They're Alive!

Found these on the street near my work. Posted about the middle one awhile back, then found more!

Trying Out Wordle

I decided to try out wordle on my blog. The resulting word cloud below. Pretty cool tool, will make a word cloud from any text or feed (RSS or ATOM).

Word Cloud of Debate Tweets

Twitter made a word cloud of debate tweets.  Its pretty cool.  I guess they used a service called wordle that will make a word cloud from text. May have to try that out sometime.

Netflx Ups Price For Blu-ray

Netflix has announced that it will start charging unlimited plan subscribers an extra $1 a month if they want access to blu-ray movies. Seems well worth it for those with blu-ray players. I am still undecided as to whether or not to buy a blu-ray player. It is beginning to seem clear that video disks (DVD and blu-ray) are eventually heading in the same direction as audio CDs, that is towards extinction. I believe iTunes-like movie rentals or simply buying and downloading a movie in HD will be the ultimate winner of the HD format war. The question is, how long will it take.  If takes too long, buying a blu-ray may be worth it.

Read more about the Netflix price hike.

Click To Buy - YouTube's New Helpful Ads

Google has released a new YouTube "Click To Buy" feature.  This will help people find songs from videos in iTunes as well as buy games when watching a game trailer.  As an example this Spore video contains a link to buy Spore from Amazon.com right above the comments.  I like this method of monetizing a website, as the ads are very targeted and therefore can be more helpful and less in the way from the user's prospective. 

Read more on Google's Blog.

Bose Companion 2 Series II Review

I purchased the Bose Companion 2 Series II speaker set about a year ago for my home computer.  The main reason was to have good sound while watching shows over the Internet.  They sound quality far exceeded my expectations and the amount of bass produced by such small speakers is amazing.  My roommate liked them so much he went out and bought his own.  

I highly recommend these and would say they are well worth their price of around $99.

Bose Around Ear Headphone Review

Bose Around Ear Headphones are awesome. At around $130 they are a bit pricey, but well worth it! The one problem they have in that the bit that goes over your head is a bit flimsy. Mine broke right after the warranty, but they were nice enough to send me a new pair for only $30.

Also, as a bonus the newer ones have a small headphone jack and plug right into the older iPhones without an adaptor.

Most Expensive Car To Insure

I just read that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is associated with the highest collision loss according to data ranging from 2002 through 2004 from the Highway Loss Data Institute.  Now this doesn't necessarily mean they are the most expensive to insure, but it is a good indication auto insurance costs.

Somehow, I don't find this surprising as the scariest car ride I have ever been in was in one of these cars.  I don't think its the cars so much as the drivers, though why you need a car that accelerates 0-60 in 4.9 seconds is beyond me.

What's New With Netflix

First off, I should mention that netflix is one of the greatest ideas.  I've had netflix for a couple years now and I don't think there has been a single month where I have not gotten my moneys worth.  If you do the math, the 3 DVD a month plan pays off even if you only watch a movie a week.  4 weeks x 5 bucks a rental = $20 and the monthly plan is roughly 18 dollars.  And if you watch 3 dvds a week then the savings can go up tremendously.  Anyhow, onto netflix news:

Netflix API

Netflix has released an API.  This is something they should have done a long time ago and will no doubt lead to many great applications.  I have already seen an iPhone app for netflix.  I haven't downloaded this yet, but I plan on doing it soon.  More on their API can be found on their blog.

Streaming Via XBox 360

Netflx has announced that streaming watch now over the XBox 360 will be available this fall.  Next we need netflix streaming over the Wii and Playstation 3.

How To Prepare Peppermint Tea

One way to prepare peppermint tea is known as the infusion method:

1. Poor boiling water over tea leaf
2. Brew for 2-3 minutes

And that is it!  Recommended ratio of 1-2 tsp peppermint to 8oz boiling water.  Now there are a few ways to keep the peppermint leaf separated from the water for steeping:

1. Use pre-packaged tea bags.
2. Use a tea infuser - these are devices for holding loose tea leaf. 
3. Use a tea strainer - like a tea infuser, but open at the top.  Loose leaf is place in strainer and water is poured through.  The strainer then rests in the water so the tea can steep.
4. All sorts of other fancy tea makers.

Me, I prefer plain old tea bags.

Posts on this topic:

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References:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/peppermint-000269.htm

http://wikipedia.org/

Peppermint Tea: The Best Herbal Tea

I am a big fan of tea.  Until a few years ago, black tea was the only king of tea that I drank.  While I still drink black tea, I now limit it to one cup a day in an attempt to keep my caffeine intake low.  The problem lies in the fact that I still want to drink around 3 cups a day.  This is how I started trying different herbal teas.

My search for a great caffeine free tea ended when I discovered peppermint tea.  Peppermint tea is great.  So great, in fact, that I am going to do a series of posts on peppermint tea covering topics from how to brew it, to the health benefits.  

Before you go drinking 5 cups a day I should mention that the University of Maryland recommends avoiding peppermint tea if you have Gastroesophogeal reflux disease.  The reason being, that peppermint can loosen the upper stomach sphincter and worsen the symptoms.  This makes me sad as I am prone to heartburn.  However like with black tea, I will simply limit my intake and not go overboard.

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You may also want to check out Ladies Historical Tea Society where peppermint tea is the tea of the week!

 

New Google Blog Search Home Page

Google has launched a new blog search page. This groups blogs by subject much as its news search already did. I think this is a great improvement and makes the tool much more usable. You can check it out hereor read Google's blog post about it.