Well, I updated my tea log.  (I keep logs on certain things I try or take to know what I like and go back to instead of rely on my imperfect memory:  beer, wine, tea, liquor, numbers stations, and even my commercial plane flights.)   Over the past 5 years, I've tasted 300 teas, both loose and bagged, some blends, some single estates, some organic.  I think my 300th tea was Celestial Seasonings Sweet Coconut Chai.  Think of  sweet spice tea with a hint of delicious coconut.  Although it is bagged tea, CS makes some of the best general market teas, and they blend tea and herbs in a way that is not too herbal and not too tanny.

Yes, I drink tea all the time even in summer.  Like Oliver Twist singing "Food, glorious food!", I can easily (and have a few in the past) sing "Tea, glorious tea!".  I credit my great-grandmother (GawGaw) and my grandmother (Gamma) for introducing me to the world of tea. 

Healthwise, tea is better than coffee.  More nutrients, 1/2 the caffiene, fluoride for teeth, additional protection against stomach cancer.  Green tea has Vitamin C in it.  It even has a substance that counteracts caffeine bottoming (i.e, the bottoming one experiences coming off of the coffee caffeine high) and caffiene jitters.

We can thank the Chinese ancients who discovered tea (by accident), the British for introducing it to the Western world, the World's Fair where iced tea was invented, and us Southerners for sweet tea.  We can also thank the Indians and Nepalese for their growing the "champagne of teas": the Darjeeling varietal.  On sweet tea, unless you want to insult your oriental host, never add sweetener to green tea.  If you do it in my presence, it won't insult me as I recognise that most American tea drinkers don't know about not adding sugar to green tea.

(I love coffee, fish, and ice cream too, but I don't settle for just anything on those either.  I cannot stand robusta bean coffee, farm-raised fish, or artificial flavours in ice cream.)

(This is my comment on Justin's blog in support of his ideas on beauty.  This is Justin, in my top 24 on my myspace Friends List.  Though he is handsome, he is one of the relatively few true gentlemen of this world.)

It (being called "ugly") would be devastating since we would tend to take in personally to the holistic level rather than just the trait of looks.  The area of looks is definitely to be considered in a person; however, it shouldn't be given such weight that it eclipses the other traits of a person and thus effectively relegates the beholder to a superficial opinion of the one whom (s)he beholds.  There are physicially beautiful people who are truly hot/gorgeous/beautiful because of their personality, character, dress, goals, related drive, and interests; and there are some physically beautiful people who are holistically ugly because of the negatives in their other traits.  

Now, looks and dress can also be interlinked with their character and drive.  If they are lazy and don't care about life, that will generally show in their appearance.  However, again, their appearance shouldn't be the sole criterion of whether a person is ugly or beautiful.

How one reacts to life challenges and trials is included in the trait of character and maybe a little in the trait of personality.  If a person reacts negatively, then that is ugliness.  However, if one sees that (s)he can overcome that challenge and works to do that, then that is beauty.   Similar with mistakes or bad decisions a person makes: recognizing a mistake or bad decision, admitting that it is a mistake or truly bad decision, and then working to correct the situation is beauty in addition to being highly respectable.

In my humble but strong opinion; ugly means an overall negativity of the person and not just in apperance, and beauty means the person has mostly positive traits.  That person could be myself or another person.  I do not automatically write a person off if I consider them ugly since things can change for the positive and ugliness can be reversed (depending on the will of the person).

....

An addition which I didn't include in my comment:

Now going beyond this to transcendental, higher-level beauty (which even fewer possess) is found in the Word of God (the Bible alone):

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,  who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." - Is. 52:7

"And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'" - Rom. 10:15

The penultimate, perfect, and highest level of beauty (which no man can attain):

"From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth." - Ps. 50:2 (I believe that is referring not to Zion but to God since God alone is at the center and headship of Zion and also the only one perfect in beauty.)

