Bloghttp://rubofthegreen.org/blog/en-US2010-03-11T09:31:04ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)#TTUC Update 1http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2010/1/5/ttuc-update-1.htmlJamie King2010-01-05T16:38:10ZTTUCToday officially marks 2 weeks that I've been off soft drinks. Surprisingly, I haven't had a lot of problems with feeling deprived. I have my tea after all, and skim milk, to keep me happy. I do have to say though that late last night I had a little craving for a nice Pepsi, when I was looking for my late night snack (something I still haven't yet managed to eliminate).

I tentatively jumped on the scales this morning. While I wasn't elated, I wasn't disappointed either. Down to 269 from 270. Nothing significant, but at least it's not going the wrong way either. And I've only really been working on this thing for 2 days now (started Monday).

Next up is trying to create a habit of drinking more water daily, and eliminate that darn midnight snack. I am very much a creature of habit. For me, dieting is all about replacing the bad habits with good ones.

Current Weight: 269
Initial goal: 240 by my birthday, May 25
Ultimate goal: lose 70 pounds

]]>Bloody Rock God from Adagio, and Me!http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2010/1/2/bloody-rock-god-from-adagio-and-me.htmlJamie King2010-01-02T17:49:46ZTea ReviewsThis is one of the signature blends I have created at Adagio. I created it not having any of the teas included, so it was just pretty much a shot in the dark. It was done as a part of the “Buckethead Series”, named in honor of my 3 nephews and the most caring name I have for them.

This one was done for Matt, who is an aspiring musician and therefore “Bloody Rock God”. Obviously Blood Orange was included because of the name. The other two teas included are Oriental Spice and Vanilla.

Honestly, this isn’t too bad of a tea, considering it was blended basically in the dark. The Blood Orange pretty much takes over the taste, but you can taste a little bit of the Spice and the Vanilla, especially as it starts to cool. I was actually pleasantly surprised and, if nothing else, I will probably add straight Blood Orange from Adagio to my cupboard soon.

]]>Twitter Trim Up Challenge (#TTUC)http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/29/twitter-trim-up-challenge-ttuc.htmlJamie King2009-12-29T17:06:15ZTTUCMy friend @kokogirl on Twitter came up with the great idea to start the new year with a "trim up challenge" for all her golfing buddies who wanted to participate. As tends to happen with these types of things, it soon spun out of control, and now we are lucky enough to have lots more (not just golfers) participating.

Personally, when I heard about the challenge, I jumped at it. I have lots, lots, LOTS of weight to lose, and it's way easier to keep focused when you have a support group around you to help out. The challenge starts on the 10th of January, and I personally can't wait. I've already started preparing myself by trying to drink more water, giving up soft drinks of all kinds (even diet) and drinking even more tea than I already drink. I'm only on my 8th day of no soft drinks, so I haven't really proven anything yet, but I can already tell the difference in the way I feel. No doubt as a result of purging my system of high fructose corn syrup poison.

Let's not go nuts though. I do still have sugar in my diet. Most of the time I drink tea with no sweeteners, but I do occasionally feel the need for a teaspoon of sugar, honey or agave in the cup. But still, I control the amounts, and the fact that it's real sugar can't hurt either. Right?

For more info on the Twitter Trim Up Challenge, you can go to this post on @kokogirl's site, follow this list on Twitter, or simply do a search for the #TTUC hash tag.

Current weight: 270
Initial goal: 240 by my birthday, May 25
Ultimate goal: Lose 70 pounds

]]>TasteTimer from Gormayahttp://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/22/tastetimer-from-gormaya.htmlJamie King2009-12-22T15:02:42ZTea ReviewsWhat's the big deal? There are a blue million timers out there. I've got one sticking to my fridge right now. It's just a timer, right?

Not so, says Gormaya, makers of the iPhone/iPod touch app TasteTimer. And they manage to back it up with some pretty impressive features.

Being a tea enthusiast (and bachelor), the simple timer is a big part of my life. I like for my tea to brew a specific amount of time, not to mention that I'm pretty much all thumbs when it comes to anything to do with cooking. That's why, even though I've tried lots of timer apps for my iPod, I think Gormaya's TasteTimer manages to take that simple concept to the next level.

Not just a tea timer, not just a countdown clock that you can set to whatever time you want, TasteTimer takes it up a notch by including a seemingly endless list of presets just about everything you could imagine that would require timing. There are settings for tea, coffee, hot chocolate, poultry, eggs, seafood… the list goes on.

