Pro Home Cooks: Go Sour Dough - yeast is BS!

Neither me nor my wife - she is the LaplandCrossoverCuisine Chef, by the way! - are anything even remotely close to devoted YouTube fans but every now and then we do stumble on some really great stuff there. This is one of the gems: the holy grail for everyone singing the praise of sour dough bread (or the LCC crazy exquisite, mind blowingly yummy sour dough Nordic rolls - with a twist!). Putting it plain, the way Mike Greenfield does: don't trash your sour dough starter! However, I'd like to modify his statement ever so slightly: don't you dare thrashing your sour dough stater!

Just like MikeG, we love our sour dough bread, for the obvious reasons: it's good for you, no BS yeast needed because it would just mess things up - and the taste & crust is just so super good that nothing else comes even remotely close. We have been baking our own bread since the dawn of time and sour dough bread for many years. However, just like Mike says what he used to do: yes, full disclosure - we have also been thrashing our excess sour dough starter but no more!

Does it really turn out that good, making (almost) instant 'pancakes' out of the sour sour dough starter? We were a bit sceptical but, of course, we had to try it out. Not that we did it exactly the way Mike played it - instead, the Chef also used some other toppings - but my oh my: the result was just crazy delicious! The texture, the mouthfeel, the savory taste.. This is quite simply a perfect appetizer or snack, easy to modify the way you want it, to be enjoyed with some dipping sauce and perhaps a drink of your choice. Whoa! Perhaps we won't be eating this stuff daily, like Mike does, but pretty often for sure :)

I have been watching some of the ProHomeCooks videos - and earlier, BrothersGreen -  mainly because Mike has absolutely nailed the delicate mixture of fun but serious and inspiring cooking coaching. The most important part is that he has actually walked the walk, instead of just talking the talk - and his engagement definitely shines through. There are many nutcases making money on YouTube but, luckily, Mike doesn't seem to be one of those guys; it looks like he's more of the opposite kind.    

Thanks for the super tasty pro sour dough (starter) tip, Mike!

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Kayak sailing: An Eventful Afternoon - by Jess Haas

I went kayak sailing on Sunday and it seems I managed to nail my timing perfectly for learning the most in the shortest period of time. I launched from the Marina Del Rey public boat ramp and got on the water about noon. It was high tide and the forecast was for 8-11 knots of wind and that seemed about right except it was coming from the north instead of the usual west/north west. With the winds coming from the north it makes for an easy sail out to the ocean instead of having to beat upwind but is always a bit rougher.

Kayak sailing lunch

I ate my lunch while sailing and it only took about 30 minutes to get out to the breakwater and the entrance to the ocean. At this point you can exit to the north or the south. When winds are high and from the north it can be difficult to exit on the north side due to a strong current flowing through. Exiting to the south is easy but if the winds and current are pushing you south it can make getting back into the harbor difficult.

More wind, more waves

By this time the wind from the west had picked up and the falling tide had created a bit of a current making exiting to the north easy. The water is always roughest directly outside of the mouth to the harbor and today was no exception. I wanted to head up the coast a little bit but 6-7ft waves were coming at me and I didn’t want them on my beam so I pointed in to them to get away from the confused seas around the breakwater. Winds were a steady 10-12 knots but they kept switching between coming from the north and coming from the west/southwest. I turned to the north west and was making a small amount of progress up the coast but I was also moving further out to sea. The waves I was expecting to diminish as I moved away from the harbor mouth instead seemed to be growing. There were actually two different swells happening. One was in the 6-7ft range from south-west and another from the north-west of about 2-3ft with a higher frequency. Sometimes they would add on top of each other and sometimes they would subtract. At one point I noticed a really cool cross hatched pattern of swell on the surface of the water.

A surprise gust

I was much more comfortable beating into the large waves than running before them but I was over half a mile from the beach and didn’t want to be too far from shore so I tacked. The large waves were passing under me with no problem and I was sailing nicely towards shore when winds of 30+knots started coming from the north. So much for the 8-11knot forecast. I needed to be home soon because my wife had plans to go swimming so I decided this was as good a time as any to head back. As soon as I got turned around a nice big 7+ft wave came from my right. I felt a little wobbly but was doing fine passing over it when a 30+knot gust came from my left and I failed to keep the boat upright.

