Patently Trivial

I am today in possession of a letter from Tony Woodson of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Woodson is kind enough to tell me that "[my] application to take the examination for registration to practice before the Patent and Trademark Office has been approved."

A small hurdle, but it's nice to be past it anyway. I guess that means I have to study now.

But Baby, I Got *Needs*

There are a few things I need to have to feel that I can deal with the world around me. Lacking them often makes me pissy. Good food (or at least an opportunity to make it myself) is one of them, even if it's simple and robust, and so is good wine. The two relevant to this post are strong coffee that's tasty enough to drink black with a little sugar (or none in a pinch), and a fast Net connection.

Which brings me, perhaps politically incorrectly, to Starbucks. I like their coffee. It's not just that I can rely on it to be drinkable (which is a feat in itself), but that outside of New York City I can rely on it to be the about the best cup of coffee I can find for miles. Moreover, with the advent of the Wi-Fi "Hot Spot," I can usually camp out there and be happy. Starbucks is often a good place to ogle pretty girls, too.

But in the summer, my wife and I often go to the South Jersey shore. We take the casino bus down, but to go anywhere while there we have to borrow a car from friends or family if we can. And once we're there it's a desert as far as good coffee and fast Internet are concerned. (USDA prime beef is simply out of the question, but so far the people I cook for haven't seemed to mind.)

Imagine, then, my delight to see a Starbucks under construction three blocks from the family house. I just went to the Starbucks web site, though, to see if the store would have Wi-Fi. To my great dismay, the location isn't listed even as "coming soon."

How long must I wait, O Lord! How long?