Outsmarting one's self

We’re big fans of the concept of not overthinking things.

Example #1: The bar and restaurant at Stone Brewery up in Escondido is libations and gastronomic wonder. It carries a tremendous array of not only Stone brews but other local and in-state microbrews as Stone has always been a champion of and down for the struggle. Each menu item has a suggested wine and beer pairing for the best dining experience and the layout and furnishings of the restaurant and patio area is unparalelled here in the San Diego area.

Alas, there are no T.V.s in the bar. Not even a nice simple 19” monitor tucked away un-obtrusively so the men-folk can keep an eye, if not full rapt attention, on the ball game. The bartender informed us after we inquired, “That’s not the sort of atmosphere we want to create here.” Dude, you serve beer, you serve food… don’t overthink things.

Example #2: The Neighborhood in East Village is a chic diner establishment that serves up neveau-comfort food along with its own outstanding beer lineup (yes, it is frequented by black horned-rim glasses-wearing scenesters drinking pints of Pabst Blue Ribbon but the awesomeness of the beer lineup makes up for any lame faux irony factor). They are quite proud of the fact that they do not provide catsup for any of the 4 styles of burgers they make, instead featuring a homemade sauce for each one of the burgers. Those sauces may be the greatest developments in the history of condiments but quite frankly, we don’t care as besting catsup for a hamburger just isn’t going to happen. Besides, we the customer like and want catsup for our burgers. Again… don’t overthink things.

Which brings us to the picture below which is what greeted us in the hallway of our offices when we came into work on Monday and which replaced the standard bulkhead-mounted water fountain unit. After coming back in from the yard or the ship, we have invariably worked up a little bit of a thirst and are looking forward to nothing more than a satisfying quaff from the water fountain.




It’s got some really cool features like a hot and chilled water option and some other buttons we haven’t yet figured out but coming back in from the yard what the heck are we supposed to to with this when carrying around a paper or plastic cup is not part of our uniform? Nice try with the HAL 9000 water dispenser but….. don’t overthink things.