Starbucks Tip

Starbucks Tip

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I must admit that I have an addiction.  I must have a Zebra coffee drink, extra hot, light whip, each day.  Because Starbucks coffee is so strong and their dark chocolate is so strong, I have settled upon the ideal coffee drink, with the help of quite a few baristas.  I love chocolate but the Starbucks chocolate needs to be toned down a bit so a white chocolate is added.  To soften the coffee flavor I ask for a bit of whipped cream. The Zebra name comes from the fact that both white and dark chocolate goes into the drink.   Unfortunately, the resulting Zebra coffee and chocolate drink is so darn good, I typically ask for venti size thus killing any chance of loosing any weight.  I also ask for the drink to be extra hot because it is so tall and just love it if the barista can hand it over at 200 degrees.  This drink, in my opinion, has become the litmus test for coffee houses.  I have found that the drink seldom is prepared correctly at Starbucks Coffee establishments.  Now here is the tip.  Albertson’s grocery stores frequently have a Starbucks stand inside the store.  I think they are trained better and take their time making the drinks properly because the results are dramatic.  The very best Starbucks is located in the Albertson’s in Brea California near the corner of Imperial Highway and Kramer Blvd.  The manager, Vickie, trains all the barista’s very well and these young people have wonderful personalities and are fun to kid around with.  A remarkable taste is achieved at this store.  Most often my Zebra will have a marshmallow taste which I take to mean that the barista has given me a perfectly put together drink.  I have never experienced this flavor at any Starbucks store where they get so slammed they cut corners in drink preparation.

Solar system loosing protective shield

Solar system loosing protective shield

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Our Earth is one of the planets rotating around the sun but a little known fact is that the sun has protected our solar system through its internal spewing of a solar wind outward to form an invisible bubble called the heliosphere.  The sun is a gigantic fire hose spewing all kinds of particles in all directions.  At the point which the wind slows down to a stop is called the “termination shock”.   Where the stuff from the sun balances with the stuff from outside our galaxy is called the heliopause, just beyond the outer limits of our solar system.  Problem is this.  Over time, the wind jetting outward from the sun has coled a bit decreased in pressure and density.  This is sort of like blowing up a balloon but you can no longer push air into the balloon and it collapses a bit.  More bad stuff is getting in, past the shield.  So this bubble protects us from what?  Cosmic rays coming at us from all those other stars and black holes.  But wait, Earth seem to have a second protective barrier, Earth’s magnetic field. Wait again, some scientists think that more cosmic rays entering our atmosphere, due to the heliosphere break down, might make for more clouds and climate change.  Is it global warming created by man that is responsible for the North Pole ice fields to receed or the sun going through a cycle or unending diminishing of solar wind leading that allows cosmic rays to penetrate deeper into our skys?  Scientists have for the past 50 years been measuring and trying to understand this rather complicated process.  You might want to be aware of this development and look out for further research findings in the future in your news papers, magazines and scientific web sites.

Spores Computer Game Just Might Hit The News.

Spores Computer Game Just Might Hit The News.

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A new computer game (Sept 08) called Spores from Electronic Arts, costing about $50, just might be the future focus of any of the following possible news events.

  • Conservative portions of the United States, political landscape, just might become upset that a game based on evolution and not creationism is being offered to impressionable young people (and adults that need to be impressed).
  • A lot of up tight parents might ban their children from playing this game and one can expect they will attempt to promote this attitude with other friends to help create a bubble of justification.
  • Education leaders just might embrace and encourage playing this game because it seems to teach, at a gut level, some basic principles of biology and evolution.
  • Some religions might work to ban this game at least amongst their card carrying followers.
  • The science community, who have seen their viewpoints eroded by the poor national educational system, conservative viewpoints, religious groups holding on to medieval doctrines, just might start playing this game in their closets.
  • This game just might get a well deserved educational award(s).
Vitamix Vita-Prep Blender Web Site Allegidly Misleading

Vitamix Vita-Prep Blender Web Site Allegidly Misleading

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Our old blender failed and I took a lot of time to research buying a really good blender.  The choices I came up with were Blendtec and Vitamix.  It looked like it would cost me about $400 for either.  The reviews for both were excellent and came in as being pretty close and choosing one over the other seemed pointless.   I finally settled upon the Vitamix because it offered the Eastman Tritan copolyester container that reputes to have no BPA (a possible contaminate).  I wanted the 5200 model but the manufacturer has the priced locked; dealers can not cut the price.  I found a local vendor that would sell me a Vita-Prep model and he was willing to switch out the container so it would be BPA free.  He would decrease the price for me to get the sale.  he even threw in a $17 Vitamix cook book.  The Vita-Prep only came with a 3 year warranted while the 5200 had a 7 year warranted.  I was told that the Vita-Prep was a professional unit, better than the 5200.  I went to Vitamix web site and it appeared to me that the motor was 3 peak horse power, one more hp than the 5200.  The Blendtec has a 3 hp motor.  I purchased the product and when I got it home I found that the amperage was 11 instead of 12.5.  The Vita-Prep model I had was a 2 hp model.  I went to the web site and found in small print the words “Vita-Prep 3”.  The web page had the title of “Vita Prep” in big letters.  The web site menu system ONLY showed the Vita-Prep web page I looked at to make my decision, which, if you looked closely was a Vita-Prep 3 unit.  My blender was shipped August 20th from the factory and the day I purchased it was September 5th, same year. The web site only showed one Vita-Prep, gave it a more powerful motor and in small print added a “3” which I missed.  My point is that my model was purchased within days of my viewing the Vitamix web site and the model I thought I was looking at on their web site did NOT show any other model.  How am I to know that I was to recive a completely different model?  I tried to find my model on the Vitamix web site but could not!  This seems close to bait and switch or misleading advertising or some other alleged unethical activity.

Logitech G9 Mouse

Logitech G9 Mouse

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I purchased a Logitech G9 mouse for use when I use my Mac laptop for Team Fortress computer game after a LOT of research.  Team Fortress is a Windows application and the G9 really improved my game.  I am a terrible player and needed an edge.  The G9 gave really worked as a terrific gaming mouse.  I was using a Microsoft laptop mouse when running Mac applications becaue the G9 took so long to move across the computer screen when in Mac mode.  I decided, one day, to try to figure out how to make the G9 work for Mac.   I first tried to load Logitech Control Center 2.6.  It claimed to set control for Logitech keyboards and mouse but it did not work.  What did work was a wonderful shareware application called SteerMouse.  I know can use my simply awsome Logitech G9 for Mac and Windows.