POD REVIEW – Coffee People’s BLACK TIGER

This is my first review of a coffee pod.  We have tried many of the common pods.  We are forever searching for the one that packs the most punch with the least amount of bitterness.  We have settled mostly on two flavors.  The one I will cover in this post is Coffee People’s BLACK TIGER.

Black Tiger is by far the strongest we have tried to date.  You can feel the caffeine kick in almost immediately.  I am not up to speed with the lingo on how to review coffee so please forgive my ignorance.  I enjoy Black Tiger on those days when you wake up really tired.  The label on the front of the pod already sets the tone for what you are about to taste.  A bold looking Tiger stares at you as you place it into the machine.  And when you take the first sip bold is what you get.  I would describe the taste as heavy earthy or tobacco like. It holds it’s taste regardless of what flavored creamers you add.  In closeing Black Tiger is so far my morning fuel when the day starts rough.

Now with More Dedication….MYLIFEHAPPENS.COM

I have started a new Blog over at squarespace.  I even purchased my own domain name.  MYLIFEHAPPENS.COM This is an experiment in discipline.  I will try to post at least something daily for all to read.  Wish me luck and come do some reading!!!

My 1st Donation!!!

Hurray !!! I got my first donation from working on homeworkbug.com. A teacher was nice enough to give me a Starbucks gift card today. This may be my favorite kind of donation next to cash of course. I am sure teachers have many unwanted gift cards from Christmas lying around. I will definitely accept these for my efforts. Walmart, Home Depot, iTunes all of these are great. I will update my donations section to list these as options with a mailing address.

Your Reading my Blog !!!! Awesome

as of August 30, 2008

So I happen to look at my blog stats today and I see a HUGE jump in my readership. This blog was meant for me to practice my writing, and give me something to do on those sleepless nights where the kids were up with a fever or I just can’t sleep.

I really have no purpose for this blog except as a place to post things that are longer to explain than a twitter post or Facebook entry can handle.

It is great to see that I am nearing an average of 1000 unique hits a Month.  Most of the hits have to do with the article I wrote comparing coffee makers. Seems like Google likes me too, as I am one of the top hits when you search any of the major pod coffee machines.  The comments on that post are great also, “keep the coming”.  So thank you all for reading my ramblings.  Maybe I will post more stuff now that I know people are reading.

~Tony

Favorite iPhone Apps

Although my iPhone is loaded with tons of apps my favorite or most used apps on the iphone are:

FaceBook
Using this cuts down on sitting at the computer at night.

Twitterific and Twinkle
Both of these are cool if use Twitter “still trying to get more people on”

Evernote
I can’t even begin to explain how useful this is. All my notes, screen shots synchronized on all my computers PC & MAC & iPhone. .

Zenbe
Simple todo list. I sync it, so Sharon and I can keep up with all the crap we need to do around the house.

NY Times
Since I have to keep up with all the stuff going on, this app allowes me to sound somewhat smart during small talk at work.

Trying the WordPress App

Trying out tons of apps on the iPhone. Today I got a hold of an app for my favorite blogging tool. So far so good. This is my first post using it.

I will try to add a photo of the main screen and post this to see what it looks like.

So it works pretty well. I will maybe write reviews of some of my favorite apps this way. I have to practice my writing some how.

blogging from the iPhone line.

I am standing in line for the new iPhone. I normally don’t stand in line for anything but I really didn’t feel like waiting for it. I do have a really bad “early adopter” complex. Generally this causes me to pay more for things that get cheaper over time. I also end up dealing with buggy issues that all later adopters get to miss.

Well wish me luck I am about 75 in line and I just heard they are running out of stock already.

CoffeeWars 2008 – Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonalds vs The Economy

You hear about it almost everyday now. The headlines are popping into mainstream news. Coffee is being hit pretty hard by the economy. Even the giants like Starbucks are losing money. But how is this possible? I thought coffee drinking would be up. Traditionally during down swings in the economy it’s the addictive habit forming bad stuff that usually does well, like cigarettes, alcohol and yes our favorite drink Coffee.

I love coffee in good times and in bad. Lately times are a bit rough, gas price is up, the fear of recession is looming, many are unemployed. I guess the idea of going into a really nice store with wood floors and nice couches and buying a cup of coffee with a name like “Venti Caramel Macchiato, with Whip Cream, Extra Hot with a shot of Espresso” just doesn’t sound like the right thing to do during these times. So what are people doing for their coffee fix?

I think people are going to places where it feels right. For example at Dunkin’ Donuts, coffee is just called coffee. You have a choice of small, medium or large. You can have creme or milk and what ever sweetener you like. If you work at it you can make you coffee taste anyway you like. Sure the cup is made of Styrofoam and it doesn’t have a cardboard sleeve. When thrown away the cup will never decompose and that’s bad for the environment. You don’t get someone called a “Barrista” making your coffee. But you feel good about that Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. You didn’t overspend or splurge. You are drinking with the common folk. I have noticed a lot less staring while carrying my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup than when I was toting around my Starbucks coffee cup.

I think even McDonald’s is getting the hint. They are offering coffee where people buy comfort food. There is nothing like getting up early and heading into McDonald s for a Sausage McMuffin and Hash browns. In the past I would never think to get coffee at McDonald’s but now they have the same large cups and raised lids that make you feel like you have a good cup of coffee.

So I think Starbucks needs to become more socially acceptable during good times and bad. Here are some ideas for Starbucks to get me in the store.

• Free WIFI: Nothing is better with coffee than some free internet use.
• Inexpensive “make your own” coffee with free refills: I normally just get a regular coffee at starbucks so why does someone have to pull the handle on the coffee urn for me, when I can do it myself. The free refills would keep me in the store eating more banana nut loaf.
• Coffee lessons: have the Baristas teach us common folk how to make a good espresso.

When the times are good and you want to feel like a treat goto Starbucks. When your dealing with day to day just surviving in this crazy economy go where it feels right.

Inspired by:
Pressed by Economy, Starbucks Lowers Its Forcast – New York Times

Keurig vs. Senseo vs. Tassimo

I thought I would take a moment a write down my thoughts about these new instant coffee machines. Over the holidays I was lucky enough to get a gift that allowed me to purchase one and by chance I also won a different free one by filling out a survey. We didn’t know much about these machines so hopefully our research and this post will help you get to your choice quicker than we did.

2008 – What will it bring?

Time to start thinking about next years goals. Maybe I will try to lose weight, save money, be happier? All those things sound great but I say I am going to do them every year. What will I try this year? I have been thinking about this for a while now. I guess what I need to do first is take inventory of what I have.

• Family: is Healthy
• House: Needs work but it is ok.
• Work: I have a job, that’s good
• Stuff: I have too much stuff
• Me: I am ok

So now that I took inventory I still can’t see what I need to do in 2008. Maybe it means I need to do something for a cause. I really don’t know what I care about. Animals in trouble, the environment, the homeless, orphans? All these have a really good support systems already.

What can I do that is unique and still make a difference? This is what is on my mind today. I hope to have this better thought through before the 1st. If you have any ideas let me know by commenting.