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iCoffee Machine Review

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In March of this year at the IHHS in Chicago, I encountered the people from iCoffee and was impressed with the coffee they were making on the show floor. I recently finished testing an iCoffee machine myself and am no less impressed now than I was at the show.

iCoffee logo

iCoffee Machine

What Makes the iCoffee Machine Different?

In my original article about iCoffee I discussed the history and background. In this piece I want to focus on the functional review of the machine, because that is what you really want to know – does it live up to its claims?

The shape, design, and operation – including filling the water and coffee basket – on the iCoffee machine will seem very familiar to anyone who has ever used a drip coffee machine. The designers wanted the coffee lover to feel comfortable using the machine for the first time. In fact, it looks so familiar that, as I skeptically approached their display booth at the show in March 2013, I assumed it was “just another” coffee machine.

iCoffee Coffee Brewer

iCoffee Machine

Like a standard drip coffee maker, the iCoffee machine is programmable and has a 12 cup capacity carafe with a musical tone to signal the start and end of the brewing process. The plastics are all high quality, BPA-free, and iCoffee will offer interchangeable colored drip baskets.

The iCoffee machine technology focuses on how the coffee is handled inside the brewer, where the real action takes place. They choose to forego the tradition shower head drip used by most coffee brewers instead seeking a more finessed result and rich flavorful coffee.

First, the coffee is steamed to evenly apply proper moisture and heat. Second, their six patented SteamBrew rotational hot water jets further steam, tumble and stir the coffee, releasing the flavors without the acidic and bitter aftertaste. This bitterness is most often mistaken for strength.

iCoffee machine SteamBrew phases

iCoffee Machine SteamBrew phases

The process continues in cycles of steaming and saturating until coffee begins to drip through the fine mesh gold tone filter into the carafe.

Because they created a new way of extracting the coffee, iCoffee created a viewing window to allow the coffee lover to observe the SteamBrew process through the BrewView window. This back lit visual aid reinforces the new method within the framework of the familiar.

iCoffee machine brew view window

iCoffee machine brew view window

iCoffee Machine Claims and Tests

The company states that a full flavor pot of coffee can be achieved using 15% less coffee than you normally use.

Due to the sophisticated extraction method and fine mesh of the gold tone filter, they also state that the machine is less dependent on the fineness of the grind.

They claim to be better than single serve, drip and even French Press brewing methods that produces a less acidic, bitter coffee.

To verify these statements, I tested four conditions, running multiple cycles of each to make sure that the results I experienced were consistently achievable.

– Varying coffee roasts & grind coarseness

– Head to head with a quality drip machine

– Head to head with pour over brew

– Head to head against French Press

Coffee Roasts & Grind Coarseness

I conducted several stand alone tests with varying roasts and grinds to determine how the iCoffee machine handled them. I used everything from bold French and dark espresso blended roasts to light & medium single estate roasts. I ground beans with both electric and manual grinders producing varying grinds from fine to one batch that would have been considered coarse even for a French press.

The iCoffee machine processed them all very well, producing a full flavor, not bitter, cup from every grind and roast. The very coarse grind I spoke of showed differently than the same coffee brewed with a finer grind, but was still an enjoyable cup of coffee. A regular drip machine would not have been able to produce a palatable coffee from that very coarse grind setting.

As for the claim that you can use 15% less coffee, well I did use less and found that it was hard to tell a difference in the finished cup.

Note: in one iteration where I brewed only four cups of coffee, I found the extraction was a bit less than full. I assumed that it had something to do with how the jet stirrers function in relation to water volume, that they work better with a certain amount of water. This is not to say that the finished brew was not good; it was delicious, but the flavors were a bit muted compared to other tastes using the same coffee. The reality is that most of us don’t make that small amount of coffee in a drip brew machine so I am guessing that won’t ever be a problem.

Against Top Drip Brewer

The head to head drip brewer was against a nationally available brand-name international company (I won’t say who), but this company is one of the top 2 or 3 drip machines you can buy. I have always enjoyed the coffee this brewer produced and felt it would provide a great test.

I filled the baskets with the same amount and grind fineness of coffee, both using a gold tone filter. I filled each machine with water appropriate for a 10 cup pot of coffee and pushed start on each machine.

The iCoffee took 9-10 minutes to finish brewing while the other drip machine took 6-7 minutes.

The finished product was not even close. The iCoffee machine produced a remarkably smoother, less bitter cup of coffee. Without the bitter sensation in the mouth and palate, you can really appreciate all the flavors of a coffee. Tasted side by side, the bitterness of the other drip machine was so noticeable; I was amazed how long it lingered on the tongue and mouth.

While I didn’t rig the machines with probes to test the temperatures dripping into the carafes, I did measure the coffee temperature in the cup. In the cup I poured immediately after brewing completed, the iCoffee had a temperature of 180, hot but not scalding. After 5 minutes in the cup, iCoffee was still 18-20 degrees hotter than the other machine. Given the same cup temperature, room temperature and time elapsed, this means iCoffee is brewing hotter.

There were subsequent tests between the two made with 8 cups and aside from brew times, the results were the same.

Against Pour Over Method

In this test I wanted to see how well iCoffee would stack up against what many consider to be the best brew method for the home: pour over coffee. Pour over brewers [like Chemex or Hario] are a procedure laden process that true coffee connoisseurs feel most fully extract the full flavor of coffee without bitterness or acidity. My friend Tommy, who brews in this style daily, handled the pour over. We used two different single estate coffees, one a city roast from Mexico, the other a darker Vienna roast from Costa Rica.

The brewed results of both tests were close enough to make a fair comparison, but in the end the pour over brews were more refined. It is remarkable though that a drip machine could brew a coffee that can be discussed in the same breath with a properly made pour over brew. We both found the iCoffee machine produced a heavier mouth feel and for the first time, the natural fat/oil content in the bean was noticeable in the finished cup. This isn’t a bad thing per se just that the paper filter in the pour over filtered this out almost completely.

Against French Press

In this test, I made French Press coffee the way I normally do and the way I think most people do, which is to put the ground coffee in the bottom of the carafe, pour heated water over the grounds, put the press lid on top, wait 4-6 minutes then press down the plunger. French presses produce a full flavor brew, but can tend to produce too much bitterness. If one were to take a hands on approach to a French press extraction [bloom, stir, infuse, etc] you could produce a more refined coffee, but like I said most of us just don’t do it.

In the finished cup, iCoffee produced a smoother, less bitter coffee with less sediment passed into the cup.

Speaking of sediment, iCoffee claimed no sediment was passed through to the pot, but I found this not to be true. There was some very fine sediment in the pot and cup as the coffee sat, but it was not coarse or crunchy as French press or even some drip machines allow. The sediment levels were more noticeable with finer grindings, so if you find there is more sediment than you prefer, try a coarser grind.

Final test notes:

I was going to test against a single serve machine but after tasting the first batch of coffee I made with the iCoffee machine, there was no point. No single serve brewer can produce a coffee as rich, full flavored and smooth as this machine can.

I also did not test it against other methods of brewing like Aeropress; while I know Aeropress creates a smooth, non-bitter coffee on par with iCoffee, I felt this test was basically accomplished in the pour over comparison.

Something else to consider about iCoffee machines. If you enjoy iced coffee, you will want this coffee maker. Because it has no bitterness extracted, the iced coffee is more enjoyable. Both my wife & I were impressed how much better iced coffee made with the iCoffee leftovers tasted.

I have sampled coffee made by the best automatic drip machines available and as you can tell, from just about every other brewing method possible, but I honestly believe there is no automatic drip brewer on the market right now that will brew coffee as well as iCoffee. Period.

The coffee brewed in this machine is smooth, balanced, full flavor and not at all bitter, except any slight bitterness that would be inherent in certain roasts. Everyone who has tasted the iCoffee machine brew comes away impressed by what it can do. One person told me that if he didn’t know the coffee came from a drip machine, he would have thought it came from a manual process served in a high end coffee house.

The combination of price, convenience and high quality results make this ‘a must own’ for a home brewing coffee lover. Regardless of whether you like bold blends or refined single estate coffees, the iCoffee machine will ensure the best flavor possible. The real beauty is that you don’t have to learn a new way to brew, it works like any other drip machine you have ever used.