Reentry trouble

This is only the second time I have capsized while sailing and the first time where I felt it was actually from the conditions and not just me doing something stupid in high winds. I have actually been trying to push things to find the point where this would happen and I guess I finally succeeded. My first train of thought when this happens is to stay calm and make sure I am clear of all the lines and in no danger of getting tangled. Twisting around quickly is the surest way to get tangled in a line. I was confident that I was clear of the lines and I had my paddle in my hand which was attached to the boat by my paddle leash so had no problem staying with it. The next course of action was to un turtle it. I reached under the boat and uncleated the forestay and boom vang lines so that the sail wouldn’t fight me when I went to flip it over. Then I lifted the side closest to me, got it to the point where it was about to flip over and it fell right back down. I did this twice then realized I needed to stop and assess the situation.

Autopilot off, brain on

I have righted and reentered my boat while kayak surfing many times without even thinking about it but today autopilot seemed to be failing me. Normally the wind and waves would be pushing me towards the shore but instead the combination of the tidal current and the wind from the north were actually pushing me out to sea. Fun! I had my VHF radio in my PFD like always but had left my PLB at home so no backup if shit really hit the fan and the VHF failed me. I wasn’t very concerned but still those thoughts ran through my head as I turned to why I was having trouble flipping my boat.

For one the waves were pushing it back down when I tried to lift it and I probably would have succeeded if I was on the other side but the truth of the matter was despite knowing better I was just plain doing it wrong. Lifting one side of the boat works fine when in the surf where you can touch the ground but it just causes the boat to slide away from you when you can’t. I know this and that is not how I normally right my boat. I have been avoiding doing too much with my right hand since I hurt my wrist and it seems on autopilot I was trying to flip my boat one handed.

Now with my brain engaged I calmly lifted the side closest to me with one hand and reached under to grab the handle on the opposite side. It flipped over easily like it usually does. I quickly hopped in the boat then realized at some point I had set down my paddle. I followed the paddle leash to the paddle which was luckily right there although I noticed the knot holding the line to it looked rather loose. I have been meaning to figure out a better knot for that so I guess that is a sign that I need to get on it. I hadn’t brought much with and everything still seemed to be secured in place so it seems that I got that right.

Back in the saddle

Now I needed to get my sail back in order. I could have stowed it and just paddled because of the rough conditions but what fun is that? I picked the sail up out of the water and set it loosely on my lap and looked to the lines. I dressed the sheets to make sure they weren’t tangled but the forestay line had pulled out of the cleat. On a bigger sailboat this line would be the perfect candidate for using a stopper knot to keep it from pulling out of the cleat as it can be a pain to retrieve when it does. I figure minimizing entanglement hazards is a far more important priority though and I would rather a line pull free than get snagged on it when my boat capsizes. On the flip side taking more time to get going again after such an episode could result into drifting into dangerous rocky shores, etc… I am not convinced my system is right but as of now I don’t use stopper knots on anything. Luckily it only took me 2 attempts to fish my forestay line out of the water with my paddle and I was quickly sailing towards safe harbor with a 30 knot breeze behind me.

Heading home

As I entered the sheltered waters of the main channel both winds and waves were much calmer. Winds here were back to being from the west and I contemplated throwing the spinnaker up but decided I had enough excitement for my short 2 hour adventure. I sailed at a good pace and was actually drying out a bit when a large 2 masted sailboat overtook me rather close with unreefed main, mizen and a jib flying. It is a no wake zone but sailboats can often get away with a bit of speed and I underestimated just how big of a wake their large boat would make. After getting a bit swamped I pulled over to the dinghy dock to dry off before continuing home. I then sailed on and headed home happy about another successful and educational day on the water.

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Written by Jess Haas and originally published in his Facebook group Kayak and Canoe Sailing February 16, 2021

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Android utility: Gravity Screen

I don't know about you but I've got quite a few apps on my (old!) Android Pixel 2 phone - and, I admit, very few of them are used on anything like a daily basis. Probably I should delete a bunch of the apps on my phone (note to self: do it!). However, there is this one app I use constantly because it's running all the time: the behind-the-scenes utility called GravityScreen.

GravityScreen has been around for many years and it plugs a gaping hole in the software of most Android phones, by automagically turning the screen off when you put the phone in your pocket or when the device is set to rest on a horizontal surface. Actually, I hardly ever need to use the power button of the phone any more. The way I have configured GS, my Pixel 2 also locks almost immediately in both cases so I never need to worry about leaving it unlocked.

There are many additional cool features - and tons of customization options - offered by GravityScreen and one of the most useful ones is its ability to keep the screen turned on as long as you hold the phone in your hand, in upright position. The app detects the very small movements of your hand so the screen never turns off while you are checking something on your phone, no matter how long time you view it.

On the downside - your 'mileage' using GravityScreen may vary, depending on the phone you use and the Android version that's running on it. The latest Android iteration apparently makes it impossible to utilize some features of GravityScreen - for example, the delayed lock doesn't work for me - but the app still ranks very high on my Cool Gear list.

