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New Bacterium Lives On Caffeine

Kozar_The_Malignant writes "A newly-described species of bacterium, Pseudomonas putida has been found to live on pure caffeine. The little jaspers metabolize caffeine into carbon dioxide and ammonia. They were found living in a flower bed on the University of Iowa campus, not in the drain of an espresso machine as one might expect. The paper presenting the research will be presented at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in New Orleans this month where caffeine metabolism will have to contend with the traditional ethanol metabolism."

121 comments

  1. We must be related by toygeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    But when I ingest caffeine it just makes my pee smell like coffee.

    1. Re:We must be related by Sene · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should add asparagus to your coffee to have some variations?

    2. Re:We must be related by Sulphur · · Score: 1

      But when I ingest caffeine it just makes my pee smell like coffee.

      Unless of course its tea.

    3. Re:We must be related by syousef · · Score: 1

      But when I ingest caffeine it just makes my pee smell like coffee.

      Diabetes???

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    4. Re:We must be related by toygeek · · Score: 1

      Nope! Diabetes free, tested recently :)

    5. Re:We must be related by syousef · · Score: 1

      Nope! Diabetes free, tested recently :)

      Lucky you!

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    6. Re:We must be related by lostmongoose · · Score: 1

      u mad?

    7. Re:We must be related by wiedzmin · · Score: 1
      When I ingest caffeine, it gives me a mother of all heartburns these days. FML.

      The little jaspers metabolize caffeine into carbon dioxide and ammonia.

      That could explain it.

      --
      Bow before me, for I am root.
    8. Re:We must be related by LibRT · · Score: 1

      What, precisely, is "unhealthy" about moderate caffeine intake? Last I saw, humans who consume caffeine perform better on memory tests, have better athletic performance and may have less incidence of prostate cancer...

    9. Re:We must be related by spun · · Score: 1

      You do realize that somewhere, right now, someone is having more fun than you are, right? You should try to fix that.

      Also, by not drinking moderate amounts of coffee and alcohol, you are actually decreasing your lifespan by increasing your risk of prostate cancer and heart disease.

      Now what, boring dude?

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  2. Hard to Find at First by tarsi210 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Word is they were pretty hard to find at first, on account of them vibrating right off the slide.

    1. Re:Hard to Find at First by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      Word is they were pretty hard to find at first, on account of them vibrating right off the slide.

      Hard to find? Don't be silly. I actually think the story is somewhat redundant. These chaps have been vibrating off the slide and finding their way into the IT department for years...

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    2. Re:Hard to Find at First by DiEx-15 · · Score: 1

      Iowa is so technologically behind the times, I am surprised they even have a microscope!

  3. Great by DurendalMac · · Score: 1

    Pretty soon they'll start infesting coffee and energy drink factories. Then we're really fucked.

    1. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fucked? Caffeine booze, man!

    2. Re:Great by digitig · · Score: 4, Funny

      Fizzy ammonia doesn't do it for me.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    3. Re:Great by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Actually, if they can get these things to leave... leavings... less offensive than ammonia, this could well be a boon for decaf coffee. Washing the caffeine out without effecting anything else is apparently really difficult.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    4. Re:Great by demonlapin · · Score: 3, Informative

      Methylene chloride does the job quite well, with minimal effect on taste, but some people get scared when they hear that a solvent has touched their coffee beans (never mind that it's long gone). As a result, decaf often is processed by some crappy extraction method. If you can get the real solvent stuff, it's quite good. Heck, you could even make your own... and once you pour off the methylene chloride, you can rotovap it and extract your caffeine for when you need it. (If you've got a liquid nitrogen trap, you can even recover the methylene chloride this way.)

    5. Re:Great by X0563511 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have a hard enough time even bothering to use my bean grinder!

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    6. Re:Great by adamofgreyskull · · Score: 2

      Good. If you grind your bean too often you'll go blind.

    7. Re:Great by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why would you need a liquid nitrogen trap? Methylene chloride boils at 39 point something C.

      Supercritical CO2 is a good solvent for decaffeination and presents no hazard of residue (even if the process gets screwed up) and better workplace safety.

