Meme Monday: I like my coffee like I like my code

[Paul Zimmerman]

Coffee and coding go together like rock and roll! Everyone knows that coffee and creative focus go hand-in-hand, and creating code is no different.

Coffee has been inspirational to technology and coding. Sun Microsystems named the Java programming language after being inspired by Peet's coffee. The first webcam was developed to check on the brewing progress of a pot of coffee at Cambridge University. Sure, coffee has been there for us since the beginning, but what does the future have in store?

Coffee and IoT

Web-enabled coffee machines are all over the place now, so getting one for personal use is no problem. You can remotely grind beans, set strength levels, and control heat, all over the internet. For the coffee industry, IoT has a lot of growth and usage potential across the supply chain. IoT can help coffee growers manage their agribusiness. Sensors can be used at coffee shops to monitor refrigeration, toilet usage, and other areas where real-time monitoring can help cost savings at stores.

Coffee and AI

Seeing that IoT has become fairly enmeshed in coffee production and preparation, I looked into where AI might have some impacts. In the coffee industry, AI is being used to predict agricultural diseases and target advertising. On a more advanced level, a company has combined sensors with AI to allow the AI to taste coffee and make brewing decisions based on the desired taste. Can AI really make a great cup of joe?

I asked AI to finish the meme, "I like my coffee like I like my AI" and it replied, "... intelligent and constantly learning!" Um, no. While I think it's great that the coffee industry is constantly working on improvements,  I do not want my coffee to be intelligent or constantly learning. Well, it looks like AI still has a little way to go to truly understand coffee.

How has your relationship with coffee impacted your work? Do you think the machines can really appreciate a good cuppa? Please share your thoughts!

[Sean Dahlberg]

Coffee is one of the first things I generally have after getting out of bed and taking a shower. While taking a shower and listening to music (usually some good rock or metal) starts my wake-up process, coffee is really what gets me moving forward. So, let me start this off with a somewhat funny coffee image that feels very relevant:

I am going for some extra credit, though, and the coffee meme I use most often further below. While funny, it has some truth in it, as well.

I am a big fan of coffee. It helps improve a variety of my brain functions such as mood, cognitive function, concentration, energy, etc. It generally makes my day much better. Like many things (if not everything), if overdone, it is not good for you. I do my best to drink no more than two cups of coffee a day (although the cup size does differ depending on the day!) and no later than lunchtime. And I do my best to go a day or two without (replacing it with tea). 

Who else has some great coffee memes? I know there are TONS out there!

[davidn#]

My DevNet Yeti cup of Joe and VS Code are often my go-to combination during long coding sessions :), as they help me maintain focus and alertness. Additionally, I often kick off my day with a cup of cappuccino, which I find enjoyable and helps me start the day on a positive note

[Verlaine_Devnet]

insightful! I love the way you write and educate developers in 2 minutes 

i don't drink coffee anymore,only my green tea grown in the garden at home

[Sean Dahlberg]

Oh, you grow your own green tea? Nice!  Green tea is usually my alternative to coffee. I add a few others to the mix occasionally, but if I'm having tea, green is my go-to.

[seorankerz01]

Coffee and coding have been intertwined for a long time. The creative focus that coffee provides has been a source of inspiration for technology and coding. For example, Sun Microsystems was inspired by Peet's coffee to name the Java programming language, and the first webcam was created to monitor the brewing process of a pot of coffee at Cambridge University.

Looking to the future, there are a lot of exciting possibilities for coffee and technology. IoT-enabled coffee machines are already in widespread use, allowing users to remotely control settings like grinding, strength, and heat. In the coffee industry, IoT can be used to help coffee growers manage their crops, and to monitor refrigeration and other areas where real-time monitoring can help cost savings.

AI is also making its way into the coffee industry. AI is being used to predict agricultural diseases and target advertising, and companies are using sensors and AI to allow AI to taste coffee and make brewing decisions based on desired taste. However, there is still some way to go before AI can truly understand and appreciate a good cup of coffee.

For many people, coffee plays an important role in their work. The caffeine and creative focus that it provides can help boost productivity and inspiration. While machines may not be able to appreciate a good cup of coffee in the same way that humans can, they can certainly help make the process of making and brewing coffee more efficient and enjoyable.

In conclusion, coffee and technology have been intertwined for a long time, and there are exciting possibilities for the future. Whether it's through IoT-enabled coffee machines or AI-assisted coffee brewing, technology can help make the process of making and enjoying coffee more efficient and enjoyable. And while machines may not be able to appreciate a good cup of coffee in the same way that humans can, they can certainly help make the process of making and brewing coffee more efficient and enjoyable.

[Sean Dahlberg]

This one came up today in a meeting. While not necessarily a meme, the story about the Trojan Room coffee pot is an interesting (and funny) one! 

How the world's first webcam made a coffee pot famous: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-20439301

If you're unfamiliar with it (and don't want to read the article), here's a quick snippet from Wikipedia:

The Trojan Room coffee pot was a coffee machine located in the Computer Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, England. Created in 1991 by Quentin Stafford-Fraser and Paul Jardetzky, it was migrated from their laboratory network to the web in 1993 becoming the world's first webcam.

To save people working in the building the disappointment of finding the coffee machine empty after making the trip to the room, a camera was set up providing a live picture of the coffee pot to all desktop computers on the office network. After the camera was connected to the Internet a few years later, the coffee pot gained international renown as a feature of the fledgling World Wide Web, until it was retired in 2001.

[Casey Tong]

 

How about Coffee and Design Thinking?

I love to involve coffee in my daily process of problem-solving with design thinking. It keeps my mind clear when dealing with design challenges: not to jump into solutions or make conclusions right away, but to look at what problem we are trying to solve and ideate only after defining a clear problem statement.

Coffee also keeps me energized in driving and facilitating brainstorming sessions with stakeholders including engineers and designers. It helps to keep up with the good vibe in interactive brainstorming sessions and get attendees engaged!

The coffee from the picture above shows how we ran design thinking and UX research activities with our Cisco developer community at the DevNet Zone in Cisco Live Amsterdam, with coffee and love!