Archive for May, 2009
Filed under: Hmmm
Alright, this one is close to my heart. You may disagree or might not even like Starbucks but when McDonald’s is attempting to put them out of business that is just a scary thing. Seriously scary, there is such a big difference between Starbucks and McDonald’s it just isn’t funny. The atmosphere between the two doesn’t compare. Would you rather sit and relax in a nice place with few, if any kids, or a place that smells of various odors and has screaming children running around, screaming? Personally I would rather enjoy the somewhat quieter atmosphere of any coffee shop. Really.
McDonalds does have its place, I eat there, I thoroughly enjoy the big mac, no cheese. However, if you have actually tried their coffee and tried coffee from an actual coffee shop you would not drink theirs again. Trust me on this, and just so you know I am not a nose in the air, yuppie drinker. I, don’t spread this around, but I drink instant coffee and am fine with that. My favorite coffee though, is cowboy coffee, that or Turkish coffee. Both are very good stuff, somewhat strong but good. McDonalds coffee mostly tastes like either sweetened mud or slush sweetened goop. Notice the continual use of sweetened. I think they drop six bags of sugary stuff in each pot just to hide the burnt taste that seems to be a constant with their coffee.
Coffee shops, my favorite being Starbucks (case you hadn’t figured that out yet), provide much more than just the coffee. They offer a friendly atmosphere where you are welcomed and often recognized if you are a regular. They also offer an alternate place to work, can you imagine trying to get anything done at a McDonalds? Coffee shops are just a different thing than McDonalds, and I honestly contemplated boycotting McDonalds, but figured their chances of putting good coffee shops out of business was about zero. Of course if they do then I will have to start making my own coffee all the time and find some other place to hang out, like the local bar. Plus of course, just on the principle of the thing, I’d stop eating at McDonalds, which would probably be healthier for me anyway.
Tags: coffee, mcdonalds, mocha, starbucks
Filed under: Hmmm
There was an article on a few things that the airline industry should bring back, and I thought I would share it with you. Plus, of course, allow you to enjoy my opinion about the whole thing as well. Trust me, it wouldn’t be half as much fun if I didn’t give my opinion and just gave you the article. I am sure everyone can come up with some sort of irritation they have had to deal with in regards to the airlines.
Just to be fair I am pretty sure most of us can come up with something good as well, but I am not going to talk about that as it wasn’t what the article focused on. The main thing that caught me was the rule 240 that they talked about, apparently it is not a true rule but only a suggestion. It is a good suggestion and really should be a rule. It basically, if I understand it correctly, states that if things happen beyond your control the airline will do its best to help you arrive at your destination with a minimal of fuss. However, most airlines anymore don’t seem to be following it. The example they give is of a woman who did everything she was supposed to then got stuck in line waiting to check in due to the airline not handling their check in as productively as the probably could have. Since she was stuck in line she missed her flight, she even asked if she could move up and be taken care of because her flight was coming up, and the agents said no. Then the airline, American, wanted to charge her all sorts of fees and charge her another couple thousand for a new ticket because she missed her flight, pretty much due to their idiocy. The article writer apparently talked to them and got her changed for a much smaller fee and got her where she needed to go, but think about it. They were trying to get away with this, and if it hadn’t been brought to someone who would spread it around they most likely would have gone ahead and done it, pretty much screwing the lady. Something the author brought up that I thought very instructive is that the airlines are running on a double standard. If they are late or delayed for some reason, well we are supposed to just forgive and forget, just put up with it. However, if we are delayed for any reason, doesn’t matter if it is because of things beyond our control or not, we are supposed to pay penalties and other things to make it up to the airlines. Does that sound fair to you?
Tags: airline jerks, airlines, complaints, fairness, travel
Filed under: Hmmm
Chocolate some more. That makes me think of S’mores, those things are great! They are pretty good anytime but truly best in the wild. You know, when you are camping and roughing it. How could a person seriously think of roughing it without s’mores? For those of you who don’t know what they are it is fairly simple. You need to get some graham crackers, marshmallows and, of course, chocolate. Sounds simple, right? You are probably already thinking, oh, I get it, just put the stuff together and munch. Well, it is a bit more complicated than that. See, you need a fire. Not for the chocolate but for the marshmallow and to complete the set of tools you need, you also will require some sort of pointy stick. Oh, and trust me on this, most things are better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Alright, once you are out there roughing it and after a long day when you are sitting down by your campfire, you pull out the stick you picked up earlier. Take that stick and whittle down one end until it is pointy and smooth, then scrape away the outer layer of bark on the stick down from the pointy end for maybe a hands length or two. Then take your pointy stick and hold the pointy end over your nice fire. Don’t burn it, all you are doing is setting it, getting it ready for the good part. After you have heated the pointy end take it out of the fire and let it cool for a minute, then take the bag of marshmallows from your pack as well as the box of plain chocolates and the graham crackers. Take a marshmallow and jam it on the pointy end of the stick then hold it over the fire and turning frequently, roast that little sucker. Once it is basically golden brown and a bit puffy pull it away from the fire and use your graham cracker to pull it off the stick, add the chocolate on top of the hot marshmallow and another or the other half of the first graham cracker and enjoy!
