Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
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Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Notan wrote:
> And, yes, I've tasted McDonald's. Not bad!
>
> Also, IN MY OPINION, 7-11 makes a great cup of coffee.
Omig-d, I have a friend that just loves 7-11 coffee. There's one next to
the Starbucks over near Google in Mountain View. She'll go into
Starbucks to buy a scone, carrying her 7-11 coffee. I guess maybe I
should stop teasing her, and try the 7-11 coffee. However she uses
Sprint, so how good could her judgment be?
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:45d0b5aa$0$27165$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> Notan wrote:
>
>> And, yes, I've tasted McDonald's. Not bad!
>>
>> Also, IN MY OPINION, 7-11 makes a great cup of coffee.
>
> Omig-d, I have a friend that just loves 7-11 coffee. There's one next to
> the Starbucks over near Google in Mountain View. She'll go into Starbucks
> to buy a scone, carrying her 7-11 coffee. I guess maybe I should stop
> teasing her, and try the 7-11 coffee. However she uses Sprint, so how good
> could her judgment be?
I don't think all 7-11 coffee is the same. Back east I liked it. Can't stand
it in the 7-11s out west. YMMV.
I'd take any of it, though, compared to the sludge sold at Starbucks if
ordering "just" coffee (which they don't seem to make).
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Tinman wrote:
> "SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
> news:45d0b5aa$0$27165$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
>> Notan wrote:
>>
>>> And, yes, I've tasted McDonald's. Not bad!
>>>
>>> Also, IN MY OPINION, 7-11 makes a great cup of coffee.
>> Omig-d, I have a friend that just loves 7-11 coffee. There's one next to
>> the Starbucks over near Google in Mountain View. She'll go into Starbucks
>> to buy a scone, carrying her 7-11 coffee. I guess maybe I should stop
>> teasing her, and try the 7-11 coffee. However she uses Sprint, so how good
>> could her judgment be?
>
> I don't think all 7-11 coffee is the same. Back east I liked it. Can't stand
> it in the 7-11s out west. YMMV.
>
> I'd take any of it, though, compared to the sludge sold at Starbucks if
> ordering "just" coffee (which they don't seem to make).
I would think that 7-11's coffee would be pretty consistent from place to place,
as it's prepackaged and all comes from the same manufacturer/distributor.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Todd Allcock wrote:
> For those of us who enjoy a more traditional, and admittedly more plebian
> "cuppa Joe," there are a bunch of coffees I prefer to Starbucks
> (including McDonalds!) but the king of coffees remains Dunkin' Donuts, as
> any self-respecting "Nor'easter" will attest to!
Last time I tried Dunkin' Donuts coffee was in Korea. It was horrible.
This was a time I would have gone to Starbucks, but the one by my hotel
opened very late, about 9:00 a.m.. I needed to be on a train every day
at 8:00 a.m. to go to LG, and couldn't hang around waiting for Starbucks
to open. I gave up on morning coffee for that trip, on the next trip I
brought my own coffee and brewing apparatus, and a stainless steel
commuter mug.
During lunch, the waiters at LG's guest restaurant took orders for
coffee or tea, and when it came we couldn't tell which was which. The
coffee was very weak, and the tea was strong. The LG people were very
amused at the Abraham Lincoln coffee/tea joke, "Waiter, if this is
coffee, then bring me tea. But if this is tea, then bring me coffee."
From "What is American Culture"
"Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain, whose
name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to produce
what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European taste. Proper
coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is bittersweet, not
burned. Americans evidently hate the wretched stuff because they drown
its flavor in a flood of milk, in the so-called "latte", something I
never have observed an Italian request during many years of travel in
that country. By contrast, Italians drink cappuccino, mixing a small
amount of milk into the coffee and leaving a cap of foam. If Americans
do not like it, why do they buy it at exorbitant prices? They do so
precisely because the high price makes it a luxury, but an affordable
one for secretaries and shopgirls."
