What's in a name?

I wanted to say a few words about the name of this blog, "Senseless Offerings".  I chose the name because first and foremost, it's an accurate description of the content.  It's also, however, the name of a song and an LP by an iconic 80's Washington, DC punk band named Black Market Baby.  That is where I stole it.

Please note that I am not calling it a "tribute" or dancing around it in any other way.  I stole the name...and one of my favorite contemporary artists, Banksy, tells me it's okay to do (see above).

That said - I wouldn't have considered using the name if I thought it might in some way be damaging to the band, it's reputation, or any of it's members.  I became a fan of Black Market Baby in the 80's...attended numerous shows of theirs at old 9:30 club back when it was a stinky old hole of a venue at 930 F Street.  I loved the DC punk scene back then, and although I was lucky enough to see lots of bands, Black Market Baby was on a short list of my favorites.  More information on the band and their recordings can be found here.

Decaf

"Decaf is just dirty water!"

I started drinking coffee in 1986, when I was a freshman at Ferrum College in Southwest Virginia. College exams will make you do strange things, and for me - it meant deciding that decaf was nothing more than dirty water...even though I'd never tried a single sip.  I had my first espresso at a sidewalk cafe in Paris in 1989, but I remained a morning coffee drinker until the Starbucks invasion occurred in the 90's.  That's when I began to appreciate better coffee...my taste for coffee began to evolve. 

In April of 2007 I gave up alcohol, and in January of 2010 I gave up cigarettes...both were 25 year habits.  This left me with just 2 vices; cigars and coffee.  It was about 6 months after I gave up cigarettes that my taste buds revived and my appreciation for good coffee really began to flourish.  I had been grinding my own beans for a years - but it was late 2010 when I began to really explore espresso and micro roasters. I dumped the old el-cheap-o Krups espresso maker for a really nice Breville. I diverted my automatic drip behaviors toward pour over and french press. I began ordering beans from little micro roasters all over the country.  All of this meant one thing - I was drinking a lot more coffee.

Although it didn't used to bother me, the increased caffeine intake that came along with all the coffee started having adverse effects on my complexion.  At 43 years old, battling fitness, gray hair that's receding drastically, and wrinkles is hard enough - I don't need zits in the mix, too.  So - I was forced to retract my "dirty water" opinion, and find some decaf I enjoyed.  And through the door with it's triumphant superhero cape flapping in the wind came La Colombe Torrefaction - a micro roaster out of Philadelphia.  These guys have been one of my favorite roasters for quite a while - but it was only very recently that I first tried their decaf.  I posted my first impressions on their Facebook wall; "Wow." It really is a fantastic coffee.  I'm not very good at describing "flavor notes", but it's very rich with a nice dark roasty tone without being all carbony like an overdone french roast.  Switching a few of my daytime cups to decaf seems to be helping my complexion, as well...mission accomplished! 

I will continue to seek out good decafs, and will happily post my findings.

If You Like...

I promised myself with one of those dreaded January 1 resolutions that I was going to start two websites this year.  One was to be for my graphic design work...a sort of portfolio/resume site.  The other was to be for fun - goofy things I just want to share and write about.  In case you're a few clowns short of a circus, allow me to inform you; this blog site is the latter.  When I decided in my mind I wanted to do this, I didn't think of doing a blog page.  However, really what I wanted to do was create a place where I journal things that I find interesting or amusing.  For those that don't know me, this is going to include fine arts, bicycles, music, cars, food, cigars, coffee...and probably a few other arbitrary subjects.  We won't be doing a lot of religion or politics here...those subjects get people riled up too easily, and I want to keep this lighthearted.  I can't promise a fun ride for you - but it will be for me.  Join me if you like.