Aotearoa Weekly Kōrero 13/5/2024

thevoyagekayaking, 13 days ago

I am so thoroughly over this cold, I’m glad we’re now getting warmer weather at long last.

BalpeenHammer, 14 days ago

So I was at the kebab shop today and was about to order my usual lamb kebab but suddenly it occurred to me that even though the kebab had cabbage and hummus and tabouli on it it wasn’t woke enough to trigger any nearby National or ACT voters nearby so I switched the order to a falafel.

I ordered extra hummus but I was in a quandary about the sauce. Should I go with yogurt or avocado? I really didn’t think it would taste good with both of them and after a quite a bit of thought I went with plain yogurt without garlic. I don’t know if that was the right choice in terms of wokeness but it did taste good. What do you guys think is more woke yogurt or avocado? I think the avocado might actually be more woke because it would make the kebab vegan and nothing upsets David Seymour more than a vegan except maybe teachers, trans people, people in a union, people who work for a living, government employees, students, doctors and nurses, people who need healthcare etc.

Also are Jalapeños woke? I think they might be because of the spelling alone but then again I don’t think they have them in the middle east.

Finally the kebab tasted great, was filling and has a reasonable cost. Might have even been healthy who knows. Highly recommended.

AWOL_muppet, 13 days ago

I’m loving the deviant energy in this!

Maybe I’ve had too many bad felafel dishes, but I reckon the yogurt is a better choice over avocado. Definitely less woke, though… Maybe I need to boost the humus?

BalpeenHammer, 13 days ago

A good kebab shop is worth traveling for.

FloofahNZ, 14 days ago

Got my hearing aids and boy do they make a big difference for me.

I’d suffered from a very reduced high frequency hearing so everything sounded muffled. They tested my ears and set the aids up to compensate.

We have a big surround sound tv system, and I was concerned the aids would impact it. But no, it sounds great, the bass/midrange is good and I can now clearly hear the voices, though that does somewhat depend on the source as a lot of modern movies and tv series have gabbled and unclear voices anyway.

My aids have an app that can slightly adjust the sound, so played with that a bit, but to be honest, I don’t think I’ll need to tweak the basic setup.

The only thing that currently stands out, and it a tad annoying, is the aids amplify my own voice when I speak. Makes to me my voice sound echoey and louder than I’m used to.

Will give them a longer run and see how it goes …

Dave, 14 days ago

It’s great to hear they are working for you!

The only thing that currently stands out, and it a tad annoying, is the aids amplify my own voice when I speak. Makes to me my voice sound echoey and louder than I’m used to.

A quick search and it seems it’s normal you’ll probably get used to it, but also there are some specific things that can make it worse so if you have a follow up appointment then mention it then as there might be some adjustments that can help to some minor extent.

I also saw mention of specific hearing aids that you can train your voice on and it filters it out. But I’m assuming they come at a premium.

FloofahNZ, 14 days ago

It’ll, I’m sure, take time to get used to the hearing of my own voice amplified thing. The aids don’t, certainly at the moment, feel particularly intrusive in my ears, but I guess YMMV on that.

They told me about the “own voice” thing, it was the first thing I noticed on initial fitting. I guess I’ll get used to it, and maybe it’ll make me speak quieter but then Mrs Floofah won’t hear what I say, so a complete reversal of our recent communication difficulties!!

Axisential, 13 days ago

I sang semi-professionally for quite a few years. Used to use in-ear monitors and they do a similar thing - you do get used to it pretty quickly, or at least it becomes less annoying!

FloofahNZ, 13 days ago

The audiologist said that if after a while I felt my voice echo was unacceptably intrusive, they could adjust the aids settings. It’s early days for me with the aids, but I’m pleased to say they do seem to be working well.

Dave, 14 days ago

I accidentally bought 1kg of espresso-ground coffee, so drinking lots at the moment! I was intending to get beans which would hold their flavour for longer. I’m also using an aeropress and espresso grind is a bit hard to use in that.

I was at Briscoes and saw coffee machines and thought oh, maybe I should get an espresso machine to use with my espresso grind coffee! I don’t know what I was expecting a small, basic espresso machine to cost but I was not expecting them to start at $400 and go up, up, up from there!

Anyone got a small sized espresso machine (doesn’t take much bench space) that makes coffee and froths milk that they can recommend?

Or put another way, what’s the cheapest machine worth having?

terraborra, 14 days ago

Just bought the Breville Bambino over ANZAC weekend. On sale it was about $250 and I’d expect it to be discounted again over King’s Bday in a few weekends time.

We were looking at the Breville Barista Express as well, but all the info online suggested that the grinder breaks first and isn’t economical to repair, so you end up having to buy a separate grinder anyway. Bambino on sale + Baratza Encore ESP is not much more than the Barista Express and the Encore is a much better grinder than the bundled one and is designed to be repairable at home.

Otherwise the Brevilles actually review well for their espresso making capabilities. I fell down the rabbit hole on /r/espresso and they come highly recommended as entry level machines.

Dave, 14 days ago

Thanks! Looks like this one is currently on special, $150 off so now only $400 😆. I’ll keep an eye on it, I might be willing to spent $250 if it makes good coffee. Thanks for the recommendation!

I already have a grinder so don’t need another.

terraborra, 14 days ago

Yup that’s the one we got. Definitely makes decent coffee, heats up instantly and my wife is happy with the milk frother. Only additional thing we bought for it was a tamper as the plastic one it comes with is crap. The stainless steel milk jug and 4 portafilter baskets are all good.

Dave, 14 days ago

Awesome! I have no idea what that stuff is you’re talking about, I hope it comes with instructions on how to use it 😅

absGeekNZ, 14 days ago (edited 14 days ago)

We brought a Delongi Magnifica about 6 years ago, use it multiple times a day.

IMPORTANT NOTE not the cheapest machine

Makes great coffee, can take beans and ground coffee (I have never used the grounds part, we only buy beans). Grinds the beans and produces coffee from one button press…awesome.

I drink my coffee black, so if it tastes bad…I know. It does do the milk thing and others have used that function on my one.

I would buy another one if mine broke. Side note, I brought one for Mum about 4 years ago…partly so I could have good coffee at her place.

Range of machines now…the model I have is not there, closest one is the Magnifica S, with the rise of enshitification I worry that they have somehow made this great machine worse…

We got ours on sale for $500, 6 years ago, the Magnifica S is about $800 normal price now, PriceSpy hasn’t had it below this for at least 18 months.

Dave, 14 days ago

Woah, $1,300! It looks great but I don’t think I’ll spend that for a first dip into coffee machines!

absGeekNZ, 14 days ago

$800 at Farmers, but still a bit expensive.

I would get another one…

Dave, 14 days ago

Yeah, not really entry level. Plus it looks pretty bug, the other one looks slimmer in terms of bench real estate.

Maybe one day when I win lotto!

Ozymati, 13 days ago

I can’t recommend a machine but enjoy your caffeination.

Dave, 13 days ago

I (almost) always do!