2016 Update

Now three years from the initial review, the iCoffee machine is still brewing as it did at the time of the original article publication. I don’t find the brew basket all the difficult to empty when it comes time to clean the machine, as I learned to hold the solid plastic “front” and “back” areas to get a firm grip on the basket, then I tap the grounds into my mulch pit. When I return to the house, I rinse any remaining grounds clinging to the sides down the sink as I wash it.

I do still wish the carafe has a removable lid on it. After cleaning, it can be a challenge to allow the carafe to dry inverted without falling on its side in the drying rack, or as has happened to some, breaking. I most often use one of the two brew basket inserts as a support to steady the carafe assembly. Not sure if the most recent models have changed this, but for machines like mine, it is a minor frustration.

iCoffee Availability Update

The iCoffee is now available for retail purchase at:

All Bloomingdale’s locations &
Bloomingdale’s on-line

Frontgate Catalog & Frontgate on-line

Bed Bath & Beyond

Sur La Table

To keep up with the ever growing list of retailers, check the iCoffee Where To Buy page.

7 Responses to “iCoffee Machine Review”

  1. kitchenboy

    @Ed, I have continued to use the machine and it is holding up well. I haven’t heard anything I would call popping, but I rarely stand by the machine anymore. There are steam infusions that occur during the brew process so maybe the sounds happen then, but obviously that is speculation.

    As for the grind fineness, the machine is very forgiving due to the steam and circulating brew process. I have used some very coarse grinds, for the sake of testing, but I settle on a grind somewhere in the middle, maybe on the coarser side of drip. I use the same setting on my manual grinder for French Press where that fineness is probably on the finer side, but it works for me. The manual grinder is a bit of pain to adjust so I keep it set on a setting that works for both press and iCoffee.

    Hope this helps and thanks for reading.

  2. Ed king

    I would like to know what grind level you use currently all my coffee is ground finely for the flat bottom filter I was thinking of going with something in the middle what is your opinion

  3. Ed king

    I just purchased the machine yesterday and have a couple questions your article was quite informative but I wish you would have touched on my question their #1 after testing did you continue to use it and how does it stand up durability wise and 2nd while brewing will it make a kind of popping noise? The coffee I had here has been some of the best tasting coffee I ever had at home and it seems on the affordable side compared to some of the high end Brewers it is a great machine in my opinion glad I made the choice

  4. kitchenboy

    Hello Beautiful Beret, yes the general rule of thumb is 1T coffee to 6 oz of water. One of the beauties of the machine is that you can use less coffee than is typically called for. The reason for using less is that the jets and steam swirl the coffee around in the basket getting a more complete extraction from the coffee.

    I am a bit of a geek so I weigh my coffee before grinding and I use somewhere between 58 – 75 grams or 2 – 2.6oz of ground coffee in the iCoffee. All of that should be somewhere between 11-14 tablespoons of ground coffee, depending.

    Weighing the coffee eliminates the variables of grind when using a volume measure. Even drip coffee has a range of acceptable grinds and coarser or finer coffee would affect how much weight is being used in the brewer.

    Hope this helps and thanks for reading

  5. Beautiful Beret

    I just bought this machine and do not want to make 5+ pots to determine how much coffee to use w it. Can you give me a rule of thumb measurement according to what you used, if you can remember? 1T/ 6 oz water?? Thanks!

  6. KitchenBoy

    Dear CoffeeAddict, I think that the only real drawback to cleaning comes in two areas.

    First, the lid to the carafe does not come off so it can present a challenge when finding a place to securely rest it while it dries.

    Second, the deep gold tone filter basket, which is need to allow the steam and water to fully bathe the grounds in water, takes a bit to develop a technique to clean. The “front” and “back” portions provide areas to get a firm grip on the basket. You can then tap the spent coffee grounds into a mulch pit, which is probably the most troublesome way to empty it. I now tap the spent grounds into a bowl and take them outside to the mulch pit or you can also rinse the grounds from the basket in the sink.

    The company made a video to explain how to best clean the machine….

    In the end, it’s not too much effort and you develop a routine.

    I hope this helps and thanks for reading

  7. CoffeeAddict

    Hey, there, Kitchen Boy – Thank you for this article! Can you say anything about the ease of cleaning the iCoffee, as opposed to other brewing devices? Thanks, again.

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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Kitchen Gadgets - Hershey's Kisses Chocolate Fondue Set

What it is: Hershey's Kisses Novelty Chocolate Fondue Set
What it does: Cover everything in delcious melted chocolate. How can that NOT be insanely good?
Why you should get one: It makes a fantastic gift. And hey, it costs under $10.

Hershey Kiss Fondue Set, just $9.99

It's cute, it covers all things edible in a gorgeous velvety coating of rich melted chocolate fondue. It's a fabulous bargain - I'd say these are all incredible reasons to invest a few bucks in a cute little chocolate fondue pot.

Have a fondue night - it's incredibly trendy right now to fondue. Start off with a great cheese fondue, then top the night off with a chocolate fondue. Need inspiration on WHAT to dip in chocolate? (Wow, you must live on an entirely different PLANET than me...but I digress...) Fresh fruit, hearty chunks of pound cake, roasted nuts - the list could go on forever. Enjoy!

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Payless Foundation Repair Offers Free Estimates On All Foundation Inspections And Excellent Repair Works In San Antonio

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repair work is mainly to improve the lines of drainage system or removal
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• What is the substitute method of weight loss?

    Answers Given

    Answers Favorited

  • i have heard about capsiplex though that it is very effective for weight loss but simultaneously I have also heard about the capsiplex scam. how can this substitute method of weight loss be effective?

    4 0
    Question by cord

The trick is to get comfortable with being hungry. Most of us have a distorted perception of what hungry feels like and how urgently we need to do something about it. Try just sitting with the feeling of being hungry a couple of days per week and do your normal stuff the rest of the time (don't try to compensate).

Answer by mikeg

I completely agree with this advice. Most people, when they feel the mild discomfort of hunger, think they need to urgently do something about it, i.e. eat, preferably something high in calories, especially at night. Deliberately allowing yourself to go to bed a little hungry is a key skill. Do it for a couple of nights and by the 3rd night it won't be such a big deal.

I also advocate, in this order: 1. The Hacker's Diet http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/ 2. The Mayo Diet http://www.amazon.com/Mayo-Clinic-Diet-Enjoy-Weight-ebook/dp/B0060BX8XE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398894191&sr=8-1&keywords=mayo+clinic+diet

These two sound like entirely different plans, but they actually complement one another very nicely.

A key for me, also, was to set eating goals each morning, track my behavior, and discover what were the critical habits I had to change, in order to lose weight. I found that my key was strictly controlling my eating around dinner. I had no problem with breakfast and lunch, but it's very easy for me to get very sloppy around dinner time, and pretty soon I'm eating pints of Haagen-Daasz. As soon as I implemented one rule -- be strict about dinner and go to bed a little hungry -- I started to lose weight as if by magic.

Good luck!

Answer by glenn davis

Here is a list: 1- don't eat anything in shiny packages, 2- Stay out of the aisles in the grocery market, 3- Eat on a salad plate, 4- No second helpings, 4- Run from buffets, 5- Eat three meals per day, 6- Never eat anything that coworkers bring to the workplace, 7- No pop, even calorie free, 8- Try to walk at least three times per week. 2500 steps is a start. 5000 is a good goal and you get a gold star for 10,000. 9- Weigh yourself on the same scale once per week. A pound of weight loss each week is sustainable. And 10- Don't get down on yourself. Persistence is the key.

Answer by deanraf

I have recently eliminated sugary foods and also grains (mostly, some corn, some rice) -- no bread. I think this is along the lines of Paleo. What is interesting to me is that I don't even get hungry because of sticking to protein and non-sweets. My downfall had been snacks in the evening. I had noticed that once I had one snack -- crackers and peanut butter, for example, I kept going back for seconds. I think this has been identified as a problem with carbohydrates. So there is something addictive about them. If I don't eat these things, I don't miss them (although the diet is a bit boring at first) . . . treats like babaganough and veggies, ginger tea, etc. can help. I have lost weight using this avoidance strategy and I do not find it as hard as other diets.

