Launch.com is playing "It's Tricky". Half my office is dancing. And giggling.

It's "Coke machines selling things that are not Coke" where everything went tragically wrong....

Prexactly.

Waitress: What would you like to drink?

Me: A coke.

Waitress: What kind?

Me: Dr Pepper.

See, this confuses me. Why say Coke if you don't mean Coca-Cola? (Not ragging on regional customs, it just hurts my brain.) I understand it's similar to way Kleenex means tissue and band-aid means bandage, but the difference is if I ask for a Kleenex and get a Puffs, I'm not going to complain, but if I ask for a Coke and get a Sprite, I'm going to be annoyed. I realize they'll ask what kind but, having to say Coke twice when you really want a Coke (as opposed to directly asking for a Dr. Pepper) seems rather ineffecient.

I guess I'm a soft drink bigot.

the family I'm thinking of never had caffeine because they were SO! NATURALLY! FULL! OF! VIM! AND! VIGOR!

Without coffee? Cause that's just wrong. When Dad visits, he says he likes the walk for the coffee. It's either that or percolator coffee really is that bad. (I do have a tiny percolator in case of coffee emergencies.)

We just introduced Owen to peeps. We had to since I bought him this book. It's comedy gold watching a kid eat a peep for the first time.

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

Staten Island, specfically. Most of the boroughs are represented in the NY Dolls, including Manhattan (Hell's Kitchen), Brooklyn and Queen's.

I realize they'll ask what kind but, having to say Coke twice when you really want a Coke (as opposed to directly asking for a Dr. Pepper) seems rather ineffecient.

A lot of stuff in the South is inefficient, IMO. It's part of our charm.

Without coffee?

Oh yes. If any of those people had regularly had caffeine, they would have taken over the world by now. (Except the dad. He was the classic quiet dad in a family full of screaming women.)

I'm too confused by the BOW-tique thing, because I keep saying it like "take a bow" in my head, and what you all really mean is "bo" as opposed to "boo." Right?

A lot of stuff in the South is inefficient, IMO. It's part of our charm.

"It comes from years of being bred to keep our expectations low."

I try not to be judgmental about people who don't have emergency guest coffee.

I try, but I often fail.

having to say Coke twice when you really want a Coke (as opposed to directly asking for a Dr. Pepper) seems rather ineffecient.

What Dana said. For most Southerners, the polite interaction is much more important than effeciency.

I'm from Northern Indiana and we used the generic "coke" for any cola product. Now when I ask for a drink, I just say, "Diet"--meaning any diet cola they serve.