Latest quest for caffeine

Researchers here at the Partially Caffeinated Institute are experimenting with a newly discovered caffeine delivery system: guarana. This is a berry similar to coffee, but with more caffeine! An amazing new find that demands extensive testing and consumption.
This morning our lead researcher consumed a Starbucks tallboy with guarana and ginseng and was pleasantly satisfied with its effects. A mild pickup without serious burnout.

Urban wildlife?

I just saw a vulture on Harlem Boulevard. A vulture. In a residential neighborhood.
Tried to take a photo to prove it to you, but he flew away when I got out of the car.

Reflections on department stores

One thing that's true about the life cycle of business is reinforced by my last post. Industries start with a bunch of vibrant small players until consolidation begins, the industry matures and eventually declines.
Department stores grew in the late 19th and early 20th century by being all things to all people, selling clothes, home goods, luxury items, and offering exemplary service. Although Marshall Field's grew dominant, there were dozens of dry goods retailers in Chicago back then. Eventually Field's got big enough that it forced out the smaller players and controlled the market. But now it's in its dotage and little upstarts that specialize in one thing - like watches - are stealing market share.
Another thing about Field's - it was a racist outfit. Besides pricing at the top of the marketfor upper middle class whites, it never tried to attract immigrants who filled Chicago in it's ascendancy - other department stores did. And blacks were outright refused service. So I guess if the institution dies, it's getting its just desserts.

It's not lost on me that newspapers are susceptible to this cycle and are getting beat to death by their smaller competitors, a.k.a. Craigslist, Monster.com and other online ad venues. Don't let anybody fool you. Newspapers are not "competing" with blogs. Nobody reads blogs for local news, and most blogs link to the MSM anyway. The real competition is from other platforms that sell advertisements. Because the bottom line is, that's what newspapers make money on.

Why I'll never shop at Macy's

The battery on my Fossil watch died this week, so I went out to the department store formerly known as Marshall Field's to get it replaced. When I first got the watch years ago, a Field's clerk adjusted the armband with a special tool for me, so I figured they had the equipment to take the back off and install a new battery.
But Marshall Field's is dead. Department store chain Federated bought the Chicago icon a few years ago and turned the entire chain into Macy's so it could save money printing gift boxes.
Anyway, the clerk at Macy's said they don't change batteries. What?! I was pretty frustrated by that, so she directed me to Dakota Watch Co., one of those crummy kiosks that clutter every square foot of the mall. The friendly clerk manning the display was in the middle of eating her dinner, but she replaced the battery on my watch for $17 with a 2-year warranty.
So a kiosk that sells $39.99 watches in the middle of the mall can provide better service to me than one of the oldest department stores in the country. Lame. No wonder department stores are dying...

Waterproof?

I'm giving Nicholas a taste of camping tonight by sharing a tent with him in the orchard at the farm where my parents are staying this summer. But I'm getting a pretty good mouthful too. It's about midnight and it's POURING rain. As a former Boy Scout, I knew how to pitch this tent to stay dry. But I can't help but wonder if the waterproofing will hold up under this torrent when tiny droplets of water are hitting my skin.
At least Nicholas is sound asleep. Wish I was too...
The rain smells good though. And the thunderclaps are immense.

Another bump on the way down

GateHouse Media, the corporate parent of my newspaper, just got another ding. The New York Stock Exchange won't let the penny stock trade on the floor any more unless it can stay above $1.10 for an entire day. That's looking unlikely, so it's possible the stock could be delisted.
What a ride it's been -- from a $20 IPO just three years ago to getting thrown out of the NYSE. Sweet.
Note that there are 30 days until I become a law student...

Our latest research

I am experimenting with a new favorite coffee: Medaglia D'Oro. It's a ubiquitous Italian espresso roast in a can that I picked up on a whim. I haven't been making my own drip coffee for probably a year now because it doesn't make sense to brew a pot when you're only going to have a few cups. Plus, there's plenty of mediocre drip coffee at the office.
Instead, when I want coffee at home, I make myself a little espresso in my little espresso pot. I ran out of espresso beans a long time ago and in desperation started grinding up my regular Colombian whole bean. While this off-label method makes a decent cup of strong coffee, espresso it is not.
So to return to a real dark Italian roast has been a treat. So strong. Thick like motor oil. And zowie, a straight caffeine blast.
As they say in Italy: Buon appetite!

I know that guy!

I'm not a golfer and I never have been interested much in golf. In fact, I still think it's a hoity-toity sport for old, rich white guys. And if I ever become an old, rich white guy, I'm still not learning how to play golf.
But this year I've probably paid more attention to the PGA Tour than ever before. I watched Tiger Woods face-off with Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open. But now pro Kenny Perry is on a tear, which is awesome because he's the only pro I've ever met.
Last year I tagged along with a sports reporter to the Rockford Pro-Am, the longest-running standalone amateur event in the PGA, because he needed help taking video during the day. Kenny Perry comes nearly every year. But this year was special: I was standing among a crowd at one of the tees when an errant golf ball whistled overhead and struck something soft with a thud. That something was Kenny's chest.
Later on, we interviewed Kenny about it -- he had an icepack strapped on under his shirt. I got his autograph and gave it to a friend of mine who loves golf. But the best part was the injured Perry hit a hole in one that day.

Downsizing

Intelligensia coffee is going to stop selling coffee in 20-oz cups, according to this story.
It may come as a surprise, but I support this decision. Yes, we must consume more caffeine, but we're not barbarians here at the Institute. No, we enjoy the sweet pleasures of black coffee, it's aroma, it's bouquet, along with its mind-sharpening chemical booster. Buying coffee in tall-boy means you end up drinking cold coffee before you're finished. And who wants to pay $3 a cup for a room temperature beverage?

Low-dollar deal

UPDATE: Today (Wednesday), we learned that last month was our newspaper's worst drop in profits in year-over-year comparisons in 10 years. The economy is terrible.

A share of stock with my company is now worth less than a short cafe latte.
Hoo boy. Pretty soon I'll be able to buy the whole corporation company by taking out a title loan on my Ford.

Lightning strike

Whoa! Nicholas and I were just driving to the store in a thunderstorm and we saw a lightning strike blow up a transformer - from about half a block away!
Ok, that was pretty cool.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

There's something we like to do a lot here at the Partially Caffeinated Institute, and that's change everything.
In May, I informed you that the house I've lived in for the last four years was for sale. It had a few interested parties, but no offers. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Nicholas' mother and I decided it was best to change plans. Now we'll keep the house: She's moving in with him and he won't have to move at all.
This made a lot more sense than going through the stress of trying to sell the house, close on the house, have her move into a new apartment and then move Nicholas there as well.

Scientific limits

Here at the Partially Caffeinated Institute, we conduct research testing the limits of human coffee consumption. But we always put safety first. Using formulas proved worthy after decades of improvement, we've determined exactly how much caffeine a person can consume before complete organ failure.
We offer this site in service to mankind. According to our experiments, it would take almost 85 cups of drip coffee to kill our director.