My Current MacBook Pro Home Server Setup

I recorded the video for this a month ago, but finally edited and uploaded it yesterday. Overall I’m happy with the current setup as my previous laptop is now cool by Apple laptop standards (by some small physical modifications), and is running the job of providing cache server functions and doing the Backblaze backup on behalf of my 16-inch MacBook pro (via iCloud syncing).

Since I recorded the video a month ago without making any further modifications to my setup, I think my setup will remain as is for now.

After buying my current 16 inch MacBook Pro, my previous 2012 Retina MacBook Pro (the first ever) has now been repurposed as a home server, along with the us...

On the Obstetric Airway and Other Caffeinated Thoughts

Another set of notes, on a topic that is dreaded to all who understands it; a failed obstetric airway can easily mean death. I did not include the Difficult Airway Society (DAS) guidelines on the obstetric airway: they are much simplified and are a must read. Now on to coffee talk. Everybody who knows me personally knows that I’m dependent on it (I’ll keep trying to deny it in public).

Around the same time I bought this 16 inch MacBook Pro I decided to buy an electric coffee grinder. Prior to this I manually ground my coffee with a Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill. The grinder was obviously good in burning calories (you can never burn enough), but the problem is the long grinding times required to make my batches of coffee; if I decided to relax while grinding, the times required may take up to 30 minutes (I will make typically 3 batches per bag of 226 g bag of coffee); if I rush it I could push it to minimum 20 minutes. That’s a long time to spend only watching YouTube while grinding away.

To save time, I eventually settled on the Breville BCG-820 Smart Grinder Pro. I may or may not make a detailed review of this. Why I may skip a review on this is because I bought this to do one thing only: grind my coffee to make my cold brew coffee. And so far I’ve settled on 1 particular setting to do this:

I still get a medium grind with approximately 3 batches per 226 g bag. And woah, 50 seconds is a huge difference versus 20-30 minutes

I’ve kept to the same formula of making cold brew coffee with dark roast coffee and a Hario Cold Brew coffee bottle. In the past I used their proper “coffee bottle” which is an airtight container. However, after accidentally breaking a couple (don’t ask) and finding none in ready stock in Malaysia at the time, I settled on the alternative, the Hario 600 ml Cold Brew Coffee Pot. The recipe is simple:

1. Fill up with grounds; it should be pretty full

2. Fill up with water, almost full

3. Refrigerate over 24 hours

4. Pour into a bottle to store. It won't spoil as long as it’s cold.

5. To drink, dilute it with either water/milk to at least 50% (or even more dilute to those uninitiated to my caffeine requirements)

The jug all filled up and ready to go to the fridge

I love my cold brew coffee being made with dark roast beans. Typically it’ll be the Coffee Bean Espresso/Vienna blends. But it’s nearing the Christmas Holidays…

…And my number 1 favorite blend is their Holiday Blend. And frankly, for at least 3 years now, every time I’ve seen it in store or on the online store, I would buy every bag. I’d hoard all the bags I could get. Last year, I bought the last bag they had (I knew it as it was no longer sold online as soon as I picked up the bags I ordered for store pickup). This is year is the same; I’ll buy all the bags I can get so that I’ll have supply for months. There was a point when my maniac self would chew on a few of these beans just because. Do you get my point?

I do suggest that you try it out if you love coffee. If you can find one.

Epilepsy & Other Related Stuff + Other Thoughts

Just finished scanning another set of long notes. Had a lot of trouble scanning these notes.

1. I always add some water to my fountain pens to prevent them drying out in the Malaysian climate. It seems that I’ve added too much water as the brown and grey colors become too light when scanned. Sorry for that.

2. I’ve finally installed MacOS Big Sur on my working laptop (my previous Retina 2012 MacBook Pro, acting as a home server, can’t have it installed). Since I’m on the Developer Program, it’s on the 11.1 version. However, there are still some significant bugs. It seems that the drivers for my dedicated scanner, the many years old HP Deskjet 46460 (that produces the best scans I’ve seen), has gotten screwed. All shading from fountain pen inks become lost as my writing become something like pastel ink. In the same line a green ink suddenly becomes black. Apparently many also have the same problem, on both HP and Apple forums; I don’t know who is responsible. As a workaround, I used my “server” laptop to scan the new set of notes.

3. It’s the time of year again when I get my email notifying that Squarespace is going to charge me again for hosting this website. This website has been running at a loss since its beginning. As much as those occasional thanks and compliments motivate me, this website has not been financially sustainable, and I’ve always searched for ways to make some money to pay off at least the bills for hosting this. Recently Squarespace has introduced Member Areas, and is along many measures I’m thinking about. Maybe an ad-free site for a fee? In the meantime, I’ve added a PayPal link if you’re interested in giving donations. Much thanks.