Look East in Sky Just Before Sunrise

A few months ago I wrote about how beautiful the evening sky was in the west, immediately after sunset, with the (projected) proximity of the moon, Jupiter, and Venus.  It was a sight to behold.  Well, the mirror effect is now going on in the east just before sunrise, and with the same celestial players.  This morning Venus was close to the horizon with Jupiter up from it and the waning crescent phase of the moon a little higher.  In the next couple of days we'll see the moon "shrinking" and approaching Venus' position.  Should be fun to watch, as I have recently gotten into the habit of going outdoors at this time to pick up my newspaper.  After all, I want to get a head start on the puzzles contained within...

Oohmahgahhh: Howard to Lakers, Bynum Gone

It's over, as far as I am concerned.  I have reported my feelings on this blog about how I felt about the Los Angeles Lakers and their bullying/thug "star" Andrew Bynum, who turned me against this storied franchise with his (what appeared to me as) criminal behavior in the 2011 playoffs against Dallas.  As I write this, Bynum is gone, to Philadelphia, a team that I automatically will NOT ever be supporting (as long as he is on its roster).  Instead, the Lakers are getting one of the premier players in the world in Dwight Howard who, adverse media notwithstanding, was an instrumental factor in the Orlando Magic's success over the past few years.  Nothing against them: I wish Orlando success in the future. But for the next year I am completely a Lakers fan: Steve Nash is my favorite player in the NBA and recently joined them, and with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Dwight  Howard, and Pau Gasol? Wow.  The only drawback to this dream scenario is the continuing presence of Metta World Peace, which is the name that Ron Artest, whose thuggish behavior rivals that of Bynum, likes to call himself.  The question is, can I deal with this and still support the Lakers? Probably, and for ONLY one reason: my respect and appreciation of Steve Nash outweighs everything else, including that "peaceful" Artest...

Musical Ripoff Hypocrisies, Part 2

The spring of 1970 was almost magical to me, at least in a musical sense.  There were many great songs that came out at this time, one among them being the first hit that the Supremes recorded without Diana Ross, who had left the group to pursue what would be a very successful solo career.  Still, somehow Up the Ladder to the Roof sounded like Diana was there anyway, and it was a very beautiful song.  I even bought it as a single (and still have it).  Yes, it was one of my favorites for that year, when I was still in my early teens.

Fast forward to 1983.  MTV had been going on for nearly two years and cable TV mogul Ted Turner decided to present a similar format on weekend late nights on his TBS channel.  Having no MTV at the time, I greatly enjoyed watching the succession of videos (which were actually interesting back in those days).  One video was of a new, upcoming musician named Prince: Little Red Corvette.  This song instantly came across to me as a ripoff of Up the Ladder to the Roof, with the title lines sung in each song to almost the exact same melody.  I would even go as far as saying that I thought the copying was blatant.  Apparently, though, no one else did, and Prince went on to become the superstar that he is known for.  So far, so good...

Now we come to the latest LP released by Sufjan Stevens, titled The Age of Adz.  One track on it (in fact, one of my favorites) was a plaintive song called I Walked.  It sounded like an "original" to me, but later a reviewer of this album in Spin magazine wrote that he felt that Stevens had lifted part of Prince's Little Red Corvette.  I suppose I could discern some similarities in the instrumental background introducing both songs, but nothing more.  Still, that reviewer is entitled to his own opinion, and I never heard of Prince complaining.  And why should he, in our current age of sampling and wholesale copying?  What's been going on recently makes George Harrison's supposed infringement against the writers of He's So Fine with his wonderful My Sweet Lord look like an extreme example of nitpicking...

Musical Ripoff Hypocrisies, Part 1

I am sitting here, at 11:51 PM (just in time to make the cutoff for today) watching ABC Nightline.  One of the featured topics is Madonna, more specifically her criticism of Lady Gaga for the latter's supposed ripoff of her old hit Express Yourself in a recently released song (or maybe it's older, I dunno).  I am not a follower of Lady Gaga; I have only heard her first two hits, although I dug her debut Just Dance. O.K., maybe The Lady copied her, who knows.  But the idea that Madonna has any kind of beef with it floors me, because I remember...