I was very glad to be able to use a CDMA phone in Korea, on the train
ride to LG, though it was cheaper to rent a phone than to roam on
Verizon, so that's what I did. There is no GSM service in Korea, though
you can rent a CDMA phone that has a SIM card slot for your GSM SIM, so
you can roam, but it's expensive, and it may only work with European
carriers. They did this for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and I presume that
they kept the system in place.
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Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
"Notan" <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed> wrote in message
news:1a2dneJN68isJU3YnZ2dnUVZ_o_inZ2d@giganews.com ...
> Tinman wrote:
>>
>> I don't think all 7-11 coffee is the same. Back east I liked it. Can't
>> stand it in the 7-11s out west. YMMV.
>>
>> I'd take any of it, though, compared to the sludge sold at Starbucks if
>> ordering "just" coffee (which they don't seem to make).
>
> I would think that 7-11's coffee would be pretty consistent from place to
> place,
> as it's prepackaged and all comes from the same manufacturer/distributor.
>
> Maybe not!
Without question it was (haven't compared it since 2003) noticeably
different. Even the coffee-area setups were different. Also, most 7-11s I
see out west are also gas stations. Most, if not all, of the 7-11s I used to
stop at back in NY are still stand-alone stores.
If I had to describe the stuff out in the western 7-11s it would be, in a
word, "weak." Not that the NY stuff was *anywhere* near Starbucks' level,
but it at least tasted like coffee and not tea. YMMV.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Notan wrote:
> I would think that 7-11's coffee would be pretty consistent from place
> to place,
> as it's prepackaged and all comes from the same manufacturer/distributor.
>
> Maybe not!
I think that they grind it in the store now. 7-11's are franchises, so
maybe if the store owner wants to sell good coffee he is allowed to do
so. I see teachers and employees of the school my son goes to drinking
7-11 coffee in the morning. Maybe it's actually okay.
The prepaid phones sold at 7-11 do not support AMPS. They are on the
Cingular GSM network.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:15:34 -0500, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote in
<Xns98D586E7F8185noonehomecom@208.49.80.253>:
>"Dean" <dean173@yahoo.com> wrote in news:JcTzh.77$0O1.73@newsfe12.lga:
>
>> Best coffee I ever had was Kona, in Hawaii about 25 years ago. They
>> served rice as a starch with breakfast there too, in lieu of
>> (expensive imported) potatoes. Interesting. Wonder if they still do...
>
>A friend of mine in Honolulu sends me care packages of Kona from Lion
>Coffee Company (800-338-8353 or fax 800-972-0777) www.lioncoffee.com. I'm
>in love with a Kona blend coffee from Chef Mavro's in Honolulu
>http://www.chefmavro.com/
>Lion makes it for Chef Mavro. (Check out Chef Mavro's video cooking on
>Wakiki Beach....(c;
Lion is decent, but far from the best Kona coffee -- next time try Sugai
<http://www.sugaikonacoffee.com/>.
That said, Kona is a bit wimpy for my taste -- I'd much rather have a
good aged Sumatra, or organic East Timor, particularly as roasted by my
favorite coffee place, Pacific Bay Coffee in Walnut Creek, a genuine
micro-roastery. <http://www.pacificbaycoffee.com/> It's far superior
to Peet's or Starbucks, not to mention (yuk!) Mickey D, DD, or 7-11.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Tinman wrote:
> "Notan" <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed> wrote in message
> news:1a2dneJN68isJU3YnZ2dnUVZ_o_inZ2d@giganews.com ...
>> Tinman wrote:
>>> I don't think all 7-11 coffee is the same. Back east I liked it. Can't
>>> stand it in the 7-11s out west. YMMV.
>>>
>>> I'd take any of it, though, compared to the sludge sold at Starbucks if
>>> ordering "just" coffee (which they don't seem to make).
>> I would think that 7-11's coffee would be pretty consistent from place to
>> place,
>> as it's prepackaged and all comes from the same manufacturer/distributor.
>>
>> Maybe not!
