Starbuck

I had a nerdy day today at the Space Needle and Science Fiction Hall of Fame. So many sci-fi props, so many nerds and even the original Death Star. I was in my element, especially when I saw the Steve Austin action figures that I lost when I was a kid. If this was a TV show there'd be wiggly lines and harp music as I flashed back. They even had a Cylon! Most of the stuff was from the collection of Paul Allen. He's the co-founder of Microsoft so has impeccable nerd credentials.

I also saw the original Starbuck's today. You'd think that would be my idea of hell, but as Seattle is the home of Starbuck's it seemed to be the thing to do. I can even cope with a Starbuck's on every corner here as they are totally out numbered by all the other coffee shops around. I thought the original store would be different in some way, or some fuss or issue made of it but it was just another boring, ordinary Starbuck's. I think this may be why they are failing. Originally they succeeded because they were different from everything else but now they are just ALL the same. And how many times can I type Starbuck's in one paragraph.

It's really beautiful here, feels very much like Melbourne. Low rise and pretty, European in style and the city is surrounded by mountains, water and trees. And there is a surprisingly low number of fat people here. In fact there were hardly any in San Francisco either. Perhaps the Americans really are slimming down and the Aussies are taking over. I'll keep you posted on the FQ (fatso quotient) when I get to the less cosmopolitan places

Now I'm just sitting watching an episode of Frasier while sitting in Seattle. Which is a bit like having an out of body experience what with the space Needle on the TV and outside the window.