starbucks – Dynamic Subspace

Good Advice for End of Semester Studying: Protect Your Things While in Public, Starbucks

According to Michael Wilson of The New York Times, Starbucks coffee shops are a prime location for pickpockets and thieves, because the settings are full of people who are generally at ease with their work or conversation with tunes playing in the background.

I imagine that many of us academics as well as our students spend a considerable amount of time at Starbucks or similar public places that are conducive to a relaxing work environment. We all need however to remember that these places are public, and therefore, they provide no guarantee of protection for our belongings.

Whether you are in a Starbucks or any other public place such as a library, you should always guard your things with care. If you are going to get another cup of joe or if you need to find a book on the shelf, I would recommend that you take your things with you. Merely covering your wallet or laptop with your jacket will not prevent your things from being taken.

Be careful out there, enjoy your coffee and semester-end studies, but please take care of your precious belongings, too.

Please Tip Your Barista

It is the holiday season and many of us are enjoying coffee with our wifi while on the road or visiting family. It is customary to give a tip of your change or a little extra to your barista when you get a draught of coffee. However, I have noticed that travelers are tipping far less often than I would have suspected that they would at Starbucks. Tips are an important bonus for underpaid baristas who are already financially hurt by the increasing corporatization of their work place.

I would like to remind everyone to consider tipping their barista, if not always, at least at this time of year when they are hard at work providing warm drinks when they may prefer to spend that time with their friends and family.

SFRA 2009, In Atlanta, At Starbucks

I didn’t sleep nearly as long as I would have liked to last night, but I do feel more rested than I did yesterday during the twelve hour drive. Now, I’m sitting in the Tucker, Georgia Starbucks working on shortening my essay for SFRA. I think I’m going to return home, because there are eight advertising robots arguing and shouting over what surfing is like with analogies taken from the movie Blue Crush for some new campaign. I could say some nasty things about how their hive mind works, but I think it suffices to say that Thomas Nagel’s “What Is It Like to Be a Bat” comes to mind.