Month: February 2009

Product Review: Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion Caffeine Free Herbal Tea

March 6, 2009 / Reviews
Another tea from the variety pack I bought. I like peaches, and this was the best-sounding tea in the package aside from the cherry one. I went in expecting it to be tasty and sweet. 

Fortunately, that’s exactly what is was. Another aromatic, fruit-flavored tea that’s good for sipping in the evening as bedtime approaches and caffeinated teas could be problematic. Sweetened with one packet of sugar, this warm peachy beverage was good to have at hand last night while I was working on my web site. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and look forward to having another cup soon.

Four stars out of five.

Product Review: Celestial Seasonings Tangerine Orange Zinger Caffeine Free Herbal Tea

March 3, 2009 / Reviews

This is one of the other flavors in the variety pack that included the black cherry berry. Not being one to let such things go to waste, I started sampling the other flavors in the package.

Tangerine Orange Zinger has a tangy-sweet flavor, and you can definitely make out both flavors. It has a good balance of orange and tangerine, and is strong enough without being overbearing. This is a good cup of tea for the evening when caffeine tends to be less welcome. It came as quite a surprise to me after trying the black cherry berry that this tea, in a flavor that sounded less to my liking, was so much better.

Four stars out of five.

A good tea if you like fruit flavors and want something caffeine-free.

Product Review: Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry Caffeine Free Herbal Tea

March 3, 2009 / Reviews

This tea was purchased as part of a Celestial Seasonings variety pack, with five different types of fruit teas. I bought it mainly for this flavor — again with the cherry.

I very much regretted my purchase as soon as I tasted the tea. Even with sugar in it, it has a sour flavor which tastes nothing like cherries, nor, for that matter, like berries. It does seem vaguely fruity, in an artificial, almost chemical sort of way, but it is not pleasant to drink.

The only nice things I can say about it are that it was not so bad that I couldn’t force myself to finish the cup, and that when I’d finished drinking it, it stayed down.

One quarter of a star out of five, for not actually being poison.

Avoid this tea at all costs. (Please bear in mind that this tea is not representative of Celestial Seasonings’ products. They have other flavors that I quite enjoy, this particular one just happens to be disgusting.)

When Is Boredom Not Boredom?

February 23, 2009 / Uplift!

Recently, both Scott H. Young and Cal Newport wrote articles about boredom. But I remain unconvinced that boredom is the real problem here.

But of COURSE it is, people are bored all the time, right? Not necessarily. You see, people are bad at semantics, often mistaking one thing for another. I once read somewhere that the thirst reflex in humans is so weak, that we often mistake it for hunger. We just don’t recognize it for what it is. What if the same thing happens with our emotions? Perhaps we’re having a feeling that we can’t quite place. We know it’s there, though, and we have to call it something, so we mistakenly identify it as boredom.

Think about this. Often, when feeling “bored”, we don’t have a lot of interest in any activities suggested to cure the boredom. They’re perfectly good, fun, and interesting things to do, but in our “bored” state, they don’t seem to be the cure for what ails us. Why don’t you read a book? Play a video game? Watch TV? The truth is, if we were merely bored, these activities would pick us up again — or at least bring us back to the state of “partial boredom” that Scott H. Young described in one of the articles I linked above. We know they won’t, and there’s a reason for that. It’s because we’re not just bored.

Really, what we are is unfulfilled. We’re not just looking for an activity to occupy our time and our minds, or we would settle easily on whatever reasonably entertaining activity presented itself. We don’t reject the possibilities because they won’t cure boredom. We reject them because they won’t give us the feeling we’re really after, a feeling of fulfillment.

I used to have this problem all the time. I didn’t recognize it, mind you, but that’s what was happening. And since I didn’t recognize it, I simply thought I was bored. These days, I’m rarely bored, except for times when I am obligated to do a boring task. If I’m just at a loose end, I can usually figure out something to do that will occupy me satisfactorily. The key to curing boredom is to figure out what matters to you and pursue it. Work on things that you care about, that make you feel good as you do them, not just when they are completed. If you have personal projects that drive you, you’ll find a much greater level of fulfillment, and the “boredom” in your life will diminish proportionately.