Can you add your own items? Of course. Can you edit the existing presets to tailor to your specific needs/preferences? Yep.

The only thing I might add would be an option for a visual cue, like making the screen flash when the timer is complete. I have a first gen iPod touch, and unless I have my headphones on, I don’t get the benefit of the audible alarms. I have to make sure the timer is placed within eyeshot so I can see the countdown complete.

That said, TasteTimer pretty much has it all. I can’t imagine an iPhone app being more complete in its functionality. What the heck am I still doing with a first gen iPod anyway?

TasteTimer on iTunes
Gormaya Home Page

]]>Big Break Disney Recaphttp://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/21/big-break-disney-recap.htmlJamie King2009-12-21T19:47:59ZI didn't get around to doing episode by episode posts about Big Break this season, so I just thought I'd wait until it was all over and do this recap blog post.

All in all, it was a pretty 'eh' season in my opinion. The big villian of the season seemed to be Andrew, although if you asked me Blake fit the bill a little better. He seemed to have a lot of anger issues, some of which stemming from his dislike of Andrew. We heard a lot of talking about Andrew doing a lot of talking, and annoying everyone. I think we saw enough to see that was the truth, but I have to say I never saw Andrew do anything throughout the episodes to show anyone any disrespect. Mostly it seemed to be his way of trying to be one of the guys.

I would think for someone like him, who is the son of basically a legend, and coming into the competition as an "outsider" of sorts, he may have been working a little too hard to fit in. That said, I don't think I've ever seen anyone in any of these competitions that has the total confidence that he showed from start to finish. Even in his final episode, the one in which he was eliminated by Gipper, I noticed he never let a negative thought creep into his head. He would hit a bad shot, and only look at the positive outcome. Say what you will, but I think we could all take a lesson from Andrew, and from the strength of mind his father has most likely instilled into him growing up.

Speaking of Gipper, and his brother Tony, I thought they were clearly the favorites from the start... along with Mike Perez. Tony and Gipper both have the games, and Mike is lucky enough to have the game, plus the shared experience of his brother Pat Perez. But Gipper was hampered by a bum shoulder... and I hate to say it, but Tony kind of choked. Sure, Mike came after it those last few holes, and he certainly won the competition rather than Tony losing it. But I also think it was clear that Tony's game suffered immensely once Mike was able to put a little pressure on him. That's golf.

That leaves the only other player in the mix who made even a little difference, underdog Kevin. The almost Cinderella story. It was clear from a few episodes in that Kevin wasn't at the level of the other players. Heck, he admitted it repeatedly to the cameras. And the fact that he kept managing to get through put a lot of stress and strain on some of the other players (Blake). But this is first and foremost a game show after all, and the top players don't always get through to the end. Kevin made the shots when he had to make them, or others folded under the pressure, and he found himself in the final 3.

My Dad was pulling for him in the finals (and I was too a litte bit), but we were both pretty sure the flaws in his game would show up under a straight up golf match. In the end I think Kevin showed a lot of poise under pressure and a lot of good sportsmanship in losing. And even though I was pulling for Andrew, then Gipper, then Tony, I think the proper player walked away with the trophy.

Congratulations to Mike Perez on his win.

]]>Boston Tea Partyhttp://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/16/boston-tea-party.htmlJamie King2009-12-16T17:13:18ZOn this day, December 16, 1773, one of the most iconic events in American history took place, with a group of colonists taking direct action against the British government by boarding their ships and destroying all of the tea on board by dumping it into Boston Harbor. The colonists were angered when Boston officials refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain.

From Wikipedia:

The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Colonists objected to the Tea Act for a variety of reasons, especially because they believed that it violated their right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives.

While The Tea Party had managed to prevent the unloading of taxed tea in three other colonies, in Boston, Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. As a result, what has become known as "The Boston Tea Party" became one of the key events in American history, that eventually lead to the American Revolution.

For more information, please refer to the above referenced Wikipedia article.

]]>Milk Oolong from thepuriTeahttp://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/9/milk-oolong-from-thepuritea.htmlJamie King2009-12-09T17:38:59ZTea ReviewsFinally getting around to writing this review. Why did it take so long? Probably because I've been spending my time enjoying this wonderful tea from my friends at thepuriTea.

