Sounds and Words, a Podcast with a Difference

Excited to announce the arrival of my brand new podcast: Sounds and Words, a Podcast with a Difference!  I hope you can drop by and check it out soon.  While the focus will be the intersection of the faith and the arts, it also will focus on other topics of interest.  More information available on my website in the way of background, introduction, and goals.

I'd love to hear what you think. 

Beware Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The following is adapted from a newsletter feature I do at my office, and I decided to share on my blog.

Last month, I shared some information about the Federal Student Aid’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which might be a great tool to consider if you’re planning on returning to school. After learning additional facts and details, I wanted to suggest that readers proceed with a healthy dose of caution when exploring this option to finance their continuing education. For example, if you have Parent Plus Loans—federal loans for your adult children--the program is likely not going to be particularly helpful. The degree of assistance it might provide may also be largely contingent upon your family’s current financial situation. Before planning on using this benefit, crunch the numbers yourself to make sure that the program is worth your time and effort. You might also seek out a certified financial planner. 

If you’re not careful, the high interest rates of the Federal Student Loan servicer—e.g. Nelnet--can quickly offset any potential savings benefit. You may even be surprised to find much better options at your own bank or local credit union.  For instance, we successfully leveraged our home equity to refinance our mortgage and entirely payoff those annoying federal student loans.

UPDATE: CBS NEWS STORY

In case it's of any help, I am also offering you the e-mail address to a Jeffrey Noordhoek, one of Nelnet's Board of Directors. You can find his profile information here.

A Review of the English Tea Store...by a British Tea Snob

I have a confession to make...  Ever since I visited London and Rome in the fall of 2017 as part of a study abroad program, I have grown a real lack of patience with the domestic teas readily available in the USA.  Having tried Twinings UK tea, I realized what a significant difference there is between what goes for tea here as opposed to there.  Take one of my favorite flavors of Twinings: Lady Grey.  If you compare the USA Lady Grey to the UK's Lady Grey, you notice immediately how much more bold and rich the UK tea's flavor is. In contrast, Twinings USA Lady Grey tastes more like ordinary grocery store tea--weak and lacking in those fragrant notes.

When I returned to the USA from across the pond, I learned that I could still buy great tea from Twinings UK, but the shipping was expensive and buying in pounds is not my preferred way to go online (even if my credit card thankfully doesn't charge foreign transaction fees).  Sometimes the packages would also arrive in pretty beat up condition, as if they had to be carefully snuck past the Red Coats in the dead of night by a one-eyed smuggler named Jack.  But I digress.

I could keep buying tea from Twinings UK, or I could consider driving to Portland for the some very good tea options, but it's sure simpler to find reliable online options that are faster and less expensive.  One such viable option is the English Tea Store.  It's not perfect, but it carries some great teas.  So far, I have ordered Twinings UK teas from them as well as some of their house blends.  The fact that they even have Keurig teas is a definite added bonus.  As long as one remembers not to use too much hot water and appropriate steeping time is allowed, I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of their house blends.  I'd particularly recommend their Assam and Irish Breakfast teas.  The Assam is very similar to Twinings UK blend of the same name, and it is probably about as close as a cup of tea can truly come to an excellent cup of coffee: rich, bold, and dark.

So, what's the downside to the English Tea Store?  Here's a hint...

Over the course of a couple weeks, I had a few questions for the English Tea Store, but they were harder to reach than a one-eyed smuggler named Jack.  I tried reaching out via both e-mail and Twitter, but they never made any reply.   Compare that to the nearly immediate replies to any question from Twinings UK Tea, as seen below.  Clearly, Twinings UK has a much more professional approach to customer service.  That said, unless Twinings UK makes their high quality teas more readily available in the states, I'll probably stick with the English Tea Store for now.  Hope you can check them out too!

Hi there! We're expecting this to be back in stock very soon. If you enter your email address on our website & click the "Notify Me When In Stock" button, we'll send you a update as soon as it becomes available: https://t.co/8hs329uDsM Hope this helps! :)

— Twinings Tea (@TwiningsTeaUK) January 18, 2019

**UPDATE**

5% off your next order! Tea Bags Loose Leaf Teapots Accessories British Food Candy Twinings Variety Pack Tea K-Cups - 10 count    VERY GOOD. Assam Tea - Tea Bags Package Size: 25 Teabag Pouch  EXCELLENT. Irish Breakfast Tea - Tea Bags Package Size: 25 Teabag Pouch  EXCELLENT.            Highlander Blend Tea - Tea Bags Package Size: 5 Teabag Sampler  VERY GOOD. Variety Tea Sampler - 5 Tea Bags of 8 Delicious Different Flavor Teas VERY GOOD.  CURRANT TEA IS REMARKABLE.

Top Five Reminders About Kindle Formatting

Formatting eBooks can be a pain in the backside.  Here are some quick pointers for doing it right the first time.

1.  Don't double space after periods.  Use Find/Replace to correct this throughout your document.

2.  Select paragraph option from the top of the Word menu.  Delete paragraph symbols showing between paragraphs.

3.  Open the Normal stye pane in Word on the top right.  (You may wish to proceed a chapter at a time at this point.)  The settings are alignment - left, body text, and the rest are all at 0 values.

