The Search for a Late Night Coffee Fix

After my sister took a bite of her velvet chocolate cupcake she took a sip from her iced caramel macchiato.

"This is pretty good," said Nancy.

My carrot cupcake and mocha frappuccino was also delicious; Starbucks wasn’t my preferred coffee place, but was nevertheless there for us at a time of need. Our unfailing fall back plan.

The night slightly, but not remotely close, felt like a cheap re-make of Harold & Kumar go to White Castle.

At about 9 p.m. our plan was to head to True Love Coffeehouse on K st. and obtain a cup of their tasty mint mocha frap. We were giving it a second chance.

True Love had undergone some remodeling to house a Mediterranean eatery. It wasn’t the same after the make over. Like a case of plastic surgery having gone terribly wrong.

It was September 13th. A second Saturday, which meant only one thing.

My sister drove down J st. at about 10-15 m.p.h., due to traffic of course. The sidewalks were packed with people. Mainly art enthusiasts walking in and out of shops and galleries displaying various types of art.

A live band was performing on a platform attached to a trailer.

This night was unlike anything we had ever experienced in midtown. Probably because we don’t get out much, but that’s beside the point!

A lady had hopped out from the passenger’s seat of a neighboring vehicle on 20th and J. Boy was she trashy. She had on a pink strapless dress that stopped just slightly below her bare ass. How do you not remember to throw on some underwear before you walk out the door?

Looking at my sister it dawned on me that she wasn’t staring at the skank, but at the reactions on people’s faces as the lady crossed their paths.

"I find it kind of funny how people react to those type of situations," she said, somewhere along those lines.

From my window it was easy to tell who my sister was referring to. The shock on a passerby’s face was unmistakable.

Luckily my sister managed to find parking just around the corner from True Love.

Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw next. We made our way to the white picket fences that bordered the front of True Love. A belly dancer was outside entertaining customers who were sitting at the round iron tables and chairs. Some of them smoking from what appeared to be hookahs.

When it was solely True Love in this white, two-story, possibly Victorian home, we could have entered from ground level and surely wouldn’t have been wierded out by a belly dancer who, by the way, seemed a bit out of place.

We made our way through to the left, up about five steps, a sharp turn to the right and higher up a longer flight of stairs.

Once in line my sister glanced at a sign.

"Are they still only accepting cash?" she asked.

A Barista answered her question.

"There’s an ATM downstairs."

Last time we had to literally find a bank. Now, we were to head back down the stairs and pay a $2.50 fee to dispense cash for two coffee drinks. Who doesn’t accept plastic?

We were defeated. We gave up. Goodbye True Love.

As we finished our Starbucks’ drinks and tasty pastries my sister said, "we need to find a new coffeehouse."

Is it so hard to find a nice coffee shop, besides Starbucks, where we could get late night coffee fixes from?

The search continues.

Urban Outfitters Holds Onto the Past

It always struck me as sort of odd whenever my eyes caught sight of vinyl records next to the CD rack at Hot Topic. Weren’t we past all this? My guess is no because a trip to Urban Outfitters just the other day made me feel as though it were some sort of time machine.

For starters, customers are being re-introduced to the old fashioned turntable. Believe it or not, there was a turntable that looked as though it had come straight out of the 70s just propped up on a counter as if it were the latest craze. This Crosley portable turntable does in fact play LPs and is thankfully USB ready. Yes, it’s PC and MAC compatible, but the most shocking tid bit about this device is the price.

If someone is really intending to go out of their way to own one of these ridiculous contraptions then the price is $160.00. This is not only absurd, but strange considering that the newest iPod nanos are going for $149.00. It may not seem like much of a difference, price wise, but when you’re taking into consideration what’s new versus what’s been done then the difference is absolutely outrageous. Their website description for this item states that one could get started as a DJ using this turntable. Do we really need a turntable to be a DJ when so many DJs use iPods instead?

Moving around the counter something else stood out, only this object was far more atrocious than the turntable. A boombox! Really?!? Really? Are you kidding me? Where’s Ashton? Maybe this was another one of his lame shows. Wasn’t our intention to consistently move forward into the future by creating new gadgets with advanced technology? The boombox has a spring-loaded door for your iPod, no not for a cassette, which serves the same purpose as an iPod stereo dock. Only the stereo docks would probably cost about $99 now, whereas this stereo would cost you $220. That’s about how much someone would have to pay me to help compensate for the embarrassment that lugging this thing around will cause. The boombox is 14.5’’ high and 25.5’’in width. It’s pretty enormous compared to all the small objects we have all become accustomed to. So to be quite honest, that amount of money may not be nearly enough to cover the humiliation. Why not bring out the parachute pants to match? At this rate it’s probably not that far along. Better yet, when are the 8-tracks coming back in?

Oh it gets better, only this next item may seem more reasonable in other aspects, which will be covered in just a moment. Lo and behold, it’s the good ol’ typewriter. When these first came out and before the magic of tape correction came into existence, one error would send you straight back to type out another page and more than likely that mistake would be fixed only to find another error elsewhere. Writing this column alone there have been a minimum of 40 mistakes and counting. Luckily this was done on a PC where fixing a mistake is as easy as highlighting an incorrect set of words and re-typing the corrections. Even Microsoft Word will automatically switch letters around on a word that has been misspelled. As inconvenient as the typewriter may seem, authors have been known to still use them. This may be for security reasons. No one can hack into a typewriter. This reason alone is pretty understandable. The price is $140 and is reasonable compared to the previous items mentioned.

