Why you should date a Starbuck's Barista

This came in from Mohammed, our all-time favorite Starbuck's barista.

Why you should date a Starbuck's barista

• Because we're used to whipped cream.
• We make everything extra hot.
• We know how to keep you up in the morning.
• We won't fall asleep afterwards.
• We know how to make anyone smile.
• We initiate conversations.
• We thank and worship you over and over, even if we know you don't deserve it!
• Because even if sometimes it may only last 10 seconds, you know it's the best damn shot you've ever had.
• Nobody grinds like we do.
• You ALWAYS find mocha, whipped cream, caramel, or some other deliciousness on some part of our body.
• Give you enough cream so you won't complain.
• Because we stay fresh for an hour and only need 4 minutes to re-brew.
• We will always give you stuff that you LOVE to slurp and swallow.
• No matter how crazy the request, we just say 'yes!'
• If we don't give it to you like you want it, we'll keep trying until we make you happy.
• When we're ready to give it to you, we scream for you no matter how many people are in the room.
• If giving you what you want is too much for one of us to handle, we'll use our star skills and ask someone else to help.
• We're all cross-trained to work in any position.
• Free pound a week.
• Black and khaki would look great on your floor in the morning.
• We can use both hands to multitask.
• If you leave dissatisified, we give it to you for free next time.
• We eliminate the need to do it yourself at home.

Why you should date a Starbuck's Barista

Hey, I got quoted in Cringely's column! :)

Just got the latest Robert X. Cringely email and lo! I found myself quoted: I was credited with coming up with the expression "At Microsoft, quality is job SP1." He added "Cringester and book author John Hedtke came up with that little gem, as pithy as any real Microsoft slogan and far more accurate."

Here's the whole column. That's fun.

Hey, I got quoted in Cringely's column! :)

Finished the last Harry Potter book

It was really an all-in-one-gulp sorta thing. The Babe had, very intelligently, ordered her copy months ago on advance purchase. It showed up today at 10am. She wasn't going to share. I went out and bought my own copy with a Barnes & Noble gift card I'd been saving for something like this that I'd gotten this past Christmas from one of my sisters-in-law. We spent much of the day reading, with only a break for going out to see the latest Harry Potter movie, almost as much for the fact that there was air-conditioning in the theater and ours needs to be poked by a service person on Monday as the movie itself.

We brought our copies of the book along, though, and read them until the lights dimmed. We weren't alone in this: the woman sitting next to us had her copy and was doing the same thing.

We got home, we read. And we read. I went and clambered into a hot bath tub about three hours ago. The water got cold and I added more. I wasn't going to move until I finished it.

I did. It was very satisfying. (The Babe's finishing hers up as we speak; I'd gotten ahead of her when she took a nap this afternoon.) Don't worry; I'm not going to say anything. It'd be like saying "Rosebud was his sled" to someone before they saw the movie, only much, much worse. (There's a classic Peanuts cartoon about that with Lucy and Linus, as a matter of fact.)

But I really do need to add this cartoon from UserFriendly:

Finished the last Harry Potter book

Silas the kitten

We've got a new addition to the house, who is making life very difficult for me as I pack up for the next trip. His name is Silas and he's about 12 weeks. He's currently curled up behind me on the chair. I'd think he's sleeping, except he keeps shifting his position and I worry I'm going to suddenly get needle sharp kitty claws in the small of my back.

Nevertheless, he's as cute as any kitten ever was and he purrs an awful lot. He's also passionately fond of little balls of paper, which he tends to pick up and carry around as his lawful prey. He also brings them back to me so I can throw them again, so he's good at playing Fetch.

IMG_1774

IMG_1782

Silas the kitten

Unitarian Church in Mission Viejo

I'm in Southern California at the moment for work and had a chance to go to the Unitarian Church here in Mission Viejo. Their motto is "Where people of different beliefs can worship together with one faith," a sentiment that I admire and respect.

