Data Hacking and Coffee

64 points by podopie 13 years ago | 24 comments

guylhem 13 years ago |

I think I'll pass : Just yesterday, I took a public commitment to stop drinking coffee (and submitted in everywhere - FB, HN, etc.)

https://plus.google.com/109562561013887378542/posts/X8cLiHYe...

We really are overdoing coffee as hackers. You can put anything you want in your body, I'm fine with the concept- but hackers shouldn't recommend hackers to drink coffee.

There's a difference between freedom and a culturally shaped ritual (hackers get by with caffeine) especially if it's with an addictive substance.

EDIT: I'm ok with the downvote (and the hating too, I guess I'll see that soon), and I'll be the 1st to recognize I'm not really adding anything interesting to this conversation. Just burning some karma to let you know that there is no cultural imperative to drink coffee as a hacker, and that you shouldn't even care about that.

Enforcing the cliché that hackers should drink or care about coffee is just as pointless as saying hackers should all be males.

It's culturally made. You can get social capital by enforcing social norms, but you can also see how pointless they are.

Do what you want with your body, put any substance you want into it. Just don't use that to sell a concept (here "hackers") that people will somehow feel obligated to follow ("brogrammers").

gilrain 13 years ago | |

Your admonishment here and elsewhere doesn't seem to offer any evidence or even a cogent argument. That's not to say I doubt an argument could be made -- there is plenty of academic ink spilled hailing coffee as both health blessing and health curse -- but it's pretty bold to say "hackers shouldn't recommend hackers to drink coffee" with nothing to back that up.

Maybe "hackers who have trouble getting enough sleep should avoid caffeine to see if that helps". Your posts sound more like religious, rather than reasoned, abstinence.

guylhem 13 years ago | | |

I'm not selling people the idea they should or should not drink coffee for health reasons. We don't know, there is too much conflicting data.

I'm saying :

1) I shouldn't drink coffee for health reasons

2) We also shouldn't collectively define the "hacker" identity with unrelated things like coffee.

1 and 2 are totally unrelated. Yet saying 1 makes me say 2, because defining yourself as doing something or as not doing something is just as pointless. You are not a label.

We shouldn't fight for or against coffee - just make it something unrelated to the hacker identity, a choice - like vim or emacs or Writeroom or whatever, instead of a mandate and a common identity, which will necessarily exclude some people.

EDIT: And yes this discussion is not relevant and I'm sorry about it, and I should add a third point to make that clear :

3) You drink coffee if you want to. Not my problem.

Just want to let you know it's optional and you won't be any less of a hacker if you don't, and if you don't and need support, hey I'm starting a g+ community because I for sure will need some support!

noonespecial 13 years ago | | |

I'm with you. Its starting to become the new "I don't even own a TV".

tterrace 13 years ago | |

This was a neat article about a hackathon, and it seems like you're ignoring the whole point of it to push a holy war against coffee. Also, you broke the several-month long streak during which I hadn't seen the word "brogrammer" used, so thanks for that as well.

Systemic33 13 years ago | |

You come of as one of those ultra religous people advocating for sex abstinence before marriage.

If you have gone into such a religous faith that coffee or caffeine is bad for you, then you are probably the one with the problem to begin with, anything should be taken in considerate amounts. You can literally die from water; if you drink enough of it.

And this discussion isn't even relevant to the posted link.

Samuel_Michon 13 years ago | | |

I’m pretty sure you can’t die from too much sex abstinence.

RBerenguel 13 years ago |

As much as I love coffee, stupid development projects (if I were to raise my hand when asked "Have you written some stupid project in the last 3 days?" I'd stop writing, both hands up) and neat data hacks, I can't see the need for something as complex. A spreadsheet table (or even better, a plain text file and a little R, which already has plenty of word similarity libraries) would have been far, far more straightforward. But I tip my (metaphorical, I make shoes, not hats) hat for its geekiness ;)

podopie 13 years ago | |

Totally agree, especially because even I personally would have rather just done all the analysis in Python or R. I figured this to be a great opportunity to play with d3.js a bit, but also build some data analysis on the spot. I like that anyone could easily fork this, play with the code just a bit to fit their needs, and have the majority of their "analysis" done (I only hardcoded the "winner" markings). They can just focus on the fun of brewing. Thanks for the geekiness appreciation!

RBerenguel 13 years ago | | |

I completely understand the play bit with d3, I'm always coming up with complex concoctions to use it... Then I realised one of the simplest ways is to post the csv file generated by Python or R and write a neat front-end to display it. But I'm always coming back to the stupid or crazy plans, too so... Don't tempt me again!!

finnh 13 years ago |

Nice to see the AeroPress as one of the three prep methods. That wee gadget is awesome.

ctdonath 13 years ago | |

Get a cheap/used popcorn popper (metal chamber, not plastic). Pour in a cup of green (unroasted) coffee beans. Start popper. After a few minutes, you'll hear the beans crack (you'll know). Keep roasting. The moment you hear a second round of cracking start, dump the beans into a large cool metal pan, swirling and transferring to another cool pan often until about room temp.

Store beans in sealed container for 0 minutes to 1 week (flavor changes over time).

Grind with burr grinder to fine.

Brew thru AeroPress.

Don't drink coffee because it's a cultural obligation (per poster above). Drink coffee because, done right, it's awesome.

nickheer 13 years ago | |

The El Injerto that won is a particularly excellent crop. I didn't know Stumptown got a parcel, but I've had the Phil & Sebastian roast of the same crop, and it's delightful, particularly in an AeroPress. You should give it a try.

sfeats 13 years ago |

This bar graph is difficult to interpret- there is way too much information on the graph leaving the viewer lost as to how flavor co-varies with value. It looks like a big jumble. Also, how do you "average impressions" when those impressions are binary?

Dirlewanger 13 years ago |

Speaking of "buttery chocolate herbal", does such a heavenly-sounding roast even exist???

sageikosa 13 years ago | |

My first glimpse of that read as "battery chocolate herbal"...ever since my Penn State dining commons days, battery-flavored coffee doesn't seem so far fetched.

RBerenguel 13 years ago | |

I've had some Guatemalan coffee with this taste. Here in Barcelona we are lucky to have Cafes el Magnifico, (--which--edited) they have an awesome assortment of roasts at good prices.

PKop 13 years ago | |

"Buttery" minus the chocolate..

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulle...

dpcx 13 years ago | | |

Eh, maybe not[1].

[1]: http://www.marco.org/2013/02/12/buttered-coffee

codesuela 13 years ago |

Would've gotten bonus points if you had implemented it with CoffeeScript

eru 13 years ago | |

Or Java.

eli_gottlieb 13 years ago |

What, no Turkish coffee? Weaklings!