NotebookLM: Podcasting in Uncanny Valley

AI generated image 

Google's NotebookLM research tool has been around since 2023 but the 'deep dive' Audio Overview feature - making it a breeze to create an instant podcast-like conversation on any topic with two AI 'hosts' - really made waves in the media. On a first listen, the conversations can easily be mistaken for real podcast episodes with two human hosts but, after listening to them a bit more, it's obvious that something just isn't quite right. In fact, the way I see it, there's pretty much that's all wrong.

The AI hosts engage in an exaggerated rapid fire, light-hearted banter that in many ways sounds like a twisted parody of 'The Daily' podcast. No matter how serious the source material might be, the tone is always unaltered repeating the same worn out phrases over and over, the hosts jokingly confirming each other's views. 'Exactly! Exaaactly! Absolutely!' are some of the way too frequent NLM favorites, together with exclamations like 'whoa!' , 'tell me about it!' and 'heavy stuff' occasionally accompanied with a quick burst of truly uncanny-valley laughter. The hosts also sometimes refer to themselves as 'we humans' and they even talk about their very own(!) children in a way that is right out disturbing. Other kinds of hallucinations are there as well; for example, in one of the AI Overviews I created the hosts mentioned my son. Definitely interesting since I still firmly believe I don't have any children at all.

The NotebookLM voices are good, very good. It is obvious that soon - today?! - there's no way to distinguish an AI generated voice from a flesh and blood human one. However, as a podcaster, artificial intelligence just can not compete with us mortals. The explanation is simple: an advanced auto complete function, regardless of the digital steroids injected, can never have a unique personality that's the very hallmark of a human podcast host.

So, is it Cool? To start with, sure, but after a while - nope. Instead I get this slight feeling of nausea when listening to these fake podcasts. Luckily, there's a great and immediate remedy: turning the bots off! NotebookLM is definitely useful even if you skip the hyped all-American AI podcast hosts.   

Pixel 4a: Two Years And Counting

I bought my Pixel 4a in September 2021 through the French electronics superstore Fnac - mainly because the 4a wasn't available in Sweden and I heard positive comments from Fnac customers. The purchase went smoothly and the phone was delivered without any hassle. The total price was EUR 354.

In the end it was a no-brainer for me, getting the 4a to replace my aging Pixel 2. I definitely wanted to stick with Pixel phones, if at all possible, and here are the main criteria I had before the purchase:

• Small phone a must-have; can't cope with the huge slabs that seem to be all the rage these days
• Reasonable power and a good screen. I don't play games but can't do without a smooth user experience either
• Decent battery life
• Preferably at least some protection against the elements
• Top of the line camera
• Headphone jack - yes, please!
• Price that doesn't break the bank

The 4a looked like a very decent overall compromise; perfect size, great camera, nice price - but, unfortunately, no weather protection. The headphone jack is truly a great bonus and the phone is also surprisingly light.

Looking back these two years I must say I've had no problems whatsoever with my 4a and I've been really happy with it. Obviously, I've been careful not to get it wet! Right from the start, I also bought a protective and super slim Spigen Thin Fit sleeve and it has definitely saved the phone and thereby my day on several occasions. From now on - meaning winter of 2023 - there are apparently no additional system or security updates available from Google and that is really too bad. This is actually my main gripe with Google and Pixel phones; looks like things will take a positive turn in the future though.

My Pixel 4a is still in pristine condition. I will absolutely keep using it, hoping that the AdGuard software will deal with most of today's abundant malware threats. Battery life, of course, is not stellar (it never was, actually) so I don't get anything close to a full day of use anymore. However, I'm fully aware that the always-on apps I'm using - AdGuard, Orbot, GravityScreen - also increase battery drain. My BT Pixel Buds A-series (my review here) and the 4a are a good match for sure but the headphone jack is also super, especially when hard wiring the phone to my Zoom PodTrak P4.

There is a problem on the horizon, however: how to find a good replacement for the 4a, when the time comes? It looks like there are no small form factor phones coming from Google any time soon and they are a rare breed from other manufacturers as well. Asus Zenfone is an interesting option but the price tag looks anything but nice to me.

The Cool Gear scale is just barely enough to accommodate the Pixel 4a. This is an old budget phone that still today in many respects matches the competition. That's Super Cool.   