In 1972, there was a new sensation in soul and "top forty" music: the Staple Singers. Known for their big hits Heavy Makes You Happy and I'll Take You There, they had another great blockbuster (that I used to sing to myself while sitting in my often demoralizing high school): Respect Yourself.  There is no doubt in my mind that Madonna, either consciously or unconsciously, lifted a large portion of this wonderful song when she created Express Yourself.  Don't get me wrong: I thoroughly dig Express Yourself and Madonna (especially during the later 1998-2001 period) has endeared herself to me with her music, if not her excessive showmanship (which her "rival" Lady Gaga has also emulated).  But c'mon, popular music is simple in nature and all songs feed off their predecessors to some degree.

Another example of a musical "ripoff hypocrisy" soon...

Hiroshima Anniversary: Grace Now, But for How Long?

Today marks the 67th anniversary of the first use of an atomic bomb over a human population: Hiroshima, in western Japan.  The American president then, Harry Truman, having been recently informed of this super-weapon's development and successful testing, saw it as a means to shorten the war against Japan and render a possibly disastrous invasion of the island nation unnecessary.  In his thinking, it would sacrifice lives with its dropping but would ultimately save manifold more by quickly ending this horrendous war.  Apparently, though, the response to Hiroshima by Japan wasn't fast enough as a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki three days later.

I think everyone concerned was taken aback, not at the actual physical destruction these bombs wrought (bad enough), but rather at the horrible radiation sickness that spread through the exposed population.  By all accounts, war or no war, these bombings were an abomination, an ultimate violation of human rights.  But looking back on it from the convenient vantage point of an outsider's hindsight safely after World War II, instead of within that conflict as someone who, like Truman, was charged with deciding which course of action would save the most lives, isn't exactly fair, either.

Thankfully, no more nuclear bombs have been dropped on people since 1945 (at least not deliberately, I suppose), something few futurists or science fiction writers could have imagined in their wildest dreams. But how long will this grace period last with all of the bombs and the means to manufacture and deliver them proliferating across the world and potentially falling into the hands of despotic regimes ruled by paranoids with scores to settle against their enemies or terrorists hell-bent on sacrificing anyone and everyone for their high and holy causes?

Graphic Novel Version: Why?

For a change of scenery, I stopped in the other day at one of my two local Books-a-Million stores to use their cafe as a study site.  I've used this place a lot in the past and probably would have continued to do so had they run it in a more costumer-friendly manner.  Not that the employees aren't friendly...they are as nice as nice can be.  But there's usually only one of them attending the coffee bar, meaning that I have to wait until everyone in line in front of me is completely finished having their often involved orders prepared and served before I can get my simple cup of already-brewed coffee.  And, oh, sometimes there is nobody at all there. The store hours also have been cut back and the flavored coffee they always used to have is either unavailable or unbrewed.  But critiquing this company isn't what I set out to do here.  It was a book I saw on display as I entered...

Eoin Colfer is the author of the children's series Artemis Fowl.  I have taken to it myself because he is a very good storyteller, creating memorable, compelling characters as well as an alternative universe full of vivid imagery.  I am on the fourth book in this series.  On display was to be the final book in the series, with a substitute graphic novel edition available as well.  Graphic novel?

I enjoy creating my own images of what Artemis Fowl, Butler, Holly, Mulch Diggums, Opal Koboi, and the others look like, as well as the exotic settings of the series.  The last thing I want is to see is someone else's representations, even if they were with the author's blessings. Yet, apparently there are people who either have no imagination or don't want to use it and will jump at the graphic novel option.  Many of these no doubt skipped reading literary delights like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (and soon-to-be The Hobbit) until the movie versions came out.  

I think Artemis Fowl would make a great movie series, not just some graphic novel versions.  But it's the reading that you want to immerse yourself in.  I read the Potter books as well as Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia before seeing their cinematic counterparts.  And I must say that you're missing an awful lot of these stories if you bypass the books.  This probably also applies to graphic novel versions. Sure, with them you're still reading, but they are co-opting much of your thinking...

Snide Leaders

It is easy, whether one is talking about politics, religion, the workplace, or anywhere else that involves evaluating the performance of people in authority positions, to overlook their shortcomings if those policies and beliefs dovetail with one's own.  On the other hand, those leaders with a more negative, "opposition" image tend to suffer much scrutiny about their style and appearance.  As I look at the two current leading candidates for president, I see this as well.  I have to admit it: having supported Barack Obama since early in the 2008 primary campaign season, I have generally ignored mannerisms of his that I have to describe as snide and flippant.  His curt dismissal of his predecessor's plan to establish a base on the moon because "we've already been there" was a brutal slap in the face to those who worked on this project and were about to face unemployment because of the new policy.  Obama also often jokes around in a half-assed, careless manner that can offend others.  Barack, take note: it isn't leadership you're displaying when you spew out this nonsense: it just ticks people off.

