March

Three Thoughts about 3 Cups

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:45 PM (permalink)

Yesterday I discovered a new (to me) independent coffee shop here in Chapel Hill called 3 Cups. As a work-at-home kinda guy, I frequently take my laptop out to our local Starbucks or Borders to work, since I have a T-Mobile Hotspot subscription. This at least gives me the illusion of going to an office and forces me to shave now and then--both good things. Someone at my gym told me that 3 Cups had opened recently and had great coffee, so I altered my routine a bit and brought my Powerbook over for something different. I discovered to my initial annoyance and surprise that they had no wireless. No Wireless! Philistines!

I resolved to slug down my coffee as quickly as I could, and salvage my morning by heading back home to work as soon as possible. "Trouble" was, I couldn't--3 Cups doesn't just give you a cup of coffee, they give you a coffee press filled with freshly ground beans and a timer. I had to wait a few minutes before I could even serve my coffee, let alone drink it! Luddites!

What I quickly discovered, however, was that this was far better coffee than I am used to getting elsewhere, and exponentially better coffee than the lukewarm swill I had gotten used to enduring at Borders. Now, maybe they will get wireless at 3 Cups someday, maybe not--they are fairly new. I hope that they don't, however. What I got from 3 Cups was a damn good cup of coffee and a little quiet time to enjoy it. It is true that places like Starbucks have cashed in on the telecommuting trend by becoming surrogate offices for people like me, but there are negative aspects to this, as well. Often these places are booked to the gills with laptoppers, all fighting over 4 measly outlets, and are certainly too noisy to conduct business over the phone. The coffee becomes an afterthought--maybe not to the coffee bar (I still think Starbucks generally has great coffee, and a well-trained, attentive staff) but certainly to me, since I am generally too busy typing to enjoy my coffee before it gets stone cold.

In any case, I learned 3 things during my first of many visits to 3 Cups.

• I am a devout believer in hotelier Ian Schrager's philosophy that he doesn't care if 90% of the people hate his hotels. as long as 10% love them. 3 Cups doesn't make lattes, frappucinos or superflappicinos--they serve coffee. The folks who drink venti white chocolate mochas (there are two thousand calories in those!) won't like 3 Cups very much, but I love their coffee, and I will be back again and again
• Working in coffee shops means I never really take an effective break--I just slurp and type in one long blur. I should slurp, then type. My home office really is quite nice--treating a coffee break like it is actually a break has tremendous upside.
• Maybe I don't need to pay T-Mobile 30 bucks a month after all.

So, please, 3 Cups, if you are reading this--don't get wireless. I will buy just as much coffee, and probably get more done.

What Google Gave Up to Break Into China

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:45 PM (permalink)

All credit here to Iain Rowan, on whose blog I found the following:

• Google image search for "tiananmen"
• Google image search for "tiananmen" on China's spiffy new version of Google

I am sure that there are plenty of blaugueristas out there who view this as a soul-less, evil act by Google, but it is vastly more complicated than that. Still, it does go to show one thing--one definition of 'genius' is an infinite capacity to take pains. The Chinese government has shown some real genius when it comes to censorship.

Calendar Apps and why .Mac is particularly unsatisfying

Sunday, May 28, 2006 8:44 PM (permalink)

I have been trying to find a good online calendar so I can sync my schedule with my wife's, and also keep my folks in the loop. I am also hoping to find one with to-do lists, and possibly even contacts. Remember The Milk is far and away the best to-do list app I have found, but no calendar. And I really like Trumba as a calendar, but no tasks. I suppose I could cobble something together with both (and keep my contacts synched with .Mac) but what I really want is all the nifty .Mac/iLife apps I have to come with corresponding, all-nifty-Web 2.0-like online counterparts. In other words, it's nice that I can sync my iCal to-do lists with .Mac, but why can't I check them off as complete online? Someday, I hope, either some enterprising programmers will crack into .Mac and make it really useful, or Apple will let go of the whole client paradigm and realize that I don't want my data to be shackled, just secure.