the local coffee shop

Before there was Starbucks®, the "local coffee shop" usually meant an independent donut shop. In my case, the only nearby "dedicated coffee shops" are in/near office parks and are open 9-5 weekdays. Starbucks changed all that, extending their hours, creating atmosphere, and putting them on every corner -- hence their current saturation problem.

There are nine (9) Starbucks locations within three (3) miles of my home - two are inside grocery stores. Two of the remaining seven are on The List To Be Closed in the next few months, and only one of the seven has a drive-thru. I was mildly surprised by one of the closures .. Preston/Beltline (actually it's closer to Preston/Alexis) which always seemed to be busy - located between a Blockbuster and Wendy's. Granted, there's another Starbucks a hundred yards away, but it's inside a Tom Thumb grocery store and lacks the ambiance (!) of a Real Starbucks.

I waddled over to the 4th-closest Starbucks yesterday (the nearest one with a drive-thru window) to try their new smoothie - er, Vivanno™. There are only two from which to choose: banana-orange-mango or banana-chocolate. I could definitely taste the "whey protein and fiber powder", but it was otherwise unremarkable. Noteworthy: just like Jamba Juice®, you can add extra stuff (in Starbucks' case, that means a shot of espresso; matcha green tea powder; or substitute nonfat milk to shave 20 calories).

Vivanno verdict: it's okay but not sure $4.06 (with tax) for 16 ounces is something I'd go out of the way for. I found McDonald's Iced Coffee more refreshing at less than half the price (also more healthy if you opt for the sugar-free vanilla flavor -- 60 calories). I suspect I should compare it with an offering from the local Jamba Juice (co located with Whole Foods), smoothie-to-smoothie:

16 oz. Vivanno (banana-orange-mango): 250 calories, 16 grams protein, 6 grams fiber, 2 grams fat, 1 fruit serving. (No artificial colors, artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup.)

16 oz. Banana Berry™ (Jamba Juice): 280 calories, 3 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram fat, 2 fruit servings. For comparison, add the "whey boost" to get ~16 grams protein and 4 grams fiber.

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For an apples-to-oranges (er, banana-to-coffee) comparison, here's the info on the McCoffee:

16 oz. McDonald's Iced Coffee: 60 calories, no fiber or protein.

Premium Roast Coffee. Light Cream: Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, carrageenan. CONTAINS: MILK. Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup: Water, erythritol, natural (plant source) and artificial flavors, cellulose gum, sucralose, salt, malic acid, potassium sorbate (preservative), acesulfame potassium, caramel color (with sulfites). Ice.

Send Karl Rove to Jail!

Send Karl Rove to Jail!

credit card trivia

So I've only been using credit cards for what - 30 years? I thought I knew everything, but found a few gems I didn't know on consumerist.com:

1. Unsigned cards are not valid and merchants can and will refuse them
2. The maximum liability for unauthorized use of a credit card (not Debit/ATM cards) is US$50 according to federal law
3. Merchants cannot require you to present ID, unless your card is unsigned
4. Merchants cannot require a minimum transaction amount
5. Merchants cannot charge a surcharge for using a credit card, however, they can offer a cash discount
6. Many credit cards have programs that will automatically double the manufacturer's warranty and other excellent benefits
7. Merchants are not allowed to make you give up your right to a chargeback
8. Merchants are not allowed to place a hold for the estimated tip
9. If merchants suspect you of fraud they are supposed to call with a "Code 10"
10. If merchants break these rules, you can report them to the credit card company

Full article: 10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Card

Republic Party sundry

Credit where credit is due

The Republic Party has done a spectacular job at one thing: convincing 51% of the people that they should always vote for what's best for the top 1% (wealth) - of which they are NOT a member.

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Louisiana : go direckly to jale, do not pass GO

Spotted: New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US

The good news? 48 states still don't have Republic Party Stupid laws on the books.

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Minority rule - for smokers only!!!

It's no secret that the majority of Texans have IQs smaller than their SUV's gas capacity (31), so I wasn't surprised to see some pea-brain mouth off about how a proposed smoking ban should not be implemented because "The fact that 70 percent of people support this ban is no reason to pass it." Ah, so now they support minority rights, while before they were part of the Bully Republic Party who bellowed "we won the election so you have to do what we tell you." Speaking out of both sides of their mouths appears to be Standard Operating Procedure.

