u/Bob_AZ

I have been looking for a dedicated machine to temper chocolate. All the ones listed as tempering machines have analog temperature controls that are reviewed as being both inaccurate and unstable.

I found a "hot plate" designed for dough starter warmer, but it maxes out at 110F. It does have a digital display and single digit F temperature settings.

I am testing it at the moment to see what the maximum contents will measure once melted. In prior batches I use Sous Vide to sucessfully produce silk and a yogurt make to keep the chocolate at 45C for an hour or so before reducing the temperature to 32C and adding the silk. Both devices are messy and are water jacket based. Sous Vide is fine for making silk as I have a commercial grade chamber vacuum sealer but Ideally a single heating device that can accurately maintain 45C then drop down to 32C or whatever temp is best for coating Keto coconut bars.

In addition, any suggestions for the percentage of cocoa butter to add to make the chocolate viscous enough for a thin, tempered coating.

I never knew chocolate was such a complex and fascinating product!

Bob

Heading for Riga later this year. Wondering if anyone has heard of any Irish or Appalachian music sessions around Riga?

Thanks!

Bob

Heading for Riga later this year. Wondering if anyone has heard of any sessions around Riga?

Thanks!

Bob

Only options I found in a search are no longer available.

Thanks!

I just spent a frustrating 45 minutes chatting with a clueless support person named Ernie (real name probably Pradesh) and he was unable to give me an answer. He did mention that if I had to remove the sensor prematurely for a medical scan, they would replace it. I'm having a CT scan as part of a medical trial.

Thanks!

Bob

I have a band mate heading to Kazakhstan on a cultural exchange tour. I noticed Airalo has a Kazakhstan plan. Does anyone have any experience there with Airalo. What is the wifi situation in hotels, etc.

Thanks,

Bob

Are the Fitzgerald brothers still playing in Melbourne? They recorded a number of videos at the Cork Man but the pub, apparently, no longer exists as it was.

I'm planning a trip to the Antipodes and would love to run ito them.

Bob

I am on a strict Keto diet and make my own Keto flax bread using flax seed, vital wheat gluten and oat fiber. The flax seed really needs to be milled just prior to baking as the milled seed goes rancid quickly. For this task I have been using a coffee grinder with uneven results, requiring multiple runs.

There are a number of "grain mills" listed on Amazon in the $100 to $150 range. I typically will mill no more than 500 gms. I may use the mill once or twice a month.

Any suggestions or comments will be appreciated.

Ek is in Johannesburg gebore en het in die State grootgeword. Ongelukkig praat ek nie Afrikaans nie. Ek was 'n dosent by die Universiteit van Kaapstad vir 10 jaar in die 70's en het die Kaapstadse Volksklub in 1974 begin, wat steeds aan die gang is. Die eerste Afrikaanse sanger wat ek aangebied het, was David Kramer.

Ek luister al baie na beide tradisionele en moderne Boeremusiek en, voordat ek te oud en swak word, wil ek graag saam met 'n groep speel. Ons het altyd Boeremusiek gehad toe ek in New York grootgeword het. Familie het 78 rpm grammofoonplate gestuur en elke aankoms was soos Kersfees.

Ek is 'n werkende musikant hier in die State. Ek speel kitaar (bluegrass en Appalachian Style), 5-snaar banjo, Appalachian Style en Ierse tenoorbanjo.

Ek besoek Ierland een of twee keer per jaar om musiek te speel en reis deur die VSA vir optredes en feeste waar ek Appalachian-musiek speel.

Enige voorstelle sal waardeer word.

Bob
Tucson Arizona

Ek is in Johannesburg gebore en het in die State grootgeword. Ongelukkig praat ek nie Afrikaans nie. Ek was 'n dosent by die Universiteit van Kaapstad vir 10 jaar in die 70's en het die Kaapstadse Volksklub in 1974 begin, wat steeds aan die gang is. Die eerste Afrikaanse sanger wat ek aangebied het, was David Kramer.

Ek luister al baie na beide tradisionele en moderne Boeremusiek en, voordat ek te oud en swak word, wil ek graag saam met 'n groep speel. Ons het altyd Boeremusiek gehad toe ek in New York grootgeword het. Familie het 78 rpm grammofoonplate gestuur en elke aankoms was soos Kersfees.

Ek is 'n werkende musikant hier in die State. Ek speel kitaar (bluegrass en Appalachian Style), 5-snaar banjo, Appalachian Style en Ierse tenoorbanjo.

