How to Brew a Perfect Cup of Tea

I ran across these directions and thought I'd post it for all. It's from an article by Dr. Mercola about the dangers of plastic tea bags leaching Cancerous Compounds into your tea. So its a good article to read. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/04/24/tea-bags.aspx?e_cid=20130424_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130424 How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea There is an art to brewing tea using loose tea leaves, but once you find your “sweet spot” you may never go back to bagged tea again. Here are a few simple guidelines for making the “perfect” cup of tea: Bring water to a boil in a tea kettle (avoid using a non-stick pot, as they too can release harmful chemicals when heated) Preheat your tea pot or cup to prevent the water from cooling too quickly when transferred. Simply add a small amount of boiling water to the pot or tea cup that you’re going to steep the tea in. Ceramic and porcelain retain heat well. Then cover the pot or cup with a lid. Add a tea cozy if you have one, or drape with a towel. Let stand until warm, then pour out the water Put the tea into an infuser, strainer, or add loose into the tea pot. Steeping without an infuser or strainer will produce a more flavorful tea. Start with one heaped teaspoon per cup of tea, or follow the instructions on the tea package. The robustness of the flavor can be tweaked by using more or less tea Add boiling water. Use the correct amount for the amount of tea you added (i.e. for four teaspoons of tea, add four cups of water). The ideal water temperature varies based on the type of tea being steeped: White or green teas (full leaf): Well below boiling (170-185 F or 76-85 C). Once the water has been brought to a boil, remove from heat and let the water cool for about 30 seconds for white tea and 60 seconds for green tea before pouring it over the leaves Oolongs (full leaf): 185-210 F or 85-98 C Black teas (full leaf) and Pu-erhs: Full rolling boil (212 F or 100 C) Cover the pot with a cozy and let steep. Follow steeping instructions on the package. If there are none, here are some general steeping guidelines. Taste frequently as you want it to be flavorful but not bitter: Oolong teas: 4-7 minutes Black teas: 3-5 minutes Green teas: 2-3 minutes Once desired flavor has been achieved you need to remove the strainer or infuser. If using loose leaves, pour the tea through a strainer into your cup and any leftover into another vessel (cover with a cozy to retain heat)

Ways to Write Healthy

Here's a great article I found on a topic I'm passionate about--The art of writing without going insane. Good practices for a healthier writing life The writing life can be awfully sedentary. You sit at a desk, your shoulders hunched, typing, thinking, fidgeting, stressing — sometimes for 10 or more hours a day. If you’re not mindful of your posture, your breathing, your movements and your attitude, this creative act that is so vital to your mental health (writing!) can become harmful to you. And when your body suffers, your creative flow generally slows down too. Here’s a few tips to help you break bad habits and restore your body to a more balanced state 1. Invest in an ergonomic writing setup OSHA’s website is a good place to start your research; you can see what an ergonomic computer desk looks like, as well as the ideal posture to limit joint, tendon, muscle, and eye stress. Once you know what you’re looking for, do some comparison shopping and purchase a desk, chair, and any necessary computer accessories (stands, monitors, keyboards, etc.) 2. Take a 10-minute break every 2 hours A longer break would be even better (especially if you can go for a walk, run, workout routine), though I know how it is when you’re really working on something good; you want to stay in the zone. But force yourself to take at least 10 minutes to get up and move your legs. Shake out your arms and shoulders. Breathe some fresh air. 3. Practice seated Yoga Yes, seated Yoga. There are a whole range of stretches and postures you can do while at your desk. So if you feel a twinge in your neck, or a strange pull in your back, or your leg cramps up — take 60 seconds to work it out. Yoga also helps you stay mindful of your breathing. Shallow breathing can often lead to lots of other physical stresses — so be alert to how your lungs are functioning. 4. Drink lots of water Not soda. Not whiskey. Not Red Bull. Not coffee. Water. Lots and lots of water. If you’ve got to get up to pee more often, great! Extra breaks to stretch and… get another glass of water. 5. Change up your writing routine If you’re always in a home-office on your computer, try writing with a pen and notepad while sitting in the park. If you’re always in the coffee shop taking notes on your iPad, go for a walk and record yourself reciting your thoughts onto your iPhone. If you’re used to slugging through a 14-hour writing marathon on the weekends, try writing 2 hours every single morning instead. You get the point. Change it up. Your body will thank you. BookBaby.com

On Becoming a Man: Marketing Tip

A little known factor in marketing your book through Amazon.com is signing up for an author central account for each country Amazon has a site for. For example, my book is available at all these links, depending on where you are in the world. US http://goo.gl/3dPAm ebook US http://goo.gl/kK13W paperback UK http://goo.gl/NHYMc ebook UK http://goo.gl/RZ6cj paperback de http://goo.gl/3xCea ebook de http://goo.gl/WFtBo paperback ca http://goo.gl/3Oo1g ebook fr http://goo.gl/2i5yQ ebook fr http://goo.gl/NfXiZ paperback es http://goo.gl/dQ5WT ebook es http://goo.gl/QLmaV paperback it http://goo.gl/8W81q ebook it http://goo.gl/rQNSi paperback jp http://goo.gl/aJECU ebook br http://goo.gl/oNaju ebook So first get yourself an Author Central for the US/India then follow these links for to the other countries available https://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/help/contact-us/english-speaking-customer.html Germany: https://www.amazon.de/gp/help/contact-us/english-speaking-customer.html France: https://authorcentral.amazon.fr/gp/help/contact-us Note that there isn't an Author Central for Canada. You may have to use google translator to figure out what's going on. I recommend starting with the US and UK sites so you are roughly familiar with the layout.

