Billy's Viewfinder

2014년 4월 29일 화요일

Unique Starbucks Menu in this Country? Starbucks Local Menu All Over the Globe

Imagine you are on a trip in a foreign country and would like to enjoy a cup of coffee. Then, the most reliable choice to have some coffee would be to choose a world popular coffee brand. What would it be? If you are a regular cafe-goer, "Starbucks," which is the world famous coffee brand, would pop up in your mind in the situation.

The great amount of Coffee is being comsumed every day all over the world. As coffee is world famous, Starbucks is a globally well-known coffee brand, and there are numerous stores in more than 45 countries internationally.

Above is the list of countries where Starbucks stores are located. Maybe we can have Starbucks coffee almost wherever in the world we are. However, each country has different tastes about coffee since many other countries have their own culture. In this regard, there are special menus which you can have only in a specific country, which are local unique menus.

Let's take a world tour to see what Starbuck local menus there are all over the globe.

Asia / Pacific

First, let's take a look at Asia and Pacific area.

Korea

As the season of cherry blossom has come to Korea, you can enjoy the scent of cherry blossom with coffee.

You can find Cherry Blossom Latte and Cherry Blossom White Chocolate as a seasonal menu.

Also in Korea, you can have Banana Frappuccino menus including Chocolate Banana, Mango Banana and Raspberry Banana one.

China

You can also enjoy the scent of Spring in China. Chinese Starbucks offer Roasted Nut Latte(Upper one in the image) and Cherry Shortbread White Chocolate Mocha(Lower one in the image) on which there are tasty flakes of spring.

Japan

Specialty menus in Japan are currently Banana Frappuccino menus which are Fresh Banana & Chocolate and Fresh Banana & Caramel Frappuccino.

Also, there is another unique menu, Chocolate Brownie Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino with which you can enjoy the taste of Japanese Matcha.

In Japan, you can also find an interesting product, Origami. Origami means "folding a paper," and this product is a paper tool which allows you to enjoy drip coffee without any additional tools. Starbucks Origami reflects handy package culture of Japan.

Indonesia & Malaysia

Indonesia and Malaysia, which are Southeast Asian countries, offer Asian Dolce Latte which you can taste Asian coffee flavour. Korea also offers Dolce Latte, but not Asian one.

Australia

Across the Pacific Ocean, you can reach Australian Starbucks. In Australia, there is no unique coffee menu but you can enjoy a variety of gourmet food called Savoury Delights ranging from pastry to pizza.

Europe

Ireland

Next, let's move on to European countries. In Ireland, you can enjoy Christmas drink eggnog with coffee - Eggnog Latte. Eggnog is a popular seasonal drink in Europe, so it is no wonder that you can also enjoy it in European Starbucks. However, it is exclusive in Irish Starbucks.

Besides Eggnog Latte, you can also enjoy orange flavour with Orange Mocha as an Irish menu.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there is no special coffee menu but you can find an interesting menu called Grab and Go. It usually includes snacks ranging from sweets and cookies to waffles which you can just grab and take out.

Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Switzerland

Most of the European countries do not have locally special coffee menu. Maybe that is because they enjoy classic coffee. However, European Starbucks offers various fresh food such as salad, yogurt and sandwich, especially in Poland, Czech, Spain and Switzerland. Take a look at the various menus.

<Poland>

<Czech Republic>

<Spain>

<Switzerland>

Yum. you can definitely taste the freshness of Europe with those menus.

America

Canada

Lastly, let's take a look at American continent. In Canada, you can enjoy the typical taste of Canada. Canadian Starbucks offers Maple Macchiato, so you can enjoy the great taste of Canadian maple syrup with coffee.

United States

Other than standard coffee menus in American Starbucks, there is a special menu which can satisfy your nutritional needs. As more and more American people are health-conscious, American Starbucks offers nutritious menus called Bristro Boxes. there are three bistro boxes. Below are the details of them.

You can care for your health and nutrition even at a cafe!

<International Locations of Starbucks Stores>

Localisation is one of the most significant factor for international marketing since every country has their own preferences. Starbucks local menu shows pretty great adaptation to various culture of each country, which results in great localisation.

So, how about trying those locally unique menus when you go abroad? your international experience would be much more exciting and tasty!

<Image sources>
http://hdwpapers.com/starbucks_logo_brands_wallpapers-wallpapers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Starbucks_Map2.png
Starbucks official websites

2013년 8월 7일 수요일

Summer Time, Starting to Live Earlier? What is Summer Time(Daylight Saving Time)?

