Improve your memory

An interesting side-effect of information technology is the increasing reliance of humans on machines for memory.  I rarely even bother to try and memorize things.  Instead I rely on Google to look up information or my stored phone numbers in my cell phone.

Is this really a good thing?  Our brain is an unbelievably powerful memory machine, and we really should cultivate, service and keep it in good shape.  One way to do this is to learn more about human memory.  If you are interested, check out any of the books by Tony Buzan.  Some first steps are to learn how to memorize a list using the "Roman Room" method.  If you get hooked then the next step is learning the first 100 numbers using the Major system.  The key to memory is associating  and linking images to the objects that you wish to remember, using your creativity and all of your senses,.

Learn how to make good coffee

Many people spend a fortune of coffee from Starbucks and other specialty coffee shops.  A nice analog activity is to learn how to make your own excellent coffee at home.  Once you have done this, you can get a good thermos and bring your gourmet coffee anywhere you like and save big bucks.

Good coffee requires three things:

1)  A supply of high quality coffee beans
2)  A good coffee maker machine
3)  An understanding of how to care for the beans and how good coffee is brewed.

Good sources of whole coffee beans

We purchase beans from

1)  Stumptown Coffee Roasters http://stumptowncoffee.com and
2)  Counter Culture coffee http://counterculturecoffee.com

The Coffee Machine

After trying many different machines, the best so far has been

The Moccamaster by Technivorm

We recommend the machine with the heat plate and a glass carafe.  You will also need a good quality grinder and we purchased the Moccamaster grinder.

How to make coffee

Make sure your beans are fresh.  You should be able to inhale from a bag of beans and be transported to coffee heaven.  There should be no harshness at all.

Use fresh, filtered (not distilled) cold water.  Follow the directions for your grinder and machine.  Once the coffee is done, transfer it into an insulated, thermos (preheated with hot water).

Once you have your coffee making technique down, you will never spend good money for rocket fuel or muddy water again.

Stay tuned for "How to make espresso".

Go a day without email

Sometimes pleasure and happiness results from the absence of something such as pain, or email.  An excellent analog activity involves cutting yourself off from email for at least 24 hours.  Normally I can't do this, but thanks to the greed of American cell phone companies, it is fairly easy to cut yourself off from the Net when traveling abroad.  In place of email, try walking aimlessly or read a book (a real analog book made of atoms and not bits).  You'll be surprised how enjoyable the absence of cyberspace can be.