Product Review: Bigelow Vanilla Chai Tea

March 3, 2009 / Reviews

I’ve been drinking this tea every morning for about a week now. It’s currently my black tea of choice. I’ve only had chai a few times before, and I’ve discovered that I like sweet chai but not spicy chai (no surprise there), so I decided to try this one hoping that it would be in the former category.

The tea is not as flavorful as I’d expected, even with long brew times and going easy on the milk. The sweet chai I’ve had in the past had both a much stronger flavor and a much higher degree of sweetness (though this may be my own fault for not using enough sugar). I was hoping for a recreation of that experience, and this tea didn’t give me that. Perhaps I shall try some other varieties of bagged chai to see if they are closer to the taste of the professionally-prepared chai I’ve had in the past. It may also be worth noting that I’m using the “Quick Method” instructions, not the “Authentic Method”, which may well make a difference.

On the other hand, evaluated on its own merits instead of how it compares to other chais I’ve had, this tea is quite good. The spices lend it a pleasant mild flavor and aroma, and it is quite enjoyable to sit and sip. The fact that chai is served with milk cools it quickly to a nice temperature so that you don’t have to wait around or risk burning your tongue (I tend to be impatient about getting that first cup of tea in the morning). It works quite well for waking me up, and I definitely plan to purchase it again, although I will likely buy something else I haven’t tried first and return to this tea later.

Overall, this is a mild but flavorful tea with many good qualities. If you like strong chai, you might find this variety too weak, but if a mild sweet flavor with an overtone of spices is to your liking, you won’t go wrong with Bigelow Vanilla Chai. Three and three-quarters stars out of five — if it were a little stronger and a little sweeter, I’d go to four.

This one very much depends on your tastes.

Product Review: Republic of Tea Spring Cherry Beginner’s Mind Green Tea

February 28, 2009 / Reviews

This tea has been one of my favorites for many years, since I first discovered it on the menu at Orchard Valley Coffee in downtown Campbell. When I spotted it, I knew I had to try it, given my love of all things cherry. 

I was not disappointed. This is a mild green tea with a sweet cherry flavor that you can smell as soon as the bag drops in the water. I usually take my tea with a lot of sugar, but this tea is so naturally sweet that I drink it with only one spoonful or sometimes without adding any at all. At around $10 for 50 bags, it’s around 20 cents a cup (less if you re-use tea bags), which is a lot cheaper than drinking soda, and better for you too (although this will be true of tea in general, not just this variety). I can’t think of anything negative to say about this tea, except perhaps that after I finish a cup, I usually want another one!

Five stars out of five. This is my favorite kind of tea, and it’s my tea of choice between noon an 4 PM (I drink black tea before noon for the caffeine, and only drink caffeine-free tea after 4 so I can sleep at night).

Bonus Review: Republic of Tea Acerola Cherry Green Tea (Superfruit Tea)

Everything I said about the first tea applies to this tea as well, except for the bit about how I discovered it. In fact, I’m not convinced that there’s actually a difference between the two…

Movie Review: The Fantastic Four

February 27, 2009 / Reviews

The Fantastic Four was on my list because it’s a Marvel movie. Most of the Marvel movies have been good adaptations of their comics, as well as being an enjoyable introduction for those who are unfamiliar with the title making the jump to the big screen. With that in mind, I sat down to see if The Fantastic Four lived up to the standard set by the other Marvel titles.

The Fantastic Four is the story of scientist Reed Richards’s venture into space and how it changed his life, and the lives of his companions, forever. Richards wanted to perform an experiment aboard a vessel belonging to businessman Victor von Doom. Accompanying Richards and von Doom on the mission were fellow scientist Susan Storm, an employee of von Doom’s and the woman he hopes to marry (also Richards’ ex-girlfriend), pilot Johnny Storm (Susan’s brother), and Richards’ bodyguard Ben Grimm. Things go awry when a solar storm strikes the vessel hours ahead of schedule, catching the group unprepared. All five are subjected to the storm’s radiation, and return to Earth immediately, only to discover that they have returned a little bit different from how they were when they left. All five have developed superpowers. As the others begin studying their powers to see how they work and whether the process can be reversed, von Doom revels in his power and begins making plans for how to eliminate the Fantastic Four, as they come to be known when they use their superpowers in public for the first time.

