On the bubble: Asparagus? Brocoli? Cooked spinach? Cauliflower?

Tolerably inedible: Artichoke. Eggplant. Okra. Fennel.

Tolerably edible: Carrots. Parsnips. Olives. Celery. Radish. Zucchini.

Don't tell me that POTATOES and CORN are "starches". Those're my two favorite vegetables. All PEPPERS (red, green, yellow) are cool. LETTUCE is a nice filler. CUCUMBER and TOMATO. RAW SPINACH. PEAS are sweet if they're fresh/frozen (no cans, no freezerburned leftovers). ONION and GARLIC are cool. SQUASH (especially pumpkin or butternut or spaghetti). SWEET POTATO. SOY. AVOCADO.

i don't have to like a vegetable for it to be allowed to be cooked/eaten in my presence. In addition to the several that I actually dO like, there are hundreds of other vegetables out there that are nearly completely inert. Pick from that list and don't tell me it's too restrictive. It's not. You're fine with those hundreds.

I've already had pumpkin lattes, pumpkin-shaped cookies, and pumpkin-infused cookies. Actually, i mailed a batch of oatmeal pumpkin cookies to a friend in Afghanistan. I almost can't wait 'til we get around to pumpkin pie and pumpkin cake. But that's not why I'm so excited.

Lunch is just gonna be Second Breakfast, basically.

Hopefully there'll be a few leftovers i can have after dinner too.

Yes, I'm a simple man.

Thanks though for all your well wishes and baby loot. Thank you especially to all of you with the expert advice and helping us watch her. We really do appreciate every little thing you do and you've helped to make this a great experience for us.

Thank you.

P.S. It seems her spirit-animal has been speaking up for her and imbuing her with mystic energies. Her superheroine name is THE DUCKLING -and you cannot resist her powers of adorableness.

i have a pretty decent cup of coffee, so at least i got that going for me.

The guy next to me though... he's...

Those two girls over there are pretty cute, but they're laughing too much and too loud. They're going through some notebook stuff. Probably community college or nursing or something.

There's a dude with a shaved head and a fedora typing on a notepad. Can't tell if he's business or pleasure. i must say that i find his modified goatee pretty dapper.

There's some suit at the barista bar. He's reading a newspaper. Not an iPad, but a real pulp&ink paper. Prolly the WSJ. Grey hair, grey suit, grey socks, black shoes.

There're about a half dozen people in the back outta sight. When i was back there ordering, i noticed that all of 'em had laptops. Students and business people. One guy had a book. A real paper & ink book. Awesome.

"TALL HAZELNUT NON-FAT LATTE UP FOR HANNA!"
"SOY CHAI UP FOR WILLIAM!"

Oh, sh!te. Mumblescat man just engaged me. "Are you going to be here awhile?" Um... you're not here to pick me up, are you, dude? -Oh. Okay. He's just going to the restroom and doesn't want to abandon his laptop and coat to any scavengers. Got it. Cool. Yeah, i can keep an eye on 'em. It might be that tapping his toes to "Stayin' Alive" lead to the inevitable bladder control problems. The good news is that, when he got up, he knocked his coffee over onto my power cord. No electrocution, but it makes you THINK about it.

Indian couple just came in. They don't look like coffee campers. I'm guessing they're just grabbing something for the road. Wait for it... wait for it... Bingo. Two small coffees and out the door. Oh, but, wait. They're sitting down at a table out on the patio. Not too bad in Atlanta yet for that kinda thing. 55 degrees and no real breeze. I've been noticing a lot of wool and corduroy today. Oh, they're SMOKERS. No choice exCept the great outdoors. One quick smoke and they're off to their car. The open road awaits.

Update on Mumblescat Man: he's back and (as he waves his laptop around) it seems he's been browsing some jobs site. Poor bastard. Times are tough all over, right? Hells, my own wife has been downsized twice in the last year. Well, hopefully by next week he'll be stuck in some third floor cubicle bothering some new co-workers there instead of innocent by-standers here at the coffeeshop.

And yet another update. He seems to be singing THIS SONG alittle louder and more accurately. As the irritation level rises, he leans over to me and says: "You ever hear this guy?". i cock my head to one side, squint, and... is that Iron & Wine? "No. It's Damien Rice. Great singer. He's Irish. I went over there and heard him and brought back a CD. Now I hear it all over the place. He did the soundtrack to that Julia Roberts movie a while ago." Well, okay then. I guess you learn something new every day. Thanks. You seem like a nice guy, but if you don't stop singing, I'ma smash a caraffe in yo' face.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgqOSCgc8xc
**http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817230

The morning air was cool, i wore plaid to work, and i smelled fireplace smoke when i got home.

i netted about $2.

Was it worth it?

Crimefightin' ain't easy though and it'll take a lot outta ya. After a brief hiatus, Keeferman's ready to get back down to work. 2009 was a great year -and not just because it was the Year of the Ox. 2010, the Year of the Space Odyssey, promises to be even better, but you've got to remember to do your part. Goverment stipends aren't as big as they used to be, corporate sponsorship in these situations is a tricky ethical tightrope to walk, and guild regulations limit the size (though not the Quantity) of gifts from individual public donors. Keeferman does, however, have expenses and a family to support.

You're civic-minded, but maybe you haven't really had the opportunity to express yourself. Perhaps you've been meaning to donate, but were just waiting for the right time. Well, it could be that the time is now. Why don't we all present Keeferman with symbolic gestures of respect and appreciation? Let's all give 'til it hurts.

Afterall, you gotta Give love to get love.

Thank you and Happy New Year,

-the Staff

P.S. Please forward all requests for acts of heroism to helpline @ keeferman.com . There's no need to scream in ALL CAPS though. Keeferman considers every inquiry to be critically important.

As I'm sure many of you experienced yourselves, December (starting with the Thanksgiving Effect) was crazybusy. Already working with a skeleton crew at my day job, we lost even more ground as the various human assets cycled through their hard-earned vacation time. Joanderwoman and i went to half a dozen Xmas celebrations. We hosted our own Umpteenth Annual How the Grinch Stole Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa and Festivus Party. We roadtripped to Tennessee and Indianapolis. I slacked off on my workouts and even neglected to make it in for a blood donation this month (both of which will get back on track in 2010). i can and shall do better.

More to follow.

In the meantime... you be careful out there.

Every season, around 1000 teams form to compete for the Atlanta trivia championship. Of those teams, 75 qualify for the tourney at the end. Team Keeferman usually finishes in the Top 10, but has never won it all. Tourney runners-up is the best we've managed -and that's not good enough.

Unfortunately, this past weekend, we just repeated that humility. Again, our team failed to live up to it's brainpower. We finished 2nd. This apology is directed first and foremost to my teammates, whom i let down. If only I'd known the lasT name of the Nick who performed "Hot Child In the City" in 1978...