Lots and lots of data to enter an to review today. Many requests from, the people I would call my superiors. Not only many requests from them but many also from my two monsters! It’s been hard to get anything done today. I mean, my peers do understand but still, I’ve got a sense of responsibility.

I remember when I had Facebook, I would scroll through it, as you do, and every once in a while, or rather, more often than not I would find a post that would make me go “Oh-my-god you’re an idiot”. Sometimes it was something political or a very misinformed opinion over something. We all have seen those post, the ones that make you want to comment but you’d much rather “bite your tongue” instead of starting something. Because of these posts and many other reasons that I won’t be getting into, is the reason why I closed my facebook account. It was full with news and opinions that i either didn’t agree with or didn’t care about instead of good content and human interaction.

Even though I did close my facebook, I kept my Instagram account. I figured it was the least ‘Facebooky’ way to still be in contact with some friends and family. And I am not gonna lie, I do get good content from Instagram (except for the adds but that’s another post). However, lately, my instagram and the content I am seeing, it’s reminding me more and more about facebook. It is not so much on the photos themselves but in the stories. I have been seeing some of those posts were I go “You’re an idiot” and it just hit me today when I had to mute this person, it’s the first time I have had to do this on Instagram. But what tells me this will be the last time I have to mute someone?

IN OTHER NEWS:

How much longer on this Pokémon game? I’m starting to get tired of it! 😅

Today I am working from home (and tomorrow too). Working from home can be fun, but when it comes to the work itself, unless you have the right set up (which I don’t), it’s not as fun. I handle a lot of data and definitely need, at least, one massive monitor, I usually have two at work. I wonder if they’d let me bring a monitor from work to keep at home for this instances? I know for sure we have both an extra monitor and a docking station. Who knows? Don’t loose anything by asking I guess.

Also going back and forth between the the work computer (and HP EliteBook) and my MacBook Pro, it is so weird!

Name: Sunbeam
Style: American Imperial IPA
Brewer: Sockeye Grill & Brewery - Idaho, United States
ABV: 8.5
IBU:
Rating: 4.5/5
Notes:

Golden orange in color with a white, pillowy head. Aromas of soft pine and unpeeled oranges; no discernible malt aroma. Light pineapple flavor with strong alcohol presence. Citrus zest and pinecone flavors to finish. The body is full but soft with medium-high carbonation. The alcohol flavor clings to everything else going on.

Pretty accurate description/notes.

Pokémon Shield

I cannot say I am diehard Pokémon fan. Actually my first interaction with anything Pokémon related was the first TV Series, back in Puerto Rico, I remember. Then I remember playing Pokémon Stadium on the Nintendo 64 and much much later Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pearl specifically on the Nintendo DS. Then nothing else until Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu!.

If you fallow this mediocre blog of mine you would know that I have been traveling for work, thus I have had some time for myself. I have been playing a lot of Pokémon Shield and I love it! Yes, like any other Pokémon game it can feel a little repetitive at times but still keeping my interest in it. Like I have said before I don’t have a lot of experience with these series of games but I can definitely tell some of the improvements they have done in this game compared to some of the past games. Not gonna get into the details, this is not a review just me saying “I fucking love this game!” (😅).

Anyway, if you’re a Pokémon fan, you’ll definitely want to pick this game up and even if you’re not, its still a fun game to play.

Next on the queue it’s STAR OCEAN first departure R, which is a remake, of course.

I’m too lazy to write well

If I had to sit and plan and overthink everything before I hit Publish, I’d never write anything. Most of the time I quickly fire off a few paragraphs, publish, and only then proofread what I’ve written. Yeah, that’s backwards, but it’s easy and I prefer easy.

I can so relate to this at a spiritual level! There have been many times where I ask myself if I should elaborate more or put more effort into what I am trying to convey and then I go, “meh, I’ve said what I wanted to say”.

Name: High Five IPA
Style: American IPA
Brewer: Fort Myers Brewing Company - Fort Myers, Florida
ABV: 5.9
IBU:
Rating: 5/5
Notes:

Pours orange/yellow color, minimal head. Malty, citrusy, slightly dank, bitter. It’s not mind blowing but it’s nice and cold and I am pretty hot. Maybe why I rated a 5.

