While I do share tweets with friends of mine (which also show up in the top-right corner of this website), I largely use Twitter to keep up on news and interesting people. By following SonyPlayStation, I'm able to stay informed about the latest game releases and PS3 firmware updates. Meanwhile, AdagioTeas, keeps me up-to-date on the tea inventory at my favorite online tea retailer. It's actually useful! Who would have thought? My only gripe is that not enough of my friends use Twitter, so I'm largely left reading the tweets of people I don't know on a personal basis.

Because of the increasing usefulness of Twitter, I found myself requiring tools that would circumvent my increasing need to visit the website a hundred times per day. For the longest time, I used an iPhone app called Twitteriffic ($5). This worked fine for my limited use, but as my needs increased, I found myself wanting more - especially an application for my desktop computer. And so, about three weeks ago, the great Twitter software shakedown began.

At first, the field was large. For the iPhone, I was considering TweetDeck, Tweetie 2, Twitterific, and Echofon. The desktop computer side of things was a bit smaller with just TweetDeck and Echofon. At first, the selection was whittled down quickly: I found the desktop version of TweetDeck far too complicated and annoying, so Echofon easily won out. On the flipside, I found the iPhone version of Echofon to be a bit on the light side, so that was dropped almost immediately. Twitterific held onto the crown for about two weeks, until I decided that TweetDeck and Echofon offered far more features, while being easier to use... and that is where I stand right now. I'm still debating between TweetDeck and Tweetie, as both apps are almost equally weighted with pros and cons. If someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick one, I might lean towards Tweetie, simply because I like it's minimalist design, but both apps are otherwise in a virtual dead heat.

  

Left to right: Echofon, TweetDeck, and Tweetie 2
(Click to Enlarge)

That about concludes my Twitter software spiel. I would review each individual program and explain their merits, but I think this blog post would end up being a solid 2000+ words in length. Just know that I'm a picky guy and each Twitter client is examined for their presentation, color scheme, ease of use, and chunkiness (in other words, less bloated = better). If nothing else, I hope this list will help to point someone in the right direction if they're looking for a good Twitter client.

Also, if you're a Twitter user, keep your eyes peeled for FlyTags. That's me.

The Brits know what they're doing when it comes to tea, while most of us American heathens don't know the difference between Darjeeling and Ceylon. Why? We've always been a nation of coffee drinkers. Only now is tea finally gaining its well-deserved place in American kitchens. But even so, most people still have no idea what they're doing. Meanwhile, our British friends across the pond have been enjoying great tea for hundreds of years. Or so I thought. Currently, one of their most popular teas is called PG Tips. It's a black tea that comes in a pyramid-style bag and brews a very dark cup in about four minutes. Intrigued to see what all the fuss is about, I picked up a small box of bags and decided to give it a try.

My initial taste test reaction: "What the hell is this!?"

I swear, this stuff is no different than Lipton. I tore open one of the tea bags to take a look inside and took the picture seen above. See that? Chaff. It looks more like coffee than tea, doesn't it? This obviously accounts for the blisteringly strong cup of tea that was brewed (high surface area = stronger tea) and it also accounts for the overpoweringly stale flavor. Chaff tea is bilge. Rubbish. The apex of awfulness.

I can only hope that the English spend more time in specialty tea shops these days. Otherwise, I'm inclined to think that the current generation of British tea drinkers is getting scammed.