Answer by rose215
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Cool tools really work.

A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.

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Sunday, July 5, 2015

A Quick Solution For The Greek Banking Sector

Step 1: ECB as supervisor of the 4 large Greek bank declares them as insolvent.
Step 2: ESM takes over 100% ownership of these banks.
Step 3: ESM recapitalizes these banks.
Step 4: ESM replaces supervisory and management boards of these banks.
Step 5: ECB assures sufficient funding at all times.

During one and the same day, the 4 Greek banks would return to being the pillar of stability of the Greek economy.

What would FinMin Varoufakis say about this proposal? A blatant intervention by undemocratic EU elites? A unilateral expropriation of the Greek banking sector? None of the aforementioned!

Varoufakis has made exactly this proposal on several occasions in his blog over the last years, so he should be an enthusiastic supporter. In his interview with Paul Mason, Varoufakis promised that the situation would be resolved tomorrow, Monday, one way or another. He could certainly resolve the instability of the Greek banking sector tomorrow; if he wanted to live up to his promise, that is.

  1. Since the situation of the Greek banking sector is now the more serious issue for Greece, and has already damaged production, sales, tourism, exports... obviously there would have to be a very important reason for Greece to refuse such an offer.

    However, I doubt that the offer will be made without the demand to tie Greece into perpetual austerity from which it can never recover. In that case, it is possible the the government would reject it, especially if the referendum is a massive NO (as is epxected, from latest reports).

    I really fear that between them, the Troika and Syriza will destroy Greece (and probably the eurozone as well).

  2. WHY should the Eurozone waste even more money on Greece? Let the Greeks deal with their own mess on themselves! It's high time.

    1. Ah, the long-standing German troll. Welcome back! We missed you.

    2. Lieber Klaus Kastner, entweder Sie schmeißen diesen Troll hier raus, oder er wird die threads hier genauso ruinieren wie viele andere, wo er sachliche, zielführende Diskussionen mit seinen Provokationen u Beleidigungen sabotiert hat! Bitte nehmen Sie diese Warnung ernst, ich kenne diesen Stinkstiefel von einigen anderen Webseiten.

    3. Yes, Klaus, do show all of us whether you are part of the German arrogant mafia or a global citizen. I hope I have judged you correctly, from the past.

      For your information, this German person was posting anti-Greek propaganda for many years on very many English websites. If he wants no opposition, then let him post in German.

  3. The suggested solution looks like too quick and dirty...

    A different question: What do you think about this publication titled "Revisiting the Latvian and Greek Crises"


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Dave Bear

Dave Bear

Dave Bear, the new Swap Shop Host! Dave has been in radio for a while. His first job was hosting a Swap Shop program in Craig, CO in the the late 70's. Most recently he co-hosted the morning show on our sister station STAR 94 FM, and helped with the creation of the Shopping Show on KNCO and former sister station KUBA in Yuba City. Dave worked at KUBA for 25 years in various capacities and has lived there for nearly as long. Dave has a big family and enjoys all his kids and now grandkids. His hobbies include woodworking, and you can see his work by checking out his website www.2bearswoodshop.com.

Happiness, it’s in your own hands

Exciting news!  Science has determined the key to happiness!!!  Yes science, which must mean double blind studies and empirical data which charts and graphs….

If you want happiness, are you ready?  I can wait until you are seated and really focused…..

Okay, If you want to me happy, here ya go – Appreciate the good times and stop comparing your experiences to those of others.  Simple huh?  Here’s another scientific insight, most of us get used to the Happiness we have, then raise the standards by which we will be happy again.  So Happiness is like an addictive drug.  In the beginning it only takes a little to make us happy, clean diapers, a bottle, a hug, a smile.  Then we need a new bike, a car, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, a boat, a truck, a faster car, a bigger truck, a better house, more stuff to fill the bigger house.

I tell you what, as a grandparent, I am learning to appreciate the good times.  I have also learned to tone down those expectations.  Actually I think the older we get the bell curve of happiness bends back down and we learn to appreciate the things we long ago forgot made us happy.  Heck I know most days I’d appreciate a hug, a smile, and a bottle of my own!

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The One to Count On...

Construction on Mile-Long Bridge Suspended Until Monday

Posted: Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 at 6:22 am

The Iowa Department of Transportation has suspended their work on the mile-long bridge this week. The bridge previously had one-way traffic with a pilot car as the DOT worked on replacing guard rails on the bridge. Dena Gray-Fisher, spokesperson for the DOT, says that the bridge will be opened back up for two-way traffic until Monday. She says that they’re suspending the construction on the bridge due to the high amount of traffic it’ll see this week during Knoxville Nationals.


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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Ripple Wire Gadget & More

When you get to be 70+ you have a lot of life adventures... my latest is dentures.  I got my new pearly whites yesterday. They look good, I never had straight teeth and now I do.  Of course eating is another story.  I drool a lot, I bit my lip several times and my tongue doesn't know what to do with itself.  I'm not sure I will ever get use to having all this hardware in my mouth!  I can talk okay though, a little lisp but not bad so that is a good thing.

I had several people ask me about the gadget I used to make the ripple wire.... here it is, a "tube wringer".

Click on the photos for a closer look.

The tricky part is applying the right amount of pressure.... to little and it doesn't ripple evenly, to much and it makes weak spots in the wire and it breaks....  First you position the wire then hold it together with one hand and turn the crank with the other... take it slow, stop when necessary and reposition the wire in the center, it has a tendency to move to the side as it goes through.

The magenta wire is 20 gauge and the lavender  wire is 18 gauge.

Here is a wire and bead pendant I made using "ripple wire" from the tube wringer.  For this one I used 20 gauge yellow wire and wrapped with 28 gauge Peridot green wire to secure the yellow seed beads.

And I played a bit with clay. I made a polymer clay pendant using my last cane and combined it with matching solid color clay that I textured with a simple design. Swarovski rhinestones add a bit of bling.

I love the textured end pieces of Skinner blend canes... I used one on this pendant and made a couple "snail" beads with scraps.

Had to show you great granddaughter Lily holding Heather's big old cat, Dobie.  Heather has 3 cats and a dog, all the other critters run for cover when Lily enters a room, but not Dobie.  Lily loves Dobie and apparently Dobie loves Lily, he is very tolerant of all the "loving" she gives him.... but I think he is most likely relieved when she goes home.

Back to the dentist later today to check for pressure areas... so far I don't think I have any.

My next project is a Fairy Door for the latest swap on Flickr. And I have to make something for the next PCAGOE challenge.  The theme this month is "monochromatic".  I'm trying to decide on a color, maybe green, I haven't done green lately.

That is it for today.... thanks for stopping by.

  1. OMG you are so funny. Straight teeth are great! Bet you look great! Thanks for the info on the tube wringer. I just took apart a paper crinkler because I never used it. Bet it would have worked with wire. I think I got it in the scrapbooking section. Anyway, thank you for sharing your tips and talent.

  2. My goodness, the cat is bigger than Lily. She sure is a pretty little Great Granddaughter!

    Love your crinkled wire, it creates very unique jewelry and your aqua blue pendants and beads are fabulous!!!

  3. You're quite an inspiration! So glad I've found you (through Polymer Clay Daily.)

    Lee Luda / Bavaria


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Monday, February 23, 2009

Stashbusters! And a story about SWIII

Time to move away from the Sweater Zone and step over into Sock Land. I inhabit Sock Land most of the time by having a pair (or two) on the sticks at any given moment. At this moment, however, I have NO WIP because I've just completed a pair that I started in January.

Introducing - The Stashbusters! These socks were inspired by Sock Wars III which I competed in last year. The contest was an unorganized mess plagued by drama after drama, but that's what makes for good entertainment, isn't it! SWIII started on May 9th with 1153 international competitors vying to be the last knitter standing. I was lucky(?), and did quite well in the contest - finishing in 21st place by finally dying in September after taking down 5 warriors myself . The entire contest ended in October, with a deserving warrior on top of the heap of bodies.

