Cool As Heck

Emo has a habit of being pronounced dead every few years, right before a new crop of bands revives it under a slightly different name. The current revival is no exception. People call it the fifth wave, and while the label is loose and a little contested, it's the term the scene uses for itself. What emo actually is If you're not familiar with what emo is, the word is short for "emotional hardcore." It started in the mid-1980s in Washington, D.C., when bands like Rites of Spring and Embrace…

Every month I do some research and get inspired by other brewers and mead makers and try to come up with an interesting mead recipe. Here's my idea for August 2026. This doesn't mean I'll be making it this month, but it's going on the list of things to try, and features some new methods like caramelizing the honey and using Voss Kveik yeast. This recipe is a bochet. If you haven't tried one, it's mead made with honey that's been cooked until it darkens and smells like toasted marshmallow. The…

I've recently been curious about open-ear earbuds since I've been having so many problems with my ears hurting and/or getting infected from wearing earbuds that block the ear canal. I also recently got a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra 2 over-the-ear headphones, and whatever material their ear cups are made of made my skin break out. 😩 So I had to get some cooling gel, memory foam ear pads for those and they're fine now. But I don't always want to wear those giant cans over my ears. I ordered…

Mango Nectar MeadCreated: 2026-07-14Batch Size: 1 gallonStyle: Melomel (mango)Target ABV: ~12–14%Original Gravity: ~1.105 (estimate — confirm with hydrometer)Final Gravity: ~1.010–1.018 (71B will finish semi-sweet at this OG)IngredientsBase Must Langers Organic Mango Nectar: 1 gallon jug (minus ~2 cups reserved for topping up) 20% juice (Alphonso mango puree concentrate + mango puree), filtered water, organic cane sugar 528g total sugars per gallon (1.16 lbs fermentable sugar equivalent)…

$14.95. Change back on a 20. A reasonable fee for an hour of conversation. An hour should be all I need. There hasn't been a lot going on lately, but the apartment has felt a little lonely. After a long day of QCing 873 different variations of virtual toaster ovens (each one supposedly "smarter" than the last), a guy could use some real companionship. Things have been a little easier since DataHive released their latest version of the Neurogenic AI assistant last year. For the longest time…

Today is graduation day for my twin girls, Moxie and Clarity. They've gone through a lot of things I didn't have to go through when I was a kid: divorce, moving, changing schools, going back and forth between two parents. Yet they turned out much wiser than I was at their age. They've both strived to be great students and challenge themselves, attending college-level classes at the high school or classes at the local community college during their senior year. They joined clubs, made art,…

I've been thinking a lot about Vikings and mead lately, probably because I've recently started two batches fermenting in the basement: a spiced pomegranate and a pineapple coconut. It's funny how much mythology surrounds this drink versus what actually happened. So here's the thing: Vikings didn't invent mead. Not even close. Archaeologists have found evidence of mead production in China from like 7000 BCE. That's roughly 8,000 years before the first Viking longship set sail. The stuff…

Friday night, my wife had book club here. Only a few of the ladies were able to make it. They brought their kids, most of whom are the same age as our youngest, 13, so they had a good time taking silly selfies and playing the Switch. One of our twin daughters (18) was here and hung out with me which was a lot of fun. It's nice to know that our kids actually want to hang out with us. I guess we're not that lame after all. 😝 Saturday I spent most of the day with just me, myself, and I. The wife…