In honor of the release of Safari 3, here’s a little something we found at Trader Joe’s.
The mug is from the short-lived Mozilla Coffee. It seemed appropriate. Now if I can just track down some Opera Coffee, or Explorer Coffee…
Tag: coffee
Priorities: Caffeine!
The new shopping center, The District (built on a corner of the former MCAS Tustin base), has an ad campaign with the slogan, “A million reasons why.” Each poster shows someone posing with a random number and something that can be found, done, or resolved by going there.
Here’s a guy who has his priorities straight. They’ve got Peet’s, Seattle’s Best Coffee, there’s a coffee bar in the Whole Foods, and who knows how many more restaurants that serve it.
Of course, if he wanted more choices, he’d be better off going to the Irvine Spectrum. They’ve got a Coffee Bean, a Kelly’s, 2 Starbucks (and a third on the way), and a Nordstrom Espresso Bar. And once upon a time, they had a Diedrich…
Speaking of Diedrich, the one on Culver and Barranca is still around at least through next summer. I haven’t been by the one near UCI lately, but I seem to recall hearing October, so it may not be long for this world.
Hmm, you know what? That poster lists a lot of caffeine sources, but it doesn’t say anything about coffee. With luck they won’t be too confused if you just order a coffee, as in this strip from Real Life Comics. 😀
C is for Coffee
NPR’s Morning Edition ran a story on finding the perfect balance of caffeine. Apparently as little as 100mg—typical for a 6-ounce cup of coffee—is enough to give most people a lift. Depending on tolerance, anxiety and jitters start showing up as early as 200mg.
And yes, a cup of plain coffee has more caffeine than a shot of espresso.
The story was followed by one looking at why children have so much more energy than their elders. One of the biologists they interviewed was Michael Rose, an evolutionary biologist at UCI. I actually took a class from him once, on an evolutionary approach to explain the aging process. His take on it is that youthful energy is all about exploring the world and filling up your brain. Once you’re an adult, you don’t need to explore as much. It also means you take fewer risks, increasing your odds of survival.
Drazi Drinks
Last week, after going out to see Superman Returns, we wandered over to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I ordered the new honeydew ice blended drink. Katie ordered the pomegranate-blueberry drink. When we picked them up from the counter, though, the combination struck us both as funny:
Yes, they were green and purple.
Paper cutter with laser sight!
Every once in a while you see something that gives you the feeling that yes, you’re living in the future. I got it the first time I saw Wolfgang Puck’s self-heating coffee at the grocery store. I also got it when I saw this:
I mean, how can you go wrong with a paper cutter that has a laser sight?
A few weeks ago, Warren Ellis wrote about “detecting outbreaks of the future” and possibly setting up a website for “future hunters.” His latest Bad Signal mentions setting it up at the currently-defunct DiePunyHumans.com. This kind of stuff should fit right in.
You know you need coffee when…
- You pour yourself orange juice, then very carefully put the carton back…in the cupboard.
- You walk into the lunch room for coffee, but forget to bring your mug.
- You momentarily forget how to make coffee.
- You set up the coffee maker, but leave out a critical step like positioning the coffee pot.
- You get the coffee, then forget to drink it.
- You pour yourself a bowl of Wheat Thins.
- You try to slice fruit into your cereal, but you do it over the sink instead of your bowl.
- You pour yourself coffee, then immediately wash your mug and head for work.
Feel free to add to the list in the comments!
Coffee rings caused by capillary action?
I was preparing my latest favorite work-suitable drink a few minutes ago, and a drop of tea spilled over the side of the mug and ran down to the base. Naturally it immediately spread around the entire base, forming a ring on the desk. It was easily wiped up, but then I thought—why does it always spread around the entire base to form that unmistakable coffee ring?
It occurred to me that it might just be capillary action with the liquid flowing along the V-shaped channel formed by the table and the edge of the mug. Some googling did turn up the fact that ring-shaped coffee stains from single drops are caused by capillary flow: as the drop evaporates, it draws water from the inside.
But the instant ring from the mug? Either it’s something else, or it’s so obvious no one has throught it worth writing about.
Edit: *sigh* Read first, then post. I was just reminded that capillary action specifically refers to fluid moving against gravity. Any other thoughts?