Name: Peanut Butter Cup
Style: Stout
Brewer: Naples Beach Brewery - Naples, Florida
ABV: 5.8
IBU:
Rating: 5/5
Notes: A smooth and creamy stout with peanut butter and chocolate flavors

Name: Latitude Adjustment IPA
Style: American Indian Pale Ale
Brewer: Naples Beach Brewery - Naples, FL
ABV: 7.2
IBU:
Rating: 4.5/5
Notes:

A hoppy and bitter American pale ale with malt character and a dry finish

Second day in Naples, well, more like second field day in Naples. It was a short day , quote and quote, we only had a few small readings to do. One of them I was asked by The expert, and old-man that has been doing this for years and that I am fortunate to have the chance to have met and learn a thing or two from before he retires on April 2020, to go ahead and do the reading. He said, “Gaby I have been doing this since forever. Why don’t you go ahead and point out what do you see different?”. To which I asked. “Is this a test?” In tone of a joke of course, then he said. “Nope, not a test, we are training you. Go on ahead and if you miss anything, we’ll stop you”. Of course I freaked out inside of me a little (😅). It’s kinda weird when you get put on the spot like that. And of course, I have never done this before, so I wasn’t too afraid to ask as many questions, especially to someone that has so much knowledge.

Anyway, I go on and start reading the plot, looking for subtle differences in the plants 🌱, along with my clicker to keep count of how many I saw. Every time I saw one that I wasn’t sure I’ll point it out and he would tell me whether it was what we were looking for or no. The ones I pointed out that I was sure of them still confirmed with him and I was pretty accurate in my assessment. According to him I didn’t miss one and like I’ve said, the ones that I wasn’t a hundred percent sure we both looked at them just in case.

Then after that the site was having done kind of a field day for other people, business kind of people. I got to meet more people from the company that are usually in different parts of the country and only interact by email. Learned about why they do and how my work and the data I provide affects theirs. Very awesome stuff.

This has been an amazing experience, again, it puts in a different perspective to everything I do from the computer with the data I am provided with. The challenges and complexity of field grow-outs, and the complexity of the vegetables business.

And so, the Naples trip is a wrap. Tomorrow I head back to the 208’s (Idaho). Good I kinda miss my family.

(Side note: At one point during one of our readings, we were looking at some squash plants — zucchini squash. So they [the fruit] are supposed to be yellow, so off types they’d have some green when they aren’t supposed to, like they were starting to turn green. To which I said, “HULK SQUASH” and they didn’t get it (🤦🏻‍♂️). Sad — a wasted joke (😅).

So today was my third field reading, but first time in Florida, Naples. A very different game from the reading in Yuma, Az. Was much more humid and hot, it got really hot really quick. I mean mid 80’s is not that big of a deal but with the humidity added, it becomes an issue 😅.

We didn’t get to finish the whole trial today so we will be back tomorrow to finish it off.

Still it was a great learning experience. I got to meet more people of influence from the company. It’s always good to meet and connect with people, you never know where you’ll end up. Also it’s nice to see the faces of the people you might email bad news to (😅).

Name: Hop Gun
Style: American IPA
Brewer: Funky Buddha Brewery - Oakland Park, Florida
ABV: 7.0
Rating: 5/5
Notes: If you’re looking for hops, we’ve got your tail. Hop Gun IPA delivers a payload of good ol’ American hops straight to your palate, bursting forth with the flavors of grapefruit and pineapple. A careful dose of smooth caramel malts swoop in to balance out the finish — just like any good wingman should.

Name: Heavy is The Head
Style: Imperial Brown Ale
Brewer: Motorworks Brewing - Bradenton, Florida
ABV: 10.4
Rating: 5/5
Notes: aged in bourbon barrels. Brewed with On Swann and aged in bourbon barrels, this regal Imperial Brown Ale is laden with smooth Flavia and aromas redolent of chocolate-covered cherries and dark, dried fruit, alongside light, silky notes of coffee.

Name: Heavy Weather Hazy IPA
Style: Indian Pale Ale
Brewer: Late Start Brewing - Tampa, FL
ABV: 7.0
IBU:
Rating: 5/5
Notes: simply delicious.

Name: Hop Dang Diggity
Style: Indian Pale Ale
Brewer: Jerkyll Brewing - Alpharetta, GA
ABV: 6.7
IBU: 74
Rating: 3.5/5
Notes: piney 🌲

Name: Meowsa!
Style: American Imperial IPA
Brewer: Georgetown Brewing Company - Seattle, WA
ABV: 8.1
Rating: 5/5
Notes: Medwards says “If you force fed a watermelon a steady diet of mandarin oranges and pineapples and then dropped said watermelon into a wood chipper, the resulting aromas and flavors that came out the business end of the wood chipper would be the best was to describe the new DIPA. As much as i dislike the term ‘juicy’ this DIPA is very much juicy and has very little bitterness for the style.” - Strait from the brewer’s mouth.

Name: Oatmeal Stout
Style: English Oatmeal Stout
Brewer: Four Peaks Brewing Company - Arizona
ABV: 5.2
IBU: 25
Rating: 4/5
Notes: Beer before 9:00am it’s something I don’t topically do, but I had a three hour layover and the brewery happened to have a restaurant right by my gate. Plus it’s says it’s an Oatmeal, counts as breakfast. On Nitro, it’s very creamy and vanillay 😁

• Visited California for the first time ever, for two minutes and then we where back in Yuma Arizona.

