My new favorite Web-comic is We the Robots. Given the title, you won’t be surprised to learn that the main characters are all robots. Cute, snarky, foul-mouthed robots (sorta like Bender from Futurama, except more relaxed).
I got hooked after I read the strip where a guy walks into a coffee shop to get a large coffee. The barista refuses to sell him a “large” coffee, because corporate policy dictates that the barista can only sell coffee in “gordo,” “jumba-jumba,” and “drei-und-zwanzig” sizes. Things devolve quickly into chaos from there. Link. This strip managed to capture the essence of a minor frustration in my life. One reason I hate Starbucks is that the baristas always roll their eyes at me when I ask for a “large decaf.” Then they say: “You mean a decaf vented Companeros?” Then I say, “No thank you, I’ll just go to Dunkins instead.”
I always find the term “barista” a little pretentious, myself. I mean, sure, coffee is great stuff, and it takes some skill to make it right, but “barista”? There’s a sort of fakey Italianate sensibility to this that strikes me as a tad ridiculous and overblown. I’d much prefer Coffee Queen, or Grounds Dude. I go to Dunkin Donuts too (if we had one, I’d go) for the same reason. The underpaid overworked counter help there doesn’t put on airs or smirk if you say Large instead of Vente or Grande or Bigge or whatever it is your supposed to say. Actually, the best coffee here in this red state is at McDonald’s. Sad but true.