Let's See How Merriam-Webster Spells It; Starbucks And La Boulange

Market Watch is reporting:

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary came out with its 2014 list of new dictionary words on Monday, which included a word derived from a technique to extract oil and gas from rock first devised in the late 1940s. [News to Mr Obama. Of course, he's just learning about the ISIS Army.]

Side by side with the new crop of mostly digital-era words — including ‘selfie,’ ‘catfish,’ and ‘hashtag’ — the list of bona-fide dictionary words includes ‘fracking,’ the shorthand for hydraulic fracturing.

Fracking and its companion technique, horizontal drilling, which was developed later, are often credited with kickstarting the North American oil boom. They allow the extraction of oil and gas from porous shale rock, and took off in the late 1990s.

The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the favorite source of The Chicago Manual of Style, widely used in publishing and academia.

Here’s the definition of fracking according to the dictionary:

The injection of fluid into shale beds at high pressure in order to free up petroleum resources (such as oil and natural gas). Origin: by shortening & alteration from (hydraulic) fracturing. First known use: 1953.

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Global Warming: A Godsend For Historically Dry North Dakota

I can't make this up: global warming has brought more water and more places to fish to North Dakota than ever before. The Dickinson Press is reporting this fascinating story.

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A Note For The Granddaughters

I really enjoy observing the strategy of various companies. For example, I personally think Apple made a brilliant move when it bought Beats. Absolutely brilliant.

Regular readers know that on my cross-country travels I am constantly on the lookout for wi-fi friendly coffee shops and restaurants. McDonald's is ubiquitous with free wi-fi but seldom has electrical outlets (that is changing).

Starbucks is the best: not only do they always have wi-fi, it is incredibly fast (generally) and management encourages folks to log on and re-charge. There are always more than enough electrical outlets.

Last winter (February, 2014, to be exactly) while traveling cross-county, I noted that every Starbucks along I-70 west of Denver had a new pastry menu. It turns out that Starbucks had partnered with/bought a new pastry concession: La Boulange.

Over the past year, many of us at the Starbucks on Glade and US Highway 121 in Grapevine, TX, have talked about the "need" for Starbucks to sell wine and premium beer at some locations. We mentioned that to the manager who told us that Starbucks was trying that, even as we spoke, in select markets.

Today my wife sent me this note (she's out in California):

Starbucks has opened its first restaurant in LA -- all day menu, including beer & wine!  Called La Boulange.

Another brilliant move.

The La Boulange story as told by Starbucks.

The LA Times is reporting:

Coffee purveyor Starbucks Corp. is venturing further into the food business by opening a branch of its La Boulange café chain in Los Angeles.

The restaurant, opening June 12, will cater to both a day and night crowd with sandwiches, build-your-own burgers and alcoholic offerings, including wine and cocktails, according to a statement from La Boulange.

Situated on La Brea Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire area, the eatery will stay open until 10 p.m. every day.

Starbucks acquired the established Bay Area bakery brand for about $100 million in cash in 2012. At the time, Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the purchase was an investment in Starbucks’ growing food business.

The La Brea location is La Boulange’s first eatery outside of the San Francisco area. Along with burgers and beer, the restaurant’s menu will include items with local and sustainably sourced ingredients, said La Boulange spokeswoman Holly Hart Shafer.

Absolutely brilliant. 

I love the La Boulange selection.

What I like best about this story is the history behind the location. La Brea Boulevard in the mid-Wilshire area is my "vision" of what Los Angeles is all about.