Robots and Tea

This Saturday morning, I sit here at my computer just checking some of my daily websites, and came across another interview with Theo Jansen who I blogged about his amazing "wind robots" before (or as he calls them "Beach Animals"). It's a short interview, but every time I see this guy's creations, and learn a little more about him, I admire him even more. Mixing science and art... perfect :)
In addition to reading the interview, I looked at the homepage of the website and it looks pretty interesting. I will be adding this website to my "daily websites".
http://www.artificial.dk/

“When the weather was beautiful I thought it was a waste of time to sit in front of the computer” - Theo Jansen

Tea>
I recently discovered a new website (Simply Recipes- it's actually just a blog) that led me to this website about tea via a banner ad...
http://www.adagio.com/
I have always wanted to taste tea using fresh tea leaves as opposed to the bags of tea that have sat on the grocery store shelves for who knows how long.
I'm not usually the type person who clicks on banner ads, and then orders an item from a website that I know very little about. But after doing a little digging, and feeling safe with placing an order online, I did. I was "suckered" in by good design basically... The website itself is very nicely designed; easy to navigate, very nice use of colors, nice photographs, and a touch of humor. Then I saw this small single serve "tea pot" (you might get two small cups of tea out of it, but I usually drink tea in a mug). It's a really incredibly simple design to brew a fresh cup of tea easily and with little mess. I watched a small video clip (or flash animation) and thought 'I gotta get one of these' (it's cheap too for about $24 and that includes about $10 worth of sampler teas). I placed my order and the very next day I got it via fedex. It works great, and the sampler teas are great. Two especially stood out... The "Genmai cha" and the "Citron green". The Genmai when I opened it gave me a bit of a shock... it had "things" in it, they almost looked like small grubs! But I tasted one, and was very surprised that it was toasted rice (there are also bits of popcorn!). I just finished my first cup of this and it was very good. I have not tried the Citron green yet, but the smell of this tea is amazing.
I know... I'm hyping this website up a lot and after all it's just tea right? But after wondering myself, why I was very enthusiastic about this website, I figured it out... I'm almost 4 decades old! I've been eating and drinking all my life, so when I discover a new taste or smell that I've never experienced before in my 4 decades of eating and smelling, it really surprises me and teaches me that there are things out there that I have not yet discovered yet.
When you place an order you can email your friends and family a $5 gift certificate... If you would like me to email you one of these gift certificates email me and I'll send you one.
{removed - see the banner ad on the side now}

Enjoy your weekend.