    8. Re:Great by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      I dunno about the workplace safety bit... supercritical CO2 is pretty high pressure. Not so high as a high pressure scuba tank, but still high enough that I wouldn't want to be around a failing (or more likely improperly closed) pressure vessel.

      On the plus side, though, you can use your pressure vessels to make aerogel if the decaffeination thing doesn't work out...

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    9. Re:Great by sjames · · Score: 1

      100 bar is nothing to sneeze at, but employee compliance is simple and there won't be any lawsuits 20 years latter alleging some mysterious link to a laundry list of vague symptoms (or worse, a well documented link to a list of very expensive symptoms). Also a lot less EPA problems.

    10. Re:Great by benhattman · · Score: 1

      I have never understood the point of decaf coffee. It's not the grandest tasting beverage in the world. If you want a drink with no caffeine that tastes a little bitter and has zero calories, try one of the many uncaffeinated varieties of tea. If you want a hot beverage that tastes good, how about hot cider or hot chocolate. If you're just thirsty, drink some water.

      Alright, cue the karma destruction, since I just dissed something about coffee. It's alright, I live in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm used to being shunned for my disinterest in coffee.

    11. Re:Great by Muad'Dave · · Score: 1

      Some of us really do enjoy the taste of a decent cup of coffee (not the over-roasted, burnt, over-extracted-yet-weak-and-bodiless crap that's currently popular from your neck of the woods). Add a little half-and-half and you've got a lovely little emulsion. I can't take caffeine too late, but decaf with dessert can be just as tasty and satisfying.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    12. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A dry ice/acetone trap works fine; no need for LN2

    13. Re:Great by wings · · Score: 1

      Also a lot less EPA problems.

      Well... maybe until the EPA classifies CO2 as a regulatable pollutant.

    14. Re:Great by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      Wikipedia (quoting the CRC handbook; sorry, but I tossed mine a long time ago) says at -43C it has a vapor pressure of 10 torr, so if you apply a good vacuum you'll need to go colder than that. As someone else pointed out, dry ice and acetone would be just as effective. It's been a long time since I did this; sorry if I made a hash of it.

    15. Re:Great by sjames · · Score: 1

      I would say the bulk of the liquid could be boiled off at near atmospheric pressure (if not actually atmospheric pressure) and then it's easy to condense.

      To extract the remainder from the beans If you want to be quite careful not to cook them, even slightly, you could use a vacuum. I wouldn't go as low as 10 torr though unless you also intend to dehydrate the beans. Dry ice sublimates at -78C so it should do fine by itself. For an industrial process, a mild vacuum and

      I'm using Wikipedia values anyway. I know my CRC is somewhere in the house, but I have no idea where.

  4. There's also a slime mold that lives on caffeine. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's called the Sales Department.

  5. But... by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...are they good programmers?

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:But... by illumastorm · · Score: 2

      Not really, but they are great at geometric expansion problems

    2. Re:But... by MachDelta · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, but they don't need to be. This is the million-monkeys problem: I'm sure a few trillion bacteria would eventually crank out better code than the mouth-breathing jackass two cubicles over.

    3. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No, but they don't need to be. This is the million-monkeys problem: I'm sure a few trillion bacteria would eventually crank out better code than the mouth-breathing jackass two cubicles over.

      In other news, the Indian economy just imploded.

    4. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that you work somewhere that hires mouth-breathing jackasses says as much about you as it says about the jackass. Criticize your coworkers and you criticize yourself. Real professionals know this.

    5. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh great, now we can even have bugs in our coffee?!

    6. Re:But... by ifrag · · Score: 1

      Perhaps the bacteria can be trained to do code reviews. Then the monkeys work might finally get used.

      --
      Fear is the mind killer.
    7. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "...are they good programmers?"

      You're thinking of viruses.

    8. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, that'll never work. It's not that a millon-monkeys (or a few trillion bacteria) can't crank out Shakespeare. It's that management can't settle on Shakespeare being the desired output.

    9. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, you only need to hire a few. They probably reproduce must faster than human programmers.

  6. Oh? by blair1q · · Score: 2

    And what does its close cousin, Pseudomonas Pendejo, live on?

