Ilene did a fine job chronicling our time at this year's Pierce College Farm Walk. Here's a picture of our little one communing with a goat. On the same topic, goats now clear the hillsides at the Getty Museum. They do that.

But back to Farm Walk. Since the little girl recently announced that she's no longer a vegetarian like Ilene and I, she's been sampling all kinds of meat. She doesn't like anything but chicken thus far. She continually describes meat as "delish," even though she rejects all that isn't chicken. And mind you, she only gets to sample meat at school, since we don't -- and won't -- fire it up at home or when we go out.

We did take the girl to see the chickens, but it didn't really register. She's only 4, but with a will of iron. We've just got to ride this one out.

See Ilene's entry for why we're considering installing a chicken coop in our Van Nuys manse.

Once again, the Canoga Avenue/Oxnard Street Starbucks had Pike Place and House -- no dark roasts.

I tried the House today, and it's better than Pike Place. House has a little more character.

Not so much.

My choices were Pike Place and House Blend.

No dark roast.

Starbucks, are you trying to kill me? This isn't going to help profits.

Actually, it is, because the very helpful barista suggested that I add a shot of espresso. That made it go down better, except for the fact that my $1.90 coffee now cost $2.50.

The line wasn't just out the door, it then went around the corner a bit.

A lot more people are ordering full meals at Aroma. While pricey, the food does look good. But I hate crowds. And I hate waiting.

We went to Coffee Bean on Whitsett Avenue and Ventura Boulevard. No line. No seats either. It was a bit windy outside (there might have been a free table out there). But inside, all three tables were occupied by lifers. Three inside tables for two. That's it.

We grabbed a couple chocolate chip cookies, went home and made our own tea. That what Studio City on a weekday afternoon will do to you.

I got the two tomato plants from Tomatomania. At $4 each, they weren't exactly a bargain, but we got to soak up the atmosphere at the Tapia Brothers Farm on Havenhurst Avenue in sort-of Encino.

One of the tomato seedlings is a Sweet 100, which is almost guaranteed to produce, since the fruits are small and many in number. Even the squirrels can't eat that many. The other plant is some kind of healthy hybrid with extra lycopene in the tomatoes. We'll see how it does.

I didn't even do tomato cages because I'm lazy and cheap. I figure I'll stake pieces of the plants if and when they get to that point.

And I'd love to even get a half-dozen garbanzo beans. Fresh garbanzos? It'll be amazing.

Issue 1
My father-in-law, he of the ladder-fall/coma/recovery transition, has taken to collecting pets. Since getting out of the hospital and recovering his mettle, he's acquired a dog (small), two canaries (smaller but one male and the other female), five more canaries from the resulting first clutch of eggs, two finches (again, one male, the other female) ... and he's not stopping there. On the drawing board: backyard pond with fish and turtles.

Issue 2
Our 4-year-old has taken this opportunity to tell us that she no longer wants to be a vegetarian (as we are) and that she wants meat, meat and more meat. Since she had never tasted meat, she got Ilene to take her to Trader Joe's, where she tasted the meaty (chickenish) sample. Now the teachers at preschool have been informed that little miss can, indeed, have meat if she wishes.

Today's preschool menu? Cheese enchiladas. ... no meat in sight.

Anyway, it's a kind of teenage rebellion, a quest for control ... except that SHE'S ONLY 4.

Not factoring in wear, tear and maintenance on my car, I'm still saving a bundle, even with an 11-mile trip. To do that twice, I'm spending at least $4 on gas alone, so riding the Orange Line bus nets me $1.50 right off the top. And the more I do this, the longer my tires will last, the longer I can put off that 60,000-mile service, etc.

I'm taking the walk from the bus (Ilene gave me a ride to the station on the Van Nuys end) as an opportunity to get a little exercise, which I could really use.

And how could this not be helping the environment?

I'll probably do this two or three times this week. Today's trip was fairly quick -- a bit under a half-hour.

Like I said above, with $2 gas, it's not a huge, immediate savings, but $4 gas is enough to get me right out of my car.

Yes, the paparazzo who has been ever-so-close to Britney Spears of late (but not lately, it appears) was lunching at a window table with a young blonde -- not Britney -- about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19.

I've gotta tell you, he loses that funky beard-stripe thingy that extends from lower lip to chin, and he's just another dude in an Ed Hardy hoodie.

But give the man his due. He's been on the cover of the Star more times that even he may care to admit ... and that's good enough for me.

