John Bartkiw - The Social Un-network (Page 2)

Heather Lake

A moderate hike today to Heather Lake outside of Granite Falls. The trail was more like a creek bed most of the way consisting of rocks, exposed roots and trickling water. Add in a bit of frost on the ground and things were a bit slippery but the hike was

politics

Step 2: Drop Social Media

Now that the election is over we can all finally exhale and celebrate the fact that we have completed step number one in returning to some semblance of sanity. But the reality is that this is only the beginning of the road. Things aren't going to become "normal" magically overnight

fermenting

Pickled 'shrooms

With the success I've been having with fermenting hot sauces, and pickling cucumbers not being in season, I've decided to branch out and try lacto fermenting some different things. First stop is mushrooms. I like pickled mushrooms and they're easy to come by so it's worth experimenting. I'm starting with

nature

Little Mashel Falls

A fairly middle of the road hike that might not be worth the drive if it wasn't for the payoff of the falls at the end. But eating lunch at the base of the falls make it all worthwhile, if not a bit chilly at this time of year.

fermenting

Three Week Hot Sauce

I finally turned my latest hot pepper ferment into a sauce. I let this ferment go for three weeks this time instead of two and the extra week definitely adds some funk, in a good way. This trial also took the number of ghost peppers down to just a half

fermenting

Pickle Fail!

It's been two weeks for my last batch of spicy pickles so today it was time to see how they turned out. For the first time since starting to experiment with fermenting I had a big fail. Biting into the first pickle my mouth was instantly filled with pickle mush.

nature

Iron Goat Trail

A nice early fall hike today near Stevens Pass. A little rain, a little chill, exactly what you'd expect in October. As an added bonus there's an interesting podcast to go along with the hike that we listened to on the ride up covering the deadliest avalanche in US history

smokin'

Happy Canuck Turkey Day

Ok it's a little early but we decided to move Canadian Thanksgiving to today for our family just due to when it was easiest to do the cooking. My contribution was my second attempt at smoking meat on the BBQ. This time is was a turkey breast. Apple cider brine

nature

Lodge Lake

A fun little hike today up at Snoqualmie Pass that combined some great trail hiking, a foggy lake and climbing up a hill we're used to skiing down. Too bad the lifts weren't running today.This is why you live in the PNW. #nofilterIs that a pirate ship coming through

fermenting

Too hot sauce

Results of the 3rd round of hot sauce is still a bit too much heat. This is with one full ghost pepper. Still tasty enough and it is something I'll work my way through but it's not a casual dipping sauce for every day use :) A nice colour but still

fermenting

Pickles, round 2.

Even though my first try at fermented pickles wasn't at all spicy they still taste good so I'm starting a second test batch. This time I've got a habanero pepper in to add some heat along with some red pepper flakes. Freshly chopped.Two days in.

nature

Lime Kiln Trail

Fun hike today outside of Granite Falls, WA. About seven miles out and back with limited elevation change but some mud to keep it interesting. My new business idea if software doesn't pan out.Our new family member.

tech

We can't be this stupid.

Today Amazon announced a number of new products but the wildest one was the new Ring Always Home Camera. It's an indoor drone with a web camera that will autonomously fly around your home while recording video. Apparently the purpose is for home security but it seems like it accomplishes

fermenting

Mmmmmm, pickles.

After a two week ferment I'm ready to call my spicy pickles done. They taste like real pickles, have a decent crispness to them and have enough of a tangy bite without the overpowering flavour that you sometimes get from pickled pickles. Not so spicy.The one downside is that

family

A day in the "Anarchist Jurisdiction"

It felt weird to be outside playing basketball in September and I couldn't figure out why. At first I thought maybe it was because basketball isn't something anarchists play a lot. But then I realized it was just sunny for once! Things don't look normal today in Seattle. Why is

family

Apples and ribs!

The smoke has finally broken around Seattle so we celebrated by doing the most Washington State thing possible, picking apples! Weirdest looking "trees" I've ever seen.And since it was finally safe to make my own smoke again I tried my hand at slow cooking ribs for the first time.

fermenting

Hot Sauce - Round 3

I'm still working on finding a combination of peppers that provides a blast of heat while still keeping the flavour high. Going with two ghost peppers last time was a bit much so I'm trying a different combination. The before shotThis attempt consists of: one ghosttwo habaneros two cherry bombstwo

intro

Back to the Future...

I've been part of the tech industry since I graduated from school in the late 90's. In that time I've watched software change the world. Mostly for the better, but unfortunately lately it's been doing the opposite. The increased use of social networks as weapons of disinformation and attacks on