Ultimate Beach Chair

Hanging out on the beach sometimes doesn't consist solely of, well, hanging out. A true beach bum knows that having to get up to get a drink or having to leave the beach altogether because of sunburn is just not acceptable. A new chair called the LoungePac is aimed at keeping those things from proving necessary. The LoungePac is a 22-pound (10-kg) chair that is packed with all kinds of gadgets and goodies for loungers. To start, it transports on wheels in a fashion similar to that of rolling luggage. It folds out from its transport state in about ten seconds, and is then ready to go. A 360-degree umbrella mount is installed, and the umbrella slides right into the slot when the chair is unfolded. The chair also features a cooler with cup holders for keeping drinks close at hand. The chair's leg support can be removed, plus it features a pillow on the back for some added comfort. Last but not least, the LoungePac also comes with a removable tote bag. The back of the chair is adjustable from straight up to laying down. The aforementioned pillow can be removed to allow loungers to read a book while looking through a face hole. The retail price of the LoungePac is US$259, and it is available now through Amazon. Info found at Gizmag.com and LoungePac The video below demonstrates the process of unpacking the chair.

Tech chic

I'll be posting more soon. I've been crazy busy for awhile, and actually I continue to be, but I think things are settled into a new normal. So here's a small down payment on cool things to come. http://www.nieuweheren.com/products/beauty-and-the-geek/

We don’t get old AND stuck in our ways. We get stuck in our ways, which causes us to grow old instead of growing mature. With age comes experience so we should become better, faster, and more efficient. We also gather baggage along the way. When we should be able to take more risks, because we’ve eliminated what doesn’t work. We allow the fear of repeating failures to bring caution. We compliment ourselves for being prudent when our hearts call us timid. We are not so much frail as afraid. The irony is that our fear causes us to repeat our failures. When you get the same results time and again the chances are good that you are responding to baggage. Anxiety occurs when we stress over taking a path our conscious mind wants to take and our unconscious mind resists. We start off toward our goal and end up in a familiar mess. The baggage we most need to be rid of is buried deepest because we have carried it the longest. Every experience we walk away from leaves its mark on us. We must unpack and examine everything we’ve taken away from our like travels or be ruled by baggage instead of guided by experience. Of course without the image of Christ in us we’ve no context to interpret our experience. Take no step alone and you will go boldly no matter your age. If you are interested in more by this author check out "On Becoming a Man" http://goo.gl/3dPAm

Wisdom: James 3

Mike spoke at Wild Branch 3/2/13, on the topic of Godly wisdom vs worldly wisdom. I think I’m still unpacking it. God has often brought my attention to Proverbs 1:7 “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Worldly wisdom is grounded in knowledge, but we really don’t have perspective to interpret our knowledge. So as with most things in a relationship-based Christianity, it all returns to our willingness to walk in intimacy with God. Walking in wisdom is walking in faith. There is an element of mystery. We simply don’t have a formula for making a right decision apart from our ability to hear God. We can, however, spot the difference between worldly wisdom and the wisdom of God. James 3:15-17 gives a list. “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. Human wisdom is never devoid of personal gain. That is our default perspective. Wisdom from above is pure (unmixed), it is peaceful (to facilitate drawing close to each other), gentle (sympathetic), reasonable (simple to comprehend), merciful, and it bears good fruits. God’s wisdom can seem counter-intuitive but it doesn’t waffle back and forth and it doesn’t pretend to be something its not. There’s a difference between something hidden in mystery for us to search out and something hidden in deceit so that we won’t go looking for it. This is why, I think, God always reminds me about Prov. 1:7. Wisdom is something God longs to cascade onto me, in abundance, without ceasing, but I do have to get over myself to embrace it. All this stuff in my life that I’m so concerned with, it isn’t about me. On days I’m really smart, I realize that it’s not even my life to preserve. My life was forfeit from day one. I’m here because of mercy and grace. I don’t have anything that wasn’t given to me by God, and there’s nothing expected of me that I’m not first empowered to do. There’s an invitation from God before each one of us. It’s an invitation to adventure and mystery. Wisdom isn’t about what you say, or having the right answers. It’s a lifestyle. What we need is eyes to see and ears to hear and to get that, we start by getting over ourselves. For more inspiration try the book "On Becoming a Man: Training the Spiritual Warrior Within" http://goo.gl/3dPAm while it's still free on kindle today.