Justin Germino Ramblings

I have been drinking Earl Grey tea on occasion since I was ten years old. When I was a boy I idolized Captain Jean Luc Picard and his favorite tea on the show Star Trek: The Next Generation was Earl Grey, at ten I had never heard of the tea so asked my mother to buy some. I have been hooked on the unique flavor ever since and drink it at least once per week, sometimes more.

The unique flavor of Earl Grey tea comes from the Bergamot essence that is used in the tea, this is a type of orange and the rind itself is where they extract the oil from instead of the flesh. Some Earl Grey tea’s are very potent and the bergamot can be overpowering and bitter, others are too light and delicate. The trick to brewing Earl Grey tea is to never let it steep more than 3-4 minutes for optimal flavor, it brews fast and in some brands you can steep in less than 60 seconds under boiling hot water and achieve the right balance.

Earl Grey tea is delicious hot, but can be iced and served cold as well. Though the flavor of the Bergamot becomes a little stronger when cold, I do occasionally drink iced Earl Grey tea but this is not very common.

Recently I tried a new brand of Earl Grey tea while I was in Las Vegas, that usurps the Bigelow Earl Grey which was my favorite brand previously.

Here are my reviews of the Earl Grey tea’s I have tasted.

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Numi Earl Grey Aged Tea – I have only tried this brand recently and it rapidly became my favorite brand of Earl Grey Tea, it is very quickly brewed and the flavor of bergamot is not bitter at all. This tea is fantastic with breakfast, plain or as an after dinner tea. The brand says it is one of the only tea’s that you can brew a little darker and it should be able to handle milk added, but I have never tried adding milk to Earl Grey tea, normally Earl Grey is too light and I can’t picture the bergamot and milk flavor combining. This tea is slightly more expensive than the other Earl Grey tea’s listed because it is organic and aged.

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Bigelow Earl Grey Tea – Prior to tasting the Numi Organic Aged Earl Grey, Bigelow Earl Grey had been my favorite for seven years. The tea brews quickly, the bergamot flavor a bit potent but not too strong, though it gets bitter if you brew it dark and this one worked well as an iced tea. I used to drink this every morning in the winter on some weeks as my first drink of the day.

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Stash Earl Grey Tea – Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey tea is still one of my favorites and actually has a more potent bergamot flavor than any other brand I have tried, though it is a little more sweet instead of sour and bitter as long as you brew it lightly and don’t let it steep too long. I once sat down and drank Stash and the Bigelow brands side by side in a taste test, and though I favored the Bigelow Earl Grey slightly more, I would never complain if Stash was the only brand in my cabinet.

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Twinings Earl Grey – I first tasted Twinings Earl Grey tea while dining at Cracker Barrel and thought it was moderate to okay. I later found out that I was drinking the decaf Earl Grey which I am linking to here. This explained why the tea was so much “weaker” than the other brands, but because it is so much lighter and more delicate you can steep it longer. It is a good choice if you are looking for cheaper and especially decaf Earl Grey tea. I also learned that Twinings makes Earl Grey Tea Loose Tea which can buy loose leaf and steep your own tea, but I have not tried this yet so I don’t know how it compares to the teabags I have tried before.

Lipton Earl Grey – Though I think Lipton makes the best tasting “Iced Tea” and I am quite fond of their Cold Brew Tea products, I am not as fond as their Earl Grey. I have tried it before and just don’t like the mixture of black tea’s with bergamot essence and leaves a sour taste in my mouth and a funny aftertaste sometimes. I have only tried it twice, but with several other better tasting brands, I usually pick a different tea if this is the only Earl Grey available to me.

In Summary:

This was an honest and fair review of all of the Earl Grey tea brands that I have tried to date, I will add more brands if I try them. I have not tried Tazo Earl Grey, even though that is a popular brand and it is on my to do list next time I am at Starbucks. If you drink Earl Grey tea and have a favorite brand, whether it is one listed here or one I have not yet tried, feel free to share it here. I would be happy to try it and review it myself.

