Blogger -> Google

Erm ... I fear I may have slightly messed things up here on the Starbucks Blog. I've just been offered the chance by Blogger to upgrade my blog to the latest version ... which also means switching to a Google login account, as oppose to the one I use for Blogger.com...

They're only offering the upgrade to a small percentage of users at the moment - so I didn't want to pass up the oppertunity...

What I conveniently forgot was that the Starbucks Blog - being run from my account - would get upgraded too. Ooops.

Now, you can see that nothing has visually changed here - but under the hood things are (apparently) very different. So, next time you log in to post or add comments, you may be asked to upgrade your Blogger account. That would be my fault. Sorry.

(On the plus side, those of us who are using the RSS feeds to monitor the starbucks blog may find the 'Comments' feed useful.)

Anyway. Merry Christmas y'all,

Oli.

Merry Christmas

Since none of us have posted here in ages, I thought I'd break the silence by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and all that.

Oh, and drink lots of coffee -- just so I can't be accused of posting off topic!

CostaClaire has requested instructions for posting to this blog over the holidays, so look out for some (no doubt) dodgy posts over the next few days.

All the best,

OliT.

Hang on! I'm over here!

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet... it's just police training college taking its toll on my social life.

I've been getting home at about 6pm, working on preparation for the next day (pre-reads, powerpoint presentations, learning diaries yada yada yada...), having tea and going to bed at 10pm! No time to send emails or post to blogs... Tell you what, it's not like that proper job I used to do where I got five hours of doss time every day. When I get bored of this silly police lark, I think I'll come back so that I can start being properly productive again.

Did manage to talk to Cardigan-wearer Thomas when I was on the train the other night. The moral of the story is that if you want to converse, between 5 and 6pm is the optimum time!

Anyway, on to more important issues. I've given up trying to spend my daily £10 allowance - I can't do it. Even with breakfast, mid-morning muffins, lunch and afternoon cake (all swilled round with lashings of hot caffeinated beverage) I can't quite make it to ten quid. So I've stopped trying.

But the lemon drizzle cake is just to die for (hmmm, did that sound a bit gay?). I might send you some in the post if you're lucky. Not sure what condition it'll be in when it arrives, but it's the thought that counts.

How goes it at the mausoleum?

P.I. Lacey

OK, Mr L ... it's been over a week now, and the only updates you've given us are about food, and the money you get to spend on it. Not that I personally have a problem with that topic, but we're all keen to hear more about your new career ;o)

I've made a good start...

So then...

Two days in, and I'm still alive. Public transport, rain and 6am starts are conspiring to make it less fun, but so far so good.

Most important news to report is that I get a £10 per day "refreshment" budget. And because I'm on a student campus, everything is very cheap, so it's tricky to actually spend a tenner.

Yesterday, I started off tentatively. I had an Americano at each of my three breaks (they're £1 each) and at lunch I had a BLT sandwich, a grape and melon fruit salad thingy and a bottle of water (to counteract the caffeine). All this came to a grand £6.30.

Today, I decided to try harder. During my first break I had a cappuccino, at lunch I went for a chicken salad baguette, fruit salad, banana, shortbread biscuits and a bottle of water, and in the afternoon had a cup of tea with a huge piece of lemon drizzle cake, which I ate all of. Oli would have been proud. Even so, despite my efforts, I still only spent £7.50.

I'm thinking that I may need to go for the bacon butty and a cuppa when I get there first thing tomorrow. I may yet get to spend the whole £10 if I really put my mind to it.

Oh, and the police training stuff is very useful. So far I've filled in about 47 forms for various things. And as we know, the ability to fill in forms is an essential police skill.

Office Fun

Claire carelessly dies whilst cataloguing the TV Gallery acrylic triangles. SPC, soon to be PC, Lacey takes control of the crime scene ... or something like that.

Tomorrow the team *might* actually do some work, but for now they seem happy. Best not to disturb them.

I feel cheated...

Following on from my last post, I have conducted some research into the "professional" way of making an Americano.

To start off, yesterday we went to Starbucks, where I ordered an Americano and watched to see how they made it. And do you know what? They completely cheated! They poured it out of the big metal coffee vat that lives at the back of the counter! Straight into the mug, and no espresso in sight. Surely that's a filter coffee and not an Americano? More importantly, it wasn't very nice. And they claim to put two shots of espresso in it? Do they hell...

However, today we went into Costa, and I ordered an Americano for comparison purposes. And I'm pleased to report that they do it properly in there. Two shots of espresso, into little shot glasses, which are then poured into the cup, and topped up with hot water. Perfect. And good flavour too.

Starbucks pikeys. Bah.

Black (coffee) art

So last week, I acquired a Krups XP4020 espresso machine to replace my recently deceased Morphy Richards. It's a bit of a highly-strung beast, but it makes great coffee (providing you treat it with due deference and make sure you do everything "just so").

But my question is this. Americano coffee - shot of coffee in first and then pour the hot water in, or the other way round? How do they do it at Starbucks? I've never watched them. We must keep an eye on their technique at lunchtime.

Haven't cracked how to froth the milk properly yet either.

But if you want a really awesome straight-up-no-messing-about espresso, I'm your man...

National Collection

An ancient relic of the early days of teleivion are found discarded on the 3rd-floor landing.

Power of TV!

It's there ... I can see it ... it really does exist!

Experience Coke

Oli contemplates the numerous painful ways in which he can murder his barber

Pizza at the 11th hour

Cushion ... Claire ... Claire ... Cushion

Welcome to the TV Office

Oli uses drugs to expand his mind ...