It is summer. The Sun seems to get stronger, and the temperature is getting higher and higher. In addition, the daytime is getting longer and longer. In response to these lighter months, many countries use "summer time," or "daylight saving time." Does your country use this time system? What is it? and, What for is it being used?

[©iStockphoto.com/karen roach]

What is Summer Time?

Summer time, which is also called daylight saving time, is a practice of advancing clocks during lighter months so that there is more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings. Typically, clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of Spring and are adjusted backward near the end of Autumn. In short, we start to live earlier during summer time.

[Wikipedia]

Summer time is estimated to be adopted in about 75 countries, mainly in North American countries and European ones. The starting time and the ending time differs among countries. For example, the United Kingdom starts summer time on the last Sunday of March, while the United States starts on the second Sunday of March.

summer time also differs between the northern hemisphere and the southern one. Southern hemisphere summer goes in the opposite way. Australia, for example, starts summer time on the first Sunday of October and ends on the first Sunday of April.

When did it First Start?

The person who first devised such idea was Benjamin Franklin. In 1784, he suggested getting up earlier in the morning so that people can use their morning time more economically and use less candles, which leads to economic profit. However, it was not him who directly suggested adjusting clocks forward and backward.

It was the prominent English builder and outdoorsman William Willett who conceived summer time in 1905. He was an avid golfer, and he thought he could enjoy golf more in the daylight by adjusting clocks forward. Two years later, he published a proposal, but it was not passed right away.

The first time when summer time started to use was during World War I, on 30 April 1916. Germany and its World War allies, Austria-Hungary, were the first to use summer time in order to conserve coal and guard themselves against air-raid during wartime. Soon after that, Britain followed adopting summer time. Russia and other European countries adopted it in the following year, and the United States did in 1918.

Summer time was abandoned after World War I had ended, but it started again during World War II. After the war, it became widely adopted starting in the 1970s, particularly in North America and Europe.

Pros and Cons of Summer Time

The advantages of summer times mostly come from enjoying more daylight. Then what kinds of effect are there with more daylight?

The main advantage of summer time is economic profit. As Benjamin Franklin said concerning using less candles, more daylight leads to saving energy. If summer time is in effect, there would be longer day time and less nighttime. Moreover, there would be less time when lights are on. That leads to saving energy.

Another advantage is that summer time is better for health. Since summer time provides people with more time for outdoor exercise, it could promote people to do more exercise and to expose themselves to sunlight, which is good for health. Being less nighttime, summer time could also reduce depression, which is usually triggered during nighttime. Plus, traffic accidents could be reduced since there is more daytime when people can see clearer.

On the other hand, there are opponents against summer time who argue about shortcomings. Opponents are usually farmers who usually work on schedule set by Sun. They argue that grain is best harvested after dew evaporates, so going to fields and leaving them early is not that effective. Dairy farmers complain that cows are sensitive to the timing of milking, so they need to stick to the original time.

The most biggest shortcoming of summer time is its complexity. People should remember summer time and synchronize their clocks twice a year, which is time-consuming. Also, people among many other countries should consider whether one another's countries are using summer time or not since not all the countries adopt summer time. It also takes much effort and time to adjust time within computer system, which could disrupt computer system.

So, Is it really effective?

It is not clear if summer time is effective or not. Each country is in different conditions and different circumstances, so the effect of summer time may well differ among each country. I think summer time is also one of the policies which policymakers adopt. It means, therefore, summer time can also be largely effective or ineffective depending on how well the government manages it.

So, how do you think? Do you think summer time should be adopted or not?

references

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/time/daylightsavingtime.htm

2013년 7월 9일 화요일

San Francisco Boeing 777 Aircraft Crash, What Happened and Why?

On Sunday morning, I woke up, jumped out of my bed and happened to see the television screen in the living room. TV news said there was a big accident in San Francisco. I was so frightened and checked out what happened.

(Reuters)

What Happened?

On July 6th, 2013, at 11:28 a.m. wst, Boeing B-777-28EER, which is the aircraft of Asiana Airlines, crashed the runway in San Francisco airport. That was when the plane was approaching the runway for landing. The aircraft first departed from Shanghai, stopped by in Incheon, then flew to San Francisco. 307 people were on board, and the crash resulted in 2 fatalities and 182 injured passengers. The tail section, landing gear, and both engines were seperated from the fuselage and a fire erupted. Seeing that the aircraft was broken down badly as in the photo, it surely was a hugh accident.

