Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for June 09, 2012

Goat knew it was too good to be true.

It’s the thought that counts (not that Rat put much thought into it).

More cartoon physics: there’s no way Goat could get that hat on over his horns.

Starbucks — the gift that keeps on taking.

Rat has a real gift for giving.He keeps it to himself, though.

Damn… rat got my goat… I mean happy b day to me… now give me my loaded to heck Starbucks card now…

The imperial Rat simply does not understand the ingratitude of hoi polloi towards his magnificent benevolence.Yeah. That’s it.

Takes one to know one, Rat.

perfect to regift

Gutsy usage of the word “ingrate”. I avoid it because it’s too close to “ingratiate”.

Some gift. First it’s to Starbucks, the McDonalds of the coffee world. And then it’s got nothing on it so Goat has to put his own money on it if he wants to even use it. I hate giving gift cards and only give them if I can’t find a better gift or have absolutely no idea what to get someone and can’t get an idea. My big problem with gift cards is 85% of the time you’re telling someone where to shop to get a gift and if it’s someplace they wouldn’t normaly shop at unless they had a gun pointed at their head then their ********. Best gift card to give is a pre-paid Visa or Master Card, works just like the actual credit card (without the credit card payments) and can be used anyplace that accepts Visa or Master Card. So while there will be places that don’t accept that credit card, you’ve still got many more options open to how you’re going to use your gift.

And how many remember when it comes to coffee your choices were regular or decafe and maybe small. medium or large. And you could ask for cream and sugar with it. Now there’s so many choices to make your head spin. But seems regular or decaf ain’t among those choices and you’re more likely to be looked at as an escapee from a mental institution if you ask for it save at some Mom and Pop hole in the wall or a Denny’s. Places that remember what coffee is and don’t charge you an arm an a leg for it. But hey, enjoy that super-sized extra large mint mocha frapaccino with soy milk steamed foam with a hint of hazlenut syrup and chocolate shavings for $7.99 and I’ll go to the local Mom and Pop and get a medium regular, two eggs, two sausage links, two slices of toast, and homefries for the same amount. Oh, but make my coffee OJ instead.

If Goat is an ingrate, Rat must be an outgrate.

That routine was just on a comedy channel I listen to on my commute. They have a whole rack of those gift cards at the register. Take all you want, they make great gifts! (Funnier here, though.)

Gift cards for the movies or for a nice restaurant are usually well received. Many people would not spend the money and giving them something different to do and enjoy themselvesis a great gift(as long as there is some money on the books.)

yeh. i went into a starbucks. once. the place smelled like a sewer, the coffee tasted like it, too. the (baked goods?) bread, rolls or whatever were illegal/unregistered HazMat. i don’t see the mystique or its appeal. must be a drug cartel front.

A more cruel gift would be to give a dead card for a restaurant that takes your money after you eat.

One thing I don’t like about Starbucks is how they over-roast their beans so it all tastes burned.

+++++

Goat should consider getting Rat an empty case of beer for his birthday. One fine gift deserves another, doesn’t it?

Wow! You can buy a Starbucks gift card without putting money on it? I know what getting for my friends graduation!

Not velcroed – welded!

Well it’s the thought that counts!

LOL LOL xxx

Starbuck’s coffee IS pretty awful, true.

must…..try this

Aw, Ananomoose… that’s sweet. Thank you!That reminds me of Brevity… CodeDaddy I answered you there from yesterday…And BMonk .. for some reason I just can’t drink Starbucks coffee.Maybe that’s it.I can’t drink much very dark coffee anymore anyway, but theirs has an extra acrid “bite” I can’t handle. I never buy fancy coffee drinks, cos I’m not blowing the price of lunch on a cup of fat and sugar… but a cup of their regular joe is $1.50, which would be OK in a pinch of caffeine desperation, if I didn’t have to pour it down the drain.

Acesover — brilliant, as usual!Never thought of that.And to all you old timers…yeah, I remember nickel coffee — 10¢ meant you were in a “nice” restaurantmaybe even tablecloths….the local drugstore in Madison always had a pie and coffee special for 25¢.When I moved to CA as a college freshman I wrote to a friend back in Wisconsin that I couldn’t believe coffee was 10 cents everywhere.

I love their brownies.

Rat is one I don’t give an A$$ about.

I make my lovely expresso coffee at home and for my B-day bought myself an in ground railing for my pool steps ;-D

I have never set foot in a Starbucks nor stopped at one in a grocery or other. I really seldom drink coffee (more often do a hot chocolate I do in micro with plain cocoa and stevia with pure cream). My coffee is made in hexangurar pot w/Cafe Bustelo -black with a tiny bit of sugar and a dash of brandy

well, when I was young, I got my coffee for free! I’d eat the beans right off the tree!

Wow! Goat has the same birthday as me!!! Happy birthday, Goat! :D

oof