November 30, 2018

Why I hate Cory Hopkins. (Or, not being able to see the forest for the trees...)

You know how it goes in our hobby.

We get into some obscure interest. We develop technique and approaches and ideas to execute.

And sometimes, in our zest to just "do"- we overlook the entirely obvious. Someone comes along with an idea that sort of throws us into a spin!

Enter Cory Hopkins.

I hate him.

I hate him because not only is the guy one of the top aquascapers in the world- he's a botanical-style aquarium savant, and an innovator! Cory has executed some of the most exciting and compelling BWBS aquascapes we've ever seen, helped us source some of our most popular botanicals, and experimented with all sorts of ways to play with said botanicals in unique ways in aquariums.

So, why do I hate the guy? Really?

Let me explain.

Well, I think I hate him because he figured out a great way to do something that we just take for granted...Yeah, he made the first great innovation to the art of botanical preparation.

The process of prepping leaves, as I tend to execute it, has been to boil or steep them for anywhere between 10-20 minutes. It's not a difficult process, but it takes a bit of time and effort to do this.

So what does Cory, the self-professed "lazy" guy- the world-class 'scaper; the "sourcer" and tinkerer of cool botanicals, do?

He develops a freakin' "hack."

He throws the damn leaves in a Pyrex bowl, hits "5 minutes" or whatever, walks away, and boils them...in the damn microwave...

Yes.

Yeah. A hack. A shortcut. A very, very cool idea. Simple. Effective. Shockingly innovative.

Shit.

Why didn't I think of this?

It's so obvious. So simple. So...

And it works. Of course.

I know this 'cause, yeah- I tried it myself, damn it. At 10:00PM.

Now, I haven't tried this with pods...but I can't see why it wouldn't work...just needs longer periods of time, right? If a microwave could expedite the process, then...

Hate.

Cory- I hate you. I hate you because I can't believe I haven't thought of this idea myself already.