Week 1 – My Cousin

This is the first post of 52 weeks in the Photo life of Smitty. I took this over break of my cousin strumming his six string for me.

Foyer Painted

It took me a full week but the foyer is now painted and everything has been rehung. Onto the stairwell after the holidays.

Bailey

I love the eyes on the photo, this is definitely getting printed.

Chloe

Just after I vacuumed the couch, Chloe decided to snuggle back in.

Thanksgiving Pie

Claire made a magazine worthy Apple/Pear Pie for Thanksgiving. I bought the pie plate and crust cutters from Williams Sonoma.

New CDs

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I’ve been pretty busy with my day job and work at church. I’ve been painting my foyer recently. It was a descent sized task with 20 ft ceiling.

On my way home this evening I made a couple stops and one happend to be the Family Christian Book store. Ended up picking up some $5 cds. I ended up getting…

• 33 Miles – Believe
• Castin Crowns – Until the Whole New World
• Jeremy Camp – Beyond Measure
• Casting Crowns – Peace on Earth

The Joel Test

If you are a developer you should know about the Joel Test

Biggby’s in Owosso

In the past week I noticed that our local Biggby’s in Owosso had closed. I was excited when it came, it meant O-town would have an official big name coffee house. But none-the-less, it’s out of commission according to the sign on the door and a personal tweet from the CEO. I offered to share my thoughts on it’s ultimate demise with Biggby corporate but our schedules couldn’t jive, so here it is.

The Coffee

I think ended up going to the shop 3 or 4 times in the last year and I’m a moderate coffee drinker 1 or 2x per week, generally on my way to work. I usually order up a vanilla latte or a mocha (grande size of course). All 3-4 times I visited, my coffee was not at an acceptable temperature. The last time I visited, I finally got smart and order it “extra hot” so it would be a reasonable temp. My suspicion was that they put so many syrups in it brought the overall temperature down.

Coffee drinkers know, taste is #1 and temperature is #2. If it doesn’t taste good we at least want it hot.

The Price

Biggby’s in Owosso was among the highest priced coffee in the area, it’s that simple. If you lived in Owosso for very long, you understand that the community is what I like to call “frugal”. You certainly don’t want to be the most expensive house in the neighborhood.

Competition

There’s quite a few coffee shops in Owosso, it’s possible our market might be saturated for a town of only 15,000.  There’s Guido’s, The Bake Shop, Courtside Cafe, Tim Hortons, and two McD’s.

Location

The location of Biggby’s was good, but not great. It certainly wasn’t going to pick up any foot traffic from events downtown. The best foot traffic spot is currently occupied by the Owosso-Famous Cone Zone (Across from the amphitheater and Middle School, which has an auditorium used by many organizations). The other thing you have to take into consideration is that Biggby’s was on the way to Flint and not Lansing. So for many commuters who make their way to Lansing every day, they aren’t driving past the Biggby’s to get to work. I’m guessing that at this point in the game more people are driving to Lansing every day then Flint.

Over all Quality

Biggby’s certainly didn’t have the best coffee in town, as far as quality is concerned. There was at least 2 or 3 players in the area that had a better brew. Being a barista take trade and almost a fine art, so I doubt it’s the beans or the machines. If you’ve ever been to the State of Washington you know what a good espresso drink should taste and look like. I’m sure Biggby’s trains, but I’m sure they spent more on their signage then training the baristas.

Decor / Atmosphere

I love the original Biggby’s in the Lansing area. The one down town East Lansing and the one at Okemos / 96 are great I think they have good great atmosphere. I even like the new one in Mason in the old bank, but the one is Owosso feels like the franchise monster threw up all over it.

If I’m spending $4 bucks on a cup of coffee there better be real art on display, smooth colors on the wall and no mass marketed bull-shit signs everywhere. So Biggby Bob if you are reading can we make the new ones look a little more authentic (unless you are going for the mass marketed look)? The McD’s in Owosso felt more like a coffee house to me than Biggby’s did.

Ultimately

I’m sad to see another business in Owosso close. I’m sure it’s not without trying and I’m sure someone lost a ton of money on the deal and we certainly wish them the best of luck in the future.

As for my coffee buying-

It’s McD’s in the morning. They are fast and cheap and are on the way to Lansing (where I work). They also have a consistent and acceptable quality although it’s not the best of the best.

If I want the best coffee in town (for me Saturday mornings), I go to Guido’s. Travis the owner is very friendly, makes a mean espresso drink and you can’t beat atmosphere in Woodard Station. The quality of the coffee and atmosphere reminds me of the places I stopped in Washington State last fall.

Pets at home

I’m home today after what I call an “unpleasant adventure” at the dentist yesterday. I snapped this of Ruby (my cat) on back yard surveillance and Bailey chilling in the chair.

Wedding Entrance

I want to shoot a wedding like this.

Education

This is why a solid education is important.

Tiny Bubbles

Cousin’s Wedding

My little cousin just got married in June. I finally got around to looking at the pics and putting them on flickr. It was a good wedding and we wish them the best.

Recent Bottles – June 2009

Had a few good bottles of wine recently.

Muscat Canelli – Chateau Ste. Michelle (Columbia Valley)
2007 Vintage

This was  a good sweeter dessert wine. I picked this up when we were on the Washington 2008 Trip.

Gamy Rouge – V. Sattui Winery (Napa Valley)
2006

Even though this is the only Gamy Rouge I’ve had, I thought it was pretty good. I bought this when we were in Californai in 2007.

New Car

The Smitty’s got a new car, an ‘09 Traverse. It’s pretty slick. It’s unfortunate that bsmith isn’t going to be the primary driver of the new ride.

New Website Launched

I don’t blog a lot about work, but we just launched a new website where I did a lot of programming and theme customization within Wordpress. The site houses our Professional Development offerings at our district for the year.

Check it out: http://pd.inghamisd.org/

Dog pool

Chloe is more of a swimmer, Bailey thinks the pool is a big water bowl.

Dog Accesseries

I’m not really into accererizing my dog like some people, but we did just get a new backpack and leash for Bailey. They are made by ruffware, and they are by far higher quality than the average dog pack and leash. We had a cheap back back for the Bailey, but it didn’t fit well and started to rub his coat off. The new one fits perfectly.

So you are asking why a back pack for a dog? It’s this simple. After 3.5 miles of walking he’s just not tired. So we took the Cesar Milan approach and put a backpack on him and a couple bottles of water. Now he’s more focused because he has a job and tires faster given he’s carring more weight.

Jack Conte

This guy is pretty creative.

La Push

Washington Coast

This is either first or second beach, I’m really can’t remember.

Tic Tac Toe Master

I’m a master at tic tac toe.

Flowers on the deck

Love the dahlias already

Reblog: How to fail 25 secrets learned through failure

http://www.unstructuredventures.com/uv/2008/09/23/how-to-fail-25-secrets-learned-through-failure/

Bailey

He’s typically always looking around the corned. He’s a very curious dog.