  

Ice Fishing

 

This one sure looks a bit frozen - and it is! The October ice wasn't thick at all, roughly a bit more than one inch, and there was hardly any snow. It definitely made good sense for us, being careful during our very-close-to-the-base skating fun! Some more pics and video clips here - from my Pixel 4a (that doesn't get any more updates from Google, unfortunately).

Ingen pizza - men toppengod!

 

Oemotståndligt smarrigt!

Bläddrade i COOPs kundtidning - oftast blir det faktiskt att jag bara bläddrar igenom den - och råkade fastna på ett litet recepttips om 'Äppelpizza på tortillabröd'. Att kalla något man gör med (inköpes-)tortillabröd för 'pizza' är förstås att ta i ordentligt men detta verkade ändå lockande. 

Sagt och gjort, vi hade hemma både tortillabröd, crème fraiche, äpplen, kardemumma och såklart (svensk!) honung så det var bara att testa. På med ugnen 225C, smeta crème fraiche på ett tortillabröd, fixa flortunna äppelskivor med mandolin, strö på med kardemumma, smälta honung i vattenbad och ringla över - och in i ugnen med hela härligheten.

Riktigt gott blev det, jamen! Härlig konsistens med det lite sega tortillabrödet, tillsammans med syran från crème fraiche och äpplen och sedan som pricken på i:et kardemumman och honungssötman.

Några ytterligare funderingar:

• Mandolinen är verkligen grejen i många sammanhang. Tunt, tunt blir ofta så suveränt gott! Klart man kan fixa detta med kniven men det gäller verkligen att vara stadig på handen.
• Jag tar mycket (mortlad) kardemumma! Helt magiskt. Lite kanel därtill fungerar ypperligt bra också.
• Flytande honung från utlandet - som beklämmande ofta är fejkad honung - finns det ingen anledning att köpa. Det finns gott om väldigt god svensk honung som blir flytande på någon minut i vattenbad.
• Vi testade också med Chavroux getost, blandad med lite crème fraiche eller grekisk yogurt - fullträff!
• Råkade ha lönnsirap i skafferiet vid ett annat tillfälle och jag måste säga att det var inte alls dumt, det heller. Fast minst lika gott blir det med honung, egentligen.

Denna snabba anrättning går att variera hur mycket som helst, såklart, och härmed har vi en ny favorit till gofikat. Enkelt, snabbt och supergott - kanske läge att testa med päron nästa gång? 

   

This Is How: To Skip Dessert

 

Yes, I did skip dessert

It was a sunny winter day and it felt just right to skip dessert - and, actually, lunch as well. This Is How brewery is, surprisingly, not located in the US but in a very northern town of Piteå, Sweden! I checked the How To Skip Dessert can one more time and sure enough, there is not a word anywhere to be found about the origin of the beer. Everything on the can is in (American) English! Strange. I had the impression that the good folks in Piteå town are not the least ashamed of their home turf!

The very dark goodness of this chocolate stout is definitely extremely tasty - and filling. Super delicious and I'd guess it is as close a beer gets to chocolate, without a complete transformation. Yup, you can definitely skip dessert and choose How To Skip Dessert instead. Perhaps not such a great idea to skip lunch though. 

Apparently This Is How will also open a 'taproom' in (even more northern) Luleå; interesting for sure!  

Pixel Buds A-series

 

Pixel Buds - the expensive ones, especially the first gen but also the second - have had their share of teething troubles, and then some. Actually, it seems that all those woes have never been completely straightened out. On top of that, the lack of ANC has been almost a deal breaker for me. However, the Google buds do have a 'feature' that very few among the competition can match: they fit pretty much flush in the ears so nothing sticks out. This last thing is something that I do like a lot, for several reasons, and one of them is that - on my home turf - being outdoors wintertime equals wearing a warm ski hat of sorts!

Then the Pixel Buds A-series came along: almost exactly the same design as the earlier ones, not all the bells and whistles but more budget friendly price for sure. Then the most important thing: these cheaper buds didn't seem to have connection problems, either. I made up my mind - time to purchase the A-series and hope for the best. Perhaps, perhaps I'd be able to cope without ANC.

