Pointing… and Some More Tea

You’d think this was Apollo’s Tea and Coffee Report from my constant mention of those two glorious drinks. I suppose I’ll indulge in one more forray into that realm before giving it all a rest.
Neil Gaiman has been writing on the topic of tea lately and in his last journal entry he linked to a BBC article on proper tea preparation titled, oddly enough, “.” I certainly am an improper tea maker. My method usually doesn’t involve pre-warming the pot or doing most steps in the suggested order. I’ll give this suggested process a try in the coming days, though.

Now for something not related to tea or coffee whatsoever (Unless you’re counting strips like Too Much Coffee Man). Scott McCloud, author of Reinventing Comics, wrote an excellent comic in 2001 that explores the increasing importance that micropayments will play in the future of art (especially music and comics) and related fields as our world embraces digital experiences more and more. “Coins of the Realm Pt. 2” explores the problems and opportunities that online art distribution holds. I especially appreciated that he pointed out how many people can’t afford access to the quantity and quality of art we would like because of the presense of middlemen and unnecessary cost between us and artists. Piracy is not always (or even mostly) done because people wish to steal or don’t value art, but because of the exact opposite; those of us who truly love art wish to experience it, even when we don’t have the resources to purchase it at the inflated prices of intermediaries and don’t see an appropriate amount of the money we spend going to artists. I certainly hope more artists find ways to deliver their creations more directly to us while increasing their ability to make a living doing the vital work they do.

If you’re ever bored and want to look at some interesting new websites, I’d recommend trying StumbleUpon, a great tool that takes you to sites recommended by other users. Through it I came upon Scott McCloud’s site and several other sites I’ve enjoyed tonight. If you’re using Firefox (and if you aren’t, you really, really should!) you can find the StumbleUpon plugin here. Thanks to Susana for sharing this with me.

I have 4.5 hours of training for my new job to be followed by 12 at my current job tomorrow. I can’t say that’s a welcome prospect to me, but I’ll sleep in on my first day off to balance things out. I’m trying to think of something to do this week with my days off but am drawing a blank. What do the rest of you do with days off when you have no one else to hang out with and are saving every cent for a top secret plan?