Results tagged “starbucks”

Apple today announced some new iPods, including the new iPod Touch, which boasts a wide, touchscreen display, like the iPhone. I’d been waiting for Apple to release a widescreen iPod for a couple of years, now. What’s more, it has wi-fi and web browsing.

I was really excited, and was ready to order one the minute it was available, even though I’d bought a new 80Gb iPod Video just earlier this year.

But then I saw that they’re only offering it in 8Gb and 16Gb models. And the 16Gb model sells for $50 more than the new 160Gb model traditional iPod (now called iPod Classic). I’m sorry. The wide display, the touchscreen, the wi-fi and the Internet connectivity are cool and sexy, and I’d absolutely be willing to pay more for those features. But my current 80Gb iPod already is nearly full, and I’m just not willing to pay more for an iPod with only one-tenth to one-fifth the capacity. The beauty of the iPod, after all, is that I can carry my entire music collection with me; I don’t have to make choices beforehand about what I might want to listen to. That’s why I use the iPod and not the CD changer when I’m in the car.

Sorry, Apple. I think you really dropped the ball on this one. I know it won’t matter to Apple that I won’t buy one—after all, even though they limited the iPhone to a single carrier, which is the major reason I didn’t buy one of those, they’ve still sold an insane number of them. But because of that business decision, and now this one (and a partnership with Starbucks… WTF?! Yeah, I like my frapuccinos, but does any company other than Microsoft and Walmart exemplify evil corporate empire more?), I’m also seriously rethinking my planned purchase of an Apple laptop or desktop this fall. I’m a former fanboy (I used to be a really annoying Apple enthusiast, in fact), and really thought you might woo me back. But you just keep taking me for granted.

I wonder if there’s a country song somewhere on iTunes that accurately captures my sense of betrayal?

We had intended to see the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s new show, “Godfellas,” on Independence Day, but we ended up at the hospital with Jeff’s dad that day. Julie had been encouraging us to see it, and Peg and her family had really enjoyed it when she was visiting around that same time, but we hadn’t gotten our act in gear to go see it. This weekend was the troupe’s last performance in San Francisco (they’re still performing throughout Northern California this month, though, if you haven’t seen it), so we made plans to go today.

We took BART downtown from Daly City and stopped at Burger Joint (or, as the window proclaims, “bj”) for cheeseburgers and fries. Jeff had seen a segment on a local cooking show about the hamburgers there, and GQ had pegged their burgers as the 16th best in the country (and the best in San Francisco).

It was a good burger, to be sure, though I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve had; it truly was nice, though, to be able to get a burger cooked a little on the rarer side, something not so easy to find these days. And the fries were fantastic (I think I care more about good fries than good burgers); I really love fresh, thick cut fries that still taste of the potato.

Afterwards, we walked the few remaining blocks to Mission Dolores Park, where we met Julie around 1:00—she had gotten there earlier in order to get a good place to put down her blanket—and we sat with her for the live music beforehand and the show itself. I’m so glad we went; it was a terrific piece of political satire (for those who aren’t familiar with them, the troupe’s name is something of a misnomer, as they’re not engaged in traditional mime; rather, they write and perform political satire musical theater).

The premise has Angela Franklin, an idealistic former social studies teacher—along with her smitten colleague, Todd, let go from his job as an art teacher in a Catholic school—lose the center she’s set up to give students exposure to subjects—art, civics—schools no longer are teaching, when a gospel preacher from New Orleans—the Rev. C.B. DeLove, the front man for a Catholic, Jewish and Evangelical “syndicate”—takes over the space as his San Francisco storefront for a campaign to get a “Mandatory National Day of Prayer” amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ms. Franklin, a Thomas Paine afficionado, decides to take on the syndicate, to save the U.S. from a tyranny of religious leadership and the loss of the separation between church and, as the minister and his co-hort won’t say the word, “dat other ting.”

The satire is spot on, and the performances—a half-dozen actors create the illusion of a cast of two to three times that—first-class. I told Jeff and Julie that I left with a crush on both Angela and Todd. At one point in the show, the Thomases Paine and Jefferson show up and Jefferson also is quite smitten with the African-American Angela.

Making the day even better, the weather was glorious, at least in the Mission; when we crossed the San Francisco/San Mateo County border on the ride home, it was as though the fog had been stopped on the Daly City side, for lack of the proper papers, but had gathered reinforcements there in the meantime. It was still cold and gray at home, but at Mission Dolores Park it was beautifully sunny; our jackets went unneeded in our backpacks, and we soon were stripped down to our t-shirts. A few men took advantage of the nice weather to sunbathe shirtless; one particularly adorable guy who did so was sitting just to our right.

We hit Starbucks on the way home, where they’ve just replaced their summer banana/coconut line of coffee drinks with their fall-only pumpkin spice drinks, a particular favorite of Jeff’s. After they initially got both my name—apparently, I’m now “Ton,” pronounced “tahn” rather than the 2,000-pound weight—and my order wrong, we eventually left with the correct pumpkin spice frappucinos—and the pumpkin spice iced latte they had first made instead. Yum. There’s another reason autumn is my favorite season.

Yesterday I turned 44, still a pretty neat number if not quite as geeky cool as this past year’s 43. My birthday itself was quiet; Julie took me to lunch, and gifted me with a collection of Ursula K. LeGuin (a shared favorite author) short stories, but otherwise the day was unmarked. Jeff, who had to drive his aunt to the airport, didn’t think he’d be home until late in the evening, so I stayed at the office until 6:30 and ate some packaged paleek paneer from Trader Joe’s for dinner once I got home.

On Sunday, though, we celebrated my birthday (the queen’s observed birthday, we mused) by seeing Leslie Jordan’s (Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace, and Brother Boy in the deliciously camp Sordid Lives, with Olivia Newton-John and Delta Burke) one-man, hilarious autobiographical show, Like a Dog on Linoleum. Afterwards we walked down Market Street, enjoying the unusual San Francisco sunshine and warmth, before heading back to Daly City for dinner at the Boulevard Cafe (yelp reviews), with its great googie-style architecture. I didn’t realize until much later that they completely forgot to bring us our calamari appetizer (though they also didn’t bill us for it, so no harm no foul). Service was friendly and attentive. The “early bird” special, which included an entree, soup or salad, and a drink for $12.95 was a great deal. We both had salisbury steak with mushrooms in a red wine sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and steamed string beans. The only complaint we had was that the entree—albeit very moist and flavorful—could have used just another tablespoon or two of sauce.

We skipped dessert at the restaurant, though, in favor of frapuccinos at the nearby Starbucks, and then we headed over to Thornton Beach Vista, a spot on the edge of the cliffs overlooking Thornton Beach State Park and the Pacific Ocean, only about a mile from our house, where we walked the trails and took lots of pictures in the golden late afternoon sunlight (and Jeff, apparently, secretly fantasized my demise). I still just can’t get over that we actually live less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean.

All in all, a very nice way to observe a birthday.

Oh, one more thing about the San Francisco heat wave. Saturday evening Jeff and I still were comfortable in shorts and t-shirts at 9:00 when we drove his uncle and cousin to the bus station. Afterwards, before taking his mom back home, we decided to stop at a Starbucks for refreshing frosty frappucinos. The parking lot at Starbucks was extremely busy, with dozens of people lounging around outside--pretty unusual for that suburban shopping center--but when we went inside we discovered that the unusually high temperatures had generated a run on cold drinks that evening; when we arrived, they were completely out of ice and couldn't even make an iced coffee, much less a blended drink.