Maybe it’s difficult for some to let go of the past’s treasures, but with nifty gadgets being created why not venture out and explore a little.

Apple Stays on Top of the Game

As the hype begins to subside from the outrageous price markdown of their specialized iPhone, Apple ensures to secure their popularity by bringing us the latest technology all wrapped up into their new iPod nano. Aside from the appealing color variety these iPods usually tend to come in, nine different colors now to be exact, it’s the nifty features that have you thinking a little on the Wii side.

These iPod nanos are slightly more on the interactive aspect. Just picture the Wii controller in your right or left hand, which ever you prefer, and imagine yourself shaking it as you play Zelda and you’re slashing away with your sword. Now envision an iPod nano in the place of that controller. That’s right, shuffling songs are now as easy as giving the nano a little shake. Even the games available on these new gadgets will let you use the tilt and shake options to play. According to Apple.com these games respond to the way you move. Although only one game (Maze) is included, the iTunes store will provide a wider variety of games to purchase.

The tilting option also gives you a couple of different viewing choices for your photos, landscape or portrait. Viewing videos might also prove to be more enjoyable on the high-resolution 2-inch widescreen display.
As featured on the iPhone, the iPod nano will also allow consumers to see album art in Cover Flow just by tilting it horizontally. Adding a song to the on the go playlist is now as simple as pressing the button in the center once the desired artist or song is found.

Alright, now for the greatest function this iPod has to offer, a built in DJ. Well, sort of. This nano provides you with Genius, a feature which will choose a song from your library that will complement the song you have just previously listened to all the while creating a playlist at the same time.

Conveniently enough these nanos only weigh in at 1.3 ounces and is 1.5 inches wide. Its physique is a curved aluminum glass design. Very svelte indeed.

The nanos start at $149.00 with 8GB, which technically translates into 2,000 songs, eight hours of video or 7,000 viewable photo downloads. For $50.00 more (taxes are obviously not included in these prices), the iPod nano will double its package in mostly all aspects, 16GB, 16 hours of video, 4,000 songs and 14,000 photos! Shipping will take a little longer on the 16GB nanos, but luckily shipping is free as well as the option to engrave. Apple is known for their price drops so it might be wise to hold off on this little number, at the very least for a few months, but then again that’s just me.

To accompany these iPod nanos will also be iPod touch. Its name says it all. Like the iPhone you will be able to scroll through playlists with the simple touch of your finger and it will also include built-in speakers for the gamer’s enjoyment. Genius will also be featured and prices start at $229.00 for the 8GB.

My iPod mini is now what you would consider obsolete. Usually it is my tendency to wait on purchasing these sorts of gadgets until they’ve gone through complete transformations, which obviously they have tremendously done so in the last couple of years alone. This nano has certainly won me over and is definitely going be my mini’s replacement.
With all of these new fascinating features and obviously in the color of your choosing, it’s a wonder what Apple might come out with next.

The Pointless Cell Phone Law

As many Californians know by now, talking on the phone while driving is absolutely prohibited. Oh... that’s right, it’s not. Not completely anyway. If you’re lucky enough to be 18 or older then this law is for the most part, irrelevant to you. Talking on the cell phone while you’re going 50 or even 70 miles per hour is still a possibility, thanks to the wonderful contraption known as...a Bluetooth.

A thought that had crossed my mind initially was whether or not this cell phone law was just a scheme derived from companies, who manufacture Bluetooth devices, to get into the wallets of consumers. Remarkably enough the NPD Group just so happened to have a press release on July 23, 2008, (http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_080723a.html), explaining how "[s]ales of Bluetooth headset devices surged in the months prior to the new law going on the books." Also on that press release was an interesting quote from Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD, "[l]egislation has given a helping hand to hands-free technologies." Well they didn’t get a dime from me because it just so happens that this law also allows you to use the speaker phone option.

In most cases with the speaker phone you would still have to hold onto your phone and place it just inches away from your ear. This doesn’t make all that much of a difference then just simply using your phone.

Although it may seem unlikely, this law has more options as to what you can do versus what you can’t. The most shocking of these, and to my disbelief, is still having the option to text message. Text messaging has become just as popular as, if not more so, making calls from your phone.

It was a month ago or so when my eyes caught sight of a vehicle making slow zig-zag motions from one lane into another. Luckily there was minimal traffic. It was early in the evening so there was a probability that this was a potential drunk driver, but not exactly the case in this situation. It was an older man who looked as though he were in his mid to late 50s. He had been glancing up and then down, but his eyes were for the most part diverted from the road. The top of the cell phone finally made its appearance. Although this law doesn’t necessarily encourage you to use the text messaging option, it doesn’t really discourage you either.

A slap on the wrist is all you’ll receive if you dare break this law. A mere $20 for the first offense and some court fees. Not even a violation point on your license according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Any offenses thereafter are $50, but yet again no violation points.

This law is not only pointless, it’s ineffective. It makes no sense having a law like this unless there are restrictions that could potentially make the roads even more safe from reckless drivers and would actually pertain to those who are 18 and over.

Why not make a cell phone law that would actually make sense? A law that would require people to turn off or leave their cell phones either at home or in the car before they step into a movie theatre. It’s bad enough having to sit through a movie you’ve been wanting to see with a baby screaming their lungs out just a few rows behind you, but to also have to hear somebody carrying a conversation with a person who isn’t physically present, is ridiculous.

We can all thank Senator Joe Simitian and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for providing the state of California with yet another pointless law to add to the list, right along with women not being able to drive in a house coat!