This contest was sponsored by the South West Trading Company, makers of TOFUtsies yarn. Those of you who have used TOFUtsies know that SWTC is very generous with their yardage -providing about 460 yards per skein. The contest sock pattern, The Detonator, was designed a bit too large in diameter, and had a very short leg length. Consequently, it used less yarn than a typical pair of ladies socks, and didn't fit a single one of the 1153 participants. This is probably why the photo on the pattern shows the socks being modelled by a small, hairy-legged man. I ended the contest with several partial skeins of TOFUtsies, each roughly sufficient in length to make one sock. [NOTE: I should mention resoundly that SWTC had nothing to do with the chaos of the contest nor the illfittingness of the Detonator pattern. Quite the opposite - they were instrumental in keeping the contest moving along and motivating the participants.] [Another NOTE: If illfittingness isn't a word, it should be.]

Hence my goal for these socks was to come up with a pattern that would consume the partial skeins. I got a hankering (I'm from Nebraska, I can get those) to play with a slip stitch pattern, so I consulted Ms. Walker and found a simple, yet interesting one with a 4 stitch repeat. I had to modify the stitch pattern to give it a larger vertical gauge so that the patterned top of the foot of the sock would be the same length as the stockinette sole of the sock. That required a half-sock worth of frogging, but it was worth it. The sock pattern uses two colors, that alternate every 4 rows. The two colors I used look really horrible together when the skeins are held side-by-side, but have great energy when combined in this slip-stitch pattern.

During the contest, I got virtually acquainted with the couple that run SWTC - Jonelle and Joe Ruffino. Through that contact, I helped Joe to set up a Knit Night in San Diego while they were in town for TNNA last month. It was great to meet them in person, and to see their family of yarns. Jonelle is lovely lady and an inspiration to all women who have an entrepreneurial spirit. I showed them these socks while they were in progress in January, and now I'll get to show them the completed pair at Stitches!

Now as for that completely unacceptable NO WIP situation... I'm casting on a new pair of socks. It's a new pattern I'm working out, and I'll be using the Knitters Brewing Sock-aholic in Raspberry Mojito. I'm hoping it turns out to be a fairly simple pattern to work, because I plan to be working on it while I'm at Stitches (read: while I'm having cocktails.) Stay tuned!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I finished assembling my sweater last night at SnB - yay!!! The group had me go to the coffee shop ladies room to put it on for immediate modeling.

They're so funny :-)

It fits great, looks like the original drawing, and is completed well on time, so it's a big success in my book! I have some extra beads that just might become a pair of earrings to match.

So what's next? I also have a pair of socks on the sticks that I'm going to finish for Stitches. I don't believe I've mentioned them yet - so that will be my next post. I'm also going to start working on a succession of fingering weight designs to support the KBC Sock-aholic yarns - time to get back to work!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Day 31 - In the Home Stretch!

Hubby and I went to Disneyland last weekend - it was our romantic Valentine's Day trip. Just an intimate trip for the two of us, and 67,000 other tourists. Lots of fun as always, although I did get attacked by Pluto! He must have smelled that hamburger in my pocket.

As hubby drove to Anaheim and back, I worked away in the passenger seat on the peplum for my Stitches sweater - and finished it!
I love the way the peplum looks - especially now that it is blocked. It drapes very nicely. The stitch pattern gave it a pretty lacey look, without making it too revealing - I wouldn't want anyone getting unauthorized peeks at my belly!

The knitting is officially finished, and now I just need to finish the assembly. I might even finish it today!!! I need to attach the peplum to the waistband, and to seam and attach the second sleeve. My next post should be me modeling the finished garment!

Friday, February 13, 2009

13 Days To Go!

Thirteen days left before Stitches West - can I get the sweater done? I think so!

Got pleasantly distracted for a few days while my cousin was visiting. She is also an avid knitter, so if we weren't knitting, we were talking about knitting, shopping for knitting, dying yarn for knitting, or drinking. A few times we had cocktails while knitting, but that only works for one or two - and then it becomes counterproductive. She and I are about the same age and were pretty close when we were kids, but haven't spent much time together as adults. We found that not much had changed between us - except instead of talking about clothes, boys, and periods, we now talk about clothes, men, and hot flashes.

The sweater is coming along well. I recovered from the sleeve cap incident quite nicely, and the first sleeve is sewn to the bodice and looks great. The second sleeve has been knit, but I haven't seamed or attached it yet. I'm working on the lacy peplum now, shown above. It will be about 11 inches long when complete, and flares out a bit - from a 160 stitch diameter at the top to a 240 stitch diameter at the bottom. It's being knit bottom-up, and the lower edge has a cute wavey thing going. I started with 24 lace pattern repeats going around the bottom, and am deciding how to work in the decreases as I go. Thank god I'm not trying to write this pattern down for publishing. At this point it's a ridiculous jumble of scribbled drawings with alphanumeric codes written all over them that even I can't figure out the day after I write them.

The best part of the peplum is that I get to use lots of my cool stitch markers. My friend Judy beaded a bunch of them for me, and they are so pretty I wish I could just knit them into the sweater. [Note to self: hmmmm.... think about future project I can knit stitch markers into...]

Monday, February 2, 2009

Sleeve One: Take 2

My husband is a woodworker, and we often discuss the many similarities between our hobbies. We both enjoy the process of making something unique by hand. We both get to work with wonderful natural materials. We each enjoy learning new techniques, and sometimes we have to learn them the hard way.

Today, I'm seeing where there is a major difference between our project work. If he joins two pieces together, and doesn't like the results, he is often stuck with it because he has cut special joints, used glue, or put nails or screws into his project. If I join two pieces and the result looks like crap, I can just pull it out and redo it. It's a beautiful thing.

Normally when I join a set-in sleeve to a bodice armhole, I graft the sleeve into the hole using a kitchner-esque kind of stitch. The result looks neat and smooth, and the seam is generally not very obvious - which, of course, is the goal.

For some reason, I decided to try something new this time. As I was knitting the sleeve on the machine, I decided to leave the stitches along the edge of the sleeve cap "live", instead of eliminating them using decreases or binding them off. Each time I was supposed to bind-off or decrease a stitch at the beginning or end of a row, I simply took it off the machine and put it on a holder, and continued to work the remaining stitches. The result was a well-shaped sleeve cap, with live stitches all the way around it. I then picked up the same number of stitches around the armhole, and joined the two together using a 3-needle bind off. While the result looked tidy on the inside of the garment, it looked pretty gappy and obvious from the public side. It had to go.

So... I removed the 3-needle bind off to separate the the sleeve from the bodice, and pulled out the entire 47 rows of the sleeve cap. Since the seam has already been sewn up the inside of the arm, the sleeve is in a fairly tight tube, and won't fit back onto the machine to be reknit. I hadn't yet done any swatches to see what manual needle size matches the machine gauge I'm using, and didn't really feel like doing any swatching (who ever does?), so I grabbed the needles I thought would work, and it looks like I've gotten lucky. I'm about halfway through reknitting the sleeve cap now, and, once completed, will rejoin the sleeve to the bodice in my tried and true method. I'm just glad I didn't make both sleeves the wrong way before I tried to attach one of them.


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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Shawls, Balls, and Hey Y'Alls!

How cool that my topics for this post all rhyme!

My longest standing WIP is a laceweight shawl. It's really beautiful, but I don't enjoy working on it because the rows are really long now. Plus, all the right side rows are beaded, so each RS row is taking me somewhere around 35 minutes to complete. Fortunately, the WS rows are just purled with no beads, so those aren't quite as painful! The yarn for this shawl is a 100% silk which was naturally dyed by A Verb for Keeping Warm. I found it at Stitches West in 2009, and cast on shortly after that, and it's still on the needles. The good news is that my online knitting buddy knitrsue decided to make a shawl, so I'm having a knit-along with her to keep me motivated to finish this shawl. I have 24 more body rows to go, and then the beaded border. I'm trying to do 1 row a day, and so far that's working pretty good most days! The photo isn't very good - I have it on the longest cable I've got, but it's not nearly long enough for me to spread the whole shawl out.