Reference:
Sunday Letters: Smoking ban

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The Republic Party Credo - to be repeated in unison at their convention

1. Never, EVER take responsibility
2. Always blame the Democrats - for everything.
3. Lie, then lie some more. Everybody Knows™ that if you repeat something 3 times, it becomes True! You may even start believing the lies yourself.
4. Learn how to speak out of both sides of your mouth, without flinching. Develop a negative twist to everything your opponent does, even if it's just walking across the street.
5. Trivialize everything your opponent says. Take a seemingly-insignificant phrase out of context, and tell your audience that was the primary message. Say it with a sneer, if possible.
6. If you're an elected Republic, learn how to obfuscate and delay - those are GOP SOP (2007-8 Republic senators have filibustered more bills than any Congress in history)
7. Never forget that most voters do not follow politics, so pander to them, always. You are there to get their vote, not educate them.

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Money quote

"The Republican brand is in the trash can. I've often observed that if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

-Tom Davis (R-Virginia) 19 May 2008

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Everybody Knows is a trademark of FOX "News" and Rush Limbaugh, the $400 Million Man.

news item: Jesse Helms died Friday

Deep Thoughts:

1. I wonder who His family will choose to be pallbearers? (see photo at right)
    
2. It's a pity He (R-North Carolina) chose to die on the 4th of July; that will forever taint this holiday.
   
   I was amused at PZ's take on the timing: the fireworks will forever be a celebration of His death. Hmmm.
    
3. I wonder if Fox "News" will cover the funeral live, with all the "reporters" wearing black armbands.

you've been crammed!

A month or so ago, I decided it was a complete waste of money to have multiple phone lines that I'm not using, so .. I dropped 2 of my 3 phone numbers. Today, some company decided to charge me for voicemail service on one of those 2 dropped phone numbers.

I suppose they think they're doing me a favor, but .. all AT&T provides in the email notice is the total amount billed:

A new bill for your telephone number ending in xxxx is now available to view online. You can print a copy of your paper bill by selecting the link "View/Print copies of your paper bills" on the Account Manager Home Page.

To view your bill, log in to AT&T Account Manager and select the > View My Bill link, found under the Current Bill Summary section.

The email makes it sound simple enough, but it's not, since some Rocket Scientist decided the best way to annoy the customer is to shove so many choices onto the website so that most people would simply throw up their hands in disgust. They achieved their design goal, for sure.

This "simplification" (email with the total charge only) has opened AT&T up to additional fraud, far as I'm concerned - it's now much harder to spot fraudulent charges.

So, I logged onto AT&T's site to find out that a sleazebag company called TRIVOICE INTERNATIONAL added a $14.95 monthly charge for voicemail service to my phone bill. No, I didn't authorize it - I've used an answering machine for a long time. The referenced number is one of the two I "threw away" while simplifying my home phone situation; it also couldn't be used to dial out -- it was merely a "special ring" number that sits atop your regular line, but double-rings to let you know that it's a business call (or whatever).

Billed on Behalf of TRIVOICE INTERNATIONAL, LTD. #
Questions? Call: 1 866 473-1999
Itemized Charges and Credits
Item
No. Date Description
4-01 5-28 TRIVOICE INT'L, LTD-VMAIL MONTHLY FEE 14.95

Naturally, the Trivoice number says they're closed until Monday. Ditto for AT&T Customer Service. At least AT&T's website has info on cramming, so this must be very common. I tried sending them an email but had to do it several times (their website returned me to a very pretty, yet completely WHITE screen on multiple occasions), and have zero hope they'll read it before Monday - if ever.

I searched the web for info on these crammers and quickly found something on ripoffreport.com describing the procedure I'll have to follow if they're uncooperative.

Retired General Wesley Clark: "not backing down"

Related: Wes Clark Responds To McCain Campaign’s Hysteria

It's no surprise that al Qaeda strongly endorses John McCain for President, since he'll continue the Iraq war for another thousand years, greatly helping their ongoing recruiting drive. If Obama is elected and the war ends, they'll have no Americans to fight other than cardboard cutouts.

Ref: hero, redefined (10 April 2008)