Mitt Romney is also snide and flippant.  As a matter of fact, other than protecting rich people's money (especially his own) from the "evil" government and whose interests they expect it to protect (by taxing the less rich more), Mr. Romney projects a air of snide apathy about any other issue presented to him.  Who knows what he REALLY thinks about health insurance reform, women's reproductive rights, gun control, or anything else on the table right now (except, of course, protecting rich people from paying their fair share of taxes): he has been on DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE sides of the mentioned issues at different times.  This amounts, in my opinion, to snide arrogance.  But it's easy for me to see this, because I never politically supported him.  In many ways, though, Obama can be pretty bad, too. By the way, do you think I'm being unduly harsh on one of these two?  Then chances are that he's your dude...

I have seen others in positions of leadership in other areas of society whose defining personality characteristic I can only describe as being snide.  I believe that it is good...even crucial, for a leader to project an image of confidence.  But snideness comes into play when that leader is openly and even sarcastically dismissive of possibly opposing opinions, choosing to tune out those expressing them with curtness and even derision instead of listening to them with patience and respect. Maybe their image advisers tell them to crack jokes as a way to show that they have personality.  And maybe that works for their followers.  But to those with questions about them, it often comes across as arrogant and insensitive.

I see snide behavior more locally, in leaders I personally know who should be displaying leadership qualities but instead fall far short of this.  I can forgive them for this, if this were the only factor involved.  After all, we're all human, prone to failings of all sorts.  But when one of them has the gall to continually hawk an upcoming  "leadership conference", well...

Switch to New Fitness Center

My family and I switched our "fitness" account today over to another facility across town: Gainesville Health and Fitness.  By doing this, we traded less expense and proximity for flexible hours and more options with training.  For me, all I am interested in is using their treadmill and swimming pool.  I now have the option of using them late at night after my work shift completes, something impossible with the former location, which would be closed at that time of day.

Hopefully, this new arrangement will suit all concerned...

Meany Passes On

I don't quite know what to say, when someone I love tells me that a beloved pet of theirs has died...with my 86-year old father, it can be quite devastating, considering that it was the last surviving cat of his, which he lovingly cared for so many years...after the very untimely and traumatic passing of my mother in 2002.  But such was the case as I found out earlier today. "Meany", which was the name my father gave to this scrapping, "survivor" feline, was in heart a "sweety", who finally warmed up to me during my most recent visit.  She had been suffering from some unknown malady, but had been making a recovery when she suffered a fatal accident some time after I had left last Saturday.  I have a picture of Meany I took just before I left that day.  She was an old cat and had lived a full, eventful live.  My heart goes out to my father, and I hope that he will find some source of solace and peace after this wonderful animal's passing...

Pleasant Trip to Orlando and Daytona

Today I went down to Orlando with Melissa as she prepared for an upcoming assignment at UCF in the pursuit of her Master's Degree.  That order of business went well and quickly, and we found ourselves with some free time.  So we drove over to Daytona Beach to spend the rest of the day and night.  We stopped off for lunch at a place next to the Intracoastal Waterway in Port Orange called Aunt Catfish.  Naturally, we had to try the catfish...all of their food and service was excellent, as well as their prices.  Definitely worth a return visit on a later trip.  Then we went on to find a hotel room, which we did without too much difficulty.  The beach was half-empty, so were the hotels; still, prices were often exorbitantly high.  Haven't they ever heard about the economic law of supply and demand?  We did find a place with a good overnight price and settled in.  The rest of today went well, and we had a good time.  But I realized as the night wore on that I hadn't gotten in my running for the day.  So at about 10:30, I went out on the beach and ran for 11 minutes, wearing a cap with a small flashlight embedded in the visor to light up the darkness directly ahead of me.  Not long, but it's a run nonetheless. My main concern was avoiding all the "shadow people" creeping around me along the way...

We'll be heading back home tomorrow.  I am a creature of routine, but this little trip was quite a welcome break anyway.

My Running Report for July 2012

This hot, summer month I managed to maintain my goal of 100 total running miles, reaching 112.92.  Also, I extended my consecutive day running streak, which now stands at 92.  My longest run was for 7.0 miles.  Most of the time I ran around my neighborhood, during the mid-to-late morning hours.  I also sometimes used the treadmill at my nearby YMCA.  On a recent trip to Hollywood, I ran around my childhood neighborhood on three mornings (with unpleasantly hot and humid weather conditions).  And on July 4th I participated in a public running event: Gainesville's annual three-mile Melon Run, put on by the Florida Track Club.  All in all, it was a successful month for me with running.

