The Wisdom of Spiders

Forget what the calendar says, forget the falling leaves. Here is the south the truest indicator of autumn in the Southern Writing Spider.

When this thumb sized natural hunter builds her torso sized webs, autumn has begun. As the year marches slowly towards a winter's death, she subtly changes the pattern of her home adding thick white zig-zags and gulfs and whorls reminicent of writing. Her penmanship is amazing.

All my life I have watched writing spider's build their webs. From a young age I watched in fascination and a little envy at the fatal beauty of the work. Autumn, with the wind and the cool breezes and the falling leaves, always makes me introspective. Perhaps it's the spiders.

Outside of our office, a red and black beauty has built her lethal domain. If she is left undisturbed, I'll watch her complete her life's work and maybe next year I'll watch one of her children herald the coming of autumn again.

The Yeager Road Diaries: Can't a Man just get a cup of coffee?

There is a nigh-legendary story of the first time I walked into a Starbucks. I and Kasagi were on the road and he pulled in a Starbucks.

Now, this was when the place first opened in Atlanta and I had no clue what this place was. I get my coffee in cafes, greasy-spoons and choke-n-pukes (fast food joints).

When we walked in to the place I looked at the little buckhead betty and said: "I want a large Cup o' Joe."

Betty blinked at me.

Then I looked at the massive menu and said: "Do you have coffee?"

Betty's brain began to engage.

"Look, I'll take a Large Coffee."

Barbie said: "We have Tall, Grande, and Vente"

I said: "Since those words all mean the same thing I guess you'll have to show me your cups." She held up a Large cup, a 50-gallon drum and a demitasse cup.

I took the tall... sometimes a man just wants a Cup o' Joe.

Wellllll, today Judylamb posted Starbucks' Personality/Drink Order Oracle... and let me tell you, it confirmed everything I knew to be true:

Behold the Oracle's wisdom:

Either you can't type or you mumble incoherently. If you actually walked into Starbucks and said you wanted a "Large Cup o' Joe" the employees would point and laugh. A reaction you're probably used to. Try again, this time input something that Starbucks actually serves.

Starbuck don't serve coffee...