I know it's probably considered ancient tech, but it still feels a bit like magic to me, so I'm sharing this particular joy.

I brew beer as hobby and because my cycling club and my retired dad get powerful thirsty on weekends, and I also enjoy being good at something that has very little to do with computers -- so of course I add computers to it.

I have a smart fridge (RAPT from KegLand) and an IoT gravity/temp meter (Tilt) that floats inside my fermenter (Spike), that logs to a nearby RasPi (TiltPi), that writes to an amazing reciple/batch tracker (BrewFather) on the web.

I can watch my beer go through all of its stages in 15 minute log intervals via my phone, comparing against previous batches to see if I'm getting better or not.

Occasionally when I get stressed about all the data and whether a batch is going to turn out well, I remind myself "relax, they used to do this in caves -- in clay pots"

And yes, before you say it, I spend way too much on this hobby.

10 lbs down since Jan 1st on 500 calorie restriction and 7500-10,000 step-per-day walking diet and additional cringing/stressing about all of the terribleness of *waves at everything*.

I will make my 60lb weight loss and fitness goal by September/October of 2025 and/or I will completely collapse as our civil liberties and equal justice completely erode in that time.

Follow me as my waistline and hope for the future rapidly dwindles. Cortisol level yet to be determined.

So I brew beer as a hobby, and have been perfecting a clone of Pliny the Elder, a popular west-coast IPA. It's a bit of a cliche, but I don't care and I like what I like, and it's a crowd-pleaser. And even if it's not I'll drink it myself.

So I'm on batch #7 and it's been going well, have been hitting the numbers and refining the technique, and my familly and the neighbors have been following along with the hobby.

Tonight after walking the dog one of the neighbors asked how the brew was going and I asked him for a non-family critique of the latest batch. So we sat on the porch and sipped at it.

Another neighbor walked by and joked "hey where's mine?" so we invited him up for a third opinion. Then another came by with a XL pizza on his shoulder and joked “hey I'll trade you all a slice for a pint" and he apparently was serious and it became a party we moved to the back deck.

My wife asked “is this what our retirement is going to be like?" and I responded immediately with “God I hope so"

So basically it was the most Chicago driveway thing ever.