I'm surprised at the idea that Dunkin Donuts serves anything good, but I don't think I've ever bought an un-foofy cup of joe.

I prefer Dunkin Donuts drip coffee to Starbucks, and I say that as a former Starbucks employee. Starbucks drip coffee can be good, but the blends that appear most usually as the Coffee of the Day are nasty overroasted light-bodied acidic things like House Blend.

But honestly, I can't remember the last time I got coffee from a chain. When I buy a cup instead of getting the free stuff at work (or making my own at home), it's from a cart or a bodega.

boutique--BOWtique or BOOtique?

I knew a woman from Tampa who said it "bow", and she's the only person I'd ever heard that out of. Sounded weird, to me, but she'd never heard it "boo".

Speaking of pronuniciation, I used to work with a woman from Pennsylvania who said "perkyewlator". I mean, I pronounce it with a bit of a Y between the "perk" and the "ulator", but she really made sure of that EW in the middle.

which chain is brewing the best coffee out there?

I find Starbucks too strong/sour (I like their cafe au lait fine); McDonald's coffee is an oilslick; and Dunkies depends on time of day. (Earlier is better.) Usually, the mom & pop places, like delis and my job cafeteria, make coffee extremely weak rather than strong, and since what I'm really looking for is a sugar/cream delivery device, I go with the cheapest local weak option.

I loathe Starbuck's reg decaf, but the decaf at Dunkins in not great either. Or maybe it just sits there longer because fewer people drink it and it gets bitter.

I may be increasing my caffeine intake to compensate for my latest migraine med, so all this is very useful. It might be a while before I can do a straight cup of coffee that's not made at home, though.

For the cooks out there: collapsible measuring cups. Yay, flat!

Engadget cake mod contest.

Oh, ita, those measuring cups are cool! I think I may need them.

I like Dunkin Donuts coffee well enough, as chain coffee goes. There was a time of darkness when I visited my parents, and they had no caffinated coffee in their house. So I said, no problem, where's the nearest coffeehouse? Turns out there was none in their entire town. (Coffee mavens be warned, Kernersville, NC has no love for you.) I ended up driving over to Winston-Salem and getting coffee at Dunkin Donuts. And thus avoided having to hurt those I loved. So Dunkin Donuts has a special place in my heart.

Dunkin is definitely the best fast-food coffee. Starbucks I'll get if they're brewing something I like, but yeah, that's not usually the case. When I was working in the store we always brewed Italian Roast, which is what I usually make at home.

collapsible measuring cups. Yay, flat!

Those are way way cool.

Or maybe it just sits there longer because fewer people drink it and it gets bitter.

I have to say, I really do think freshness and strength are the two main ingredients to a good cup of coffee, which is why NYC deli coffee can be so good or so so bad.

Drive or die

Regarding Spirit’s future agenda of exploration within Gusev crater, "we are now in a ‘drive or die’ situation," Squyres said. The robot’s set of power-providing solar wings are dusty.

Given the upcoming winter on Mars, with the Sun dropping low in the sky, ground controllers need to park Spirit onto north facing slopes. "We effectively sort of have to hibernate when we get into the depths of winter," Squyres said.

Identifying prospective safe havens for Spirit is a task yet to be completed.

"We’re hoping within a week or two to be on a nice, toasty and warm north-facing slope that will enable us to survive yet another winter on Mars," Squyres concluded.

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