The movie was slow in parts, mainly because there was a awful lot of build-up and character introduction and development to be done. It sort of felt like this movie was too much origin story, not enough action. Forgivable, I suppose, given that it WAS an origin story. Other than that, there’s not much bad I can say about it, except that it just didn’t have that certain awesomeness that I’ve enjoyed in some of the other Marvel movies.

On the plus side, it was a fun comic book movie with some funny lines and a couple of good action sequences, and it was a good introduction to the characters. It’s nice seeing scientists portrayed as heroes, as so often it’s the mad scientist who appears as a villain. Johnny Storm was a particularly entertaining character, a little too cocky for his own good, but funny enough to get away with it.

Overall, it was a solidly middle-of-the-road Marvel movie. Nothing special, but worth seeing if you enjoy the genre. I should perhaps note that while I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with the Fantastic Four, I also don’t follow their comic book titles, so I may have missed things that would upset hardcore F4 fans. Three and a half stars out of five.

See it if you like comic book movies.

Movie Review: Tron

February 26, 2009 / Reviews
Tron was on my list for a couple of reasons. A, it’s a sci-fi classic that I’ve never seen, and 2, like The Day The Earth Stood Still, there’s a second movie that I intend to see — or there will be soon. Tr2n, or Tron 2.0, was announced at last year’s Comic Con, and I decided that I should get caught up and see the original before the second one comes out.

Tron is the story of a wronged computer programmer, Flynn, a bright and talented coder whose work and position have been stolen from him by a less-talented co-worker. Flynn attempts to break into his former employer’s network to find proof of that the thief’s rise to power was accomplished through illicit means, when he himself is sucked into the computer by the malicious and sentient Master Control Program. Flynn must navigate through the computer with the aid of the downtrodden programs there and find a way to overthrow the MCP to restore the system to its original, free state and recover the data that will restore him to his rightful place — the executive position that was usurped by his plagiarizing co-worker.

Tron was a disappointment to me. I love the premise and it has a lot of potential, but the implementation is lacking. The CGI is impressive for the time (1982), but it seems like they focused on the pretty computer graphics to the exclusion of a decent script. It looks like they threw a bunch of digital artists and graphics programmers in a room and told them to make a movie. It watches more like a graphics demo than an actual movie. The cheese factor is through the roof and the dialogue is lacking. The best character is a bit, the smallest unit of data in a computer, only capable of storing a single 1 or 0. The bit, consequently, is only able to say “yes” or “no” — and somehow has the best lines in the whole film!

The good points of the movie… well, as I said, the concept has a lot of potential. The graphics are quite impressive for the time. Some of the games the computer programs play are quite entertaining, and might be fun as actual video games. The bit, as noted above, has some very entertaining lines. And… that’s about it.

Overall, I don’t recommend Tron. I’m glad I watched it so that I can say that I’ve seen it — it’s worth some geek cred, at any rate — but there are many movies I’d much rather have spent the time on. Two stars out of five.

Wait for the sequel — I have high hopes that it will far outshine the original.

February 30 Day Trial

February 23, 2009 / Uplift!

On the advice of several of my favorite bloggers, I’m going to do a 30-day trial. My first trial will be to spend at least 30 minutes exercising every single day. At a minimum, this will be walking, but I plan to include some other activities as well. I’d like to try a calisthenic workout — I found one that looks pretty good at Men’s Fitness — though I expect I’ll need to cut down the reps significantly based on my current physical condition. In any case, I’ll need to run it by my doctor first to make sure it’s safe given my surgery wound, and if he says no, I’ll stick to lighter forms of exercise such as walking.

As part of the trial, I will be updating here daily to track my progress. I’m looking forward to reporting positive results! I already have some things in mind for future 30-day trials — an hour a day of reading and improvements to my diet would go a long way, so one of those is likely to be on the agenda for March.

As always, questions and comments are welcome — you know what to do!