Conjunction junction, what's your function...

Hookin' up words and phrases and clauses?

Unfortunately, mine switched to decaf about 10 years ago and I don't see them switching back.

I know Michigan people who use coke to mean any pop. Can actual ex-michiganders here verify? Coke was referred to as "Northwoods Brown Mead" in certain SCA circles, Northwoods being the Michigan State, ie. East Lansing group, who couldn't/wouldn't give up their Coke for authenticity's sake.

Bow-tique? I thought that was just a southern affectation, but then, I live with real French, so that kinda skews the perspective on faux-french.

American attitudes towards iced tea are interesting in a culture studies kind of way. Vanishingly rare to be able to get unsweetened iced tea up here.

Bow-tique? I thought that was just a southern affectation

I don't think so. My family says boo-teek.

Good news for the "smaller is better" crowd: The fuel-efficient Smart Car is (finally) on its way to our shores. Smart-Automobile LLC announced today that its Smart For Two Coupe / Convertible, available in Europe since 1998, is ready to be imported to the United States.

...

All Smart Cars imported through this arrangement will be registered with ZAP and the Department of Transportation to ensure that they meet government standards. The Smart Car gets 60 mpg and can reach speeds of 85 miles per hour, according to the ZAP Web site, and will range in price from $15,000 to $25,000 fully loaded.

[link]

There's a picture. The thing is just so damn cute!

There's a superhero plot in here somewhere: [link]

University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) nanotechnologists have made alcohol- and hydrogen-powered artificial muscles that are 100 times stronger than natural muscles, able to do 100 times greater work per cycle and produce, at reduced strengths, larger contractions than natural muscles. Among other possibilities, these muscles could enable fuel-powered artificial limbs, "smart skins" and morphing structures for air and marine vehicles, autonomous robots having very long mission capabilities and smart sensors that detect and self-actuate to change the environment.

With all the coffee talk, I'll pimp my cousin's coffee place.

[link]

I don't drink coffee myself, but others say it's great stuff.

Ice tea is unsweetened by default around here.

I wonder if DC (the car company, not the comic books) is going to start selling Smart Cars directly. They keep going back and forth.

Calli, that would explain why Bender has to drink beer, anyway.

David Johanssen pronounced it "BOW-teek" in "Funky Funky but Chic", FWIW. And I gather he's as Noo Yawk as they come.

I hope they can park Spirit in someplace where it gets enough juice to survive the winter. I'm a little Spirit and Opportunity fanboy. They're the little probes that could.

Calli, don't you mean sweet tea? What is this "iced tea" of which you speak?

I never put any sweetener in my tea, hot or cold. Is it still "sweet tea"? Because I want nothing to do with sweetened tea.

Most places I go in the South ask if you want sweet or unsweet tea. I like unsweet and then I put some Equal or Splenda in it. I do like my tea sweetened some, but sweet tea usually has way too much sugar for me.