Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Teas' Tea
They had Teas' Tea on sale at Bloom the other day and they were barely over my single serve max tea price of $1 at $1.09, so I picked up a couple. Delicious! Unsweetened and brewed with loose leaf oriental teas. The teas are made and marketed by Ito En and made a national appearance on Entourage in Ari Gold's office (Jeremy Piven's character). I highly recommend picking up some of Teas' Teas.
Of course, the best way to make tea is to make it yourself. It's much much cheaper and YOU get to decide what type of tea you make. Can't find a good unsweetened chai tea? Brew it yourself! I have been on a British and Irish tea run so I've been brewing lots of Earl Grey, British Breakfast and Irish Tea, most of which are heavier black teas. The main difference between Teas' Teas and mine are that I don't add ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to my teas. I eat enough veggies and fruit that I'm pretty safe from scurvy.
The Atlantic Online ran a story written by Jeffrey Goldberg about airport security with an interview of Bruce Schneier who is a security expert. Very very interesting and eye-opening. I've always thought the TSA wasn't doing anything but making lines longer at security checkpoints and there were still many holes (vulnerabilities) to our nation's airport security. One I've always noticed is the shocking lack of security at baggage claim. What is to prevent someone from stealing a bag or bringing a non-scanned bag into the airport? Not a
damn thing.
The writing is still coming along.
Of course, the best way to make tea is to make it yourself. It's much much cheaper and YOU get to decide what type of tea you make. Can't find a good unsweetened chai tea? Brew it yourself! I have been on a British and Irish tea run so I've been brewing lots of Earl Grey, British Breakfast and Irish Tea, most of which are heavier black teas. The main difference between Teas' Teas and mine are that I don't add ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to my teas. I eat enough veggies and fruit that I'm pretty safe from scurvy.
The Atlantic Online ran a story written by Jeffrey Goldberg about airport security with an interview of Bruce Schneier who is a security expert. Very very interesting and eye-opening. I've always thought the TSA wasn't doing anything but making lines longer at security checkpoints and there were still many holes (vulnerabilities) to our nation's airport security. One I've always noticed is the shocking lack of security at baggage claim. What is to prevent someone from stealing a bag or bringing a non-scanned bag into the airport? Not a
damn thing.
The writing is still coming along.
Labels: bad government, tea
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Is it possible to fix government?
That's the current topic of discussion at NewTalk.org which "presents focused discussions by experts on the most important domestic topics shaping American society today." Just take a look at who they have participating in this discussion. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta (who sounds incredibly smart and ambitious so good on you ATL for electing her), David Walker, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and many others.
Philip Howard is the moderator and is the founder and chair of Common Good, whose goal is to bring common sense back into America. He proposes to do this by reforming the legal system and restoring our sense of personal responsibility. I now plan to read his book "The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America".
Please, join in the discussion, make your voice heard, and together we can fix America's government!
Philip Howard is the moderator and is the founder and chair of Common Good, whose goal is to bring common sense back into America. He proposes to do this by reforming the legal system and restoring our sense of personal responsibility. I now plan to read his book "The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America".
Please, join in the discussion, make your voice heard, and together we can fix America's government!
Labels: bad government, book, politics
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Perfectly symmetrical violence never solved anything
Prof. Farnsworth from "The Farnsworth Parabox" episode. It's a good one. Parallel dimensions and all.
I had some great discussions yesterday. My friend Tom in the 'Ham and I chatted on AIM and we discussed our plan to require birth control injections when you pick up your welfare check. He thought it was a good idea but it would never get passed. I disagree. We just need to come up with a way to spin it for each group so that they see the good in it. And as J pointed out the majority of the people who would be voting on this are old people and rich people and a handful of a melting pot of people who actually care. J pointed out that poor people (the people who are directly affected by this ruling) don't vote and wouldn't really have any say in the matter. Unless they got a job and got off of welfare, which should be the goal of every welfare recipient in the first place.
I was also telling J that she should read the editorial in Playboy this month (I resubscribed this year and I have truly missed it. I'm not lying when I say that even if they took out the naked ladies, I would still read Hef's mag). It's about how our democracy is run by "the market" and our capitalism run amok has now turned our government into a corporatocracy. And it isn't just Republicans that are in the corporations pocket, it's either 1/3 or 2/3 of the Democrats too. J was pointing out that with those jokers in power and getting their kickbacks and gifts, why would they change it? I didn't want to hear her pessimistic logic and rational thinking. I wanted what faint spark of hope that is hiding deep within me to remain intact and not be snuffed out. I have to believe that the system works and that one day enough voters will want an overhaul and do away with all of this and REALLY change things. I have to believe that, I just have to. If not, all hope is lost and I might as well leave right now cuz when it all comes crashing down, I won't want to be here. All the richies will have left to their resorts in Cabo or their private islands in the Caribbean and will leave the majority of the American people to fend for themselves.
The editorial was an interview with 4 economists and they mention some books that I'm going to have to read and educate myself on this topic so that I may educate others. I'll get you their names and the book titles tonight.
In the "educating consumers" vein, I found this post from the Anti-Advertising Agency. It's called shopdropping, the opposite of shoplifting. It is a grassroots effort by PeopleProducts123 to educated consumers about where the products they are buying actually come from. Sure Coke comes from the store but where does its ingredients come from? For example, here is the new and improved packaging for lightbulbs. Easy to do and not really illegal, so get out there and educate! The More You Know...
I had some great discussions yesterday. My friend Tom in the 'Ham and I chatted on AIM and we discussed our plan to require birth control injections when you pick up your welfare check. He thought it was a good idea but it would never get passed. I disagree. We just need to come up with a way to spin it for each group so that they see the good in it. And as J pointed out the majority of the people who would be voting on this are old people and rich people and a handful of a melting pot of people who actually care. J pointed out that poor people (the people who are directly affected by this ruling) don't vote and wouldn't really have any say in the matter. Unless they got a job and got off of welfare, which should be the goal of every welfare recipient in the first place.
I was also telling J that she should read the editorial in Playboy this month (I resubscribed this year and I have truly missed it. I'm not lying when I say that even if they took out the naked ladies, I would still read Hef's mag). It's about how our democracy is run by "the market" and our capitalism run amok has now turned our government into a corporatocracy. And it isn't just Republicans that are in the corporations pocket, it's either 1/3 or 2/3 of the Democrats too. J was pointing out that with those jokers in power and getting their kickbacks and gifts, why would they change it? I didn't want to hear her pessimistic logic and rational thinking. I wanted what faint spark of hope that is hiding deep within me to remain intact and not be snuffed out. I have to believe that the system works and that one day enough voters will want an overhaul and do away with all of this and REALLY change things. I have to believe that, I just have to. If not, all hope is lost and I might as well leave right now cuz when it all comes crashing down, I won't want to be here. All the richies will have left to their resorts in Cabo or their private islands in the Caribbean and will leave the majority of the American people to fend for themselves.
The editorial was an interview with 4 economists and they mention some books that I'm going to have to read and educate myself on this topic so that I may educate others. I'll get you their names and the book titles tonight.
In the "educating consumers" vein, I found this post from the Anti-Advertising Agency. It's called shopdropping, the opposite of shoplifting. It is a grassroots effort by PeopleProducts123 to educated consumers about where the products they are buying actually come from. Sure Coke comes from the store but where does its ingredients come from? For example, here is the new and improved packaging for lightbulbs. Easy to do and not really illegal, so get out there and educate! The More You Know...
Labels: bad government, educating consumers, mandatory birth control
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