>
> Without question it was (haven't compared it since 2003) noticeably
> different. Even the coffee-area setups were different. Also, most 7-11s I
> see out west are also gas stations. Most, if not all, of the 7-11s I used to
> stop at back in NY are still stand-alone stores.
>
> If I had to describe the stuff out in the western 7-11s it would be, in a
> word, "weak." Not that the NY stuff was *anywhere* near Starbucks' level,
> but it at least tasted like coffee and not tea. YMMV.
If you have the opportunity, try their "French Roast."
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 10:41:35 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <45d0b4e2$0$27200$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>One of the biggest problems with Starbucks is that they mainly do very
>dark Italian or French roasts, rather than doing a medium roast, where
>you taste the coffee rather than "the burned." They've equated "strong"
>with "dark."
If you had any real experience with Starbucks you'd know that it also
has medium roasts, including some that are quite good, which can be
requested at many (but not all) locations.
Peet's also over-roasts some of its coffees.
On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
undiscriminating people think is "burnt". Just ask to have it diluted
down to whatever strength you can handle.
>The owner of this company uses Cingular, so John can feel
>good about buying this coffee.
I rarely go to Starbucks, or for that matter any large chain (Peet's
included, not to mention the wretched "coffee" at Mickey D, DD, and
7-11), since I much prefer fresh micro-roasts like Pacific Bay Coffee in
Walnut Creek.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:07:38 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <45d0bafb$0$27201$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>Notan wrote:
>
>> I would think that 7-11's coffee would be pretty consistent from place
>> to place,
>> as it's prepackaged and all comes from the same manufacturer/distributor.
>>
>> Maybe not!
>
>I think that they grind it in the store now. 7-11's are franchises, so
>maybe if the store owner wants to sell good coffee he is allowed to do
>so. I see teachers and employees of the school my son goes to drinking
>7-11 coffee in the morning. Maybe it's actually okay.
Or maybe they don't know or don't care about the difference, like so
many people. I've get to get decent coffee in _any_ 7-11. YMMV.
>The prepaid phones sold at 7-11 do not support AMPS. They are on the
>Cingular GSM network.
Same old, same old vendetta. You must be upset by how well Cingular is
doing and how badly all your predictions have turned out.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
Don Udel (ETC) wrote:
> "John Navas" <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote in message > On the
> contrary -- Consumer Reports suffers from a self-selected sample
>> of a non-representative universe. It also suffers from serious
>> screwups, like the recent car seat debacle. And it just rated McDonalds
>> coffee as better than Starbucks -- LOL!
>
> And once again CR is right.
Coffee is pretty subjective though, more than even some other food items
such as ice cream, where the poorer ice creams pump a lot of air in, and
use artificial flavors and thickeners, and may use corn syrup rather
than sugar.
That said, according to one article I read, McDonalds started using 100%
Arabica beans about a year ago. If that's the case, they may really be
better than Starbucks for regular coffee, since McDonald's sells a lot
of regular coffee and makes it fresh every few minutes, while at
Starbucks it can often sit around for an hour while customers buy
lattes, and frappacinos (sp?). There's nothing special about the beans
that Starbucks uses versus the coffee that McDonald's uses.
Where CR is most useful is in their surveys of various sorts, such as
vehicle reliability, and wireless coverage. They aren't asking people
what they like best, they're asking people for their own experiences, so
any bias is eliminated. They also use extremely large sample sizes which
gives their surveys a very small margin of error.
Some people complain that Consumer Reports subscribers aren't
representative of the population at large, but in reality this cancels
out when they do their surveys. I don't think that anyone claims that
with such a huge sample size that the results would be much different if
they surveyed non-subscribers, though as I pointed out, there might be a
small difference based on the socio-economic differences between CR
subscribers and the general population. For many of the metro areas in
the last survey, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the differences
between the carriers were quite large. In some areas they were not very
large.
Oh, and In 'N Out has good iced tea!
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Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
SMS wrote:
> clifto wrote:
>> SMS wrote:
>>> Notan wrote:
>>>
>>>> It *does* taste burnt!
>>> Definitely does taste burnt.
>>
>> I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought so.