On the opposite end of the shawl spectrum is this newly finished object - yay!!! This was a second test knit of the After Hours shawl I designed, and I made it with our new Sockaholic Sweet yarn that we'll be introducing very soon. This little beauty is a one-skein wonder, made from fingering weight yarn on size 11 needles, with optional beads on the border. I cast this on July 7th, and finished knitting it on the 18th. Now that's my kind of shawl! This shawl pattern will be our next Knitters Brewing knit-along. Watch for the announcement at the beginning of August. Another bonus... this is going to be a Christmas gift, so I have one done already! :-)

Now for the Balls... Sunday was Stitch n' Pitch with the Padres, and our usual cadre of party knitters was there to cheer on the home team to victory! A few of us took the commuter train to the ballpark, so I had lots of uninterrupted knitting time, and finished those darned sweater sleeves! I am so happy about that :-) Now I just need to do the front band, and this sweater will be done and ready to wear when Fall hits. I think this is going to be one of those sweaters that I'll get a lot of use out of. I really like the DK weight - not heavy or bulky, but still warm due to the alpaca/silk content.

This weekend is my 30th class reunion - doesn't even seem possible! I've been working on nametags for the event, and it's been such a hoot to go through the old photos and yearbook. Due to my ageing memory, I regretfully can not remember everyone in the class, but I'm sure the memories will come flooding back once the plane lands in Nebraska. My mother tells me to expect 90+ degree weather, so I plan to spend a lot of time on a floatie in the lake they live on when I'm not socializing with my old pals. There's a new LYS in my hometown I get to check out, too!

Cheers -

1 comment:

  1. wow, I do love that pic, I presume it is a senior pic.....

Hello! I'd love to hear from you -


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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

This background technique is made using the humble white plastic shopping bag!  Layers and layers (about 12!) of white plastic bag is ironed together to create a beautifully textured background that is further enhanced by adding paints, wiping off, adding more paints, wiping off again, then metallic paints, wiping off.... well, you get the picture.  You must remember to protect your iron from the plastic with either baking paper or brown paper or you 'll have a huge mess!  Of course these samples on the computer do this background absolutely no justice at all, they are really beautifully textured in real life.  I used a combination of Jo Sonja Paints, Golden Paints, Ranger Distress Paints, Plaid Metallic Paints.
"Seed Fairy"... (colours for this one are:
Paynes Grey, Celadon, Silver & Micaceous Iron Oxide)

"One-way ticket"...(colours are:
Paynes Grey, Indian Red Oxide and Copper)
"Collect Moments"... (colours are:
Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and Silver)
"Thousand times"... (colours are:
Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge and Copper)
This sample below is unadorned so you can see a little of the gorgeous texture that you get.  Colours used were:  Paynes Grey, Turquoise Phthalo and Copper.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Soot technique has always been one of my favourites, it never fails to impress people who have never seen it done before.  When I originally did the soot technique in my classes years ago, we did it on plain white gloss card, then when some of the newer girls wanted to repeat the class, as usual I had to try and put a spin on the original so the girls who had done it before, learnt something new.  Well, it's time to re-visit soot again and once again, there's a spin on it!  This time it's called Sprayed Reverse Soot.  For the girls who haven't done soot at all before, I'll be showing them how to do the original way and then this new way which is the reverse soot using a Versamark Ink Pad (clear embossing ink pad) to stamp your image first onto a coloured (sprayed) background, then applying the soot and wiping gently off with a cotton wool ball.  The Versamark holds the soot onto the stamped image!
"Joy"... (reverse soot stamping - Broken China spray
and Cracked Pistachio)

"Extremes"... (reverse soot stamping - Pumice Stone
spray & Iced Spruce)
"Kinky"... (original way of doing soot stamping)
"Wild Life"... (reverse soot stamping onto
plain white card)
"Without the dark"... (original soot stamping on sprayed
background using Fired Brick and Fossilised Amber)
"Salvage"... (original soot stamping on sprayed
background using Broken China and Cracked Pistachio)

Finally, here is the last of the Bokeh Technique atc's.
"Live Well"...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Bokeh Technique is a photography term and basically translates to a sharp focal point in front but with the light points behind blurry so as to make them round discs of light.  Hope I don't offend any photography buffs with my inelegant explanation but it's an easy way to understand for stampers to create a similar technique.  There are lots of examples of this technique both in photography and in stamping on the web.
I have used watercolour paper (smooth) with dye re-inkers with a little water mixed in for the backgrounds, then a rectangular shape of either cardstock or acetate with various sized circles die-cut out of it and applied white pigment ink, getting darker with the white as the circles get smaller.  Remember these are atc sized which is about 6.4cm x 8.8cm (or 2.5" x 3.5")so pretty small for this particular effect.  I've also included a couple of atc sized ones unadorned down the bottom so you can see the effect without all the stamping on top.
"Single Step"...
"Freak Show"...
"Sparkle Today"...
"Beyond Normal"...
Sample 1 Plain Background...

Sample 2 Plain Background...


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The man behind The War Z has apologized to his fans for some of the controversies that have entangled the much-maligned survival horror game over the past couple of weeks.

In an extensive letter that tackles some of the game's well-publicized issues—like misleading Steam descriptions and community mismanagement—War Z boss Sergey Titov says he'll be hiring new staff, changing the War Z forum's policies, and "[providing] better communication" in the future. He also apologizes for his missteps.

Here's the full letter he sent to War Z players today:

Dear fellow Survivors,

It has now been more than two months since we launched public access to The War Z. We've definitely had our ups and downs, and I thought that this Holiday break was the right time for me to try to step back a little and think about our journey since it started. This may be a little long, but I would appreciate if you could stay with me for a few minutes as I try to go over the highlights of the game as well as some of the hurdles and controversies, how we have addressed that and what our plans are.

First of all a very big and sincere "Thank You!" to all of you. We are really proud of the community we have formed with you guys. Every day we have hundreds of thousands of players on our servers, and this is a life-changing event for the team and me. We are blessed to have you as members of the community and we are well aware that without you the game would be nothing. Along with that thanks, though, I need to admit that we failed to effectively communicate some of our plans and actions to both our existing players and to our new prospective players. This failure to communicate resulted in some very negative feedback from some members of our community, but while it might be easy to label them as "haters" or some other dismissive term, in all honesty this is my fault. I became arrogant and blinded by the early success and quick growth of The War Z, our increasing number of players, numbers we were getting from surveys, etc., and I chose not to notice the concerns and questions raised by these members of the game community as well as others. This failure is entirely on my shoulders and if anything I owe thanks to that vocal minority and admit that I should have paid attention sooner. I chose instead to concentrate on the bigger picture – my dream of turning The War Z from being a game developed by a small indie team into a large online venture, instead of addressing small things first and staying focused on the game issues. At the end my arrogance led us to the moment, when all those small things finally caught up and created a "perfect storm" that affected all of our community members. For that I'm truly sorry and apologize to all of our community as well as the larger PC gaming community that is not yet playing The War Z.

I do not take this situation lightly, and last week events were especially humbling for me. I've experienced a range of emotions, most of which centered on regret for not having addressed some of the issues differently than we did, but we can't change the past. The only thing we can do is to be sure that we won't repeat the same mistakes in the future. I have realized that as the leader of this ship, I missed all early warnings that were saying, "Your community is not as happy as you think they are, you need to alter course." I was too focused on how great we are and how a small independent team got their first game to over 700,000 users in a two-month period. Though that is something to be very proud of, allowing that to overshadow the existing community and their satisfaction was poor judgment.

I want to give you some insight into what our plans are for the future, but before we get to that, I'd like to clear the air with you on several important topics.

Community management and moderation – the problem

Even since the early Alpha launch, this game has always cultivated a large and loyal player base that is very active in the game. Again, thank you for this. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared for this large success and the way we managed the community was not the way it should've been. We relied too much on forum moderators, whose primary role was to punish those who break rules, not to engage the community and guide conversations into productive discussions about problems. There wasn't enough presence of the development team on forums, there wasn't enough updates on development of UPCOMING features. We failed to communicate our position and messaging on the outside platforms such as Facebook, twitter and various online websites, and when we did this we chose to rely more on arrogance rather than being humble and trying to understand why people were saying negative things. We chose to tune out negative reactions to the game, not paying enough attention to them – and this, again, is my fault. We chose to rely too much on numbers – percentage of refund requests, number and dynamic of our daily and monthly active users, etc. Well, in hindsight – those things probably work well for more casual games, but the hardcore PC gaming community is much different and can be very vocal about what they feel. Even when the percentage of players with negative comments is small, as the community grows, even a small percentage can add up to be a very significant absolute number. And it's not just a number – those are real people with real issues they are having with the game. OP Productions (publisher for War Z) and me personally have failed to address those issues effectively.