I remember Ron saying how much he liked the personal voice of the blog format, how he encouraged all of us to embrace that voice and bring that energy, innovation and chutzpah to the world of print journalism, while at the same time building our future in the online world.

But he also said -- and I remember it well -- that try as he might, he couldn't write in that voice himself.

I knew he could.

I would've liked to see a column with his mug on it running down the left side of the Daily News front page once or twice a week, telling Antonio, Fabian, Arnold, H. David (if you know this name, you're way more inside than I am; Google helped me), the Admiral, the Chief, and all the other politicos who made their way through this dirty, windowless box toward the Zebra Lounge for yet another Editorial Board meeting -- I almost lost my train of thought -- telling all those guys (and a few ladies, too, I figure) exactly where they could put it.

Ron didn't mince words in this newsroom, and I don't expect he will on his blog either. He might want to cut down on the smoking.

And since it's your own blog, Ron, I'll expect more than a few f-bombs. It's the Internet, for crap's sake.

As far as blogging goes, you got it going over here, so I'll say welcome to the club of Web blatherers.

I'll give out a few tips:

• The words Britney, Spears and nude will do wonders for your traffic. There's nothing wrong with working "Britney" into an entry -- it's all for a good cause.
• It's a good idea to schedule your posts for the future. Nothing makes you look better than having the rest of the world thinking you're up and writing every single damn day at 5 a.m. It works for me.
• At any rate, I'll dip into my cliche bag one last time: kick ass and take names. Like I need to tell you that.

I had my first cup of Starbucks' new Pike Place Roast coffee -- which instead of becoming a rotating blend is meant to be ground and served every day, all day, at every Starbucks across the known universe.

My initial impression, when the too-hot liquid first hit my palate, could be summed up in two words: worthless and weak. OK, that's three words, but "and" doesn't really count.

But upon reflection, during which time my venti Pike Place Roast cooled somewhat, it grew on me just a little bit. I'll call it a yeoman's blend that could stand to be a few notches stronger on the scale of light to bold.

First of all, don't let the cool shirts the baristas are wearing fool you. The word "Bold" on the shirt in no way reflects what Pike Place Roast is about. Look at the picture above. It's not billed as "bold." It's called "smooth," which is code for light and airy.

When I go to Starbucks, which is pretty damn often, I always request the dark roast drip coffee, because I want it to taste like coffee.

Pike Place Roast is like a less-cloying Breakfast Blend, the go-to choice for those who can't take Starbucks' heavily roasted hard stuff.

It's coffee, all right. But it won't inspire caffeine-fueled odes to its otherworldly powers. It's no Kenya, Ethiopia, Verona or Yukon. And if Starbucks is in any way depending on Pike Place Roast to save the company from its own lack of authenticity -- if that in fact can be done -- they're barking up the wrong brew.

What Starbucks needs to do is to fan out and start drinking lots of coffee at places that really know how to make it -- and I'm sure Mr. Howard Schultz knows exactly where they are. All they have to do is find the best places and then do it exactly the way they do.

But Starbucks is doing more to win your loyalty, and for me it's totally working: If you have one of those Starbucks cards that you either got as a gift or bought yourself -- and to which you can always add money to keep 'em going -- holders of cards that have been registered with Starbucks (do it on the Web) are now entitled to the following sweet, sweet freebies:

• Free syrup and milk options for your beverage
• Free brewed coffee refills (thank you, deity of choice)
• Free tall beverage with whole bean purchase (aren't they already doing that?)

All I'm giddy-like-a-schoolgirl excited about are the free drip refills. It means there is a god. Or a recession. I'm not sure.

Interesting fact: The large coffee cup from Coffee Bean appears to be smaller than the "venti" cup from Starbucks. Also, a venti Starbucks drip coffee is a few cents cheaper than a large at Coffee Bean. Just pointing this out. Half the time, I go to the local Coffee Bean, which is behind the parking gate at a local office park, because I know there's never a long line. I suspect Starbucks is doing a lot better, if only because of location.

Caveat: I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and Starbucks had the stones to open -- and then make hand-over-fist freakin' money -- in many, many locations that other operators, both independents and chains, still won't touch. I give them a whole lot of credit for that, even as I nit-pick at why my local 'Bucks is too damn small, and other such things.

Verdict: I'll stick with the dark roast of the day, but if you thing Starbucks drip coffee is too strong for you, have them pour a Pike Place Roast for you and see how you like it.