Flickry Flickr

This is no good ... the night before the gallery opens ... with a good 20 photos ready to be uploaded ... and the Flickr website crashes.

Dang. Sorry. Photos will be uploaded tomorrow if Flickr is back online.

Now, I have to go. I need my Zzzzz's.

Caffeine!

With so few hours left until the dreaded opening, we're gonna need a lot of caffeine to keep us awake.

Did you know that there are sources of caffeine other than Starbucks in Bradford City Centre? Yeah, I said the same thing when I found out. Apparently it's in all sorts of stuff. Even skinny lattes!

The important thing it to maximise your caffeine intake. To avoid wasting any money on useless caffeine-free beverages (such as water or caffeine-free-Coke), I've located a handy list to help you compare drinks:

http://www.wilstar.net/caffeine.htm

or if you require more scientific data:

http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database/

and lets not forget the infamous 'Death By Coffee' online calculator:

http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/

TO THE DEATH!

:o)

The AV will be ready on time ... honest!

Even Henry is helping out

New Team Member

AV Nightmare

Joe tries to assure us that everythings going to be 'just fine' ...

Coffee coffin...

Our Sunday mornings would not be complete without the ritual long-winded making of the Americano coffee to accompany toast and Michael Parkinson.

But this morning, things did not go according to plan. The espresso machine was taking AGES to make the coffee. Not only that, but it was billowing out steam and whistling like it might just go into orbit. Worse still, after ten minutes of this aberrant behaviour, there was only about a thimbleful of sludgy looking coffee in the bottom of the little pyrex jug.

I feared there may have been some user error. Maybe not enough water in the first place? Coffee tamped too hard? Machine not assembled properly?

None of the above. After extensive scientific swap-out testing, I have come to the conclusion that it is officially shafted.

Ah well, it was nearly seven years old I suppose. But it was a wedding present, so it has some sentimental value.

But as we know, every cloud has a silver lining. This means that I can buy a new, shinier, better coffee-making gadget.

And this is where you come in. I don't know what to get.

Help me coffee-suppin' friends. You're my only hope.

Feeding Time

They're driving me mad

I never want to see another acrylic triangle as long as I live

Claire's Ribena has a startling effect on her hair...

Disorganised Chaos

Where is everyone? 7 days to go, and you've all gone home!

The Final Countdown

Watch this space!

With only 7 days to go before the opening of the new gallery, we've chosen to document (through blog and cameraphone) these final moments of the project ... so stay tuned :o)

Random Starbucks Cameraphone Fun

Eurovision Scoreboard

Just in case you were worried we didn't take it seriously ;o)

Darth Calls In

Comedy Lunchtime

I don't think he's gonna make it through that hole ...

Eurovision!

It's that time of year again. Large swathes of the country coalesce into groups to celebrate an evening of audio-visual torture ... and we're no exception.

As usual, my money is on the Moldovian entry. I doubt they'll win, but there's something about them that appeals to my insane nature.

Updates later... photos on Flickr... :o)

UPDATE: No photos ... forgot to take any! Sorry :o(

New Starbucks!

Sorry, but my previous post seems to have killed off all conversation, so I'm here to get things started up again: NEW STARBUCKS!

Yes it's true. Not 300yds from the old one ... the great Seattle coffee company has deemed it necessary to build another one. It's compact, cozy and travel sized ... and they have muffins.

They were also giving away free bags of coffee, which is very strange ... the only thing I've ever had free from Starbucks was that chocolate coin that they forgot to charge me for. Donna and I lived off the savings for weeks!


Ah well. There it is. Lovely isn't it.

I'm Engaged!

Yes, it's true ... but unfortunately not coffee related. I hope you'll forgive me. Donna and I are engaged, wot with a ring and everything. Ah, that ring is so pretty :o)

No further plans just yet .... but give us chance, and we'll keep you updated. Eeeeeeeeeeeee, I'M GONNA GET MARRIED!

Do you think we'll be famous?

Just read this article on the BBC website about Starbucks signing its first film promotion deal.

Maybe if we hang around in Starbucks for long enough, we'll get spotted by a talent scout and we'll all hit the big time? Or do you not think talent scouts are particularly numerous in Bradford?

Sharon Beshenivsky

Coffee Pods

This one is for Jacqui, since she demanded it :o)

I got my first high-pressure coffee maker for Chistmas ...

Ok, so it's not exactly Starbucks-grade coffee ... but it's ten times better than a cup of instant. It's fast too ... it's actually quicker to make coffee with this thing than with the kettle. Needless to say, my coffee intake has double since I got it.

Also, it takes 'coffee pods', which sound cool when you bring them up in casual conversation.

Anyway, I gotta go. I NEED MY POD FIX!

Out with the old, in with the older.

I figured that the seasonal theme to this blog wasn't working any more ... what with it being January n' all that.

As much as I love garish red and white in a website, I've decided to return us to the tranquil shades of green. Anyone got any ideas for a blog facelift?

:o)

CONTROVERSIAL!

So then... one of our number has suggested that, for 2006, we shouldn't go for coffee every day.

Why would she (there's a clue) say such a thing? Is it the expense? Perhaps the calories? Or could it be that she's missing Tim?

Regardless of the reason, it's certainly a controversial suggestion.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, Costabucks'ers.

I've had far too much to drink, so I won't write any more :o)

Here's to 2005, and to a fantastic Coffee-fuelled 2006. And whilst we're at it: Good luck to Tim who starts his new job on Wednesday. Good luck mate!

Oli :oP