That being said, though, I have to admit that running hasn't been much fun lately, with the adverse weather to contend with.  Still, I have turned it into a disciplined routine that doesn't take up too much of my time.  We'll see how things go when the weather eventually (hopefully) begins to turn cooler, although I don't anticipate anything of the sort happening in the near future...

U.S. Star Gymnast Out of All-Around Olympic Competition

I was following some of the Olympic Games coverage when I came across the sad story of the favorite American women's gymnast to get an all-around gold medal, being eliminated in the qualifying round.  It wasn't because her score in itself disqualified her from advancing: it was the third-highest and would have been enough to advance.  But there is a rule now in place that each country can send only two gymnasts on to the final all-around competition, and the other top two qualifiers were both from the United States.  So hence elimination and the ensuing sadness.  I feel for sympathy for her, too.  However...

She did have the opportunity to qualify with a higher score, but was outperformed by her own teammates.  Also, everyone, including her, knew of this "limit of two" rule.  So I wonder...was it a presumption that the other competing members of the team were just supposed to forfeit their dreams of medals and glory because of her presence?  And besides, she has other events to compete in, both on the team level and as an individual going for medals in specific events.  She was just eliminated from trying for the all-around title, but can still win many medals if she excels in her remaining events.

I don't understand the shocked dismay at the turn of events here.  I understand how, in these elimination rounds, the losers are going to be disappointed: that's sad, but it is the intrinsically designed nature of the sport! Commiserate with those who don't advance, sure.  But then  focus on congratulating and giving coverage to the two gymnasts who will compete for the all-around title.  This is their moment in the spotlight, and I am tired of the sports press depriving lesser known athletes of coverage in favor of more well-known, but often underachieving sports stars.  I've been seeing the same in these games with that superstar American "Subway" swimmer as well, and it bugs me to no end...

Interstate Road Closure Warning Largely Ignored

Yesterday my drive back from Hollywood to Gainesville, a distance of about 350 miles, was uneventful, and in the good sense of the word.  I was careful to avoid long stretches of driving, frequently stopping for coffee, food, gas, and even once the beach.  Except for a stretch of a severe rainstorm around Naples, the weather cooperated as well.  And the road, despite being plagued (or blessed, depending on your perspective) by Florida Highway Patrol squad cars laying in ambush for speeders every few miles, presented no problems with closures or detours.  Not, at least, until the very end of my journey, with me already almost back in Gainesville...

I usually leave I-75 in Gainesville at exit #390, which is the northernmost exit in town.  I was just approaching the exit immediately preceding it (#384) when I noticed a sign, with a Highway Patrol parked nearby with its blue lights flashing, warning that the Interstate was closed past this exit and that I would have to get off here and follow a detour.  I dutifully took note and left then.  As I was going down the exit ramp, though, I looked over and noticed that hardly anyone else was following the warning, instead choosing to drive on.  Then I looked ahead down the Interstate and saw the traffic, clearly backed up and at a grinding halt, going nowhere in a big hurry.  And I thought to myself, this is the epitome of distracted driving: signs warn you, a police car is out there trying to attract your attention, and you can even clearly see, just by looking ahead of you down the road, that it is hopelessly backed up.  And yet you still go on, like lemmings over a cliff!

I later found out that an overturned truck had shut down I-75 between exits 384 and 390, something that I had already suspected.  But I'm still scratching my head at the blind stupidity of some drivers.  I suppose the only way they would have left at the indicated exit is if the road ahead were physically closed off to them.  But there obviously hadn't been enough time to accomplish this.  Hence the largely ignored sign and flashing squad car...

Quick Stop at Nokomis Beach

While visiting Hollywood, a city situated on the southeastern coast of Florida between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, for the last few days, I had fleeting thoughts about visiting the beach there.  I wasn't planning on going out into the ocean, though...no, I just thought it would be nice to stand out there on the sandy beach and look out at it.  Besides, the last few times I had been out on an Atlantic beach, the waters were turbulent, to put it mildly.  I opted out of the beach experience, though, when I considered the $5 parking fee just to set foot out there.  No problem, though: the beach ( a different one) may be in the offings next week!

