter. All make a great cup of coffee.

I use the SwissGold by far the most. It makes a good cup with very little effort and interaction. This is extremely handy first thing in the morning as I am rushing to get out the door. The AeroPress is my favourite though. It makes such a good, smooth cup.

Good Beans

I generally get my beans from Has Bean, the best beans with the best service.

I go for a different coffee every time just to try them. Through a process of elimination I have come to find I enjoy the earthier coffees a lot more than the fruity ones. It’s a difficult thing to tell, as it’s mainly a description from the roaster as I can’t tell myself (most of the time) when a coffee would be described as fruity. Sometimes you can really taste a certain flavour though; there was this lovely one from Bolivia last year that had a great biscuit taste.

Additives

When I have a good cup with good beans I just drink it black. If it’s done right then it’s not bitter and doesn’t have any of the bad tastes. It can be naturally sweet and tastes great. Sometimes I get the need for a milky cup though and that’s good too.

In Conclusion

So, I like coffee a lot. I only generally have one cup a day. It tastes great.

I personally find eating half at a time with a little milk and sugar the best way to enjoy Weetabix.

via Serious Eats