    1. Re:Oh? by Kozz · · Score: 1

      And what does its close cousin, Pseudomonas Pendejo, live on?

      Just a wild guess, but it's gotta be Tecate, the only Mexican beer I'd seen served in a can (not bottle) so many years back, and the only one I simply could not STAND. But I might be getting it mixed up with Pseudomonas Cabrón.

      --
      I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
    2. Re:Oh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No clue, but species names aren't supposed to be capitalized.

    3. Re:Oh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No clue, but species names aren't supposed to be capitalized.

      What about punch lines?

    4. Re:Oh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what does its close cousin, Pseudomonas Pendejo, live on?

      Just a wild guess, but it's gotta be Tecate, the only Mexican beer I'd seen served in a can (not bottle) so many years back, and the only one I simply could not STAND. But I might be getting it mixed up with Pseudomonas Cabrón.

      Actually most Mexican beers are served in a can: Corona Extra, Leon, Carta Blanca, Modelo, Sol, Pacifico, XX Lager, just to mention a few.

  7. I now believe by Datamonstar · · Score: 1

    This changes my stance on evolution. Now I am 99.999% certain that I evolved from this particular type of bacteria.

    --
    The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
    1. Re:I now believe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or they evolved from you.

    2. Re:I now believe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a new variation on Miller-Urey.

      Just stick some bacteria in a flagon and give them a little Jolt!

    3. Re:I now believe by Datamonstar · · Score: 1

      Jolt cola?

      --
      The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
  8. The source of Slashcode! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And it explains all the dupes on Slashdot - stories breed like bacteria.

  9. Of course you know, this means war. by rebelwarlock · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You can't just go around metabolizing people's caffeine and expect no retribution. We need that caffeine to survive boring meetings.

    1. Re:Of course you know, this means war. by heathen_01 · · Score: 1

      Great, that just means we will have antibiotic resistant caffeine eating bacteria.

  10. Nuuuuuu! by osu-neko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kill it! Kill it with fire! It must be stopped! Don't let it take our caffeine!

    --
    "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    1. Re:Nuuuuuu! by EnsilZah · · Score: 1

      I'm told for this kind of situation nuking it from orbit has been proved quite effective.

  11. Not really news by Linsaran · · Score: 1

    They're at a university and they live on caffeine. So they're just like any other university student right?

    --
    In a bit of shameless internet panhandling, I accept Litecoin Donations at Lbd2oH9QsthD1GfuUXPyka12YxvWJYnBVf
    1. Re:Not really news by smitty97 · · Score: 2

      here in America, students live on beer and pizza

      --
      mod me funny
    2. Re:Not really news by dev.null.matt · · Score: 1

      That depends on major. Computer Science majors live on Mt Dew and Pizza.

  12. If they could just get the loop by Bodhammer · · Score: 2

    If they could just get the metabolism loop the run on caffeine in the daylight and feed into the alcohol metabolism at night I would be in heaven!

    --
    "I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
    1. Re:If they could just get the loop by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      No, no, no. You don't want to metabolize the alcohol at night - you want to metabolize the alcohol just before waking up. You want it to hang around at night.

    2. Re:If they could just get the loop by cusco · · Score: 1

      Not so sure. The only thing worse than waking up with a hangover is gradually getting one as the day goes along because you woke up still drunk.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    3. Re:If they could just get the loop by Paul1969 · · Score: 1

      The only thing worse than waking up with a hangover is gradually getting one as the day goes along because you woke up still drunk.

      You got that right. And of course it happens on a day when the office is going through 3 screaming crises at once, with the emphasis on SCREAMING (oooooh, my head).

  13. Remedies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I suggest they locate the coffee machine presumably situated in a room somewhere about said flower bed, and give it a cleaning.

  14. Boring by dimethylxanthine · · Score: 1

    Yours sincerely has been doing it for ages now!

  15. I, for one, welcome our new microbial overlords by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You realize that we're all going to be out of jobs, right?

    The free market will decide to employ the most efficient critters at converting caffeine into CO2 and ammonia. The fact that our new overlords will skip the intermediate step of writing code / designing circuits / creating proofs / etc. will be dismissed as "not relevant to adding to shareholder value".

