I'm Late with the Coffee News

I had a busy day yesterday so I missed two big coffee news stories. First September 29th was National Coffee Day! I hope you gave your favourite cup of joe a big hug; then downed it. Also Starbucks release their new instant coffee Via yesterday to much fanfare.

Coffee Jitters?

Well maybe not as bad as these guys:

Friday Book Review: Street Gang

Did you watch Sesame Street as a kid? I sure did! So much so to this very day I still pronounce Z as zee instead of zed. Much to the chagrin of my Canadian brethren. Apparently, I found the Muppets to be more influential on my growing mind than my grade school teachers.

Also, did you ever get upset that no one believed Big Bird that there really was a Snuffleupagus? I always thought it was one of the greatest injustice of our time. Luckily they rectified this situation in 1985 with and episode where the adults met Mr. Aloysius Snuffleupagus.

If you ever wondered how such a show got off the ground then you need to read Street Gang which bills itself as the complete history of Sesame Street. I can believe it as the book works its way through all of the beginnings and bios of the writers, producers, actors and Muppets that made up the show over the years. It truly is an engaging read and it won't dampen your enthusiasm for the show.

I leave you with this link to 10 amazing performances from Sesame Street including James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and more.

Starbucks Launches 2 iPhone Apps

Starbucks has launched two iPhone apps. The first is called myStarbucks which helps you locate a store and build your own drink. The second called Starbucks Card Mobile is more interesting as it turns your iPhone into a Starbucks payment card. With the app you can check your balance, scan the bar code on the screen to pay for drinks and of course it entitles you to 2 free hours of wi-fi per day at any Starbucks. Sadly neither app seems to be available in the Canadian app store but you know how to get around that limitation, right?

From Green to Steam

From Boing Boing a video of making coffee from green beans which are air popped/roasted, hand ground and brewed over a camp stove.

Late Report on This Year's Terry Fox Run

Well even with a late start on fund raising this year I ended up collecting $940 for cancer research. Many thanks to all of you who donated this year.


This year I completed the run my friend, Paul Brun, who I've been doing the run with for years now. He brought along his new girl friend, Kate, and brother Jan. Jan broke his toe week end before the run doing a triathlon so we ended up walking the 10 km at a leisurely pace. All in all it took us about 2 hours. You can see our route by following this link courtesy of a new application on my iPhone called RunKeeper. It works really well with the on board GPS.

Along the run I ran into fellow Straight Talking Java mailing list member, Carl Hume and two hockey buddies Shane Barclay and Steve Crane. All three of them were doing the run with their families which makes me think seriously about getting Anna out with us next year.

McDonald's Freaky Coffee Lamp Post

With thanks to Paul, for this link to a cool coffee lamp post by McDonalds.