Amy Bowers TV Talk
 

"The Latte Flyaway Pak"

Do you have any idea how tough it is to set up at 3am for a live shot, when there is no coffee? Can you "taste" the disappointment of weak hotel coffee at 6am?  

Have you experienced the "valley of fatigue" in the afternoon after you've fed your piece, but before you are goodnighted?

After several hours on assignment I crave a four-dollar cup of caffeine; after several days of big-time television, I get a real Jones for a hi-test Joe. I like a nice strong coffee that will keep me up until October.  

Next time you consider a career change, please think about operating a "Latte Fly-Away Pak." It's a portable espresso kit that you will bring to major news events. 
 
The Latte Fly-Away Pak consists of a cappuccino machine, a refrigerator for the 2% milk, and some storage containers for biscotti, all packed in Thermodyne cases. When a major news story breaks, you hop on a plane, with your Fly-away Pak checked as baggage, rent an SUV, drive to the Satellite City, and open your café. 

You have to work the same long hours as the newspukes, but as a "SpressoPuke" you don't hurt your back, you don't have to rewrite your script, you don't have to make a million decisions every day.  Your customers can make the decisions: Mochacino or Frappucino? Latte or macciato? Single espresso, or double?

I'd appreciate it if you serve only one size. I hate not knowing what a "Vente" is.  

As for the power source, I really think the way to go is with a petite plutonium cell. A really small one powers the Galileo space probe all the way to Mars. So I figure a tiny speck of plutonium could keep the latte machine purring a really long time. I've heard that the physicists at Los Alamos Lab drop a 238PuO2 pellet right into their coffee mugs. Now that's a strong brew.

Once this thing catches on, we'll all sip lattes while we set up for live shots.  

But if your assignment is an exclusive, and nobody shows up with a Latte Fly-Away Pak, you might want to look into jump-starting your day with a jolt of Black Gold off your Powerbook. 

If you brew it, they will come.


Amy Bowers
amy@marash.tv


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