    1. Caffeine
    2. (intermediate steps skipped)
    3. Waste (CO2 + ammonia)
    4. Profit!

  16. Newly described by FrootLoops · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Nitpick: it's "newly described species", not "newly-described species". A hyphen is used to separate multiple adjectives when they modify the same noun. The word "newly" is an adverb, so it's clear that it modifies the adjective "described". The hyphen is used to disambiguate: "fifteen minute presentations" could be grouped either as "fifteen (minute presentations)" or "(fifteen minute) presentations". If the latter was meant, "fifteen-minute presentations" makes that clear.

    I sometimes add the hyphen myself on accident, but it's not necessary.

    1. Re:Newly described by jamesh · · Score: 1

      pedantic-much?

    2. Re:Newly described by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correctness displays cognitive skill, precision, and the ability to produce excellent results.

      People who lack these qualities always try to disparage them. Your envy just makes you look like even more of a jackass.

    3. Re:Newly described by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Calm down, he's trying to educate people about proper English. You couldn't even be bothered to use capitalization.

    4. Re:Newly described by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It was a clear, descriptive, polite and helpful nitpick, at least.

    5. Re:Newly described by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah-I-can-t-stand-it-when-people-do-that-shit-.

    6. Re:Newly described by demonlapin · · Score: 2

      A hyphen is used to separate multiple adjectives when they modify the same noun.

      Nitpick: in the phrase "fifteen-minute presentations", the words fifteen and minute are not adjectives that both modify "presentations". "Fifteen-minute", as a phrase, consists of two nouns functioning as a single adjectival phrase to describe yet another noun, "presentations". In construction, this is quite similar to an ablative absolute in Latin, although the lack of case in English nouns and the corresponding use of English words as multiple parts of speech makes the situation murky. Ask a linguist. Also, "fifteen minute presentations" is inherently ambiguous unless referring to 15 physically small presentations. One should use either "fifteen-minute presentations" or "fifteen one-minute presentations".

      One might also point out that while the meaning of "newly described species" is unambiguous without the hyphen, its inclusion may assist the reader in quickly drawing the connection between the words, and thus be an appropriate stylistic device despite being grammatically unnecessary.

      Oh, and it's your turn.

    7. Re:Newly described by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      multiple parts of speech makes the situation murky. Ask a linguist. Also, "fifteen minute

      WOAH, wait... Stop-Right-There, buddy: What does the player of a linguine noodle strung instrument have to do with Language?!

    8. Re:Newly described by FrootLoops · · Score: 1

      Thanks for correcting me. I should not have called them adjectives.

      Also, "fifteen minute presentations" is inherently ambiguous unless referring to 15 physically small presentations.

      Nitpick: this phrase is ambiguous even if it's referring to 15 physically small presentations. The author's intent and their actual wording are not always the same.

      Maybe if I make this message short enough, there won't be anything in it to nitpick :).

    9. Re:Newly described by FrootLoops · · Score: 1

      There's a fine line between pointless pedantry and useful precision in language. To me this is just over the line on the side of useful precision, since it brings to light an ambiguity (see my example) that can be easily missed. Of course it's off topic, but I didn't feel like discussing a bacterium that lives on caffeine.

    10. Re:Newly described by cusco · · Score: 1

      Just to be nitpickier . . . it's 'by accident', not 'on accident'.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    11. Re:Newly described by FrootLoops · · Score: 1

      That made me curious. It seems (source) that "on is more prevalent under age 10, both on and by are common between the ages of 10 and 35, and by is overwhelmingly preferred by those over 35." That source also suggests "by accident" will die out and be replaced with "on accident". It mentions some other sources which call "on accident" an error. My impression is that those sources are older and haven't caught up to this change in our use of language. Saying "on accident" to someone who uses "by accident" exclusively is probably equivalent to saying "I'm on bed" instead of "I'm in bed" to me--it sounds wrong. But, if everyone else starts using it, it won't sound wrong to anyone after I'm dead.

  17. I knew this already. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because if you drink enough mountian dew... You can see the future.

  18. Not very nice! by bryan1945 · · Score: 2

    They shouldn't be calling coders bacteria. Plus, they forgot pizza!

