Northern California’s Peet’s Coffee has introduced a new way to buy someone a cup of coffee, called eCups. Much like an e-card, you can log in and send someone a voucher for a coffee at Peet’s through e-mail. Congrats, Peets, you have just one-upped the ‘bucks.
And, it certainly makes living life out of your cubicle that much easier.
In a front-page article this morning on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s re-election campaign — and fast-changing political views — the Wall Street Journal referred to “the technology-obsessed streets of Sacramento.” (Article here, but subsciption required, alas.)
The phrase really stopped me. Does the WSJ have us confused with San Jose? Granted, we’re likely higher on the high-tech scale than a lot of places, but aside from having Intel and H-P in the ‘burbs and wi-fi on the Capitol Mall, I can’t say I’d describe us as “technology obsessed.” Not like Orlando, where every place you open your laptop you have a wi-fi connection (or so it seemed to me).
Am I wrong here? Are we really the high-tech paradise the WSJ seems to think we are?
Still restoring the caloric depletion from last weekend’s training, when I found myself starving in Midtown, I heeded the numerous recommendations of fellow ‘raggers and headed to La Fiesta.
I was impressed with the efficient line and process flow, as a young lady took orders prior to our paying while her coworkers (all in matching futbol jerseys) rung up orders, prepared the food, and served up meals in a matter of seconds.
La Fiesta prices their specials so when tax is added in, it’s a flat dollar amount — in my case, $7 for two soft tacos and a beverage — thereby expediting the lunch process that much more. The Type-A process-driven side of me was most pleased.
Continue reading “La Fiesta stunts your growth”
Just leafing through my most recent issue of “Pensions & Investments” magazine and came across a very interesting profile on the new Chief Investment Officer over at CalPERS, Russell Read. (If you’re not already a subscriber to “Pensions & Investments” you’re really missing out.) Seems like Mr. Read is very interested in environmental issues and investment, owning his own tree sactuary/habitat in Maine and sitting on a board that “is dedicated to attracting technologies that will convert wood to energy and to materials now made from oil.”
Wait a second, hit the rewind button on that. Did he just say, “convert wood into energy?” Isn’t that called fire? I know how to convert wood into energy, just hold it close to a match, or rub two pieces together really fast. Do you need a whole board for that? And using wood for material? Isn’t that called…wood?
All snark aside, Mr. Read seems like a very neat guy and it looks like he’ll find it an easy transition from New England to Northern California. The article says that he and the wife plan to move to Davis, which seems a good fit for the environmentally aware couple. So if you see Russell or Mrs. Read at the co-op or Whole Foods or the farmer’s market, give ’em a wave and a hearty handshake and welcome them to the neighborhood.
A few months ago, I brought to you the story of Josephine Kao, who won the Central Valley Spelling Bee and was on her way to the nationals in Washington, DC.
The national competition is going on as we speak. Josephine, Sacramento’s sole/soul representative, reached round 4, where she was eliminated for misspelling the word welkin.
Regardless, congrats Josephine, for a j-o-b well done!
Unfortunately, I’m talking about the vacuum cleaner I just used at the gas station.
I’m slightly OCD about the cleanliness of the inside of my vehicle. Since I go off-road for work and recreation on a regular basis, it’s not economical to get the Jeep professionally cleaned any time it gets grubby, so I resort to using the vacuums at gas stations and do-it-yourself car washes.
Here’s a quick list of some good & bad car washes and vacuums:
Continue reading “That definitely did not suck”
Mrs. Eats’s employer, a venerable and generous company, felt it a good idea to take some employees and their spouses out to a little casual dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse last night. Not being one to turn down a free meal, I gratefully accompanied my beautiful wife.
If you haven’t been to “The Chris” yet and still remember Mace’s restaurant that it replaced, you’ll see many traces of the old place in the new decor. The layout is basically the same (sans the bizarre safari lodge decor and the fake veranda looking out over the Serengeti), but the place is much darker, leaning towards Las Vegas chic rather than Bombay Company classic. But let’s talk about the food:
Continue reading “Ruth’s Chris on the Company Dime”
Seen on the westbound side of Arden Way, near Mission, a hand-lettered sign stapled to a power pole:
Night Manager
Ron [Somebody]
Home Wrecker
Hmmmmm. Trouble in the Garden of the Gods?
Ok, how long was I supposed to go without mentioning this eBay auction for the X-ray of the duck? Seriously, 92 bids so far for $4599.99?
Regrettably, IBRRC reports the duck succumbed to its injuries and passed away quickly, quietly, and peacefully after the x-rays were taken, and not from the alien bursting through the duck’s chest in classic gory Hollywood style.
Some could take the use of the word “regrettably” out of context here, but I digress. And I love how they mention the existence of crop circles to help with the story.
“Cordelia’s a hot bed of alien activity,” Holcomb explained. “We’ve seen the crop circles, so it stands to reason we’d see an alien face staring out of a duck.”
Now that’s just the funniest thing I’ve read in a while. “Reason” and “alien face staring out of a duck” should never be used in the same area code.
How News10.net captures Memorial Day in one line:
Services, Wreath-Laying, Barbecues Mark Memorial Day
The Sac Rag 