Throughout history, military leaders have been keenly aware of the fact that troops perform better when they are kept in a state of hunger. They are more alert stay focused... until they get a good meal in them.

Contrariwise, we all know the sensation of having finished a large meal. You feel comfortable, sedentary; you don't want to move... at all.

This dichotomy of hunger provides a well defined playing field for productivity. If you want to stay productive, stay hungry. It's that simple.

First of all, lets get one thing straight: if you intend to enjoy your coffee, don't put it through a drip coffee maker. If you bought good beans, it is worth the trouble to brew them properly. If you didn't buy good beans, then you don't care what it tastes like anyway and you can go brew drip coffee till your heart is content.

Me, I like to taste it, not withstanding the addition of cream and sugar. Good coffee just tastes better.

And good coffee brewed correctly tastes great!

What constitutes good coffee and how are you supposed to brew it properly?

I recently picked up an actual "censer" for burning incense in. Not for lighting off your typical pedestrian "cones" either. This is set up with a small basin of sand in which you place a lit piece of coal. Upon this coal, you place nuggets of incense resin which smolder and melt while giving off whatever flavor of fumes you happen to have picked up.

And, while we are on that subject, there happens to be a lot more to incense than just lighting off another stick of Na'g to hide the smell. Live a little and try something new once in a while.

Me, I'm a big fan of collecting a variety of something so that I can try out as many different types as possible. You should have seen the selection the day I decided to try out exotic fruits; I wasn't even sure what most of it was called when I ate it, not having gone to the trouble of keeping anything labeled. I felt it was educational anyway.

Today, I'll let you in on my recent experiences with the various types of resin that I've burned in my censer.