Tags: camp fire, chocolate, crackers, enjoyment
Filed under: Hmmm
So, switching gears from movies let’s talk about something near and dear to many of us. It is something that you will often find near movies, at least the ones in the theaters. You can find it in any store and on the mind of many kids. Those of you with minds that just might be dirty are probably going the wrong way with this. I am talking about chocolate. That divine little bit of ambrosia that is given to us to enjoy as we will. No I am not a girl, nor a woman or a female. I just like chocolate. Everyone loves chocolate! Ok. I know a couple people personally who don’t, but I have been able to find it in my heart to forgive them for their dislike of chocolate. Especially after it occurred to me that their dislike meant that there would always be more for me. No fighting for it at restaurants or at parties or for dessert.
Chocolate just hits that part of the brain that controls enjoyment, at least for me it does. It’s almost like a direct connection between enjoyment and chocolate. One leads to the other. Oh! And I recently found out the difference between the chocolates. Dark chocolate is bitterer only because it has less sugar and is more pure, but milk chocolate has milk and sugar making it smoother and less bitter. Chocolate starts out as bean from what I understand, like vanilla. It is really kind of intriguing as I never gave it much thought before, other than to wonder why I didn’t have any.
The best uses of chocolate depend on what you have. If you haven’t tried chocolate macadamia nuts, trust me, find some. Now. Don’t wait, just go to your nearest store and head for the international sections, which is funny cause most of them are out of Hawaii. Another good use that you probably are already doing is hot chocolate, almost better than coffee. One more quick one before I go is peanut butter and chocolate. Buy yourself a chocolate bar and a jar of peanut butter, grab a knife, sit down and spread some of that peanut butter on your chocolate bar and then just enjoy!
Tags: bean, chocolate, dessert, tasty, treat
Filed under: Hmmm
Just recently watched Star Trek and it was absolutely worth the money! We got there early, which was a good thing because by the time the movie started the theater had filled up. Everyone enjoyed the movie. There were a few spots where you had to suspend disbelief, although I think that at that type of movie it is already a given that you should be suspending disbelief. Star Trek really was a lot of fun, kind of felt like going to an amusement park.
The best part of the movie for me was the bringing together of the cast, seeing how everyone fit in and began to mesh with each other. I must admit, even though there was time travel involved, I seriously enjoyed the plot of the movie as well. Whoever cast the actors in their roles did a very good job. The actors, well they did a great job of capturing just what needed to be captured to bring back that Trek feeling but still make the characters fresh, they made them feel like old friends met again for the first time. Which is exactly what they did in the storyline in a way, did I mention I liked the movie? The whole movie really was about friends, friends and companions. People we had thought lost a long time ago brought back to us in new and exciting way.
The special effects were pretty good, definitely improved since the original Star Trek. Everything fit together fairly well, lots of big bangs, although not the original, and lots of visual effects eye candy throughout the movie. It truly was just a fun ride. A fun ride with old friends we thought had been long gone. Actually, probably the best part of the movie is the fact that there is no requirement to like or be familiar with Star Trek to enjoy the movie. It delights us Star Trek fans and offers an easy and fun jump into the Star Trek universe for those truly just beginning their voyages.
Tags: Captain Kirk, Enterprise, Space, Spock, Star Trek
Filed under: Hmmm
Summer appears to be here. The weather is beautiful outside, warm and inviting. Makes me want to go wander around outside for a bit this weekend. Have a lot to do, though, so may multitask and work on stuff outside while enjoying the sunshine.
The thing about summer is that after a cold and snowy winter you almost feel obligated to get outside and wander around. After having been stuck inside pretty much all winter, the outdoors begins to call to you. Even if you aren’t the outdoorsy type. The nicer weather makes a person actually consider getting up in the morning to take a walk or exercise, something like that. Going for hikes on the weekend is much more fun when you aren’t doing it in the snow. You can see the new plants, enjoy the scents of summer, the waterfalls and the forests. You could even go rock climbing if you were so inclined. There are all sorts of activities to do regardless of where you are.
Everybody at the coffee shops starts to move outside and many restaurants begin opening their outdoor areas, so everyone can enjoy the warmth while it’s here. That is important, because you have to store up the sunshine to last you through the winter. Otherwise everyone gets really depressed and despondent during the winter and then they feel depressed during part of their summer, and miss all the fun to be had playing outside. It is much more enjoyable to tackle water sports during the summer than it is during the winter, unless you are a card carrying member of the polar bear club. Even then I bet it is nice to enjoy a slightly warmer swim now and again.
After a long winter you really come to appreciate summer. The winter is good I guess, as it makes me feel more inclined to take advantage of the beautiful days. And, and it is so nice not to be freezing all the time now.
