1859 Sides

No main dish today, just a couple of sides.

First, an article recently reported how injuries to children have increased in the last few years. Researchers think it's because of parent inattention. An inattention caused by their hyper-attention to smartypants phones.
We've all seen it, parents and grandparents at the same dinner table in a restaurant, all of them obsessed with their phones, while the kid in the high chair finds a way to use silverware to create additional orifices in his flesh.
Or the one I saw---a twenty-something pushing a stroller as she crossed the street, oblivious to the fact the light had changed against her. Thank God she was leading with her stroller. Her phone might have got damaged by the car that almost hit her kid.
Second, I was at a coffee shop the other day. They used to have a Clover machine that made drip coffee in individual cups. Which was pretty cool. But then the machine broke and they decided to individually drip coffees, with individual drip coffee filters and carafes. And it was cool and good tasting and all.
But, you know, time consuming.
So the other day I was in and they had 7 different people who all ordered drip coffee. And as I looked at the 7 carafes and mini-filter cones lined up, I had to think: This is why they invented Mr. Coffee.
Dude! Get a pot! Sometimes a pot of coffee is a good idea.
Interestingly, I had just come from a real old coffee shop, the Martin Way Diner, and had their potted coffee. Maybe I don't have coffee snob tastebuds, but it tasted the same.
Another thing? Hand dripping is so silent. It's a little creepy. I long for the musical gurgle of the percolator.
America, ya gotta love it.