• Saw the Mexican/US border.

• Lots of broccoli 🥦 and cauliflowers and counted 400 celery plants

• Drove by a hemp field.

• Learned that 90% of all produce we consume today, are hybrids. Thus, by definition pretty much everything we eat, produce wise, it’s considered GMO.

• Saw a guy wearing a MAGA hat, for the first time in a Mexican restaurant of all places.

• Because I have been eating Mexican food for two days in a row. I thought it was appropriate to do one hour on the elliptical.

• Went to the most random place for dinner I ever been, I’m a fan!

Now, some pics!

Name: Hop Knot
Style: India Pale Ale
Brewer: Four Peaks Brewing Co. - Tempe, AZ
ABV: 6.7
IBU: Unknown
Rating: 4/5
Notes: Smooth, a little piney, some bitterness but not too much.

Today was a field day out here in Yuma AZ, visiting a spinach field grow-out.

It was fun. Definitely a learning experience. The only thing was, all I got was, “here’s a pen, two flags and measuring tape, go”. No other explanation on what I was supposed to look for or anything. Just GO! 😅

Name: Kilt Lifter Scottish Style Ale
Style: Scottish Ale
Brewer: Four Peaks Brewing Company - 8th Street Brewery - Arizona
ABV: 6.0
IBU:
Rating: 4/5
Notes: It’s a full-bodied ale with pronounced flavors of caramel and roasted barley, malty sweetness and a hint of smokiness.

Name: Double Knot DIPA
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
Brewer: Four Peaks Brewing Co. - Tempe, AZ
ABV: 9.00
IBU:
Rating: 3.5/5
Notes: Double Knot is a copper colored Double IPA from Four Peaks. The beer is quite clear with no haze to speak of. It has a medium head with small foamy bubbles. On the nose there is a ton of resinous piney hops.

Today my day started at 4:30 am, not cool! Getting ready heading out to the the Boise Airport. So needless to say my commute today was very out of the ordinary. Instead of my luxurious Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, I’ll be traveling by bus , like a flying bus. ✈️🚌

So, apparently traveling on onesies it’s a thing. I wish some would have told me, I would have worn my Batman one. Also, what’s with airports and people’s attitudes, it’s weird, it’s like this place can bring the worst in in people. Oh well! Flying it’s so stressful, specially going through TSA, I feel like a I need to try too hard to appear a good individual and stay out off trouble. Every time one of them looks at me it’s like I’m a criminal or something. 😅

Again, this whole deal it’s stressful, no matter how many times I’ve flown before or how much “prepared” I am — or think I am. I am always checking my apps, looking at my boarding ticket, making sure I remember my siting group and making sure I don’t miss my sitting group, which today I did (😅). Probably because I was watching the new trailer for Black Widow. And here I was the jerk who had to ask the two nice ladies already comfortable seated, to let me through because I was sitting by the window (super embarrassing 🤦🏻‍♂️)

Anyway, I made it into the Flaying-Bus. Some obligatory airplane windows (bad) pictures.

Now I have made it to Phoenix, Arizona where I’ll be taking the last flying-bus to my final destination, Yuma. Tried to do some computer work but mobile hotspot kinda sucks. Met up with Ellen, she’s basically who’s training me on all of this grow-outs and QC shenanigans and she works remotely from Minnesota — I think. If there’s lots of snow in Minnesota then that’s the place for sure! Which conversing with her, I learned about this guy who owns 6 thousands acres of cilantro here in Yuma total. That’s bunkers!

(Side note: Even though I’ve said I was gonna use Todoist as my task-manager (🛎), I keep finding myself entering things in OmniFocus instead. Like muscle memory 🤦🏻‍♂️.)

Cascable:

Today is your last chance to save $10 off Cascable Pro — that’s a 33% discount — in our Black Friday sale! You can get started with Cascable for free!

If you didn’t know of the existence of this app, well, you should now. I have been using Cascable for a long time mainly to transfer RAW files from my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III (and the Mark I at one point) to either my iPhone or iPad using the camera’s built-in WiFi. The Olympus share app only supported transferring JPEG files only, not sure if that has changed, so Cascable was a no brainer. It’s an excellent app and can’t recommend it enough.

Name: Bourbon County
Style: American Imperial Stout
Brewer: Goose Island Brewing Co. - Illinois
ABV: 14.7
Rating: 5/5
Notes:

This year’s Bourbon County Stout, aged in a mix of Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, and Wild Turkey barrels, yields a rich, complex mouthfeel. Flavors of cocoa, fudge, vanilla, caramel, almond, plus leather and tobacco, permeate this beer and deepen with each sip. We’ve bottled Bourbon County Stout for 15 years and this year’s vintage is one that you will want to hold on to for years to come.