>>
>> They do have a good coffeemaker descaler product, though.
>
> What's in it? I use vinegar, but it takes like eight runs of fresh water
> through the machine afterward to get rid of the vinegar smell.
They don't seem to say. It's made by Urnex and it's three packets for $4.
Someone in alt.coffee recommended it to me with the caveat that I should
NOT use vinegar. (I'm convinced vinegar ruined my last coffeemaker by
etching a pinhole in the aluminum tubing surrounding the heater.)
--
"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day,
they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally.
I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."
-- Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
John Navas wrote:
> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
people who frequent places that make good coffee.
--
"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day,
they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally.
I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."
-- Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
SMS wrote:
> From "What is American Culture"
>
> "Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain, whose
> name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to produce
> what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European taste. Proper
> coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is bittersweet, not
> burned.
There might be something to that. The great little coffee shop I mentioned
in a very recent article was Italian owned and operated.
--
"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day,
they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally.
I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."
-- Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek's Steven Levy
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:01:33 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <45d0b98e$0$27201$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
> From "What is American Culture"
>
>"Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain, whose
>name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to produce
>what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European taste. Proper
>coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is bittersweet, not
>burned. Americans evidently hate the wretched stuff because they drown
>its flavor in a flood of milk, in the so-called "latte", something I
>never have observed an Italian request during many years of travel in
>that country. By contrast, Italians drink cappuccino, mixing a small
>amount of milk into the coffee and leaving a cap of foam. If Americans
>do not like it, why do they buy it at exorbitant prices? They do so
>precisely because the high price makes it a luxury, but an affordable
>one for secretaries and shopgirls."
Yet another urban legend. In fact Starbucks (like Peet's) succeeds by
giving people what they want, Americanized coffee-based drinks that most
people here much prefer to authentic Italian-style cappuccino. It's not
about coffee (except in the case of Peet's) -- it's about favorite
coffee-based drinks.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:09:23 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
wrote in <qsOdnf40c4L5Jk3YnZ2dnUVZ_uninZ2d@giganews.com>:
>Tinman wrote:
>> Without question it was (haven't compared it since 2003) noticeably
>> different. Even the coffee-area setups were different. Also, most 7-11s I
>> see out west are also gas stations. Most, if not all, of the 7-11s I used to
>> stop at back in NY are still stand-alone stores.
>>
>> If I had to describe the stuff out in the western 7-11s it would be, in a
>> word, "weak." Not that the NY stuff was *anywhere* near Starbucks' level,
>> but it at least tasted like coffee and not tea. YMMV.
>
>If you have the opportunity, try their "French Roast."
Been there; done that. Mediocre.
If you have the opportunity, compare a dark roast aged Sumatra at a good
micro-roastery.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
John Navas wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:09:23 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
> wrote in <qsOdnf40c4L5Jk3YnZ2dnUVZ_uninZ2d@giganews.com>:
>
>> Tinman wrote:
>
>>> Without question it was (haven't compared it since 2003) noticeably
>>> different. Even the coffee-area setups were different. Also, most 7-11s I
>>> see out west are also gas stations. Most, if not all, of the 7-11s I used to
>>> stop at back in NY are still stand-alone stores.
>>>
>>> If I had to describe the stuff out in the western 7-11s it would be, in a
>>> word, "weak." Not that the NY stuff was *anywhere* near Starbucks' level,
>>> but it at least tasted like coffee and not tea. YMMV.
>> If you have the opportunity, try their "French Roast."
>
> Been there; done that. Mediocre.
>
> If you have the opportunity, compare a dark roast aged Sumatra at a good
> micro-roastery.
I'm not saying 7-11 has *the* best coffee, although IN MY OPINION it's
pretty good, but for the price and convenience, it's not a bad choice.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
<ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>John Navas wrote:
>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>
>One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>people who frequent places that make good coffee.
In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
"burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
John Navas wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
> <ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>
>> John Navas wrote:
>>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>
> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
>
> I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
> make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
> tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
> all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
> "burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
Have you ever considered the possibility that *you* might be wrong?