I've been hearing a lot of buzz in the past few months about milk oolong and have been itching to give it a try. To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. A lot of the oolongs I have tried in the past have left me wanting more. Oolong seems to be of a more understated taste in general, and I really didn't know what "milk oolong" was all about. From the site:

A one of a kind tea, let alone Oolong. That's how we sum up our Milk Oolong. The aroma is mind boggling, the taste unexpectedly amazing and you'll be asking yourself "How is this tea?". This very special Chinese Oolong is produced from tea leaves picked at a certain temperature, altitude, soil conditions and time which creates it's uniquely milky and silky texture. The light yellow liquid creates a sweet smooth milk aroma and will leave a taste in your mouth that makes you yearning for more.

I have to say, I now know why milk oolong is called milk oolong. It really does have a sweet, milky smoothness, in the aroma and in the taste. I've said before that I've got quite the sweet tooth, often sweetening my teas with honey, sugar or agave. Not necessary with this tea. The sweetness is, as they say, baked right in.

This really is a beautiful tea.

Water temp: 175
Infusion time: 3 minutes
One (generous) teaspoon yields four-six 8oz cups

Milk Oolong from thepuriTea

]]>All I Want for Christmas...http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/8/all-i-want-for-christmas.htmlJamie King2009-12-08T16:22:26ZMy top 5 "wants" for this Christmas (even though I have no chance of getting any of them...)

5. Gift box from thepuriTea - I've seen a lot of tea-related gift sets over the past several weeks, but I love this one more than all the rest.

4. Tea from Maeda-en - best green tea I've ever had. Bar none.

3. Zojirushi water boiler/warmer - would love to have one of these to have perfectly heated water at the ready at all times.

2. Taylor Made R9 460 Driver - if this thing doesn't improve my game, nothing will.

1. Sorapot Tea Pot - this one is quite possibly every tea geek's dream. Beautiful tea pot designed by one of the top designers out there right now.

]]>Socialize!http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/7/socialize.htmlJamie King2009-12-07T17:15:56ZJust a quick post to highlight some of the social networks/sites I use:

Twitter - @rubofthegreen
Facebook - Rub of the Green page
Facebook - my personal page
Steepster - Facebook for tea enthusiasts
Youtube - random videos that don't make a lot of sense to anyone but me. Sometimes I do post videos of my golfing exploits, and plan on more in the future.
Digg - I don't digg much, but I am a member.
Flickr - similar to Youtube, most of the pics here don't make a lot of sense to anyone but me.
Friendfeed - I honestly don't use this site that much.
LinkedIn - again, don't use it a lot.
Posterous - I use this site mainly to be able to post to Twitter and Facebook via email. But there is a blog there that chronicles all of my posts.
Tumblr - this is where I post random things that don't fit into any other categories. Just random links and videos I run across while surfing the web.

Feel free to friend me up on any of the pages above. I love meeting new friends!

]]>Loose Leaf Tea? What's That?http://rubofthegreen.org/blog/2009/12/4/loose-leaf-tea-whats-that.htmlJamie King2009-12-04T17:05:37ZYesterday at lunch I was making myself some tea when a co-worker walked by and almost lost her mind when she saw that I was using loose leaf tea instead of bagged tea. She actually said, "what kind of tea are you drinking that looks like that?"

Of course I was drinking your average black tea, but she thought I was drinking some kind of exotic blend, because she was actually able to see the leaves, rather than the powder-ish mixture that I'm sure she's observed all her life from grocery store bagged teas.

First off, let me say that I don't have anything against bagged teas. I have quite a few varieties in my place right now. But my point of course is that for a lot of people, that's what tea is. They don't know any different. Heck, a lot of people might not even know where tea comes from. They may even think it's some kind of processed powder... like Kool-Aid or Hot Chocolate mix.

Tea is not a powder. It is not processed or created in a lab (or at least it's not supposed to be). Tea comes from a plant, called Camellia Sinensis. It was discovered a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Okay, that last part isn't true. But the point is, tea has been around for a very long time. Long before tea bags.

Nowadays tea comes to us in a variety of ways: loose, bagged, in satchets, bottle, jugs, a Starbucks cup... but no matter what it looks like when it gets to your door (or your grocery store shelf), it always starts with the leaf. A lot of people tend to ask (or comment) about how expensive it must be for me to be drinking higher quality, loose leaf tea. In fact, most higher quality teas manage to give us multiple infusions. So the dollar per cup ratio goes down considerably. Especially when you have total control of the leaves.

So the next time you get the urge for a little tea, think twice before grabbing that six pack off the shelf from the soft drink aisle. Tea is not nor should it be a soft drink.

Tea is a gift.

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