    --
    Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
  19. Get Back! by Cylix · · Score: 3, Funny

    Stay away from my precious!

    --
    "You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
  20. Oblig by ic3p1ck · · Score: 2

    I, for one, welcome our caffiene metabolizing bacteria overlords...

  21. better "department" by corbettw · · Score: 4, Funny

    from the spit-it-out-you-wee-bastard department

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  22. P. putida is definitely NOT a "new species." by mevans86 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Come on, Slashdot! Pseudomonas putida is not new! Chemists have been using it for the biochemical oxidation of aromatic compounds for decades. The CBB5 designator, as boring as it is, is the new species identifier.

    --
    "One swallows the lie that flatters, but sips the bitter truth drop by drop." --Diderot
    1. Re:P. putida is definitely NOT a "new species." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, the article was written a little lopsidedly. One of the researchers involved is quoted as saying ""This work, for the first time, demonstrates the enzymes and genes utilized by bacteria to live on caffeine".... noting that previous research had located caffeine consumption in other microbe species before."

      So finding a bacterium which can digest the caffeine is nothing new, what's new is that they've identified the genes and enzymes responsible.

    2. Re:P. putida is definitely NOT a "new species." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CBB5 is the strain identifier

  23. Look... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know people like to pick on grad students, but to call them bacterium is a little harsh.

  24. Hey!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh for the love of Junior Johnson!

    I know I'm short, but come on! I'm not THAT short!!!

    Let's see how they like it when this "bacteria" breaks their kneecaps!

  25. Perpetual Percolation by ArcCoyote · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So how much heat can these little guys produce metabolizing caffeine? Because if it's substantial, you could feed them coffee grounds, and use the heat to power a coffee machine...

    1. Re:Perpetual Percolation by ledow · · Score: 1

      Genius.

    2. Re:Perpetual Percolation by thijsh · · Score: 1

      If I were you I wouldn't let these little buggers anywhere near a coffee machine or you'll soon have an office plague on your hands... But at least being quarantined together with the coffee machine beats being quarantined without access to coffee at all!

    3. Re:Perpetual Percolation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If they produce CO2 and NH3 - in a bio environment - adding active compost is getting too close to ANFO fo' comfort. If they survive in your gut, that could happen, eventually.

      Maybe its about time to kick the caffeine habit, then. Guess "khat" (or "chat") is worth a try. Or maybe just chewing betel. Hm. betel chewing gum?

  26. old news by lostros · · Score: 1

    I think I "discovered" this bacterium years ago, he was named harold and worked right next to me...

  27. Son of a bitch! by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    Well fuck, first Small Pox, then Ebola, now this? Fucking fuck. THE END IS NEAR!!!

  28. Is it called... by macson_g · · Score: 3, Funny

    Softwarium Developerium?

  29. Math by pieisgood · · Score: 2

    They've found a whole species of future mathematicians, though probably not the best. If they survived on pure amphetamines we'd be on our way towards a mathematical revolution.

    --
    Eat sleep die
  30. WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by Tirs · · Score: 1

    Okay, pal. Where did you come from? RIAA? MPAA? SGAE? Spit it!
    You are obviously somebody from the Other Side in an undercover job, trying to bomb /. from inside. Definitely NOT a geek.

    In a related note, I drink 2-3 espressos a day, just because I like the strong taste of the carefully roasted beans. And I'm not addicted at all: when I travel to non-coffee countries like England or Japan (we continental Europeans don't call that crap "coffee" but rather "mopping water"), I have no side effects at all: I just live without coffee for two or more weeks.

    The U.S. was in the "no coffee" list a few years ago, but looks like some areas are finally discovering REAL coffee (i.e. espresso).

    --
    Strength, balance, courage and reason. If you know what's this about, contact me!
    1. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by somersault · · Score: 1

      Um. You can get espresso in the UK. I've always assumed that "real" coffee is not about the strength, it's about the quality of the beans. You can make super strong coffee with cheap beans and it still won't taste as good as a better variety at a reasonable strength.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by Tirs · · Score: 1

      Of course! One thing is a good coffee, which is dark brown, creamy, aromatic and (to my taste) with a hint of sourness, and the other is a black, bitter coffee which usually hides the lack of real aroma with a strong bitterness and smell of "toasted" more than roasted.

