Dispatched from the Skylounge- special caffeinated edition

Hello all,

I just spent the weekend taking in the Northwest Regionla Barista Competition here in good ol' P-town. Barista competition? Trust me, these people are going to become rock stars. Food celebrities. This was high-quality entertainment.

Here's a smattering of pictures from the event:
http://web.mac.com/michaelvk/iWeb/Site/NWRBC.html

I'm working on integrating more photography into my work... and yes, I'm starting to think about putting a book together. For no one's satisfaction but my own.

To set the tone, here's a poem I whipped out at the competition.

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My girl rides her espresso machine
like a Harley hawg,
ooo ooo ooo I see her tattoed neck
and bobbed hair
as she pounds on the coffee grinder
uhh uhh uhh it groans,
tamps down the shot,
and cranks the steam handle hard,
her body jammed against the machine,
she screws the portafilter in,
a tight fit,
a perfect espresso soul
she grunts out the seconds,
1, 2, 3, 20 the magic number
when it's just right, the
nectar trickles down,
every drop into the cup,
every succulent bit,
she throws everything into that shot,
cuts a heart into the milk foam
wipes her hands on the coffee-stained towel,
and she's ready for another ride.