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A Kayaking Incident in Norway

The photo is from another, great kayaking trip to Norway - the Helgeland coastal area

I do like Norway a lot, in many ways. The scenery is incredibly spectacular (well, provided you can actually see something) and the Norwegians I've met have all been friendly and helpful. It's a bit like what the US folks often - half jokingly - say about Canadians, them generally being so polite and friendly (which I also believe to be very close to the truth). Being a sea kayaking addict, I should have been kayaking in Norway much more during the years! North Atlantic is way, way Cool. In case you ever get the chance: Arctic Sea Kayak Race is just amazing and the best part is that you do not have to take part in the race :) Well, I do hope there is still time for future adventures; Norway is definitely not far from our home turf.

A couple of years ago, me and my wife had the pleasure to join some friends and paddle together in Norway. Weatherwise, it was a mixed bag - nothing unusual about that! - but it was a really great trip. However, one of our paddling day tours turned out to be a bit different in a way that resulted in me purchasing a cheap PMR radio and later a proper marine VHF handheld - see my writing about the Standard Radio HX870 here.

So, what happened? Nothing very dramatic or extremely dangerous but things could have gone south - and right there, radio comms would have been great. We were on the water, not at all very far from the shoreline, but after a while the waves got really choppy and all of a sudden I noticed that it was just me and one fellow kayaker who could see each other - the others were way out there somewhere, hidden by the waves, and possibly heading in another direction. I was doing okay, in my old but very seaworthy North Shore Calypso, but my friend wasn't and I had no idea what the deal was for my wife and the rest of the bunch.

I felt frustrated like crazy but, after a while, the rest of the party showed up and there wasn't much more to the whole thing. In the evening I did say something about what I felt; we could have got ourselves into some pretty serious business. In the end we, the whole group, never got together and discussed thoroughly what had happened and what could have happened and how to avoid something like that happening in the future. We definitely should have.

The good part is that me & wife got the radios. Money well spent for sure; no way I'll ever go kayaking without a VHF radio any more and I might even throw in a Ocean Signal PLB1 for good measure. The more features you cram into a handheld radio, the more power hungry it gets. After all, the emergency DSC capability of a VHF radio is not much use if the battery is dead.

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Topcom Twintalker 9500: A Toy Walkie Talkie Plus

The extremely cool tape-and-cord arrangement was not included in the package or recommended by the manufacturer; I just tried to make sure not to lose the radios when using them in the kayak!

Some years ago, after a kayaking incident in Norway, I started wondering if it might be a good idea to have a handheld radio when on the water in my sea kayak. Obviously, a radio is not (necessarily) of much use if you are out there on your own - I rarely am - but being able to communicate with your kayaking buddy even when there's some open water between you two can be a very good thing. In fact, it just might turn out to be a life saver kind of a thing, in addition to being plain fun!

To get the hang of things, I started looking for a two piece set of cheap so called PMR radios and then purchased the Topcom Twintalker 9500. These radios are very small, very lightweight and powered by four AAA-batteries. The radio does surpass the cheapest toy devices: the 9500 offers 8 channels, DCS sub channels (modern tech to keep channels separate) and voice activated (VOX) transmission, among other things. They should also withstand some rain, I noticed beforehand - however, not splashing waves and definitely not getting submerged!

The range of a (handheld) radio transmission is always an interesting topic and it is affected by a multitude of factors: terrain, the frequency band available, the antenna and the output power to name four foremost ones. A PMR radio does by definition not rank high on coping with any of these and the 'max.10 km in open field' claim really does not mean anything at all - except possibly that you always get less than this incredible range. PMR is a 'line of sight' radio and even in that case a couple of km /miles is plenty. Beware: any obstacles in the way and the range just might suddenly drop to almost nothing.

Me and my wife were surprised to find how quickly the 'radio habit' became a second nature; our kayaking ways also changed a bit since quick communication was now at our fingertips. Not having the radio clipped to the PFD soon felt strangely awkward and even slightly uncomfortable. However, after a while it became very clear to us that the close encounters with water were slowly killing our toy radios. Back to square one: proper marine radios or just skip the whole thing? We decided on the former, got our VHF-licences (yup, you need to do some studying in our neck of the woods) and purchased two Standard Radio HX870E marine radios; see my separate post here.

In summary: the Topcom 9500 is okay for leisurely activities, weighs almost nothing, is really tiny, has pretty good battery life and decent audio as well. Build quality is good considering the price. As to the transmission range: your mileage will definitely vary but over a short distance, without any obstacles, it works fine. Forget about marine use though!