      So, finally UKers got decent coffee? That's good news!

      But... do you agree that our Anonymous Coward above is an undercover agent? No geek would claim that "Caffeine is bad" or compare it with alcohol!

      --
      Strength, balance, courage and reason. If you know what's this about, contact me!
    3. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by somersault · · Score: 1

      We don't get consistently good coffee, there's the typical Starbucks/Costas on every street corner which serve okay coffee. At work there used to be a guy who was really into his coffee, so I got consistently good stuff back then.

      Well actually, I agree with him :p It's the reason I don't go to our local specialty coffee shop and get coffee myself - because I'd drink it all the time. I only drink coffee when someone else at work makes it, and even then I tend to drink it very slowly throughout the day rather than chucking it back. I have a very addictive/obsessive personality, which can be destructive if I'm not careful. These days I am trying to channel it into things that I see as more positive addictions/obsessions, such as healthy eating and exercise.

      I love the taste of coffee, but the caffeine.. not so much.

      --
      which is totally what she said
    4. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by obergfellja · · Score: 1

      God Bless America for having the Boston Tea Party and getting rid of you tea sucking b***ards as a primary source of influence for our drinks.

    5. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by SilasMortimer · · Score: 1

      God Bless America for having the Boston Tea Party and getting rid of you tea sucking b***ards as a primary source of influence for our drinks.

      And fuck you, Puritans, for making so many of us complete assholes.

      --
      Omnes tuae crepidines sunt nobis sunt. Ascendo tuum!
    6. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by SilasMortimer · · Score: 1

      Of course! One thing is a good coffee, which is dark brown, creamy, aromatic and (to my taste) with a hint of sourness, and the other is a black, bitter coffee which usually hides the lack of real aroma with a strong bitterness and smell of "toasted" more than roasted.

      I agree with your words, but something makes me want to protest and I'm not exactly sure what I'm protesting.

      I suppose it's that "hint of sourness" thing. I like a little more than a hint, especially when there's a citrus-like quality as I used to find in most African coffees or the earthy quality that I find in a good Robusta. So why does that bother me?

      As an American who really likes that sort of thing, it's really freaking hard for me to find it. It was actually easier when the US was in your "no coffee" list, because specialty shops would cater to people like me. Now it's nearly impossible for me to get Robusta without finding a ridiculously expensive online dealer. Oddly enough, I can find Greek coffee a LOT more easily these days. I still can't figure that one out.

      Regardless, overall the United States has not developed a very sophisticated tongue for coffee, but it's become chic to pretend we have. Because of this, I and people like me suffer. If we really had one, the specialty shops might go back to carrying things for slightly different tastes, rather than carrying "good enough" because one-size-fits-all.

      Besides, what's likely to come from the increased popularity of coffee in the US is that hysterical idiots like the AC who went off on a rant about how evil coffee is will eventually scare enough people into starting a huge campaign, replete with pseudo-scientific "facts" and anti-coffee PSAs all over the TV, and eventually turn public opinion against it, meaning a punishment tax (something that, as a smoker, I'm very familiar with) and a greatly reduced availability overall.

      I suppose what really bothers me about what you said is that sycophants in this country read and use things like that, statements that represent the generalized tastes of one single region, and parrot it in order to be "cool" without going through the bother of developing a real taste for it. Since they lack imagination, they'll all go for the same damn thing, the preferences of a single region, and in this case, of course it'll be whatever's most popular in Europe (since Europe is "teh coolest" to these people and the place from which to get cultural fads) and that's all that will be available. And while you guys like some good coffees, as I said, I prefer it with more of a tang and that simply will continue to be unavailable because people won't even bother to try it. I guess I'm just as bitter as the coffees you're complaining about.

      Sigh. I need a refill.

      --
      Omnes tuae crepidines sunt nobis sunt. Ascendo tuum!
    7. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by obergfellja · · Score: 1

      I love how people call me things in which I am not. Do your damn research before calling people names, moron.