There was a speaker from the Network of Spiritual Progressives named Lauren Nile. She reported on the results of a 28-year study that answered the question "Why is it that poor people who are actively harmed by the policies of the Right--tax reductions for the rich, reduced medical care & services, etc.--nonetheless so keen on voting for and supporting the Right?" The answer, after talking to thousands of people in the US, Canada, and England, is that the Right has acknowledged that people have spiritual needs, and the acknowledgement of spiritual needs was greater than the fact that at the same time, the Right was voting and acting antithetically to the aims of that spirituality. The Left, btw, was viewed as being snotty and superior and anti-spiritual. (Well, shucks, I know I'm guilty of at least the first two far more often than I think is admirable.)

It was a fascinating presentation. The Left has lost the trust of the people it actually needs the support of and who it can potentially do the most for because it hasn't been acknowledging that there needs to be a spiritual component for many people. Jesus was a liberal and you'd think it'd be an easy sell from that point to emphasize how love, service, and community values are consistent with the goals of progressive thought and action... but we've COMPLETELY dropped the ball on this. ~sigh~

Unitarian Church in Mission Viejo

Kim's back

I've been very sad for the past year that Kim, one of my oldest friends, had dropped out of sight. I couldn't reach her on the phone, email and snail mail weren't effective... I didn't know what was wrong, but it saddened me greatly.

I got email from her the other day and we talked on the phone for an hour or so on Wednesday. She's alive, she's fine, and she had been suffering from sleep apnea to the point that she simply couldn't do anything. I'm greatly sorry her health was so bad, but I'm quite happy that she's on the mend now. Old friends are always hard to lose and she's one of the best. It's great to have you back in my life, Kim.

Kim's back

Time has passed, once again....

It's the 24th and I haven't posted anything for 3 weeks. Oy!

I'm currently down in Lake Forest, CA (Orange County) for work. Normally, I'm here for a week and then home, but this time I'm down for two weeks.

The weather's been quite decent. I was worried I'd be fighting the effects of the heat, but no! It's been in the high 70s and I can survive that. I'm working with great people and they're all here, too.

There've been several fun things that've happened so far:

• The space shuttle was landing at Edwards AFB near here, so we got to hear the sonic boom as they passed overhead on landing approach. We didn't see the shuttle, but chances of that were small at the speed they were traveling.
  
• The four of us staying here at the hotel went out for a morning walk a couple days ago. We saw someone dressed in voluminous white cotton clothes and a huge sun hat walking in the same area we were. As she passed us, I saw that it was Julia Gnuse. She suffers from porphyria and has a sun hypersensitivity. To cover up the scarring, she's had her whole body tattooed. This doesn't prevent the sensitivity from causing new blisters and so on; it's cosmetic. She's listed in the Guiness Book as the "World's Most Tattooed Woman." She lives in Foothills Ranch, a mile or so from where we're staying.
  
• Most of the staph went out to our boss's place in Riverside for a pool party Saturday. That was a Good Time Out.
  

I need to do laundry or I'm not going to have shirts to wear tomorrow. Bleah.

A problem has been detected and Bush has been shut down to prevent damage to your country

Time has passed, once again....

I'm not sure where to go with this

Is this the desperate act of a bunch of overmatched and incompetent people who are challenged by the task of tying their shoes... or is it a brilliant ploy to bring in expert assistance into a group known for breeding imagination and foresight out of the system? I really can't tell, although it could be both, I suppose.

Whatever it is, it's weird. It's really weird.

I'm not sure where to go with this

My Gawd, this explains a lot!

I sure hope this scientist wins the Nobel Prize. Could be for Medicine, could be for Peace; works either way, really.

My Gawd, this explains a lot!

Random Mondayish thought for Tuesday morning

If matches are made in heaven, where do lighters come from?

Random Mondayish thought for Tuesday morning

Misc thoughts for the day

It's Friday and it's already started out with someone at work who's being a prick, and a stupid prick at that. ~sigh~ Apart from figuring that he'll forget to breathe someday, I was reminded once again of a delightful aphorism given me by Mark Hanigan:

You can only get one good glass of lemonade out of a lemon.

While I'm putting in a quote, let me add another one just because:

I wouldn't mind the born-agains half as much if so many of them hadn't suffered the same annoying birth defects during that second trip down the birth canal.

Misc thoughts for the day

Jesus Christ--The Musical

This is short and probably a wee tad disrespectful, but DAY-umn, it's funny!

Jesus Christ--The Musical

If that link doesn't work, try this one or this one.

Jesus Christ--The Musical