Community management and moderation – the solution!

We're changing our community management procedures and rules right now. We're going to reevaluate publishing and marketing team performance, and I will make sure that Hammerpoint Interactive developers will have a much stronger voice when it comes to community management and we won't rely 100% on OP Productions to single handedly handle this. Lots of changes will be happening very fast in the weeks to come. One of the ideas that I proposed was to select 10 players from around the world who can represent the player community and invite them to our offices in Los Angeles, to meet the team, check out what we're doing, and share with actual developers their concerns, wishes and thoughts on the game. We also will involve community, to a much higher degree, in the process of making our next map for The War Z (called "California"). We'll be discussing many of the aspects of the map with you and asking for feedback.

We're revisiting our forum policies; we're going to bring on an additional community management team, additional moderators and we'll train them how to respond to things properly. There will still be restrictions on harassment, trash talk, etc. But we'll make sure that every opinion is heard. At the same time, I must also be cautious: we cannot address all issues and there cannot be only one voice. Please accept that. With hundreds of thousands of players playing, talking, chatting, voicing their strong opinions, there will always be diverging opinions. And some issues that are minor ones are sometimes brought to light by very vocal channels. I would even say there is sometimes a beginning of controversy because the game is now so popular. So there is sometimes a distortion between the severity of the issue and the attention it gets. But we will clearly implement steps to better listen to the community.

What is Foundation Release?

The most asked question of the last week was "is this the final release?" My answer has always been that for an online game a "final" release means that the game is dead – so there's really no such thing, you never stop developing, making changes to and adding new features to the game. This is how we came to call the current version of The War Z "Foundation Release." We launched the Foundation Release on December 17, 2012 as our first-stage release that we use as a foundation to build upon. It does include the core features and a fully playable environment. This is our version 1.0, and of course we will continue to improve that version as time goes on. Did we rush to get it done? That is a tough question, but to answer honestly I think that we all pushed very hard to be first to market and in time for the holidays. Our entire team was working late, long hours to iron out issues and include as many features as possible. This is part of the reality of being a smaller, independent game developer. If we had a larger team and more funding we may have done things differently, but I'm not sure. I don't think it was a mistake because our numbers have been strong since day one and, even with the recent negativity, our metrics are really solid and we've been continuing to grow. The negative opinions are always the most vocal, but most players are really enjoying the game and we've been attracting more and more daily active players every week. A lot of the gaming journalists that have been playing the game have also given us some great feedback. I realize that we will take a few hits from some of the traditional gaming press in terms of review scores, but I'm hoping that even they will consider that this game is a living project that will continue to evolve as time goes on. We are very proud of our Foundation Release, and we do stand behind it like we have stood behind any previous version.

What's on the Horizon?

As for what will happen next with The War Z? We're currently evaluating the relationship between Hammerpoint and OP Productions. I firmly believe that Hammerpoint should be playing a more prominent role in publishing/game operating process. We're in a process of adding new key members to our team, bringing on guys who have much more experience operating and growing successful online games and I know this is going to make a huge difference in terms of development. We'll be making some big decisions in terms of leadership for both companies and I will personally change how I handle many things. Above all we will continue to develop and make this game the best that it can be.

I know that to some people my words won't matter much. I understand that. I hope that will change as we move forward and deliver the features that our players have been waiting for. I can promise you that from now on things will be much more transparent, and we'll provide better communication and engage our community to discuss upcoming features way before they appear in the game.

I do believe that we aren't even close to uncovering the true potential for The War Z, and I hope that in the coming year, we'll be able to regain trust from people who were alienated by our actions and we'll be able to move forward and grow the game together.

Thank you for reading all this, thank you for supporting the game and thank you for helping us to change and realize what's important as well as what is not.

I hope you are all having a happy holiday and I wish you the best for the New Year!

Sergey Titov
Executive Producer, The War Z


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You are perhaps wondering whether or not you should play Ni no Kuni, the RPG by Level-5 and Studio Ghibli that comes out today on PlayStation 3.

Let me put it simply: Yes. Ni no Kuni is a fantastic game. Although I haven't played enough to feel comfortable writing up a full review—I'm around 14 hours in so far, and taking my time—I think it's safe to say that yes, if you are a fan of role-playing games, or Studio Ghibli movies, or fun, this is an experience worth having.

(While it's possible that something somehow ruins the game later on, it's worth playing even just for the 14 hours of greatness that I've experienced thus far.)

That's the short version. Now for some more impressions, in bullet-pointed form because really, bullet points are just too convenient not to use. Here are 12 things you should know about Ni no Kuni:

  1. The first thing you'll notice about Ni no Kuni is just how gorgeous it is. That part's obvious. But what you might not notice right away is that the soundtrack, performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Chorus, is just as powerful and welcoming as the Ghibli-crafted animation.

  2. Many Japanese RPGs come with great music, but Ni no Kuni comes with an actual score—instead of following a few catchy melodies, the horns and harps swell up and down as you walk through the world, meandering as if they're going on their own adventure with you. It feels like you're roaming through a movie.
  3. You play as Oliver, a little kid who goes through some serious tragedy and winds up traveling to a new world, where he has to become a wizard in order to defeat the evil Dark Djinn Shadar and yada yada yada. So he has to go off and find a bunch of Great Sages to get more powerful and really this is all well and good but it doesn't really matter all that much because the appeal of this game lies in the adventure, not the excuse you need to go on that adventure.

  4. So, yes, Oliver needs a reason to fight his way through deserts and forests and rumbling volcanos, but the sights and sounds justify themselves. Ni no Kuni's world is surreal and wonderful, well worth the trip.
  5. The voice-acting is phenomenal, good enough to make me think about reconsidering my opinion on English voice acting in Japanese RPGs. Mr. Drippy's Welsh drawl steals the show, but all of the performances are extremely well done. Children in video games are usually annoying. Oliver is not. He feels and sounds like a real human being, and even when you might get sick of his naivety, his blind, innocent courage is appealing in a "wow, I wish I could do that" sort of way.

  6. As always, Level-5 has done excellent work with the localization. Hope you like animal puns.
  7. You get your very own book filled with wizarding spells, interesting stories, and even a made-up language that actually asks you to pull out a pen and paper IRL so you can decipher Special Wizard Code. Lucky pre-orderers get a physical version of this book, but you can see all of it in-game. Part strategy guide, part Easter Egg-filled lore tome, it's the type of thing that can steal an hour or two of your time.
  8. The attention to detail is awe-inspiring: Oliver's cape swirls and flows in the wind, enemies run away from you when you're bigger than them, towns are full of random little secrets and treasures. When you get large objects, your tiny companion Drippy will carry them over his head. One town you visit has enacted a law that everyone is required to wear a bathing suit at all times—so naturally, your characters swap into bathing suits every time they visit.
  9. Ni no Kuni is a lot like Dragon Quest VIII—a fantastic RPG, also by Level-5—in many ways, from silly animal puns to crafting cauldrons. In most ways it's even better. This is a traditional JRPG, yes, but it also feels smart, engrossing, and modern.
  10. One of the bosses is a genie that must have been inspired by Robin Williams's memorable performance in Aladdin. As you fight him, he'll pull out random objects from a giant cauldron: melons, parasols, ladies' undergarments. Whimsy!
  11. So yes, Ni no Kuni is very good at making you feel like you're on an adventure, a whimsical adventure filled with personality and charm. When I run down the mental checklist of everything I'd want in a JRPG: sharp writing, clever characters, addictive combat, a fulfilling world, and lots of interesting things to see and do, Ni no Kuni hits every mark.
  12. There are tons and tons of sidequests. You can help a traveler find his diary, track down powerful enemies for bounties, and go convince pigeons to rejoin their master. You can learn useful spells from a ghost wizard. You can bring lunch to a hungry worker in the forest. These sidequests help boost your party and give you an excuse to go out and level up...
  13. ...Which is good, because combat is tough, and you'll need to keep battling monsters in order to keep your party up to speed. There are a lot of tough bosses.
  14. The combat, by the way, is bloody brilliant, a blend of turn-based and real-time battle systems that feels fast-paced and intense. It's sort of a cross between Dragon Quest, Tales, and Pokemon. You collect creatures, level them up, and equip them. During combat, you can move around the battlefield in real time, dodge enemy attacks, and try to get into good position to use physical strikes or spells against your opponents.