Useful articles on the Regulative Principle of Worship (the Reformed doctrine on true worship as taught by Knox, Calvin, and other Reformed Puritans/Covenanters) and especially how it applies to Christ-mass:

http://www.apuritansmind.com/Christmas/Christmas.htm (from the Puritan's Mind Ministries, modern and earlier Reformed theologians)

http://www.fpcr.org/blue_banner_articles/xmas5.htm (A.W. Pink)

http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/Christmas_scriptural.html (G.I. Williamson, a modern OPC minister)

http://reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/xmas.htm (Brian Schwertley, a modern Presbyterian Reformed theologian)

http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/wholewes.htm (Wes Bredenhof, a modern Dutch/Continental Reformed theologian)

On Reformed churches following the errors of John Frame and those others who support similiar innovations in worship and/or retain Papist innovations of worship (EPC, majority of the PCA, some of the OPC, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Metropolitan Tabernacle, certain Reformed Baptist churches, &c.):

http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/framewor.htm

http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/frameexc.htm

THREE IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

1.  True worship begins in the heart because of the Gospel and our love for God.  Then, as the Spirit sanctifies us, the outward good fruit will be manifested by good works for God's glory.  (The articles presume this in a true Chirstian's life.)  Otherwise, if we obey God without having a heart for him, then we are only "going through the actions" and are no more than the whitewashed tombs of the Pharisees.

2.  Though I specifically name those conservative Reformed churches and ministries as being in error regarding worship, that is not say that they are false churches.  Those churches and ministries are indeed true Gospel churches and do NOT embrace the greater error of heresy.  There are Gospel churches that are more or less pure but are still true churches.  The false churches are those that have embraced heresy.  (BTW, despite John Frame's errors on worship, I still regard him as a Christian brother.)

3.  Unfortunately, there are those Reformed and non-Reformed churches and ministries (PCUSA, ELCA, UMC, ECUSA, SBC, the modern Church of Scotland) have embraced heresy and have declined in purity.

For me, it is always pleasant to see Va Tech (my alma mater) beat UVA, this time 17-0. Go Hokies!!!

In the recon/intel community, former KGB agent (and current Russian critic) Litvinenko has been seemingly poisoned the Russian State (or the SVR, the KGB's progenitor).  However, the hospital ran more tests and have possibly ruled out thallium poisoning.  

http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?toggle=1&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&p=kgb+poisoned

The last notable poisoning in the recon/intel community was in 1978 London near Waterloo Bridge when a Bulgarian State agent poisoned a Bulgarian critic/exilee Markov by bumping into Markov with a umbrella tipped with a ricin-filled syringe.

http://www.lsic.ucla.edu/classes/mimg/robinson/micro12/m12webnotes/Biowarfare/umbrella/umbrella.htm

When can underhanded poisoners learn that they cannot silence Justice and that the Truth will eventually be revealed?!

Yes, I am a rum and whisk(e)y connoisseur in addition to beer, tea, and coffee.  I have tasted my 75th rum.  The rum is the Cockspur 12 year old Bajan crafted rum.  It is medium-bodied with a sweet orange note and medium oak and is distlled from molasses.

The other premium rums I've had are:

Barrow's Reserve Cigar Blend Rum (Trinidad) - though I've never had a cigar with it

Pyrat Reserve XO Planters Gold (Anguilla)

Westerhall Plantation Rum (Grenada)

Goslings Black Seal 80 proof (Bermuda) - my favorite dark rum

Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum (Bermuda)

Havana Club Añejo 7 year old (Cuba)

El Dorado Special Reserve (Guyana)

Cruzan Estate Diamond 5 year old (US Virgin Islands)

Captain Morgan Private Stock (US Puerto Rico) - a horrible rum

Appleton Estate 12 year old (Jamaica)

Appleton Estate V/X (Jamaica)

Pampero Anniversario Ron Añejo (Venezuela)

Mount Gay Extra Old (Barbados)

Santa Teresa 1796 Antiguo de Solera (Venezuela)

Rhum Barbancourt (Reserve Speciale) (Haiti)

Rhum Barbancourt (Estate Reserve, 15yo) Reserve du Domain (Haiti)

10 Cane (Trinidad)

Barcardi Ochos Años (8 years old) (US Puerto Rico)

Montecristo 12 years old (Guatemala)

Rums to avoid:

Bacardi Silver

Bacardi Gold

Any Bundaberg rum

Any Captain Morgan rum

It seems to be a time for hunters out there.  One of my colleagues at work hunts, and several of my Christian friends and brethren hunt.  I've heard and read a lot about it over the past month or so.  It is good to have a Scriptural view on hunting and every other thing in life.

From Adam until Noah, man was restricted to vegetables and herbs (Gen. 1:29).  From Noah until Moses, man had divine warrant to eat meat (Gen. 9:3-4) .  However, from Moses until Christ, man could only eat certain kinds of meat (Lev. 11).  From Christ until the present day, Christ pronounced all kinds of meat to be spiritually clean for human consumption (Mark 7:10 cf. Rom. 14:20).  Therefore, it is lawful (i.e, Scriptural) to gather meat to eat for ourselves through either butchers, fishmongers, farming, fishing, hunting, or other Scriptural means as we see from Noah's early descendants onward in God's Word (Gen. 10, Gen. 25, Neh. 3, Matt. 15, Matt 17, Luke 5, John 4, etc.) .

