I finally got my wife to stop frequenting them with a moka pot and some flavored syrups. Homemade is comparable in flavor, bit less fat and sugar, and $1-2 per cup all in.

I use a Kingrinder, $50-100, milk warmer/frother, $30, moka pot, $30, and light roast Ethiopian beans. I just order in a big bag of beans for pour over and use the same for other drinks out of convenience. I’ve had cheap espresso makers before and the moka pot is close enough for mixed drinks.

On Subaru and CVTs, I hate most modern automatic transmissions due to the rough shift and indecision but the Subaru CVT ain’t bad at all.

Yup, in the office we regularly hire engineers and scientists with a bachelor’s, I’ve never seen anyone even care what tier of bachelor’s. Some people go on to get licensed or a master’s on the company dime but we also have lots of unlicensed never going back to school people in very technical demanding and high ranking positions.

I’m just a geologist with a bachelor’s and am regularly supervising and training people with engineering PhDs. My work place quickly becomes task specific and degrees are worth less than years in the field a lot of the time, your mileage may vary.

I travel for work a lot and I’ve had the best luck with Candlewoods. They’ve been consistently around $100 through my corporate booking program. Otherwise Marriotts are pretty good and my perferred when project budget allows. Comfort Inn, LA Quinta, and Sonestas have all had poor maintenance but been clean enough.

Heavy metals and PCBs are most common in my area, various VOCs aren’t far behind. Prior to the EPA and associated legislation companies would commonly use waste process waters for dust control, dump wastes in to pits or on the ground, spills would be left to soak away, and general processes were dirtier and uncontrolled.

One terrible example from western NY that bugs me even more than Love Canal is the involvement with the Manhattan Project. Local steel workers rolled Uranium and they were never told what is was, given any protections, or cared for when the inevitable happened. Radioactive waste was later used as fill for residential and commercial properties in the area. These Hotspot still exist and it is a slow process to get any cleanup done.