So Microsoft is sponsoring breakfast at the Ruby Hoedown this morning. Which is a little ironic because the conference is held at Red Hat headquarters.
I’d actually been feeling less hostile towards MS than a lot of my Linux-using brethren lately. They are doing some cool stuff lately. C# is what Java should have been. They are making friendly overtures to the Open Source community, finally. And the work John Lam is doing with Ruby, silverlight, and the DLR is really cool.
Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but from stories of other MS-sponsored events I’d been half expecting something fairly lavish. Stacey was expressing her envy this morning that she would only get the hotel breakfast.
So I arrive and it’s… Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks coffee. That’s it.
Now let us be very clear. Krispy Kreme does not make donuts. They make horrid sugar wafers with holes in the middle. And Starbucks is one step up from truck stop coffee.
Some merciful soul brought in a box of Dunkin’s Donuts munchkins. So I’m not going completely hungry this morning.
Meanwhile Stacey is munching sausage, biscuits, eggs, fruit, and danish back at the Amerisuites.
Fuck you, Microsoft. You’re back on probation.
Krusty’s Krispy Kreme isn’t the worst thing in the world. But it is sugar, and sugar can’t be screwed up that bad. They are MUCH better when freshly made as they go downhill very fast and have a “flavor” half-life of about 45 minutes.
I agree with you on Starbucks. It’s just coffee and their whole “tall” “vente” sizing system is just moronic. I make better coffee at home with my Cuisinart. It’s not horrible -I can drink anything myself. But it isn’t worth $1.00/cup much less the price they are charging. Americans have become addicted to mediocrity packaged in a trendy brand name. Look at McMooby’s Worst food in the world with corn syrup poured into everything from the Bun to the “beef” patty. Bleech! And their service sucks, but what can you expect with what little they pay?
“Tall” is a legitimate term in espresso-based coffee serving. “Venti” etc. is just pretentious rubbish.
I won’t start a fight here about the Krispy Kreme thing because I like you Avdi and you have a right to be wrong. ; )
However, I will say that your post is quite ironic in light of what I’m in the middle of posting right now.
I noticed that. I read your post, and thought, “And I had just read Avdi’s opinion of KK earlier today… how ironic.”
My taste for the sugary sweets was forever ruined when a relative showed up to a family gathering toting two boxes of assorted donuts from Krispy Kreme. I ate one… well, that is to say that I *attempted* to eat one. It was vile. I then found out that she had had a coupon that expired 3 weeks prior, so she bought the donuts in advance (to use the coupon), then had stuck the boxes in the freezer. Krispy Kreme does not freeze well for later consumption.
Microsoft was a platinum-level sponsor at OSCON too. They did not have a booth in the expo hall, but they did have a keynote. (It was not that impressive.)
I don’t remember them buying lunch or breakfast. (Breakfast for me was at the hotel and consisted of cold cereal.)
Lots of folks at OSCON derided MS, and I think they underestimate the Boys from Bellevue. (OK, Redmond.) John Lam spoke at OSCON about IronPython and it looks impressive.
C-sharp has some advantages over Java. Java has some advantages over C-sharp. (I like Java’s philosophy to force declarations of exceptions.)
I find Krispy Kreme unpalatable and refuse to eat them.
Don’t blame Microsoft…
Sorry you weren’t happy with the KK and Starbucks, but don’t blame Microsoft, since they just footed the bill – the selection was totally your friendly conference organizer. I’ll take the dislike for Starbucks on advisement, but since I’m not a coffee drinker, I’ll mostly just try to get someone who is to handle it next time. That you don’t like Krispy Kreme… well, you can’t please everybody, and they _did_ all get eaten 🙂
I hope you enjoyed the conference otherwise!
Re: Don’t blame Microsoft…
How can you be from the south and dislike Krispy Kreme doughnuts? I ate my share. 😉
Re: Don’t blame Microsoft…
Greetings! I am the friendly other-half. Granted is for all intents and purposes a “damn Yankee”, I on the other hand am from the South. I was born and raised in central, Gulf Coast Florida. My father’s side of the family hails from Cairo (that’s “kayro”) Georgia. I am a born Southerner.
All that said, I simply loathe Krispy Kreme.
When I was a little girl my parents and I used to walk down to Dunkin Donuts every Sunday for donuts and coffee or hot chocolate (in my case). This is the stuff of what fond donut memories are made of!
The first time I had KK I found myself on a wild sugar-high resulting in the product eaten having been first been soaked by the manufacturer in dense, sugary syrup. Why would anyone do that? Donuts are sweet enough without all the multitudinous sugar coatings KK adds.
Re: Don’t blame Microsoft…
Oh yes, great conference otherwise!