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Cool Winter Pics

My old PIxel 2 phone still qualifies as Cool Gear - read all about it here - and so my latest winter pics from the Luleå Church Town automagically make the cut as well. This winter has been really great so far; temperatures way down low and lots of snow. That's when the Old Town really shines, especially now in February when the sun is back! Check out some additional wintery photos from our village and the surrounding area here.

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Coming up: Jabra Elite 75t

Reading reviews about Bluetooth in-ear 'buds' I almost get the impression that there are tons of pretty darn good options available; this makes me wonder a bit. To me, the in-ear category definitely is the only one to consider - I would never be walking around wearing big cans! - but the ANC really needs to work. Last but not least, in-ear buds that stick out of the ears 'like a sore thumb' (I'm looking at you, Sony WF-1000XM3 - see my writing here) are just ridiculous. So, all of a sudden there are not that many alternatives around, even if you're willing to pay the premium price. It's a shame that the Google Pixel Buds 2 have so many connection issues and no ANC; otherwise they would be the obvious #1 choice for me.

After returning my Sony in-ears I have been using some old, wired earphones that came in the box with an ancient Samsung phone; the audio quality is truly horrible and so is the (non existing) comfort. No way I could continue like that so now I have ordered a pair of Jabra Elite 75t buds. What do I expect? Well, it seems they offer (I hope) decent connectivity and don't stick out of the ears like crazy. The audio quality should be okay, at least after dialing down some of the built-in mega bass.

Stay tuned for my Jabra thoughts - looking forward to trying them out!

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PersistentWindows: They Stay Put

Take the chance and learn some Swedish from the speech bubbles! Anyway, now my windows are exactly where I left them - at long last 

Most people are computer users these days - in some shape or form - and it's also quite common to have multiple displays at your desk. My setup is based on a Windows 10 laptop (that's more or less permanently on the left side of my desk), one main screen in landscape mode in the middle and another one in 'portrait' position to the right, for web publications mostly.

The way I position the windows on my displays is always the same and it has been driving me nuts that the window positions often get totally messed up after the computer has been switched off or when waking up from 'sleep'! I've been telling myself many times that there must be an easy fix for this but I've never really taken the time to dig deep into the issue - until now. I figured that there must be a setting in Windows to do the job but, if there is one, I sure wasn't able to find it. There were several workarounds suggested in the web forums but the mileage varied way too much for me to try them out.

I got close to giving up my search but then I noticed that there is an application at GitHub that addresses the very problem i had: PersistentWindows. Yay! It looked good so I downloaded the executable, ran it, fixed the Task Scheduler to fire up the utility as suggested and - hey presto! Now those windows stay put just where I want to have them! I'm inclined to paraphrase the legendary Windows update message and say: now all my windows are just where I left them. Phew. A very Cool piece of software, available for free - thanks a ton to the contributors!

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Attwood Kayak Hoist: Ups and Downs

It took me way too long to make it easy to raise and lower my kayak that normally, when off duty, is hanging from the garage ceiling. I can pretty much always get some assistance when I need to get the kayak up or down but it's also great to be able to do this on my own - hassle free, more or less. The very reasonably priced solution I chose to try is the Attwood kayak hoist; also sold as MrHardware, RAD Sportz, Dragon Kayak and probably several other brands as well but the basic rope construction with pulleys seems identical. 

The hardware in the kit is robust and the (long) rope seems okay as well; that's definitely a good thing but note that there is no proper block and tackle arrangement that would take care of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Be prepared to use quite a bit of muscle and body weight to lift the load! The not-so-good manual says you can lift up to 120 lbs (54 kg) but I wouldn't go higher than, say, 80 lbs in order to feel comfortable with the strain applied to the ropes and the ceiling brackets. See to it that the included heavy duty bolts are screwed all the way in solid wood when fastening the ceiling attachment - otherwise you might end up in very serious trouble.

I had a hard time trying to figure out just exactly how to route the rope though the pulley system and it seems I'm not the only one. Luckily, there is a great YouTube video that shows exactly how this is done; you should find it here.

In case your kayak is not an extreme heavy weight, the hoist should perform roughly as advertised. However, using the included load 'hooks' makes it impossible to get the kayak all the way up. This was not an option for me so I removed the hooks and now my modification allows me to get my boat really close to the ceiling.

Still, I don't quite trust the hoist enough to let my kayak rest on the rope-and-pulley system all winter so I have my old support straps taking the kayak weight when the hoist is not in use.    

How cool is this kayak hoist, then? I'd say that the Attwood (or whatever) kayak hoist is definitely not extremely cool but, in most cases, it gets the job done - on a budget.

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