At the time of this writing I have been using the cheap(?) Google buds for almost a month and I do have slightly mixed feelings about these A-buds.

The Cool Stuff

• These tiny BT buds are super light and very comfortable in my ears (default tips). The tiny stabilizer arc does not bother me at all and apparently does its job since the buds stay put - even though I hardly notice wearing them. 
• Did I mention that the A-Buds fit darn close to completely flush in the ear conch? Superb. Further, apart from the practical aspects, I would not like to walk around advertising that I'm wearing (a certain brand of) ear buds. That is something that, say, Apple Airpods users invariably do.
• Audio quality is fine - considering the price - now that Google added the possibility to boost the low end. A couple of notches results in a balanced audio without any 'boom bass' at all. Works extremely well for voice as well - my listening using in-ear buds is perhaps 90% podcasts. However, I feel that the audio does not quite match that of Sony WF-1000XM3 that I tried earlier but the Sony buds were never an option for me (see my review).
• IPx4 'water and sweat resistance' is a good thing for sure but does not mean you should shower or go swimming wearing these! Workouts and a bit of rain should be fine though.
• The BT connection is solid, I haven't had any dropouts at all. Nil, zero, none, regardless where I carry my Pixel 4a. The reach of the signal is also very decent, even through a couple of apartment walls. Good job, at last!
• It's great to be able to take out one of the buds and keep listening through the other one.
• The Google assistant is available in all its glory, providing your phone is connected to the Internet of course, and that can be very handy. However, I sure do not use the assistant when other folks are around - I would feel pretty stupid doing that.

Not Very Cool

• There were many reports about exceptionally low volume on A-buds when they were first introduced. The firmware updates seem to have fixed this; however, I still get a feeling that I need to raise the volume more than when using other earphones.
• There is no volume control on the touch surfaces - however, what you do get functions better than I expected. After some practice, I get the tap right (almost) every time. No need to push the buds hard, either, and my warm winter hat doesn't cause any trouble so kudos for that.
• The Adaptive sound thingy increases the listening volume automagically when the noise level around you goes up. It's a bit weird and when, say, a loud car approaches you and the listening volume typically goes up after that car is already gone. Nah, I'm not a fan. Especially when listening to music, I find that the setting completely wrecks the listening experience.
• There is no multi-pairing - switching from the Android phone to the pc takes some strenuous manual labor, each and every time.
• No wireless charging; luckily, that doesn't matter to me.

Miscellaneous

• The case is small, smooth and 'pebble rounded' in a way that feels great when holding it - and you can use it as a fridge magnet, if you really feel the need. The lid seems okay, snaps shut reassuringly and the buds stay in their magnetic slots the way you'd expect them to. So, what about if you drop the case? I'd guess that depends on the circumstances but I sure try not to do a crash test! Most probably the buds would go flying, to start with..
• Battery life is definitely not stellar - most of the competition does better - but it's still ok with me; frequent intercontinental flights have never been a part of my routine. Using one bud only (I often do) obviously doubles the listening time available and the bud that goes back into the 'den' charges reasonably fast.

Verdict

From past experience with (wired) Bose QC20, way back in time (see my review), my view is that well functioning ANC is a real blessing. I was well aware that the A-series buds lack this but I still decided to get a pair - partly because I was curious, partly because I had tried some other pricy ANC earbuds that just didn't make the cut.

The A-series are, in a way, the opposite to ANC-buds: A-series are designed to make the person wearing them aware of the surroundings. During a bus commute this is not a great thing to me so I end up using over-the-ear hearing protection! Yup, makes me look like a bozo but it does work. Taking a walk, it really is a good thing to be able to hear what's going on around you so I have, in a way, (almost) made my peace with not having ANC. Would just love to have it in these earbuds though!

So, I do like my A-series buds; they tick most of the other important boxes for me and the physical design feels just right. Extremely comfy, solid BT connection and good audio. They are kinda Cool alright but do not leave the case behind when you put the buds in your ears - forgetting the case equals trouble :)

Go Solar: Anker Power Port Solar Lite

The pocket book for size comparison only - not included with the solar charger! No rechargeable batteries or a power bank, either, but that would be a bit too much to ask considering the price.