  15. When you attack or defend, your character will be stuck in that action for five seconds or so. You can't move him around while he's attacking or defending. You can cancel mid-action, in case you want to run around to try to collect the randomly-spawning green and blue orbs that restore your health and mana. You'll want to do this fairly often, as when a boss uses a special attack, the only way to survive is sometimes to stop whatever you're doing and defend immediately.
  16. Optimal strategy will vary depending what sort of boss you're fighting. It can be really frustrating when you're casting a spell and an enemy catches you off guard just before you get a chance to defend, but the satisfaction of taking down grueling bosses is totally worth the risk.
  17. There's a cow queen, and everyone calls her "Your Moojesty." This is very important.


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Nintendo has shrewdly delivered fan service with its announcements of characters and cameos for Super Smash Bros., from Mega Man to The Villager to Wii Fit Trainer. The latest tease, from creator Masahiro Sakurai, will appeal to fans of StreetPass' RPG Find Mii. It's the Dark Lord!

How can we be sure that's him? Well, the swinging cage that imprisons your Mii is a good enough tipoff. The only other context for his inclusion appears to be that he'll be in the 3DS version only. As what—an item, a hazard or even a playable character (doubtful)—no one yet knows.

Masahiro Sakurai|Super Smash Bros. Series [Miiverse, via IGN]


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Facts about Zelo Maknae

Choi Jun Hong, "Men live and die."
When asked how he became a singer, Zelo commented, "When I was little, when I came home I was a child that didn’t play a lot by myself. After returning home, in front of my mom's mirror, I’d beatbox and dance by myself. That day, I realized a neighborhood TV shooting location was there. Then, my friend came from there saying 'I got a game card so I’ll take you with me' and we discussed how we should leave. However, my mom was there secretly. After returning home from school, without saying anything and abandoning my backpack, I left… My mom wore sunglasses and followed behind us, saying 'My son is on stage dancing and rapping' (laughs). It started from that time. From 5th grade on I started my speciality in rap, beatboxing, and dance. After joining this company, about 1 year passed till our debut."
  • He studied at Mokpo Yehyang Elementary School, Sungnae Middle School and his currently studying at Seoul Performing Arts High School.
  • He likes to listening to music and writing lyrics.
  • His skateboard is very precious to him.
  • His role model are Kanye West and Will.I.Am and he likes Hip Hop and R&B music.
  • His frequent habit is blinking.
  • He loves kimchi.
  • His favorites colors are grey, green, red and white.
  • Crossing and Step Up are his favorites movies.
  • His favorite number is 7.
  • He’s been into music since he was in elementary school. He trained in the "JOY Dance Academy", a music school in his hometown, since his 5th year of elementary school where he learned how to sing, rap and dance.
  • His stage name "ZELO" comes from the Greek and Roman God Mythology "Zelus" whom was the God of rivalry.
  • Enjoys being the maknae because the members take good care of him, even though they tease him a lot.
  • At a young age, he started dreaming of becoming a soccer player but it soon faded as he became more interested in music.
  • He auditioned to several recording companies but was constantly rejected because of his young age before being accepted as a trainee in TS Entertainment.
  • Since he started training at an early age, he doesn’t have much friends and because he lives with the hyungs, he have grown close to them. Rather than sneaking out by himself, if he were to sneak out with his hyungs, he’d want to simply just go out to get smoothies with them.
  • Although he hasn’t dated anyone yet, he likes smart girls; good at areas where he’s weak at. He also likes girls who look pretty when smiling and even more if they can speak English well.
  • He wants his fans to call him oppa, even though he’s probably younger than most of them.
  • He says he got his good skin from his parents.
  • He used to exchange online game items with his friends so they’d include him in their team for dancing and singing competitions.
  • He sleeps with stuff on his bed, including his computer.
  • He's scared of people because he "can get betrayed by people".
  • Zelo likes sneaking out of the house to walk around the city with a mask so not identified.

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous21:21

    zelo my ultimate bias <333333333


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Cripcast – Krip-Hop

disability_symbolsCripcast – Krip-Hop

Technical Difficulties, the region’s first weekly Disability Rights show

Friday (repeated Saturday) noon-1pm Central on 88.1 FM Fargo-Moorhead KPPP-LP and

Just when you thought it was safe to be ableist…Technical Difficulties returns :Fridays at Noon on KPPP-LP 88.1 Fargo-Moorhead (Replays on Saturday at Noon)

Listen to the Archived Show Here:

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Things to do with your family in Waikiki

Here are a few sample experiences taken from Collections of Waikiki shoppers and guests. Follow along and use them as your own personal shopping itineraries for a pre-planned fun-filled day!

Purchase breakfast sandwiches, juice, spam musubis and sliced pineapple and papaya, and have a dine-in breakfast together in the comfort of the hotel room

Recommended items: Quiksilver and JUICY swimwear for the children, goggles, sunglasses, hats and Noodle & Boo sunscreen

Take the elevator up to the 4th floor at the Sheraton Waikiki

Poppins Keiki Hawaii

Drop off children at Poppins for a half day session (9:00 – 12:00, trip to Waikiki Aquarium)

Flip Flop
Flip Flop Shops

Recommended items (Father): Olukai sandals and Havaianas slippers for the children to wear later

Reyn Spooner

Recommended items (Father): Board Shorts and an Aloha Shirt

Peet’s Coffee & Tea

Have coffee and Earl Grey tea by the Infinity Edge Pool and enjoy a few hours on vacation simply by being together. Relax there until the children return from the Waikiki Aquarium

Pick up children from Poppins Keiki Hawaii

Edge of Waikiki

Sit at the table area of Edge of Waikiki and dine together as a family. Recommended items include: Ka Ehu Kai salad (Rare Seared Ahi with Nalo and Hamakua farm produce and Yuzu dressing), Steel-Cut Idaho Fries, Waimea Paniolo Sandwich (roast beef and gorgonzola cheese with Maui caramelized onions on a sourdough baguette) and Brick-Oven Pizza

Treat the children to a frozen delight. Recommended items include: kid-sized scoop of Mango Sorbet, kid-sized scoop of American Birthday Cake, and the Royal Hawaiian Sundae (Macadamia Nut Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream and crushed Macadamia Nuts)

Helumoa Playground
Have fun together as a family on the 70-foot water slide!

 Return to Room

Creation Show
Creation Show, A Polynesian Journey

Finish the day with an enthralling and educational dinner show at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. Starting from 6:00 p.m., Creation Show, A Polynesian Journey incorporates a Hawaiian-American Prime Rib buffet with Polynesian performers and fire-knife dancers for an entertaining experience enjoyable by all!


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Wiman Out of Bocek Fight, Alessio to the Rescue

Up-to-the-minute news about UFC 145 fight card, slated for April 21, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. More details, including ticket information, will be released soon.

More fight card updates:
UFC on FUEL TV 2 - April 14
UFC 145 - April 21
UFC on FOX 3 - May 5
UFC on FUEL TV 3 - May 15
Strikeforce San Jose - May 19
UFC 146 - May 26
TUF Live Finale - June 1
UFC on FX 3 - June 8
UFC on FX 4 - June 22
UFC 147 - June 23
UFC 148 - July 7
UFC 149 - July 21
An injury has forced TUF 5 standout Matt Wiman to withdraw from his UFC 145 bout against Mark Bocek.

Stepping in on short notice to face Bocek will be a fellow Canadian, UFC and WEC vet John Alessio. Since his last fight under the Zuffa banner, Alessio has gone 12-3 with three straight since August.

