The You-Knighted-States...

It's interesting to be back, even if only for a short while, to have a first hand experience of what is really going on behind all the smoke and mirrors. And what have I found out? Not much. My most significant impression is that although there are more BlackBerrys than in a pot of homemade jam I have a suspicion that the integration of technology with modern life is very superficial. Maybe I've got it wrong and it is so seamlessly integrated that people don't even realise it's there anymore. At least baseball is still baseball, and the chillidogs still smell better than they taste, afterall this is the real undercoat of America, glossed over with their wifi Starbucks and casual internet connecions at $6 a pop. There are 313 Starbucks in Colorado alone (and I've seen 2 more being built this week). "It has 7,950 U.S. stores — plus 3,275 elsewhere — and an average of five opening every day worldwide. Its long-term goal is 15,000 U.S. stores, 30,000 globally. By contrast, McDonald's has 13,700 U.S. stores, 31,000 globally. It's hard to be an American without stepping in one. Some do every day. And 24% of Starbucks' customers visit 16 times per month. No other fast-food chain posts numbers even close." Source:USA TODAY Personally I am a bit sickened by it. I miss the real NZ cafe experience, with it's real food and real coffee and real people, and I don't even drink coffee. Go figure.