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
clifto wrote:
> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
The problem is that non-coffee people often equate burnt with strong.
Apparently they have never had a cup of strong, medium roast coffee,
which is understandable since you can't get such a thing at Starbucks,
unless a store happens to do a medium roast as the "coffee of the day,"
and that's pretty rare, in my experience.
There are smaller, specialty coffee houses that do medium roast brewed
coffee, but you have to search them out. Or you can buy medium roast
coffee and do it yourself. The advantage is you can drink such coffee
black without drowning it with milk and sugar. It's like drinking good
whiskey straight, rather than mixing it with something sweet like soda
or orange juice to hide the taste. Plain coffee is much less profitable
than $3-4 espresso drinks, so understandably Starbucks doesn't want to
push plain coffee.
You often stumble across good coffee in places that you don't expect. If
it's a cafe or store owned by Pakistani's or Indian's, often the coffee
is good, Chinese, usually not so good, though judging from the number of
coffee houses in Taiwan, it should be better than it is.
See "http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/EK18Aa01.html"
What is American Culture
"2. Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain,
whose name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to
produce what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European
taste. Proper coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is
bittersweet, not burned. Americans evidently hate the wretched stuff
because they drown its flavor in a flood of milk, in the so-called
"latte", something I never have observed an Italian request during many
years of travel in that country. By contrast, Italians drink cappuccino,
mixing a small amount of milk into the coffee and leaving a cap of foam.
If Americans do not like it, why do they buy it at exorbitant prices?
They do so precisely because the high price makes it a luxury, but an
affordable one for secretaries and shopgirls."
[Copied to alt.cellular.attws. Please post all alt.cellular.cingular
posts to alt.cellular.attws as well. The Cingular name is going away,
and alt.cellular.attws is the proper venue for posts regarding AT&T's
Wireless Service.]
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:28:40 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <45d0bfe9$0$27210$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>That said, according to one article I read, McDonalds started using 100%
>Arabica beans about a year ago.
True, but Mickey D sources coffee in bulk from Kraft Foods, which gets
it from whatever countries are cheapo du jour, making 100% Arabica a
relatively meaningless distinction for Mickey D.
>If that's the case, they may really be
>better than Starbucks for regular coffee, since McDonald's sells a lot
>of regular coffee and makes it fresh every few minutes, while at
>Starbucks it can often sit around for an hour while customers buy
>lattes, and frappacinos (sp?).
One hour is nothing, and Mickey D coffee is only brewed regularly during
rush hours -- try it at 4 in the morning when it's been cooking for
hours (as I have).
>There's nothing special about the beans
>that Starbucks uses versus the coffee that McDonald's uses.
Actually there is. Starbucks deals in varietals and specific blends
that it buys direct. Not so Mickey D (as I noted above). What Mickey D
and Kraft do have are very big marketing budgets.
The CR coffee "review" was based on "trained tasters" (CR staffers)
visiting only "two stores of each company". It's sad to see how far CR
has fallen.
>Where CR is most useful is in their surveys of various sorts, such as
>vehicle reliability, and wireless coverage. They aren't asking people
>what they like best, they're asking people for their own experiences, so
>any bias is eliminated. They also use extremely large sample sizes which
>gives their surveys a very small margin of error.
CR surveys actually suffer from being self-selected samples of a
non-representative population, so they can't be validly generalized to
the universe of subscribers. And they actually have a relatively small
sample size when broken down by area, making the results essentially
meaningless.
>Some people complain that Consumer Reports subscribers aren't
>representative of the population at large, but in reality this cancels
>out when they do their surveys.
Statistics don't work that way.
>... For many of the metro areas in
>the last survey, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the differences
>between the carriers were quite large. In some areas they were not very
>large.
In fact the differences were relatively small, probably well within the
margin of error, although there's really no way of knowing that given
the flawed methodology.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:19:05 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <45d0cbbb$0$27157$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>clifto wrote:
>
>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>
>The problem is that non-coffee people often equate burnt with strong.
