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Do you use your computer at night? Install this app and save your eyes

The application f.lux works on your Mac and adjusts the colors during the night hours. Think of it as dimming the lights in your apartment as you wind down for the evening. The application warms the colors on your screen during evening hours so your eyes and brain can relax in the low light while you stare at the screen.  Once installed you’ll be able to adjust how much the screen changes, as well as easily disabling it for times when you need true colors on screen.

Today: 8 Year Anniversary at FontShop. Coming Soon: Sabbatical

Today (March 14, 2013) marks my 8 year anniversary at FontShop.

In that time I’ve worked on a ton of different projects, including the recent undertaking of the TYPO conference in San Francisco.  Along the way I’ve had the great pleasure of working with the best variety of people possible. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the camaraderie and support I’ve had during my time with the FontShop family.

What’s next?

Starting late April 2013 I’ll be taking a leave of absence from FontShop for about 6 months. Personally, I’ll be calling it a sabbatical (I love this word).

During that time I’ll be traveling and experimenting with a few creative ideas.

First stop is India to wander around hills of Darjeeling to see tea estates and learn the history that region (did you know I like tea?) After that I’ll spend some time in Zürich with my brother and sister-in-law and some time in Berlin to bike around that city.

Then back to San Francisco to see what’s next for me.

Follow me here, on my main site,  Flickr, and Tumblr.

Engage.

San Francisco International Tea Festival

San Francisco has an International Tea Festival? Yes indeed.

Sunday March 10, 10am-5pm at the Ferry Building.

I went last year and enjoyed it. Presentations by notable tea people, tastings, and great variety of tea to buy.

This year I’m volunteering and photographing. Will I see you there?

ORANGES

Each year my parents orange tree in San Jose, California, explodes with giant, juicy, naval oranges. From February to late March we pluck, enjoy, and give away what seems like hundreds of oranges.

If you happen to live in the Bay Area you too can enjoy MAXIMUM JUICY DELICIOUSNESS. Contact me via email if you’re interested in picking up a few.

Oh you’ll be please to know they’re vegan, local, organic, artisan, heirloom, gluten free, cage-free, and free-range too.

These oranges have even been used by my friends over at Oakland Bakes.

LOV/CON San Francisco this Saturday

I’ve been helping my brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Caroline, with their project LOV/CON: A conference about love, passion and relationships. It kicked off in Zürich in May 2012 and takes place in San Francisco this Saturday January 19 at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center. Read more about LOV/CON.

You have the power to buy better tea

Tea bags are designed entirely for convenience, but they actually taste really bad. On the flip side, buying loose leaf tea can seem overwhelming, expensive, and complicated,

You have the power to buy better tea. The points below will get you started. If your interest picks up your natural curiosity will take you forward to a whole new world.

Better tea bags exist

Mighty Leaf and Numi fill their bags with real tea leaves of good quality. This is the easiest way to enhance your experience to give you an honest flavor while still maintaining maximum convenience.

The Mighty Leaf tea bag. Leaves, not dust.

Buying loose leaf in a local grocery store

Grocery stores that have a large bulk foods section, such as Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco, sell a nice variety of loose teas at great prices. Some Whole Foods locations have bulk tea too. Buying bulk lets you see and smell the leaves. For a few dollars you can buy only a small amount to try. If you end up disliking it you’ll feel better knowing you only bought a small amount.

Left: amount of dust you get with a box of 20 Twinings Chamomile tea bags. Right: amount of whole Chamomile flowers from a bulk bin for the same price. Much greater quality and quantity.

Buying sample packs online

Many online tea retailers sell sample packs. Everything from these two sources is excellent quality. Don’t dwell too much on the details, just pick something that sounds interesting:

• Silk Road Teas  - Focused on Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese teas
• Upton Tea Imports - Teas from every tea growing region in the world

But what about brewing the tea?

There are many ways to brew loose leaf tea that involve different methods and vessels. Forget about that for the moment and know this:

The easiest and most forgotten ways to brew tea is to put about a teaspoon of loose leaves in a glass and fill it with water.

The tea will taste much better. You’ll get to see leaves open up and dance around. Drink, and refill. The leaves will eventually settle to the bottom.

Worried about it becoming bitter? Use less tea.

You can make your own tea bags too. Many shops with a bulk section will sell packets of blank tea bags. Make your own for on-the-go too.

Jasmine green tea leaves opening up in a glass.

Left: Twinings Chamomile dust in a bag produces a dark yellow brew that smells bad. Right: Loose Chamomile works best in a tea bag to keep the tiny bits of the flowers together. Here the brew is a clear yellow with an authentic aroma and flavor.

Water temperature?

Start with this basic rule: For black and herbals use boiling water. Anything else, let the water boil and cool for a few minutes.

I hope this opens up some tea opportunities for you. Enjoy and keep experimenting!

Let’s get real about tea bags

Three problems with most ordinary tea bags:

1. They’re full of dust
2. Tea bags in pouches in a box generate a huge amount of trash
3. The resulted brew tastes awful and looks cloudy

Dust

Yes. Most tea bags are filled with very finely ground particles of low quality tea, most of which is the end result from the production and handling of tea leaves.

The dust from a Lipton tea bag (center) sits next to real Chinese green tea leaves.

Waste

A tea bag made of paper sits in a foil or plastic pouch. Twenty of these sit in a box, sometimes wrapped in plastic again. It ends up being a very small about of tea dust and a huge amount of trash.

The pile of trash generated from 20 bags of Chamomile dust versus the amount of loose Chamomile you could buy for the same price.

Taste

The taste from tea bags poorly represents the true flavors and nuances you’d get in loose leaf tea. This is like eating the lowest quality of chocolate (tastes and feels like plastic). For many there is no comparison since loose leaf tea is not part of their routine. Another factor is how tea bags are packaged. A tea bag typically lives in a sealed foil or plastic pouch, stuffed into a cardboard box and sometimes wrapped in plastic again. The marketing speak indicates this preserves flavor, but there’s no real flavor to preserve from tea dust. All this packaging adds to the lame smell of tea bags.

Left to right: Lipton green tea bag, Mighty Leaf tea bag, loose leaf.

But buying loose leaf tea is overwhelming and expensive!

There is a solution.

Thank you too, Wikipedia

A video with interviews of many interesting, worldly contributors to Wikipedia who speak on the value and impact of public contribution.

The Next Star Trek Movie

I appreciate that the J.J. Abrams is taking Star Trek in new and very different directions, but this preview trailer for the next movie Into Darkness makes it feel like it’s going to be a very loud sci-fi horror movie. Horror is not what Star Trek is about.