• • •
Today us folks over at BirminghamHQ launched the Monday Morning Mail feature of BirminghamHQ.
The goal of Monday Morning Mail is to provide a brief look at news and events within the Birmingham metro area and the great state of Alabama. If it flies we may keep it. If people aren’t seeing value in it, we’ll kill it.
To sign up for the email, in addition to early access to BirminghamHQ, simply head to the site.
• • •
From a November 2005 article in The Harvard Crimson:
Zuckerberg declined to comment on how much the company is worth, saying only that its estimated value is “a lot.” This summer, MySpace, the largest online social networking site, sold for $580 million.
• • •
• • •
• • •
I’ve long abandoned Starbucks since discovering good coffee in 2007, but some days the limited options or a time crunch warrant handing them my money in exchange for dark, hot, caffeine water.
Saturday was one of those days as I rushed home from the gym to watch the FA Cup.
I’ve had some interesting Starbucks experiences in the past. Once in Seattle a homeless man called me the n-word. Another time, someone stole my chair and moved my stuff during my 7 second walk to get a napkin. They then acted like they’d been there all day when I asked why they moved my stuff. Then there was the time where the barista couldn’t spell “Landon” and requested if she could call me something else that was easier to spell.
Anyhow, Saturday is the new frontrunner in odd Starbucks experiences.
[I pull up to the drive thru speaker.]
Barista: Welcome to Starbucks. What can we get for you?
Me: One latte…
Barista: One latte.
Me: …and a croissant.
Barista: A bagel?
Me: Croissant.
Barista: Coffee?
Me: A croissant.
Barista: A coffee?
Me: [very polite] Cruh-sahnt.
Barista: [long pause] Banana Walnut Bread?
[At this point I thought she was just mocking me. How many things does croissant sound like? And why is "Banana Walnut Bread" one of her first guesses?]
Me: I’ll start over. One latte and one croissant.
Barista: Two latte’s?
Me: Oh my.
Barista: What?
Me: [still very polite] Croissant. It’s a pastry.
Barista: So… just one latte?
Me: [feeling I might be on a hidden camera TV show] I’ll drive around to the window.
• • •
Slate interviewed Vincent Kartheiser, the actor who plays Pete Campbell on Mad Men. This episode has been out for a couple of weeks old, but I thought it was neat.
Slate: He’s a man of ambition, but he seems to get more unhappy the more he achieves. He’s achieved many of his goals—Trudy had the baby, he got a bigger office, he’s dominating Roger—but he seems to get crabbier by the week. Do you understand why he’s so unhappy?
Kartheiser: With success comes a level of sadness. You think, “I’ll reach this goal, and then I’ll feel a sense of completeness, of wholeness. I’ll feel that I have accomplished something. I will see myself as a worthy man.” And it doesn’t really exist.
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
How Pinterest Could Save Google
Yes, Google+ has 170 million users. But how many of them actually use it is another matter entirely. The social network’s Circle-centric design works too well for its own good; it’s easy to keep private stuff private on Google+, which makes everyone act like information hermits, leaving newcomers with a ghost town.
• • •
How To Use Your Electronics During Takeoff Without Getting Busted
If you were cruising a cabin for people listening to music, and saw a passenger with a pair of headphones folded neatly on his lap—unplugged cord in full view—you would naturally assume he wasn’t wearing his headphones, right? You would. And you’d be wrong. Because that guy is me, and I travel with two pairs of headphones: A set of cans carried mostly as a ruse (though it is nice to give the ear canal a break and switch up ‘phones on long flights), and a couple of earbuds whispering sweet nothings into my ears under my hoodie during takeoff.
• • •
Living Like a Billionaire, if Only for a Day
Everywhere he goes, he gets four-star service. Doors are opened, luggage is carried away wordlessly, and at one point, warm chocolate chip cookies magically appear. When his brakes sputter and his convertible starts spewing smoke, he picks up another Mercedes.
[...]
I feel bad admitting it, but my billionaire day has been stressful. Without an assistant, just keeping up with the hundreds of moving parts — the driver, the security detail, the minute-by-minute scheduling — has been a full-time job and then some.
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