Many moons ago, I figured it would be neat to have a (compact) solar charger available on kayaking trips. My reasoning should be mostly obvious - it's great to have a power source when away from the grid, weather permitting! - but I do also get this warm and fuzzy feeling from using solar power.

Quite a bit of research followed and, in the end, I decided on the Anker Power Port Solar Lite - the 15W rated sibling to the larger (21W) one. Anker is globally known for high quality chargers, power banks and other similar accessories (check the Decoder interview with Anker CEO!) and the Solar Lite has been one of the most popular and budget friendly solar chargers for years.

My experiences from using the Solar Lite are also definitely positive, including the 'bang for the GBP factor' (I bought mine from Amazon UK): I think I paid roughly 40 GBP and that included the shipping cost to my very Nordic location in northern Sweden. A summary of my thoughts, after sporadically using the charger since 2016:

• The unit is very compact, extremely durable when folded and copes just fine with some light drizzle (the ports are not well protected from rain though). However, I sure wouldn't recommend leaving it unfolded and open in the rain!
• It does the charging job very well, considering the compact size of the panels. No problems charging a phone or a similar device and in direct sunlight it seems to perform just as well - or better - than a traditional out-of-the-box phone charger. The Solar Lite also resumes charging almost immediately after a cloud has passed and does trickle charge even through some light cloud cover.
• My unit has two 'old school' USB outputs; USB-C is way too modern of course! I have rarely tried charging two units simultaneously but charging two phones has worked okay, even though more slowly.
• Normally, I use the Solar to keep a power bank well charged. I have also tried placing the Solar on top of my kayak rear deck, in a clear (100% water proof tested) map 'sleeve' along with a small power bank and that did work, even though charging was slow through the plastic. Your mileage will most probably vary.
• If you have a tiny phone - or a power bank - it might fit in the built-in pouch with a velcro closure. Beware that whatever you put in there does get hot in direct sunlight; that's generally a very bad idea, especially when NiMH batteries are involved. Get a longer USB cable instead so you can have your electronics better protected from the sun while connected to the Solar.

All in all, a great solar charger that doesn't add much weight to whatever you are lugging around, so a good choice for hiking as well. Cool? Actually the opposite in direct sunlight but a good choice anyway!

Charging my HX870 VHF radio: In The Wild

I know - the photo is not 'in the wild' at all but it shows all the gear needed at least. Batteries not included!

I still can't quite get it that it took me so many years to realize that a VHF marine handheld really is something I need to have when I'm out there on the water, in my sea kayak. Guess I've always figured that, since I never do any extreme stuff, I'm good anyway. Well, it turned out that's not the case; my writing about that here.

These days both me and my wife are always wearing a Standard Radio HX870 marine VHF radio when kayaking; it's a good choice in many ways but easily charging the battery is not one of them. You have to bring along, in addition to the radio..

• The charging cradle(!)
• The car charger (included when you get the radio)
• An additional USB adapter that the car charger plugs into

Lugging around all that gear, it's possible to charge the HX870 when you are somewhere - probably in the tent - fully protected from the (wet) elements. No 'wet swap' of the battery possible, by the way, but I'd guess that would be a lot to ask. The cable connecting the power to the charging cradle is, unfortunately, of the cheap & stiff kind that you don't want to bend too many times (and the same applies to the car charger cable).

Perhaps the main drawback of the HX870 - and many other marine radios - is this: you can't charge the radio without the cradle and there is no way, that I know of, to charge the battery when it's removed from the radio. Sure, a USB port is a potential point of failure but there are ways - far better than a rubber flap - to secure it from water damage.

Obviously, to be able to charge anything, you also need a power source but that's another story altogether!

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The Instant Ramen Hack

 

So, how's this the ramen hack, since there must be roughly a billion of them on YouTube? Okay, let's just say that this is the only one I've tried, at least!

I was running low on lunch food at the office - I do fix my own lunch, in various ways, in case I don't have some of the really good stuff with me (the delicious leftovers from a home cooked dinner, prepared by my very own chef). What I did have was mayo - not the US whole-eggs-style but made of yolks only - plus eggs and instant ramen noodles. Heck, why not.

Some garnish would have been great - and some garlic as well - but at least there was a bit of built-in garlic taste in the Sriracha clone that I used for additional oomph. 