The real problem is that Starbucks bashers have adopted "burnt" with no
real appreciation for darker roasts.
>Apparently they have never had a cup of strong, medium roast coffee,
Like so many others, you're confusing strength with deepness of roast.
They are two different things entirely.
>which is understandable since you can't get such a thing at Starbucks,
>unless a store happens to do a medium roast as the "coffee of the day,"
>and that's pretty rare, in my experience.
Actually quite common.
>There are smaller, specialty coffee houses that do medium roast brewed
>coffee, but you have to search them out.
The better ones also have light and dark roasts.
Some people prefer medium roast. Other people prefer dark roast. Still
others prefer light roast. There is no one best roast.
>Or you can buy medium roast
>coffee and do it yourself. The advantage is you can drink such coffee
>black without drowning it with milk and sugar. It's like drinking good
>whiskey straight, rather than mixing it with something sweet like soda
>or orange juice to hide the taste.
Likewise good dark roasts.
>Plain coffee is much less profitable
>than $3-4 espresso drinks, so understandably Starbucks doesn't want to
>push plain coffee.
Can't resist bashing, can you?
>You often stumble across good coffee in places that you don't expect. If
>it's a cafe or store owned by Pakistani's or Indian's, often the coffee
>is good, Chinese, usually not so good, though judging from the number of
>coffee houses in Taiwan, it should be better than it is.
Mostly dreadful.
>See "http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/EK18Aa01.html"
>
>What is American Culture
>
>"2. Burnt coffee at exorbitant prices. The most popular cafe chain,
>whose name decent people do not pronounce, burns its coffee beans to
>produce what Americans mistakenly believe is an authentic European
>taste. Proper coffee, by which of course I mean Italian coffee, is
>bittersweet, not burned. Americans evidently hate the wretched stuff
>because they drown its flavor in a flood of milk, in the so-called
>"latte", something I never have observed an Italian request during many
>years of travel in that country. By contrast, Italians drink cappuccino,
>mixing a small amount of milk into the coffee and leaving a cap of foam.
>If Americans do not like it, why do they buy it at exorbitant prices?
>They do so precisely because the high price makes it a luxury, but an
>affordable one for secretaries and shopgirls."
How many more times are you going to post this biased drivel?
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:18:39 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
wrote in <57idnSs4y98CVk3YnZ2dnUVZ_qDinZ2d@giganews.com>:
>John Navas wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
>> <ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>>
>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>>>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>>>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>>
>> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
>> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
>>
>> I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
>> make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
>> tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
>> all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
>> "burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
>
>Have you ever considered the possibility that *you* might be wrong?
Sure. And you?
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
In article <Xns98D586E7F8185noonehomecom@208.49.80.253>, Larry wrote:
> A friend of mine in Honolulu sends me care packages of Kona from Lion
> Coffee Company (800-338-8353 or fax 800-972-0777) www.lioncoffee.com. I'm
> in love with a Kona blend coffee from Chef Mavro's in Honolulu
> http://www.chefmavro.com/
Hm. An Italian deli (of all places) sells Kona near my house. I'll
have to go try a bag...
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
John Navas wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:18:39 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
> wrote in <57idnSs4y98CVk3YnZ2dnUVZ_qDinZ2d@giganews.com>:
>
>> John Navas wrote:
>>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
>>> <ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>>>
>>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>>>>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>>>>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>>>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>>>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>>>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>>>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>>>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>>> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
>>> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
>>>
>>> I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
>>> make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
>>> tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
>>> all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
>>> "burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
>> Have you ever considered the possibility that *you* might be wrong?
>
> Sure. And you?
All the time.
But you frequently have a hard time discerning between fact and your opinion.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:39:27 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
wrote in <_rSdnfal7MgcTU3YnZ2dnUVZ_s2vnZ2d@giganews.com>:
>John Navas wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:18:39 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
>> wrote in <57idnSs4y98CVk3YnZ2dnUVZ_qDinZ2d@giganews.com>:
>>
>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>> <ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>>>>
>>>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>>>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>>>>>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>>>>>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>>>>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>>>>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>>>>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>>>>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>>>>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>>>> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
>>>> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
>>>>
>>>> I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
>>>> make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
>>>> tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
>>>> all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
>>>> "burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
>>> Have you ever considered the possibility that *you* might be wrong?