Ek besoek Ierland een of twee keer per jaar om musiek te speel en reis deur die VSA vir optredes en feeste waar ek Appalachian-musiek speel.

Enige voorstelle sal waardeer word.

Bob
Tucson Arizona

Restoring a banjo for a friend whose husband "left the building" He left a Lange Challenger that needs work. It's basically in great condition, little fretware and nice woods but is missing the resonator, dowel stick tension bracket and needs workable tuners. She wants to give the banjo to one of her kids. She is, btw, a first rate Irish and Old Time fiddler.

Ideal might be one with a broken neck or cracked rim, etc.

Thanks,

Bob

I picked up a KG of Safari Biltong Spice on a recent trip back to CT. I haven't made any biltong for a while due to the crazy meat prices. My local supermarket was having a sale and I purchased a couple of Top Round Roasts and sliced them into biltong strips. I made up a mix of Brown Vinegar, Worcester sauce and a small dash of soy sauce.

I then took the strips, wet them in the liquid, and rolled each strip in the Safari spice, and hung to dry. After 3 days they were ready. My biltong maker is a 5 gallon pail with a 75W reptile heater bulb controlled by a thermostat and set to 26C. I have a computer fan in the lit running full time and 20 mm holes circling the very bottom. I was able to load around 10 lbs of strips. They were ready in about 3 days. I sliced on on my manual biltong slicer but after the first bite, I could feel my blood pressure from the over abundance of salt. Was it the liquid mix? The Safari Spice or a combination of all three. I have done the unthinkable and rinsed all the strips and will place them back in the maker for another day. Ambient temperature indoors is around 27 and about 15% humidity. Arizona is similar to SW.

Suggestions or comments?!
Bob

I have been in ketosis for 3 years or so. Although I wasn't trying to lose weight, I have dropped 3" and tossed out a lot of clothes. BMI is around 21.5-22. I went Keto because I believe most of us did not evolve to consume carbs and sugars year round but for a brief period in the late summer when fruits, nuts and other carbs were readily available. Eating carbs was designed to simulate the appetite for more carbs and put on as much fat as possible for a long winter with unreliable food (meat) sources. The Koi of the Kalahari, now acknowledged as the oldest race in the modern world, do exactly that. They accumulate fat on their butts when carbs are plentiful and then survive on small game in winter, supplemented with fat stores.

I aim for zero carbs daily but find +- 10 acceptable. All my cardiac, blood work and other relevant parameters are absolutely dead center or low center. I have reversed type 2 diabetes, diagnosed in 2008. My cardiologist recent said I have the cardiac condition of a 60 year old, I'm 78.

Here's my question: I test my blood sugar and blood ketones and enter the results on the Keto Mojo app. Over time the ketones typically were in the 1.8 to 2.5 range. Blood sugar between 70 and 90. Recently my ketones have jumped into the 4-5 range and blood sugar up into 85-95.

I'm often in the Highest Level of Therapeutic Ketosis per the Keto Mojo app. The really hasn't happened during the first 2 1/2 years. Today I was at 80/5.8

I am wondering if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Thanks!
Bob

Any suggestions for sessions in Belfast City.

Thanks,

Bob

I live in Tucson Arizona and have played Irish trad since the late 60s, and Appalachian banjo since I was a teen. I spent a few weeks in December and February playing sessions in Galway but I avoid the Republic in summer. If I wanted to play with Yanks, I'd head to Chicago or Boston. I'm thinking it'd be more fun and maybe less touristy in Belfast. I was there in Belfast numerous times in the early 70s. Not many tourists around heh heh.

If anyone could suggest and pubs with sessions or Appalachian jams, I'd appreciate it. I want to avoid renting a car. Is there any decent bus service between Dublin and Belfast? I assume no train?

Thanks in advance,

Bob

I finally got fed up with my Microtuners breaking when trying to fit them on Vintage Irish tenors or various clawhammer banjos.

I came up with this design and it's a huge improvement! The tuner pops on securely and pops off when needed.

If there's any interest in the adapter let me know I'll do a run for the sub. I have converted all my Micros to the new bracket adapter. Much firmer grip, more accurate tuning...'mo bedda!

If there's interest I'll sell them for $5 plus postage. Here's a crappy before and after photo of today's adapter:

Another busted tuner

Solid as a rock!