So, every Saturday David and I go to the Renaissance Cafe on Pacific Ave for breakfast. It is always awesome- will have to do a review on it sometime. Anyways, we decided to wander around Tacoma, and we happened upon the Mad Hat Tea Co.
Ever since David and I discovered Osaka Sushi and Teriyaki in University Place, I have been really into green tea. I hated it at first (normally I drink sweetened black iced tea), but after going a couple times, I got to really liking it with my dinner. We had been at SouthCenter Mall at the teavana store, and I was really disappointed that the only teas they sampled were really herbal gross sweetened ones. I was also disappointed because they have a 2oz minimum. This doesn't seem like much, but it it gets really expensive to try lots of things (2oz/$10 or so). Also, they won't make up samples for you. The store has lots of neat teapots and stuff, but a lot of their stuff is way expensive.
Anyways, so Mad Hat Tea was awesome. It is right downtown. There is all kinds of art on the walls, stuff to read about teas, and there are couches, chairs, etc. It's a very cozy space, but the shop is deceptively large. The owner, Tobin, was very cool. He was super enthusiastic, and really seemed to know all about tea. I told him that I was new to liking green tea, and he made a pot of some really good mixed oolong/green tea. He did the whole tea ceremony sort of thing with a Yixing teapot and everything. I was impressed because I have a clay/art background, and he had all kinds of hand-thrown dishes. We talked a bunch- we were probably in there almost an hour, and he let us try a bunch of stuff. We ended up leaving with quite a bit of stuff :)
The best part was his prices (you can see them on the website). He has some expensive teas, but a lot of them are like $4/2oz. Also, he was willing to sell smaller or larger quantities, so you could bring home all sorts of things to try. The place has sort of a eclectic/hippy vibe, but its way cool/calming. He even has a no cell phone rule! It's cool to support Tacoma Businesses, and this one is very unique. While you can buy loose leaf tea, flowering tea, etc you can also buy pots of tea and just hang out. Definitely a place to try out!

Was looking through my blog counting TINST207 posts and realized I was missing some that I had written. Looked around some more and saw that they were saved in my drafts, missing parts. I think that since I posted them at work (we have crappy satellite internet) and they auto-saved but the internet crapped out and they didn't fully post.

I'm working on fixing it.

Doing the scavenger hunt for TINST207- we're about 1/2 way done!!!
Monica, Becca, and Kaitlin FTW!

In my group, I am reading The Art Of Deception by Kevin Mitnick, and talking about the human aspect of security. I will also probably be putting the powerpoint notes together.

Sad article here. The Consumerist is one of my favorite websites. They're the ones who posted my locksmith story. Anyways, it is a useful source for consumer information, and, unlike Perez Hilton, it actually makes you smarter.
Gawker just laid off some of it's Consumerist writers, and the quality of the site seemed to suffer. I still think it is a good resource, and read it daily. It's sad that they're looking to sell it (it isn't one of their profitable blogs), and hopefully whomever buys it will keep the editors and spirit of the Consumerist alive.
Everyone go over there and click some ads!

Just saw this article and this article and thought they were amazing. Here is the gist of the story:
A man with both AIDS and leukemia was given a bone marrow transplant. The doctors decided to use marrow from a donor that had a rare genetic mutation that makes one pretty much immune to AIDS. Before the transplant, they did the typical radiation and chemotherapy treatments to lower his immune system. Anyways, it seems that the transplant has cured his AIDS. Two years after the transplant his body was still free of the virus. Doctors need to study it more to find out if it was a fluke or there were other factors working. The only con to this procedure is that only 30% of cancer patients survive it. I'd imagine that the chemo/radiation was an important factor in the treatment, but the article doesn't talk about whether people without cancer would have an easier time surviving the transplant.
Either way, it's fascinating and exciting.

At first, I wasn't sure about feedtacoma. I thought it was going to be some sort of fundraising, food driving thing.
I loved the presentation Kevin Freitas gave us about his website, feedtacoma.com. It was such an awesome idea, and while it probably isn't the choice I'd make, I admire that he does it for fun, not money. I also liked the design of the site- he keeps it very minimal, clean, and easy to navigate.
I like going there and seeing what everyone is up to and to look at new blogs. It's a great resource for someone who is new to Tacoma. If one learns to use exit133 and feedtacoma, they have access to all kinds of awesome information. You can find reviews on all things Tacoma, see what others are up to, etc. It's amazing. I also really loved his idea of a Tacoma wiki. I think it would be especially terrific if he made each wiki entry have a place for comments. That way, it could also be an aggregate of reviews/experiences.
I don't know about everyone else out there, but David and I use the internet to look up all sorts of things. I especially like reviews I can read before I try something. Also, when David and I look for something (let's say italian food) we are most likely to go to the restaurant with a website and/or reviews.
I'm thinking of contacting Kevin about the Tacoma wiki thing, and also contacting downtown merchants about feedtacoma/their businesses. It would be neat to have information about all kinds of retailers downtown, and it would be even neater to have pictures.
For me, the more details the better! Even if it leads to indecision, I like to have lots of options.

I know I've been slacking with the TINST207 blog posts. I just got writer's block about the online banking/finances one, and felt weird about putting them out of order.
So, I think I figured out that the reason I don't really have that much to say about online banking is that I've always used it. Ever since I got my first checking account at like 15, I've used online banking. When I moved out of the parent's house and had to pay bills, I used the computer. It's weird, but it's almost to the point that using a pen and paper and stamp feels foreign.... I have a sheet of stamps at my desk at work, and I haven't used one in ages. Good thing they are "forevor stamps."
I think that I didn't realize the danger of it until I had become more set in my ways, and I've learned even more from the class. I've never had any problem with banking or shopping online, so I haven't been scared out of it. I am also happy to note that my bank, BECU, will pay for any online bills or fees if their system messes up. My friend had an issue with WAMU's bill-pay where one of the bills she paid literally disappeared. She had that it had been withdrawn from her account, but it never got to the cell company or whatever. It took her like two months and a couple visits to the bank before WAMU refunded her the money. She no longer uses bill-pay, and I can understand why- she had been using it for her mortgage payments, and could have been in some deep trouble.
The last aspect of why banking and shopping online don't scare me is that the benefits definitely outweigh the risks. I can buy ANYTHING online... from rocket caffeine syrup and solar powered lamps on thinkgeek.com, to funny t-shirts on shirt.woot.com. A certain nerd I know who will remain unnamed even bought supplies to make his own fireworks online. All of this stuff is exciting, and honestly it makes me forget about the risks I am taking.