As I wrote a few days ago, I had decided to use I-75, which hugs the western side of the Florida peninsula, for my drives downstate.  Going back this way today, I noticed a small stretch of the Interstate that came relatively close to the Gulf of Mexico.  So I got off at an exit (#196, I believe) which goes straight out to Nokomis Beach.  There was plenty of free parking, although the large beach was pretty crowded.  And the water was very, very calm: I could envision myself floating on my back and getting in some pretty good swims had I carried swimwear with me.  Still, for the future it's a good stop-off point to take a little break and enjoy the scenery...

Here are a couple of photos I took of the beach.  I'm a little self-conscious, though, about bringing a camera in closer in this crowded area, so the pics are a little "f-a-a-r out", as the late John Denver might have said...

CNN Romney Interview Contrived, Soft, and Nauseating

I was watching that CNN British Piers Morgan dude interviewing Mitt and Ann Romney last night and wondered whether they cleared out half of London just to provide that vast, empty backdrop as they sat outside.  It looked awfully contrived to me.  And the "safe" answers that the two gave to the patty-cake questions posed them completed the nauseating effect of the whole show.  I don't know what would be worse: having to put up with this guy's policies should he be elected, or just seeing him on TV all of the time, hemming, hawing, and (ultimately) lying...

Then again, I suppose the mirror image to this, if you dislike our current president, is that you had to put up with the same thing watching Obama in 2008 and then getting stuck with him up to now.  Oh well, I suppose we can take turns with this disgust, but I think I'd rather wait until 2016: after all, I was stuck with Dubya for eight years... fair is fair!

My Pre-Dawn Run in Hollywood

This morning in Hollywood I decided to run, but did not want to wait until weather conditions became intolerable.  After all, I don't have indoor, air-conditioned treadmill access down here.  Instead, I got up just before sunrise and ran a 2.7 mile course around my childhood neighborhood.  Unlike with the case of the last time I attempted this down here, I had no adverse physical reactions from the temperature coupled with high humidity.  This morning my running conditions were: temperature 79, humidity 89%.  I plan to do the same tomorrow.

As a curious sideline to my run, I noticed at this predawn time, as it gradually began to lighten around me, the somewhat hilarious sounds of roosters crowing every few houses I passed.  I mean, there are A LOT of roosters in my old subdivision.  Apparently, people around here in this suburban south Florida neighborhood like to raise chickens, perhaps due to its now more culturally diverse nature (as opposed to back in the 1960's and 70's when I lived here).  That's all well and fine with me, although some of the roosters sounded like they were strangling....

I-75 Now My Preferred Route to S. Florida over Turnpike

For my drive down to Hollywood near Miami, I have completely abandoned the Florida Turnpike in favor of the more lengthy, but also more pleasant western route of I-75. I am presently sitting at a Starbucks just east of Tampa, in a pretty cool shopping area.  It suits me much more than those "islands" on the Turnpike like Okahumka, Fort Drum, or Canoe Creek. Besides, I'm not fishing around for money to give away just for the privilege of driving down that road.

The last time I took the Turnpike to South Florida, I left it as soon as I got into Fort Pierce and could easily switch over to I-95, the eastern route in the state.  And coming back northward home to Gainesville, I had opted on my last two visits for I-75.  So it's pretty set for me that this is the way to go from now on (unless I begin to fly down)...

My Mixed Reaction to Penn State Penalties

Penn State University has just received numerous, very severe penalties for complicity in Jerry Sandusky's child molestations that went on for several years with the knowledge of various responsible parties in the university, including their head football coach, the late Joe Paterno.  Among the penalties that the governing board of the NCAA meted out were a $60 million fine, curtailment of football scholarships for the next four years, and a ban on bowl appearances for the same time span.  I agree with these sanctions. But they also did something that, while understanding the heinousness of the crimes that the officials had covered up and allowed to continue, I have a philosophical objection to...

All of Penn State's football victories from 1998 through 2111 were retroactively taken away.  This means that Coach Paterno's all-time NCAA career record of 411 coaching wins is gone, whittled down to 298.  Maybe the destruction of his legacy was part of their intent in levying this punishment.  But it also may have an unintended consequence as well.  Suppose I am watching an important college football game in the future, as I am reasonably assured of doing.  Why then should I suppose that the results of that game will hold up in future years when some later allegation about a violation may be proven true and that result possibly annulled? How can I ever believe in the finality of the results of any athletic contest held under the authority of the NCAA?