>>
>> Sure. And you?
>
>All the time.
>
>But you frequently have a hard time discerning between fact and your opinion.
To repeat what I said earlier:
In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea
John Navas wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:39:27 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
> wrote in <_rSdnfal7MgcTU3YnZ2dnUVZ_s2vnZ2d@giganews.com>:
>
>> John Navas wrote:
>>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:18:39 -0700, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed>
>>> wrote in <57idnSs4y98CVk3YnZ2dnUVZ_qDinZ2d@giganews.com>:
>>>
>>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:31:32 -0600, clifto <clifto@gmail.com> wrote in
>>>>> <ktr6a4-sd7.ln1@remote.clifto.com>:
>>>>>
>>>>>> John Navas wrote:
>>>>>>> On the other hand, both Peet's and Starbucks make full strength coffee,
>>>>>>> rather than the weak stuff made by many coffee places, which some
>>>>>>> undiscriminating people think is "burnt".
>>>>>> One of the nice things about working the Hispanofest in Melrose Park IL
>>>>>> was that on break time there was a nice privately owned coffee shop
>>>>>> just a couple of blocks off the beaten path. They pulled a mean espresso
>>>>>> and made delicious coffee. And Starbucks tastes burnt to discriminating
>>>>>> people who frequent places that make good coffee.
>>>>> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
>>>>> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
>>>>>
>>>>> I consider myself a discriminating person; I do frequent places that
>>>>> make excellent (not just good) coffee; and my own opinions are that
>>>>> tastes vary, that Starbucks has quite different coffees, that some (not
>>>>> all) Starbucks coffees are pretty good, and that what you're calling
>>>>> "burnt" is just over-roasted to your particular taste.
>>>> Have you ever considered the possibility that *you* might be wrong?
>>> Sure. And you?
>> All the time.
>>
>> But you frequently have a hard time discerning between fact and your opinion.
>
> To repeat what I said earlier:
>
> In your opinion. Opinions vary. And your insults only serve to
> diminish the persuasiveness of your argument.
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco Bay Area
In article <jbe1t213nei1djl4ns6ghv065livbs32ge@4ax.com>,
John Navas <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:15:34 -0500, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote in
> <Xns98D586E7F8185noonehomecom@208.49.80.253>:
>
> >"Dean" <dean173@yahoo.com> wrote in news:JcTzh.77$0O1.73@newsfe12.lga:
> >
> >> Best coffee I ever had was Kona, in Hawaii about 25 years ago. They
> >> served rice as a starch with breakfast there too, in lieu of
> >> (expensive imported) potatoes. Interesting. Wonder if they still do...
> >
> >A friend of mine in Honolulu sends me care packages of Kona from Lion
> >Coffee Company (800-338-8353 or fax 800-972-0777) www.lioncoffee.com. I'm
> >in love with a Kona blend coffee from Chef Mavro's in Honolulu
> >http://www.chefmavro.com/
> >Lion makes it for Chef Mavro. (Check out Chef Mavro's video cooking on
> >Wakiki Beach....(c;
>
> Lion is decent, but far from the best Kona coffee -- next time try Sugai
> <http://www.sugaikonacoffee.com/>.
>
> That said, Kona is a bit wimpy for my taste -- I'd much rather have a
> good aged Sumatra, or organic East Timor, particularly as roasted by my
> favorite coffee place, Pacific Bay Coffee in Walnut Creek, a genuine
> micro-roastery. <http://www.pacificbaycoffee.com/> It's far superior
> to Peet's or Starbucks, not to mention (yuk!) Mickey D, DD, or 7-11.
Mickey D got a higher score than Starbucks for their coffee
Re: Steven's Myth of Verizon AMPS coverage in the San Francisco BayArea 