The Tao of Tea Blue Flower Earl Gray looked pretty good too.

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-Justin Germino

Some friends of ours had a chilling encounter in early December. My friend had arrived home at just past nine at night to find a burglar in his house ransacking his home office! Being unarmed and with no weapons inside, there were less than 10 seconds to make a decision what to do. It is very hard to know how your body will react to the instant adrenaline rush to such an incident, and his instinct was to shout out at the robber. The burglar was started and ran off making away with tens of thousands of dollars of jewelry, electronics, and cash. My friend was plagued for weeks about the instant decision he made and regretted not grabbing a kitchen knife or blunt object and coming up on the robber from behind, or slipping outside quietly and dialing 911 while the burglar was unaware.

Meanwhile he has since installed an alarm system and purchased four guns now that he keeps inside the home (they don’t have kids) and he plans on being more prepared if their home should suffer an invasion again in the future. It is reports like this that people should be more proactive about discouraging a home invasion and take steps to make it “less likely” your home will be broken into in the future. As most law enforcement will tell you: You can’t break in proof your home, you can only deter would be burglars by making it more difficult. A criminal will usually take the path of least resistance, meaning they will choose a home that does not have an alarm system, does not have a dog and does not have a light on or motion light. Though this isn’t 100% guaranteed it is a pretty good measure to reduce the chances that your home will be broken into.

An alarm system is one of the most common means of protection and works well for people who spend long periods away from the home, a nice medium sized dog (doesn’t have to be a giant mastiff, but a chihuahua offers little protection from a burglar) acts as a deterrent two ways. The first is that the dog barks and it can alert neighbors to something potentially going on in the house, the second is that the dog itself might inflict a leg or hand wound on the burglar and these are usually enough to deter most common break ins.

Having motion sensitive lights also can startle a burglar as most criminals avoid being seen and target places that are poorly lit or completely dark. In addition having visible security camera’s mounted on the outside of front and back doorways show the criminal that they are being taped and can be a deterrent as well. Wireless camera systems that record to the internet and let you check your home while you are away are cheaper than ever now, I used to use one back in my Mesa home several years ago.

Owning a gun is a good way to protect yourself and your home but is only valuable if you are actually at home during a break in, also you need to make sure the gun is well hidden and only you can retrieve it or you might actually arm an unarmed burglar if he finds it and steals it. If you choose this route, I would invest in a safe or lockbox that allows only thumb print analysis and allows quick access to the weapon for only the owner and a spouse if you have one. If you have children in the house you must make extra sure that you are careful not to allow or enable them to have access to it by any means, don’t assume they won’t find it if they don’t know about it. Kids are snoops and when parents are away, they will explore all closets, crevices and corners of the house eventually.

Above all, if you encounter a burglar in your home and are unarmed, then call the authorities right away before you do anything. Only put your life at risk if it is a matter of defending yourself or your family who would be in jeopardy, remember all material items stolen are just material items and not worth your life.

-Justin Germino

As you know we have started to potty train our three year old on Saturday, this involved me spending 14 hours non-stop glued to being near the side of my three year old and helping him go back and forth to the toilet every ten minutes. By Sunday he was starting to recognize “when he has the urge” and heads toward the toilet by himself, but he is easily distracted and can forget or ignore it if he is busy playing or engaged in another activity. So he still needs constant reminders.

My wife called in Grandma as backup for the whole week since I am back to work today, and she is busy with her business as well. Grandma will help ensure our son can continue to keep the same pattern of using the toilet and help us potty train him. Thank goodness Grandma only lives three miles from the house and is able to come over on such short notice.

Meanwhile, Potty training is messy business people and everyone who thinks about having kids needs to realize that kids are not for the squeamish. You will be covered in urine, poop, filth and muck for many years before they can take care of those things by themselves without assistance.

In review, here are the fool proof tactics that helped us potty train our two kids:
#1 Know if your child is ready (this usually is when they declare that they go to bathroom right after or before, and if they show interest in the toilet. It’s a judgement call I know some people who potty trained their kids at 2, and others at 3 1/2) ours weren’t ready until after 3.

