And One for the Holidays

First off, a merry Christmas to those who celebrate it. To other holidays occurring today, enjoy yourselves too.

Secondly, keeping my promise about tea. Not only did I try a lovely tea today in the holiday spirit, I received a great combination of two of my passions; a tea pot/kettle that boils water to the specific temperature based on the type of tea and steeps for recommended lengths of time. Since technology and gadgets are a love of mine, this was definitely the best gift I received from my family. The tea I made to christen the new teapot was called "Santa's Secret", a black tea with bits of candy cane in it. The peppermint flavour was very noticeable in the tea, and very refreshing. The teapot brewed it very nicely, though it is a bit of a hassle to clean. The trade off is definitely worth it. I also tried making a flavoured green tea, Japanese Lime, and it was wonderfully done. Not bitter at all, the keep warm function worked perfectly. Any further developments with the teapot shall be posted.

Finally, to any nerd readers that stumble upon this (perhaps quite literally), if you manage to find an equally nerdy significant other or even just one who is willing to learn, hang tight. They're worth every moment of your time.

Happy holidays to all,
-Life's a flam

A Pre-Holiday Posting

Everyone celebrates some kind of holiday around this time of the year, so I wish them a happy/merry holiday. It never really feels like the holidays in my house until we are sitting in the living room, drinking our respective hot beverages, and listening to the Chipmunks Christmas cassette. Despite the lifespan of technology in our house, a cassette player has still survived this long and still functions. Another technological miracle is that the tape still plays, after the countless time it has been played, rewound, moved in and out of the player, and survived more than a decade and a half. Most people now have problems keeping a CD or DVD for a few years.

On the topic of tea, Buckingham Palace Garden Party (Yes it's a mouthful to say) is a blend of black and green tea. As mentioned earlier, this requires the tea to be brewed at the lower temperature to avoid scorching the green tea. The tea turns out to be a nice dark orange colour once steeped. It tastes a lot like a standard orange pekoe tea, but is smoother because of the added green tea, as well as the bit of lavender that's in it. The tea also tastes heavier than a straight black tea, making it a good option for a breakfast tea.

Tomorrow I'll be trying the Christmas teas I recently acquired, so expect a post or two about them.

-Life's a flam

The Wonders of Tea

After a brief (and fairly pointless) argument with my significant other last night, I removed myself from the situation and made a cup of tea. While staring at the tea as it steeped, I came to a realization. This blog shouldn't be written the way I have so far. People don't an anonymous crap if I type with proper grammar, or use eloquent sentences. I can write this in my own style of writing, with my own preference for sentence structure, whatever I choose. If I decided to code my computer so that it wrote in the Draconic script from Skyrim, it wouldn't matter. This is my little corner of the internet; I'll write however I damn well want to.

On a slightly different note, chamomile tea is a wonderful thing to have at one in the morning, after an argument and when you need to quiet your mind. Chamomile tea, although having a distinct smell that many people dislike, is very soothing. It's a smooth tea, slightly yellow in colour. It also tastes best when freshly made, allowing it to sit for any length of time to cool is not a good idea.

Speaking of tea, it was an odd feeling when I realize that I know more about tea than some of the people who work at the stores I buy my tea from. Chamomile is an herbal tea, specifically it's a flower. Herbal teas like this, as well as black teas, are steeped with boiling water (98 degrees Fahrenheit). White and green tea cannot be brewed with water this temperature, as the leaves will singe and create a bitter flavour. The reason I explain all of this is because a tea I recently purchased contained chamomile and both black and white tea leaves, among other things. The combination of leaf types led me to assume that I should use the water temperature for white tea, so as to not ruin the flavour. When I asked the worker who recommended the tea, he replied along the lines of "Use boiling water. The white tea won't burn, but the chamomile might. Since there isn't much chamomile in this tea, it should be fine with boiling water." Short of recommending flavours of teas I have yet to try, I don't think I'll put much weight into employees opinions of teas.

Tea is a wonderful thing, with a blend for just about anything. I shall make myself a pot of it now.

-Life's a flam

Congratulations!

Two good friends of mine have become engaged, and although they shall remain nameless, I send all my best wishes to both of them. I couldn't be happier for you both!

It's strange to think of someone so close in age of myself getting married. I look at my own life and have absolutely no desire to be married, not at this point. But my friends are happy with each other, and that's what matters. My sincerest congratulations to them, and I hope that I see them both again soon.

The First of Many

Too often in school are students forced to write about subjects they care next to nothing about. They read facts and then regurgitate them to receive marks high enough to allow them to take another course that is, in essence, the same thing with slightly different facts.

This blog is my way of writing what actually matters to me. Some of the topics you can expect to read about will be:

-Education
-Percussion
-Music in general
-Video games
-Tea
-General geek topics

Comments of all kinds are appreciated. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.