Picard’s Tea Order Makes No Sense

[Swedish Borg]

I'm not even 50 yet, and I'm very set in my ways.

Well, then we're very different people.

 

[UssGlenn]

I still think that this whole "non-replicated food tastes better" is a case of "hand-kneaded bread has more soul

Funny you should pick that example. Alton Brown tells a story where he failed to replicate his grandmother's biscuits until he paid close attention while she was making them and realized the arthritis in her fingers was giving her a different and more gentle kneeding technique.

IDK, maybe I'm doing something wrong, but when I cook or bake something, it usually taste the same each time, unless I deliberately vary the ingredients, and I wouldn't call a meal tasting the same each time a feature, not a bug.

Baking, being a more scientific endeavor, should usually come out the same. That is very different from your steak always having a piece of gristle in exactly the same spot every time.

If there are presets (and realistically there should be) then you could save that as "Number 22, variation B" or something and that'd be your order and the next week you'd ask for "Number 22, Variation E" or something like that.

Assuming sub variations are even a thing, this is tyranny of choice. I don't want to have to pick the sub variety every time. That would just ruin the enjoyment if I think there is a better choice out there somewhere.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Funny you should pick that example. Alton Brown tells a story where he failed to replicate his grandmother's biscuits until he paid close attention while she was making them and realized the arthritis in her fingers was giving her a different and more gentle kneeding technique.

Not unlike Cliff from Cheers whose mom's pretzels smelled of her hand cream... and were overbaked so that they were hard as a rock.

Baking, being a more scientific endeavor, should usually come out the same. That is very different from your steak always having a piece of gristle in exactly the same spot every time.

An intelligent replicator could randomize that so that not two pieces of meat would look exactly the same.

Assuming sub variations are even a thing, this is tyranny of choice. I don't want to have to pick the sub variety every time. That would just ruin the enjoyment if I think there is a better choice out there somewhere.

Perfection is a relative term.

 

[Farscape One]

I'm not even 50 yet, and I'm very set in my ways.

Same here, and I'm about to turn 42.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Same here, and I'm about to turn 42.

In my forties, I kept moving from place to place. I've lost count of the number of apartments/homes I lived in.

 

[fireproof78]

Same here, and I'm about to turn 42.

I am a person who does not weather change very well, despite my best efforts. This past year has been the biggest test for me, so if there are things that I get set in my ways about they are pretty stubborn. At 37 it is interesting. Drives my wife nuts.

 

[Farscape One]

I've always felt that by the time you hit 30, barring VERY major life changes... such as the birth of a child, close family member dying, etc... you are basically that person the rest of your life. A few things here and there will change, but my observations of not only other people but myself have given me that conclusion.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Well, to each their own.

 

[fireproof78]

I've always felt that by the time you hit 30, barring VERY major life changes... such as the birth of a child, close family member dying, etc... you are basically that person the rest of your life. A few things here and there will change, but my observations of not only other people but myself have given me that conclusion.

I think there are some things that will always be such. I think I am more accepting of smaller changes but great big changes, i.e. moving, still produce a ton of anxiety. But, that's me. I have no doubt there is a wide variety of growth and experiences that many still do. Life would be rather boring if it was otherwise.

 

[Swedish Borg]

I think I'd be afraid of not changing. It would be like being in prison or at least house arrest. I need a change of scenery when I wake up in the morning after a while.

 

[fireproof78]

Change is easier if I feel a small measure of control. But, a lot of things that change are not so it's more difficult.

 

[shivkala]

Do we really need to defer to Douglas Adams for the basic method on how pretty much everybody makes pretty much any kind of hot tea?
I mean it's not like he's revealing a national secret there...

As long as comic book writer Gail Simone is allowed to roam free, yes, yes we do.

But there isn't anything seeping in Picard's tea glass, and if I'm not mistaken he often takes a sip from it as soon as he sits down, or even on the way form the replicator to his desk...
So it's already drinking temperature...

I thought I covered the first point, and I mentioned I'm probably wrong about the second one. However, I too always take a sip from the mug, but what they don't include is the look of pain as you remember why that's a bad idea.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I am 60 and I break my habits all the time.

Are you all 60 year olds? Maybe you are the unicorn who listens to all new music, accepts all new technology the moment it comes out and doesn't settle into any routine. But that is not the average.

 

[Swedish Borg]

Are you all 60 year olds? Maybe you are the unicorn who listens to all new music, accepts all new technology the moment it comes out and doesn't settle into any routine. But that is not the average.

What do you mean by "you all"? I speak for myself. I don't know anyone else on this site personally, regardless of how old they are.

 

[Oddish]

Age doesn't matter. Some people are set in their ways, others not. By and large, I think Picard is a little of both. He's strongly opinionated and likes the old ways, but he does evolve somewhat over the series, often due to significant life experiences.

 

[Crewman6]

I know it doesn’t really matter. I know it sounds cool for Picard to bark: ‘Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.’

But how does that make sense? Earl Grey is a type of tea. It wouldn’t realistically refer to anything except tea, so why does Picard feel the need to specify tea? Is he afraid of getting some Earl Grey wine or an Earl Grey donut? Ridiculous.

Then there’s the ‘hot’. Earl Grey is not served cold. It’s my tea of choice, and let me tell you that not once have I been asked whether I take it hot or cold. I suppose you might get iced Earl Grey, but people usually refer to ‘iced tea’ and ‘tea’ separately. You’d be pretty miffed if you asked for a cup of tea and got some iced tea instead. You shouldn’t need to specify your tea should be hot.

And what does ‘hot’ even mean? Like if you said this to someone at Starbucks, what would that tell them that a simple order of Earl Grey wouldn’t? Tea comes hot as standard. That’s information you can’t really do anything with. It’s too vague to act on. You’d either just tell the computer ‘Earl Grey’ or give some more exact instruction than ‘hot’.

So maybe it’s some kind of Picard preference where he’s set his ‘hot’ to an exact temperature? But if it’s a preference, I’d ask again why he needs to bother saying the ‘tea’ bit. And since it’s his standard cup, surely if he was setting a preference then he’d make the wording simpler. Just saying ‘tea’ or ‘Earl Grey’ would give his default order with no need to specify temperature. This makes me think it isn’t some kind of preference he’s set.

So, Picard should really just say ‘Earl Grey’. The ‘tea’ and ‘hot’ are completely useless. I suggest we all stop watching TNG until this madness is explained or a formal apology is penned by the writers.

"realistically", the computer should have memorized his preferences regardless after the first order so he wouldn't have to be so ridiculously specific every time.

But, who knows, maybe off camera he's order "Tea. Peach! On ice!" at least a few times a day, so he has to make it clear what he wants.

 

[Swedish Borg]

"Computer, Cardassian fish juice."

 

[Oddish]

"Computer, play some mambo and make me a margarita."

 

[Mojochi]

Troi's sundae always kind of annoyed me. Nutritional value my ass. Now I'm starting to think Mark Twain was onto something with the cigars. No real alcohol, no cigars & the like, & you can't even get a nonnutritious treat. WTF?

It's not like it would be incapable of making these things. Starfleet has just programmed it to not, & that's a fairly authoritarian controlled life. I get that they are a uniform military type organization, but even our current military isn't so restricted that they can never have a smoke, drink, or bloody donut.

 

[Orphalesion]

Honestly I would have no problems with it (well, I'm a health nut and a tee teetotaller) . It's not like Troi can't have a chocolate sundae, it's just a chocolate sundae that's magically nutritious.