When I moved to Seattle, I got used to what we call the "Seattle pour", although it may be just novel to us non-Americans. So even though the drinks are more expensive than we were used to, you definitely got your money's worth. I'd say typically the drinks are at least 50-50, sometimes a 72-25 split between liquor and mix.

But apparently, overpouring and undercharging is a $7 billion problem in America, and now bars (like those in Treasure Island in Vegas) are using technology to try to control that. They're bundling RFID tags, special spouts, and metrics tracking to curb overpouring and free handouts.

I know that I won't be visiting bars that meter their pours if there are alternatives available. And who goes to Treasure Island anyways?

I feel like I've passed the last milestone as an individual. Now I can both rent cars, and get a discount on car insurance.

Dear food services industry worker:

Just because you wear a latex glove on one hand, doesn't make the food preparation process any more hygenic for me, especially if you continue to handle money, pick up scraps, and wash dishes with said hand.

Let's just do away with the pretense, take off the gloves, wash your hands often, and moisturize.

Sincerely,

Ming

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Dear coinstar,

Today I put $91.57 into you, and you counted all that for me, and I trusted you. Then I told you that I wanted an amazon.com gift certificate, and you said you were happy to give me one, and all was good.

That was, until you didn't. You made all that dialing noise a modem makes, I could tell you were trying to connect, but then an error occurs. WHAT? You're in the amazon.com building, how can an error occur?

Instead of $91.57 in gift certificate goodness, you spit out a receipt for $83.42, and ask me to redeem it upstairs (that's a 8.9% service fee for those who are counting - a fee that's waived for gift certificates). I asked the nice cashier upstairs about the possiblity of turning it back into a $91.57 gift certificate (like a mouse into a horse), but he says that he's no fairy godmother, and can only give me money, and only $83.42 worth.

You have failed me coinstar. This is the kind of user-experiences that make me not want to use coinstar in the future.

I hate you.

Ming

Here's a feature that's actually useful in the real world.

My kleenex box at work (although it's a thin 2-ply that's not as soft as it should be at times) dispenses tissues of a different colour as you get to the bottom of the box, so you know when it's time to grab a new box before it runs out so you don't get caught with drippers hanging 3 inches off the bottom of your nose.