4/2/04 7:29:17 PM: This is right near where I live. The apartment I share with my heterosexual roommate (We are not life–partners) Mike Pointer is right around the corner from the translucent ball. There is a Starbucks on the second floor of the ball that I shamelessly patronize. They have big cushy chairs, wireless internet and cute girls. Like nearly every business in China, there are 5–6 times more people working there than they need. Starbucks has a nice balcony that overlooks this metropolitan convergence. Starbuck is a character in the book I am reading, Moby Dick. I try to make it a slightly Chinese experience by ordering tea instead of coffee when I go there to work. The coffee is too expensive at about $2 for a medium (see! I swear I’m not a Starbucks junkie, I don’t even know Starbuckese for medium, whatever Brent Gwynn might tell you).