Iittala coffee

A Good Cup of Coffee

One thing that might surprise you when traveling in SE Asia, where a lot of coffee in the world comes from, is that you cannot find a really good cup of coffee very easily. Most of the coffee is the freeze-dried kind that tastes bitter at best, and is completely unpalatable at worst. Sure, in some of the more touristy areas you can find a Starbucks, but you will not find a local coffee shop serving anything other than the freeze-dried coffee. The main reason for this, at least I am told, is that the quality coffee is exported—most likely... Continue Reading

Bangkok Flower Market [Photo Gallery]

The Bangkok Flower Market (Pak Khlong Talat) near Wat Po is a fun place to walk around. The market is busiest in the morning. When I took these pictures it was in the evening, so there were not a lot of flowers left. Many of the stalls were being taken down and the vendors were not interested in having someone try to take pictures. I still managed to get a few photos.

How to be happy

How To (Really) Be Happy

Ask Americans what are the top things they want and it usually has something to do with weight loss, being rich, having a good job, or how to be happy. My favorite is the obsession with happiness. People have this notion that they should be happy all the time. I am not sure how this happened, but it is pervasive in American society. Do a search on Amazon and you will find hundreds of books devoted to the topic of happiness. The problem most of us have is that we are confused about what happiness is and do not realize... Continue Reading

Spring in Seattle [Photo Gallery]

Seattle is quite beautiful in the Spring. The weather has been a bit sketchy over the last few weeks, but I was able to get some good shots. This week has been especially nice, so I pulled out my macro lens and had fun with it. These are some of my favorite photos. I took a few at Washington Park Arboretum, but most of them are from around my neighborhood on Capitol Hill.

Peacock

You Don’t Always Have to Be Remarkable

There is this idea that you always have to be “remarkable.” Lifestyle designers—my favorite group of online hucksters—banter this word around constantly. I think we developed this desire to be above average all the time in every facet of our lives from our parents, and them from their parents. Baby boomers were seen as the saviors of their generation. When that did not work out so well, all of their dreams and desired were placed on Generation X. And on it goes. Constantly trying to be perfect or remarkable or whatever is draining. No one can sustain it. While there... Continue Reading