starbucks mild: the verdict

so 'twas about last tuesday or so when i happened upon my coffee grinder while unpacking. the long set-aside vacuum-sealed thingeemajig (what do you call those coffee vacuum packs anyway?), having long been set aside, started screaming "your mother is a fragging aardvark!" so i gave in and made some. steve's randomizing software decided to play kmfdm's waste, better known as the song the columbine kids had lyrics from on their website. that did not bode well. and as it started brewing, the batman theme came on, casting a further darkening pallor unto the beverage supposedly enjoyed by 6,199,999,999 of the world's residents.

nevertheless (that's such a fun word), a week later, and after figuring out a sufficient watering-down and milking-down ratio, it's started to taste pretty decent. even sans fructose. i wouldn't choose to buy it over their competitors' products (which taste far better, and as eugene pointed out, don't cost half a month's rent), but it's pretty good for cheap coffee to keep around home for psychological reasons alone.

control

a few weeks back i picked up a book a friend had on "guitar technique." i spent maybe 3 minutes flipping through it but noticed the author went on a minor tirade about slowing down to practice control. so i tried incorporating it into how i play a variety of things, and it really gives you a different perspective (nonlinear, of course) on what you're focusing on while you play. the biggest thing i noticed is that it helps get timing & rhythm down better, but it also lets you attend to stress that shows up where it doesn't belong.