#2 set aside a “start date” and stick to it, throw away all diapers and know that there is no “fail back” This way you have no choice but to succeed. Plan for this to take about 2 weeks and make sure you or your partner have the time to devote. You may have to take off of work, start on a weekend day so you have two days extra.

#3 every 10 minutes like clockwork take your child to the toilet and make him/her sit there until they have gone to the bathroom, after about 5-10 times of them recognizing that they go potty in toilet, you can start doing constant asking and reminders, and give them a chance to let you know before they go. If they have accidents repeat until they start to catch on.

Above all know that this will be very frustrating for both the parents and the child, the child will cry, fuss, fight and be frustrated that they have to sit on the toilet for so long. The parent will get frustrated and upset when accidents occur, naturally the key is to relieve stress and not be upset. Keep the child in a room without carpets for the potty training duration to minimize the cleanup, and don’t get angry, but instead reassure and just say “uh oh, did you listen to your body?”. Remember not to scare you child and instead do your best to encourage them.

Good luck fellow parents, this is one of the toughest jobs of parenting.

-Justin Germino

I have watched The Simpsons for a long, long time now. I started watching since the first episode of the first season twenty years ago when I was just twelve years old. Since I was only twelve I didn’t catch more than an occasional glimpse of The Simpsons on The Tracy Ulman show which was where it originated and was not really a show my parents would let me watch back then. Since the first seasons I was hooked and even though I was a kid my favorite character was Homer Simpson himself, while many others were wearing “Bart Man” T-Shirts and “Cowabunga” shirts at the time when it was popular.

Tonight is The Simpsons 20th Anniversary special and I really am feeling a little dated knowing that the show has been on this long but it is no surprise that the show has lasted this long, it continues to be an excellent entertainment source that finds new and creative ways to lampoon society, politics, religion and more on a weekly basis. It does so without being as crude and vulgar as other shows and in much wittier fashion in my opinion.

Here’s to The Simpsons, a Television Classic that will endure forever. We will be seeing reruns of this show for a hundred years I predict and it will be timeless.

-Justin Germino

“Do or do not, there is no try” -Yoda

Today starts “Potty Training” for my 2nd son who is just over three years old and we don’t “try” in this household. To make sure we didn’t failback and give up, we don’t own any more diapers, didn’t buy any backups. It is going to be a messy weekend in this house. My wife even put together a “cleaning kit” full of towels, cleaners, stain remover, paper towels and about 80,000 baby wipes in preparation for this marathon event. See, we are so well prepared because our oldest child was among the most difficult children to potty train, he fought us tooth and nail and was only able to be convinced to use the toilet after setting him on the toilet every 10-15 minutes 8 hours a day for two weeks straight. My wife did most of the work, I was really only able to help enforce after my day job and on weekends.

This time though it looks to not be such a brutal task, the little one is already curious and wants to try to go to the bathroom in the toilet, he even tells his brother “Wow, how did you do that” after seeing his brother use the toilet and genuinely appears to be ready. He doesn’t have the fear or resistance, and is looking forward to wearing “Hulk” underwear tomorrow for the first time instead of diapers. (we do still resort to pull ups at night, but regular underwear during the day).

One thing you don’t want to do is get mad or frustrated if your child has accidents, they don’t yet know to recognize the feeling of “having to go” you have to accept, and be calm and just help encourage them. Repetition is key, don’t stress or scare them or they will resist and fight you back. We learned the hard way from our older son and now are going in with a much different approach with our younger one.

So, because I will be having to be around my child every waking moment Saturday and Sunday, I will not likely be able to do any blogging during the daylight hours.

Wish me luck, I am going in armed.

Also, feel free to share your potty training stories about your own kids. Good, Bad, Ugly, I want to hear from you?

We have friends whose kids were potty trained by 2 1/2, not sure why ours both were resistant until after 3, our first until he was 3 1/2.

By the way, non-parents this is one of the things we get to look forward to as parents.