All in all, this weird combo does really work; it doesn't quite turn instant ramen into the culinary peak experience of a lifetime but you do get something quite a bit tastier than the bare bones bowl!

[UPDATE] The second time, I added spring onions that had been marinating overnight in my secret sauce (secret ingredients: Japanese soy, miso, sesame oil, lemon, chili, Hoisin sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, maple syrup). A generous tablespoon of this combo went in together with the mayo in the beginning and then I garnished the works with some of the spring onions. The end result? Definitely yummy. I'd even say: the best instant ramen ever - and crazy cool.

Spectacular pizza - on the stovetop

It's almost begging: 'bite me!' I sure did :)

Sometimes, when the pizza cravings hit, there might not be an oven available - or perhaps you just don't want to fire up your oven, for whatever reason. So, what about the stovetop then? Googling 'stovetop pizza' gives way more than ten million hits so, apparently, it's doable alright! Just get your dough ready in advance, as usual, grab a pan and you're good to go. But hey, what about that amazing slightly charred, Neapolitan style leopard crust? Yup, you can fix that too, but you do need the specialty item that's also a must-have for the super delicious desserts like Crème Brûlée or Crema Catalana: a kitchen torch!

I'm not sure how I found Andrea - probably more widely known as CuoreDiCiccolato on the web - but he seems to be a really nice guy who knows what he's doing in his kitchen, he's got this truly beautiful Italian accent and, talking about pizza: shoot, he's Italian! So, I checked his YouTube video about Neapolitan style stovetop pizza and knew I just had to give it a try. 

Andrea's dough recipe is way more exact than anything that I can handle so I just winged it, being careful not to add too much flour (you can always cope with a dough that's perhaps a bit too sticky but the other way round is basically impossible). The pan I used is a shallow DeBuyer Mineral B carbon steel pan and the torch a heavy duty Sievert Handyjet 2282. The result? I'd guess Andrea would say something like this: pretty spectacular!

Crazy delicious, the Parmesan shavings almost melting in the mozzarella and pesto topping. Rucola on top gives the final green and tasty touch!

The version above - Bianco e verde (mozzarella, pesto, capers and before serving generously with parmesan shavings plus arugula), many thanks btw to Martin Johansson and his superb (Swedish) book Bröd och pizza - is probably one of our great favorites that really shines with the sour dough boost Martin knows all about! My wife is a bit of a sour dough wizard so I will definitely later on try the Spectacular style infused with some sour dough magic :) 

All in all, I'd say that my stovetop pizza test was a great success and something I'll most probably get back to many times in the future. Very, very Cool and Grazie, Andrea!

Jabra Elite 75t: A Total In-ear Disaster

They are small and lightweight, the Jabra Elite 75t, and that's Cool. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more to add into that department - the rest was mainly very, very uncool.

After sending back the Sony WF-1000XM3 - my writing here - I was trying to make up my mind if I should give Jabra a try. The pro reviewers were mostly giving both thumbs up to the 75t and also the latest 85t; the latter seemed crazy expensive so I decided to see if the 75t would fit the bill. Not that the 75t are cheap though - on the contrary! However, at least they were smaller than the really bulky Sony buds and the latest firmware apparently also made some kind of ANC magic happen.

The first impression, when unpacking the 75t, was that the small (charging) case felt cheap, made of extremely slippery plastic. The buds are very light but have the same super slippery finish so it's really easy to accidentally drop them. Shaking the empty case a little, I could hear the lid rattling; not a good sign. Flimsy! Dropping the case on a hard surface would most probably break it.

After unpacking, the next move is obviously to fully charge the buds and the built-in battery of the case. While the USB charger was doing its thing, I checked the instruction manual with a microscope (yes, the font size is that small) and downloaded the Jabra Sound+ app in order to update the buds' firmware to the latest version. Not bad, what I had read, getting ANC through a firmware update!

Soon enough the charging was done. I fired up the Jabra app and connected the buds.. No, I take that back! The app did not find the buds at all. What the heck! I read the instructions again, tried again, then checked the Reddit thread about folks having the same problem, tried again, did everything suggested by Jabra to remedy the situation, reset the buds, tried again.. Nope. No luck - and I was feeling slightly tired of the whole thing by now.

