Earbuds and Pasta

I have large ears.  They aren't particularly large for my head, or look all that out of proportion, but internally the external auditory meatus is pretty big.  When I buy earbuds I always have to put the largest adapter on them. 

I've discovered while this is fine for most exercise, it isn't enough for running.  At first they will hang in there, but over time they start to fall out, or I have to keep pressing them into place.  This is a major distraction during the run.  I even started to forgo music while running because of the nuisance.  This is okay for up to about 10 kilometers, but the long run is particularly boring without some tunes.

So I began searching for earbuds that would stay in my ears.  I found some pretty horrendous looking devices that I just couldn't wear.  Sort of like these:

Then I found Jaybird Bluetooth earbuds:

Wireless! I could even be reached by phone while running!  However, the only way these would stay in is if I gave my ears and the buds an isopropanol wash each time and I was concerned about what this would do to my ears (isopropanol is a weak neurotoxin). 

Then I found these:

Mine are purple.  They are do it yourself custom molded adapters for you earbuds.  All you do is microwave them in some water.  Let them cool a little (this is important if you don't want burnt ears) and press them into the earbud and your ear, molding them while they are soft.

It's hard to take a picture of one's ear.  They don't fall out, but the sound quality isn't as good as the original adaptors.  Still, I'm going to stick with them.

Culinary

Last night I made pasta.  I am forever grateful to Michael Ruhlman for many reasons, not least was an actual weight ratio of eggs to flour for pasta.  The old recipe of 5 eggs to one pound of flour was to imprecise for me.  Me and my wife don't really need more than 4 eggs worth of pasta.  Interestingly, the eggs we get at Savemart are fairly consistent at 50 grams inside content.

I didn't use the pasta machine for this batch.  I rolled the dough out by hand using a rolling pin and cut using a knife.  It really didn't take longer than the machine, it just required a little more muscle from me.  I made a ragu using our tomatoes and the pork I smoked (as detailed previously).  My ragu is a little heretical as I throw all type of non-traditional stuff in like garlic, oregano, and basil.

Beer

I just received my Belgian yeast from MoreBeer.  I am, as I write this, allowing the wort to cool for the starters and I will be brewing this Saturday.  I am so excited.  Making beer is one of my favorite activities.  I usually wait until I have enough empty carboys for 3 batches in a row and use the same yeast for all three batches.  I tend to ramp up the specific gravity (think alcohol) of the wort for each batch.  So the first one will be a basic Belgian ale, then a dubbel, and finally a tripel. 

I have to say I love a good tripel.  At most I make them once a year because I always bottle them as opposed to kegging, so that they can age.  I hate bottling, but it is worth it for any of my big beers, like a tripel.  I also bottle my Imperial Stouts.

For this first batch I will be using an unusual finishing hop - Chinook.  It's an American hop which is out of style for a Belgian beer, but I have some growing in my backyard.  It's fresh, it's organic, and I'm going to use my hops!  As you can tell from my non-traditional ragu, I'm not very traditional when I don't want to be.  However, the Tripel will be very traditional.