Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.
--C.S. Lewis--

Monday, January 12, 2009

Come On Dude

I was getting coffee the other morning on my way to do man stuff. (It involved tearing things apart and breaking mortar. All very technical and complicated.) The guy in line behind me ordered the same thing that I did, and yet we used a completely different language.

Josh: "Could I have a large, black coffee please?"

Other guy: "Yes, I'd like a venti drip with no room."

Come on, have a little dignity! I know the poor folks who work at Starbucks have to use all the fake words like "venti" (it means "large") and "drip" (it means regular coffee). It's one of the indignities of the job, like wearing a goofy outfit if you work at Hot Dog on a Stick. But for a customer to embrace the silly and pretentious terminology like it makes your coffee just a little more special is just sad. You're like a guy who VOLUNTEERS to wear the Hot Dog on a Stick outfit for fun. Seriously, don't be that guy. Please?