4.  Under Special, make first line 0.2, and enter line spacing at 1.5.

5.  Do a spell check again for your entire document.  Check for spacing errors, and be sure to use the Kindle preview option to see what your final document looks like.

A Facebook Departure

It's been an interesting week, but one thing that has struck me is the negative aspects of social media in personal relations.  So many of the people on Facebook are more along the lines of acquaintances rather than close friends.  Facebook, in particular, seems to have a way of bringing out the claws--even between relatively close friends.  (Reminds me of Lorde's song "The Love Club," which includes the line, "And the girls get their claws out...")  Reflecting on my own interactions, I'm definitely not blameless.  Of course, neither is the other person in this particular social media soap opera.

Facebook is a strange animal in that it can facilitate the dismantling of good relationships while fostering superficial ones in their place. It also offers a strange dynamic regarding personal boundaries.  For instance, I may steer clear of constantly checking Facebook in the evening while other people do precisely that.  I may assume people avoid sleeping with their phone when, in fact, it's never out of reach--emitting its treasured tones all night.  This connectedness--or, really a lack thereof--creates a strange dynamic between friends, for instance, who use Facebook in different ways.  It also encourages a certain disregarding of the pleasantries that seems to have a way of directly going to a topic; this may come across as pushy or intense.

Anyway, it's not the first time I've voiced concerns about Facebook, but I think this time I've decided what to do about it.  I think my plan will also facilitate my planned professional move towards public affairs for the state.  After all, I've noticed that those within public affairs have less of a personal profile readily available to the public; I think I'm starting to see why.  So, my plan is to leave Facebook behind for a while.  I may be back next year--in time to discuss daughter's wedding, for instance.  We will see.

In my absence, Kimberly Erickson will be the lead on our Facebook page for the books and art.  Our Christmas sale, started initially as a way of helping to offset the costs of oral surgery, will likely stay up at least through January.  In fact, I'm thinking the photographs will stay available into 2019.  If you want to check out my newest release, you'll find Darkness and Fractured Shadows online.  While reviews are important, I think it's also critical that I write what I enjoy writing.  The genres I seem to enjoy writing the most these days are mystery, fantasy, and science fiction.  New releases will be shared on the website and/or Facebook page.  Also, don't forget me over on Twitter.

Of course, you can always reach me via e-mail too!  

UPDATE:

I found a good way of cutting my Facebook time was removing it from my iPhone.  This allows me to stay in contact with people, yet it feels a bit less personal than having it on my phone.

Oregon's Cascade Head, A Shorter Hike Option

Nature photography is particularly enjoyable when exploring new territory, but potential destinations are often made a little less attractive by the required hikes.  Sometimes it's helpful to learn the shortcuts to these beautiful spots, so that you're not quite as dead tired when you arrive!  Oregon's Cascade Head is a good case in point.

The first thing to bear in mind is that you can't really drive to Cascade Head proper.  GoogleMaps will show misleading driving directions, but you should just ignore that suggestion.  When I first tried to hike to Cascade Head--primarily to photograph ravens along the way--I mistakenly began the hike at about the lowest point I could have chosen.  Driving from Salem/Monmouth via Highway 18, I headed north at the Hwy 101 interchange towards Astoria.  After about a mile, I turned left on 3 Rocks Rd, and the trailhead was then an immediate left.  This was a gorgeous hike, but it was a bigger deal than I had anticipated.  After more than four miles of fairly steep hiking, I called it a day.  I did see some wonderful wildlife, including a family of distant ravens, but I didn't reach any ocean viewpoints by foot.  (The most popular route is apparently reached by continuing further west on 3 Rocks Rd.  This second trailhead offers a hike just over five miles one-way.)

I'd like to suggest, however, that you try a third option.  Again, driving from Salem/Monmouth via Highway 18, I headed north at the Hwy 101 interchange towards Astoria.  Rather than turning on 3 Rocks Rd, I continued up Hwy. 101's rising grade.  At about the 4-mile mark from the Hwy 18 interchange, you'll catch a Forest Service access road to the left.  (It comes up so quickly that I don't recommend trying to make a left turn from Hwy 101.  Instead, turn around at the next wide pull-out, and turn back around safely.)

At this point, you'll see the sign above.  Follow the gravel road carefully the three miles towards the Nature Conservancy Trail.  While the drive is a little bumpy, the scenery is as attractive as one would expect.  (Remember that traffic will suddenly appear heading the opposite direction, so be careful about taking your eyes off the road for more than a second or two.)

After three miles, you will see the trailhead sign pictured to the left.  From this point, the trail to Cascade Head is a fairly easy one mile hike.  Watch for birds and deer along the way and enjoy the peaceful and serene setting.  

A question I have for my readers concerns star-watching from Cascade Head.  Has anyone done this before?  From the signage to the left, it looks like one might risk being blocked by a closed gate at the end of the evening, but I don't know if this particular worry is valid.  (I've reached out to the Siuslaw Nat'l Forest.)

Enjoy your visit!

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Pacific Northwest Art and Book Sale!

We hope you can drop by our brand new Pacific Northwest Art and Book Sale!  While Kimberly is between galleries, we thought this was a perfect time to put out our biggest sale to date.  Besides Kimberly's fused glass and paintings, the sale also features my photographs.  John Carroll Collier, Kim's father, has also graciously donated the sketch seen above!

Hope you can check it out.  After all, Christmas is coming up fast!