Wonderboy Gets Matt Brown at UFC 145 updated February 11
Two welterweights who scored dramatic knockouts at UFC 143 last week have verbally agreed to make a fast turnaround and face one anther at UFC 145 in Atlanta on April 21.

Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson took home the KO of the Night award for his highlight-reel head kick victory in his UFC debut. Later that night TUF 7's Matt Brown scored a second-round knockout of Chris Cope that he felt deserved the night's bonus.

"There is a good chance someone will earn a bonus in this fight," said UFC president Dana White.

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans Official for ATL updated February 6
The UFC's spring fight card in Atlanta has its main event, as UFC president Dana White confirmed today that light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against former-teammate-turned-rival Rashad Evans, a former beltholder in that division. The heated matchup was expected after Evans handily decisioned then-undefeated Phil Davis at UFC on FOX </a>and was made official today.

Torres vs. McDonald Plus Eight Bouts Confirmed for Atlanta updated Jan 20
Verbal agreements are in for a thrilling battle between bantamweights this spring. "What may be the hottest prospect in the 135-pound division takes on one of the all-time greats when Michael McDonald meets former WEC champion Miguel Torres at UFC 145 in Atlanta," said UFC president Dana White.

Also at that event, former Strikeforce fighter Maximo Blanco will make his featherweight debut against last season's Ultimate Fighter contestant Marcus Brimage. Both athletes possess a powerful striking style and have verbally agreed to the bout.

Additionally, seven bouts that had been set to take place on the Montreal fight card have been shifted to the Atlanta event. Verbal agreements remain in place for the following matchups at the new venue:
Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills - welterweight
Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell - heavyweight
Mark Bocek vs. Matt Wiman - lightweight
Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs - heavyweight
John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani - lightweight
Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero - lightweight
Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements - welterweight

A main event is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Hominick vs. Yagin Re-Set for Atlanta Event updated January 19
The UFC is heading to Hotlanta and the first fight on the card has been announced: featherweight contender Mark Hominick will take on up-and-comer Eddie Yagin. Both fighters had agreed to the bout when it was slated to take place in Montreal; that event has since been shelved.

News of the Atlanta date was originally announced last week on FUEL TV's UFC Tonight, which airs every Tuesday at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.
토요일, 4월 8
Buffalo, New York

크리스 와이드먼이 UFC 187 대회에서 비토 벨포트를 꺾고 미들급 타이틀을 방어한다. 와이드먼은 UFC 210 대회에서 게가드 무사시를 상대한다.
2017. 3. 24
UFC Minute에서 소개하는 UFN 오클라호마 대회 및 대진. BJ 펜이 데니스 시버를 상대한다.
2017. 3. 23
포레스트 그리핀, 맷 파리노가 분석하는 최신 공식 UFC 랭킹. 지미 마누와, 군나르 넬슨이 UFN 런던 대회에서 승리를 거뒀으나 랭킹 변화는 없었다. 마크 디아키에스와 아놀드 앨런에 대해서도 알아보자.
2017. 3. 22
UFC Minute에서 UFC 211 대회 입장권 특전을 소개한다. 프로모션 코드를 입력하면 UFC 211 대회 입장권을 하루 일찍 구입할 수 있다.
2017. 3. 22


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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Too Much Stuff

Yep, that’s what I got.  Waaaaaaaay too much stuff.

But it’s not like it’s all useless stuff.  Really.
Those two dozen empty half-gallon cider jars will one day hold our homemade wine.  We’ll eventually get to building that lean-to with all the reclaimed decking we got from a friend.  And that bailing twine I’ve been saving?  Well darned if I’m not going to figure out something to do with it even if I have to make myself one of those old-lady macramé plant holders.
Any homesteader (or packrat, hoarder, recycling junkie, etc.) would agree with me on saving the above items.  You’re with me….right?  Please say you’re with me.  Please.  (muffled sobbing)
Anyhow, I’ve been trying to do some much needed Spring Cleaning.  I’ve been working very, very hard to get rid of the (real) junk around here as well as finding homes for those other useful-to-someone-else items.
Like books.  I’m a book junkie.  Not only a book junkie, but a hardcover book junkie.  I can’t pass up a library book sale.  I can sniff out a pile of old cookbooks or how-to books stuffed under a pile of musty wool army blankets at the local thrift store.  Fortunately, I’m pretty specific on the subject matter and have very few fiction or New York Time’s “best sellers” in my library.  Not that there aren’t some darned good ones out there, and I admit to having a number of science fiction novels, but I’m more of a reference or history book kind’a gal.
I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point of giving away my Storey’s Guides, Peterson’s and Audubon’s field guides or how-to books, but there are definitely a bookshelf or three of other bound parchment treasures that I can manage to part with.
And that’s where you - yes you - my lucky blog addicts, can help me with my Spring Cleaning.
As much as I’d like to be able to ship out all my discarded and unloved books (I swear, I feel like I’m hurting their feelings when I get rid of them), I can’t really afford to do that with everything.  So I’ll be giving away only the homestead-y type books when I can scrounge up some extra egg or milk money.  Here’s the first book:

I believe I got it from my friend Kathy (another book junkie whom I believe has no less than thirty-six-thousand-four-hundred and twenty-two books in her second bedroom alone), and I hope she understands that this is in no way dissing her gift to me.  I’ve had this book for some time now and have read it at least twice.  And honestly, I’m probably going to read it again before I ship it out , because if I don’t, the next three months I’ll be wishing I did then end up going out and buying another copy just so I can read it one last time.
So if you want to win a gently used copy of Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, just post a comment here and I’ll pick a winner next week……let’s say next Sunday.  Oh, and to make it even more interesting, give me the name(s) of your chicken(s) - you do name your chickens, don’t you??? - or, if you don’t have any chickens, what you would name your chicken.
Oh, and if you’re a book junkie, but can manage to actually part with your books, might I suggest becoming a member of Paper Back Swap?  The web address is and it’s a pretty cool site.

  1. I just gave my guide books a permanent home on a pretty little shelf. Can you ever have enough though?

    Ok, Chicken names. We have Kelso, Henrietta Magillicutty, EJ, and Dixie so far. Of course the only one I can pin a name to, because they all look the same right now, is Kelso. :)

  2. I'm sorry, I don't name my chickens. That way I don't feel so bad come Fall when they become chicken soup. You just can't kill something name Fluffy.

  3. I have read that book and it's great, but I don't need it, thanks tho. I just wanted to let you know that I do save hay twine, I have lots of plastic juice bottles that I save to store beans, rice and pasta in, and for homemade laundry detergent. I also save lint (for fire starters) so don't feel all alone. We can be "weird" together...

  4. I have my own Storey chicken book so don't need another.

    I don't name my chickens....I don't even name some of the cats....

    I am a saver never know when you will need some of that stuff! I have buildings filled with it...something seriously needs to be done.

  5. I have to admit that very few of my chickens have names. There was Kathy, but she was eaten by a 'possum. Then there was Kathy 2, Kathy 3....both which met with a similar nasty death. So I've stopped giving them names (although, maybe the name Kathy is just an unlucky chicken name?). Although I've been known to scream "Pecker Head!" at any ill-behaving rooster.....does that count?

  6. You make me smile! :)

    Our hens are Jackie Blackie and Vamp (the Black Aussies), Buffy and Josephine (the Buff Orps), and The Rockettes (2 Barred Rocks whom we can never tell apart!)

    And, yes, of course, I'll post pictures of the kitchen! Just as soon as I find my USB cord...

  7. Chicken names, ready?

    Mrs. Puff and the Buffs, Gertie, Vegas, Bear, Shoulder, Gabby, Feather Foot, and Chowder. :)

    I love books just can't have too many...right? :)

  8. This is my first time visiting your Blog. But being a singel (male) homesteader in hopes of growing and raising as much of my own food as possible, I realy want this book!! Chickens are my next project and I'm reading everthing I can on them.
    I found your Blog at e-i-e-i-oing and will now go to the first post you wrote and read from there (as is my normal habit when I find a Blog that I feel I can learn from).
    Looking forward to the journy!