Tags: relaxing, summer, summer days, trip
Filed under: Hmmm
Herd driving is an interesting thing. I did not say a good thing but it is interesting, oh and fairly annoying too. You have most likely experienced it yourself, if not done it yourself. I am curious to know if it is the same in other countries so if you have experienced it let me know I would love to find out if people tend to drive the same all over. Ok, herd driving is basically the tendency for people to bunch up with other cars when driving. They seem to be incapable of driving by themselves. I have never quite understood the reason. Personally it drives me nuts. I would much, much rather be driving by myself or with some space around than in a group of cars where one idiot makes a mistake and everybody pays. Driving in a group is also a lot more stressful and tiring, so why do people do it? I can only point to the herd mentality of cows and sheep.
I went for a fairly long drive this last weekend and couldn’t figure out why I was so much more tired after driving back than after I drove down there. I figured out though that on the way down there were hours when the only car on the road was mine, but on the way back I only had stretches of maybe fifteen to thirty minutes when I was the only car on the road. I had to be a lot more aware on the way back then I did on the way down. When you are driving by yourself you can relax somewhat and just enjoy the drive but when there are other cars around you have to pay close attention to them as drivers are sometimes prone to do stupid things at the most inconvenient of times, especially if you aren’t paying attention to them.
Tags: driving, freeways, grouping, herd, sheep
Filed under: Hmmm
It is interesting, just when you think things are getting really bad in the states, you know privacy loss and nosy people being highly intrusive, you run across something like this talking about the situation in Britain and you start to feel better. I know they had issues with their government trying to enact a database of everything their people do online, which I thought was nice. However, if I was a hacker I would have been drooling. If I lived there I would have been considering a move, maybe relocate to some place less ‘big brother’. You know, like some small dictatorship somewhere. Really, what they are talking about there is just scary. People are people and prone to corruption, how would you be able to trust your government with that much information on you? They would know everything about you, especially in this age where online is where many live their lives now.
I know some places record the phone calls of their workers, which makes sense as it is a liability issue in this case. There are some pretty good ways to take care of call recording so that as a company you can keep track of your employee’s activities at work. The only reason I tend to be ok with the intrusive actions like that at work is because if you are the employer you are normally going to be held responsible for their actions. That means if they do something stupid you get to pay for it. That is not a fun prospect, not at all. Actually, with call logging you can keep a record of the calls and what is said on your pc. That can be very convenient, although you would have to keep and ensure the stuff was secure because that could be a different but unpleasant liability.
Tags: intrusion, invasion of privacy, loss of privacy, privacy, security
Filed under: Hmmm
If you’ve been reading for a bit you know that I have been thinking of getting a house but was unsure and still am unsure about the market. However, for others who might be looking to sell instead of buy I came across this sell and rent back thing online. It looks like it is mostly for the UK and I am not sure if they have it in every country, but they probably do as it sounds like a good idea and both sides would be able to profit from it so chances are good you will be able to find it in your country if you look around. Heck, I didn’t check in depth but they might even work in other countries. I haven’t looked in depth into it but from what I can see it looks fairly interesting and if you were having issues or just needed to get out from under your place quickly it might work for you. Supposedly you can buy your place back after you get back on your feet, although I didn’t really see much about that there. However, what I did see could help a lot of people who just needed some time and didn’t want to uproot their family.
I tend to keep an eye on the property markets in various places and look around online to learn as much about purchasing a place as I can, I am all for being an informed consumer as I truly think that is the only way to go. If you don’t know much about what you are buying then you really better know and trust somebody who does. Otherwise you are just asking for trouble. There is really a lot of information out there if you look. One thing that I find very helpful here is the credit unions; they often have special programs they offer to you specifically on buying a house. If you look around you can also normally find free classes, like at your local library, on purchasing a house in these times.
Tags: house, housing, no move, rent back, sell
Filed under: Hmmm
Anybody else a closet bathroom designer? I didn’t realize I was until I was at a friend’s taking a shower and found myself looking around thinking about how to redo their bathroom. The thought came to mind because I had been looking at the current condition of their bathroom and that led me to think about the house repairs they had already done. Some of the repairs and upgrades were fairly expensive and I was trying to keep the shower head from falling off and it occurred to me that if I had been doing it the first room I would have done an upgrade on would have been the bathroom. After that I would have done the kitchen (which my friend had already done) and the living room (again, done) and the bedroom or bedrooms. Bathrooms get a lot of use and if not a lot at least daily, so it would be one of the first if not the first room on my schedule if I was doing remodeling or upgrades.
I may have mentioned it somewhere along the line before but in case I hadn’t, I am a diehard fan of glass shower doors. The enclosed shower design is one of my favorites. I really hate the infamous shower curtain. That thing and all of its family seem to take a twisted pleasure out of messing with me whenever I use a shower that has them. I am not sure where or how I ended up offending them, but I am positive I must have.
Have you thought about redoing your bathroom? What would you put in it? Using my friends as an outline I would first expand it a by a few yards then put in some new cabinetry and add a new sink area with dual sinks. I would also stick in a nice warming towel rack close to the shower and a couple of good hand towel racks over or by the sinks. I would also want to add a Jacuzzi or one of those whirlpool baths. I can’t think of anything else you would really need. Bathrooms and whirlpool baths and glass shower doors are really important parts of the home; I am still not sure why my friend didn’t redo the bathroom first.
Tags: baths, jacuzzi, remodeling, whirlpools
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