Preamble: Right, pay attention, I’ve just coined a new word for a certain condition. I haven’t gone for the time honoured naming-it-after-oneself method (as did Hans Asperger) or after the victim (e.g. Lou Gehrig), because often it’s not appropriate. This is not unprecedented: Lyme disease is named after the town where it was first found, […]
In my first post since Christmas Eve – that’s pretty well a month – I am going to attempt to cover a bunch of things, using my own tea Roulette Format for the third time. If you have not read one of my previous efforts of this kind (shame on you!) it’s where I make […]
One of my more popular posts ever, Dunk!, explained some of the science and social effects behind dunking biscuits in tea. You can read it again now, if you want. I’ll wait. In it, I said “My short summary here is just an overview, there is obviously a lot more to be said on the […]
“Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water, then you make the tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know.” – Sen Rikyu A week ago, the World Tea Expo’s 2017 “Best Tea Brewing Device” (and 2016 “Innovation Of The Year”) ceased sales, ending one of the most […]
“The Sharing Economy” is one of those phrases that kicks around at the moment, along with the Gig Economy, the Social Economy and The Beard-Oil-Led Recovery, which basically all imply that hipsters know what is good for you. A better term is “Collaborative Consumption”, merely because of the possibilities of working it into a hip […]
If you loved the movie Inception, then you’ll love the fact that I am going to go on a rant about a guy who went on a rant about an article. In it, he bought his own arrogance and prejudice to the fore, and hey, I’m comfortable with doing the same. In fact, I rarely […]
It’s two weeks since Lady Devotea and I left Canada, and this blog has been hovering over me. I just don’t want to admit that that particular adventure was over. Despite cranking up the heat and refusing to change the time back on some of my devices, I am unable to pretend to be in […]
When we arrived in Vancouver, we went through the usual travellers’ ritual of trying to have a nap, and then staggering out in a jet-lagged haze to look about. Rolling downhill to 4th Street Kitsilano, the first commercial premises we entered was an amazing fruit and nut shop. Really amazing. We bought stuff. The second […]
It may amaze you to know I am flawed, but yes, I am. One of my problems is I often fail to do something as I am hoping for better. For example, I won’t hydrate with a cup of water or with a drink from Starbucks when I get the chance because I’m optimistic that […]
One of the joys of overseas travel is shopping malls. No, really. The great thing about a mall is that it is a microcosm of retailers. It contains, for example, a bunch of global retailers that I despise at home, all conveniently collected for me to ignore in one spot. It also contains local chains […]