However, with the divine liberty and warrant to eat meat and hunt, we are admonished by God's Word to faithful stewardship of our dominion over the animals (Gen. 1:27) and all other things He provides (Matt. 25, Luke 11).  Hunting for meat and clothing is indeed Scriptural.  However, hunting just for the sake of killing and not necessarily to gather meat or clothing is not Scriptural and is an abuse of our God-given dominion over the animals.

I do not hunt, but I do support Scriptural hunting.  I don't have any reservations about catching and killing the animal.  The reason I don't hunt is because after the killing of the animal comes the dressing and cleaning, and it is proven that I don't have the stomach for that.  I watched a neighbor clean and dress a deer, and I remember gagging literally all the way home.  (Ironically, I have the stomach to watch and/or discuss medical procedures while eating a snack or meal without gagging or whatever.)

Albert Einstein was known to forget occasionally life routines (eating, etc.) while pondering the great theories of science.  However, something similar to me happened yesterday.  I never skip lunch since if I do, my stomach reminds me by eventually growling.  But I was so involved in what I was doing at work (organizing my handwritten engineering calculations for an upcoming technical report, finishing my timesheet, business meeting, etc., etc. ....well, not as great as Einstein's accompishments) that the next thing I knew, it was time to go home (5:30pm but I wrapped up and left at 6:30pm).  Then it occurred to me.....I forgot to eat lunch (and my stomach never growled).

BTW, Einstein on the meaning of life: "What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any sense then, you ask, in putting it? I answer, the man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life."

I am a Conservative-leaning Independent because I don't entirely agree with any one party and I don't want my political views dictated by a party platform.  (Those are two reasons why I decline to join the Republican, Democratic, Green, or other minor parties.)  

If you want to know my position on any specific topic, I'll be glad to answer any questions.

Today, I was interested in the latest development of DPRK's (N Korea's) supposed nuclear test.  On C-Span 3 channel, they had defectors and former DPRK politcal prisoners share their stories of the atrocities.  A particular one touched me.  (This also reminds me of a GA family with whom I am friends and who have witnessed similar things in China.)

The lady (Mrs. Lee), though she is not a Christian, told of the sure faith in Christ that our North Korean brothers and sisters have.  They are imprisoned just for their belief in Christ and reading the Bible.  The DPRK guards give them a choice: to surrender their Bible and receive clemency or to keep their Bible and be sent to hard labor prisons (most often steel foundries).  (For those that surrendered their Bible, there was no clemency; they were sent to prison anyway.)  Mrs. Lee was sent to a prison where there was 250 Christian prisoners.  She was constantly amazed at the unwavering faith that those Christians had in the midst of persecutions since they would not abandon Christ.  Some of them in prison were again asked to abandon Christ or suffer punishment.  They did not; so, their punishment was having molten iron from the foundry-prison poured over their living bodies.  Please pray that Mrs. Lee would become a Christian and that God would give us an unshakeable faith in him that if circumstances warrant, that we would not love our lives even unto suffering death for Christ.

Having studied both sides of the coin on Communist countries for 20 years (especially the USSR, East Germany, Cuba, China, and the DPRK), I still reiterate my intense hatred towards Communism and related forms of Socialism both as an engineer and as a Christian.  Such socialism first of all breeds and nutures athiesm and attempts to squash Christianity.  (DPRK's form of Communism is called "Juche" which adds the deceptive element of "self-sufficiency".)  From a human liberties standpoint, there is no freedom especially to redress the Government for grievances and to worship God.  This is not to mention the lagging economy and technology that Communism births and perpetuates.  Politically, Communism is a self-contradiction.  It claims to have a classless society where in reality, there are at least 2 classes: the have's (Communists) and the wrongfully-treated have-nots (the non-Communists).  Needless to say, the leader usually is in a class of his own and a tyrant who can do whatever he wants without regard to conventional ethics and most importantly without regard to God's Word.  Desiring tyrants and such nations to repent and turn to God, I want to shout Psalm 2 whenever I hear of their nations forsaking God:

"1Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

 2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

 3Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

 4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.

 5Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

 6Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

 7I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

 8Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

 9Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

 10Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

 11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

 12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."