I believe that it is awfully presumptuous of NCAA officials to go back in time and rewrite their sports histories.  This certainly doesn't happen in professional sports: the penalties handed out for past violations affect the present and future, with the penalized teams and individuals having to suffer the immediate effects  thereof.  Going back and rewriting the books hurts innocent participants and fans, and creates the impression that what happens on the field is ultimately meaningless: a circle of judges sitting around a table behind closed doors high up in the NCAA will determine what "happened" according to their own dictates at any particular time they choose to do so.

Taking away past wins is nothing new with the NCAA.  This has gone on for decades.  And with all of the other means of punishment at their disposal, it is completely unnecessary. Yes, the violations may be bad: certainly they were in this case with that Sandusky ghoul. But choose another direction for sometimes deservedly severe punishment...

Michael Shipp's Senate Confirmation Vote

It could be that I just don't understand much about the way they do things up in Washington, especially my United States Senate.  Maybe this is so partially because I haven't been watching the proceedings, which are broadcast on C-Span2.  Well, this afternoon I just happened to be channel surfing and...lo and behold, when I hit C-Span2, it showed the U.S. Senate in action... not in adjournment and not in one of those endless, annoying quorum calls with the pretty classical music playing in the background and the screen showing a procession of inane tweets from the legislators.  No, instead a roll call was taking place for a floor vote: the President's nominee for a U.S. District Court Judge seat in New Jersey.  The nominee, Michael Shipp, was already a Magistrate Judge in that state.  None of this meant anything to me, except for the fact indicated on the screen that Obama had nominated him half a year ago, back in January.  So after the initial roll call, I hung around to see how close the voting would go and whether Shipp would be confirmed. After all, there must be SOME significant reason to put off the President's nomination for six months!

As the votes started coming in, and the assorted senators began filing into the front of the chamber (some faces being unfamiliar to me), the ayes and no's were sounded.  And everyone was voting "aye"!  Even the most extreme Obama haters there.  Apparently, this judicial candidate was noncontroversial and generated no opposition whatsoever to his nomination for this position.

I cannot fathom why slam-dunk votes of this type are needlessly delayed.  Either the opposition party is using parliamentary tactics to bring to a grinding halt the ENTIRE legislative agenda of the majority party, with Shipp's nomination a collateral casualty, or the process itself of moving ANY legislative activity through that body is severely flawed.  I suspect a little of both is true here.  Any thoughts from you, my valued reader?

Starbucks and McDonald's

One of the Starbucks stores I regularly sit in (at the corner of NW 16th Avenue and 13th Street in Gainesville) displays on its walls large pictures showing largely third world agricultural workers picking and preparing the coffee beans that presumably eventually make their way into my cup in one form or another.  These pictures are attractive and serve the purpose of connecting the customer with the producer.  In this regard, Starbucks, with its star product of coffee, has a huge advantage over a place like McDonald's, which features its beef hamburgers. After all, who wants to sit in a McDonald's and, while chomping away on a Big Mac, be treated to murals of cattle being slaughtered and their bloody meat butchered?

Yes, the indoor ambiance of most Starbucks beats McDonald's easily, and this may be one reason that, although the latter offers cheaper (and better tasting, in my opinion) brewed coffee and espresso drinks (hot and cold), people will still line up in the morning at the former for their coffee.  What I don't get, though, are the customers who'll do this and not sit down with their drink, but rather get right back into their cars and drive off.  If you're going to do that, why not just do a drive-through at McDonald's without having to get out in the first place (and save gobs of money in the process).  Of course, one possible explanation is that some customers are finicky and particular about their coffee beverage, and can be quite complicated with their order.  Starbucks is more suited for this.

Both Starbucks and McDonald's offer free wi-fi access.  Their store hours are very comparable, too.  And I find that usually I can find decent seating at McDonald's while Starbucks is sometimes completely crammed, with no seats available.

If all you want is brewed coffee, there is no better deal short of brewing your own (or getting the free coffee offered at Publix) than what you get at McDonald's.  One dollar pays for as large a coffee as you want, and then you get free refills.  The cheapest coffee at Starbucks is the misnamed "tall" size at $1.65, and then a refill will  cost $.50 more.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I know when I go to a Starbucks instead of a McDonald's that I am paying more for the pleasant surroundings than I am paying for the actual drink.  The idea of just buying a coffee there and leaving makes no sense.  I can easily brew much better tasting coffee at home and bring it along with me...