The following are minimum requirements for an office full of geeks:
- Coffee machine (filter)
- Coffee machine (Pressurised for espresso, with milk frother for wusses)
- Coke vending machine
- Chocolate vending machine
- Hot water boiler (for pot noodles)
There is, actually, a combination filter coffee/espresso maker on the desk next to mine.
Unfortunately, everybody decided that making fresh coffee, and cleaning out the pot, was Somebody Else’s Problem. So now we’re just sitting around and hoping that, when whatever it is that’s growing in the bottom of the pot gets large enough, we can recruit it as a new developer.
Oh God yes, we’ve got potted noodles galore in this fucking place. The smell.
They’re afficionados though: there’s all sorts of dehydrated noodle stuff here, some of it even supersized and directly imported from Japan.
For real?! I had a hell of a time finding a fgn kettle here in Montreal. Eventually I had to “suggest” it to my cousin as a Xmas gift idea.
Dear me, I shall not have the Queen of Hot Beverages reduced to a spigot.
What you need, Steve, is an Urn. And Yorkshire Tea for preference.
Matt, try the Bay. They were founded 333 years ago by Brits, and they’ve got kettles galore.
Which is where I picked up my shiny stainless steel kettle WITH A PROPER PLASTIC HANDLE so you don’t burn your hand on the thing. And the element is horizontal.
[sub]Hey wait a sec-- where is the Bay downtown? I know there’s one at Fairview… I’ve been gone so long![/sub]
Check out The Small Appliance Section for the Future Shop website. Four different electric kettles to choose from. I notice however that they don’t have any stores in Quebec. I don’t know if they’ll deliver to Montreal if you order online or not. As Barbarian suggested, you could try The Bay, or Zellers, both of which I see have several stores in Montreal.
Maybe I should forward that link to management. (Canada too! We’ll have covered the whole Commonwealth and parts beyond soon.)
SyphiliticDonkeyRaping Systems?
If you guys ever make a t-shirt for your company, I want one.
My rooms in college have electrical wiring that dates back to shortly after Ben Franklin went outside with a kite.
Thus, while the fusebox can cope with various combinations of TV, fridge, microwave, toaster, 3 CD players, a clock radio, 2 phone chargers, a hairdryer, a laptop and a printer, it explodes whenever a kettle goes near it.
We therefore have to use one of our 2 precious gas hot plates to boil water, in our wonderfully retro 1960s screaming kettle. I think the handle is made of bakelite…or something equally ancient and crumbly.
We have to use oven gloves to touch the damn thing.
The real problem is that everyone else in the buildling has the same problem…and the sound-proofing is older than the wiring.
See how much fun screaming kettles are when there is one boiling within earshot every 15 minutes, day or night!
Grr!!
You have to use an electric kettle to make tea in England?
I just take the ceramic cup, put water in it, put it in the microwave for 90 seconds.
Out it comes, in goes the tea bag, and then there is tea.
Your office kitchen has no microwave? Ours has 2 microwaves, toaster oven, coffee maker, dishwasher, and fridge. We’d now like them to hire someone to come in early and brew the coffee.
Quit 'cher bitchin.
When I worked for what was then the largest office equipment supplier in British Columbia, I had to heat the water for my tea using a bent spoon and a truncated extension cord, just like they do in prison.
I’m serious, here.
I am simply in awe of a man who can use priapism properly in a sentence.
Forget about using priapism. I’m still waiting for the man who can demonstrate it properly…
Steve, you have my sympathy. SyphiliticDonkeyRaping Systems clearly needs to hire me as a consultant to come in and recommend a proper tea/coffee preparation facility.
When I arrived as the new CTO of my company, my first priority was replacing the $10 (Canadian) coffee machine and $2.99 per 2 kg can o’ coffee with something more appropriate. We now have a stainless steel Cuisineart coffee maker and wonderful $13/lb coffee.
Yes, I understand the truly important aspects of my industry.
So, anyone up for some Folger’s instant coffee?
“We’ve replaced Stephen Wright’s deposited limescale with Folger’s Crystals. Let’s see if he can tell the difference…”
Strike “Stephen”, replace with “Steve”. This is what I get for not checking usernames before I type them.
One office I worked in had those wall-mounted boiler units in the kitchens that produced instant hot water for tea and coffee. Unfortunately it tended to come out at a temperature that melted the cup and stripped the skin off your hands, but hey, that’s progress for you.
The place I used to work had one of those. Boss was concerned that people were spending too long waiting for the kettle to boil when they could be at their desks working. This particular wall mounted unit produced foul tasting water at a temperature not quite hot enough to make tea.