-Justin Germino

A recent Baylor College of medicine study shows that 108 students who chewed gum during math classes did 3% better on tests, had an higher rate of paying attention and even took breaks less frequently to step out of the classroom. I would look at this as the following, the chewing and moving the jaw up and down and saliva reaction might help slightly reduce fatigue and keep the person more alert even if it is an almost subconscious like habit that is done. If this is even a remote chance of being true, wouldn’t you encourage students to chew some sugarless gum during class and during taking tests so that they might absorb more information or do slightly better?

-Justin Germino

Why is it that as a society we have come to accept 2-3 hour delays at hospitals, doctors offices and airports. Industries can come up with all the excuses they want, but society as a whole can end this worsening practice that costs us time and money.

Take our business elsewhere is the most prominent method, but is ineffectual if only a small handful do it which isn’t effective enough to alter a company practice or routine.

I like the new law that prohibits planes from keeping passengers trapped onboard and on the tarmac for more that 3 hours or be fined for doing so. These same types of regulation need to be done elsewhere, but not by the government. Insurance companies should fine clinic offices who make patients wait more than a certain time as well if there is no good reason.

Time is money and we lose it by suffering from delays that cost us hours, not a few minutes like a lunch drive thru line. We should expect and demand accountability and impose pressure for companies to show more respect for our time.

-Justin Germino

As I start to get much busier at work lately with projects keeping me working into the later hours, I am finding it harder to keep up on my blog socializing, SEO and my Random Twitter Poetry game. Yet I continue to do my best for several reasons.

My poetry blog and game are my art and creative expression, it is an outlet for my creative side and is.a great way for me to reduce stress. I just take a lunch break and craft a new poem from random words, I go into a zone of creativity for fifteen minutes that is like a form of meditation for me.

My personal blog is like my therapy, I enjoy being able to write about anything on my mind with full freedom of expression. I can rant, share good news, share horror stories, or just tell a joke.

My technology blog is my hobby that I enjoy as well, I like learning new software, playing with new gadgets and sharing. Though this blog has just as much blogging and SEO related tips and information as I share what I learn with other bloggers. I also do movie reviews and some entertainment stuff, but may cut these in the future, Heroes reviews are a big draw of traffic to my blog though.

So I try to find 2 hours a day to keep up with blogging while not neglecting my kids and wife at the same time. Bloggers all juggle their time with day jobs, and families and I have known at least 4 bloggers who “stopped” cold turkey in the last year because it was hurting their families, or they just couldn’t keep it up and work or school at the same time. Blogging isn’t easy, and even if you enjoy it you can find it hard to keep at it but make sure you don’t hurt your families and true career with your blogging endeavors.

-Justin Germino

This weekend my wife and I rung in the New Year with a few firsts. It was the first time we visited the M casino, the first time she got a players card for a casino, the first time I played Ultimate Texas Hold-em (I did very poorly) and the first time she put a bet down on a football game (She bet on Ohio to win and on them for 5 point spread and won both bets). Also through a stroke of lady luck my wife was playing the last two hands of her budgeted gambling money and won $500 in one quick side bet on Blackjack. This now won us the entire gambling pot back, and this is the first time we leave Vegas broken even without having any gambling losses. It’s as if we played and gambled all weekend for free (minus the cost of meals).

All in all it was a fun 3 days, though I am a bit sleep deprived and am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again. Time to get focused this week, I have many things to accomplish at work and am hoping to gain some ground.

Happy first Monday of 2010

-Justin Germino

Starting now I am saving up to buy an LCD TV for the kids playroom and am looking at something around 40″ and must be 1080p. This will not only benefit the kids but this is the same TV I have my Nintendo Wii hooked up to and will be using with my Playstation 3 when I get one later in the year. I do want to mount the TV on the wall above the reaching fingers of my three year old, so I will have to do some research on LCD and plasma mounts to see what works best and install one. This may also mean that I need to purchase shelves to hold the DVD Player and other electronics equipment, so just buying a TV now has additional costs to get the configuration the way I want it.

With any luck a few successful blog months and I can have my setup done by March.

-Justin Germino