Why Happened?

It is said that the plane was approaching the runway too slow and too low, and that the pilot had tried to speed up before trying to abort landing, but everything happened so quickly within several seconds.

It has not been revealed that what caused the accident, but there are mainly two possible causes-pilot error or mechanical failure-as they are usually the main causes of many other aircraft accidents. As one of the main causes, news articles say the pilot of the Boeing 777 doesn't have much experience of controlling the aircraft type, but he has experience of about 10,000 hours of being on aircraft, which is enough time for the pilot to be considered as a veteran.

It is also said that the control tower of Sanfranciso Airport corresponded with the pilot so slow that the pilot could not take quick measures, but that seems to need more investigation.

At present, the press seems to put more emphasis on the role of the pilot. According to PlaneCrashInfo, about 50 percent of plane accidents is due to pilot error, followed by mechanical failure, which accounts for 22 percent. Statistically, there are more accidents caused by pilot error, but that couldn't be the clear answer for this accident in San Francisco.

(Reuters)

Behind Stories

Many stories are coming out about the accident, and one of the touching stories is one about the cabin manager of the aircraft, Lee Yoon-hye. She is being called a "hero" in the accident spot. After the crash, she never lost her control and evacuated every passengers quickly, contributing to saving a lot more passengers. She was a professional itself.

Another story covers the two fatalities. It turned out that two Chinese teenagers were killed by the accident. One was killed after the crash, and the other is said to be hit by a car after getting out of the plane. Those two girls are described as close friends, and as smart and nice students at school. They were on their way to summer camp when the accident happened. It is so unfortunate and sad that two youths became the casualties.

Still Under Scrunity...

The exact cause of the accident has not been revealed yet. Some news media say the accident is because of the pilot, and some say it is because of other factors. Korea and US are joint investigating the accident to find out the original cause of the accident, and Korean investigators would join to decode the blackbox of the aircraft. Although many facts about the accidents are floating on the internet, it is too soon to jump into conclusion. I hope public opinion would not result in witch-hunt, and the actual cause of the accident would be revealed as soon as possible.

references

http://planecrashinfo.com/index.html
http://planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm

2013년 5월 24일 금요일

Yeosu Odongdo Island and Yeosu EXPO Area

This post is the following post of the post on a Suncheon Bay Garden Expo trip.

After I enjoyed my travel in Suncheon Bay Garden Expo, I took a bus to Yeosu, a port city which is also located in South Jeolla province of Korea. There was a shuttle bus between Garden Expo and Yeosu, so I could easily go to Yeosu. Here are the photos from the beautiful port city, Yeosu.

Since Yeosu is a port city, there are quite a few beautiful islands. I visited Odongdo Island, which is one of the beautiful islands in Yeosu.

There is a long path to Odongdo from the entrance. You can see the island in the photo.

There are sea horses on the wall of the path.

I looked down from stairs to Odondo.

a poem about Yeosu.

The paths were good to walk with green trees.

I could see the ocean down there.

The ocean.

Right there is called "Dragon Cave." It was believed that dragons stayed there.

This is the legend of Dragon Cave.

Keep walking through the paths, there was another path to a lighthouse.

Water was so clean.

The lighthouse.

I could see many ships.

Went back from the lighthouse.

This is a park in Odongdo Island.

There is a turtle ship.(Geobukseon(거북선) in Korean) Yeosu commemorates admiral Yi Sun-sin since there was a big battle called the battle of Hansan island near Yeosu. Because of that, there is also a Yi Sun-sin bridge and Yi Sun-sin square in Yeosu.

There is a big fountain called Music Fountain. the water comes out of hoses as music plays.

As I went back to the entrance of Odongdo Island, I could see the fancy hotel, MVL Hotel.

It was built for accommodation of visitors to see Yeosu EXPO in 2012.

Now it has become a landmark of Odongdo Island.

After talking a look around in Odongdo Island. I changed my steps toward the Yeosu Expo area. While going to the Yeosu Expo area, I could find an aquarium, Aqua Planet.

After I arrived at the area, I could see buildings for the Expo.

International Pavilion.

There was a building called "Sky Tower," which is an observatory. People can go up to the building by an elevator, can enjoy the view from the top of the building.