Water.

I probably don't drink enough water. It seems, well, boring and tasteless.

I have a new ritual in the morning. I drink a few sips of water before my cup or two of coffee. I enjoy the stimulating effects of caffeine, but I'm guessing that having some water first helps the system carry away leftover byproducts of food combustion with one's own personal Amazon. Well, you get the picture.

I think if they want people to drink more water, they need a catchy slogan: Water. It's what's to drink. ™

Here are some things I've heard over the years:

1. Let the water run for a minute or so first thing in the morning before using it.

The theory is that sitting in pipes overnight, water may pick up some metal or plastic or solder from the pipes. I don't know if that's necessary now that we don't use lead solder.

2. Don't use hot water from the tap to drink.

If you need hot water for cocoa or tea or instant soup, put cold water in a tea kettle and heat. I heard this from my mother long ago. Whether it's still true (see item 1) I don't know. Can't hurt.

3. Municipal city water is safe and reliable, available and cheap.

Andy Rooney did a 60 Minutes segment showing how all the office workers on his floor had their own little plastic bottles of water. He calculated that, at one dollar per bottle, the stuff costs more than gasoline.

While preparing to write this blog entry, I realized that part of the popularity of those little bottles is their portability. You can have them on your desk and take a sip whenever you like.

I bought one of those Pur pitchers with a replaceable filter. Seems to filter out the chlorine taste. Not too much trouble to use. Water seems to taste pretty good so I use it for coffee, cooking, drinking.

Bonus tip: I'd bet it's good to take a drop or two of top-quality olive oil sometime during the day. Maybe work it around in your mouth as if chewing an olive.

Maybe wash it with down with a cool glass of water.  ¶ 5:20 AM