For a while, I just set aside my Jabra app woes and tried the buds with default settings and the old firmware. They felt comfortable in my ears even though I'm a bit wary of jamming any small pieces of equipment deep into my ear canal (came to think of the TWiT AllAboutAndroid co-host, Ron Richards, who had the in-ear tips of his buds get stuck in his ears while on a plane - yes, a very bad experience). The audio was okay and so was the BT connection; however, if the right side one - the 'master' bud - quits, all you have is a pair of pricey so-so functioning ear plugs. This master-slave arrangement in expensive in-ear buds like these sucks big time!

The Jabra 75t buds do block out some of the ambient noise but the talk of 'passive noise cancellation' bugs me big time; it's all about the good old ear plug effect and has nothing to do with any kind of noise cancellation! Are these extremely good ear plugs, then? Nope, the old cheap standard issue that expands in the ear is way better. Then, what about the size of the buds and them protruding from the ears? Well, Jabra sure is way better in this respect than the Sony I tried; the buds are small and don't stick out of the ears very much (but more than I'd like, anyway).

The battery life of the Jabra buds is a mystery to me. After a couple of days, the left earbud - the slave - would occasionally run out of juice even though the phone reported almost full battery level for Jabra. Then it became clear to me that the 'slave' bud wasn't charging at all, since I got the power off voice prompt right away after inserting the buds in my ears. The 'master' bud kept soldiering on, even though it started frequently dropping the BT connection. Is this an issue that has been addressed by new firmware? Who knows.

Okay, back to the stubborn Jabra Sound+ app then. I decided to test one last time, now using my wife's still fairly new Sony phone. I unpaired the Jabra from my Pixel 2, paired with the Sony - no problem there - and then tried the app again: you guessed it, no connection with the buds. Sigh. It seems there is something badly wrong here and whatever it is, it's on the Jabra side.

Using the Jabra Elite 75t without the companion app is not an alternative. Not only would you miss the 'software ANC' through the firmware update but also all future fixes. There are also tons of other settings that can only be accessed through the app. The 'slave' bud not charging is, of course, a disaster and so is the buds dropping the BT connection. To sum up: these earbuds I bought are total garbage. Was I unlucky to get defective gear? I have no idea but I have already returned the buds and will steer clear of Jabra products in the future. 

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Sangean MMR-88: A Cranky Radio

It's cranky alright - and you really can crank some emergency power into this thing

I do like analogue technology - perhaps just because almost everything seems to be in the digital domain these days. The good old radio broadcasting is still alive and kicking in Sweden, even though the young folks barely seem to know what it is.

Even though the days of the old fashioned radio are probably numbered, there are situations where the age old tech beats its digital counterpart. Some of the plus points:

• Proven, robust tech
• Good coverage (in many countries)
• Inexpensive end user equipment
• No internet connection needed!

In case of a major emergency, analogue radio broadcast is still the straightforward way of reaching many people - completely separate from digital networks that can always be messed up by hostile actors, from anywhere on the globe.

The Sangean MMR-88  - Survivor(!) - is marketed as an emergency FM/AM radio and the tiny piece of kit definitely has features that underline this description: hand crank dynamo as an alternative power source and a solar panel being the foremost ones. Hey, I almost forgot - the radio has the bright yellow 'emergency kit' color as well! However, the color does not equal full protection from rain or rough handling; an unlucky drop from a moderate height to a hard surface would probably break the (non-rubberised) main plastic shell. Is this thing the Survivor? Not quite sure about that..

The radio has good reception and surprisingly good audio quality from the tiny speaker. The crank works as advertised for emergency power and the tiny solar panel seems to give the battery enough boost to keep it powering the radio for most of (preferably sunny) days. 

My main gripe - apart from the lack of good protection from the elements and the weird format of the replaceable battery - is the large on/off button, on top of the unit, for the built-in flashlight. It's great to have a flashlight but the big button will invariably be pressed accidentally when traveling! The result: no battery power when it's time to get the radio out of the bag or the innards of the kayak. This is a stupid design flaw and, obviously, I had to make an advanced modification of my own to correct the situation.

I have earlier put together a more detailed summary of this Sangean radio - you'll find the GoogleDoc here - and, for the most part, I like this tiny unit. Pretty Cool but there's definitely also room for improvement.

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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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