The Jeff R Project

No peeing on the floor, and no outranking me on Technorati | Social Signal

If you frequent Starbucks, or really any place that sells HOT to-go beverages, you’ve probably experienced “the geyser” as I call it.

You’ve got your $8.00 140 degree cinnamon chai tea misto latte double espresso, dressed it with raw sugar, whole milk and a sprinkle of chocolate powder, put the lid on and you’re ready to go. On the way out the door, your toe hits the kick plate and you jostle the drink a little bit, but you’ve got it under control.

Here comes “the geyser.” Just a little bit of your hot drink spurts out the drink-hole (which sounds dirty) and drops directly onto the web of your hand scalding you, pissing you off and causing you to drop said $8 .00 drink, cursing and swearing.

Well, Starbucks now has a way to prevent that. They started showing up in Vancouver late last year, and they may not be as new as I think. One exuberant barista called it “The greatest invention since Post-It Notes” which I may not entirely agree with, but they are great.

What is it called? I have no idea, but it’s basically a swizzle stick with a plug on the end. Or is it like a miniature pacifier with an extended stick? With a bit of research it seems to be called a “splash stick” and was introduced like a year ago as a result of feedback on the Starbucks social networking/customer service site called My Starbucks Idea.

I’ve got to say I LOVE these little sticks. I don’t know if they rival Post-It’s or some of the other brilliant inventions, but I do like the idea they came from an online community suggestion. I also REALLY love that they keep the rain out of my coffee as I trudge back to the office or condo with my coffee in my now-safe-from-burning hand.

Shrimp: -Adjective word used by gay men to describe a man with an attractive body but not an attractive face. Usage: I’d bite his head off and use the body, like a tasty shrimp at a cocktail party.

And judging from his shorts, he’s having a REALLY good time surfing today.

There’s pictures of guys like this all over the internet, and lots of examples in real life where you admire one part of someone, but have no use for others. In this case I admire his hard work and dedication to his body, but nature didn’t bless him with the best face. In other cases, you might find a guy with a really attractive face, but who doesn’t have a body that meets your standards.

Mentally, it’s fun to play the “mix-and-match” game where take bits from various people and assemble them into the perfect man. DO NOT TRY THIS in real life. It gets a little messy really fast. Trust me on this.

I “know” this guy named Nathan through his blog, Nathan Exposed. Recently, Nathan’s been having a really tough time and I feel for him. I don’t technically know Nathan, but I’ve been reading his blog for a while and we’ve traded some blog comments back and forth and I generally like him and his husband. Until recently they’ve seemed a very similar pair to Chris and I.

Rather than be “doom and gloom” on his blog, Nathan has kept it relatively positive considering what he’s written and today shared this awesome Youtube video with his readers. I think it’s brilliant. Yes, I know it was a publicity stunt done to promote a show. We had a similar show in Canada called something like “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” where they were searching for the next Maria to star in a big production of  The Sound of Music. This one in Belgium was called “The Search For Maria” it seems.

I think it’s still brilliant. Flashmob, publicity stunt – anything like this that brings a large crowd of people a lot of happiness can’t be too bad these days. Enjoy.