Suggestion: The free refills alone make it imperative that drip coffee drinkers get a Starbucks card and register it on the Web site immediately. I've heard rumors that card-holders will also get free WiFi access in the near future.

Additional caveat: I just hope this doesn't make Starbucks more overrun than it already is, although I figure they're hoping for just the opposite so they can continue on their growth trajectory and further their quest for world domination. World coffee domination, that is.

Nope, it's this guy: Douglas E. Welch, whose My Word, A Gardener's Notebook, TechnologyIQ, Career Opportunities and Careers in Podcasting and New Media blogs never fail to impress me, both with their technological level (always high), quality of writing and sheer relevance.

Note: Look for an update some time after Starbucks reopens at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Could three hours of intense "espresso training" pull a Van Nuys Starbucks up by its coffee-brewing bootstraps?

I could only hope.

The South Van Nuys/North Sherman Oaks area is fortunate enough to have an above-average Starbucks that, in official Seattle-approved parlance, is dubbed "Burbank & Van Nuys" location, which more accurately is at the corner of Burbank Boulevard and Tilden Avenue, a short block east of Van Nuys Boulevard.

Neighborhood regulars -- including cops, firefighters and car salesmen -- pack this place at all hours.

The Burbank & Van Nuys location wins me over in one very important way: line movement. That's what staffing both cash registers will do for you. If only all Starbucks locations did it this way.

At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the line stretched out the door. But the wait was only 2 minutes.

I ordered my drinks -- double espresso, grande drip dark roast -- and diet-killing "old-fashioned" doughnut.

Then the real wait began.

I was at the end of a surge in the line, so there were quite a few drinks ahead of me, many byzantine in their barista-confusing complexity. Who ever heard of an iced latte with no milk? And what's the deal with these "skinny lattes"?

The barista (love the ear grommets, dude) got two of the complex orders wrong. Again, who ever heard of a latte with no milk? I'd get that one wrong, too.

That stretched into a 7-minute wait for a humble "doppio" espresso. That's about 4 minutes too long.

I sat down with the espresso and popped the plastic top off.

The crema -- the ephemeral foam on top -- looked good, if a little pale (it should be darker). I sipped. Temperature was a little on the cool side.

The taste was a bit weak, with less character than I like in an espresso.

When this super-strong coffee hits your tongue, it should make you take notice, not unlike a good Scotch or fine Burgundy.

This was bland. Too much water? Not enough coffee? Poor grind? Ill-heated water?

The finish was a bit better. It grows on the tongue.

But a Starbucks espresso shouldn't be ordinary. It needs more character, more flavor notes.

It doesn't help that the heavens opened up and angels sang recently when I sampled an espresso at the relatively new Silver Lake location of Intelligentsia. The Chicago-based coffee company, intent on conquering L.A., brings forth an espresso with a veritable symphony of coffee goodness. That kind of thing can ruin you for Starbucks. Except for the convenience.

Would three hours of training buck up my local Starbucks? Find out later tonight when I return for a post-training espresso taste test.

Update, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: Blog server problems last night and WiFi problems this morning won't stop me from my sacred duty as Starbucks espresso tester.

I returned to the Burbank & Van Nuys Starbucks at 9:30 p.m. last night. The remnants of the espresso class were still evident: an easel with a giant pad of paper on it, some unrecognizable electronic aids, a stack of presumably helpful photocopied handouts.

The patio (aka the smoking patio, since it's usually filled with smokers) had a bunch of what seemed like regulars.

Inside workers were streaming behind the counter, then out, with a few left to make coffee for the next hour and a half.

Customers? It was me, a couple of other civilians and five cops; two LAPD, two CHP and one traffic officer.

I was second in line. The wait was under 30 seconds. There was still a 5- to 7-minute wait for my single espresso.

I got it. Again, I popped the top. The crema looked the same. I sip.

It tastes the same. What do you expect from a three-hour espresso training class?

I was skeptical about the efficacy of three hours of midweek training for a bunch of presumably veteran Starbucks baristas.

After all, there's more than barista technique at play when you're talking coffee.

First you have beans, then the roast, grind, and then the equipment. I have a feeling that there are many parts in the chain from farm to cup where Starbucks can start looking for ways to improve their espresso experience.

Can they do it? I think they can. But as the big dog in the premium coffee world, with no appreciable competition around the country and around the world, there's not much incentive to improve a product -- espresso -- that in most cases forms only a small part of a milk-, cream- and otherwise-enhanced drink.

But did three hours of training make a difference? Thus far, I'll have to say no.