    8. Re:WARNING! SPY DETECTED! by SilasMortimer · · Score: 1

      I did. I found fourteen different sources that confirmed that you are an asshole. I looked carefully at their methodology and saw nothing objectionable.

      If you're referring to my reference to the Puritans, you need to read more carefully.

      --
      Omnes tuae crepidines sunt nobis sunt. Ascendo tuum!
  31. Flower bed by michelcolman · · Score: 1

    So that's where everybody throws their leftover coffee!

    1. Re:Flower bed by hitmark · · Score: 1

      My thinking exactly.

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    2. Re:Flower bed by Abstrackt · · Score: 1

      This is purely anecdotal but it really does seem to help the plants grow. Tea is supposed to be better but I usually don't have any left over.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  32. What's The Difference? by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

    Bacterium living on caffeine, or Mac fanbois posing in Starbucks?

    I see none.

    --
    Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
    1. Re:What's The Difference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Size mostly.

  33. Ah, I wouldn't worry by Moraelin · · Score: 1

    Well, I don't have much experience with bacteria, but based on my experience with other life forms that live on caffeine... as Baldrick would say, "I have a cunning plan, milord."

    We just need to get them hooked on powerpoint too.Then they'll spend half the day in meetings to decide

    - whether the background should be #C0C0C0 or #C0C0C1,

    - who's to blame for one string being 1 pixel shorter in the browser compared to some mockups done in Photoshop,

    - why can't the application be ready by next week by just adding a little code to the HTML mockup. I mean, the important part is already done, right?

    - why it absolutely needs JAXB to transform the data to XML and back between the data access layer and the GUI, because the boss just read that buzzword in some PR ragazine,

    - whether 10 MB of animated graphics per page is almost enough, given that the boss's best buddy has a graphics design agency and is getting the contract for those graphics

    - how to fix database performance, given that the IT department won't do either of (A) actually doing their job and tuning that database, or (B) allow someone else access to do it, and (C) has no room in the racks for extra hardware to fix it by brute force either

    Etc.

    Throw in a few "team building" meetings and the like, and next thing you know, they're needing overtime just to make up for all the time spent in those productivity-building meetings and have no more time or interest in reproducing :p

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  34. Evil Mastermind by WizardMarnok · · Score: 1

    An evil mastermind could destroy the western world by making this infectious - every human with this in their gut will be unable to get the effects of caffiene because the bacteria will have used it all before it hits the bloodsteam.

  35. TFA must be accurate by Old+Sparky · · Score: 1

    I had to enable Java to read it.

  36. Unusual by PlasmaEye · · Score: 1

    I attend the University of Iowa and I'm surprised it's living off of caffeine in a flower bed. I would've thought it would have either been alcohol or alcohol-infused vomit. Although, those caffeine-infused beers are quite popular around here.

  37. Ah crap by gregor-e · · Score: 1

    I guess this means I'll have to start washing my coffee mug, after all.

    1. Re:Ah crap by Paul1969 · · Score: 1

      Or you could make a game of it. See who gets more caffeine from the mug, you or the bacteria.
      Winner gets a double espresso.

  38. Flower bed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wait, what kind of flowers produce caffeine? Or were they being watered with Mt Dew and coffee grounds?

    1. Re:Flower bed? by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 1

      Wait, what kind of flowers produce caffeine? Or were they being watered with Mt Dew and coffee grounds?

      Fairly common to put coffee grounds in a rose bed as compost. But at some colleges I wouldn't be surprised to find bacteria in the bushes that live off anything that could be spilled from a ditched paper cup or soda can.

  39. Well then you need this bacteria by davidwr · · Score: 1

    Now it will make your post-digestion/kidney-processed coffee smell like ammonia.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  40. EL SEWEDY ELECTRIC: A GOOD TIME TO BUY? by yallafinance · · Score: 1

    If this idea will help improve lives on the affected country then why not. Just consider the factor of what will be the effect and who will be affected.

  41. Edits by AP31R0N · · Score: 1

    1) These aren't new, they've prolly been around for about as long as the coffee bean, which might make them older than us.

    2) Re: Quote from summary - Someone found them. They didn't find themselves. The sentence should begin with who did the doing. We call this the subject of the sentence.

    --
    Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!